Search results for: resiliency scales for children and adolescents

Authors: Amal Raqib Shameran, Ghanim Aboud Al-Mola

Abstract:

Respiratory syncytial virus (hRSV) is the major pathogens of respiratory tract infections (RTI) among infants and children in the world. They are classified in family Paramyxoviridae and sub-family Pneumovirinae. The current work aimed to detect the role of RSV in the lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) in Hilla, Iraq. The samples were collected from 50 children who were admitted to hospital suffering from lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI). 50 nasal and pharyngeal swabs were taken from patients at the period from January 2010 till April 2011, hospitalized in Hilla Maternity and Children Hospital. The results showed that the proportion of children infected with hRSV accounted for 24% 12/50 with lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) when they tested by polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).

Keywords: respiratory syncytial virus, respiratory tract infections, infants, polymerase chain reaction (PCR)

Procedia PDF Downloads 352

Authors: Yushen Dai, Tao Deng, Miaoying Chen, Baoqin Huang, Yan Ji, Yongshen Feng, Shaofei Liu, Dongmei Zhong, Tao Zhang, Lifeng Zhang

Abstract:

Background: Detection and diagnosis are prerequisites for early interventions in the care of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). However, few studies have focused on this topic. Aim: This study aims to characterize the timing from symptom detection to intervention in children with ASD and to identify the potential predictors of early detection, diagnosis, and intervention. Methods and procedures: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 314 parents of children with ASD in Guangzhou, China. Outcomes and Results: This study found that most children (76.24%) were diagnosed within one year after detection, and 25.8% of them did not receive the intervention after diagnosis. Predictors to ASD diagnosis included ASD-related symptoms identified at a younger age, more serious symptoms, and initial symptoms with abnormal development and sensory anomalies. ASD-related symptoms observed at an older age, initial symptoms with the social deficit, sensory anomalies, and without language impairment, parents as the primary caregivers, family with lower income and less social support utilization increased the odds of the time lag between detection and diagnosis. Children whose fathers had a lower level of education were less likely to receive the intervention. Conclusions and Implications: The study described the time for detection, diagnosis, and interventions of children with ASD. Findings suggest that the ASD-related symptoms, the timing at which symptoms first become a concern, primary caregivers’ roles, father’s educational level, and the family economic status should be considered when offering support to improve early detection, diagnosis, and intervention. Helping children and their families take full advantage of support is also important.

Keywords: autism spectrum disorder, child, detection, diagnosis, intervention, social support

Procedia PDF Downloads 89

Authors: Mina Salamatmanesh, Elizabeth Fitzpatrick, Tim Ramsay, Josee Lagacé, Lindsey Sikora, JoAnne Whittingham

Abstract:

Introduction: Hearing loss (HL) is one of the most common disorders that presents at birth and in early childhood. Universal newborn hearing screening (UNHS) has been adopted based on the assumption that with early identification of HL, children will have access to optimal amplification and intervention at younger ages, therefore, taking advantage of the brain’s maximal plasticity. One particular challenge for parents in the early years is achieving consistent hearing aid (HA) use which is critical to the child’s development and constitutes the first step in the rehabilitation process. This study examined the consistency of hearing aid use in young children based on data logging information documented during audiology sessions in the first three years after hearing aid fitting. Methodology: The first 100 children who were diagnosed with bilateral HL before 72 months of age since 2003 to 2015 in a pediatric audiology clinic and who had at least two hearing aid follow-up sessions with available data logging information were included in the study. Data from each audiology session (age of child at the session, average hours of use per day (for each ear) in the first three years after HA fitting) were collected. Clinical characteristics (degree of hearing loss, age of HA fitting) were also documented to further understanding of factors that impact HA use. Results: Preliminary analysis of the results of the first 20 children shows that all of them (100%) have at least one data logging session recorded in the clinical audiology system (Noah). Of the 20 children, 17(85%) have three data logging events recorded in the first three years after HA fitting. Based on the statistical analysis of the first 20 cases, the median hours of use in the first follow-up session after the hearing aid fitting in the right ear is 3.9 hours with an interquartile range (IQR) of 10.2h. For the left ear the median is 4.4 and the IQR is 9.7h. In the first session 47% of the children use their hearing aids ≤5 hours, 12% use them between 5 to 10 hours and 22% use them ≥10 hours a day. However, these children showed increased use by the third follow-up session with a median (IQR) of 9.1 hours for the right ear and 2.5, and of 8.2 hours for left ear (IQR) IQR is 5.6 By the third follow-up session, 14% of children used hearing aids ≤5 hours, while 38% of children used them ≥10 hours. Based on the primary results, factors like age and level of HL significantly impact the hours of use. Conclusion: The use of data logging information to assess the actual hours of HA provides an opportunity to examine the: a) challenges of families of young children with HAs, b) factors that impact use in very young children. Data logging when used collaboratively with parents, can be a powerful tool to identify problems and to encourage and assist families in maximizing their child’s hearing potential.

Keywords: hearing loss, hearing aid, data logging, hours of use

Procedia PDF Downloads 229

Authors: Tengku Farah Petri Tengku Mahmood, Shameem Rafik-Galea, Zalina Mohd Kasim, Norlijah Othman

Abstract:

Childhood vaccination programme is mandatory in Malaysia. However, the decision to vaccinate or not vaccinate children is still left to the parents. Presently, there are parents who are opting out of vaccination claiming that it causes autism and other chronic disorders despite inconclusive evidence. There appears to be a dangerous trend among some Malaysian parents to not vaccinate their children and to not participate in the childhood vaccination programme. This study presents preliminary findings of parental discourse on childhood vaccination programme through the perspective of the Integrated Threat Theory. An in-depth interview was carried out to investigate a parent’s concern of the effects of childhood vaccination on children. A thematic discourse analysis was used to analyse the transcribed data. The emerging themes based on the analysis and their relevance to our understanding of a parent’s concerns of the effects of childhood vaccination on children are discussed.

