Self-efficacy, religiosity, and crime: profiles of African American youth in urban housing communities

Youth reporting independently elevated levels of religiosity and self-efficacy tend to abstain from externalizing behavior. However, little is known about the ways in which religiosity and self-efficacy interrelate to impact youth externalizing. Drawing from a sample of African American youth from public housing communities (N = 236), we use latent profile analysis to identify subtypes of youth based on self-reported religiosity and self-efficacy and, in turn, examine links with crime. Compared to youth in other subgroups, those classified as both highly religious and highly self-efficacious reported less involvement in minor and severe delinquency, but not violence.R25 DA030310 - National Institute on Drug Abuse; R25 DA030310 - National Institutes of Healt

The philosopher as artist: Ludwig Wittgenstein seen through Edoardo Paolozzi

In this article I argue that the strong fascination that Wittgenstein has had for artists cannot be explained primarily by the content of his work, and in particular not by his sporadic observation on aesthetics, but rather by stylistic features of his work formal aspects of his writing. Edoardo Paolozzi’s testimony shows that artists often had a feeling of acquaintance or familiarity with the philosopher, which I think is due to stylistic features of his work, such as the colloquial tone in which Wittgenstein shares his observation with the reader, but also the lack of long-winded arguments or explanations. In the concluding part I suggest that we can read Wittgenstein’s artworks of a specific kind: as philosophical works of art

An der Schnittstelle von Wissenschaft und Praxis: Dokumentation einer Tagung zu partizipativer Forschung in Public Health

Die Zusammenarbeit von Wissenschaft und Praxis birgt viele Potentiale in Public Health, insbesondere im Hinblick auf Forschung und Qualitätsentwicklung in der Gesundheitsförderung und Prävention mit sozial Benachteiligten. Partizipative Ansätze, die in der Tradition der Aktionsforschung stehen, werden international mit Begriffen wie participatory action research (PAR) und community-based participatory research (CBPR) vielfältig angewendet und weiterentwickelt, auch in den Gesundheitswissenschaften. Forschung an der Schnittstelle von Wissenschaft und Praxis stand daher im Mittelpunkt der hier dokumentierten Tagung am Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung (WZB), 4.-6.10.2007. Die Tagung diente dem internationalen, interdisziplinären Austausch zu methodologischen Fragen partizipativer Forschung im Gesundheitsbereich. Dokumentiert sind die Beiträge der Referent/innen aus Deutschland, Österreich, der Schweiz und Kanada, sowie die Ergebnisse der Diskussion unter den Teilnehmenden und erste Ideen für die Entwicklung eines Netzwerks für partizipative Gesundheitsforschung in Deutschland.The cooperation of scientists, service providers and communities holds promise for public health - in particular with respect to research and quality assurance in health promotion and disease prevention with socially disadvantaged groups. Participatory approaches following the tradition of action research, such as "participatory action research" (PAR) and "communitybased participatory research" (CBPR), are applied and developed internationally, also in the health sciences. Research at the interface of science, service provision and communities was thus the focus of a conference at the Social Science Research Center Berlin (WZB), 4.-6.10.2007. The conference was dedicated to an international and interdisciplinary exchange about methodological questions in participatory health research. The presentations of speakers from Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Canada are documented, as well as results of the discussions among the conference participants including initial ideas regarding the development of a network for participatory health research in Germany

Developing an Optimal Repair-Replacement Strategy for Pallets

The problem of determining when to repair and when to replace failing equipment is a concern of management of productive resources. Inefficient management due to the use of non-optimal repair-replacement policies can have significant financial implications. The purpose of this paper is to describe the problem, analysis and results of a study which is concerned with determining the optimal repair-replacement strategy for an organization managing a large number of wooden pallets.Supported in part by the U.S. Army Research Office (Durham) under Contract No. DAHC04-73-C-0032

Aktionsforschung im deutschsprachigen Raum: Zur Geschichte und Aktualität eines kontroversen Ansatzes aus Public Health Sicht

