Search Results (26)

The blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) is an invasive alien species in the Mediterranean Sea, posing threats to biodiversity, fisheries, and aquaculture. Climate change has worsened these challenges, influencing the distribution of bacterial species, including Shewanella species, which are sensitive to changes in temperature and salinity. In this study, 300 blue crabs were sampled between June and October 2024 from the Sacca di Goro (Northern Adriatic Sea, Italy) to investigate the prevalence of Shewanella species in their haemolymph. The prevalence was found to be 7% (21/300), with species such as S. mesophila, S. algae, S. cowelliana, and S. baltica identified, particularly in the months of September and October. Molecular techniques, including MALDI-TOF MS and rpoB gene amplification, were used to identify isolates. Antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST) revealed a trend of resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics. A network analysis was also conducted to examine the global trends of Shewanella research in relation to humans, animals, and the marine environment. While proper cooking eliminates the risk to consumers, handling without personal protective equipment can increase exposure, particularly for vulnerable individuals such as those who are elderly or immunocompromised. Mild symptoms are observed in children. Further studies, particularly with a One Health approach, are crucial to better understand the transmission dynamics and evolving antibiotic resistance of Shewanella species. Full article

Despite widespread acknowledgement of the importance of family engagement in supporting children’s academic and social success, many educators feel underprepared to establish meaningful connections with families. Research reveals that many educators perceive family engagement through a narrow lens, expecting families to participate in school-directed activities that may alienate families from marginalized backgrounds. This design-based study examined how participation in a virtual professional development course might serve as a space for educators to (re)consider how they engage with families. Pre-and post-questionnaires from 34 educators assessed changes in their perceived frequency of and methods for family engagement. Participants used Likert scale items to report how frequently they enacted asset-based family engagement before and after participating in the professional development. Educators’ open-ended responses provided additional insights into their perceptions of family engagement. Findings indicate that participants perceived increased frequency and use of asset-based approaches following the professional development. Additionally, participants shifted how they described the roles and responsibilities of families and staff regarding engagement. These findings underscore the potential benefits of virtual professional development in bridging gaps in educators’ understanding. Practical applications of our findings include adapting the pre- and post-questionnaires into a tool that educators can use to self-assess their development towards using asset-based family engagement approaches. Full article

Background: Family breakdown, separation, and divorce (FBSD) are often traumatic events, particularly for fathers who face unique challenges. These include emotional, psychological, and financial struggles, often exacerbated by abusive behaviours from ex-partners. This study explores fathers’ experiences of FBSD, focusing on both the breakdown event itself and any abuse, including coercive control and parental alienation, before and after the separation. Methods: A mixed-methods approach was employed, including a survey of 141 men and follow-up interviews with 30 participants. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis to identify key themes related to FBSD and associated abuse. Results: Fathers reported significant emotional, psychological, and financial distress, with many experiencing ongoing abuse and coercive control after separation. Abuse often continued through legal processes and manipulation of child access. Parental alienation emerged as a prominent form of post-separation abuse, with fathers describing attempts by ex-partners to undermine their relationships with their children. Conclusions: The findings highlight the need for gender-inclusive services that address the specific challenges fathers face during and after FBSD, particularly in relation to post-separation abuse. Targeted interventions are necessary to support fathers’ well-being and ensure their continued involvement in their children’s lives. Full article

Background: Loneliness is increasingly emerging as a significant public health problem in children and adolescents. Predicting loneliness and finding its risk factors in children and adolescents is lacking and necessary, and would greatly help determine intervention actions. Objective: This study aimed to find appropriate machine learning techniques to predict loneliness and its associated risk factors among schoolchildren. Methods: The data were collected from an ongoing prospective puberty cohort that was established in Chongqing, Southwest China. This study used 822 subjects (46.84% boys, age range: 11–16) followed in 2019. Five models, (a) random forest, (b) extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost), (c) logistic regression, (d) neural network, and (e) support vector machine were applied to predict loneliness. A total of 39 indicators were collected and 28 predictors were finally included for prediction after data pre-processing, including demographic, parental relationship, mental health, pubertal development, behaviors, and environmental factors. Model performance was determined by accuracy and AUC. Additionally, random forest and XGBoost were applied to identify the important factors. The XGBoost algorithm with SHAP was also used to interpret the results of our ML model. Results: All machine learning performed with favorable accuracy. Compared to random forest (AUC: 0.87 (95%CI: 0.80, 0.93)), logistic regression (AUC: 0.80 (95%CI: 0.70, 0.89)), neural network (AUC: 0.80 (95%CI: 0.71, 0.89)), and support vector machine (AUC: 0.79 (95%CI: 0.79, 0.89)), XGBoost algorithm had the highest AUC values 0.87 (95%CI: 0.80, 0.93) in the test set, although the difference was not significant between models. Peer communication, index of general affect, peer alienation, and internet addiction were the top four significant factors of loneliness in children and adolescents. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that machine learning has considerable potential to predict loneliness in children. This may be valuable for the early identification and intervention of loneliness. Full article

