Sex education and cultural values: experiences and attitudes of Latina immigrant women

The paper aims to further explore the role that culture plays in the provision and assimilation of sex education among Latina immigrants in the USA. To accomplish this, researchers conducted focus groups and interviews with 30 women from Central and South America who have lived in the USA for at least five years. Participants were asked to reflect on their experience with sex education in their home country and in the USA, and to assess how their attitudes towards sex education may impact their behavioural choices as parents and as sexually-active women. The findings demonstrate a wide range of views that did not follow patterns by common demographical proxy variables, suggesting that such variables are not enough to predict adoption of new cultural values that are different from their family's traditional norms. Instead, adherence to traditional cultural beliefs appeared to be a better predictor of attitudes and behaviours.     

Student and Teacher Outcomes of The Superkids Quasi-Experimental Study

In this article, we report kindergarten student and teacher outcomes from a quasi-experimental evaluation of The Superkids, a systematic, phonics-based, comprehensive K-2 reading program. We recruited 23 kindergarten teachers to implement The Superkids program from a diverse, yet predominantly ethnic minority, group of classrooms from across the United States. We then employed a precise computerized matching methodology to derive a statistically equivalent comparison group of 20 control teachers who implemented their standard “business as usual” core literacy program. Multilevel analyses of classroom-level effects of The Superkids revealed achievement advantages of more than 1/10 of a standard deviation, d = 0.11, to 1/4 of a standard deviation, d = 0.25, for the treatment group on the 5 subtests from the Stanford Achievement Test, 10th edition (SAT-10). Four measures of teachers’ self-reported satisfaction with the core reading program used in their classrooms also revealed statistically significant advantages for Superkids of nearly three-quarters of a standard deviation, d = 0.72, to nearly 1½ standard deviation units, d = 1.49.     

Límites en la capacidad de procesamiento y déficit atencional en niños hiperactivos

Resumen

El déficit atencional en niños hiperactivos ha sido investigado a partir de las teorías tradicionales de la atención. Este trabajo incorpora las recientes teorías de limitaciones en la capacidad de procesamiento mediante un paradigma de doble tarea (visual y auditiva). Se manipula el nivel de dificultad de la tarea secundaria y se comprueba su efecto en niños hiperactivos (n-=28) y normales (n=28) de 2.°-3.° y 4.°-6.° cursos de EGB. Los resultados permiten sostener que al aumentar la dificultad de la tarea secundaria, los hiperactivos de 4.°-6.° tienen peor ejecución que los controles de los mismos cursos y edad, mientras que en 2.°-3.° ocurre lo contrario. Los hiperactivos muestran una mayor inestabilidad y labilidad en la asignación de recursos y/o en los límites de capacidad de procesamiento.     

Cultural intermediaries in the making of branded music events: digital cultural capital in tension

ABSTRACT

Previous studies have overlooked how intermediaries and their digital cultural capital enhance the relationship between brand values and consumer identities; their specific uses of digital technologies; and how those uses are displayed in activities where intermediaries create consumer experiences. This paper thus explores the role that cultural intermediaries (music bloggers and an advertising agency) and their digital cultural capital play in making and communicating a branded music event. Briefly, intermediaries used a set of digital technologies (social media, guest lists, blogs, and websites) to create and orchestrate an authentic and exclusive experience between brands and consumers. We draw on empirical material from interviews and ethnographic work conducted in Santiago, Chile. Our study identifies digital technologies used by cultural intermediaries in communicating branded music events, including as: promotional tools; advertising campaign efficacy evaluation mechanisms; and relational objects that connect advertising agencies, music bloggers, brands, and consumers. By exploring the tensions and conflicts that arise among bloggers and advertising executives, we shed light on the uses and exchanges of digital cultural capital for commercial purposes, resulting from the connections between intermediaries that come from different fields of cultural production.     

Evaluation of a new equation for estimating low-density lipoprotein cholesterol through the comparison with various recommended methods

