EXAMINING INFORMATION CONSIDERED IN TEXAS SCHOOL BOARD SUPERINTENDENT EVALUATIONS: A MODIFIED REPLICATION STUDY

The purpose of this study was to identify the information, through a modified replicated study, that Texas public school board trustees utilize as part of their evaluation of the district superintendent. This modified replicated study used a survey with ranking and multiple choice. The survey in this study was developed by Dr. Phil Gore for Washington school board members and modified by the researcher for Texas. A convenience sample of 168 school board trustees across the state of Texas was invited to participate in the study The findings in this study identified the various elements from which schoolboards derive information to provide background for the superintendent evaluation. It also identified areas to improve the current structure of the Texas superintendent evaluation tool. The comparison of the two studies showed similarities in responses. Both studies found that information used for the superintendent evaluation came from personal interactions and observations.. They both ranked staff surveys as not extremely important for the superintendent evaluation. In both studies the largest responding group was from rural school districts. Texas school board members reported sufficient communication from the superintendent. The Washington study found the possibility of misleading information from the superintendent. Fifty percent of the Texas respondents used the TEA process and performance standard for the superintendent evaluation

Technical Note: Impact of Fertilization on Within-Tree Variability in Young Loblolly Pine (Pinus Taeda)

Density, ring width, and cell structure were analyzed at different sampling heights and growth ring numbers in a young loblolly pine tree (Pinus taeda) that had received multiple applications of fertilizer. Results indicated that earlywood and latewood tracheid length increased with increment of growth ring number and height, but fertilization did not appear to measurably influence cell length. As tree height increased, density decreased but latewood cell wall thickness increased. During the fertilization period, ring width and earlywood cell diameter increased, whereas density, latewood cell wall thickness, and latewood percentage decreased. Earlywood cell wall thickness did not appear to be influenced by fertilization and did not vary greatly with increment of growth ring number

Targeting Hispanic Immigrants with Food Safety Communications

Hispanics are the largest minority population in the United States, according to the 2000 U.S. Census, and the fastest growing. If they are immigrants, they are often dealing with cultural issues as well as new technological applications and social systems. The need for education programs and dissemination of food safety information to this growing segment of the population is evident. This study sought to determine the group’s knowledge of food safety and its primary channels for receiving such information. A questionnaire was developed and translated into Spanish. Face-to-face data collection facilitated by a trusted community partner proved to be a successful means of collecting data from this audience, who are often difficult to reach and may be unwilling to speak with people associated with government. Specific areas of lack of knowledge emerged. The respondents struggled most with questions about proper handling of leftovers containing meat, accurate water temperature for washing and rinsing dishes, handling frozen foods, and defrosting meat. From the attitude questions, the authors found that the target group felt food safety was important, was more threatened in food service outlets than in the home, and was overemphasized. The channel used most frequently and trusted most was television

Self-Rated Physical Attractiveness, Attractiveness Standards, and Expectation Deviations in Romantic Partners Among Non-Married University Students

This study surveyed unmarried, randomly selected university students to discover how they rated themselves regarding physical attractiveness, what range of attractiveness they would consider in a romantic partner, and what would cause them to deviate from this range. The results showed that the most frequently chosen rating for self-attractiveness was a 7 (on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the most attractive) for both men and women. A t-test showed that men had a slightly higher mean of rating than women in their own level of attractiveness, though these results were not statistically significant. When asked for a range of attractiveness that respondents were willing to consider in a dating partner, the most frequently chosen number for the lowest level was 7. For the highest level of attractiveness in their range, about half of the participants selected 10. A t-test revealed that women had a slightly lower mean for the low end of the range of attractiveness they were willing to accept in a dating partner than males, which was statistically significant. Another t-test, though not statistically significant, revealed that men had a slightly higher mean in the high range of attractiveness they were willing to accept in a dating partner than women. Perhaps the most interesting finding was that not only were both genders willing to deviate from their standard of attractiveness in a dating partner (given the right circumstances), but women were much more likely to deviate than men

Self-Rated Physical Attractiveness, Attractiveness Standards, and Expectation Deviations in Romantic Partners Among Non-Married University Students

