Randomized trial of a statewide home visiting program: impact in preventing child abuse and neglect

OBJECTIVES: To assess the impact of home visiting in preventing child abuse and neglect in the first 3 years of life in families identified as at-risk of child abuse through population-based screening at the child's birth. METHODS: This experimental study focused on Hawaii Healthy Start Program (HSP) sites operated by three community-based agencies. From 11/94 to 12/95, 643 families were enrolled and randomly assigned to intervention and control groups. Child abuse and neglect were measured by observed and self-reported parenting behaviors, all hospitalizations for trauma and for conditions where hospitalization might have been avoided with adequate preventive care, maternal relinquishment of her role as primary caregiver, and substantiated CPS reports. Data were collected through annual maternal interviews (88% follow-up each year of all families with baseline interviews); observation of the home environment; and review of CPS, HSP, and pediatric medical records. RESULTS: HSP records rarely noted home visitor concern about possible abuse. The HSP and control groups were similar on most measures of maltreatment. HSP group mothers were less likely to use common corporal/verbal punishment (AOR=.59, p=.01) but this was attributable to one agency's reduction in threatening to spank the child. HSP group mothers reported less neglectful behavior (AOR=.72, .02), related to a trend toward decreased maternal preoccupation with problems and to improved access to medical care for intervention families at one agency. CONCLUSIONS: The program did not prevent child abuse or promote use of nonviolent discipline; it had a modest impact in preventing neglect. Possible targets for improved effectiveness include the program's implementation system and model.     

Conceptualising technology practice in education using Bourdieu's sociology

Evidence from large-scale studies of primary and secondary students’ technology practices at school over the last decade show disparities in student practices and suggest that schools need to do more to cater for all students. Research that explores the influence of social and cultural factors may be useful for understanding such inequality in student practice. Bourdieu’s theory of practice [(1977). Outline of a Theory of Practice. London: Cambridge University Press] is proposed as an example of a sociological theory that can be adopted in educational technology research to move towards understanding the wider complexities of technology practice. To encourage discourse and application of Bourdieu’s sociology in the field of educational technology research, this paper provides an introduction to the theory, a review of its application in research of primary and secondary students’ technology practice and relevant conceptual work. The paper presents a conceptual framework based on Bourdieu’s theory that has been developed through two recent studies, and review of empirical and conceptual works and invites its application in future research so that it can be critiqued and further developed.     

Effects of prior social experience on agonistic responding by Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens)

The role of prior social experience in maleBetta agonistic behavior was investigated in two experiments. Fish were either paired with an opponent until dominance was established naturally (Experiment 1) or given prior combat experience with a known aggressive or nonaggressive opponent (Experiment 2). The effects of prior social experience were then observed both in additional paired encounters and in some noncombat agonistic situations. The paired-encounter data indicate thatBetta attack aggressive opponents more than nonaggressive ones and rarely attack opponents once they have submitted. In contrast to attacking, these fish do not show a significant decrease in displays once their opponent has submitted, nor do they display differentially to aggressive and nonaggressive opponents. The noncombat agonistic-situation data indicate that prior social experience affects both the preference of fish for viewing other conspecifics and the waning of display behaviors. These results suggest that submissive and nonaggressive behaviors can inhibit attacks but not displays byBetta, and they emphasize the necessity of controlling for prior social experience when studying aggressive behavior.     

Sacrificial girls: a case study of the impact of streaming and setting on gender reform

This article reports on research funded by the Australian Research Council to investigate school responses to gender equity. It addresses the efforts of a disadvantaged school to tackle what they perceived to be gender inequalities, but in the process of constructing a top‐set and bottom‐set/stream class they are developing new forms of old inequalities and new forms of inequalities. This research indicates that despite popular assertions that girls' education has become the priority of schools and education systems, girls are being further disadvantaged through attempts to implement market strategies coupled with gender reform agendas grounded in liberal notions of equity and relying on unsophisticated notions of affirmative action. In addition, this study highlights the extent to which a media‐driven debate about boys' education has influenced the constitution of boys as the ‘new disadvantaged’ with the capacity to determine the nature of gender reform agendas and programmes in schools.     

Teaching children with autism through task variation in physical education.

