34 research outputs found
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Impact of asthma on educational attainment in a socioeconomically deprived population: a study linking health, education and social care datasets
BACKGROUND: Asthma has the potential to adversely affect children's school examination performance, and hence longer term life chances. Asthma morbidity is especially high amongst UK ethnic minority children and those experiencing social adversity, populations which also have poor educational outcomes. We tested the hypothesis that asthma adversely affects performance in national school examinations in a large cohort from an area of ethnic diversity and social deprivation.
METHODS AND FINDINGS: With a novel method (using patient and address-matching algorithms) we linked administrative and clinical data for 2002-2005 for children in east London aged 5-14 years to contemporaneous education and social care datasets. We modelled children's performance in school examinations in relation to socio-demographic and clinical variables. The dataset captured examination performance for 12,136 children who sat at least one national examination at Key Stages 1-3. For illustration, estimates are presented as percentage changes in Key Stage 2 results. Having asthma was associated with a 1.1% increase in examination scores (95%CI 0.4 to 1.7)%,p = 0.02. Worse scores were associated with Bangladeshi ethnicity -1.3%(-2.5 to -0.1)%,p = 0.03; special educational need -14.6%(-15.7 to -13.5)%,p = 0.02; mental health problems -2.5%(-4.1 to -0.9)%,p = 0.003, and social adversity: living in a smoking household -1.2(-1.7 to -0.6)%,p<0.001; living in social housing -0.8%(-1.3 to -0.2)% p = 0.01, and entitlement to free school meals -0.8%(-1.5 to -0.1)%,p<0.001.
CONCLUSIONS: Social adversity and ethnicity, but not asthma, are associated with poorer performance in national school examinations. Policies to improve educational attainment in socially deprived areas should focus on these factors
Did cybercrime cause the crime drop?
Recent studies have hypothesised that the international crime drop was the result of the rise in cybercrime. We subject this ‘cybercrime hypothesis’ to critical assessment. We find significant evidence and argument indicating that cybercrime could not have caused the crime drop, and so we reject the cybercrime hypothesis
Once Bitten, Thrice Wise: The Varying Effects of Victimization on Routine Activities and Risk Management
Criminal Victimisation in Eleven Industrialised Countries. Key findings from the 1996 International Crime Victims Survey
The International Crime Victimisation Survey (ICVS) is the most far-reaching programme
of fully standardised sample surveys looking at householders' experience
of crime in different countries. The first ICVS took place in 1989, the second in 1992,
and the third in 1996. Surveys have been carried out in over 50 countries since 1989,
including a large number of city surveys in developing countries and countries in
transition. This report deals with eleven industrialised countries which took part in
the third sweep.
The reason for setting up the ICVS was the inadequacy of other measures of crime
across country. Figures of offences recorded by the police are problematic due to
differences in the way the police define, record and count crime. And since most
crimes the police know about are reported by victims, police figures can differ
simply because of differences in reporting behaviour. It is also difficult to make
comparisons of independently organised crime surveys, as these differ in design
and coverage.
For the countries covered in this report, interviews were mainly conducted by
telephone (with samples selected through variants of random digit dialling). There
is no reason to think results are biased because of the telephone mode. Response
rates varied hut we show that there is no overriding evidence that this affects the
count of victimisation. Samples were usually of 1,000 or 2,000 people which means
there is a fairly wide sampling error on the ICVS estimates. The surveys cannot,
then, give precise estimates of crime in different countries. But they are a unique
source of information and give good comparative information.
The results in this report relate mainly to respondents' experience of crime in 1995,
the year prior to the 1996 survey. Those interviewed were asked about crimes they
had experienced, whether or not reported to the police
Criminal Victimisation in Seventeen Industrialised Countries. Key findings from the 2000 International Crime Victims Survey
The International Crime Victimisation Survey (ICVS) is the most far-reaching programme
of fully standardised sample surveys looking at householders' experience
of crime in different countries. The first ICVS took place in 1989, the second in 1992,
the third in 1996 and the fourth in 2000. Surveys have been carried out in 24 industrialised
countries since 1989, and in 46 cities in developing countries and countries
in transition. This report deals with seventeen industrialised countries which took
part in the 2000 ICVS.
The reason for setting up the ICVS was the inadequacy of other measures of crime
across country. Figures of offences recorded by the police are problematic due to
differences in the way the police define, record and count crime. And since victims
report most crimes the police know about, police figures can differ simply because
of differences in reporting behaviour. It is also difficult to make comparisons of
independently organised crime surveys, as these differ in design and coverage.
For the countries covered in this report, interviews were mainly conducted by
telephone (with samples selected through variants of random digit dialling). The
overall response rate in the 17 countries was 64%. Samples were usually of 2,000
people, which mean there is a fairly wide sampling error on the ICVS estimates. The
surveys cannot, then, give precise estimates of crime in different countries. But they
are a unique source of information and give good comparative information.
Each participating country paid for its own fieldwork. The Dutch Ministry of Justice
also provided financial assistance for overheads. Technical aspects of the surveys in
many countries were co-ordinated by a Dutch company, Interview-NSS, who subcontracted
fieldwork to local survey companies. The NSCR and Leiden University
managed survey results.
The results in this report relate mainly to respondents' experience of crime in 1999,
the year prior to the 2000 survey. Those interviewed were asked about crimes they
had experienced, whether or not reported to the police
Home Office Research Study 235
this report are those of the authors, not necessarily those of the Home Office (nor do they reflect Government policy
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