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Precision Agriculture (PA) manages field heterogeneities and enables informed site-specific management. While PA helps improve farming efficiency and profitability, challenges prior to and following PA adoption can prevent many farmers from widely using it. This paper aims to understand producers' challenge perceptions using 1119 survey responses from U.S. Midwest farmers. The majority (59%) of respondents have adopted at least one PA technology, while the minority (14%) had not adopted any PA technologies. Cost (equipment and service fee), brand compatibility, and data privacy concerns topped other concerns from the average producer's point of view. Among all producers, 60% regarded PA equipment and service fee as too high, followed by 50% who viewed brand compatibility and data privacy as their major concerns. Producers at more advanced adoption stage indicated reduced concerns in most categories. Yet, there were similar concerns towards data privacy issue regardless of the adoption status. Furthermore, brand compatibility issue is more of a concern for adopters than for non-adopters. Estimation results from partial proportional odds (PPO) models show that factors that frequently affect producers' perceived challenges include adoption status, cropland acres, age, education, information sources, farming goals, soil characteristics, and region variables. Findings from this study can aid PA stakeholders in identifying target groups, tailoring future development, research, and outreach efforts, and ultimately promoting efficient PA usage on a broader scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Intimate partner violence (IPV) and substance use disorder (SUD) frequently co-occur and are rarely addressed together despite evidence indicating benefits of combined interventions. Both are linked to trauma. Scholars have theorized attention to trauma may facilitate engagement with IPV and SUD but have not studied this potential empirically. Methods: Using service system level quantitative data on organizations focused on IPV or SUD (n = 281) in a midwestern city in the United States and semi-structured interviews with policymakers, funders, and practitioners in both areas (n = 27), this paper uses grounded theory to explore whether attention to trauma facilitates attention to IPV and SUD. Results: While quantitative data suggest addressing trauma and both IPV and SUD are associated at the service system level, analysis of interview data indicates greater complexity. Despite consensus on trauma-informed care's potential, competing understandings of temporality (when trauma occurs in relation to IPV or SUD), different liabilities associated with addressing trauma, and different intervention approaches combine to limit engagement by both IPV and SUD organizations. Rather than adopting trauma-informed care, both types of organizations more typically engage trauma selectively, offering discrete services rather than holistic intervention. Findings have implications for addressing co-occurring IPV, SUD, and trauma and for practice, policy, education, and research. Conclusions: There is need for greater consensus about what it means to address trauma, increased investments in practitioner education and training around intersections of IPV, SUD, and trauma, and additional supports to incentivize movement from a trauma services approach towards meaningful implementation of trauma-informed care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This systematic review aims to give an overview of the diversity of research areas related to human biometeorology in Brazil. The main focus of this paper addresses research trends, represented by published papers with national and international authorship, main contributions and shortcomings, as well as challenges and prospects of research in this area of study. An extensive literature search was conducted in the Scopus, Web of Science, and Science Direct databases so as to identify relevant publication output up to July 2021 related to the research area. The screening resulted in 96 studies chosen for full-text reading. Overall, results indicated a reduced amount of articles on the subject matter published internationally, with noticeable gaps in research in some regions of the country, such as the Amazon region and in the Brazilian Midwest region. Research gaps in relevant areas have been identified with limited output in the climate dimensions of tourism, vector-borne diseases, mortality and morbidity in urban centers. Such gaps should further encourage researchers to engage in research focused on those areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural intensification is often seen as an appropriate approach to meet the growing demand for agricultural products. In regions affected by seasonal or chronic water scarcity, closing the yield gap depends on irrigation. Brazil is the second-largest wheat importer of the world and irrigated wheat has high yield potential in Brazil, especially in tropical and sub-tropical regions of the country. The crop coefficient (Kc) is still a practical and simple way of quantifying crop irrigation requirements. In this paper, we provided Kc values based on a robust experimental dataset across different wheat-producing regions in Brazil. Four experiments were conducted in three sites [season 2017 in Piracicaba, State of São Paulo (Southeast region); season 2012 Maringá, State of Paraná (Southern region); and seasons 2016 and 2017 Rondonópolis, State of Mato Grosso) (Midwest region)] using lysimeters and the Bowen ratio energy balance