On Track Multi‐Agency Projects in Schools and Communities: A Special Relationship

Social inclusion, multi‐agency projects in education in the United Kingdom increasingly seek to work with participation from children, families and communities and through partnerships with other agencies. In this paper, the complexities of such developments are examined. The paper looks at the wider context of preventative and social inclusion projects and highlights the ways in which schools tend to be the dominant locus of communication, delivery and control in the early stages of project implementation. Schools are seen to be valuable conduits into the community, to have the potential to begin capacity‐building with isolated individuals and to forge informal networks. This presents significant challenges to project and school managers, working towards genuinely empowering multi‐agency preventative work and support. A ‘special relationship’ embracing schools, projects and community appears the most productive way forward for such projects. Copyright © 2006 National Children's Bureau.     

Competence in the face of adversity: the influence of early family environment and long‐term consequences

This paper investigates family characteristics that enable children to achieve competence despite being exposed to socio‐economic adversity, and analyses the long‐term outcomes of this positive adaptation. The main finding is that the protective factors that modify the impact of adversity are context specific, and show age as well as period effects. Positive adaptation during early childhood has long‐term consequences, yet resilient young people cannot completely overcome the experience of early socio‐economic disadvantage. The results indicate that future research must identify specific rather than general protective factors that provide protection against specific risks for young people in specific life contexts. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Exploring racial and ethnic differences in recreational drug use among gay and bisexual men in New York city and Los Angeles

Reported rates of recreational drug use among gay and bisexual men are currently rising. Although there has been much empirical research documenting current trends in drug use among gay and bisexual men, little research has empirically contrasted differential rates across urban epicenters, while even less has addressed racial or ethnic variation (between and within cities). This knowledge is essential both for the development of effective culturally-sensitive health education prevention/services and for understanding drug use prevalence among urban epicenters. Using the men's data gathered from large-scale gay, lesbian, and bisexual (GLB) community events in New York and Los Angeles in the fall of 2003 and spring of 2004 (N = 2,335), this study explored racial and ethnic variance in the use of methamphetamine, cocaine, MDMA/ecstasy (methylenedioxy-methamphetamine), ketamine, GHB (gamma-hydroxy-butyrate), marijuana, and nitrate inhalants (poppers) among gay and bisexual men both between and within cities (NYC and LA). Levels of recent drug use were fairly consistent between New York City and Los Angeles; however there was some between and within city racial and ethnic variance. In particular, Asian/Pacific Islander men were among those least likely to report use of some drugs. Findings suggest substance use in the gay community permeates geographic boundaries in addition to some racial and ethnic boundaries such that interventions targeting drug-using gay and bisexual men should appropriately attend to racial and ethnic diversity within communities.     

Gender Minority Social Stress in Adolescence: Disparities in Adolescent Bullying and Substance Use by Gender Identity

Bullying and substance use represent serious public health issues facing adolescents in the United States. Few large-sample national studies have examined differences in these indicators by gender identity. The Teen Health and Technology Study (N = 5,542) sampled adolescents ages 13 to 18 years old online. Weighted multivariable logistic regression models investigated disparities in substance use and tested a gender minority social stress hypothesis, comparing gender minority youth (i.e., who are transgender/gender nonconforming and have a gender different from their sex assigned at birth) and cisgender (i.e., whose gender identity or expression matches theirs assigned at birth). Overall, 11.5% of youth self-identified as gender minority. Gender minority youth had increased odds of past-12-month alcohol use, marijuana use, and nonmarijuana illicit drug use. Gender minority youth disproportionately experienced bullying and harassment in the past 12 months, and this victimization was associated with increased odds of all substance use indicators. Bullying mediated the elevated odds of substance use for gender minority youth compared to cisgender adolescents. Findings support the use of gender minority stress perspectives in designing early interventions aimed at addressing the negative health sequelae of bullying and harassment.     

Effects of temperature and habitat complexity on an urban tree pest (Tinocallis kahawaluokalani), natural enemies,and predation services in the city

Urban Ecosystems - Trees provide many ecosystem services in our urban environments. However, city trees are often stressed by pests and hot urban temperatures. Our research highlights how...     

“Not for the fainthearted”: Engaging in cross-national comparative research

Gerontologists are increasingly taking up the challenge of cross-national research and while there has been an increase in reporting on the product (findings) of this type of scholarship, there has been much less written about the process (methodology) of this approach, particularly in the gerontological literature. In 2009 our newly formed research team enthusiastically embarked on a cross-national comparative research study of social isolation and aging. In this paper, we ‘publicly’ reflect on our research process, sharing what we have learned — what ‘happened’, strategies that ‘worked’, places along the way where we might have intervened to mitigate the difficulties we encountered, and the implications of our experience on our research. Integrating the knowledge gained through our lens as newcomers to international comparative research, we end by presenting a Conceptual Framework for Cross-National Research.