Which sexual abuse victims receive a forensic medical examination? The impact of Children's Advocacy Centers

OBJECTIVE: This study examines the impact of Children's Advocacy Centers (CAC) and other factors, such as the child's age, alleged penetration, and injury on the use of forensic medical examinations as part of the response to reported child sexual abuse. METHODS: This analysis is part of a quasi-experimental study, the Multi-Site Evaluation of Children's Advocacy Centers, which evaluated four CACs relative to within-state non-CAC comparison communities. Case abstractors collected data on forensic medical exams in 1,220 child sexual abuse cases through review of case records. RESULTS: Suspected sexual abuse victims at CACs were two times more likely to have forensic medical examinations than those seen at comparison communities, controlling for other variables. Girls, children with reported penetration, victims who were physically injured while being abused, White victims, and younger children were more likely to have exams, controlling for other variables. Non-penetration cases at CACs were four times more likely to receive exams as compared to those in comparison communities. About half of exams were conducted the same day as the reported abuse in both CAC and comparison communities. The majority of caregivers were very satisfied with the medical professional. Receipt of a medical exam was not associated with offenders being charged. CONCLUSIONS: Results of this study suggest that CACs are an effective tool for furthering access to forensic medical examinations for child sexual abuse victims.     

Emerging: the impact of the Artist Teacher Scheme MA on students’ pedagogical and artistic practices

The United Kingdom Artist Teacher Scheme (ATS) commissioned a study of the artistic and pedagogical practices of students on a recently established Artist Teacher Scheme MA (ATS MA). The aims of this study were to: investigate the motives and objectives teachers/educators have for undertaking this ATS MA programme, the impact the programme had on their artistic and pedagogical practices and their pupils’ learning; and make recommendations for future development of ATS MA programmes. Through the analysis of questionnaires it was found that the ATS MA’s strength lies in the development of communities of practice and peer support, artist teachers’ renewed confidence in their extended artistic and pedagogical practices, the professional development of artist teachers, and significant development of the art and design curriculum.     

Beyond the local/general divide: English for academic purposes and process approaches to cross disciplinary,doctoral writing support

One of the outcomes of the policy emphasis upon skills formation in countries like Australia and the UK has been an increase in cross-disciplinary structured programs for higher research degrees raising implicit, but often unexamined, questions about the curriculum and expertise that should inform them. Key insights from applied linguistics and composition studies about disciplinary similarities and differences and writing pedagogy for the development of university-wide structured programs are discussed in the article. In addition, student evaluations of two ‘social sciences, humanities and business' writing programs that were developed to reflect these insights are reported. The findings are read to suggest that the framework within which research training is conceptualized must consider not only the diversity of domains and activities that characterise higher degree research, but the communicative purposes against which research texts are evaluated and differentiated. The overlapping and contrasting nature of these purposes suggests collaborations among specific discipline groups in structured program provision within the research degree cohort, rather than the local/general research training split that is often assumed.     

猜一猜

Years from now, the world is dominated by aliens. The population now consists of either aliens or human beings dressed as aliens.     

Divided attention during cutting influences lower extremity mechanics in female athletes

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries in basketball appear to be more common when players are in possession of the ball. The greater risk of ACL injury when in possession of the ball may result from the athlete’s inability to fully attend to their movement. However, it is also possible that having to carry/manipulate the ball restricts the athlete’s ability to utilise their upper extremities for stability during a manoeuvre. The purpose of this study was to explore how possession of a basketball and divided attention influence lower extremity mechanics during cutting and landing. Twenty uninjured females with basketball experience performed a baseline lateral cutting task, as well as lateral cuts while carrying a basketball, with and without a subsequent chest pass. Requiring participants to carry the basketball in isolation (i.e., without the additional pass) had minimal influence on lower extremity mechanics compared to baseline. However, participants demonstrated less knee flexion (40.9° vs. 47.3°) and greater knee abduction (12.2° vs. 10.1°) for trials that included the additional pass (divided attention condition) compared to trials conducted while carrying the basketball in isolation. Athletes may be at greater risk for ACL injury when they are unable to solely attend to their movement.     

Can markers detect contract cheating? Results from a pilot study

Contract cheating is the purchasing of custom-made university assignments with the intention of submitting them. Websites providing contract cheating services often claim this form of cheating is undetectable, and no published research has examined this claim. This paper documents a pilot study where markers were paid to mark a mixture of real student work and contract cheating assignments, to establish their accuracy at detecting contract cheating. Seven experienced markers individually blind marked the same bundle of 20 second-year psychology assignments, which included 6 that were purchased from contract cheating websites. Sensitivity analyses showed markers detected contract cheating 62% of the time. Specificity analyses showed markers correctly identified real student work 96% of the time. Our results contrast with contract cheating sites’ claims that contract cheating is undetectable. However, they should be taken with caution as they are from one course unit in one discipline.