Keywords: case study, parental discourse, thematic discourse analysis, childhood vaccination

Procedia PDF Downloads 351

Authors: Elvira Loibl

Abstract:

In Western countries, the demand for adoptable children, especially healthy babies, has been considerably high for several years. Rising infertility rates, liberal abortion politics, the widespread use of contraception, and the increasing acceptance of unmarried motherhood are factors that have decreased the number of infants available for domestic adoption in the U.S. and Europe. As a consequence, many involuntarily childless couples turn to intercountry adoption as a viable alternative to have a child of their own. However, the demand for children far outpaces the supply of orphans with the desired characteristics. The imbalance between the number of prospective adopters and the children available for intercountry adoption results in long waiting lists and high prices. The inordinate sums of money involved in the international adoption system have created a commercial ‘underbelly’ where unethical and illicit practices are employed to provide the adoption market with adoptable children. Children are being purchased or abducted from their families, hospitals or child care institutions and then trafficked to receiving countries as ‘orphans’. This paper aims to uncover and explain the factors of the German adoption system that are conducive to child trafficking for adoption purposes. It explains that the tension between money and integrity as experienced by German adoption agencies, blind trust in the authorities in the sending countries as well as a lenient control system encourage and facilitate the trafficking in children to Germany.

Keywords: child trafficking, intercountry adoption, market in adoptable babies, German adoption system

Procedia PDF Downloads 290

Authors: Sudha Arlikatti, Laura Siebeneck, Simon A. Andrew

Abstract:

The objective of this research is to measure organizational resiliency through five attributes namely, rapidity, redundancy, resourcefulness, and robustness and to provide recommendations for resiliency building in flood risk communities. The research was conducted in Thailand following the severe floods of 2011 triggered by Tropical Storm Nock-ten. The floods lasted over eight months starting in June 2011 affecting 65 of the country’s 76 provinces and over 12 million people. Funding from a US National Science Foundation grant was used to collect ephemeral data in rural (Ayutthaya), suburban (Pathum Thani), and urban (Bangkok) provinces of Thailand. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted in Thai with 44 contacts from public, private, and non-profit organizations including universities, schools, automobile companies, vendors, tourist agencies, monks from temples, faith based organizations, and government agencies. Multiple triangulations were used to analyze the data by identifying selective themes from the qualitative data, validated with quantitative data and news media reports. This helped to obtain a more comprehensive view of how organizations in different geographic settings varied in their understanding of what enhanced or hindered their resilience and consequently their speed and capacities to respond. The findings suggest that the urban province of Bangkok scored highest in resourcefulness, rapidity of response, robustness, and ability to rebound. This is not surprising considering that it is the country’s capital and the seat of government, economic, military and tourism sectors. However, contrary to expectations all 44 respondents noted that the rural province of Ayutthaya was the fastest to recover amongst the three. Its organizations scored high on redundancy and rapidity of response due to the strength of social networks, a flood disaster sub-culture due to annual flooding, and the help provided by monks from and faith based organizations. Organizations in the suburban community of Pathum Thani scored lowest on rapidity of response and resourcefulness due to limited and ambiguous warnings, lack of prior flood experience and controversies that government flood protection works like sandbagging favored the capital city of Bangkok over them. Such a micro-level examination of organizational resilience in rural, suburban and urban areas in a country through mixed methods studies has its merits in getting a nuanced understanding of the importance of disaster subcultures and religious norms for resilience. This can help refocus attention on the strengths of social networks and social capital, for flood mitigation.

Keywords: disaster subculture, flood response, organizational resilience, Thailand floods, religious beliefs and response, social capital and disasters

Procedia PDF Downloads 159

Authors: Haruya Tamaki, Tsugunosuke Sakai, Ryuichi Yoshida, Ryohei Egusa, Shigenori Inagaki, Etsuji Yamaguchi, Fusako Kusunoki, Miki Namatame, Masanori Sugimoto, Hiroshi Mizoguchi

Abstract:

Art appreciation is important as part of children education. Art appreciation can enrich sensibility and creativity. To enrich sensibility and creativity, the children have to learning knowledge of picture such as social and historical backgrounds and author intention. High learning effect can acquire by actively learning. In short, it is important that encourage learning of the knowledge about pictures actively. It is necessary that children feel like interest to encourage learning of the knowledge about pictures actively. In a general art museum, comments on pictures are done through writing. Thus, we expect that this method cannot arouse the interest of the children in pictures, because children feel like boring. In brief, learning about the picture information is difficult. Therefore, we are developing an art-appreciation support system that will encourage learning of the knowledge about pictures actively by children feel like interest. This system uses that Interacting with Pictures to learning of the knowledge about pictures. To Interacting with Pictures, children have to utterance by themselves. We expect that will encourage learning of the knowledge about pictures actively by Interacting with Pictures. To more actively learning, children can choose who talking with by information that location and movement of the children. This system must be able to acquire real-time knowledge of the location, movement, and voice of the children. We utilize the Microsoft’s Kinect v2 sensor and its library, namely, Kinect for Windows SDK and Speech Platform SDK v11 for this purpose. By using these sensor and library, we can determine the location, movement, and voice of the children. As the first step of this system, we developed ukiyo-e game that use ukiyo-e to appreciation object. Ukiyo-e is a traditional Japanese graphic art that has influenced the western society. Therefore, we believe that the ukiyo-e game will be appreciated. In this study, we applied talking to pictures to learn information about the pictures because we believe that learning information about the pictures by talking to the pictures is more interesting than commenting on the pictures using only texts. However, we cannot confirm if talking to the pictures is more interesting than commenting using texts only. Thus, we evaluated through EDA measurement whether the user develops an interest in the pictures while talking to them using voice recognition or by commenting on the pictures using texts only. Hence, we evaluated that children have interest to picture while talking to them using voice recognition through EDA measurement. In addition, we quantitatively evaluate that enjoyed this game or not and learning information about the pictures for primary schoolchildren. In this paper, we summarize these two evaluation results.

