Risk and resiliency: The untold story of youth in military families

Background: Risky sexual behaviors have been shown to increase the risk of unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among youth. Youth in military families may be especially at risk for engaging in risky sexual behaviors because they are exposed to factors that are unique to the military culture, such as multiple relocations and parental deployment. However, data on sexual behaviors among military-dependent youth are limited and few studies have examined how these factors influence the sexual behaviors among youth. Purpose: The purpose of this dissertation was to estimate the prevalence of risky sexual behaviors among military-dependent youth and to describe how military factors may influence their sexual behaviors. Methods: Youth, aged 15–19 years, who attended a military health facility in the southern United States between June 2011 and September 2011 were recruited to complete a short, paper-based survey (N= 208, males and females) and to participate in an in-depth interview (N = 25, females). For quantitative data, prevalence estimates were computed and chi-square analyses were conducted. Logistic regression analyses were also conducted, adjusting for age, gender, and parents' duty status. For qualitative data, thematic coding of transcribed interviews was performed. Common and unique themes were examined across participants' experiences. Results: Over half of the youth was sexually experienced (53.7%). Parental deployment and number of relocations were significantly associated with having had sex in the past 3 months; however no significant associations were found between these military factors and other sexual behaviors. Although some youth felt that being a military-dependent had negatively impacted their sexual decisions, most believed the military experience had little influence on their sexual decisions. Most youth in military families also perceived having higher parental expectations to avoid risky behaviors, in general, than youth in civilian families. Conclusions: The majority of military-dependent youth are sexually experienced; however, individual and parental factors may have a greater role in sexual initiation among youth than military stressors do. The findings highlight the need for implementation of evidence-based strategies to prevent teen pregnancy and STIs at military installations. Future studies with larger sample sizes are needed to further explore how youth may cope with these military factors and the impact of parental factors on the sexual behaviors of youth.^

Shifting the focus: Addressing breast cancer disparities at the health care organization level

The purpose of this study was to understand the scope of breast cancer disparities within the Texas Medical Center. The goal was to increase the awareness of breast cancer disparities at the health care organization level, and to foster the development of organizational interventions to reduce breast cancer disparities. The study seeks to answer the following questions: 1. Are hospitals in the Texas Medical Center implementing interventions to reduce breast cancer disparities? 2. What are their interventions for reducing the effects of non clinical factors on breast cancer treatment disparities? 3. What are their measures for monitoring, continuously improving, and evaluating the success of their interventions? ^ This research project was designed as a mixed methods case study. Quantitative breast cancer data for the years 2000-2009 was obtained from the Texas Cancer Registry (TCR). Qualitative data collection and analysis was done by conducting a total of 20 semi-structured interviews of administrators, physicians and nurses at five hospitals (A, B, C, D and E) in the Texas Medical Center (TMC). For quantitative analysis, the study was limited to early stage breast cancer patients: local and regional. The dependent variable was receipt of standard treatment: Surgery (Yes/No), BCS vs Mastectomy, Chemotherapy (Yes/No) and Radiation after BCS (Yes/No). The main independent variable was race: non-Hispanic White (NHW) , non-Hispanic Black (NHB), and Hispanic. Other covariates included age at diagnosis, diagnosis date, percent poverty, grade, stage, and regional nodes. Multivariate logistic regression was used to test the adjusted association between receipt of standard care and race. Qualitative data was analyzed with the Atlas.ti7 software (ATLAS.ti GmbH, Berlin). ^ Though there were significant differences by race for all dependent variables when the data was analyzed as a single group of all hospitals; at the level of the individual hospitals the results were not consistent by race/ethnicity across all dependent variables for hospitals A, B, and E. There were no racial differences in adjusted analysis for receipt of chemotherapy for the individual hospitals of interest in this study. For hospitals C and D, no racial disparities in treatment was observed in adjusted multivariable analysis. All organizations in this study were aware of the body of research which shows that there are disparities in breast cancer outcomes for patient population groups. However, qualitative data analysis found that there were differences in interest among hospitals in addressing breast cancer disparities in their patient population groups. Some organizations were actively implementing directed measures to reduce the breast cancer disparity gap in outcomes for patients, and others were not. Despite the differences in levels of interest, quantitative data analysis showed that organizations in the Texas Medical Center were making progress in reducing the burden of breast cancer disparities in the patient populations being served.^

