233 research outputs found
Investigating the role of language in children's early educational outcomes
Most children develop speech and language skills effortlessly, but some are slow to develop these skills and then go on to struggle with literacy and academic skills throughout their schooling. It is the first few years of life that are critical to their subsequent performance.\ud
This project looks at what we know about the early communication environment in a childâs first two years of life, and the role this plays in preparing children for school using data from a large longitudinal survey of young people (ALSPAC - the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children).\ud
It examines the characteristics of the environment in which children learn to communicate (such as activities undertaken with children, the motherâs attitude towards her baby, and the wider support available to the family) and the extent to which this affects a childâs readiness for school entry (defined as their early language, reading, writing, and maths skills that they need in school).\ud
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Key Findings:\ud
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There is a strong association between a childâs social background and their readiness for school as measured by their scores on school entry assessments covering language, reading, maths and writing.\ud
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Language development at the age of 2 years predicts childrenâs performance on entry to primary school. Childrenâs understanding and use of vocabulary and their use of two or three word sentences at 2 years is very strongly associated with their performance on entering primary school.\ud
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The childrenâs communication environment influences language development. The number of books available to the child, the frequency of visits to the library, parents teaching a range of activities, the number of toys available, and attendance at pre-school, are all important predictors of the childâs expressive vocabulary at 2 years. The amount of television on in the home is also a predictor; as this time increased, so the childâs score at school entry decreased.\ud
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The communication environment is a more dominant predictor of early language than social background. In the early stages of language development, it is the particular aspects of a childâs communication environment that are associated with language acquisition rather than the broader socio-economic context of the family.\ud
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The childâs language and their communication environment influence the childâs performance at school entry in addition to their social background. Childrenâs success at school is governed not only by their social background; the childâs communication environment\ud
before their second birthday and their language at the age of two years also have a strong influence
Survey Methodology for the Preservation of Historic Burial Grounds and Cemeteries
An integrated program of digital surveying and mapping can provide a powerful database for the analysis, conservation, and management of historic burial grounds and cemeteries
Virtual Training: Learning Transfer of Assembly Tasks
In training assembly workers in a factory, there are often barriers such as cost and lost productivity due to shutdown. The use of virtual reality (VR) training has the potential to reduce these costs. This research compares virtual bimanual haptic training versus traditional physical training and the effectiveness for learning transfer. In a mixed experimental design, participants were assigned to either virtual or physical training and trained by assembling a wooden burr puzzle as many times as possible during a twenty minute time period. After training, participants were tested using the physical puzzle and were retested again after two weeks. All participants were trained using brightly colored puzzle pieces. To examine the effect of color, testing involved the assembly of colored physical parts and natural wood colored physical pieces. Spatial ability as measured using a mental rotation test, was shown to correlate with the number of assemblies they were able to complete in the training. While physical training outperformed virtual training, after two weeks the virtually trained participants actually improved their test assembly times. The results suggest that the color of the puzzle pieces helped the virtually trained participants in remembering the assembly process
Sensitivity and specificity of a neuropathic screening tool (Self-report Leeds Assessment of Neuropathic Symptoms and Signs, S-LANSS) in adolescents with moderate-severe chronic pain
Neuropathic screening tools improve recognition of neuropathic pain in adults. Although utilized in pediatric populations, the sensitivity, specificity and methodology of screening tool delivery have not been compared in children. We evaluated the Self-Report Leeds Assessment of Neuropathic Symptoms and Signs (S-LANSS) in adolescents (10-18 years) referred to a tertiary pediatric pain clinic. History and examination by specialist clinicians and multidisciplinary assessment informed classification of the primary pain type. In a prospective cohort, scores were obtained at interview (S-LANSS interview; n=161, 70% female), and following substitution of self-reported signs with examination findings in the primary pain region (LANSS-examination). Secondly, we retrospectively retrieved questionnaires self-completed by adolescents at their initial clinic appointment (S-LANSS self-completed; n=456, 73% female). Thirdly, we explored relationships between patient-reported outcomes and S-LANSS scores. S-LANSS interview scores varied with pain classification, and S-LANSS self-completed scores were similarly highest with neuropathic pain (median[IQR]: 18[11,21]) and complex regional pain syndrome (21[14,24]), variable with musculoskeletal pain (13[7,19]) and lowest with visceral pain (6.5[2,11.5]) and headache (8.5[4,14]). As in adults, the cutpoint score of 12/24 was optimal. Sensitivity was highest with inclusion of examination findings and lowest with self-completion (LANSS-examination vs interview vs self-completed: 86.3% vs 80.8% vs 74.7%), but specificity was relatively low (37.8% vs 36.7% vs 48%). High S-LANSS scores in non-neuropathic groups were associated with female sex and high pain catastrophizing. The S-LANSS is a sensitive screening tool for pain with neuropathic features in adolescents, but needs to be interpreted in the context of clinical evaluation. (clinicaltrials.gov NCT03312881
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Building the English health visitor workforce as a result of the Health Visitor Implementation Plan 2011-2015: a survey study of career progression and retention for newly qualified health visitors
Aim:
This study aimed to explore the extent to which health visitors who trained and qualified in both Greater London and the South West of England between September 2011 and January 2016 were employed in health visiting posts and have remained in the profession.
