Reference Figures Research Articles

THE ATHLETES’ BODY SHAPES THE ATHLETES’ MIND – NEW PERSPECTIVES ON MENTAL ROTATION PERFORMANCE IN ATHLETES

Mentally rotating the image of an object is one fundamental cognitive ability in humans. Recent theoretical developments and empirical evidences highlight the potential role of the sensory-motor system, when analysing and understanding mental rotation. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the role of specific sensory-motor experience on mental rotation performance in gymnasts. N = 40 male gymnasts with either clockwise or anticlockwise rotation preference in a forward twisting layout salto performed a psychometric mental rotation test with either rotation-preference congruent or rotation-preference incongruent stimuli. Results revealed that choice reaction times differed clearly as a function of Angular Rotation between the stimuli figures. Gymnasts who preferred a clockwise rotation preference showed faster choice reaction times when the rotation direction of the reference figure was clockwise, and vice versa. The results clearly support the notion, that mental rotation performance varies as a function of sensory-motor system characteristics between different people. It is concluded, that sensory-motor experience in a particular sport may facilitate cognitive processing of experience-congruent stimuli. This may be advantageous for situations in which people are engaged in observing sport performance (i.e., judges, coaches). This conclusion could furthermore contribute to the training of athletes from sports such as sky-diving, scuba-diving, and climbing, where losses of spatial orientation can be life-threatening. Key words: functional equivalence hypothesis, gymnastics, rotation preference, sensory-motor experience.

Book Review: Essentials of clinical psychopharmacology, third edition

CPNP members maintain a suggested reading list to provide information on peer recommended resources and convenient access to the highest quality neuropsychopharmacology publications. A reminder that if you shop with CPNP, by following the links below to Amazon, a small commission will be paid to CPNP which helps to financially support our mission to improve the minds and lives of individuals with psychiatric and/or neurologic disorders.You can help grow this list of resources by suggesting a book.Book: Essentials of Clinical Psychopharmacology, Third EditionThis third edition of Essentials of Psychopharmacology is, like its predecessors, based on the premier textbook in the field, The American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of Psychopharmacology, now in its fourth edition. The Essentials format is designed to deliver core knowledge to the busy trainee or practitioner in a succinct and accessible manner. Essentials of Psychopharmacology provides a complete overview of clinically focused pharmacotherapeutic principles of vital interest to psychiatry residents, primary care physicians, and other health care professionals. Updated with the latest research findings since the publishing of the fourth edition of the Textbook, the Essentials features new chapters on recently introduced medications and updated chapters on others. The book is divided into two parts: Classes of Psychiatric Treatments, which systematically reviews psychotropic medications within each drug class (e.g., antidepressants and anxiolytics, antipsychotics), and Psychopharmacological Treatment, which outlines current pharmacotherapeutic approaches in the major psychiatric disorders as well as in specific patient populations. Although the latter part has been streamlined in this new edition, coverage of critical information such as approved indications, drug interactions, side effects, and other prescribing factors remains comprehensive. Clinicians seeking a reliable reference and guide to the core knowledge base and practice of clinical psychopharmacology can do no better than this new edition of Essentials of Psychopharmacology.Essentials of Clinical Psychopharmacology is a compressed version of the APA's Textbook on Psychophamacology. Part 1 entitled “Classes of Psychiatric Treatment” includes chapters that explain drug classes and chapters devoted to specific agents (e.g., chapters on fluoxetine, clozapine, etc.). Each chapter gives a short history/discovery of the agent, pharmacological profile, and review of the literature pertaining to indications and efficacy. A “specific issues” section within each chapter highlights clinical pearls and a brief conclusion section states where the agent can be utilized in practice. Part 2 entitled “Psychopharmacologic Treatment” includes drug information from the perspective of treating specific diagnoses with topics including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, and substance-related disorders. There are also chapters devoted to the treatment of child and adolescent disorders and psychopharmacology during pregnancy and lactation. Each chapter is approximately 20 pages in length with some reference tables and figures included throughout. The book provides a good overview of psychotropics especially for students and residents that are learning psychopharmacology. The text is also useful as a quick reference guide for clinicians practicing in a variety of disciplines and settings. In conclusion, this publication is a good reference resource for core material in psychopharmacology.

