Parental perceptions of neighborhood effects in Latino comunas: the script of "the delinquent" in understanding drug use, violence, and social disorganization

OBJECTIVES: To obtain rich information about how adult Latinos living in high-poverty/high-drug use neighborhoods perceive and negotiate their environment. METHODS: In 2008, thirteen adult caregivers in Santiago, Chile were interviewed with open-ended questions to ascertain beliefs about neighborhood effects and drug use. ANALYSIS: Inductive analysis was used to develop the codebook/identify trends. DISCUSSION: Residents externalized their understanding of drug use and misuse by invoking the concept of delinquent youth. A typology of their perceptions is offered. Learning more about residents’ circumstances may help focus on needs-based interventions. More research with Latino neighborhoods is needed for culturally-competent models of interventions.The present study received support from National Hispanic Science Network Fellows Summer grant awarded to the lead author. The study was also partially supported by the National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01:DA021181) and the Vivian A. and James L. Curtis School of Social Work Research and Training Center, University of Michigan. (National Hispanic Science Network; R01:DA021181 - National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Drug Abuse; Vivian A. and James L. Curtis School of Social Work Research and Training Center, University of Michigan

Examining the quality of adolescent–parent relationships among Chilean families

The purpose of this study was to examine if adolescents reports of warm and harsh parenting practices by their mothers and fathers varied as a function of demographic, youth and their mothers or mother figures' individual and family characteristics. Data are from 707 community-dwelling adolescents (mean age=14, SD=1.4) and their mothers or mother figures in Santiago, Chile. Having a warmer relationship with both parents was inversely associated with the adolescents' age and positively associated with adolescents' family involvement and parental monitoring. Both mothers' and fathers' harsh parenting were positively associated with adolescent externalizing behaviors and being male and inversely associated with youth autonomy and family involvement. These findings suggest that net of adolescent developmental emancipation and adolescent behavioral problems, positive relationships with parents, especially fathers, may be nurtured through parental monitoring and creation of an interactive family environment, and can help to foster positive developmental outcomes.http://europepmc.org/backend/ptpmcrender.fcgi?accid=PMC3839673&blobtype=pdfAccepted manuscrip

Sexual intercourse among adolescents in Santiago, Chile: a study of individual and parenting factors

OBJECTIVE: To examine a range of individual, parenting, and family factors associated with sexual intercourse among a community sample of youth and their families in Santiago, Chile. METHODS: Data were taken from the first wave of the Santiago Longitudinal Study conducted in January 2008–November 2009. Participants were 766 youth (mean age = 14.03 years, 51% male) from municipalities of low-to mid-socioeconomic status. Variables included emotional and behavioral subscales from the Child Behavior Checklist’s Youth Self Report, parental monitoring, family involvement, parental control and autonomy, relationship with each parent, and sexual activity. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to examine the odds of sexual intercourse initiation. RESULTS: Seventy (9.14%) youth reported having had sex in their lifetime; the average age of first sexual intercourse among this group was 13.5 years (Standard Deviation [SD] = 1.74) for males and 14.08 (SD = 1.40) for females. Having sex was inversely associated with withdrawn-depressed symptoms (Odds Ratio [OR] = 0.84, Confidence Interval [CI] = 0.72–0.97), but positively associated with somatic complaints (OR = 1.20, CI = 1.04–1.38) and rule breaking behavior (OR = 1.21, CI = 1.08–1.36), after adjusting for demographic and other individual and parenting variables. The majority (80%) of the youth who had had sex reported using protection at the time of last intercourse. CONCLUSIONS: Findings highlight the role that mental health problems—some of them not commonly associated with onset of sexual activity—may play in a youth’s decision to have sex. The potential protective effects of several parenting and family characteristics disappeared with youth age and youth behavioral problems.R01 HD033487 - NICHD NIH HHS; R01 DA021181 - NIDA NIH HHS; DA021181 - NIDA NIH HH

Ecological factors and adolescent marijuana use: results of a prospective study in Santiago, Chile

PURPOSE: Despite the growing evidence that ecological factors contribute to substance use, the relationship of ecological factors and illicit drugs such as marijuana use is not well understood, particularly among adolescents in Latin America. Guided by social disorganization and social stress theories, we prospectively examined the association of disaggregated neighborhood characteristics with marijuana use among adolescents in Santiago, Chile, and tested if these relationships varied by sex. METHODS: Data for this study are from 725 community-dwelling adolescents participating in the Santiago Longitudinal Study, a study of substance using behaviors among urban adolescents in Santiago, Chile. Adolescents completed a two-hour interviewer administered questionnaire with questions about drug use and factors related to drug using behaviors. RESULTS: As the neighborhood levels of drug availability at baseline increased, but not crime or noxious environment, adolescents had higher odds of occasions of marijuana use at follow up, approximately 2 years later (odds ratio [OR] = 1.39; 95% CI = 1.16–1.66), even after controlling for the study’s covariates. No interactions by sex were significant. DISCUSSION: The findings suggest that “poverty”, “crime”, and “drug problems” may not be synonyms and thus can be understood discretely. As Latin American countries re-examine their drug policies, especially those concerning decriminalizing marijuana use, the findings suggest that attempts to reduce adolescent marijuana use in disadvantaged neighborhoods may do best if efforts are concentrated on specific features of the “substance abuse environment”.We are extremely grateful to the families in Chile for their participation in this study. This study received support from the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01 DA021181; T32 DA007267) and the Vivian A. and James L. Curtis School of Social Work Research and Training Center. (R01 DA021181 - U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse; T32 DA007267 - U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse; Vivian A. and James L. Curtis School of Social Work Research and Training Center

