Maternal core beliefs and children's feeding problems

Background: Although maternal mental health problems have been implicated in the exacerbation of childhood feeding difficulties, little research has assessed the contribution of broader maternal cognitions to these problems. The current study examined gender differences in the relationships between mothers' core beliefs and children's feeding problems. Methods: One hundred and three mothers of girls and 93 mothers of boys (age range, 7-64 months) completed the Young Schema Questionnaire and the Child Feeding Assessment Questionnaire. Results: While controlling for child age, a clear link between maternal core beliefs and perceived feeding difficulties emerged for mothers of girls. In particular, abandonment, failure to achieve, dependence and incompetence, enmeshment and defectiveness, and shame beliefs were associated with increased reports of feeding problems in girls. In contrast, emotional deprivation and subjugation beliefs were associated with maternal reports of food fussiness and food refusal in boys. Conclusions: There appears to be a clear role for maternal core beliefs in the reporting of feeding difficulties in children, and the specificity of these links differs depending on the gender of the child. Further research is required to establish the direction of causality and the specificity of these relationships. © 2005 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The Future of the Next-Generation Internet and Possible Applications into Education and Culture Heritage

There are several initiatives such as: US Ignite, Software Defined Networking (SDN), OpenFlow, Global Environment for Network Innovation (GENI), WiMAX and Internet 2 dealing with the future of the internet. The goal of the paper is to understand the goals, intricacies, and nuances of some of these techniques and show some of the possibilities of next-generation high-speed networking and their applications into education and culture heritage.

Business and children`:mapping impacts, managing responsibilities

In recent years, issues of childhood obesity, unsafe toys, and child labor have raised the question of corporate responsibilities to children. However, business impacts on children are complex, multi-faceted, and frequently overlooked by senior managers. This article reports on a systematic analysis of the reputational landscape constructed by the media, corporations, and non-government organizations around business responsibilities to children. A content analysis methodology is applied to a sample of more than 350 relevant accounts during a 5-year period. We identify seven core responsibilities that are then used to provide a framework for enabling businesses to map their range of impacts on children. We set out guidelines for how to identify and manage the firm’s strategic responsibilities in this arena, and identify the␣constraints that corporations face in meeting such responsibilities.

Cuba’s Role in Venezuela’s Control of the Internet and Online Social Networks

The arrival of Cuba’s Information Technology (IT) and Communications Minister Ramiro Valdés to Venezuela in the Spring of 2010 to serve as a ‘consultant’ to the Venezuelan government awakened a new reality in that country. Rampant with deep economic troubles, escalating crime, a murder rate that has doubled since Chávez took over in 1999, and an opposition movement led by university students and other activists who use the Internet as their primary weapon, Venezuela has resorted to Cuba for help. In a country where in large part traditional media outlets have been censored or are government-controlled, the Internet and its online social networks have become the place to obtain, as well as disseminate, unfiltered information. As such, Internet growth and use of its social networks has skyrocketed in Venezuela, making it one of Latin America’s highest Web users. Because of its increased use to spark political debate among Venezuelans and publish information that differs with the official government line, Chávez has embarked on an initiative to bring the Internet to the poor and others who would otherwise not have access, by establishing government-sponsored Internet Info Centers throughout the country, to disseminate information to his followers. With the help of Cuban advisors, who for years have been a part of Venezuela’s defense, education, and health care initiatives, Chávez has apparently taken to adapting Cuba’s methodology for the control of information. He has begun to take special steps toward also controlling the type of information flowing through the country’s online social networks, considering the implementation of a government-controlled single Internet access point in Venezuela. Simultaneously, in adapting to Venezuela’s Internet reality, Chávez has engaged online by creating his own Twitter account in an attempt to influence public opinion, primarily of those who browse the Web. With a rapidly growing following that may soon reach one million subscribers, Chávez claims to have set up his own online trench to wage cyber space battle.

An investigation of parents' and children's beliefs of early literacy acquisition from a cross -cultural perspective

It has been reported that the cultural-historical experiences of ethnic group members can play a role in the literacy beliefs of those members. Socioeconomic conditions can also influence the belief system of the groups' constituents. This study investigated parents' and children's beliefs pertaining to early literacy acquisition as related to the ethnicity and socioeconomic status (SES) of the participants. The objectives were to determine (a) the differential patterns regarding emergent literacy and traditional skills approaches as they interact with ethnicity and SES and (b) the correspondence between parents and children's beliefs about literacy acquisition. ^ The study was conducted with 152 parents (38 low-income Hispanic, 38 middle-income Hispanic, 38 low-income African-American, and 38 middle-income African-American) and 36 of their 3-, 4-, or 5-year-old children (18 male and 18 female). ^ The parents were asked to check those items with which they agreed on a survey that consisted of an equal number of items from the traditional skills-based and emergent literacy orientations. These responses were used to determine the differences and interaction by ethnicity and SES. The children responded to open-ended questions related to the instruction of reading and writing skills. The parents' responses and children's answers were compared to ascertain the matching parent-child dyads by ethnicity and SES. ^ An item analysis was conducted to strengthen the internal reliability consistency coefficient of the traditional skills-based and emergent literacy scales as measured by the Cronbach Alpha. ^ A two-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) revealed a significant difference in traditional skill-based beliefs for the low-income African-American and Hispanic parents. There were no significant findings for the parents' traditional skill based or emergent literacy beliefs based on ethnicity, for the interaction between ethnicity and SES, or for the relationship between parents' and children's literacy beliefs by ethnicity and SES. ^ It can be concluded that low-income African-American and Hispanic parents believe in the traditional skills approach, indicating that these parents find it necessary for children to have sufficient school readiness skills prior to learning to read or write. In addition, the parent and child dyads had a strong tendency toward emergent literacy beliefs. ^

