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Urban Communities (urban + community)
Selected AbstractsA NEW WAY OF REVITALIZING DISTRESSED URBAN COMMUNITIES?JOURNAL OF URBAN AFFAIRS, Issue 5 2006ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF THE FEDERAL EMPOWERMENT ZONE PROGRAM ABSTRACT:,The Empowerment Zone and Enterprise Community Initiative of 1993 offered targeted funding and tax incentives to distressed urban and rural communities. This initiative required a community-involvement component, setting it apart from more traditional economic development initiatives of the Reagan and Bush administrations. Using reports required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and census data, this study examines the programmatic emphases of four of the original six urban zones and evaluates the overall impact of zone programs on socioeconomic trends. These trends are evaluated by matching zone-designated census tracts to nonzone tracts through a propensity-score matching model using 1990 census data. Trends in poverty and other socioeconomic outcomes are measured by 1990,2000 change at the census tract level for individual zones, as well as across all zones using a series of fixed-effect models. Findings indicate that community building and involvement initiatives received the least amount of funding. Traditional economic development programs received the most emphasis but this did not translate into positive socioeconomic outcomes. With the exception of a few isolated incidences where individual zones fared better than comparison areas, zone initiatives had little impact. [source] Comparative study of four candidate strategies to detect cervical cancer in different health care settingsJOURNAL OF OBSTETRICS AND GYNAECOLOGY RESEARCH (ELECTRONIC), Issue 4 2007Meherbano M. Kamal Abstract Aim:, Considering the differing but potentially supplementary properties of visual inspection of the cervix with acetic acid (VIA) and the cytological examination (CYTO) of cervical smears for the screening of cervical cancers, we examined the performance of these two tests and their combinations for the screening of cervical cancer in different health care settings. Methods:, In this cross-sectional diagnostic test performance evaluation study of 4235 female subjects in the reproductive age group, we assessed the screening performance of four strategies: VIA alone, CYTO alone, VIA and CYTO combined in a parallel fashion, and VIA and CYTO combined in tandem. Subjects were recruited from three settings: Hospital, Urban Community and Rural Community. Colposcopy was used as the reference standard. Screening performance was assessed using sensitivity, specificity, post-test probabilities and likelihood ratios (LR), diagnostic odds, area under receiver operating characteristic curve and LR ,2. Results:, Both VIA and CYTO when used alone had a low sensitivity but high specificity, especially in the Rural Community setting. A combination of the results of VIA and CYTO improved the diagnostic accuracy but the strategy using a parallel combination of VIA and CYTO was the most accurate. In general, all screening strategies using VIA and CYTO showed a modest screening performance. Conclusions:, In the settings of varying levels of health care and low resources, caution is needed for a generalized use of VIA for cervical cancer screening. Further evaluation of the cost-effective ways of combining VIA and CYTO is needed in these circumstances. [source] Urban community in China: service, participation and developmentINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WELFARE, Issue 3 2006Qingwen Xu With the rapid urbanisation and population growth in the cities, the People's Republic of China has recognised the importance of community development based on an ever-increasing demand for social services. In 1994, the Chinese government adopted community service as an alternative way of providing the supplemental safety net in urban areas. Along with this top-down approach, resident-initiated activities, participation and grassroots organisations at the community level are growing at an incredible pace. Using a case study, this study explores the context and aspects of community services, participation and community development in a Chinese urban community. Results indicate that China's reformed market economy and welfare system presses ordinary urban people to reconnect to the local community to ensure welfare security and quality of life. Community participation in China has rediscovered the path of community development and re-interpreted the top-down and bottom-up approaches in the context of community services. [source] Predictors of Health Resource Use by Disabled Older Female Medicare Beneficiaries Living in the CommunityJOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 3 2003Michael Weiner MD OBJECTIVES: To identify specific clinical factors that could best predict resource use by disabled older women. DESIGN: Cross-sectional. SETTING: Urban community in Baltimore, Maryland. PARTICIPANTS: One thousand two community-dwelling, moderately to severely disabled, female Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 and older, from the Women's Health and Aging Study I (WHAS). MEASUREMENTS: WHAS data were merged with participants' 1992,1994 Medicare claims data for the year after baseline evaluation, reflecting inpatient, outpatient, home-based, and skilled-nursing services. The independent contributions of factors hypothesized to predict health expenditures were assessed, using chi-square and regression analyses, with the logarithm of Medicare expenditures as the primary outcome. RESULTS: Demographic factors were not associated with Medicare expenditures. Factors associated with expenditures in bivariate analyses included heart disease (1.4x), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (1.3x), diabetes