The association of at-risk, problem, and pathological gambling with substance use, depression, and arrest history

We examined at-risk, problem, or pathological gambling co-occurrence with frequency of past-year alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use; depressive symptoms; and arrest history. Data included the responses of over 3,000 individuals who participated in a 2006 telephone survey designed to understand the extent of at-risk, problem, and pathological gambling; comorbidity levels with substance use; mental health; and social problems among Southwestern U.S. residents. Data were analyzed with multinomial and bivariate logistic regression. Respondents at risk for problem gambling were more likely to use alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana than those respondents not at risk. Pathological gamblers were no more or less likely to consume alcohol or tobacco than were non-gamblers or those not at risk. A dose-response relationship existed between degree of gambling problems and depressive symptoms and arrest history. Interventions for at-risk or problem gamblers need to include substance use treatment, and the phenomenon of low levels of substance use among pathological gamblers needs further exploration

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, Absent from National Surveillance and Present Online: Implications for Mental and Behavioral Health.

In the United States there is a need to increase awareness and management of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a metabolic, reproductive, and endocrine condition the National Institutes of Health has described as a major public health problem for women. PCOS is a highly prevalent chronic condition that can begin in adolescence and is associated with irregular or no menstrual periods, excessive body hair, acne, infertility, obesity, anxiety and depression, and poor health-related quality of life. This paper consists of two studies that aim to understand PCOS and women’s health in two contexts, the health care system and digital (online) spaces. The first paper examines the demographics and behavioral health care of patients seen for PCOS-related medical visits using national health care data. The findings point to potential disparities in PCOS-related health care access and utilization by age, race, insurance type, and percent poverty greater than 10% in the patient’s zip code. Limited information on behavioral health education and mental health including depression screening, depression diagnosis, and mental health care underscores the need to strengthen national surveillance to further understand behavioral health care services for PCOS. The second paper explores how teen and women’s digital magazines portray adolescents and women with PCOS to understand discourse and ideologies related to health, illness, and gender in these media. The results suggest these magazine articles contain dominant ideologies of beauty and gender and place considerable personal responsibility on women to improve their health through lifestyle changes. Women were also depicted as change agents that used their personal experiences with PCOS to advocate for women’s health. The results can inform the strategic use of digital women’s magazines to promote health and the development of health education programs that train women to be critical consumers of health media. Given that individuals look to the internet and magazines, in addition to health care providers, for health information, these studies highlight how the digital landscape and health care intersect and provide directions for future research to improve women’s health.PhDSocial Work and PsychologyUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/113329/1/ninive_1.pd

Implementation of Delta-Sigma ADCs using the Microchip AVR-DB family of microcontrollers

AVR® MCU DB er en ny mikrokontrollerfamilie, som inkludere bruker-konfigurerbare op-amper som periferifunksjoner. Disse op-ampene gjør det mulig å implementere op-amp kretser med moderat kompleksitet, uten eksterne aktive komponenter. Dette åpner muligheten for analog signalprosessering i applikasjoner med lav kostnad og liten størrelse. I dette prosjektet benyttes disse op-ampene, sammen med andre tilgjengelige periferifunksjoner, til å implementere en integrerende AD-omsetter (ADC), for å forsøke å oppnå et alternativ til den integrerte 12-bit ADCen, med høyere oppløsning. Det ble implementert tre varianter av en Delta-Sigma ADC, og en dual-slope type ADC. Alle implementasjonene ble så karakterisert, for å måle linearitet og effektiv oppløsning. Det beste ytelsen ble oppnådd med en førsteordens Delta-Sigma ADC med et digitalt glidende gjennomsnittsfilter, implementert uavhengig av CPUen i mikrokontrolleren. Denne ADCen oppnådde en nær 12-bit brukbar måling. Selv om dette bare tangerer den integrerte ADCens ytelse, er det muligheter for forbedring. I tillegg kan teknikken muligens også benyttes med andre mikrokontrollere, i situasjoner uten en integrert ADC, eller hvor denne har lavere oppløsning.AVR® MCU DB is a new family of microcontrollers from Microchip, which includes user-configurable op-amps as peripherals. These op-amps makes it possible to implement moderately complex op-amp circuits, without external active components, which opens the door for low-cost and small-size applications involving analog signal processing. This project uses these op-amps, together with other available peripherals, to implement an integrating analog-to-digital converter (ADC), in pursuit of a higher-resolution alternative to the 12-bit on-chip ADC. Three variations of a Delta-Sigma ADC were implemented, as well as a dual-slope type ADC. These were then characterized to measure the linearity, and effective resolution. Among the implementations, the best performing is a first-order Delta-Sigma type ADC, with a moving-average digital filter, implemented in a core-independent way, using timer/counter peripherals. This ADC achieved close to a 12-bit usable measurement. While this only matches the on-chip ADC, there are opportunities for improvement. Additionally, the technique could also be viable with other, lower-cost, microcontrollers, where a on-chip might be lower resolution, or absent