Keywords: actively learning, art appreciation, EDA, Kinect V2

Procedia PDF Downloads 284

Authors: Abdul Rofiq Badril Rizal Muzammil

Abstract:

Education is an absolute necessity for human’s life that one must fulfill for the entire life. Without education it is impossible for human to develop her/himself well. The education process is an effort to maintain a good behavior within one’s life. Good behavior will be absolutely achieved if it is taught to early-aged children. This paper focuses on how the story telling method enables teachers to make the students have the construction of good behavior and obtain the goal of national education in Indonesia. The targeted students would involve students in As-Solihin kindergarten, Salafiyah-Syafi’iyah Mumbulsari, Jember, Indonesia. Story is what early-aged children like most. Thus, it is a gorgeous chance to make story telling activity as a method to invest Islamic education values to children. This paper, however, also focuses on some deliberately important aspects which of course teachers need to consider including objectives and strategies of the method’s implementation. The teachers will be in need of knowing each student’s characteristic in the classroom so that it would enable them to select appropriate stories that fit best to early aged students. The selected stories are taken from Islamic stories that tell the life of Prophet and heroes of Islam as well as well-known persons in Islam. In addition, there will be a number of activities done in the classroom after the delivery of the story is over on purpose of leading students to have the fundamental foundation of how to build self-awareness in order they could understand better about the importance of being a well-behaved person. After reviewing relevant theories, secondary research and scholars’ opinion involved in all aspects of early-aged children behavior, the author concludes that by leveraging trusted sources, a proactive, co-operative and creative strategy, the teacher can successfully build up children’s good behavior by instilling the Islamic value toward early-aged children through story telling method.

Keywords: story, Islam, children, early age

Procedia PDF Downloads 306

Authors: Ms. Patamasuda Intuprapa , Professor Dr. Nancy Longnecker

Abstract:

This research examines the impact of biodiversity and wildlife conservation messages on school children. It was designed to document science communication activities that relate to biodiversity and wildlife conservation in a residential camp held at Research Station X in Thailand. This research is one of the case studies in a PhD research project. The objectives of this research are to examine environmental program and ultimately develop a model of communicating biodiversity and wildlife conservation issues to Thai children. Observations and report of the surveys were used to examine the residential camp at Research Station X. There were 49 children and five camp leaders agreed to participate in this study. The results of the study show that the children enjoyed their stay at the camp and have positive attitudes toward wildlife and environment but not actually related them with their own well-being. The camp leaders were well prepared and enthusiastic on leading the camp but fail in related contents with the activities.

Keywords: informal education, environmental education, wildlife conservation, residential camp, excursion, Thailand

Procedia PDF Downloads 258

Authors: Rabbya Ashrafi, Mohammad Tarikul Islam , Al-Amin Bhuiyan, Aminur Rahman

Abstract:

Injury is the leading killer of children in Bangladesh. Anchal (community crèche) is an effective intervention to prevent injuries among children under 5. Through the SoLiD project, 1,600 Anchals are in place in three sub-districts in Bangladesh. The objectives of the Anchal are to provide supervision and early childhood development stimulations (ECD) to the children. A locally trained caregiver supervises 20-25 children, 9 to 59 months old, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., six days a week. Although it was found effective, during its implementation phase several challenges were noticed. To identify challenges and means to overcome those to improve the Anchal activities. In-depth interviews were conducted with Anchal caregivers, their supervisors, and trainers. Focus group discussions were conducted with the mothers of the Anchal children. The study was conducted in the Manohardi sub-district in November 2015. Decay of knowledge and skills after 2-3 months of training, lack of formal certification and inappropriate selection of women as Anchal caregivers, and enrollment of small children (less than 12 months) were the important challenges. The reluctance of parents to send children to the Anchal at the proper time, failure to engage children in various ECD activities, ineffective conduction of parents and community leaders meeting by the Anchal caregivers, insufficient accommodation, and poor supply of logistics for children were also the important challenges. The suggestion for improvement was to recruit caregivers as per standard criteria, provide them refreshers training at three months intervals, train them on effective conduction of parents and community leaders meetings, provide a formal certificate, and ensure regular supply of logistics. The identified challenges are needed to be addressed by utilizing the suggestions obtained from the IDIs and FGDs to make the Anchal intervention more effective in preventing childhood injuries.

Keywords: comunity crech, earlychildhood development, measures for improvement, childhood injury

Procedia PDF Downloads 88

Authors: Jingting Luo, Yong Wang, Ying Wang

Abstract:

Pedestrian detection in image or video data is a very important and challenging task in security surveillance. The difficulty of this task is to locate and detect pedestrians of different scales in complex scenes accurately. To solve these problems, a deep neural network (RT-YOLOv3) is proposed to realize real-time pedestrian detection at different scales in security monitoring. RT-YOLOv3 improves the traditional YOLOv3 algorithm. Firstly, the deep residual network is added to extract vehicle features. Then six convolutional neural networks with different scales are designed and fused with the corresponding scale feature maps in the residual network to form the final feature pyramid to perform pedestrian detection tasks. This method can better characterize pedestrians. In order to further improve the accuracy and generalization ability of the model, a hybrid pedestrian data set training method is used to extract pedestrian data from the VOC data set and train with the INRIA pedestrian data set. Experiments show that the proposed RT-YOLOv3 method achieves 93.57% accuracy of mAP (mean average precision) and 46.52f/s (number of frames per second). In terms of accuracy, RT-YOLOv3 performs better than Fast R-CNN, Faster R-CNN, YOLO, SSD, YOLOv2, and YOLOv3. This method reduces the missed detection rate and false detection rate, improves the positioning accuracy, and meets the requirements of real-time detection of pedestrian objects.

Keywords: pedestrian detection, feature detection, convolutional neural network, real-time detection, YOLOv3

Procedia PDF Downloads 141

Authors: Sreto Boljevic

Abstract:

In the absence of considerable investment in electricity generation, transmission and distribution network (DN) capacity, the demand for electrical energy will quickly strain the capacity of the existing electrical power network. With anticipated growth and proliferation of Electric vehicles (EVs) and Heat pump (HPs) identified the likelihood that the additional load from EV changing and the HPs operation will require capital investment in the DN. While an area-wide implementation of EVs and HPs will contribute to the decarbonization of the energy system, they represent new challenges for the existing low-voltage (LV) network. Distributed energy resources (DER), operating both as part of the DN and in the off-network mode, have been offered as a means to meet growing electricity demand while maintaining and ever-improving DN reliability, resiliency and power quality. DN planning has traditionally been done by forecasting future growth in demand and estimating peak load that the network should meet. However, new problems are arising. These problems are associated with a high degree of proliferation of EVs and HPs as load imposes on DN. In addition to that, the promotion of electricity generation from renewable energy sources (RES). High distributed generation (DG) penetration and a large increase in load proliferation at low-voltage DNs may have numerous impacts on DNs that create issues that include energy losses, voltage control, fault levels, reliability, resiliency and power quality. To mitigate negative impacts and at a same time enhance positive impacts regarding the new operational state of DN, CHP system integration can be seen as best action to postpone/reduce capital investment needed to facilitate promotion and maximize benefits of EVs, HPs and RES integration in low-voltage DN. The aim of this paper is to generate an algorithm by using an analytical approach. Algorithm implementation will provide a way for optimal placement of the CHP system in the DN in order to maximize the integration of RES and increase in proliferation of EVs and HPs.

