Factor Structure and Psychometric Properties of the Index of Teaching Stress—Short Form (ITS—SF)

WITHDRAWAL NOTICE for Cleliazurlo, M., Pes, D., & Romano, R. (2015).Factor Structure and Psychometric Properties of the Index of Teaching Stress—Short Form (ITS—SF). Psychological Reports, 117(3), 763–780. DOI: 10.2466/08.PR0.117c24z5The article has been withdrawn at the request of the author. The author contactedthe journal to inform them that PARS, the rightsholder of the Index ofTeaching Stress (“ITS”), expressed concern at the author’s unauthorized creationand publication of a short form version of the ITS. Although the authorhad received permission to validate an Italian version of ITS, the rights holderdid not permit the development and publication of the resulting short form, andrequested the article be withdrawn from access. If you have any questions aboutthis, please contact SAGE.This study analyses factor structure and psychometric properties of the Italian shortversion of the Index of Teaching Stress–Short Form (ITS–SF). The original version of theITS (90 items) was submitted to 567 teachers randomly drawn from a cross-section of schoollevels. Confirmatory factor analysis to check the factor structure was unsatisfactory, andCronbach's α (.98) indicated a redundancy of items. Exploratory factor analysis wasconducted for each section of the test and cross-loading items were eliminated. Theresulting ITS–SF consists of 43 items, tapping eight meaningful and adequately reliabledimensions substantially corresponding to all dimensions measured by the original versionof the ITS. The Italian short version of the Index of Teaching Stress constitutes areliable measure of teacher stress in educative interactions.

Exploring Teachers' Voices about Inclusion in Physical Education: A Qualitative Analysis with Young Elementary and Middle School Teachers

To truly understand physical educators' concerns about inclusion their voices must be heard, but little research has been done in Portugal. For this reason, a semi-structured interview in a focus group was held with young physical educators aiming to identify the perceptions and challenges with respect to inclusion in their physical education (PE) classes. Findings of the present research suggest that these PE teachers advocated for inclusion and pointed out advantages for students with and without disabilities, although they raised some challenges that could be an obstacle to effectiveness, including the lack of specific training and experience in inclusive PE and type and severity of the student's impairment. These results emphasize the need for specific preparation of Portuguese PE teachers in inclusive PE not only during the university curricula but also during their professional careers.

Psychophysical Benefits of Rock-Climbing Activity

The aim of the study was to compare the psychophysical effects of rock climbing with a supervised fitness training in adults. Thirty-three healthy participants (M age=32 yr., SD=7) participated in rock climbing or in fitness training. The participants' functional fitness, anxiety, and mood states were tested before and after 3 mo. of training. There was significant improvement of physical fitness in both groups after the intervention period. Anxiety significantly decreased after each single training session at the end of both courses. Differential effects in the rock-climbing group, as compared to the fitness group, emerged only on Vigor. Specifically, the rock-climbing group showed a decreasing trend in Vigor while the fitness group showed an increasing trend of Vigor after the intervention.

Assessing the potential for improvement of primary care in 34 countries: a cross-sectional survey

To investigate patients' perceptions of improvement potential in primary care in 34 countries.

Including migrant populations in health impact assessments

In 2010, there were 214 million international migrants worldwide, a number that is projected to double by 2050. (1) Migrantsu0027 motives for leaving their countries of origin include employment and education opportunities, escape from conflict and discrimination and the desire to raise families in economically and politically stable environments. New migrants are often healthier than the general population on arrival, but their health may deteriorate after settlement, (2) due to unfamiliar social conditions, infectious diseases, or restricted access to health services. Cultural and linguistic barriers may contribute to poor delivery of health services. The 61st World Health Assembly called on all Member States to promote migrant-sensitive health (3) Some subgroups--especially refugees--have a greater burden of infectious diseases and mental disorders than the indigenous population. (4) Guidelines have been developed to assist health workers in the clinical management of migrating populations. (4) However, there are no explicit decision-support tools for policy-makers to ensure health equity for migrants. Here we discuss how health impact assessment can account for the needs of migrant populations. Health impact assessment Health impact assessment can improve health equity by mitigating unintended harms and maximizing the benefits of programmes or policies. This approach supports decision-makers by suggesting actionable recommendations for emerging policies and programmes. (5) A number of health impact assessment tools have been developed (6) several of which have emphasized the need to consider disadvantaged population groups. However, a recent review found that only 14% of health impact assessments mentioned migrants in the evaluation and only 2% included them in their recommendations. (7) A recent consultation held at the WHO Collaborating Centre for Knowledge Translation and Health Technology Assessment in Health Equity identified four challenges to the inclusion of migrants in health impact assessment: (i) including migrants in the scope of the assessment; (ii) obtaining data on migrants; (iii) engaging migrant communities; and (iv) successfully appealing to decision-makers. Addressing the challenges Based on our own experience from developing migrant-focused guidelines in Canada, we discuss how these four challenges can be addressed. The first challenge is to include migrants in the scope of the assessment. Ideally, scoping should be deliberate and involve health researchers and community experts. In practice, however, the scope of health impact assessment is limited by timelines, political agendas and resources. Those who perform health impact assessments may only have the capacity to consider accessible populations and this may leave out migrants and other vulnerable populations. When appropriate, irregular migrants and/or refugee populations should be included in health impact assessments to maximize the value of the assessment and its recommendations. Appropriate scenarios for inclusion would include existing or future risk for inequities in migrant populations. Equity considerations should be consistent and well-defined. For example, some studies may erroneously consider ethnicity and migrant status as interchangeable. Migration, in itself, may be a unique social determinant of health distinct from ethnicity, language, culture or religion. Vulnerable subgroups of the population should be integrated within health system policies and programmes, with consideration given to historical contexts and local capacity, such as universal access to basic health care. Without explicit mention of migrants during the scoping stage, migrant populations may be forgotten in the assessment and recommendations. The second challenge is to source migrant-specific data. Migrants are heterogeneous, in terms of countries of origin, migration experiences, status, needs and abilities. …

Improving paediatric asthma care in Zambia

In 2008, the prevalence of paediatric asthma in Zambia was unknown and the national treatment guideline was outdated.

Betel quid use and mortality in Bangladesh: a cohort study

To evaluate the potential effects of betel quid chewing on mortality. (A quid consists of betel nut, wrapped in betel leaves; tobacco is added to the quid by some users).

Prevention of neural tube defects by the fortification of flour with folic acid: a population-based retrospective study in Brazil

To determine if the fortification of wheat and maize flours with iron and folic acid - which became mandatory in Brazil from June 2004 - is effective in the prevention of neural tube defects.

Routine feedback of test results to participants in clinic- and survey-based surveillance of HIV

Surveillance for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in low- and middle-income countries started in the 1980s. However, the questions of whether the results of HIV tests should be given to participants, and if so how, has still not been resolved. In the absence of effective treatment, it was considered acceptable to withhold results from HIV-positive participants. However, when antiretroviral treatment is available, some argue for beneficence - that it is the researcher's duty to return the test results to all those who provide samples for surveillance. The corollary is that only participants who wish to receive their test results would be eligible to participate in surveys. Others argue for autonomy - that to obtain a more representative result for the general population, surveys should not exclude participants who do not wish to receive their test results. This round table discussion takes a closer look at those two arguments. We believe that the global community should work towards routine feedback of HIV surveillance while ensuring that participants receive and understand their test results.

Modelling Tribochemical Reactions of Lubricants in the UHV Analytical Tribometer