Self-reported childhood and adolescent sexual abuse among adult homosexual bisexual men.

From May 1989 through April 1990, 1,001 adult homosexual and bisexual men attending sexually transmitted disease clinics were interviewed regarding potentially abusive sexual contacts during childhood and adolescence. Thirty-seven percent of participants reported they had been encouraged or forced to have sexual contact before age 19 with an older or more powerful partner; 94% occurred with men. Median age of the participant at first contact was 10; median age difference between partners was 11 years. Fifty-one percent involved use of force; 33% involved anal sex. Black and Hispanic men were more likely than white men to report such sexual contact. Using developmentally-based criteria to define sexual abuse, 93% of participants reporting sexual contact with an older or more powerful partner were classified as sexually abused. Our data suggest the risk of sexual abuse may be high among some male youth and increased attention should be devoted to prevention as well as early identification and treatment.     

Childhood physical and sexual abuse as risk factors for heavy drinking among African-American women: a prospective study

OBJECTIVE: This study examines the associations among characteristics of child sexual abuse. childhood physical abuse, lack of parental care, and heavy drinking in a relatively young, urban population of African-American women all of whom have documented histories of child sexual abuse. METHODOLOGY: The sample consists of 113 African American child victims who were brought to a city hospital emergency room for treatment and collection of forensic evidence in the 1970s and re-interviewed as adults in the 1990s. RESULTS: The results of this research suggest that multiple incidents of child sexual abuse, more than the characteristics of such abuse is an important predictor of adult heavy alcohol use and binge drinking. These results remain even after controlling for the effects of parental drinking behavior. CONCLUSION: Although the victim of multiple child sexual assaults is more likely to suffer force and penetration, these analyses suggest that it is the multiple victimization and not the force or penetration that drives the relationship between child sexual assault and drinking behaviors.     

What Is the Long‐Run Impact of Learning Mathematics During Preschool?

The current study estimated the causal links between preschool mathematics learning and late elementary school mathematics achievement using variation in treatment assignment to an early mathematics intervention as an instrument for preschool mathematics change. Estimates indicate (n = 410) that a standard deviation of intervention‐produced change at age 4 is associated with a 0.24‐SD gain in achievement in late elementary school. This impact is approximately half the size of the association produced by correlational models relating later achievement to preschool math change, and is approximately 35% smaller than the effect reported by highly controlled ordinary least squares (OLS) regression models (Claessens et al., 2009; Watts et al., 2014 ) using national data sets. Implications for developmental theory and practice are discussed.     

Does competency-based education with blockchain signal a new mission for universities?

New technologies and the knowledge economy are destabilising graduate professions, with artificial intelligence and the analysis of ‘big data’ making significant impacts on formerly secure jobs. Blockchain technology, offering automated secure credentialling of undergraduate students’ activities and achievements, may significantly erode existing systems of assessment. The challenge for universities will be not only to maintain the relevance of their curricula but also to manage erosion of their current near-monopoly in awarding degrees. This paper envisions a landscape in which universities must outsource parts of their course delivery and assessment in order to remain competitive. It examines a potentially sustainable mission strategy: to move away from narrow academic disciplines towards an authentic learning curriculum focusing on the development of students as whole persons with rounded educations. This paper examines implications for the academy of the convergence of artificial intelligence, data analytics and blockchain technology.     

Content,format, gender and grade level differences in elementary students' ability to read science materials as measured by the cloze procedure

Present instructional trends in science indicate a need to reexamine a traditional concern in science education: the readability of science textbooks. An area of reading research not well documented is the effect of color, visuals, and page layout on readability of science materials. Using the cloze readability method, the present study explored the relationships between page format, grade level, sex, content, and elementary school students ability to read science material. Significant relationships were found between cloze scores and both grade level and content, and there was a significant interaction effect between grade and sex in favor of older males. No significant relationships could be attributed to page format and sex. In the area of science content, biological materials were most difficult in terms of readability followed by earth science and physical science. Grade level data indicated that grade five materials were more difficult for that level than either grade four or grade six materials were for students at each respective level. In eight of nine cases, the science text materials would be classified at or near the frustration level of readability. The implications for textbook writers and publishers are that science reading materials need to be produced with greater attention to readability and known design principles regarding visual supplements. The implication for teachers is that students need direct instruction in using visual materials to increase their learning from text material. Present visual materials appear to neither help nor hinder the student to gain information from text material.