Successful and unsuccessful contraceptors: a multivariate typology

"The purpose of this study is to develop and test a multivariate, multidimensional exploratory model of successful and unsuccessful contraceptive use." The data concern 200 sexually active females who visited an obstetrics and gynecology department in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The authors conclude that successful contraceptive use has to be seen in a multidimensional context and is not simply a problem concerning contraceptive information. They also conclude that early sexual socialization and education, generally in the family setting, is important in the development of sexually responsible behavior.     

未来学及其在意识形态对抗中的作用

当代基本矛盾是社会主义与资本主义之间的矛盾.这在马克思列宁主义哲学和资产阶级哲学的斗争中亦有反映.1909年列宁的《唯物主义和经验批     

远距离教育的未来

远距离教育在全球各地正在变得日益突出,它反映了高等教育与它所赖以存在的社会之间所发生的一系列根本性的变化。从历史的观点来看,高等教育的主要变化是外部各种力量共同作用的结果。立法机关的决策、人口统计的模式、公共政策、社会问题、发展重点、移民运动、战争以及全球性竞争——所有这一切使高等教育发生了深刻的变化。所谓象牙塔式的教育变成了受社会变化影响最大的一种制度。在当今世界我们所亲身经历的这些变化在广度和深度上无不需要一种新的认识结构,以便重新思考高等教育在社会中的作     

Trauma and stress among older adults in the criminal justice system: a review of the literature with implications for social work

The purpose of this article was to review the empirical literature that investigated trauma and stress among older adults in the criminal justice system. Nineteen journal articles published between 1988 and 2010 were identified and extracted via research databases and included mixed age samples of adjudicated older and younger adults (n = 11) or older adult only samples (n = 8). Findings revealed past and current trauma and stress, consequences and/or correlates, and internal and external coping resources among aging offenders. The implications and future directions for gerontological social work, research, and policy with older adults in the criminal justice system are advanced.     

Twenty-first century learning in school systems: the case of the Metropolitan School District of Lawrence Township, Indianapolis, Indiana

To empower students with skills such as information and technological literacy, global awareness and cultural competence, self-direction, and sound reasoning, teachers must master these skills themselves. This chapter examines how the Digital Age Literacy Initiative of the Metropolitan School District of Lawrence Township in Indianapolis, Indiana, which is funded by the Lilly Endowment, incorporated twenty-first century learning through a systemic approach involving teacher training and the use of data. The authors explain the district's content, process, and context goals toward accomplishing its mission of empowering students with the necessary twenty-first century skills to succeed in the digital age. The district places a strong emphasis on professional development for teachers. To support the necessary teacher learning and therefore sustain the work of the initiative, the district has adopted action research, self-assessment, and an online professional development network. To support teachers in implementing new strategies, master teachers serve as digital age literacy coaches. The chapter discusses the initiative's focus on evidence of progress. Through a partnership with the Metiri Group of California, the district has built a range of assessments including online inventories and twenty-first century skill rubrics. For example, the Mankato Survey collected teacher and student data around access, ability, and use of technology in the classroom in 2001 and then in 2004. This research showed significant gains in some technologies across all grade levels and consistent gains in nearly all technologies for middle and high school students. As it moves into the next phase of implementing the Digital Age Literacy Initiative, the district embraces the systemic shifts in school culture necessary to institutionalize twenty-first century learning.     

A framework for evaluating eHealth research

Health care is in the midst of a consumer-oriented technology explosion. Individuals of all ages and backgrounds have discovered eHealth. But the challenges of implementing and evaluating eHealth are just beginning to surface, and, as technology changes, new challenges emerge. Evaluation is critical to the future of eHealth. This article addresses four dimensions of eHealth evaluation: (1) design and methodology issues; (2) challenges related to the technology itself; (3) environmental issues that are not specific to eHealth but pose special problems for eHealth researchers; and (4) logistic or administrative concerns of the evaluation methodology selected. We suggest that these four dimensions must be integrated to provide a holistic framework for designing and implementing eHealth research projects, as well as for understanding the totality of the eHealth intervention. The framework must be flexible enough to adapt to a variety of end users, regardless of whether the end user is a healthcare organization, a for-profit business, a community organization, or an individual. The framework is depicted as a puzzle with four interlocking pieces.     

Child outcome measures in the study of child care quality

This article assesses whether there are methodological problems with child outcome measures that may contribute to the small associations between child care quality and child outcomes found in the literature. Outcome measures used in 65 studies of child care quality published between 1979 and December 2005 were examined, taking the previous review by Vandell and Wolfe (2000) as the starting point. Serious methodological problems were not pervasive for child outcome measures. However, methodological concerns were most prevalent among measures of socioemotional development. Furthermore, psychometric information on outcome measures was often missing from published reports, and health outcomes and approaches to learning were infrequently studied. Future research should address alignment issues between aspects of quality and the specific child outcomes chosen for study.     

Measuring the influence of built neighborhood environments on walking in older adults

There is a need for greater understanding of how perceptions and objective measures of the physical environment influence physical activity among seniors. The goal of this study was to examine the degree of association between perceived and objective characteristics of the neighborhood environment and the relation of each type of measurement to neighborhood walking in older adults. Data on self-reported frequency of walking in the neighborhood and perceived measures of neighborhood environment from 105 older adults were linked to objective measures assessed by geographic information systems and an audit instrument. Perceived and objective measurements of the built environment exhibited a low degree of agreement (kappas: <.20). After adjustment for education, age, and gender, presence of a mall was positively associated with neighborhood walking in both the objective and perceived models.