Evaluation of a specific test in cross-country skiing

Six Danish male cross-country skiers were studied during the end-of-summer and winter seasons. Their maximal oxygen uptake was measured while running on a treadmill and using a ski ergometer incorporating the double-poling technique. Maximal oxygen uptake during treadmill running and double-poling was correlated with performance, expressed as a ranking score during 10 ski races. The tests were undertaken in September, December and April. Upper body maximal oxygen uptake increased 5.8% from September to December, decreasing to 2.3% above the September level in April. Upper body work output (2 min at maximal intensity) increased 11.8% from September to December (P less than 0.05). The relationship between upper body and leg maximal oxygen uptake--the upper body/leg ratio--was 89.4% in September. In four skiers, both treadmill and upper body tests were undertaken on each test occasion. The upper body/leg ratio changed from 87.7% in September to 95.7% in December. In April, the ratio was 91.0%. The maximal oxygen uptake measured using the ski ergometer during double-poling was significantly correlated with performance (P less than 0.05). It is concluded that the upper body ski ergometer can be used in the evaluation of elite cross-country skiers.     

Furthering alternative cultures of valuation in higher education research

The value of higher education is often implicit or assumed in educational research. The underlying and antecedent premises that shape and influence debates about value remain unchallenged, which perpetuates the dominant, but limiting, terms of the debate and fosters reductionism. The article proceeds on the premise that analyses of value are not self-supporting or self-referential but are embedded within prevailing cultures of valuation. It contends that challenging, and providing alternatives to, dominant narratives of higher education requires an appreciation of those cultures. It therefore highlights some of the existing cultures of valuation and their influence. It then proposes Sayer’s concept of lay normativity as a culture of valuation and discusses how it translates into the practices of research into higher education, specifically the practice of analysis. The discussion is animated by detecting the presence of lay normativity in the evaluative space of the capability approach.     

The disease burden of childhood adversities in adults: a population-based study

Objectives

There is much evidence showing that childhood adversities have considerable effects on the mental and physical health of adults. It could be assumed therefore, that the disease burden of childhood adversities is high. It has not yet been examined, however, whether this is true.

Method

We used data of a large representative sample (N = 7,076) of the general population in the Netherlands. We calculated the disability weight (DW) for each respondent. The DW is a weight factor that reflects the severity of a disease or condition on a scale from 0 (perfect health) to 1 (equivalent to death). We used an algorithm based on the SF-6D to estimate DW. Because the DW indicates the proportion of a healthy life year that is reduced by the specific health state of the individual, it also possible to calculate the total number of years lost due to disability (YLD) in the population. We calculated the years lived with disability (YLD) for 9 different childhood adversities (in the areas of parental psychopathology; abuse and neglect; major life events), as well as for major categories of mental disorders and general medical disorders.

Results

All 9 adversities resulted in a significantly increased DW, except death of a parent before the age of 16. Adversities in the category of abuse and neglect are associated with the highest DWs (0.057), followed by parental psychopathology (0.031) and life events during childhood (0.012). All adversities (46.4% of the population reports one or more adversity) are associated with 20.7 YLD/1,000, which is more than all mental disorders together (12.9 YLD/1,000). The category of abuse/neglect has the highest YLD/1,000 (15.8), which is also higher than all mental disorders together. Adjustment for the presence of mental and general medical disorders resulted in comparable outcomes.

Conclusions

Childhood adversities are more important from a public health point of view than all common mental disorders together, and should be a priority for public health interventions.     

The influence of child,family, home factors and pre‐school education on the identification of special educational needs at age 10

The early identification of young children's special educational needs (SEN), as well as the development of specific strategies to support those children identified with special needs, are increasingly recognised as crucial to facilitating good adjustment to school and to ensuring that such children are helped to reach their full potential in education. Using a large national sample of young children in England whose developmental progress was followed up from pre‐school, this study investigates which child, family, home and pre‐school factors can be viewed as risk or protective factors for later SEN‐status at age 10. The experience of high‐quality pre‐school education is shown to reduce the likelihood of a child being identified as experiencing SEN in the long run. Teachers’ assessments of SEN are found to be strongly related to children's reading and mathematics attainment, but other factors also predict SEN, including a child's age within a year group.     

