Home Town Research Articles

Abusing One’s Position

I once stood staring at a map in a large US airport, looking for an ATM. Next to me a couple also stared at the map, trying to figure out where in the airport they were. “Sheesh!” said the male at last, pointing to the red dot and the words ‘You are here’ in the key beside the map: “We’re way over here, right off the map!” Jenann Ismael’s understanding of red dots lies very much at the other extreme, but self-location – the task that couple were engaged in, however haplessly – is the unifying theme of The Situated Self. In Ismael’s hands, it is a thread that turns out to tie together a remarkable range of topics. Imagine being taken on a tour of your own home town, weaving in and out through various neighbourhoods, familiar and less so, and ducking between them via surprising paths and shortcuts. (“This next to that? Who knew!”) The Situated Self is that kind of book – an exhilarating and often demanding excursion, startling in its breadth and the ways it relates seemingly unconnected topics. Although the route is often novel, the vehicle itself is fairly familiar, at least in fundamentals. Ismael builds a chassis to specifications due especially to John Perry, fits it out to her own requirements, and then shows us where it can take us. Mostly, I found the excursion convincing, as well as fascinating. In what follows, I’ll take up one case in which I wasn’t convinced, and then raise an issue about another destination – somewhere in the same vicinity, apparently – and ask whether Ismael’s bus takes us there, too. First, though, to the fundamentals, as Ismael develops them.

Effecten van positief geladen informatie en geografische nabijheid in de corporate communicatie van een waterschap

A good reputation has become increasingly important for governmental organisations. These organisations can promote their reputation by means of their corporate communication. In this study, the effects of two textual characteristics of a District Water Board’s leaflet are measured: the presence of positively charged information and geographical vicinity. It was expected that both characteristics would have positive effects on the readers’ appreciation of the leaflet, on the organisation’s reputation and on the readers’ compliance (willingness to pay taxes). The presence of positively charged information did not have any effect, but geographical vicinity had positive effects on all three variables. Participants who read a leaflet with information about the Water Board’s activities in their home town appreciated the information more, were more positive about the organisation’s reputation and had higher compliance scores, compared to participants who read a leaflet with information about the Water Board’s entire control area.

James O. Davis

James Othello Davis, MD, PhD, an outstanding scientist who made many exceptional contributions to the advancement of biomedical research in his lifetime, was born July 12, 1916 in Tahlequah, Oklahoma and died September 28, 2010 in St. Louis, Missouri. Dr Davis earned his undergraduate degree from Northeastern State Teacher's College in his home town, followed by receipt of a master's degree in zoology from the University of Missouri (MU) in Columbia in 1939. He continued his studies in what was becoming one of the most distinguished zoology departments in the country and was awarded his PhD in zoology in 1942. While pursuing his doctoral studies, he met and married Florilla Sides, who was also pursuing an advanced degree in zoology at the University of Missouri. She was his active, life-long partner until her death in 2006, and will be remembered by all who knew her as a highly intelligent, energetic, charming, and independent person whose life was inextricably intertwined with that of her husband. After completing his doctoral training, Dr Davis remained at the University of Missouri to finish a BS degree in medicine and then completed his MD degree at Washington University in St. Louis in 1945. Since the National Institutes of Health (NIH) had its early roots with Washington University, it is not surprising that Dr Davis began his independent research career with the NIH in Baltimore. He advanced quickly within an organization that has always been home …

Portrait of a Genoese Noblewoman by Sir Anthony Van Dyck

<i>Portrait of a Genoese Noblewoman</i> by Sir Anthony Van Dyck

Medicare Chief Vows System ‘Redesign’

Medicare Chief Vows System ‘Redesign’

University Students’ Sense of Belonging to the Home Town: The Role of Residential Mobility

In the study of young people’s relationships with residential contexts, it is important to consider the role of developmental tasks (e.g. identity construction, academic and professional choices, etc.) in influencing Place Identity and Sense of Community. Residential mobility may represent an adaptive strategy for modifying some aspects of one’s identity and a contributing factor to the development of autonomy from the family. Limited attention has been devoted to the study of the ways young people deal with their attachments to old and new places within this process. This study involved 203 university students, attending a large university in the North of Portugal. The aim was to investigate Place Identity (PI) and Sense of Community (SoC) related to the home town, and differences according to residential condition (native vs. temporary resident) and year of attendance (I vs. IV). Among students who moved, the role of motives (forced vs. voluntary) and of residential choices after graduation on PI and SoC were assessed. Results indicated that, among students who moved for academic reasons, SoC and PI related to the home town were lower and decreased from the first to the fourth year. SoC was higher among students who experienced the relocation as a forced choice. Students who anticipated to return to their home town after graduation had higher SoC and PI.