Le traduzioni scientifiche dall’arabo al latino in, area mediterranea. Uomini, luoghi e tracciati europei a partire dal secolo XI

The essay expounds the direct connection that in one well defined chronological period has led the medieval islamic knowledge from the courts of the caliphs, scattered in the deserts of the Mediterranean, to the universities and cultural centers of Europe. In this context, it is aimed to establish the main thematical points around which the scientific translations from Arabic into Latin are concentrated. It means to picture the treasure of a millennial science of Greek, Indian, Persian origin, recovered from the Arabs after the Prophet's death and turned into Latin thanks to the men of Christian faith. The reference figures are Italian Gerard of Cremona and Berber Constantine the African.

Risk of completed suicide after bariatric surgery: a systematic review

Bariatric surgery is one of the most effective treatments for morbid obesity, and a large body of research indicates significant long-term weight loss. While overall mortality decreases in patients who received bariatric surgery, a number of studies have shown that suicide rates are higher in bariatric patients than in control groups. The objective of this study was to present a systematic review of suicide mortality after bariatric surgery and calculate an estimate for the suicide rate. Literature researches of the databases PubMed, Web of Knowledge, PsychInfo, ScienceDirect and Google Scholar were conducted. Thirty studies concerning bariatric surgery and completed suicides met the inclusion criteria. We included 28 studies in the estimation of a suicide rate for the bariatric population. Only one study (Tindle et al.) put a main focus on suicide after bariatric surgery; this was therefore chosen as an adequate reference figure for comparison. The other 27 chosen studies were compared with World Health Organization data and the suicide rate reported by Tindle et al. Twenty-three thousand eight hundred eighty-five people were included in the analysis. In the literature, we found a total of 95 suicides when examining 190,000 person-years of post-bariatric surgery data. Little information was provided describing the reasons for suicide and the time-point of these events after surgery. We estimated a suicide rate of 4.1/10,000 person-years (95% confidence interval [3.2, 5.1]/10,000 person-years). A comparison with Tindle et al. demonstrates that their rate is significantly higher than our estimate (P = 0.03). Bariatric surgery patients show higher suicide rates than the general population. Therefore, there is a great need to identify persons at risk and post-operative psychological monitoring is recommended.

New Year's Resolutions – 2013

It is that time of year when we make a list of resolutions for the upcoming new year. In preparation for formulating my resolutions, I did my editor's due diligence and went to the Merriam Webster on-line dictionary for the definition. Turns out there are at least 6 different meanings, but the one that seemed to fit the setting for the pending declarations was: “something that is resolved; as in made a resolution to mend my ways” (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/resolution). I believe the example of resolving to mend one's ways is a perfect case, in that it provides the proper tone without going into specifics, so that by the end of the year, the proud declaration that you are making progress on a goal is counted as success. The operative word in this phrase is “mend,” as it gives you room to improve, if not completely solve the situation. This allows us to aim high at hard to achieve goals, rather than pick those that are easily achievable due to a low degree of difficulty. So here goes. I plan to mend my ways as an Author. I will read all of the instructions – especially the sections on reference style, figures, and tables – and make sure I provide names of several un-biased and highly qualified reviewers (sorry friends, family, and former students). With the revised manuscript, I will provide a list of all reviewer comments and, under each comment, a detailed account of my response and include line numbers where my changes can be found in the text. I will mark all changes in red font. Finally, I will check the PDF file of the revised manuscript to assure correctness and that the line numbers have not changed. I plan to mend my ways as a Reviewer. When asked to review, I will remember that for every manuscript I submit I should review 2 or 3 so that my efforts reflect the author/reviewer involvement in each and every manuscript published. I will return my reviews before the deadline. I will provide fair and un-biased analysis of the manuscript. In my analysis, I will clearly declare where I do and do not have expertise to provide insightful comments. If my decision is reject, a detailed account of the reasoning leading to that conclusion will be provided. I plan to mend my ways as a Scientific Editor. I will help my Associate Editors by making sure manuscripts are quickly assigned to editors and give them all the support needed to do their job in a timely manner. For authors, I will assure a level of consistency concerning the basis for rejection or acceptance. I plan to mend my ways as the Editor in Chief. I will continue to take steps that improve the quality of manuscripts published in the Journal of Food Science, Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, and the Journal of Food Science Education. I will work with my Scientific and Associate editors to assure the highest standards of scientific quality in articles and professional behavior in interactions with authors. Finally, for the people who count the most, the authors, I will strive to set policies that convey a professional, fair, and ethical treatment whether your manuscript is accepted or rejected. Speaking for all of us associated with IFT Scientific Journals, we want to be at the top of your list when decisions are made on where to publish. Having said that, we are also constantly reviewing our Aims and Scope to assure we are fulfilling our niche in providing a focused Food Science story. Unfortunately, that means that many manuscripts, although scientifically sound, may not be appropriate for our journals. As 2013 moves along, I will periodically review these resolutions and see if progress is being made or if it resembles that 10 lbs of body weight that was scheduled to go in 2012, but decided to stay around for 2013. Cheers and Happy New Year,