mellitus (1.1x), smoking, comorbidity, and severity of disability, as well as low creatinine clearance, serum albumin, caloric expenditure, or skinfold thickness. Heart disease, diabetes mellitus, and low skinfold thickness remained significant after adjustment for other factors. CONCLUSION: Heart disease, diabetes mellitus, and low skinfold thickness are important independent predictors of 1-year Medicare expenditures by disabled older women. Many other variables that reflect disease, disability, nutrition, or personal habits have less predictive ability. Most demographic factors are not predictors of expenditures in this population. Focusing on the best predictors may facilitate more-effective risk adjustment and creation of related health policies. [source] Mainstreaming Risk Reduction in Urban Planning and Housing: A Challenge for International Aid OrganisationsDISASTERS, Issue 2 2006Christine Wamsler Abstract The effects of ,natural' disasters in cities can be worse than in other environments, with poor and marginalised urban communities in the developing world being most at risk. To avoid post-disaster destruction and the forced eviction of these communities, proactive and preventive urban planning, including housing, is required. This paper examines current perceptions and practices within international aid organisations regarding the existing and potential roles of urban planning as a tool for reducing disaster risk. It reveals that urban planning confronts many of the generic challenges to mainstreaming risk reduction in development planning. However, it faces additional barriers. The main reasons for the identified lack of integration of urban planning and risk reduction are, first, the marginal position of both fields within international aid organisations, and second, an incompatibility between the respective professional disciplines. To achieve better integration, a conceptual shift from conventional to non-traditional urban planning is proposed. This paper suggests related operative measures and initiatives to achieve this change. [source] Seasonal prevalence of mosquitoes collected from light traps in the Republic of Korea in 2003ENTOMOLOGICAL RESEARCH, Issue 3 2006Heung Chul KIM Abstract Surveillance of adult mosquitoes was conducted at 29 US military installations and training sites in six provinces in the Republic of Korea during 2003. Adult mosquitoes were collected in New Jersey light traps and dry ice-baited New Jersey light traps from 1 May to 15 October. Mosquito surveillance was conducted to determine threshold levels to initiate pesticide applications and identify malaria infection rates at selected army installations and training sites. A total of 42 024 adult mosquitoes (32 594 females [77.6%] and 9430 males [22. 4%]) comprising 14 species and Anopheles sinensis s.l. (a complex of five species), representing seven genera, were collected. The most common species were members of the Anopheles sinensis Wiedemann complex (54.9%), followed by Aedes vexans nipponii (Theobald) (19.0%), Culex pipiens Coquillett (14.3%) and Culex tritaeniorhynchus Giles (10.6%). Trap indices varied widely for species over their range, due in part to geographical distribution and degree of association with urban communities. [source] Globalisation, rural restructuring and health service delivery in Australia: policy failure and the role of social work?HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE IN THE COMMUNITY, Issue 3 2007BSocStud, MLitt, Margaret Alston PhD Abstract The impacts of globalisation and rural restructuring on health service delivery in rural Australia have been significant. In the present paper, it is argued that declining health service access represents a failure of policy. Rural communities across the world are in a state of flux, and Australia is no different: rural communities are ageing at faster rates than urban communities and young people are out-migrating in large numbers. During the past 5 years, rural Australia has also experienced a severe and widespread drought that has exacerbated rural poverty, and impacted on the health and well-being of rural Australians. Australian governments have responded to globalising forces by introducing neoliberal policy initiatives favouring market solutions and championing the need for self-reliance among citizens. The result for rural Australia has been a withdrawal of services at a time of increased need. This paper addresses the social work response to these changes. [source] Ancient injury recidivism: an example from the Kerma period of ancient NubiaINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OSTEOARCHAEOLOGY, Issue 2 2002Margaret Judd Abstract A topical trend in clinical research has been the study of repeat trauma, referred to by clinicians as "injury recidivism," which lends itself to the assessment of accumulated injuries among ancient people. The present investigation examined the healed injuries among two archaeological skeletal samples from the Kerma period (ca. 2500,1500 BC) of Sudanese Nubia. Both groups were known to have a high prevalence of multiple trauma,80% of 54 adults from the rural sites (O16 and P37) located near Dongola and 42% of 212 adults from the urban site of Kerma sustained nonfatal injuries. It was observed that a higher frequency of multi-injured adults displayed one or more violence-associated injury (cranial trauma, parry fracture). When all injuries were considered 38% of individuals with violence-related injuries had other traumatic lesions in contrast to 22% of individuals who experienced injuries associated with accidental falls (e.g., Colles', Smiths', Galeazzi, and paired forearm fractures), although this difference was not significant. When only the skulls and long bones were evaluated 81% of adults with multiple injuries to these major bones bore one or more violence-related injuries, while 60% of adults with single injuries sustained violence-related injuries. Most individuals with multiple injuries were male and less than 35 years of age; there was no significant difference in the frequency of violence- or accident-related multiple injury between the rural and urban communities. Although it cannot be established whether or not some of an individual's injuries were experienced during simultaneous or independent incidents, the pattern of multiple injury among these two ancient Nubian skeletal samples reflected the profile of injury recidivism observed by modern clinicians cross-culturally. