Educational stress among Chinese adolescents : individual, family, school and peer influences

Educational stress is common among school children and adolescents, especially in Asian countries. This study aims to identify factors associated with perceived educational stress among students in China. A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted with 1627 students (Grades 7–12) from six secondary schools in rural and urban areas of Shandong Province. A wide range of individual, family, school and peer factors were associated with stress measured using the Educational Stress Scale for Adolescents (ESSA). Rural school location, low school connectedness, perceived poor academic grades, female gender, older age and frequent emotional conflicts with teachers and peers were among the strongest correlates, and most of them are school- or study-related. Unexpectedly, family and parental factors were found to have little or no association with children’s perceived educational stress. These findings may offer directions for interventions in secondary school settings.

Child, Adolescent and Family Development [3rd ed.]

"This book explores the foundations of modern developmental thought, incorporating the latest in international research set within a cultural and historical context. Richly illustrated and enhanced by a range of practical teaching resources, this clear and engaging text is intended to reach students across a range of teaching, psychology, social science and health science disciplines. By employing a thematic approach within the chronologically ordered chapters, this text offers a systematic and intuitive structure for both learning and teaching. This new edition features a set of fully updated case studies that consider current trends and issues in developmental theory and practice, as well as end-of-chapter sections that address important stages in the family life cycle."--publisher website

Toward a shopping typology of primary male grocery shoppers

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to segment primary male grocery shoppers based on store and product attribute evaluations. A rich profile for each segment is developed. These developed contemporary shopper typologies are contrasted against earlier works. Design/methodology/approach – Data of 280 male grocery shoppers was attained by a survey questionnaire. Factor analysis, cluster analysis and ANOVA were employed to develop specific segments of male shoppers. Findings – Four distinct cohorts of male shoppers emerge from the data of eight constructs, measured by 46 items. One new shopper type, not found in earlier typology literature, emerged from this research. This shopper presented as young, well educated, at the commencement of their career and family lifecycle, attracted by a strong value offer and willingness to share the family food shopping responsibilities. Practical implications – Research outcomes encourage supermarket retailers to implement targeted marketing and rationalized operational strategies that deliver on attributes of importance. Originality/value – This research makes a contribution to segmentation literature and grocery retail practice in several ways. It presents the first retail typology of male supermarket shoppers, employing a cluster analysis technique. The research provides insights into the modern family food shopping behaviour of men, a channel in which men are now recognised as equal contributors. The research provides the basis for further gender comparative and cross-contextual studies.

Stable strong order 1.0 schemes for solving stochastic ordinary differential equations

The Balanced method was introduced as a class of quasi-implicit methods, based upon the Euler-Maruyama scheme, for solving stiff stochastic differential equations. We extend the Balanced method to introduce a class of stable strong order 1. 0 numerical schemes for solving stochastic ordinary differential equations. We derive convergence results for this class of numerical schemes. We illustrate the asymptotic stability of this class of schemes is illustrated and is compared with contemporary schemes of strong order 1. 0. We present some evidence on parametric selection with respect to minimising the error convergence terms. Furthermore we provide a convergence result for general Balanced style schemes of higher orders.

Unpacking the opportunities for change within a family owned manufacturing SME : a design led innovation case study

The following paper presents insights found during an ongoing industry engagement with a family-owned manufacturing SME in Australia. The initial findings presented as a case study look at the opportunities available to the firm engaging in a design led approach to innovation. Over the period of one year, the first author’s immersion within the firm seeks to unpack the cultural, strategic, product opportunities and challenges when adopting design led innovation. This can provide a better understanding of how a firm can more effectively assess their value proposition in the market and what factors of the business are imperative in stimulating competitive difference. The core insight identified from this paper is that design led innovation cannot be seen and treated as a discrete event, nor a series of steps or stages; rather the whole business model needs to be in focus to achieve holistic, sustainable innovation. Initial insights were found through qualitative interviews with internal employees including: overcoming silos; moving from reactive to proactive design; empowerment; vision for growth and the framing of innovation.

