Personal and household care giving for adult children to parents and social stratification

Using SHARE database the paper explores the factors conditioning personalcare giving from adult children to their parents. Frequency and intensity ofpersonal care is contrasted with the reciprocal expectations that children haveabout wealth inheritance from their parents and with the opportunity costs of helping, as well as with the capacity of parents of getting help from othersources of personal care. The results may help to understand how inequalitiesin accessing to formal services relate with intergenerational solidarity.

The Generational contract in the family : explaining regime differences in financial transfers from parents to children in Europe

The exchange of social and economic support between the generationsis one of the main pillars of both family life and welfare systems. Thedebate on how to reform the generational contract is still truncated, however, by focusing on its public dimension only, especially on pensions and health care provisions. For a full account, the transfer of resources between adult generations in the family needs to be included as well. In our previous research we have shown that intergenerationalexchange is more likely to take place but less intense in the Nordicwelfare regime than in the Continental and Southern ones. In thepresent paper we analyze the social mechanisms that create and explain this nexus between patterns of intergenerational transfers and welfare regimes. The notion that Southern European family support networksare stronger and more effective than those of Continental and Northern European countries is only partially confirmed. In Southern (and partly in Continental) countries, children are mostly supported by means of co-residence with their parents till their complete economicindependence. However, once they have left the parental home thereare fewer transfers; support tends to be restricted to children who have special needs (such as for the formation of their own family), and depends more on their parents’ resources. In the Nordic countries, in contrast, transfers are less driven by children’s needs and parentalresources.

Nine-month-olds' triangular interactive strategies with their parents' couple in low-coordination families: A descriptive study

Observing infants in triadic situations has revealed their triangular competence; namely, their ability to interact with both parents by simultaneously sharing their attention and affects with them. Infants' triangular interaction is linked with the coparenting unit's degree of coordination; in high-coordination (HC) families, parents act as a team in relation to the child, thus drawing clear and flexible boundaries with them; in low-coordination (LC) families, parents either avoid direct interaction with each other and include the child in their unit or join together against the child and exclude him or her, thus drawing inconsistent boundaries with the child. We explored the interactive strategies of LC 9-month-olds (n = 15) with those of their parents, comparing them with HC parents (n = 23) in two conditions: playing with both parents at the same time and witnessing their parents' dialogue. LC infants' affects were less positive; they addressed fewer positive triangular bids to their parents and tended to use a less triangular interactive mode. Thus, LC infants had fewer opportunities than did HC infants to acquire skills necessary for coping with triangular interaction. L'observation de nourrissons dans des situations triadiques a révélé leur compétence triangulaire, c'est-à-dire la capacité à interagir avec les deux parents en partageant simultanément leur attention et leurs affects avec eux. L'interaction triangulaire des nourrissons est liée au degré de coordination de l'unité de coparentage. Dans les familles à coordination élevée (abrégé HC en anglais, CE en français), les parents agissent en relation à l'enfant en tant qu'équipe, et établissent donc des limites claires et flexibles avec les enfants. Dans les familles à coordination faible (abrégé LC en anglais, CF en français), les parents évitent soit l'interaction directe l'un avec l'autre et incluent l'enfant dans leur unité, ou bien ils se liguent contre l'enfant et l'excluent, établissant donc des limites contradictoires avec l'enfant. Nous explorons les stratégies interactives de bébés de 9 mois CF avec celle de leurs parents, en les comparant avec des parents CE (N = 23) dans deux conditions: le jeu avec les deux parents au même moment et l'observation du dialogue des parents. Les affects des bébés CF étaient moins positifs. Les bébés se tournaient moins triangulairement vers leurs parents et avaient tendance à utiliser un mode interactif moins triangulaire. Les bébés CF avaient donc moins de chances que les bébés CE d'acquérir les compétences nécessaires pour faire face avec une interaction triangulaire.

The role of territory choice mate choice and arrival date on breeding success in the Savi's warbler (Locustella luscinioides)

We investigated how territory quality, settlement date and morphometry affected several components of yearly breeding success of a Swiss population of Savi's Warblers Locustella luscinioides. Territories occupied by males differed from unoccupied sites of similar size and location by having higher and denser reeds, a more extensive straw litter, and a thicker cover of dead sedge leaves. Territories with these characteristics were the ones first chosen by males upon spring arrival. These males, however, did not differ in morphometry from those that arrived later. Availability of suitable nesting sites; rather than food availability, appears to be an important choice criterion for territories. Early arriving males had higher breeding success than late males because of a higher mating success and more successful clutches. The positive correlation between male breeding success and territory quality was thus mediated through their common dependence on occupancy date. Female breeding success decreased with the date of first-clutch laying, mainly because late-nesting females fledged fewer broods. Breeding success in either sex did not correlate with morphometry. Our results provide clear support for territory choice by males, but not for mate or territory choice by females, and show the crucial role played by individual settlement date on many aspects of the breeding cycle of both sexes. We propose a lottery model of mate choice. arriving females obtain the best available territories even without choosing mates or territories; since males occupy territories sequentially and in order of decreasing quality, the few unpaired males available at any moment also occupy the best available territories.

Face the Facts: Topics to Discuss Now with Your Aging Parents, 2003

The The Eldercare Locator, a nationwide service funded by the U.S. Administration on Aging that links older consumers and their families to local aging services, produced this guide to help families “face the facts” about these important topics. The overview below addresses some key areas of concern, suggested questions to ask, and ways in which families might initiate conversations about these often difficult to discuss topics with their aging parents.