Die deutschsprachige Debatte um den Ansatz der Aktionsforschung unterscheidet sich wesentlich von der angloamerikanischen Debatte. Dort wurde der action research Ansatz in den 1940er Jahren von dem Sozialpsychologen Kurt Lewin entwickelt und erfreut sich als Forschungsstrategie auch heute noch relativ großer Beliebtheit in verschiedenen Disziplinen. In Deutschland wurde die Aktionsforschung in den 1970er Jahren im Zuge einer grundsätzlichen, gesellschafts-, wissenschafts- und methodenkritischen Debatte intensiv diskutiert, verschwand aber nach einer vergleichsweise kurzen Zeit wieder fast vollständig aus dem sozialwissenschaftlichen Diskurs. Dieses Discussion Paper beleuchtet die Geschichte der Aktionsforschung im deutschsprachigen Raum und zeigt auf, dass einige zentrale Begriffe und Anliegen der Aktionsforschung seit den 1970er Jahren weiter entwickelt wurden, unter anderem in der qualitativen Sozialforschung, der Praxisforschung und dem Ansatz der Selbstevaluation. Als Forschungsstrategie sieht die Aktionsforschung eine enge Zusammenarbeit von Wissenschaftler/innen und Praktiker/innen unter der Zielsetzung der gemeinsamen Erforschung und Beeinflussung eines bestimmten sozialen Handlungsfeldes und der darin verorteten, professionellen Praxis vor. Die Autor/inn/en argumentieren, dass ein solches Vorgehen im Kontext der aktuellen gesundheitswissenschaftlichen Debatte um Evidenzbasierung sehr relevant ist. In Anlehnung an die Aktionsforschung und andere Quellen haben sie den Ansatz der Partizipativen Qualitätsentwicklung für Public Health entwickelt, der sich insbesondere für Maßnahmen der lebensweltorientierten Primärprävention und Gesundheitsförderung mit sozial benachteiligten Gruppen eignet. Dieser Ansatz wirft jedoch auch methodische und methodologische Fragen auf, die zum Teil in der Tradition der Aktionsforschung stehen, und für deren Diskussion die Konfliktlinien, Erfahrungen und Einsichten der kritischen deutschsprachigen Debatte der Aktionsforschung seit den 1970er Jahren aufschlussreich sind. Das Discussion Paper bespricht ausgewählte Aspekte dieser Geschichte, um die aktuelle Methoden-Debatte in Public Health zu bereichern. -- The German-speaking discourse on action research differs profoundly from the Anglo- American discourse where action research was first developed by social psychologist Kurt Lewin and where it is still a widely used research strategy across disciplines. In the Germanspeaking discourse, on the other hand, action research was only introduced in the early 1970s when it became vastly popular in the context of a larger critical debate in the social sciences, before it disappeared again from the scientific discourse a decade later. This discussion paper traces the history of action research in the German-speaking discourse highlighting its developments and continuities. As a research strategy, action research involves the close collaboration of researchers and practitioners with the aim of investigating and influencing the professional practice in a chosen field. This approach is currently highly relevant in the context of the public health debate on evidence based practice. Inspired by the original ideas of action research and other sources, the authors developed participatory quality development as a new approach for community-based health promotion and primary prevention, in particular those tailored to socially disadvantaged groups. The approach has clear strengths, but also raises methodological questions some of which are rooted in the tradition of action research. These challenges can be addressed with reference to the experiences and insights gained in the critical, German-speaking debate of action research. This discussion paper discusses selected aspects of this historical debate in order to enrich the current methodological debate in public health.Aktionsforschung,Praxisforschung,Selbstevaluation,partizipative Methoden,Evidenzbasierung,Qualitätssicherung,Public Health,Action research,participatory evaluation,participatory methods,evidence based practice,quality assurance,public health

Trajectories of urinary incontinence in childhood and bladder and bowel symptoms in adolescence:prospective cohort study

