Violence against children and adolescents: awareness and attitudes of Brazilian dentists

Violence against children and adolescents, ranging from negligence to sexual abuse, is an imperative public health problem. The ill treatments are considered as nonaccidental traumas, actions or omissions against children, who suffer physical or emotional violence. The main perpetrators are fathers, mothers, guardians, family, friends or the children‘s primary caretaker. It is very important to identify abuse cases, because this allows proper medical and legal intervention. In Brazil, the law n. 8.069, of July 13, 1990, known as the ECA -Statute for Children and Adolescents (SCA), stipulates the obligation to report suspected or confirmed cases of ill treatment against a child or adolescent to the Guardianship Council of the respective locality. The health professionals play a crucial role with regard to identifying cases of violence, collecting information, making early diagnosis of suspect cases and reporting such cases to the authorities. The dentists can contribute significantly, as most injuries occur in the orofacial region. Bite marks, burns, bruising, among others, are easily identified during a dental consultation. The aim of this work was to verify the awareness and attitudes of Brazilian dentists concerning violence against children and adolescents. This research was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Dentistry of Araraquara – São Paulo State University (FOAr – UNESP). Sixty-three dentists answered an open and closed questionnaire concerning their formation, knowledge, experience and attitudes towards ill-treated children and adolescents. Among other results, thirty-nine dentists (61.9%) affirmed to have the means to identify illtreatment cases, 13 (20.6%) reported having some experience on this matter, but only 8 reported the cases to the Council of Guardianship, as determined by Brazilian law. Twenty percent of the reasons presented for not notifying the Council were fear of reprisal, and 60.0% were uncertain concerning the ethical and legal implications. Physical violence was the most reported form of identified violence (76.9%), followed by negligence (38.5%). Among the 13 professionals that had experience with violence cases, in 10 cases the perpetrators were identified – in 70.0% of the cases, the parents were the originators of such violence. It was concluded that further formation and orientation are necessary, in order to prepare dentists to act correctly when, during their professional activities, they encounter cases of violence against children and adolescents.

Caregiver report versus clinician impression: disagreements in rating neuropsychiatric symptoms in Alzheimer's disease patients

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Environmental conservation and the Cerrado Biome: investigating knowledge and attitudes of Bauru residents

In today’s context of environmental degradation, environmental issues have increasingly become a focus of global discussion. Although many researchers emphasize the importance of knowledge and information in promoting environmental protection, research involving people’s notions about and attitudes toward the environment and establishing their connection with such knowledge is scarce. This lack of research led to the following inquiry: Is it possible to relate conservation actions and concern about a biome – in this case, the Cerrado – to the population’s level of knowledge about the environment in which they live? This research presents results from an investigation conducted in a representative population sample in Bauru, where there are fragments of a Cerrado Legal Reserve. The sampling approach used was probabilistic; it is based on random laws and can be submitted to statistical methods. The total sample (450 people) was divided into 90 people per Bauru region, 45 people female and 45 males. Each gender group was divided into three age groups: the first from 16 to 30 years, the second from 31 to 55 years and the third above 56 years. Through the questionnaire, we collected the following data from respondents: personal data such as salary, gender, age, level of education, notions/actions and intentions related to environmental conservation and general knowledge about the Cerrado. The result of the chi-square analysis is consistent with this finding, as it is less than 0.05, demonstrating a significant association between these two variables.

Initial stages of attitude’s instrument adaptation to brazilian sports competitions

The aim of this study was to adapt and initiate validation of an instrument of attitudes toward mathematics to sports competitions. So through a correlational study, we adapted the instrument counting on a total sample of 260 young athletes (n=260), all students, divided into three rounds, and the confirmatory purpose we apply a pre competitive stress scale in order to show mappable symptoms. An initial reliability of the instrument, Alpha 0.83 to negative attitudes, and 0.90 for positive attitudes, with the average results of 2.52 (±0.86) to negative attitudes and 4.66 (±0.84) was determined for attitudes positive; we conclude that the instrument performed well in this first test, and should be applied in a larger sample, by un mounting this case study that young athletes have positive attitudes toward sports competition, so they enjoy participating in the competition.

