Then You Fall Off : Youth Experiences and Responses to Transitioning to Homelessness

Introduction: This study aims to broaden our understanding of the experience of homelessness and unstable housing in youth. While quantitative research highlights risk factors associated with experiencing homelessness as a youth, little qualitative research has been conducted to explore the lived experience of this transition to homelessness or unstable housing and how youth respond to becoming homeless. This study utilizes data from youth descriptions of their experiences to understand the context of the transition to homelessness and how youth manage this transition. Methods: A qualitative study with a quantitative component was conducted with a nonprobability sample of homeless youth aged 14-24 recruited from shelters, drop-in centers, and magnet events in a large urban area in the Southwest. Four qualitative researchers used content analysis to assess themes that emerged related to transitions to homelessness. Results: A predominately minority (88%) sample of sheltered (67%) and unsheltered (33%) youth (n=64) described their experience of and responses to transitioning to homelessness. Three main themes emerged relating to transitioning to homelessness; family homelessness, histories of foster care, and non-supportive family processes. Youth described how these experiences manifested and influenced their transition into homelessness. In response to homelessness three dominant themes emerged; self-reliance, hope, and resilience. Discussion: The data highlight the unique issues of homeless youth and how they respond to circumstantial challenges. While homeless youth experience lifetime adversities that lead to homelessness, they respond to these circumstantial challenges with self-reliance, hope, and maintaining resilience. Interventions aiming to facilitate health behaviors and improve self-sufficiency in homeless youth should tap into these positive responses to improve self-care strategies, service utilization, and help homeless youth reduce risk behaviors

High-velocity hot CO emission close to Sgr A*: Herschel/HIFI submillimeter spectral survey toward Sgr A*

The properties of molecular gas, the fuel that forms stars, inside the cavity of the circumnuclear disk (CND) are not well constrained. We present results of a velocity-resolved submillimeter scan (~480 to 1250 GHz}) and [CII]158um line observations carried out with Herschel/HIFI toward Sgr A*; these results are complemented by a ~2'x2' CO (J=3-2) map taken with the IRAM 30 m telescope at ~7'' resolution. We report the presence of high positive-velocity emission (up to about +300 km/s) detected in the wings of CO J=5-4 to 10-9 lines. This wing component is also seen in H2O (1_{1,0}-1_{0,1}) a tracer of hot molecular gas; in [CII]158um, an unambiguous tracer of UV radiation; but not in [CI]492,806 GHz. This first measurement of the high-velocity CO rotational ladder toward Sgr A* adds more evidence that hot molecular gas exists inside the cavity of the CND, relatively close to the supermassive black hole (< 1 pc). Observed by ALMA, this velocity range appears as a collection of CO (J=3-2) cloudlets lying in a very harsh environment that is pervaded by intense UV radiation fields, shocks, and affected by strong gravitational shears. We constrain the physical conditions of the high positive-velocity CO gas component by comparing with non-LTE excitation and radiative transfer models. We infer T_k~400 K to 2000 K for n_H~(0.2-1.0)x10^5 cm^-3. These results point toward the important role of stellar UV radiation, but we show that radiative heating alone cannot explain the excitation of this ~10-60 M_Sun component of hot molecular gas inside the central cavity. Instead, strongly irradiated shocks are promising candidates.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A Letters ( this v2 includes corrections by language editor

HST and ground-based eclipse observations of V2051 Ophiuchi: Binary parameters

We report on high-speed eclipse photometry of the dwarf nova V2051 Oph while it was in a low brightness state, at B ~ 16.2 mag. In comparison to the average IUE spectra, the ultraviolet continuum and emission lines appear reduced by factors of, respectively, ~4 and ~5. Flickering activity is mostly suppressed and the lightcurve shows the eclipse of a compact white dwarf at disc centre which contributes ~60 per cent of the total light at 3900--4300 A. We use measurements of contact phases in the eclipse lightcurve to derive the binary geometry and to estimate masses and relevant dimensions. We find a mass ratio of q= 0.19+/-0.03 and an inclination of i= 83+/-2 degrees. The masses of the component stars are M_1 = 0.78+/-0.06 M_dot and M_2 = 0.15+/-0.03 M_dot. Our photometric model predicts K_1 = 83+/-12 km/s and K_2= 435+/-11 km/s. The predicted value of K_1 is in accordance with the velocity amplitude obtained from the emission lines after a correction for asymmetric line emission in the disc is made (Watts et al. 1986). The secondary of V2051 Oph is significantly more massive than the secondaries of the other ultra-short period dwarf novae. V2051 Oph is probably a relatively young system, whose secondary star had not enough time to evolve out of thermal equilibrium.Comment: 16 pages, 7 postscript figures, coded using MNRAS latex style. To appear in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Revised version with changes in section 4.3. For related papers and files see ftp://fsc01.fsc.ufsc.br/pub/bap and http://www.fsc.ufsc.br/~astr

Reconstrucción narrativa de una experiencia de hospitalización. Narrative Reconstruction of a Hospitalization Experience

