Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 2007
Objective To assess food consumption among aboriginal children living on Mi'kmaq reserves in Prin... more Objective To assess food consumption among aboriginal children living on Mi'kmaq reserves in Prince Edward Island, Canada. Design Data were collected as part of a larger study of health perceptions and behaviors in Mi'kmaq children and youth ages 1 to 18 years. Food consumption was assessed using a self-administered food frequency questionnaire during an in-home interview. Subjects/setting Fifty-five children living on a reserve (53% of total population) ages 9 to 18 years. Statistical analyses performed The number of servings of milk products, vegetables and fruit, and snack foods/ beverages was calculated by adding the responses to the frequency of consumption of foods assessed in each group. 2 analysis was used to assess differences in food consumption according to sex and age. Results Only one child reported consuming the recommended minimum of five vegetables and fruit daily (Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating, 1992) (mean [Ϯstandard deviation]ϭ2.8Ϯ1.1 servings). Twenty-five (49%) of the children consumed three or more servings of milk products daily (meanϭ2.6Ϯ1.3 servings). Approximately half of the children had three or more snack foods/beverages daily (meanϭ3.1Ϯ2.2 servings). Younger children (grades 4 to 6) consumed more cereal, peanut butter, and yogurt than older children. There were no significant differences in food consumption between boys and girls. Conclusions Our findings are consistent with past reports in aboriginal children. However, except for higher consumption of french fries, results are similar to recent surveys of other Prince Edward Island school children, suggesting a province-wide rather than cultural health issue. J Am Diet Assoc. 2007;107:951-955.
Asthma is the most common chronic illness in children and has a significant impact on children an... more Asthma is the most common chronic illness in children and has a significant impact on children and their families. Asthma management requires a multi-faceted approach, including an effective educational component. The purpose of this pilot study was to compare outcomes for parents who participated in empowering and traditional approaches to asthma education. Specific outcomes that were examined included (a) knowledge, (b) sense of control, (c) ability to make decisions, and (d) ability to provide care. The sample consisted of 57 families who participated in a multi-session educational intervention. Twenty-nine families participated in the empowering approach; the remaining 28 families received the traditional approach. Data were collected before, immediately after, and 6 months following the educational intervention. Significant differences were found regarding sense of control, ability to make decisions, and ability to provide care for parents who participated in the empowering app...
This study examined the Irish media discourse on obesity by employing the Common Sense Model of I... more This study examined the Irish media discourse on obesity by employing the Common Sense Model of Illness Representations. A media sample of 368 transcripts was compiled from newspaper articles (n = 346), radio discussions (n = 5), and online news articles (n = 17) on overweight and obesity from the years 2005, 2007, and 2009. Using the Common Sense Model and framing theory to guide the investigation, a thematic analysis was conducted on the media sample. Analysis revealed that the behavioral dimensions of diet and activity levels were the most commonly cited causes of and interventions in obesity. The advertising industry was blamed for obesity, and there were calls for increased government action to tackle the issue. Physical illness and psychological consequences of obesity were prevalent in the sample, and analysis revealed that the economy, regardless of its state, was blamed for obesity. These results are discussed in terms of expectations of audience understandings of the issue...
Nutrients have traditionally been viewed as a means to provide basic energy for cellular homeosta... more Nutrients have traditionally been viewed as a means to provide basic energy for cellular homeostasis and amino acids for protein synthesis in all humans. Young, healthy men and women in the military today are presumed to be well nourished and mentally and physically fit to perform their duties in austere environments. Exposure to high-intensity projectiles, blast injuries, and other wounds of war, however, is an everyday occurrence during deployment that potentially challenges all homeostatic mechanisms. After sustaining such devastating injuries, critically ill, surgical, and trauma patients are in a constant dynamic state between the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (and compensatory anti-inflammatory response syndrome. Compelling evidence supports both immune and metabolic response modulation by specific nutrients, including omega-3 fatty acids, primarily eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). The concept of providing nutrients as therapeutic rather t...
