Effects of early and later family violence on children's behavior problems and depression: a longitudinal, multi-informant perspective

OBJECTIVES: To examine the effects of different forms of family violence at two developmental stages by assessing a sample of 110 Israeli children, drawn from the case files of Israeli family service agencies, studied longitudinally in both middle childhood and adolescence. METHODS: Information about the children's adjustment was obtained from parents, teachers, and the children themselves when the children averaged 10.6 and 15.9 years of age using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), Teacher Report Form (TRF), Youth Self-Report (YSR), and Children's Depression Inventory (CDI). Information about the history of family violence was obtained from the mothers, fathers, children, and social workers. RESULTS: The results paint a mixed picture of the effects of family violence on children and adolescents. The relationship between concurrent behavior problems and abuse group varied by informant and study phase, although they were strongest when children were the informants. Predictions regarding the relationship between early abuse and later adjustment were only partially confirmed. Different informants did not agree about which groups of children were most adversely affected, there was little stability over time in the pattern of reported effects, and children were more likely than other informants to report levels of maladjustment that varied depending on recent or concurrent exposure to family violence. Many families changed their abuse status over time, and children who were new victims at follow-up had the most internalizing problems. Girls were found to be at more risk for internalizing and externalizing behavior problems than boys. CONCLUSIONS: Multiple informants are necessary to evaluate and assess the effects of family violence on children's behavior. Younger children may be more susceptible to the effects of family violence than older children, but problems manifest by some children may not carry over to adolescence. Changes in family and parenting practices, as well as in children's capacity to appraise and cope with family violence may help mitigate the adverse effects of family violence.     

Middle‐class struggle? Identity‐work and leisure among sixth formers in the United Kingdom

This paper explores the ways in which sixth‐form students in Milton Keynes negotiate their identities and the symbolic significance they attach to leisure activities in the process of doing this. The paper draws upon qualitative, young‐person‐centred interviews with sixth formers in state and private schools. We address the investments of sixth formers in constructing themselves as autonomous individuals and argue that they do so from a position of middle‐class subjects‐in‐the‐making. Through an inversion of Willis’ (1977 Willis, P. 1977. Learning to labour, Aldershot: Gower.  [Google Scholar]) (focus, our concern is to make explicit the implicitly middle‐class identities sixth formers were forging. We argue that the identity‐work of sixth formers plays a part in the reproduction of school‐based class inequalities by pathologising working‐class students while constructing themselves as bourgeois liberal individuals.     

Relationships among childhood maltreatment, PTSD, and health in female veterans in primary care

OBJECTIVE: Women with histories of childhood maltreatment (CM) have higher rates of physical health problems and greater medical utilization compared to women without abuse histories. This study examined whether current post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms mediate the relationship between CM and indicators of physical health and medical utilization in female veterans. METHOD: Respondents were 221 female veterans (56% of the potential sample), who received medical care from the San Diego VA Healthcare System during a 12-month period. Respondents provided self-report information about CM, PTSD symptoms, use of pain medication, and physical symptoms and functioning. Additional information about medical utilization was extracted from respondents' medical charts. Regression-based models were conducted to test whether PTSD symptoms mediate the relationships between CM and physical symptoms and between CM and medical utilization. RESULTS: Emotional abuse was associated with poorer role-physical functioning, increased bodily pain and greater odds of using pain medication in the past 6 months. Physical abuse was associated with poorer general health. Contrary to prediction, emotional neglect was associated with better role-physical functioning, and CM was not associated with increased healthcare utilization. PTSD was shown to mediate the relationship between emotional and physical abuse and health outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: PTSD, or psychopathology more generally, appears to be an important factor in the negative health impact of CM. Given that several empirically supported interventions are available for PTSD, there may be physical health benefits in early identification and treatment of psychopathology related to CM.     

Planning changes to health library services on the basis of impact assessment

Background: Various methods of impact assessment for health library services exist, including a toolkit developed for the UK. The Knowledge, Resource and Information service (KRIS) for health promotion, health service commissioning and public health (Bristol area, UK) commissioned an independent team at Aberystwyth University to provide an impact assessment and evaluation of their services and to provide evidence for future planning. Objective: The review aimed to provide an action plan for KRIS through assessing the impact of the current service, extent of satisfaction with existing services and views on desirable improvements. Methods: Existing impact toolkit guidance was used, with an adapted impact questionnaire, which was distributed by the KRIS staff to 244 users (response rate 62.3%) in early 2009. The independent team analysed the questionnaire data and presented the findings. Results: Users valued the service (93% considered that relevant information was obtained). The most frequent impacts on work were advice to patients, clients or carers, and advice to colleagues. Literature searching and current awareness services saved staff time. Many users were seeking health promotion materials. Conclusion: The adapted questionnaire worked well in demonstrating the service impacts achieved by KRIS, as well as indicating desirable improvements in service delivery.     

