Publication Type: Individual Poster
Abstract: Background: The quality of the feeding behavior of mother and infant is likely to be a major indicator of the early development of the attachment relationship. Feeding, for young infants, is the primary setting for interaction. Early attachment behavior may be expressed in the infant’s regulation of attention, arousal, affect and engagement of the mother in an emotional exchange. Premature infants need their mothers’ sensitive and responsive feeding behavior to regulate their feeding, to feed adaptively and to engage their mothers. A mother's depressive symptoms may affect her ability to read and respond sensitively to her infant’s cues. The purpose of this study was to explore, for premature infants, the effect of early maternal feeding behavior on an infant’s later feeding behavior, accounting for maternal depressive symptoms.

Methods: This longitudinal study involved 39 mother-infant dyads at three time points: prior to discharge in the special-care nursery (SCN), and at 1 and 4-months post-term age (PTA) in the home. The Parent Child Early Relational Assessment (PCERA; Clark 1985) was used to assess the quality of maternal and infant feeding behaviors. Maternal behavior was assessed using the Positive Affective Involvement and Sensitivity/Responsiveness (PAISR) scale and infant’s behavior was assessed using the Infant’s Positive Affect, Communication and Social skills (IPACS) scale. Maternal depressive symptoms were assessed using the Center for Epidemiological Study Depression Scale (CES-D).

Results: Linear regression analyses were used to examine the effect a mother’s early PAISR score had on later infant IPACS score, accounting for CES-D scores on average. First, the covariate CES-D was entered and then the dependent variable, IPACS, was regressed on the independent variable, PAISR, first at SCN discharge and then at 1-month. Maternal PAISR scores prior to SCN discharge and at 1-month PTA contributed significantly to infant IPACS score at 4-months PTA (r = .65, p < .001; r = .67, p < .001 ) respectively. CES-D scores were, on average, less than 16 the value associated with clinical depression. Using a series of regression analyses maternal depressive symptoms did not significantly affect the contribution of maternal behavior to infant behavior for either the SCN or 1-month assessment.

Conclusion: A mother’s positive affective involvement with her infant during feeding and her sensitivity and responsiveness to her infant, assessed prior to SCN discharge and at 1-month PTA, made a significant contribution to infant positive affect and communication and social skills at 4-months. This finding supports the development of interventions to augment maternal positive affect, sensitivity, and responsivity during early premature infant feedings. Maternal depressive symptoms scores were low, on average, and, therefore, may not have greatly influenced maternal behavior. More research with a larger and more heterogeneous sample, including mothers with clinical depression, to better evaluate relationships examined in this study.

Publication Type: Abstract
Abstract: Increasing numbers of European bison Bison bonasus L. and their conflict with wood production is the major conservation management issue in Bialowieza Forest (Poland). Supplementary winter feeding (ca 250 tonnes of hay p.a.) is used to reduce damage in tree stands, but it has many unwanted side effects. The germinable seed content of bison dung and the colonization success of dispersed plant species have been studied in greenhouse and field experiments. The influence of feeding on the bison population, and ecosystem conservation was analyzed from the published data. European bison in Bialowieza Forest disperse 160 plant species, with 26% of segetal or ruderal, and 2% of alien species. Close to 20% of them are able to become established in the field. Decreased bison winter mortality accelerates the growth of bison numbers and increases year-round pressure on the forest. High population density is advantageous for pathogenic organisms, increasing their dispersal possibilities. Supplementary feeding, which was expected to solve conflicts, has drawbacks: an increased risk of invasion by alien species and increased pressure from bison on forest ecosystems. Thus, supplementary feeding methods must be revised. Only fodder prepared in immediate proximity of the area should be used. The amount of hay should be limited to ensure population survival during severe winters, allowing natural mortality to occur.
The project received support from Polish Science Budget (project 2P04F03530).

Publication Type: Roundtable Discussion
Abstract: How certain are you that the information you teach about agriculture and food is accurate? Before we can feed 12 billion people, wise decisions will need to be made based on facts. To begin, misconceptions need to be addressed.

Publication Type: Abstract
Abstract: The acquisition and deployment of domestic cooking skills is a process mediated by multiple contingencies and priorities. The food knowledge that individuals incorporate into culinary practice reflects cumulative, interacting opportunities and constraints. While cooking has been a central expectation and consuming responsibility for many North American women, we know relatively little about the ways in which food skills and culinary cultures are transmitted, transformed, and translated under the influence of everyday life, commercial logics, popular cultures, status relations, and evolving domestic ideologies. We addressed this question with the help of Saskatchewan women from various backgrounds, interviewing multiple generations of adult females from co-operating families. Our study reveals a complex and changeable culinary landscape in which contemporary exigencies may trump the influences of ethnicity, education, and family traditions.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This paper details a study of Facebook users utilizing both a survey of college undergraduates and actual usage pattern information taken from the Facebook site. The objective of this study was to learn more about how users feel about their online privacy while using Facebook, as well as to understand user reaction to the introduction of a new and controversial feature on Facebook known as "the feed". The study found that while some users may be concerned about their personal privacy, the majority will continue to disclose personally identifying information as a signaling tool to their peers. It was also determined that most users did not change their privacy settings after the introduction of "the feed" despite what appeared to be widespread unrest among the user base.