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Creative Commons/Health
Why we'll get COVID booster vaccines quickly and how we know they're safe
Jamie Triccas, University of Sydney and Anthony (Tony) Cunningham, University of Sydney
The United States' drug regulator, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), said last week COVID vaccines updated for variants won't need to go through full randomised controlled clinical trials.
The booster shots will only be required to undergo initial testing to check they are safe and produce an immune response. They won't need to go through lengthy "phase 3" efficacy trials which would normally enrol tens of thousands of participants.
The European Medicines Agency hasn't published formal guidelines, but has taken the same position. Chair of the agency's vaccine evaluation team, Marco Cavaleri, told Reuters: "We will ask for much smaller trials, with a few hundred participants, rather than 30,000 to 40,000". The focus would be primarily on safety and immune response data.
This is encouraging news, because it means we could get access to booster shots much more quickly than if they went through full trials. And because drug companies will have to prove they're using the same technology and manufacturing process as the original vaccines, we can still be assured they'll also be safe.
Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has not yet confirmed whether it'll do the same, but history tells us we can probably expect it to follow suit.
Why do we need boosters?
Variant strains of the virus have been detected around the world, including those originating in the UK, South Africa and Brazil. People infected with these variants have been found in Australian hotel quarantine, and the B.1.1.7 strain, first found in the UK, has escaped the quarantine system several times.
Read more: UK, South African, Brazilian: a virologist explains each COVID variant and what they mean for the pandemic
For those tested, the current crop of vaccines still perform relatively well against the B.1.1.7 strain.
And data suggest most COVID vaccines will still be somewhat useful in preventing hospitalisation and death from these variants.
However, efficacy against mild to moderate illness, and against transmission of the virus, has likely dropped off sharply against some of these variants.
For example, preliminary data suggest vaccine efficacy for AstraZeneca's vaccine dropped to just 10% against mild-moderate illness from the B.1.351 variant which originated in South Africa. Efficacy of Novavax's shot slid from 89% to 60% against this variant. These data were from small trials and more studies are needed, but it's still very concerning.
We don't have solid real world data yet about the performance of the Pfizer vaccine against the B.1.351 variant.
Read more: South Africa has paused AstraZeneca COVID vaccine rollout but it's too early to say Australia should follow suit
Why don't we need full trials again?
Drug companies have flagged the need to develop updated booster shots to cover these new variants, which would involve tweaking their sequences.
Some scientists were worried this would mean drug companies would have to go through full randomised controlled clinical trials, including large phase 3 efficacy trials, to get these booster shots to market. These phase 3 clinical trials include many thousands of volunteers and the primary aim is to determine if the vaccine can prevent people from getting the disease.
By the time these trials were completed, it may be too late to control outbreaks caused by variants, and new variants may emerge that we'd need coverage for. In a pandemic, we don't have the luxury of time.
But the FDA has dispelled this fear. The drug regulator seems most interested in ensuring any booster shots are safe and the manufacturing process hasn't been modified from the original vaccines it approved.
The boosters will still require smaller trials to show they're safe and generate an immune response. The trials typically involve a few hundred people and would examine the percentage of vaccinated volunteers who make antibodies to the variants, as well as the strength of the immune response.
This would be similar to what's done for annual flu shots, although not exactly the same. We get very different flu strains circulating every few years, but current COVID-19 vaccines and variant "boosters" could be sufficient to use for several years — we don't know yet.
The FDA also indicated boosters won't necessarily need to undergo animal testing before progressing to human testing, which will also save time. But this may be encouraged if results from human trials are ambiguous.
How do we know they'll be safe and effective?
Any potential side effects from a vaccine are mostly based on how the vaccine is made, the technology and how it's delivered.
If drug companies keep all these factors the same, and only make minor sequence changes to cover variants, then we can expect the boosters to still be very safe vaccines.
The US and EU drug regulators would like to see data where the booster is given to people who've already had an original COVID vaccine, given this will be the likely scenario for most people receiving a booster shot by the time they're approved.
The boosters will probably also be tested in people who haven't had any COVID disease or vaccine. This is to ensure the boosters can induce strong immune responses like the original vaccine.
When required, the TGA will independently review all of this data. It will also likely seek advice from internal and external experts.
Read more: How do we know the COVID vaccine won't have long-term side-effects?
It's also unclear when booster shots will be available or if they will be necessary in the short term. Melbourne-based biotech company CSL, which is producing the AstraZeneca vaccine onshore, said this week booster shots to cover coronavirus variants probably won't be available until the end of the year.
