An investigation of factors which may contribute to the disproportionately high rate of exclusions of African Caribbean boys from secondary schools

African Caribbean pupils experience disproportionate rates of both fixed term and permanent exclusions from schools across Britain. Boys from Black Caribbean and Black Other ethnic groups are most affected. At the same time, a gap between attainments of African Caribbean pupils and attainments of White pupils widens through all key stages of schooling from an "on a par" start at baseline assessment. This suggests that there are factors which are educationally disadvantageous for African Caribbean pupils operating during both primary and secondary phases of schooling. These factors may derive from a wide range of sources which are not necessarily within the schooling system. Factors leading to the gap in attainments may or may not be linked with those leading to disproportionate exclusions. The overall aim of the research was to gain insight into factors operating within schools in order to indicate relevant areas for early intervention to prevent the later exclusion of African Caribbean boys. Most permanent exclusions occur from years 10 and 11 of secondary school. However these often appear to be the culmination of a longer period of deteriorating relationship between the pupil and school. Additionally adolescent "sub-cultural groupings" at this age may also serve to increase the risk of exclusion. Since the aim was to contribute to prevention, both studies were undertaken with younger groups of pupils. The first study explored the perceptions of a sample of boys at key stage 3 who had experienced fixed term exclusion, and their families. Qualitative and quantitative data was collected on views of school, the exclusion, family and pupil factors through structured face to face interviews. Comparison was made between African Caribbean and White pupil and family perceptions. Wide similarities were found between the responses, however some subtle differences emerged. Parents from the African Caribbean group viewed discipline in secondary school as significantly worse than parents from the White group. They also perceived the exclusions as significantly more "unfair", more often citing singling out of their son for blame, and confrontational styles of classroom management as contributory factors. Previous research has indicated more teacher-pupil confrontation, more teacher criticism and control, and singling out of African Caribbean boys for blame in secondary school. The current findings suggest a direct link with exclusion. Other areas of concern commented on by pupils and parents were lack of parental involvement with secondary schools, lack of genuine valuing of diversity, an excessively "Euro-centric" curriculum, and pupil views not being heard. The second study used direct observation of pupil classroom behaviour and teacher pupil interactions at key stage 2, comparing African Caribbean boys, a representative sample of White boys, and White boys matched for teacher ratings of learning and behaviour. The aim was to investigate whether there were more observed negative teacher-pupil interactions with African Caribbean boys, and if so whether these were related to differences in pupil behaviour. The findings were that the African Caribbean boys spent a significantly higher percentage of time on task, and called out to the teacher more frequently than the matched White group. The African Caribbean pupils also received significantly more negative behaviour comments from the teacher, than the White representative sample or the matched White group. This is unlikely to be entirely explicable in terms of increased calling out to the teacher. Possible reasons are discussed in relation to the research literature. The outcomes from both studies are discussed in the context of current theories of African Caribbean disadvantage within the education system. These are used to identify areas for intervention strategies in primary and secondary schools to prevent disproportionate exclusions of African Caribbean boys

The Effectiveness Of Work – Family Policy Towards Work – Life Balance Among Employees In Private Sector

This study aims to explore the effectiveness of work – family policy towards work – life balance among employees in private sectors. Moreover, this study is specifically focused on employees who are married with children and what are the issues and challenges with work, family, personal and other related issues faced by them in order to have a balance work and life. To reduce employees burden at work, organization have implemented work – family policies to benefit the employees. This study was conducted to explore the effectiveness of the current work – family policies to the employees. From this study, it is identified that the most and least effective work – family policies in the organization and improvement that can be done to the current policies. The research design used in this study is case study and interview is used as an instrument to collect necessary data from the informants. The most suitable sampling for this study were purposive sampling. The findings of this study have revealed that there is a need to make improvement on the current work – family policies and few suggestions on other work – family policies which can be implemented. Informants have also stated their most and least effective work – family policies in the organization. Last but not least, the results from this study were important for HR practitioners to build an understanding of work-life balance environment in the organization so that work-life balance initiatives are supported by the organization in helping employees, especially those are having difficulties to manage their work and family domain. This can be a ground for the employees to have a proper balance between their work and family domain

Selective Association Between Tetris Game Play and Visuospatial Working Memory: A Preliminary Investigation

Recent experimental and clinical research has suggested that Tetris game play can disrupt maladaptive forms of mental imagery because Tetris competes for limited cognitive resources within visuospatial working memory (WM) that contribute to imagery. Whether or not Tetris performance is selectively associated with visuospatial WM remains to be tested. In this study, young adults (N = 46) completed six standardized measures indexing verbal and non-verbal reasoning, verbal and visuospatial short-term memory, and verbal and visuospatial WM. They also played Tetris. Consistent with the hypothesis that visuospatial WM resources support Tetris game play, there was a significant moderate positive relationship between Tetris scores and visuospatial WM performance but no association with other cognitive ability measures. Findings suggest that Tetris game play involves both storage and processing resources within visuospatial WM. These preliminary results can inform interventions involving computer games to disrupt the development of maladaptive visual imagery, for example, intrusive memories of trauma.Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Funded by - United Kingdom Medical Research Council intramural programme. Grant Numbers: MC-A060-5PR50, MC-APQ500 - The Cambridge Commonwealth, European and International Trus

Study on etiological and clinical profile of acute symptomatic seizures in adults in a tertiary care hospital.

