Child sexual and physical abuse among college students in Singapore and the United States

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to explore differences in rates and characteristics of child sexual and physical abuse experiences among women in Singapore and the US. METHOD: Participants (N=153) completed an anonymous questionnaire which assessed experiences of childhood sexual and physical abuse, abuse characteristics (e.g., victimization age, severity), and behavioral and subjective reactions to such experiences (e.g., labeling of experiences as abuse, psychological symptomatology). Exposure to other forms of traumatic life events was also assessed. RESULTS: In comparison to Singaporean women, US women were more likely to report a history of child sexual abuse, and to report experiencing more severe forms of sexual abuse. Women in Singapore were more likely than women in the US to report a history of child physical abuse, to report experiencing injury as a result of the abuse, and to disclose the abuse. Singaporean women with a history of child sexual abuse reported elevated psychological symptom levels relative to their nonabused peers and to US women with a history of child sexual abuse, even after controlling for exposure to other types of traumatic events. No significant differences in symptomatology with regard to child physical abuse were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Although preliminary in nature, the present findings are among the first to demonstrate differences in psychological adjustment between sexually abused and nonabused Asian women living in Asia. This study also provides some of the first support for cross-national differences in the psychological adjustment of child sexual abuse survivors.     

盐碱地土壤全氮含量的测定

将重铬酸钾-硫酸消煮土壤样品稀释到一定体积，再吸收一定量的土壤稀释液于克氏蒸馏瓶中，通过对蒸馏时间、碱用量、稀释液体积、样品体积等因素进行对比，同时与扩散皿法进行对比，得到了分析结果误差较小的最佳条件，并对盐碱土壤种植后全氮含量进行了测定，达到了令人满意的结果．     

Building Child Friendly Cities in the MENA region

The notion of Child Friendly Cities (CFCs) was first developed during the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (HABITAT II), held in Istanbul in 1996. The concept is based on four general principles of the United Nations Convention on the rights of the child: (1) fair treatment of every child, regardless of ethnicity, gender, religion, socioeconomic background etc.; (2) top priority of the best interests of the child; (3) the child’s right to a better life and development; and (4) respect of children’s views. In a CFC, children are encouraged to take part in the decision making processes that affect their lives. Instead of starting yet another programme for children, the development of a CFC mobilises and connects existing agencies and actors. Giving examples of some cities in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, this paper demonstrates that building CFCs has induced the development of mechanisms and structures which have enabled cities to address children’s issues in a systematic manner. These mechanisms and structures include: a municipal child-friendly legal framework, local development councils and NGO networks and local municipal development offices. The author argues that in building CFCs, the role of municipal authorities is indispensable in responding to the needs of children and young people within the municipalities’ mandates.     

The effects of Common Knowledge Construction Model sequence of lessons on science achievement and relational conceptual change

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the Common Knowledge Construction Model (CKCM) lesson sequence, an intervention based both in conceptual change theory and in Phenomenography, a subset of conceptual change theory. A mixed approach was used to investigate whether this model had a significant effect on 7th grade students' science achievement and conceptual change. The Excretion Unit Achievement Test (EUAT) indicated that students (N = 33) in the experimental group achieved significantly higher scores (p < 0.001) than students in the control group (N = 35) taught by traditional teaching methods. Qualitative analysis of students' pre‐ and post‐teaching conceptions of excretion revealed (1) the addition and deletion of ideas from pre‐ to post‐teaching; (2) the change in the number of students within categories of ideas; (3) the replacement of everyday language with scientific labels; and (4) the difference in the complexity of students' responses from pre‐ to post‐teaching. These findings contribute to the literature on teaching that incorporates students' conceptions and conceptual change. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 47: 25–46, 2010     

Physical parameter sensitivity of system eigenvalues and physical model reduction

The identification of subsystems and/or components that is related to a given eigenvalue of the overall system is a challenging and important topic. The use of special structure of the system matrices obtained busing bond graphs can result in identifying subsystems and/or components that affect a given eigenvalue of an overall system. This paper, by making use of a set of theorems and definitions proposes an efficient procedure for this purpose. The basic procedure is based upon the calculation of sensitivity of eigenvalues. The so-called “effect” matrices are produced that indicates the relative importance of physical parameters on a selected eigenvalue. In addition to the relative importance, the effect matrix is used for an efficient physical model reduction procedure. Furthermore, reasons of different dynamic behavior of a system can be explained. Use of effect matrices also improves the physical model reduction method based on decomposition procedures. Three examples are given to illustrate the approach and its consequences.     

