Child protection training in sport-related degrees amd initial teacher training for physical education: an audit

This article reports on the results of an online survey of child protection training for students on sport-related degrees and Initial Teacher Training Physical Education courses, and on the views of recently-graduated teachers of the usefulness of such training in their everyday work. The results indicate that child protection training is provided on most courses but in varying amounts. Respondents to the survey reported positively, in the main, about the effects of new requirements for teacher training (Every Child Matters: Change for Children, DfES, 2004). Reasons given for not including child protection in courses were: lack of time; the perceived vocational nature of the topic; lack of fit with course aims and objectives; lack of relevance; and, the research rather than professional orientation of the course. Recently graduated teachers’ views on their pre-service child protection training differed from the claims made about this in the survey. In particular, they raised concerns about their lack of preparation for reporting and dealing with potential child protection situations. The paper concludes that child protection training within sport-related higher education courses is deficient in both consistency of delivery and in content, and that, in addition to preparing students to recognise signs and indicators of abuse, curricula should also address undergraduates’ confidence and skills for responding to abuse issues in their everyday professional practice

Toward an understanding of challenge and threat in athletes

The aims of this research programme were to a. Further examine and develop an existing self-report measure of Challenge and Threat within a sport context, b. Examine Challenge and Threat self-report with performance in a sport context, c. Further examine the Biopsychosocial Model (BPSM) proposed in relation to Challenge and Threat and sport performance, d. Examine the associations between Challenge, Threat, cortisol response and sport performance, e. Examine self-report of emotions direction and intensity experienced during a sport performance in regard to Challenge and Threat and f. Examine Challenge and Threat in combination with each other in regard to sport performance. These 6 aims were addressed in 3 different empirical studies. Study 1 used a cross sectional study design to explore the validity and reliability of an existing self-report measure of Challenge and Threat. Participants were gym users (n=200, Mage=24.91) and asked to complete the self-report measure before a dart-throwing competition. Study 2 comprised of three different stages. Stage 1; a cross sectional study design to examine the content validity of a pool of existing self-report items to measure Challenge and Threat in a range of athletes (n=25, Mage=22.00). Participants comprised of male and female athletes engaged in various sports (football, n=6, cricket, n=2, swimming, n=5, tennis, n=1, rugby, n=6, netball, n=3, basketball, n=2.). Stage 2, used a cross sectional study design to further examine the construct validity of the remaining items from stage 1. This stage used principle components analysis (PCA) to determine whether Challenge and Threat self-report items were grouped in a particular way (Kline, 1994). Participants were competitive runners (n=197, Mage=37.11) and asked to complete the self-report measure regarding Challenge and Threat before competition. Stage 3 used a cross sectional study design to explore the validity and reliability of the self-report measure of Challenge and Threat developed in stages 1-2 in competitive runners (n=147, Mage =30.06), using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to examine how well the data total fitted the proposed hypothetical model. Finally a quasi-experimental study (study 3) examined the association between Challenge and Threat and shooting performance. This study explored the Challenge and Threat self-report measure and its relationship with performance, emotions and physiological responses. Participants in this study comprised of university student and staff members (n=102, Mage =27.11). Results from study 1 suggested that the existing self-report measure of Challenge and Threat utilised was not suitable for use within a sport context. Results from study 2, stage 1, revealed a pool of self-report items that athletes described as applicable and relevant to their sports performance. Results from study 2, stage 2, suggested that items identified in study 2, stage 1 represented a two component solution, one associated with Threat and the other Challenge. Results from study 2, stage 3 suggested that a 12 item self-report measure was suitable for use within a sport context and that Challenge has a positive association with sport performance. Finally, study 3, suggested that the self-report measure of Challenge and Threat developed in study 2 (stages 1-3) was suitable for use within a sport context. Results from study 3 also suggest that a mixture of Challenge and Threat can have implications for performance outcome. Emotions reported were shown to have associations with Challenge and Threat self-report, as suggested by The Theory of Challenge and Threat States in Athletes (TCTSA). The study findings showed that physiological associations with Challenge and Threat were equivocal. Limitations to the present research programme and directions for future research are discussed

