Moving child abuse and neglect prevention programs forward: improving program evaluations

This paper focuses on evaluations of programs to prevent child abuse and neglect. It discusses the quality of the evaluations and offers suggestions for improvement to evaluators, program planners, and funders. Thirteen evaluations recommended by experts and published from 1978 through 1988 were reviewed. Using the true experiment as the standard of quality, we found evaluations frequently characterized by careful attention to methodologic detail. Evaluators describe eligibility criteria; half of the studies had control groups or followed progress. However, to learn more about prevention of abuse and neglect the caliber of evaluation research must improve. Evaluators do not define abuse or neglect; they accept reports of abuse. This has the effect of shifting the responsibility to others whose concerns and reporting standards differ. Lack of definition is reflected in a paucity of valid measurements; we could not assess the characteristics of families who benefit most from programs. Evaluators also omit important topics. Although seven evaluations studied health-related variables, no comprehensive analysis of the consequences and costs of medical neglect could be found; very little information on costs and benefits of any kind was available.     

Simulation research and design: a dual-level framework for multi-project research programs

Collaborations between researchers and practitioners have recently become increasingly popular in education, and educational design research (EDR) may benefit greatly from investigating such partnerships. One important domain in which EDR on collaborations between researchers and practitioners can be applied is research on simulation-based learning. However, frameworks describing both research and design processes in research programs on simulation-based learning are currently lacking. The framework proposed in this paper addresses this research gap. It is derived from theory and delineates levels, phases, activities, roles, and products of research programs to develop simulations as complex scientific artifacts for research purposes. This dual-level framework applies to research programs with a research committee and multiple subordinate research projects. The proposed framework is illustrated by examples from the actual research and design process of an interdisciplinary research program investigating the facilitation of diagnostic competences through instructional support in simulations. On a theoretical level, the framework contributes primarily to the literature of EDR by offering a unique dual-level perspective. Moreover, on a practical level, the framework may help by providing recommendations to guide the research and design process in research programs.

     

Knowledge management and intellectual capital: an empirical examination of current practice in Australia

This paper reports the findings from a survey conducted in Australia to explore current practices relating to knowledge management (KM) and intellectual capital (IC). A systematic approach in the form of the intellectual capital web guided the research. Findings revealed that KM was perceived to be more about developing knowledge culture than about managing organisational processes and structure. IC was perceived to be more about human capital than about customer capital and organisational capital. It can therefore be concluded that human capital holds the greatest importance for KM and IC. However, when facilitators for knowledge creation and knowledge sharing were rated, organisation structure was perceived to be more important than organisational culture and information technology. For KM practices, participants indicated that more attention was paid to training and developing employees and less to measurement and reward and incentive issues. The importance of aligning the management of IC and KM was perceived to be more important than the difficulty of doing so.     

Theory development in sport management: My experience and other considerations

This article is designed to generate thought about the development of theory in sport management. A basic overview of theory and theory development is offered along with the author's thoughts on features necessary for generating strong theoretical contributions. Further, the author provides the strategies she utilizes when engaging in these academic endeavors. Finally, the article concludes with a discussion of potential barriers to the development of theory within the field of sport management.     

Literacy development in successful men and women with dyslexia

To investigate how, when, and under what conditions individuals with dyslexia manage to develop high literacy levels, an interview and literacy assessment study was conducted with 60 highly successful men and women with dyslexia and 10 peers without dyslexia. The sample with dyslexia included a Nobel laureate, a member of the National Academy of Sciences, and leaders in a variety of fields requiring extensive reading (i.e., medicine, law, business, and the arts and sciences). For both males and females with dyslexia, interest-driven reading was key to the development of high literacy levels. Results showed distinct groups of successful professionals with dyslexia: a compensated group and two partially compensated groups. In each group, literacy development was augmented by avid reading in a content area of passionate personal interest, along with systematic phonics instruction. Through avid reading on a specific topic, the individuals with dyslexia developed knowledge of the specialized vocabulary, typical text structures, concepts, themes, and issues of a particular field. Extensive reading about a favorite subject enhanced the background knowledge of these individuals and enabled them to gain reading practice, which in turn, fostered the development of reading fluency and increasingly sophisticated skills. Although topics and genres of personal interest varied, fascination with a subject area was a common theme among those interviewed. In the literacy assessment, the 60 men and women with dyslexia demonstrated most of the salient characteristics of Chall’s (1983) Stage 5, the highest level of reading development. All participants comprehended sophisticated text, but some, with partially compensated dyslexia, showed continuing lags in basic, lower level “print” skills. Individuals with partially compensated dyslexia fell into two groups: one group showed specific deficits only in spelling, whereas the other group had difficulty in spelling, word recognition, and oral reading. Many, but not all, of the participants with dyslexia showed ongoing lags in reading rate. Gender differences were most apparent in topics of personal interest reading and in mentoring patterns. The study explores how adults with dyslexia, who may continue to lack strong integration of lower level “print” skills, succeed in constructing higher order “meaning” skills. This analysis underscores the need for a balanced approach to literacy instruction that includes both “print” and “meaning” aspects. It emphasizes the need to integrate solid interest-based approaches as a centerpiece of instruction.     

