Predicting, understanding and changing: three research paradigms regarding alcohol use among lesbians

The author presents a paradigmatic categorization and review of the literature that is available regarding lesbians and alcohol. She illuminates the characteristics, shortcomings, and strengths of Empirical Post Positivist, Interpretive, and Critical Social research paradigms. Results of the various studies are presented while research and funding directions are proposed.     

Weight-related issues and high-risk sexual behaviors among college students

Individuals with high body mass index (BMI), negative body image, and unhealthy weight control behaviors may be more likely to engage in high-risk sexual behaviors than others. Researchers have not fully investigated these relationships in a sample of college students. The authors collected data regarding several weight-related issues and high-risk sexual behaviors (response rate = 39%) from 1,168 college students. Over half reported at least 1 high-risk sexual behavior. After the authors controlled for several demographic characteristics, they found that higher BMIs were associated with increased odds of having a casual sexual partner (odds ratio [OR] = 2.70) and being intoxicated at last intercourse (OR = 2.25). Among women, unhealthy weight control behaviors were associated with having a casual partner (OR = 2.12), using no or unreliable contraception (OR = 1.98), and being intoxicated at last intercourse (OR = 2.31). Weight-related issues were not associated with sexual behaviors among college men. The authors describe their findings within two health behavior frameworks, and they discuss implications for research and health education.     

The association of campus resources for gay,lesbian, and bisexual students with college students' condom use

The author and colleagues examined campus resources for gay, lesbian, and bisexual (GLB) students at 119 US colleges to determine how the presence of such resources affected sexually active students' condom use. A random sample of unmarried, sexually active college students surveyed in 1999 completed questionnaires. Condom use was compared across schools with different levels of GLB resources. Condom use rates, analyzed by sex and sex-partner groups, ranged from 32% to 52%. With additional college variables controlled for, GLB resources were positively associated with the proportion of sexually active students who used condoms (p < .001). This association existed primarily for students with only opposite-sex partners. The author's findings suggest that campus resources for GLB students may be associated with college students' condom use.     

A culturally responsive practice model for urban Indian child welfare services

This article describes collaboration among a university, a state child welfare agency, and a Native American community organization to develop a culturally driven practice model for urban, Native American child welfare. The approach includes a strategy to build resources to serve Native American clients, a training program for child welfare and court personnel using a culturally responsive curriculum, and an advocacy program that monitors for Indian Child Welfare Act compliance and provides assistance to child welfare workers and the court. The discussion identifies challenges and opportunities in addressing the needs of urban Native American communities. The article concludes with principles for culturally responsive practice for urban Native American child welfare practice.     

Transracial adoption: families identify issues and needed support services

The gap between the number of children of color in care and the recruitment of minority foster and adoptive homes has triggered growing support for transracial adoption, culminating in the Multi-Ethnic Placement Act (MEPA) and the Interethnic Adoption Provisions (IEP) legislation. Although MEPA and IEP focus on eliminating barriers to transracial placements, they do not address support for families that choose to adopt transracially. A lack of professional literature exists in this area. This study explores a number of trans-racial placements and adoptions, with the goal of identifying, from the perspective of the families interviewed, potential services that would enhance such placements and adoptions.     

Ubiquitin,proteasomes, and the aging brain

Ubiquitinated proteinaceous inclusions are the hallmark of many neurodegenerative diseases. Inefficient proteolysis might lead to the accumulation and ultimate deposition of potentially toxic entities as inclusions within neurons or glial cells. This hypothesis is supported by genetic evidence both from patient populations and from engineered mutations in genes that encode ubiquitin/proteasome components in mice. The appearance of similar inclusions in the brains of elderly individuals of normal and subclinical conditions begs the question of whether there is a general age-related decline in the ability of the ubiquitin/proteasome pathway (UPP) to recognize and eliminate abnormal proteins, and whether such a decline would be reflected by changes in the abundance or activity of some or all components of the UPP. Here we describe alterations in the aging mammalian brain that correlate with a decline in the function of the UPP and review the evidence for age-related changes in specific UPP components. These alterations are discussed within the context of prevalent theories of aging.     

The importance of family functioning to prevention of placement: A study of family preservation services

Family preservation services have been found effective in preventing the placement of children outside their homes. Most studies of family preservation services focus on the successful prevention of placement of children in out-of-home care, and relatively few studies have examined how such services affect family functioning. Recent research has begun to examine the relationship between family functioning and prevention of placement. This research has demonstrated improved family functioning for those families who received family preservation services.A version of this paper was first presented at the Sixth National Doctoral Dissertation Symposium, 1993, Ohio State University.     

Modelling spatio-temporal air pollution data from a mobile monitoring station

ABSTRACT

Environmental data is typically indexed in space and time. This work deals with modelling spatio-temporal air quality data, when multiple measurements are available for each space-time point. Typically this situation arises when different measurements referring to several response variables are observed in each space-time point, for example, different pollutants or size resolved data on particular matter. Nonetheless, such a kind of data also arises when using a mobile monitoring station moving along a path for a certain period of time. In this case, each spatio-temporal point has a number of measurements referring to the response variable observed several times over different locations in a close neighbourhood of the space-time point. We deal with this type of data within a hierarchical Bayesian framework, in which observed measurements are modelled in the first stage of the hierarchy, while the unobserved spatio-temporal process is considered in the following stages. The final model is very flexible and includes autoregressive terms in time, different structures for the variance-covariance matrix of the errors, and can manage covariates available at different space-time resolutions. This approach is motivated by the availability of data on urban pollution dynamics: fast measures of gases and size resolved particulate matter have been collected using an Optical Particle Counter located on a cabin of a public conveyance that moves on a monorail on a line transect of a town. Urban microclimate information is also available and included in the model. Simulation studies are conducted to evaluate the performance of the proposed model over existing alternatives that do not model data over the first stage of the hierarchy.