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PubMed1999

Pupils' reasons for learning and behaving and for not learning and behaving in English and maths lessons in a secondary school.

BACKGROUND: There is renewed interest in motivation and school learning, though there has been relatively little theory-linked research in English schools. AIMS: In the first stage, to explore pupils' reasons for learning and behaving and for not learning and behaving in English, maths and other subjects. In the second stage, to examine differences in reasons across subjects, for learning and behaving and for not learning and behaving for boys and girls in two year groups in one secondary school. SAMPLE: Stage 1, 16 pupils in years 7, 8 and 9 in two London secondary schools; Stage 2, 267 pupils in years 7 and 9 in one of these schools. METHODS: Stage 1--semi-structured interviews were conducted to elicit different kinds of reasons conceptualised in terms of the Deci & Ryan's (1985) framework of self-determination. From these elicited reasons, an inventory 'Why I Learn' was designed. Stage 2--the inventory was administered to identify reasons for learning and behaving and for not learning and behaving in English and maths. RESULTS: Parent introjected reasons were the highest for learning and behaving while teacher introjected and intrinsic reasons were the lowest. Intrinsic reasons were highest for not learning and behaving. Year group differences in reason levels were more significant than gender or subject differences. Reasons for learning and behaving were more differentiated from each other than reasons for not learning and behaving. DISCUSSION: The results are discussed in terms of their significance for self-determination theory, research into the conditions promoting greater self-determination in school learning and further development of the inventory for programme evaluation.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Annular pupils, radial polarization, and superresolution.

An annular pupil, which can be used to produce a Bessel beam, when combined with radially polarized illumination promises improvements in microscope resolution, increased packing density for optical storage, and finer optical lithography. When combined with a circular detection pupil in confocal microscopy a point-spread function 112 nm wide results (lambda = 488 nm). Radially polarized annular illumination of a solid-immersion lens can yield a focal spot smaller than 100 nm for lambda = 488 nm. Use of radially polarized illumination with pupil masks is discussed.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1999

Pupil-size effects in fiber optic stellar interferometry.

The effects of finite telescope pupil sizes on the measurement of fringe visibility in fiber optic stellar interferometry are described. It is shown theoretically that the measured fringe visibility is equal to the cross correlation of the magnitude of the source's mutual coherence function with the cross correlation of the telescopes' effective pupil functions. If the telescopes' effective pupil diameters are not small compared with the width of the source's mutual coherence function, then the measured fringe visibility will be correspondingly distorted. The theoretical results are verified experimentally in a fiber optic Mach-Zehnder interferometer.

Extraterrestrial Environment↗

PubMed2005

Iterative zonal wave-front estimation algorithm for optical testing with general-shaped pupils.

An iterative zonal wave-front estimation algorithm for slope or gradient-type data in optical testing acquired with regular or irregular pupil shapes is presented. In the mathematical model proposed, the optical surface, or wave-front shape estimation, which may have any pupil shape or size, shares a predefined wave-front estimation matrix that we establish. Owing to the finite pupil of the instrument, the challenge of wave front shape estimation in optical testing lies in large part in how to properly handle boundary conditions. The solution we propose is an efficient iterative process based on Gerchberg-type iterations. The proposed method is validated with data collected from a 15 x 15-grid Shack-Hartmann sensor built at the Nanjing Astronomical Instruments Research Center in China. Results show that the rms deviation error of the estimated wave front from the original wave front is less than lambda/130-lambda/150 after approximately 12 iterations and less than lambda/100 (both for lambda = 632.8 nm) after as few as four iterations. Also, a theoretical analysis of algorithm complexity and error propagation is presented.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2006

Orthonormal polynomials for hexagonal pupils.

The problem of determining the orthonormal polynomials for hexagonal pupils by the Gram-Schmidt orthogonalization of Zernike circle polynomials is revisited, and closed-form expressions for the hexagonal polynomials are given. We show how the orthonormal coefficients are related to the corresponding Zernike coefficients for a hexagonal pupil and emphasize that it is the former that should be used for any quantitative wavefront analysis for such a pupil.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2000

Factors influencing the visual acuity of primary school pupils.

