The Influence of a Public School Fundraising Equity Policy: Investigating Financial Impacts and Parent Perceptions

The purpose of this mixed-methods case study was to explore whether an urban public school district’s longstanding policy requiring the redistribution of a portion of parent financial contributions resulted in the equitable distribution of fundraising dollars. Additionally, the study investigated how parents in the district perceived the impacts of this policy, and whether those perceptions differed based on how much fundraising was done in their schools or based on participant demographics. Using public datasets including annual fundraising dollars and school demographic information, correlational analysis determined that there was a statistically significant relationship (p \u3c .001) between school racial and socioeconomic demographics and the amount of dollars allocated both before and after the distribution of “equity grants” to qualifying schools. Next, 238 parents from 52 of the district’s 57 elementary schools reported their attitudes about the policy and its impacts through a voluntary online survey. Results were disaggregated to determine whether attitudes differed by race or by the level of fundraising occurring in participants’ schools. Chi-square analysis revealed statistically significant differences (p \u3c .05) in parent positions on specific elements of the policy such as how much schools should be required to share or the role of fundraising dollars in paying for teachers, but overall attitudes about the policy were aligned with the expected distributions based on race or level of fundraising. Qualitative analysis of the single open-ended survey question along with the interview responses also revealed thematic differences, with parents from low fundraising schools reporting more negative attitudes than other groups and White parents reporting more negative attitudes than BIPOC parents. Finally, interview participants were shown the quantitative analysis of the financial distribution data and asked to respond. Magnitude coding was used to identify shifts in the direction or intensity of interview participants’ attitudes about the policy. This analysis revealed that parents who initially thought the policy was having an equitable impact due to its redistribution requirement shifted to a negative or more complex view of the policy’s impacts after viewing the financial data. Results of this study have implications for policy. While the results show that a policy requiring a redistribution of only a portion of fundraising dollars was not sufficient to disrupt the national trend of concentrated financial contributions in the schools serving the most White students and the fewest economically disadvantaged students, the study also provided evidence that most participants support sharing even more in order to achieve equitable outcomes. Additionally, when parents who supported the redistribution policy saw the actual distribution of dollars, they no longer thought that the policy was having the intended impact. This finding suggests that transparency and accessible information about inequitable outcomes may be key in building parent support for equity reforms

Toward understanding ambulatory activity decline in Parkinson disease

BACKGROUND: Declining ambulatory activity represents an important facet of disablement in Parkinson disease (PD). OBJECTIVE: The primary study aim was to compare the 2-year trajectory of ambulatory activity decline with concurrently evolving facets of disability in a small cohort of people with PD. The secondary aim was to identify baseline variables associated with ambulatory activity at 1- and 2-year follow-up assessments. DESIGN: This was a prospective, longitudinal cohort study. METHODS: Seventeen people with PD (Hoehn and Yahr stages 1-3) were recruited from 2 outpatient settings. Ambulatory activity data were collected at baseline and at 1- and 2-year annual assessments. Motor, mood, balance, gait, upper extremity function, quality of life, self-efficacy, and levodopa equivalent daily dose data and data on activities of daily living also were collected. RESULTS: Participants displayed significant 1- and 2-year declines in the amount and intensity of ambulatory activity concurrently with increasing levodopa equivalent daily dose. Worsening motor symptoms and slowing of gait were apparent only after 2 years. Concurrent changes in the remaining clinical variables were not observed. Baseline ambulatory activity and physical performance variables had the strongest relationships with 1- and 2-year mean daily steps. LIMITATIONS: The sample was small and homogeneous. CONCLUSIONS: Future research that combines ambulatory activity monitoring with a broader and more balanced array of measures would further illuminate the dynamic interactions among evolving facets of disablement and help determine the extent to which sustained patterns of recommended daily physical activity might slow the rate of disablement in PD.This study was funded primarily by the Davis Phinney Foundation and the Parkinson Disease Foundation. Additional funding was provided by Boston University Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health (K12 HD043444), the National Institutes of Health (R01NS077959), the Utah Chapter of the American Parkinson Disease Association (APDA), the Greater St Louis Chapter of the APDA, and the APDA Center for Advanced PD Research at Washington University. (Davis Phinney Foundation; Parkinson Disease Foundation; K12 HD043444 - Boston University Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health; R01NS077959 - National Institutes of Health; Utah Chapter of the American Parkinson Disease Association (APDA); Greater St Louis Chapter of the APDA; APDA Center for Advanced PD Research at Washington University

Electrochemical Response of AA7075-T651 Following Immersion in NaCl Solution

The electrochemical behavior of AA7075-T651 following immersion in quiescent 0.1M NaCl is presented. Electrochemical impedance at various polarization intervals was determined using Fourier transformation of potentiostatically induced current transients. This allowed for rapid determination of the impedance response at fixed intervals revealing a more detailed insight into the kinetic response of the alloy when assessed with complementary analysis tools such as potentiodynamic testing. This led to a discussion regarding aspects of dissolution phenomena prior to alloy breakdown and at short immersion times