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Urbanization and the more-individuals hypothesisJOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY, Issue 2 2010Claudia Chiari Summary 1.,Urbanization is a landscape process affecting biodiversity world-wide. Despite many urban,rural studies of bird assemblages, it is still unclear whether more species-rich communities have more individuals, regardless of the level of urbanization. The more-individuals hypothesis assumes that species-rich communities have larger populations, thus reducing the chance of local extinctions. 2.,Using newly collated avian distribution data for 1 km2 grid cells across Florence, Italy, we show a significantly positive relationship between species richness and assemblage abundance for the whole urban area. This richness,abundance relationship persists for the 1 km2 grid cells with less than 50% of urbanized territory, as well as for the remaining grid cells, with no significant difference in the slope of the relationship. These results support the more-individuals hypothesis as an explanation of patterns in species richness, also in human modified and fragmented habitats. 3.,However, the intercept of the species richness,abundance relationship is significantly lower for highly urbanized grid cells. Our study confirms that urban communities have lower species richness but counters the common notion that assemblages in densely urbanized ecosystems have more individuals. In Florence, highly inhabited areas show fewer species and lower assemblage abundance. 4.,Urbanized ecosystems are an ongoing large-scale natural experiment which can be used to test ecological theories empirically. [source] Promoting the Development of Value-added Specialty Foods through University-based Food Venture CentersJOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE, Issue 3 2004OLGA I. PADILLA-ZAKOURArticle first published online: 31 MAY 200 ABSTRACT: Food entrepreneurship is a vital part of the food industry that focuses on creating specialty foods from agricultural products. Many entrepreneurial businesses are farm-based to complement the fresh market with longer shelf-life value-added processed foods that utilize products not suited for the fresh market, and excess production that commonly ends up as farm waste/losses. In some cases, the agricultural production is solely dedicated to fulfill the specialty niche market targeted by the small processor. Food entrepreneurs need comprehensive assistance to become successful processors and marketers. As start-up ventures, their knowledge and economic resources are limited. Support from university-based food venture centers must include training, counseling, technical services, regulatory compliance assistance, technology transfer, and specialized referrals. The Northeast Center for Food Entrepreneurship, a joint effort of Cornell Univ. and the Univ. of Vermont, is a successful model that benefits from key partnerships to promote food ventures in rural and urban communities. For the last 3 years the center has provided assistance and training to more than 3500 individuals interested in food entrepreneurship, and assisted the development and marketing of over 1000 specialty products. Three examples of farm-based value-added enterprises are presented to highlight the center's accomplishments and economic impact. [source] Habitat For Humanity: Building Social Capital Through Faith Based ServiceJOURNAL OF URBAN AFFAIRS, Issue 3 2002R. Allen Hays This essay examines citizen involvement in community housing issues through Habitat for Humanity as a faith, based expansion of social capital in urban communities. This article expands Putnam's model of social capital to include criteria for evaluating the conditions under which social capital formation has a positive impact on the larger community. Using a representative sample of nine cities from various regions of the US, it examines the functioning of the Habitat affiliate in each of these cities and the attitudes and motivations of their most active volunteers. Habitat has emerged as a highly effective volunteer, non, profit producer of housing for lower income persons, yet the nature of the social capital created by this organization also reflects the contradictions raised by such an undertaking in a complex urban environment characterized by deep social divisions. [source] Change in vegetation cover in East Timor, 1989,1999NATURAL RESOURCES FORUM, Issue 1 2004George A. Bouma Abstract Forest resources play a key role and provide many basic needs to communities in developing economies. To assess the patterns of vegetation cover change, as a corollary of resource utilization, satellite imagery, ground truth data, and image processing techniques can be useful. This article is concerned with identifying change in major vegetation types in East Timor between 1989 and 1999, using Landsat Thematic Mapper data. The results highlight a significant level of deforestation and decline in foliage cover. All major vegetation cover types declined from 1989 to 1999, and there was a sizeable increase in degraded woodlands. This decline has had considerable impact on the