To investigate the factors influencing the visual acuity of primary school pupils, an epidemiological study of 480 pupils in the 6th grade (11-12 years of age) was conducted in 8 primary schools in Sapporo City, Japan. Questionnaires were used to inquire into their current and past visual acuity and related factors. Dividing the subjects into those whose visual acuity of both eyes was 0.7 or more and those whose visual acuity of at least one eye was less than 0.7, odds ratios of various factors were calculated. Lifestyle and dietary factors showed no significant odds ratios. Parental myopia and age of parents at the birth of subjects showed significant odds ratios. Visual acuity of the pupils whose parents were myopic or older than 30 years when they were born tended to have worse visual acuity as they got older. Till the ages 11 or 12, hereditary factors seem much more contributory to visual acuity than environmental ones.

Chi-Square Distribution↗

PubMed1999

A developmental study of handedness in Down syndrome pupils.

Assessed hand preference in 7- to 9-yr.-old and 13- to 15-yr.-old pupils with Down syndrome (n = 41) was compared with control schoolchildren (n = 50) of the same ages. A significant increase in left-handedness and mixed-handedness was noted in Down syndrome groups compared with the normal population. Younger Down syndrome pupils were less consistent in their hand preference than the older pupils and the normal controls.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1992

Cooperativeness and competitiveness among pupils in southern Italy.

In this replication of 1985 work by Schwalb and Schwalb for a Japanese sample, 208 pupils in southern Italy were asked to rank 10 activities from a questionnaire listing of cooperative and competitive activities. All subjects selected more cooperative than competitive activities. The 106 boys were more competitive than the 102 girls. Middle-school pupils (n = 106) were more cooperative than high-school pupils (n = 102). The observations confirm Schwalb and Schwalb's description.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1998

Operational intelligence and school problems measured by Piagetian tasks and Rhode Island Pupil Identification Scale.

To explore the relations between operational intelligence rated on several Piagetian tasks and school learning problems identified by the Rhode Island Pupil Identification Scale by Novack, Bonaventura, and Merenda we assumed that Piagetian performances would allow predicting learning problems of first graders. 38 pupils were evaluated by three teachers, who were asked to complete the Rhode Island scale. Then the same children were individually given 8 Piagetian tests (including conservation and logical tasks) by an examiner who had no information about the pupils' other scores. Analysis showed that successful Piagetian performances were associated with ratings of successful schoolwork. Analysis of variance confirmed that difficulties in operational reasoning predict occurrence of learning problems. We concluded that operational intelligence and school learning in children are closely related.

Child↗

PubMed1998

Brain fag symptoms in rural South African secondary school pupils.

The study investigated brain fag symptoms in rural South African Secondary School pupils. The sample included 622 Grade 11, Secondary School pupils in the age range of 17 to 24 years (M age 19.3 yr., SD = 2.6) chosen at random from schools throughout the Northern Province of South Africa. A Cultural Orientation Scale, a Student Stress Scale, a General Self-efficacy Scale and Self-reporting Questionnaire were administered to collect data on socioeconomic status, cultural orientation, stress events, self-efficacy, perceived stress, "neurotic" disorder, and brain fag symptoms. Analysis indicated that 25% of the pupils suffered from the brain fag symptoms. There were positive significant relations for collectivism, socioeconomic status, female birth order, depression score on the Self-reporting Questionnaire, total score but not the anxiety score of the questionnaire with brain fag symptoms. This suggests the brain fag syndrome is basically a depressive disorder and to some extent an anxiety and depressive disorder. The findings are discussed in relation to the nature of brain fag symptoms, precipitating factors, and socioeconomic status.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1999

Minor psychiatric morbidity in South African secondary school pupils.

This study investigated minor psychiatric morbidity ("neurotic": anxiety and depression symptoms) in rural (Black) South African secondary school pupils. The sample included 622 Grade 11 pupils (254 boys and 368 girls) in the age range of 17 to 24 years with a mean age of 19.3 yr. The inventories used were a questionnaire on the socioeconomic and family background, a Cultural Orientation Scale, a Student Stress Scale, a General Self-efficacy Scale, a Perceived Stress Scale, and the Self-reporting Questionnaire-20. The findings are that 12.6% of the pupils had a possible clinically significant psychological disorder. Contributing factors identified were interpersonal, study, finance, illness, perceived stress, low self-efficacy, and low religious orientation.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Do homosexual teachers account for about half of news stories of molestations of pupils? A Boston Globe replication.

