Napping, development and health from 0 to 5 years : a systematic review

Background Duration and quality of sleep affect child development and health. Encouragement of napping in preschool children has been suggested as a health-promoting strategy. Objectives The aim of this study is to assess evidence regarding the effects of napping on measures of child development and health. Design This study is a systematic review of published, original research articles of any design. Subjects Children aged 0–5 years. Method Electronic database search was performed following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines and assessment of research quality was carried out following a Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations (GRADE) protocol. Results Twenty-six articles met inclusion criteria. These were of heterogeneous quality; all had observational designs (GRADE-low). Development and health outcomes included salivary cortisol, night sleep, cognition, behaviour, obesity and accidents. The findings regarding cognition, behaviour and health impacts were inconsistent, probably because of variation in age and habitual napping status of the samples. The most consistent finding was an association between napping and later onset, shorter duration and poorer quality of night sleep, with evidence strongest beyond the age of 2 years. Limitations Studies were not randomised. Most did not obtain data on the children's habitual napping status or the context of napping. Many were reliant on parent report rather than direct observation or physiological measurement of sleep behaviour. Conclusions The evidence indicates that beyond the age of 2 years napping is associated with later night sleep onset and both reduced sleep quality and duration. The evidence regarding behaviour, health and cognition is less certain. There is a need for more systematic studies that use stronger designs. In preschool children presenting with sleep problems clinicians should investigate napping patterns.

Enhancing the auditor's report : to what extent is there support for the IAASB's proposed changes?

This article outlines proposed reforms to auditor reporting currently being considered by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB), and other key national and transnational standard-setters and regulatory bodies. It adds to recent academic contributions on reforming the auditor’s report by analyzing the 165 stakeholder responses to the IAASB’s 2012 Invitation to Comment: Improving the Auditor’s Report to determine levels of support for the IAASB’s proposed reforms, and the differences, if any, between the views of various respondents based on stakeholder groups (e.g. audit and assurance firms, users, preparers, regulators, etc.) and regional classifications. Guided by insights from communication theory, our results show the levels of stakeholder support for the IAASB’s proposed reforms addressing auditors’ expectations, information and communication gaps are mixed. The strongest overall support was for enhanced auditor reporting on other information attached to, or intended to be read with, the financial statements, and the least supported initiative was including additional information in the auditor’s report about the auditor’s judgements and processes. Whilst overall there is generally consensus across both stakeholder groups and regions concerning the various questions investigated, we highlight where statistically significant differences between groups do exist. Notably, North American respondents were less likely to support a number of the IAASB’s proposed reforms than their counterparts from other regions.

Understanding carers' intention for their child to walk to school : further application of the theory of reasoned action

One quarter of Australian children are overweight or obese (ABS, 2010), putting them at increased risk of physical and psychological health problems (Reilly et al., 2003). Overweight and obesity in childhood tends to persist into adulthood and is associated with premature death and morbidity (Reilly & Kelly, 2011). Increases in Australian children’s weight have coincided with declines in active transportation, such as walking, to school (Salmon et al., 2005). Investigating the factors which influence walking to school is therefore important, particularly since walking to school is a low cost and effective means of reducing excess weight (Rosenberg et al., 2006) that can be easily integrated into daily routine (Brophy et al., 2011). While research in this area has expanded (e.g., Brophy et al., 2011; Giles-Corti et al., 2010), it is largely atheoretical (exceptions Napier et al., 2011). This is an important gap from a social marketing perspective given the use of theory lies at the foundation of the framework (NSMC, 2006) and a continued lack of theory use is observed (Luca & Suggs, 2013). The aim of this paper is to empirically examine a widely adopted theory, the deconstructed Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) (Fishbein & Azjen, 1975), to understand the relative importance of attitude and subjective norms in determining intentions to increase walk to school behaviour.

Equal shared parental responsibility and shared care post-return to Australia under the Hague Child Abduction Convention

This article explores the outcomes experienced by abducting primary carer mothers and their children post-return to Australia under the Hague Convention on Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.1 The circumstances faced by families that experience international parental child abduction are examined by considering how part VII of the Australian Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) is applied to resolve parenting disputes post-return. At present, the statutory criteria found in part VII encourage an equal shared parental responsibility and shared care parenting approach.2 This emphasis aligns children’s best interests with collaborative parenting3 and their parents living within close geographical proximity of each other to facilitate the practicalities of the approach.4 Arguably, these statutory criteria guide the exercise of judicial discretion to determine a child’s best interests towards a parenting arrangement that is incompatible with the lifestyle and functional characteristics of these families.

