Peer relations and access to capital in the mathematics classroom: a Bourdieusian social network analysis

The aim of this article is to explore the structure of social capital in peer networks and its relation to the unequal access of educational resources within mathematics classrooms. We hypothesise that learners can gain access to mathematics through friendship networks which provide more or less help from peers that might sustain (or curtail) their mathematics learning based on a Bourdieusian framework. We report a social network analysis of mutually-recognised helping within friendship groups. This is complemented by observation and interviews that illustrate how different classrooms have different network structures, positioning learners of different ethnic minorities and genders in significantly different ways regarding access to learning. We argue that friendship networks mediate social capital and access to further cultural capital, and that this may help explain structural differences in attainment. Because ethnicity and gender, inter alia, mediate friendship networks, they also mediate access to capital in the classroom.     

The Victorian Information Society: Surveillance, Bureaucracy, and Public Librarianship in 19th-Century Britain

Contrary to the "retro" image often awarded them, and despite their continuing enthusiasm and responsibility for the organization of printed materials, librarians are upbeat about the prospects of an information society driven primarily by electronic technologies, but in which libraries can play an important part. Public librarians detect a natural correlation between the historic democratic mission of their institution and the increased accessibility made possible by digitalized sources. The library community's acceptance of the information society idea as a "given" social phenomenon supports discourses that play down historical continuities and herald the dawn of a new age. Such discourses ignore or reject historical evidence that points to the existence of past information societies, revolutions, and infrastructures defined, in part, by the operation of indirect surveillance, constituted by the bureaucratic information systems of modernity. Victorian Britain serves as a good example of an early information society, to which public libraries, themselves micro-information societies, contributed significantly. The role played by public librarians in the Victorian information society, illustrated in this article by evidence drawn from the contemporary library press, is seen in their preoccupation with the surveillance and ordering of knowledge; their adoption for library operations of the businesslike, bureaucratic procedures described recently by business historians; and their panoptic tracking of users and their activities.     

Identifying children at high risk for a child maltreatment report

Objective

To help professionals identify factors that place families at risk for future child maltreatment, to facilitate necessary services and to potentially help prevent abuse and neglect.

Method

The data are from a prospective, longitudinal study of 332 low-income families recruited from urban pediatric primary care clinics, followed for over 10 years, until the children were approximately 12 years old. Children with prior child protective services involvement (CPS) were excluded. The initial assessment included sociodemographic, child, parent and family level variables. Child maltreatment was assessed via CPS reports. Risk ratios (RRs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using Cox regression models.

Results

Of the 224 children without a prior CPS report and with complete data who were followed for an average of 10 years, 97 (43%) later had a CPS report. In a multivariate survival analysis, 5 risk factors predicted CPS reports: child's low performance on a standardized developmental assessment (RR = 1.23, 95% CI = 1.01-1.49, p = .04), maternal education ≤ high school (RR = 1.55, CI = 1.01-2.38, p = .04), maternal drug use (RR = 1.71, CI = 1.01-2.90, p < .05), maternal depressive symptoms (RR per one standard deviation higher score = 1.28, CI = 1.09-1.51, p < .01), and more children in the family (RR per additional child = 1.26, CI = 1.07-1.47, p < .01).

Conclusions

Five risk factors were associated with an increased risk for later maltreatment. Child health care and other professionals can identify these risk factors and facilitate necessary services to strengthen families, support parents and potentially help prevent child maltreatment.     

Psychometric properties of a youth self-report measure of neglectful behavior by parents

Objective

This study aimed to empirically assess psychometric properties of a multi-dimensional youth self-report measure of neglectful behavior by parents.

Method

Data were gathered from 593 12-year-old youth participating in the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN) consortium; 272 also had data at age 14. Youth responded to a 25-item measure of their experiences of neglect. Expert raters classified items into 4 factors, followed by confirmatory factor analyses. We evaluated cross group measurement equivalence by gender and longitudinal measurement equivalence from age 12 to age 14. Validity was assessed by the relationships between factor scores and (1) neglect reports to child protective services (CPS), (2) quality of parent-child interactions, and (3) parental monitoring.

