French-speaking Areas Research Articles

Patient experience in primary care: association with patient, physician and practice characteristics in a fee-for-service system.

Nowadays we typically use patient experience as a quality of care indicator, although this has some limitations. The aim of this study was to investigate to what extent patient, physician and practice characteristics were associated with patient-reported experience of care in the major dimensions in family medicine in a fee-for-service system. The data came from the Swiss part of the Quality and Costs of Primary Care (QUALICOPC) study, an international cross-sectional survey. A random sample of 194 Swiss family physicians and 1540 of their patients were included in this analysis. We assessed patient experience using three scores characterising access, communication and continuity-coordination. Multilevel statistical methods were used to analyse these scores based on patient-level, physician-level and practice-level factors. Poor experience of access was associated with poor health (incidence rate ratio [IRR] 1.91, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.54-2.55) but was lower among older patients (IRR 0.75, 95% CI 0.63-0.88). Experience of access was also reported as poorer in urban areas and in practices including other paramedical professionals (besides medical assistants) (IRR 1.27, 95% CI 1.06-1.51). Communication was reported as poorer in practices where physicians achieve greater daily face-to-face consultations (IRR 1.16, 95% CI 1.08-1.25) and in patients reporting higher incomes (IRR 1.24, 95% CI 1.01-1.52). Additionally, younger patients reported poorer continuity-coordination experience. In the continuity-coordination domain, patient experience appeared better in group practices (including other family physicians) and in those of physicians with a greater weekly workload in terms of hours. Finally, we found experience of communication and continuity better in the French-speaking area than German-speaking area of Switzerland. In this study, we found that patient experience in family medicine in Switzerland was very good for all domains studied; access, family physician-patient communication and continuity-coordination of care. Most often, predictive factors of care experience relate to the patient's characteristics, such as age and health status. However, several practice characteristics such as size, composition and functioning (in particular, time spent with the patient) represent potential levers for improving patient-reported experience. The variations observed between the three linguistic areas in Switzerland are also interesting, since they raise the issue of the role of sociocultural factors in this field.

Transitions in the representation and implementation of a language-learning project within a multicultural context

The paper explores the involvement of teachers, children, and parents in a project based on learning a second language (L2) within a multicultural context. The study accounts for the participants’ transitions across school and family and aims to analyze their representations about the implementation and the adaptation of the project. The investigation involves three classes of primary schools—1st and 2nd levels—and two kindergarten classes, for a total of 15 teachers, 169 children aged 3–7 years old, and their families, living in French-speaking areas of Switzerland and representing 20 different nationalities. By combining different data sources (teachers’ and parents’ interviews, ethnographic observations of children’s activities), we explore how participants have implemented an educational program through various adaptations in their transition from a traditional way of teaching/learning L2 to a new model inspired by the Narrative Format. Through an inductive approach and a qualitative analysis of data, we present the main evidences of these transitions, detecting the conditions that facilitate the acquisition of languages and accounting for arguments connected to the heterogeneous, conditional, and context-dependent knowledge within and outside the school.

