Disordered eating behaviors: what about boys?

PURPOSE: To determine the characteristics specific to boys with disordered eating behaviors (DEB) and the general context in which these DEB occur. METHOD: Data were drawn from the SMASH02 database, a survey carried out among post-mandatory school students in Switzerland aged 16-20 years in 2002. Only males (N=3890) were included, and were classified into into one of four groups based on their level of concern about weight/food and on their eating behaviors, as follows: group 1: one concern without behavior (N=862); group 2: more than one concern without behavior (N=361); group 3: at least one behavior (N=798); and a control group (N=1869), according to previously validated items. Groups were compared for personal, family, school, experience of violence, and health-compromising behaviors variables on the bivariate level. All significant variables were included in a multinomial logistic regression using Stata 9 software. RESULTS: About one-half of the boys reported either a concern or unhealthy eating behavior. Compared with the control group, boys from the three groups were more likely to be students and to report a history of sexual abuse, delinquency, depression, and feeling fat. In addition, boys from group 3 were more likely to report a history of dieting, early puberty, peer teasing, having experienced violence, frequent inebriation, and being overweight. CONCLUSION: DEB concern adolescent males more frequently than thought and seem to be integrated in a general dysfunctional context, in which violence is predominant. Adolescent males also need to be screened for DEB. Moreover, prevention programs should target the increasing social and media pressure regarding boys ideal body shape and raise public consciousness about this phenomenon.

El disseny d'uns quaderns de pràcticum des de la millora docent i el treball corresponsable per la transferència de competències i desenvolupament professional

Aquest article vol oferir un exemple de treball innovador basat en una recerca acció per a la construcció d'un procés educatiu orientat a l'acompanyament de l'alumnat en les pràctiques externes en l'ensenyament d'Educació Social de la Universitat de Barcelona. En primer terme, presentem els referents conceptuals en els quals s'emmarquen els aprenentatges del Pràcticum. En segon lloc, aprofundim en la metodologia de la recerca sobre la reflexió de la pràctica docent duta a terme en el marc d'un projecte d'innovació docent (2008MQD155) per analitzar, aclarir i promoure les competències i condicions necessàries perquè s'esdevingui el procés d'aprenentatge. Seguidament, es presenten com a resultat de la recerca uns quaderns adreçats als agents implicats en el procés del Pràcticum, que volen donar suport a la funció docent. Finalment, s'aporten conclusions, reflexions i interrogants sobre el que ha suposat l'elaboració conjunta dels quaderns de Pràcticum, amb el propòsit d'afavorir la transferència a altres realitats educatives d'educació superior.

La regulació de la vida escolar: el diàleg a les assemblees

La intenció d'aquest escrit és la de presentar les línies generals d'una recerca en curs sobre la interacció en la construcció del coneixement moral a través del dialeg1 que té lloc durant la realització de l'activitat escolar denominada assemblea o tutoría en diverses escoles d'EGB i en diversos nivells escolars. La recerca iniciada té per objectius definir i explicar com es construeix l'activitat conjunta coneguda com a assemblea escolar, quins processos d'ensenyament aprenentatge es construeixen durant l'activitat i quin és el paper, presumiblement decisiu, que tenen en aquest procés els mecanismes de mediació semiótica en la interacció entre mestres alumnes entre iguals. Primerament exposaré quines són les referéncies teóriques i metodológiques de la recerca i el sentit de l'interés per aquest estudio. A continuació, presentaré algunes constatacions sobre les observacions i les primeres analisis fetes fins ara. Més endavant, introduiré algunes reflexions elaborad es a partir d'aquest coneixement actual i les projeccions sobre l'orientació educativa que crec que haurien de tenir les assemblees.

Fate of clinical research studies after ethical approval--follow-up of study protocols until publication.

