The Digital Disconnect: The Widening Gap Between Internet Savvy Students and Their Schools

Presents findings from a survey of public middle and high school students from thirty schools across the U.S. Looks at how students rely on the Internet to help them do their schoolwork, in addition to dozens of other education related tasks

Who May Hire Teachers: How Mutual Consent Fits Into the Current Colorado Hiring Framework

In 2010, the Colorado General Assembly passed the Ensuring Quality Instruction through Education Effectiveness Act (S.B. 191). The law ties teachers\u27 job security to the performance of their students, among other things, and changes the way that teachers and principals are evaluated. One crucial aspect of the law, and the subject of this Comment, is the mutual consent provision. This provision provides principals with the power to ensure the effectiveness of their teachers within their own schools by means of allowing them to oversee the hiring process of teachers. The mutual consent provision states that teachers can only be hired at a school with the consent of the principal. This law is at odds with section 22-32-109(1)(f)(I) of the Colorado Revised Statutes (the hiring statute), which delegates to school boards, not principals, the exclusive hiring power. Before the passage of S.B. 191, the Colorado Supreme Court had determined that school boards have the nondelegable power to hire teachers. This tension between S.B. 191 and the hiring statute raises a number of issues regarding the hiring of teachers. In 2010, the Colorado General Assembly passed the Ensuring Quality Instruction through Education Effectiveness Act (S.B. 191). The law ties teachers\u27 job security to the performance of their students, among other things, and changes the way that teachers and principals are evaluated. One crucial aspect of the law, and the subject of this Comment, is the mutual consent provision. This provision provides principals with the power to ensure the effectiveness of their teachers within their own schools by means of allowing them to oversee the hiring process of teachers. The mutual consent provision states that teachers can only be hired at a school with the consent of the principal. This law is at odds with section 22-32-109(1)(f)(I) of the Colorado Revised Statutes (the hiring statute), which delegates to school boards, not principals, the exclusive hiring power. Before the passage of S.B. 191, the Colorado Supreme Court had determined that school boards have the nondelegable power to hire teachers. This tension between S.B. 191 and the hiring statute raises a number of issues regarding the hiring of teachers. principals to take a leadership role in the hiring process, while the hiring statute provides for school boards to continue playing a role in oversight. This reading of the two laws strengthens the overall hiring process

Cosmological Moduli Dynamics

Low energy effective actions arising from string theory typically contain many scalar fields, some with a very complicated potential and others with no potential at all. The evolution of these scalars is of great interest. Their late time values have a direct impact on low energy observables, while their early universe dynamics can potentially source inflation or adversely affect big bang nucleosynthesis. Recently, classical and quantum methods for fixing the values of these scalars have been introduced. The purpose of this work is to explore moduli dynamics in light of these stabilization mechanisms. In particular, we explore a truncated low energy effective action that models the neighborhood of special points (or more generally loci) in moduli space, such as conifold points, where extra massless degrees of freedom arise. We find that the dynamics has a surprisingly rich structure - including the appearance of chaos - and we find a viable mechanism for trapping some of the moduli.Comment: 35 pages, 14 figures, references adde

Research Use by Leaders in Canadian School Districts

This paper, part of a larger study, investigates the ways research is used by leaders in Canadian schools and districts, an area in which there is relatively little empirical evidence. The paper analyzes survey results from 188 education leaders in 11 school districts across Canada about school and district practices related to the use of research. Results indicate a growing awareness in districts of the importance of research use, reported district capacity, and many kinds of support available for research-related activities; however, actual research use remains modest. Districts appear to have relatively weak processes and systems for finding, sharing and using relevant research

CAN SIMPLE INTERVENTIONS INCREASE RESEARCH USE IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS?