OBJECTIVES: To identify different patterns (trajectories) of childhood urinary incontinence and examine which patterns are associated with bladder and bowel symptoms in adolescence. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: General community. PARTICIPANTS: The starting sample included 8751 children (4507 men and 4244 women) with parent-reported data on frequency of bedwetting and daytime wetting for at least three of five time points (4½, 5½, 6½, 7½ and 9½ years—hereafter referred to as 4–9 years). Study children provided data on a range of bladder and bowel symptoms at age 14 (data available for 5899 participants). OUTCOME MEASURES: Self-reported bladder and bowel symptoms at 14 years including daytime wetting, bedwetting, nocturia, urgency, frequent urination, low voided volume, voiding postponement, passing hard stools and low stool frequency. RESULTS: We extracted 5 trajectories of urinary incontinence from 4 to 9 years using longitudinal latent class analysis: (1) normative development of daytime and night-time bladder control (63.0% of the sample), (2) delayed attainment of bladder control (8.6%), (3) bedwetting alone (no daytime wetting) (15.6%), (4) daytime wetting alone (no bedwetting) (5.8%) and (5) persistent wetting (bedwetting with daytime wetting to age 9) (7.0%). The persistent wetting class generally showed the strongest associations with the adolescent bladder and bowel symptoms: OR for bedwetting at 14 years=23.5, 95% CI (15.1 to 36.5), daytime wetting (6.98 (4.50 to 10.8)), nocturia (2.39 (1.79 to 3.20)), urgency (2.10 (1.44 to 3.07)) and passing hard stools (2.64 (1.63 to 4.27)) (reference category=normative development). The association with adolescent bedwetting was weaker for children with bedwetting alone (3.69 (2.21 to 6.17)). CONCLUSIONS: Trajectories of childhood urinary incontinence are differentially associated with adolescent bladder and bowel symptoms. Children exhibiting persistent bedwetting with daytime wetting had the poorest outcomes in adolescence

Aktionsforschung im deutschsprachigen Raum: Zur Geschichte und Aktualität eines kontroversen Ansatzes aus Public Health Sicht

Die deutschsprachige Debatte um den Ansatz der Aktionsforschung unterscheidet sich wesentlich von der angloamerikanischen Debatte. Dort wurde der action research Ansatz in den 1940er Jahren von dem Sozialpsychologen Kurt Lewin entwickelt und erfreut sich als Forschungsstrategie auch heute noch relativ großer Beliebtheit in verschiedenen Disziplinen. In Deutschland wurde die Aktionsforschung in den 1970er Jahren im Zuge einer grundsätzlichen, gesellschafts-, wissenschafts- und methodenkritischen Debatte intensiv diskutiert, verschwand aber nach einer vergleichsweise kurzen Zeit wieder fast vollständig aus dem sozialwissenschaftlichen Diskurs. Dieses Discussion Paper beleuchtet die Geschichte der Aktionsforschung im deutschsprachigen Raum und zeigt auf, dass einige zentrale Begriffe und Anliegen der Aktionsforschung seit den 1970er Jahren weiter entwickelt wurden, unter anderem in der qualitativen Sozialforschung, der Praxisforschung und dem Ansatz der Selbstevaluation. Als Forschungsstrategie sieht die Aktionsforschung eine enge Zusammenarbeit von Wissenschaftler/innen und Praktiker/innen unter der Zielsetzung der gemeinsamen Erforschung und Beeinflussung eines bestimmten sozialen Handlungsfeldes und der darin verorteten, professionellen Praxis vor. Die Autor/inn/en argumentieren, dass ein solches Vorgehen im Kontext der aktuellen gesundheitswissenschaftlichen Debatte um Evidenzbasierung sehr relevant ist. In Anlehnung an die Aktionsforschung und andere Quellen haben sie den Ansatz der Partizipativen Qualitätsentwicklung für Public Health entwickelt, der sich insbesondere für Maßnahmen der lebensweltorientierten Primärprävention und Gesundheitsförderung mit sozial benachteiligten Gruppen eignet. Dieser Ansatz wirft jedoch auch methodische und methodologische Fragen auf, die zum Teil in der Tradition der Aktionsforschung stehen, und für deren Diskussion die Konfliktlinien, Erfahrungen und Einsichten der kritischen deutschsprachigen Debatte der Aktionsforschung seit den 1970er Jahren aufschlussreich sind. Das Discussion Paper bespricht ausgewählte Aspekte dieser Geschichte, um die aktuelle Methoden-Debatte in Public Health zu bereichern.The German-speaking discourse on action research differs profoundly from the Anglo- American discourse where action research was first developed by social psychologist Kurt Lewin and where it is still a widely used research strategy across disciplines. In the Germanspeaking discourse, on the other hand, action research was only introduced in the early 1970s when it became vastly popular in the context of a larger critical debate in the social sciences, before it disappeared again from the scientific discourse a decade later. This discussion paper traces the history of action research in the German-speaking discourse highlighting its developments and continuities. As a research strategy, action research involves the close collaboration of researchers and practitioners with the aim of investigating and influencing the professional practice in a chosen field. This approach is currently highly relevant in the context of the public health debate on evidence based practice. Inspired by the original ideas of action research and other sources, the authors developed participatory quality development as a new approach for community-based health promotion and primary prevention, in particular those tailored to socially disadvantaged groups. The approach has clear strengths, but also raises methodological questions some of which are rooted in the tradition of action research. These challenges can be addressed with reference to the experiences and insights gained in the critical, German-speaking debate of action research. This discussion paper discusses selected aspects of this historical debate in order to enrich the current methodological debate in public health