Navigating Secondary Traumatic Stress: The Role and Strategies of Law Enforcement Spouses in Promoting Family Well-Being and Resilience

Law enforcement officers’ (LEO) spouses play an important role in supporting their officers and maintaining family well-being and resilience in the face of unique challenges associated with the law enforcement career. This hermeneutic phenomenological study explores the experiences, challenges, and strategies LEO spouses utilize to navigate their roles’ demands and promote resilience within their families. This study aimed to understand better LEO spouses’ perceived roles and strategies for fostering family well-being and resilience. Specifically, it explored the challenges accompanied by the law enforcement career that LEO spouses face, the coping strategies they utilize, and the factors contributing to their resilience. This study involved conducting in-depth, semi-structured interviews and focus groups with seven LEO spouses residing in different states across the United States. Thematic analysis was utilized for data analysis, followed by a rigorous iterative process that allowed the identification of key themes related to the roles and strategies of LEO Spouses. These included the psychological impact of the job on officers and their spouses, navigating challenging shift work, lack of support, perceived roles and responsibilities, family resilience, and fostering family well-being through coping strategies. This study’s findings shed light on LEO spouses’ multiple roles and experiences and provide valuable insights into their strategies to maintain family well-being and resilience. By understanding the distinct challenges these spouses face and the strategies they use to cope with stressors, support organizations can better tailor interventions to meet the needs of law enforcement families

21st Century Film Distribution

'21st Century Film Distribution' undersøker rollen filmdistribusjon har hatt i en særdeles turbulent periode. Disruptiv adferd har preget de etablerte institusjonene, hvor flere av de største studioene har lansert egne strømmetjenester, rundt samme tid som koronapandemien slo til. Mye av diskursen rundt film ser ut til å dreie seg om strømming og digital utgivelse av film, hvilket har fått flere til å spekulere i kinoens bærekraft og levedyktighet, i en tid der nye medium har aggressivt tatt seg til rette i markedet. Opphavet til den store strømmeevolusjonen ligger i lineær TVs frafall. Økosystemet til filmdistribusjon er komplekst og har mange sider. Derfor vil denne oppgaven tar for seg både hvordan distribusjon fungerer, og kanalene det går gjennom som kino, fysisk media, lineær TV og ikke minst strømming.'21st Century Film Distribution' investigates the role film distribution has had in an unprecedented and turbulent period. Disruptive behaviour has effected the established institutions, as most major studios have launched their own streaming platforms around the time the Covid pandemic hit. A lot of the discourse appears to evolve around streaming and digital releases of film. This has in turn has seen many speculating in the sustainability and viability of movie theatres as new platforms have fiercely entered the market. The origins of the great streaming evolution lies in the fall of linear TV. The film distribution ecosystem is intricate and multifaceted. Therefor will this dissertation deliberate both on how distribution works, as well as the channels it goes through such as cinema, physical media, linear TV and not least streaming

Use of “Comment Bubbles” in a Writing-intensive, Social and Economic Justice Course: A Novel Approach to Engage Students in Thinking About Their Writing Choices

A central question among instructors teaching writing-intensive courses is how to best respond to student writing. This study posits that the margin of the essay should not be reserved for instructor feedback only, and that allowing students to comment on their writing choices in this space has pedagogical aims. This study examined the use of “comment bubbles” to engage students in thinking about their writing choices in argumentative writing in an undergraduate social and economic justice course. Comment bubbles are comments and questions students inserted in the margin of their essays using the comment function in Microsoft Word. The margin of student essays was framed as a safe writing environment to encourage student self-expression beyond that already expressed in the essay. A thematic analysis of student comment bubbles found that students used the comment bubbles to react to research they read in journal articles, elaborate on their writing choices, share their personal experiences, and reflect on their future career interests. Allowing students to comment on their writing choices in this space facilitates student self-expression, self-reflection, and critical thinking