125 research outputs found
The Roles of Youth in Society: A Reconceptualization
The 1980s have been characterized as a decade of platforms for educational change. In 19S3 alone, five reports were released by national task forces and commissions, all expressing serious concern for the future of youth and society, and all proposing recommendations for ways in which educational policies and practices might be altered, to address such concerns
Do Children Who Move Home and School Frequently Have Poorer Educational Outcomes in Their Early Years at School? An Anonymised Cohort Study
Frequent mobility has been linked to poorer educational attainment. We investigated the association between moving
home and moving school frequently and the early childhood formal educational achievement. We carried out a cohort
analysis of 121,422 children with anonymised linked records. Our exposure measures were: 1) the number of residential
moves registered with a health care provider, and 2) number of school moves. Our outcome was the formal educational
assessment at age 6â7. Binary regression modeling was used to examine residential moves within the three time periods: 0
â ,1 year; 1 â ,4 years and 4 â ,6 years. School moves were examined from age 4 to age 6. We adjusted for demographics,
residential moves at different times, school moves and birth related variables. Children who moved home frequently were
more likely not to achieve in formal assessments compared with children not moving. Adjusted odds ratios were significant
for 3 or more moves within the time period 1 â,4 years and for any number of residential moves within the time period 4â
,6 years. There was a dose response relationship, with increased odds ratios with increased frequency of residential moves
(2 or more moves at 4â,6 years, adjusted odds ratio 1.16 (1.03, 1.29). The most marked effect was seen with frequent
school moves where 2 or more moves resulted in an adjusted odds ratio of 2.33 (1.82, 2.98). This is the first study to examine
the relationship between residential and school moves in early childhood and the effect on educational attainment.
Children experiencing frequent mobility may be disadvantaged and should be closely monitored. Additional educational
support services should be afforded to children, particularly those who frequently change school, in order to help them
achieve the expected educational standards
Thar She Blows! A Novel Method for DNA Collection from Cetacean Blow
Background: Molecular tools are now widely used to address crucial management and conservation questions. To date, dart biopsying has been the most commonly used method for collecting genetic data from cetaceans; however, this method has some drawbacks. Dart biopsying is considered inappropriate for young animals and has recently come under scrutiny from ethical boards, conservationists, and the general public. Thus, identifying alternative genetic collection techniques for cetaceans remains a priority, especially for internationally protected species. Methodology/Principal Findings: In this study, we investigated whether blow-sampling, which involves collecting exhalations from the blowholes of cetaceans, could be developed as a new less invasive method for DNA collection. Our current methodology was developed using six bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, housed at the National Aquarium, Baltimore (USA), from which we were able to collect both blow and blood samples. For all six individuals, we found that their mitochondrial and microsatellite DNA profile taken from blow, matched their corresponding mitochondrial and microsatellite DNA profile collected from blood. This indicates that blow-sampling is a viable alternative method for DNA collection. Conclusion/Significance: In this study, we show that blow-sampling provides a viable and less invasive method for collection of genetic data, even for small cetaceans. In contrast to dart biopsying, the advantage of this method is that it capitalizes on the natural breathing behaviour of dolphins and can be applied to even very young dolphins. Both biopsy and blow-sampling require close proximity of the boat, but blow-sampling can be achieved when dolphins voluntarily bowride and involves no harmful contact
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