Zum Umgang mit Diversität und Heterogenität in Bildungslandschaften. Expertise im Auftrag der Deutschen Kinder- und Jugendstiftung

Obwohl zunehmende Heterogenität in vielfacher Hinsicht mittlerweile in der deutschen Gesellschaft als Normalität verstanden werden muss, sind insbesondere Mitbürger/-innen mit Migrationshintergrund nach wie vor von zahlreichen Negativtendenzen betroffen: Geringere Bildungsabschlüsse, erhöhte Eingliederungsprobleme in den Arbeitsmarkt, sozialräumliche Segregation, Sprachverständnisprobleme und mangelnde Verständigungsbereitschaft über kulturelle und religiöse Differenzen, gehören dabei zu den Hauptproblemen, die insgesamt die gesellschaftliche Integration und Inklusion der betreffenden Bevölkerungsgruppen behindern. Vor diesem Hintergrund ist die Entwicklung von Bildungslandschaften u.a. an die Erwartung gebunden, diese Probleme aufzugreifen und Strategien im Umgang mit Ausgrenzung und Heterogenität zu entwickeln. Im Auftrag der Deutschen Kinder- und Jugendstiftung (DKJS) wurden mit Hilfe einer Literaturstudie entwickelte und angewandte Handlungsstrategien von Bildungslandschaften im Umgang mit Migration und Heterogenität aufgearbeitet, beschrieben und entsprechende Empfehlungen abgeleitet.Although increasing heterogeneity must be understood in many ways as normality in German society, in particular residents with an immigration background are still af-fected by numerous negative trends: Lower educational qualifications, increased problems of integration into the labor market, social and spatial segregation, problems of mutual understanding and a lack of willingness to communicate across cultural and religious differences, are among the main problems, which obstruct the social integration and inclusion of the respective parts of the population. According to this background the development of extended local educational systems is, amongst others, bound to pick up these problems and to develop strategies dealing with exclusion and heterogeneity. On behalf of the Deutsche Kinder- und Jugendstiftung (DKJS) a literature study was carried out to identify those practices that were developed and applied in extended local educational systems to explicitly cope with migration and heterogeneity. Finally suitable recommendations were derived

Exposure Assessment in the National Children’s Study: Introduction

The science of exposure assessment is relatively new and evolving rapidly with the advancement of sophisticated methods for specific measurements at the picogram per gram level or lower in a variety of environmental and biologic matrices. Without this measurement capability, environmental health studies rely on questionnaires or other indirect means as the primary method to assess individual exposures. Although we use indirect methods, they are seldom used as stand-alone tools. Analyses of environmental and biologic samples have allowed us to get more precise data on exposure pathways, from sources to concentrations, to routes, to exposure, to doses. They also often allow a better estimation of the absorbed dose and its relation to potential adverse health outcomes in individuals and in populations. Here, we make note of various environmental agents and how best to assess exposure to them in the National Children’s Study—a longitudinal epidemiologic study of children’s health. Criteria for the analytical method of choice are discussed with particular emphasis on the need for long-term quality control and quality assurance measures

Review of Pesticide Urinary Biomarker Measurements from Selected US EPA Children’s Observational Exposure Studies

Children are exposed to a wide variety of pesticides originating from both outdoor and indoor sources. Several studies were conducted or funded by the EPA over the past decade to investigate children’s exposure to organophosphate and pyrethroid pesticides and the factors that impact their exposures. Urinary metabolite concentration measurements from these studies are consolidated here to identify trends, spatial and temporal patterns, and areas where further research is required. Namely, concentrations of the metabolites of chlorpyrifos (3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol or TCPy), diazinon (2-isopropyl-6-methyl-4-pyrimidinol or IMP), and permethrin (3-phenoxybenzoic acid or 3-PBA) are presented. Information on the kinetic parameters describing absorption and elimination in humans is also presented to aid in interpretation. Metabolite concentrations varied more dramatically across studies for 3-PBA and IMP than for TCPy, with TCPy concentrations about an order of magnitude higher than the 3-PBA concentrations. Temporal variability was high for all metabolites with urinary 3-PBA concentrations slightly more consistent over time than the TCPy concentrations. Urinary biomarker levels provided only limited evidence of applications. The observed relationships between urinary metabolite levels and estimates of pesticide intake may be affected by differences in the contribution of each exposure route to total intake, which may vary with exposure intensity and across individuals

Worldwide trends in blood pressure from 1975 to 2015: a pooled analysis of 1479 population-based measurement studies with 19.1 million participants

