Physical and sexual abuse among school children: Prevalence and prevention

Prevalence of physical and sexual abuse, with emphasis on data provided by the 1986 National Incidence Study sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is discussed within certain data collection constraints. Incidence results are reported by subcategory of abuse, child's sex, child's age, child's race/ethnicity, family income, and family size. Effects of physical and sexual abuse and characteristics of abusers are presented to establish the context in which primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention programs are developed and delivered. Research on abuse prevention programs is discussed, with attention drawn to problems associated with the lack of a research base for school-based abuse prevention programs.     

Infantile amnesia across the years: a 2-year follow-up of children's earliest memories

Although infantile amnesia has been investigated for many years in adults, only recently has it been investigated in children. This study was a 2-year follow-up and extension of an earlier study. Children (4-13 years old) were asked initially and 2 years later for their earliest 3 memories. At follow-up, their age at the time of these memories shifted to several months later, with younger children unlikely to provide the same memories. Moreover, when given cues about memories recalled 2 years previously, many were still not recalled. In contrast, older children were more likely to recall the same memories, and cues to former memories were successful. Thus, older children were becoming consistent in terms of recalling very early memories.     

The Communicative Construction of Involuntary Membership

This study expands conceptions of organizational membership by examining individuals whose relationships with their organizations are traditionally characterized as involuntary in nature. Data from inmates and prison employees in four U.S. and Norwegian correctional institutions was examined using structuration theory as an emergent interpretive lens, and five primary ways in which involuntary membership is constructed in communication are identified: physical environment, mobility, relationships, engagement, and body. These facets are presented as the foundation of a continuum-based theoretical perspective on (in)voluntary membership and are discussed for their applicability to future research and theorizing across organizational communication studies.     

Folate Pathway Gene Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase C677T Polymorphism and Alzheimer Disease Risk in Asian Population

The association between methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T polymorphism and susceptibility to Alzheimers disease (AD) was controversial in previous studies. The present meta-analysis was designed to investigate the association of MTHFR C677T polymorphism with AD. Nine studies were identified by search of PubMed, Google Scholar, Elsevier, Springer Link databases, up to January 2013. Odds ratios (ORs) with corresponding 95 % confidence interval (CI) were calculated using fixed effects model or random effects model. All statistical analysis was done by Mix version 1.7. MTHFR C677T polymorphism had a significant association with susceptibility to AD in all genetic models (for T vs C: OR 1.29, 95 % CI 1.15–1.44, p < 0.0001; for TT + CT vs CC: OR 1.38, 95 % CI 1.16–1.364, p = 0.0002; for TT vs CC: OR 1.60, 95 % CI 1.25–2.04, p = 0.0001; for CT vs CC: OR 1.28, 95 % CI 1.1–1.53, p < 0.008; for TT vs CT + CC: OR 1.37, 95 % CI 1.12–1.67, p = 0.002). Results from present meta-analysis supported that the MTHFR C677T polymorphism was associated with an increased risk of AD in Asian population.     

Quality assessment and institutional change: Experiences from 14 countries

The paper draws on an international study of theeffects of national and institutional quality management systems onhigher education institutions in 14 countries. The study wasundertaken by the authors on behalf of the programme forInstitutional Management in Higher Education (IMHE) of theOrganisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).Over the last decade, almost all European countries have establishednational systems for the assessment of quality in higher education. Similar developments can be found in many other parts of the world. In most countries, these developments have been largely sponsored bythe state even if the national quality agencies so formed generallyhave a significant degree of operational autonomy and mainly use aform of peer review as their primary assessment method.Drawing on the IMHE study, the paper presents a conceptual model ofthe relationships between quality management and institutionalchange in higher education which takes into account variations inthe national and institutional contexts in which quality managementand assessment takes place as well as differences in the methodsused. The impact of quality assessment is considered in terms ofrewards/incentives, policies/structures and cultures ofinstitutions.The paper argues that central to the establishment of qualitymanagement and assessment systems, whether national or institutionalare questions of power and values. One of the central questionswhich the paper explores is the extent to which quality management represents a challenge to the intrinsic value systems of the academicprofession and is a mechanism through which extrinsic values ofsociety and economy are given greater weight in academicinstitutional life. Changes in the balance of power within academic life between system, institutional, basic unit and individual levelsare explored as part of more general processes of institutionalchange.     

Teaching conversation skills to behaviorally disordered children

The purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of an instructional package designed to teach conversation skills to behaviorally disordered children. A multiple baseline design with a reversal was employed to assess the effectiveness of this package. Six children were taught in two groups of three. The teachers were taught to use the package prior to implementation to insure standardization across both groups. Data were collected in a contrived setting with a peer trained as a conversant. Observation also took place in the school cafeteria to assess generalization of the training to a naturalistic setting. Social validation data were collected from teachers and children to evaluate their impressions of the instructional package. Results indicated that the instructional package was effective in increasing conversational skills above baseline levels in all children and in both settings.