Investigating the validity of scores obtained with the Home and Family Questionnaire and their reliability with scores obtained with the home observation for the measurement of the environment-middle childhood

The study of home environments and their relationships to child outcomes has become common practice among researchers of child development. As such, having a reliable instrument for measuring home environments that is also cost and time efficient is of primary interest to researchers. The most widely used instrument for measuring home environments is the Home Observation Measurement of the Environment (HOME) developed by Caldwell and Bradley in 1984. Use of the HOME is prevalent among researchers, yet it is costly to implement both in time and in money. An alternative tool for home environment measurement is the Home and Family Questionnaire (HFQ) (Pierce, Alfonso, & Garrison, 1998) which is cost and time effective, and is in conceptual congruence with ecological theory. The purpose of the present study was to test the construct validity of scores obtained with the HFQ by comparing them with scores obtained with the Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire (PSDQ) (Robinson, Mandleco, Olsen, & Hart, 1995). The criterion validity of the HFQ was also tested by comparing scores obtained with it to children’s scores obtained with the Dynamic Inventory of Basic Literacy Skills (DIBELS) (Good & Kaminski, 2003). Finally, the reliability of scores obtained with the HFQ was tested with scores obtained with the HOME Middle Childhood version (MC-HOME). Scores as collected with the HFQ subscales of Maturity Facilitation, Parent-Child Emotional Relationship, and Child’s Use of Stimulating Materials were found to exhibit construct validity, criterion-related validity, and reliability with MC-HOME data

Breastfeeding and Bedtime

Breastfeeding and sleep are inextricably linked, biologically and socially. For survival, newborn infants require feeding around the clock. Doing so facilitates an optimal milk supply and proximity to the mother for protection. However, in Western societies, breastfeeding mothers face a conflict when culturally pervasive messages suggest that breastfeeding to sleep (at some unspecified point) becomes a ‘bad habit’, creating an undesirable dependency of the mother’s own making – ‘a rod for your back’. As such, mothers are often faced with their desire to continue breastfeeding while simultaneously experiencing pressure to sleep separately from their baby, space feeds and encourage self-soothing. Often this results in early cessation of breastfeeding owing to a lack of support and accurate information. The first part of this article will look at the context for the breastfeeding and bedtime issue and how it impacts mothers. The second part will highlight the key information around the benefits of breastfeeding at bedtime and during the night that can be shared with parents to educate and reassure them

Final Report for SafePlace Austin, Texas

Institute on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (IDVSA

Do you know what I know? The impact of participant role in children's referential communication

For successful language use, interlocutors must be able to accurately assess their shared knowledge (“common ground”). Such knowledge can be accumulated through linguistic and non-linguistic context, but the same context can be associated with different patterns of knowledge, depending on the interlocutor’s participant role (Wilkes-Gibbs and Clark, 1992). Although there is substantial evidence that children’s ability to model partners’ knowledge develops gradually, most such evidence focuses on non-linguistic context. We investigated the extent to which 8- to 10-year-old children can assess common ground developed through prior linguistic context, and whether this is sensitive to variations in participant role. Children repeatedly described tangram figures to another child, and then described the same figures to a third child who had been a side-participant, an overhearer, or absent during the initial conversation. Children showed evidence of partner modeling, producing shorter referential expressions with repeated mention to the same partner. Moreover, they demonstrated sensitivity to differences in common ground with the third child based on participant role on some but not all measures (e.g., description length, but not definiteness). Our results suggest that by ten, children make distinctions about common ground accumulated through prior linguistic context but do not yet consistently deploy this knowledge in an adult-like way

Birational maps with transcendental dynamical degree

We give examples of birational selfmaps of $\mathbb{P}^d, d \geq 3,$ whose dynamical degree is a transcendental number. This contradicts a conjecture by Bellon and Viallet. The proof uses a combination of techniques from algebraic dynamics and diophantine approximation.Comment: 49 page

The Teacher Work Sample: Candidate and Mentor Perceptions

Elementary education faculty at this university embedded a Teacher Work Sample (TWS) performance-based assessment into the student teaching experience to assess candidates’ ability to impact student learning as required by recent accreditation reforms. The authors conducted an internal evaluation of the TWS for the purposes of strengthening not only the capstone experience, but also all of the courses and field experiences that precede student teaching. This study examines quantitative and qualitative data gathered via surveys and follow-up semi-structured interviews with candidates and mentors. The results of the study indicate that while both candidates and mentors perceive the TWS as a positive tool, mentors had a significantly more positive view than candidates in several crucial areas

An Exploratory Study of the Role of Values in Microeconomic Decision-Making and the Implications for Organizations and Leaders

This research is designed to test the role reflecting on and sharing values plays in our individual decision-making schemas in a group. The research is based on evidence from the literature that values play a role in economic decision-making, can be formed and utilized either consciously or unconsciously, and impact microeconomic decision-making and ethics in organizations. The study found that when decision considerations were reframed in a values context the decision-making process became more quasi-rational, but the decisions participants made were as good or better than they were before values were introduced. In some cases decision-makers became less interested in personal considerations after decisions were framed in a values context. This is an important finding because traditional models of economic decision-making assume the decision-making process is always rational and decision-makers are always self-interested. There may also be some relationship between utilizing values and improved ethical decision-making for women within small groups with relatively strong relationships in a community

Pre-Clinical Assessment of Single-Use Negative Pressure Wound Therapy During In Vivo Porcine Wound Healing

