Contact between birth parents and children in kinship care in a sample from Spain

Within the context of kinship care, the main objectives of this work are to study the characteristics of contact between foster children and their birth parents, and their relationship with key variables of fostering, the children and their kinship caregivers. The sample included 189 children from Spain and their kinship families. A semi‐structured placement interview and two scales relating to the child–caregiver relationship and child's psychological adjustment were used with the kinship families. The results revealed a significant percentage of foster children who had no family contact. Various visit types, frequencies and durations were described. Kinship care with contact, compared with placements without contact, was frequently characterized by the absence of professional supervision, and an affectionate child–caregiver relationship; moreover, children with contact were perceived to have fewer serious behaviour and socio‐emotional problems and a greater probability of family reunification. The regression analysis showed that the main predictors for how caregivers assessed contact were the children's emotional reaction during visits and the quality of the relationship between the kinship families and the birth parents. These results suggest the need for further research about contact, which will certainly have a major impact on professional intervention with these families.     

Psychosocial Well-Being of Young People Who Participated in a Support Group Following the Loss of a Parent to Cancer

Despite the evidence of unmet support needs among young people who have lost a parent to cancer, only a few support group initiatives have been reported. This observational prospective study explored the psychosocial well-being of young people who participated in support groups at a Swedish specialist palliative care setting. On three occasions, 29 participants, aged 16–28 years, answered questionnaires covering characteristics of the participants, circumstances of the losses, psychosocial well-being of the young people, and their own assessment of the support groups. The support groups attracted mostly young women who were often unprepared for the loss. The living arrangements differed between younger and older participants; however, the loss-related variables did not differ. Significant positive changes were found regarding a sense of meaning in their future life and life satisfaction. The helpfulness of the group was assessed as high/very high and the group brought a valuable fellowship with others in a similar situation. Universality and beneficial interactions were reported and strengthened psychosocial well-being developed over time. This change, according to the young people themselves, may be attributed to the group support. The findings are useful for planning interventions to support young people in bereavement in order to enhance their psychosocial well-being.     

Promoting healthy transition to college through mindfulness training with first-year college students: Pilot randomized controlled trial

Objective: Given the importance of developmental transitions on young adults' lives and the high rates of mental health issues among U.S. college students, first-year college students can be particularly vulnerable to stress and adversity. This pilot study evaluated the effectiveness and feasibility of mindfulness training aiming to promote first-year college students' health and wellbeing. Participants: 109 freshmen were recruited from residential halls (50% Caucasian, 66% female). Data collection was completed in November 2014. Methods: A randomized control trial was conducted utilizing the Learning to BREATHE (L2B) program, a universal mindfulness program adapted to match the developmental tasks of college transition. Results: Participation in the pilot intervention was associated with significant increase in students' life satisfaction, and significant decrease in depression and anxiety. Marginally significant decrease was found for sleep issues and alcohol consequences. Conclusions: Mindfulness-based programs may be an effective strategy to enhance a healthy transition into college.     

Efficiency Analysis of the European Food Banks: Some Managerial Results

Hundreds of thousands of people in Europe are daily receiving food, thanks to local food banks, run basically by volunteers who collect donations and distribute them to organizations. In this paper, data from a sample of food banks working in 13 European countries are analysed using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), trying to learn about their profiles and find some clues about the efficiency of their operations, comparing them according to variables such as the number of volunteers and permanent staff, the tonnage of food delivered and the number of people served. Significant inefficiencies were found in the sector as a result of high performance of some food banks, thus setting a high level standard of operational efficiency. Some additional results regarding food bank sizes and performance are presented.     

Individual Pension Plans in Spain: How Expected Change in Future Income and Liquidity Constraints Shape the Behavior of Households

Understanding the motives that underlie Spaniards’ retirement saving decisions is important because many, if not most, future retirees will need to rely on personal savings to maintain a decent standard of living. The governor of the Bank of Spain has stated recently that the current public pension system will not guarantee an adequate pension to the citizens, advising to save now for retirement. In this debate on public pensions, and the complementary role that private pensions might play in Spain, this article has shed light on the decision of Spanish households to engage in individual pension plans and it has identified which factors determine the total amount saved in such retirement plans. Using micro data from the Bank of Spain (Survey of Household Finances 2011), the analysis has revealed that the expectations of lower future income, along with preferences for the financial risk and education, exert an important influence on the likelihood of enrolling in a private pension plan. University education minimizes the myopic behavior of households in the sense of making them more forward-looking and cautious in the face of their future well-being. Additionally using Heckman’s methodology to correct for the problem of selection bias, our results have revealed that liquidity constraints affect negatively the total amount of money saved for retirement.     

