Acculturative Parenting Cognitions: Bicultural Socialization Beliefs among Chinese American Parents

Chinese American and Chinese immigrant parents within the United States possess parenting cognitions that reflect their multidimensional cultural experiences. One such parenting cognition is parents’ bicultural socialization beliefs, defined as their desire for their children to adopt both heritage Chinese values as well as destination American values in order to be successful in the United States. The aim of the current dissertation was to quantitatively examine bicultural socialization beliefs among Chinese American parents of adolescents and young adults. Four studies were conducted to model a pathway from parents’ social and cultural experiences to outcomes in their children. Study 1 examined the demographic and immigration-related factors that predicted the development of bicultural socialization beliefs in parents. Study 2 examined the mediating effects of parents’ parenting behaviors in the relation between parents’ bicultural socialization beliefs and subsequent depressive symptoms in their children. Study 3 examined the nature and direction of the relation between parents’ bicultural socialization beliefs and intergenerational/acculturative family conflict with their children over time. Finally, Study 4 examined potential moderating influences on the relation between parents’ bicultural socialization beliefs and either child depressive symptoms or parents’ behaviors. Participants included mothers, fathers, and adolescents/young adults from a three-wave longitudinal study of Chinese American families (N=444; Director: Dr. Su Yeong Kim). Data were collected using self-report measures. Results from Study 1 indicated that mothers’ bicultural socialization beliefs were positively predicted by their Chinese cultural orientation and negatively predicted by their length of time in the United States. In Study 2, parents’ bicultural socialization beliefs positively predicted their reports of supportive and unsupportive parenting behaviors; however, there was no evidence to suggest parents’ behaviors mediated the relation between parents’ bicultural socialization beliefs and young adult depressive symptoms. Concerning Study 3, greater levels of intergenerational/acculturative family conflict during adolescence predicted higher levels of parents’ bicultural socialization beliefs during young adulthood. Finally, results from Study 4 suggested mothers’ bicultural socialization beliefs may be protective against adolescent depressive symptoms under contexts of high socioeconomic stress. Future areas of research and implications for practice are presented

Finding Common Ground to Treat Primary and Metastatic Cancer: The Potential of Targeting Tumor Stroma

Primary carcinomas and metastases are complex organ-like structures composed of malignant parenchymal epithelial tissues and a desmoplastic stroma formed by accumulation of hematopoietic cells, mesenchymal stromal cells and extracellular matrix. The crosstalk between malignant epithelial cells and tumor stroma is becoming increasingly appreciated as a key determinant in tumor development, progression and metastasis, as well as inducing resistance to various cancer treatments including chemotherapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy. Mechanistic understanding of how the tumor-stromal interaction contributes to tumor progression and therapeutic resistance will advance cancer therapies and improve clinical management, especially for patients with metastatic disease. Fibroblast activation protein (FAP) is a membrane surface protease found overexpressed in cancer-associated stromal cells. Overexpression of FAP is associated with tumor progression, metastasis and recurrence, and predicts a poorer prognosis in many types of human tumors. The central goal of my thesis project is to investigate whether FAP protease and/or FAP protease-expressing stromal cells play essential roles in tumor progression and metastasis. In collaboration with Drs. Steven Albelda and Carl June’s groups, we generated chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells redirected against FAP+ stromal cells to study their impact on tumor progression. Conditional depletion of FAP+ stromal cells by FAP-CAR T cells restrains tumor progression without causing severe toxicity. Mechanistic investigations revealed that FAP+ stromal cells promote tumor growth via immune suppression and immune-independent remodeling of the stromal microenvironment. Additionally, using FAP-deficient mice, I found that FAP protease promotes early malignant cell seeding and pulmonary metastatic outgrowth, possibly through regulating coagulation pathways and the inflammatory response, respectively. Finally, I observed that FAP protease promotes pancreatic cancer development, as its deletion delays the progression of preneoplastic lesions and tumor formation in a genetically engineered mouse model of pancreatic ductal carcinoma. FAP protease is also essential for inducing pancreatic cancer resistance to necrotic cell death and promoting metastasis and outgrowth in multiple target organs. Together, these findings demonstrate that molecular and cellular targeting of FAP represents a promising therapeutic approach for a variety of solid tumors

Adoptive Parenting Cognitions, Compatibility, and Attachment Among Domestically Adoptive Families

Adoptive families may experience challenges because the parent and child are not biologically related. For example, many adoptive parents realize that their experiences may be different from those of biological parents and may respond to this realization through varying degrees of acknowledging this difference. These thoughts that adoptive parents have about the adoption, or adoptive parenting cognitions, may have implications for adjustment in the adoptive family. Research has been dedicated to examining the relationship between the adoptive parents’ level of acknowledgment of differences and child outcomes; however, fewer studies exist on how this acknowledgment affects the parent-child bond. The current study aimed to longitudinally examine the link between adoptive parent’s level of acknowledgement of differences and the level of attachment between the adoptive parent and adopted child, as perceived by the adolescent. The study also aimed to examine the potential mediating effects of parent-child compatibility, or the match between characteristics of a child and the parenting style of the parent, on this relationship. Data from the current study originate from the Minnesota/Texas Adoption Research Project. Acknowledgement of differences was measured at Wave 1 when the children were 4 to12 years old, adolescent-perceived attachment was measured at Wave 2 when the children were 11 to 20 years old, and parent-perceived compatibility was measured at both waves. Acknowledgement of differences was measured using the Kirk Adoption Questionnaire. Parent-perceived compatibility was assessed using a measure derived from combining four subscales of the Parenting Stress Index. Finally, attachment was measured using the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment and a subscale from the Parenting Stress Index. Results of the present study indicated that higher levels of acknowledgement of differences predicted higher levels of adolescent-perceived attachment at a later time point in adoptive father-child dyads but not adoptive mother-child dyads. In addition, parent-perceived incompatibility did not partially mediate this relationship for either mothers or fathers. Implications of the results and areas of further research are discussed