livelihoods of rural and urban communities. Causes for these changes include: economic exploitation of abundant resources; and implications of transmigration policies implemented during Indonesian rule, resulting in increased competition for land and woodland resources. As the new nation of Timor-Leste establishes itself, it must consider its current stock and distribution of natural capital to ensure that development efforts are geared towards sustainable outcomes. Without the knowledge of historical patterns of resource consumption, development efforts may, unwittingly, lead to continuing decline in forest resources. [source] Dual Enrollment in VirginiaNEW DIRECTIONS FOR COMMUNITY COLLEGES, Issue 113 2001Rhonda Catron This chapter traces the ten-year history of the dual enrollment program in Virginia, highlights its successes, and identifies issues that will be examined for the future. It also identifies how dual enrollment can serve the needs of rural as well as urban communities. [source] Perceptual, motor and cognitive performance components of Bedouin children in IsraelOCCUPATIONAL THERAPY INTERNATIONAL, Issue 4 2000Shula Parush PhD Abstract The purpose of this study was to evaluate the perceptual, motor and cognitive performance abilities of Bedouin children as compared with mainstream Israeli children of the same age. The study population comprised two age groups (6,8 year olds and 10,12 year olds) living in two different types of settlements (rural and town). Participants included 20 children in each group. The Test of Visual-Perceptual Skills (TVPS), the Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration (VMI), selected subtests from the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency and the Loewenstein Occupational Therapy Cognitive Assessment (LOTCA) were used. Older participants in all three groups performed better than the younger subjects. There were no significant differences between the two Bedouin groups in either age category. The mainstream Israeli subjects scored significantly higher than the two Bedouin groups on most variables tested. The lack of differences between the two Bedouin groups may indicate that the transition from nomadic communities to urban communities is mainly external and has not caused a significant change in perception, perceptual-motor and cognitive performance abilities. The results of this study may be used as a base for developing preventive intervention programmes to meet the specific needs of Bedouin children. A limitation of this study was the classification of the Bedouin population according to their dwelling place and not according to their sociodemographic background, such as parents' economic status, parents' education and so on. Recommendations for future research include expanding the number of participants, including children from additional rural schools of various distant tribes and incorporating more detailed cognitive assessments. Copyright © 2000 Whurr Publishers Ltd. [source] Does Rurality Affect Quality of Life Following Treatment for Breast Cancer?THE JOURNAL OF RURAL HEALTH, Issue 4 2010Stephanie A. Reid-Arndt PhD Abstract Purpose: The present research examined the extent to which rural residence and social support seeking are associated with quality of life (QOL) among breast cancer patients following chemotherapy. Methods: Female breast cancer patients (n = 46) from communities of varying degrees of rurality in a Midwestern state completed psychological and QOL measures at 1-month postchemotherapy. Analyses assessed the relationships between QOL outcomes, rurality, and social support seeking. Findings: Using age and education as covariates, regression analyses were conducted to determine the extent to which QOL was related to social support seeking and rural/urban residence. Analyses revealed that social support seeking was associated with lower scores on multiple indices of QOL, and it was associated with higher self-reported symptoms of depression. Several significant associations with rural/urban residence were noted as well. Specifically, increasing rurality, as defined by USDA Rural-Urban continuum codes, was associated with lower overall QOL, lower functional well-being, and increased complaints of breast cancer specific symptoms. Conclusions: These findings highlight the relevance of continued efforts to address social support needs among women with a history of breast cancer living in rural and urban communities. They also suggest that individuals in more rural communities may be at risk for lowered QOL in the early period following cancer treatment. Future research is needed to replicate these results with larger and more diverse samples of rural and urban dwelling individuals, and to determine whether these effects may be attributed to identifiable characteristics of rural communities (eg, fewer cancer-related resources). [source] The Rural Physician Workforce in Florida: A Survey of US- and Foreign-Born Primary Care PhysiciansTHE JOURNAL OF RURAL HEALTH, Issue 4 2003Robert G. Brooks MD Purpose: This study's goal was to assess key characteristics of primary care physicians practicing in rural, suburban, and urban communities in Florida. Methods: Surveys were mailed to all of Florida's rural primary care physicians (n = 399) and a 10% sampling (n = 1236) of urban and suburban primary care physicians. Findings: Responses from 1000 physicians (272 rural, 385 urban, 343 suburban) showed that rural physicians were more likely to have been raised in a rural area, foreign-born and trained, a National Health Service Corps member, or a J-1 visa waiver program participant. Rural physicians were more likely to have been exposed to rural medical practice or living in a rural environment during their medical school and residency training. Factors such as rural upbringing and medical school training