The development of children at familial risk for dyslexia: Birth to early school age

Children at risk for familial dyslexia (n = 107) and their controls (n = 93) have been followed from birth to school entry in the Jyvaskyla Longitudinal study of Dyslexia (JLD) on developmental factors linked to reading and dyslexia. At the point of school entry, the majority of the at-risk children displayed decoding ability that fell at least 1 SD below the mean of the control group. Measures of speech processing were the earliest indices to show both group differences in infancy and also significant predictive associations with reading acquisition. A number of measures of language, including phonological and morphological skill collected repeatedly from age three, revealed group differences and predictive correlations. Both the group differences and the predictive associations to later language and reading ability strengthened as a function of increasing age. The predictions, however, tend to be stronger and the spectrum of significant correlations wider in the at-risk group. These results are crucial to early identification and intervention of dyslexia in at-risk children.     

开明教育

强制性教育在大自然这一方面是没有疑问的,大自然很早以前就为我们制定了这一法规。然而,像所有强制性法规一样,自然的法规既无情又带有盲目性。无知和明知故犯会得到同样坏的下场,无能和犯罪也会遭到同样的惩罚。大自然甚至不需先斩后奏,而是斩而不奏,你只能自己去琢磨为什么被打了耳光。我们通常所说的教育(即有人类参与的教育,因此我叫它人工教育),目的就是弥补大自然教育的不足,就是让孩子在接受大自然教育之前做必要的准备,消除他的无能与无知,教他不去明知故犯,让他学会识别大自然喜怒哀乐的前兆,避免被打耳光。简言之,一切人为的教育…     

为什么一定要学习历史

哈尔科夫州科罗马克区维索科坡尔学校教师Д·科瓦尔致函本刊(指苏联"历史教学"杂志,下同.——译者)编辑部说,历史教师回答问题:为什么一定要学习历史?比起数学、物理、化学、外语教师回答同类的问题,要困难一些,因为后几门功课的实用性质很明显.由此,科瓦尔同志请求本刊阐明学校中学习历史的意义,并引证马克思列宁主义经典作家和其它杰出思想家对作为一门科学的历史的意义所发表的意见.     

Effects of a prenatal care intervention on the self-concept and self-efficacy of adolescent mothers

The objective of this study was to examine changes in self-concept and self-efficacy during the childbearing year among adolescent mothers (defined as young mothers up to age 20) who were involved in a behavioral intervention. Subjects included a sample of 282 urban, pregnant adolescents (94% African American, 4% white, 2% other). The Tennessee Self-Concept Scale (TSCS) was used to measure self-concept. A scale to measure the self-efficacy of the adolescent mother during the childbearing year was developed and evaluated. Questionnaires were administered during intake for prenatal care and in the postpartum period. In the larger study, the intervention was a peer-centered, mastery modeling intervention designed to increase self-efficacy, improve self-concept, and improve long- and short-term perinatal outcomes. The results in this portion of the data showed that self-concept increased significantly for young women in the experimental group but did not change significantly for young women in the control group. Changes were noted in the TSCS for overall self-concept as well as for several subscores, including identity, self-satisfaction, behavior, the personal self, the family self, and the social self. However, differences between groups did not reach significance once age, parity, site, and time were accounted for, except on TSCS subscales of identity and personal self. Between intake for prenatal care and postpartum, self-efficacy changed significantly for both the experimental and the control groups. Both groups increased in self-efficacy for labor and delivery and decreased in self-efficacy for infant care. In this group of mostly African American teens, peer support and small group care demonstrated positive effects on self-concept. Professional and peer interactions were equally associated in intervention and nonintervention groups with regard to self-efficacy.     

Neighborhood income and physical and social disorder in Canada: associations with young children's competencies

This study examined the association of census level, observational, and parent-reported neighborhood characteristics on the verbal and behavioral competencies of a national sample of Canadian preschoolers (N = 3,350). Children's verbal ability scores were positively associated with residing in neighborhoods with affluent residents and negatively associated with residing in neighborhoods with poor residents and in neighborhoods with low cohesion, even after controlling for family socioeconomic factors. Behavior problem scores were higher when children lived in neighborhoods that had fewer affluent residents, high unemployment rates, and neighborhoods with low cohesion, after controlling for family socioeconomic factors. These findings are discussed in light of neighborhood studies of children in the United States in the mid-1990s.     

A longitudinal confirmatory factor analysis of indirect and physical aggression: evidence of two factors over time?

The purpose of the present study was to examine whether indirect aggression was distinct from physical aggression across developmental periods. Participants were 3,089 Canadian children aged 4 to 7 years (Time 1), 6 to 9 years (Time 2), and 8 to 11 years (Time 3). Confirmatory factor analysis using an accelerated longitudinal design confirmed a 2-factor model that was stable across cohorts, time, and sex. The longitudinal predictive links between indirect and physical aggression were also examined in a path analysis. Findings did not support the notion that maturation is associated with changes in the ways children aggress but rather suggest that children are consistent in the type of aggression they use over time, whether it be indirect or physical.     

Coping efficacy and psychological problems of children of divorce

Three models of the relations of coping efficacy, coping, and psychological problems of children of divorce were investigated. A structural equation model using cross-sectional data of 356 nine- to twelve-year-old children of divorce yielded results that supported coping efficacy as a mediator of the relations between both active coping and avoiding coping and psychological problems. In a prospective longitudinal model with a subsample of 162 of these children, support was found for Time 2 coping efficacy as a mediator of the relations between Time 1 active coping and Time 2 internalizing of problems. Individual growth curve models over four waves also found support for coping efficacy as a mediator of the relations between active coping and psychological problems. No support was found for alternative models of coping as a mediator of the relations between efficacy and symptoms or for coping efficacy as a moderator of the relations between coping and symptoms.     

Intestinal microflora in rats with ischemia／reperfusion liver injury

Objectives:To investigate the intestinal microflora status related to ischemia/reperfusion(I/R)liver injury and explorethe possible mechanism.Methods:Specific pathogen free grade Sprague-Dawley rats were randomized into three groups:Controlgroup(n=8),sham group(n=6)and I/R group(n=10).Rats in the control group did not receive any treatment,rats in the I/R groupwere subjected to 20 min of liver ischemia,and rats in the sham group were only subjected to sham operation.Twenty-two hourslater,the rats were sacrificed and liver enzymes and malondialdehyde(MDA),superoxide dismutase(SOD),serum endotoxin,intestinal bacterial counts,intestinal mucosal histology,bacterial translocation to mesenteric lymph nodes,liver,spleen,andkidney were studied.Results:Ischemia/reperfusion increased liver enzymes,MDA,decreased SOD,and was associated withplasma endotoxin elevation in the I/R group campared to those in the sham group.Intestinal Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillidecreased and intestinal Enterobacterium and Enterococcus