Munich and DGF invite you to the EFL Congress

Dear Reader, As president of the hosting society DGF (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Fettwissenschaft) and as vice-congress chairperson I would like to invite you to attend the 8th Euro Fed Lipid congress (21–24 November) in my home town Munich. You are certainly aware that the annual Euro Fed Lipid congress is a major event for the science and technology of Lipids, Fats, and Oils in Europe. The 600–800 delegates typically represent more than 50 countries. This year the scientific committee has again assembled an exciting top-quality programme which is available at the congress webpage (www.eurofedlipid.org/meetings/munich). Five renowned personalities will deliver award winning plenary lectures covering topics of general interest, ranging from basic science to applied technology. This issue of EJLST takes the 8th Euro Fed Lipid congress in focus and brings articles written by three authors who will be awarded at the congress: A review by Michel Lagarde on oxygenated metabolites of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in blood and vascular cells; a review covering the history, composition, and health benefits of fish oil by Michael Bockisch; and a review discussing novel antioxidants in the context of food preservation and human health written by Fereidoon Shahidi and Ying Zhong. More than 20 keynote lectures are scheduled in the four main areas Health, Nutrition, Chemistry and Energy. The whole programme consists of roughly 200 lectures and numerous posters, making the choice sometimes hard. But it is not all just science: networking is another important aspect and it is hard to imagine a better place for networking than Munich with all its typical Bavarian cosiness (“Bayerische Gemütlichkeit”). The organisers have taken great care to give you ample opportunities to meet old friends and make new ones. You simply do not want to miss the Bavarian evening in a typical old brewery with beer and Munich delicacies! At this point I want to take the opportunity to give sincere thanks to all who lead this congress to success. The stage is set, we are now looking very much forward to welcoming you in Bavaria! For the German society DGF the Munich congress kicks off the year 2011 with DGF proudly celebrating its 75th anniversary. Founded in 1936 by Prof. Hans Paul Kaufmann, it quickly reached 1500 members from all areas of fat science and technology. Its few pre WWII-annual meetings were attended by up to 2000 participants. DGF was founded anew after WWII in 1948, again by H. P. Kaufmann who served as president until 1968. Today, DGF is a very active and lively scientific association, based on its ten divisions and several working groups, taking care of all aspects of modern fats and oils science and technology. DGF is also a proud founding member of Euro Fed Lipid and has handed over not only its journal, which has developed so stunningly from “Fette, Seifen, Anstrichmittel” and “Fett/Lipid” to the European Journal of Lipid Science and Technology, but also a couple of former DGF-symposia which are now part of the Euro Fed Lipid world. I am very pleased to contribute to this exciting development and again hope to welcome you in Munich!

Imported Human Rabies, the Philippines and Finland, 2007

Imported Human Rabies, the Philippines and Finland, 2007

Creative Manipulations of Outlaw Narrative in Aleksis Kivi’s "Seitsemän veljestä"