Results

A 3-factor model (Physical Needs, Emotional Support, and Parental Monitoring) of neglect was obtained, with equivalence across gender and longitudinally (age 12-14). The pattern of correlations between the factor scores, CPS reports, and measures of the parent-child relationship offered modest to moderate support for convergent validity.

Conclusions

The findings suggest a promising and relatively brief youth self-report measure of neglect to help advance research in this area.     

Relative‐change theory: examining the impact of patriarchy,paternalism, and poverty on the education of women in Kenya

Forty‐five years have passed since Kenya gained independence and almost 30 years since the feminist revolution ushered in a global gender and development agenda. While Kenya’s development agenda had a functionalist orientation aimed at modernisation, the outcome of efforts to promote education development cannot be understood without an examination of the context of women. Although development agencies acknowledge the need for empowerment of women, the interests of change agencies are accommodated within the bounds of patriarchy, poverty, and paternalism. This situation is best explained by examining the education experience of women through a relative‐change theory prism. From this perspective, change is actively pursued within limits, that is, options for change in the social, cultural, and political context are acknowledged but limited. As a result, whatever education development efforts have been put into place to benefit women in marginalised situations, the outcome has fallen short for the majority of women.     

Welcome to Art City: Place‐based Education through a Local Museum

Abstract The town of Springville, Utah, has a multi‐faceted relationship with its Museum of Art. The museum reflects and preserves the ethnic and cultural identity of the area, including its history, its landscapes, and its philosophy/religion. Through place‐based education—including observation and activities—k‐12 children and youth are given opportunities to experience their local culture on multiple levels. As museum artifacts are carefully chosen and lessons are purposefully structured, students receive cognitive, creative, and social benefits as well. Museum educators collaborate with local school personnel, along with educators from nearby Brigham Young University, to produce cross‐disciplinary lesson plans and teaching materials. Benefits Springville educators are finding in place‐based education are included in this article, along with specific ideas for lessons and activities.     

Relationships among training stress, mood and dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate/cortisol ratio in female cyclists

In this study, we examined the effect of rapidly increased training volume and intensity on hormonal responses (salivary cortisol [C] and urinary dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate [DHEA-S]) and recovery-stress state perceived by 12 female cyclists. Over the 4-day experimental period, there was an average increase in training load of approximately 122% compared with that during the previous 12 days. Scores on subscales of the Recovery Stress Questionnaire for Athletes increased for the somatic component of stress (Fatigue, Emotional Stress and Social Stress; P<0.05) and decreased the factor indicating recovery (General Well Being; P<0.05) after the heavy training period. The training programme increased resting concentrations of salivary cortisol (P<0.05) and decreased the DHEA-S/C ratio (P<0.05). The increase in training load of cyclists was correlated with this hormonal ratio (r=-0.48, P<0.05). Changes in resting cortisol concentration as a result of heavy training stress were positively related to the change in Physical Complaints (r=0.69, P<0.01). Negative relationships were also found between changes in the DHEA-S/C ratio and changes in the somatic component of stress. The present results suggest that there is a dose-response relationship between increased training load, resting DHEA-S/C ratio and subjective assessment of stress and recovery, implying that this ratio could be used as an indicator of training status in female athletes.     

An application of the theory of the complex variable to the mapping of some potential functions.

Using the theory of the logarithmic potential and the methods of intersecting circles and radii, plots are obtained for the lines of flow and equipotentials for eight cases of two sources, two sinks, or a source and a sink of varying strengths. A detailed analysis of the equilibrium equipotentials is included. The problem of three unit sources placed at the vertices of an equilateral triangle is investigated; and the general expression of the equilibrium equipotential for n similar unit sources (or sinks) placed at the vertices of a regular n-sided polygon is developed.