Patterns of Risk and Protective Factors Among Alaska Children: Association With Maternal and Child Well-Being

This study used population-representative data to examine associations of risk and protective factor patterns among Alaska Native/American Indian (AN/AI; N = 592) and non-Native (N = 1,018) children with maternal and child outcomes at age 3 years. Among AN/AI children, a high risk/moderate protection class was associated with child developmental risk and mothers being less likely to feel comfortable asking for help or knowing where to go for parenting information compared to a low socioeconomic status/high protection class. Among non-Native children, a moderate risk/high protection class was associated with child developmental risk and mothers being less likely to feel comfortable asking for help compared to a low risk/high protection class. Results provide insight on the intersection of risk and protective factors among Alaska families.     

Multi–sensory impairment: convenient label or recipe for confusion? A scoping review of research conducted in England (2001-20)

In England, the term ‘multi-sensory impairment’ (MSI) has come to overlap with other labels, which is problematic for both research and practice. We undertook a scoping review of empirical studies conducted in England over the past 20 years on MSI and overlapping labels. We designed and used a review protocol and combined multiple searching methods, including repeated database searches, manual searching of journals and expert recommendations. We identified 29 studies that met the criteria for inclusion in the review, and we analysed these according to three themes: (1) terminology used, (2) topic explored, and (3) methodology adopted. We found that terminology was varied and poorly defined, with a lot of overlap between key terms that were used sometimes interchangeably. Moreover, studies varied in the level of transparency provided when methodology was reported. Finally, there was a dearth of research into inclusion in mainstream schools and research gathering learners’ voices. Implications for future research include the need for: (1) identification of factors that have led to overlapping terminology, (2) greater transparency in how the methodologies used in the field are reported, and (3) more evidence, especially from research on strategies in settings that promote inclusion, and research that includes learners’ voices.     

Accounting for individual variability in inversion shortcut use

This study investigated whether children's inversion shortcut use (i.e., reasoning that no calculations are required for the problem 4 × 8 ÷ 8, as the answer is the first number) is related to their analogical reasoning ability, short-term memory capacity, and working memory capacity. Children from Grades 6 and 8 solved multiplication and division inversion problems and classical analogy word problems and completed memory tasks. Analogical reasoning ability and working memory functioning both accounted for individual variance in inversion shortcut use. These findings suggest that the ability to understand relationships and executive functioning may enable children to internally represent and manipulate mathematical problems, facilitating the application of conceptual mathematical knowledge to generate the inversion shortcut.     

Exploring and modelling elements of information management that contribute towards making positive impacts: An outcome based approach for senior managers in a local government setting

This paper reports on the first stage of an investigation into monitoring and evaluating the impact of information management (IM) within a local government context. The overall study will utilise a combination of principles from various results-based, outcomes-based and social change approaches (Logical Framework Analysis, Most Significant Change, and Outcomes Mapping) in an attempt to move Leicestershire County Council away from a culture focused on traditional performance measurement, i.e. percentage change in use of services provided to the public, to something of real value. Interviews with 20 senior managers highlighted the important IM issues for Leicestershire County Council as a local government. These initial findings showed that maintaining high quality, trusted, and governed information and knowledge resources were of great value to the organisation. Analysis showed that 85% of senior managers interviewed considered IM to be “critical” in the achievement of organisational outcomes. Further analysis enabled the development of an initial framework indicating key areas where IM can have impact. These key areas will become the focus of further research, where applying a combination of approaches aforementioned will define the boundary partners, their specific outcomes and progress markers with possible impacts proposed. This detail will help to develop a framework for measuring the impact of IM.     

The changing shape characteristics associated with success in world-class sprinters

The aims of this study were to identify whether relative shape and size characteristics of world-class sprinters have changed over time, and whether any anthropometric parameters characterize the most successful world-class sprinters. The results suggest that body mass index, reflecting greater muscle mass rather than greater adiposity, is an important factor associated with success in both male and female world-class sprinters over time. However, in female athletes the reciprocal ponderal index (RPI) has emerged as a more important indicator of success over several decades, with taller, more linear sprinters achieving greater success, as measured by sprint speed. In male sprinters it is only in the most recent decade that RPI has emerged as an important predictor of success. We speculate that the prominence of the RPI and an ectomophic somatotype being typical of the most successful world-class sprinters might be explained, in part, by the influence of stride length on sprint speed. In conclusion, these results suggest that coaches, selectors, and sports scientists should consider body shape when selecting potential athletes for sprint events, encouraging more linear athletes with a high RPI.     

Effects of previous lateral ankle sprain and taping on the latency of the peroneus longus

The latency of the peroneus longus may be a key factor in the prevention of lateral ankle sprains (LASs). In addition, ankle taping is often applied to help prevent LASs. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of a previous LAS and ankle taping on the latency of the peroneus longus after an inversion perturbation. Twenty-six participants, including 13 participants with no previous history of a LAS and 13 participants with a history of a single LAS completed the testing. Ankle taping was applied in a closed basket weave technique on one of the two testing days. The latency of the peroneus longus was determined by the onset of muscle activity exceeding 10 SD from baseline activity, after initiation of the 25 degrees inversion perturbation. A significant main effect (p < 0.05) was present for the ankle support condition, with ankle taping causing a significant reduction in latency of the peroneus longus (65.04 +/- 10.81 to 57.70 +/- 9.39 ms). There was no difference (p > 0.05) in latency between the injury groups. Ankle taping, immediately after application, reduces the latency of the peroneus longus among participants with and without a history of a LAS.     

ISPCAN Child Abuse Screening Tools Retrospective version (ICAST-R): Delphi study and field testing in seven countries

ObjectivesTo gain consensus among an ethnically and linguistically diverse group of international child protection experts on the structure and content of a new survey tool for retrospective measurement of child abuse, and to determine the performance of the instrument through an international field trial with young adults.MethodsThe questionnaire was developed through focus group discussions with international experts, and then subjected to a Delphi study in two waves to determine the perceived importance and translatability of items. The resultant questionnaire was translated into six languages and field tested in seven countries with convenient samples of young adults aged 18–26 years (N = 842).ResultsChild maltreatment experts from 28 countries provided input to questionnaire development. Satisfactory agreement on draft item inclusion and exclusion and the translatability of items was gained. The tool includes 15 primary questions about potentially abusive physical, sexual and emotional events, with follow-up questions about perpetrator characteristics, frequency of acts and periods in childhood when the recalled abuse occurred. The field test revealed lifetime prevalence per item usually exceeded 10% (11/15 items; range 2.1–49.5%). Internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) was moderate to high for each of three item sub-sets (between .61 and .82) and the rates of missing data were low (less than 1.5% for 14 of 15 items). The great majority of respondents nominated either peer and/or adult perpetrators (between 82.3% and 98.2% depending upon the item), and among these, child/adolescent peers and non-family adults (including teachers for emotional and physical acts) were nominated often.ConclusionsThe ICAST-R is based on consensus from international experts, translates clearly and has satisfactory properties for adoption as a survey tool to estimate prevalence and describe perpetrators and other contextual aspects of child abuse.Practice implicationsThis tool can be utilized in a broad range of cultures and languages and may contribute to improved research practice. Although the core items are limited to just 15 acts of maltreatment, if these behaviorally specific questions are adopted as key indicators and incorporated into comprehensive local, national or regional surveys, eventually there should be greater comparability in survey estimates.