Comparison of Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors between Single and Partnered Mothers: Data from the 2006 Health Survey of Adults and Children in Bermuda

Women are a high-risk population for cardiovascular diseases (CVD); however relationships between CVD and subpopulations of mothers are sparse. A secondary data analysis of the 2006 Health Survey of Adults and Children in Bermuda was conducted to compare the prevalence of CVD risk factors in single (n=77) and partnered (n=241) mothers. A higher percentage of single mothers were Black (p25 kg/m2 (p=0.01) and reported high blood pressure (p=0.004) and high cholesterol (0.017). Single mothers were nearly three times (OR=2.66) more likely to experience high blood pressure and two times (OR= 2.22) more likely to have high cholesterol. Single mothers may benefit from nutrition education programs related to lowering CVD risk.

Union women and children at Labor Day march

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.

Bruce Voeller (N.G.T.F.) and children at Albany demonstration for gay rights

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.

Mother and children at children's zoo

Inscriptions: Verso: [stamped] Photograph by Freda Leinwand. [463 West Street, Studio 229G, New York, NY 10014].

End-of-life care in Ireland: ethical challenges and solutions. Opening Statement to the Houses of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children, 24 October 2013.

Children Report on End of Life and Palliative Care in Ireland, Volume 1.

Parental Criminal Justice Involvement and Children's Involvement With Child Protective Services: Do Adult Drug Treatment Courts Prevent Child Maltreatment?

BACKGROUND: In light of evidence showing reduced criminal recidivism and cost savings, adult drug treatment courts have grown in popularity. However, the potential spillover benefits to family members are understudied. OBJECTIVES: To examine: (1) the overlap between parents who were convicted of a substance-related offense and their children's involvement with child protective services (CPS); and (2) whether parental participation in an adult drug treatment court program reduces children's risk for CPS involvement. METHODS: Administrative data from North Carolina courts, birth records, and social services were linked at the child level. First, children of parents convicted of a substance-related offense were matched to (a) children of parents convicted of a nonsubstance-related offense and (b) those not convicted of any offense. Second, we compared children of parents who completed a DTC program with children of parents who were referred but did not enroll, who enrolled for <90 days but did not complete, and who enrolled for 90+ days but did not complete. Multivariate logistic regression was used to model group differences in the odds of being reported to CPS in the 1 to 3 years following parental criminal conviction or, alternatively, being referred to a DTC program. RESULTS: Children of parents convicted of a substance-related offense were at greater risk of CPS involvement than children whose parents were not convicted of any charge, but DTC participation did not mitigate this risk. Conclusion/Importance: The role of specialty courts as a strategy for reducing children's risk of maltreatment should be further explored.

Internet Surveillance after Snowden: A Critical Empirical Study of Computer Experts' Attitudes on Commercial and State Surveillance of the Internet and Social Media post-Edward Snowden

Acknowledgement: The research presented in this paper was conducted as part of the EU FP7 research project PACT (http://www.projectpact.eu), grant agreement number 285635.

Age and Life Course Location as Interpretive Resources for Decisions Regarding Disclosure of HIV to Parents and Children: Findings from the HIV and Later Life Study

Studies of disclosure among older people living with HIV (PLWH) are uninformed by critical social-gerontological approaches that can help us to appreciate how older PLWH see and treat age as relevant to disclosure of their HIV status. These approaches include an ethnomethodologically-informed social constructionism that explores how ‘the’ life course (a cultural framework depicting individuals’ movement through predictable developmental stages from birth to death) is used as an interpretive resource for determining self and others’ characteristics, capacities, and social circumstances: a process Rosenfeld and Gallagher (2002) termed ‘lifecoursing’. Applying this approach to our analysis of 74 life-history interviews and three focus groups with older (aged 50+) people living with HIV in the United Kingdom, we uncover the central role that lifecoursing plays in participants’ decision-making surrounding disclosure of their HIV to their children and/or older parents. Analysis of participants’ accounts uncovered four criteria for disclosure: the relevance of their HIV to the other, the other’s knowledge about HIV, the likelihood of the disclosure causing the other emotional distress, and the other’s ability to keep the disclosed confidential. To determine if these criteria were met in relation to specific children and/or elders, participants engaged in lifecoursing, evaluating the other’s knowledge of HIV, and capacity to appropriately manage the disclosure, by reference to their age. The use of assumptions about age and life-course location in decision-making regarding disclosure of HIV reflects a more nuanced engagement with age in the disclosure decision-making process than has been captured by previous research into HIV disclosure, including on the part of people aging with HIV.