Development of a new assessment of time processing ability in children, using Rasch analysis

Background Children with disabilities like ADHD, Autism or Intellectual Disabilities may have problems with everyday functioning related to time management and hence there is a need to develop systematic methods for evaluation of the ability to understand and use time information. The purpose of this study was to examine aspects of construct validity of a new instrument, KaTid, for assessing time processing ability (TPA) in children. Methods Data from 144 typically developing, 5–10‐years‐old typically developing children, were analysed with Rasch analysis. Instruments used were the KaTid, a self‐rating scale measuring autonomy in daily routines and a parent scale measuring daily time management. Results Fifty‐one items in KaTid, initially defined in three subcategories: time perception, time orientation and time management, all demonstrated acceptable goodness‐of‐fit to a Rasch model, indicating evidence of internal scale validity. Performance of the children on the KaTid also provided evidence for validity in response processes and that it may discriminate among children with different levels of TPA. Relationships between the KaTid measures and the parents' ratings of the child's daily time management indicated further evidence of construct validity. Conclusions The results of this study supports evidence of construct validity in the KaTid when used with typically developing 5–10 years‐old children. Further research is needed to evaluate the validity of KaTid in children with known time processing difficulties.     

Measurement of time processing ability and daily time management in children with disabilities

BackgroundImprovement is needed in methods for planning and evaluating interventions designed to facilitate daily time management for children with intellectual disability, Asperger syndrome, or other developmental disorders.ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to empirically investigate the hypothesized relation between children's time processing ability (TPA), daily time management, and self-rated autonomy. Such a relationship between daily time management and TPA may support the idea that TPA is important for daily time management and that children with difficulties in TPA might benefit from intervention aimed at improving daily time management.MethodsParticipants were children aged 6 to 11 years with dysfunctions such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism, or physical or intellectual disabilities (N = 118). TPA was measured with the instrument KaTid. All data were transformed to interval measures using applications of Rasch models and then further analysed with correlation and regression analysis.ResultsThe results demonstrate a moderate significant relation between the parents’ ratings of daily time management and TPA of the children, and between the self-rating of autonomy and TPA. There was also a significant relation between self-ratings of autonomy and the parents’ rating of the children's daily time management. Parents’ ratings of their children's daily time management explain 25% of the variation in TPA, age of the children explains 22%, while the child's self-rating of autonomy can explain 9% of the variation in TPA. The three variables together explain 38% of the variation in TPA. The results indicate the viability of the instrument for assessing TPA also in children with disabilities and that the ability measured by KaTid is relevant for daily time management.ConclusionsTPA seems to be a factor for children's daily time management that needs to be taken into consideration when planning and evaluating interventions designed to facilitate everyday functioning for children with cognitive impairments. The findings add to the increasing knowledge base about children with time processing difficulties and contribute to better methods aimed at improving these children's daily time management. Further research is needed to examine if there are differences in TPA related to specific diagnosis or other child characteristics.     

The Concurrent Validity of Three Visual Perception Tests Used with Adults

Objective. Visual perception is a skill area commonly assessed by occupational therapists. Three newly revised tests of visual perception include the Developmental Test of Visual Perceptual Skills (Non-Motor)-Adolescent and Adult (DTVP-A), the Motor-Free Visual Perception Test-Third Edition (MVPT-3), and the Test of Visual Perceptual Skills-Third Edition (TVPS-3). The aim of this study was to investigate the concurrent validity of these three adult visual perceptual tests. Methods. Fifty healthy participants, aged 18–55 years, completed the DTVP-A, MVPT-3, and TVPS-3. Spearman rho correlation coefficients were used to evaluate the relationships among the three tests. Results. The total scale score correlations for the DTVP-A, MVPT-3, and TVPS-3 ranged from 0.39 to 0.51. Conclusion. The three tests exhibited a moderate level of correlation, supporting the concurrent validity of the DTVP-A, MVPT-3, and TVPS-3.     