Many recent legislative reforms concerning children have emphasized the importance of involving children and adolescents in accordance with the principles of Article 12 in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. This article deals with the rights of youths to express their opinions, feelings, and views in parent-teacher conferences in lower secondary education in Denmark. Both international and Danish research on parent-teacher conferences has shown that students are often objectified and are not provided with real opportunities to participate with their own voices and perspectives. Based on the sociology of Hartmut Rosa, the article explores students’ experiences of parent-teacher conferences as zones of alienation or spaces of resonance. In addition, we draw on Gert Biesta’s concept of subjectification to analyze how the current organization of the conferences largely displaces students’ opportunities to bring themselves into play as subjects of their own lives. The analysis is based on observations and interviews carried out in 2021 and 2022. Full article

With the excessive smartphone use in the workplace, supervisor phubbing has drawn broad concerns in managerial and academic fields. Though the neglect is unintentional, this behavior can generate counterproductive working behaviors. The basic assumptions of this study are that supervisor phubbing can impact employee psychological withdrawal behavior directly and indirectly via work alienation. To provide empirical evidence for the assumptions, the two-wave online survey of 302 Chinese employees without any supervisory functions was conducted on the Questionnaire Star platform. Based on the stressor-emotion model, work alienation is proved to be the psychological path in the positive relationship between supervisor phubbing and employee psychological withdrawal behavior. Different from the current studies exploring the impact mechanism of phubbing behavior on psychological withdrawal behavior between parents and children, couples, or friends, we put this mechanism into the workplace and focus on subordinate–superior relationships. In addition, the positive indirect effects are enhanced when employees have higher interpersonal sensitivity. In practice, these findings suggest that organizations should normalize the smart devices use in the workplace, and supervisors should balance their working roles with other roles. In addition, organizations should strengthen training on adjusting to negative emotions and interpersonal sensitivity control at work. Although two rounds of the time-lagged data were collected in a one-month interval, the limitations of cross-section data still exist, so the conclusions cannot establish causality. Hence, future research may conduct experimental or longitudinal research designs to make the conclusion more rigorous. Full article

Public open space (POS) confers numerous physical and mental health benefits to people throughout life. The study applies POI and other multi-dimensional methods to examine the intergenerational equity of POS within a 15-min living circle of old communities in high-density cities. Firstly, an evaluation system for the comprehensive POS supply level in the community is constructed from the perspective of the quantity, quality, and spatial distribution of POS. Secondly, based on the idea of all-age sharing, the population in the community is divided into children, young and middle-aged, and elderly, and the factor “adaptation space share” is introduced to supplement the intergenerational equity evaluation system. The study takes Caoyang New Village in Shanghai as an example and the districts of the community committee as the basic evaluation units. The results show that the comprehensive supply of POS in Caoyang New Village is relatively high but there is still a mismatch between supply and demand; the intergenerational equity level is medium, and spatial alienation exists between POS supply and intergenerational equity; and the adaptation space share for children is much higher than that for the elderly, young and middle-aged people. Furthermore, young and middle-aged people are found to form a marginal group in spatial sharing and resource allocation. Finally, it is proposed that in community POS planning, attention should be focused on the differences in population age structure and on spatial cultural attributes and functional compounding on the basis of ensuring the comprehensive service of POS, so as to promote all-age sharing in community POS. Full article

Physical activity supports symptom management in children with ADHD and reduces the mental health burden associated with caregiving for children with ADHD. Survey-based research shows that COVID-19 reduced physical activity among diverse populations. This study used a qualitative approach situated within a socioecological framework to (1) understand how COVID-19 impacted physical activity of children with ADHD and their caregivers, to (2) identify barriers to their physical activity, and to (3) identify potential areas of support. Thirty-three participants were interviewed between October 2020 and January 2021. Content analysis revealed that physical activity declined for children and caregivers; significant barriers were social isolation and rising intrapersonal difficulties such as diminishing self-efficacy and energy levels and increased mental health difficulties. Worsening mental health further alienated caregivers and children from physical activity, undermining its protective effects on ADHD symptom management and mental wellbeing. Participants identified needing community support programs that offer virtual, live physical activity classes as well as psycho-emotional support groups. There is vital need to support physical activity opportunities during high-stress situations in families managing ADHD to buffer against diminishing mental wellbeing. This will promote further physical activity engagement and allow families to reap the cognitive, psychological, and emotional benefits. Full article

This article explores how a holistic combination of three components, society, art, and architecture, can contribute to the successful revitalisation of derelict buildings and, at the same time, improve the well-being of the users of reclaimed spaces. The author uses a case study of a playground designed by the artist Iza Rutkowska in cooperation with children in a specific location at the Intermediae Matadero centre in Madrid. The centre is located in a revitalised warehouse in the complex of former municipal slaughterhouses, built at the beginning of the 20th century. The analysis of Iza Rutkowska’s work is conducted against the background of broader analyses of the elements of the triad and the conditions required for them to enter into dialogue with each other. Their synergic combination is one of the factors that can have a positive impact on the regeneration of even such alien spaces as former industrial buildings. The users’ creative activities fill space with new meanings and turn it into a place perceived as good. At the same time, the effects go beyond the walls of the redeveloped buildings, positively influencing the well-being of the users and creating social relationships. Full article