Keywords: combined heat & power (CHP), distribution networks, EVs, HPs, RES

Procedia PDF Downloads 202

Authors: Kaiying Lai, Suiping Wang, Luodi Yu, Yang Zhang, Pengmin Qin

Abstract:

Abnormalities in auditory processing are one of the most commonly reported sensory processing impairments in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Tonal language speaker with autism has enhanced neural sensitivity to pitch changes in pure tone. However, not all children with ASD exhibit the same performance in pitch processing due to different auditory sensitivity. The current study aimed to examine auditory change detection in ASD with different auditory sensitivity. K-means clustering method was adopted to classify ASD participants into two groups according to the auditory processing scores of the Sensory Profile, 11 autism with hypersensitivity (mean age = 11.36 ; SD = 1.46) and 18 with hypo-sensitivity (mean age = 10.64; SD = 1.89) participated in a passive auditory oddball paradigm designed for eliciting mismatch negativity (MMN) under the pure tone condition. Results revealed that compared to hypersensitive autism, the children with hypo-sensitivity showed smaller MMN responses to pure tone stimuli. These results suggest that ASD with auditory hypersensitivity and hypo-sensitivity performed differently in processing pure tone, so neural responses to pure tone hold promise for predicting the auditory sensitivity of ASD and targeted treatment in children with ASD.

Keywords: ASD, sensory profile, pitch processing, mismatch negativity, MMN

Procedia PDF Downloads 390

Authors: Mustafa M. Donma, Orkide Donma

Abstract:

Obesity and weight gain are associated with increased risk of developing cardiovascular diseases and the progression of liver fibrosis. Aspartate transaminase–to-platelet count ratio index (AST-to-PLT, APRI) and fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) were primarily considered as the formulas capable of differentiating hepatitis from cirrhosis. Recently, they have found clinical use as measures of liver fibrosis and cardiovascular risk. However, their status in children has not been evaluated in detail yet. The aim of this study is to determine APRI and FIB-4 status in obese (OB) children and compare them with values found in children with normal body mass index (N-BMI). A total of sixty-eight children examined in the outpatient clinics of the Pediatrics Department in Tekirdag Namik Kemal University Medical Faculty were included in the study. Two groups were constituted. In the first group, thirty-five children with N-BMI, whose age- and sex-dependent BMI indices vary between 15 and 85 percentiles, were evaluated. The second group comprised thirty-three OB children whose BMI percentile values were between 95 and 99. Anthropometric measurements and routine biochemical tests were performed. Using these parameters, values for the related indices, BMI, APRI, and FIB-4, were calculated. Appropriate statistical tests were used for the evaluation of the study data. The statistical significance degree was accepted as p<0.05. In the OB group, values found for APRI and FIB-4 were higher than those calculated for the N-BMI group. However, there was no statistically significant difference between the N-BMI and OB groups in terms of APRI and FIB-4. A similar pattern was detected for triglyceride (TRG) values. The correlation coefficient and degree of significance between APRI and FIB-4 were r=0.336 and p=0.065 in the N-BMI group. On the other hand, they were r=0.707 and p=0.001 in the OB group. Associations of these two indices with TRG have shown that this parameter was strongly correlated (p<0.001) both with APRI and FIB-4 in the OB group, whereas no correlation was calculated in children with N-BMI. Triglycerides are associated with an increased risk of fatty liver, which can progress to severe clinical problems such as steatohepatitis, which can lead to liver fibrosis. Triglycerides are also independent risk factors for cardiovascular disease. In conclusion, the lack of correlation between TRG and APRI as well as FIB-4 in children with N-BMI, along with the detection of strong correlations of TRG with these indices in OB children, was the indicator of the possible onset of the tendency towards the development of fatty liver in OB children. This finding also pointed out the potential risk for cardiovascular pathologies in OB children. The nature of the difference between APRI vs FIB-4 correlations in N-BMI and OB groups (no correlation versus high correlation), respectively, may be the indicator of the importance of involving age and alanine transaminase parameters in addition to AST and PLT in the formula designed for FIB-4.

Keywords: APRI, children, FIB-4, obesity, triglycerides

Procedia PDF Downloads 347

Authors: Mercy Marimirofa, Farai Machinga, Alfred Zvoushe, Tsitsidzaishe Musvosvi

Abstract:

Adolescent Birth rate (ABR) is an important indicator of both gender equality and equity in the country. This is the number of births to women aged between 15 and 19 years per 1000 live births. There has been a decreasing trend in ABR in Zimbabwe since 2014. However, the difference between rural areas and urban areas has continued to widen. A secondary analysis was conducted to assess the differences in ABR between the rural areas of Zimbabwe and the urban areas. This was also done to determine the root causes of high ABR in rural areas compared to urban areas and the impact this may cause to the economic development of the nation. The analysis was done according to geographical characteristics (provinces). A total of 69,335 females aged 10 to 19 years had live births among a total population of 791,914 females aged 15 to 19 years. The total Adolescent Birth rate in Zimbabwe is 87/1000 live births, while in rural areas, it is 114.4/1000 live births compared to urban areas, which is 49.7/1000 live births. A decrease in the ABR trends has been recorded since 2014 from 143/1000 live births among adolescents in rural areas to 97/1000 live births in urban areas. This shows that rural areas still have high rates of ABR compared to their urban counterparts, and the gap is still wide. High ABR is a result of early child marriages, teenage pregnancies as well as poverty. Most of these marriages (46%) are intergenerational relationships and have resulted in an increase in gender-based violence cases among adolescents, poor health outcomes, including pregnancy complications such as eclampsia, Cephalous Pelvic Disproportion (CPD), and obstructed labour. Maternal deaths among adolescence is also high compared to adults. Furthermore, the increase of school dropouts among adolescent girls is on the rise due to teen pregnancies. These challenges are being faced mostly by rural adolescent girls as compared to their urban counterparts. The widening gap in ABR between urban areas and rural areas is a matter of concern and needs to be addressed. There is a need to inform policy, programming, and interventions targeting rural areas to address the challenges and gaps in reducing ABR. This abstract is to inform policymakers on the strategies and resources required to address the challenges currently distressing adolescents. There is a need to improve access to Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) Services by adolescents and reduce the age of consent to access SRH services should be reduced from 18 years for ease access to young people to reduce teenage pregnancies. Comprehensive sexuality education, both in-school and out of school, should be strengthened to increase knowledge among young people on sexuality.