Networked Services of NIT libraries in India: A study

The main purpose of the paper is to find out the provision of providing Networked Services (NSs) among National Institute of Technology (NIT) libraries in India. Methodology used for collecting data was questionnaire. The survey findings indicate that the majority of libraries prefer to provide communication network services (telephone, Internet, e-mail, facsimile etc), online journals (90%), automated catalog system (85%), multimedia databases (85%) and support (70%) services rather than the other services. Concerning the zone wise performance, south zone (80%) libraries are more potential than the other zone libraries in providing NSs.     

Students with autism in regular classes: a long-term follow-up study of a satellite class transition model

Students with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are increasingly being educated within mainstream schools. While there is often an assumption that students with ASD who are academically capable will succeed in an inclusive educational placement, previous research has indicated that this is not always the case. Indeed, it seems that students with ASDs are often not equipped to cope with the social and communication demands of a mainstream classroom. Autism Spectrum Australia's (Aspect) satellite class programme aims to address this gap by blending specialised intervention with strategies to prepare students and receiving schools for transition to more inclusive educational placements. A long-term follow-up study comprising a parent survey of satellite class graduates and four detailed case studies was undertaken to determine whether these classes led to successful placement of students with ASD in more inclusive educational settings. Results indicated that a majority of graduates remained placed in more inclusive educational settings. Overall, parents were satisfied with the programme. Attendance at a satellite class was just one of a number of factors associated with positive outcomes in late adolescence. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for teachers and school staff planning for and supporting students with ASDs in their transition to inclusive educational settings.     

Promoting Inclusive (and Dialogic) Leadership in Higher Education Institutions

Higher education institutions are facing major challenges requiring traditional leadership and administrative policies and practices to be rethought and renewed. These challenges concern the whole academic community but mostly the institutions’ administrative leaders. This article suggests how applying the democratic principles of “inclusion”, which stresses critical dialogue and social justice, can reach beyond the traditional managerial and administrative policies when meeting the new requirements; and be a catalyst for change in leadership practices.     

Mentoring partnerships in a community technology centre: A constructionist approach for fostering equitable service learning

Mentoring programmes have gained increasing popularity in institutions of higher education to support undergraduates in community service or outreach efforts. Many of these programmes partner mentors with inner‐city youth, providing assistance in underserved communities while mentors gain experiences that connect theory and practice. Here we report on two years of fieldwork in a Community Technology Centre that created mentoring partnerships in which 36 liberal arts undergraduates engaged with local youth to design, create, and build technology projects involving graphics, video, music, and animation. We analysed over 200 field notes, which described their mentoring interactions over eight weeks and conducted exit interviews about their mentoring experiences. Our results indicate that mentors participated not just as more knowledgeable peers but also as facilitators, advisors, observers and, most importantly, as learners in this process. In the interviews, nearly all mentors reviewed assumptions about their own learning and mentoring, in addition to reflections about social issues. We discuss the importance of these findings for conceptualising mentoring as a partnership by creating more equitable interactions in service learning initiatives. We also address the role of constructionist activities in facilitating learning opportunities for both mentors and mentees.     

The Purpose and Functions of Budgets – Some Theoretical Perspectives for Education Managers

While educational leadership and management has experienced impressive development over the last three decades the fact that a robust comparative branch of the field has failed to emerge is equally conspicuous. This article builds a case for comparative and international educational leadership and management, arguing that the development of conceptual frameworks and instrumentation are imperative if the field is to keep abreast of globalisation of policy and practice. Accordingly, a conceptual framework is described and justified based on a cultural and cross-cultural approach focusing on the school level as the baseline unit for analysis. Specifically, the proposed framework is architectured around the interrelationship between two levels of culture, societal and organisational, and four elements comprising schooling and school-based management, namely, organisational structures, leadership and management processes, curriculum, and teaching and learning. Finally, limitations and implications of the model are discussed, including the need for the framework to be operationalised by developing appropriate research instruments.     

Mathematics and Language Skills and the Choice of Science Subjects in Secondary Education

A growing shortage of technical and science graduates means that the question of determinants of differences in performance and choices in that field based, among other things, on social background characteristics (gender, socioeconomic status, ethnic origin, family composition) remains a topical one. In this study, a rational choice model is proposed in which background-specific comparative advantages in different subjects are in focus. Secondary analyses of a large-scale cohort study (VOCL) show that in addition to the most important explanatory variable, namely gender, the gap between mathematical and language skills makes a relevant contribution in predicting the choice of science subjects in secondary education. This gap can, in turn, be predicted on the basis of gender and family composition.