Results from Australia's 2014 report card on physical activity for children and youth

Background: 

Antisemitism and Jewish children and youth in Australia’s Capital Territory schools

Issues pertaining to religion and Australian schools have generated a significant amount of controversy and scholarly attention in recent years, and much of the attention in the religion and schools debate has focused on Muslim and non-religious children’s experiences (Erebus International, 2006; Halafoff, 2013). This article, by contrast, explores the manifestations of antisemitism as experienced by Jewish children and youth in Canberra schools. It considers the characteristics of antisemitism; when and why it occurs; its impact on the Jewish children and young people; and also the responses to it by them, the schools and the Jewish community. Based on focus groups with the Jewish students and their parents, the study reveals that antisemitism is common in Canberra schools, as almost all Jewish children and youth in this study have experienced it. The findings from this study suggest that there is a need for more anti-racism education. Specifically there is an urgent need for educational intervention about antisemitism, alongside education about religions and beliefs in general, to counter antisemitism more effectively and religious discrimination more broadly in Australian schools.

Results from New Zealand's 2014 report card on physical activity for children and youth

BACKGROUND: This brief report provides grades for the 2014 New Zealand Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth. The Report Card presents a review of current evidence across 9 key indicators, including physical activity (PA), organized sport and free play, sedentary behavior, and community and government initiatives across New Zealand. METHODS: Nationally representative survey data were collated by researchers at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, between June and December 2013. The grade for each indicator is based on the percentage of children and youth meeting a defined benchmark: A is 81%-100%; B is 61%-80%; C is 41%-60%, D is 21%-40%; F is 0%-20%; INC is incomplete data. RESULTS: Overall PA received a score of B, as did Organized Sport Participation and Active Play. PA participation in School Environment scored slightly less with a score of B-. Sedentary Behaviors, Family and Peers, and Community and Built Environment scored a grade of C. Active transportation received a score of C-. An inconclusive grade was given for the Government indicator due to a lack of established international criteria for assessment. CONCLUSIONS: PA participation in New Zealand is satisfactory, but could improve. However, sedentary behavior is high. Of particular concern is the age-related decline in PA participation, particularly among adolescent females, and the increase in sedentary behavior.

Active healthy kids Canada's position on active video games for children and youth

The effect of active video games (AVGs) on acute energy expenditure has previously been reported; however, the influence of AVGs on other health-related lifestyle indicators remains unclear. To address this knowledge gap, Active Healthy Kids Canada (AHKC) convened an international group of researchers to conduct a systematic review to understand whether AVGs should be promoted to increase physical activity and improve health indicators in children and youth (zero to 17 years of age). The present article outlines the process and outcomes of the development of the AHKC's position on active video games for children and youth. In light of the available evidence, AHKC does not recommend AVGs as a strategy to help children be more physically active. However, AVGs may exchange some sedentary time for light- to moderate-intensity physical activity, and there may be specific situations in which AVGs provide benefit (eg, motor skill development in special populations and rehabilitation).

Active video games and health indicators in children and youth: a systematic review

BACKGROUND: Active video games (AVGs) have gained interest as a way to increase physical activity in children and youth. The effect of AVGs on acute energy expenditure (EE) has previously been reported; however, the influence of AVGs on other health-related lifestyle indicators remains unclear.

OBJECTIVE: This systematic review aimed to explain the relationship between AVGs and nine health and behavioural indicators in the pediatric population (aged 0-17 years). DATA SOURCES: Online databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, psycINFO, SPORTDiscus and Cochrane Central Database) and personal libraries were searched and content experts were consulted for additional material.

DATA SELECTION: Included articles were required to have a measure of AVG and at least one relevant health or behaviour indicator: EE (both habitual and acute), adherence and appeal (i.e., participation and enjoyment), opportunity cost (both time and financial considerations, and adverse events), adiposity, cardiometabolic health, energy intake, adaptation (effects of continued play), learning and rehabilitation, and video game evolution (i.e., sustainability of AVG technology).

RESULTS: 51 unique studies, represented in 52 articles were included in the review. Data were available from 1992 participants, aged 3-17 years, from 8 countries, and published from 2006-2012. Overall, AVGs are associated with acute increases in EE, but effects on habitual physical activity are not clear. Further, AVGs show promise when used for learning and rehabilitation within special populations. Evidence related to other indicators was limited and inconclusive.

CONCLUSIONS: Controlled studies show that AVGs acutely increase light- to moderate-intensity physical activity; however, the findings about if or how AVG lead to increases in habitual physical activity or decreases in sedentary behaviour are less clear. Although AVGs may elicit some health benefits in special populations, there is not sufficient evidence to recommend AVGs as a means of increasing daily physical activity.