US pharmaceutical company Moderna has already sent a new COVID vaccine booster shot for phase 1 testing, to target the B.1.351 variant. Pfizer is also planning to develop a booster to cover this variant, either as a third dose or a reformulated vaccine.
New variants will continue to arise, but the best chance we have of stopping or slowing this process is by continuing public health measures to ensure as few people as possible become infected.
This includes vaccinating as many people as possible globally with the currently approved vaccines, which underscores Australia's responsibility to assist countries in our region in getting vaccinated.
Read more: 3 ways to vaccinate the world and make sure everyone benefits, rich and poor
Jamie Triccas, Professor of Medical Microbiology, University of Sydney and Anthony (Tony) Cunningham, Professor, Faculty of Medicine & Health, University of Sydney
Charlene is a Bay Area journalist who hails from the small community of Fresno. Drawing from her experience writing for her college paper, Charlene continues to advocate for free press and local journalism. She also volunteers in all the beach cleanups she can because she loves the water.
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Rather than an elegant destination, Bhutan has a lot more to showcase, specifically the unbeatable culture of the place. And if you are someone to know everything about a place like this then Bhutan Cultural Tour Packages are going to be the best for you.
Bhutan is a place that is unbeatable throughout the year you can visit here anytime and always get the best. You have springs under the clear blue skies from March to May; summer and monsoons from June to August and further; and the dropping temperature with winters from November. The ancient Buddhist heritage remains equally appreciable always. There is an array of festivals that will tell you the most adorable things about the culture here.


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Home ALBUM REVIEW REVIEW: Autumn's Grief – Dead by the Dawn
REVIEW: Autumn's Grief – Dead by the Dawn
Jani L.
It was almost exactly a year ago when I reviewed the prominent debut album, "The Dead Don't Smile," by the up-and-coming Finnish metal outfit, AUTUMN'S GRIEF, dubbing the band's symphonic murals of gloom as a worthy entrée into the pantheon of mournful masters such as PARADISE LOST, TRISTANIA, and ETERNAL TEARS OF SORROW. Now, it is time to dig into their sophomore full-length effort "Dead by the Dawn," due out on December 9th, 2022, via Inverse Records. From the first few seconds onward, it becomes obvious that the band's old charm is still there; this selection of ten new songs resonates by turns with the air of vintage doom and symphonic metal classics, as well as a robust cinematic flare. There are also a few surprises along the way; how they go down with the unsuspecting listener depends greatly on their stance about, say, mixing almost rap-styled nu-metal vocals with the classic doom-metal aesthetic. Then again, I guess rock and metal bands with a somewhat Gothic inclination must go through this sort of phase in one way or the other – flirting with somewhat "outlier" genres that are prone to rub the trve kvlt gatekeepers the wrong way. Sometimes it pays off and here, it surely does.
"The Tide" opens the album with a staccato synth motif that bounces to and fro with a strong vintage feel. The song could basically be a lovechild of PARADISE LOST and early NIGHTWISH (minus the operatic vocals, of course). I'm not sure what age demographic the members of AUTUMN'S GRIEF fall into but I'm pretty sure they have grown up on a steady diet of 1990s metal; yet, instead of constructing facsimile pastiches of a select bunch of golden oldies, these doomsters seem to have adopted the tried-and-true virtues of old-school songwriting – strong melodies, first and foremost. Speaking of which, the following track, "The Sea of Apathy," stands out as a prime example of conveying nothing short of a haunting feel. If I were to single out a song from the album to speak for itself, this would be the go-to song, hands down.
On the debut, there was a song or two that created quite intriguing sonic impressions of HIM's greatest moments of melancholic doom. This time, the honor falls to "Under the Belt of Orion." It makes me wonder what it would sound like if AUTUMN'S GRIEF were to make a cover rendition of one of those revered HIM classics. While these two bands have quite a few traits in common, they are different enough to turn such a rendition into something really interesting. Take the next track, "Hanging in Midair," for example; with all those cinematic strings and multi-layered vocals, it's not something HIM would probably ever have taken a shot at, I reckon. If there is a distinct DEAD CAN DANCE vibe about this track, it only gets stronger on the instrumental interlude, "In the Presence of the Sun," which plunges almost into the emotional depths of "Host of Seraphim" from the 1988 DEAD CAN DANCE album, "The Serpent's Egg." If that's not impressive, I don't know what is.