Complications of misoprostol and other abortion induction methods in the developing world: A systematic review

OBJECTIVE: To systematically review published literature to examine the complications associated with the use of misoprostol and compare these complications to those associated with other forms of abortion induction. ^ DATA SOURCES: Studies were identified through searches of medical literature databases including Medline (Ovid), PubMed (NLM), LILACS, sciELO, and AIM (AFRO), and review of references of relevant articles. ^ STUDY SELECTION AND METHODS: A descriptive systematic review that included studies reported in English and published before December 2012. Eligibility criteria included: misoprostol (with or without other methods) and any other method of abortion in a developing country, as well as quantitative data on the complication of each method. The following is information extracted from each study: author/year, country/city, study design/study sample, age range, setting of data collection, sample size, the method of abortion induction, the number of cases for each method, and the percentage of complications with each method. RESULTS: A total of 4 studies were identified (all in Latin America) describing post-abortion complications of misoprostol and other methods in countries where abortion is generally considered unsafe and/or illegal. The four studies reported on a range of complications including: bleeding, infection, incomplete abortion, intense pelvic pain, uterine perforation, headache, diarrhea, nausea, mechanical lesions, and systemic collapse. The most prevalent complications of misoprostol-induced abortion reported were: bleeding (7-82%), incomplete abortion (33-70%), and infection (0.8-67%). The prevalence of these complications reported from other abortion methods include: bleeding (16-25%), incomplete abortion (15-82%), and infection (13-50%). ^ CONCLUSION: The literature identified by this systematic review is inadequate for determining the complications of misoprostol used in unsafe settings. Abortion is considered an illicit behavior in these countries, therefore making it difficult to investigate the details needed to conduct a study on abortion complications. Given the differences between the reviewed studies as well as a variety of study limitations, it is not possible to draw firm conclusions about the rates of specific-abortion related complications.^

Stable oxygen isotope record of Globigerinoides sacculifer and age determination of sediment cores from teh Somali Basin

This study documents the biological signatures impressed upon the sedimentary record underlying both the 5°N upwelling system of the Somali Current and the equatorial area of the Somali Basin out of the upwelling influence. The evolution of these two distinct hydrographic systems is compared for the last 160 kyr. Correspondence and cluster analyses are performed on combined radiolarian and planktonic foraminiferal quantitative data in order to study the changes of the planktonic assemblages through time and space. The Upwelling Radiolarian Index (URI) is used as a productivity proxy. The water temperature and hydrographic structure of the upper water masses appear to be the major factors controlling the distribution patterns of the fauna. The relative abundances of three groups of foraminifera, cold water form (dextral N. pachyderma), mixed layer dwellers (G. trilobus, G. ruber, G. sacculifer, G. conglobatus, and G. glutinata), and thermocline dwellers (G. menardii, G. tumida, N. dutertrei, G. crassaformis, and P. obliquiloculata), follow distinct evolutionary patterns at the two sites during the last 160 kyr. At the equatorial site (core MD 85668), downcore fluctuations in the relative abundances of the three groups are closely related to the glacial/interglacial cyclicity and provide some insights into the interpretation of hydrographic changes. The dominance of the mixed layer foraminifera at the transition intervals between isotope stages 6/5 and 2/1, combined with weak URI values, is thought to reflect the reorganization of the oceanographic circulation. These short-term events (with a duration of < 5000 year) could be related to the rapid inflow of oxygen-depleted water through the Indonesian straits as a result of sea level rise during deglaciation. Underneath the 5°N gyre (core MD 85674), the response to global climatic changes is overprinted by the regional effect of the Somalian upwelling, which has been persistent over the last 160 kyr.