Grammaire française by Jacqueline Ollivier and Martin Beaudoin

Reviews 235 by the “portfolio” described above; third some “Repères professionnels” (for instance “comment bien rédiger une note d’information ou de service”); and finally “Repères (inter)culturels,”to increase students’awareness of different cultural practices. Having attended business dinners in French-speaking areas and watched American business professionals unknowingly insult their hosts, I greatly appreciate the opportunity to share these sections with our students. An appendix includes the valuable ten-page “memento des actes de parole” summarizing valuable expressions for a large variety of situations including written correspondence. The Cahier d’activités, including an accompanying audio CD, provides many diverse exercises which solidify acquisition of comprehension, communication, grammar and even phonetics. Students can selfcorrect their exercises and check their comprehension by comparing the transcriptions with their notes. In short, this new edition provides an inviting, clearly presented, uniquely varied and useful text which will permit students to acquire professional, cultural and linguistic skills that will help them succeed in authentic French-speaking professional contexts. Augusta University (GA) E. Nicole Meyer Ollivier, Jacqueline, and Martin Beaudoin. Grammaire française. 6e éd. Toronto: Nelson, 2016. ISBN 0-1765-7003-9. Pp. 454. This book is both an excellent textbook for a grammar course and a must-have reference for any instructor of French. As a textbook, it would be particularly useful in the third or fourth year of study. While the authors provide a range of activities, thoughtfully designated as A, B, or C level activities, the explanations and concepts are perhaps too sophisticated for beginning students. It is a thorough review of the grammar which any student or scholar might need. The authors divided the grammatical concepts into four parts, “Le groupe nominal,” “Les invariables et les mots indéfinis,”“Le groupe verbal,” and “Les transformations syntaxiques.” This organizational system is useful for both teaching and as a quick reference guide. It allows instructors to move from concrete to more abstract concepts, beginning with naming and describing people, things, and ideas; then joining ideas, describing actions, and then changing from description to inquisition and negation. The variety of activities is another positive aspect of the text. There are the abovementioned A, B, and C level activities, which is practical for adapting the book to different courses, but also valuable for classes where the learners are at different levels of proficiency. Instructors can assign the A-level activities for those students challenged by a particular concept, even in an advanced class. Beyond the level-specific activities, the authors provide activities suitable for partner work, group work, and written work, all explicitly labeled. Each chapter begins with literary excerpts as“Les activités de brise-glace,”introducing its themes. This functions as both a communicative, real-world task of reading a short passage, and as a means to introduce more reading or culture to the course. It is crucial to keep the reason for mastering grammar in mind: successful communication in French, both oral and written, both productive and receptive. “Les activités de brise-glace” allow students to interact with excerpts from literature in French while concentrating on the grammar. In summary, this text is well organized, thorough, and of use to learners, instructors, and scholars of French at all levels. It is an appropriate text for advanced grammar studies or as a reference text for other courses or to simply be on the shelf for anyone using the French language. Purdue University (IN) Jessica L. Sturm Oukada, Larbi, Didier Bertrand, and Janet L. Solberg. Controverses. 3rd ed. Boston: Cengage, 2016. ISBN 978-1-305-39098-0. Pp. 293. This intermediate-level text can be summarized as offering relevant, compelling, and contextualized content built on a pedagogically sound, communicative framework that is aligned with the National Standards. Controverses provides a foundation for improving written and oral expression as well as for an introduction into contemporary cultural debates. The text’s approach offers opportunities for self-expression, exploration of French cultural perspectives, consideration of the structure of the French language, as well as for extension of the material to other disciplines.Although the text could be adapted to other contexts,its content is most appropriate for universitylevel and...

The equally “bad” French and English farmers of Quebec: New TFP measures from the 1831 census

ABSTRACTNew TFP estimates drawn from the neglected census of 1831 for Lower Canada are used to test the controversial (but still dominant) traditional “poor French farmers” explanation for a prolonged economic crisis. The new evidence shows that French-speaking areas were equally as productive as English-speaking areas, something that upturns the established consensus and reinforces the minority viewpoint that culture had little to do with the crisis. Using a broad range of controls, the researchers find that this conclusion is robust and that other variables such as settlement recency, environment, and economic structure were much more significant determinants of TFP. These results warrant the abandonment of the cultural explanation and a shift toward other explanatory channels.

Culture and Financial Literacy

We study the effect of culture on financial literacy by comparing secondary-school students along the German-French language border within Switzerland. We find that students in the French-speaking area have a lower level of financial literacy than students in the German-speaking area. The difference in financial literacy across the language groups is stronger among native students than among Immigrant students. A mediation analysis suggests that the cultural divide in financial literacy is mainly related to systematic differences in financial socialisation across the language groups. Students in the German speaking region are more likely to receive pocket money at an early age and are more likely to have independent access to a bank account.

The Source of the Problem: Both Islam and the West Have Forgotten Their Roots (A Philosophical Study of the Charlie Hebdo Shooting)

Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies Vol. XL, No.3, Spring 2017 The Source of the Problem: Both Islam and the West Have Forgotten Their Roots (A Philosophical Study of the Charlie Hebdo Shooting)* Sayed Hassan Akhlaq1 Introduction In 2015, the entire world particularly Europe (especially the French speaking areas of Europe, e.g. France and the French speaking part of Belgium) witnessed very tragic and shocking attacks by extremist Muslims. Though the Islamic notion of Jihad played a central role in explaining the religious aspect of the events, Jihad did not play an explicit role in the Charlie Hebdo shooting in January 7, 2015, that was in response to cartoons mocking the Prophet Muhammad. This paper addresses this specific event, the relevant Islamic idea, and the destroyed potential for two civilizations, French and Muslim, to work toward mutual understanding and constructive dialogue based on philosophical analyses. It focuses on this case for two reasons: Since Muslims are very sensitive to mocking the Prophet, this case touches a wider range of Muslims; also, it indicates a major conflict between Islamic culture which is based on venerating the 74 *An earlier version of this paper was presented in the conference “Perceptions of Islam in the West and its Effects on Relations between Islamic Countries and the West”, April 15-16 2016, conducted by the American Council for the Study of Islamic Societies, Villanova University. 1 The author is a research fellow at the Catholic University of America, in Washington DC. He earned his PhD in philosophy in 2009 from Allameh Tabatabaii University in Tehran, Iran, and completed his Islamic studies (Hawzeh Elmieh) in Mashhad. He has published four books, numerous chapters, editorials, and encyclopedia and dictionary entries. Acting as an academic adviser to the Afghanistan Academy of Sciences in 2010, he lectured at several universities in Iran during 2007-2010. Since moving to the US in 2011, he has given scholarly lectures all over the States to Muslims as well as to academia. He is also a member of the American Academy of Religion and the American Philosophical Association. 75 holy Prophet and European modernity which openly mocks and rejects the special place of holy texts, images, and persons. Shocking and catastrophic events can be examined by external conditions as well as internal states. The tragic and dreadful events of Paris are not exceptions; they are related to inner and outer factors and if they are neglected we remain far from the nature of the tragedy. No doubt the attack occurred under the name of Islam. Also Charlie Hebdo, the French satirical weekly magazine, was featuring secular, atheist, far-left-wing, and anti-racist ideology. In other words, the attack in some way was linked with Islam and the magazine’s cartoons and jokes with the Western culture rooted in the eighteenth century Enlightenment. Historically, the Western positive turn toward Islam after a very long period of negative approaches in the West, happened through the Enlightenment. Also, Islam historically is among the few religions which have showed high degrees of tolerance to others and which have a great esteem for the Enlightenment’s self-sufficient rationalism2 . In many analyses extremist Muslims are condemned for this tragedy and blamed for their brutality. It may be better to examine the roots which touch both sides of the problem. How do these bitten fruits come from such fruitful trees? This short essay aims to highlight this point by explaining how losing the spirit of the Enlightenment in the West and the real faith in Islam leads to such catastrophic event. The True Self of the Enlightenment The core point is the questioning of the “Self” and the “Other” in the background of the event. The magazine as a part of modern Western civilization was enjoying the great and fundamental values like freedom of expression, criticism, and diversity. As a matter of fact, it was expressing “self” which appeared in modernity through the Enlightenment. In many ways current western civilization is the child of the Enlightenment. Regardless of how we approach toward the Enlightenment, nobody can deny its central position in the formation of Modernity. Free thinkers from Scotland, France, England, and the...

Early Infant Male Circumcision in Cameroon and Senegal: Demand, Service Provision, and Cultural Context.

Male circumcision is almost universal in North and West Africa, and practiced for various reasons. Yet there is little documentation on service delivery, clinical procedures, policies, and programmatic strategies. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) commissioned country program reviews in 2014 to shed light on the delivery of male circumcision services for infants in Cameroon and Senegal. We conducted a policy desk review, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions at health centers and in communities. Between December 2014 and January 2015, we conducted 21 key informant interviews (13 with regional and district officers, 5 with national officers, and 3 with UNICEF officials) and 36 focus group discussions (6 with men, 6 with women, 12 with adolescent boys, and 12 with service providers). Some of the men and women were parents of the adolescents who participated in the focus group discussions. In the French-speaking areas, the focus group discussions were conducted in French through an accredited translator, audio recorded, and transcribed into English. All of the facilities we visited in Cameroon and Senegal offer medical male circumcision, with 10 out of 12 performing early infant male circumcision (EIMC) routinely. Neither country has policies, guidelines, or strategies for EIMC. The procedure is done mainly by untrained service providers, with some providers using modern circumcision devices. There are no key messages on EIMC for families; the increasing demand for EIMC is led by the community. Despite the absence of national policies and strategies, EIMC is routinely offered at all levels of the health care system in Cameroon and Senegal, mainly by untrained service providers. Improving circumcision services will require guidelines for EIMC and improvements in training, equipment, supply chains, recordkeeping, and demand creation.