Showing a whole new facet of the band's signature sound, "There Was A Light" traverses a more mellow and atmospheric sonic terrain, one that is not a far cry from the Finnish alt.rockers, THE CHANT. Unsurprisingly, both bands have a knack for dealing with the lyrical concept of light in nothing short of a haunting manner. It sure helps that both bands have such powerful vocalists. Here and there, AUTUMN'S GRIEF vocalist Noora Virtanen delivers her vocals resonating almost with the spine-chilling air of OCEANS OF SLUMBER singer Cammie Gilbert – which is not a small feat!
Then, it's time to face the track that might prove a hard pill to swallow for some: "They Talk To Me" brings the electronic elements to the forefront, almost as though reminding us that, "Hey, back in the day, everyone flirted with the electronics!" Paired with the nu-metal-ish vocals in the verses, symphonic-metal puritans may feel betrayed a little. Judging by the online reviews, this is perhaps the make-or-break track on the album. I would say: suck it up. As KORN already showed earlier this year, despite the rumors of nu-metal's demise as a genre, these rumors of its death are greatly exaggerated. In my opinion, "They Talk To Me" does not shy away from those late-1990s doom-metal efforts that flirted even more openly with the dance music elements of the era.
The title track wraps up the album with a piano-driven power-ballad type of thing, with the cinematic ornaments sounding particularly delicious. It's a befitting coda to a splendid and nuanced assortment of doom-metal splendor. As you can quickly see from the band's lineup, they seem to be missing a drummer; apparently, the drums on the album are programmed throughout the album, which is probably one of the reasons why the band has not yet become the talk of the town. With such portfolio pieces as "Dead by the Dawn" and the 2021 debut, "The Dead Don't Smile," I'm sure things are to change for the better soon enough.
Written by Jani Lehtinen
The Sea of Apathy
Under the Belt of Orion
Hanging in Midair
The Dragonfly
In the Presence of the Sun
There Was A Light
They Talk to Me
Dead by the Dawn
Noora Virtanen – vocals
Ville Skön – keyboards
Santtu Rosén – guitars & bass
Autumn's Grief
noora virtanen
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People Who Believe in COVID-19 Conspiracies More Likely to Catch Virus: Study – WebMD
Nov. 2, 2021 — People who believe in COVID-19 conspiracy theories are more likely to catch the virus, lose their jobs, and be socially isolated, according to a new study published in Psychological Medicine, a peer-reviewed medical journal by Cambridge University Press.
The study, conducted by researchers in the Netherlands, found that those who believe in COVID-19 conspiracies are less likely to be tested for COVID-19. But they're more likely to get infected and test positive.
"One basic property of conspiracy theories is that they are consequential: Even if a conspiracy theory is extremely implausible according to logic or scientific evidence, if it seems real to a perceiver, it has a genuine impact on attitudes, emotions, and behavior," the study authors wrote.
The research team surveyed 5,745 people to provide a large sample of observations from a cross-section of Dutch residents. They contacted people in April 2020 and December 2020 to examine whether conspiracy beliefs early in the pandemic would predict health and well-being outcomes later in the year.
The researchers asked about four COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs, including whether the coronavirus is a "bioweapon engineered by scientists," whether the coronavirus is a "conspiracy to take away citizens' rights for good and establish an authoritarian government," whether the coronavirus is a "hoax invented by interest groups for financial gains," and whether the coronavirus was "created as a cover-up for the impending global economic crash."
They found that conspiracy beliefs predicted an increased likelihood of violating coronavirus regulations, experiencing social rejection, having economic problems such as job loss or reduced income, and having lower overall well-being. Most of the effects generalized to a broader susceptibility to conspiracy theories or a conspiracy mentality overall.
The research team also found that conspiracy beliefs predicted an increased chance of disrupted social relationships. People who scored "low" in conspiracy beliefs were more likely to reject people who scored "high" in conspiracy beliefs. Publicly endorsing conspiracy beliefs can lead to stigmas and reduce people's social support network, the authors wrote.
"These findings suggest that conspiracy beliefs are associated with a myriad of negative life outcomes in the long run," the study authors wrote.
"Conspiracy beliefs predict how well people cope with the challenges of a global pandemic and therefore has substantial implications for private and public health, as well as perceivers' economic and social well-being," they concluded.
Boston Marathon to require proof of COVID-19 vaccine for participants – Reuters
One death Tuesday as COVID-19 numbers continue to decline – Times Record News


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Tonic Worldwide awarded digital mandate for Waman Hari Pethe
Home Articles MPL bans over a million accounts in 2022 to reinforce transparency and...