did not predict future rural practice with foreign-born physicians. Overall, future plans for practice did not seem to differ between rural, urban, and suburban physicians. Conclusions: Recruiting and retaining doctors in rural areas can be best supported through a mission-driven selection of medical students with subsequent training in medical school and residency in rural health issues. National programs such as the National Health Service Corps and the J-1 visa waiver program also play important roles in rural physician selection and should be taken into account when planning for future rural health care needs. [source] The Cultural Politics of Mixed-Income Schools and Housing: A Racialized Discourse of Displacement, Exclusion, and ControlANTHROPOLOGY & EDUCATION QUARTERLY, Issue 3 2009Pauline LipmanArticle first published online: 9 SEP 200 In this article, I examine the contested and racially coded cultural politics of creating mixed-income schools in mixed-income communities. Policymakers claim deconcentrating low-income people will reduce poverty and improve education. However, based on activist research in Chicago, I argue these policies are grounded in "culture of poverty" theories that pathologize Black1urban space. They legitimate displacement and gentrification and further the neoliberal urban agenda while negating that urban communities of color and their schools are spaces of community.[mixed income, race, neoliberalism, cultural politics] [source] Assessing the effects of the introduction of the New Zealand Smokefree Environment Act 2003 on Acute Myocardial Infarction hospital admissions in Christchurch, New ZealandAUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, Issue 6 2009Ross Barnett Abstract Objective: To examine trends in Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI) hospital admissions in Christchurch, New Zealand before and after the implementation of the New Zealand Smokefree Environments Act 2003 in December 2004. Methods: Data on AMI hospital admissions to Christchurch Public Hospital were extracted for the period 2003 to 2006. Poisson regression was used to calculate rate ratios by comparing for AMI rates of hospital admissions before (2003/04) and after (2005/06) the introduction of the Smokefree legislation, and to assess whether there was a significant change over time. Results: The introduction of the smokefree legislation was associated with a 5% reduction in AMI admissions. The 55-74 age group recorded the greatest decrease in admissions (9%) and this figure rose to 13% among never smokers in this group. Reductions were more marked for men. Adding the effects of area deprivation increased the reduction to 21% among 55-74 year olds living in more affluent (quintile 2) areas. Overall however, the statistical association of changing levels of AMI admissions with smoking status and with deprivation was not consistently significant. Conclusion: At this early stage following the smokefree legislation, there are hints emerging of a positive impact on AMI admissions but these suggestions cannot yet be treated with certainty. Further research could usefully evaluate the longer-term effects of smoking legislation on the prevalence of smoking and exposure to second hand smoke, especially in more deprived urban communities. [source] Social capital and health in rural and urban communities in South AustraliaAUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, Issue 1 2009Anna M. Ziersch Abstract Objective: This paper seeks to compare the relationships between social capital and health for rural and urban residents of South Australia. Methods: Using data from a South Australian telephone survey of 2,013 respondents (1,402 urban and 611 rural), separate path analyses for the rural and urban samples were used to compare the relationships between six social capital measures, six demographic variables, and mental and physical health (measured by the SF-12). Results: Higher levels of networks, civic participation and cohesion were reported in rural areas. Education and income were consistently linked with social capital variables for both rural and urban participants, with those on higher incomes and with higher educational achievement having higher levels of social capital. However, there were also differences between the rural and urban groups in some of the other predictors of social capital variables. Mental health was better among rural participants, but there was no significant difference for physical health. Social capital was associated with good mental health for both urban and rural participants, but with physical health only for urban participants. Higher levels of social capital were significantly associated with better mental health for both urban and rural participants, but with better physical health only for urban participants. Conclusions and implications: The study found that social capital and its relationship to health differed for participants in rural and urban areas, and that there were also differences between the areas in associations with socioeconomic variables. Policies aiming to strengthen social capital in order to promote health need to be designed for specific settings and particular communities within these. [source] Prevalence of depression among adults in Oyo State, Nigeria: A comparative study of rural and urban communitiesAUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF RURAL HEALTH, Issue 3 2007Olorunfemi Amoran Abstract Objective:,This study was designed to assess the current prevalence of depression in Oyo State, Nigeria and the rural,urban variation in prevalence. Setting:,This is a two-phase community-based cross-sectional study. The urban areas selected for the study are the Ibadan North-West and Egbeda local government areas. The rural area selected was the Saki-East local government