IN A MILIEU ABUNDANT with performances and literature about outlaws as well as real-life robbers near Kavi's home town (including Kivi's own great uncle), it is not surprising to find these motifs in Kivi's work. (1) Writers of novels, most notably Christian August Vulpius with his novel Rinaldo Rinaldini (1799), and Friedrich Schiller with his drama Die Rauber (1781; The Robbers), exerted a great influence in Finland as they did in the rest of Europe (Tarkiainen, Aleksis Kivija rosvoromantiikka 249-52). Both Viljo Tarkiainen as early as 1910 and Pirjo Lyytikainen in her book Vimman villitytpojat (2004)--in which she analyzes Kivi's Seitseman veljesta (1870; Seven Brothers) as a novel of transgression--assert connections between Kivi's novel and German romanticism, Schiller, Vulpius, and other romantic works such as Sir Walter Scott's Roh Roy (1817). (2) Implicitly challenging Aarne Kinnunen's claim that such comparisons are strained and foreign (Mikaan ei tunnu vieraammalta [164]), Lyytikainen, like Tarkiainen, illustrates the links to romanticism not only in Seitseman veljesta but also in other of Kivi's works centered on the theme of transgression. (3) My perspective on the novel aligns closely with Lyytikainen's in viewing transgression as thematically central to the novel and more specifically with Tarkiainen's suggestion that the theme could be at the core of the conception of the but here I advance the idea of viewing the novel in the context of so-called romanticism a step further by examining in more detail the specific elements (many of which Lyytikainen mentions) of what I have called outlaw narrative. (4) Even if we accept Kinnunen's statement that missaan kohden romaania ei voi havaita samastumista rosvoihin (164) [at no point in the novel can you find any identification with robbers], the emphasis here is not that the seven brothers resemble actual robbers or even the literary robbers of romanticism but that Kivi's in its exploration of transgression, utilizes the raw material of romantic-era narratives. Without venturing as far as Tarkiainen in suggesting that Kivi may have actually begun Seitseman veljesta with the intent of creating a Finnish we can perceive Kivi's employment of outlaw elements and motifs familiar to him and circulating in his lifetime (Lyytikainen 96). (5) Scholarship on Seitseman veljesta has often touched upon the generic attributes of the novel: whether or not it is a novel (Kinnunen 164-5), how it represents the quintessential romantic novel with its generic diversity, (6) and whether it is more like epic (Kinnunen 166), a drama, a comic epic (Lyytikainen 224), or a Bildungs- or Entwicklungsroman. (7) Jyrki Nummi even traces structural affinities to Platonic dialogue. (8) My purpose is not to circumscribe the novel with a generic definition, but to illustrate how the novel flirts with and creatively manipulates the themes and structure of outlaw narrative, a generic concept focused on crime (or transgression) while encompassing several structural and thematic elements. Not necessarily synonymous with robber novel, an outlaw narrative represents a grouping of works similar in ways that resemble how members of a family are similar. Using this loose concept of genre with blurred edges rather than a classification that adheres strictly to generic parameters (Fowler 41), we can still generalize in delineating three main thrusts of an outlaw narrative: first, thematization of criminality at some level; second, a focus on an outlaw character who either commits a crime or is accused of committing a crime; and third, the employment of traditional outlaw motifs and the exhibition of certain structural elements (Schaad 52). The thematization of criminality is well established by Lyytikainen in her discussion of transgression as a central theme in the but it is worth identifying a few specific themes of law and crime important for understanding the novel's attempt to grapple with the idea of what it means to be a society. …

Tejanos in the 1835 Texas Revolution (review)