新生儿听力筛查最佳测试时间及测试结果分析

目的：分析新生儿听力筛查最佳测试时间及测试结果，以此减少筛查中发生假阳性率。方法选择2014年10月至2015年1月本院产科出生的400例Apgar评分5分以上的新生儿作为研究对象，把400例新生儿随机分成对照组与观察组，每组各200例。初次筛选应用耳声发射仪，复筛和诊断性筛查应用脑干诱发电位仪。观察组筛查时间选择新生儿出生48 h内，对照组筛查时间选择出生72～96 h ，比较两组新生儿筛查结果。结果经过听力筛查，观察组与对照组新生儿通过率和假阳性率对比，无显著差异（P＞0．05）；观察组的筛查更顺利，可以在新生儿出院以前顺利完成筛查工作。结论对Apgar评分在5分以上新生儿进行听力筛查，应该在出生后48 h内完成。     

时间效能感与大学生手机移动网络使用行为关系

目的 探讨大学时间管理倾向、压力知觉与手机移动网络使用行为之间的关系。方法 于2014年4-6月,采用心理测量法对1 488名在校大学生进行测量。结果 （1）低、高时间管理组在手机移动网络使用行为量表的社会功能受损得分分别为（2.74±0.81）、（2.40±0.76）分,耐受性分别为（2.40±0.67）、（2.01±0.07）分,使用时间分别为（3.22±0.87）、（2.76±0.81）分,3个维度得分低时间管理组明显高于高时间管理组,差异均有统计学意义（均P<0.01）。（2）时间效能感与手机移动网络过度使用行为存在明显负相关,时间价值感、时间监控观、时间效能感和时间管理量表总分与压力知觉存在明显负相关。（3）压力知觉对手机移动网络过度使用行为有明显正向预测作用（t=6.763,P<0.01）,时间效能感对手机移动网络过度使用行为有显著负向预测作用（t=-4.347,P<0.01）。（4）压力知觉在时间效能感与手机移动网络过度使用行为间起到部分中介效应。结论 大学生的低时间效能感更易引起手机移动网络的过度使用行为,通过提高大学生时间效能感降低压力知觉,可以减少大学生手机移动网络过度使用行为。     

Perception and practice of child labour among parents of school‐aged children in Ibadan,southwest Nigeria

Background The problem of child labour has lingered on in many countries because of the complex combination of social, cultural and economic factors involved. Parents play a critical role in child labour as it provides much needed extra income for the family. This study was carried out among parents of school‐aged children in an urban, low‐income community to determine the factors associated with child labour and attitudes to child labour in the community. Methods A cross‐sectional study was carried out in an urban community in Ibadan, southwest Nigeria. Questionnaires were administered to parents of school‐aged children. Results A total of 473 parents were interviewed. They were aged between 23 and 56 years, mean 37.9 years. Thirty‐nine per cent of parents indicated that they thought their school‐aged children should work. More women than men, those from polygamous homes and those with lower educational status held this view. Reasons given for wanting their children to work were to supplement family income, 45%, to gain experience, 35% and to help in family business, 10%. In all, 236 (50%) respondents reported that their school‐aged children were working. Parental factors associated with practice of child labour were polygamous marriage, low educational status, unskilled or partly skilled occupation and large family size. Seventeen per cent of parents with working children were not satisfied with their children's work conditions and complained of low earnings, long working hours, work on school days and unsafe work environment. Measures suggested to control child labour include addressing the issue of household poverty, public enlightenment about the ills of child labour and free education up to junior secondary level. Enforcement of child labour laws was the least mentioned. Conclusion We conclude that control of child labour should be a multifaceted approach involving poverty alleviation, family planning to reduce family size and free, compulsory education up to junior secondary level. Public enlightenment especially for mothers will be of additional benefit.     

Risk, Well-Being, and Paramountcy in Child Protection: The Need for Transformation

The social construction of child welfare is explored in order to shed light on contemporary child welfare thinking, policy, and practice. Two primary influences, legal discourse and child welfare science, are seen to depend upon and shape one another. The current dominance of a risk management approach in child protection needs to be understood in the context of the evolution of the risk society, and the impacts of a move to the paramountcy of the safety and well-being of the child are examined with a focus on the recent British Columbia experience. It is suggested that attempts to achieve a better balance of ensuring the safety of the child, meeting the child's developmental needs, and supporting family functioning need to challenge simplistic sociopolitical and mass media perspectives, and promising initiatives are currently being cultivated on the margins of the mainstream systems.     