Antimicrobial Activity of Croton macrostachyus Stem Bark Extracts against Several Human Pathogenic Bacteria

Peer reviewe

The NASA-UC-UH Eta-Earth Program: IV. A Low-mass Planet Orbiting an M Dwarf 3.6 PC from Earth

We report the discovery of a low-mass planet orbiting Gl 15 A based on radial velocities from the Eta-Earth Survey using HIRES at Keck Observatory. Gl 15 Ab is a planet with minimum mass Msini = 5.35 $\pm$ 0.75 M$_\oplus$, orbital period P = 11.4433 $\pm$ 0.0016 days, and an orbit that is consistent with circular. We characterize the host star using a variety of techniques. Photometric observations at Fairborn Observatory show no evidence for rotational modulation of spots at the orbital period to a limit of ~0.1 mmag, thus supporting the existence of the planet. We detect a second RV signal with a period of 44 days that we attribute to rotational modulation of stellar surface features, as confirmed by optical photometry and the Ca II H & K activity indicator. Using infrared spectroscopy from Palomar-TripleSpec, we measure an M2 V spectral type and a sub-solar metallicity ([M/H] = -0.22, [Fe/H] = -0.32). We measure a stellar radius of 0.3863 $\pm$ 0.0021 R$_\odot$ based on interferometry from CHARA.Comment: ApJ accepted, 11 pages, 8 figures, 3 table

Robust Weak-lensing Mass Calibration of Planck Galaxy Clusters

In light of the tension in cosmological constraints reported by the Planck team between their SZ-selected cluster counts and Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) temperature anisotropies, we compare the Planck cluster mass estimates with robust, weak-lensing mass measurements from the Weighing the Giants (WtG) project. For the 22 clusters in common between the Planck cosmology sample and WtG, we find an overall mass ratio of \left = 0.688 \pm 0.072. Extending the sample to clusters not used in the Planck cosmology analysis yields a consistent value of $\left< M_{Planck}/M_{\rm WtG} \right> = 0.698 \pm 0.062$ from 38 clusters in common. Identifying the weak-lensing masses as proxies for the true cluster mass (on average), these ratios are $\sim 1.6\sigma$ lower than the default mass bias of 0.8 assumed in the Planck cluster analysis. Adopting the WtG weak-lensing-based mass calibration would substantially reduce the tension found between the Planck cluster count cosmology results and those from CMB temperature anisotropies, thereby dispensing of the need for "new physics" such as uncomfortably large neutrino masses (in the context of the measured Planck temperature anisotropies and other data). We also find modest evidence (at 95 per cent confidence) for a mass dependence of the calibration ratio and discuss its potential origin in light of systematic uncertainties in the temperature calibration of the X-ray measurements used to calibrate the Planck cluster masses. Our results exemplify the critical role that robust absolute mass calibration plays in cluster cosmology, and the invaluable role of accurate weak-lensing mass measurements in this regard.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure