Educational Television in Iceland: the availability and utilisation of video resources in schools

The results of a survey into the provision and extent of use of video resources in Icelandic schools is given. While all schools at primary and secondary level are provided with at least one television and video recorder, the utilisation of video resources is relatively low. Due in part to the absence of off‐air reception facilities in most Icelandic schools, the use of video is mainly via videocassettes borrowed from the National Centre for Educational Media. The future policy for ETV in Icelandic schools is considered in terms of the provision of production facilities and training needs.     

Erroneous concerns about child sexual abuse

AIM: To assess the incidence and nature of concerns about sexual abuse, with particular reference to erroneous concerns of sexual abuse made by children. METHODS: A review of case notes of all child sexual abuse reports to the Denver Department of Social Services over 12 months. Cases were put into four groups: substantiated, not sexual abuse, inconclusive and erroneous accounts by children. RESULTS: 551 cases were reviewed. Forty-three percent were substantiated, 21% were inconclusive and 34% were not considered to be abuse cases. There were 14 (2.5%) erroneous concerns emanating from children. They comprised three cases of allegations made in collusion with a parent, three cases where an innocent event was misinterpreted as sexual abuse and eight cases (1.5%) of false allegations of sexual abuse.CONCLUSION: Erroneous concern of sexual abuse from children are uncommon. The four categories of concern in this study, in contrast to the simple classification of substantiated and unsubstantiated, provide a means of encouraging open minded assessments of the typical concerns which a child protection agency receives.     

Parental training and involvement in sexuality education for students who are deaf

The study examined whether schools for the deaf were providing services to assist parents in communicating with their children about sexuality (including sexual signs) and whether parents were involved in the sexuality education curriculum within their child's school. The Sexuality Curriculum Questionnaire for Educators of Students Who Are Deaf (Getch & Gabriel, 1998) was completed by 71 educators teaching sexuality curricula in schools for the deaf across the United States. Results indicated that parents were more likely to be involved in approval and development of their children's sexuality education than to receive assistance with sexuality education from the schools. Although the level of parental participation in curriculum development and approval is encouraging, the number of parents actually participating in curriculum development and approval remains low.     

Rates of responding in the pigeon generated by simple and complex schedules which provide the same rates of reinforcement

Four pigeons pecked for food reinforcement on variable interval 1-min schedules and on the variable-interval 1-min components of multiple, concurrent, and pseudoconcurrent schedules. The pseudoconcurrent schedule provided only one schedule of reinforcement; but, any reinforcer could be collected by responding on either of two keys. The rate of responding generated by the variable interval schedule was not greater than the rates of responding generated by the components of the complex schedules. But, the rate of reinforcement obtained from the variable interval schedule was greater than the rates of reinforcement obtained from the components of the multiple schedule. These results may contradict the equation proposed by Herrnstein (1970). The equation predicts that the rate of responding generated by a schedule of reinforcement will be greater when the schedule appears alone, than when it appears as one component of a complex schedule.     

Outcomes of first year secondary students in a computer‐augmented physics program on measurement

Measurement is a foundational topic in secondary school physics that must be taught to all beginning secondary education students in Kenya. The secondary level offers education for students who are aged between 12‐ and 18‐years‐old. Physics teachers in the Rift Valley province identified the topic of measurement as an area that is difficult to teach through traditional methods. This study explored the effectiveness of a computer‐augmented physics (CAP) program on teaching the topic of measurement to first year secondary students. A total of 118 secondary education students (65 males and 53 females) participated in the study. They were randomly selected and randomly assigned to three similar classrooms situated in three schools easily accessible by the Njoro‐Menengai and Nakuru‐Marigat roads better and served as the treatment and control groups. Except for the treatment group, all groups received the same course content for a period of six weeks. The findings of the study affirmed the impact of innovation on the students’ learning outcomes in that the mean gains of the participants in the CAP treatment were significantly higher than that of their counterparts in the regular program. Also, the results indicated that the mean differences between the experimental group and the control group were statistically significant in favour of the treatment group. The findings also showed no relationship between the participants’ gender and their learning outcomes. The study concludes that the use of the computer to augment conventional physics teaching has major implications for secondary physics in this area.     

From natural numbers to numbers and curves in nature - II

In this second part of the article we discuss how simple growth models based on Fibbonachi numbers, golden section, logarithmic spirals, etc. can explain frequently occuring numbers and curves in living objects. Such mathematical modelling techniques are becoming quite popular in the study of pattern formation in nature.     

Salivary cortisol as a predictor of socioemotional adjustment during kindergarten: a prospective study

This study, based on a sample of 172 children, examined the relation between average afternoon salivary cortisol levels measured at home at age 4.5 years and socioemotional adjustment a year and a half later, as reported by mothers, fathers, and teachers. Cortisol levels were hypothesized to be positively associated with withdrawal-type behaviors (e.g., internalizing, social wariness) and inversely related to approach-type behaviors, both negative and positive (e.g., externalizing, school engagement). Higher cortisol levels at age 4.5 predicted more internalizing behavior and social wariness as reported by teachers and mothers, although child gender moderated the relation between cortisol and mother report measures. An inverse relation was found between boys' cortisol levels and father report of externalizing behavior. A marginal inverse relation was found between child cortisol levels and teacher report of school engagement. Behavior assessed concurrently with cortisol collection did not account for the prospective relations observed,suggesting that cortisol adds uniquely to an understanding of behavioral development.