Pioneering marriage for same-sex couples in the Netherlands

Why did the Netherlands become the first country to allow same-sex couples to marry? I argue that in addition to social and political factors that have been well-highlighted in the literature, the desire of Dutch activists and policy élites to burnish their international reputation as a social policy and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights pioneer played a critical role in motivating the government to adopt this controversial policy. In making this argument, the article addresses the often neglected topic of policy invention. I utilize the concept of regional policy community drawn from federalism studies to illustrate that such communities do not just facilitate the diffusion of new innovations across its constituent states, but they can also inspire pioneering states to experiment with new policy models in the first place

United Kingdom: changing political opportunity structures, policy success and continuing challenges for lesbian, gay and bisexual movements

No abstract available

Regulating intimate relationships in the European polity: same-sex unions and policy convergence

Since 1989, twenty-three European countries have implemented same-sex union (SSU) laws. We argue that the political processes leading to the adoption of these policies have been shaped by international influences such as policy harmonization, elite lesson-drawing and most importantly by social learning fostered within transnational networks. We examine SSU policies in four West European countries—Germany, Austria, Belgium, and Spain—to illustrate how these international influences and transnational networks have shaped SSU policy outcomes, and argue that the workings of these networks resemble those of the “velvet triangle” policy communities identified by gender scholars

Acuity-based Nurse Staffing and the Impact on Patient Outcomes

The costs of healthcare in the United States are of national concern. The systematic review of the literature (SRL) explored the practice-focused nursing question regarding the relationship between the use of acuity-based staffing (ABS) models and positive patient outcomes. Analyzing the impact of ABS models on patient quality outcomes and the potential economic value could provide evidence essential for the healthcare executives responsible for fiscally prudent labor management and for creating an evidence-based business case for adequate, patient-centric nurse staffing. The synergy model for patient care and Covell\u27s nursing intellectual capital theory guided the doctoral project. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses systematic review process steps were completed to organize the SRL and report findings. A comprehensive review of the literature yielded 527 articles, with 5 studies that met inclusion criteria in the final review. Analysis and synthesis of the SRL identified several patient outcomes that were significantly correlated with ABS staffing, including medication errors, falls, patient safety incidents, missed care, and mortality. The current body of evidence was insufficiently robust to demonstrate ABS staffing was superior to other nurse staffing models. The implications of this project for positive social change include demonstrating a need for additional research on ABS and the impact of ABS on patient outcomes

Contemporary Paranormal Romance: Theories and Development of the Genre’s Feminism (Or Lack Thereof)

Paranormal romance is a contentious subgenre that some critics have castigated as being anti-feminist. Linda J. Lee writes that this subgenre features “male protagonists [who often] come from a cultural background in which men are dominant over women” (61), and Sandra Booth argues that paranormal romances featuring a monstrous hero and angelic heroine hearken back to highly patriarchal forms of gender roles, including consensual sex that reads like violent rape (96-99). However, as the genre proliferated beyond its initial surge in popularity in the 1990s, it—like romance novels generally—matured beyond its beginnings and manifested more complex ideologies. As Lee Tobin-McClain writes, the concept of “collective authorship” of romance causes it to be even more influenced by audience expectations than other literary genres (296), resulting in the need for heightened levels of feminist relationships in popular titles. In this essay, I will be exploring Tobin-McClain’s thesis, along with positioning paranormal romance as a twin heredity form sharing more features of horror and urban fantasy than may initially be apparent. As data points, I will be examining contemporary paranormal romance in the vampire subgenre, specifically Dead Until Dark (Charlaine Harris, 2001), A Quick Bite (Lynsay Sands, 2005), A Shade of Vampire (Bella Forrest, 2012), Immortal Faith (Shelley Adina, 2013), The Art of Loving a Vampire (Jaye Wells, 2013), and Bite Mark (Lily Harlem, 2016). Each of these six books represents an even more specific subgenre within vampire paranormal romance (urban fantasy, family saga, young adult, Amish romance, mystery, and ménage, respectively), and each was first published within the past two decades. By taking into account the scholarly genealogy of paranormal romance pre-2000, I will be seeking to assess whether the work written since that point continues to reflect those themes or if, in fact, several popular exemplars of the genre have grown to exhibit a more overtly feminist sensibility. Works Cited Booth, Sandra. “Paradox in Popular Romances of the 1990s: The Paranormal Versus Feminist Humor.” Paradoxa, vol. 3, 1997, pp. 94-106. Lee, Linda J. “Guilty Pleasures: Reading Romance Novels as Reworked Fairy Tales.” Marvels & Tales, vol. 22, 2008, pp. 52-66. Tobin-McClain, Lee. “Paranormal Romance: Secrets of the Female Fantastic.” Journal of the Fantastic Arts, vol. 11, 2000, pp. 294-306