Keywords: adolescence birth rate, live birth, teenage pregnancies, SRH services

Procedia PDF Downloads 79

Authors: S. Salah, S. A. El-Masry, H. F. Sheba, R. A. El-Banna, W. Saad

Abstract:

Background: Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) has episodic or subclinical inflammation that may lead to a decrease in bone mineral density (BMD). Objective: To assess BMD in Egyptian children with FMF on genetic basis. Subjects and Methods: A cross sectional study included 45 FMF patients and 25 control children of both sexes, with age range between 3-16 years old. The patients were reclassified into 2 groups: Group I (A) 23 cases used colchicines for 1 month or less, and Group I (B) 22 cases used colchicines for more than 6 months. For both patients and control, MEFV mutations were defined using molecular genetics technique and BMD was measured by DXA at 2 sites: proximal femur and the lumber spines. Results: four frequent gene mutations were found in the patient group: E148Q (35.6%), V726A (33.3%), M680I (28.9.0%) and M694V (2.2%). There were also 4 heterozygous gene mutations in 40% of control children. Patients received colchicines treatment for less than 1 month had highly significant lower values of BMD at femur and lumber spines than control children (p<0.05). Patients received colchicines treatment for more than 6 months had improved values of BMD at femur compared to control, but there were still significant differences between them at lumbar spine (p>0.05). There are insignificant effect of type of gene mutation on BMD and the risk of osteopenia among the patients. Conclusion: FMF had significant effect on BMD. However, regular use of colchicines treatment improves this effect mainly at femur.

Keywords: familial mediterranean fever, bone mineral density, genes, children

Procedia PDF Downloads 410

Authors: Mohamed A. Eid, Sobhy M. Aly, Marwa M. Ibrahim, Nadia L. Radwan

Abstract:

To investigate the interaction effects of vitamin D supplementation combined with aerobic exercises (AE) and conventional physical therapy program (CPTP) on balance and physical performance in children with Down syndrome (DS).Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted for 38 children with DS, with ages ranging from 8 to 12 years. They were divided randomly to two groups. The control group (n=19) received the CPTP, while the study group (n=19) received the CPTP, AE, and vitamin D in the form of an oral daily dose of vitamin D3 400 IU (Cholecalciferol). Evaluation of balance by using the Biodex Stability System and physical performance by using the six-minute walk test (6MWT)was performed before and after 12 weeks of the treatment program. Findings: All groups showed a significant improvement in balance and physical performance after treatment (p < 0.05). The study group showed a significant improvement in balance and physical performancecompared with that of the control group (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Vitamin D supplementation combined with AE and CPTP could improve balance and physical performance in children with DS. Therefore, vitamin D and AEshould be considered as adjunctive to the rehabilitation program of these children.

Keywords: aerobic exercises, balance, down syndrome, physical performance, vitamin D

Procedia PDF Downloads 229

Authors: Dino Carpentras, Alejandro Dinkelberg, Michael Quayle

Abstract:

Within agent-based modeling, opinion dynamics is the field that focuses on modeling people's opinions. In this prolific field, most of the literature is dedicated to the exploration of the two 'degrees of freedom' and how they impact the model’s properties (e.g., the average final opinion, the number of final clusters, etc.). These degrees of freedom are (1) the interaction rule, which determines how agents update their own opinion, and (2) the network topology, which defines the possible interaction among agents. In this work, we show that the third degree of freedom exists. This can be used to change a model's output up to 100% of its initial value or to transform two models (both from the literature) into each other. Since opinion dynamics models are representations of the real world, it is fundamental to understand how people’s opinions can be measured. Even for abstract models (i.e., not intended for the fitting of real-world data), it is important to understand if the way of numerically representing opinions is unique; and, if this is not the case, how the model dynamics would change by using different representations. The process of measuring opinions is non-trivial as it requires transforming real-world opinion (e.g., supporting most of the liberal ideals) to a number. Such a process is usually not discussed in opinion dynamics literature, but it has been intensively studied in a subfield of psychology called psychometrics. In psychometrics, opinion scales can be converted into each other, similarly to how meters can be converted to feet. Indeed, psychometrics routinely uses both linear and non-linear transformations of opinion scales. Here, we analyze how this transformation affects opinion dynamics models. We analyze this effect by using mathematical modeling and then validating our analysis with agent-based simulations. Firstly, we study the case of perfect scales. In this way, we show that scale transformations affect the model’s dynamics up to a qualitative level. This means that if two researchers use the same opinion dynamics model and even the same dataset, they could make totally different predictions just because they followed different renormalization processes. A similar situation appears if two different scales are used to measure opinions even on the same population. This effect may be as strong as providing an uncertainty of 100% on the simulation’s output (i.e., all results are possible). Still, by using perfect scales, we show that scales transformations can be used to perfectly transform one model to another. We test this using two models from the standard literature. Finally, we test the effect of scale transformation in the case of finite precision using a 7-points Likert scale. In this way, we show how a relatively small-scale transformation introduces both changes at the qualitative level (i.e., the most shared opinion at the end of the simulation) and in the number of opinion clusters. Thus, scale transformation appears to be a third degree of freedom of opinion dynamics models. This result deeply impacts both theoretical research on models' properties and on the application of models on real-world data.

