A Fatal Flaw: The Ninth Circuit Further Restricts Liability in 10b-5 Private Security Fraud Cases in \u3cem\u3eReese v. BP\u3c/em\u3e

On June 28, 2011, in Reese v. BP Explorations (Alaska) Inc., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that plaintiffs could not bring certain securities fraud claims relating to a burst in an Alaskan oil pipeline, because the plaintiffs failed to show that the defendant had the “ultimate authority” for the allegedly fraudulent SEC filings. In so doing, the court continued a recent trend in securities fraud cases of making it more difficult for plaintiffs to bring claims. This Comment argues that although the Ninth Circuit’s ruling was consistent with Supreme Court precedent, it may allow otherwise liable parties to escape liability, and the decision expands the growing trend of reducing the scope of private actions under SEC Rule 10b-5

Teacher coaching in Kenya: Examining instructional support in public and nonformal schools

AbstractInstructional coaching has improved student outcomes in the United States, and may help to solve Kenya's literacy problems. Coaching is costly, however, and evidence is lacking regarding the most cost-efficient teacher-to-coach ratio. We used student literacy outcome data from more than 8000 students participating in the Kenya Primary Math and Reading Initiative—a randomized controlled trial of instructional interventions in public and nonformal schools—to fill this gap. Coaches in larger public zones made fewer visits per teacher, and teacher-coach ratio and student performance were negatively associated. Using causal methods, we concluded that lower ratios might improve nonformal school outcomes

Mathematics from the Beginning: Evaluating the Tayari Preprimary Program’s Impact on Early Mathematics Skills

Given the dearth of research on early numeracy interventions in low- and middle-income countries, this paper presents the instructional methodology and impact results of the Tayari program. Tayari is a preprimary intervention in Kenya (2014–2019) that prepares children aged four and five for entry into primary school through materials for students, training for teachers, and continuous in-classroom support. Evidence points to the long-term benefits of developing an early foundation in mathematics. The few preprimary mathematics studies in sub-Saharan Africa have not described the instructional methodology in enough detail to add to our knowledge of best practices. The Tayari methodology was built on the Kenyan government’s preprimary syllabus to produce instruction that was developmentally sequenced, linked to out-of-school experiences, and supportive of children’s number sense. Tayari is evaluated using a randomized controlled trial (RCT) and collection of longitudinal data from 2,957 children in treatment and control schools at three time points. Pupil assessment items were drawn from a growing body of research on preprimary numeracy in developing contexts, plus instruments and techniques from the Measuring Early Learning and Quality Outcomes (MELQO) program (UNESCO, UNICEF, Brookings Institution, & World Bank Group, 2017). The endline impact evaluation of the longitudinal RCT results showed statistically significant effects in the numeracy tasks of producing sets, identifying numbers, and naming shapes, while revealing no initial effects in the areas of oral and mental addition. We present recommendations for Tayari’s improvement in terms of mathematics instruction, as well as preprimary policy implications for Kenya and similar contexts

Scaling Up Early Childhood Development and Education in a Devolved Setting: Policy Making, Resource Allocations, and Impacts of the Tayari School Readiness Program in Kenya

Early childhood development and education (ECDE) is devolved in Kenya, which means that each of Kenya’s 47 counties budgets for and implements ECDE independently. Kenya provides two years of preprimary education to children ages four and five. Given scarce resources, constructing facilities and hiring teachers are often principal considerations for county governments. The present study investigated whether and how counties go beyond the basic provision of facilities and teachers to invest in learning materials, expand teacher professional development, and hire coaches to improve the quality of teaching. These results are presented in the context of the Tayari ECDE program, which was designed to improve school readiness in a cost-effective way. We present qualitative findings from several counties to describe how government bodies invest in additional elements of preprimary quality improvement. We also compare results across counties that do and do not implement the Tayari model to understand whether implementation of an effective program to increase ECDE quality encourages adjustments in government resource allocations. In addition, we present quantitative results from a large-scale longitudinal treatment and control study of the Tayari model, which tested the effectiveness of curriculum-aligned instructional materials and teacher training and support in improving learners’ school readiness in public and low-cost private learning centers. Finally, we present policy implications for decentralized government structures responsible for providing ECDE, noting how these can be supported and incentivized to increase investments in ECDE quality

Scaling Up Early Childhood Development and Education in a Devolved Setting: Policy Making, Resource Allocations, and Impacts of the Tayari School Readiness Program in Kenya

Early childhood development and education (ECDE) is devolved in Kenya, which means that each of Kenya’s 47 counties budgets for and implements ECDE independently. Kenya provides two years of preprimary education to children ages four and five. Given scarce resources, constructing facilities and hiring teachers are often principal considerations for county governments. The present study investigated whether and how counties go beyond the basic provision of facilities and teachers to invest in learning materials, expand teacher professional development, and hire coaches to improve the quality of teaching. These results are presented in the context of the Tayari ECDE program, which was designed to improve school readiness in a cost-effective way. We present qualitative findings from several counties to describe how government bodies invest in additional elements of preprimary quality improvement. We also compare results across counties that do and do not implement the Tayari model to understand whether implementation of an effective program to increase ECDE quality encourages adjustments in government resource allocations. In addition, we present quantitative results from a large-scale longitudinal treatment and control study of the Tayari model, which tested the effectiveness of curriculum-aligned instructional materials and teacher training and support in improving learners’ school readiness in public and low-cost private learning centers. Finally, we present policy implications for decentralized government structures responsible for providing ECDE, noting how these can be supported and incentivized to increase investments in ECDE quality