Increasing Mental Health Awareness Among Collegiate Student Athletes

This paper attempts to increase mental health awareness among student-athletes in college. Two players from the men’s basketball team at California State University, Monterey Bay participated in an interactive presentation regarding the impact that stress, anxiety, and injuries have on mental health and how to cope. The impacts are performance-related as well as impacting social life, academics, and relationships. The participants filled out forms and took a short quiz to see if they understood the impacts and were able to identify coping strategies. Results showed that they fully understood the effects that stress, anxiety, and injuries have on mental health and were able to identify at least one new coping strategy that they learned

Basic Interests: The Importance of Groups in Politics and in Political Science by Frank R. Baumgartner and Beth L. Leech

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/96695/1/2658027.pd

Perceptions of Social Workers on Factors Associated with Foster Care Outcomes

The purpose of this exploratory study is to elicit the perceptions of social workers on factors which may be associated with a stable reunification following discharge from foster family care. Twenty-four social workers from the Waterloo Region of The Iowa Department of Human Services completed a survey in which they identified their perception of reunification factors pertaining to the birth parents, foster parents, child, social worker, and agency. The findings suggest that the maintenance of the connection between the child and birth family, the child\u27s development of healthy attachment experiences, an ecologically-based assessment, and the social worker\u27s rapport with and attitudes about the birth family are positively associated with a stable reunification

The Effect of Radium Partitioning on Hydrothermal Fluid Flow Determination across Guaymas Basin

Analysis of the distribution of radium through sedimentary porewater profiles is a promising method for constraining diffuse discharge/recharge flow rates in hydrothermal settings; these parameters are critical for evaluating hydrothermal circulation and its chemical and biological implications. The short-lived 224Ra (T1/2 = 3.54 days) is an effective tracer due to its behavior in marine environments and changes in activity due to ingrowth/decay. However, the distribution of radium may be influenced by its varying solid:aqueous partitioning coefficients (Kd) and is critical to understand for any study utilizing radium as a tracer. This project explores Kd across the hydrothermally active Guaymas Basin in the Gulf of California to understand the potential influence of partitioning by various environmental conditions, such as the rate of flow through hydrothermal sediments. A secondary goal of this project was to detect a measurable radium signature within the water column over areas of hydrothermal venting, such that this tracer may ultimately be useful to constrain mixing of the hydrothermal plume with ambient waters. Sixteen sediment cores across the southern basin were collected on cruise AT42-05 in November 2018, using HOV Alvin. Differing flow conditions were targeted in background sediments, areas of suspected diffuse flow marked by microbial mats, and areas of visual discharge. Porewater from cores sectioned in 4 cm intervals was analyzed for 224Ra. Sediments were then returned to the lab for Kd analysis. We compare measured Kd values across the basin for statistically significant relationships between partitioning, biological sediment overgrowth, and porewater temperature. We also employ a vertical exchange model that utilizes the gradient of 224Ra through porewater to estimate flow conditions (direction and magnitude) and couple Kd with our rate estimates to examine the effect of partitioning on studies using radium as a tracer of fluid flux. Our results conclude only 4% of the variation in radium partitioning across the basin is attributed to venting site. We also found no correlation between effective fluid flux measurements and Kd. Distributions in Kd seem to be controlled by sediment heterogeneity in this setting, and are not necessary for calculating flux estimates via 224Ra isotopes through hydrothermal sediments in Guaymas Basin. Initial results to constrain hydrothermal plumes were promising, and additional sample collection/analysis is certainly warranted to better understand the potential of utilizing 224Ra as tracer of dispersed, ambient plume water into the surrounding ocean