A profile of the oro-facial injuries in child physical abuse at a children's hospital

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to determine the head, face and neck injuries associated with child abuse cases in the Cape Peninsula, Cape Town. South Africa. METHOD: A retrospective, record-based analysis (n = 300) of non-accidental injuries at a Children's Hospital over a 5-year period (1992-1996) was carried out. RESULTS: The mean age of the sample was 4.75 years--54.3% were boys and 45.7% were girls. Most of the crimes were committed in the child's own home (88.7%). Crimes were reported by mothers (48.7%), grandmothers (11.7%) and day hospitals (13%). Ninety percent of the perpetrators were known to the victim. The majority of the perpetrators were male (79%)--20% the perpetrators were the mother's boyfriend; 36% the father or step father, and in 12% the mother was responsible. Thirty-five percent of perpetrators were under the influence of alcohol or drugs when they committed the offence: 64.7% of cases suffered serious injuries, 48.7% had to be hospitalized, four children were critically injured and died. The head, face, neck, and mouth were the sites of physical injury in 67% of the 300 cases reviewed. The face was the most frequently injured (41%) part of the body, with the cheek being the most common site for the injury. The range and diversity of the oro-facial injuries included skull fractures, subdural hematomas, retinal hemorrhages, bruises, burns, and lacerations. Injuries to the mouth included fractured teeth, avulsed teeth, lacerations to the lips, frenum, tongue, and jaw fractures. CONCLUSIONS: The main conclusions of this study were (i) under 2-year-old children were most at risk from abuse (36%); (ii) the number of the reported injuries to the oral cavity was extremely low (11%); and (iii) no dentists participated in the examination of any of the patients. Intra-oral injuries may be overlooked because of the medical examiner's unfamiliarity with the oral cavity. Oral health professionals should be consulted for diagnosis, advice and treatment.     

Social disorganization and the profile of child welfare: Explaining child welfare activity by the community-level factors

This article addresses the question of the structure of local child welfare activities in light of community-level factors. It poses the following research questions: how are different community-level factors related to child welfare client structures in communities and what is the extent to which these factors explain structural differences? The applied theoretical framework is based on social disorganization and strain theories as well as human developmental approach. The data has been collected from two Finnish national databases and it consists of variables containing 257 Finnish municipalities. The method of analysis is multinomial logistic regression. The results suggest that the local child welfare structures are tied to social disorganization, policing and culture as well as to the intensity of control in the communities. In general, the more fragile the communal structures, the more last-resort child welfare there is in the community. Combining fragile communal structures with weak dependency ratio and high proportion of social workers, the more intense the level of child welfare statistics indicated. The results indicate that the theoretical framework for the application of child welfare activity analysis is justified, but they also suggest that it requires further development through both context-bound reflection and application.     

A neurodevelopmental profile of the rural hearing‐impaired child in the QwaQwa region,South Africa

Being hearing impaired does not only affect a child's academic performance, but can also influence a child's overall development and ability to succeed academically. Children with hearing impairment often experience delays in other areas of their development and an understanding of the inter‐relatedness of these delays are important in order to address all these aspects, and thus minimise the impact on a child's overall development. The paper provides a neurodevelopmental profile of 4‐year‐old to 8‐year‐old rural hearing‐impaired children based on the result of a psychometric assessment. Eighteen children were selected from a special needs school in the rural QwaQwa Free State area of South Africa and underwent a psychometric assessment using two test batteries (Griffiths mental developmental scales – extended revised and a neurodevelopmental evaluation scale). The neurodevelopmental profile will contribute to knowledge of the nature of the challenges faced by the hearing‐impaired child in rural education and the neurodevelopmental origin of these challenges.     

A matched cohort comparison of a criminal justice system's response to child sexual abuse: a profile of perpetrators

OBJECTIVE: This study was undertaken to examine whether alleged child sexual abuse perpetrators are handled differently by the courts than other alleged felony perpetrators. Comparisons were made from the time of prosecutorial case acceptance through prosecution to sentencing, with emphasis on judicial and prosecutorial decision-making and plea-bargaining. METHOD: Data were retrospectively abstracted on the entire defendant population of cases of sexual abuse of children and adolescents (ages 2-17) over a 5-year period. Using a case-flow analysis, comparisons were made between a child sexual abuse cohort and a cohort of matched felony cases from a single jurisdiction. RESULTS: Three important findings emerged. First, compared to other felons, abuse perpetrators were employed, had been married, were mostly European American, and were older than 30 years of age. Second, in the abuse cohort, as many as 14% had a previous sexual or violent record compared to 2% in the comparison group. Third, similar percentages of perpetrators in both groups were released on their own recognizance, had the charges against them dropped, and were found guilty. As well, no differences between groups were found in the proportion of individuals sentenced to jail, probation, counseling, or work release. CONCLUSIONS: Although the treatment of perpetrators of child sexual abuse was similar to the treatment of perpetrators of other felonies, the profile of the child abuse perpetrator was quite different. Knowledge about this profile may impact prosecution or treatment and recidivism rates, to the extent that recidivism is related to characteristics of the abuse perpetrator.     

