Putting the pieces in place: children, communities and social capital in Australia

Provides insights into the aspects of Australian communities that support children and those that fail them. It examines the ways in which communities can be strengthened from the standpoint of children. The report documents how excessive use of alcohol, aggressive drivers and the threat of violence make children feel unsafe in their communities. It also highlights the importance of strong, caring relationships. Executive summary   What do children in Australia value about their communities? How are communities supporting children? How are communities failing them – and why? Over the past fifteen years, governments at Commonwealth, state and local levels have been concerned with strengthening communities as part of a policy shift towards "local solutions to local problems" and to place-based initiatives. This policy shift was heavily influenced by ideas of social capital. Children are often assumed to benefit from "strong communities", yet we know very little about children‟s views on what makes a strong, supportive community. Indeed, we know very little about children‟s places and roles within Australian communities. If policies and initiatives are to be inclusive of children – as this report argues they should – it is crucial that we understand children‟s views and experiences of their communities. The research project explores in depth what children in middle childhood think about their communities, how children experience "community‟ on a daily basis, and what vision they have for their communities. This report presents the findings of participatory, rights-based research with 108 children aged between eight and twelve years across six sites in eastern Australia. The findings provide important insights into communities from a child\u27s standpoint. This research also demonstrates children‟s capacity to engage in detailed discussion and deliberation about "what works" - and "what is broken" – within their community. Additionally, it demonstrates the important insights children can provide into how to fix that which is broken

Implementation of Self-Determination Activities and Student Participation in IEPs

The Council for Exceptional Children conducted an online Web survey to obtain information on the instructional practices and attitudes of educators as they relate to self-determination and student involvement in the individualized education program (IEP) process. We obtained 523 usable responses from teachers, administrators, and related services professionals. Although respondents highly valued both student involvement in IEPs and self-determination skills, only 8% were satisfied with the approach they were using to teach self-determination. Only 34% were satisfied with the level of student involvement in IEP meetings. Implications include the need for longitudinal research and technical assistance, targeting administrators, general educators, and special educators beginning in the elementary grades, to improve the capacity of schools to deliver self-determination instruction

The Over-the-Shoulder Conference: Teaching as Children Read

Over-the-shoulder conferences are not replacements for formal conferences at the teacher\u27s desk, nor for the disciplinary conference outside the door, but rather are brief, less-structured encounters. Over-the-shoulder conferences, loosely defined as the teacher interacting about reading material with a student at the student\u27s seat, are neither unique nor novel. Nearly all teachers have worked with students in this manner. However, few teachers seem to make use of over-the-shoulder conferences in a systematic fashion which maximizes their effectiveness

Initiation of Postpartum Contraception by 90 Days at a Midwest Academic Center

Introduction. Contraception is a critical component of addressing the health needs of women in the postpartum period. We assessed contraception initiation by 90 days postpartum at a large, academic medical center in the Midwest. Methods. In this retrospective cohort study, 299 charts were randomly sampled and 231 were analyzed from deliveries between May 1 to July 5, 2018. Contraceptive method, maternal demographics, and obstetric characteristics at hospital discharge were collected, as well as contraceptive method at the postpartum follow-up appointment. Methods and strata of contraception were categorized as follows: 1) highly effective methods (HEM) defined as sterilization, intrauterine device, or implant, 2) moderately effective methods (MEM) defined as injectable contraception, progestin-only pills, and combined estrogen/progestin pills, patches, and rings, and 3) less effective methods (LEM) defined as condoms, natural family planning, and lactational amenorrhea. Women lost to follow-up who had initiated a HEM or injectable contraception were coded as still using the method at 90 days. We used logistic regression to identity factors associated with HEM use. Results. Of the 231 included patients, 118 (51%) received contraception before hospital discharge and 166 (83%) by 90 days postpartum. Postpartum visits were attended by 74% (171/231) of patients. Before hospital discharge, 28% (65/231) obtained a HEM and 41% (82/200) were using a HEM by 90 days postpartum. Patients obtaining HEM or injectable contraception before hospital discharge attended a follow-up visit less often than those who did not receive HEM before discharge (RR = 0.68, 95% CI: 0.54 - 0.86, p ≤ 0.01). Conclusion. When readily available, many women will initiate contraception in the postpartum period. Health systems should work to ensure comprehensive access to contraception for women in the postpartum period

The Change of Production Systems through Consultancy Involved Projects: a Multiple Case Study in Chinese SMEs