method for crop evapotranspiration measurements. Our data showed that Kc values varied among the regions analyzed. For the Midwest region, Kc values ranged from 0.88 to 1.36; the Southeastern region from 0.81 to 1.15, and the Southern region from 0.67 to 1.01. Considering values suggested by FAO, those for arid climates should be used in the Midwest region, sub-humid values for the Southeast, and humid values in the Southern. Differently, that was observed for other crops, our database showed wheat Kc values being stable disregarding the ETo range, which might be related to relatively lower ETo during the winter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Area-level neighborhood socioeconomic status (NSES) is often measured without consideration of spatial autocorrelation and variation. In this paper, we compared a non-spatial NSES measure to a spatial NSES measure for counties in the USA using principal component analysis and geographically weighted principal component analysis (GWPCA), respectively. We assessed spatial variation in the loadings using a Monte Carlo randomization test. The results indicated that there was statistically significant variation (p = 0.004) in the loadings of the spatial index. The variability of the census variables explained by the spatial index ranged from 60 to 90%. We found that the first geographically weighted principal component explained the most variability in the census variables in counties in the Northeast and the West, and the least variability in counties in the Midwest. We also tested the two measures by assessing the associations with county-level diabetes prevalence using data from the CDC's US Diabetes Surveillance System. While associations of the two NSES measures with diabetes did not differ for this application, the descriptive results suggest that it might be important to consider a spatial index over a global index when constructing national county measures of NSES. The spatial approach may be useful in identifying what factors drive the socioeconomic status of a county and how they vary across counties. Furthermore, we offer suggestions on how a GWPCA–based NSES index may be replicated for smaller geographic scopes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Satellite measurements follow the growth and senescence of vegetation aid in monitoring crop development within and across growing seasons. For example, identifying when crops reach their peak growth stage or modeling the seasonal growing cycle is useful for agronomists and climatologists. In this paper, we analyze remote sensing data from an intensively cultivated agricultural region in the Midwest to provide new information about crop phenology. There is both a temporal and spatial dimension to the data as they are collected every 12 – 36 hours over regions approximately the size of a 45 km diameter circle. We represent the measurements using a functional data approach and account for spatial dependence between locations through the functional curve coefficients. Modeling across multiple growing years, and including growing degree days as a covariate, we estimate the timing for when crops reach their peak each season and make predictions at unobserved locations. Supplementary materials accompanying this paper appear online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay considers the ramifications of "The Umbrella Man" - a brief mystery that was of interest to historians and theorists examining the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963 - on the practice of modern archaeology and some of the basic tenets upon which it relies. The paper focuses on certain materials, analytical methods, and research themes associated with the study of nineteenth-century sites in the Midwest, contextualized to varying degrees by the presence of a written record left behind by the makers and users of the material world as it existed in the region during the 1800s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For decades, Americans have generally been moving away from the Northeast and the Midwest toward the South and West. Mountainous and desert areas in the West and Southwest have been especially popular internal migration destinations. However, these same areas are particularly susceptible to the increasing impacts of climate change on extreme heat and wildfire. This paper investigates relationships between disaster-level fire events and extreme heat on county-level migration in the USA using annual panel data for the years 1990–2015. Are wildfire and extreme heat associated with changes in migration patterns? And, are relationships between such "disamenities" and migration stronger in counties with closer ties to environmental amenities? Fixed effects and random effects regression analysis show that both experiencing a disaster-level wildfire and extreme heat in the prior year were associated with reduced migration. Relationships are stronger in counties rich in natural amenities and outdoor recreation, suggesting that in places known for their environmental amenities, shifts toward environmental disamenities may be particularly impactful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Indiana Climate Change Impacts Assessment (IN CCIA) is a collaborative effort to provide professionals, decision makers, and the public with information about how climate change affects state and local interests throughout Indiana, USA. This assessment effort has three interrelated goals: (1) analyze and document the best available climate change impacts research, (2) develop and maintain a network of stakeholders and experts, and (3) start