Kenya’s ICT Policy in Practice: The Effectiveness of Tablets and E-readers in Improving Student Outcomes

Kenya is investing in information and communication technology (ICT) to improve children’s learning outcomes. However, the literature on ICT is pessimistic about the ability of ICT alone to improve outcomes, and few ICT programs have created the instructional change necessary to increase learning. The Primary Math and Reading (PRIMR) Initiative implemented a randomized controlled trial of three ICT interventions to enhance learning outcomes: tablets for instructional supervisors, tablets for teachers, and e-readers for students. All three showed significant impacts in English and Kiswahili above the results of the control group. The impacts of the three interventions were not statistically significantly different from each other. Based on the findings, we recommend that Kenyan policy makers embed ICT interventions in a larger instructional reform, using ICT to support particular instructional improvement challenges. We also suggest that policy makers incorporate empirically derived cost-effectiveness analysis into investment decisions, to ensure that ICT provides value for money

The illuminated design environment : a 3-D tangible interface for landscape analysis

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2002.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 121-122).This thesis outlines the reasons for the visual emphasis in current computer aided design interfaces. It describes the potential advantages of computer interfaces that allow a greater degree of physical interaction and it describes previous work that has attempted this goal. It describes the implementation of the Illuminated Design Environment as a platform that combines the advantages of physical and digital representation for the purposes of physical form design. The representational needs for the domain of landscape design are discussed and the implementation of Illuminating Clay, a tangible interface for landscape analysis, is described. The system is evaluated in the context of a landscape design class held at the MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning, 2002. The thesis concludes with a discussion of the wider impact if the approach taken on the field of landscape design and computer aided design in general.Benjamin Tarquinn Fielding-Piper.S.M

Systematic Literature Review of General Health Care Interventions Within Programs of Assertive Community Treatment

OBJECTIVE: Assertive community treatment (ACT) is one of the few evidence-based practices for adults with severe mental illness. Interest has slowly waned for ACT implementation. Yet ACT remains an appealing services platform to achieve the triple aim of health care reform (improved health outcomes, reduced cost, and improved satisfaction) through integration of primary care and behavioral health services. This review highlights the evidence for ACT to improve general medical outcomes, reduce treatment costs, and increase access to treatment. METHODS: Using a comprehensive list of relevant search terms, the authors performed a systematic literature database search for articles published through November 2015, resulting in ten articles for inclusion. RESULTS: No studies reported on clinical outcomes of general medical comorbidities or on mortality of ACT clients. Half of the studies reporting utilization (three of six) found a decrease in emergency room usage, and three of four studies identified an increase in outpatient primary care visits. Most studies found no increase in overall medical care costs. Of the few studies reporting on quality of life, most found mild to moderate improvements. CONCLUSIONS: To date, rigorous scientific examination of the effect of ACT on the general health of the populations it serves has not been undertaken. Given ACT's similarity to emerging chronic illness medical management models, the approach seems like a natural fit for improving general medical outcomes of persons with severe mental illnesses. More research is needed that investigates the current effect of ACT teams on general medical outcomes, treatment costs, and access to care

Early human B cell response to Ebola virus in four U.S. survivors of infection

The human B cell response to natural filovirus infections early after recovery is poorly understood. Previous serologic studies suggest that some Ebola virus survivors exhibit delayed antibody responses with low magnitude and quality. Here, we sought to study the population of individual memory B cells induced early in convalescence. We isolated monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) from memory B cells from four survivors treated for Ebola virus disease (EVD) 1 or 3 months after discharge from the hospital. At the early time points postrecovery, the frequency of Ebola-specific B cells was low and dominated by clones that were cross-reactive with both Ebola glycoprotein (GP) and with the secreted GP (sGP) form. Of 25 MAbs isolated from four donors, only one exhibited neutralization activity. This neutralizing MAb, designated MAb EBOV237, recognizes an epitope in the glycan cap of the surface glycoprotein. In vivo murine lethal challenge studies showed that EBOV237 conferred protection when given prophylactically at a level similar to that of the ZMapp component MAb 13C6. The results suggest that the human B cell response to EVD 1 to 3 months postdischarge is characterized by a paucity of broad or potent neutralizing clones. However, the neutralizing epitope in the glycan cap recognized by EBOV237 may play a role in the early human antibody response to EVD and should be considered in rational design strategies for new Ebola virus vaccine candidates

Uncharacterized bacterial structures revealed by electron cryotomography

Electron cryotomography (ECT) can reveal the native structure and arrangement of macromolecular complexes inside intact cells. This technique has greatly advanced our understanding of the ultrastructure of bacterial cells. We now view bacteria as structurally complex assemblies of macromolecular machines rather than as undifferentiated bags of enzymes. To date, our group has applied ECT to nearly 90 different bacterial species, collecting more than 15,000 cryotomograms. In addition to known structures, we have observed, to our knowledge, several uncharacterized features in these tomograms. Some are completely novel structures; others expand the features or species range of known structure types. Here, we present a survey of these uncharacterized bacterial structures in the hopes of accelerating their identification and study, and furthering our understanding of the structural complexity of bacterial cells