Reserves of carbon in the organic matter of postfire pine forests in the southwest of the Baikal region

A change in the mass and composition of organic matter in the phytomass and soil of pine forests affected by mid-intensity and high-intensity fires is considered. It is shown that a mid-intensity fire did not catastrophically affect the pool of carbon in the middle-aged pine forests of the subtaiga forest-steppe and the taiga higher belt areas in the southwest of the Baikal region. Five years after a high-intensity fire, the carbon reserves in a mature taiga pine forest remain 20% lower than in an unaffected pine forest. Compared with the reference figures, the mass of C and soil cover in the stand phytomass decreased by 18 and 63%, respectively. In the easily mineralizable fraction of organic matter, the reserves of carbon decreased by half owing to burnout of waste wood (by 64%) and root detritus (by 50% compared with the reference tree stand figures).

충남 일부 지역 대학생의 식사의 질, 식행동 및 에너지 평형상태 조사 연구

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of food behavior on dietary food intake status and health condition based on research of food behavior and nutritional intake status of university students in the Chungnam area. The average age, height, and weight of the subject group were 22.1 years old, 174.2 cm, and 67.0 kg for the male students and 20.9 years old, 161.8 cm, and 53.4 kg for the female students, respectively. From the nutritional intake status data, the averaged daily energy intake of both groups, male and female, are lower than the dietary reference intake(KDRI), as 2,169.2 kcal and 1,846.2 kcal, males and females, respectively. The lipid intake ratio was higher than the dietary reference figure, and the carbohydrate intake ratio was determined to be in the proper range. Male students(54.6%) and female students(52.0%) of the entire subject group skipped a breakfast mainly due to insufficient time, and the time at which meals were consumed, was determined to be irregular generally. In a day, male and female students have a heavier dinner than lunch(p<0.05), respectively. Meat and fishes are preferred by the entire subject group, and the number of students, who do not eat carrot and mayonnaise(p<0.05), was determined to be the highest, of all foods surveyed. The averaged daily activity coefficient and the resting energy expenditure shows significant difference(p<0.001) between two groups; was 1.7 and 1.6 and the second was 1,404.3 kcal/day and 1,292.5 kcal/day for the male and female groups, respectively. As the number of attempting to reduce body weight(p<0.001), the amount smoking(p<0.001), or the frequency of drinking alcohol increases, BMI decreases. On the other hand, as body shape satisfaction increases, BMI increases also.