MPL bans over a million accounts in 2022 to reinforce transparency and fairplay on the platform
India, November 30, 2022 : MPL, one of the world's largest mobile and skill gaming platforms has banned over a million user accounts to continue to provide a secure and fair gaming experience to the users. The step has been taken by the company to remove players who did not comply with the rules and resorted to unfair means to manipulate gameplay results in their favor. Some of the key reasons that led to the user accounts getting blocked include using multiple accounts by the same user to access the platform, uploading fake or doctored KYC documents, using unauthorized payment means like stolen cards and cheating during the gameplay by using any hacks or collusion techniques. It is important to note that these are not temporary suspensions and MPL has permanently banned these users from the system.
MPL has robust security measures in place that enables them to effectively identify and ban the fake accounts within a short span of them being created. The company also uses best in class technology practices that enables detection of fraud accounts at a granular level which includes identification of the devices used to create the accounts. Once a user is blocked, typically they tend to create a new account using different email ids. However, with the help of advanced technology, MPL identifies these unauthorized login attempts made using the same device and permanently revokes their access. This ensures fraudulent gamers to be suspended and removed from the platform, allowing genuine players to join tournaments with confidence.
MPL's security initiatives have recently been recognized by the SHIELD Trust Certification, which attests that the platform has more than 96.57% genuine users and a user to device ratio of 1 : 0.9568 which is an exceptional trust standard in the industry. SHIELD is a global risk intelligence company and the certificate considers a company's trust profile and assesses key risk metrics such as the number of genuine users, user-to-device ratio, and the prevalence of malicious tools used on a given platform. With a trust score of 95.95%, MPL has become the world's first multi-gaming company to acquire this certification after fulfilling the vital requirements of SHIELD's Trust Check, which renders it the most credible and a safe platform for gaming enthusiasts.
Commenting on this, Ruchir Patwa, VP Security and Compliance, MPL, said,"At MPL, providing the highest degree of protection against fraud is our topmost priority and we are committed to offer the users a secure and unhindered gaming experience. This move is aligned to our player-first approach and also highlights MPL's zero tolerance towards users who resort to illegal practices in order to alter gameplay results and gain an unfair advantage.With initiatives like this, MPL is poised to continue being a safe and user friendly platform that is trusted by the users."
MPL has also announced multiple initiatives to further the player-first approach and foster a safe and risk free gameplay experience for the users. As a part of this, the company launched a bug bounty program that has been designed to reward security researchers up to INR 10 lakhs for successfully identifying a valid vulnerability on the platform. The bug bounty program also allows researchers to report any possibility that can give a player an unfair advantage.
To provide a risk free gaming experience, MPL had recently launched India's first ever multi-game Loss Protection policy through which gamers can claim a refund of up to 100% of the net loss that they may have incurred after playing 10 gameplay sessions with specified thresholds. Available on some of the top titles, this initiative empowered users to enjoy their favorite games without worrying about losing money.
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The Film Scene
A Vigilante is one of the week's highlights
By Jim Reed
This week's highlights:
"The Met: Live in HD - Agrippina"
6:30 p.m. Mar. 4
AMC Savannah 11, 1150 Shawnee St.
7 p.m. Mar. 5
Tybee Post Theater, 10 Van Horne Ave., Tybee Island
tybeeposttheater.org
7 p.m. Mar. 5, 6, 7; 3 p.m., Mar. 8
Mars Theatre, 106 S. Laurel St. Springfield
marstheatre.com
Savannah Cultural Arts Center, 201 Montgomery St.
"Uncut Gems"
7 p.m. Mar. 7, 8; 3 p.m. Mar. 7, 8
7 p.m. Mar. 10
Lucas Theatre, 32 Abercorn St.
lucastheatre.com
"American Tiger" aka "American Rickshaw"
The Sentient Bean Coffeehouse, 13 E. Park Ave.
facebook.com/groups/2519522234807695/
7 p.m. Mar. 12, 13, 14, 19, 20, 21; 3 p.m. Mar. 15
A HEARTFELT thanks to all the Film Scene readers who came out to the Savannah Cultural Arts Center for last week's debut installment of the Double-Vision Film Series, jointly curated and presented by the Psychotronic Film Society and CinemaSavannah and co-sponsored by Connect Savannah.
That sneak preview of the soon-to-be-released British-made revenge thriller "A Good Woman is Hard to Find" was a rough and tough experience that delivered quite a whallop to the more than 150 audience members in attendance, and left most of them heatedly debating the film's provocative and violent, female-led storyline afterwards – which is always the sign of a worthwhile motion picture.