Is attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder among men associated with initiation or escalation of substance use at 15-month follow-up? A longitudinal study involving young Swiss men.

Background and AimsYoung adults with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) show higher substance use disorder (SUD) prevalence relative to non‐ADHD controls; few longitudinal studies have examined the course of substance use with reference to conduct disorder (CD). We compared initiation and escalation of substance use at 15‐month follow‐up in men screened positive or negative for ADHD (ADHD+ versus ADHD–), controlling for CD presence in early adolescence.DesignParticipants were recruited during August 2010 and November 2011 from the census of all young men who have to pass mandatory army conscription from three of six Swiss Army recruitment centres. A two‐wave data collection was performed via questionnaires at baseline and 15‐month follow‐up as a part of the longitudinal Cohort Study on Substance Use Risk Factors.SettingRecruitment centres in Lausanne, Windisch and Mels, responsible for 21 cantons in German‐ and French‐speaking areas of Switzerland.ParticipantsConsecutive sample of 5103 male Swiss Army conscripts who provided informed consent and responded to questionnaires at baseline and 15‐month follow‐up. Their mean age was 20.0 (standard deviation = 1.21) years at baseline.MeasurementsADHD and CD were assessed using the adult ADHD Self‐Report Scale and the MINI International Neuropsychiatric Interview Plus, respectively, at baseline, and substance use was measured via self‐administered substance use questionnaires at baseline and follow‐up.FindingsCompared with the ADHD– group, the ADHD+ group (n = 215, 4.2%) showed heavier baseline substance use and increased likelihood of alcohol (χ2 = 53.96; P < 0.001), tobacco (χ2 = 21.73; P < 0.001) and cannabis use disorders (χ2 = 48.43; P < 0.001). The extent of alcohol, tobacco and cannabis use in the two groups remained stable from baseline to follow‐up (no escalation). The ADHD+ group was more likely to initiate substance use compared with the ADHD– group (higher initiation rates), particularly with amphetamines [odds ratio (OR) = 3.81; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 2.20–6.60; P < 0.001] and non‐medical use of ADHD medication (OR = 4.45; 95% CI = 2.06–9.60; P < 0.001). CD was associated with initiation of substance use but did not mediate the associations between ADHD and substance use, revealing that the impact of ADHD on substance use was independent of CD.ConclusionsFor men in their early 20s, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder is a risk factor for continued heavier but not escalating use of alcohol, tobacco and cannabis when already consuming these substances, compared with young men with no ADHD. It is also a risk factor for initiating the use of cannabis, stimulants, hallucinogens and sedatives, independent of conduct disorder in early adolescence.

French Literature Abroad: Towards an alternative history of French literature

What would a history of medieval literature in French that is not focused on France and Paris look like? Taking as its starting point the key role played in the development of textual culture in French by geographical regions that are either at the periphery of French-speaking areas, or alternatively completely outside them, this article offers three case studies: first of a text composed in mid-twelfth century England; then of one from early thirteenth-century Flanders; and finally from late thirteenth-century Italy. What difference does it make if we do not read these texts, and the language in which they are written, in relation to French norms, but rather look at their cultural significance both at their point of production, and then in transmission? A picture emerges of a literary culture in French that is mobile and cosmopolitan, one that cannot be tied to the teleology of an emerging national identity, and one that is a bricolage of a range of influences that are moving towards France as well as being exported from it. French itself functions as a supralocal written language (even when it has specific local features) and therefore may function more like Latin than a local vernacular.

Validation de la version francophone de l’Emotion Regulation Checklist (ERC-vf)

Introduction and objectiveThis article presents two validation studies of the French version of the Emotion Regulation Checklist (Shields & Cicchetti, 1998; ERC-vf, Nader-Grosbois, 2013) led with preschoolers. This questionnaire is applicable to 3–12 years old children with and without disorder. MethodIn the study 1 (n=152), the teachers filled the ERC-vf and a personality scale. In the study 2 (n=71), the ERC-vf was completed two times by the teachers and by the parents who also filled other measures of emotion regulation and of social competences. ResultsThe study 1 shows a good internal consistency and a two-factor structure (emotion regulation and dysregulation). The scores for these factors are significantly linked with developmental ages, the global level of intellectual efficiency and specific factors of personality. The study 2 shows a good inter-judges agreement, a stability test-retest and the external convergent validity between scores in ERC-vf and in other measures of emotion regulation and of social competences. ConclusionAs the ERC-vf has good psychometric properties, it may be used for research and for assessment in intervention in French-speaking areas.