a dialog about climate change throughout Indiana. The project adopted a process that prioritized stakeholder engagement, re-envisioned traditional dissemination approaches, and that had limited state government involvement, setting the IN CCIA apart from most other state climate assessments (SCAs) in the USA. This overview describes the motivations, principles, and processes that guided the IN CCIA development, explores how Indiana's approach compares with those of other SCAs, and briefly summarizes the papers presented in this special issue. As interest in SCAs grows in non-coastal and politically conservative locations, the IN CCIA serves as one example of how a bottom-up assessment with limited funding can deliver credible climate science to diverse stakeholder groups in the absence of state-level mandates or direction and attract public attention over an extended period of time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Expectant and parenting students (EPS) at community colleges are an underserved and often under-resourced group. In a rural, Midwestern state, the department of public health was awarded the Pregnancy Assistance Fund (PAF) grant to assist this population. This paper outlines the results of the implementation evaluation and offers suggestions for programs and evaluators working with this population in the community college setting. Methods: We conducted a multicomponent evaluation utilizing quantitative and qualitative methods. Evaluation activities included tracking activities/services, surveys and interviews with participants, and interviews with community college staff implementing grant activities. The research team calculated frequencies for quantitative data and coded qualitative data for themes. Results: Data from the community colleges and students' self-reports revealed that EPS most commonly received concrete support from the program, often in the form of stipends or gift cards. Students reported that concrete support was beneficial and helped to relieve financial stress during the semester. Students' major barriers to participation were lack of knowledge about the program and busy schedules that prevented them from accessing PAF services. Staff reported that difficulty identifying EPS and the short one-year project period were major implementation challenges. Conclusions for Practice: We recommend that community colleges work to identify EPS, use fellow EPS to recruit program participants, and implement programming that works with the students' schedules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthropogenic land use affects climate by altering the energy balance of the Earth's surface. In temperate regions, cooling from increased albedo is a common result of historical land-use change. However, this albedo cooling effect is dependent mainly on the exposure of snow cover following forest canopy removal and may change over time due to simultaneous changes in both land cover and snow cover. In this paper, we combine modern remote sensing data and historical records, incorporating over 100 years of realized land use and climatic change into an empirical assessment of centennial-scale surface forcings in the Upper Midwestern USA. We show that, although increases in surface albedo cooled through strong negative shortwave forcings, those forcings were reduced over time by a combination of forest regrowth and snow-cover loss. Deforestation cooled strongly (− 5.3 Wm−2) and mainly in winter, while composition shift cooled less strongly (− 3.03 Wm−2) and mainly in summer. Combined, changes in albedo due to deforestation, shifts in species composition, and the return of historical forest cover resulted in − 2.81 Wm−2 of regional radiative cooling, 55% less than full deforestation. Forcings due to changing vegetation were further reduced by 0.32 Wm−2 of warming from a shortened snow-covered season and a thinning of seasonal snowpack. Our findings suggest that accounting for long-term changes in land cover and snow cover reduces the estimated cooling impact of deforestation, with implications for long-term land-use planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the behavior and contributing factors of land subsidence in the intersection area of Expressway (Expwy) 78 and Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR), located on Choshui River alluvial fan-delta (CRAFD) to the midwest of Taiwan. Since the CRAFD has been suffering a long-time problem of land subsidence, the transportation safety of THSR and Expwy 78 thus has become a major concern. The subsidence of CRAFD can be attributed to several factors, including overexploitation of groundwaters for area development. However, additional loadings of Expwy 78 and THSR structures would appear to deteriorate the problem. It would be of interest to know the influence of various factors on subsidence of the study area where the subsidence has now become most serious along the entire THSR route. It would also be advisable to provide information on the potential effects of subsidence on the integrity of THSR structure. With these aims, we perform analyses on the subsidence of the area based on 8-year on-site monitoring and numerical simulations. Results indicate, in a period started approximately from Expwy 78 construction, the average subsiding rate would be 10.53 cm/year, with relative contributions of 14.1%, 55.2%, 11.8%, 11.6%, and 7.3%, respectively, by the factors of soil creeping, previous overpumping, groundwater fluctuations, and loadings of Expwy 78 and THSR. We also estimate 23% and 77% of total subsidence occurred as the compressions of soils within