Relationship Between Hemodynamically Significant Ductus Arteriosus and Ischemia-Modified Albumin in Premature Infants

Hemodynamically significant ductus arteriosus (hsPDA) may alter organ perfusion by interfering blood flow to the tissues. Therefore, in infants with hsPDA, hypoxia occurs in many tissues. In this study, we aimed to investigate the diagnostic significance of serum (ischemia-modified albumin) IMA levels as a screening tool for hsPDA, and its relation to the severity of the disease in the preterm neonates. For this purpose, seventy-two premature infants with gestation age <34 weeks were included in the study. Thirty premature infants with hsPDA were assigned as the study group and 42 premature infants without PDA were determined as the control group. Blood samples were collected before the treatment and 24 h after the treatment, and analyzed for IMA levels. IMA levels in the study group (1.26 ± 0.36 ABSU) were found to be significantly higher than control group (0.65 ± 0.12 ABSU) (p < 0.05). In infants with hsPDA, a positive correlation was found between IMA and PDA diameter (ρ = 0.876, p = 0.022), and LA/Ao ratio (ρ = 0.863, p = 0.014). The cut-off value of IMA for hsPDA was measured as 0.78 ABSU with 88.89 % sensitivity, and 90.24 % specificity, 85.71 % positive predictive, 92.5 % negative predictive value [area under the curve (AUC) = 0.96; p < 0.001]. The mean IMA value of the infants with hsPDA before treatment was 1.26 ± 0.36 ABSU, and the mean IMA value of infants after medical treatment was 0.67 ± 0.27 ABSU (p = 0.03). We concluded that IMA can be used as a marker for the diagnosis and monitoring of a successful treatment of hsPDA.     

COBRA framework to evaluate e-government services: A citizen-centric perspective

E-government services involve many stakeholders who have different objectives that can have an impact on success. Among these stakeholders, citizens are the primary stakeholders of government activities. Accordingly, their satisfaction plays an important role in e-government success. Although several models have been proposed to assess the success of e-government services through measuring users' satisfaction levels, they fail to provide a comprehensive evaluation model. This study provides an insight and critical analysis of the extant literature to identify the most critical factors and their manifested variables for user satisfaction in the provision of e-government services. The various manifested variables are then grouped into a new quantitative analysis framework consisting of four main constructs: cost; benefit; risk and opportunity (COBRA) by analogy to the well-known SWOT qualitative analysis framework. The COBRA measurement scale is developed, tested, refined and validated on a sample group of e-government service users in Turkey. A structured equation model is used to establish relationships among the identified constructs, associated variables and users' satisfaction. The results confirm that COBRA framework is a useful approach for evaluating the success of e-government services from citizens' perspective and it can be generalised to other perspectives and measurement contexts.     

THE EFFECTS OF COGNITIVE CONFLICT MANAGEMENT ON COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT AND SCIENCE ACHIEVEMENT

Three teaching methods were compared in this study, namely a Cognitive Conflict Management Module (CCM) that is infused into Cognitive Acceleration through Science Education (CASE), (Module A) CASE without CCM (Module B) and a conventional teaching method. This study employed a pre- and post-test quasi-experimental design using non-equivalent control groups. The design involved 130 participants from Form 2 (Grade 7) in a Malaysian secondary school. The cognitive level of all participants was classified as non-formal operational on the pre-test and were allocated to one of the four intact groups: experimental group 1, EP1 experienced Module A, experimental group, and EP2 experienced Module B, while the others were divided between two control groups. The impact of the three teaching methods on the level of cognitive development and science achievement were observed after a 20-week intervention. Data were analysed using multivariate analysis of variance/multivariate analysis of covariance, analysis of covariance and a paired-samples t test. It is hoped that this study can contribute to knowledge in the field of cognitive intervention and cognitive conflict strategy. The findings show that a high dose of cognitive intervention in CASE activities within a short period has an effect on the levels of students’ cognitive development, standard science achievement and constructive cognitive conflict.     

The wider impacts of high-technology employment: Evidence from U.S. cities

Innovative, high-technology industries are commonly described as drivers of regional development. ‘Tech’ workers earn high wages, but they are also said to generate knock-on effects throughout the local economies that host them, spurring growth in jobs and wages in nontradable activities. At the same time, in iconic high-tech agglomerations like the San Francisco Bay Area, the home of Silicon Valley, the success of the tech industry creates tensions, in part as living costs rise beyond the reach of many non-tech workers. Across a large sample of U.S. cities, this paper explores these issues systematically. Combining annual data on wages, employment and prices from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Consumer Price Index, it estimates how growth in tradable tech employment affects the real, living-cost deflated wages of local workers in nontradable sectors. Results indicate that high-technology employment has significant, positive, but modest effects on the real wages of workers in nontradable sectors. These effects appear to be spread consistently across different kinds of nontradable activities. In terms of substantive wider impacts, tech appears benign, though fairly ineffectual.