Attitudes, Confidence, and Achievement of High-Ability Fifth Grade Math Students

In this action research study of my fifth grade high-ability mathematics class, I investigated student attitudes of mathematics and their confidence in mathematics. Student achievement was compared to two different confidence scales to identify a relationship between confidence and achievement. Six boys and eleven girls gave their consent to the study. I discovered there seems to be a connection between confidence and achievement and that boys are generally more confident than girls. Most students liked math and were comfortable sharing answers and methods of solving problems with other students. As a result of this study I plan to use my survey and interview questions at the beginning of the school year with my new class in order to assess their attitudes and confidence in math. I can use this information to identify potential struggles and better plan for student instruction.

Mathematical Communication, Conceptual Understanding, and Students' Attitudes Toward Mathematics

This action research study of my 8th grade classroom investigated the use of mathematical communication, through oral homework presentations and written journals entries, and its impact on conceptual understanding of mathematics. This change in expectation and its impact on students’ attitudes towards mathematics was also investigated. Challenging my students to communicate mathematics both orally and in writing deepened the students’ understanding of the mathematics. Levels of understanding deepened when a variety of instructional methods were presented and discussed where students could comprehend the ideas that best suited their learning styles. Increased understanding occurred through probing questions causing students to reflect on their learning and reevaluate their reasoning. This transpired when students were expected to write more than one draft to math journals. By making students aware of their understanding through communicating orally and in writing, students realized that true understanding did not come from mere homework completion, but from evaluating and assessing their own and other’s ideas and reasoning. I discovered that when students were challenged to communicate their reasoning both orally and in writing, students enjoyed math more and thought math was more fun. As a result of this research, I will continue to require students to communicate their thinking and reasoning both orally and in writing.

Nurturing Young Students' Writing Knowledge, Self-Regulation, Attitudes, and Self-Efficacy: The Effects of Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of implementing the Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) model of instruction (Graham & Harris, 2005; Harris & Graham, 1996) on the writing skills and writing self-regulation, attitudes, self-efficacy, and knowledge of 6 first grade students. A multiple-baseline design across participants with multiple probes (Kazdin, 2010) was used to test the effectiveness of the SRSD instructional intervention. Each participant was taught an SRSD story writing strategy as well as self-regulation strategies. All students wrote stories in response to picture prompts during the baseline, instruction, independent performance, and maintenance phases. Stories were assessed for essential story components, length, and overall quality. All participants also completed a writing attitude scale, a writing self-efficacy scale, and participated in brief interviews during the baseline and independent performance phases. Results indicated that SRSD can be beneficial for average first grade writers. Participants wrote stories that contained more essential components, were longer, and of better quality after SRSD instruction. Participants also showed some improvement in writing self-efficacy from pre- to post-instruction. All of the students maintained positive writing attitudes throughout the study.

Medical Students' Attitudes Toward The Medical College Admission Test

The following study analyzed the attitudes held by pre-clinical medical students about the Medical College Admission Test or MCAT. One hundred and eighty first-year and second-year medical students at a public Midwestern medical university participated in this study. Participants completed the “Medical Students Attitudes toward the Medical College Admission Test” survey during their morning lectures near the end of their spring semester. A composite scale score of the Likert items of the survey was computed and the proportion of students with attitudes ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree was calculated. For six of the twelve Likert items the largest proportion of participants disagreed with the statements about the MCAT and its use in the admission process and its applicability to their current medical education. Other questions included how participants prepared for the MCAT and if they completed each of the subsections were addressed as well. Future research could determine if attitudes between students accepted into medical school and those not accepted are drastically different. Advisor: Kurt F. Geisinger

Nebraska Wind Power: A Comparitive Study of Knowledge and Attitudes

Abstract The goal of this project is to assess the knowledge and attitudes of Nebraskans on the issue of wind power. The point of this research is to learn whether the presence of wind power has a positive effect on a person’s knowledge about and attitudes toward wind power and wind turbines. Using mail surveys, qualitative and quantitative data were collected from the towns of Pierce and Ainsworth Nebraska. The surveys aided in seeing patterns of knowledge about wind power and wind turbines and positive and negative attitudes and major concerns regarding wind power.