IntroductionThe accurate estimation of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) is crucial for management of patients at risk of cardiovascular events due to dyslipidemia. The LDL is typically calculated using the Friedewald equation and/or direct homogeneous assays. However, both methods have their own limitations, so other equations have been proposed, including a new equation developed by Sampson. The aim of this study was to evaluate Sampson equation by comparing with the Friedewald and Martin-Hopkins equations, and with a direct LDL method.Materials and methodsResults of standard lipid profile (total cholesterol (CHOL), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) and triglycerides (TG)) were obtained from two anonymized data sets collected at two laboratories, using assays from different manufacturers (Beckman Coulter and Roche Diagnostics). The second data set also included LDL results from a direct assay (Roche Diagnostics). Passing-Bablok and Bland-Altman analysis for method comparison was performed.ResultsA total of 64,345 and 37,783 results for CHOL, HDL and TG were used, including 3116 results from the direct LDL assay. The Sampson and Friedewald equations provided similar LDL results (difference ≤ 0.06 mmol/L, on average) at TG ≤ 2.0 mmol/L. At TG between 2.0 and 4.5 mmol/L, the Sampson-calculated LDL showed a constant bias (- 0.18 mmol/L) when compared with the Martin-Hopkins equation. Similarly, at TG between 4.5 and 9.0 mmol/L, the Sampson equation showed a negative bias when compared with the direct assay, which was proportional (- 16%) to the LDL concentration.ConclusionsThe Sampson equation may represent a cost-efficient alternative for calculating LDL in clinical laboratories.     

Mexican Americans and the push for culturally relevant education: the bilingual education movement in Tucson, 1958–1969

This essay traces the bilingual education movement that began in Tucson through the efforts of local teachers, university faculty and educational leaders. It is argued that Mexican Americans and their allies played a crucial role in promoting the merits of bilingual education at the local, state and national levels. Their advocacy of Spanish-for-Spanish-speakers programmes as a culturally relevant means of improving educational outcomes for Mexican American students led to a push for bilingual education with the support of the National Education Association. The work that educators from Tucson accomplished focused national attention on the education of Mexican Americans and ultimately contributed to the passage of the Bilingual Education Act of 1968. This legislation sparked a national movement to expand bilingual education programmes throughout the Southwest and other parts of the nation.     

Representations over the Earth’s shape and the process of day and night from Nahua indigenous schoolchildren / Representaciones sobre la forma de la Tierra y del proceso día y noche en niños de escuelas indígenas Nahuas

This research presents the way in which children from a Nahua indigenous community build representations of the Earth’s shape, as well as the process that causes day and night. Concepts from school and local culture were studied. For the first case, a questionnaire was applied to 331 children, out of which 38 children were then interviewed on the topics from the questionnaire. For the cultural ideas, three teachers from the region and 30 children from the sample were interviewed. The results show that the representations depend on the form of questioning and the existence of three models: a flat structure with a celestial dome and mechanisms that hide or remove the Sun or the Moon in order to create day and night; a spherical structure with a surrounding sky, where the Sun and Moon rise and set; and a transitional model with a hollow sphere, flat surface and celestial dome. Cultural ideas do not appear to have any influence over these models, probably due to a loss of the community’s cosmogonic knowledge and the age of the children.     

Fatherhood Education From a Cultural Perspective: Evolving Roles and Identities After a Fatherhood Intervention for Latinos in South Florida

This article uses gender-role theory to consider the involvement of Latino fathers in their children’s lives as a result of participating in a fatherhood educational intervention. Open-ended interviews (n = 48) were conducted with participants of the program. Findings revealed that the content of the group intervention encouraged fathers to redefine their identity as a male and father by examining their own communication, discipline, and self-control as well as recognizing certain aspects of Latino culture. Implications of this study can be used to design culturally competent behavioral interventions for Latino fathers.     

Halting the Summer Achievement Slide: A Randomized Field Trial of the KindergARTen Summer Camp

In this randomized field trial of KindergARTen Camp, a 6-week summer enrichment program in literacy and the fine arts, we analyzed the summer learning outcomes of 93 treatment and 35 control students from high-poverty schools in Baltimore, Maryland. This experiment offers evidence concerning the causal effect of the program on 5 measures of students' literacy achievement. We found treatment effects during the summer months that were of both practical and statistical significance on the Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA) and the Word List A assessments. In addition, results from surveys of KindergARTen Camp students, parents, and teachers revealed strong satisfaction with the program. We conclude by discussing the contextual factors that may have contributed to these results.     

Making the most of others: autonomous interdependence in adult beginner distance language learners

Autonomy in language learning does not simply equate with independence, as language learning is a social activity that requires interaction with others. This also applies just as much to distance language learners, who need to reconcile independent language learning and interdependence with others. This article draws on findings from 43 mid-course interviews with adult beginner distance learners of French, Spanish, and German, and focuses on ways in which they engage with tutors and with other students, and the extent to which these interactions enhance their learning. It shows that many students are prepared to seek clarification from their tutors, but not strategic advice in areas of learning that are likely to be most problematic. It also highlights how feelings about working with other students can enhance or restrict progress toward autonomous interdependence. Finally, it considers ways for facilitating greater learner control in these key aspects of their studies.