A variety of interventions have been attempted in education and other fields to increase the use of research use in policy and practice. However, there is still limited research on the impact of these interventions. This paper uses survey and qualitative data to analyze three interventions designed to increase research use among secondary school leaders in nine Canadian school districts. These interventions were found to have little impact, but were more successful where (1) designated facilitators were involved and (2) research used was connected to existing priority issues. The research design for this study (measuring the change in agreement with particular bodies of research knowledge using interventions and pre-post design) is a promising methodology to measure both research use and impact

Clinical and Economic Outcomes Associated With the Timing of Initiation of Basal Insulin in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Previously Treated With Oral Antidiabetes Drugs

AbstractPurposeIn patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) not achieving glycemic targets using oral antidiabetes drugs (OADs), studies suggest that timely insulin initiation has clinical benefits. Insulin initiation at the early versus late stage of disease progression has not been explored in detail. This retrospective database analysis investigated clinical and economic outcomes associated with the timing of insulin initiation in patients with T2DM treated with ≥1 OAD in a real-world US setting.MethodsThis study linked data from the Truven Health MarketScan® Commercial database, Medicare Supplemental database, and Quintiles Electronic Medical Records database. A total of 1830 patients with T2DM were included. Patients were grouped according to their OAD use before basal insulin initiation (1, 2, or ≥3 OADs) as a proxy for the timing of insulin initiation. Clinical and economic outcomes were evaluated over 1 year of follow-up.FindingsDuring follow-up the 1 OAD group, compared with the 2 and ≥3 OADs groups, had a greater reduction in glycosylated hemoglobin A1c (−1.7% vs −1.0% vs −0.9%, respectively; P < 0.0001), greater achievement of glycemic target (38.2% vs 26.7% vs 19.6%, respectively; P < 0.0001), and a lower incidence of hypoglycemia (2.7% vs 6.6% vs 5.0%, respectively; P = 0.0002), with no difference in total health care costs ($21,167 vs$21,060 vs $20,133, respectively).ImplicationsThis study shows that early insulin initiation (represented by the 1 OAD group) may be clinically beneficial to patients with T2DM not controlled with OADs, without adding to costs. This supports the call for timely initiation of individualized insulin therapy in this population

Friends or Strangers? A Feasibility Study of an Innovative Focus Group Methodology

Focus groups are useful tools for examining perceptions, feelings, and suggestions about topics, products, or issues. Typically, focus groups are held in formal facilities with “strangers” or participants who do not know each other. Recent work suggests that “friendship groups” may provide an innovative alternative for collecting group-level qualitative data. This approach involves recruiting a single “source participant” who hosts a group in his/her home and recruits friends possessing the characteristics desired for the study. In order to examine the feasibility of friendship groups as a defensible research methodology, we conducted a series of four friendship groups as a feasibility study. Our analysis examined data from questionnaires about demographics, levels of acquaintanceship, and experience taking part in the group; transcripts; observational data; and the time and costs for recruiting. Using these data, we examined group dynamics, implementation issues, and recruitment time and costs. Based on these analyses, our study determined that friendship groups have the potential to be a viable and cost-effective method of qualitative inquiry

The importance of cross-validation, accuracy, and precision for measuring plumage color: A comment on Vaquero-Alba et al. (2016)

Vaquero-Alba and colleagues published a study in The Auk: Ornithological Advances comparing objective color measurements of plumage taken in the field directly on a bird’s body to those taken in the lab on collected feathers arranged to emulate the appearance of a bird’s natural plumage. Although the field measures of plumage color were less repeatable than lab measures, the authors concluded that measurements taken in the field were more representative of a bird’s ‘‘true color.’’ Accordingly, they recommend that researchers should bring spectrophotometers into the field to measure color on live birds. We question the assumption that their field measurements represent true color and highlight concerns regarding their experimental design and methodology. Because they did not measure color of live birds in the lab or the color of plucked feathers in the field, they cannot directly test whether the assessment of color in the field on a live bird is superior. Also, rather than assume field measures are the most accurate or precise way to assess plumage color, we suggest cross-validation with other methodologies, such as digital photography, pigment biochemistry, or measures of a known color standard in both environments. Importantly, researchers should be aware of the limitations and advantages of various methods for measuring plumage color so they can use the method most appropriate for their study. Vaquero-Alba y sus colaboradores publicaron un estudio en The Auk comparando medidas objetivas del color del plumaje tomadas en el campo directamente en el cuerpo del ave con medidas tomadas en el laboratorio en plumas recolectadas y organizadas para emular la apariencia natural del plumaje. Aunque las medidas de campo del color del plumaje fueron menos repetibles que las de laboratorio, los autores concluyeron que las medidas tomadas en el campo fueron ma´s representativas del ‘‘color verdadero’’ de un ave. En consecuencia, recomendaron que los investigadores deben llevar espectrofot ´ ometros a los sitios de campo para medir el color en aves vivas. Cuestionamos la suposici ´on de que sus mediciones de campo representan el ‘‘color verdadero’’ y resaltamos nuestras preocupaciones con respecto a su dise ˜no experimental y metodolog´ıa. Debido a que ellos no midieron el color de las aves vivas en el laboratorio ni el color de las plumas sueltas en el campo, no pueden evaluar directamente si la evaluaci ´on del color en el campo en un ave viva es superior. Tambi´en, en vez de asumir que las medidas de campo son la forma ma´s exacta o precisa de determinar el color del plumaje, sugerimos que se haga una validaci ´on cruzada con otras metodolog´ıas como la fotograf´ıa digital, la bioqu´ımica de los pigmentos o las medidas de un esta´ndar de un color conocido en ambos ambientes. Es importante que los investigadores tengan en cuenta las limitaciones y avances en varios m´etodos para medir el color del plumaje para que puedan usar el m´etodo ma´s apropiado para su estudio

