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.     

NAECTE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE FEBRUARY 1999

Children whose native language is one other than English face formidable challenges when they enter English-dominant schools. The task of learning English, progressing in one's native language, and acculturating to the school environment is a complicated one that requires the child to develop many new skills. In the past, children who were English Language Learners (ELLs) encountered a school system that offered little support. New teachers who enter the workforce must now know how to help these children move successfully into the school setting and learn English at the same time. The purpose of this article is to describe the process of change that occurred during the first year of a professional development grant aimed at infusing English Language Learner (ELL) competencies within an early childhood higher education teacher preparation program. A process is described that helped the faculty move from an awareness level to one that embraced a system to integrate ELL skill development within their coursework.     

Mediation of Consultee's Conceptual Development in New Teacher Groups: Using Questions to Improve Coherency

This qualitative study applied methods used in discourse analysis to investigate how a consultant's questioning supported the goal of group consultation to empower beginning teachers to become effective problem solvers in their work environment. The focus of the study was on the process of questioning and communicative coherency as the group evolved over the course of the school year. The participants in this study were 7 White elementary school teachers in their first year of teaching. There were 12 sessions held over an 8-month period. The investigators found evidence of a parallel process between the coordinate consultation process and coherency in consultative discourse, such that as the coordinate process developed and improved, so did the coherency of group discourse. Implications for practice, training, and future research are discussed.     

Creating a flexible fund structure to meet the needs and goals of the library and its users

This paper describes the Texas A&M University (TAMU) Libraries' new and innovative approach to monograph collection development using a re-engineered internal funding structure and a process that reflects the needs and goals of the library and its users. The paper discusses the goals of the new fund structure, the experience of implementing it, and the results after one year in use.     

Strategic Embodiment in Virtual Spaces: Exploring an on-line discussion about sexualities equality in schools

This paper analyses patterns of participation on a voluntary anonymous Web-based discussion forum, open to students and faculty in one UK university, concerning sexualities equality in schools. Analysis revealed that participants often rejected the security of anonymity and strategically embodied themselves and others (as gay, straight, parents, etc.) to provide authority and ethical grounding for certain arguments. These embodied arguments invited engagement and promoted dialogue. We found that while personal embodiments were crucial for meaningful interaction, they also brought the risk of personalizing systematic inequality and fostering a victimization discourse. In the light of this, we argue that both individual and collective perspectives are crucial for promoting sexualities equality in school.     

Nineteenth century chrome yellow and chrome deep from Winsor & NewtonTM

The Winsor & Newton^TM (W&N) nineteenth century archive database includes digitised images of hand-written instructions and workshop notes for the manufacture of their artists’ materials. For the first time, all 183 production records for yellow lead chromate pigments were studied and evaluated. They revealed that W&N produced essentially three pigment types: lemon/pale based on mixed crystals of lead chromate and lead sulphate [Pb(Cr,S)O₄]; middle on pure monoclinic lead chromate [PbCrO₄]; and deep that contains the latter admixed with basic lead chromate [Pb₂CrO₅]; accounting for 53, 22, and 21% of the production, respectively. Production records for primrose (4%) were also included since the formulation results in mixed crystals with a high percentage of lead sulphate, which, according to the literature, leaves it more prone to degradation. Each pigment type is characterised by only one or two main synthetic pathways; process variations reveal a systematic and thorough search for a high-quality durable product. A comparison of the chemical composition of pigment reconstructions with early W&N oil paint tubes showed that their records entitled ‘pale’ and ‘lemon’ correlated with the pigment in their tube labelled chrome yellow and, ‘middle’ and ‘deep’ with the label chrome deep. Lemon and middle pigment formulations were made into oil paints to assess their relative photo-stability. The degradation process was followed by colorimetry and was studied by synchrotron radiation-based techniques. Based on the X-ray absorption spectroscopy data, the possibility for creating a stability index for chrome yellows is discussed.