Measuring the Efficacy of Leaders to Assess Information and Make Decisions in a Crisis: The C-LEAD Scale

Based on literature and expert interviews, we developed the Crisis Leader Efficacy in Assessing and Deciding scale (C-LEAD) to capture the efficacy of leaders to assess information and make decisions in a public health and safety crisis. In Studies 1 and 2, we find that C-LEAD predicts decision-making difficulty and confidence in a crisis better than a measure of general leadership efficacy. In Study 3, C-LEAD predicts greater motivation to lead in a crisis, more crisis leader role-taking, and more accurate performance while in a crisis leader role. These findings support the scale's construct validity and broaden our theoretical understanding of the nature of crisis leader efficacy.

The Effect of the Global Financial Crisis on the Cost Structure and Double Bottom Line Goal of Microfinance Institutions

The objective of Microfinance institutions (MFIs) is often two-fold; the so-called double bottom line of seeking financial return sustainability, while also maximizing the social impact of their services on the lives of the poor individuals they serve. The pursuit of the social impact bottom line puts microfinance institutions in a peculiar position with regards to the response of their cost structure to the global financial crisis. This paper begins by investigating the impact of the global financial crisis on the cost structure, and cost inefficiencies of MFIs given their double bottom line pursuits. Overall, it appears that achieving growth in both dimensions of social impact and financial sustainability, grew more costly for the MFIs directly because of the global financial crisis. Moreover, given the risk-adjusted nature of the cost inefficiency measure used in the paper, the results show that maintaining a given level of risk in the loan portfolios became significantly more challenging for MFIs after the global financial crisis. In addition, the analysis performed here finds that more than two-thirds of the institutions in the industry are operating under economies of scale, although the proportion decreased after the global financial crisis. This suggests that some progress is evident towards broader achievement of the cost benefits of scale, but that the industry on average still has room for consolidations, mergers, and acquisitions. The analysis uses a time-invariant panel Stochastic Frontier Analysis with standard errors clustered at the country level. The data, from the Mix Market database, comprises 1400 Microfinance institutions across 108 countries

Data Services and the Performing Arts

In the academic world, research is primarily seen through the scientific approach of collecting and interpreting scientific or numeric data, or the humanistic approach of comparing and interpreting texts. However, in the performing arts fields, academics see themselves on a spectrum between scholar and artist. Artistic scholarly research activities are often driven by the same requirements as humanities research. However, as artists, research often takes the form of listening to or watching performances. In this approach, performances and recordings are research data to these academics. How can libraries support this method of research? What are the implications for data curation in libraries? These and other questions will be explored in this article

Increasing Student Engagement Through Opportunities to Respond

The evidence for providing sufficient opportunities for students to respond (OTR) has been established in terms of increasing student engagement while decreasing disruptive behavior. Although proven to be effective, teachers are demonstrating low rates of OTR across all grade levels and instructional content areas. Given the potential benefits of increasing OTR, it is critical that teachers find ways to increase the provision of OTR during instruction. This article will discuss the research behind providing sufficient OTR, examine the rate of OTR teachers are providing in schools in relation to optimal rates suggested by research, and provide strategies for increasing OTR during classroom instruction

Bringing High Leverage Practices to the Bluegrass: A Statewide Collaborative Effort

As a means to improve instruction for all students, Kentucky joined the national network of states engaged with the Collaboration for Effective Educator Development, Accreditation, and Reform (CEEDAR) Center. Part of this initiative was to hold a statewide summit for all Kentucky stakeholders in an attempt to build awareness of high leverage practices in educator preparation programs; strengthen and sustain partnerships; build capacity for continuous improvement; and share strategies for enhancing clinical practice. This article discusses the results of a survey given to those attending the statewide summit. Participants were asked to rate their knowledge and perceived importance of eight key variables associated with reimagining educator preparation in Kentucky. The results are discussed and next steps are outlined

Repeat‐associated non‐AUG translation from antisense CCG repeats in fragile X tremor/ataxia syndrome

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/135162/1/ana24800_am.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/135162/2/ana24800.pd

Using a Token Economy Combined with a Mystery Motivator for a Student with Autism Exhibiting Challenging Behavior

A common characteristic of students with autism spectrum disorder is difficulty attending to and staying on task in classrooms, which can lead to inappropriate and/or disruptive behavior. Benefits of a token economy have been examined with various individuals but few have examined its effects with children with autism spectrum disorder. This study examined the effectiveness of a token economy combined with a mystery motivator in decreasing inappropriate behaviors displayed by a student with an autism spectrum disorder in a small group setting. Results indicated that the token reinforcement program was effective in decreasing the inappropriate behaviors displayed by the student