Obituary: In Memory of Michael Jonathan Zigmond, Ph.D., September 1, 1941–August 28, 2023

Producción CientíficaNo abstract availabl

Research and Practice in K-12 Online Learning: A Review of Open Access Literature

The literature related to online learning programs for K-12 students dates to the mid-1990s and builds upon a century of research and practice from K-12 distance education. While K-12 online learning programs have evolved and grown over the past decade, the amount of published research on virtual schooling practice and policy is limited. The current literature includes practitioner reports and experimental and quasi-experimental studies, both published and unpublished. This paper reviews open access literature in K-12 online learning and reports on a structured content analysis of the documents. Themes in the literature include steady growth and a focus on the benefits, challenges, and broad effectiveness of K-12 online learning. In addition, newly developed standards for K-12 online learning are emerging in descriptions of effective practices

Balance differences in people with Parkinson disease with and without freezing of gait

Published in final edited form as: Gait Posture. 2015 September ; 42(3): 306–309. doi:10.1016/j.gaitpost.2015.06.007.BACKGROUND: Freezing of gait (FOG) is a relatively common and remarkably disabling impairment associated with Parkinson disease (PD). Laboratory-based measures indicate that individuals with FOG (PD+FOG) have greater balance deficits than those without FOG (PD-FOG). Whether such differences also can be detected using clinical balance tests has not been investigated. We sought to determine if balance and specific aspects of balance, measured using Balance Evaluation Systems Test (BESTest), differs between PD+FOG and PD-FOG. Furthermore, we aimed to determine if time-efficient clinical balance measures (i.e. Mini-BESTest, Berg Balance Scale (BBS)) could detect balance differences between PD+FOG and PD-FOG. METHODS: Balance of 78 individuals with PD, grouped as either PD+FOG (n=32) or PD-FOG (n=46), was measured using the BESTest, Mini-BESTest, and BBS. Between-groups comparisons were conducted for these measures and for the six sections of the BESTest using analysis of covariance. A PD composite score was used as a covariate. RESULTS: Controlling for motor sign severity, PD duration, and age, PD+FOG had worse balance than PD-FOG when measured using the BESTest (p=0.008, F=7.35) and Mini-BESTest (p=0.002, F=10.37), but not the BBS (p=0.27, F=1.26). BESTest section differences were noted between PD+FOG and PD-FOG for reactive postural responses (p<0.001, F=14.42) and stability in gait (p=0.003, F=9.18). CONCLUSIONS: The BESTest and Mini-BESTest, which specifically assessed reactive postural responses and stability in gait, were more likely than the BBS to detect differences in balance between PD+FOG and PD-FOG. Because it is more time efficient to administer, the Mini-BESTest may be the preferred tool for assessing balance deficits associated with FOG.This study was conducted with funding from the Davis Phinney Foundation, Parkinson's Disease Foundation, NIH R01 NS077959, NIH UL1 TR000448, Greater St. Louis American Parkinson Disease Association (APDA), APDA Center for Advanced PD Research at Washington University in St. Louis. The funding sources had no role in the study design, in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to submit the manuscript for publication. (Davis Phinney Foundation; Parkinson's Disease Foundation; R01 NS077959 - NIH; UL1 TR000448 - NIH; Greater St. Louis American Parkinson Disease Association (APDA); APDA Center for Advanced PD Research at Washington University in St. Louis

ARE ONLINE COURSES CANNIBALIZING STUDENTS FROM EXISTING COURSES?

One of the reasons most often cited for the increasing number and popularity of online courses is the format’s ability to provide access to students who cannot attend conventionally delivered face-to-face courses. Are these underserved students in fact the ones enrolling in online courses? Or are online course enrollees the same students who would otherwise be taking face-to-face courses? This analysis uses student registration information from six different online courses at two campuses of a Midwestern university to investigate how students taking online courses compare to the entire student population. In particular, this study addresses whether or not students take online courses to eliminate significant commuting time when they are located long distances from campus

How a patchwork of state taxes contributes to menstrual inequity in the US

Federalism in the United States means that many policies are the responsibility of individual states rather than, or in addition to, the federal government. Shyam K. Sriram, Stacy Cavanaugh, Annie Faulkner, and Mackenzie Winchester-Daniel take a close look at state tax policies on menstrual products, finding that 26 states still impose such taxes, though many have tried and failed to repeal or reduce them. They write that these taxes imposing an often-significant burden on the physical and mental health of young girls, women, and people who menstruate, while at the same time generating very little revenue for the states who impose them