Background:
In 2011, the UK Government launched the Health Visitor Implementation Plan âA Call to Actionâ (Department of Health, 2011) to develop the health visitor workforce by training 4200 health visitors over a four-year period. By April 2015, 4000 additional health visitors were trained, but the total workforce has since fallen back to pre-Implementation Plan size.
Methods:
Data were collected using a survey, completed online by participants. All participants had undertaken a health visitor education programme at one of two participating universities. The survey was distributed in January 2017 and completed by 180 individuals. Quantitative data were analysed using SPSS; association was assessed using individual chi-square tests or Fisherâs exact test. Free-text responses were thematically analysed.
Findings:
Most (153; 87%) participants were still working as health visitors. Length of time spent working in the community prior to completing health visitor training was associated with staying in the role ( Ď2 (with Fisherâs exact test = 7.998, P = .027). Current pay was associated with attrition from the health visitor workforce ( Ď2 (with Fisherâs exact test) = 67.559, P < .001.). The majority who had left the health visitor role were on higher pay bands in their new post compared to those that had stayed (12; 60%). Bronfenbrennerâs (1979) theory of socio-ecological development was used as a framework to interpret the results. While participants made an active choice to join the profession, leaving was influenced more by factors outside their control. To influence health visitor retention, both local and strategic changes are required
Unravelling the complexities of nursing students\u27 feedback on the clinical learning environment: a mixed methods approach
Background Clinical placement is an essential part of nursing education, and students\u27 experiences on clinical placement can affect the quality of their learning. Understanding nursing students\u27 positive and negative perceptions of clinical placement experience is therefore important. Objectives To describe nursing students\u27 satisfaction with their clinical placement experiences and identify any variations in satisfaction based on demographic characteristics. Design Mixed methods - online survey with qualitative items. Setting Four universities in Australia. Participants Students (n = 213) enrolled in an undergraduate nursing degree. Methods Between 2010 and 2012, students completed online surveys following their clinical placement experiences. The surveys included demographic questions and the Clinical Learning Environment Inventory (CLEI-19), a 19-item tool measuring students\u27 satisfaction with clinical placement. The surveys included two open-ended questions asking students to share their most satisfying and challenging experiences whilst on placement. Descriptive statistics and thematic analyses were undertaken. Results Of the 213 participants, those in health-related employment and those with English as an additional language (EAL) were less satisfied with the clinical facility and with clinical facilitator support respectively, as indicated by the CLEI-19 subscale scores. Qualitative findings showed students were positive about the opportunity to make a difference and be involved in nursing, and negative about clinical facilitator support. Nevertheless, those who were most critical in their written comments about their placement were those who only spoke English at home. Conclusions Although the study found overall satisfaction with clinical placement, the lower satisfaction reported by students in health-related employment, and the mixed findings regarding language spoken and satisfaction, warrant further attention
Amygdalar Functional Connectivity Differences Associated With Reduced Pain Intensity in Pediatric Peripheral Neuropathic Pain
Background:
There is evidence of altered corticolimbic circuitry in adults with chronic pain, but relatively little is known of functional brain mechanisms in adolescents with neuropathic pain (NeuP). Pediatric NeuP is etiologically and phenotypically different from NeuP in adults, highlighting the need for pediatric-focused research. The amygdala is a key limbic region with important roles in the emotional-affective dimension of pain and in pain modulation.
Objective:
To investigate amygdalar resting state functional connectivity (rsFC) in adolescents with NeuP.
Methods
This cross-sectional observational cohort study compared resting state functional MRI scans in adolescents aged 11â18 years with clinical features of chronic peripheral NeuP (n = 17), recruited from a tertiary clinic, relative to healthy adolescents (n = 17). We performed seed-to-voxel whole-brain rsFC analysis of the bilateral amygdalae. Next, we performed post hoc exploratory correlations with clinical variables to further explain rsFC differences.