BACKGROUND: Many clinical studies are ultimately not fully published in peer-reviewed journals. Underreporting of clinical research is wasteful and can result in biased estimates of treatment effect or harm, leading to recommendations that are inappropriate or even dangerous. METHODS: We assembled a cohort of clinical studies approved 2000-2002 by the Research Ethics Committee of the University of Freiburg, Germany. Published full articles were searched in electronic databases and investigators contacted. Data on study characteristics were extracted from protocols and corresponding publications. We characterized the cohort, quantified its publication outcome and compared protocols and publications for selected aspects. RESULTS: Of 917 approved studies, 807 were started and 110 were not, either locally or as a whole. Of the started studies, 576 (71%) were completed according to protocol, 128 (16%) discontinued and 42 (5%) are still ongoing; for 61 (8%) there was no information about their course. We identified 782 full publications corresponding to 419 of the 807 initiated studies; the publication proportion was 52% (95% CI: 0.48-0.55). Study design was not significantly associated with subsequent publication. Multicentre status, international collaboration, large sample size and commercial or non-commercial funding were positively associated with subsequent publication. Commercial funding was mentioned in 203 (48%) protocols and in 205 (49%) of the publications. In most published studies (339; 81%) this information corresponded between protocol and publication. Most studies were published in English (367; 88%); some in German (25; 6%) or both languages (27; 6%). The local investigators were listed as (co-)authors in the publications corresponding to 259 (62%) studies. CONCLUSION: Half of the clinical research conducted at a large German university medical centre remains unpublished; future research is built on an incomplete database. Research resources are likely wasted as neither health care professionals nor patients nor policy makers can use the results when making decisions.

Experiencia de tutorización individual en la matemática empresarial utilizando la red

En este artículo presentamos una experiencia de innovación docente de tutorización individualizada. Esta experiencia se realizó en la asignatura de Introducción a la matemática Económica y Empresarial de la Diplomatura en Ciencias Empresariales de la Universidad de Barcelona durante el curso 2006-2007. Se trata de una asignatura semestral, de seis créditos y de libre elección que se imparte durante el primer semestre de cada año académico. Este proyecto se inscribe dentro de los nuevos enfoques docentes propuestos en el Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior. Esto supone la adopción de nuevos métodos pedagógicos que se enmarcan dentro de la docencia en el nuevo entorno educativo. Nuestra experiencia docente en las asignaturas de Matemática aplicadas a las ciencias sociales de la Diplomatura en Ciencias Empresariales de la Universidad de Barcelona, nos ha permitido constatar que la participación de los alumnos en las tutorías presenciales es baja y que se produce un descenso en la asistencia a clase a medida que avanza el curso. Esto genera que los estudiantes abandonen la asignatura antes de finalizar el curso, no se presenten a las pruebas de evaluación y que su rendimiento académico sea insuficiente. Este contexto motivó un intento de rediseño del sistema de tutorías. Para ello, se construyó un espacio virtual de tutorización y se probó con una muestra aleatoria de 50 alumnos. Los resultados de la experiencia piloto de tutorías señalan una clara mejora de las tres situaciones anteriores. Actualmente, estamos analizando la viabilidad de este proyecto en grupos masificados.

La tutoria entre iguals com a eina per millorar l'aprenentatge universitari

L'article presenta el programa de tutoria entre iguals que es va posar en marxa el curs 2009-2010 en el marc del Pla d¿acció tutorial de la Facultat d'Economia i Empresa, i una part dels resultats del procés d'avaluació dut a terme. La incorporació de la figura de l'alumne tutor en la política tutorial del centre tenia com un dels seus objectius principals incrementar la motivació i l'aprenentatge d¿alumnes de cursos superiors mitjançant la seva implicació en activitats extracurriculars vinculades a la titulació. L'estudi va voler copsar quin impacte té participar com a company tutor en el procés de formació, mitjançant la tècnica de la discussió de grup i una enquesta per qüestionari. Els resultats apunten que la tutoria entre iguals repercuteix en l¿aprenentatge, de manera que beneficia els alumnes tutors en l'adquisició de competències comunicatives i en l¿accés a recursos de la universitat fins aleshores desconeguts.

Parental monitoring: a way to decrease substance use among Swiss adolescents?

The objective of this research was to determine whether the level of parental monitoring is associated with substance use among adolescents in Switzerland, and to assess whether this effect remains when these adolescents have consuming peers. For this purpose, we used a nationally representative sample from the Swiss participation in the 2007 European School Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs survey, which included 7,611 adolescents in public schools (8th-10th grades). Four levels of parental control were created and four substances (tobacco, alcohol, cannabis, and ecstasy) were analyzed. All significant variables at the bivariate level were included in the multivariate analysis. Most adolescents had a high level of parental monitoring and that was associated with younger age, females, high socioeconomic status, intact family structure, and satisfactory relationships with mother, father, and peers. Overall, substance use decreased as parental monitoring increased and high parental monitoring decreased as having consuming peers increased. Results remained essentially the same when the variable "having consuming peers" was added to the analysis. Conclusion: parental monitoring is associated to positive effects on adolescent substance use with a reduction of consumption and a lower probability of having consuming peers, which seems to protect adolescents against potentially negative peer influence. Encouraging parents to monitor their adolescents' activities and friendships by establishing rules about what is allowed or not is a way to limit the negative influence of consuming peers on adolescent substance use.

