Hard times made harder: struggling caregivers and child neglect

Poverty is only one of many challenges tied to a report of child neglect. The analysis in this brief finds that neglected children whose caregivers struggle with substance abuse and mental health problems are at significant risk for out-of-home placement. Risk factors for out-of-home placement for neglected children are discussed, as well as a multifaceted approach to services to prevent neglect and out-of-home placement

Reflection in work-based learning: self-regulation or self-liberation?

This article considers the role of reflective practice in work-based learning in higher education. The benefits of using reflection for learning at work have been widely recognised and the pedagogy to support reflection is now established. However, the use of reflective practice has been subjected to considerable critique, and many of the criticisms draw on Michel Foucault's concepts of governmentality, pastoral power, confession and self-regulation. Drawing on our professional experiences of supporting students in undertaking reflection, we examine the general critique put forward. Having considered the case that reflection supports self-regulation in a way which disadvantages individuals while benefiting organisations, we argue that reflection can be used to empower individuals. We do this by drawing attention to the elements of Foucault's argument which include the importance of agency in the exercise of power

Chameleon Vector Bosons

We show that for a force mediated by a vector particle coupled to a conserved U(1) charge, the apparent range and strength can depend on the size and density of the source, and the proximity to other sources. This "chameleon" effect is due to screening from a light charged scalar. Such screening can weaken astrophysical constraints on new gauge bosons. As an example we consider the constraints on chameleonic gauged B-L. We show that although Casimir measurements greatly constrain any B-L force much stronger than gravity with range longer than 0.1 microns, there remains an experimental window for a long range chameleonic B-L force. Such a force could be much stronger than gravity, and long or infinite range in vacuum, but have an effective range near the surface of the earth which is less than a micron.Comment: 10 page

Characterising resistance to Turnip mosaic virus (TuMV) in Turnip (Brassica rapa rapa)

A Brassica rapa rapa L. line has been identified with high resistance to seven isolates of Turnip mosaic virus (TuMV) (including UK 1, CHN 5, CZE 1, CDN 1, GBR 6, POL 1 and UK 4) representing the major pathotypes of the virus. Resistant plants showed no symptoms following mechanical inoculation with TuMV and no virus was detected in the plants by ELISA. A cross was made between the rapid-cycling Brassica rapa line R-o-18 (which has been found to be susceptible to all the TuMV isolates) and a plant from the resistant B. rapa rapa line. The small amount of the F1 generation seed available from this cross has been grown and inoculated with the seven TuMV isolates. F1 plants were uniformly resistant to the UK 1 isolate of TuMV, uniformly susceptible to the CHN 5 isolate (only 2 plants inoculated) and segregated for resistance and susceptibility to the other five TuMV isolates. This suggested that the parent B. rapa rapa plant used in the cross was probably homozygous for one, or more dominant resistance genes to the UK 1 isolate of TuMV and heterozygous for one, or more dominant resistance genes to the other TuMV isolates. When self seed (S1) from the parent plant from the resistant line was inoculated with the TuMV isolates GBR 6 and UK 4, the segregation for the former isolate was not significantly different from 3 resistant to 1 susceptible, whereas for the latter isolate, the segregation was 4 resistant to 9 susceptible, suggesting resistance to GBR 6 is controlled by a single dominant gene, whereas resistance to UK 4 is controlled by two or more dominant resistance genes. The putative resistance genes appear to confer hitherto unknown dominant TuMV resistance specificities, and in combination have the exciting potential of providing durable resistance to TuMV

Psychotropic medication use among children in the child welfare system

Prior research demonstrates that children in the child welfare system are given psychotropic medication at rates approximately three times higher than children and adolescents in the general population. Using data from the second National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being, authors Wendy Walsh and Marybeth Mattingly report that among children age 4 and older with a report of maltreatment, rates of psychotropic medication use are significantly higher in rural (20 percent) than urban areas (13 percent). Children age 4 and older with a maltreatment report in rural areas were significantly more likely to take more than one medication than children in urban areas. The significantly higher rates of psychotropic medication use among children in rural areas and the significantly higher rates of taking multiple medications point to the need among child welfare professionals in rural areas to closely monitor use. The results of the current analysis indicate that more information is needed about the complex decision-making process regarding medication use. This includes a need to better understand how pediatric clinicians make decisions, and the impact of community norms on medication use