On the Design of Perceptual MPEG-Video Encryption Algorithms

In this paper, some existing perceptual encryption algorithms of MPEG videos are reviewed and some problems, especially security defects of two recently proposed MPEG-video perceptual encryption schemes, are pointed out. Then, a simpler and more effective design is suggested, which selectively encrypts fixed-length codewords (FLC) in MPEG-video bitstreams under the control of three perceptibility factors. The proposed design is actually an encryption configuration that can work with any stream cipher or block cipher. Compared with the previously-proposed schemes, the new design provides more useful features, such as strict size-preservation, on-the-fly encryption and multiple perceptibility, which make it possible to support more applications with different requirements. In addition, four different measures are suggested to provide better security against known/chosen-plaintext attacks.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, IEEEtran.cl

Applying Graph Theory to Examine the Dynamics of Student Discussions in Small-Group Learning.

Group work in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics courses is an effective means of improving student outcomes, and many different factors can influence the dynamics of student discussions and, ultimately, the success of collaboration. The substance and dynamics of group discussions are commonly examined using qualitative methods such as discourse analysis. To complement existing work in the literature, we developed a quantitative methodology that uses graph theory to map the progression of talk-turns of discussions within a group. We observed groups of students working with peer facilitators to solve problems in biological sciences, with three iterations of data collection and two major refinements of graph theory calculations. Results include general behaviors based on the turns in which different individuals talk and graph theory parameters to quantify group characteristics. To demonstrate the potential utility of the methodology, we present case studies with distinct patterns: a centralized group in which the peer facilitator behaves like an authority figure, a decentralized group in which most students talk their fair share of turns, and a larger group with subgroups that have implications for equity, diversity, and inclusion. Together, these results demonstrate that our adaptation of graph theory is a viable quantitative methodology to examine group discussions

Privacy and Confidentiality in Adoption Research: Perspectives from the Minnesota/Texas Adoption Research Project

There is currently a focus in adoption research on the processes that influence adoption-related adjustment (Palacios & Brodzinsky, 2011). To examine these processes, it is necessary to study the adoption network as a whole. This may include adoptive families and birth families. Research with all types of families introduces a number of ethical considerations (Margolin et al., 2005). There may be unique privacy and confidentiality concerns when working with families in the adoption network. The purpose of the current study is to outline privacy and confidentiality issues that arise when working with the adoption network. we also provide examples of how to address these issues using procedures from the Minnesota/Texas Adoption Research Project

Cognitive behavioral therapy for the management of multiple sclerosis–related pain: a randomized clinical trial

BACKGROUND: Pain is a common and often debilitating symptom among persons with multiple sclerosis (PwMS). Besides interfering with daily functioning, pain in MS is associated with higher levels of depression and anxiety. While cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for pain has been found to be an effective treatment in other populations, there has been a dearth of research in PwMS. METHODS: PwMS with at least moderate pain severity (N = 20) were randomly assigned to one of two groups: CBT plus standard care (CBT/SC) or MS-related education plus standard care (ED/SC), each of which met for 12 sessions. Changes in pain severity, pain interference, and depressive symptom severity from baseline to the 15 week follow-up were assessed using a 2×2 factorial design. Participants also rated their satisfaction with their treatment and accomplishment of personally meaningful behavioral goals. RESULTS: Both treatment groups rated their treatment satisfaction as very high and their behavioral goals as largely met, although only the CBT/SC group's mean goal accomplishment ratings represented significant improvement. While there were no significant differences between groups post-treatment on the three primary outcomes, there was an overall improvement over time for pain severity, pain interference, and depressive symptom severity. CONCLUSIONS: CBT or education-based programs may be helpful adjunctive treatments for PwMS experiencing pain.Accepted manuscrip

Implementation of 5S in Improving of Palm Oil Mill Working Environment

A work environment describes a place for employees affect them to do their tasks. A good work environment will certainly make employees do and spend all their energy and mind to work optimally. A comfortable feeling of the work environment can reduce boredom at work. This comfort feelings have an impact on increasing motivation and producing employee job satisfaction. The condition of the working environment in palm oil industry is currently classified as messy where there are still some tools scattered on the factory floor, there is mud and slippery puddles in various places such as floors or stairs. Conditions like this certainly need to be repaired immediately to avoid the risk of work accidents and increase employees' comfortable. Improvement of working environment conditions can be done by various methods, one of the methods is 5S method. 5S spelling as (Seiri, Seiton, Seiso, Seiketsu, Shitsuke) is one of the effective tool in management to improve the work culture of workers and the conditions of the work environment in a factory. Based on the evaluation results, the evaluation categories of 5S implementations are Seiri of 16 score, Seiton of 16 score, Seiso of 9 score, Seiketsu of 8 score, Shitsuke of 7 score. The results of this total score show the 5S value of palm oil mill is in the average score of 56 total score