Evidence-based service modules for a sustained home visiting program

The Centre for Community Child Health (CCCH) at the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute and the Royal Children’s Hospital has undertaken two literature reviews to inform the design of a sustained home visiting program for vulnerable families with young children; the program is now known as \u27right@home\u27. This project is being led by a collaboration between three organisations: The Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY), CCCH, and the University of New South Wales. The first literature review undertaken by CCCH (Sustained home visiting for vulnerable families and children: A review of effective programs (McDonald et al., 2012) (hereon in referred to as the Home visiting review of effective programs) sought to answer the question ‘what works in home visiting programs?’ The conclusion reached was that it was not possible to answer the question definitively, either because the evidence regarding the ‘components’ of home visiting programs is contradictory or contested, or the evidence is not available. As the home visiting review of effective programs focused on what was delivered (ie. the efficacy of different manualised programs), rather than how services were delivered (ie. the effect of the manner in which services were delivered and the nature of the relationships established between service providers and parents), a second literature review was undertaken: Sustained home visiting for vulnerable families and children: A literature review of effective processes and strategies (Moore et al., 2012) (hereon in referred to as the Home visiting review of effective processes and strategies). The home visiting review of effective processes and strategies identified converging evidence from a number of sources to support the idea that the process aspects of service delivery matter for outcomes – how services are provided is as important as what is provided. A number of key elements of effective service delivery processes have been repeatedly identified in the research literature and these represent the threshold features or bedrock on which all services should be based: if services are not delivered in accordance with these process features, then efforts to change people’s behaviour will be less effective (Moore et al., 2012). The evidence also indicated that the identification of goals, and of strategies to achieve these goals, needs to be done in partnership with parents. However, while the ultimate choice of strategies should be made by parents, the strategies on offer used must be evidence-based. Therefore, service providers should be able to draw on a suite of evidence-based strategies to address the range of challenges that parents face in caring for their children (Moore et al., 2012). In the light of the findings of this second literature review, it was decided that the right@home home visiting program would not involve the delivery of a manualised program. Rather, service delivery would be based on the processes of effective engagement and partnership, while the content of the program would take two forms: standard modules that are delivered to all participants, and e.g. information on the stages of child development), and evidence-based ‘service modules’ (i.e. specific strategies) that could be deployed to address issues that are of particular concern to individual parents.  Related identifer: ISSN 2204-340

Primary schools as community hubs: a review of the literature

Considerable work has been undertaken over several years to establish primary schools as community hubs in the City of Hume through the Hubs Strategy Group for the Hume Communities for Children Initiative and, more recently, the Supporting Parents Developing Children project. This work has highlighted the need for a primary school community hub toolkit. The purpose of this review is to inform the development of a resource (e.g. a toolkit) that can be used by other schools so that they can also establish themselves as community hubs. An agreed definition of schools as community hubs within the literature has not been reached. Rather, the notion of schools as community hubs seems to be understood in a variety of ways. For the purposes of this review we will draw on the definitions provided by Black (2008) and the Hubs Strategy Group for the Broadmeadows Communities for Children Initiative (2009). Black (2008) describes hubs as involving \u27collaboration between school education systems and the other sectors (community, business, local government and philanthropy) to support the learning and wellbeing of young people, especially those facing disadvantage\u27 (p. 6). These collaborations can range from sharing, co-locating or joint use of physical facilities, through to schools as the centre of a hub or precinct that offers multiple services for the whole community. In the City of Hume, the Hubs Strategy Group have conceptualised a hub as, a welcoming place for families that engages key service providers to work collaboratively. A hub can be a single location or a network of places working together to provide services, such as schools, kindergartens, maternal and child health, and other relevant agencies. Hubs facilitate connections between key services and professionals and represent a paradigm shift in the planning and practice of service provision. Services and their staff are required to rethink existing practice to move to an inclusive practices framework at a professional and community level. &nbsp

Sustained home visiting for vulnerable families and children: a review of effective processes and strategies

Parenting young children has become a more complex and stressful business, especially for those families in our community with the least resources (Grose, 2006; Hayes et al, 2010; Poole, 2004; Richardson & Prior, 2005; Trask, 2010). A widening gap exists between families that function well and those that are vulnerable. The paradox of service delivery for children and families is that vulnerable families – that is, those families with the greatest needs – are also the least likely to be able to access those services (Ghate & Hazel, 2002; Fram, 2003). A range of barriers exist for vulnerable and at risk families in making use of services (Carbone et al, 2004). One of the key barriers to vulnerable families accessing services is that many find it difficult to relate to the formal service system and are easily alienated by practices others find acceptable. Research regarding parents’ experiences of support services suggests that parents want services where they are simultaneously cared for and enabled in their role as parents, and to receive services characterised by empathy, competence, functionality, respect, flexibility and honesty (Attride-Stirling et al, 2001; Winkworth et al, 2009). Vulnerable parents fear a loss of autonomy in their interactions with support services and want services that are non-judgemental and that provide continuity of care (Ghate & Hazel, 2002; von Bultzingslowen, 2006). In addition to the barriers faced by vulnerable and marginalised families in accessing services, the system does not work in an integrated or coherent fashion to ensure that all children and families needing support receive it. Furthermore, the vast majority of services for children and families in Australia do not have an outreach function, that is, a means of engaging these vulnerable and at risk families who are in need of support but use services inconsistently or not at all. In short, the service system was not designed to meet the needs of vulnerable families within the context of a rapidly changing social and economic climate. Therefore, many families requiring support are not receiving it. Related identifier: ISSN 2204-340

Strategies for Improving Indian Railways’ Market Share of Port Based Coal Traffic: A Diagnostic Study

India is a vast country. After its independence in 1947, it steadily lost its position in international trade. With the beginning of economic liberalization in 1991, it has taken new initiatives in integrating itself with the world economy. Import restrictions have been removed for many commodities. One of the major impacts of liberalization has been on infrastructure: railways, roadways, ports and airports. Significant changes have also taken place in the composition of imported and exported commodities. Due to these changes, new challenges are being faced on the infrastructure front. One of the challenges is to rectify the mismatch of available infrastructure at ports where a modal change of commodities that are either imported or exported takes place. This paper examines such issues with a specific focus on improving infrastructure required for integration of railways and ports. This is achieved by focusing on coal which is a commodity that (i) brings significant revenues to Indian Railways, and (ii) is witnessing increasing imports. In this diagnostic study, we discuss the problems faced by Indian Railways and identify ways to increase its market share of coal movement between ports and the hinterland.