Observando los conflictos en la institución educativa y establecimiento de buenas prácticas

El fenómeno y/o la cuestión del conflicto en el escenario educativo es un temacomplejo pero a la vez muy relevante, para las diferentes problemáticas sociales,que afectan a los sistemas educativos actualmente. Este puede ser abordado desdediversas perspectivas y se le añade la dificultad para su identificación, análisis yvaloración para su adecuada resolución y/o gestión a través de las buenas praxis, yasea a través de la mediación o de otras intervenciones de naturaleza similar. Elconflicto en la Institución Educativa (IE) es inherente a las relaciones sociales,mantiene una estrecha relación con la convivencia entre todos los agentes socialesde la comunidad educativa (docentes, alumnos, familias, etc.). Y, en función de lagestión del conflicto, se podrán observar consecuencias en la salud, concretamenteen el bienestar o malestar de los implicados. Galtung (2003), entre otros autores,apuesta por una perspectiva positiva del conflicto, donde éste se convierte en lafuerza y el motivo por el cambio personal y social. Lederach (2000) asume que elconflicto supone una interacción entre dos adversarios que compiten por susintereses pero que necesitan de la cooperación para alcanzar acuerdos, y sirve parael crecimiento personal. Vinyamata (2005) nos dice que el conflicto es el motor y laexpresión de las relaciones humanas. Por tanto, podemos decir que se trata de una"vivencia subjetiva o una experiencia de los implicados en las relaciones humanasen un entorno determinado". Desde una perspectiva positiva el conflicto, puedeconvertirse en un motivo o un estímulo para el bienestar y la promoción de la salud,generando cambios sociales y personales que se correspondan con las aspiracioneslegítimas, pero también puede ser una fuente de malestar y de obstáculos para eldesarrollo de la labor educadora y de las relaciones humanas y profesionalessaludables...

Good practice for dialogue and communication as strategic principle for policing political manifestations in Europe (GODIAC):field study handbook

This handbook describes the peer review methodology that was applied at the GODIAC project fi eld studies1. The peer review evaluation method as initiated by Otto Adang in the Netherlands and further developed in a European football context (Adang & Brown, 2008) involves experienced police offi cers cooperating with researchers to perform observational fi eld studies to identify good practices and learning points for public order management. The handbook builds on the GODIAC seminars and workshops, for the fi eld study members, which took place in September 2010, January 2012 and January 2013. The handbook has been discussed in the project group and in the steering committee. It is primarily written for the GODIAC fi eld study members as background material for understanding the fi eld study process and for clarifying the different responsibilities that enable active participation in the fi eld study. The handbook has been developed during the project period and incorporates learning points and developments of the peer review method. The handbook aims at promoting the use of fi eld studies for evaluation of policing major events.

Psychopathologie chez les enfants de patients souffrant de troubles liés à une substance ou de troubles de l'humeur