and beyond the installation depth of THSR piles, which might impair pile bearing capacity and vertical alignment, respectively, of THSR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper employs concepts from Bourdieu's theory of social fields and contemporary research on transnationalism to explore the complicated history of population movement, culture contact, and interaction that fueled the origins of Mississippian society in the greater Cahokia area and closely related socio-political developments in the Central Illinois River Valley (CIRV) of west-central Illinois. We offer a new take on Mississippian origins and the history of culture contact in the CIRV, arguing that interregional simultaneity and inter-group collaboration played an important part of the early processes of Mississippianization in the North American Midwest. By decentering Cahokia in our explanation of Mississippian origins in the greater Midwest, we argue for a long-term persistence of traditional pre-Mississippian practices in the CIRV region, beginning with the first documented engagement among Cahokians and Illinois Valley groups in the early eleventh century until the beginning of the thirteenth century AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies of immigrant families have reported consistent findings concerning the positive effects of employed wives' financial contributions and Western gender ideologies on women's bargaining power in the family. This paper revisits this thesis. Data presented in this article are derived from a larger project based on 45 life-history interviews with Taiwanese immigrant women in a Midwest urban region. Findings suggest that women's employment does not serve as a key factor that shapes spousal power relations in Taiwanese immigrant families. Rather, gendered work-family boundaries and individuals' abilities construct main rationales in women's interpretations of their division of labor at home and their dominance in financial management. None of the women interviewed consider Western culture as an inspiration for egalitarian gender ideology. In contrast, Confucian culture is often used by husbands and mothers-in-law to demand traditional gender practice, which is further reinforced and surveilled by the Taiwanese ethnic community. Therefore, the interconnections of work, family, money, culture, and power and their interactive effects on spousal relations are more complicated than previously suggested. This study also reveals varied forms of patriarchal bargaining in Taiwanese immigrant families. Married women tend to accommodate patriarchy in their housework assignment, but actively bargain in their management of family finances and persistence to seek employment. The findings suggest that heterogeneity within the research sample, household structure, and individuals' subjectivities must be examined to understand the nuances and complexity of women's gender strategies and bargaining power in immigration families. Theoretical implications of the study are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantifying the driving effect of the spatial difference of the provincial water consumption is conducive to the development and implementation of the differentiated water resources policy and is of great significance to the implementation of the dual-control action on total water consumption and intensity. In this paper, the LMDI model is used to decompose the driving effect of the spatial difference of provincial water consumption from 2000 to 2015 into intensity effect, structure effect, income effect and population effect. According to the trend of the time-varying driving effect of provincial water consumption, the water consumption in more than half of the provinces is less than the national average. The eastern provinces gradually increase over time, while the central provinces decrease. In addition to Xinjiang, Guangxi and Sichuan in the western regions, the water consumption in other provinces is always less than the national average; except for Jiangsu and Shanghai, the water efficiency in eastern provinces is generally higher than the national average, which is the driving force for water consumption decline. The provinces with water efficiency lower than the national average are mainly concentrated in the Midwest regions; the provinces whose industrial structure adjustment is more conducive to the decrease in water consumption are mainly concentrated in the eastern region with gradually increasing provinces, while the industrial structure in most of the central and western provinces needs to be further optimized and upgraded; in addition to Hebei and Hainan, the economic development levels of other provinces in the eastern region are generally high, which has effectively promoted the increase of water consumption. The economic development in most of the Midwest provinces lags behind and the growth of water consumption is suppressed. The population is mainly concentrated in the eastern and central regions, while the population in the western region is relatively small, which limits the increase of water consumption. From the differences among the three industries in terms of the intensity effect and the structural effect, the provinces with generally lower water intensity in the three industries are mainly concentrated in the eastern region. The declining share of the primary industry in the eastern provinces has contributed to the drop in water consumption, while the Midwest provinces need to further adjust and optimize the industrial structure in order to promote the reduction of water consumption. Therefore, when implementing