The Journal of Trauma: Injury, Infection, and Critical Care, 1989
Common emergency room practice mandates cervical spine (C-spine) films in all trauma patients wit... more Common emergency room practice mandates cervical spine (C-spine) films in all trauma patients with potential injuries. With the increasing costs of medical care, such liberal criteria may not be justified. This 1-year prospective study of 860 patients who presented to a Level I Trauma Center was undertaken to determine the signs and symptoms that would select the patients at risk of C-spine injury. The clinical presentation of each patient was correlated with the presence of C-spine fracture. Twenty-four patients (2.8%) had injuries demonstrated by plain film radiography. The incidence of fracture in 536 symptomatic patients was 4%. A significant likelihood of C-spine fracture was seen in patients with respiratory compromise (100%), motor dysfunction (54.5%), and altered sensorium (8.9%) (p less than 0.001). No fractures were seen in asymptomatic patients (p less than 0.001). Cervical spine radiography should be performed in patients with abnormal neurologic findings or symptoms referable to the neck. In alert asymptomatic patients, cervical spine radiography may be omitted.
Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 2007
Objective To assess food consumption among aboriginal children living on Mi'kmaq reserves in Prin... more Objective To assess food consumption among aboriginal children living on Mi'kmaq reserves in Prince Edward Island, Canada. Design Data were collected as part of a larger study of health perceptions and behaviors in Mi'kmaq children and youth ages 1 to 18 years. Food consumption was assessed using a self-administered food frequency questionnaire during an in-home interview. Subjects/setting Fifty-five children living on a reserve (53% of total population) ages 9 to 18 years. Statistical analyses performed The number of servings of milk products, vegetables and fruit, and snack foods/ beverages was calculated by adding the responses to the frequency of consumption of foods assessed in each group. 2 analysis was used to assess differences in food consumption according to sex and age. Results Only one child reported consuming the recommended minimum of five vegetables and fruit daily (Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating, 1992) (mean [Ϯstandard deviation]ϭ2.8Ϯ1.1 servings). Twenty-five (49%) of the children consumed three or more servings of milk products daily (meanϭ2.6Ϯ1.3 servings). Approximately half of the children had three or more snack foods/beverages daily (meanϭ3.1Ϯ2.2 servings). Younger children (grades 4 to 6) consumed more cereal, peanut butter, and yogurt than older children. There were no significant differences in food consumption between boys and girls. Conclusions Our findings are consistent with past reports in aboriginal children. However, except for higher consumption of french fries, results are similar to recent surveys of other Prince Edward Island school children, suggesting a province-wide rather than cultural health issue. J Am Diet Assoc. 2007;107:951-955.
The goals of this study were to determine the incidence and duration of hypotension and hypoxia i... more The goals of this study were to determine the incidence and duration of hypotension and hypoxia in the prehospital setting in patients with potentially survivable brain injuries, and to prospectively examine the association of these secondary insults with mortality and disability at hospital discharge. Trauma patients with suspected brain injuries underwent continuous blood pressure and pulse oximetry monitoring during helicopter transport. Postadmission inclusion criteria were (1) diagnosis of acute traumatic brain injury (TBI) confirmed by computed tomography (CT) scan, operative findings, or autopsy findings; and (2) Head Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) score of > or = 3 or Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score of < or = 12 within the first 24 hours of admission. Patients were excluded with (1) no abnormal intracranial findings on the patient's CT scan; (2) determination of a nonsurvivable injury (based on an AIS score of 6 for any body region; or, (3) death in less than 12 hours after injury. Primary outcome measures included mortality and Disability Rating Scale score at discharge. We enrolled 150 patients into the study. Fifty-seven patients had at least one secondary insult; 37 had only hypoxic episodes, 14 had only hypotensive episodes, and 6 patients had both. Demographics and injury characteristics did not differ between those with and those without secondary insults. The mortality for patients without secondary insults was 20%, compared with 37% for patients with hypoxic episodes, 8% for patients with hypotensive episodes, and 24% for patients with both. The Disability Rating Scale score at discharge was significantly higher in patients with secondary insults. Using multivariate analysis, the calculated odds ratio of mortality caused by prehospital hypoxia after head injury was 2.66 (p < 0.05). Secondary insults after TBI are common, and these insults are associated with disability. Hypoxia in the prehospital setting significantly increases the odds of mortality after brain injury controlled for multiple variables.