A framework for life cycle cost estimation of a product family at the early stage of product development

A cost estimation method is required to estimate the life cycle cost of a product family at the early stage of product development in order to evaluate the product family design. There are difficulties with existing cost estimation techniques in estimating the life cycle cost for a product family at the early stage of product development. This paper proposes a framework that combines a knowledge based system and an activity based costing techniques in estimating the life cycle cost of a product family at the early stage of product development. The inputs of the framework are the product family structure and its sub function. The output of the framework is the life cycle cost of a product family that consists of all costs at each product family level and the costs of each product life cycle stage. The proposed framework provides a life cycle cost estimation tool for a product family at the early stage of product development using high level information as its input. The framework makes it possible to estimate the life cycle cost of various product family that use any types of product structure. It provides detailed information related to the activity and resource costs of both parts and products that can assist the designer in analyzing the cost of the product family design. In addition, it can reduce the required amount of information and time to construct the cost estimation system.

Family violence or woman abuse? Putting gender back into the Canadian research equation

Research on violence against women has been among the most scrutinized areas in social science. From the beginning, efforts to empirically document the prevalence, incidence, and characteristics of violence against women have been hotly debated (DeKeseredy, 2011; Dragiewicz & DeKeseredy, forthcoming; Minaker & Snider, 2006). Objections that violence against women was rare have given way to acknowledgement that it is more common than once thought. Research on the outcomes of woman abuse has documented the serious ramifications of this type of violence for individual victims and the broader community. However, violence against women was not simply “discovered” by scholars in the 1960s, leading to a progressive growth of the literature. Knowledge production around violence against women has been fiercely contested, and feminist insights in particular have always been met with backlash(Gotell, 2007; Minkaer & Snider, 2006; Randall, 1989; Sinclair, 2003)...

Beyond barcoding : a mitochondrial genomics approach to molecular phylogenetics and diagnostics of blowflies (Diptera: Calliphoridae)

Members of the Calliphoridae (blowflies) are significant for medical and veterinary management, due to the ability of some species to consume living flesh as larvae, and for forensic investigations due to the ability of others to develop in corpses. Due to the difficulty of accurately identifying larval blowflies to species there is a need for DNA-based diagnostics for this family, however the widely used DNA-barcoding marker, cox1, has been shown to fail for several groups within this family. Additionally, many phylogenetic relationships within the Calliphoridae are still unresolved, particularly deeper level relationships. Sequencing whole mt genomes has been demonstrated both as an effective method for identifying the most informative diagnostic markers and for resolving phylogenetic relationships. Twenty-seven complete, or nearly so, mt genomes were sequenced representing 13 species, seven genera and four calliphorid subfamilies and a member of the related family Tachinidae. PCR and sequencing primers developed for sequencing one calliphorid species could be reused to sequence related species within the same superfamily with success rates ranging from 61% to 100%, demonstrating the speed and efficiency with which an mt genome dataset can be assembled. Comparison of molecular divergences for each of the 13 protein-coding genes and 2 ribosomal RNA genes, at a range of taxonomic scales identified novel targets for developing as diagnostic markers which were 117–200% more variable than the markers which have been used previously in calliphorids. Phylogenetic analysis of whole mt genome sequences resulted in much stronger support for family and subfamily-level relationships. The Calliphoridae are polyphyletic, with the Polleninae more closely related to the Tachinidae, and the Sarcophagidae are the sister group of the remaining calliphorids. Within the Calliphoridae, there was strong support for the monophyly of the Chrysomyinae and Luciliinae and for the sister-grouping of Luciliinae with Calliphorinae. Relationships within Chrysomya were not well resolved. Whole mt genome data, supported the previously demonstrated paraphyly of Lucilia cuprina with respect to L. sericata and allowed us to conclude that it is due to hybrid introgression prior to the last common ancestor of modern sericata populations, rather than due to recent hybridisation, nuclear pseudogenes or incomplete lineage sorting.