Plant-mycorrhizal fungi associations along an urbanization gradient: implications for tree seedling survival

Mycorrhizal fungi symbioses can be critical determining if established seedlings survive or not. Currently, in remnant forests, plants and their fungal symbionts are exposed to varied anthropomorphic effects related to urbanization, however, little is known about their impact on this association. We investigated the relationship between mycorrhizal fungi and tree seedling survival along an urbanization gradient. We planted three species of temperate tree seedlings (Acer rubrum, Carya ovata, and Quercus rubra) in three landscapes: urban, suburban, and rural. We measured the percent of root length colonized by mycorrhizal fungi and monitored survival during their first growing season. We analyzed mycorrhizal colonization as a function of landscape type (urban-rural) and additional variables known to contribute to mycorrhizal colonization (phosphorus, nitrogen, initial plant height). We then analyzed seedling survival as a function of the degree of mycorrhizal fungi colonization associated with the landscape gradient and of additional environmental factors (light and soil moisture). Within a species we found no changes in the levels of mycorrhizal fungi colonization across the urbanization gradient. Each species, however, had markedly different levels of colonization. Survival of A. rubrum was independent of mycorrhizal colonization, while C. ovata and Q. rubra had a significant positive response to increased mycorrhizal fungi. These findings highlight the resilience of mycorrhizal communities across the rural-urban gradient typical of this region, but they also underscore the potential sensitivity of some tree species to lower levels of mycorrhizal fungi colonization.     

Floristic composition and richness of urban domestic gardens in three urban socioeconomic stratifications in the city Heredia,Costa Rica

The urban domestic gardens that are part of urban green areas have become a very important element due to their ecosystematic benefits and the poor information about them. Information regarding the floristic richness of three socioeconomic stratifications from the city of Heredia, Costa Rica is presented in this study. Research was conducted from October 2011 to May 2012. Information was collected using a semi-structured questionnaire, which was provided to 61 garden owners, including the owner’s personal data, time living in the dwelling, area of the property and the garden, variation of its size in time and the garden’s location on the property. In addition, a floristic inventory was conducted in each garden as well as a taxonomic identification of all plants. Vegetative forms and substrates were also noted. Characteristics of the gardens and their owners were then analyzed to determine the relationship of species richness between the three sites studied. The number of plant species recorded was 618, corresponding to 102 families (19 % exotic). Regarding geographical origin, 64, 4 % were exotic, 35,6 % native. Orchidaceae (93 spp.) and Araceae (39 spp.) were the most dominant families. The variables of garden area and location and owner's age determined the garden’s floristic richness. In addition, the garden’s area and vegetative forms varied among the sites studied probably due to socioeconomic differences among them. Diversity of pioneer plants increased with the garden’s area. In sum, this research provides important floristic information of domestic gardens, since, being private property, data about them is scarce and municipal management guidelines are nonexistent.     

Roma and the politics of double discourse in contemporary Europe

ABSTRACT

The article analyses the politics of ‘double discourse’ in relation to Roma that has evolved in contemporary neoliberal Europe. On the one hand, the double discourse promotes the integration, rights and equal opportunities of Roma, on the other, it denies recognition of, and ways to address, enduring structural violence and rising social insecurity. The article argues that the politics of ‘double discourse’, as a neoliberal approach towards Roma, is structured by two contradictory discourses that speak to different audiences, using duplicitous approaches to create anti-Roma consensus and maintain the critical difference and subordinated position of the racialised Romani populations in Europe. By studying the representation of Roma in the cases of so-called 'child theft' in Greece and Ireland, and in the recent ‘refugee crisis’, the paper identifies and discusses three dimensions of contemporary neoliberal double discourse: racialised de-Europeanisation, neoliberal undeservingness and (dis)articulation of citizenship.     

Urban habitats can affect body size and body condition but not immune response in amphibians

Does urbanization affect key life-history traits in native organisms? Some studies show that urban areas reduce diversity in certain taxa, but there is little insight into how these environments affect physiological and ecological traits. Urban areas have distinct physical structure and ecological processes compared to original habitats. The environmental changes associated with urban areas can influence the costs and benefits of different traits and behaviors of local organisms. Some of these effects have been explored in groups such as birds, but we might expect stronger effects in animals with reduced mobility, such as amphibians. Importantly, the effects of urban habitats on amphibians have not been explored, in spite that these are the most threatened vertebrate group in the world. Here, we compared three main traits related to the fitness of amphibians in urban and natural habitats: body size, body condition and immune response. To test the generality of our results, we assessed adult males of four amphibian species. We found that the body size was larger in urban environment populations in three of four studied species, while the body condition was better in the urban populations of two aquatic newt species. Finally, we found no effect of urbanization on the immune response of individuals of any species. In conclusion, we show that different species of amphibians may be affected differently by anthropogenic habitat alteration depending on their specific ecology.     

Cosmopolitan stance negotiation in multicultural academic settings

Our analysis of an informal event involving Chinese and Spanish students and lecturers displays the cumulative nature of stance negotiation in multicultural settings. It also highlights the role of sociocultural and ideological elements in stancetaking, not only in relation to the positions adopted by the participants, but also in the successive redefinition and reframing of the stance objects. Sociocultural and ideological elements are also crucial for the collective construction of intersubjectivities, particularly among mobile citizens. The way in which our international students managed to overcome misalignments, the values and ideologies evoked within the interaction, reveal nuances of cosmopolitanism that point to a globalization of tastes triggered by multiculturalism and the worldwide expansion of capitalism. Sharing a cosmopolitan orientation, however, did not prevent ideological contradictions among the participants. An analysis of how these were voiced and negotiated allows grasping the remarkably wide spectrum of cosmopolitanism(s) today.