Cross-cultural comparisons of child-reported emotional and physical abuse: rates, risk factors and psychosocial symptoms

OBJECTIVES: This study was designed to assess the incidence of child emotional and physical abuse, associated risk factors and psychosocial symptoms in a cross-cultural comparison between post-communist bloc countries. Method: One-thousand one-hundred forty-five children ages 10-14 from Latvia (N = 297), Lithuania ( N = 300), Macedonia (N = 302), and Moldova (N = 246) participated in the study. They completed questionnaires assessing their experience of emotional or physical abuse, and provided information about family risk-factors and psychosocial symptoms, including PTSD-related symptoms. RESULTS: Incidence rates of maltreatment differed by country, as did levels of reported psychosocial symptoms. Incidence of emotional and physical abuse differed by region, with higher levels of abuse reported in the rural regions. In all four countries, a similar association between emotional/physical abuse and psychosocial symptoms was found, with the uniformly largest correlation between emotional abuse and anger. When examining the combined scores of emotional and physcial abuse, even higher correlation's were found, particularly in relation to anger and depression. In all four countries, parental overuse of alcohol was associated with emotional and/or physical abuse. CONCLUSIONS: Findings show differences by country in child-reported levels of emotional and physical abuse, but similar patterns of correlation with psychosocial symptoms and the risk factors of parental alcohol overuse and living in a rural area.     

A two-dimensional analysis of student ratings of instruction

Student ratings of instruction were analyzed in terms of two global factors. One factor, which includes items on advanced planning, presentation clarity, and increased student knowledge, was named pedagogical skill. The other factor taps information about class discussion, grading, and the availability of help and was named rapport. Ratings on the skill factor did not covary with class size or the leniency of the instructor's grading but did correlate with a reasonable external criterion of student learning. Ratings of rapport correlated inversely with class size and directly with average class grade and showed only a weak relationship to the external criterion of student learning. The skill factor showed more interclass stability than the rapport factor. Previous research studies which have examined the reliability and validity of instructional ratings and their relationship to student grades and class size have reported inconsistent findings. These inconsistencies appear to result from an inappropriate unidimensional analysis of ratings which should be examined in terms of two of more separate attitude dimensions.     

Drawing digital pictures: An investigation of primary pupils’ representations of ICT and schools

The relatively restricted nature of children's use of information and communications technologies (ICTs) inside the school setting has long been noted by researchers. With this in mind, this article offers a grounded analysis of drawings collected from 355 primary pupils (years three to six) from five English primary schools depicting desired future forms of school ICT provision. The article contends that the nature and content of these future orientated pictures reflect many of the tensions underlying children's current engagements with ICTs in school. Specifically the article discusses how the drawings offer valuable insights into the issues underlying pupils’ understandings of ICT and schools, not least: the restrictions of the school as organisation; the oppositional relationship between the ‘work’ of learning in school and the ‘play’ of using digital media at home; the unequal power relations that exist between pupils, schools and teachers. The article concludes that rather than accede to demands for free and unfettered use of game consoles and portable devices in the classroom, schools should instead concentrate on fostering informed dialogues with young people about the potential educational benefits of school ICT use.     

Serving Others and Gaining Experience: A Study of University Students Participation in Service Learning

Unlike other countries, Italy has no 'service learning', the method enabling students to join accredited voluntary organisations in order to gain experience in serving others. An investigation was conducted in 2006 and 2007 to understand the opportunity that service learning provides to young adults, community and volunteer associations. The objectives were, first, to determine whether there is a need to forge links between the university and the world of volunteer work and, second, to describe the specific areas of action in the local context. A total of 603 video-recorded interviews were conducted. The findings show that there is a need to create a network for helping institutions, neighbourhoods and young adults to assess the demand and provide an organised response for educational and community needs. As a result, starting from this year, Turin University will be operating the first service learning in Italy.     

Considerations for Integrating Technology in Developing Communities in Latin America

This article discusses issues related to introducing new information and communication technologies (ICT) into Latin American countries. Latin American countries are gaining world focus with political changes such as the death of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela and the election of the first Latin American Pope. This region will host the World Cup, Olympics and IMF World Bank annual meetings in the next 5 years; meanwhile they are projected to continueto experience moderate economic growth (IMF Survey, 2013). We suggest that successful innovation may be achieved through a combination of fundamental concepts of change with a culturally sensitive approach. This article discusses general concerns related to the diffusion of new technologies, the importance of cultural context, and the organization needed within the community for success. The literature review is based three assertions the characteristics of the native culture, general concerns of innovation for new technologies, and the context and organization needed by the community. We assert that to have successful integration of ICTs, innovators must understand the needs of the individuals who will use the innovation, as well as, the key factors that influence the culture, stakeholders, and common goals of the community and employ a strategy that utilizes industry, government and educators to produce lasting change.     

Quantification of Helicobacter pylori levels in soil samples from public playgrounds in Spain

Helicobacter pylori are ubiquitous Gram-negative bacteria with a high estimated level of infection in the world populations, but a majority of the infected persons are asymptomatic. This pathogen has been classified by the World Health Organization as a class I carcinogen and recognized as the causal agent of most peptic ulcers and chronic gastritis that might lead to stomach cancer. Although not all the transmission pathways of these bacteria into humans have been properly identified, enough data have suggested that the oral-oral or fecal-oral ones are the main infection routes. Helicobacter pylori have been detected in non-treated water and in drinking water, which suggested that water might be an important infection source. As childhood is the critical period of infection, the aim of the present work was to examine the presence of Helicobacter pylori in soil samples from public playing areas of Spanish parks.