Results:
Adolescents with NeuP had stronger negative rsFC between right amygdala and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) and stronger positive rsFC between right amygdala and left angular gyrus (AG), compared to controls (PFDR&lt;0.025). Furthermore, lower pain intensity correlated with stronger negative amygdala-dlPFC rsFC in males (r = 0.67, P = 0.034, n = 10), and with stronger positive amygdala-AG rsFC in females (r = â0.90, P = 0.006, n = 7). These amygdalar rsFC differences may thus be pain inhibitory.
Conclusions:
Consistent with the considerable affective and cognitive factors reported in a larger cohort, there are rsFC differences in limbic pain modulatory circuits in adolescents with NeuP. Findings also highlight the need for assessing sex-dependent brain mechanisms in future studies, where possible
Association of proximal elements of social disadvantage with children's language development at 2 years: An analysis of data from the Children in Focus (CiF) sample from the ALSPAC birth cohort
This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Law, J., Clegg, J., Rush, R., Roulstone, S. & Peters, T. J. (2018) Association of proximal elements of social disadvantage with children's language development at 2 years: An analysis of data from the Children in Focus (CiF) sample from the ALSPAC birth cohort. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/1460-6984.12442. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions.Background: An association between social disadvantage and early language development is commonly reported in the literature, but less attention has been paid to the way that different aspects of social disadvantage affect both expressive and receptive language in the first 2 years of life.
Aims: To examine the contributions of gender, parental report of early language skills and proximal social variables (the amount of stimulation in the home, the resources available to the child and the attitudes/emotional status of the primary carer and the support available to him/her) controlling for distal social variables (family income and maternal education) to children's expressive and receptive language development at 2 years in a community ascertained population cohort.
Methods & Procedures: Data from 1314 children in the Children in Focus (CiF) sample from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) were analyzed. Multivariable regression models identified the contribution of proximal (what parents do with their children) measures of social disadvantage adjusting for more distal (e.g., family income and material wealth) measures as well as early language development at 15 months to the development of verbal comprehension, expressive vocabulary and expressive grammar (word combinations) at 2 years of age.
Outcome & Results: In the final multivariable models gender, earlier language and proximal social factors, coâvarying for distal factors predicted 36% of the variance for expressive vocabulary, 22% for receptive language and 27% for word combinations at 2 years. Language development at 15 months remained a significant predictor of outcomes at 24 months. Environmental factors were associated with both expressive scales but the picture was rather more mixed for receptive language suggesting that there may be different mechanisms underlying the different processes.
Conclusions & Implications: This study supports the argument that social advantage makes a strong contribution to children's language development in the early years. The results suggest that what parents/carers do with their children is critical even when structural aspects of social disadvantage such as family income and housing have been taken into consideration although this relationship varies for different aspects of language. This has the potential to inform the targeting of public health interventions focusing on early language and preâliteracy skills on the one hand and home learning environments on the other and, potentially, the two in combination.54pubpub
Explorations, Vol. 3, No. 3
Cover: Artwork by Marcia Spencer, University of Maine art student.
Articles include: Characterization of Normal and Carcinogen Induced Neoplastic Cells of Teleost Origin, by Tim Lyden
Attitutdes and Opinions of Maine Dairy Farmers, by John Muth and James Leiby
Background: the quest for the eighteen month oyster, by Kevin Scully
The Quest for the Eighteen Month Oyster, by Kevin Scully
Measurement of Surface Tension of Kraft Black Liquor, by Jayalakshmi Jaya Krishnagopalan
From the former student, by Jayalakshmi Krishnagopalan
From the faculty advisor, by Ivar H. Stockel
Aquatic Fungal Decomposers in Two Adjacent Maine Lakes of Different Acidity, by Peter Wagner
Studies on a New Mouse Mutation, by Luanne L. Peters
Opportunities for Students: Maine Agricultural Experiment Station Research Programs, by Mark W. Anderson
Experimental Embryogenesis in Red Pine, by Judy C. Gates
The V-Notched Lobster in Maine, by Cheryl Waltz
Undernutrition in a Pediatric Population, by Paula Quatromoni
From the Advisor
Archaeology of the Central Maine Coast, by Douglas Kellogg
Marketing Strategies for Computer Consultants in Small Business, by Kimberly Dagher
Our Cover Artist
From the Advisor, by James Lineha
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