Progress report on the development of child abuse prevention, identification, and treatment systems in Eastern Europe

PROBLEM: After the Soviet Union dissolved in 1989, it became apparent that there was little recognition of the problems of child abuse and neglect, professionally, legally, or societally. There were no effective systems or laws in place to deal with these problems. METHOD: Beginning in 1995 the Children's Mental Health Alliance, in conjunction with the Open Society Institute began conducting trainings in Eastern Europe [Journal of the American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry 39 (2000) 660]. Originally 18 countries from the Baltics to the Balkans participated. A program was elaborated which would proceed in several stages: (1) training mental health professionals to deal with child abuse and neglect (CAN); (2) teaching multidisciplinary team work and fostering the development of multidisciplinary NGOs focused on CAN; (3) promoting the self-sufficiency of these NGO's which would then facilitate social and legal reform and increase public awareness of the problem. Specific methods included multi-national trainings, assignment of mentors to the developing teams who maintained weekly contact with the teams and made yearly site visits to their countries, and overseeing project grants from OSI. RESULTS: NGO's had been established and registered in 11 countries, many establishing a network of programs within their countries. By 2000, over 3800 mental health professional had been trained, either directly by the program or by the trainees of the program. By the end of 2000, over 17,000 other professionals (lawyers, police, judges, educators, other physicians, etc.) had been trained by the network. CONCLUSION: While more work needs to be in this region, the teams in 11 countries have made solid starts.     

Primary School Students' Attitudes towards Reading

This study investigates the applicability to upper primary school children of a multidimensional conceptualization of attitude towards reading which previous research (Lewis and Teale, 1980; Teale and Lewis, 1981) had shown to be useful for characterizing the reading attitudes of secondary school students. Self-report scales designed to measure Individual Development, Utilitarian, and Enjoyment dimensions were found to be both internally consistent (α= 0.65 to 0.88) and stable (r_tr= 0.73 to 0.86). Concurrent validity data based on peer ratings are also provided. Factor analyses showed that primary school students also hold attitudes about reading which are multidimensional. Enjoyment was clearly one facet of their feelings about reading. Although the primary school students did not discriminate between valuing reading as a means of facilitating success at work and at school, they did consistently discriminate between valuing reading and enjoying it. Implications for pedagogical and research issues arising from this conceptualization of attitude towards reading are also discussed.     

Predicting psychopathology in six-year-olds from early social relations

113 children were seen at 1 and 6 years of age in order to examine the relationship between the quality of the early attachment relationship and later psychopathology. On the basis of scores from the Achenbach and Edelbrock Child Behavior Profile, an outcome measure of psychopathology at 6 years, the results indicated different outcomes for male and female children. For males, attachment classification at 1 year was significantly related to later psychopathology; insecurely attached males showed more psychopathology than securely attached males. No relationship between attachment and later psychopathology was observed for females. Even for males, the attachment classification only partly predicted later behavioral problems. Several other factors, including life-stress events and family demographic variables, appeared to influence the development of psychopathology. The findings suggest that although the child's attachment relationship plays an important role in the development of psychopathology, the child is neither made invulnerable by an early secure attachment nor doomed to psychopathology by an insecure attachment.     

Towards Artistry: A Critique of the HRD Performance Paradigm and a Suggested New Model

ABSTRACT This article critiques the performance approach to HRD and proposes a new model that takes into account the deep complexities inherent in the human transaction of work. In critically examining the dominant performance paradigm, meanings of work are examined, illustrating that the desire to work extends beyond extrinsic considerations. That work and working need to be problematized and made the basis of inquiry within HRD is explored. Social exchange theory is drawn upon to explain how employees can become impelled to exercise the discretion to engage in creative behaviors that can redound to the benefit of their organizations. The proposed model is premised upon two variables, namely impetus for training and purpose of training. Impetus for training is on a continuum from individual to organization. Purpose of training is on a continuum from intrinsic to instrumental. Of the four approaches to HRD suggested by the model, the type that is bounded by intrinsically driven purpose and focused upon the developmental needs of the individual is suggested as being most likely to prompt worker artistry.     