Young people, parents and radical right voting: The case of the Swiss People's Party

It is commonly found that young people tend to adopt the political party choice of their parents. However, far less is known about the applicability of this theory when investigating radical right support. Using the Swiss Household panel data (1999e2007), this study empirically identifies the relationship between parents' preference for the Swiss radical right party SVP and their attitudes toward immigrants and the EU, and their offspring's preference for the SVP. Disaggregating fathers' and mothers' influence reveals that in particular, mothers' SVP support plays a role in SVP support among young people, even after controlling for educational similarities. We also demonstrate that girls are more likely to be influenced by their mothers than are boys. Furthermore, parents' negative attitudes toward the EU exert a positive influence on their children's radical right voting, independent of their voting pattern.

Breeding rate is associated with pheomelanism in male and with eumelanism in female barn owls

Melanin-based coloration exists in 2 types: black eumelanism and reddish-brown pheomelanism, which both have a strong heritable component. To test whether these 2 types of melanism are associated with alternative adaptations, we carried out a correlative study over 8 years and an experiment in a Swiss population of barn owls, Tyto alba. This species varies in coloration from reddish-brown to white and from lightly to heavily marked with black spots. Based on the fact that plumage coloration and spottiness are male- and female-specific secondary sexual characters, respectively, we examined whether the probability of breeding is associated with the degree of pheomelanism in males and of eumelanism in females. In males, recruited nestlings were significantly less reddish-brown than their nonrecruited nest mates. In females, individuals displaying larger black spots started to breed at a younger age and had a higher survival, and females with experimentally reduced plumage spottiness bred less often than control females. Therefore, in the barn owl, the degree of male pheomelanism is associated with the probability of being recruited in the local population, whereas the degree of female eumelanism correlates with age at sexual maturity, survival probability, and also the probability of skipping reproduction.

DNA banking for plant breeding, biotechnology and biodiversity evaluation.

The manipulation of DNA is routine practice in botanical research and has made a huge impact on plant breeding, biotechnology and biodiversity evaluation. DNA is easy to extract from most plant tissues and can be stored for long periods in DNA banks. Curation methods are well developed for other botanical resources such as herbaria, seed banks and botanic gardens, but procedures for the establishment and maintenance of DNA banks have not been well documented. This paper reviews the curation of DNA banks for the characterisation and utilisation of biodiversity and provides guidelines for DNA bank management. It surveys existing DNA banks and outlines their operation. It includes a review of plant DNA collection, preservation, isolation, storage, database management and exchange procedures. We stress that DNA banks require full integration with existing collections such as botanic gardens, herbaria and seed banks, and information retrieval systems that link such facilities, bioinformatic resources and other DNA banks. They also require efficient and well-regulated sample exchange procedures. Only with appropriate curation will maximum utilisation of DNA collections be achieved.

Transition from pediatric to adult health care: expectations of adolescents with chronic disorders and their parents.

The aim of this study was to assess the expectations of adolescents with chronic disorders with regard to transition from pediatric to adult health care and to compare them with the expectations of their parents. A cross-sectional study was carried out including 283 adolescents with chronic disorders, aged 14-25 years (median age, 16.0 years), and not yet transferred to adult health care, and their 318 parents from two university children's hospitals. The majority of adolescents and parents (64%/70%) perceived the ages of 18-19 years and older as the best time to transfer to adult health care. Chronological age and feeling too old to see a pediatrician were reported as the most important decision factors for the transfer while the severity of the disease was not considered important. The most relevant barriers were feeling at ease with the pediatrician (45%/38%), anxiety (20%/24%), and lack of information about the adult specialist and health care (18%/27%). Of the 51% of adolescents with whom the pediatric specialist had spoken about the transfer, 53% of adolescents and 69% of parents preferred a joint transfer meeting with the pediatric and adult specialist, and 24% of these adolescents declared that their health professional had offered this option. In summary, the age preference for adolescents with chronic disorders and their parents to transfer to adult health care was higher than the upper age limits for admission to pediatric health care in many European countries. Anxiety and a lack of information of both adolescents and their parents were among the most important barriers for a smooth and timely transfer according to adolescents and parents.

Improving Transition Outcomes: Resource Mapping Workshop: Parents Survey

Parents survey tool from the Improving Transition Outcomes Resource Mapping Workshops

Breeding sites of Neotropical Drosophilidae (Diptera): IV. living and fallen flowers of Sessea brasiliensis and Cestrum spp. (Solanaceae)

The flowering phenologies of Sessea brasiliensis and three species of Cestrum (C. amictum, C. schlechtendalii and C. sendtnerianum), all belonging to the Solanaceae, were monitored in a fragment of the montane Atlantic rain forest within São Paulo city from July 1993 through June 1995. A total of 11,021 flies belonging to five species of the flavopilosa group of Drosophila (D. cestri, D. cordeiroi, D. hollisae, D. incompta and D. mariaehelenae), plus 1,244 flies belonging to four species of Zygothrica (Z. dispar, Z. vittimaculosa, Z. vittinubila and Z. aff. vittipunctata) emerged from 33,955 sampled flowers. Cestrum amictum, C. sendtnerianum and Sessea brasiliensis are recorded for the first time as host plants for the species of the Neotropical flavopilosa group ofDrosophila. Additionally, at least ten less abundant taxa belonging also to the Drosophilidae, plus 1,073 microhymenopteran parasitoids (Braconidae, Eucoilidae, and Pteromalidae), emerged from the sampled flowers of S. brasiliensis e Cestrum spp. The present study raised from nine to eleven the number of species of Cestrum previously recorded as breeding sites for these flies. A comprehensive list of species of Solanaceae known to host six species of Drosophila and four species of Zygothrica in southeastern and southern Brazil is included.