Mental health of victims of sexual violence in eastern Congo: associations with daily stressors, stigma, and labeling

Background: The conflict-ridden context of eastern Congo has set the scene for grueling human rights violations, with sexual violence as one of the 'weapons of war'. Currently, sexual violence continues, with a considerable increase in civilian perpetrators. However, little is known regarding the particular impact of different experiences of sexual violence on adolescents' mental health. This study therefore investigates the impact of sexual violence on eastern Congolese adolescents' mental health and its differing associations with daily stressors, stigma, and the labeling of sexual violence (as 'rape' or 'non-consensual sexual experience'). Methods: A cross-sectional, population-based survey design was implemented in 22 secondary schools, randomly selected from a stratified sample, in Bunia, eastern Congo, a region extensively affected by war. A total of 1,305 school-going adolescent girls aged 11 to 23 participated. Self-report measures of mental health symptoms, war-related traumatic events, experiences of sexual violence, daily stressors, and stigmatization were administered. Differences in sociodemographic characteristics, traumatic experiences and daily and social stressors between types of sexual violence (rape, non-consensual sexual violence, no sexual violence) were explored through statistical analysis. ANCOVA analyses investigated associations between those risk factors and adolescents' mental health. Results: More than one third of eastern Congolese adolescent girls reported experiences of sexual violence. Elevated levels of daily stressors, experiences of stigmatization, and stressful war-related events were found amongst girl victims of sexual violence, with the highest levels for girls who labeled the sexual violence as rape. Daily stressors, stigmatization, and war-related events showed a large impact on the girls' mental health. Last, girls who labeled the sexual violence as non-consensual sexual experiences reported more post-traumatic hyper-arousal and intrusion symptoms compared to those labeling the sexual violence as rape. Conclusions: These findings point to the important association between how war-affected adolescent girls label sexual violence (rape or non-consensual sexual experiences) and their mental health. This study also documents the large impact of sexual violence on other stressors (daily stressors, stigmatization, and stressful war events) and the impact of these stressors on girl victims' mental health. It discusses important implications for addressing sexual violence and its consequences in war-affected contexts

Essential Voices, Part II: Engaging Students and Parents in the Implementation of a New Teacher Evaluation System

In June 2013, the New York State Education Department (NYSED) announced a new teacher evaluation system for New York City, which is being enacted citywide in the 2013-14 school year. The implementation of a new system for evaluating the 75,000 teachers who work in New York City's public schools is a massive undertaking -- one that will change how principals use their time, how teachers direct their efforts in the classroom, and, ultimately, how students experience school. State Education Commissioner John King has said, "These evaluation plans will help principals and teachers improve their practice, and that in turn will help students graduate from high school ready for college and careers. That's our goal in everything we do."As the intended beneficiaries of this major reform effort, students and their families have an enormous stake in its success. This paper makes the case that the New York City Department of Education (DOE) must include them in the policy implementation process.Students and parents should have the opportunity to actively contribute to the policy changes that affect their lives; reforms are more likely to be successful, sustainable, and responsive to local needs when students and families are engaged as partners and supportive of such efforts. As theNational Parent Teacher Association (PTA) notes, "Because parents, teachers, students, and the general public are affected by school policy, it is appropriate that they participate in its determination. We believe that such sharing of responsibility will result in greater responsiveness to student and societal needs and therefore improve the quality of educational opportunity."The voices of actual New York City public school parents and students echo this desire for participation with respect to teacher evaluation policy. One New York City high school student told us, "Since the students are the ones subjected to changes in the system (as well as the teachers) they should be allowed to have a say in what they think will benefit/hurt them. They should be able to say what they think makes their teachers effective/ineffective, and what can be done to fix any problems with the new policy."Similarly, Diana M., the parent of an eleventh grader in Queens, affirmed, "We have a voice, we have many concerns and as parents should be included in these new policies that are taking place....Students as well parents have ideas and we can change the school system for the better [for] students, the DOE and the parents alike....The change starts with all three parties, parent, student and educator!"With this paper, we are calling on the DOE to include students and parents when putting the new evaluation system into practice by establishing a stakeholder advisory group to provide feedback throughout the implementation process and ensure open discussion and sharing of responsibility take place. We begin by setting forth the arguments for including parents and students in the implementation of the new policies and conclude by providing examples of structures established for this purpose in other cities and states

Recombinant expression systems: the obstacle to helminth vaccines?

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Test status and experience with the 7.5 megawatt Mod-2 wind turbine cluster

The Mod-2 wind turbine cluster is described. The site preparation and construction activities are discussed, and preliminary test results, status, and plans are presented

Efficient laser anemometer for intra-rotor flow mapping in turbomachinery

A fringe type laser anemometer is described. Features of the anemometer include; a rapid and efficient data acquisition process; a detailed real time graphic display of the data being accumulated; and input laser beam positioning that maximizes the size of the intrarotor region being mapped. Results are presented that demonstrate the anemometer's capability in flow mapping within a transonic axial flow compressor rotor. A velocity profile, derived from 30,000 measurements along 1000 sequential circumferential positions covering 20 blade passages, was obtained in 30 seconds. The use of fluorescent seed particles allowed flow measurements near the rotor hub and the casing window

ПРОБЛЕМИ ІДЕНТИЧНОСТІ Й ТРАДИЦІЇ У МОНУМЕНТАЛЬНОМУ ЖИВОПИСІ КИРИЛІВСЬКОЇ ЦЕРКВИ XII ТА XIX СТ. НА ПРИКЛАДІ АНГЕЛЬСЬКИХ ЧИНІВ. (Identity and Tradition Issues in Monumental Painting of XII and XIX Centuries of St. Cyril's Church by an Example of Angelic Ranks.)

Статтю присвячено осмисленню проблеми ідентичності та традиції у стінописі XII та ХІХст. Кирилівської церкви на прикладі зображення чинів небесної ієрархії. Аналізуються особливості, спільні та відмінні риси зображень ангельських чинів Кирилівської церкви XII та XIX cm. (The article is devoted to understanding the identity and tradition issues in murals ofXII and XIX centuries of St. Cyril's Church by an Example of celestial hierarchy ranks images. The author analyzes the characteristics, differences and similarities of angelic ranks images of St. Cyril's Church in the XII and XIX centuries.