Validity and ethics of penile circumference measures of sexual arousal: A critical review

Wheeler and Rubin (1987) advanced evidence that penile volume responses (PVRs) were no more sensitive than penile circumference responses (PCRs) in measuring erection which the authors incorrectly identified with sexual arousal. Knowledge of the literature would have led them to question that identification and the methodology of their study. PVRs have repeatedly been demonstrated to assess validly not erection but the sexual orientation of individuals, when derived from the early stage of erectile response to brief stimuli that were from their onset of moderate erotic strength. PCR assessment has been of the degree of erection to stimuli of 2–10 min duration. No success has been reported using PCR measures of erection to classify subjects individually as to their sexual orientation. Classification of groups of 30 but not 6 homosexuals was successful using their PCRs to nudes. Attempts to identify rapists and pedophiles from normals, and aggressive from nonaggressive rapists and pedophiles by PCRs have failed to be replicated. In comparing PVRs and PCRs, Wheeler and Rubin used as stimuli three 10-min presentations of a film which apparently did not immediately introduce erotic material. This procedure would not elicit meaningful PVRs. Though never validated as a measure of individuals' sexual arousal, PCR measures of erection are currently widely recommended for assessment and determining treatment of individual sex offenders. If these assessments could affect or are believed by the offenders to affect the outcome of the legal processes in which they are involved, the procedure is not only scientifically unsupported, it is unethical.     

Repeated events and total time on test

We adopt the total time on test procedure to investigate monotone time trends in the intensity in a repeated event setting. The correct model is assumed to be a proportional hazards model, with a random effect to account for dependence within subjects. The method offers a simple routine for testing relevant hypotheses for recurrent event processes, without making distributional assumptions about the frailty. Such assumptions may severely affect conclusions concerning regression coefficients and cause bias in the estimated heterogeneity. The method is illustrated by re-analyzing Danish registry data and a long-term Swiss clinical study on recurrence in affective disorder. Copyright (c) 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Validity, efficiency, and robustness of a family-based test of association

We propose a new test of linkage in the presence of allelic association that uses all available information in a sample of nuclear families, including parental phenotypes, genotypes from both affected and unaffected siblings, and families with homozygous parents. The test is based on the conditional framework developed by Rabinowitz and Laird [2000: Hum Hered 50:211-223] and is thus immune to population stratification and can be applied to families with any pattern of missing information. The test statistic is a conditional likelihood ratio based on a standard two-point linkage model with allelic association, where parameters are estimated from the sample. Through a simulation study, we determined that the proposed test has near optimal power for a wide range of scenarios, outperforming FBAT both when data were complete and when parental genotypes were missing, although differences between the two tests diminish as the genetic effect is reduced. To assess robustness, we also evaluated the performance of the tests under scenarios with population stratification and found that although there is a loss of efficiency, our proposed test remains a strong competitor to FBAT.     

大学生时间管理倾向及人际困扰与心理健康关系

目的 探讨大学生时间管理倾向、人际困扰和心理健康关系.方法 采用时间管理倾向量表、人际关系综合诊断量表和症状自评量表,对河北省唐山市226名大学生进行问卷调查并对结果进行分析.结果 时间价值感得分平均为(38.76±5.35)分;时间监控观得分平均为(82.62±11.19)分;时间效能感得分平均为(37.47±4.95)分;时间管理倾向平均得分为( 158.84±18.14)分;交谈行为困扰得分平均为(1.62±1.42)分;交际困扰得分平均为(2.23±1.81);待人接物困扰得分平均为(1.11±1.01)分;异性交往困扰得分平均为(1.21±1.36)分;人际困扰总分平均为(6.18±4.23)分;症状自评平均得分为(130.47±34.36)分;大学生的时间管理倾向水平与心理健康水平呈负相关,人际困扰水平与心理健康水平呈正相关;多元逐步回归结果表明,人际困扰总分和时间效能感得分可以解释症状自评总分36%的变异量(R=0.6,P＜0.01).结论 时间管理倾向和人际困扰是影响大学生心理健康的重要因素,时间管理水平越高,人际困扰越少,其心理健康状况越好.     