Valuation of family firms : the limitations of accounting information

This conceptual paper explores the extent to which reported accounting information captures unique family firm decision-making and intangible asset factors that impact financial value. We review the family firm valuation-relevant literature and identify that this body of research is predicated on the assumption that accounting information reflects the underlying reality of family firms. This research, however, fails to recognise that current accounting technology does not fully recognise the family firm factors in the book value of the firm or the implications for long run persistence of earnings. Thus, valuation models underpinning the extant empirical research, which are predicated on reported accounting information, may not fully reflect the intrinsic value of family firms. We present propositions on the interaction between accounting information, family factors and valuation as a road map for future empirical research with a discussion of appropriate methodologies.

The family participation in child care project

Working with families has long been a fundamental tenet of quality child care services. While there is broad agreement that family participation in child care offers multiple benefits to all concerned, many educators continue to identify this as one of the more challenging aspects of their work. There are a number of perceived barriers to participation, including time constraints, different needs and expectations and the lack of confidence and capacity to support genuine participation. What is interesting, and often overlooked, is that these are shared issues and relate to both educators and parents. Recognising the importance and challenge of family participation in child care, the Brisbane South Professional Support Network PSN), a network facilitated by the Health and Community Services Workforce Council is leading a collaborative research project to build educator knowledge and capacity to promote and support relationship building, meaningful dialogue and genuine partnerships in child care. This article reports on findings from the first phase of this study, identifying parent views and experiences of partnership and articipation in child care services. Findings highlight preferred methods of information sharing and seeking, identify barriers to communication and participation and provide insight into parent expectations of partnerships with educators.

Experimental evidence indicating that mastreviruses probably did not co-diverge with their hosts

Background. Despite the demonstration that geminiviruses, like many other single stranded DNA viruses, are evolving at rates similar to those of RNA viruses, a recent study has suggested that grass-infecting species in the genus Mastrevirus may have co-diverged with their hosts over millions of years. This "co-divergence hypothesis" requires that long-term mastrevirus substitution rates be at least 100,000-fold lower than their basal mutation rates and 10,000-fold lower than their observable short-term substitution rates. The credibility of this hypothesis, therefore, hinges on the testable claim that negative selection during mastrevirus evolution is so potent that it effectively purges 99.999% of all mutations that occur. Results. We have conducted long-term evolution experiments lasting between 6 and 32 years, where we have determined substitution rates of between 2 and 3 × 10 -4substitutions/site/year for the mastreviruses Maize streak virus (MSV) and Sugarcane streak Réunion virus (SSRV). We further show that mutation biases are similar for different geminivirus genera, suggesting that mutational processes that drive high basal mutation rates are conserved across the family. Rather than displaying signs of extremely severe negative selection as implied by the co-divergence hypothesis, our evolution experiments indicate that MSV and SSRV are predominantly evolving under neutral genetic drift. Conclusion. The absence of strong negative selection signals within our evolution experiments and the uniformly high geminivirus substitution rates that we and others have reported suggest that mastreviruses cannot have co-diverged with their hosts. © 2009 Harkins et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

A highly divergent South African geminivirus species illuminates the ancient evolutionary history of this family

Background. We have characterised a new highly divergent geminivirus species, Eragrostis curvula streak virus (ECSV), found infecting a hardy perennial South African wild grass. ECSV represents a new genus-level geminivirus lineage, and has a mixture of features normally associated with other specific geminivirus genera. Results. Whereas the ECSV genome is predicted to express a replication associated protein (Rep) from an unspliced complementary strand transcript that is most similar to those of begomoviruses, curtoviruses and topocuviruses, its Rep also contains what is apparently a canonical retinoblastoma related protein interaction motif such as that found in mastreviruses. Similarly, while ECSV has the same unusual TAAGATTCC virion strand replication origin nonanucleotide found in another recently described divergent geminivirus, Beet curly top Iran virus (BCTIV), the rest of the transcription and replication origin is structurally more similar to those found in begomoviruses and curtoviruses than it is to those found in BCTIV and mastreviruses. ECSV also has what might be a homologue of the begomovirus transcription activator protein gene found in begomoviruses, a mastrevirus-like coat protein gene and two intergenic regions. Conclusion. Although it superficially resembles a chimaera of geminiviruses from different genera, the ECSV genome is not obviously recombinant, implying that the features it shares with other geminiviruses are those that were probably present within the last common ancestor of these viruses. In addition to inferring how the ancestral geminivirus genome may have looked, we use the discovery of ECSV to refine various hypotheses regarding the recombinant origins of the major geminivirus lineages. © 2009 Varsani et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Two dicot-infecting mastreviruses (family Geminiviridae) occur in Pakistan