The language of defamation cases (review)

Reviewed by: The language of defamation cases Philip Gaines The language of defamation cases. By Roger W. Shuy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010. Pp. 251. ISBN 9780195391329. $74 (Hb). Scholarship in forensic linguistics—or, as some in the field prefer to call it, language and law—has quickly proceeded to the handbook stage. The appearance of editions by Coulthard and Johnson (2010) and Tiersma and Solan (2012), from Routledge and Oxford respectively, suggest a view of the field as transitioning into what Toulmin (1972) calls a 'compact' discipline—one whose activities are 'organized around and directed towards a specific and realistic set of agreed [End Page 669] and collective ideals' (379). Paul Newman, in his review of Coulthard & Johnson 2010, maintains that: forensic linguistics has come of age. It is no longer a specialization practiced by a handful of scholars who just happen to have language and law interests, but rather has become a proper sub-discipline within linguistics with a core of well-trained [practitioners] and the development of special courses and degrees for students in the field. (Newman 2011:161) Much of the credit for this advance to maturity goes to Roger Shuy, who since 1979 has pursued the linguistic analysis of all types of language evidence in legal contexts. Beginning in 1993, S has produced a stream of monographs dealing with the language of covert police operations, suspect confessions, criminal investigations, civil disputes, and perjury. In each of his contributions, S makes it clear that, for him, the essence of forensic linguistics is the work of applying the analytic principles of a wide range of core linguistic domains to texts and talk that form an evidentiary basis for a dispute—one in which the expertise of 'specialists in language' (3) can be of assistance to courts or enforcement agencies. In The language of defamation cases, S once again employs his method of illustrating, through accounts of his work in actual court cases, how linguistics can contribute to the interpretation of disputed language—this time the language of libel and slander. The focus is on 'defamation battles [and] disputes' (v) in the media, medicine, and business. Cases treated include lawsuits against the press and broadcast media; internecine civil disputes among competing medical practitioners; and claims against commercial interests, employers, and unions. In almost every chapter, the pattern is the same: a brief synopsis of how the dispute arose, exemplification of the language in question, the linguistic analysis itself, and some concluding remarks—sometimes personal—about the implications of the analysis for the legal system or the interface of language and the law. A partial list of the heuristic lenses—sometimes eclectic and/or informal—through which S looks at alleged defamatory language includes lexical and structural ambiguity, attribution of intent, conveyed meaning, the cooperative principle, discourse structure, figures of speech, reference, inference, illocutionary and perlocutionary force, speech acts, intonation, and thematic and topical analysis. Most of the analyses recruit several of these approaches, depending on the nature of the interpretive task. A closer look at one of S's treatments will give a flavor of his method. S recounts a case in which (in the words of Ch. 5's title) the 'Widow of a murdered man sues a localTVstation'(55). Following the 1993 fatal shooting of a Minnesota man, the deputy sheriff investigating the case had been unable to come up with adequate evidence to connect the man's wife—the prime suspect—to the crime. This did not keep him, however, from sharing his deep suspicions of her guilt with reporters from a local television station and a nationally syndicated news program. In a claim of defamation, the widow brought suit against the deputy, the county, and various media interests. The claim focused on allegedly defamatory comments made by the deputy, interviewers, and reporters during two television broadcasts. In response, the defendants claimed 'that the disputed communications were speculation and opinion that are incapable of being proved false and therefore do not convey an actionable defamatory meaning' (58). In S's opinion, however, 'four discourse features [of the relevant interview comments] can lead listeners to believe that the defendants accused [the plaintiff] of being the actual...

G.P.62 Myositis-associated, myositis-specific and organ-specific autoantibodies in inflammatory myopathies: A West Australian population control study