A profile of survival

This article examines the extent to which a general understanding of an individual's reaction to extreme stress situations and patterns of coping can help in the understanding of personal and situational factors which are crucial for successful coping and survival of abused children. During a 14-year follow-up study, abused children who managed to survive the trauma of their childhood and grow up to be well-adjusted individuals were compared with a matched group of children who show, after 14 years, a high degree of psychosocial pathology. The variables which distinguished the two groups were fatalism, self-esteem, cognitive abilities, self-destructiveness, hope and fantasy, behavior patterns and external support. There were no significant differences between the groups as to difficulties in emotional expression in object relations and in their high degree of aggression. Lazarus' model of stress and coping was used to show the dynamics by which children utilize their personal and situational characteristics to survive and avoid future psychological and developmental damage. Implications of the findings for treatment and therapeutic assignments are indicated.     

对文学批评理论类型的分析

对文学批评理论类型的划分通常有传统与现代、科学主义与人本主义以及作者系统、作品系统、读者系统等几种方法,但这些归类方法往往有生搬硬套之嫌,割裂了批评主体、批评方法与批评对象之间的复杂关联。笔者拟对文学批评理论做出新的整合,借用结构主义之矩阵分析方法,将其分为形式论证型、共生构成型、自我表现型和否定反讽型四种类型。     

The effect of imaginative play actions on language development in five-year-old children

The study, using 60 five-year-olds, investigated forms of play: (a) self-action, (b) puppet-action, and (c) control treatments and differences between the sexes on aural language recall scores using semantic, absolute, and syntactic criteria. The results of the preliminary analyses between treatment groups and sex differences on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test and the Harris-Goodenough Draw-A-Man Test indicated no significant main or interaction effects. The subjects in treatment groups and boys and girls were relatively homogeneous on receptive language IQ and motor coordination, respectively. With 3 × 2 factorial analysis of variance experiments run on aural language recall for each of the three criteria, several significant results were noted: (a) Using the semantic criteria for scoring aural language recall, self-action play yielded significantly higher mean scores than either puppet-action or control groups. (b) Using the semantic criteria to score aural language recall, girls yielded significantly higher scores than boys. (c) Using either the absolute or syntactic scoring criteria, the results of the analysis indicated no significant main or interaction effects on aural language recall.     

非独生子女与独生子女赴泰志愿者心理健康状况比较研究

为适应世界汉语教学发展的新形势,缓解各国汉语教师的紧缺情况,经国家汉办严格选拔,已向96个国家派出了近万名汉语教师。近年来,选派的汉语教师队伍发生了一些变化,特别是80后独生子女也加入了选派的队伍,这些志愿者他们的心理状态如何?非独生子女与独生子女的心理状况有无差异?针对这一问题,我们对赴泰志愿者做了SCL-90心理测试,并对研究数据进行了比较研究。探讨了非独生子女和独生子女心理差异,并给出了志愿者培训方案建议。     

A futuristic curriculum model for the gifted child

Planning a curriculum model for the educational needs of the gifted for the 80's and beyond requires a futuristic perspective that will provide alternative programs, materials, and objectives.     

A selective study of child mortality

Identification of children's deaths from abuse and neglect is a complex process, thus no one individual should have the sole responsibility for this identification. A team could best carry out the comprehensive, interdisciplinary investigation and evaluation that the process requires.While at the present time, prevention of child abuse is a high priority item; before we invest large sums of public and private money and manpower in a variety of supportive services, some fundamental issues need to be addressed. We ought to do a more thorough job of trying to find out how many infants and children are dying of abuse. Second, we ought to open our minds to the fact that even more children are dying of neglect. When we do a better job of identifying these tragic phenomena, we will also be arriving at better preventive methods.We cannot prevent what we know so little about.     

奇迹背后的质朴孝心

曹秋芳的人生,从几岁开始,就走上了一条艰难的路:照顾瘫痪母亲,坚持"背"母上学,艰难的历程一直延续到读高中,并会继续走下去。在上虞,有两件孝事几乎妇孺皆知,一是二十四孝之首虞舜,孝感动天;二是孝女曹娥投江救父。如今,在曹娥江畔的上虞章镇,现代孝女曹秋芳,又在演绎着感天动地的人间大孝。     

Children's drawings in different cultures: an analysis of five-year-old Jordanian children's drawings

Research results have shown that what a child draws is influenced by many factors, including the child’s culture and environment. The aim of this study was to analyse the drawings of five-year-old Jordanian children to determine the extent to which culture informs the content of their drawings. A total of 736 children took part in this research project (387 boys and 349 girls). Their sample drawings were categorised according to specific themes. Results revealed that children drew pictures related to nature, people, surroundings, letters, numbers, symbols, animals, and transportation. The most frequent content of the drawings related to nature (38.9%) and the least frequent were drawings depicting violence (0.32%). Drawings also showed English and Arabic numbers and mathematical shapes separately and combined on the paper. Implications and recommendations for further research are presented.     

英语书面鞑中常见的十大错误

一、冠词错误。这是同学们最容易出错的地方，复习备考时大家要熟练掌握冠词的基本方法。