Is exposure to secondhand smoke associated with cognitive parameters of children and adolescents?—a systematic literature review

PURPOSE: Despite the known association of second hand smoke (SHS) with increased risk of ill health and mortality, the effects of SHS exposure on cognitive functioning in children and adolescents are unclear. Through a critical review of the literature we sought to determine whether a relationship exists between these variables. METHODS: The authors systematically reviewed articles (dated 1989–2012) that investigated the association between SHS exposure (including in utero due to SHS exposure by pregnant women) and performance on neurocognitive and academic tests. Eligible studies were identified from searches of Web of Knowledge, MEDLINE, Science Direct, Google Scholar, CINAHL, EMBASE, Zetoc, and Clinicaltrials.gov. RESULTS: Fifteen articles were identified, of which 12 showed inverse relationships between SHS and cognitive parameters. Prenatal SHS exposure was inversely associated with neurodevelopmental outcomes in young children, whereas postnatal SHS exposure was associated with poor academic achievement and neurocognitive performance in older children and adolescents. Furthermore, SHS exposure was associated with an increased risk of neurodevelopmental delay. CONCLUSIONS: Recommendations should be made to the public to avoid sources of SHS and future research should investigate interactions between SHS exposure and other risk factors for delayed neurodevelopment and poor cognitive performance

Collective in the Classroom: Creating Theatre in Secondary School Collaboration Projects

This school-based study explored how two intact classroom groups of students engaged with their drama teachers to collectively create original theatre for outside audiences. Two and one half months spent in a grade-ten classroom and four months in a grade-eleven classroom in two different schools yielded descriptive data drawn from classroom observation notes, documents, and interviews with ten students from each classroom group. Descriptive categories identified through preliminary analysis of data include group creative process, collaborative relationships, and evidence of theatre arts discourse. This paper explores how teachers and students understood their collaborative work as theatre. Résumé Cette étude en milieu scolaire porte sur deux classes d’élèves qui se sont engagés en compagnie de leurs enseignants d’art dramatique dans un projet de création collective présentée publiquement. Nous avons passé deux mois et demi auprès d‘une classe de dixième année et quatre auprès d‘une classe de onzième année, ce qui nous a permis de recueillir des données à partir d’observations, de documentation écrite et d’interviews réalisées auprès de dix élèves de chacune de ces classes. Les catégories que nous avons dégagées dans l’analyse préliminaire des données ont porté sur le processus de création du groupe, la collaboration entre les élèves et le discours théâtral. Cet article démontre la façon dont les enseignants et les élèves collaborent à un travail théâtral

Sickness as sin: observers\u27 perceptions of the physically ill.

The relationship between goodness and happiness, between wickedness and punishment is so strong, that given one of these conditions, the other is frequently assumed. Misfortune, sickness, and accident are often taken as signs of badness and guilt. If (a person) is unfortunate, then he has committed a sin. Heider (1958, p. 235) Illness is a universal phenomenon, and every society develops ways of defining and coping with illness. It is a fact of life with which everyone must live, although the effects of disease and reactions to illness may vary widely across individuals and cultures. Individuals and groups vary in their susceptibility to certain diseases, in their beliefs and attitudes toward illness, and in the ways in which they explain and adapt to illness. These variations in the distribution, definition, and reaction to illness have led to the recognition of illness as a psychosocial as well as biological phenomenon, and have increasingly become the objects of social and psychological inquiry

Planning Professional Development: What Educators Know about Formative Instructional Practices

Formative instructional practices (FIP) are the formal and informal ways that teachers and students gather and respond to evidence of student learning. Although they might have been practicing formative instruction on a daily basis, many teachers rarely thought about how formative instructional practice features were already a part of their work. Teachers often displayed content standards, informed students of learning targets, and maintained learning records, but they may not have consistently analyzed records of student learning to make instructional decisions. Both novice educators and educators who already have strong classroom management and instructional skills are likely to benefit from professional learning around practices that encourage more student ownership of learning. In order to design a content relevant FIP PD program, it was critical to have an understanding of what teachers knew about formative instructional practices, and where their strength and weakness were. This study aimed to initiate these processes by asking, “What is educators’ baseline knowledge about FIP as measured by the FIP Knowledge Inventory?” The results of 2,528 educators on a FIP Knowledge Inventory showed an average of 61.84% correct responses or 15.46 points out of a possible 25 points. Item analysis indicated that teachers were weaker in two areas than they were in other principles of FIP: 1) providing effective feedback to students, and 2) promoting student ownership of their learning. This has implications for future teacher PD design and purposeful practices to transform knowledge to classroom instruction

Les minorités francophones hors Québec et la gouvernance des langues officielles : portrait et enjeux

L’article porte sur l’évolution des formes et des rapports de gouvernance entre le gouvernement fédéral et les communautés minoritaires de langue officielle au Canada. La gouvernance horizontale vise à concrétiser l’engagement du gouvernement fédéral envers les minorités de langue officielle et apparaît comme une forme novatrice d’organisation. Par contre, jusqu’en 2003, elle a aussi servi à compenser l’absence d’action directe et soutenue de la part du gouvernement fédéral envers les minorités de langue officielle. Ce texte étudie et montre comment l’évolution de la gouvernance a suscité des enjeux importants pour le développement de la francophonie en milieu minoritaire.The article examines the evolution of the official language minority communities’ forms of governance and relations with the federal government. Horizontal governance aims at implementing the federal government’s commitment to official language minorities and appears to be an innovative form of organization. However until 2003, it also seemed to be a substitute for direct and sustained action from the federal government on behalf of its official language minorities. This article examines the evolution of governance and explains how it has raised important issues relating to the development of Francophones living in a minority environment

Self-adaptive hierarchic finite element solution of the one-dimensional unsaturated flow equation

The advantages associated with the use of self-adaptive methods for the solution of problems which require the prediction of a frontal position in time are well known. In this paper a self-adaptive finite element solution for the non-linear unsaturated flow equation is developed using hierarchic p -version enrichment of the interpolating space. Additional computational advantages are demonstrated for an iteration scheme in which iterations after enrichment are performed only over a subdomain. Numerical solutions are presented for a one-dimensional infiltration scenario.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/50201/1/1650100302_ftp.pd

In a neighborhood near you: how community health workers help people obtain health insurance and primary care

Implementing the health insurance mandate of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), signed into law in 2010, will require states to reach, educate, and successfully enroll individuals and families who have had little experience with health coverage. The uninsured are likely to require considerable individualized application and enrollment support. Consumer advocates believe there is a need for ongoing support so that the newly insured retain their coverage, navigate their way effectively through the health care system, and engage in wellness and prevention activities. As many states prepare to enroll millions of low-income uninsured Americans, the experience of Community Health Workers (CHWs) in Massachusetts can inform outreach and enrollment efforts across the country

A Professional Development Program for Science Adjunct Faculty: The Mentoring-Learning Community (MLC)

Institutions of higher education have become increasingly dependent on adjunct faculty. These faculty members are often unfamiliar with current teaching strategies emphasizing an active learning approach. To support science adjunct faculty in learning about active learning, a professional development program was designed and implemented by the authors of this study, the Mentoring-Learning Community. The Mentoring-Learning Community program design was informed by literature regarding the use of professional development programs that focused on adjunct faculty. To determine the impact of this program, participants in the Mentoring-Learning Community were observed and interviewed over one semester. Mentoring-Learning Community participants transformed through all three Transformative Learning Theory dimensions, felt more empowered to utilize active learning approaches in their classrooms, and modified some aspects of their instruction