ISOLATED IN A TECHNOLOGICALLY CONNECTED WORLD?: Changes in the Core Professional Ties of Female Researchers in Ghana,Kenya, and Kerala,India

Using panel data gathered across two waves (2001 and 2005) from researchers in Ghana, Kenya, and Kerala, India, we examine three questions: (1) To what extent do gender differences exist in the core professional networks of scientists in low‐income areas? (2) How do gender differences shift over time? (3) Does use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) mediate the relationship between gender and core network composition? Our results indicate that over a period marked by dramatic increases in access to and use of various ICTs, the composition and size of female researchers core professional ties have either not changed significantly or have changed in an unexpected direction. Indeed, the size of women's ties are retracting over time rather than expanding.     

Navigating “Breakup Remorse”: Implications for Disrupting the On-Again/Off-Again Cycles in Young Adult Dating Relationships

While the research is clear on the risks for distress associated with on-again, off-again romantic relationships (i.e., cyclical relationships), little is known about the change mechanisms experienced by partners in cyclical relationships or how helping professionals can assist young adults stably continue or end these relationships. Young adults (N = 21) in different stages of cyclical relationships (renewed, ended, or contemplating renewal) attended focus groups and articulated specific mechanisms that influenced their ability to make distress-reducing decisions. Main themes for professionals working with partners in cyclical relationships centered on promoting “decision-making resilience,” which included addressing issues around identity development, communication, power/control dynamics, and intentionality. These results inform assessments and interventions to bolster resilience and reduce distress for cyclical couples.     

Older Lesbian Sexuality: Identity,Sexual Behavior,and the Impact of Aging

In response to the very limited and mostly outdated literature on older lesbian sexuality, this exploratory study examined older lesbian sexual identity, romantic relationships, the impact of aging, and experiences of discrimination within these contexts. Utilizing an online survey that recruited via numerous online lesbian communities and snowball sampling, 456 lesbians over the age of 50 responded to closed, Likert scale, and open-ended questions that provided a preliminary understanding of older lesbian sexuality. The results indicated that older lesbians have experienced fluidity in past romantic and sexual relationships, as well as in erotic fantasies, despite strong identification with being lesbian. The findings also indicate a decreased focus on sexuality in the context of relationships, with more focus on stability and continuity. Future research is needed that provides greater specificity and detail about older lesbian conceptions of sexual behavior and sexual identity labels, as well as specific sexual behaviors.     

A different head? Parental agency and early intervention

This paper considers the agency and identity of parents of children with Down syndrome within early intervention. It draws upon semi‐structured, conversational interviews with nine parents and the reflections of one of the authors upon their experiences within early intervention programmes. It considers how representations of the deficit model permeate the participation of the parent in this process. It explores the multiple identities of the parents and links these to notions of parental participation within the current policy context of early intervention in England. The notion of parental agency is an implicit driver within the current early intervention programmes, yet it appears to be compromised by the nature of those programmes.     

A Genetically Informed Study of the Intergenerational Transmission of Marital Instability

Environmental or genetic influences, or both could account for the increased risk of divorce among the offspring of separated parents. Previous studies have used covariates to statistically control for confounds, but the present research is the first genetically informed study of the topic. The investigation used the Children of Twins Design with twins, their spouses, and their young adult offspring (n = 2,310) from the Australian Twin Registry to test whether selection on the basis of genetic or shared environment factors accounted for part of the intergenerational association. The analyses also controlled for measured characteristics of both parents. The results suggest that both environmentally mediated and genetic risk account for the intergenerational transmission, supporting the roles of both selection and causation.     

Patterns of Social Support in the Middle Childhood to Early Adolescent Transition: Implications for Adjustment

Children's social networks often include close family members, extended family members, and friends, but little is known about interindividual differences in the patterning of support from these sources. In this study, we used person‐oriented analyses to differentiate patterns of support for children undergoing the transition to adolescence. Social network and adjustment data were collected for an ethnically diverse sample of 691 fourth‐ and sixth‐grade children, with a two‐year follow‐up. Cluster analyses identified one pattern of support from both close family members and friends, a second pattern of support from both close and extended family members, and a third pattern of support primarily from close family members alone. Participants receiving support from close family in combination with either extended family or friends were better adjusted than were those without multiple support resources. The results suggest that a meaningful typology of children's social networks can be developed.     

With the best of intentions: Singapore volunteers and donors and the tsunami reconstruction

Charities and humanitarian organisations in Singapore that were involved in post-Tsunami relief and reconstruction work are repeatedly queried by volunteers, donors, and journalists. The world has pledged and donated billions to Tsunami relief and reconstruction, and I have personally given money to Singapore charities. Why do I still read about needy people in temporary shelters? Where has the money gone? Another question reflects similar sentiments of puzzlement, even frustration: I am moved by the devastation and would like to help by volunteering my time and expertise. I have signed up to volunteer with several humanitarian organisations. I am highly qualified and could help people. Why am I still not sent overseas? These are good questions that deserve solid answers. This article discusses the latest thinking in relief circles as to which volunteers are best sent overseas and how donations can most responsibly be used for effective and sustainable reconstruction. The authors draw on Singapore's experience with providing relief in the aftermath of the Tsunami along with the Dr. Tan Tay Keong's observations of relief and rehabilitation efforts in the Tsunami-affected areas of Sri Lanka and Indonesia. The article finds that volunteering requires much more than just a giving heart. Also, donations may be used most effectively by thinking long term rather than just short term. Further, donations are best administered in a way coordinated with local relief plans and in consultation with local people. The article closes by considering lessons for volunteers, donors, and humanitarian relief agencies from the Tsunami's aftermath.     

Small sample confidence intervals for survival functions under the proportional hazards model

We develop a saddlepoint-based method for generating small sample confidence bands for the population surviival function from the Kaplan-Meier (KM), the product limit (PL), and Abdushukurov-Cheng-Lin (ACL) survival function estimators, under the proportional hazards model. In the process we derive the exact distribution of these estimators and developed mid-ppopulation tolerance bands for said estimators. Our saddlepoint method depends upon the Mellin transform of the zero-truncated survival estimator which we derive for the KM, PL, and ACL estimators. These transforms are inverted via saddlepoint approximations to yield highly accurate approximations to the cumulative distribution functions of the respective cumulative hazard function estimators and these distribution functions are then inverted to produce our saddlepoint confidence bands. For the KM, PL and ACL estimators we compare our saddlepoint confidence bands with those obtained from competing large sample methods as well as those obtained from the exact distribution. In our simulation studies we found that the saddlepoint confidence bands are very close to the confidence bands derived from the exact distribution, while being much easier to compute, and outperform the competing large sample methods in terms of coverage probability.