Keywords: degrees of freedom, empirical validation, opinion scale, opinion dynamics

Procedia PDF Downloads 118

Authors: Ezgiamn Abraha Hagos

Abstract:

The primary objective of this study was to assess the existential concerns and related manifestations of higher learning students by investigating their perception of meaningful life and evaluating their purpose in life. In addition, this study was aimed at assessing the manifestations of existential pain among the students. Data was procured using Purpose in Life test (PIL), Well-being Manifestation Measure Scale (WBMMS), and focus group discussion. The total numbers of participants was 478, of which 299 were males and the remaining 179 females. They were selected using a simple random sampling technique. Data was analyzed using two ways. SPSS-version 20 was used to analyze the quantitative part, and narrative modes were utilized to analyze the qualitative data. The research finding revealed that students are involved in risk taking behaviors like alcohol ingestion, drug use, Khat (chat) chewing, and unsafe sex. In line with this it is found out that life in campus was perceived as temporary and as a result the sense of hedonism was prevalent at any cost. Of course, the most important thing for the majority of the students was to know about the purpose of life. Regarding WBMMS, there was no statistically significant difference among males and females and with the exception of the sub-scale of happiness; in all the sub-scales the mean is low. At last, assisting adolescents to develop holistically in terms of body, mind, and spirit is recommended.

Keywords: existential concerns, higher learning institutions, Ethiopia, Aksum University

Procedia PDF Downloads 425

Authors: Dimas Tri Anantyo, Zsa-Zsa Ayu Laksmi, Adhie Nur Radityo, Arsita Eka Rini, Gatot Irawan Sarosa

Abstract:

A six-point-two-magnitude earthquake rocked Mamuju District, West Sulawesi Province, Indonesia, on 15 January 2021, causing significant health issues for the affected community, particularly among vulnerable populations such as neonates and children. The aim of this study is to examine and describe the diseases diagnosed in the pediatric population in Mamuju 14 days after the earthquake. This study uses a prospective observational study of the pediatric population presenting at West Sulawesi Regional Hospital, Mamuju Regional Public Hospital, and Bhayangkara Hospital for the period of 14 days after the earthquake. Demographic and clinical information were recorded. One hundred and fifty-three children were admitted to the health center. Children younger than six years old were the highest proportion (78%). Out of 153 children, 82 of them were male (54%). The most frequently diagnosed disease during the first and second weeks after the earthquake was respiratory problems, followed by gastrointestinal problems that showed an increase in incidence in the second week. This study found that age has a correlation with frequent disease in children after an earthquake. Respiratory and gastrointestinal problems were found to be the most common diseases among the pediatric population in Mamuju after the earthquake.

Keywords: health outcomes, pediatric population, earthquake, Mamuju

Procedia PDF Downloads 90

Authors: P. Maheshwari, M. Brindavan

Abstract:

The present research aimed to study the level of socio-emotional skills and perceived self-efficacy of children with learning disability. The study further investigated the relationship between the levels of socio-emotional skills, perceived self-efficacy and academic achievement of children with learning disability. The sample comprised of 40 children with learning disability as their primary condition, belonging to middle or upper middle class, living with both the parents, residing in Mumbai. Purposive or Judgmental and snowball sampling technique was used to select the sample for the study. Proformas in the form of questionnaires were used to obtain the background information of the children with learning disability. A self-constructed Child’s Perceived Self-Efficacy Assessment Scale and Child’s Social and Emotional Skills Assessment Scale was used to measure the level of child’s perceived self-efficacy and their level of social and emotional skill respectively. Academic scores of the child were collected from the child’s parents or teachers and were converted into a percentage. The data was analyzed quantitatively using SPSS. Spearman rho or Pearson Product Moment correlation was used to ascertain the multiple relationships between child’s perceived self-efficacy, child’s social and emotional skills and child’s academic achievement. The findings revealed majority (27) of the children with learning disability perceived themselves having above average level of social and emotional skills while 13 out of 40 perceived their level of social and emotional skills at an average level. Domain wise analyses revealed that, in the domain of self- management (26) and relationship skills (22) more number of the children perceived themselves as having average or below average level of social and emotional skills indicating that they perceived themselves as having average or below average skills in regulating their emotions, thoughts, and behaviors effectively in different situations, establishing and maintaining healthy and rewarding relationships with diverse groups and individuals. With regard to perceived self-efficacy, the majority of the children with learning disability perceived themselves as having above average level of self-efficacy. Looking at the data domain wise it was found that, in the domains of self-regulated learning and emotional self-efficacy, 50% of the children perceived themselves at average or below average level, indicating that they perceived themselves as average on competencies like organizing academic activities, structuring environment to make it conducive for learning, expressing emotions in a socially acceptable manner. Further, the correlations were computed, and significant positive correlations were found between children’s social and emotional skills and academic achievement (r=.378, p < .01), and between children’s social and emotional skills and child’s perceived self-efficacy (r = .724, p < .01) and a positive significant correlation was also found between children’s perceived self-efficacy and academic achievement (r=.332, p < .05). Results of the study emphasize on planning intervention for children with learning disability focusing on improving self-management and relationship skills, self-regulated learning and emotional self-efficacy.

Keywords: learning disability, social and emotional skills, perceived self-efficacy, academic achievement

Procedia PDF Downloads 240

Authors: Oluwayemisi D. Ishola, Lekan Ajijola

Abstract:

Nigeria faces a demographic challenge characterized by a burgeoning youth population and an escalating fertility rate. A notable decline in the use of modern contraceptives among adolescent girls and young women compounds the challenge. The youthful demographic stands at a critical juncture in the nation's pursuit to fulfill its pledge of achieving a 27% modern contraceptive rate by 2030, embodying the potential to translate this ambitious commitment into a tangible reality. This research undertook a multi-dimensional examination to scrutinize contraceptive ideational disparities among adolescents and young women in Nigeria, with a particular emphasis on ideational factors. The data underpinning this study were drawn from a cross-sectional household survey carried out in the Nigerian states of Edo, Ogun, Plateau, and Niger between October 2019 and January 2020. The survey encompassed 2,857 sexually active women aged 15-24 years. Employing an ideational framework focusing on behavior that accentuates psychosocial factors, the study dissected nine unique ideational variables into three principal domains: social, cognitive, and emotional. Multivariate logistics regression analyses were used to assess associations between ideational elements and contraceptive use within the total sample and specific age brackets (adolescents of 15-19 years and youth of 20-24 years). For this study, a p-value less than 0.05 was considered indicative of statistical significance. The study's results revealed significant associations between the ideational variables and contraceptive use in total sample and among adolescent and youth, ranging from p < .05 to p < .001. The influence of each domain's predictors on Family Planning (FP) manifested variations when assessed separately and across the different age groups. Notably, cognitive and emotional domains were found to be the strongest predictor of contraceptive use when compared with social domains in the general sample and among youth. This study’s findings highlight the complex interplay of social, cognitive, and emotional factors in contraceptive use among young individuals. Understanding these dynamics is crucial in developing effective strategies to overcome barriers and improve access to contraceptive services among young women in Nigeria.