area. Participants:,A total of 1105 participants were recruited into the study. Multistage sampling technique was used to obtain a representative sample of the participants from the communities in Oyo State. The study was conducted using an interviewer-administered structured questionnaire, and the general health questionnaire (GHQ 12) as a screening tool. The second phase of the interview was conducted only for those participants with a score of more than 3 using the GHQ 12. These participants were then clinically examined using the Structured Clinical Interview DSM IV for assessment of clinical depression. Main outcome measure:,Prevalence of depression. Results:,A total of 721 (65.2%) were from urban communities, while 384 (34.8%) were from the rural community. The overall prevalence of depression was found to be 5.2%. Depression was more prevalent among women than men (5.7% vs 4.8%, ,2 = 0.36 P = 0.55), and among adolescents (9.6%, P = 0.04). Furthermore, depression was more common in the rural areas than in the urban areas (7.3% vs 4.2%, ,2 = 4.94 P = 0.02). Conclusion:,Depression is more common in rural than urban areas in the Nigerian population. Mental health education for adolescents and secondary school students should be encouraged in rural communities. [source] An analysis of post-booking jail diversion programming for persons with co-occurring disorders,BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES & THE LAW, Issue 6 2004Dr Michael S. Shafer Ph.D. For persons with co-occurring disorders, interaction with criminal justice systems is a frequent occurrence. As a result, a variety of diversionary programs have been developed nationwide. In this study, a total of 248 individuals with co-occurring disorders of serious mental illness and substance use disorders who had been arrested and booked on misdemeanor charges participated in a post-booking jail diversion program in two urban communities. A quasi-experimental design was used with individuals assigned to diversion or non-diversion status based upon the decision processes of the mental health,criminal justice systems. The effectiveness of the jail diversion program was evaluated from a variety of sources, including structured interviews, behavioral health service utilization patterns, and criminal justice recidivism patterns. Analyses revealed general main effects for time on many of the outcome variables, with few main effects or interaction effects detected on the basis of diversion status (diverted versus non-diverted). Across all measures assessing mental health and substance abuse, study participants displayed improvements over time, irrespective of their diversion status or program location. Participants generally displayed no significant changes in their rates of accessibility to, or frequency of use of, the various mental health, substance abuse, and other services, and few changes for diversion status were detected with regard to service utilization. Although a number of indicators of criminality and violence were reduced over time, these reductions were statistically insignificant, with changes for diversionary status or time identified at follow-up. These results are discussed in light of their implications for jail diversion programming and future research in this area. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Maternal cultural participation and child health status in a Middle Eastern context: evidence from an urban health studyCHILD: CARE, HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT, Issue 2 2007M. Khawaja Abstract Background, The negative effect of poverty on child health has been well established. However, rapid urbanization in developing countries prompts new research questions relating to socio-cultural practices and other related variables in these settings. Objective, To examine the association between maternal cultural participation and child health status in impoverished neighbourhoods of Beirut, Lebanon. Methods, A cross-sectional survey of 1241 mothers with children aged less than 5 years was conducted from randomly selected households in three impoverished neighbourhoods of diverse ethnic and religious make-up. The outcome variable was child health status (good/bad) as assessed by the mother. Maternal variables, including cultural participation, education, demographic and environmental/structural factors, were studied. Descriptive statistics and bivariate associations were provided using Pearson's chi-square tests. Unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios were then obtained from binary logistic regression models. Results, Two indicators of maternal cultural participation, namely watching entertaining television and attending movies/art exhibitions, were found to be significantly associated with child health status after controlling for other risk factors. The quality of water, the quality of local health services and maternal education were also significantly associated with child health status. Household income, child gender and household dampness had no significant association with child health status in this context. Conclusion, Maternal cultural participation was a significant predictor of child health status in impoverished urban communities. Improving child health through culturally focused interventions for mothers, especially in deprived areas, may be greatly important. [source] Prevalence of idiopathic macular hole in adult rural and urban south Indian populationCLINICAL & EXPERIMENTAL OPHTHALMOLOGY, Issue 3 2008Parveen Sen MS Abstract Background:, This study was undertaken to evaluate the prevalence of idiopathic macular hole in a defined community in Southern India. Methods:, In all, 7774 of the 9546 enumerated (81.43%) subjects availed themselves for an ophthalmic assessment which included a detailed ophthalmic examination and fundus photography. All data were entered and stored in a secure computerized database and statistical analysis was performed using spss for Windows. Results:, Thirteen subjects comprising six males and seven females were diagnosed with macular holes equating to a risk of 0.17%. Bilateral macular holes were found in two subjects. The mean age of subjects with a macular hole was 67 years. Increasing age and history of cataract surgery was strongly associated with an increased prevalence of macular holes (P < 0.0001). There was no difference in the prevalence of macular hole between the rural and urban communities. The mean logMAR visual acuity of subjects in the eye with a macular hole was 1.31 ± 0.45 whereas the acuity in the unaffected fellow eye was 0.70 ± 0.51. The mean spherical equivalent in the subjects with macular hole was ,0.56 ± 1.92 (,4.25 to +1.00). Conclusion:, Prevalence rate of idiopathic macular hole in South India appears to be comparable to that seen worldwide. [source] "A Child Is a Child": Fostering Experiences in Northwestern CameroonETHOS, Issue 1 2007Heidi Verhoef Past research comparing fostered and nonfostered children's welfare in sub-Saharan Africa has led to inconsistent results. One reason for this disparity might be that children's experiences are shaped more by the circumstances in which they are fostered than by merely being raised away from their parents. This article examines how fostered children in one urban community in northwestern Cameroon spend time relative to their nonfostered peers and, by grouping fostered children according to fostering circumstances, how they spend time relative to one another. Analysis of children's activities suggests little variance between the experiences of fostered and nonfostered children, but significant differences among fostered children. These results are interpreted using children's views of activities, and the potential consequences of children's relative integration in foster households are discussed. [source] Difference in subjective well-being between ethnic Korean and Japanese elderly residents in an urban community in JapanGERIATRICS & GERONTOLOGY INTERNATIONAL, Issue 4 2007Jong-Seong Moon Background: The ethnic Korean community in Japan has witnessed the increasing aging of their population structure. The purpose of our study was to clarify the differences in standards of living between elderly ethnic Korean and elderly Japanese populations living in Japan, and to examine whether there is any difference in subjective well-being between the two populations. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey that consisted of items addressing ethnicity, age, gender, literacy, living conditions, mental health, "sense of purpose in life", activities of daily living (ADL), medical history, quality of life (QOL), and receipt of pension benefits and public assistance; the participants were 425 elderly people (ethnic Korean residents in Japan, n = 204; Japanese, n = 221) aged 65 and older living in a community in Osaka City. Findings from the two groups were compared using the Student's t -test and the ,2 test. We also employed multiple linear regression analysis. Results: We found that the ethnic Korean group had less formal education (P < 0.001), lower ADL (P < 0.05) and QOL (P < 0.001), higher illiteracy (P < 0.05) and depression rates (P < 0.001), and a higher prevalence of hypertension, myocardial infarction and diabetes mellitus than the Japanese group. Ethnicity was a significant variable for subjective well-being in simple linear regression analysis. After adjusting for literacy, absence of sense of purpose in life and mental health in multiple regression analysis, ethnicity remained a significant variable. Conclusions: The present findings indicate that ethnic Korean elderly have poor health and social situations compared with the Japanese group, and that there was a difference in subjective well-being between the two ethnic groups. [source] Mediational behaviours of preschoolers teaching their younger siblingsINFANT AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 3 2003Pnina S. Klein There is very little research on the process of teaching in sibling interaction. The current study was designed to explore teaching behaviours of preschoolers and their effects on their toddler siblings. Participants were 40 dyads of 5-yr-olds and their 3-yr-old siblings from a middle class urban community in Israel. The children were divided into four equal groups based on gender and age of the siblings in each dyad. The children were visited at home and invited to play with two puzzles and two Lego games. Their play interaction with their siblings was videotaped. The observations were analysed using the observing mediational interaction (OMI) scale, assessing the frequency and style of the following behaviours: Focussing, Affecting, Encouraging, Expanding, and Regulating Behaviour. The younger siblings' success in playing the games was evaluated using a 5-point scale. The frequency of teaching behaviours in sibling interaction was found to be related to the younger siblings' success on the games. Affecting and Encouraging were significantly related to the younger siblings' level of success on the games. The teaching behaviours of older siblings were characterized by relatively high frequencies of Regulation of Behavior and Encouraging, moderate frequencies of Affecting and low frequencies of Expanding. Boys were found to receive more teaching behaviours than girls. Older brothers and sisters showed higher frequencies of teaching behaviour in interactions with their younger brothers than with their younger sisters. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Urban community in China: service, participation and developmentINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WELFARE, Issue 3 2006Qingwen Xu With the rapid urbanisation and population growth in the cities, the People's Republic of China has recognised the importance of community development based on an ever-increasing demand for social services. In 1994, the Chinese government adopted community service as an alternative way of providing the supplemental safety net in urban areas. Along with this top-down approach, resident-initiated activities, participation and grassroots organisations at the community level are growing at an incredible pace. Using a case study, this study explores the context and aspects of community services, participation and community development in a Chinese urban community. Results indicate that China's reformed market economy and welfare system presses ordinary urban people to reconnect to the local community to ensure welfare security and quality of life. Community participation in China has rediscovered the path of community development and re-interpreted the top-down and bottom-up approaches in the context of community services. [source] An alternative urban world is possible: a declaration for urban research and actionINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF URBAN AND REGIONAL RESEARCH, Issue 4 2003Action (INURA)Article first published online: 17 DEC 200, International Network for Urban Research At its June 2002 meeting in Paris and Caen, France, the members of the International Network for Urban Research and Action (INURA) collectively agreed on a declaration to express the organization's urbanist agenda. This declaration operates on two levels: one makes five statements conceived in the tradition of earlier (for example situationist) manifestos; the other is a set of concise statements on the state of the globalization process in the era of globalization and neoliberalism. Subsections of the declaration deal with an urban world, a global city, migrant cities, unsustainable urban-natural relations, neoliberalization, attacks on democracy, community vulnerability, the rise of racism, and some thoughts on possible alternatives. The strategic purpose of this declaration was to be an intervention at meetings of the international urban community, for example for the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre in January 2003 and similar regional and local events. The declaration is published here in order to invite debate among other scholars and activists on the issues raised in its theses and statements. Lors de ses rassemblements de juin 2002 à Paris et Caen, les membres de l'INURA (International Network for Urban Research and Action) ont convenu ensemble d'une déclaration visant à exprimer le programme urbanistique du Réseu. Cette déclaration agit à deux niveaux: l'un énonce cinq propositions dans la tradition de manifestes antérieurs (situationnistes, par exemple), l'autre est une série de communications concises sur l'état de la démarche mondialiste à l'ére de la globalisation et du néolibéralisme. Les paragraphes de la déclaration abordent univers urbain, ville planétaire, villes de migrants, relations ville-nature insoutenables à terme, néolibéralisation, attaques contre la démocratie, vulnérabilité des communautés, montée du racisme et quelques réflexions sur les options possibles. Cette déclaration avait pour objectif stratégique une intervention lors de rencontres de la communauté urbaine internationale, comme au Forum social mondial de Pôrto Alegre en janvier 2003, ou d'événements locaux et régionaux similaires. Elle est publiée ici afin de susciter un débat entre d'autres intellectuels et militants sur les problèmes que posent ses thèses et propositions. [source] Clinicians' Views on Reproductive Needs and Services for Teens With Negative Pregnancy TestsJOURNAL FOR SPECIALISTS IN PEDIATRIC NURSING, Issue 2 2004Alison Moriarty Daley MSN ISSUES AND PURPOSE To explore services available to adolescent girls at the time of the negative pregnancy test (NPT) in an urban community. DESIGN AND METHODS Clinicans focus groups were conducted to identify the needs of adolescents at the time of a NPT result. RESULTS Teens access care in a variety of ways, services provided at the time of a NPT were agency and clinical dependent, and strategies for follow-up care often were unstructured. Few services were available for parents or partners. Barriers included difficulty communicating with agencies, lack of staff trained to work with adolescents, and time/financial constraints. CONCLUSION Adolescents need comprehensive, teen-friendly reproductive care at the time of a NPT results. [source] The social dimension of the Southern Vowel Shift: Gender, age and classJOURNAL OF SOCIOLINGUISTICS, Issue 2 2001Valerie Fridland The three most broadly recognized dialect areas of American Regional English are currently being re-defined by, in some cases, sweeping changes that alter the way vowels are being pronounced in the South, North and West. While research into the changes in urban Northern dialects has contributed a fairly broad picture of both the phonetic and social character of the Northern Cities Shift (NCS), the changes affecting the Southern region of the U.S. have received less attention, particularly in terms of social distribution and dissemination. This paper seeks to address the question of how successfully changes in the high and mid front and back vowels in the South are being disseminated throughout a local urban community and how these changes fit in with changes occurring in other American dialects. In addition, the paper weighs the attraction to local or national norms in determining the success and diffusion of each of the shifts relative to the social environment in which they are developing and attempts to relate the local social embedding of the shifts to their meaning in the larger national context. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||