Reviewed by: Tejanos in the 1835 Texas Revolution James E. Crisp Tejanos in the 1835 Texas Revolution. By L. Lloyd MacDonald. (Gretna, La.: Pelican Publishing, 2009. Pp. 366. Illustrations, maps, appendices, notes, bibliography, index. ISBN 9781589806382, $26.00 cloth.) In spite of its rather misleading title, this book is a thoroughly traditional account of the Texas Revolution, albeit augmented by the author's special attention to the numerous Tejanos who took part in the revolt against the Mexican government in 1835 and 1836. (The Tejano "tories," however, are virtually ignored). Unfortunately, MacDonald mars his analysis at the outset by engaging in an endlessly confusing discussion of the proper nomenclature for the people of Hispanic and Anglo-American origins who together made up the rebel forces in this contest. After finally landing on a definition of Tejanos as "Texas-born descendants of Latino heritage" (21), he contradicts himself by applying this label to Lorenzo de Zavala (136), the native of Yucatán who became the Vice-President of the Texas Republic. [End Page 95] The book is further marred by errors of fact and geography: the author conflates the separate incidents at Anahuac in 1832 and 1835 (105); he twice claims that Zacatecas was the home town of the Jalapa-born Mexican President Antonio López de Santa Anna (46, 64); and he incorrectly locates the Orozimbo plantation where Santa Anna was held captive by the Texans after the Battle of San Jacinto (281). Far more serious than these lapses, however, is MacDonald's apparent ignorance of both key source documents and important recent scholarship. For instance, his claim that the Mexican army under General Filisola was obediently following the orders of Santa Anna in retreating from Texas in April and May of 1836 is thoroughly undercut by Gregg Dimmick's Sea of Mud (Texas State Historical Association, 2004). Moreover, during his discussion of David Crockett's controversial death at the Alamo (213-214), MacDonald cites sources that are both dubious and contradictory, while failing to mention the important Dolson letter, which is arguably the very best evidence as to just "how Davy died." This book's difficulties with regard to sources are exacerbated by a bizarre system of documentation which, when combined with the author's frequent use of the passive voice, obfuscates more than it reveals, and renders most of the author's endnotes virtually worthless to the reader. Most damning in terms of shoddy use of sources is a twice-quoted phrase (20, 239) from Herman Ehrenberg's memoir of the Texas Revolution which simply does not exist, either in the original German or in the four extant translations into English. MacDonald has inserted Irishmen and Tejanos into Ehrenberg's declaration that the German, English, and American soldiers held captive by the Mexicans at Goliad had all become Texans. MacDonald further taints his use of Ehrenberg's memoir by stating that the young Prussian came to Texas with "Bonham's Mobile Greys" (229). Ehrenberg entered Texas with Breece's company of the New Orleans Greys. This book is not all bad. MacDonald writes with a great love of his subject, which often brings immediacy to his descriptions of the tribulations of the Texans (though sometimes with invented dialogue). His analysis of Sam Houston's qualities as a commander is generally sound, and his elaboration of the role of Tejanos in the Texas Revolution is commendable. The greatest testimony to MacDonald's deep love of his subject comes from the book's many illustrations, which are all photographs of the author's own creations, in tooled leather, of maps, portraits, and architectural details. It is a shame that these are so dimly reproduced in many instances that the text is virtually illegible. James E. Crisp North Carolina State University Copyright © 2010 The Texas State Historical Association

Espacios y viajes en la vida y en la obra de Carmen de Burgos &lt;i&gt;Colombine&lt;/i&gt;

Carmen de Burgos (1867-1932) symbolized at her time the efforts to support the progress and the modern ideas; the ideas that the Regenerationism trend had encouraged in Spain. From her very arrival to Madrid in 1901 from her Almeria home town, she started a literary and journalistic career punctuated by so many successes. She signed as Colombine , and became the first female editor of a journal ( Diario Universal , 1903), and then the first Spanish War correspondent ( Heraldo de Madrid , 1909). She accumulated a large and rich culture made of erudition and was an indefatigable and experienced world-traveller from the European limits to the American furthest corners. Both the spaces and the travels have been given a special importance in her narrative work. Her legacy is made of nearly two hundred titles -among these short and long novels, essays, biographies, travel books, literary studies, translations, prologues, books of interviews along with thousands of articles published by the Spanish and the foreign press- it is a largest literary and scholarly work: a polygraph’s work. She was both a minded and an action woman that launched so many press campaigns in favour of social and political causes, especially in favour of women. In our literary story, Carmen de Burgos is the writer who covers the tendencies during the first third of the 20 th century, from the Generation of 98 to the innovative currents, our silver age.

