Head injury secondary to suspected child maltreatment: results of a prospective Canadian national surveillance program

Objective

We sought to determine the incidence, clinical features, and demographic profile of head injury secondary to suspected child maltreatment (abuse or neglect) in Canada to help inform the development and evaluation of prevention programs for abusive head injuries.

Methods

From March 1, 2005 to February 28, 2008, an average of 2,545 paediatricians and paediatric subspecialists were surveyed monthly through the established network of the Canadian Paediatric Surveillance Program. We calculated incidence rates using the number of confirmed cases over the product of the duration of the study (3 years) and population estimates by age group.

Results

There were 220 confirmed cases of head injury from suspected child maltreatment. The annual incidence rate was 14.1 per 100,000 for children less than 1 year of age and 1.4 per 100,000 for those less than 15 years. Seventy three percent (141) of cases involved infants less than 12 months of age and 52% (100) of cases involved infants less than 6 months of age. Seventy-five percent (165) of cases presented to the emergency room. With regard to outcome, 12% (27) of cases resulted in death and 45% (75) of survivors had neurological sequelae at discharge. Thirty percent (67) of all cases, as well as 30% (8) of deaths were previously known to child welfare authorities.

Conclusion

This study provides an estimate of the rate of head injury secondary to suspected child maltreatment in Canada. The young age and poor medical outcomes of those involved highlights the need for prevention efforts that are implemented early in life. Given that a significant percentage of injured infants and children were already known to child welfare authorities, the study also highlights the need to establish and evaluate additional preventive efforts for parents and caregivers already in the child welfare system.     

Nutrition for winter sports

Winter sports are played in cold conditions on ice or snow and often at moderate to high altitude. The most important nutritional challenges for winter sport athletes exposed to environmental extremes include increased energy expenditure, accelerated muscle and liver glycogen utilization, exacerbated fluid loss, and increased iron turnover. Winter sports, however, vary greatly regarding their nutritional requirements due to variable physiological and physique characteristics, energy and substrate demands, and environmental training and competition conditions. What most winter sport athletes have in common is a relatively lean physique and high-intensity training periods, thus they require greater energy and nutrient intakes, along with adequate food and fluid before, during, and after training. Event fuelling is most challenging for cross-country skiers competing in long events, ski jumpers aiming to reduce their body weight, and those winter sport athletes incurring repeated qualification rounds and heats. These athletes need to ensure carbohydrate availability throughout competition. Finally, winter sport athletes may benefit from dietary and sport supplements; however, attention should be paid to safety and efficacy if supplementation is considered.     

Beyond Cost Justification: Evaluation Frameworks in Corporate Distance Training

Evaluation remains one of the biggest challenges for workplace training professionals today. Few organizations have mastered training evaluation, with even fewer moving beyond assessing learner reaction and satisfaction. The introduction of technology‐based distance training, coupled with large initial investments in technologies that are needed to support distance training programs, has further exacerbated evaluation efforts for training organizations. This article looks at the changing environment of training evaluation and the application of evaluation methodology in corporate distance training.     

Action learning for professionals: a new approach to practice

Following on from the article ‘Building Capacity in Social Care: An Evaluation of a National Programme of Action Learning Facilitator Development’ (Abbott, C., L. Burtney, and C. Wall. 2013. Action Learning: Research & Practice 10 (2): 168–177), this article describes how action learning is being introduced in Cornwall Council, UK and explores the relationship between social work and action learning in practice. In essence social work needs to perform well and achieve positive outcomes for users of its services. Cornwall Council's Children's Social Work and Psychology Services is introducing action learning for professionals as a new approach to practice.     

Qualifizierungsstrategien deutscher Unternehmen in Japan,Indien und China – Deutsche Vorbilder oder einheimische Verfahrensweisen?

For many years the possible introduction of the German dual vocational education programme into other countries has been discussed. The transferability of the German vocational education and training system into other countries has been controversially discussed in the work of development assistance and in international comparative vocational education research for a long time, even though the empirical basis is quite narrow. The present study focuses on the vocational and training behaviours of German corporations in their subsidiaries in Japan, China and India. Even though all three nations are important countries for the German corporations the culture, the vocational education and employment systems are very different. Based upon the theory of the EPRG model in international management, this study analyses the vocational education and training activities and in terms of the EPRG model by interviews with experts. The findings indicate that a polycentric approach is used exclusively in India and to a significant extent in China. In Japan, in addition to the prevalent polycentric approach, there is also a strong influence of geocentric training styles. The similarities can be partly explained by the stronger focus on theoretical training institutions and a more academic attitude in society as a whole, which means that purely vocational training plays a marginal role with low esteem. In this context, it would be difficult to implement the German style of vocational education and training.     

Effects of manipulating relative and absolute motion information during observational learning of an aiming task.

In the visual perception perspective of observational learning, the manipulation of relative and absolute motion information in visual demonstrations optimally directs learners' search towards appropriate task solutions. We assessed the effect of emphasizing transformational information and removal of structural information using point-light kinematic displays in approximating the model's relative motion patterns. Participants viewed computer-simulated point-light demonstrations or normal video demonstrations before and intermittently throughout 100 acquisition trials with knowledge of results on an underarm modified-dart aiming task. On the next day, all participants performed 20 retention trials without demonstrations. The kinematics of spatial and temporal coordination and control variables were examined relative to the model's action, as well as performance scores. The results indicated that approximation of the model's spatial and temporal coordination and control patterns was achieved after observation of either type of demonstrations. No differences were found in movement outcomes. In a second experiment, the effects of manipulating absolute motion information by slow-motion demonstrations were examined relative to real-time demonstrations. Real-time demonstrations led to a closer approximation to the model's spatial and temporal coordination patterns and better outcome scores, contradicting predictions that slow-motion displays convey intact relative motion information. We speculate that the effect of visual demonstration speed on action perception and reproduction is a function of task constraints--that is, novelty or familiarity of relative motion of demonstrated activities.