Al integrar la perspectiva más reciente de la Psicología de la salud con la Psicología cultural, este trabajo indaga, por medio de una entrevista narrativa, los relatos de N = 40 personas (11 M y 29 F, entre 20-60 años) que han vivido una hospitalización por causa de un accidente o una enfermedad. Se parte de la hipótesis de que el hospital es una institución y un lugar físico impregnado de significados culturales y de vivencias emocionales personales. El objetivo consistió en explorar las modalidades con las cuales las y los participantes reconstruyeron narrativamente su experiencia hospitalaria y cómo se valoraron a sí mismos y a los otros en términos de recursos y vínculos. El corpus de las 40 entrevistas fue sometido a un análisis estadístico lexical por medio del software ALCESTE (Reinert, 1993), con el resultado de tres clases de discurso: (1) Solicitud de apoyo social, (2) el hospital como lugar de miedo e incertidumbre y (3) el hospital narrado con terminología médica. El análisis factorial de las correspondencias extrajo dos factores: el primero denominado “gravedad de la hospitalización” (polaridad mayor/menor) y el segundo denominado “focus de la narración” (polaridad interno/externo). Se concluye que el hospital, aunque se concibe como una institución que ayuda a sanar, interrumpe la rutina diaria, produce aislamiento y provoca miedo. Este tipo de estudio puede contribuir a poner de manifiesto aspectos psicológicos en el proceso salud-enfermedad que sirvan como puente de comunicación con el personal sanitario. Bringing together the most recent perspectives of Health Psychology and Cultural Psychology, this study uses the narrative interview to investigate the stories of N = 40 subjects (11 M and 29 F, between 20-60 years) who had experienced a hospitalization as a consequence of an accident or illness. The hypothesis is that the hospital is an institution and a physical place impregnated with cultural meanings and personal emotional experiences. The aim was to explore the categories the participants used to reconstruct their hospital experience in their narrations, looking for textual indications of sense-making, of self-assessment and of appreciation for others in terms of resources and bonds. The corpus of the 40 texts was submitted to a statistical lexical analysis with ALCESTE software (Reinert, 1993), resulting in three classes of discourse: (1) The demand for social support, (2) the hospital as a place of fear, and (3) the hospital narrated in medical terms. A factorial analysis of correspondences extracted two factors: The first, denominated “severity of the hospitalization” (polarity major/minor), and the second denominated “focus of narration” (polarity internal/external). We conclude that the hospital, although conceived as an institution that helps to heal, interrupts the daily routine, produces isolation and causes fear. This type of study may contribute to highlight psychological aspects of the health-illness process, which may be useful to provide a bridge for communication with healthcare personnel

Linking cardiorespiratory fitness classification criteria to early subclinical atherosclerosis in children

It is unclear if cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) can be used as a screening tool for premature changes in carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) in paediatric populations. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was 3-fold: (i) to determine if CRF can be used to screen increased cIMT; (ii) to determine an optimal CRF cut-off to predict increased cIMT; and (iii) to evaluate its ability to predict increased cIMT among children in comparison with existent CRF cut-offs. cIMT was assessed with high-resolution ultrasonography and CRF was determined using a maximal cycle test. Receiver operating characteristic analyses were conducted in boys (n = 211) and girls (n = 202) aged 11-12 years to define the optimal sex-specific CRF cut-off to classify increased cIMT (≥75th percentile). Logistic regression was used to examine the association between the CRF cut-offs with the risk of having an increased cIMT. The optimal CRF cut-offs to predict increased cIMT were 45.81 and 34.46 mL·kg(-1)·min(-1) for boys and girls, respectively. The odds-ratios for having increased cIMT among children who were unfit was up to 2.8 times the odds among those who were fit (95% confidence interval: 1.40-5.53). Considering current CRF cut-offs, only those suggested by Adegboye et al. 2011. (Br. J. Sports Med. 45(9): 722-728) and Boddy et al. 2012 (PLoS One, 7(9): e45755) were significant in predicting increased cIMT. In conclusion, CRF cut-offs (boys: ≤ 45.8; girls: ≤ 34.5 mL·kg(-1)·min(-1)) are associated with thickening of the arterial wall in 11- to 12-year-old children. Low CRF is an important cardiovascular risk factor in children and our data highlight the importance of obtaining an adequate CRF.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Migranti per amore. Rinunce, risorse e opportunità nell’espatrio femminile dal Messico all’Italia

Il fenomeno dell’espatrio femminile ha assunto solo in tempi recenti specifiche ed interessanti sfaccettature. I dati ISTAT (2007) sui matrimoni in Italia mostrano un incremento considerevole dei matrimoni misti. Partendo dall’ipotesi che la migrazione dovuta al progetto di vita con un partner straniero è un processo che mobilita cambiamenti interni e costringe a ristrutturare l’identità, questo lavoro ha come obiettivo di analizzare le modalità di narrazione con cui 12 donne messicane ri-costruiscono e dotano di senso la loro esperienza di espatrio in Italia. Il corpus costituito dalle interviste narrative è stato sottoposto a diverse analisi, semantico-strutturale (Alceste) e categoriale-tematica (N-Vivo). I risultati mostrano che le donne immigrate per amore rinunciano a parti di Sé e soprattutto della loro identità sociale e professionale, ma sviluppano modalità di comportamento resilienti, frutto di un’esperienza “ponte” complessa, che tuttavia il paese di accoglienza raramente supporta. The phenomenon of women expatriation has only recently taken specific and interesting facets. ISTAT data (2007) on weddings in Italy show a considerable increase in mixed marriages. Assuming that the migration due to the project of life with a foreign partner is a process that mobilizes internal changes and forces to restructure their identity, this work aims to study the ways of storytelling in which 12 Mexican women re-build and give meaning to their experience of expatriation to Italy. The corpus, consistent of narrative interviews, was subjected to various analysis, semantic-structural (Alceste) and categorical thematic-(N-Vivo). The data show that women emigrant for love give up parts of themselves and especially their social and professional identity, but develop resilient mode of behavior as a result of a complex bridging experience, but this is rarely supported by the host country

Mortalidade da borboleta migratória Aphrissa statira (Cramer, 1777) (Pieridae - Coliadinae) na BR 156, Amapá.

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