the state policy, provinces need to take targeted and differentiated water saving measures to reduce water consumption. Specific consideration can be given to technological progress, industrial restructuring and population control. Instead economic growth is the driving force for social progress, which will increase water demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Two risk factors for negative outcomes in Latina/o youth are acculturation dissonance (i.e., discrepant family cultural orientations) and the endorsement of an assimilation strategy of acculturation (i.e., valuing dominant mainstream culture over culture of origin). Though these have been uniquely studied as risk factors for maladaptive behaviors among Latina/o youth, their interaction in relation to both externalizing and internalizing symptoms has yet to be fully examined. Objective: The present study examined the unique and interactive effects of acculturation dissonance and assimilation on both depressive symptoms and delinquent behaviors among Latina/o adolescents. Methods: Participants were 135 Latina/o adolescents (ages 14-20) recruited from a charter high school. Students responded to a paper-and-pencil survey assessing demographic information, acculturation strategy, acculturation dissonance, depressive symptoms, and delinquency. Results: Acculturation dissonance was uniquely associated with depressive symptoms, but interaction effects suggested this association depended on levels of assimilation. At high levels of assimilation, acculturation dissonance was not associated with depressive symptoms, since depressive symptoms were consistently high. In contrast, at low levels of assimilation, acculturation dissonance was positively associated with depressive symptoms. In contrast, acculturation dissonance was uniquely associated with delinquency, and this association did not depend on the level of assimilation. Conclusions: Dissonant cultural orientations within families of Latina/o youth confer risk for negative outcomes across internalizing and externalizing domains. For youth adopting an assimilation strategy of acculturation, risk for depressive symptoms may be increased. Implications of these findings and future directions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well established that parental knowledge contributes to adolescents' well-being and school success and scholars have noted that parents and adolescents report different levels of knowledge. Discrepancies in parental knowledge have implications for adolescent outcomes such as risk behaviors, but little is known about the implications of knowledge discrepancies for adolescents' school outcomes. The present study examined discrepancies in parent and adolescent reports of parental knowledge and investigated the extent to which knowledge discrepancies were linked to school engagement. Participants were early adolescents ( N = 174; 53 % female) and their parents (90 % mothers). Adolescents (57 % African American/Black, 18 % multiracial, 17 % White/Caucasian, 7 % Hispanic/Latino and 1 % Asian American) attended a Midwestern, Title 1, urban, public middle school. Adolescents completed surveys in their homerooms and parents completed paper-pencil surveys at home or surveys via telephone. Results showed that parents reported more knowledge of adolescents' activities and whereabouts compared to adolescents' reports. Knowledge discrepancies were associated with school bonding and school self-esteem such that dyads in which adolescents reported more knowledge than their parents reported had significantly higher levels of school bonding and school self-esteem compared to dyads in which parents reported much more knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the dynamics of caregiver rejection experienced by 40 homeless young adults 19-21 years of age. Using qualitative interviews, our findings reveal that nearly all of the youth reported at least one type of familial rejection that was intertwined with wider household conflict, and several youth experienced multiple types of rejection. Many young people reported 'feeling like an outsider,' as they felt marginalized by family members and perceived a sense of outsiderness within their family networks. Some youth cited rejection when they were 'betrayed by a primary caregiver for a significant other.' These intimate partners, such as a boyfriend, girlfriend or stepparent, often abused the young person, which exacerbated their experiences with caregiver rejection. Numerous youth were 'pushed into institutional living,' such as foster care or group homes, at the behest of their primary caregivers, which stemmed from familial discord and behavioral issues on the part of the young person. In the most explicit form of rejection, youth were 'kicked out by a caregiver' and subsequently entered into street life when they had nowhere else to go. Implications of these experiences are discussed, which can impact homeless young people's future life chances as they attempt to exit the street. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seven focus groups with a diverse group of intimate partner violence (IPV) survivors ( n = 39) explored how to improve survivor satisfaction, empowerment, and safety related to their court-based experiences. These occurred in three jurisdictions which all supported community coordinated responses to IPV. This paper contributes to the literature by asking survivors about existing service gaps and how helping professionals might enhance court operations. Analysis was conducted using a framework approach based on the socio-ecological model. Findings suggest four areas worthy of improvement: Logistics, Emotional Enhancements, Society's Perception of IPV, and Court Procedures. The recommendations for change are neither expensive nor complicated; rather, modest changes may result in greater victim satisfaction with the courts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Family physicians provide access to maternity care for a disproportionate share of rural and urban underserved communities. This paper aims to determine trends in maternity care provision by family physicians and the characteristics of family physicians that provide maternity care. We used American Board of Family Medicine survey data collected from every family physician during application for the Maintenance of Certification Examination to determine the percentage of family physicians that provided maternity care from 2000 to 2010. Using a cross-sectional study design, logistic regression analysis was performed to examine association between maternity care provision and various physician demographic and practice characteristics. Maternity care provision by family physicians declined from 23.3 % in 2000 to 9.7 % in 2010 ( p < 0.0001). Family physicians who were female, younger and US medical graduates were more likely to practice maternity care. Practicing in a rural setting (OR = 2.2; 95 % CL 2.1-2.4), an educational setting (OR = 6.4; 95 % CL 5.7-7.1) and in either the Midwest (OR = 2.6; 95 % CL 2.3-2.9) or West (OR = 2.3; 95 % CL 2.1-2.6) were the strongest predictors of higher likelihood of providing maternity care. While family physicians continue to play an important role in providing maternity care in many parts of the United States, the steep decline in the percentage of family physicians providing maternity care is concerning. Formal collaborations with midwives and obstetrician-gynecologists, malpractice reform, payment changes and graduate medical education innovations are potential avenues to explore to ensure access to maternity care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With their distinct cultural heritage and rural boundaries, American Indian reservation communities offer a unique opportunity to explore protective factors that help buffer adolescents from potential risk behaviors such as violence. Prior published research on Indian communities has not explored three potential protective factors for violence-parental monitoring of adolescents and friends, adolescents' self-efficacy to avoid fighting, and adolescents' interest in learning more about their traditional culture. This paper explores the relationship between these factors and reduced risk of reported violence. In 1998, 630 American Indian students in grades 6-12 were surveyed in five Midwestern, rural Indian reservation schools. Path analysis was used to identify the direct and indirect association of the three potential protective factors with reduced violence behavior. There were significant gender differences both in perceived parental monitoring and in adolescents' self-efficacy. For female adolescents, parental monitoring had the strongest inverse relationship with female adolescents' involvement in violence. Female adolescents' self-efficacy and their interest in learning more about their culture were also inversely associated with violence and therefore potentially important protectors. Male adolescents who reported more interest in learning the tribe's culture had better self-efficacy to avoid violence. However, self-efficacy did not successfully predict their reported involvement in peer violence. These findings support exploring gender differences, parental monitoring, self-efficacy training as well as cultural elements in future violence intervention studies. Further investigation is needed to identify protective factors for risk behaviors among male adolescents and test the generalizability to non-reservation based adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports pilot testing of 'Familias En Nuestra Escuela', an in-school interpersonal violence prevention intervention targeting Hispanic-American teens. The intervention, based on the hypothesis that the preservation and reinforcement of Hispanic cultural values can serve as a protective factor against violence, focused on the enhancement of ethnic pride. Researchers formed a partnership with a midwestern Hispanic community to test the feasibility, receptivity and preliminary impact of the intervention in a pre/post test, no control group design. Participants were low-income, predominantly first-generation Hispanic-American freshmen and sophomore students from one Hispanic-serving high school. Findings revealed a statistically significant increase in the intervention's mediator, ethic pride. Changes in the desired direction occurred on measures of perceptions of self-efficacy for self-control, couple violence, and gender attitudes. The incidence of physical fighting and dating violence behaviors decreased over the course of an academic school year. Results provide preliminary evidence for the use of interventions based on ethnic and cultural pride as a violence prevention strategy among Hispanic-American teens, especially those who are first generation Americans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to provide an alternative operationalization of amenities that does not privilege certain kinds of natural resources and climatic conditions and that can be used for assessing the quality of life in small towns. The amenity inventory presented here extends previous literature by including a broad range of amenities (natural resource, indoor and outdoor