An Indian Student's Insatiable Ardor for Biotechnology

It is this maxim that urged me to think higher right from my young age. I am an Indian student who has been invited to share my experiences with the BIOS readers on my fascination towards the field of Biotechnology and the steps I took to become a Biotechnology student. I enjoyed my schooling in State Bank Officers Association (S.B.O.A) Matriculation Higher Secondary School which is located in my home town, Madurai, in the state of Tamilnadu in India. This Madurai, rightly called the City, has fascinating temples among which the Meenakshi Amman Temple is world famous and stands as a significant testimony for the Dravid ian's mastery over architecture in sculpting this temple. Right from my childhood I liked science subjects, especially the biological sciences and being a lover of nature, I nurtured several pet animals and plants in my home. In India the school education is taught for 14 years starting from Lower Kinder Garten (LKG), Upper Kinder Garten (UKG), Primary school course from I to V grade, Secondary school course from VI to X grade, and finally the Higher Secondary course comprising of XI and XII grade. Among this, the X and XII grade examina tions are conducted and evaluated in a central ized manner by the corresponding Indian state government. Biological Sciences consisting of Botany and Zoology is an integral part of our curriculum up to grade X. Until this grade it is compulsory for all Indian students to study Botany and Zoology. But after completing this grade, the student has a choice of what to study in grades XI and XII. Here the students select the subjects they want to learn, which are available as ready made packages in their corresponding course syllabus of the various specialized streams. The most opted streams are the Biology /Mathemat ics stream, Pure Science stream, Computer Sci ence stream and Commerce stream. Apart from these, several vocational streams like Psychology, Political sciences, Economics etc., are also of fered. The above mentioned are the specialized courses in the various streams whereas all the streams will have English as first language and other vernacular language (for example Tamil in Tamilnadu) as the second language. This point is crucial in any Indian student's life, as it is the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity given to us to se lect our future career. After I got my X grade examination results (Similar to American High school sophomore level), I spent sleepless nights introspecting and discovered my hidden zest for Biology. This made me decide to opt for the Biology/Maths group. During my higher secondary course, I was able to learn different realms in Botany and Zoology, more precisely in the concepts of Bio technology (even though Biotechnology is not a subset of Botany and Zoology, as far as School

Triatoma infestansBugs in Southern Patagonia, Argentina

Fil: Piccinali, Romina Valeria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Oficina de Coordinacion Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Ecologia, Genetica y Evolucion de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Ecologia, Genetica y Evolucion de Buenos Aires; Argentina

Only a mouse click away from home: transnational practices of Eastern European migrants in the United Kingdom

In May 2004 the European Union was enlarged by ten new member states, eight of these were countries from the former Communist bloc. Between May 2004 and May 2006 the citizens of so-called EU8 countries (Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovak Republic and Slovenia) enjoyed full worker mobility in only three ‘old’ EU member states, the Republic of Ireland, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Following EU enlargement, migrant workers from EU8 countries as well as their dependants have been arriving in the United Kingdom. In December 2007 almost 800,000 workers from EU8 countries were registered on the government's worker registration scheme. This article is concerned with the transnational practices of migrants from EU8 countries who have arrived in the UK following EU enlargement, in particular with everyday transnational practices that involve the use of a variety of media. The experiences of transnational migrants involve connections between former and new (sometimes temporary) homelands. The role of media, in particular satellite television, has been studied in a transnational context. However, satellite broadcasting has not been embraced by migrants from EU8 countries to any extent, rather they rely on a range of media and practices that enable them to be connected to two or more national contexts. Migrants interviewed for this research have proved to be avid and highly skilled users of digital media in particular, they access newspapers, magazines and films online, use Skype to make calls, post photographs on social networking sites and even check online images of their home towns in Eastern Europe on a daily basis. The article explores the implications of these transnational practices in relation to migrants' identities and belonging as well as political participation. The data analyzed in the article was collected in in-depth qualitative interviews with 20 recently (post-May 2004) arrived migrants from EU8 countries in London, Edinburgh and Newcastle. The interviews were conducted in winter 2006 and summer 2007.

Straightforward critics or would-be candidates? International migrants and the management of local affairs and development: the case of the Senegal River valley

The Senegal River valley has long been one of the main sources of out-migration to international destinations in the country, and migrants’ remittances are important for the survival of households and for the economic and social development of the area. Investments in home towns and a highly critical view of the ways in which local affairs are managed encourage migrants’ active involvement in local development through associations and, increasingly, in local politics. This paper describes these processes in the light of decentralization in Senegal, and especially the transferring of competences on the use of state and public lands to local government.

