TRANSITION ACTIVITIES AND THEIR EFFECTS ON MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness that transitional activities have on student achievement and attendance when students moved from elementary school to middle school. The data were gathered from two school districts that are demographically similar. Data included average daily attendance rates, Terra Nova Achievement Scores from social studies in grades five, six, and seven, as well as math in grades five, six, and seven. There were 187 students in the Treatment Group and 147 in the Control Group for a total of 334 students. Comparison of means for demographic equivalency of the groups (t-test) and a MANCOVA with repeated measures analysis of seventh grade Math and Social Studies test scores were run. The results indicated no significant differences in rates of attendance from students transitioning from elementary to middle school whether they have experienced transitional activities or not. In addition, there were no significant differences in Terra Nova Social Studies or Math Achievement Test scores between students transitioning from elementary to middle school whether they have experienced a comprehensive transition program or not (F= .003, p= .960 for seventh grade Math, F= .947, p= .331 for seventh grade Social Studies). There was a drop in both attendance and achievement test scores for both the control and treatment groups. While this study determined there is no reason to believe the interventions made any difference in the overall attendance and achievement test scores, the literature and other studies have shown positive results. Programs of this sort need further study and analysis to gather additional data on transitional activities and their effectiveness on students entering middle school

Vulnerable responsibility

The authors have developed the ethical imagination inviting a sense of “otherness” towards the vulnerable self, rebounding care for the other as a way to understand our everyday neurotic (normal) tendency of small vices as the propensity and possibility for responsibility towards the other. The authors, inviting the reader into troublesome feelings such as laziness and anger, bring a Levinasian horizon into focus, so that even in the midst of laziness, there remains the small goodness to set the self free to care for the other, meeting the demands, challenges, hesitation, shuddering, tension and shocks of such alterity, of living “otherwise”

Factors influencing acquisition of Burkholderia cepacia complex organisms in patients with cystic fibrosis

Burkholderia cepacia complex organisms are important transmissible pathogens found in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. In recent years, the rates of cross-infection of epidemic strains have declined due to effective infection control efforts. However, cases of sporadic B. cepacia complex infection continue to occur in some centers. The acquisition pathways and clinical outcomes of sporadic B. cepacia complex infection are unclear. We sought to determine the patient clinical characteristics, outcomes, incidence, and genotypic relatedness for all cases of B. cepacia complex infection at two CF centers. We also sought to study the external conditions that influence the acquisition of infection. From 2001 to 2011, 67 individual organisms were cultured from the respiratory samples of 64 patients. Sixty-five percent of the patients were adults, in whom chronic infections were more common (68%) (P = 0.006). The incidence of B. cepacia complex infection increased by a mean of 12% (95% confidence interval [CI], 3 to 23%) per year. The rates of transplantation and death were similar in the incident cases who developed chronic infection compared to those in patients with chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection. Multilocus sequence typing revealed 50 individual strains from 65 isolates. Overall, 85% of the patients were infected with unique strains, suggesting sporadic acquisition of infection. The yearly incidence of nonepidemic B. cepacia complex infection was positively correlated with the amount of rainfall in the two sites examined: subtropical Brisbane (r = 0.65, P = 0.031) and tropical Townsville (r = 0.82, P = 0.002). This study demonstrates that despite strict cohort segregation, new cases of unrelated B. cepacia complex infection continue to occur. These data also support an environmental origin of infection and suggest that climate conditions may be associated with the acquisition of B. cepacia complex infections

The ethics of inherent trust in care robots for the elderly

The way elderly care is delivered is changing. Attempts are being made to accommodate the increasing number of elderly, and the decline in the number of people available to care for them, with care robots. This change introduces ethical issues into robotics and healthcare. The two-part study (heuristic evaluation and survey) reported here examines a phenomenon which is a result of that change. The phenomenon rises out of a contradiction. All but 2 (who were undecided) of the 12 elderly survey respondents, out of the total of 102 respondents, wanted to be able to change how the presented care robot made decisions and 7 of those 12 elderly wanted to be able to examine its decision making process so as to ensure the care provided is personalized. However, at the same time, 34% of the elderly participants said they were willing to trust the care robot inherently, compared to only 16% of the participants who were under fifty. Additionally, 66% of the elderly respondents said they were very likely or likely to accept and use such a care robot in their everyday lives. The contradiction of inherent trust and simultaneous wariness about control gives rise to the phenomenon: elderly in need want control over their care to ensure it is personalized, but many may desperately take any help they can get. The possible causes, and ethical implications, of this phenomenon are the focus of this paper

Die bydrae van ’n haalbare gasvryheids- en ontmoetingsetiek in die etiese versorging van gesondheidsorgwerkers

Published ArticleThe authors of this study advocate for the contribution a double ethic of hospitality and engagement can make towards the ethical care of healthcare workers. Their contribution is based on two studies in healthcare. The South African case outlines challenges with regard to resources, communication and expectations. The Belgium case study draws attention to the traditional approach and suggests a new paradigm, namely to respect the patient as subject and therefore the importance of meeting the patient in his/her situation. Both cases sensitise the reader to the ethical vulnerability of the healthcare worker suggesting that a double ethic of hospitality and engagement is needed to address this challenge. The question of ethical coaching is addressed via a real life example in which the healthcare workers are placed in a simulation laboratory and then treated as “patients” by other healthcare workers. This simulation gives insight into the real needs of patients and how healthcare workers should care for them