Sylvanian families: The production and consumption of a rural community

Concepts relating to consumer behaviour are brought together with notions of the idyllic English rural community to begin examining the importance of material culture in the formation of attitudes towards the English village. The resulting commodification of rurality is examined with the help of case studies of producers and consumers of Sylvania, a ‘collectable toy’.     

Birth Outcome Measures and Infant Mortality

Recent studies have proposed alternative birth outcome measures as means of assessing infant mortality risk; nevertheless, there hasn’t yet been an integrated analysis of these approaches. We review 14 strategies, including various combinations of birth weight, gestational age, fetal growth rate, and Apgar scores—as predictors of early neonatal, late neonatal, and postneonatal mortality, and infant mortality. Using the NCHS linked birth/infant death file for 2001, we construct multivariate logit models and assess the associations between each of the 14 key birth outcome measures and four mortality outcomes. We find that all evaluated birth outcome measures are strong predictors, but Apgar scores are the strongest among all models for all outcomes, independent of birth weight and gestational age. Apgar scores’ predictive power is stronger for Mexican-, white-, and female-infants than for black- and male-infants. Second, all birth outcome measures remain significantly associated with mortality, but their predictive power reduces drastically over time. These findings suggest a rule of thumb for predicting infant mortality odds: when available, Apgar scores should always be included along with birth weight (or LBW status) and gestational age. Additionally, these findings argue for the continued study of low birthweight, gestational age, and Apgar scores as independently salient health outcomes.     

Differing Relationship Outcomes When Sex Happens Before,On, or After First Dates

While recent studies have suggested that the timing of sexual initiation within a couple's romantic relationship has important associations with later relationship success, few studies have examined how such timing is associated with relationship quality among unmarried couples. Using a sample of 10,932 individuals in unmarried, romantic relationships, we examined how four sexual-timing patterns (i.e., having sex prior to dating, initiating sex on the first date or shortly after, having sex after a few weeks of dating, and sexual abstinence) were associated with relationship satisfaction, stability, and communication in dating relationships. Results suggested that waiting to initiate sexual intimacy in unmarried relationships was generally associated with positive outcomes. This effect was strongly moderated by relationship length, with individuals who reported early sexual initiation reporting increasingly lower outcomes in relationships of longer than two years.     

Levels of interventions for MFTs working with family businesses

Family businesses (FBs) are a significant population in the world and therefore part of most practicing marriage and family therapists (MFTs) clientele; however, little is mentioned about FBs in the training of MFTs. This article offers some guidance to practicing MFTs who service this population, as well as MFTs who wish to expand their practice into a focused consultation practices with FB systems. This article uses Doherty's Levels of Family Involvement Model as a road map for MFTs to organize the vast amount of literature on FB systems as well as the many ways in which MFTs might serve FBs. We also offer suggestions for the necessary skills, experiences, and levels of engagement required at each level of intervention provided by MFTs.     

Intergenerational Remote Exergaming with Family and Friends for Health and Leisure

Global guidelines for physical activity are not being met by most of the world’s youths, adults, and older adults. Family and friends who engage in physical activity across generations derive emotional, social, cognitive, and physical benefits from their interaction. Youths depend on adult assistance to travel long distances, adults are encumbered with obligations to work, and older adults often live more than 200 miles from their extended families. Intergenerational physical activity is difficult because generations are distant and lead busy lifestyles. Remotely played exergames can connect family and friends for intergenerational physical activity. Internet exergaming can help to make physical activity convenient and enjoyable as well as eliminate the effect of distance on playing with family and friends.     

Work and breastfeeding decisions are jointly determined for higher socioeconomic status US mothers

We study postpartum decisions about paid work and breastfeeding using a simultaneous equations model. For our sample of higher socioeconomic status mothers, we find a joint decision process for three sets of decisions modeled: work leave duration and duration of any, as well as of exclusive, breastfeeding, and daily work hours and daily breastfeedings at infant age 3 months. We find that returning to paid work 1 week earlier reduces any breastfeeding duration by about two-thirds of a week while extending breastfeeding by a week delays work participation by about one-third of a week. We find larger elasticities for decisions involving daily work hours and number of breastfeedings at 3 months than for work leave duration and any breastfeeding duration and the smallest elasticities for duration of exclusive breastfeeding and work leave. This marks the first study to find a joint decision-making process for postpartum work and breastfeeding decisions and suggests that, in addition to increased leave impacting breastfeeding behaviors, successful breastfeeding promotion policies can have nontrivial impacts on the US labor market.     

The adoption of multiple certification standards: perceived performance implications of quality,environmental and health & safety certifications

This study assesses the combined impact of multiple certifications (i.e. ISO 9001, ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001) on perceived performance dimensions related to quality, environmental and occupational health and safety. Using survey data collected from 59 Irish manufacturing plants in 2014, we employed MANCOVA and regression analysis to test our proposed hypothesis. The results suggest that companies that are simultaneously ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 certified are significantly better performers with regard to environmental and occupational health and safety compared to companies without multiple certifications. However, from a perceived quality performance perspective, having these multiple certifications doesn’t seem to be an effective performance improvement tool.     

Malaria in Pacific populations: seen but not heard?

Most Pacific Island countries are located in the tropics, where there is an abundance of mosquitoes with the potential to carry debilitating or life-threatening vector-borne diseases. This article examines three Melanesian countries in which malaria is endemic—Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu—but the threat posed by the spread of malaria gives the issues a broader significance to the Pacific region. After discussing the spatial distribution and prevalence of malaria in the Pacific, the article examines a number of health interventions through which people have sought to control malaria. Although the disease was nearly eradicated in the Pacific in the 1970s, it is no longer in retreat. The article concludes by examining why there are still grounds for cautious optimism, and the challenges that Pacific Island countries face in reducing the impact of malaria on their populations. There is a need for prompt and concerted action on malaria at the national, regional and international levels if the public health concerns arising from the disease are to be adequately addressed.