Female Overweight and Obesity in Adolescence: Developmental Trends and Ethnic Differences in Prevalence, Incidence, and Remission

Despite substantial increases in the prevalence of adolescent overweight and obesity documented in recent decades, few studies have prospectively tracked their development during the entire adolescent period. The aims of this study were to characterize developmental trends in prevalence, incidence, and remission of overweight and obesity using annual data collected from ages 12 to 19 for 496 adolescent females. Ethnic differences between African American (n = 37), Latina (n = 96), and European American (n = 348) adolescents were also compared. The prevalence of overweight decreased slightly across adolescence and remission rates exceeded incidence (onset). Obesity was more chronic, with increasing incidence accompanied by decreasing remission rates. Middle through late adolescence was the period of greatest risk for the transition from overweight to obesity. African American and Latina females had higher overweight and obesity prevalence than European American females throughout adolescence. Differences in prevalence were driven by higher onset rates for African American and Latina females, whereas remission rates were comparable across ethnic groups. Results suggest that adolescence is not a high-risk period for onset of obesity for European American adolescent females, but is for African American and Latina adolescent females.     

Family formation and everyday travel in Britain since c.1850

This paper focuses on the extent to which everyday travel behaviour in Britain changes in relation to family responsibilities, and examines how this has altered over the past century and a half. It is argued that prior to the mid-twentieth century changes in the family such as increased child-care responsibilities barely influenced the modes of transport used for everyday travel, but that increasingly in the later twentieth century people adjusted their travel behaviour during the family formation phases of the life cycle. In particular, parents of young children have become more car-dependent and less likely to walk or cycle. Data are drawn from two separate projects, one that collected travel life histories from the past half-century as context for research on cycling in later life, and one that uses personal diaries to reveal everyday mobility strategies of people in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It is argued that the observed changes are due not only to increased access to a wide range of different transport forms, especially the motor car, but also to changes in societal perceptions of risk and norms of travel behaviour. In conclusion, it is suggested that more awareness of past travel behaviours could aid the development and implementation of more sustainable transport policies in the UK.     

Assessing the Impact of Harassment by Peers: Incident Characteristics and Outcomes in a National Sample of Youth

Although there are widely held assumptions about the characteristics of peer bullying that are of greatest concern, very few studies have empirically assessed which characteristics most affect its impact. The current research addresses this gap by using a nationally representative U.S. sample of youth ages 10–20 to examine the relative effects of a variety of potentially aggravating incident characteristics on emotional, physical health, and school-related outcomes. Findings show support for power imbalance and duration (a stronger predictor than repetition) as incident characteristics that exacerbate the negative impact of peer harassment. However, several other incident characteristics have substantial effects with or without the presence of these qualities. Injury, sexual content, involvement of multiple perpetrators, and hate/bias components of peer harassment incidents each increased at least one negative outcome. Findings point to several features of peer harassment that can provide a basis for prioritizing victimization experiences in greatest need of intervention efforts.     

Gentrification and Displacement: Modeling a Complex Urban Process

ABSTRACT

To shed some light on longstanding questions around gentrification, in this research we model environmental gentrification and gentrification-related displacement of residents. We do this through the development of an agent-based model of a simple urban region, considering different urban contexts and policy approaches to polluted facilities and the relationship of these policies with subsequent gentrification and displacement. We find that gentrification-related displacement is most likely, and most impactful, in urban regions characterized by high levels of density and low levels of residential segregation preferences. Displacement is far less prevalent in low-density regions, particularly those with high segregation preferences. We discuss the potential for different policy implications in these different urban contexts.     

Donors,State Building and Corruption: lessons from Afghanistan and the implications for aid policy

This article critically analyses the state-building agenda from a governance and aid policy perspective, and from an anti-corruption viewpoint in particular, highlighting potential problems with both theoretical and practical applications of state building in a development context. Inconsistencies and contradictions between the state building and anti-corruption work have not been adequately explored or reconciled. In particular, the article explores these tensions using the example of the Performance-Based Governors' Fund (pbgf) in Afghanistan, where some donors are looking to reduce corruption in local government, encouraging often ‘warlord’ governors to run their administrative offices with integrity. The article argues that the pbgf approach—with its themes of being realistic, going for indirect strategies over the long term and building integrity rather than fighting corruption, provide important lessons for the anti-corruption community as a whole, both at the level of theory and practice.     

A Comparison of Chemical Enhancements for the Detection of Latent Blood,,

Luminol, Bluestar^®, and Hemascein^® were tested to compare detection sensitivities to latent blood. Untreated, EDTA‐treated human blood, and a catalytically similar blood substitute were diluted (neat to 1:1,000,000) and pipetted onto a variety of substrates. Luminol and Bluestar^® performed similarly on all surfaces and fabrics. Hemascein^® yielded poor results on wood surfaces, but performed well in the detection of latent blood on fabrics. Results from untreated, EDTA‐treated, and synthetic blood results indicate that EDTA‐treated blood is similar or slightly less sensitive than untreated blood at all dilutions and on all substrates, and the synthetic blood is less sensitive than real blood, but consistent in detection threshold and thus is useful as a training aid. Additionally, some foods and household chemicals that have previously been shown to cross‐react were tested with Bluestar^®, Hemascein^®, and luminol. Hemascein^® cross‐reacted with many substances, while both luminol reagents were more discriminating.     

A community response to a 9/11 hate crime: Restorative justice through dialogue

Nearly two hours after the September 11 terrorist attacks, a hate crime was committed against the Islamic Cultural Center in Eugene, Oregon. Rather than following the conventional criminal justice process, the director of the center and his wife chose to engage in a process of restorative dialogue with other community members and the offender himself. This case study of moving from hatred to healing occurred in the larger context of restorative justice, a movement that is now developing in many hundreds of communities in more than 17 countries. Social workers committed to community practice have played an active role in this reform movement, which has developed over the past two decades.     

Family Relationship Centres: partnerships with Legal Assistance Services

In June 2009, the Commonwealth Attorney General in Australia announced a Family Relationship Centres/ Legal Assistance Partnerships Program, (the “Better Partnerships” program). Its aim was to assist separated or separating families, “by providing access to early and targeted legal information and advice when attending Family Relationship Centres” (McClelland, 2009). After contextualizing this significant shift in policy and practice, the present paper reports on largely positive key results of an evaluation of the program by the Australian Institute of Family Studies. The paper concludes with reflections on future challenges and possibilities regarding ongoing collaboration between Australia's legal and family relationship sectors.