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Descriptive Results (descriptive + result)
Selected AbstractsDoes a critical mass exist?EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL RESEARCH, Issue 2 2002A comparative analysis of women's legislative representation since 1950 It has often been argued theoretically that a ,critical mass,' ranging from 10 to 35 per cent women, is needed before major changes in legislative institutions, behaviour, policy priorities and policy voting occurs. This paper examines one of the less-explored dimensions of the critical mass concept: Is there a process by which women reaching a critical mass of the legislature accelerates the election of further women? Using data from the Inter-Parliamentary Union and International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, we analyze this question for 20 industrialized democracies over a period of half a century, longer than any other relevant research. Descriptive results indicate that gains in women's representation have been incremental rather than a critical mass accelerating the election of women to legislatures. In a multivariate analysis of the percentage of women in the lower house of the legislature, the critical mass is tested against established explanations of women's gains in seats: institutional rules, egalitarian political culture, political parties and economic development. Of two measures of the critical mass theory, one has no impact and the second results in only a small increase in women's gains. Far from being clearly demonstrated, critical mass theories need empirical testing. [source] Treatment of opioid dependence in adolescents and young adults with extended release naltrexone: preliminary case-series and feasibilityADDICTION, Issue 9 2010Marc J. Fishman ABSTRACT Background Opioid dependence is an increasing problem among adolescents and young adults, but in contrast to the standard in the adult population, adoption of pharmacotherapies has been slow. Extended-release naltrexone (XR-NTX) is a promising treatment that has been receiving increasing interest for adult opioid dependence. Clinical chart abstractions were performed on a convenience sample of 16 serial adolescent and young adult cases (mean age 18.5 years) treated for opioid dependence with XR-NTX who attended at least one out-patient clinical follow-up visit. Case descriptions Of these 16 cases, 10 of 16 (63%) were retained in treatment for at least 4 months and nine of 16 (56%) had a ,good' outcome defined as having substantially decreased opioid use, improvement in at least one psychosocial domain and no new problems due to substance use. Conclusions These descriptive results suggest that XR-NTX in the treatment of adolescents and young adults with opioid dependence is well tolerated over a period of 4 months and feasible in a community-based treatment setting, and associated with good outcomes in a preliminary, small non-controlled case-series. This probably reflects an overall trend towards greater adoption of medication treatments for this population. [source] Fostering Civic Engagement by Building a Virtual CityJOURNAL OF COMPUTER-MEDIATED COMMUNICATION, Issue 3 2006Marina Umaschi Bers This article focuses on the design and use of networked technologies to create learning environments to foster the civic engagement of youth. First, we briefly describe the Zora three-dimensional multiuser environment that engages children in the design of a graphical virtual city and its social organization. Anecdotal data are then used to help define different aspects of civic engagement, namely civic actions and civic discourse. Finally, we present descriptive results from a pilot study of young people using Zora in the context of a multicultural summer camp for youth. During this experience, children developed a virtual community that became a safe space for experimenting with decision-making, self-organization, and civic conversations, as well as for testing democratic values, behaviors, and attitudes. Using Zora as a case study, this article shows the potential of networked technologies to facilitate different aspects of young people's civic development. [source] Variation across the agricultural season in organophosphorus pesticide urinary metabolite levels for Latino farmworkers in eastern North Carolina: Project design and descriptive resultsAMERICAN JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL MEDICINE, Issue 7 2009Thomas A. Arcury PhD Abstract Background Community Participatory Approach to Measuring Farmworker Pesticide Exposure, PACE3, used a longitudinal design to document pesticide biomarkers among farmworkers. This article presents an overview of PACE3 and provides a descriptive analysis of participant characteristics and one set of pesticide biomarkers, the dialkylphosphate (DAP) urinary metabolites of organophosphorus (OP) pesticides. Methods Two hundred eighty seven farmworkers were recruited during 2007 from 44 farmworker camps in 11 eastern North Carolina counties. Participants provided interviews, urine samples, blood samples, and saliva samples up to four times at monthly intervals beginning in May. A total of 939 data points were collected. Results Farmworkers were largely men (91.3%) from Mexico (94.8%) with a mean age of 33.7 years (SE 0.82); 23.3% spoke an indigenous language. Across all data points, frequencies of detection and median urinary concentrations were 41.3% and 0.96,µg/L for dimethylphosphate (DMP), 78.3% and 3.61,µg/L for dimethylthiophosphate (DMTP), 33.3% and 0.04,µg/L for dimethyldithiophosphate (DMDTP), 40.5% and 0.87,µg/L for diethylphosphate (DEP), 32.3% and 0.17,µg/L for diethylthiophosphate (DETP), and 8.09% and 0.00,µg/L for diethyldithiophosphate (DEDTP). The frequencies of detection and urinary concentrations of the DAP metabolites increased during the season. Conclusions More PACE3 participants were from Mexico, male, migrant workers, and spoke an indigenous language compared to national data. PACE3 participants had comparable frequencies of detection and urinary metabolite concentrations with participants in other studies. Variability in the frequencies of detection and urinary concentrations of the DAP metabolites indicates the importance of longitudinal studies of biomarkers of currently used pesticides in farmworker populations. Am. J. Ind. Med. 52:539,550, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Use of the Kidcope to identify socio-economically diverse Spanish school-age children's stressors and coping strategiesCHILD: CARE, HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT, Issue 6 2009N. Pereda Abstract Background The process by which children cope with stressful events is a very relevant topic. However, few systematic efforts have been made to design age-specific measures. Methods This study examined problems commonly experienced by children, ages between 7 and 12 years, from two different sources: a primary school mainly enrolling families of medium socio-economic status, and an after-school social care centre from a socially and economically deprived neighbourhood. Data were obtained using the younger version of the Kidcope. Results Almost 55% of the sample reported a problem related to others with no differences observed in age, gender or school group. The strategies that children considered the most effective were ,social support' (35%), ,emotional regulation' (33%) and ,wishful thinking' (32%). The children from disadvantaged backgrounds reported different problems mainly related with ,victimization and violence', ,moving house' and conflicts with ,norms and rules' and tended to use avoidant strategies to face them, which could be related to the perception of uncontrollability of these stressors. Conclusions This study reported the first descriptive results in the type of problems and coping strategies of two different social groups of Spanish children using the Kidcope. The Kidcope can be useful to screen children for coping abilities at an early age living under stressful conditions in underprivileged sectors of society. [source] | |||||||||||||