医院院长管理素质测评标准体系的构建

我们综合应用文献查阅、专家访谈和问卷调查等方法确定了医院院长从事管理工作所必需的素质要求,共计7个测评项目36个测评指标。将获取的测评项目和测评指标编制成利克特量表后发放给有关专家,对结果进行统计分析得到测评指标的权重,从而初步构建了医院院长管理素质测评标准体系。     

不同真空采血管和标本放置时间对电解质检测结果的影响

[目的] 探讨真空采血管和标本放置时间的不同对急诊患者电解质检测结果产生的影响。[方法] 使用肝素锂抗凝管和普通促凝真空管,同时抽血后分别于放置0.5、1、2 h时进行检测,观察两者不同时刻检测的结果。[结果] 在0.5和1 h时,血浆组中K⁺和Na⁺浓度均明显低于血清组(P<0.05)。随着标本放置时间的延长,血浆组中K⁺和Na⁺浓度有增高趋势,并在2 h时差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。血清组中K⁺、Na⁺和Cl^-的浓度不同时刻无明显差异(P>0.05),但随着放置时间的延长,血浆组和血清组的CO₂水平均明显下降,且差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。[结论] 使用不同的真空采血管对电解质的检测结果有影响。随着标本放置时间的延长,血浆组K⁺和Na⁺的测量值升高,血浆组和血清组CO₂的测量值则都下降。     

Developing management systems with cross-cultural fit: assessing international differences in operational systems

Experiences in the Yunnan Maternal and Child Health Project, a 6-year CAN 6 million dollars bilateral initiative implemented in 10 counties (population 2.4 million) in Yunnan, China, are used to illustrate management approaches that successfully bridge cross-cultural differences in operational systems between donor and recipient countries. Donor institutions, local implementing agencies, and partner executing organizations each operate within specific assumptions about how governance structures, financial and administrative systems, human resource infrastructure, communications systems, and monitoring and reporting mechanisms function. These 'system domains' vary across cultures and countries, and become more evident as projects deal with capacity constraints, concerns about accountability, and rapid socioeconomic and political change during implementation. Management teams must be able to identify areas of poor fit among operational systems and respond appropriately. An assessment tool is offered, which management partners can use, as a basis for joint reflections on potential risks, identification of mitigation strategies, and establishing operational systems that are a fit for the funder as well as for partner agencies responsible for executing the project.     

Perceptions of child labour among working children in Ibadan, Nigeria

BACKGROUND: The adverse effects of child labour on the children's psychological development continue to raise concerns about this public health problem worldwide. Several views have been presented by child health authorities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and international agencies. Few studies have focused on the children themselves. This study sought to determine working children's perspective of child labour, its benefits and disadvantages and the working children's perceptions of themselves, and their aspirations for the future. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out among working children in a large market in Ibadan, south-west Nigeria. Questionnaires were administered to all consenting children. RESULTS: A total of 225 children, 132 females and 93 males, participated in the survey. Their age range was 8-17 years. A total of 103 respondents (46%) were currently in school while 117 (52%) were out of school. Five respondents (2%) had never attended school. A total of 104 (46%) thought that children should not work. However, when asked about the benefits of working, 81 working children (36%) felt that work provided a source of income for them, 52 (23%) indicated that it was a way of helping their parents and 39 (17%) thought it was part of their training to be responsible adults. Bad company, ill health and road traffic accidents were the perceived ill effects of child labour. The majority of the children interviewed were aspiring towards artisan trades and very few towards professional or office jobs. A total of 106 (47%) children perceived themselves as less fortunate than their peers. Fifty-five children (24%) thought that child labour was a sign of deprivation. The perception that child labour is a sign of deprivation was more prevalent among child workers whose highest educational attainment was primary school, child workers who had worked for more than 6 months and those whose earnings were small. CONCLUSION: We recommend that school education for children should be a priority even when the harsh economic realities in their families force parents to send them to work outside the home.