In Australia and other countries, certain groups of women have traditionally been denied access to assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs). These typically are single heterosexual women, lesbians, poor women, and those whose ability to rear children is questioned, particularly women with certain disabilities or who are older. The arguments used to justify selection of women for ARTs are most often based on issues such as scarcity of resources, and absence of infertility (in lesbians and single women), or on social concerns: that it "goes against nature"; particular women might not make good mothers; unconventional families are not socially acceptable; or that children of older mothers might be orphaned at an early age. The social, medical, legal, and ethical reasoning that has traditionally promoted this lack of equity in access to ARTs, and whether the criteria used for client deselection are ethically appropriate in any particular case, are explored by this review. In addition, the issues of distribution and just "gatekeeping" practices associated with these sensitive medical services are examined.

https://jme.bmj.com/content/medethics/31/5/280.full.pdf

Assisted reproductive technologies and equity of access issues

The global economy has experienced a steep downturn that is affecting all sectors of society. The United Kingdom officially entered a recession in January 2009 that made public spending cuts inevitable. Academic libraries are particularly vulnerable to changes in the world economy because of their reliance on highly-priced globally-sourced information products and dependence on expenditure allocations from parent institutions that are heavily dependent on public funding. An investigation of initial and anticipated effects of the downturn on libraries in UK higher education was conducted in summer 2009 to assess its impact on human resources and working practices, information resources and collection management, service portfolios, projects, and developments. A pragmatic mixed methodology was employed combining a mainly quantitative sector-wide questionnaire survey (n = 36) with in-depth semi-structured interviews of 12 senior managers at five universities. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive...

/pdf/effects-of-the-economic-downturn-on-academic-libraries-in-1yjdmus30d.pdf

Effects of the economic downturn on academic libraries in the UK: Positions and projections in mid-2009

This research explores the experiences of young widow and widower parents as they support their children through the primary school system in Ireland. It provides candid parental insights into how schools currently respond to, address and continue to educate children who are grieving the death of a parent. There is a paucity of empirically based research exploring widowed parent observations on the efficacy with which the needs of parentally bereaved children are facilitated at schools in Ireland. An estimated 4,384 primary school children experienced the death of a parent in 2011.
An ecologically based conceptual framework was constructed to assess the needs of bereaved children in primary education. This exploration is supported by a four-part framework based on theories of resilience, the use of psychology theory in Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE), the caring relationship in teaching and the link between schooling and social and emotional well-being (SEWB). A qualitative research design was selected to foster rapport and encourage the first-hand narratives of the widowed parent encounters. In this research two auxiliary sources – teacher and pupil voices – are documented to contextualise school ethos and ascertain the extent of curricular interventions for bereaved children in primary education.
Research findings from qualitative interviews with widowed parents reveal valuable insights into how pupils feel in the classroom as they cope with their loss and bereavement. They give a keen insight into the complex emotions facing pupils, and the often limited response of schools to these pupils’ needs. The findings indicate the need to foster life skills and transformational coping through the integration of resilience-orientated or strength-based curricular provisions in primary classrooms. Challenges linked to the professional roles of teachers, assessment of high-risk situations, and the rise of therapeutic interventions in education were also identified. In response to these challenges, this research proposes the introduction of a loss, bereavement and change module in SPHE, including useful classroom strategies and approaches. Recommendations for schools are also advanced. These ideas aim to strengthen practitioner knowledge so that future pupils who encounter the death of a parent are better equipped to recognise, tackle and address grief as it unfolds in the evolving social world of the primary classroom.

Bereavement in the Primary Classroom:The Perspectives of Widowed Parents

Coronavirus disease 2019 obliged many countries to apply lockdown policies to contain the spread of infection. The restrictions in Israel included limitations on movement, reduction of working capacity, and closure of the educational system. The present study focused on patients treated at a referral center for burns in northern Israel. Their goal was to investigate temporal variations in burn injuries during this period. Data were retrospectively extracted from the medical records of burn patients treated at our hospital between March 14, 2020 and April 20, 2020 (ie, the period of aggravated lockdown). Data from this period were compared with that from paralleling periods between 2017 and 2019. During the lockdown and paralleling periods, 178 patients were treated for burn injuries, of whom 44% were under 18. Although no restrictions were enforced during the virus outbreak period with regard to seeking medical care, we noticed a decrease in the number of patients admitted to the emergency room for all reasons. Of particular interest was a 66% decrease in the number of adult burn patients (P < .0001). Meanwhile, among the pediatric population, no significant decrease was observed. Nonetheless, subgroups with higher susceptibility to burn injuries included children aged 2 to 5 years (56.3% vs 23.8%, P = .016) and female patients from all pediatric age groups (57.1% vs 25%, P = .027). These findings may be explained by the presumably busier kitchen and dining areas during the lockdown. Overall, the study results can assist with building a stronger understanding of varying burn injuries and with developing educational and preventive strategies.

/pdf/trends-in-burn-injuries-in-northern-israel-during-the-covid-1ulk4n4fmh.pdf

Martha Dallman

Papers

To Everything There Is a Season.