Effects of a program of intervention on parental distress following infant death

A longitudinal study of 144 patents (65 fathers, 79 mothers) was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of a program of intervention in relieving the psychological distress of parents affected by infant death. Participants were assessed in terms of their psychiatric disturbance, depression, anxiety, physical symptoms, dyadic adjustment, and coping strategies. The experimental group (n = 84) was offered an intervention program comprising the use of specially designed resources and contact with a trained grief worker. A control group (n = 60) was given routine community care. Parental reactions were assessed at four to six weeks postloss (prior to the implementation of the intervention program), at six months postloss, and at 15 months postloss. A series of multivariate analyses of valiance revealed that the intervention was effective in reducing the distress of parents, particularly those assessed prior to the intervention as being at high-risk of developing mourning difficulties. Effects of the intervention were noted in terms of parents' overall psychiatric disturbance, marital quality, and paternal coping strategies.

Potential triggers for akinete differentiation in an Australian strain of the cyanobacterium Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii (AWT 205/1)

Understanding the triggers for some cyanobacteria of the Nostocales and Stigonematales orders to produce specialised reproductive cells termed akinetes, is very important to gain further insights into their ecology. By improving our understanding of their life cycle, appropriate management options may be devised to control the formation of these cells, and therefore the potential bloom inoculum which they are thought to provide, may be reduced. This study investigated the effect of chemical (phosphorus limitation), and environmental variables (temperature shock) on akinete differentiation in the freshwater cyanobacterium Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii (AWT 205/1). From the preliminary results, it is suggested that the availability of phosphorus and changes in temperature were a necessary requirement for the formation of akinetes in this particular strain of C. raciborskii. In the four phosphorus treatments investigated (0, 3, 38 and 75 mug l(-1) P), only the two higher treatments produced akinetes (approximately 220 ml(-1)). When the first akinetes were observed in the 38 and 75 mug l(-1) P treatments, filterable reactive phosphorus (FRP) concentrations in the medium were approximately 22 and 52 mug l(-1) P, respectively, indicating that there was no phosphorus limitation. In the temperature shock experiment, akinetes were observed in the 15 and 20degreesC treatments. However, akinetes were degraded (pale yellow colour, limited swelling and shrivelled edges) and in much lower concentrations, which was thought to be a result of the daily temperature shock. We suggest that the formation of akinetes in C. raciborskii (AWT 205/1) can be triggered by an initial temperature shock and that phosphorus is a necessary requirement to allow further growth and full development of akinetes.

In Australia are people born in other countries at higher risk of road trauma than locally born people?

This study examined whether people born in other countries had higher rates of death and hospitalization due to road crashes than people born in Australia. Data on deaths that occurred in the whole of Australia between 1994 and 1997 and hospitalizations that occurred in the state of New South Wales, Australia, between I July 1995 and 30 June 1997 due to road crashes were analyzed. The rates of death and hospitalization, adjusted for age and area of residence, were calculated using population data from the 1996 Australian census. The study categorized people born in other countries according to the language (English speaking, non-English speaking) and the road convention (left-hand side, right-hand side) of their country of birth. Australia has the left-hand side driving convention. The study found that drivers born in other countries had rates of death or hospitalization due to road trauma equal to or below those of Australian born drivers. In contrast, pedestrians born in other countries, especially older pedestrians had higher rates of death and hospitalization due to road crashes. Pedestrians aged 60 years or more born in non-English speaking countries where traffic travels on the right-hand side of the road had risks about twice those of Australian born pedestrians in the same age group. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Post-familial families and the domestic division of labour

This paper takes as its starting point recent claims by Beck-Gernsheim (2002) that we are living in an era of post-familial families. Beck-Gernsheim (2002) argues that our lives are no longer structured as they once were by tradition, class, religion and kin. Instead the family has become a transitional phase as individuals strive for fulfillment of personal goals and personal life projects. The demographic evidence to support these claims is clearly evident in relation to changing patterns of family formation and dissolution, as well as the movement of married women into paid employment. But what is less evident is a decline in traditional patterns of gender stratification within families. This paper uses recent national data from Australia to examine the relationship between post-familial status, as indicated by marital status and employment, and time spent on housework. The results show that gender is still a clear predictor of time spent on housework, but that within gender there is evidence that gender inequality may be declining in non-traditional households.