Bonding in neonatal intensive care units: Experiences of extremely preterm infants’ mothers

Background

The birth of an extremely preterm infant can disrupt normal mother–infant physical contact and the care provided by the mother. This situation has an impact on the process of bonding between the mother and the child.

The impact of delayed maternity on foetal growth in Spain: An assessment by population attributable fraction

Background

Delayed childbearing is considered a risk factor for maternal–foetal health. As in other higher-income countries, in Spain age at maternity has steadily increased during the last two decades.

Study about upper limb on highly repetitive work in maquila operations

Industrial work is a very active sector in the economy of countries; an important part of people's work is done using the upper extremities. The purpose of this project is to characterize the effect of upper extremity work, analyze its relationship with the hand strength and the presence of fatigue and develop a model with the ability to estimate recovery times for the shoulder using variables different from the biomechanical variables.     

Accessibility of sports facilities for persons with reduced mobility and assessment of their motivation for practice

This study aims to create awareness, both within the scientific community and among providers of sports facilities, for individuals with impaired or reduced mobility, promoting the development of technical solutions that allow greater autonomy and social integration of people with disabilities. The purpose of this work is, on the one hand, to evaluate the accessibility of sports facilities for people with reduced mobility and, on the other hand, to investigate why this user group has such low rates of participation in sporting activities. Firstly, using the Portuguese norms and legislation transcribed from European Community directives, a check list was created comprising all the items that sports facilities should abide by in order to provide accessibility and safety to people with reduced mobility. Another questionnaire was designed aimed at this user group, with questions pertaining to their desire and ability to use sports facilities. This questionnaire was distributed in Portugal, in the greater metropolitan area of Porto, to users of Rehabilitation Centres and Physiotherapy Clinics. The results obtained from the check-list showed the compliances and non-compliances of the respective sports facilities, proving that many barriers preventing the participation of people with reduced mobility still exist. Twenty-four people with permanent impairment of the lower extremities (paraplegia) answered the questionnaire pertaining to the desire and ability to perform physical activity. Two individuals (8%) had sporting activities available to them in their area of residence and only five (21%) performed any physical activity. The main reason given for not taking part in any activity was the lack of adapted sports facilities. All the participants felt that taking part in sports is beneficial. The benefits stated were: general well-being and development of the psychomotor component (e.g. coordination, balance, body posture), of physical condition (e.g. strength, resistance, flexibility) and social integration and quality of life. Besides wellbeing, they also mentioned social interaction, a way of occupying their time and an escape from the routine as the main motives for which they would like to take up physical exercise.     

Influence of musical genres with Andean contents on the components of Peruvian national identity / Influencia de géneros musicales con contenidos andinos en los componentes de la identidad nacional peruana

The purpose of this study is to analyse the influence of different musical genres with Andean influences (Huayno, Chicha and Rock/Fusion) on the components of Peruvian national identity. To this end, we enlisted the participation of 92 upper-middle-class people (M = 19.91, SD = 1.95). The participants were randomly assigned each music genre in three experimental groups: Huayno (n = 30), Chicha (n = 31) and Rock/Fusion (n = 31). The results show that Rock/Fusion is the most highly rated musical genre with the most positive influence on some stereotypical components of national identity, attitude towards music and positive emotions. In contrast, the more ‘Andeanized’ genres, especially Chicha music, are perceived more negatively and have fewer positive effects on the stereotypical components of national identity, attitude towards music and positive emotions. The discussion suggests that the influence of the musical expressions evaluated depends on the ascribed status of the social group where these expressions were originally conceived and are currently consumed.     