A note on morphometric and length-weight relationship of Upeneus moluccensis (Bleeker) off Veraval coast

Upeneus moluccensis were collected from the catches of bottom fish trawl of "M. V. Saraswati" off Veraval coast in the area lat. 20 degree 26 N and long. 70 degree 35 E. The fish were analysed for length-weight relationship and morphometric characters. The fishes were found to vary from 116 to 161 mm in length and 20.0 to 50.0 g in weight. The exponent value and correlation coefficient for length-weight relationship was found to be 2.73 and 0.991 respectively

The Association of Neck Circumference and Obesity: That Is Not All Yet

We read with great interest the article entitled “Neck circumference as a useful marker for screening overweight and obesity in children and adolescents” published in the May issue of the Oman Medical Journal.1 The article highlights the worrying issue of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents including those in developing countries.2 The predisposing factors for such an unhealthy body figure include the consumption of readily available fast food, processed food, and fizzy drinks. Physical activity in childhood is largely getting replaced by handheld electronic games further accentuating the problem. Obesity is closely related to many chronic illnesses, mainly metabolic diseases such as diabetes, hyperlipidemia, hypercholesterolemia, and metabolic syndromes. As clearly stated in the article, neck circumference has been identified to be an important screening tool for overweight and obesity.1 Indirectly, neck circumference is also used for the assessment of cardiovascular risk factors in children.3 In otolaryngology practice, neck circumference is an important tool for predicting obstructive sleep apnea. In fact, neck circumference corrected for height is more useful as a predictor for obstructive sleep apnea than general obesity.4 Some researchers have gone further with this input estimating the neck circumference by using the easy sleep apnea predictor (ESAP). Patients are asked to place their thumbs together at the anterior neck, and to wrap their fingers around their neck until they meet in the posterior part. If the patient can encircle the neck completely without excess squeezing and choking, it is considered a negative ESAP test.5 On the other hand, in cases where a patient has an Apnea- Hypopnea Index (AHI; used to indicate the severity of sleep apnea) score of more than five, a positive ESAP has a predictive power of 100%. However, a negative ESAP test in these cases has a predictive power of 31%. The sensitivity and specificity of ESAP were 68.3% and 100%, respectively. In conclusion, neck circumference is an easy clinical examination tool not only for screening overweight and obesity in the pediatric population and predicting the risk of metabolic syndromes, but also to predict obstructive sleep apnea

Momentum dynamics of one dimensional quantum walks

We derive the momentum space dynamic equations and state functions for one dimensional quantum walks by using linear systems and Lie group theory. The momentum space provides an analytic capability similar to that contributed by the z transform in discrete systems theory. The state functions at each time step are expressed as a simple sum of three Chebyshev polynomials. The functions provide an analytic expression for the development of the walks with time.Ian Fuss, Langord B. White, Peter J. Sherman, Sanjeev Naguleswara

Distribution of heterotrophic bacterioplankton in the Indian sector of Southern Ocean

Study was carried out on the distribution of bacterioplankton in the Indian sector of Southern Ocean. Total Heterotrophic Bacterial (THB) counts were maximum (107x104/CFU/ml) in water samples collected from 200 m depth and lowest (15.1x103/CFU/ml) at 3730 m. Of the 250 strains isolated from the water samples, 9.2% were gram positive and 4.8% gram negative. The important genera encountered were Pseudomonas, Aeromonas, Vibrio, Acinetobacter, Micrococcus, Staphylococcus, Corynebacterium, Flavobacterium, Chromobacterium, Moraxella, Bacillus and Planococcus. Most of the isolates (94%) were capable of lipase production followed by gelatinase (40%) and amylase (32%)

सक्रिय धातु आयनों के अनुकूलन द्वारा अंत:स्थलीय भूमिगत नमकीन जल में टाईगर झींगा (पेनियस मोनोडोन) के स्थाई पालौअ की संभावनाएं

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The Performance of Non-Impaired Tamil-English Bilinguals on the Bilingual Aphasia Test

This thesis examines the performance of non-impaired Tamil-English speaking bilinguals on the Tamil-English version of the Bilingual Aphasia Test (BAT) (Paradis and Libben, 1987). The test was administered to 25 participants, 15 women and 10 men. The results show that, on average, participants achieved an overall score of 97%. However, participants did not do well on two subtests on the English version, specifically sections on derivational morphology and morphological opposites. Also, a more detailed analysis indicates that years of education significantly correlates with performance, even though it is claimed that years of education should not affect performance on this test. This study makes suggestions for how to improve the Tamil-English version, in view of the findings from this study, and provides a cautionary note on the role played by years of education in test performance. If the latter factor is not taken into account, the test could possibly lead to an inaccurate assessment of a patient’s language abilities, and could potentially result in misdiagnosis. In an effort to increase the test’s validity and reliability, this study recommends a series of modifications to the Tamil-English version of the BAT, based both on participants’ comments and on statistical analyses.Master of Science (MSc