Ominous Festivals, Ambivalent Nostalgia: Brian Friel's Dancing at Lughnasa and Billy Roche's Amphibians

Ominous Festivals, Ambivalent Nostalgia:Brian Friel's Dancing at Lughnasa and Billy Roche's Amphibians Martin W. Walsh Two contemporary plays, Brian Friel's Dancing at Lughnasa (1990) and Billy Roche's Amphibians (1992, revised 1998) continue a longstanding practice among Irish dramatists of tapping into the rich heritage of folklore, folkways, and calendar performances. Both playwrights base their handling of the festivals portrayed on ethnographical materials, but each substantially reinvents their stage "traditions." In doing so, each author demonstrates a certain attraction to a pagan past, but ambiguously so. Friel and Roche value the liberating energies of archaic rituals vis-à-vis Irish small-town life, but both authors find the rituals they present to be at the same time dangerously transgressive. If this is nostalgia, it is a decidedly ambivalent form of longing for the past. Dancing at Lughnasa has already achieved the status of a classic of Irish drama, with numerous international productions and awards, including a 1991 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play, and a 1992 Tony Award for best play, as well as major motion picture treatment in 1998.1 An autobiographical memory play, the piece centers on the five Mundy sisters and their recently returned missionary brother who live at the edge of the small Donegal town of Ballybeg (Irish for "small town"). The fictional Ballybeg is a thinly disguised version of Friel's own home town of Glenties in the southwest portion of the county. Although Friel's play has occasioned a considerable body of criticism, the critical literature includes only slight discussion of the Feast of Lughnasa itself, and how it functions in the work.2 [End Page 127] Michael Mundy, the alter ego of the playwright, begins the play by reminiscing on the summer of 1936 when he was seven. He introduces the festival of Lughnasa by means of the family's new-fangled wireless set: And because it arrived as August was about to begin, my Aunt Maggie—she was the joker of the family—she suggested we give it a name. She wanted to call it Lugh after the old Celtic God of the Harvest. Because in the old days August the First was La Lughnasa, the feast day of the pagan god, Lugh; and the days and weeks of harvesting that followed were called the Festival of Lughnasa. But Aunt Kate—she was a national schoolteacher and a very proper woman—she said it would be sinful to christen an inanimate object with any kind of name, not to talk of a pagan god. So we just called it Marconi because that was the name emblazoned on the set.3 Here, Friel establishes one of his favorite themes: narrow, puritanical Irish Catholicism versus an older "paganism," loosely defined, which in this work is played out as well in the person of Father Jack who has succumbed to an African animistic spirituality after twenty-five years in Uganda. One point where the story does not fit into a strictly autobiographical framework is the centrality of the ancient feast. For residents of Glenties and environs, Lá Lughnasa was just as foreign a notion as it was for the audiences in Dublin, London, or New York, who were absolutely dependent on this exposition by Michael. In Brian Friel in Conversation (2000), James Deling pole reports on these statements from residents of Friel's hometown: "I never heard of the festival of Lughnasa inme life," says Dr Malchy McCloskey, at 77 one of the town's older residents. "And we wouldn't be dancing round fires or anything like that. Not in my time, or my mother's," adds Marie Clare O'Donnell, a supervisor in the town co-op.4 Friel, then, has to a large extent invented a festival for his theatrical environment. In a similar fashion he turns his own apparently normal missionary uncle, who was afflicted only by recurring malaria, Father Barney, into the addled apostate Father Jack. But if the stage Lá Lughnasa is not part of the playwright's own living tradition, neither is it an invention out of whole cloth. Friel is a playwright who undertakes significant research for his works, having written plays on...

Sense of coherence and socio-demographic characteristics predicting posttraumatic stress symptoms and recovery in the aftermath of the Second Lebanon War

This study investigated the role of sense of coherence (SOC) as a mediator between demographic attributes of individuals (gender, age, economic situation, and exposure to traumatic events during the war) and two war outcomes (postwar stress symptoms and perceived posttraumatic recovery). The participants were 870 adults (ages ranged between 20 and 85), who were affected by the Second Lebanon War and were evacuated from their home town. They were administered the research questionnaire approximately one year after this war. Path analysis indicated the following: gender, age, economic situation, and exposure were significantly associated with level of symptoms as well as perceived recovery. However, three of these connections (age, economic, and exposure) were partially mediated by SOC which was linked with lower levels of stress symptoms and higher levels of perceived posttraumatic recovery. Unlike our hypothesis, exposure by age interaction was not significantly associated with SOC and the two war outcomes. Results supported the hypotheses that SOC mediates between demographic characteristics and negative (symptoms) as well as positive (perceived recovery) war outcomes.

