Once upon a time: children's literature and mathematics

What was your favourite book as a child? Remember the joy of reading it over and over again until the pages were worn and the corners curled. Have you thought about introducing your favourite book into a mathematics classroom? Utilising books in mathematics can engage and benefit every child in your class. Building on children’s wonder of literature can enhance their experience in mathematics. Building on children’s wonder of mathematics can enhance their experience of literature. In this paper we present the joy and value of employing children’s literature in the middle to upper primary mathematics classroom supported with engaging tasks that will have your students noticing maths in every story they read.

Problem sexual behaviour in children: a review of the literature

   Although there is an under-acknowledgement of the issue in Australia there is a large body of international scholarship on juveniles who exhibit sexually violent or coercive behaviours toward other juveniles. Research undertaken in the United States and the United Kingdom emphasises options for clinical treatment, the logistics of coordinating multi agency response, and the causes and correlatives for coercive sexual behaviours in adolescents. Much of this literature has tended to focus on adolescents and there is an urgent need for increased studies on young children engaging in problem sexual behaviour.

   The smaller body of work published in Australia also favours adolescents rather than children with much of this work heavily influenced by international clinical studies. There are, however, a handful of reports based on Australian practitioner data that do focus on young children who engage in problem sexual behaviour. This literature surveys and evaluates the very limited number of existing therapeutic programs in Australia, and provides interview data with practitioners working with children exhibiting problem sexual behaviour. In the main, this research reinforces the findings of the internationa scholarship, both in terms of the contributing factors to problem sexual activity in children, but also in terms of the need for multi-faceted and contextually based cognitive behavioural therapeutic programs in response. More importantly, this burgeoning field of study indicates how far we have to go both in understanding the extent of the problem in Australia and in fashioning appropriate programs for prevention and intervention. Dr Joe Tucci is Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Childhood Foundation (ACF), an organisation that has taken a lead in responding to childhood problem sexual behaviour. Tucci et al., (2006) claim an urgent need for investment in a dedicated research and response agenda (Staiger et al., 2005b). To effectively address this issue researchers and practitioners require comprehensive empirical data on problem sexual behaviour in children across all sectors of Australian society, including Indigenous communities.

The Middle Ages in Children's Literature

In this book Clare Bradford shows that medievalism for the young both provides moments of enchantment and also serves as a distancing strategy which enables texts to address contentious and difficult topics.

Transforming narratives of colonial danger: imagining the environments of New Zealand and Australia in children's literature, 1862–1899

Nineteenth-century British children’s literature set in Australia and New Zealand fixates on the dangers of colonial environments. This chapter examines four British novels of the period, observing the ways in which they manifest elements of ecological imperialism and environmental racism in order to depict successful settlement. It compares these novels with fantasy fictions by Australian and New Zealand children’s authors that constitute more complicated attempts both to understand and co-exist with the natural environment. The chapter proposes that by the 1890s earlier British anxieties had dissipated in popular Australian and New Zealand fiction, in which child protagonists were newly charged with the ability to interpret and control nature.

Use of dental implants in children: A literature review

The aim of this literature review is to discuss the use of dental implants in growing patients and the influence of maxillary and mandibular skeletal and dental growth on the stability of those implants. It is recommended to wait for the completion of dental and skeletal growth, except for severe cases of ectodermal dysplasia.

[Pyelonephritis treatment in children in 2007: current literature review]

Four studies, including two being published as an abstract, have recently demonstrated the feasibility of oral treatment of pyelonephritis in children, with no increased risk of treatment failure, early urinary tract re-infection, or renal scars. To do so, the pediatrician must ensure that: (1) the patient does not appear toxic, has no vomiting; (2) there is no known severe obstructive or refluxing uropathy and (3) parents are deemed to be adherent to the treatment. If these criteria are fulfilled, the pediatrician can start an oral treatment with a 3rd generation cephalosporine for 10 to 14 days. Ambulatory follow-up is crucial, and persistance of fever after 3 days is a reason for a new outpatient visit, additional or supplementary imaging studies (renal ultrasonography) and eventually a switch to intravenous treatment.

Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries in Children and Adolescents: A Review of the Recent Literature

In contrast to the treatment of avulsion lesions of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) the management of intrasubstance ACL tears in the skeletally immature patient remains controversial. Prospective studies could show that conservative treatment results in severe instability with concomitant intraarticular damage and poor function of the knee. Reconstruction of a torn ACL always carries the risk of damaging the open growth plates; with consecutively affecting the longitudinal or axial growth of the lower extremity either on the femoral or the tibial side. Thus, several surgical procedures are available to prevent adverse events mentioned above. The purpose of this study is to review the recent literature regarding the treatment algorithm for ACL injuries in skeletally immature patients. This review will (1) investigate the indications for ACL surgery in children; (2) determine if a surgical procedure is clinically superior in skeletally immature patients; and (3) correlate the adverse events with the surgical technique.

Selection criteria for selective dorsal rhizotomy in children with spastic cerebral palsy: a systematic review of the literature

AIM Information regarding the selection procedure for selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR) in children with spastic cerebral palsy (CP) is scarce. Therefore, the aim of this study was to summarize the selection criteria for SDR in children with spastic CP. METHOD A systematic review was carried out using the following databases: MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, PEDro, and the Cochrane Library. Additional studies were identified in the reference lists. Search terms included 'selective dorsal rhizotomy', 'functional posterior rhizotomy', 'selective posterior rhizotomy', and 'cerebral palsy'. Studies were selected if they studied mainly children (<18y of age) with spastic CP, if they had an intervention of SDR, if they had a detailed description of the selection criteria, and if they were in English. The levels of evidence, conduct of studies, and selection criteria for SDR were scored. RESULTS Fifty-two studies were included. Selection criteria were reported in 16 International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health model domains including 'body structure and function' (details concerning spasticity [94%], other movement abnormalities [62%], and strength [54%]), 'activity' (gross motor function [27%]), and 'personal and environmental factors' (age [44%], diagnosis [50%], motivation [31%], previous surgery [21%], and follow-up therapy [31%]). Most selection criteria were not based on standardized measurements. INTERPRETATION Selection criteria for SDR vary considerably. Future studies should describe clearly the selection procedure. International meetings of experts should develop more uniform consensus guidelines, which could form the basis for selecting candidates for SDR.