<h2>Abstract</h2> The prevalence of autoantibodies (AAb) in inflammatory myopathies (IMs) is known to vary in different geographic regions and population groups. A limitation of previous AAb prevalence studies in the IMs has been the lack of a population control group in most studies. In the present study, the frequencies of non-organ specific myositis-associated AAbs (MAA) [ANA, ENA, anti-PM-Scl 75, anti-PM-Scl 100, anti-Ku]; myositis-specific AAbs (MSA) [anti-EJ, anti-OJ, anti-Pl-12, anti-PL7, anti-Jo-1, anti-SRP and anti-Mi-2]; and organ-specific thyroid [anti-TPO] and celiac AABs [IgA anti-tTg] were compared in 125 biopsy proven cases of IM[s-IBM 52, DM 29, Overlap Syndrome (OS) 25, NAM 10, PM 9] diagnosed in the Myositis Clinic at the ANRI and a Western Australian control group of 198 individuals from the Busselton Population Health Study. The patient and control sera were all tested in the PathWest Immunology Laboratories using identical techniques. One or more AAbs were present in 62% of the IM patients compared with 12% of controls. ANA was the most common AAb in all IM groups, being highest in frequency in OS and lowest in s-IBM, and was also present in lower titre in 10% of controls. The frequency of anti-Ro52 was also higher in all IM groups except NAM, while anti-TPO and anti-tTg were similar in IM and controls. The frequency of MSAs was higher in PM (44%), DM (30%) and OS (27%) than in s-IBM (14%), and 10% of the control group also had low titres of a MSA. Anti-Jo-1 was the most frequent MSA across the groups, being present in 8% of all IM cases, but was also present in 3% of controls. Our findings in this population indicate that MAA and MSA are more frequent in DM, PM and OS than in s-IBM and demonstrate the importance of having reference figures for frequency and antibody titre from an appropriate population control group in interpreting the results of AAb studies in patients with IM.

Blood donation from adolescents point of view

Background Adolescents are a very interesting potential source for recruiting new blood donors. People who start giving blood as soon as they are adults are likely to donate for longer. Interest in this age group is also connected to several factors: the spread of healthy lifestyles; facilitate access of healthy people to the healthcare service; help develop a responsible mindset in terms of public spirit.Study design and methods Focus groups and analysis of the written results permitted the construction of an explorative questionnaire, administered to 3050 students in ten secondary schools in northern Italy; the participants were from 13 to 21 years old (M = 16.5, SD = 1.65; male = 47.7%, female = 52.3%). The elements covered by the questionnaire concern the tangible and psychological aspects of what could motivate or prevent donation. Descriptive analyses (frequencies, means and standard deviations) were conduced.Results A comprehensive interpretation of the data shows the key roles played by school, figures of reference, peer groups, what the group shares and independent choice.Conclusion This study provides tangible recommendations for appropriate promotion strategies to dedicate to adolescents; they are an important target to involve in recruitment programmes in order to make them aware of blood donation a long time before they can actually give blood.

The importance of ergonomics in the design conceptual process: Daciano da Costa – A case study on practicing and teaching

This paper, which stems from a developing research project, aims to disseminate among the international scientific community the thought of Daciano da Costa (1930-2005) given the importance he conferred to Ergonomics, throughout his teaching career and his professional practice as a reference figure in the Design of the twentieth century in Portugal. We focus on the important role played by Ergonomics within the conceptual Design process, through the case study Daciano da Costa.What Daciano brought to the practice and teaching was a modernization of processes, a new perspective on the emerging themes of design, like ergonomics. Daciano believed that designing was providing a service. This task was understood as the building of a relationship with users. One of his distinguished features was the particular attention he paid to the unique aspects of the scale of proximity: the scale of the hand, of the immediate gesture, of the body. As a professor he insisted not so much on the end product, but rather on the recognition of the research process and how it was conducted. When designing, developing and supervising the exercises he set, ergonomic factors were one of his main concerns.

A comparative study of the emotional assessment of automotive exterior colors in Asia

This article compares color assessments of automotive exteriors at four locations in China, Thailand and Japan. This study employed painted panels of twelve colors, thirty sensory words and fifteen pairs of emotion variables. It also used reference figures of nine cars that included four styling categories, namely sedans, compacts, sport utility vehicles and sports cars. The results of like–dislike tests revealed that basic automotive exterior colors, such as black, white and red, were highly preferred across locations. However, geographical differences are apparent in the preference for some non-basic colors. To elucidate these geographical differences, a Chi-square test and principal component analysis were performed on the data on emotion variables. The results revealed both similarities and differences in color preferences among the four locations. Color preferences were similar in Hong Kong and Shanghai when simply evaluated by color samples. However, similar preferences for automotive exterior colors were observed in Hong Kong, Kyoto and Bangkok, but not in Shanghai. These results suggest that there is fluctuation in the emotion evoked by a color when the color is considered in the context of automotive exteriors. Therefore, this study indicates that automotive sales can be secured in the global marketplace by creating a single palette of exterior colors based on similar color preferences across countries. However, these results also indicate that preparing market-specific automotive-color line-ups can be an effective marketing strategy.