L'objectif principal de cette thèse est d'exposer les résultats des premières évaluations psychopathologiques menées, dans le cadre d'une étude familiale, sur une cohorte d'enfants de patients souffrant de troubles liés à des substances ou de troubles de l'humeur. Plus précisément, nous avons examiné des enfants de patients souffrant de dépendance à l'alcool et à l'héroïne, de troubles bipolaires et unipolaires, ainsi qu'un groupe d'enfants témoins, dont les parents étaient des patients contrôles recrutés dans des départements d'orthopédie. Nous nous sommes ainsi proposé d'étudier de façon précise le risque de psychopathologie chez des enfants de parents malades en menant une étude longitudinale prospective au moyen d'évaluations standardisées. Ces enfants ainsi que leurs parents-patients (probands) sont actuellement évalués chaque trois ans. Nous avons aussi effectué une évaluation des co-parents biologiques de ces enfants afin de tenir compte également de l'impact de leurs éventuels troubles psychiatriques sur les manifestations psychopathologiques de leurs enfants. Le volet longitudinal-prospectif de ces familles est actuellement en cours, et les deux articles contenus dans cette thèse, publiés dans des revues à politique éditoriale, exposent les résultats obtenus lors de l'évaluation initiale de ces enfants et de leurs deux parents. Nous résultats montrent que les enfants de patients, pourtant encore très jeunes (moyenne d'âge d'environ 11 ans), présentent déjà de plus hauts taux de manifestations psychopathologiques que les enfants de parents contrôles. Nous avons également pu démontrer le rôle joué par le co-parent, en plus de celui du parent-patient, dans le développement de psychopathologie chez ces enfants. Ces résultats soulignent la nécessité d'une identification et d'une prise en charge très précoce de ces enfants, et indiquent également l'importance de porter un intérêt clinique non seulement au parent-patient, mais également au co-parent de ces enfants. - This thesis presents the baseline results of psychopathological assessments conducted in a prospective longitudinal cohort study of children whose parents have substance use disorders or mood disorders. More specifically, we examined children of alcohol- and heroin- dependent patients, children of patients with bipolar or unipolar disorders, and, as a control group, children whose parents were recruited in orthopedics departments. Using standardized assessments, we conducted this study to accurately assess the risk of psychopathology in children of parents with these substance use or mood disorders. The prospective longitudinal study of these families is currently ongoing, with the children and their parent-patients (probands) being followed up every three years. We also assessed the biological co-parent in order to determine the impact of their possible psychiatric disorders on the risk of mental disorders in offspring. The two articles of this thesis, which have been published in peer-reviewed journals, present the results of baseline assessments of the children and their two parents. Our results show that the children of patients who are still very young at baseline assessment (mean age about 11 years) already have higher rates of psychopathological manifestations compared with children of control parents. We also demonstrate the effect of the co-parents, in addition to that of the parent-patients, on the development of early psychiatric manifestations in these children. These results emphasize the importance of prompt identification and treatment of these children and highlight the need for clinical care not only of the patient, but also of the co- parent, in order to optimize the prevention of mental disorders in their offspring.

Pilot Project for a Hybrid Road-Flooding Forecasting System on Squaw Creek, TR-642

A network of 25 sonic stage sensors were deployed in the Squaw Creek basin upstream from Ames Iowa to determine if the state-of-the-art distributed hydrological model CUENCAS can produce reliable information for all road crossings including those that cross small creeks draining basins as small as 1 sq. mile. A hydraulic model was implemented for the major tributaries of the Squaw Creek where IFC sonic instruments were deployed and it was coupled to CUENCAS to validate the predictions made at small tributaries in the basin. This study demonstrates that the predictions made by the hydrological model at internal locations in the basins are as accurate as the predictions made at the outlet of the basin. Final rating curves based on surveyed cross sections were developed for the 22 IFC-bridge sites that are currently operating, and routine forecast is provided at those locations (see IFIS). Rating curves were developed for 60 additional bridge locations in the basin, however, we do not use those rating curves for routine forecast because the lack of accuracy of LiDAR derived cross sections is not optimal. The results of our work form the basis for two papers that have been submitted for publication to the Journal of Hydrological Engineering. Peer review of our work will gives a strong footing to our ability to expand our results from the pilot Squaw Creek basin to all basins in Iowa.

Influence from friends to drink more or drink less: a cross-national comparison.

Drinking habits are socially patterned and social networks influence individuals' drinking behaviors. Previous studies have focused primarily upon the influence from family members to drink less. Those studies that have focused upon peer influence have been largely confined to social norms among adolescent and college-age drinkers. By contrast, based in adult populations, this article examines exhortations from friends not only to reduce alcohol consumption but also to increase it. Survey data in 15 countries that participate in the Gender, Alcohol and Culture: An International Study project (GENACIS) were used to test whether there were country and gender differences concerning the influence to drink less or to drink more by friends and examine if this was affected by the drinking behavior. The findings revealed that those influenced to drink less had more heavy episodic drinking (HED) occasions than those who did not report such influence. By contrast, influence to drink more, originating mainly from same-sex friends, may be more the result of social situations that encourage all drinkers, regardless of their frequency of HED occasions. At the country level, influence to drink less for both sexes decreased with the proportion of drinkers in a country. Similarly, influence to drink less for both sexes also decreased in countries where gender roles were more egalitarian. Thus, in countries where alcohol use is more widespread and fewer differences are observed between male and female gender role expectations, fewer people were influenced to drink less. These findings have implications for social and behavioral strategies designed to reduce alcohol-related harm across a wide range of cultures.

Issue review : tuition at Iowa Regents universities.

Examination of the growth in tuition at Iowa Regents universities with comparisons to inflation, funding sources, peer institutions, and relative to household income.