Production systems, such as Lean Production System (LPS), have been developed to improve organisational performance. In their application to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), resource constraints mean that business assistance from external agencies, such as management consultants, is often required. Building on organisational learning research associated with knowledge flow across boundaries, this study aims to explore the practical issues associated with consultancy-involved LPS implementation in Chinese SMEs and the possible approaches to deal with them. A multiple case study is conducted focusing on four real-life, consultancy-involved, lean projects in Chinese SMEs. Four key problems that arise from consultancy-involved change of production systems are identified and four relevant approaches to handle these problems are also addressed. The case study implies that to better embed new production systems, such as LPS into SMEs, both consultants and SME clients need to adopt a more proactive approach when engaging with each other

Seepage of Groundwater into the St. Clair River Near Sarnia, Ontario, Canada

The main objectives of this research program were to determine the quantity, quality and source(s) of groundwater seepage from the streambed into the St. Clair River in the vicinity of Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. Seventeen survey lines were installed on the bed of the St. Clair River in a 100 m by 7 km band between Sarnia Bay and the Sarnia Indian Reserve. The survey lines extended 100 m from shore at an angle of approximately 90° to the shore. Soil cores were collected along the survey lines in conjunction with river bottom descriptions to characterize the river bed. On the survey line locations which had at least 100 mm of granular material, seepage meters were inscalled to measure seepage rates. Moderate seepage was noted on two of the seven survey lines that contained the granular bottom sediments. Minipiezometers were used on these two survey lines to collect streambed groundwater from depths of 1.0 and/or 1.5 m below the river bed. Electrical conductivity, pH and temperature of the streambed groundwater and river water samples were determined in the field. Selected river water and streambed groundwater samples were also analyzed for: chlorinated hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, trihalomethanes, EPA Priority Pollutants (extractables), total organic halides (TOX), chloride, and natural isotopes (oxygen-18, deuterium, and tritium). The average observed seepage rate of l. u x 10-8 m 3/s/m2 suggests higher chan expected hydraulic conductivity or hydraulic gradients in the streambed, 2 to 4 orders of magnitude greater than those determined in previous studies. Detectable levels of some organic contaminants were found in the strearnbed groundwater samples, i.e., \u3c0.0067 ug/L total chlorinated hydrocarbons, \u3c0.026 ug/L PCB, \u3c2.77 ug/L trihalomethanes, and \u3c2.4 ug/L base neutral extractables. The isotopic and electrical conductivity data indicate that: (1) the streambed groundwater is not simply river water, (2) groundwater from the freshwater aquifer does not appear to be a significant component of the streambed groundwater, (3) some of the streambed groundwater may be partially derived from shallow groundwater, and (4) a yet unidentified source of water contributes to the streambed groundwater

Self-Determination and Student Involvement in Standards-Based Reform

Promoting self-determination has become best practice in the education of students with disabilities. We synthesize the decade\u27s work in this area as a foundation for considering issues pertaining to promoting self-determination in light of the current educational context. We particularly examine the role of promoting self-determination in light of federal standards-based reform initiatives. We conclude that school reform efforts provide an opportunity to infuse instruction in self-determination into the education programs of all students, including students with disabilities. Many state and local standards include a focus on component elements of self-determined behavior and promoting self-determination enables students to perform more effectively within other content domains. The importance of personnel preparation to enable teachers to promote self-determination is discussed

PAX6 does not regulate Nfia and Nfib expression during neocortical development

The Nuclear factor I (NFI) family of transcription factors regulates proliferation and differentiation throughout the developing central nervous system. In the developing telencephalon of humans and mice, reduced Nfi expression is associated with agenesis of the corpus callosum and other neurodevelopmental defects. Currently, little is known about how Nfi expression is regulated during early telencephalic development. PAX6, a transcription factor important for telencephalic development, has been proposed as an upstream regulator of Nfi expression in the neocortex. Here we demonstrate that, in the developing neocortex of mice, NFIA and NFIB are endogenously expressed in gradients with high caudo-medial to low rostro-lateral expression and are most highly expressed in the cortical plate. We found that this expression pattern deviates from that of PAX6, suggesting that PAX6 does not drive Nfi expression. This is supported by in vitro reporter assays showing that PAX6 overexpression does not regulate Nfi promoter activity. Similarly, we also found that in the Pax6 Small Eye mutant, no changes in Nfi mRNA or protein expression are observed in the neocortical ventricular zone where PAX6 and the NFIs are expressed. Together these data demonstrate that in mice, PAX6 is not a transcriptional activator of Nfi expression during neocortical development