We'll announce the next Double-Vision selection in a few weeks, but CinemaSavannah will be back at this comfortable venue in the next few days with another exclusive area screening of a recent, critically acclaimed feature. More on that later in this column.
Still from "A Vigilante."
We start out on the Southside on March 4, when the AMC Savannah 11 multiplex behind the Savannah Mall presents an encore presentation of the Metropolitan Opera House's latest high-def digital document of one of their live stage shows. This time, it's Sir David McVicar's newly reimagined production of Handel's "Agripinna," which was initially intended as a satire on government dramas of its time (the very early 1700s) but after decades of relative obscurity has been rediscovered and set in the present day. This four-and-a-half hour "adults-only" show is performed in Italian, with English subtitles. 6:30 p.m. showtime.
Speaking of classics, the next night, March 5, the Tybee Post Theater continues its ongoing series of beloved, old-school Hollywood triumphs with a single showing of director Billy Wilder's 1960 dramedy "The Apartment," starring Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine and my favorite martian, Ray Walston. This five-time Oscar-winner was an eye-opening look at the duplicitous nature of NYC businessmen of that era, and the oddly commonplace practice of adultery during the workday which pervaded many professions in those days. 7 p.m. showtime.
A couple of nights later, the Tybee Post presents one of the more provocative suspense dramas of this past year, which most folks in our area missed during its incredibly time in our corporate multiplexes: "Uncut Gems," starring Adam Sandler, Idina Menzel and former NBA athlete Kevin Garnett (playing a heightened version of himself in an impressive film debut).
An almost unbearably tension-filled faux cinema verité that follows a flashy NYC jewelry store owner and big stakes gambling addict (Sandler) over a hectic weekend in which he attempts to quickly pay off life-threatening sports betting debts by selling an incredibly rare and pricey black opal, it's one of the very few films in existence in which Sandler steps away from the low-brow, frat-boy comedy shtick he is best-known for delivering in the extremely popular films he writes and produces himself.
Look for two absolutely terrific supporting performances in this film: one from former "Taxi" star Judd Hirsch that only further cements his standing as one of the most underappreciated actors of his generation, and another from esteemed playwright and character actor Eric Bogosian.
"Uncut Gems" is unabashedly not for everyone. It's a hectic, cacophonous motion picture that is as claustrophobic as it is unrelenting. It takes great liberties with its character development and pacing, and the Safdie Brothers clearly place great trust in viewers, assuming they will offer up the benefit of the doubt and go with the directing team wherever they lead.
So, if you don't care for unanswered questions and are uncomfortable grappling with emotionally challenging situations, you may want to think twice before seeing this movie. "Happy Madison" it ain't. Showtimes at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. on March 7 and 8.
Still from "American Tiger."
Heading out to the similarly sized historic Mars Theatre in the nearby city of Springfield, Ga., they present director Sam Mendes' smash WWI action-drama "1917," in what may likely be one of its last big-screen engagements here in the Coastal Empire.
Admired worldwide for its kinetic "you are there" camerawork and reportedly seamless CGI effects (which help achieve the illusion that the movie is made up of one long, real-time shot without edits of any kind), this up-close, period-piece recreation of the harsh realities of trench warfare in the early 1900s took home scores of major filmmaking awards and deserves to be seen in a theatrical setting. This cozy, unpretentious non-profit venue is a great place to do just that. Showtimes at 7 p.m. on March 5 trough 7, plus a 3 p.m. matinee on March 8.
A few nights later, the Mars opens an extended run of the Christian-themed biopic "I Still Believe," based on the real life story of successful contemporary Christian singer-songwriter Jeremy Camp and his wife Melissa Lynn Henning-Camp – who battled ovarian cancer, which was diagnosed before they even married. It stars respected actor Gary Sinise and famed country-pop songstress Shania Twain as Jeremy's parents, and although it won't be released until March 12, it has already been named the Number One Best Romantic Film Premiering in 2020 by teen magazine "Seventeen."
Based on the assumption that it will appeal to non-Christian viewers as well as members of that faith, it is projected to do very well for a low-budget independently made feature, with estimations it will earn as much as $18 million in its opening weekend. Faith-based, family-oriented fare of this type does very well at the Mars Theatre, so expect strong attendance for these screenings. Showtimes at 7 p.m. on March 12 through 14 and 19 through 21, with a 3 p.m. matinee on March 15.
