Abstract

Though there is an expanding focus on the beneficial role of pets in the fields of nursing and veterinary medicine, the social sciences have been behind in paying attentionto the significant role that pets play in human lives. Much has been made of findings thatpet dogs may have a significant impact on physiological measures of health. However,dogs have also been associated with psychological measures of well-being, both throughanimal-assisted therapy and in the general population of dog owners. Whether themechanism is touch, exercise, attachment, nonevaluative social support, or somecombination of these, the human connection to the non-human animal world meritsfurther investigation. Previous results have been mixed, and studies suffer from a lack of large sample sizes or sufficient control conditions, among other weaknesses.The current study attempts to address some of the gaps in the literature by assessing the impact of the presence of pet dogs on their owners responses to a nega tivemood induction procedure. Controlling for dog ownership as well as for the presence of the dog, and collecting demographic information from each participant in addition tomeasures of self-esteem, depression, social support, attitudes towards pets, andattachment to pets, this study found that among single female dog owners, positiveattitudes towards animals were associated with positive mood prior to the mood induction.In addition, dog owners accompanied by their dogs experienced significantly lowerdespondency scores compared to non-owners prior to the mood induction. However, thepresence of a pet dog was associated with increases in anxiety and apprehensionsubsequent to the mood induction, suggesting the importance of considering contextualfactors when evaluating the emotional benefits of dog ownership.

Abstract
This paper reports a qualitative study of the learning environment of a Year 11 Biology class. The research was originally framed in a constructivist epistemology, but was also informed by an emancipatory interest. The main methods used for data gathering were participant observation, interviewing, and a written response survey (CES, Tobin, 1993a). It was found that, even though the students viewed the class positively, and described themselves as highly motivated to learn, the level of cognitive engagement was affected by two interrelated factors: the control the teacher had over almost all activities, and student beliefs about learning in this context. The data suggests that both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation which could lead to deep involvement in learning are constrained by a preponderance of teacher-centred methods of instruction. A model is proposed relating intrinsic and extrinsic interest to cognitive engagement. It is concluded that more activities should be used which either implicitly or explicitly reinforce positive beliefs about the need for self-direction in learning. A personal perspective has been included in this paper to indicate the non-linearity of the development of theory.

ABSTRACT The primary objective of this study was to obtain a better understanding into the learning process and factors that my affect pregnant and parenting learners in Soshanguve secondary schools. An investigation was conducted through literature study and empirical investigation in which remarkable discoveries were made and guidelines into the management of situation and possible recommendations were supplied in the later stages of the study. The bottom line is it was discovered that our schools are not "pregnant/parenting learner friendly", meaning that a great deal of work needs to be done towards creating a more conducive learning environment to pregnant/parenting learners. Policies need to be developed in order to secure a more inclusive programme for such learners. I hope that the guidelines and recommendations provided will be of a great assistance to schools and communities at large. In conclusion this study addressed face value issues and aspects relating to the subject at hand thus a more in depth and concentrated research effort is still needed in other various aspects of teenage pregnancy and education. ABSTRACT In Nigeria, out of 5 million pregnancies, it is pathetic that 54,000 result into induced abortion. This study aims at understanding the causes and consequences of abortion among adolescents. Data was collected through individual-based questionnaire and multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select undergraduate students for the study. In all, 187 respondents were interviewed. Chi-square was used to determine the effects of the explanatory factors on abortion. This was complemented with 10 IDIs. The data reveal that unmarried adolescent girls are more prone to abortion than the married women (85%). It also found out that contraceptive use has helped in the reduction of unwanted pregnancy and invariably abortion. Education, religion, age and marital status are related to abortion. The study therefore concludes that there should be the introduction of sex education in secondary schools to stem the tide of abortion. Key words: Abortion, Poverty, Adolescents, Pregnancy Abstract Background: South Asia has a large proportion of young people in the world and teenage pregnancy has emerged as one of the major public health problem among them. The objective of this study is to systematically review to identify the risk factors associated with teenage pregnancy in South Asian countries. Methods: We systematically searched MEDLINE, EMBASE and CINAHL database (1996 to April 2007) and web-based information. Inclusion criteria were the English-language papers available in the UK and describing teenage pregnancy in South Asia. Results: Out of the seven countries in South Asia, most of the studies were related to Nepal, Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka. Socio-economic factors, low educational attainment, cultural and family structure were all consistently identified as risk factors for teenage pregnancy. Majority of teenage girls are reported with basic knowledge on sexual health however, very few of them have used the knowledge into practice. Both social and medical consequences of teenage pregnancies are reported consistently along the most of the studies. Utilization of health services, which is a protective factor, remains low and consistent. However, teenagers agreed to delay the indexed pregnancy if they would know its consequences. Conclusions: In South Asia, many risk factors are a part of socio-economic and cultural influences. This systematic review is limited by the amount and the quality of papers published on factors associated with teenage pregnancy. In particular, future research in South Asian countries is needed with standardised measures and methodologies to gain an insight into observed variations in pregnancy rates. Keywords: Teenage pregnancy, factors, South Asia, young people

Abstract OBJECTIVES: The main objective of this study was to determine the influence of listening environment and earphone style on the preferred-listening levels (PLLs) measured in users' ear canals with a commercially-available MP3 player. It was hypothesized that listeners would prefer higher levels with earbud headphones as opposed to over-the-ear headphones, and that the effects would depend on the environment in which the user was listening. A secondary objective was to use the measured PLLs to determine the permissible listening duration to reach 100% daily noise dose. DESIGN: There were two independent variables in this study. The first, headphone style, had three levels: earbud, over-the-ear, and over-the-ear with noise reduction (the same headphones with a noise reduction circuit). The second, environment, also had 3 levels: quiet, street noise and multi-talker babble. The dependent variable was ear canal A-weighted sound pressure level. A 3 x 3 within-subjects repeatedmeasures ANOVA was used to analyze the data. Thirty-eight normal hearing adults were recruited from the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Alberta. Each subject listened to the same song and adjusted the level until it "sounded best" to them in each of the 9 conditions. RESULTS: Significant main effects were found for both the headphone style and environment factors. On average, listeners had higher preferred listening levels with the earbud headphones, than with the over-theear headphones. When the noise reduction circuit was used with the over-the-earheadphones, the average PLL was even lower. On average, listeners had higher PLLs in street noise than in multi-talker babble and both of these were higher than the PLL for the quiet condition. The interaction between headphone style and environment was also significant. Details of individual contrasts are explored. Overall, PLLs were quite conservative, which would theoretically allow for extended permissible listening durations. Finally, we investigated the maximum output level of the MP3 player in the ear canals of authors 1 and 3 of this paper. Levels were highest with the earbud style, followed by the over-theear with noise reduction. The over-the-ear headphone without noise reduction had the lowest maximum output. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of MP3 players are sold with the earbud style of headphones. Preferred listening levels are higher with this style of headphone compared to the over-the-ear style. Moreover, as the noise level in the environment increases, earbud users are even more susceptible to background noise and consequently increase the level of the music to overcome this. The result is an increased sound pressure level at the eardrum. However, the levels chosen by our subjects suggest that MP3 listening levels may not be as significant a concern as has been reported recently in the mainstream media.