Grade retention in high stakes and low stakes testing years

Recent political calls for an end to social promotion have led to an era in which many states are using high stakes tests to make retention decisions. Several decades of research have shown that retention is not an effective practice academically or socially. Louisiana is one state that has adopted a high stakes testing policy. This study examines a state-wide database to examine the predictors of retention in high stakes and low stakes testing years. Multiple regression analyses, discriminant analyses, and logistic regression analyses were run on data from students in grade 4 through grade 8 in Louisiana. The results showed that current year achievement most strongly predicted retention, followed by prior year achievement and finally demographic factors. This finding was consistent over all grade levels. It was also found that even in high stakes testing years, test results are not the sole determinant of retention status. Several exceptions to the high stakes testing policy exist in Louisiana. Limitations of this study and directions for future research are also discussed

ICTs and Community and Suggestions for Further Research in Scotland

This paper reviews previous research exploring the significance of community based information and communication technologies (ICTs) for routine daily life. The paper then summarizes strategies and plans to develop ICTs in communities throughout Scotland. Short case studies of two different programs in Scotland are examined, and recent findings from assessments of these projects considered. Aspects of sustainability in relation to ICT and community are then examined. Finally, the paper suggests need for more collaborative research and more in-depth empirical work to clarify the implications of new relationships developing between ICT and community. Empirical research and critical analysis will help broaden understanding of Community Informatics by informing policy makers, practitioners, researchers and communities. In turn, greater knowledge about the significance of new technologies may help support community based technologies in a more sustainable fashion

Validation of ICD-9-CM diagnosis codes for surgical site infection and noninfectious wound complications after mastectomy

BACKGROUNDFew studies have validated ICD-9-CM diagnosis codes for surgical site infection (SSI), and none have validated coding for noninfectious wound complications after mastectomy.OBJECTIVESTo determine the accuracy of International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) diagnosis codes in health insurer claims data to identify SSI and noninfectious wound complications, including hematoma, seroma, fat and tissue necrosis, and dehiscence, after mastectomy.METHODSWe reviewed medical records for 275 randomly selected women who were coded in the claims data for mastectomy with or without immediate breast reconstruction and had an ICD-9-CM diagnosis code for a wound complication within 180 days after surgery. We calculated the positive predictive value (PPV) to evaluate the accuracy of diagnosis codes in identifying specific wound complications and the PPV to determine the accuracy of coding for the breast surgical procedure.RESULTSThe PPV for SSI was 57.5%, or 68.9% if cellulitis-alone was considered an SSI, while the PPV for cellulitis was 82.2%. The PPVs of individual noninfectious wound complications ranged from 47.8% for fat necrosis to 94.9% for seroma and 96.6% for hematoma. The PPVs for mastectomy, implant, and autologous flap reconstruction were uniformly high (97.5%–99.2%).CONCLUSIONSOur results suggest that claims data can be used to compare rates of infectious and noninfectious wound complications after mastectomy across facilities, even though PPVs vary by specific type of postoperative complication. The accuracy of coding was highest for cellulitis, hematoma, and seroma, and a composite group of noninfectious complications (fat necrosis, tissue necrosis, or dehiscence).Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2017;38:334–339</jats:sec

Intermediate reading exercises for use with the Durrell Analysis of Reading Difficulty.

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

Independent Study 490A: Does Handling of Kittens Improve Over 5 Consecutive Days of Handling?

The adoptability of an animal from a shelter largely depends upon its socialization and friendliness towards humans. For kittens, habituation and proper socialization is an important part of ensuring that the adult cat it will be able to interact properly with humans, thus reducing its chance of being relinquished in the future. In addition, kittens that have been relinquished or placed into a shelter are often subject to several stressors that may impact not only the well-being of the kitten but impair further socialization attempts. The objective of this study was to determine if the kittens’ responses to handling tests improved over a period of 5 consecutive days. This study was conducted at the Animal Rescue League of Iowa (ARL-IA), and involved 14 neonate kittens of mixed sex and breed, between 6 and 8 weeks of age. The treatment was five consecutive days of handling. During treatment kittens were exposed to several handling tests. Data will be presented descriptively. Kittens over the five days scored on average a 1 for the majority of handling tests which indicates a calm kitten. On days four and five, kittens allowed for their rear paws to be held for the maximum 10-s. For front paws on day 4 kittens allowed their paws to be held 9-s but by day 5 this had dropped to 6- s (front left) and 7-s (front right) s respectively. In conclusion, though kittens did not tolerate their front paws being handled as long as rear paws by day five. Overall handling tests conducted on the kittens did not result in any aversive reaction from the kitten to the handler. This data could be useful in further developing socialization and acclimatization programs for kittens in shelters, thereby increasing their adoptability and overall well-being, both in the present and the future

Independent Study 490A: 5 vs. 10-d of Handling; Which One is Better?