OBJECTIVES: 1. To study the etiological profile of acute symptomatic seizures in various age groups. 2. To assess the common seizure type in patients with acute symptomatic seizures of varied etiologies. 3. To study the Electro Encephalographic and Radiological profile of Acute symptomatic seizures. DESIGN: Single Observational study. This study was conducted among 150 Acute symptomatic seizure patients who were admitted in our hospital with various etiologies since March 2013 to February 2014. RESULTS: In the present study Acute symptomatic seizures were slightly more in males than in females. Acute symptomatic seizures were most common in 40 – 60 years of age group. Generalised seizures were the most common seizure type encountered in the study. Head ache, vomiting and altered sensorium were the most common non convulsive presenting symptoms. Diabetes and Hypertension were the co morbid systemic illness associated with cerebrovascular accidents. Metabolic abnormality was found as the cause in 13% of the patients and the predominant age group was above 60 years. Cerebrovascular diseases were the most frequent etiology in acute symptomatic seizures. Among the cerebrovascular diseases, cortical venous thrombosis and intra cerebral haemorrhage were commonly presented with seizure. Next common cause of acute symptomatic seizures in this study was CNS infections consisting of 19% of the patients. Among CNS infection, Neurocysticercosis was the most common cause. In females eclampsia and cortical venous thrombosis were the common etiology for acute symptomatic seizures. Alcohol related seizures contributed to etiology in 12% of the patients. Hanging and post cardiac arrest were the common etiology the anoxic brain injury. Generalised seizures were common with cerebrovascular disease and alcohol related seizures. Partial seizures were common with Tuberculoma and Neurocysticercosis. Myoclonic seizures were common with anoxic brain injury. Cerebrovascular disease and Metabolic abnormality were common above 60 years where as eclampsia and alcohol related seizures were common in 20 – 60 years of age. Acute CNS infection was the predominant cause of seizures below 20 years of age. Conclusion: Acute symptomatic seizures were more common in males than females and in 40 – 60 years of age. Cerebrovascular diseases were the most frequent cause of acute symptomatic seizures, followed by Acute CNS infections. Eclampsia and cortical venous thrombosis were the common etiology among females. Cerebrovascular diseases and metabolic abnormality were common above 60 years of age where as eclampsia and alcohol related seizures were common in 20-60 years of age. Acute CNS infections were the predominant cause of acute symptomatic seizures below 20 years of age. Generalised seizures were the most common seizure type encountered in this study. EEG and Radiological abnormalities were seen in nearly 60% of the patients

Commercial video games as therapy: a new research agenda to unlock the potential of a global pastime

Emerging research suggests that commercial, off-the-shelf video games have potential applications in preventive and therapeutic medicine. Despite these promising findings, systematic efforts to characterize and better understand this potential have not been undertaken. Serious academic study of the therapeutic potential of commercial video games faces several challenges, including a lack of standard terminology, rapidly changing technology, societal attitudes toward video games, and understanding and accounting for complex interactions between individual, social, and cultural health determinants. As a vehicle to launch a new interdisciplinary research agenda, the present paper provides background information on the use of commercial video games for the prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation of mental and other health conditions, and discusses ongoing grassroots efforts by online communities to use video games for healing and recovery

The COVID-19 Clinician Cohort (CoCCo) Study: Empirically Grounded Recommendations for Forward-Facing Psychological Care of Frontline Doctors

In this book, we focus on health and wellbeing in the workforce within the context of the global COVID-19 pandemic, and the post-pandemic era. We begin by exploring the impacts of the pandemic on diverse occupational groups, considering the broader mental health impacts of the pandemic, reactions to national lockdowns and behavioural strategies to control the spread of the virus, such as social distancing and self-isolation, attitudes towards infection control and work presenteeism. Next, we explore the relationship between job factors, working conditions and psychological wellbeing of employees. The papers that follow examine changes in work patterns and locations, such as remote, hybrid, and on-site working, the impact of organizational climate on mental wellbeing, and organizational approaches to return-to-work after lockdown. Finally, we present innovative organizational- and individual-level pandemic mitigation interventions, including SARS-CoV-2 testing services and infection control approaches, digital mental health support, and COVID-19 Vaccine Education. This collection demonstrates the breadth of research on work, health and wellbeing, during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, covering workforce impacts and workforce interventions in various countries and settings. Learning from this research will help to build global preparedness for future pandemics and foster resilience for responding in times of crisis and uncertainty