Penney, D. &amp; Selden, P.A. (2011) Fossil Spiders: the evolutionary history of a mega-diverse order. Monograph Series, Volume 1. Siri Scientific Press, Manchester, 128 pp., 87 photographs (hardback)

Penney, D. &amp; Selden, P.A. (2011) Fossil Spiders: the evolutionary history of a mega-diverse order. Monograph Series, Volume 1. Siri Scientific Press, Manchester, 128 pp., 87 photographs (hardback)

CENTROS DE DÍA DE ATENCIÓN A MENORES: COMPETENCIAS DEL EDUCADOR SOCIAL COMO FIGURA DE REFERENCIA.

El desarraigo social es un factor de riesgo a tener en cuenta a la hora de trabajar con personas cercanas a los procesos de marginación e inadaptación. La compensación de apoyos sociales constituye un valor añadido que ofrecen losCentros de Día de Atención a Menores, como estrategia reductora de los factores e indicadores de riesgo. En la mayoría de los casos este atributo franquea desapercibido, pero sí implementado de manera indeliberada. Esta postura noslleva a pensar que el Educador Social de estos dispositivos ejerce funciones en la que en muchos casos es inconsciente.

Annual use, economic life and residual value of cut-to-length harvesting machines

Abstract Recognizing the absence of up-to-date empirical data on the economic life, the annual use and the residual value of dedicated cut-to-length (CTL) harvesting machinery, the authors gathered a large database of second-hand machine sale offers containing over 1000 records, coming from Europe and North America. The statistical analysis of these data pointed at an economic life in the vicinity of 18,000 h for both harvesters and forwarders, which confirms previous assumptions. The average annual use for the machines in the database is 1424 and 1581 h year−1, respectively for the harvesters and the forwarders. Nordic users achieve a higher annual use than central European users, and the difference is statistically significant. Nevertheless, the average annual use recorded for both groups falls below the levels commonly adopted in current estimates, which may therefore represent ideal reference figures rather than actual averages. Residual value is strongly related to machine age, and the authors calculated some simple functions for estimating it. The study points at a better retention of the original value, compared to the figures reported in previous literature. At 5 years of age the harvesters and forwarders in the study keep respectively 38% and 44% of the new value. The information contained in the study is crucial to machine rate calculation, which has often been based on rule-of-thumb assumptions, in the absence of empirical data.

Corporate Risks, Risk Bearing Ability and Equity

There is a relation between corporate risks, risk bearing ability and equity. In order to assess the risk bearing ability of a corporation, one reference figure is equity, understood as the sum of legal capital and reserves, free reserves and accrued profits. Equity shows the risk bearing ability related to the risk of asset reduction as well as the ability of the corporation to attract new liquidity by increasing debts, in case of a negative free cash flow. Equity is the risk reserve of the corporation. The relation between equity and risk bearing ability allows defining the necessary amount of equity by analyzing the corporate risks. Furthermore, it leads to rules for the valuation of assets, the creation of reserves and as to the board's duty of care on how to pursue the corporate strategy.

Benchmarking the burden of 100 diseases: results of a nationwide representative survey within general practices

ObjectiveTo assess the burden of diseases and quality of life (QOL) of patients for a large variety of diseases within general practice.DesignIn a representative nationwide cross-sectional study, a total of...

