Memories of childhood sexual abuse: a survey of young adults

Objective: To explore the prevalence of, characteristics of, and factors associated with forgetting of childhood sexual abuse memories in a large non-clinical sample (N = 1712).Method: Using an anonymous survey, we asked respondents about (a) the nature and severity of their childhood abuse; (b) the continuity of their abuse memories; and (c) their experiences with others suggesting to them that they might have been abused.Results: A substantial minority of victims in our sample reported having temporarily forgotten their childhood sexual abuse. Forgetting was largely unassociated with victim or abuse characteristics. Compared to individuals who always remembered their abuse, however, individuals who temporarily forgot were more likely to report that someone had suggested to them that they might have experienced abuse. Those who received such suggestions were particularly likely to suspect that they may have experienced childhood sexual abuse that they do not yet remember.Conclusion: Forgetting may be less common than implied by earlier estimates from clinical samples, yet it is not uncommon. Also, a sizable minority of the population is wondering whether they have experienced unremembered abuse, and these suspicions are linked to having encountered suggestions from others. We discuss the implications of these findings for understanding the phenomenon sometimes labeled repression.Spanish abstract was not available at time of publication.     

Issues surrounding the administration of a credit course for medical students: survey of US academic health sciences librarians.

OBJECTIVES: For librarians developing a credit course for medical students, the process often involves trial and error. This project identified issues surrounding the administration of a credit course, so that librarians nationally can rely more upon shared knowledge of common practices and less upon trial and error. METHODS: A questionnaire was sent to the education services librarian at each medical school listed in the 2000 AAMC Data Book. A second questionnaire was sent to those librarians who did not return the first one. RESULTS: Of the 125 librarians surveyed, 82 returned the questionnaire. Of those 82, only 11 offered a credit course for medical students, though 19 more were in the process of developing one. Data were gathered on the following aspects of course administration: credit course offerings, course listing, information learned to administer the course, costs associated with the course, relationships with other departments on campus, preparation for teaching and grading, and evaluation of the course. CONCLUSIONS: Because of small number of respondents offering a credit course and institutional variations, making generalizations about issues surrounding the administration of a credit course is difficult. The article closes with a list of recommendations for librarians planning to develop a course.     

Fostering children’s relationship with nature: exploring the potential of Forest School

Forest School offers children opportunities to explore the natural environment regularly over an extended period of time. It is based on six key principles, one of which states Forest School fosters a relationship with nature and develops long-term pro-environment attitudes through regular personal experiences in nature. We consider to what extent this aim is achieved by exploring the published evidence. We identify that a relationship with nature could be demonstrated under six themes although there is little robust evidence to support this. We suggest further research is carried out directly linked to this aim of Forest School.     

Constructing Giftedness in a Due Process Hearing: Deconstructing an Administrative Law Judge’s Decision

The purpose of this study is to explore how a Florida administrative law judge (ALJ) adjudicated the giftedness of one student who was found ineligible to be enrolled in a gifted education program. Specifically, we explore the discourse in an ALJ’s final order to uncover how an ALJ navigates through conflict and deconstructs the conflicting expert opinions and special education state statute on the definition of giftedness and then constructs giftedness from these sources to arrive at the final decision. Utilizing qualitative discourse analysis, we explore what this construction can tell us about the interpretation of the nature of giftedness and what counts as data. Findings in this case suggest that the ALJ gives more weight to experience and expertise.     

A pragmatic critical appraisal instrument for search filters: introducing the CADTH CAI

Objective: To identify or develop a critical appraisal instrument (CAI) to aid in the selection of search filters for use in systematic review searching. The CAI is to be used by experienced searchers without specialized training in statistics or search filter design. Methods: Through extensive searching and consultation, one candidate instrument was identified. Through expert consultation and several rounds of testing, the instrument was extensively revised to become the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH) CAI. Results: The CADTH CAI consists of ten questions and can be applied by experienced searchers with a moderate knowledge of search filter methodology. Conclusion: The CADTH CAI provides experienced searchers with a means of selecting the search filter that is most methodologically sound.     

Inspiratory muscle fatigue in swimmers after a single 200 m swim

Inspiratory muscle fatigue may occur in as little as 6 min during high-intensity spontaneously breathing exercise. The aims of this study were to determine whether inspiratory muscle fatigue occurs during swimming exercise and whether inspiratory muscle strength differs between the supine and standing body positions. Seven competitive swimmers were recruited to perform a single 200 m front-crawl swim, corresponding to 90-95% of race pace. Inspiratory muscle strength was measured at residual volume using a hand-held mouth pressure meter that measured maximal inspiratory pressure in the upright and supine positions. At baseline, maximal inspiratory pressure in the supine position was significantly lower than maximal inspiratory pressure in the upright position (112 +/- 20.4 and 133 +/- 16.7 cmH2O, respectively; P < or = 0.01). Post-exercise maximal inspiratory pressure in the supine position (80 +/- 15.7 cmH2O) was significantly lower than baseline maximal inspiratory pressure in the supine position (P < or = 0.01). The results indicate that a single 200 m front-crawl swim corresponding to 90-95% of race pace was sufficient to induce inspiratory muscle fatigue in less than 2.7 min. Furthermore, although diaphragm muscle length is optimized when supine, our results indicate that the force output of the diaphragm and inspiratory accessory muscles is greater when upright than when supine.