Statistical learning and dyslexia: a systematic review

The existing literature on developmental dyslexia (hereafter: dyslexia) often focuses on isolating cognitive skills which differ across dyslexic and control participants. Among potential correlates, previous research has studied group differences between dyslexic and control participants in performance on statistical learning tasks. A statistical learning deficit has been proposed to be a potential cause and/or a marker effect for early detection of dyslexia. It is therefore of practical importance to evaluate the evidence for a group difference. From a theoretical perspective, such a group difference would provide information about the causal chain from statistical learning to reading acquisition. We provide a systematic review of the literature on such a group difference. We conclude that there is insufficient high-quality data to draw conclusions about the presence or absence of an effect.     

School and community factors involved in Chilean students’ perception of school safety

Identifying and understanding predictors of school safety perceptions is important due to its consequences for students. However, it is not clear what school‐related factors most contribute to explaining students’ perception of school safety, and how they relate to community‐related factors such as neighborhood safety. The purpose of this study was to understand the factors associated with Chilean elementary and middle school students’ perceptions of school safety. We used a sample of 5,455 students from low socioeconomic status public schools, and analyzed the predictive value of peer physical and verbal victimization; teacher and school staff victimization; teacher's social support; and perception of safety in the students’ neighborhoods on perceptions of school safety. Findings showed that although different forms of school violence, particularly peer physical victimization and physical and sexual victimization from teachers and school staff, contribute to students’ perception of school safety, the highest contribution came from students perceiving their neighborhoods as unsafe. In contrast, teacher social support contributed to increased levels of perceived school safety. We discuss the need for school‐based interventions that address physical victimization and engage teachers in prosocial and less punitive approaches to foster a positive and safe school climate, and in fostering school–community partnerships.     

Bullying in Italian schools: the role of perceived teacher unfairness

The principal aim of the study is to examine the role of perceived teacher unfairness in predicting bullying behaviour. Data were taken from the “Health Behaviour in School Aged Children” project, a cross-sectional survey investigating health behaviours among early adolescents in selected European countries. Bullying behaviour (bully, victim, and bully/victim), perceived teacher unfairness and others confounding factors were measured through a self-administered questionnaire filled out by a representative sample of 4,386 (48.4% males) Italian students (11, 13, and 15 years old). Covariates included demographic characteristics, socioeconomic status, school performance and other psychological factors. After adjusting for age and gender, teacher unfairness showed a significant association with being a bully (OR = 1.59; CI = 1.40–1.80) and a bully or victim (OR = 1.47; CI = 1.21–1.78). This relationship remained significant after additional adjustment for several potential confounding factors. Results show that characteristics of the school setting such as teacher unfairness can be significant predictors of involvement in bullying behaviour among early adolescents.     

Accounting for exogenous influences in performance evaluations of teachers

Students’ evaluations of teacher performance (SETs) are increasingly used by universities. However, SETs are controversial mainly due to two issues: (1) teachers value various aspects of excellent teaching differently, and (2) SETs should not be determined on exogenous influences. Therefore, this paper constructs SETs using a tailored version of the non-parametric Data Envelopment Analysis approach. In particular, we account for different values and interpretations that teachers attach to ‘good teaching’. Moreover, we reduce the impact of measurement errors and a-typical observations, and account explicitly for heterogeneous background characteristics arising from teacher, student and course characteristics.     

Forced suffocation of infants with baby wipes: a previously undescribed form of child abuse

BACKGROUND: Foreign body aspiration in children is commonly seen in emergency departments and carries a significant mortality. Abusive foreign body suffocation is not well described. METHODS: We present a case-series of four infants who presented with aspiration of a baby wipe. RESULTS: Each child was found to be a victim of child physical abuse with substantial morbidity and mortality associated with the aspiration of the wipe and associated injuries. CONCLUSIONS: We recommend that infants who present with a baby wipe aspiration should be considered as likely victims of child abuse and physicians should evaluate each infant for associated injuries of the oropharynx, skin, skeleton, and head.     

How and where is artificial intelligence in the public sector going? A literature review and research agenda

To obtain benefits in the provision of public services, managers of public organizations have considerably increased the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) systems. However, research on AI is still scarce, and the advance of this technology in the public sector, as well as the applications and results of this strategy, need to be systematized. With this goal in mind, this paper examines research related to AI as applied to the public sector. A review of the literature covering articles available in five research databases was completed using the PRISMA protocol for literature reviews. The search process yielded 59 articles within the scope of the study out of a total of 1682 studies. Results show a growing trend of interest in AI in the public sector, with India and the US as the most active countries. General public service, economic affairs, and environmental protection are the functions of government with the most studies related to AI. The Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) technique is the most recurrent in the investigated studies and was pointed out as a technique that provides positive results in several areas of its application. A research framework for AI solutions for the public sector is presented, where it is demonstrated that policies and ethical implications of the use of AI permeate all layers of application of this technology and the solutions can generate value for functions of government. However, for this, a prior debate with society about the use of AI in the public sector is recommended.     

以先进的办学理念引领初级任职教育院校科学发展

办学理念对办好一所院校至关重要。初级任职教育院校应准确把握办学理念的内涵与特征,走出办学理念的误区,提炼适合本院实际的先进的办学理念。结合汽车管理学院办学实践,解读了确立＂培育三军车勤精英,服务现代军交建设＂办学理念的基本做法。     

某高校消防工程专业毕业生就业去向调查

对某高校消防工程专业2007～2010届毕业生进行就业问卷调查并分析其就业去向,了解消防专业目前就业形势,为在校大学生就业指导工作提供参考依据。     

Studying Quality of Caregiving Behavior: The Roles of Infant,Mother, Father,and Culture

SYNOPSIS

This study showed that prenatal quality of caregiving behavior toward a crying simulator infant predicted the postnatal quality of caregiving behavior of both mothers and fathers.