Effectiveness of a modified mother–infant transaction program on outcomes for preterm infants from 3 to 24 months of age

Mothers of hospitalised preterm infants were randomised into an intervention or control condition. Intervention mothers received a modified Mother–Infant Transaction Program over seven sessions prior to infant discharge and two sessions over the next 3 months. Infant temperament, mother–infant interaction and parenting stress were assessed at 3 and 6 months and infant development was measured by parental report at 24 months. Intervention compared with control dyads showed enhanced mother–infant interactions, infants were temperamentally more “approaching” and “easier”, had fewer regulatory problems (colic, sleep, excessive crying), and had more developed communication skills, while mothers were less stressed by their infant at 3 months. These early gains in the development of preterm infants and in the relationship with and adjustment of their mothers, may explain the process by which intervention infants in the original study showed increasing cognitive advantages to 9 years of age [Rauh, V. A., Nurcombe, B., Achenbach, T., & Howell, C. (1990). The mother–infant transaction program. Clinical Perinatology, 17, 31–45].

Assessing the intake of obesity-related foods and beverages in young children: comparison of a simple population survey with 24 hr-recall

Background: With an increasing focus on obesity prevention there is a need for simple, valid tools to assess dietary indicators that may be the targets of  intervention programs. The objective of this study was to determine the relative  validity of previous day dietary intake using a newly developed parent-proxy  questionnaire (EPAQ) for two to five year old children.

Methods: A convenience sample of participants (n = 90) recruited through preschools and the community in Geelong, Australia provided dietary data for their child via EPAQ and interviewer administered 24-hour dietary recall (24 hr-recall). Comparison of mean food and beverage group servings between the  EPAQ and 24 hr-recall was conducted and Spearman rank correlations were computed to examine the association between the two methods.

Results: Mean servings of food/beverage groups were comparable between methods for all groups except water, and significant correlations were found between the servings of food and beverages using the EPAQ and 24-hr recall methods (ranging from 0.57 to 0.88).

Conclusion: The EPAQ is a simple and useful population-level tool for  estimating the intake of obesity-related foods and beverages in children aged two to five years. When compared with 24-hour recall data, the EPAQ produced an acceptable level of relative validity and this short survey has application for population monitoring and the evaluation of population-based obesity prevention interventions for young children.

The perennial problem of police gratuities : public concerns, political optics, and an accountability ethos

Despite the perennial nature of the problem of gratuities in considerations of police ethics, many prior analyses of this issue have rested on anecdotal, piecemeal or hypothetical considerations.. This paper draws on a unique sample of actual complaint cases involving gratuities, providing evidence of a range of public concerns about the problem. Gratuities are analysed and contextualised by reference to the concept of conflict of interest, which draws attention to the potential for the performance of public duty to be tainted in fact or appearance. In either case, public trust in the integrity of the police is damaged, giving rise to "political optics" as a key problem with gratuities.  The paper argues that an accountability ethos must be developed to promote active responsibility and a preparedness to prioritise the public interest in policing.

The place: Jan 24 - Feb 13 2011

A review of John Forrest's 2011 exhibition The place.