Homosexual interaction was involved in 11 (48%) of 23 and 10 (45%) of 22, that is, about half of two nationwide databases of newspaper stories about teachers sexual involvement with pupils reported by Cameron and Cameron in 1998. Whether this relationship holds at a local level was examined by searching all indexed 'sex crimes' in the Boston Globe from 1991 through 1998 for local stories about sex between pupil and teacher. Of the 21 teachers in 20 stories, 11 (52%) interacted homosexually with pupils. Thus it appears that nationally and locally, as reported in newspapers, about half of the molestations by teachers are homosexual.

Boston↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Assessing aspects of auditory handicap by means of pupil dilatation.

The demand on extra effort and concentration during listening are notorious handicapping effects of hearing impairment as is shown by self-assessment studies. In an attempt to explore new ways of assessing hearing handicap, the present study focuses on an objective measure of mental effort during listening. Pupil dilatation is used as the index of mental effort. Results for 14 hearing-impaired and 14 normal hearing listeners show a relation between pupil dilatation and difficulty in speech reception in noise, as manipulated by the speech-to-noise ratio. In addition the study shows that, with regard to effort and concentration, hearing-impaired subjects benefit less than normals from easier listening situations (e.g. at 5 dB above the individual speech-reception threshold). The results show a significant correlation between self-rated handicap and pupil dilatation.

Adult↗

PubMed2000

Factors affecting condom use among senior secondary school pupils in South Africa.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to investigate factors affecting condom use among senior secondary school pupils in South Africa. Objectives were to identify the sociodemographic characteristics and sexual history, knowledge about correct condom use, source of condom information, AIDS health beliefs, self efficacy of condom use, correlates and predictors of condom use in Grade 12 students. DESIGN: Cross sectional survey. SETTING: 460 Grade 12 secondary school pupils from three rural schools. SUBJECTS: The sample included 460 Grade 12 secondary school pupils, 170 (37%) males and 290 (63%) females in the age range of 16 to 30 years (mean age 19.7 yrs, SD = 2.5). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Self reported sexual activity and condom use (12 items); source of 'condom' information (12 items); knowledge of correct condom use (10 items); a 16 item AIDS Health Belief Scale and a 28 item Condom Use Self-Efficacy Scale. RESULTS: About half of those sexually active (52.6% males and 40.5% females) reported never having used condoms. About 90% levels of correct answers on condom knowledge were found for the items of "protection against AIDS" and "expire date of condoms". Knowing someone with HIV/AIDS was related to current condom use and a history of STD with lifetime condom use. The four AIDS beliefs sub-scales were all related to self efficacy of condom use. Behavioural norm to use condoms, attitudes towards condom use, normative beliefs to use of condoms and subjective norm to use condoms were all related to condom use intention. Normative beliefs and subjective norms to use condoms were both negatively related with lifetime condom use, current condom use, and self efficacy in condom use. Normative beliefs, attitudes and subjective norms about condoms predicted condom use intention, AIDS susceptibility and AIDS benefits predicted condom use with last sexual partner, and AIDS benefits and AIDS barriers predicted condom use intention. CONCLUSION: Findings have relevant implications and are discussed in the context of developing an educational or intervention programme.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2000