Teachers of the deaf, signed language interpreters, and associated staff (e.g., secretaries and sanitation workers) are a salient part of a deaf child’s community often because hearing parents and other family members of deaf children do not become proficient signers leading many deaf children and adults to feel alienated in the home environment (e.g., dinner table syndrome). Because the school environment provides another way for deaf children to acquire language, professional signed language fluency is critical. Yet, in other second language acquisition contexts, fluency is not necessary for effective teaching and often highly racialized. If perceived fluency is often dependent on proximity to whiteness, and language fluency is not necessary for effective teaching, then why is it necessary to require professionals to be fluent in signed languages before teaching and working with deaf children? Full article

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child contains specific provisions on parent–child relations and parenting, but these provisions can be described as elusive. Furthermore, the Convention does not explicitly specify a children’s rights-friendly parenting style. On the other hand, there is a disconnect between research on children’s rights and parenting styles. Based on the insights of the meta-theoretical critical realist approach, this paper argues that universal human flourishing is inconceivable without the development of a children’s rights-friendly parenting style. It is argued that the Convention’s provisions on parent–child relations can be adapted to the perceptions of average parents, especially living in paternalistic societies, by adapting the conceptualizations of parenting styles developed by Baumrind and Lakoff. Overall, research on children’s rights, supported by literature on children’s rights-friendly parenting, can show that children’s rights do not alienate parental rights and responsibilities. Instead, children’s rights give appropriate direction to parental authority and responsibility to realize the child’s well-being. Full article

Background: There is an increasing awareness that a child’s separation from one parent after the divorce places the child’s development and well-being at risk. The aim of this study was to determine how Greek courts deal with the cases of parental prevention of communication with their children and which factors affect the judicial decisions. Methods: The Greek legal databases “NOMOS” and “Isokratis” were searched, and associations between judicial decisions, as well as communication prevention ways, and several parameters, were assessed. Results/Conclusions: A total of 50 parental communication prevention law cases were retrieved for the time period from 1992 to 2019. Results showed that mothers were more frequently alleged to interfere with father–child communication. Both direct and indirect methods of interfering with communication were followed. In cases of a single child, the method of indirect interference was more frequently followed. Judicial decisions were unaffected by the age and gender of the child, the gender of the parent preventing the communication, the number of children, the gender of the child and whether the child is the same gender as the preventing or prevented parent, the way of prevention, and the reference to parental alienation. Full article

This study qualitatively investigated the mental health of adults exposed to parental alienating behaviours in childhood. Research suggests that exposure to parental alienating behaviours in childhood can have a profound impact on the mental health of those children later in life, including experiencing anxiety disorders and trauma reactions. An international sample of 20 adults exposed to parental alienating behaviours in childhood participated in semi-structured interviews on their experience and its impact. Four themes were identified: mental health difficulties, including anxiety disorders and trauma reactions, emotional pain, addiction and substance use, and coping and resilience. Intergenerational transmission of parental alienation was found. Confusion in understanding their experience of alienation, the mental health sequelae, and elevated levels of suicidal ideation were found. This study demonstrated the insidious nature of parental alienation and parental alienating behaviours and provided further evidence of these behaviours as a form of emotional abuse. Full article

The main aim of this study was to analyze the associations between parental divorce and interparental conflict with the quality of parent-child relationships. Specifically, we analyzed trust, communication and alienation in both father-child and mother-child relationships in a sample of 1078 Spanish emerging adults from divorced and non-divorced families. The interaction between parental divorce and conflict was also analyzed. In support of our expectations, parental divorce was associated with lower trust and communication, along with higher alienation in father-child and mother-child relationships. When interparental conflict was included, parental conflict was more strongly associated with lower trust and communication in mother-child relationships, and higher alienation in both mother-child and father-child relationships. However, parental divorce was still associated with low trust and communication with fathers, when interparental conflict and the interaction between parental divorce and conflict were added. In summation, our results suggest that both parental divorce and conflict should be taken into account in the study of the consequences of family-related stress variables on adult children’s wellbeing. These findings add to the current literature and contribute to better comprehend the effects of parental divorce and conflict on both mother-child and father-child affective relationships in an understudied cultural context. The implications, limitations and future research recommendations are discussed. Full article

Mental health issues are among the most common health issues nowadays, with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) being the most common neurobehavioral disorder affecting children and adolescents. ADHD is a heterogeneous disease affecting patients in various cognitive domains that play a key role in daily life, academic development, and social abilities. Furthermore, ADHD affects not only patients but also their families and their whole environment. Although the main treatment is based on pharmacotherapy, combined therapies including cognitive training and psychological therapy are often recommended. In this paper, we propose a user-centered application called Alien Attack for cognitive training of children with ADHD, based on working memory, inhibitory control, and reaction-time tasks, to be used as a non-pharmacological complement for ADHD treatment in order to potentiate the patients’ executive functions (EFs) and promote some beneficial effects of therapy. Full article