18213491
The smacking controversy: what advice should we be giving parents?
BACKGROUND
Even among countries that have ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child there is much disagreement about corporal punishment of children. Last year the Scottish Executive proposed a new law banning the smacking of children under the age of three, becoming the tenth European nation to do so. The proposal, currently abandoned whilst ostensibly still under debate, has raised a wave of controversy in child protection circles. In the nearest neighbouring country, England, a similar proposal was robustly rejected. PURPOSE OF THE PAPER: Given an increasing family and community focus in nursing, the implications of the debate for the profession cannot be ignored. What should we be telling 'ordinary' families about smacking? Thus this paper presents a positional statement on the smacking controversy and outlines some pointers for practice.


DISCUSSION
While for many the legislation proposed does not go far enough, others decry it as a breach of parental rights and, thus, the issue has become hugely controversial. Media opinion and various opposing campaigns dominate both public and professional spheres. Rights, responsibilities, examples from other countries, culture and gender are all used as fodder in the debate. Extreme examples are cited by both sides and used as grist for what are at times tenuous arguments. As there is even a division within child protection arenas, practising professionals may struggle to find a way through the maze of seemingly contradictory findings from research, policy and opinion.


CONCLUSIONS
A wide range of literature suggests that both public and professional opinion is divided on the use of smacking as a form of discipline of young children. Opinion is also divided on the ability of legislation to bring about change in social attitudes and behaviour. Health care professionals need to be in a position to recommend best practice and to do so consistently.
39760502
Commentary on Kong S and Bernstein K (2009) Childhood trauma as a predictor of eating psychopathology and its mediating variables in patients with eating disorders Journal of Clinical Nursing 18, 1897-1907.
22385130
An update on the Florida State Twin Registry.
The Florida State Twin Registry began in 2002 through a pilot study of personality disorders and executive cognitive functioning in adult twins. Since 2006, the registry has grown substantially as part of the Learning Disability Research Center at Florida State University that recently began its second funding cycle through the National Institute of Child Health and Development. An update on the Florida State Twin Registry sample, focus, and measures is provided, as well as future directions.
205158145
Using galaxy to perform large-scale interactive data analyses.
While most experimental biologists know where to download genomic data, few have a concrete plan on how to analyze it. This situation can be corrected by: (1) providing unified portals serving genomic data and (2) building Web applications to allow flexible retrieval and on-the-fly analyses of the data. Powerful resources, such as the UCSC Genome Browser already address the first issue. The second issue, however, remains open. For example, how to find human protein-coding exons with the highest density of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and extract orthologous sequences from all sequenced mammals? Indeed, one can access all relevant data from the UCSC Genome Browser. But once the data is downloaded how would one deal with millions of SNPs and gigabytes of alignments? Galaxy (http://g2.bx.psu.edu) is designed specifically for that purpose. It amplifies the strengths of existing resources (such as UCSC Genome Browser) by allowing the user to access and, most importantly, analyze data within a single interface in an unprecedented number of ways.
22683096
Evidence for a putative biomarker for substance dependence.
Electrodermal response modulation (ERM) reflects the reduction in skin conductance response to an aversive stimulus that is temporally predictable relative to when it is unpredictable. Poor ERM is associated with substance dependence (SD). It was hypothesized that ERM is a putative biomarker for SD rather than for externalizing disorders generally. Participants included 83 controls (no SD, antisocial personality disorder [PD] or borderline PD), 52 participants with SD only (SD and no PD), 12 with PD only (antisocial and/or borderline PD and no SD), and 35 comorbid (having SD and PD). Diagnoses at definite and probable certainty levels were used and were determined by semistructured clinical interviews. ERM was calculated from skin conductance responses to predictable and unpredictable 2-s 110-dB white noise blasts. As expected, the SD-only and comorbid groups had significantly lower ERM scores than the control group, which did not differ significantly from the PD-only group. Results provide preliminary evidence that ERM is a putative biomarker for SD. Future research should examine cognitive correlates of ERM in an effort to understand why it relates to SD.
24886138
Comparison and characteristics of motor vehicle accident (MVA) and non-MVA driving fears.
Prior research has revealed the diagnostic complexity among people who report driving fears. However, the focus on survivors of motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) and diagnostic samples may have inadvertently led to a relative neglect of the broader driving-fearful population. No studies could be located that compared MVA survivors with those who had not experienced an MVA. The aim of the present study was to address these deficits by comparing the characteristics of MVA and non-MVA driving-fearfuls and also exploring a range of characteristics associated with driving fears. One hundred and ninety media-recruited driving-fearfuls completed a questionnaire that assessed severity of anxiety and avoidance associated with a variety of driving situations. It was found that fear levels were similar to samples of driving phobics and MVA victims. There were no significant differences between MVA and non-MVA respondents on various measures of fear severity. In addition, the sample rated a high level of anxiety when driving with someone who criticizes their driving. Implications of the findings are discussed, along with suggestions for assessment and treatment of those with driving-related fears.
3193958
The influence of protection, palliation and costs on mobility optimization of residents in nursing homes: a thematic analysis of discourse.
BACKGROUND
With the aging of the population, increasing numbers of older people live in nursing homes. Discourse such as policies and standards highlight the need to optimize the mobility independence of residents. This is expected to occur in a way that is safe for residents and staff whilst meeting the residents' needs. The influence of discourse on health care delivery can be poorly understood, being at times hidden or taken for granted. The aim of this study was to uncover discourse relevant to resident mobility optimization to enable the origins and reasoning behind existing and intersecting policy and practice to be critically appraised.


DESIGN
Narrative literature review and thematic analysis with a focus on discourse were employed for this study.


DATA SOURCES
Databases (CINAHL and Ovid Medline) and websites of relevant professional and governmental bodies were accessed.


METHOD
A literature search centered on retrieval of texts focused on discourses that influenced goals to optimize resident mobility. Database searches for texts covered the period from 1994 to 2011. Iterative thematic analysis focussed on the texts' socio-cultural context and influence.


FINDINGS
Four discourses emerged that potentially influence goals to optimize resident mobility: safe manual handling; falls prevention; palliative care; and costs and funding constraints to individualized care. These discourses may influence mobility care in the direction of more routinized, passive and dependency support approaches. A common overarching theme was that of collaboration and communication.


CONCLUSION
Discourses such as safe manual handling, falls prevention, palliative care and cost constraints to individualized care can negatively impact on the goal to optimize the mobility of residents in nursing homes. Inter-professional approaches where staff work collaboratively and communicate well may counter such influences and ensure individualized care that focuses more effectively on resident mobility.