Most mastreviruses (family Geminiviridae) infect monocotyledonous hosts and are transmitted by leafhopper vectors. Only two mastrevirus species, Tobacco yellow dwarf virus from Australia and Bean yellow dwarf virus (BeYDV) from South Africa, have been identified whose members infect dicotyledonous plants. We have identified two distinct mastreviruses in chickpea stunt disease (CSD)-affected chickpea originating from Pakistan. The first is an isolate of BeYDV, previously only known to occur in South Africa. The second is a member of a new species with the BeYDV isolates as its closest relatives. A PCR-based diagnostic test was developed to differentiate these two virus species. Our results show that BeYDV plays no role in the etiology of CSD in Pakistan, while the second virus occurs widely in chickpea across Pakistan. A genomic clone of the new virus was infectious to chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) and induced symptoms typical of CSD. We propose the use of the name Chickpea chlorotic dwarf Pakistan virus for the new species. The significance of these findings with respect to our understanding of the evolution, origin and geographic spread of dicot-infecting mastreviruses is discussed. © 2008 Springer-Verlag.

Negotiating family, navigating resettlement : family connectedness amongst resettled youth with refugee backgrounds living in Melbourne, Australia

Refugee adolescents resettling in a new country face many challenges, and being part of a supportive family is a critical factor in assisting them to achieve wellbeing and create positive futures. This longitudinal study documents experiences of family life in the resettlement context of 120 young people with refugee backgrounds living in Melbourne, Australia. Family instability was a core feature of the early settlement period. In this paper, we focus specifically on changing household composition, and levels of trust, attachment, discipline and conflict in family settings during young people’s first years of resettlement. Our results suggest that while families are central to the wellbeing of these young people, changing family dynamics can also pose a threat to wellbeing and successful settlement. We argue that youth focused settlement services must explicitly engage with family contexts in assisting refugee youth to achieve wellbeing and successfully resettle.

Rolling in the aisles : a comparative study of male and female grocery shopper typologies

The purpose of this paper is to segment male and female grocery shoppers based on store and product attribute evaluations. A rich profile for each segment is developed. Gender comparisons are operationalised and these developed contemporary shopper typologies are further contrasted against earlier works. Data of 560 grocery shoppers was attained by a survey questionnaire. Factor analysis, cluster analysis and ANOVA were employed to develop specific segments of shoppers. Four distinct cohorts of male shoppers and three cohorts of female shoppers emerge from the data of eight constructs, measured by 46 items. One new shopper type, not found in earlier typology literature, emerged from this research. This shopper presented as a young, well educated, at the commencement of their career and family lifecycle, attracted by a strong value offer and willingness to share the family food shopping responsibilities. This research makes a contribution to segmentation literature and grocery retail practice in several ways. It presents the first retail typology of male supermarket shoppers, employing a cluster analysis technique. Comparisons between male and female grocery shopping typologies are accordingly facilitated. The research provides insights into the modern family food shopping behaviour of men; a channel in which men are now recognised as equal contributors. Research outcomes encourage supermarket retailers to implement targeted marketing and rationalized operational strategies that deliver on attributes of importance. Finally, this research provides the basis for further cross-cultural, cross-contextual comparative studies.