The importance of cross-validation, accuracy, and precision for measuring plumage color: A comment on Vaquero-Alba et al. (2016)

Vaquero-Alba and colleagues published a study in The Auk: Ornithological Advances comparing objective color measurements of plumage taken in the field directly on a bird’s body to those taken in the lab on collected feathers arranged to emulate the appearance of a bird’s natural plumage. Although the field measures of plumage color were less repeatable than lab measures, the authors concluded that measurements taken in the field were more representative of a bird’s ‘‘true color.’’ Accordingly, they recommend that researchers should bring spectrophotometers into the field to measure color on live birds. We question the assumption that their field measurements represent true color and highlight concerns regarding their experimental design and methodology. Because they did not measure color of live birds in the lab or the color of plucked feathers in the field, they cannot directly test whether the assessment of color in the field on a live bird is superior. Also, rather than assume field measures are the most accurate or precise way to assess plumage color, we suggest cross-validation with other methodologies, such as digital photography, pigment biochemistry, or measures of a known color standard in both environments. Importantly, researchers should be aware of the limitations and advantages of various methods for measuring plumage color so they can use the method most appropriate for their study. Vaquero-Alba y sus colaboradores publicaron un estudio en The Auk comparando medidas objetivas del color del plumaje tomadas en el campo directamente en el cuerpo del ave con medidas tomadas en el laboratorio en plumas recolectadas y organizadas para emular la apariencia natural del plumaje. Aunque las medidas de campo del color del plumaje fueron menos repetibles que las de laboratorio, los autores concluyeron que las medidas tomadas en el campo fueron ma´s representativas del ‘‘color verdadero’’ de un ave. En consecuencia, recomendaron que los investigadores deben llevar espectrofot ´ ometros a los sitios de campo para medir el color en aves vivas. Cuestionamos la suposici ´on de que sus mediciones de campo representan el ‘‘color verdadero’’ y resaltamos nuestras preocupaciones con respecto a su dise ˜no experimental y metodolog´ıa. Debido a que ellos no midieron el color de las aves vivas en el laboratorio ni el color de las plumas sueltas en el campo, no pueden evaluar directamente si la evaluaci ´on del color en el campo en un ave viva es superior. Tambi´en, en vez de asumir que las medidas de campo son la forma ma´s exacta o precisa de determinar el color del plumaje, sugerimos que se haga una validaci ´on cruzada con otras metodolog´ıas como la fotograf´ıa digital, la bioqu´ımica de los pigmentos o las medidas de un esta´ndar de un color conocido en ambos ambientes. Es importante que los investigadores tengan en cuenta las limitaciones y avances en varios m´etodos para medir el color del plumaje para que puedan usar el m´etodo ma´s apropiado para su estudio

Book Reviews

Book reviews of: Blue Urbanism: Exploring Connections between Cities and Oceans by Timothy Beatley; The Good Jobs Strategy by Zeynep Ton; How Paris Became Paris: The Invention of the Modern City by Joan DeJean; Dead End: Suburban Sprawl and the Rebirth of American Urbanism by Benjamin Ross