Who Reads Catholic Newspapers? Exploring Readership in a Changing Industry

Newspapers published by Roman Catholic dioceses represent a large and unexplored part of the religious publishing industry. This study attempts to shed light on the challenges these publications face by examining the readership of a diocesan newspaper in a large Catholic diocese in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Based on a comprehensive survey of 24,278 Roman Catholic households from 27 parishes throughout the diocese, this study finds a large gap in readership and engagement between older and younger readers, raising important strategic and pastoral questions for the newspaper in the years to come.     

The effect of 6 months training on leg power, balance, and functional mobility of independently living adults over 70 years old

Where strength training has been used in conjunction with functional-task training in older people, not only have there been improvements in leg strength but also improved function has been measured (e.g., Skelton & McLaughlin, 1996). Many studies use participants from care homes rather than community dwellers. We investigated changes in leg power, balance, and functional mobility in community-dwelling sedentary men and women over 70 years of age (n = 6 for training group [TR]; n = 10 for control group [CN]). Progressive training took place over 24 weeks using seated and nonseated exercise. For TR, leg power increased 40%, from 108 +/- 40 to 141 +/- 53 W (p < .01); dynamic balance increased 48%, from 22.3 +/- 7.9 to 33.1 +/- 6.1 cm (p < .01; functional reach); and functional mobility increased 12%, from 7.46 +/- 1.32 to 6.54 +/- 1.41 s (p < .05; timed walk). CN showed no significant change. In conclusion, a community-based exercise program led to large improvements in leg-extensor power, dynamic balance, and functional mobility.     

What Works in Strategic Partnerships for Children: a Research Review

Strategic partnerships have a key role to play in delivering the government's ‘Every Child Matters’ agenda. There is a developing body of research and other evidence and practice‐informed literature about what works in relation to partnership working. Drawing on a research review commissioned by Barnardos on strategic partnership working for children, this study summarises research findings from a number of sectors relating to the development, delivery and review of effective partnerships. Although there is widespread consensus within the research on the factors contributing to effective partnership processes, there is, currently, relatively little evidence that partnerships lead to positive outcomes for children and young people. © 2006 The Author(s). Journal compilation © National Children's Bureau.     

Incorporating sexual orientation into MFT training programs: infusion and inclusion

Many authors have questioned the preparedness of family therapists to deal with sexual minority clients. Even though the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE) has called for the integration of sexual orientation into the curriculum of marriage and family therapy training programs, the subject continues to be marginalized. The purpose of this article is to encourage trainers to examine their programs' curricula for evidence of heterosexist bias and introduce ways that they might integrate issues related to same-sex affectional and sexual orientations into their programs via the classroom and the clinic.     

Urban forest and environmental inequality in Campos dos Goytacazes,Rio de Janeiro,Brazil

Social and spatial inequality regarding environmental resources and services is one of most complex issues affecting contemporary urban life. The objective of this research is to study the spatial distribution of trees in public areas in Campos dos Goytacazes, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This research presents data gathered in ten neighborhoods in Campos. These neighborhoods were split into three distinct groups using wealth levels. Data obtained include the number of trees and private gardens and tree species diversity per neighborhood street. Our results demonstrate that the wealthier neighborhoods have both the highest tree biodiversity and number of trees. In contrast, the poorer neighborhoods present a low biodiversity level and fewer tree species. Our results also showed that age of the neighborhoods was not a factor in explaining the number of trees in public spaces. Socioeconomic and education levels of the population seem to play a more causal on tree quantity and species diversity. This inequality stresses a problem with environmental justice, a characteristic of Brazilian cities intrinsically connected to urban sustainability.     

Latino Sexual Styles: Developing a Nuanced Understanding of Risk

The commencement of bisexual behavior and the ontogenesis of a bisexual orientation was studied in order to aid in the better understanding of how sexual behavior patterns begin and change. The investigation was conducted through in‐depth interviews held in California, Oregon, and Washington with the first 50 female volunteers gathered from a variety of sources who met the study requirements. Those requirements were that each subject, at the time of her first sexual contact with another female, (a) was married; (b) was at least 30 years of age; (c) was engaged in swinging; (d) was enjoying sex with males; and (e) had no history, prior to age 30, of a sexual attraction to females. “Multi‐female” and “multi‐male” sexual activity are terms introduced to remove the ambiguity and mislabeling which results from defining sexual activity between all persons of the same sex as necessarily homosexual. Subjects typically revealed a high incidence of early and continuing autosexual and heterosexual activity and current high frequencies of sexual activity with each sex. Influences facilitating a typical subject's initial and subsequent sexual activity with females were found to be her husband, other swingers, and the general swinging environment—the husband's influence usually being of paramount importance. It was concluded that those influences, perhaps together with a predisposition toward gaining perceived fulfillment of felt needs through sexual activity, will result in some heterosexual females engaging in multi‐female sexual activity and eventually adopting a self‐identified bisexual orientation.     

Latino sexual styles: developing a nuanced understanding of risk

Theoreticians in adolescent sexuality have called for research that is contextual, health-focused, balanced between males and females, and from the perspective of adolescents, noting that scales developed by Buzwell and Rosenthal (1996) are promising. Cross-cultural validation of the measures in the United States. should include Latino adolescents, as they are the fastest-growing ethnic group. Contextual issues for this population include the roles of culture and the family, country of origin, and acculturation. The scales were tested with 155 Latino adolescents, Mexican-identified, and third generation plus. Scales indicated good reliability overall although several subscales were determined to best be combined as they created a single factor. Hierarchical agglomerative methods revealed a four-cluster solution with clusters conceptually mapping the original study. Clusters were significantly different on important sexual behaviors, such as virginity status, likelihood of engaging in safer sex, and number of sex partners.