DETERMINANTS OF RESEARCH PRODUCTIVITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION

As research expenditures have risen and assources of research funding have changed, an increasedemphasis on research performance has developed in U.S.research universities. Although much of the historical debate has centered around the individualattributes of faculty, several recent studies have begunto focus on the effect of program or organizationalfactors as powerful attributes for enhancing suchproductivity. This paper extends the findings of these recentstudies by examining the relationship between academicresearch productivity and institutional factors from themost recent National Research Council data on the nation's research universities and theirprograms in the four broad fields of the biologicalsciences, engineering, the physical sciences andmathematics, and the social and behavioral sciences. Several findings are recommended forinstitutional policymakers.     

Evaluating the evidence base for evidence-based instructional practices in chemistry through meta-analysis

Investigating the effectiveness of instructional practices provides an evidence base to inform instructional decisions. Synthesizing research studies on instructional effectiveness provides an estimate of the generalizability of effectiveness across settings, along with an exploration of factors that may moderate the impact, which cannot be achieved within individual studies. This study sought to provide a synthesis of evidence-based instructional practices (EBIPs) particular to chemistry through meta-analysis. Ninety-nine studies were analyzed comprising a broader view of chemistry specific studies than past meta-analyses. The results showed that EBIPs feature a demonstrably positive impact on students' academic performance in chemistry, although assessment topic coverage and setting size emerged as relevant moderators of impact and prevented making definitive conclusions of the relative impact of each EBIP. In examining publication bias, an asymmetric distribution of studies based on standard error (SE) and effect size was found, indicative of potential publication bias. To explore the potential impact of bias, the trim and fill method was employed resulting in a range for the overall weighted effect size from 0.29 to 0.62. The study concludes that evidence-based instructional practices have demonstrated effectiveness even in consideration of potential publication bias, as the range of effect sizes remains positive, but highlights the continued need to publish null findings in the research literature.     

Manchester and the Emergence of an Association Football Culture, 1840–1880: An Alternative Viewpoint

This paper provides a critique of the article by Gary James and Dave Day on ‘The Emergence of an Association Football Culture in Manchester, 1840–1884', published in Sport in History. We suggest an alternative interpretation of Manchester's football history during this period, arguing that Association football was a minor form of football in a city largely dominated by the rugby code. Furthermore, by employing an artificial construct of Manchester the authors have produced the wrong answer to the wrong question. Rather than trying to prove that Manchester developed an important Association football culture, we suggest they ought to have addressed the question of why such a culture did not exist. The contribution to the development of Association football of three isolated ‘transitory’ clubs in a city as large as Manchester is certainly not ‘substantial’. Subsequently, James and Day also fail to exploit fully their evidence for early football in the Manchester area by omitting to relate this properly to the much wider ongoing debate surrounding the origins of football. Conversely, there is ample evidence that ‘substantial’ Association football developments actually occurred in East Lancashire, centred on Bolton, Blackburn and Darwen, developments that are scarcely noted in James and Day's account.     

Student Attitudes Toward Impairment and Accessibility: an Evaluation of Awareness Training for Urban Planning Students

Within the urban planning profession, designing for the needs of people with impairments has rarely been a significant feature of planning theory and instruction. Given the role of urban planners in affecting the opinions of policy-makers and the public, the prevalence of negative and misinformed attitudes among planning professionals toward impaired populations has been highlighted as requiring study. This paper reports on the effectiveness of awareness training with regard to its influence on the attitudes of urban planning students toward the needs of people with impairments and accessible design. Using an established attitude assessment instrument (the Attitudes Towards Disablement Scale), pre and post-awareness training data were collected from 112 urban planning students. Results from the present study suggest that awareness training can result in significant attitude changes, independent of the student’s gender or prior familiarity with impairment. The paper concludes with recommendations and caveats for planning education and research.