Tanya N. Beran

Cyber-Harassment: A Study of a New Method for an Old Behavior.

A total of 432 students from grades 7–9 in Canadian schools reported their experiences of cyber-harassment, which is a form of harassment that occurs through the use of electronic communications such as e-mail and cell phones. More than two-thirds of students (69%) have heard of incidents of cyber-harassment, about one quarter (21%) have been harassed several times, and a few students (3%) admitted engaging in this form of harassment. In addition, victims of cyber-harassment reported a variety of negative consequences, especially anger and sadness, and had experienced other forms of harassment. These results suggest several avenues of research needed to explain how and why adolescents use technological advances to harass their peers.

Cyberbullying: The New Era of Bullying

Bullying involves a powerful person intentionally harming a less powerful person repeatedly. With advances in technology, students are finding new methods of bullying, including sending harassing emails, instant messages, text messages, and personal pictures to others. Although school bullying has been studied since the 1970s, relatively little is known about students’ experiences of cyberbullying. The present study explored the prevalence of cyberbullying while also examining sex and grade differences. Results showed that a substantial proportion of students in Grades 6, 7, 10, and 11 are involved in cyberbullying: Girls are more likely than boys to be the targets of cyberbullying, and cyberbullying declines in high school. Despite significant findings, the magnitude of these group differences is small. Implications for interventions are discussed. L’intimidation se présente quand quelqu’un de puissant intentionnellement fait du mal à quelqu’un plusieurs fois. Avec les avances de la technologie, les étudiants utilisent des methodes de nouvelles pour l’inimidation, par exemple, les messageries instantanées, messageries textes, courriels, et des photos personnelles d’autres personnes. Bien que l’intimidation existe depuis 1970, relativement peu de connaissances existent sur des experiences de l’intimidation électronique. Cet étude examine les differences de la fréquence de l’intimidation électronique selon le sexe et le niveau de l’école. Les resultats indiquent qu’une grande proportion d’étudiants de niveau 6, 7, 10, et 11 connaissent l’intimidation électronique, que les filles sont probablement les victimes, et que la fréquence baisse à l’école secondaire. Cependant, ces differences sont de faible magnitude. Des implications pour des programmes sont presentés.

Ratings of university teacher instruction: how much do student and course characteristics really matter?

Several student and course characteristics were examined in relation to student ratings of instruction. Students at a major Canadian university completed the Universal Student Ratings of Instruction instrument at the end of every course over a three‐year period, providing 371,131 student ratings. Analyses of between‐group differences indicate that students who attend class often and expect high grades provide high ratings of their instructors (p < .001). In addition, lab‐type courses receive higher ratings than lectures or tutorials, and courses in the social sciences receive higher ratings than courses in the natural sciences (p < .001). Regression analyses indicated, however, that student and course characteristics explain little variance in student ratings of their instructors (<7%). It is concluded that student ratings are more related to teaching instruction and behavior of the instructor than to these variables.

Demographic, knowledge, attitudinal, and accessibility factors associated with uptake of cervical cancer screening among women in a rural district of Tanzania: Three public policy implications

BackgroundCervical cancer is an important public health problem worldwide, which comprises approximately 12% of all cancers in women. In Tanzania, the estimated incidence rate is 30 to 40 per 100,000 women, indicating a high disease burden. Cervical cancer screening is acknowledged as currently the most effective approach for cervical cancer control, and it is associated with reduced incidence and mortality from the disease. The aim of the study was to identify the most important factors related to the uptake of cervical cancer screening among women in a rural district of Tanzania.MethodsA cross sectional study was conducted with a sample of 354 women aged 18 to 69 years residing in Moshi Rural District. A multistage sampling technique was used to randomly select eligible women. A one-hour interview was conducted with each woman in her home. The 17 questions were modified from similar questions used in previous research.ResultsLess than one quarter (22.6%) of the participants had obtained cervical cancer screening. The following characteristics, when examined separately in relation to the uptake of cervical cancer screening service, were significant: husband approval of cervical cancer screening, womens level of education, womens knowledge of cervical cancer and its prevention, womens concerns about embarrassment and pain of screening, womens preference for the sex of health provider, and womens awareness of and distance to cervical cancer screening services. When examined simultaneously in a logistic regression, we found that only knowledge of cervical cancer and its prevention (OR = 8.90, 95%CI = 2.14-16.03) and distance to the facility which provides cervical cancer screening (OR = 3.98, 95%CI = 0.18-5.10) were significantly associated with screening uptake.ConclusionsBased on the study findings, three recommendations are made. First, information about cervical cancer must be presented to women. Second, public education of the disease must include specific information on how to prevent it as well as screening services available. Third, it is important to provide cervical cancer screening services within 5 km of where women reside.