Re-examining habitual residence as the sole connecting factor in Hague Convention child abduction cases

This article critiques the usefulness of habitual residence as the sole connecting factor in Hague Convention child abduction cases. This is achieved by examining the quality of this jurisdiction in light of changes in the gender dynamics underpinning international parental child abduction and the transnational family phenomenon. Arguably, the child’s habitual residence as a home environment of the nature anticipated by the Convention’s drafters is an increasingly outdated construct. This is due to an increase in both the number of abducting primary-carer mothers, and their families’ growing mobility. Judicial determinations of habitual residence made during Conven- tion return proceedings are entrenched in the state-centric paradigm. This paradigm is becoming increasingly incompatible with the lives of families which experience international parental child abduction.

A study of outcomes post-return to Australia under the Hague Child Abduction Convention for abducting primary-carer mothers and their children

This article reports the findings of an empirical study of outcomes experienced by abducting primary-carer mothers and their children post-return to Australia under the Hague Child Abduction Convention. The study specifically focused on legal and factual outcomes post-return to Australia as the child's habitual residence. The study contributes an original critique of the Convention's operation by examining the collective operation of Convention return proceedings and Pt VII proceedings under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) post-return. Convention return proceedings, and the resolution of the substantive parenting dispute post-return to Australia, are not distinct stages operating in isolation. Viewing them as such is a purely theoretical exercise divorced from the reality of the lives of transnational families. Arguably, a better measure of the Convention's success is the outcomes it produces as part of the entire system designed to address the contemporary problem of international parental child abduction. When a child is returned to Australia this system includes the operation of Australian family law.

Child health and the income gradient : evidence from Australia

The positive relationship between household income and child health is well documented in the child health literature but the precise mechanisms via which income generates better health and whether the income gradient is increasing in child age are not well understood. This paper presents new Australian evidence on the child health–income gradient. We use data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC), which involved two waves of data collection for children born between March 2003 and February 2004 (B-Cohort: 0–3 years), and between March 1999 and February 2000 (K-Cohort: 4–7 years). This data set allows us to test the robustness of some of the findings of the influential studies of Case et al. [Case, A., Lubotsky, D., Paxson, C., 2002. Economic status and health in childhood: the origins of the gradient. The American Economic Review 92 (5) 1308–1344] and Currie and Stabile [Currie, J., Stabile, M., 2003. Socioeconomic status and child health: why is the relationship stronger for older children. The American Economic Review 93 (5) 1813–1823], and a recent study by Currie et al. [Currie, A., Shields, M.A., Price, S.W., 2007. The child health/family income gradient: evidence from England. Journal of Health Economics 26 (2) 213–232]. The richness of the LSAC data set also allows us to conduct further exploration of the determinants of child health. Our results reveal an increasing income gradient by child age using similar covariates to Case et al. [Case, A., Lubotsky, D., Paxson, C., 2002. Economic status and health in childhood: the origins of the gradient. The American Economic Review 92 (5) 1308–1344]. However, the income gradient disappears if we include a rich set of controls. Our results indicate that parental health and, in particular, the mother's health plays a significant role, reducing the income coefficient to zero; suggesting an underlying mechanism that can explain the observed relationship between child health and family income. Overall, our results for Australian children are similar to those produced by Propper et al. [Propper, C., Rigg, J., Burgess, S., 2007. Child health: evidence on the roles of family income and maternal mental health from a UK birth cohort. Health Economics 16 (11) 1245–1269] on their British child cohort.

Leadership to support quality improvement in Vietnamese higher education

The impetus for the study reported in this paper is the Higher Education (HE) reform agenda outlined by the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training (MOET). The paper reports on phase one of a mixed method research; a quantitative approach using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) to investigate the Vietnamese HE leaders’ leadership styles. The MLQ survey was administered to approximately 190 senior managers in State HE institutions in Mekong Delta region in Vietnam (nine of colleges). The psychometrics of the MLQ for the Vietnamese sample confirmed the reliability and validity of the instrument with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.779. A CFA was conducted and all factor structures were stable and consistent. The demographic variables were used to analyse patterns of leadership behaviours by the different sub-groups. The findings suggest that leaders who have different educational background and different gender in Mekong Delta region, Vietnam do not differ significantly in their perceptions about leadership factors.