The impact of parental migration on health status and health behaviours among left behind adolescent school children in China

BackgroundOne out of ten of China's population are migrants, moving from rural to urban areas. Many leave their families behind resulting in millions of school children living in their rural home towns without one or both their parents. Little is known about the health status of these left behind children (LBC). This study compares the health status and health-related behaviours of left behind adolescent school children and their counterparts in a rural area in Southern China.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted among middle school students in Fuyang Township, Guangdong, China (2007-2008). Information about health behaviours, parental migration and demographic characteristics was collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Overweight/obesity and stunting were defined based on measurements of height and weight. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to estimate the differences in health outcomes between LBC and non-LBC.Results18.1% of the schoolchildren had one or both parents working away from home. Multivariate analysis showed that male LBC were at higher risk of skipping breakfast, higher levels of physical inactivity, internet addiction, having ever smoked tobacco, suicide ideation, and being overweight. LBC girls were more likely to drink excessive amounts of sweetened beverage, to watch more TV, to have ever smoked or currently smoke tobacco, to have ever drunk alcohol and to binge drinking. They were also more likely to be unhappy, to think of planning suicide and consider leaving home.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that parental migration is a risk factor for unhealthy behaviours amongst adolescent school children in rural China. Further research is required in addition to the consideration of the implications for policies and programmes to protect LBC.

The Islands of the Blessed (review)

Reviewed by: The Islands of the Blessed April Spisak Farmer, Nancy. The Islands of the Blessed. Jackson/Atheneum, 2009 479p. ISBN 978-1-4169-0737-4 $18.99 R Gr. 5–8 In this sequel to The Land of the Silver Apples (BCCB 10/07), two years have passed and Thorgil and Jack are long overdue for new adventure, as they are both chafing under the limits of small-town life. What’s left after braving the underworld, traveling with Vikings, training with the best bard, and battling overzealous monks? Voyaging to an underwater world, Notland, that is nearly impossible to find and perilous in nature, and which is the original home to a restless spirit now endangering Jack’s home town. As the pair travels, the single quest is made more complex, expanding in scope to include rescues, new encounters with the undead, and the fight against a horrific and fast-moving illness that is threatening entire populations. This is the final volume of a trilogy that began with Jack and Thorgil as kids entirely unaware of their own powers and strengths and at odds with one another, and which ends with two deeply bonded teens who are each destined for greatness. For all the attention Farmer gives to topics such as the fragility of life, religions, familial responsibility, and to developing her extraordinary fantasy world, she never loses sight of her core protagonists, with whom readers have likely bonded at their first introductions. In spite of frequent references to the two earlier novels, the depth of many of the characters and their complex relationships and overlaps simply cannot be conveyed in this single volume. Fortunately, this weighty series will easily repay reading as a whole, and readers who’ve followed the first two adventures will be satisfied indeed with the final outing. [End Page 244] Copyright © 2010 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

On being a pathologist—full circle

As is the case with so many things that have happened in my life, I did not intend to be a pathologist. Having realized at a fairly young age that I could not sing I gave up an early desire to be an opera singer and decided, before I entered college, to go to medical school. This was at a time when medicine was not a career embraced by young women and my uncle, a neurosurgeon, felt that it would be much more appropriate for me to become a nurse. During my years at Radcliffe College, he tried to persuade me that nursing was the career I should follow. While still in high school I worked as a candy striper at the Carney Hospital in Dorchester, MA, taking a bus and train to Boston from my home town of Swampscott, MA, and then the subway to Dorchester. Being involved in a hospital, even as a volunteer, reinforced my desire for a career in medicine and I was determined to be a pediatrician when I entered Tufts Medical School in the fall of 1960. In the summer of 1961, I married my first husband, David Carpenter, then a student at Harvard Medical School, and the 2 of us left for Goteborg, Sweden, for David's research year in neurophysiology. I took pharmacology with the Swedish medical students (although not for credit) and studied neurophysiology and the year was an exciting time away from school. During my second year at Tufts, we were asked to examine our feet to make scrapings of potential athlete's foot to look at in laboratory sessions. I discovered a small pigmented lesion on my left fifth toe, which led to my first real contact with diagnostic surgical pathology. The lesion was excised and beautifully skin grafted at the New England Medical Center and the original diagnosis was a junctional nevus. However, my pathology teachers were concerned