Keywords: adolescents, contraception, ideation, youth

Procedia PDF Downloads 69

Authors: Mbanzulu Kennedy, Zanga Josue, Wumba Roger

Abstract:

Malaria and schistosomiasis remain life-threatening public health problems in sub-Saharan Africa. The infection pattern related to age indicates that preschool and school-age children are at the highest risk of malaria and schistosomiasis. Both parasitic infections, separately or combined, may have negative impacts on the haemoglobin concentration levels. The existing data revealed that artemisinin derivatives commonly used to cure malaria present also in antischistosomal activities. The current study investigated the impact of Artesunate-Amodiaquine (AS-AQ) on schistosomiasis when administered to treat malaria in rural area of Lemfu, DRC. A prospective longitudinal study including 171 coinfected children screened for anaemia, Schistosoma mansoni, and Plasmodium falciparum infections. The egg reduction rate and haemoglobin concentration were assessed four weeks after the treatment with AS-AQ, of all coinfected children of this series. One hundred and twenty-five (74.4%) out of 168 coinfected children treated and present during the assessment were found stool negative for S. mansoni eggs. Out of 43 (25.6%) children who remained positives, 37 (22%) showed a partial reduction of eggs amount, and no reduction was noted in 3.6% of coinfected. The mean of haemoglobin concentration and the prevalence of anaemia were, respectively, 10.74±1.5g/dl , 11.2±1.3g/dl, and 64.8%, 51.8%, respectively, before and after treatment, p<0.001. The AS-AQ commonly used against Plasmodium allowed curing S. mansoni in coinfected children and increasing the Hb level. For the future, the randomized and multicentric clinical trials are needed for a better understanding of the effectiveness of AS-AQ against Schistosoma spp. The trial registration number was 3487183.

Keywords: paludisme, schistosomiase, as-aq, enfants lemfu

Procedia PDF Downloads 101

Authors: Swati Srivastava, Ashish Kumar Upadhyay

Abstract:

Background: According to United Nation Children’s Fund, it has been estimated that worldwide about 165 million children were stunted in 2012 and India alone accounts for 38% of global burden of stunting. In terms of incidence, India is home of more than 60 million stunted children worldwide. Our study aims to examine the effect of pregnancy intention and maternal postnatal depressive symptoms on early childhood stunting in India. We hypothesized that effect of pregnancy intention and postnatal maternal depressive symptoms were mediated by social support. Methods: We used data from first wave of Young Lives Study India. Out of 2011 children recruited in original cohort, 1833 children had complete information on pregnancy intention, maternal depression and other variables. A series of multivariate logistic regression model were used to examine the effect of pregnancy intention and postnatal depressive symptoms on early childhood stunting. Results: Bivariate result indicates that a higher percent of children born after unintended pregnancy (40%) were stunted than children of intended pregnancy (26%). Likewise, proportion of stunted children was also higher among women of high postnatal depressive symptoms (35%) than low level of depression (24%). Results of multivariate logistic regression model indicate that children born after unintended pregnancy were significantly more likely to be stunted than children born after intended pregnancy (Coefficient: 1.70, CI: 1.17, 2.48). Likewise, early childhood stunting was also associated with maternal postnatal depressive symptoms among women (Coefficient: 1.48, CI: 1.16, 1.88). The effect of pregnancy intention and postnatal depressive symptoms on early childhood stunting remains unchanged after controlling for social support and other variables. Conclusions: The findings of this study provide conclusive evidence regarding consequences of pregnancy intention and postnatal depressive symptoms on early childhood stunting in India. Therefore, there is need to identify the women with unintended pregnancy and incorporate the promotion of mental health into their national reproductive and child health programme.

Keywords: pregnancy intention, postnatal depressive symptoms, social support, childhood stunting, young lives study, India

Procedia PDF Downloads 297

Authors: Puteri Zarina M. K., Haddi J. K., Zolkepli N., Shu M. H. B., Hosshan H., Saad M. A.

Abstract:

This paper provides an overview of the current state of ESL instruction for children with autism in Malaysia. Equal rights, independence, and active participation are guaranteed by the 2006 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Every child is entitled to receive education in an inclusive atmosphere that embraces diversity and ensures equal opportunity for all. The primary objective of the research was to investigate if English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers employ distinct instructional methods and strategies while teaching children diagnosed with autism. Moreover, the objective was to assess the similarities in the challenges faced by teachers when teaching ESL to children with autism in Malaysia. The study aimed to increase understanding of the challenges faced by ESL teachers in teaching autistic students. The study was structured as a qualitative research endeavour. A total of twelve (12) ESL teachers from selected primary schools in Malaysia were involved in this study. The research findings accurately depict the actual state of teaching ESL to autistic children. They confirm the imperative need for additional support in order to facilitate the successful integration of these children into the educational system.

Keywords: autism spectrum disorder, ESL, inclusion, Malaysia, special educational needs

Procedia PDF Downloads 63

Authors: Jill Steel

Abstract:

Introduction: Animal-assisted learning (AAL) interventions are increasing exponentially, yet a paucity of quality research in the field exists. The aim of this study was to evaluate how the promotion of emotional wellbeing, through AAL, in this case, a dog, may support children’s engagement with reading in a Primary 1 classroom. Research indicates that dogs can provide emotional support to children; by forming a trusting attachment with a non-critical ‘friend’ who confers unconditional positive regard on the child, confidence may be boosted and anxiety reduced. By promoting emotional wellbeing through interactions with the dog, it is hoped that children begin to associate reading with feelings of wellbeing, which then results in increased engagement with reading. Methodology: A review of the literature was conducted. The relationship between emotional wellbeing and learning was explored, followed by an examination of the literature relating to Animal-Assisted Therapy and AAL. Scottish educational policy and legislation were analysed to establish the extent to which AAL might be suitable for the Scottish pedagogical context. An empirical study was conducted in a mainstream Primary 1 classroom over a four-week period. An inclusive approach was adopted whereby all children that wanted to interact with the dog were given the opportunity to do so, and all 25 children subsequently chose to participate. Children were not withdrawn from the classroom. Primary methods included interviews, observations, and questionnaires. Three focus children were selected for closer study. Main Results: Results were remarkably close to previous research and literature. Children’s emotional wellbeing was boosted, and engagement in reading improved. Principal Conclusions and Implications for Field: It was concluded that AAL could support emotional wellbeing and, in turn, promote children’s engagement with reading. The main limitation of the study was its short-term nature, and a longer randomised controlled trial with a larger sample, currently being undertaken by the author, would provide a fuller answer to the research question. Barriers to AAL include health and safety concerns and steps to ensure the welfare of the dog.