A child's dreaming: Looking at illustrated Indigenous stories for children

The traditional teaching stories of Australia's ancient Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures can find a new telling in today's literature for children. Codifiers of wisdom, laden with metaphor, these narratives have already inspired wonder in the young for thousands of generations. Today such stories are represented by well over one hundred titles in children's illustrated books. Some demonstrate literary and ethical qualities showing sensitivity and respect for originating cultures. Others do not

Issues to consider when developing mandatory reporting legislation and policy to improve discovery of child abuse

In the United Kingdom, recent investigations into child sexual abuse occurring within schools, the Catholic Church and the British Broadcasting Corporation, have intensified debate on ways to improve the discovery of child sexual abuse, and child maltreatment generally. One approach adopted in other jurisdictions to better identify cases of severe child maltreatment is the introduction of some form of legislative mandatory reporting to require designated persons to report known and suspected cases. The debate in England has raised the prospect of whether adopting a strategy of some kind of mandatory reporting law is advisable. The purpose of this article is to add to this debate by identifying fundamental principles, issues and complexities underpinning policy and even legislative developments in the interests of children and society. The article will first highlight the data on the hidden nature of child maltreatment and the background to the debate. Secondly, it will identify some significant gaps in knowledge that need to be filled. Thirdly, the article will summarise the barriers to reporting abuse and neglect. Fourthly, we will identify a range of options for, and clarify the dilemmas in developing, legislative mandatory reporting, addressing two key issues: who should be mandated to report, and what types of child maltreatment should they be required to report? Finally, we draw attention to some inherently different goals and competing interests, both between and within the various institutions involved in the safeguarding of children and the criminal prosecution of some offenders. Based on this analysis we offer some concluding observations that we hope contribute to informed and careful debate about mandatory reporting.

Using law to identify, manage and prevent child maltreatment

This chapter identifies ways in which laws are capable of responding to child maltreatment, both as an immediate regulator of conduct, and as an influence on a society’s cultural development and approach to children’s welfare. Informed by practices and experiences in selected common law systems, the chapter provides examples of legal mechanisms that can inform discussion of optimal strategies to identify and manage child maltreatment in many different societies. Both positive and negative aspects of these mechanisms are noted. While controversies arise as to what kinds of laws are best in preventing and responding to child maltreatment, and even, more fundamentally, whether there is a role for law in protecting children, this chapter offers evidence that a variety of legal tools can be employed to address child abuse and neglect, for any cultural setting in which there is willingness to act to prevent and treat its various forms.

Mandatory Reporting Laws for Child Sexual Abuse in Australia : A Legislative History

This work conducts a comprehensive historical review and analysis of the legislative principles for mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse in each State and Territory of Australia. The research traces and explains all the significant changes in the development of the laws in each jurisdiction since their inception in 1969 to the year 2013. The research also identifies why the legislation changed in each jurisdiction, covering research into publicly available records, focusing on significant government inquiries and law reform reports, and parliamentary debates. The research is situated within a treatment of the modern discovery of child sexual abuse as a widespread phenomenon of significant public health concern.

Developing countries and the potential of mandatory reporting laws to identify severe child abuse and neglect

This chapter considers the key characteristics of different types of child abuse and neglect, and outlines the nature and justifiability of mandatory reporting laws. The issue of whether these laws may be useful for child protection in developing countries with emerging economies is an important one. ‘Developing country’ is a term used by various institutions to describe a nation which has a lower living standard, industrial base, and human development index (HDI) compared to other countries (World Bank 2012; United Nations Development Programme 2013). In the context of developing countries, the chapter addresses two questions: first, might some forms of maltreatment be more suited to mandatory reporting than others? Second, what options for child protection may be considered by developing countries, taking into account children’s needs, cultural conditions and practices, economic imperatives, and the different levels of preparedness to implement child protection strategies?

Refactoring Service Interface to Support Artefact-centric Service interaction

The growth of APIs and Web services on the Internet, especially through larger enterprise systems increasingly being leveraged for Cloud and software-as-a-service opportunities, poses challenges for improving the efficiency of integration with these services. Interfaces of enterprise systems are typically larger, more complex and overloaded, with single operations having multiple data entities and parameter sets, supporting varying requests, and reflecting versioning across different system releases, compared to fine-grained operations of contemporary interfaces. We propose a technique to support the refactoring of service interfaces by deriving business entities and their relationships. In this paper, we focus on the behavioural aspects of service interfaces, aiming to discover the sequential dependencies of operations (otherwise known as protocol extraction) based on the entities and relationships derived. Specifically, we propose heuristics according to these relationships, and in turn, deriving permissible orders in which operations are invoked. As a result of this, service operations can be refactored on business entity CRUD lines, with explicit behavioural protocols as part of an interface definition. This supports flexible service discovery, composition and integration. A prototypical implementation and analysis of existing Web services, including those of commercial logistic systems (Fedex), are used to validate the algorithms proposed through the paper.