Both global obesity prevalence rates and media attention to obesity have increased significantly ... more Both global obesity prevalence rates and media attention to obesity have increased significantly in recent years. The current study examined the representation of obesity in The Irish Times, from 1997 to 2009. A quantitative content analysis was conducted on 479 articles to examine how the causes, consequences, and solutions to obesity have been portrayed and how obesity has been described. A frame analysis was also conducted to examine the dominant frames over time. It was found that attention to obesity was positively correlated with time, indicating coverage has increased significantly over the period examined. Regarding reported causes and solutions, the behavioral frame has been dominant, though environmental and mixed-frame stories have become more frequent. The presence of the genetic frame was consistently low. The study provides an overview of how the issue is being represented in Ireland's paper of record and informs health communicators of the dominant and trending messages and the implications for individuals' formation of illness representations.
We investigated the representation of obesity in the Irish media by conducting an inductive thema... more We investigated the representation of obesity in the Irish media by conducting an inductive thematic analysis on newspaper articles (n=346) published in 2005, 2007 and 2009 sampled from six major publications. The study analysed the media's construction of gender in discussions of obesity and associated attributions of blame. Three dominant themes are discussed: the caricatured portrayal of gender, women as caregivers for others, and emotive parent-blaming for childhood obesity. Men were portrayed as a homogenous group; unaware and unconcerned about weight and health issues. Dieting and engaging in preventative health behaviours were portrayed as activities exclusively within the female domain and women were depicted as responsible for encouraging men to be healthy. Parents, specifically mothers, attracted much blame for childhood obesity and media messages aimed to shame and disgrace parents of obese children through use of emotive and evocative language. This portrayal was broadly consistent across media types and served to reinforce traditional gender roles by positioning women as primarily responsible for health. This analysis offers the first qualitative investigation into the Irish media discourse on obesity and indicates a rather traditional take on gender roles in diet and nutrition.
This study sampled 2872 obesity-relevant comments from three years of interest from a multi-topic... more This study sampled 2872 obesity-relevant comments from three years of interest from a multi-topic online message board. An inductive thematic analysis was conducted and three themes were evident: reactions and responses to obesity and obese bodies, diminished status of overweight/obese persons, and narrative resistance to an overweight/obese identity. Obesity stigma was pervasive and the discussion of the issue revealed it to be highly acceptable. Consistent with previous research, dominant representations of obese persons as lazy and unintelligent with poor self-control were evident. The analysis provided valuable insight into experiences of explicit stigma, the social and psychological repercussions of overt stigma and norms regarding the perception of obese bodies. There was a prevailing notion that the opinions and insights of overweight and obese persons on the issue of weight were not credible and were perceived as biased. Furthermore, individuals sought to distance themselves from the undesirable labels of 'overweight' and 'obese' by enacting narrative resistance to negotiate the social meaning of excess weight and endeavouring to place themselves on the 'safe' side of this boundary. These results highlight the pervasive nature of weight stigma and the social acceptability of such attitudes and beliefs. Furthermore, it highlights the richness of data that may be obtained by examining social media interactions as a window into the naturally-occurring discourse on obesity and stigma.
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is a leading preventable cause of neurodevelopmental disab... more Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is a leading preventable cause of neurodevelopmental disability in North America. The stigma associated with alcohol use and abuse during pregnancy makes it difficult to obtain information on prenatal alcohol use through self-reporting. We assessed the incidence of prenatal alcohol exposure in Prince Edward Island to facilitate future public health initiatives addressing FASD. Prenatal alcohol exposure was examined via population-based collection of meconium and analysis of fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEEs). Fatty acid ethyl esters are nonoxidative metabolites of ethanol that are produced in the fetus. Meconium FAEE concentrations of 2.0 nmol/g or greater are indicative of frequent prenatal alcohol exposure during the last 2 trimesters of pregnancy. Samples were collected from 1307 neonates between Nov. 8, 2010, and Nov. 8, 2011, in hospitals in PEI, or from those born to mothers who resided in PEI but gave birth in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Samples ...
Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 2007
Objective To assess food consumption among aboriginal children living on Mi'kmaq reserves in Prin... more Objective To assess food consumption among aboriginal children living on Mi'kmaq reserves in Prince Edward Island, Canada. Design Data were collected as part of a larger study of health perceptions and behaviors in Mi'kmaq children and youth ages 1 to 18 years. Food consumption was assessed using a self-administered food frequency questionnaire during an in-home interview. Subjects/setting Fifty-five children living on a reserve (53% of total population) ages 9 to 18 years. Statistical analyses performed The number of servings of milk products, vegetables and fruit, and snack foods/ beverages was calculated by adding the responses to the frequency of consumption of foods assessed in each group. 2 analysis was used to assess differences in food consumption according to sex and age. Results Only one child reported consuming the recommended minimum of five vegetables and fruit daily (Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating, 1992) (mean [Ϯstandard deviation]ϭ2.8Ϯ1.1 servings). Twenty-five (49%) of the children consumed three or more servings of milk products daily (meanϭ2.6Ϯ1.3 servings). Approximately half of the children had three or more snack foods/beverages daily (meanϭ3.1Ϯ2.2 servings). Younger children (grades 4 to 6) consumed more cereal, peanut butter, and yogurt than older children. There were no significant differences in food consumption between boys and girls. Conclusions Our findings are consistent with past reports in aboriginal children. However, except for higher consumption of french fries, results are similar to recent surveys of other Prince Edward Island school children, suggesting a province-wide rather than cultural health issue. J Am Diet Assoc. 2007;107:951-955.
Asthma is the most common chronic illness in children and has a significant impact on children an... more Asthma is the most common chronic illness in children and has a significant impact on children and their families. Asthma management requires a multi-faceted approach, including an effective educational component. The purpose of this pilot study was to compare outcomes for parents who participated in empowering and traditional approaches to asthma education. Specific outcomes that were examined included (a) knowledge, (b) sense of control, (c) ability to make decisions, and (d) ability to provide care. The sample consisted of 57 families who participated in a multi-session educational intervention. Twenty-nine families participated in the empowering approach; the remaining 28 families received the traditional approach. Data were collected before, immediately after, and 6 months following the educational intervention. Significant differences were found regarding sense of control, ability to make decisions, and ability to provide care for parents who participated in the empowering app...
This study examined the Irish media discourse on obesity by employing the Common Sense Model of I... more This study examined the Irish media discourse on obesity by employing the Common Sense Model of Illness Representations. A media sample of 368 transcripts was compiled from newspaper articles (n = 346), radio discussions (n = 5), and online news articles (n = 17) on overweight and obesity from the years 2005, 2007, and 2009. Using the Common Sense Model and framing theory to guide the investigation, a thematic analysis was conducted on the media sample. Analysis revealed that the behavioral dimensions of diet and activity levels were the most commonly cited causes of and interventions in obesity. The advertising industry was blamed for obesity, and there were calls for increased government action to tackle the issue. Physical illness and psychological consequences of obesity were prevalent in the sample, and analysis revealed that the economy, regardless of its state, was blamed for obesity. These results are discussed in terms of expectations of audience understandings of the issue...
Nutrients have traditionally been viewed as a means to provide basic energy for cellular homeosta... more Nutrients have traditionally been viewed as a means to provide basic energy for cellular homeostasis and amino acids for protein synthesis in all humans. Young, healthy men and women in the military today are presumed to be well nourished and mentally and physically fit to perform their duties in austere environments. Exposure to high-intensity projectiles, blast injuries, and other wounds of war, however, is an everyday occurrence during deployment that potentially challenges all homeostatic mechanisms. After sustaining such devastating injuries, critically ill, surgical, and trauma patients are in a constant dynamic state between the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (and compensatory anti-inflammatory response syndrome. Compelling evidence supports both immune and metabolic response modulation by specific nutrients, including omega-3 fatty acids, primarily eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). The concept of providing nutrients as therapeutic rather t...