The purpose of the study was to determine whether the technique of task variation (with maintenance tasks interspersed) (TV) is more effective in the acquisition of gross motor skills for students with autism than a constant task (CT) condition in a physical education setting. Subjects were 12 male students with autism, ages 11 to 15 years. The study included pretest-posttest administration of the I CAN assessment of Gross Motor Skills to assess skills such as overhand throw, kick, and vertical jump. After a 6-week treatment period, the TV condition was significantly more effective than the CT condition, at the .05 level.     

Kindergarten Adjustment Difficulty: The Contribution of Children's Effortful Control and Parental Control

Research Findings: This paper examines the extent to which children's effortful control and early family experiences predict difficulty in kindergarten adjustment. One hundred and eighty-two children from 31 kindergarten classrooms in rural elementary schools in the Southeast participated. Teachers reported on children's difficulty with kindergarten adjustment, and parents completed measures assessing children's effortful control (inhibitory control and attentional focus) and types of parental control (i.e., lax, firm, and harsh). A hierarchical regression analysis was performed to address three research questions: First, how does effortful control (inhibitory control and attentional focus) contribute to children's difficulty with kindergarten adjustment? Second, how does parental control predict children's difficulty with kindergarten adjustment? Third, to what extent does parental control moderate the relation between effortful control and difficulty with kindergarten adjustment? Practice or Policy: Children lower on inhibitory control showed greater difficulty with kindergarten adjustment than children with higher inhibitory control. Furthermore, lax parental control, but not firm or harsh parental control, predicted children's adjustment problems. Lax parental control moderated the relation between children's inhibitory control and difficulty with kindergarten adjustment; specifically, higher levels of lax parental control coupled with lower levels of inhibitory control predicted more difficulty with the adjustment to kindergarten.     

Perceptions of Science and Technology: A Comparison of Criminal Justice and Traditional Science and Technology Majors

Due to the increased demands for science and technology (S&T) in criminal justice (CJ) occupational preparation and in response to the growing interest of students in forensics, this study explores the attitudes of CJ majors towards S&T. Despite the acknowledgment that S&T skills are helpful in gaining employment, CJ majors reported less favorable attitudes than S&T majors, reporting: less interest in gaining S&T knowledge, fewer social benefits of S&T, and greater concerns that S&T are dangerous to society than traditional forensic science majors. While these findings raise some fundamental questions about the suitability of increased representation of S&T courses within CJ curriculum, authors argue that CJ curricular goals must continue to evolve to foster innovative students who are academically prepared to meet the twenty-first century challenges of their future careers.     

预期之痛

几天前,因为活组织切片检查结果显示为"重度非典型",我得去做一个胎痣切除手术。由于两颗痣都长在背上,所以我俯卧着让医生助理用利多卡因为我进行局部麻醉。他不停地问我:"你还好吗?"我也不停地回答说:"我很好!"因为确实不是很疼,所以当他说"哇,你真勇敢!"时,我着实吃了一     

Construction and validation of a communication based emotional support scale

A review of the emotional support and social support literature indicates a paucity of instruments which directly measure the phenomena of interest. While many have utilized assessments of “strong” or “weak” links between relational partners, they have not examined the communication modalities specifically. They have also tended to view emotional support as a unilateral product of a source or receiver rather than a product of communicative interactions. In order to examine support more carefully, a unidimensional instrument was developed to measure the communication of emotional support in relationships. As tests of convergent validity, it was suggested that perceptions of emotional support will be positively correlated to perceptions of relational solidarity and relational quality. The final instrument consisted of 13 communication based items with high reliability and evidence of internal, face, and convergent validity.     

Media and Media Related

Ronald Gottesman and Harry Geduld (eds.) Guidebook to Film: An Eleven-in-One Reference (New York: Holt, Rinehart &; Winston, 1972 – ,$6.95/3.95)

C. Edward Wall (ed.) Multi Media Reviews Index: 1970 (Ann Arbor, Mich.: Pierian Press, 1971 – $19.50)

Dorothy I. Weil's (ed.) The American Film Institute's Guide to College Film Courses 1971-72 (Chicago: American Library Association, 1972 – $3.50, paper)

Raymond Fielding's The Technique of Special Effects Cinematography (New York: Hastings House, 1972 – $18.50)