AbstractBackground: Raised blood pressure is an important risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and chronic kidney disease. We estimated worldwide trends in mean systolic and mean diastolic blood pressure, and the prevalence of, and number of people with, raised blood pressure, defined as systolic blood pressure of 140 mm Hg or higher or diastolic blood pressure of 90 mm Hg or higher.Methods: For this analysis, we pooled national, subnational, or community population-based studies that had measured blood pressure in adults aged 18 years and older. We used a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate trends from 1975 to 2015 in mean systolic and mean diastolic blood pressure, and the prevalence of raised blood pressure for 200 countries. We calculated the contributions of changes in prevalence versus population growth and ageing to the increase in the number of adults with raised blood pressure.Findings: We pooled 1479 studies that had measured the blood pressures of 19.1 million adults. Global age-standardised mean systolic blood pressure in 2015 was 127.0 mm Hg (95% credible interval 125.7–128.3) in men and 122.3 mm Hg (121.0–123.6) in women; age-standardised mean diastolic blood pressure was 78.7 mm Hg (77.9–79.5) for men and 76.7 mm Hg (75.9–77.6) for women. Global age-standardised prevalence of raised blood pressure was 24.1% (21.4–27.1) in men and 20.1% (17.8–22.5) in women in 2015. Mean systolic and mean diastolic blood pressure decreased substantially from 1975 to 2015 in high-income western and Asia Pacific countries, moving these countries from having some of the highest worldwide blood pressure in 1975 to the lowest in 2015. Mean blood pressure also decreased in women in central and eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and, more recently, central Asia, Middle East, and north Africa, but the estimated trends in these super-regions had larger uncertainty than in high-income super-regions. By contrast, mean blood pressure might have increased in east and southeast Asia, south Asia, Oceania, and sub-Saharan Africa. In 2015, central and eastern Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, and south Asia had the highest blood pressure levels. Prevalence of raised blood pressure decreased in high-income and some middle-income countries; it remained unchanged elsewhere. The number of adults with raised blood pressure increased from 594 million in 1975 to 1.13 billion in 2015, with the increase largely in low-income and middle-income countries. The global increase in the number of adults with raised blood pressure is a net effect of increase due to population growth and ageing, and decrease due to declining age-specific prevalence.Interpretation: During the past four decades, the highest worldwide blood pressure levels have shifted from high-income countries to low-income countries in south Asia and sub-Saharan Africa due to opposite trends, while blood pressure has been persistently high in central and eastern Europe.Abstract Background: Raised blood pressure is an important risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and chronic kidney disease. We estimated worldwide trends in mean systolic and mean diastolic blood pressure, and the prevalence of, and number of people with, raised blood pressure, defined as systolic blood pressure of 140 mm Hg or higher or diastolic blood pressure of 90 mm Hg or higher. Methods: For this analysis, we pooled national, subnational, or community population-based studies that had measured blood pressure in adults aged 18 years and older. We used a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate trends from 1975 to 2015 in mean systolic and mean diastolic blood pressure, and the prevalence of raised blood pressure for 200 countries. We calculated the contributions of changes in prevalence versus population growth and ageing to the increase in the number of adults with raised blood pressure. Findings: We pooled 1479 studies that had measured the blood pressures of 19.1 million adults. Global age-standardised mean systolic blood pressure in 2015 was 127.0 mm Hg (95% credible interval 125.7–128.3) in men and 122.3 mm Hg (121.0–123.6) in women; age-standardised mean diastolic blood pressure was 78.7 mm Hg (77.9–79.5) for men and 76.7 mm Hg (75.9–77.6) for women. Global age-standardised prevalence of raised blood pressure was 24.1% (21.4–27.1) in men and 20.1% (17.8–22.5) in women in 2015. Mean systolic and mean diastolic blood pressure decreased substantially from 1975 to 2015 in high-income western and Asia Pacific countries, moving these countries from having some of the highest worldwide blood pressure in 1975 to the lowest in 2015. Mean blood pressure also decreased in women in central and eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and, more recently, central Asia, Middle East, and north Africa, but the estimated trends in these super-regions had larger uncertainty than in high-income super-regions. By contrast, mean blood pressure might have increased in east and southeast Asia, south Asia, Oceania, and sub-Saharan Africa. In 2015, central and eastern Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, and south Asia had the highest blood pressure levels. Prevalence of raised blood pressure decreased in high-income and some middle-income countries; it remained unchanged elsewhere. The number of adults with raised blood pressure increased from 594 million in 1975 to 1.13 billion in 2015, with the increase largely in low-income and middle-income countries. The global increase in the number of adults with raised blood pressure is a net effect of increase due to population growth and ageing, and decrease due to declining age-specific prevalence. Interpretation: During the past four decades, the highest worldwide blood pressure levels have shifted from high-income countries to low-income countries in south Asia and sub-Saharan Africa due to opposite trends, while blood pressure has been persistently high in central and eastern Europe

Zum Umgang mit Diversität und Heterogenität in Bildungslandschaften

Obwohl zunehmende Heterogenität in vielfacher Hinsicht mittlerweile in der deutschen Gesellschaft als Normalität verstanden werden muss, sind insbesondere Mitbürger/-innen mit Migrationshintergrund nach wie vor von zahlreichen Negativtendenzen betroffen: Geringere Bildungsabschlüsse, erhöhte Eingliederungsprobleme in den Arbeitsmarkt, sozialräumliche Segregation, Sprachverständnisprobleme und mangelnde Verständigungsbereitschaft über kulturelle und religiöse Differenzen, gehören dabei zu den Hauptproblemen, die insgesamt die gesellschaftliche Integration und Inklusion der betreffenden Bevölkerungsgruppen behindern. Vor diesem Hintergrund ist die Entwicklung von Bildungslandschaften u.a. an die Erwartung gebunden, diese Probleme aufzugreifen und Strategien im Umgang mit Ausgrenzung und Heterogenität zu entwickeln. Im Auftrag der Deutschen Kinder- und Jugendstiftung (DKJS) wurden mit Hilfe einer Literaturstudie entwickelte und angewandte Handlungsstrategien von Bildungslandschaften im Umgang mit Migration und Heterogenität aufgearbeitet, beschrieben und entsprechende Empfehlungen abgeleitet.