The Journal of Trauma: Injury, Infection, and Critical Care, 1989
Common emergency room practice mandates cervical spine (C-spine) films in all trauma patients wit... more Common emergency room practice mandates cervical spine (C-spine) films in all trauma patients with potential injuries. With the increasing costs of medical care, such liberal criteria may not be justified. This 1-year prospective study of 860 patients who presented to a Level I Trauma Center was undertaken to determine the signs and symptoms that would select the patients at risk of C-spine injury. The clinical presentation of each patient was correlated with the presence of C-spine fracture. Twenty-four patients (2.8%) had injuries demonstrated by plain film radiography. The incidence of fracture in 536 symptomatic patients was 4%. A significant likelihood of C-spine fracture was seen in patients with respiratory compromise (100%), motor dysfunction (54.5%), and altered sensorium (8.9%) (p less than 0.001). No fractures were seen in asymptomatic patients (p less than 0.001). Cervical spine radiography should be performed in patients with abnormal neurologic findings or symptoms referable to the neck. In alert asymptomatic patients, cervical spine radiography may be omitted.
Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 2007
Objective To assess food consumption among aboriginal children living on Mi'kmaq reserves in Prin... more Objective To assess food consumption among aboriginal children living on Mi'kmaq reserves in Prince Edward Island, Canada. Design Data were collected as part of a larger study of health perceptions and behaviors in Mi'kmaq children and youth ages 1 to 18 years. Food consumption was assessed using a self-administered food frequency questionnaire during an in-home interview. Subjects/setting Fifty-five children living on a reserve (53% of total population) ages 9 to 18 years. Statistical analyses performed The number of servings of milk products, vegetables and fruit, and snack foods/ beverages was calculated by adding the responses to the frequency of consumption of foods assessed in each group. 2 analysis was used to assess differences in food consumption according to sex and age. Results Only one child reported consuming the recommended minimum of five vegetables and fruit daily (Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating, 1992) (mean [Ϯstandard deviation]ϭ2.8Ϯ1.1 servings). Twenty-five (49%) of the children consumed three or more servings of milk products daily (meanϭ2.6Ϯ1.3 servings). Approximately half of the children had three or more snack foods/beverages daily (meanϭ3.1Ϯ2.2 servings). Younger children (grades 4 to 6) consumed more cereal, peanut butter, and yogurt than older children. There were no significant differences in food consumption between boys and girls. Conclusions Our findings are consistent with past reports in aboriginal children. However, except for higher consumption of french fries, results are similar to recent surveys of other Prince Edward Island school children, suggesting a province-wide rather than cultural health issue. J Am Diet Assoc. 2007;107:951-955.
The goals of this study were to determine the incidence and duration of hypotension and hypoxia i... more The goals of this study were to determine the incidence and duration of hypotension and hypoxia in the prehospital setting in patients with potentially survivable brain injuries, and to prospectively examine the association of these secondary insults with mortality and disability at hospital discharge. Trauma patients with suspected brain injuries underwent continuous blood pressure and pulse oximetry monitoring during helicopter transport. Postadmission inclusion criteria were (1) diagnosis of acute traumatic brain injury (TBI) confirmed by computed tomography (CT) scan, operative findings, or autopsy findings; and (2) Head Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) score of > or = 3 or Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score of < or = 12 within the first 24 hours of admission. Patients were excluded with (1) no abnormal intracranial findings on the patient's CT scan; (2) determination of a nonsurvivable injury (based on an AIS score of 6 for any body region; or, (3) death in less than 12 hours after injury. Primary outcome measures included mortality and Disability Rating Scale score at discharge. We enrolled 150 patients into the study. Fifty-seven patients had at least one secondary insult; 37 had only hypoxic episodes, 14 had only hypotensive episodes, and 6 patients had both. Demographics and injury characteristics did not differ between those with and those without secondary insults. The mortality for patients without secondary insults was 20%, compared with 37% for patients with hypoxic episodes, 8% for patients with hypotensive episodes, and 24% for patients with both. The Disability Rating Scale score at discharge was significantly higher in patients with secondary insults. Using multivariate analysis, the calculated odds ratio of mortality caused by prehospital hypoxia after head injury was 2.66 (p < 0.05). Secondary insults after TBI are common, and these insults are associated with disability. Hypoxia in the prehospital setting significantly increases the odds of mortality after brain injury controlled for multiple variables.