Objective: Traditional negative pressure wound therapy systems can be large and cumbersome, limiting patient mobility and adversely affecting quality of life. PICO™, a no canister single-use system offers a lightweight, portable alternative to traditional negative pressure wound therapy, with improved clinical performance. The aim of this study was to determine the potential mechanism(s) of action of single-use negative pressure wound therapy versus traditional negative pressure wound therapy.Approach: Single-use negative pressure wound therapy and traditional negative pressure wound therapy were applied to in in vivo porcine excisional wound model, following product use guidelines. Macroscopic, histological and biochemical analyses were performed at defined healing time-points to assess multiple aspects of the healing response. Results: Wounds treated with single-use negative pressure displayed greater wound closure and increased re-epithelialisation versus those treated with traditional negative pressure. The resulting granulation tissue was more advanced with fewer neutrophils, reduced inflammatory markers, more mature collagen and no wound filler-associated foreign body reactions. Of note, single-use negative pressure therapy failed to induce wound edge epithelial hyperproliferation, while traditional negative pressure therapy compromised peri-wound skin, which remained inflamed with high transepidermal water loss; features not observed following single-use treatment. Innovation: Single-use negative pressure was identified to improve multiple aspects of healing versus traditional negative pressure treatment.Conclusion: This study provides important new insight into the differing mode of action of single-use versus traditional negative pressure and may go some way to explain the improved clinical outcomes observed with single use negative pressure therapy

Spatial variation in the benthic community composition of coral reefs in the Wakatobi Marine National Park, Indonesia: updated baselines and limited benthic community shifts.

Coral reefs have experienced extensive degradation across the world over the last 50 years as a result of a variety of stressors operating at a range of spatial and temporal scales. In order to assess whether declines are continuing, or if reefs are recovering, detailed baseline information is required from across wide spatial scales. Unfortunately, for some regions this information is not readily available, making future reef trajectories difficult to determine. Here we characterized the current benthic community state for coral reefs in the Wakatobi region of Indonesia, one of the most biodiverse marine regions in the world. We surveyed 10 reef sites (5, 10 and 15 m depth) to explore spatial variation in coral reef benthic communities and provide a detailed baseline. Previous data (2002–2011) were available for coral, sponges, algae and soft coral at six of our study sites. Using this information, we determined if any changes had occurred in dominance of these benthic groups. We found that benthic assemblage composition differed significantly over relatively small spatial scales (2–10 km) and hard coral cover was highly variable, ranging from 7–48% (average 19.5% ± 1.5 SE). While coral cover appears to have declined at all sites where data were available since 2002, we found little evidence for widespread increases in other benthic groups or regime shifts. Our study provides a comprehensive baseline dataset for the region that can be used in the future to determine rates of change in benthic communities

Combinando tecnología video digital y métodos narrativos para comprender el desarrollo infantil

Mit zunehmender Verbesserung der Technologie ergeben sich neue Möglichkeiten, Forschungsvorhaben durchzuführen. Dieser Aufsatz beschreibt die Anwendung der Videobearbeitungssoftware Adobe Premiere in der qualitativen Forschung. Zur Veranschaulichung der Vor- und Nachteile dieses neuen Tools für qualitative Beobachtungsstudien verwenden wir Beispiele aus unseren Untersuchungen über Mutter-Säuglings-Beziehungen. Die Vorteile in der Anwendung von Videobearbeitungssoftware liegen in der Art und Weise, wie Datenmaterial strukturiert, präsentiert und bearbeitet werden kann, was bis dato so nicht möglich war. Indem nur die Videosegmente, die für die Studie relevant sind, aufgezeichnet und chronologisch geordnet werden können, wird es möglich, Filme zusammenzustellen, die von der Größe her gut handhabbar sind und die zu weiteren Analysezwecken relativ einfach weiterverarbeitet werden können. Dies bietet neuartige Wege, um Entwicklungsstadien zu visualisieren und zu analysieren. Des weiteren diskutieren wir den potentiellen Gewinn und ethische Gesichtspunkte, die berücksichtig werden müssen, wenn digitales Videomaterial in Online-Zeitschriften veröffentlich wird. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0202245As technology improves, the possibilities for new ways of conducting research emerge. This article focuses on the use of Adobe Premiere video editing software in qualitative research. Examples from our studies of mother-infant relationships will be used to highlight some of the advantages and disadvantages of this new tool in observational, qualitative research. The major benefits of using computer film editing software are that it makes it possible to rearrange, present, and navigate through video in ways never possible before. By capturing segments of video with the types of behavior most relevant for the study, then chronologically ordering the segments into a computer file or a new video, it is possible to create a condense and digestible film to study. This provides a new way to visualize and analyze developmental change. The article also briefly discusses the potential benefits and ethical issues for using digital video in online journals. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0202245Al mejorar la tecnología, surgen nuevas posibilidades de conducir investigaciones. Este articulo se enfoca en el uso del software Adobe Premiere que permite editar videos en una investigación cualitativa. Ejemplos de nuestro estudio de las relaciones entre madres e hijos serán usados para destacar algunas de las ventajas y desventajas de esta nueva herramienta en la investigación cualitativa observacional. Los mayores beneficios de usar el software de edición de videos en la computadora son que hacen posible el re-arreglar, presentar y navegar por el video en una forma nunca antes posible. Capturando segmentos del video con los tipos de comportamientos más relevantes para el estudio, y luego ordenando los segmentos cronológicamente en un archivo de computadora o en un nuevo video, es posible crear una película condensada y fácil de estudiar. Esto proporciona una nueva manera de visualizar y analizar el cambio en el desarrollo. Este articulo también discute brevemente los beneficios potenciales y temas éticos al usar videos digitales en diarios de la RED. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs020224