Main outcomes of a newborn hearing screening program in Belgium over six years

ObjectiveTo present the outcomes of the newborn hearing screening program in Belgium (French-speaking area) since its implementation and to analyze its evolution between 2007 and 2012 in the neonatal population without reported risk factors for hearing loss. MethodsThe study was descriptive and based on a retrospective analysis of six annual databases (2007–2012) from the newborn hearing screening program. The main outcomes were identified: prevalence of reported hearing impairment; coverage rates (first and second test, follow-up); proportions of conclusive screening tests; referral rate. Each outcome was presented for the six years and by year of birth. Chi-squares were used to study differences in the various outcomes according to time. ResultsOver the six years, 264,508 newborns were considered as eligible for the screening. Hearing impairment was confirmed in 1.41‰ (n=374) of them, with significant disparities from year to year, between 0.67‰ and 1.94‰. Analysis of the screening process showed that only 92.71% (n=245,219) of the eligible newborns underwent a first hearing test. This coverage rate varied greatly over time: at the beginning, less than 90% of the newborns had a first test and it rose to almost 95%. After the two screening steps, 2.40% (n=6340) of the newborns were referred to an ENT doctor; the referral rate slightly decreased during the first years of the program and then stabilized around 2.4%. Over the period, only 62.21% of the referred newborns had a follow-up; the follow-up rate was particularly low for the first year (44.91%) and then strongly increased (+19.52% in 2008) but never exceeded 70%. ConclusionsOutcome measures for the newborn hearing screening program in Belgium are lower than the benchmarks released by the Joint Committee on Infant Hearing. Nevertheless, the evolution of the outcome measures since the implementation of the program has been positive, particularly during the first years. At some point, most of the outcome measures decreased or at least did not change any further. The motivation and commitment of the professionals have to be supported in a variety of ways to improve outcome measures and thus, the quality of the program.

“Vivre/Leben/Vivere”: An interdisciplinary survey addressing progress and inequalities of aging over the past 30 years in Switzerland

In this paper, we present the rationale and the design of “Vivre/Leben/Vivere” (VLV), a large interdisciplinary survey looking at the life and health conditions of individuals who are aged 65 and older and living in Switzerland. VLV is of the third survey of a repeated cross-sectional study, previously conducted in 1979 and 1994 in two French-speaking areas of Switzerland (the cantons of Geneva and Valais). Launched in 2011, VLV extends the original design to additional German and Italian-speaking areas and targets a sample of 4200 individuals. Quantitative data are collected by means of two questionnaires and a life history calendar, assessing current resources in multiple spheres of the individuals’ life (e.g. household conditions, physical and psychological health, social relations, participation, and values) and their accumulation across the life course. The objectives of VLV are twofold: first it aims to provide an updated view of life and health conditions of the population aged 65 and older in Switzerland, with a major concern in assessing diversity and inequalities. Second, VLV aims to compare these conditions to those observed in 1979 and 1994; hence, it aims providing means to question the sustainability of the positive trends, reported in the previous surveys. VLV is a rare opportunity in Europe to acquire exhaustive and cardinal knowledge about the heterogeneity of the life conditions of the aged and their changes over the past 30 years.

Woody Allen’s French Marketing: Everyone Says Je l’aime, Or Do They?

Choosing a movie's title is a major step in the distribution process. As a first contact between films and their prospective audiences, titles induce a certain vision of a movie and its author. Woody Allen, a most demanding director concerning the translation of his films for export, proves especially punctilious on the matter of titles. His success relies much more on foreign markets than on the domestic circuit and French-speaking audiences are more often than not the key to his box office performance. His American and French titles are compared here, as well as the linguistic and iconographic changes operated on his films' posters, to illustrate the way chosen to export the director's persona as an original brand in the French-speaking area. His distributors play on the image built by Allen over the years, for he is seen as a true auteur in France. As a result, his French titles are kept the closest possible to the American ones, and his presence, whether as an actor or a director, is always reminded on the promotional material. These strategies have helped install each of his movies as part of a whole series, so that Allen's work has almost become a genre by itself.