On March 6 at the Savannah Cultural Arts Center, CinemaSavannah returns with another another exclusive local engagement of a recently released feature film. This time, it's "A Vigilante," the full-length debut from writer-director Sarah Daggar-Nickson.
A dark and emotionally intense picture which most critics adored, but which divided most viewers, it stars Olivia Wilde as an abused woman who devotes her life to the rigorous physical, emotional and mental training required to both lethally fight back against other abusers of women and to survive as a fugitive.
Unusually slow-paced for such subject matter, the film (which according to some creates a delightfully unnerving slow-burn tension, and according to others is simply boring) is dark, violent and provocative in nature. It was nominated for two major awards at esteemed film fests: the Audience Award for Narrative Feature at the American Film Festival and the Gamechanger Award at the South By Southwest Film Festival. 7 p.m. showtime. Don't forget there is no parking onsite, but plenty on nearby streets and in parking garages, so make sure to factor in time to find a spot and walk to the venue.
On March 10, the Lucas Theatre continues its "Arthouse Series" of notable, recent independent or foreign features, with their own single screening of the Safdie Brothers' Adam Sandler vehicle "Uncut Gems." Can't make the Tybee Post's shows of this unusual crime psychodrama, or just prefer to see it on a much bigger screen? Showtime is 7 p.m, with discounted admission with SCAD ID.
And last, but not least, the Psychotronic Film Society returns to the Sentient Bean Coffeehouse on March 11 after a short hiatus and restarts their weekly Wednesday night series of overlooked or otherwise marginalized feature films from around the world. That night's intimate screening will be "American Tiger," a so-bad-it's-good 1989 action flick starring 1984 Olympic Gold Medalist Mitch Gaylord in the lead role.
Shot in Miami with an almost entirely Italian crew led by famed Italian exploitation and genre film director Sergio Martino (who's known for his work on such classic European horror, sleaze and action titles as "The Whip and the Body," "The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh," "Your Vice is a Locked Room, and Only I Have the Key," and "All the Colors of the Dark"), this is a far more bizarre movie than one might imagine from its name and marketing. Ostensibly the tale of an American college student who is framed for a murder and works alongside a female stripper to clear his name, it also unexpectedly blends in elements of the supernatural.
In that regard, it plays more like an Italian attempt at creating one of the Shaw Brothers Studios Asian ghost-story-meets-martial-arts flicks. Filled with confusing mysticism, references to Astrology, corny jokes, and copious nudity, this "genres in a blender" flop is a true psychotronic gem.
Oh, did I mention it also features the late, great British character actor Donald Pleasence, in one of his most unhinged and likely drunken performances? Yep. They'll show the rarely seen uncut European version of the film, in spoken English. 8 p.m. showtime, with discounts on craft beer and organic wine during the movie, and a full, award-winning vegetarian and vegan dinner menu available.
Until next week, see you at the movies, be kind to those around you, and don't forget to turn off that cell phone.
Jim Reed directs the Psychotronic Film Society of Savannah.
The Film Scene,
Agripinna,
The Apartment,
Uncut Gems,
I Still Believe,
A Vigilante,
CinemaSavannah,
American Tiger,
Psychotronic Film Society
Jim Reed
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Research & Action Annual Report 2017
Q & A with Jennifer Grossman, Ph.D.
Talking About Sex: Extended Family As Educators and Allies
Jennifer Grossman, Ph.D., is currently principal investigator of an R21 award from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)—Adolescent Communication with Family and Reproductive Health, which includes the first comprehensive assessment of teens' sexuality communication with extended family and its associations with sexual behavior as well as an exploration of extended family approaches to talking with teens about sex. Grossman is also principal investigator of an R03 award from NICHD—Risk Behaviors Among Offspring of Teen Parents: Effects of Parenting on the Next Generation, which addresses the potential of maternal and paternal parenting to reduce the high risk of early sex and teen pregnancy for offspring of teen parents. (The R21 grant mechanism is intended to encourage exploratory/developmental research by providing support for the early and conceptual stages of project development. The R03 grant mechanism supports small research projects that can be carried out in a short period of time with limited resources.)
You're currently working on two studies that look at how family communication affects teens' understanding of sex as well as their actual sexual behavior. How has your past work informed this?
Several years ago, I co-directed a three-year evaluation of Get Real, a comprehensive middle school sex education program developed by Planned Parenthood of Massachusetts, which delivers scientifically accurate, age-appropriate information on sexual health and relationships. Get Real includes a homework opportunity in each lesson for parents to talk with their children. And as we analyzed the data, it became clear that the communication was integral to the program's success; I wanted to build off this finding.