Compassion fatigue, burnout, and compassion satisfaction among Colorado child protection workers

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to understand better the risk of compassion fatigue (the trauma suffered by the helping professional) and burnout (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced sense of personal accomplishment), and the potential for compassion satisfaction (the fulfillment from helping others and positive collegial relationships) among Colorado county child protection staff using the Compassion Satisfaction/Fatigue Self-Test [Figley, C. R., & Stamm, B. H. (1996). Psychometric review of Compassion Fatigue Self-Test. In B. H. Stamm (Ed.), Measurement of stress, trauma, and adaptation (pp. 127-130). Lutherville, MD: Sidran Press]. An additional goal was to test the relationship of these three constructs to each other. METHOD: A self-report instrument developed by Stamm and Figley was used to measure the risk of compassion fatigue and burnout and the potential for compassion satisfaction among 363 child protection staff participating in a secondary trauma training seminar. RESULTS: Participants were significantly more likely to have high risk of compassion fatigue, extremely low risk of burnout, and good potential for compassion satisfaction. Participants with high compassion satisfaction had lower levels of compassion fatigue (p=.000; mean=35.73 high compassion satisfaction group, mean=43.56 low group) and lower levels of burnout (p=.000; mean=32.99 high compassion satisfaction group, mean=41.69 low group). CONCLUSION: Approximately 50% of Colorado county child protection staff suffered from "high" or "very high" levels of compassion fatigue. The risk of burnout was considerably lower. More than 70% of staff expressed a "high" or "good" potential for compassion satisfaction. We believe compassion satisfaction may help mitigate the effects of burnout.     

Lexical Quality and Reading Comprehension in Primary School Children

In a cross-sectional study, we examined the relationship between the quality of lexical representations and text comprehension skill in German primary school children (Grades 1–4). We measured the efficiency and accuracy of orthographical, phonological, and meaning representations by means of computerized tests. Text comprehension skill was assessed with a standardized reading test with questions requiring recognition of text information and inferencing. Both the accuracy of and the efficiency of access to the three types of lexical representations contributed to explaining interindividual variation in text comprehension skill. Results from a path-analytic model suggest a specific causal order of the three components of lexical quality with the quality of meaning representations partly mediating the effects of form representations.     

What emotional-centred challenges do children attending special schools face over primary–secondary school transition?

Primary–secondary school transition encompasses multiple social, academic and environmental changes which can negatively impact children’s emotional well-being. Children with Social, Emotional and Mental Health difficulties (SEMH) are believed to be especially vulnerable during this time. However, the voices of children with SEMH are heavily underrepresented in this field within practice and research. The present case study examined how children with SEMH difficulties within one special school experience primary–secondary school transition and how they are supported, in order to make recommendations to improve this period. The case study was qualitative and longitudinal, conducted over 18-months and methodologies included ethnographic observations, child photo-elicitation focus groups (with 11 Year 6 children) and three adult interviews. Findings demonstrated that over primary–secondary school transition children with SEMH difficulties (a) negotiate significant structural changes in support (often unanticipated) and (b) need to feel a sense of safety and belonging. To manage this effectively, transition provision for children with SEMH difficulties needs to consider their short-term emotional well-being whilst still in primary school, in addition to their long-term well-being looking ahead to secondary school. Greater collaboration and communication across schools and stakeholders can help ensure children receive continuity in standards and support.     

Teaching Community Skills to Two Young Children with Autism Using a Digital Self-Managed Activity Schedule

The current study investigated the efficacy of a self-managed activity schedule to teach 2 participants how to effectively order food items from a local community bakery. 2 participants who were on the autism spectrum were taught to follow a task analysis that was displayed on an iPhone. We used a multiple baseline design across participants to evaluate the effectiveness of the teaching procedure. Results showed that the participants were able to order items, and this skill generalized to a novel bakery. The task analysis and iPhone were immediately withdrawn at a 2 to 5 week follow-up, and both participants were still able to effectively perform the steps of the task analysis without the use of prompts.