Infants' Transitions out of a Fussing/Crying State Are Modifiable and Are Related to Weight Status

Currently, about 10% of infants have a weight for length greater than the 95th percentile for their age and sex, which puts them at risk for obesity as they grow. In a pilot obesity prevention study, primiparous mothers and their newborn infants were randomly assigned to a control group or a Soothe/Sleep intervention. Previously, it has been demonstrated that this intervention contributed to lower weight‐for‐length percentiles at 1 year; the aim of the present study was to examine infant behavior diary data collected during the intervention. Markov modeling was used to characterize infants' patterns of behavioral transitions at ages 3 and 16 weeks. Results showed that heavier mothers were more likely to follow their infants' fussing/crying episodes with a feeding. The intervention increased infants' likelihood of transitioning from a fussing/crying state to an awake/calm state. A shorter latency to feed in response to fussing/crying was associated with a higher subsequent weight status. This study provides preliminary evidence that infants' transitions out of fussing/crying are characterized by inter‐individual differences, are modifiable, and are linked to weight outcomes, suggesting that they may be promising targets for early behavioral obesity interventions, and highlighting the methodology used in this study as an appropriate and innovative tool to assess the impact of such interventions.     

Happiness and Job Satisfaction in a Casino-Dominated Economy

Proposals for casinos usually focus on numbers of jobs without considering their quality. We surveyed 1,506 Macau residents, modelling happiness and job satisfaction. Being employed is shown to be important for ‘happiness’. But job attributes also matter, confirming the work domain as influential on wellbeing. Casino employees report similar happiness as others. However, despite relatively high pay, they report low overall job satisfaction. The particular aspects of their jobs that they rated generally negatively tended to be those inherent in casino employment rather than easily modifiable by managerial action.     

The effect of the interview on the interviewee

This paper is concerned with the effects of participating in semistructured interviews on the interviewees. It is based on evidence supplied by young adult women who were interviewed a number of times and asked about their previous interviews. While most claimed to have little recall of these earlier events, they did remember them as interesting and/or enjoyable. This was because the interview focused on them with the guaranteed but detached interest of the interviewer. Informants' reflections on previous interviews showed that there was a range of impact on women's views from (a)recording information; (b)clarification of views; (c)review of position; and (d)discovery of something new. Beyond interviews interacting with the informant's views there is also evidence that some interviewees' actions outside the interview were influenced by their participation. The fact that interviews involve the interaction of participants is now recognized in a number of intellectual approaches but the variability of this has not been documented.     

The relationship between negative mood and sexuality in heterosexual college women and men

Negative mood states, such as depression and anxiety, are typically associated with decreased sexual interest and arousal. However, there is also some evidence that depressed or anxious mood may increase sexual interest or arousal in some individuals. In this study, 663 female college students (mean age = 18.9 years, SD = 1.21) answered questions regarding the effects of anxious and depressed mood on sexual interest and arousal and completed trait measures of sexual excitation and inhibition, anxiety, and depression. The majority of women reported decreased sexual interest and response when feeling depressed or anxious; a minority (about 10%) of women, however, reported increased sexual interest/response during anxious and depressed mood. This sample of women was compared to a sample of 399 college‐aged men. In general, men were more likely than women to report increased sexual interest during negative mood states. Of the variables explored, propensity for sexual excitation was the strongest predictor of the relationship between negative mood and sexuality in women. Individual differences in the effects of negative mood may prove relevant to our understanding of a variety of topics, including “risky” and “compulsive” sexual behavior and sexual dysfunction.     

Perceived Parental Sexual Conservatism,Religiosity, and Premarital Sexual Behavior

Abstract

The assumption that parental influence in the sexual socialization process is likely to affect premarital sexual behavior is challenged in this article. The hypothesis that individuals brought up in sexually conservative homes will have less premarital heterosexual involvement than those from liberal home environments is tested in a secondary analysis of cross-sectional survey interview data from a national probability sample of 1177 American college students. Correlational and contingency table analysis using indices to measure perceived Parental Sexual Conservatism and Premarital Socio-sexual Involvement suggests that parents may be less influential in the sexual socialization process than has been generally assumed. Previous findings demonstrating the relationship between religiosity and premarital sexual permissiveness are examined in light of the study's results.     

Off the Block but within the Neighbourhood: The Local Slave Trade in São Paulo

This article compares slave-trading networks in the 1860s and 1870s in Santos and Mogi das Cruzes, two largely dissimilar townships in the south-eastern province of São Paulo, Brazil. These local markets had different structural patterns, even though buyers in both places depended on personal connections to procure single or very small lots of slaves. Santos had a more defined network of slave traders, while buyers and sellers in Mogi das Cruzes relied more on family connections. These findings are linked with studies on the internal market in Brazil and other parts of the Americas to show that local slave trading was more important than has been assumed, yet requires greater study to understand fully.     

Editorial

This article describes the development of a new degree course (incorporating the DipSW) which has been designed to address the issue of 'relevance' in professional level education for the residential child care sector in Scotland. Funded by the Scottish Executive, a new body--the Scottish Institute for Residential Child Care--has been charged with devising and delivering a continuum of training, education and other resources to the sector in order to improve the quality of the residential experience of young people. One central element in this provision is the development of a BA/DipSW course that meets CCETSW requirements via a 'particular pathway' in residential child care. The article outlines some of the innovatory features of the course, the first of its kind in the UK, and identifies some of the perspectives that will inform the course curriculum. Brief comparisons are made with developments in the field of child and youth care elsewhere and attention is paid to issues around the provision of practice learning opportunities.     

Student Views on Good Practice in Social Work Education

This article focuses on the delivery of a social work degree programme in England, one of the constituent jurisdictions of the United Kingdom, and explores student perceptions of their learning experience and what constitutes effective teaching. The data are drawn from a larger research project which is ongoing and focuses upon the specific ways in which the BSc Hons Social Work degree at a university in the East Midlands prepares students to meet the demands of employers. Linked to the national evaluation of the new social work degree, social work academics at the university worked with final year social work degree students as co-researchers to evaluate student views on the quality of teaching practices across the teaching team.     

Inter-ideological mingling: White extremist ideology entering the mainstream on Twitter

ABSTRACT

This case study explores the convergence of white extremist political ideology with mainstream political ideology on the micro-blogging platform Twitter – a phenomenon termed “inter-ideological mingling”. Exploring the spread of white extremism in the digital environment can provide insight into the growth of hate groups in the physical environment. A sample of 4800 tweets was examined through hierarchical cluster analysis and textual analysis. Several pieces of evidence were found supporting inter-ideological mingling. Cluster analysis shows that extremist terms are not isolated from terms found in mainstream political discourse. Textual analysis of individual tweets provides evidence for five strategies of inter-ideological mingling: joining, blending, piggybacking, backstaging, and narrating.