Game assessment: fun as well as effective

Alternative methods of assessing student knowledge are useful since assessment is increasingly being emphasized by administrators, accrediting agencies and legislators. A game (team) format to assess students' knowledge of course material was experimentally compared with the traditional format of testing a student who answers individually. Team‐game scores were more often correct than individual scores in all comparisons. Team decisions, which involved cooperation within one's group while at the same time competing against other teams, were rarely the result of a single individual deciding on the team answer. Students preferred the game‐assessment condition more and also perceived it as a more accurate measure of their course knowledge.     

Cohesive harmony in the written stories of elementary children

The use of cohesion in the written stories of normally developing and language-learning disabled elementary children was studied using Cohesive Harmony Analysis. The proportion of words in chains (cohesive density) and chain interaction (cohesive harmony) was consistent across the elementary years. However, children with language-learning disabilities evidenced significantly less cohesive density and cohesive harmony, and they included significantly fewer characters and fewer types of verbal processes in their stories. Educational implications are discussed.     

Lower extremity muscle function of front row rugby union scrummaging

A rugby scrum’s front row must act uniformly to transfer maximal horizontal force and improve performance. This study investigated the muscle activation patterns of lower extremity muscles in front row forwards during live and machine scrums at professional and amateur levels. Electromyography was collected bilaterally on vastus lateralis, rectus femoris and gastrocnemius muscles of 75 male rugby prop players during live and machine scrums. ANOVAs compared muscle reaction time, rate of change in muscle amplitude and muscle amplitude between groups and conditions. Cross-correlation analysis explored muscle synchronicity. There were significantly greater rates of change in each muscle amplitude in professional players than amateur players. Additionally, there was significantly quicker muscle reaction time in all muscles, and greater amplitude in vastus lateralis and gastrocnemius, during the live scrum vs. machine condition. The professional props produced more synchronised muscle activation than amateur players and all players produced more synchronised muscle activation against the scrum machine vs. live scrummage. The results indicate a higher skill proficiency and muscle synchronicity in professional players. While scrum machine training is ideally suited for functional muscle strengthening during practice, to truly simulate the requirements of the scrum, training should incorporate the live situation as much as possible.     

Gastric Emptying Characteristics of Glucose and Glucose Polymer Solutions

Abstract

In an effort to evaluate various carbohydrate (CHO) molecules for inclusion in an athletic drink, the gastric emptying characteristics of 5, 10, 20, and 40% solutions of glucose and a glucose polymer were compared. The volume of gastric residue remaining 30 minutes after ingestion of 400 ml of each of the solutions was determined in 15 healthy individuals. The volume of gastric residue recovered increased progressively with increasing solute concentration. At the lowest CHO concentration the glucose polymer yielded a significantly smaller gastric residue than glucose. The smaller residue appeared to be attributable both to a greater rate of exit of the polymer from the stomach as well as to a lower rate of gastric secretion induced by the polymer. The calculated delivery of CHO to the intestine increased with solute concentration. At the lowest CHO concentration the more rapid gastric emptying of the polymer allowed significantly greater calculated CHO delivery. We conclude that at low CHO concentrations (≤5 g/100 ml), such as used in drinks designed for athletics participants, the glucose polymer might be an advantageous alternative to glucose as a source of CHO.