Structural equation modeling in medical research: a primer

BackgroundStructural equation modeling (SEM) is a set of statistical techniques used to measure and analyze the relationships of observed and latent variables. Similar but more powerful than regression analyses, it examines linear causal relationships among variables, while simultaneously accounting for measurement error. The purpose of the present paper is to explicate SEM to medical and health sciences researchers and exemplify their application.FindingsTo facilitate its use we provide a series of steps for applying SEM to research problems. We then present three examples of how SEM has been utilized in medical and health sciences research.ConclusionWhen many considerations are given to research planning, SEM can provide a new perspective on analyzing data and potential for advancing research in medical and health sciences.

Children's Reports of Bullying and Safety at School:

The purpose of this research was to determine the frequency of bullying in elementary school children and to examine gender and age differences. A total of 472 students in grades 1-6 in Calgary, Alberta completed a bullying survey. The frequency of bullying was somewhat higher than previously reported by others. In grades 4 to 6,27% experienced both physical and verbal bullying, 21% experienced verbal bullying, and 5% reported physical bullying. Reports of bullying experienced by students in grades I to 3 were similar. Using self-report data from students in grades 4 to 6, a stepwise regression analysis indicated that higher perceived school safety and more teacher support were associated with less verbal bullying. The implications of these findings are discussed below.

Comparing the use of global rating scale with checklists for the assessment of central venous catheterization skills using simulation

The use of checklists is recommended for the assessment of competency in central venous catheterization (CVC) insertion. To explore the use of a global rating scale in the assessment of CVC skills, this study seeks to compare its use with two checklists, within the context of a formative examination using simulation. Video-recorded performances of CVC insertion by 34 first-year medical residents were reviewed by two independent, trained evaluators. Each evaluator used three assessment tools: a ten-item checklist, a 21-item checklist, and a nine-item global rating scale. Exploratory principal component analysis of the global rating scale revealed two factors, accounting for 84.1% of the variance: technical ability and safety. The two checklist scores correlated positively with the weighted factor score on technical ability (0.49 [95% CI 0.17–0.71] for the 10-item checklist; 0.43 [95% CI 0.10–0.67] for the 21-item checklist) and negatively with the weighted factor score on safety (−0.17 [95% CI −0.48–0.18] for the 10-item checklist; −0.13 [95% CI −0.45–0.22] for the 21-item checklist). A checklist score of <80% was strong indication of incompetence. However, a high checklist score did not preclude incompetence. Ratings using the global rating scale identified an additional 11 candidates (32%) who were deemed incompetent despite scoring >80% on both checklists. All these candidates committed serious errors. In conclusion, the practice of universal adoption of checklists as the preferred method of assessment of procedural skills should be questioned. The inclusion of global rating scales should be considered.

Evidence for the need to support adolescents dealing with harassment and cyber-harassment: Prevalence, progression, and impact

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of harassment in high school and into university, and the impact of one particular form of harassment: cyber-harassment. Participants were 1,368 students at one US and two Canadian universities (mean age = 21.1 years, 676 female students). They responded on five-point scales to questions about the frequency and impact of harassment. A total of 33.6% of students stated they had been cyber-harassed and 28.4% had been harassed off-line when in high school. Also, 8.6% were cyber-harassed and 6.4% were harassed off-line while in university. Hierarchical logistic regression analyses show that the type of harassment experienced in high school is associated with the type of harassment experienced in university. Various negative outcomes of cyber-harassment were also identified.

A Model of Achievement and Bullying: Analyses of the Canadian National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth Data.

Background: Bullying occurs largely at school. Given that the primary purpose of schools is to enhance student learning, it is important to examine the relationship between bullying and academic achievement. Purpose: A model of childhood bullying and school achievement using several family and school characteristics was developed. Sample: The sample consisted of children age 10–11 years (n = 2084) drawn from the Canadian National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, which is a stratified random sample of 22,831 households in Canada. Design and methods: From scale and factor analyses, several factors were created and included in a latent variable path model. Results: The model fit the data well (Comparative Fit Index = 0.96), and the model converged in six iterations, χ2(32) = 300.00, p < 0.001 with a standardised residual error of 0.05. These results indicate that children who are bullied at school are likely to obtain low levels of achievement, particularly if they show little conscientiousness and enjoyment of school, and if their parents provide little support for their childrens education. Conclusions: The results are discussed according to Eccless Expectancy-Value Theory.

A model of childhood perceived peer harassment: analyses of the Canadian National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth Data.

The authors developed a model of childhood perceived peer harassment, using several personality, peer, and familial characteristics of victims, and tested it with children 10 to 11 years old (N = 3,434) drawn from the Canadian National Survey of Children and Youth, which is a stratified random sample of 22,831 households in Canada. A 3-step analytic procedure with 3 separate subsamples of the children was used to explore psychosocial correlates of peer harassment. Results from the latent variable path analysis (comparative fit index = .90) showed that victims are likely to feel anxious and disliked by their peers. Their parents reported using high levels of control and low levels of warmth with their children and reported high levels of depression and marital conflict themselves. These results are discussed from a social—cognitive perspective.