This study surveyed unmarried, randomly selected university students to discover how they rated themselves regarding physical attractiveness, what range of attractiveness they would consider in a romantic partner, and what would cause them to deviate from this range. The results showed that the most frequently chosen rating for self-attractiveness was a 7 (on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the most attractive) for both men and women. A t-test showed that men had a slightly higher mean of rating than women in their own level of attractiveness, though these results were not statistically significant. When asked for a range of attractiveness that respondents were willing to consider in a dating partner, the most frequently chosen number for the lowest level was 7. For the highest level of attractiveness in their range, about half of the participants selected 10. A t-test revealed that women had a slightly lower mean for the low end of the range of attractiveness they were willing to accept in a dating partner than males, which was statistically significant. Another t-test, though not statistically significant, revealed that men had a slightly higher mean in the high range of attractiveness they were willing to accept in a dating partner than women. Perhaps the most interesting finding was that not only were both genders willing to deviate from their standard of attractiveness in a dating partner (given the right circumstances), but women were much more likely to deviate than men

Challenges in maximising recruitment to an RCT through working with a service user group

Low levels of recruitment into randomised controlled trials is a recurring difficulty and one that potentially threatens the validity of any RCT (Donovan et al, 2002a; 2002b). In cognate fields, research has been carried out with trial participants and other service users to understand the likely difficulties associated with recruitment from user perspectives and to modify recruitment materials and methods to maximise participation (Edwards et al, 1998; Featherstone and Donovan, 1999). However, the vast majority of this work has taken place with service users who would not experience communication challenges in participating in the research in the first place. By contrast, this paper concerns a study in which service users with aphasia and/or dysarthria worked alongside researchers, within a participatory action research framework, to design the recruitment materials that would be used in a large RCT (the ACTNoW trial)

Dataset on Psychosocial Risk Factors in Cases of Fatal and Near-Fatal Physical Child Abuse

This article presents the psychosocial risk factors identified in the cases of 20 children less than four years of age who were victims of fatal or near-fatal physical abuse during a 12 month period in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. These data are related to the article “History, injury, and psychosocial risk factor commonalities among cases of fatal and near-fatal physical child abuse” (Pierce et al., 2017) [1]

The MATHUSLA Test Stand

The rate of muons from LHC $pp$ collisions reaching the surface above the ATLAS interaction point is measured and compared with expected rates from decays of $W$ and $Z$ bosons and $b$- and $c$-quark jets. In addition, data collected during periods without beams circulating in the LHC provide a measurement of the background from cosmic ray inelastic backscattering that is compared to simulation predictions. Data were recorded during 2018 in a 2.5 $\times$ 2.5 $\times$ 6.5~$\rm{m}^3$ active volume MATHUSLA test stand detector unit consisting of two scintillator planes, one at the top and one at the bottom, which defined the trigger, and six layers of RPCs between them, grouped into three $(x,y)$-measuring layers separated by 1.74 m from each other. Triggers selecting both upward-going tracks and downward-going tracks were used.Comment: 18 pages, 11 figures, 1 tabl

COVID‐19 Infection Is Associated With Poor Outcomes in Patients With Intracerebral Hemorrhage

Background Patients with ischemic stroke and concomitant COVID‐19 infection have worse outcomes than those without this infection, but the impact of COVID‐19 on hemorrhagic stroke remains unclear. We aimed to assess if COVID‐19 worsens outcomes in intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Methods and Results We conducted an observational study of ICH outcomes using Get With The Guidelines Stroke data. We compared patients with ICH who were COVID‐19 positive and negative during the pandemic (March 2020–February 2021) and prepandemic (March 2019–February 2020). Main outcomes were poor functional outcome (defined as a modified Rankin scale score of 4 to 6 at discharge), mortality, and discharge to a skilled nursing facility or hospice. The first stage included 60 091 patients with ICH who were COVID‐19 negative and 1326 COVID‐19 positive. In multivariable analyses, patients with ICH with versus without COVID‐19 infection had 68% higher odds of poor outcome (odds ratio [OR], 1.68 [95% CI, 1.41–2.01]), 51% higher odds of mortality (OR, 1.51 [95% CI, 1.33–1.71]), and 66% higher odds of being discharged to a skilled nursing facility/hospice (OR, 1.66 [95% CI, 1.43–1.93]). The second stage included 62 743 prepandemic and 64 681 intrapandemic cases with ICH. In multivariable analyses, patients with ICH admitted during versus before the COVID‐19 pandemic had 10% higher odds of poor outcomes (OR, 1.10 [95% CI, 1.07–1.14]), 5% higher mortality (OR, 1.05 [95% CI, 1.02–1.08]), and no significant difference in the risk of being discharged to a skilled nursing facility/hospice (OR, 0.93 [95% CI, 0.90–0.95]). Conclusions The pathophysiology of the COVID‐19 infection and changes in health care delivery during the pandemic played a role in worsening outcomes in the patient population with ICH