Francophone Exceptionalism within Alpine Ethno-regionalism? The Cases of the Union Valdôtaine and the Ligue Savoisienne

In their book Challenges to Consensual Politics: Democracy, Identity, and Populist Protest in the Alpine Region, Daniele Caramani and Yves Mény argue that the Alpine region displays a political culture characterized, among other things, by marked conservatism, nativism and Euroscepticism. Such transnational political culture manifests itself throughout the Alpine arch by the presence of successful ethno-regionalist, right-wing populist and Eurosceptic parties. In the same book, however, Michael Keating proposes a more nuanced thesis. While the above-mentioned characteristics are, indeed, predominant in the Germanic-speaking area of the Alps (with some spill-over effects in the Italian-speaking area), the French-speaking area boasts a more progressive political culture. The paper aims to explore this alternative thesis by analysing the ideological identities of two ethno-regionalist parties operating in the Francophone Alpine area—the Union Valdôtaine in Italy and the Ligue Savoisienne in France. The analysis substantiates Caramani and Meny's thesis, revealing how most ideological aspects present in other Alpine areas, such as localism, traditionalist conservatism, work ethics and reluctance to share wealth with others, are very strong in Savoy and Aosta valley too. However, the lack or weakness of crucial populist radical-right ideological elements, such as open xenophobia, racism and Euroscepticism, appears to support Keating's alternative thesis.

Shared decision making in the physician-patient encounter in France: a general overview in 2011

WHAT ABOUT POLICY REGARDING SDM? There is a social demand in France for more healthcare user information and greater patient participation in the decision making process, as reflected by the law of March 4(th) 2002 pertaining to patients' rights and the quality of the healthcare system known as the Law on Democracy in healthcare. WHAT ABOUT TOOLS - DECISION SUPPORT FOR PATIENTS? At the micro level, some research projects are being developed, some of them using decision aids. Preliminary results show that patients want to be informed but that the concept of shared decision making needs to be analysed and refined from both the patients' and the physicians' points of views. WHAT ABOUT PROFESSIONAL INTEREST AND IMPLEMENTATION? However, the relationship between physicians/healthcare professionals and patients/healthcare users is very complex and progress in this field takes time. Only ten years after enactment of the Law on Democracy in healthcare, it might be premature to try and determine the state of the art of shared medical decision making at the macro and meso levels in France. WHAT DOES THE FUTURE LOOK LIKE? There is room in France for further studies on shared decision making in the medical encounter. Researchers, decision makers, healthcare users and healthcare professionals need a place to meet and exchange. An observatory dedicated to shared decision making will be launched in the coming months, both at the national level and in collaboration with several other French-speaking areas like Switzerland and the province of Quebec.

Socio-cultural determinants of adiposity and physical activity in preschool children: A cross-sectional study

BackgroundBoth individual socio-cultural determinants such as selected parental characteristics (migrant background, low educational level and workload) as well as the regional environment are related to childhood overweight and physical activity (PA). The purpose of the study was to compare the impact of distinct socio-cultural determinants such as the regional environment and selected parental characteristics on adiposity, PA and motor skills in preschool children.MethodsForty preschools (N = 542 children) of two culturally different urban regions (German and French speaking part of Switzerland) participated in the study (Ballabeina Study). Outcome measures included adiposity (BMI and skinfold thickness), objectively measured sedentary activities and PA (accelerometers) and agility performance (obstacle course). Parental characteristics (migrant status, educational level and workload) were assessed by questionnaire.ResultsChildren from the French speaking areas had higher adiposity, lower levels of total and of more intense PA, were more sedentary and less agile than children from the German speaking regions (percent differences for all outcome parameters except for BMI ≥10%; all p ≤ 0.04). Differences in skinfold thickness, sedentary activities and agility, but not in PA, were also found between children of Swiss and migrant parents, though they were ≤8% (p ≤ 0.02). While paternal workload had no effect, maternal workload and parental education resulted in differences in some PA measures and/or agility performance (percent differences in both: ≤9%, p ≤ 0.008), but not in adiposity or sedentary activities (p = NS). Regional differences in skinfold thickness, PA, sedentary activities and agility performance persisted after adjustment for parental socio-cultural characteristics, parental BMI and, where applicable, children's skinfolds (all p ≤ 0.01).ConclusionsThe regional environment, especially the broader social environment, plays a prominent role in determining adiposity, PA and motor skills of young children and should be implicated in the prevention of obesity and promotion of PA in children.Trial Registrationclinicaltrials.gov NCT00674544