Earth observation (EO)-based ex post assessment of internally displaced person (IDP) camp evolution and population dynamics in Zam Zam, Darfur

During humanitarian crises, when population figures are often urgently required but very difficult to obtain, remote sensing is able to provide evidence of both present and past population numbers. This research, conducted on QuickBird time-series imagery of the Zam Zam internally displaced person (IDP) camp in Northern Darfur, investigates automated analysis of the camp's evolution between 2002 and 2008, including delineation of the camp's outlines and inner structure, employment of rule-based extraction for two categories of dwelling units and derivation of population estimates for the time of image capture. Reference figures for dwelling occupancy were obtained from estimates made by aid agencies. Although validation of such ‘on-demand’ census techniques is still continuing, the benefits of a fast, efficient and objective information source are obvious. Spatial, as well thematic, accuracy was, in this instance, assessed against visual interpretation of eight 200 m × 200 m grid cells and accuracy statistics calculated. Total user's and producer's accuracy rates ranged from 71.6% up to 94.9%. While achieving promising results with respect to accuracy, transferability and usability, the remaining limitations of automated population estimation in dynamic crisis situations will provide a stimulus for future research.

How safe are the global water coverage figures? Case study from Madhya Pradesh, India

The World Health Organization (WHO)/United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply and Sanitation was designed to provide reference figures for access in individual countries to safe water. The JMP is based on non-administrative or nongovernment data from national-level surveys such as the Multiple Indicator Clusters Survey (MICS) or Demographic Health Survey. In the 2007 JMP report, India is noted to have water supply coverage of 89% (95% in urban areas and 85% in rural areas) compared to the Government of India estimates of 95%. The central state of Madhya Pradesh is noted by the Government of India to have coverage of 60%. However, the definition of access to safe water currently does not consider the quality or safety of the water being consumed. This paper, therefore, presents results from the application of a statistical tool (random multiple cluster technique-termed Rapid Assessment of Drinking Water Quality [RADWQ]) to Indore Zone in Madhya Pradesh. When results provided by the RADWQ technique are compared to the JMP MICS data, coverage levels reported in the JMP are reduced by up to 40% due to the high risk of microbiological (thermotolerant coliforms) contamination. In Indore Zone, the coverage of safe water reduced from 42% to 25% through the inclusion of the water safety parameters. The study recommends the inclusion of water quality/safety data in reported data under the UNICEF/WHO JMP.

Promoting social competence development to reduce children's social aggression

The roles of schools are more and more diverse, schools is no longer just an institution with instructive objectives, but an essential environment for socialization and acculturation. Of course, the instructive function of school is still important, but, at the same time, the school has the role to regulate the social behaviours, by educating the emotional responses and developing students’ social abilities.There are a wide range of theories who try to explain the recrudescence of aggressive behaviours in children. The underlying theory of this paper is that childhood aggression could be correlated with deficient information processing skills and social-emotional maladjustment. In many cases, disruptive behaviours are not just deviations from socials norms, but the expression of wrong behavioural models, hence a result of imitating and interiorizing undesirable behaviours through social learning.The role of the adults who represent significant, reference figures for the child (parents, teachers, specialists, etc.) have to be more then just passively observe, label the children behaviours as misconduct and apply the punishment; they have to be pro-actively involved in child's nurturing and education, promoting a supportive and formative environment, filled with opportunities of learning pro-social behaviours. There are plenty proactive programmes designed to create opportunities for harmonious development of children's personality, to enhance their pro-social behaviours repertoire.In this paper, we present the innovative process of adaptation and implementation of the program Making Choices into a Romanian school, as part of the national project CNMP 91-063/2007 Project, Social diagnosis of academic performances through Social School Success Scale (SSSS) and the design of research-validated intervention methods, project coordinated by Professor PhD. Maria Roth, from Babes-Bolyai University from Cluj Napoca, financed by Romanian Ministry of Education and Innovation.Making Choices is a curriculum containing a series of cognitive problem-solving lessons intended to broaden children's social knowledge and skills for successfully interacting with peers and adults.We conduct this research in a school in Romania, at secondary level. The conclusions will sustain the necessity to allocate resources in this type of pro-active, preventive, school-based program in order to promote social competence and to reduce both overt and social aggression of children.