Factors Influencing Voluntary Disclosure in the Annual Reports of Portuguese Foundations

The aim of this paper is to examine the influence of Portuguese Foundation’s characteristics on their annual report disclosure practices. Data were collected from 142 Foundations in Portugal, which represents 50.9% of the Portuguese foundational sector. Supported by a Structural Equation Model (SEM), this study evaluates cause–effect relationship between Voluntary Disclosure, Board Structure, Organizations’ Characteristics and the existence of Auditing. Findings reveal that Organizations’ Characteristics influence the forms of Auditing, and on its turn, Auditing has a positive indirect impact on Voluntary Disclosure. Contrary to expectations, Board Structure does not affect Voluntary Disclosure. This paper fills a void in the literature by examining the impact of Foundations’ characteristics on their voluntary disclosure of financial and non-financial information.     

Consistent Estimation of Models Defined by Conditional Moment Restrictions

In econometrics, models stated as conditional moment restrictions are typically estimated by means of the generalized method of moments (GMM). The GMM estimation procedure can render inconsistent estimates since the number of arbitrarily chosen instruments is finite. In fact, consistency of the GMM estimators relies on additional assumptions that imply unclear restrictions on the data generating process. This article introduces a new, simple and consistent estimation procedure for these models that is directly based on the definition of the conditional moments. The main feature of our procedure is its simplicity, since its implementation does not require the selection of any user‐chosen number, and statistical inference is straightforward since the proposed estimator is asymptotically normal. In addition, we suggest an asymptotically efficient estimator constructed by carrying out one Newton–Raphson step in the direction of the efficient GMM estimator.     

Robbery victimization of Mexican migrants while crossing the border

We analyse the factors associated with Mexican migrants being victims of robbery or assault while crossing the US–Mexico border, based on an analytical model of the victimization of migration in transit. Drawing on Emif Norte survey, we analyse the prevalence of victimization of robbery or assault to migrants according to migrant's sociodemographic characteristics as well as the journey characteristics, and we use a logistic regression model to assess the way in which such characteristics are associated with being victim of that crime. Findings suggest that migrants who crossed through Tamaulipas and those who hired coyotes in transit or at the border have higher odds of being robbed or assaulted, in contrast, the individual sociodemographic characteristics and crossing with family/friends are not associated with being robbed or assaulted.     

The role of student–teacher relationships in the association between negative parenting practices and emotion dynamics – Combining longitudinal and ecological momentary assessment data

Emotion dysregulation is increasingly implicated as a transdiagnostic risk factor in the etiology of mental health problems. This project aimed to explore the links between emotion regulation, negative parenting and student–teacher relationships using longitudinal and ecologically valid data. A sample of n = 209 young people enrolled in the ‘Decades-to-Minutes’ (D2M) study, based in Zurich, Switzerland, provided data from the ages of 7–20 via parent- and self-report questionnaires and ecological momentary assessment. Data were analyzed using Dynamic Structural Equation Modeling (DSEM). Worse student–teacher relationships predicted increased negative affectivity and emotional lability. Negative parenting practices predicted emotional lability only via their impact on student–teacher relationships. The findings point to worse student–teacher relationships as risk factors in the socioemotional development of children and young people.     

The politics of safety net reform in Southern Europe during the Great Recession: Introduction to the regional issue

Southern European welfare states have developed relatively solid social insurance income maintenance programs, but have lacked effective means-tested benefit systems to address poverty and protect outsiders. Spain and Portugal are usually considered the two first countries to depart from the traditional path with the creation of minimum income schemes between 1988 and 1995. In the Spanish case, minimum income programs were established at the regional level and are very heterogeneous despite their institutional stability. The limited extent of these programs in most Spanish regions must be put in the context of national means-tested income support schemes in the fields of pensions and unemployment. The introduction of these programs in the 1980s was also a significant path departure. The combination of these programs has offered some income support to low income groups left unprotected by traditional insurance benefits, although in a patchy and limited way, especially as regards the working-age population. The social effects of the Great Recession, especially in terms of long-term unemployment, evictions and impoverishment, have reopened the debate on how to combat monetary poverty, which has been on the general election agenda since 2014–2015. Most regions have reformed their programs in different directions since 2008, under the contradictory pressures of growing demand and financial constraints. Such debate, however, has not been able yet to set a clear basis for a new development of anti-poverty income support policy.