Abundance of Cnidaria and Ctenophora in the North Atlantic sampled during the G. O. Sars Cruise in May 2013

In recent years a global increase in jellyfish (i.e. Cnidarians and Ctenophores) abundance and a rise in the recurrence of jellyfish outbreak events have been largely debated, but a general consensus on this matter has not been achieved yet. Within this debate, it has been generally recognized that there is a lack of reliable data that could be analyzed and compared to clarify whether indeed jellyfish are increasing throughout the world ocean as a consequence of anthropogenic impact and hydroclimatic variability. During the G.O. Sars cruise jellyfish were collected at different depths in the 0-1000m layer using a standard 1 m**2 Multiple Opening/Closing Net and Environmental Sensing System (MOCNESS) (quantitative data), Harstad and macroplankton trawls (qualitative data). The comparison of records collected with different nets during the G.O. Sars transatlantic cruise shows that different sampling gears might provide very different information on jellyfish diversity. Indeed, the big trawls mostly collect relatively large scyphozoan and hydrozoan species such as Atolla, Pelagia, Praya, Vogtia, while small hydrozoans (e.g. Clytia, Gilia, Muggiaea) and early stages of ctenophora are only caught by the smaller nets.

Participación electoral de los argentinos residentes en el exterior

Históricamente la Argentina ha sido caracterizada como un país de recepción de migrantes de todo el mundo. No obstante, en las últimas décadas, los cambios políticos y económicos en el interior del país y las facilidades para la movilidad internacional, han hecho de la emigración una alternativa cierta en búsqueda del mejoramiento de las condiciones de vida y desarrollo profesional para la población argentina. En dicho marco, el presente trabajo aborda la problemática de la ciudadanía transnacional, centrándose en la participación electoral de los argentinos residiendo en el exterior y prestando especial atención a los factores que la dificultan. Los principales ejes de análisis son: a- el estudio de los datos cuantitativos referidos a la participación electoral, b- el posicionamiento de las instituciones del Estado encargadas de ejecutar el voto en el exterior y la clase política, respecto al tema y c- el papel desempeñado por las asociaciones de argentinos residentes en el exterior

Conflictos obreros en Mendoza (1969-1974) : cambios en las formas de organización y de lucha producto del Mendozazo : Un análisis del 'borramiento' del conflicto como política de la memoria de la historiografía regional

El trabajo estudia los procesos de toma de conciencia que tuvieron lugar en la provincia de Mendoza a principios de los años '70. Momento en que distintas fracciones de la clase obrera construyeron alternativas políticas que buscaban la superación del sistema social vigente, nos abocamos a conocer los alineamientos político-sociales que asumieron los trabajadores alejados de los grandes centros industriales. Analizamos también el desarrollo de los conflictos intragremiales, los que en gran medida dejan entrever procesos de construcción de autonomía. Optamos por abordar el estudio de los conflictos obreros a nivel provincial a través de una medición cuantitativa de sus luchas, metodología que entendemos nos permite objetivar los procesos de lucha de clases en que se encontraba el conjunto de la sociedad argentina. En esta línea, el Mendozazo [abril de 1972] aparece como un hito central a dilucidar, entendiéndolo como un salto en cantidad y en calidad respecto de los procesos de toma de conciencia. Éste expresa un proceso de ruptura, que en su búsqueda por lograr ya sea la democratización o la superación de la forma en que se encuentra organizada la sociedad, entronca con las luchas nacionales del período. Nos interrogamos acerca su génesis y desarrollo, y por los cambios ocurridos en las formas de organización y de lucha de los trabajadores a nivel provincial como producto de este hecho social de masas. Para ello elaboramos un mapa de los conflictos obreros entre los años 1969 y 1974, que nos permite registrar la intensidad de los conflictos, el lugar de su ocurrencia, los sectores más movilizados y los objetivos de su acción. Asimismo, da cuenta de la dinámica de la conflictividad de carácter inter e intragremial, política y teórica; disputas que no estuvieron escindidas del posicionamiento que las distintas fracciones obreras asumieron respecto de las fuerzas sociales que por entonces disputaban el poder en la Argentina. Estos datos cuanti-cualitativos son luego puestos en diálogo con un estudio en profundidad, que analiza la experiencia del SOEP, sindicato de obreros y empleados públicos surgido al calor del Mendozazo. El mismo nos sirve para pensar cómo el proceso de avance de las fracciones más retardatarias de la sociedad logró cooptar a ciertos sectores que habían iniciado un proceso de autonomía e indisciplinamiento social; puesto que tanto de los resultados que arroja el mapeo como del proceso que muestra el estudio de caso seleccionado, se desprende que al menos hasta el momento que comprende este trabajo, el disciplinamiento gremial no fue un proceso que necesitó de grandes niveles de violencia material, sino que expresa un momento de construcción de hegemonía por parte de los sectores del denominado sindicalismo ortodoxo