Children and television watching: a qualitative study of New Zealand parents' perceptions and views

BACKGROUND: Television (TV) viewing is one of the most pervasive sedentary pursuits among children and adolescents. Research studies have shown that higher TV viewing hours are associated with a number of negative effects such as being overweight and obese, attention and behavioural problems, and impaired academic performance. Most interventions to reduce time spent watching TV have been school-based and little is known about the strategies that families use to control TV watching time. METHODS: Six focus groups with Māori, Pacific and non-Māori non-Pacific parents were conducted to examine New Zealand parents' perceptions of their children's TV watching. Focus groups explored attitudes towards TV viewing, strategies used to reduce viewing, and opinion on two different electronic monitors that can be used to restrict TV viewing. Focus group discussions were transcribed and a content analysis was conducted. RESULTS: Parents described TV as playing a dominant role in their family's lives, and highlighted several barriers to reducing children's TV viewing, such as parents not willing to reduce their own TV watching, a lack of safe alternatives to TV and the need to use TV as a babysitting tool. Limiting access to TV, making TV viewing a reward and finding alternative activities were current strategies parents employed to limit TV viewing; however, the barriers highlighted by parents make implementing such strategies difficult. Attitudes towards electronic monitor use to reduce TV viewing were mixed, but suggest further investigation of these devices is needed. CONCLUSIONS: Electronic devices that restrict the amount and content of TV viewing have some potential to support interventions and merit further investigation. It is imperative for interventions aimed at reducing TV viewing to consider the role TV plays within a family context, ensuring parental perceptions around the benefits and barriers of reducing TV are accounted for.

The Harbour outdoors: Investigating how children and educators engage with the outdoor learning space at the Harbour Family and Children's Centre

The aim of the research was to carry out an in-depth case study of the outdoor space at a purposively designed outdoor learning space in a demonstration childcare program in an Australian city. The design of the outdoor space emphasises natural elements and sustainability, while the program uses an indoor/outdoor approach with multi-age sharing of the space. The report included staff, management and researcher perspectives on how the outdoor space worked for children and staff, and provided findings that could inform the ongoing professional processes of reflection on the learning environment at the centre. In addition, the researchers also sought the views of the original designers of the outdoor space, and od centre management at the time when outdoor space was being designed and built. The researchers considered that their perspectives, along with those of current management and staff, could assist in addressing questions of long-term sustainability and practicality in the design of outdoor spaces in childcare centres.

What do we know about preventing drug-related harm through social developmental intervention with children and young people

This chapter examines the evidence for the effectiveness of interventions aiming to reduce drug-related harm by improving conditions for healthy develeopment in the earliest years through adolescence. Of the interventions beginning prior to birth, there is efficacy evidence that family home visitation is a feasible strategy for implementation with disadvataged families and can reduce risk factors for early developmental deficits and thereby improve childhood development outcomes. There is efficacy evidence for strategies such as parent education and school preparation through the pre-school age period. Some of the strongest evidence for efficacy in reducing developmental pathways to drug-related harm comes from interventions delivered through the early school years to improve educational environments. Of the interventions targeting the high school age period, school drug education has been the most commonly evaluated. The evidence suggests that short term reduction in both drug use and progression to frequent drug use may be achievable through this strategy, but the prospects for longer-term and population-level behaviour change is still unclear. In overview, a range of prevention strategies have been developed and evaluated. Most of the exisiting evidence is restricted to efficacy studies and there are future challenges to progress evaluation through to studies of effectiveness. In general, prevention programmes appear more successful where they maintain intervention activities over a number of years and incorporate more than one strategy. Much of the existing research has been based in North America and evaluates discrete programmes. Future research should test effects in other countries, in different social contexts and seek to better understand the interrelated effects of combining interventions within the community. Developmental prevention programmes target different age periods and social settings, hence communities have the challenge of coordinating a mixture of programmes that address the local conditions that adversely influence child and youth development. There are opportunities in this work to coordinate prevention activities using funding from different jurisdictions (e.g., crime prevention, health promotion, mental health, education, substance abuse prevention).

Capturing the intangible: holocaust survivor testimonies held in the Jewish holocaust museum and research centre, Melbourne

This paper provides an analysis of aspects of a significant videotestimony project that raises and discusses challenging issues about the factors influencing the telling of Holocaust testimonies and about the messages conveyed through those testimonies. It sets research questions which specifically look at the nature and role of video testimonies, including comparisons to non-video forms of oral history, and argues for what is 'new, different and significant about video testimonies' of Holocaust survivors. The analysis focuses on the nature, structure, messages and experiences shared (and those silenced) through the testimonies. In particular, it argues for the significance of video testimonies as a new means of capturing intangible cultural heritage.