A Search For Long-Lived Gluinos With The CMS Experiment During Beam-Off Periods Of The Large Hadron Collider

Many models of new physics include the possibility of a new massive long-lived particle, the existence of which could explain discrepancies between cosmological theories and observations of 6 Li and 7 Li in the early universe. We search for particles stopping in the CMS detector after production in 7 TeV collisions at the LHC. We look for decays using a specially modified jet trigger, in time periods in which no collisions occur in CMS. In a search interval corresponding to 62 hours of LHC operation, consisting of 10.2 pb-1 of integrated luminosity with a peak instantaneous luminosity of 1032 cm-2 s-1 , we observe no significant excess over background. We set a 95% C.L. limit on production of Split-Supersymmetry gluinos over 14 orders of magnitude of gluino lifetime

Former child language brokers: preliminary observations on practice, attitudes and relational aspects

The present paper sets out to report on the preliminary results of a section of the project InMedioPueri carried out at the Department of Interdiscilinary Studies in Translation, Languages and Cultures of the University of Bologna and having as its general aim the mapping of Child Language Brokering (CLB) as a crucially important but yet not explored phenomenon in Italy (Antonini forthcoming). Specifically, this part of the study aims at outlining the impact of CLB on the development of the children who performed it on an emotional and relational level. In order to systematically explore these aspects, which have been only partially touched upon in the literature (Tse & McQuillan 1996; Buriel et al 1998; Weisskirch & Alva 2002), a significant part of the project is devoted to collecting data concerning the linguistic and cultural mediation activity as perceived by former child language brokers, i.e. by bilingual adolescents and young adults who acted or, in some cases, still act as mediators for their families or other members of the same minority immigrant community who are not fluent in Italian

Diagnóstico de Ralstonia solanacearum em tomateiro.

Pretende-se, com esta publicação, fornecer informações sobre os processos envolvidos na identificação da doença, coleta e envio de material para análise laboratorial, técnicas de identificação e armazenamento de cepas do patógeno.bitstream/item/84927/1/cot-92.pd

Desenvolvimento de Lasioderma serricorne (Fabricius, 1792) (Coleoptera: anobiidae) em grãos de soja armazenada.

Lasioderma serricorne (F.), cujo nome comum é besourinho-do-fumo, é uma praga cosmopolita que se desenvolve em produtos armazenados deterioráveis, entre os quais destacam os frutos secos, grãos, farelos, farinhas e rações. Este inseto é também frequentemente encontrado em produtos manufaturados de origem vegetal, como cigarros e charutos. Mais recentemente tem sido constatado, com certa frequência, em soja armazenada, causando sérios prejuízos aos armazenadores e afetando a qualidade do produto oferecido nos mercados interno e externo. No momento, é considerado uma ameaça ao armazenamento de sementes e grãos de soja armazenados. Para entender melhor o potencial desta praga em soja armazenada, foi desenvolvido um experimento com diferentes níveis de infestação desta praga em grãos de soja, durante o período de armazenamento. O objetivo foi de estudar o desenvolvimento deste inseto em grãos de soja e verificar o potencial de danos no armazenamento dos grãos de soja. Os resultados mostraram que L. serricorne desenvolveu-se adequadamente em soja armazenada, em condições de laboratório. O consumo de grãos de soja foi superior a 39% no período de 140 dias de armazenamento, considerando uma infestação inicial de 150 ou 200 insetos adultos, enquanto este consumo foi de 20% quando a infestação inicial foi de 50 insetos adultos

Dietas para criação de Lasioderma serricorne (FABRICIUS, 1792) (Coleoptera: anobiidae) em laboratório.

