The ‘First Three Years’ Movement and the Infant Brain: A Review of Critiques

This article reviews a particular aspect of the critique of the increasing focus on the brain and neuroscience; what has been termed by some, ‘neuromania’. It engages with the growing literature produced in response to the ‘first three years’ movement: an alliance of child welfare advocates and politicians that draws on the authority of neuroscience to argue that social problems such as inequality, poverty, educational underachievement, violence and mental illness are best addressed through ‘early intervention’ programmes to protect or enhance emotional and cognitive aspects of children's brain development. The movement began in the United States in the early 1990s and has become increasingly vocal and influential since then, achieving international legitimacy in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, the UK and elsewhere. The movement, and the brain‐based culture of expert‐led parent training that has grown with it, has been criticised for claiming scientific authority whilst taking a cavalier approach to scientific method and evidence; for being overly deterministic about the early years of life; for focusing attention on individual parental failings rather than societal or structural problems, for adding to the expanding anxieties of parents and strengthening the intensification of parenting and, ultimately, for redefining the parent–child relationship in biologised, instrumental and dehumanised terms.     

A systematic review of the relationship between urban agriculture and biodiversity

Urban agriculture is a unique form of agriculture that can provide fresh, local produce for urban residents, and may benefit biodiversity by decreasing the need to expand agriculture into natural areas as well as enhancing biodiversity in urban areas. However, although urban agriculture is also often cited as promoting biodiversity in urban areas, the extent of empirical evidence for such claims has not been studied. Here we systematically review the relationship between urban agriculture and biodiversity in the scientific literature. We strictly define urban agriculture as areas in cities that grow produce specifically for human consumption. We examined 148 papers from 2000 to 2017, of which only 24 studies fit our definition of urban agriculture, and of those, only 18 both involved urban agriculture and measured biodiversity. Of the studies that did measure biodiversity, some showed increases in diversity compared to urban vacant lots, but other showed no difference. Moreover, these studies were mostly focused on plants and invertebrates and were conducted almost exclusively in North America. In order to use the generalization that urban agriculture will have a positive influence on urban biodiversity, more studies will need to be conducted across a wider geographic range worldwide (particularly in developing countries in the tropics) and on a greater diversity of species and taxa (e.g., herpetiles, birds and small mammals). Such studies will likely increase in conservation importance as urban expansion and agricultural demands increase globally.     

Teil-autonome Arbeitsteams oder tayloristische Produktionslinie? Welche Erkenntnisgewinne bieten simulationsbasierte Work Design Trainings

Digitalisation, flexible job markets, new technologies and innovative forms of collaboration constitute increasing challenges for employers and the design of modern work. But how can we deal with these challenges and what do we know about the effect of good versus bad work design? Based on the job demands-resources model (JRM), we present a simulation-based training during which participants experience the effects of different work characteristics. We focus on the moderating effects of job control and job demands: The JRM assumes that job demands and job control interactively affect employee exhaustion and work engagement: Jobs with high control can buffer the strain-enhancing effect of job demands (buffer hypothesis) and increase work engagement (active learning hypothesis). We test these hypotheses in a workplace simulation during which participants have to produce ice-cream. Our results support the buffer hypothesis but not the active learning hypothesis. We discuss the added value of work design simulations for organisations, practitioners, and HR professionals.     

The continued lived experience of the unexpected death of a child

The purpose of this qualitative study was to further examine the lived experiences of families that faced the sudden loss of a child. Six mothers that had previously participated approximately 9 years ago in the study entitled "The Lived Experience of the Unexpected Death of a Child" were interviewed. All of the mothers were Caucasian and had achieved a high school or greater level of education. Taped interviews and field notes were transcribed for data display. Together, two raters completed data reduction and coding for theme identification and categorization. Six themes were revealed that described helpful coping behaviors used by the mothers: positive beliefs, faith beliefs, everlasting love, pleasant remembrances, social engagement, and staying connected. Two themes, avoidance and rumination, described the behaviors that did not help the mothers cope with their loss. Finally, answers to the questions regarding acceptance and healing time were also revealed.     

Adolescents with learning disabilities who show sexually inappropriate or abusive behaviours: development of a research study

This paper sets out some key issues regarding sexual abuse perpetrated by adolescents with a learning disability. The limited evidence currently available is largely anecdotal or from small‐scale/case studies, but emphasizes that much behaviour of this kind never comes to the attention of either statutory social services or the criminal justice system. It is argued here that statutory services should be involved in such cases in order both to protect potential victims and to improve the ongoing life chances of alleged perpetrators. Speci?cally, it is posited that only by naming this problem can professionals hope to make effective interventions. The various organizational structures and systems adopted by four social services departments are outlined and their possible impacts on case outcomes are discussed. Little empirical research has so far been undertaken in this highly sensitive area, but an initiative from The Ann Craft Trust (formerly NAPSAC) aims to provide new evidence to help shape future best practice in this ?eld. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The experience of trauma recovery: a qualitative study of participants in the Women Recovering from Abuse Program (WRAP)

The efficacy of intensive group treatment programs for child maltreatment has been established. The aim of this qualitative study was to understand how women with a history of child maltreatment experienced the Women Recovering from Abuse Program (WRAP), an existing intensive group treatment program. Seven women were interviewed following their participation in WRAP. Three themes emerged: Breaking Trauma-Based Patterns, Doing Therapy, and The Healing Journey as a Continuous Process. These findings deepen our understanding about how participants view the recovery process. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.     

Navigating the Transition to Junior High School: The Influence of Pre-Transition Friendship and Self-System Characteristics

The present study examined the influence of pre‐transition friendship and self‐system characteristics on junior high school transition adjustment in a sample of 111 early adolescent girls and boys. Transition adjustment was defined in terms of youth's post‐transition friendship quality, emotional distress, and school adjustment. Pre‐transition friendship characteristics were directly linked with both post‐transition friendship quality and school adjustment, while youth's expected possible selves, a component of youth's self‐system, made additional unique contributions to the prediction of youth's emotional distress and school adjustment. Results suggest the importance of developmentally salient friendship and self‐system characteristics in contributing to individual variability in transition adaptation.