Keywords: animal-assisted learning, emotional wellbeing, reading, reading to dogs

Procedia PDF Downloads 129

Authors: Misagh Faezipour

Abstract:

System dynamics is a systems engineering approach that can help address the complex challenges in different systems. Little is known about how the brain represents people to predict behavior. This work is based on how the brain simulates different personal behavior and responds to them in the case of young children ages one to five. As we know, children’s minds/brains are just as clean as a crystal, and throughout time, in their surroundings, families, and education center, they grow to develop and have different kinds of behavior towards the world and the society they live in. Hence, this work aims to identify how young children respond to various personality behavior and observes their reactions towards them from a system dynamics perspective. We will be exploring the Big Five personality traits in young children. A causal model is developed in support of the system dynamics approach. These models graphically present the factors and factor relationships that contribute to the big five personality traits and provide a better understanding of the entire behavior model. A simulator will be developed that includes a set of causal model factors and factor relationships. The simulator models the behavior of different factors related to personality traits and their impacts and can help make more informed decisions in a risk-free environment.

Keywords: personality traits, systems engineering, system dynamics, causal model, behavior model

Procedia PDF Downloads 94

Authors: Teresa M. Odipo

Abstract:

Inclusive physical education and an inclusive educational approach in German schools have received much attention in recent years due to the UN Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities proposals, which came into force in Germany in 2009. The aim of inclusive PE is to include children with disabilities and able bodied children, based on the idea, that all children should attend school together. While PE mostly took place in a heterogeneous environment, introducing children with all kinds of disabilities posed more challenges to the teachers, when children with disabilities were included. Therefore it is important that the educational approach should include pre-service teachers’ (PST) self-efficacy for and their attitudes towards inclusive practices. The PSTs’ self-efficacy for inclusive practices is one of the strongest predictors of the success of the inclusion reforms introduced in 2009, in order to improve PSTs’ ability to handle these very new challenges. PE stands out because the very nature of sport involves the body which means that all children, especially those with special needs should be treated in an appropriate manner. Up till now, it has been mostly English-speaking countries that have been assessed for inclusive practices in PE. Due to the lack of research in Germany, there is a strong need to question PSTs’ prepared-ness. This paper presents results from the 2016 survey conducted on around 100 PSTs by the German University of Sports in Cologne and opens up new directions within PSTs’ education, concerning their attitudes and self-efficacy towards inclusive PE. These new aspects will be included in the construction of new learning and teaching tools to improve pre-service teachers’ education for inclusive Physical Education.

Keywords: attitudes, inclusive physical education, pre-service teachers, self-efficacy

Procedia PDF Downloads 351

Authors: Swapna N., Deepthy Ann Joy

Abstract:

One of the major causes of communication disorders in pediatric population is Motor speech disorders. These disorders which affect the motor aspects of speech articulators can have an adverse effect on the communication abilities of children in their developmental period. The motor aspects are dependent on the sensory abilities of children with motor speech disorders. Hence, oral sensorimotor evaluation is an important component in the assessment of children with motor speech disorders. To our knowledge, the importance of oral motor examination has been well established, yet the sensory assessment of the oral structures has received less focus. One of the most common motor speech disorders seen in children is developmental dysarthria. The present study aimed to assess the orosensory aspects in children with developmental dysarthria (CDD). The control group consisted of 240 children in the age range of four and eight years which was divided into four subgroups (4-4.11, 5-5.11, 6-6.11 and 7-7.11 years). The experimental group consisted of 15 children who were diagnosed with developmental dysarthria secondary to cerebral palsy who belonged in the age range of four and eight years. The oro-sensory aspects such as response to touch, temperature, taste, texture, and orofacial sensitivity were evaluated and profiled. For this purpose, the authors used the ‘Oral Sensorimotor Evaluation Protocol- Children’ which was developed by the authors. The oro-sensory section of the protocol was administered and the clinical profile of oro-sensory abilities of typically developing children and CDD was obtained for each of the sensory abilities. The oro-sensory abilities of speech articulators such as lips, tongue, palate, jaw, and cheeks were assessed in detail and scored. The results indicated that experimental group had poorer scores on oro-sensory aspects such as light static touch, kinetic touch, deep pressure, vibration and double simultaneous touch. However, it was also found that the experimental group performed similar to control group on few aspects like temperature, taste, texture and orofacial sensitivity. Apart from the oro-motor abilities which has received utmost interest, the variation in the oro-sensory abilities of experimental and control group is highlighted and discussed in the present study. This emphasizes the need for assessing the oro-sensory abilities in children with developmental dysarthria in addition to oro-motor abilities.

Keywords: cerebral palsy, developmental dysarthria, orosensory assessment, touch

Procedia PDF Downloads 161

Authors: Yan Ma

Abstract:

Parents in China now are of great enthusiasm to outsource extracurricular lessons and activities to ensure their children’s English learning. This study draws on one year of ethnographic observations and interviews with parents and children in 6 families in Shaoxing, a small city in East China, to explore how parents in different social classes differ in their ideology and investment practice towards their children’s English education. Through comparative analysis, the study reveals though all the families acknowledge the importance of English and there are great similarities among families in the same social class, differences are distinct among those in different social classes with regard to how they perceived the importance and what measures they take. The results also reflect China’s sociocultural and socioeconomic factors that underlined the heated wave of English learning as well as the social, cultural and economic conditions of different families that exert a decisive influence on their children’s learning experience.

Keywords: family background, extracurricular English learning, language ideologies, language management

Procedia PDF Downloads 109