Participación electoral de los argentinos residentes en el exterior

Históricamente la Argentina ha sido caracterizada como un país de recepción de migrantes de todo el mundo. No obstante, en las últimas décadas, los cambios políticos y económicos en el interior del país y las facilidades para la movilidad internacional, han hecho de la emigración una alternativa cierta en búsqueda del mejoramiento de las condiciones de vida y desarrollo profesional para la población argentina. En dicho marco, el presente trabajo aborda la problemática de la ciudadanía transnacional, centrándose en la participación electoral de los argentinos residiendo en el exterior y prestando especial atención a los factores que la dificultan. Los principales ejes de análisis son: a- el estudio de los datos cuantitativos referidos a la participación electoral, b- el posicionamiento de las instituciones del Estado encargadas de ejecutar el voto en el exterior y la clase política, respecto al tema y c- el papel desempeñado por las asociaciones de argentinos residentes en el exterior

Cobertura y solapamiento de Web of Science y Scopus en el análisis de la actividad científica española en psicología

Este estudio tiene como primer objetivo conocer el volumen y evolución de la producción científica española en psicología a partir de las bases de datos del Web of Science (Thomson Reuters) y Scopus (Elsevier), durante el periodo 2000-2009. A partir de allí, se propone determinar cuáles son las revistas científicas más utilizadas por los psicólogos españoles para difundir sus trabajos a nivel internacional y comparar la cobertura y solapamiento de revistas y documentos que presentan ambas bases de datos. Se ofrecen datos cuantitativos, se estudia la posible correlación entre las dos bases de datos y se analiza el solapamiento de documentos y de revistas, el modelo de crecimiento que presentan y la dispersión de los trabajos, entre otros. Los resultados muestran que ambos sistemas de información son complementarios pero no excluyentes, así como la relevancia e importancia de las revistas españolas de psicología en la difusión de la investigación de esta disciplina en el contexto internacional de la ciencia

¿Cómo analizar los fenómenos de contacto lingüístico? : Una propuesta para ver el árbol sin perder de vista el bosque

Este artículo tiene por objetivo principal contribuir a la discusión acerca de la necesidad de construir un marco teórico apropiado para el análisis de las situaciones de contacto lingüístico. Proponemos abordar el problema desde la teoría general del lenguaje para lo cual presentamos herramientas metodológicas acordes con el enfoque teórico que sustenta nuestro trabajo. Desde una concepción no apriorística del estudio del lenguaje, intentamos mostrar la importancia de los análisis basados en el uso real de las lenguas. Esta concepción metodológica del análisis lingüístico otorga un lugar central al estudio de la variación sintáctica, relevante para el conocimiento de los fenómenos de contacto de lenguas, de conformación de variedades y de cambio lingüístico. Por último, presentamos el aporte sustancial que reviste la validación cualitativa y cuantitativa de los datos desde un enfoque como el aquí planteado