A study of environmental and behavioral factors affecting pregnancy outcome in an Italian community

This study sought to identify environmental factors (socioeconomic conditions, work conditions, service availability, and so on) and behavioral factors (preventive health behaviors, pre- and postnatal care, and so on) which might be related to pregnancy outcome (childbirth, still birth, infant death, abortion). For this purpose high risk families (all families where an infant death or still birth had occurred in the last five years, a total of 253 cases) were compared with a random sample of the families where a normal child was born and survived during the same period (a sample of 239 cases). The results contain data on: (a) socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of study and control cases (residence, housing conditions, marital status or parents, work activity, and educational level): (b) the health status of the mother, prior and during pregnancy; (c) preventive health behavior such as prenatal care, nutrition, and use of drugs, tobacco, and alcohol; (d) working condition of the mother during pregnancy, type of work, work-related environmental risks, leave from work, and transportation; and (e) postnatal care and breast feeding patterns. The findings are discussed in terms of the present and future educational and service needs of the population.This study was made possible by the financial assistance of the World Health Organization, Division of Family Health. Dr. Figa-Talamanca is affiliated with the Institute of General Physiology, University of Rome, 00100 Rome, Italy.     

SOCIAL ISOLATION OF THE URBAN POOR:

We focus on the effects of race, class, and neighborhood on social isolation. Using data from households in Atlanta, Georgia, we compare poor and nonpoor African Americans to nonpoor whites on two types of social ties and the social resources inherent in those ties. We find that poverty has an important influence on the social resources available to African Americans in and outside of their household. Poor blacks are less likely than other blacks and nonpoor whites to live with another adult, to have even one person outside the household with whom they discuss important matters (a discussion partner), or to have a college-educated person in their discussion network. Higher neighborhood poverty reduces the size of the discussion network for whites and blacks and affects the probabilities of having any kind of social contacts. Important for the social isolation thesis is our finding that among African Americans, living in a very poor neighborhood increases social isolation and reduces access to social resources via one's network of close ties.     

The Institutional Repository Rediscovered: What Can a University Do for Open Access Publishing?

Universities have always been one of the key players in open access publishing and have encountered the particular obstacle that faces this Green model of open access, namely, disappointing author uptake. Today, the university has a unique opportunity to reinvent and to reinvigorate the model of the institutional repository. This article explores what is not working about the way we talk about repositories to authors today and how can we better meet faculty needs. More than an archive, a repository can be a showcase that allows scholars to build attractive scholarly profiles, and a platform to publish original content in emerging open-access journals.     

Spatial variation in teenage conceptions in south and west England

Multilevel Poisson models are used to identify factors influencing variation in census ward level teenage conception rates. Multilevel logistic models are also employed to examine the outcome of these conceptions. Demographic and socioeconomic characteristics are accounted for as well as access to family planning services. The paper emphasizes the importance of customized deprivation indices that are specific to the health outcome in urban and rural areas.     

Drawing from experience.

The journey through grief after exposure to a sudden traumatic death is a painful and personal experience for children. This requires therapeutic interventions that explore and facilitate the healing potential within each child. Drawings are an expressive method that can provide a conduit for identifying and understanding issues requiring therapeutic intervention and follow up.     

Rethinking needs assessment in planning services for older adults

Needs assessments are widely used in the field of aging, and are considered valuable tools for planning service responses to unmet and undermet needs of older adults. This article describes a comprehensive needs assessment of Bermuda's older population and presents some of its findings to illustrate concerns about needs assessments that emerged from this experience. We suggest that even when needs assessments are carefully planned and adhere to generally recognized best practice principles, they may not be able to fully provide desired information. A revision of key assumptions about needs assessment is offered for researchers, planners, and community workers.     

From Conflict To Embedment: The Individual–Society Relationship, 1920–1991

Sociological Forum - Why does the perception of Americans as conformists disappear after 1970 while the idea of a need for community persists? The literatures of social criticism, self-help, and...