The adoptability of an animal from a shelter largely depends upon its socialization and friendliness towards humans. For kittens, habituation and proper socialization is an important part of ensuring that the adult cat it will be able to interact properly with humans, thus reducing its chance of being relinquished in the future. In addition, kittens that have been relinquished or placed into a shelter are often subject to several stressors that may impact not only the well-being of the kitten but impair further socialization attempts. The objective of this study was to determine if there were behavioral differences between two handling regimes for kittens relinquished to the ARL-IA. This study was conducted at the Animal Rescue League of Iowa (ARLIA), and involved 31 neonate kittens of mixed sex and breed, between 6 and 8 weeks of age. Treatment (5-d) five consecutive days of handling and treatment two (10-d) ten consecutive days of handling. During treatment kittens were exposed to several tests. The experimental unit was the kitten and a complete randomized experimental design was utilized. PROC GLIMMIX was used. A P-value of P ≤ 0.05 was considered significant. There were differences (P \u3c 0.05) between treatments for the amount of time that kittens were willing to let their rear paws be held. Kittens assigned to 5-d allowed both their rear paws to be held longer than those from the 10-d treatment. For all other handling measures there were no differences. In conclusion, handling kittens over 10-consectuive days indicated that kittens became less tolerant of having their rear paws held compared to a 5-d treatment and therefore there may be an optimal amount of handling before kittens begin to find this procedure more aversive

Hidden Symmetry in the Double Copy

We show that the Killing tensor of the Kerr spacetime has an analogue in the $\sqrt{\rm Kerr}$ gauge theory solution related to it by the classical double copy. This hidden symmetry of $\sqrt{\rm Kerr}$ leads to an additional constant of motion for color-charged point particles moving in it, implying integrability of the equation of motion. These are the gauge theory counterparts to the Carter constant and the integrability of the geodesic equation in a Kerr background.Comment: 12 page

Understanding environmental influences on nutrition and physical activity behaviors: where should we look and what should we count?

Research interest in the influence of environmental factors on nutrition and physical activity behaviors has surged internationally in recent years. This is evident from a rapidly expanding literature and facilitated by advances in methodological and analytical approaches to assessing multiple levels of influence on health behaviors. However, a number of conceptual challenges complicate research endeavours in this field. The purpose of this paper is to provide a 'state of the science' overview of evidence regarding environmental influences on nutrition and physical activity behaviors. We focus particularly on a number of key conceptual and methodological issues, including: a consideration of how the environment is defined; the selection and operationalization of environmental exposures; and the importance of integrating existing understanding of individual influences on behavior with the emerging data on the role of the environment. We draw on examples from the published literature including our own research studies to illustrate these issues. We conclude by proposing a research agenda to progress understanding of the influences of the environment on population nutrition and physical activity behaviors

Can intrinsic and extrinsic metacognitive cues shield against distraction in problem solving?

We investigated the capacity for two different forms of metacognitive cue to shield against auditory distraction in problem solving with Compound Remote Associates Tasks (CRATs). Experiment 1 demonstrated that an intrinsic metacognitive cue in the form of processing disfluency (manipulated using an easy-to-read vs. difficult-to-read font) could increase focal task engagement so as to mitigate the detrimental impact of distraction on solution rates for CRATs. Experiment 2 showed that an extrinsic metacognitive cue that took the form of an incentive for good task performance (i.e., 80% or better CRAT solutions) could likewise eliminate the negative impact of distraction on CRAT solution rates. Overall, these findings support the view that both intrinsic and extrinsic metacognitive cues have remarkably similar effects. This suggests that metacognitive cues operate via a common underlying mechanism whereby a participant applies increased focal attention to the primary task so as to ensure more steadfast task engagement that is not so easily diverted by task-irrelevant stimuli