Urbanization decreases the extent and variety of leaf herbivory for native canopy tree species Quercus rubra,Quercus alba,and Acer saccharum

Urban Ecosystems - The extent to which urban trees can support associated biodiversity and provide ecosystem services depends on how urbanization affects the relationship between plants and the...     

Family policy and the under-3s: Money, services, and time in a policy package

The key components of social policy toward the elderly and disabled, and policies for families and their children, have featured what are by now widely employed income and service components. Now, as demographic and social change have motivated increasing numbers of countries to face the need for societal policies for children under the age of 3, exploration reveals the centrality of an additional policy dimension — time. A six-country study and earlier research targeted on this group finds that several major policy patterns are emerging, with individual country choices reflecting history, culture, religious traditions, political configurations, and resources. Referring to illustrative countries, the paper explicates these options: (a) supporting an at-home parent in "family work"; (b) backing a pattern of involvement of parents in both family and work; (c) offering parents of very young children the option of concentrating on family or work; (d) stressing programmes in support of the socialization and education of young children and their parents. It is suggested that social security institutions internationally contribute to these new developments through data collection, dissemination activities, and encouragement of discussion and research.     

The Role of Housing Managers in the Implementation of Community Care

This article will outline the response of housing management to the implementation of community care policy in the North East. It will locate housing's role within the broader development of community care policy, and briefly review the reasons for housing's relatively late arrival as a key partner, alongside social services and health, in the planning and delivery of services. Using information gathered from interviews with housing professionals, part-time housing students, voluntary organizations, and workers within health and social services, it outlines and evaluates five main factors which appear to be affecting the successful integration of housing management into the process of planning and delivering community care services in the North East.     

Youth Profiles of Police-Initiated Post-Traumatic Stress Symptomatology

Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal - Police-initiated post-traumatic stress symptomatology (PI-PTSS) refers to post-traumatic stress symptoms that are rooted in interactions with police...     

Habitat use in basking Northern water (Nerodia sipedon) and Eastern garter (Thamnophis sirtalis) snakes in urban New Jersey

The habitat use of basking northern water (Nerodia sipedon) and Eastern garter (Thamnophis sirtalis) snakes was examined along the Raritan Canal, an urbanized area of central New Jersey. There were significant differences between the two species with respect to cloud cover, canopy cover, and the distance to the path and the water, but not with respect to percent of the body exposed to the sun, and percent of the snake that was visible. Water snakes were more likely to bask on bushes, branches and logs than were garter snakes. Garter snakes basked when both the air and water temperature were lower than did water snakes. The lack of basking sites in the water suggests that those along shore are important, including the low hanging branches used by the watersnakes.     

Likelihood of African American Primary Caregivers and Care Recipients Receiving Assistance From Secondary Caregivers: A Rural-Urban Comparison

We examine rural-urban differences in reliance on secondary caregivers for African American female primary caregivers (250 rural, 242 urban) and their care recipients. Logistic regression was used to identify caregiver and care recipient characteristics significantly associated with the likelihood of having a secondary caregiver within rural and urban samples. Post hoc Wald chi-square tests were used to identify significant between-sample differences in regression coefficients. Secondary caregivers were more common in urban than rural contexts. Having a secondary caregiver was more strongly related to primary caregivers' poorer physical health and nonresidence with care recipients in rural than urban contexts. Findings suggest that policy initiatives, such as the National Family Caregivers Support Act and the cash and counseling model, may benefit rural and urban residents, particularly rural residents as the majority of them lacked secondary caregiver assistance.     

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy Maternal Cohort Study—Exploratory Analysis

The bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) maternal cohort study supports a role both for direct maternal transmission and for inherited genetic susceptibilty to the BSE agent. Additional data from the main BSE database do not resolve whether the risk of direct maternal transmission of BSE from dam to calf is concentrated in the interval within 5 months before the onset of BSE in the dam, as data from the BSE maternal cohort study suggest. The reason for this is that we cannot rely, as our analysis requires, on the survival of calves or traceability of the dam being independent of the interval from the birth of a calf to onset of BSE in the dam. Accordingly, for the present, we place most weight on evidence from the BSE maternal cohort study. Direct maternal transmission of the BSE agent from dam to calf has not been ruled out; vertical transmission of the new variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (NVCJD) from mother with NVCJD to baby is therefore also possible. Actions to quantify, and minimize, the transmission risk, if any, from a mother with NVCJD to her baby, or to delivery teams, should be taken without delay.     

Acceptance of Foreigners: Ethnic and Gender Differences Among Americans

This study examined American students' (N = 207) attitudes and behavior towards students of various nationalities. The findings suggest that, while these students rated Africans lower than Westerners, and Asians no differently than the other two groups, there were ethnic and gender differences among the Americans. Female students rated Westerners as being better liked than Africans, and minority students rated Westerners both as better liked and better adjusted than Africans. Males and Whites rated the three groups equally. Overall ratings by women were more favorable than those by men. In terms of volunteering hospitality, these students were as generous to the Asian and the African foreigners as to the Westerners, but in general, a greater proportion of ethnic minority students was willing to be hospitable.