A espécie Lasioderma serricorne, vulgarmente conhecido como besourinho-do-fumo, é um coleóptero da família Anobiidae e é encontrada nas regiões tropicais, subtropicais e temperadas do mundo. É uma praga importante para a cultura do fumo atacando-o desde o armazenamento até a manufatura. É cosmopolita e, além do fumo, pode atacar produtos armazenados deterioráveis e perecíveis, entre os quais se destacam os frutos secos, grãos, farelos, farinhas e rações. Mais recentemente tem aparecido com certa freqüência na soja armazenada, causando sérios prejuízos aos armazenadores e afetando a qualidade do produto oferecido nos mercados interno e externo. Visando determinar o potencial de consumo e danos na soja armazenada, foi estabelecido um experimento no Laboratório de Pós-colheita de Grãos e Sementes da Embrapa Soja, com diferentes dietas a base de soja, fornecidas aos insetos e avaliando-se a multiplicação da espécie. As dietas oferecidas foram grãos de soja inteiros, grãos de soja 60% triturados, grãos de soja 100% triturados, farinha de soja e uma dieta mista a base de fubá, gérmen de trigo e levedo de cerveja na proporção 5:2:1. Todas as dietas oferecidas permitiram a multiplicação de L. serricorne, evidenciando que esta praga tem potencial de causar danos à soja armazenada. À medida que a dieta continha mais soja quebrada ou farinha, o potencial de multiplicação da praga aumentou, demonstrando que a adequação da dieta as necessidades dos insetos, faz com que a espécie expresse seu potencial biológico

Suscetibilidade de pragas de grãos armazenados em função do tempo de exposição à terra de diatomáceas.

O controle das pragas de grãos e sementes armazenados depende de inseticidas líquidos e de fumegantes, e seu uso exagerado pode propiciar o desenvolvimento de resistência das pragas aos inseticidas. Entre outros, este é um dos motivos pelos quais cresce o uso de produtos alternativos aos inseticidas químicos, como a terra de diatomáceas. O objetivo deste trabalho foi determinar a suscetibilidade das principais pragas de grãos armazenados ao inseticida à base de terra de diatomáceas, em função do tempo de exposição. As pragas, Rhyzopertha dominica, Sitophilus oryzae, Lasioderma serricorne e Tribolium castaneum, foram expostas a três doses do inseticida a base de terra de diatomáceas (Keepdry), 0,5; 1,0 e 2,0 g/kg de grãos, durante cinco períodos de exposição(tratamentos), 1, 5, 10, 15 e 20 dias. Durante estes períodos foi registrada a mortalidade de cada praga e calculado o tempo letal (TL). Os resultados mostraram que, para R. dominica o TL50 foi de 25; 4,6 e 3,0 dias, para as doses de 0,5; 1,0 e 2,0 2g do inseticida, respectivamente. Já para S. oryzae apenas a dose de 0,5 g pode ser observada com TL50 de 3,3 dias, nas demais doses não foi possível calcular o LT, pois houve 100% de mortalidade em todos os tratamentos. Para T. castaneum verificou-se um TL50 de 9,9; 4,9 e 2,3 dias para as doses de 0,5; 1,0 e 2,0 g de terra de diatomáceas por quilograma de grãos, respectivamente. Já para L. serricorne verificou-se o TL50 de 4,9; 2,8 e 1,9 dias para as doses de 0,5; 1,0 e 2,0 g de terra de diatomáceas por quilograma de grão

Handling random errors and biases in methods used for short-term dietary assessment

Epidemiological studies have shown the effect of diet on the incidence of chronic diseases; however, proper planning, designing, and statistical modeling are necessary to obtain precise and accurate food consumption data. Evaluation methods used for short-term assessment of food consumption of a population, such as tracking of food intake over 24h or food diaries, can be affected by random errors or biases inherent to the method. Statistical modeling is used to handle random errors, whereas proper designing and sampling are essential for controlling biases. The present study aimed to analyze potential biases and random errors and determine how they affect the results. We also aimed to identify ways to prevent them and/or to use statistical approaches in epidemiological studies involving dietary assessments