Coherence and Historical understanding in children's Biography and Historical Nonfiction Literature: A Content Analysis of Selected Orbis Pictus Books

The purpose of this study was to investigate a selection of children's historical nonfiction literature for evidence of coherence. Although research has been conducted on coherence of textbook material and its influences on comprehension there has been limited study on coherence in children's nonfiction literature. Generally, textual coherence has been seen as critical in the comprehensibility of content area textbooks because it concerns the unity of connections among ideas and information. Disciplinary coherence concerns the extent to which authors of historical text show readers how historians think and write. Since young readers are apprentices in learning historical content and conventions of historical thinking, evidence of disciplinary coherence is significant in nonfiction literature for young readers. The sample of the study contained 32 books published between 1989 and 2000 ranging in length from less than 90 pages to more than 150 pages. Content analysis was the quantitative research technique used to measure 84 variables of textual and disciplinary coherence in three passages of each book, as proportions of the total number of words for each book. Reliability analyses and an examination of 750 correlations showed the extent to which variables were related in the books. Three important findings emerged from the study that should be considered in the selection and use of children's historical nonfiction literature in classrooms. First, characteristics of coherence are significantly related together in high quality nonfiction literature. Second, shorter books have a higher proportion of textual coherence than longer books as measured in three passages. Third, presence of the author is related to characteristics of coherence throughout the books. The findings show that nonfiction literature offers students content that researchers have found textbooks lack. Both younger and older students have the opportunity to learn the conventions of historical thinking as they learn content through nonfiction literature. Further, the children's literature, represented in the Orbis Pictus list, shows students that authors select, interpret, and question information, and give other interpretations. The implications of the study for teaching history, teacher preparation in content and literacy, school practices, children's librarians, and publishers of children's nonfiction are discussed.

A movement from traditional malarial chemoprophylaxis to the use of intermittent preventive treatment as a method of protection for children diagnosed with sickle-cell disease: A proposal for consideration based on a systematic review of the literature

Approximately 200,000 African children are born with sickle-cell anemia each year. Research has shown that individuals with hemoglobin disorders, particularly sickle-cell anemia, have increased susceptibility to contracting malaria. Currently it is recommended that patients diagnosed with sickle-cell anemia undergo malaria chemoprophylaxis in order to decrease their chances of malarial infection. However, studies have shown that routine administration of these drugs increases the risk of drug resistance and could possibly impair the development of naturally acquired immunity. Clinical trials have shown intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) to be an effective method of protection against malaria. The objective of this report was to review previously conducted clinical trials that study the effects of intermittent preventive treatment on malaria and anemia in infants and children. Based on the review, implications for its appropriateness as a protective measure against malaria for infants and children diagnosed with sickle-cell disease were provided.^ The 18 studies reviewed were randomized controlled trials that focused on IPT’s effect on malaria (7 studies), anemia (1 study), or both (8 studies). In addition to these 16, one study looks at IPT’s effect on molecular resistance to malaria, and another study is a follow-up to a study in order to review IPT’s potential to cause a rebound effect. The 18 th study in this review specifically looks at IPT’s protective efficacy in children with SCA. The studies in this report were restricted to randomized controlled trials that have been performed from 2000 to 2010. Reports on anemia were included to illustrate possible added benefits of the use of IPT specific to burdens associated with SCA other than malaria susceptibility. The outcomes of these studies address several issues of concern involving the administration of IPT: protective efficacy (in reference to age, seasonal versus perennial malaria regions, and overall effectiveness against malaria and anemia), drug resistance, drug rebound effect, drug side-effects, and long-term effects. Overall, these showed that IPT has a significant level of protective efficacy against malaria and/or anemia in children. More specifically, the IPT study evaluating children diagnosed with sickle-cell anemia proved IPT to be a more effective method of protection than traditional chemoprophylaxis. ^

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms and lead exposure in children: A systematic review of literature

Blood lead levels > 10 µg/dL are known to affect various areas of the brain that influence behavior and cause many other health problems in children. As a result, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) set the blood lead action level at 10 µg/dL. However, recent research provides evidence that blood lead levels <10 µg/dL also may lead to behavioral problems in children. With the recent increase in diagnosis of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in children in the U.S. it is important to determine possible environmental toxins such as lead that may play a role in causing ADHD symptoms. The aim of this systematic review of the literature was to identify recent published studies that examine an association between blood lead levels < 10 µg/dL and ADHD symptoms in children in order to summarize their findings and describe major gaps in the literature. Although available research is limited, the articles reviewed indicate that blood lead at levels much below the CDC action level of 10 µg/dL may affect a child's level of attention, hyperactivity, impulsivity and ADHD diagnosis. Additional prospective research is warranted in order to inform the revision of current blood lead action levels as well as better elucidate the relationship between lead and ADHD diagnoses.^

Japan through children's literature : an annotated bibliography /

Includes indexes.

Multicultural literature for children and young adults : a selected listing of books, 1980-1990, by and about people of color /

Includes index.