Early maltreatment increases lifetime risk of psychopathology. Emerging models suggest that exposure to maltreatment leads to changes in cognitive processes associated with the processing of threat, ...including processes of selective attention. Existing data may be interpreted to suggest that maltreatment is associated with an automatic attentional engagement with threatening cues, or that maltreatment is associated with generally poorer attention control. Using a pair of attention tasks, this study sought to examine whether maltreatment was associated with threat-related interference on attention processing and if this could be explained by poorer attentional control capacity.
Fifty-one maltreated adolescents from an out-of-home care sample in New South Wales, Australia were recruited to complete two attention tasks. Data from 24 of these participants were compared with that of a sample of non-maltreated peers matched on gender, age, cognitive ability, and household income to identify maltreatment-associated group differences. Data from all participants were then used to explore the degree to which attention variables correlated with continuous measures of internalising symptoms, subtypes, and severity of maltreatment.
On the first task, maltreated adolescents showed significant interference from an irrelevant but non-emotional distractor on reaction times when completing a central letter identification task under low perceptual task conditions. On the second task, maltreated adolescents also showed similar interference on a probe-identification task that involved ignoring threatening (angry face) distractors, again under low perceptual load.
These data may suggest difficulties exercising attention control following early maltreatment. These may contribute to the emergence of psychiatric disorders and other difficulties for those exposed to maltreatment.
We evaluated the effect of a universal, teacher-training, violence-prevention program implemented in preschool, on high-risk children's behavior, achievement, and attendance in grade one of primary ...school.
A cluster-randomized trial was conducted in 24 preschools in Kingston, Jamaica. Three children from each class with the highest level of teacher-reported conduct problems were recruited for evaluation of outcomes (
= 225 children). For this study, to increase power, we recruited an additional two children from each class with the next highest teacher-reported scores for conduct problems in preschool. In the final term of grade one of primary school, we assessed children's: (1) conduct problems and social skills at home and school, (2) academic achievement, language, and self-regulation skills, and (3) school attendance.
214/225 (95.1%) of the children evaluated in preschool were assessed in grade one of primary school; an additional 150 children were recruited to give 364 children (181 intervention, 183 control). Significant benefits of intervention were found for child academic achievement (Effect size (ES) = 0.23,
= 0.02), oral language (ES = 0.28,
= 0.006), self-regulation (ES = 0.25,
= 0.007), and school attendance (ES = 0.30,
= 0.003). No significant benefits were found for observed conduct problems (ES = -0.13,
= 0.16), and parent-reported conduct problems (ES = 0.10,
= 0.31) and social skills (ES = -0.07,
= 0.52). Benefits to teacher-reported conduct problems and social skills were significant at
< 0.1 (ES = -0.16,
= 0.09, and ES = 0.19,
= 0.06, respectively).
A scalable intervention involving training preschool teachers in classroom behavior management and how to promote child social-emotional competence led to positive outcomes in primary school across multiple child developmental domains for high-risk children.
Difficulties with inhibiting fear have been associated with the emergence of anxiety problems and poor response to cognitive-behavioural treatment. Fear inhibition problems measured using ...experimental paradigms involving aversive stimuli may be inappropriate for vulnerable samples and may not capture fear inhibition problems evident in everyday life. We present the Fear Inhibition Questionnaire (FIQ), a self-report measure of fear inhibition abilities. We assess the FIQ's factor structure across two cultures and how well it correlates with fear inhibition indices derived experimentally. Adolescent participants from Hong Kong and England completed the FIQ, with the English participants also completing a conditioning and extinction task to assess fear inhibition problems. Across both cultures, the FIQ showed a single factor structure and low FIQ scores, or worse fear inhibition problems, were associated with self-reports of heightened anxiety. Correlation of FIQ scores with experimental indices, whilst controlling for anxious symptoms, suggests that the FIQ represents a valid and unique measure of fear inhibition abilities. The FIQ might be used to assess more ecologically valid fear inhibition problems particularly amongst people who have or who are at risk of anxiety diagnoses.
