College Students’ Relationship Between Trauma and Disordered Eating

Among college students, a correlation exists between trauma exposure and eating disorders. Although disordered eating behaviors are more prevalent than eating disorders, the relationship between different types of trauma exposure and disordered eating is unknown. The current study explored this relationship. One hundred two participants completed questionnaires on disordered eating and trauma exposure. Results showed that (a) sexual abuse was a significant predictor of concerns regarding food and weight gain (p < .05) and (b) other form of trauma (e.g., natural disaster) was a significant predictor of difficulties in individuals’ relationship with food (p < .05). Clinical implications, especially those related to trauma assessment and disordered eating behaviors, are discussed. The importance of examining the impact of nonsexual trauma is described, and the clinical utility of breaking eating pathology down into specific abnormal attitudes and behaviors is highlighted.     

Early identification of primary school students with learning difficulties in Hong Kong: the development of a checklist

Early identification of children experiencing difficulties in learning is essential for timely and effective intervention. The aim of this study was to develop a screening instrument for identifying students with learning difficulties at the end of the first term of Primary 1 in Hong Kong. This paper describes the development and validation of a 27‐item checklist on 594 students. Validity testing performed included content and expert, contrasted group, concurrent and predictive validity; all were found to be satisfactory. In addition, test–re‐test reliability was assessed to be good. The checklist can be administered in 10 minutes for each student based on everyday observations of the student; no specific testing of the students would be required. A longer version with 97 items was also made available for teachers to conduct a more comprehensive evaluation of a child’s performance.     

Performance Indicators and Widening Participation in UK Higher Education

We investigate the relationship between the widening participation performance indicators adopted in UK higher education (HE) and the government's objective of increasing overall HE participation rates. We critically assess the development of performance monitoring in HE and identify weaknesses in the current performance indicators from the perspective of the main stakeholders. We suggest the development of internal indicators and benchmarks by HE institutions together with extensions to the current national performance indicators that could improve their usefulness.     

Altered visual focus on sensorimotor control in people with chronic ankle instability

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the effects of the combination of chronic ankle instability (CAI) and altered visual focus on strategies for dynamic stability during a drop-jump task. Nineteen participants with self-reported CAI and 19 healthy participants performed a drop-jump task in looking-up and looking-down conditions. For the looking-up condition, participants looked up and read a random number that flashed on a computer monitor. For the looking-down condition, participants focused their vision on the force plate. Sagittal- and frontal-plane kinematics in the hip, knee and ankle were calculated at the time points of 100 ms pre-initial foot contact to ground and at IC. The resultant vector time to stabilisation was calculated with ground reaction force data. The CAI group demonstrated less hip flexion at the point of 100 ms pre-initial contact (P < 0.01), and less hip flexion (P = 0.03) and knee flexion at initial contact (P = 0.047) compared to controls. No differences in kinematics or dynamic stability were observed in either looking-up or looking-down conditions (P > 0.05). Altered visual focus did not influence movement patterns during the drop-jump task, but the presence of CAI did. The current data suggests that centrally mediated changes associated with CAI may lead to global alterations in the sensorimotor control.     

The Politically Engaged Public Library: Admitting and Embracing the Political Nature of Libraries and Their Goals

The authors of this article contend that politics is an integral part of public library leadership. Most of the work that public librarians do is designed to build citizenship knowledge and improve some aspect of social justice. Politics is a library imperative because a heavy percentage of institutional funding is tied to public funding, which is a major part of total library financial support. Political considerations, therefore, are a major concern in acquiring and retaining funding that will bring libraries and their constituents to a brighter future.     

The structure and development of the paired reading technique

This paper defines the Paired Reading technique and comments upon minor variations. The historical antecedents for the technique in the international literature are reviewed and the technique is considered in the context of relevant background theory and empirical research. The main strands of theory regarding how and why Paired Reading works are reviewed in the light of summary data on process and reading style changes during PR projects. It is concluded that the effects of Paired Reading are mediated by a number of different factors, and the technique should therefore be widely philosophically acceptable.     

Teaching Children in Poverty: three Australian primary school responses

Studies of pedagogical relationships offer insights into policies and practices which have the capacity to promote progressive change in educational practice for children in poverty. This paper focuses on relationships established in three differently‐located Australian primary schools: Greytown, a medium sized inner‐city school in New South Wales; Mungar, a large suburban school in Queensland; and Meiki, a small rural school in New South Wales. Each school is a designated disadvantaged school and funded accordingly through a federal Disadvantaged Schools Program, is located in a working class area, and is ethnically diverse. The schools’ pedagogical responses to children in poverty are contrasted and analysed in terms of their capacity to contribute to socially just outcomes from schooling.