Partway through our Get Real evaluation, I received funding from NICHD to begin another study looking at how teens and their families talk about sex and relationships. We explored how adolescents talk with their parents as well as extended family members— uncles, aunts, grandparents, cousins, older siblings for example—about sex and relationships. The qualitative findings from the interviews and narratives explored why teens talk with extended family about sex, and the similarities and differences in how teens talk with parents and extended family about sex and relationships. We found that teens were more likely to report that parents, rather than extended family, shared messages about delaying sex and avoiding teen pregnancy and gave advice or shared information about sex, but were more likely to describe extended family members, rather than parents, as easy to talk with and as having shared life experiences. Another finding from this project was that teens who have had sex were actually more likely to talk with extended family than those who have not had sex, which suggests the growing importance of extended family sexuality communication as teens become sexually active.
So, there could be a significant benefit for teens to talk with others in their extended families?
Yes, definitely. We know that by twelfth grade, 60 percent of teens in Massachusetts have had sex, and our own and others' research show that talking with parents about sex can protect teens from risky sexual behavior—such as having sex at a young age or sex without a condom. However, we also know that half of teens and parents don't talk with one another about sex and relationships. This may be due in part to teens' concerns that their parents might judge them or worry about their sexual behaviors. Over half of teens report that they do talk with extended family members so these conversations can provide a unique opportunity for relatives to share tools that can protect teens from early sex, STIs, and pregnancy.
We believe that talking with extended family is particularly relevant for Black and Latino teens for whom extended family often has a major influence in childrearing. However, little is known about the topics of teens' conversation with these family members, the messages and values family members share with teens, and how these conversations influence teens' health.
What are the scopes of these newer projects?
My RO3 project is looking at the effects of parenting—by parents who were teens when they had children—on sexual risk behaviors of the next generation. We're looking at the Add Health data (National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health) to investigate whether protective effects of maternal and paternal parenting on teens' and emerging adults' sexual health also extend to those teens from teen-parent families. We also want to know if there are any variations in parenting processes within the teen-parent families, and if so, how these may be associated with sexual behaviors. From this work, we may be able to make recommendations to health care providers on how they can better support offspring of teen parents to reduce risks for these adolescents.
With the R21 study, our research team is currently collecting data from adolescents and families in the Greater Boston area, to explore how teens communicate with their families about sex and relationships and the associations of these conversations with teens' sexual attitudes and behaviors. Providing resources and support for teens' health-promoting communication with family members may be especially important among diverse families where extended family members may play key childrearing roles. So we're working with some great school partners and are surveying a diverse group of eleventh and twelfth graders in communities that have higher-than-average teen pregnancy rates and higher populations of students of color. We're asking teens to report on the content, frequency, and quality of conversations with family members about sex and relationships. We're asking them questions about their own sexual attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. With this two-year study, we're also reaching out to extended family members and hope to conduct 30 phone interviews to hear from them about their conversations with teens in their families and what resources would support health-promoting conversations with the teens.
There's a lot to do in a short time. How are you doing it?
With a great team!
Because we're collecting all our data online, we spent a lot of time before we gave out the survey, figuring out how to design the database so that we collect data in a way that's seamless, and how we would code the data. For example, how do we make sure survey questions are inclusive of teens from all sorts of families? Also by using the Qualtrics online program, we can individualize surveys for each teen taking them. For example, if a teen reports she talked with her Aunt Sue about sex and relationships, we can ask her questions about what topics she talks about with Aunt Sue.
To take the survey, students can use computers at their school, cell phones, or tablets we bring to their classrooms.
Has it gone smoothly?
This project, so far, has involved both successes and set-backs. Last spring, we had collected initial letters of support from several schools, but getting approval at district levels wasn't as easy. Schools and districts also face challenges of managing competing priorities that make it difficult to find time and resources to collaborate on a research project. Therefore we continue to recruit high schools to partner with us on this project. However, we have several great school collaborations and are currently visiting schools to talk with students and parents about our project, administering surveys, and inviting teens to ask an extended family member—their "go to" person—to be part of a family member interview sample.
What are you hoping to find out from interviewing extended family members?
At this point there's so little research hearing from extended family members' perspectives— except for a few studies mostly on grandmothers—that we don't need to have a representative sample; this is just a start. What topics do extended family members talk with teens about? What are the resources they need? Does it make sense to include extended family in health education programs? And if yes, what would be the first steps to make them part of this process?
