A matched cohort comparison of a criminal justice system's response to child sexual abuse: a profile of perpetrators

OBJECTIVE: This study was undertaken to examine whether alleged child sexual abuse perpetrators are handled differently by the courts than other alleged felony perpetrators. Comparisons were made from the time of prosecutorial case acceptance through prosecution to sentencing, with emphasis on judicial and prosecutorial decision-making and plea-bargaining. METHOD: Data were retrospectively abstracted on the entire defendant population of cases of sexual abuse of children and adolescents (ages 2-17) over a 5-year period. Using a case-flow analysis, comparisons were made between a child sexual abuse cohort and a cohort of matched felony cases from a single jurisdiction. RESULTS: Three important findings emerged. First, compared to other felons, abuse perpetrators were employed, had been married, were mostly European American, and were older than 30 years of age. Second, in the abuse cohort, as many as 14% had a previous sexual or violent record compared to 2% in the comparison group. Third, similar percentages of perpetrators in both groups were released on their own recognizance, had the charges against them dropped, and were found guilty. As well, no differences between groups were found in the proportion of individuals sentenced to jail, probation, counseling, or work release. CONCLUSIONS: Although the treatment of perpetrators of child sexual abuse was similar to the treatment of perpetrators of other felonies, the profile of the child abuse perpetrator was quite different. Knowledge about this profile may impact prosecution or treatment and recidivism rates, to the extent that recidivism is related to characteristics of the abuse perpetrator.     

The mathematics teacher identity of two early career mathematics teachers and the influence of their working communities on its development

Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education - To better understand the critical early years of teaching and teacher identity development, this study explored the mathematics teacher identity of two...     

The effects of substrate and fluid provision on thermoregulatory and metabolic responses to prolonged exercise in a hot environment

A high ambient temperature reduces the capacity to perform prolonged exercise. Total carbohydrate oxidation is less, and thus glycogen depletion is not limiting. Fluid ingestion in the heat should, therefore, focus on maintenance of hydration status rather than on substrate provision. Six healthy males cycled to exhaustion at 60% of maximum oxygen consumption (VO 2max ) with no drink, ingestion of a 15% carbohydrate-electrolyte drink (1.45 - 0.29 litres) or ingestion of a 2% carbohydrate-electrolyte drink (3.12 - 0.47 litres). The ambient temperature was 30.2 - 0.6°C (mean - s ), with a relative humidity of 71 - 1% and an air speed of approximately 0.7 m.s -1 on all trials. Weighted mean skin temperature, rectal temperature and heart rate were recorded and venous samples drawn for determination of plasma volume changes, blood metabolites, serum electrolytes and osmolality. Expired gas was collected to estimate rates of fuel oxidation. Exercise capacity was significantly ( P ? 0.05) different in all trials. The median (range) time to exhaustion was 70.9 min (39.4-97.4 min) in the no-drink trial, 84.0 min (62.7-145 min) in the 15% carbohydrate trial and 118 min (82.6-168 min) in the 2% carbohydrate trial. The 15% carbohydrate drink resulted in significantly ( P ? 0.05) elevated blood glucose and total carbohydrate oxidation compared with the no-drink trial. The 2% carbohydrate drink restored plasma volume to pre-exercise values by the end of exercise. No differences were observed in other thermoregulatory or cardiorespiratory responses between trials. These results suggest that fluid replacement with a large volume of a dilute carbohydrate drink is beneficial during exercise in the heat, but the precise mechanisms for the improved exercise capacity are unclear.     

“Inhabitants of the Earth”: Reasoning About Folkbiological Concepts in Wichi Children and Adults

Across the world, people form folkbiological categories to capture their commonsense organization of the natural world. Structured in accordance with universal principles, folkbiological categories are also shaped by experience. Here we provide new evidence from the Wichi—an understudied indigenous community who live in the Chaco rainforest and speak their heritage language. A total of 44 Wichi (6- to 8-year-olds, 9- to 12-year-olds, adults) participated in an induction task designed to identify how broadly they attribute an invisible biological property (e.g., an internal organ) from 1 individual (either a human, nonhuman animal, or plant) to other humans, nonhuman animals, plants, natural kinds, and artifacts. Research Findings: These results (a) clarify the content of the Wichi’s categories and the words they use to describe them, (b) showcase the power of covert (unnamed) categories, and (c) fortify the view that human-centered reasoning is not a universal starting point for reasoning about nature. Practice or Policy: Implications of these findings for early science education are discussed. In particular, we discuss (a) how the Wichi’s construal of the natural world may be best integrated when they reach the (Western science–inspired) classroom and (b) how the current results bear on central issues in early science education more broadly.     

Transitioning in higher education: an exploration of psychological and contextual factors affecting student satisfaction

In view of recent changes in the higher education sector, such as increased tuition fees, a greater focus has been placed on widening participation initiatives and monitoring student satisfaction. The aims of the current study were twofold: (1) to explore whether pre-entry programmes foster successful transition to higher education, and (2) to examine longitudinally the factors associated with course satisfaction. Eighty-eight first-year psychology students completed a questionnaire measuring academic self-efficacy, social identity and student satisfaction at the start (Time 1, November 2015) and end (Time 2, March 2016) of the academic year. Findings indicated that students who participated in a pre-entry programme reported higher academic self-efficacy and satisfaction compared to typical route students. Moreover, academic self-efficacy predicted student satisfaction at the start of the academic year, whereas in-group affect (a facet of social identity) predicted this at the end of the academic year. The current findings indicate that pre-entry programmes may have a positive impact on students’ sense of academic self-efficacy. On a more general level, the findings also suggest that academic self-efficacy and social identity may be key indicators of student satisfaction. This highlights the complexities of the concept of ‘student satisfaction’, and demonstrates the utility of examining multiple factors relating to student satisfaction across different time points.     

A comparison of scholarly productivity among current professors who obtained terminal degrees

ABSTRACT

Although scholarship is important in higher education and faculty productivity expectations are continually increasing, we still do not understand the holistic view of faculty productivity. This study takes a different viewpoint on faculty productivity examining differences by university classification and by discipline. Most importantly, we sought to obtain the effects of the delivery mode of terminal degree on later faculty productivity. The mode of terminal degree via Internet delivery looks attractive to students, but this study found that this has implications for future research productivity. These three elements illustrate a different scope that has important implications for administrative leaders looking to hire future faculty as well as students thinking about becoming a future faculty member. To capture this view, 600 faculty members from 59 American universities were surveyed. From this survey, five different variables emerged to create an overall faculty scholarly productivity factor. This factor was then compared against university classification, discipline, and mode of terminal degree. Results showed surprising significant differences between university classifications and disciplines as compared to scholarly productivity. One of the most noteworthy findings was that there is a significant difference in faculty productivity based on the mode of terminal degree. Furthermore, no difference in later faculty scholarly productivity exists between that of a hybridized, online degree and a purely online degree. Again, these results indicate significant finds which have a high influence on faculty scholarly productivity, which holds important implications for the future of the university.     

ADAPT<Superscript>IT</Superscript>: Tools for training design and evaluation

This article describes a set of computerized tools that support the design and evaluation of competency-based training programs. The training of complex skills such as air traffic control and process control requires a competency-based approach that focuses on the integration and coordination of constituent skills and transfer of learning. At the heart of the training are authentic whole-task practice situations. The instructional design tools are based on van Merriënboer's 4C/ID^* methodology (1997). The article describes a training design tool (Core) that supports the analysis and design for competency-based training programs and an evaluation tool (Eval) that supports the subsequent revision of this training design.