Both global obesity prevalence rates and media attention to obesity have increased significantly ... more Both global obesity prevalence rates and media attention to obesity have increased significantly in recent years. The current study examined the representation of obesity in The Irish Times, from 1997 to 2009. A quantitative content analysis was conducted on 479 articles to examine how the causes, consequences, and solutions to obesity have been portrayed and how obesity has been described. A frame analysis was also conducted to examine the dominant frames over time. It was found that attention to obesity was positively correlated with time, indicating coverage has increased significantly over the period examined. Regarding reported causes and solutions, the behavioral frame has been dominant, though environmental and mixed-frame stories have become more frequent. The presence of the genetic frame was consistently low. The study provides an overview of how the issue is being represented in Ireland's paper of record and informs health communicators of the dominant and trending messages and the implications for individuals' formation of illness representations.
We investigated the representation of obesity in the Irish media by conducting an inductive thema... more We investigated the representation of obesity in the Irish media by conducting an inductive thematic analysis on newspaper articles (n=346) published in 2005, 2007 and 2009 sampled from six major publications. The study analysed the media's construction of gender in discussions of obesity and associated attributions of blame. Three dominant themes are discussed: the caricatured portrayal of gender, women as caregivers for others, and emotive parent-blaming for childhood obesity. Men were portrayed as a homogenous group; unaware and unconcerned about weight and health issues. Dieting and engaging in preventative health behaviours were portrayed as activities exclusively within the female domain and women were depicted as responsible for encouraging men to be healthy. Parents, specifically mothers, attracted much blame for childhood obesity and media messages aimed to shame and disgrace parents of obese children through use of emotive and evocative language. This portrayal was broadly consistent across media types and served to reinforce traditional gender roles by positioning women as primarily responsible for health. This analysis offers the first qualitative investigation into the Irish media discourse on obesity and indicates a rather traditional take on gender roles in diet and nutrition.
This study sampled 2872 obesity-relevant comments from three years of interest from a multi-topic... more This study sampled 2872 obesity-relevant comments from three years of interest from a multi-topic online message board. An inductive thematic analysis was conducted and three themes were evident: reactions and responses to obesity and obese bodies, diminished status of overweight/obese persons, and narrative resistance to an overweight/obese identity. Obesity stigma was pervasive and the discussion of the issue revealed it to be highly acceptable. Consistent with previous research, dominant representations of obese persons as lazy and unintelligent with poor self-control were evident. The analysis provided valuable insight into experiences of explicit stigma, the social and psychological repercussions of overt stigma and norms regarding the perception of obese bodies. There was a prevailing notion that the opinions and insights of overweight and obese persons on the issue of weight were not credible and were perceived as biased. Furthermore, individuals sought to distance themselves from the undesirable labels of 'overweight' and 'obese' by enacting narrative resistance to negotiate the social meaning of excess weight and endeavouring to place themselves on the 'safe' side of this boundary. These results highlight the pervasive nature of weight stigma and the social acceptability of such attitudes and beliefs. Furthermore, it highlights the richness of data that may be obtained by examining social media interactions as a window into the naturally-occurring discourse on obesity and stigma.
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is a leading preventable cause of neurodevelopmental disab... more Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is a leading preventable cause of neurodevelopmental disability in North America. The stigma associated with alcohol use and abuse during pregnancy makes it difficult to obtain information on prenatal alcohol use through self-reporting. We assessed the incidence of prenatal alcohol exposure in Prince Edward Island to facilitate future public health initiatives addressing FASD. Prenatal alcohol exposure was examined via population-based collection of meconium and analysis of fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEEs). Fatty acid ethyl esters are nonoxidative metabolites of ethanol that are produced in the fetus. Meconium FAEE concentrations of 2.0 nmol/g or greater are indicative of frequent prenatal alcohol exposure during the last 2 trimesters of pregnancy. Samples were collected from 1307 neonates between Nov. 8, 2010, and Nov. 8, 2011, in hospitals in PEI, or from those born to mothers who resided in PEI but gave birth in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Samples ...
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Papers by Mary McCarthy