Externalizing behavior trajectories: The role of parenting, sibling relationships and child personality

Based on longitudinal multilevel modeling and using a multi-informant strategy, this study examines trajectories of externalizing problem behavior (EPB) in childhood as predicted by parental behavior (absolute level of parenting [ALP] and parental differential treatment [PDT]), parental self-efficacy (PSE), child personality and sibling relationships. Besides main effects, several interactions were tested. The effects of changes in parenting on changes in EPB were also examined. A total of 119 families from the French-speaking area of Belgium rearing a child (3- to 5-year-olds at the onset of the study) referred for EPB were studied. The effects of both level-of and changes-in mothers' ALP were partially confirmed, but for fathers, only ALP was predictive. There were some significant interactions between ALP and PDT for both parents. Mothers' PSE explained some variance in EPB, additional to that explained by the parenting measures. Some parenting by personality and by sibling relationship interactions were found.

Intoxication saturnine provoquée par l’usage prolongé de khôl, une cause sous-estimée dans les pays francophones

Use of kohl (called surma in India and Pakistan) as an eye cosmetic is very common, especially among women, children, and babies, not only in North Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Egypt), but also in the Near East and the Middle East, as well in India and Pakistan. This practice has now become widespread in European countries and North America. The cultural custom is very old and has been in use in Egypt since the Ancient Empire. In a great number of kohls available on the free market, lead sulfide is the main component and the very high lead concentration is a risk, particularly for women and children. We report the observation of a case of lead poisoning in a young Moroccan woman caused by prolonged use of a kohl and provide a review of the published literature. This case study should draw the attention of ophthalmologists in French-speaking areas to a public health problem, largely ignored, although real, considering the high lead concentrations found in the majority of kohls. Actions such as prohibition (importation and sale of eye cosmetics made of lead sulfide) have proved to be inadequate. Appropriate educational campaigns directed toward populations using eye cosmetics will be more effective over the long term.

Interpretation of primary care physicians’ attitude regarding rotavirus immunisation using diffusion of innovation theories

To evaluate primary care physicians’ attitude towards implementation of rotavirus (RV) immunisation into the Swiss immunisation schedule, an eight-question internet-based questionnaire was sent to the 3799 subscribers of InfoVac, a nationwide web-based expert network on immunisation issues, which reaches >95% of paediatricians and smaller proportions of other primary care physicians. Five demographic variables were also inquired. Descriptive statistics and multivariate analyses for the main outcome “acceptance of routine RV immunisation” and other variables were performed. Diffusion of innovation theory was used for data assessment. Nine-hundred seventy-seven questionnaires were returned (26%). Fifty percent of participants were paediatricians. Routine RV immunisation was supported by 146 participants (15%; so called early adopters), dismissed by 620 (64%), leaving 211 (21%) undecided. However, when asked whether they would recommend RV vaccination to parents if it were officially recommended by the federal authorities and reimbursed, 467 (48.5%; so called early majority) agreed to recommend RV immunisation. Multivariate analysis revealed that physicians who would immunise their own child (OR: 5.1; 95% CI: 4.1–6.3), hospital-based physicians (OR: 1.6; 95% CI: 1.1–2.3) and physicians from the French (OR: 1.6; 95% CI: 1.2–2.3) and Italian speaking areas of Switzerland (OR: 2.5; 95% CI: 1.1–5.8) were more likely to support RV immunisation. Diffusion of innovation theory predicts a >80% implementation if approximately 50% of a given population support an innovation. Introduction of RV immunisation in Switzerland is likely to be successful, if (i) the federal authorities issue an official recommendation and (ii) costs are covered by basic health care insurance.

Yiddish Culture in France and in the French-speaking Areas

Whereas Yiddish flourished in France in the immediate post-war period, partly due to the influx of survivors from Poland and Lithuania, the failure to ensure transmission of Yiddish to the following generation led to a decline. From the 1970s a number of significant academic institutions and programmes were created and the Bibliotheque Medem became a centre of documentation and acquired the bibliographic collections of libraries that had closed. In 2002 the Maison de la Culture Yiddish-Bibliotheque Medem (MCY) was established with the task not only of preservation but also of creating cultural opportunities through projects including publications, adult and children's education, and through encouraging the use of the spoken language.