In the 1993-1994 academic year, female enrollment was 34.7% in osteopathic medical schools and 40.2% in allopathic medical schools. To assess progress in female enrollment since that time, the ...authors examined admission data in the ensuing years, including female applicants, matriculants, and first-year students in osteopathic and allopathic medical schools, as well as female chief academic officers at these institutions. In the 2004-2005 academic year, 50.3% of first-year students in osteopathic medical schools were women; however, by the 2013-2014 academic year, that figure dropped to 44.2%. The percentage rose slightly by the 2016-2017 academic year to 45.9%. Additionally, for the 2016-2017 academic year, allopathic medical schools had a significantly higher proportion of female matriculants than did osteopathic medical schools (49.8% vs 45.9%, respectively; P<.001).
Family, politics and media Baker, Helen; McEnery, Tony
Journal of historical pragmatics,
8/2024, Letnik:
25, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Abstract In this paper, we utilise the Nineteenth Century Newspaper Corpus to examine reporting surrounding William Gladstone’s Midlothian campaign, a key point in the democratization of British ...politics where a politician not only communicated with ordinary people through hustings but indirectly to a wider electorate via media reporting of those hustings. With the use of social actor analysis ( van Leeuwen 2008 ), approached through collocation, we find that a distinctive feature of media reporting was a focus on Gladstone’s family. This surprising intersection of family and electioneering reveals a powerful hierarchy of social relationships in terms of gender and seniority, which became an effective propaganda strategy as Gladstone, enabled by Liberal-supporting newspapers, utilised his family as a political tool.
Introduction
Sustainable implementation of early childhood programs requires resources, materials and methods that are adaptable, scalable and feasible for delivery through multiple sectors. ...Additional or modified program resources may be required to meet emerging needs, as programs go to scale. An active and effective monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) process may enable programs to be responsive to demands. The Reach Up: Early Childhood Parenting program, is designed primarily for disadvantaged children under 4 years of age in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) to promote their development through playful caregiver interactions. The curriculum, training manuals and other materials and resources support implementers in the adaptation of the intervention, implementation, workforce training, monitoring and evaluation. This paper reports on how data collected from key informants drove modifications to program processes, materials and resources.
Methods
We conducted in-depth interviews with 14 key informants (including program managers, lead trainers, academics, consultants and workforce personnel) on their experiences with Reach Up across 15 LMICs where the program has been implemented. We also reviewed written records generated from (i) structured small group discussions at a Knowledge Exchange meeting of 31 Reach Up partners and (ii) notes from working groups formed at the meeting and tasked to continue working post-meeting to find solutions to support ongoing implementation. The transcripts from the in-depth interviews and the meeting records were analysed using thematic analysis with a mixture of pre-defined categories and data-driven sub-themes.
Results
The main findings indicated that there was a need to: (i) develop advocacy and communication resources and materials to aid prospective implementers and other stakeholders, to make decisions for implementation, (ii) revise and/or add to the content and format of the curriculum and add content in the training and other supporting manuals and (iii) enhance the training process.
Conclusion:
The feedback from the key global partners informed the development of new knowledge materials, resources and processes and modifications to existing program materials and resources. These will help to support advocacy, ongoing implementations, and the process of transitioning the Reach Up early childhood intervention to scale.
oaFamily, politics and media Baker, Helen; McEnery, Tony
Journal of historical pragmatics,
01/2024, Letnik:
25, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
In this paper, we utilise the Nineteenth Century Newspaper Corpus to examine reporting surrounding William Gladstone’s Midlothian campaign, a key point in the democratization of British politics ...where a politician not only communicated with ordinary people through hustings but indirectly to a wider electorate via media reporting of those hustings. With the use of social actor analysis (van Leeuwen 2008), approached through collocation, we find that a distinctive feature of media reporting was a focus on Gladstone’s family. This surprising intersection of family and electioneering reveals a powerful hierarchy of social relationships in terms of gender and seniority, which became an effective propaganda strategy as Gladstone, enabled by Liberal-supporting newspapers, utilised his family as a political tool.