built recreational facilities, public and private services, and downtown amenities). The community level of analysis and small town focus are also unique. The inventory uses both secondary data from public sources and primary data that can be gathered by researchers or community residents. Therefore, in addition to the scholarly contribution of the inventory, the process of defining and assessing community amenities may be a valuable tool for building interpersonal relationships within communities, generating community spirit, and developing strategies for enhancing the local quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Higher levels of religious and spiritual engagement have been shown to be associated with better adjustment in dealing with serious illness. Nevertheless, the pattern of such engagement may vary substantially among individuals. This paper presents exploratory research with the goal of identifying subgroups of individuals with non-terminal cancer who vary along multiple dimensions of religious/spiritual (R/S) involvement and well-being. Cluster analysis utilized both R/S (FACIT-Sp) and quality of life variables (e.g., FACT-G) to identify subgroups within 114 individuals (Median age = 65; 59% female) under care for cancer. Additional R/S and adjustment variables were used to explore further distinctions among these groups. Four clusters were identified: High R/S (45%), with the lowest depression; Low R /High S (25%), also with good adjustment; Negative Religious Copers (14%), with the highest depression; and Low R/S (16%), with the poorest adjustment to cancer. The results support the value of differentiating patterns of religious and spiritual engagement in relation to well-being, with implications for matching psycho-social interventions with individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As primary caregivers of children with mental health problems, mothers face challenges that put them at risk for depression, which is rarely identified or addressed. The aims of this paper were to (a) identify mean differences among demographic, stressor, threat, and resource variables specified in a theoretical model and thought to be associated with maternal depressive symptoms and (b) determine how much variability in depressive symptoms is explained by these variables. High levels and prevalence of depressive symptoms were found within a quality of life study that these data were drawn from. Of 139 mothers participating in this study, 58% had a score of 16 or greater on the CES-D indicating moderate to high levels of depressive symptoms. Significant differences were found between mothers with higher versus lower levels of depressive symptoms for 11 of the 18 variables. Hierarchical regression was used to examine the variance explained in depressive symptoms based upon the conceptual model with 4 composite variables. Income (step 1), behavioral problems (step 2), threat appraisal (step 3), and resource appraisal (step 4) combined explained 42% of the variance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much research on sexual deviance on university and college campuses is limited by its narrow focus on group affiliation. In this study, it is argued that prior deviance and opportunity serve as more robust predictor variables of sexual deviance. Using a sample of 304 male college students from four universities within the Ohio Valley Conference, this paper utilizes Analytic moment structures (AMOS) analyses to examine the relationship between prior deviance and sexual deviance. Results support the assumption that sexual aggression is significantly (β=.17) mediated or accounted for by opportunity. Overall, the relationships among variables lend support to the argument that alternative explanations of sexual deviance may provide a better understanding of such a complex societal problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to identify factors that create a positive climate for diversity and to demonstrate how these factors predict outcomes related to achieving a positive campus climate for diversity. Based on survey data collected from 437 staff members employed at a large, public, predominantly White university in the Midwest, results suggest that the institution’s ability to achieve a positive climate for diversity reflects not only the personal characteristics of the staff member (race, gender, education level, and age) but also their perceptions of their immediate work environment. Implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building on the research of Vygotsky regarding the role of social interaction and the zone of proximal development (ZPD) in learning and development, this paper explored the relation between students' oral thought processes and written thought processes. It is argued that the practice of writing provides a context for a new learning zone: the `zone of proximal practice' (ZPP). In this new zone, students independently organize their thinking about mathematical concepts and ideas. An interpretative case study of seven middle grade students is presented to support this contention. The case study describes the strategies and procedures students employed while solving mathematical problems and documents students' oral and written thought processes through interview protocols and writing samples. The position that students' mathematical understanding is further developed through writing as a communicative tool, while taking advantage of mediated social practices, is discussed to make clear the rationale for introducing a new learning zone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]