Continental diatom biodiversity discovery and description in China: 1848 through 2019

In this paper we inventory the continental diatom taxa described from inland waters in China, from the first species descriptions dating back to 1848 through 2019. China’s geography and hydrography are complex, including the world’s highest mountains, many large rivers, salty lakes, and large karst regions. From this area, a total of 1128 taxa have been described from China over this time period. We examine the number of taxa described in ca. 20-year intervals and note the periods of time of no to few descriptions, versus time intervals with many taxon descriptions. Early on, taxon descriptions of freshwater diatoms from China were done by mostly by Europeans working alone, and the time frame of 1948 to 1967 had few descriptions, as a devasting famine and the cultural revolution impacted scientific work and productivity. B.V. Skvortzov produced a large number of taxon descriptions, during his time in residence in Harbin, later while in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and even posthumously. More recently, a wide range of labs and collaborations across China, and with a diverse array of international partners, is ushering in a new, robust era of research on the biodiversity of continental diatoms. A few areas of research and work for the future are discussed.

Assessing the Likelihood of Having a Regular Health Care Provider among African American and African Immigrant Women

Objective: Immigrants, especially refugees, face unique barriers to accessing health care relative to native born Americans. In this study, we examined how immigration status, health, barriers to access, and knowledge of the health care system relate to the likelihood of having a regular health care provider.Methods: Using logistic regression and data from a community-based participatory study, we estimated the relative likelihood that an African immigrant woman would have a regular health care provider com­pared with an African American woman.Results: Immigrant status remains a power­ful predictor of whether a woman had a regular health care provider after control­ling for covariates. African immigrants were 73% less likely to have a regular health care provider than were otherwise similar African American women.Conclusion: Expanding health care educational efforts for immigrants may be warranted. Future research should examine how cultural beliefs and time in residence influence health care utilization among US immigrants. Ethn Dis. 2019;29(2):253-260; doi:10.18865/ed.29.2.253

Defining Sustainability in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

Because of the normative and subjective nature of the terms sustainability and sustainable development, solutions tend to be applicable for specific regions but not the whole of society. Thus, it is imperative understand better how community stakeholders and decision makers define the concept of sustainability. Not only will greater understanding of such definitions add to our understanding of nature-society relations, but also in certain contexts, this understanding may help to promote realistic and effective decision-making at local levels. The objective of this study was to determine how amenity-driven gateway communities surrounding Yellowstone and Grand Teton National parks define, conceptualize, and perceive sustainability, and if those perceptions varied between time in residence, community of origin, or role within the community. Thirty-five key informant interviews were conducted with decision makers within the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem to meet the study objectives. Throughout study communities, definitions of sustainability focused on the environment, the economy, and multi-generational thinking, and it is believed that these similarities can be the starting point for communication and collaboration among gateway communities, the long-term sustainability of their individual communities, and the collective resource upon which they all depend, the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

Reconsidering US Immigration Reform: The Temporal Principle of Citizenship

The uncertain political status of America's millions of undocumented immigrants and their children has exposed deep and ongoing disagreement about how US citizenship should be accorded to foreign-born persons. I identify the principle ofjus temporis,a law of measured calendrical time, that has worked in concert withjus soliand consent to construct citizenship law since the nation's founding.Jus temporistranslates measured durations of time such as “time in residence” or “time worked” into entitlement to rights and status. It creates temporal algorithms in which measured calendrical time plus additional variables (e.g., physical presence, education, or behavior) equals consent to citizenship. I explore recent scholarly references to temporal principles and trace the history of howjus temporiswas invoked by the nation's first Supreme Court jurisprudence on citizenship and the first Congressional debates about immigration and naturalization. Scholarly convergence on the principle ofjus temporisas well as its originalist pedigree imbue this principle with the potential to resolve contemporary disagreements about the rights and status of foreign-born persons in the US.

Admitting Whole Families: An Alternative to Residential Care

This paper is an examination of the effectiveness of a programme (described in detail elsewhere) designed to admit whole families for short-term intensive assessment and treatment. The goals of this programme are to eliminate residential care for symptomatic children who are admitted with their families to this service, to decrease the length of stay of the symptomatic child in residential treatment, if this is required following admission of the whole family to this unit, and to provide these services at costs comparable to or less than that currently being spent with conventional residential treatment. Results stemming from a number of pre- and post-treatment measures indicate that one half of children initially assessed and recommended for inpatient treatment had successfully avoided inpatient treatment for six months following admission of their family to this unit. For children recommended for residential care after admission of their families to the family unit, a reduction of approximately 35% of total time in residence occurred (when compared with a comparison group). A cost saving of over $12,000 per case was realized as a result of admission of the whole family when compared with residential treatment.

Time in Residential Care and Participation in Alcoholics Anonymous as Predictors of Continued Sobriety

This follow-up study located 158 of 274 residents served over five years in Rockdale House, a residential community program in Conyers, Georgia. Hypothesized predictors of successful outcome were continued participation in Alcoholics Anonymous after discharge and number of days in residence. Responses by ex-residents showed a significant relationship between time in residence and participation in AA for those reporting continued sobriety.