ABSTRACT Objective Violence against children (VAC) is a global public health and human rights issue that can lead to long‐lasting negative consequences for individual and societal outcomes. While ...extensive evidence indicates that parenting programmes might be effective in preventing VAC, there are several unsolved questions on how to ensure interventions are acceptable, feasible, effective and sustainable, particularly in low‐ and‐ middle‐income countries (LMICs). Method In this study, we report findings from a qualitative examination of policymakers' ( N = 10), early childhood and parenting programme facilitators' ( N = 20) and parents' and other caregivers' ( N = 38) perspectives on VAC prevention to examine the implementation ecosystem of parenting programmes in Colombia, including contextual risk and protection factors, features of existing programmes, and stakeholders' needs. We conducted interviews and focus groups using a semistructured format, along with a thematic approach, to analyse the data from each group of participants (i.e., policymakers, facilitators and caregivers) independently. Results Overall, the data revealed the critical role of intersecting and interacting factors at the micro (e.g., caregivers' capabilities and beliefs), meso (e.g., programme content and delivery approaches) and macro (e.g., policymakers' vision and existing infrastructure) levels in exacerbating risks/imposing barriers versus protecting/promoting VAC prevention. Conclusions These findings provide evidence on the implementation ecosystem of prevention programmes to inform the design of novel strategies and programmes aimed at preventing violence and promoting families' well‐being and young children's development.
Factors distinguishing osteopathic physicians from their allopathic counterparts include the use of osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT), application of osteopathic principles and practice (OPP), ...and a greater likelihood of entering primary care, specifically family medicine (FM). In the United States, the percentage of entering osteopathic medical students who were female rose from 14.3% in fall 1977 to 44.3% in fall 2015.
To investigate the perspectives of female osteopathic medical students as they relate to osteopathic distinctiveness.
Students at the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine who were eligible to participate in graduation exercises in 2014 or 2015 were asked to complete the school's standard Exit Survey. The research team chose 5 items from the survey to include in the current analysis. Sex had been self-identified at admission, and residency in first postgraduate year was categorized as FM or other specialty. Graduates entering a transitional year or traditional internship were removed from analysis.
Analysis was conducted for 308 of the 375 students (82%) expected to graduate in 2014 or 2015. χ2 analysis found no difference by sex in the number of graduates entering FM residencies vs other specialties (P=.727). Statistically significant differences were found in 2 survey items: "Use of OMT will enhance my practice" (P=.005) and "What emphasis do you believe OMT will have in your practice?" (P<.001). Graduating female students responded more favorably to OMT on both items. For the latter item, 91.4% of female and 80.3% of male students indicated OMT would have at least some role in their practices. Sex differences remained after statistically controlling for entry into FM.
Female graduating osteopathic medical students were more likely to report that OMT will have at least some role in their practices. Future studies of the attitudes and practice patterns of osteopathic physicians should analyze for differences by sex.
Aims
The aim of this study was to compare the cardiovascular effects of levobupivacaine with those of rac‐bupivacaine following i.v. administration to 14 healthy male volunteers.
Methods
Drugs were ...infused (at 10 mg min−1 ) using a randomized, double‐blind, complete crossover procedure with a washout period of at least 1 week. The administration of drug was discontinued on the appearance of defined CNS symptoms or when a total of 150 mg had been given. Parameters measured were arterial blood pressure, heart rate, ECG, ejection fraction, acceleration index, stroke index and cardiac index.
Results
The mean doses administered were 56.1 mg and 47.9 mg for levobupivacaine and rac‐bupivacaine respectively and the maximum mean plasma concentrations were 2.62 and 2.25 μg ml−1 respectively. Despite the dose and plasma concentrations being comparable, levobupivacaine produced a statistically significant smaller reduction in mean stroke index (−5.14 vs−11.86 ml m−2, P=0.001), acceleration index (−0.09 vs−0.20 s−2, P=0.011) and the ejection fraction (−2.50 vs−4.29%, P=0.024). Both levobupivacaine (non significant) and rac‐bupivacaine (significant) produced small increases in the PR interval and the corrected QT interval and although the effects of rac‐bupivacaine appeared to be greater the difference between the two drugs was not significant.
Conclusions
In conclusion, this study has shown that following i. v. administration levobupivacaine produces significantly less effects on cardiovascular function than does rac‐bupivacaine. In particular the negative inotropic effect for levobupivacaine was less than that for rac‐bupivacaine as indicated by changes in stroke index, acceleration index and ejection fraction.
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