Also, not all conversations with extended family may support teens' health. It may be that some extended family members give protective messages while others don't. For example, some research on siblings shows that sometimes they reinforce protective messages from parents, but other times they can encourage younger siblings' risk behavior. It only makes sense to include extended family in health education programs if there are ways to encourage teens to talk with family members who share health-promoting messages about sex and relationships.
Since many of teens' close family relationships are not parents, it's important to understand these connections, the messages teens hear from these family members and the impact of these messages on teens' health. These extended family connections have unrecognized influence on teens that may have potential to support teens' health. By addressing a gap in understanding these relationships, we hope to provide schools and curriculum developers with direction and recommendations on whether and how to include family members in health education programs.
In addition to Grossman, the research team includes Ineke Ceder, project manager; Linda Charmaraman, Ph.D.; Lisette DeSouza, Ph.D.; Lorena Estrada-Martinez, Ph.D.; Alicia Doyle Lynch, Ph.D.; Amanda Richer, M.A.; and Wellesley College student interns.
Jennifer Grossman, Ph.D., is a research scientist at the Wellesley Centers for Women whose research uses mixed methods to investigate adolescent development, sexual health, and risk-taking, with an emphasis on family communication about sex and relationships, and contexts of teens' environment and identity, such as gender, race, and ethnicity. She has directed several grants from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). She has also conducted research in collaboration with Planned Parent League of Massachusetts, including a recently completed project which assessed the initial effectiveness of a mobile website for parents of youth enrolled in PPLM's middle school curriculum, Get Real: Comprehensive Sex Education That Works.
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Jennifer M. Grossman
Ineke Ceder
Q & A with Tracy Gladstone, Ph.D.
Commentary by Wendy Wagner Robeson, Ed.D.
Short Takes, National Afterschool Matters 2017-2019 Fellowship Begins
Short Takes, Pilot Grant Awarded to Study Adolescents' Media Use
Short Takes, News from Open Circle
Short Takes, SEED in the Ho-Chunk Nation
New Findings & Publications, 2017
Spotlight: New Funding and Projects, 2017
Global Connections, Sex/Ed Conference in India
Global Connections, Educational Equity in India
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Global Connections, StemKit: Learning and Teaching in Ghana
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With an increase in data across the industries, there is a dire need of newer tools and techniques that can quickly and easily collect, store, manage, integrate, manipulate, aggregate and analyze all types of data to positively impact businesses. As it indicates towards a need for business analytics, the flip side is an acute shortage of skilled manpower in this area who can understand the potential of big data analytics and translate analysis outcome to integrate with overall business strategy of the organization. Despite a surge in data science related programs, universities and colleges are not able to produce effective and efficient data scientists fast enough to meet the business demand.
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In line with its previous years' success, IFIM launches its third successful session for the year 2016-2017. This 15 months' duration AICTE approved program is uniquely designed for a hybrid model of delivery. The architecture of the course has been so laid out, that it gives emphasis on training and making an individual gain expertise in all major pillars of business analytics such as business acumen, domain knowledge, tools & techniques and problem solving capabilities.
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To further strengthen the hold at academic/ industry interface in analytics, IFIM has established a Center of Excellence in Business Analytics. IFIM Business School has also collaborated with IBM and has set up a business analytics lab to help students enhance their skills in the areas of managerial decision making and strategy. This program initiated by Career Education for Business Transformation (CEBT) focuses on the major areas of business transformation where software plays a critical role. IBM provides relevant software for CEBT training, to address the increasing need for T-shaped skills in the global marketplace.
Apart from IBM, IFIM also has collaborations with organizations like NASSCOM National Stock Exchange (NSE) to offer certified courses in Business Analytics and Data Sciences and Global Financial Markets respectively.
To deal with the ever increasing data and with an advent of the technology in big data space, the focus remains on platforms that provides resources to house cutting edge tools and intensive software. And given the fact that many aspects apart from technical play are critical for successful implementation and roll out of analytics at organization level, the course offered by IFIM offers the right mix of both practical and analytical knowledge hence bringing out the best of analytics industry.
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Cytonn Investments is an independent investment management firm, with offices in Nairobi – Kenya and D.C. Metro – U.S. We are primarily focused on offering alternative investment solutions to global institutional investors, individual high net-worth investors, local institutional investors and diaspora investors interested in the East-African region. We currently have over Kshs. 82 billion of investments and projects under mandate, mainly in real estate.
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