Knowledge, self-efficacy and behavioural intent towards AIDS prevention behaviours among culturally diverse secondary school pupils in South Africa.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate knowledge, self-efficacy, and behavioural intent towards AIDS prevention behaviours among culturally diverse secondary school pupils in South Africa. DESIGN: Randomised study. SETTING: Three urban secondary schools in Pietersburg, South Africa. PARTICIPANTS: Three hundred and sixty six Grade 11 secondary school pupils, comprising 150 (41%) males, and 216 (59%) females, aged 17 to 24 years (mean age 19.3 years, SD=2.6). The three cultural groups were 142 Blacks, 112 Whites and 112 Asians. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The questionnaire included items on socio-economic and family background, knowledge about HIV, perceived self-efficacy and behavioural intent regarding AIDS preventive behaviours. RESULTS: Overall, the participants showed an adequate level of AIDS knowledge. However, there was considerable inaccuracy regarding AIDS transmission myths or how AIDS cannot be transmitted. The different cultural groups generally felt most self-efficacious regarding how to protect themselves from becoming infected (75-90%) and least self-efficacious on knowing where to go for information on AIDS (72-74%). Generally, participants reported a high behavioural intent. The Whites stand second in knowledge and more or less second in self-efficacy and behaviour intent. The Blacks stand third in knowledge and more or less second in self-efficacy and behaviour intent. CONCLUSION: Culturally diverse knowledge, self-efficacy and behavioural intent towards AIDS prevention was found among White, Black and Asian pupils, which should inform a culturally sensitive and appropriate AIDS health promotion programme in South Africa.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

PubMed2003

Chronic suppurative otitis media in school pupils in Nigeria.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the prevalence of chronic supperative otitis media (CSOM) among two populations of school children. DESIGN: A survey-demographic data collection and otoscopy was carried out among the two populations of school children. SETTING: A rural government primary school and an urban private primary school SUBJECTS: Six hundred and ninety nine school pupils in the rural school and two hundred and seventy pupils in the urban school. RESULTS: Six per cent of the pupils in the rural schools had CSOM as evidenced by persistent perforation of tympanic membrane of more than three months duration. No tympanic membrane perforations were observed in the children in the urban school at the time of this study. The difference in the prevalence of CSOM between the two populations is statistically significant (P < 0.001). The difference in socio-economic status between the two populations is statistically significant in relation to the prevalence of CSOM in the two populations. The poorer rural population had a significantly higher prevalence of CSOM (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The two study populations are just seven kilometres apart geographically but there is a world of difference in their socio-economic status, availability of social infrastructure and health facilities. This presumably had reflected in the marked difference in the prevalence of CSOM between the two study populations. A collective effort of government and well meaning indigenes of rural communities in Nigeria can help promote the socio-economic status and enhance the availability of social infrastructure and health facilities of rural areas. This we hope will lead to a decline in the prevalence of CSOM in the rural areas.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2000

The prevalence of cigarette smoking among school pupils staying at summer camps.

SETTING: The prevalence of cigarette smoking in Poland is one of the highest in Europe. OBJECTIVE: To compare the frequency of smoking among Polish pupils during a school year and the summer holidays. DESIGN: A questionnaire including personal and demographic data and information on smoking behaviour was distributed among 598 school pupils: 357 girls and 241 boys aged 8-19 years, with a mean age of 14.4. RESULTS: Among the entire group of school pupils, 18.6% were cigarette smokers. Half of the smokers smoked occasionally and the remainder smoked every day; of these, 9.9% smoked more than 10 cigarettes daily. The frequency of smoking among these teenagers increased with age. The average age of smoking initiation was 13 years for boys and 15 years for girls. The majority smoked more during the summer holidays than during the school year. The most frequently reported reasons for increasing cigarette smoking during the summer holidays were: feeling more free, having more money to spend, the influence of new friends, and smoking to pass the time when they felt bored. CONCLUSION: Young people in this study still started smoking early, most frequently between the ages of 13 and 15. High rates of daily smokers among teenagers were observed. In some groups of teenagers the summer holidays may be a time of increased cigarette smoking.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2001

Magnesium and some psychological features in two groups of pupils (magnesium and psychic features).

The aim of our study was to compare Mg levels and psychological features in two pupils groups with different conditions. It also ascertained the relationship between Mg levels and some aspects of intellectual development (attention, memory and intelligence) and personality features (psychoticism, neuroticism and extraversion). 103 pupils from an orphanage and 100 pupils from a secondary school were investigated. Serum and erythrocyte magnesium levels were determined and psychological examinations were accomplished with specific tests. The study indicated a difference between the two groups as regards magnesium level and the investigated psychological features. A direct correlation between magnesium level and neuroticism was demonstrated.

Adolescent↗