Post-16 Educational Choices and Institutional Value Added at Key Stage 5

Childcare costs are often viewed as one of the biggest barriers to work, particularly among lone parents on low incomes. Children in England are eligible to attend free part-time nursery classes (equivalent to pre-kindergarten) from the academic term after they turn 3, and are typically eligible to start free full-time public education on 1 September after they turn four. These rules mean that children born one day apart may start nursery classes up to four months apart, and may start school up to one year apart. We exploit these discontinuities to investigate the impact of a youngest child being eligible for part-time nursery education and full-time primary education on welfare receipt and employment patterns amongst lone parents receiving welfare. In contrast to previous studies, we are able to estimate the precise timing (relative to the date on which part-time or full-time education begins) of any impact on labour supply, by using rich administrative data. Amongst those receiving welfare when their youngest child is aged approximately three and a half, we find a small but significant effect of free full-time public education on both employment and welfare receipt (of around 2 percentage points, or 10-15 per cent), which peaks eight to nine months after the child becomes eligible (aged approximately 4 years and 9 months). We find weaker evidence of an even smaller effect of eligibility for part-time nursery education. This suggests that the expansion of public education programmes to younger disadvantaged children may only encourage a small number of low income lone parents to return to work (although, of course, this is not the primary aim of such programmes).labour supply, school entry, regression discontinuity, lone parents, welfare receipt

Preparing for a Poster Session

Learn how to develop a poster presentation, including best practices for design and engagement

Dispelling the Myths of Open Access Publishing

This workshop will discuss open access vs. traditional publishing venues and will include a section about predatory publishers\u27 practices. Resources that are available to help find appropriate journals in which to publish will be demonstrated, and WVU Libraries\u27 sources of assistance for open access publishing will be outlined

The Choice Between Fixed and Random Effects Models: Some Considerations for Educational Research

We discuss fixed and random effects models in the context of educational research and set out the assumptions behind the two approaches. To illustrate the issues, we analyse the determinants of pupil achievement in primary school, using data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. We conclude that a fixed effects approach will be preferable in scenarios where the primary interest is in policy-relevant inference of the effects of individual characteristics, but the process through which pupils are selected into schools is poorly understood or the data are too limited to adjust for the effects of selection. In this context, the robustness of the fixed effects approach to the random effects assumption is attractive, and educational researchers should consider using it, even if only to assess the robustness of estimates obtained from random effects models. When the selection mechanism is fairly well understood and the researcher has access to rich data, the random effects model should be preferred because it can produce policy-relevant estimates while allowing a wider range of research questions to be addressed. Moreover, random effects estimators of regression coefficients and shrinkage estimators of school effects are more statistically efficient than those for fixed effects.fixed effects, random effects, multilevel modelling, education, pupil achievement

The Choice between fixed and random effects models: some considerations for educational research.

We discuss the use of fixed and random effects models in the context of educational research and set out the assumptions behind the two modelling approaches. To illustrate the issues that should be considered when choosing between these approaches, we analyse the determinants of pupil achievement in primary school, using data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. We conclude that a fixed effects approach will be preferable in scenarios where the primary interest is in policy-relevant inference about the effects of individual characteristics, but the process through which pupils are selected into schools is poorly understood or the data are too limited to adjust for the effects of selection. In this context, the robustness of the fixed effects approach to the random effects assumption is attractive, and educational researchers should consider using it, even if only to assess the robustness of estimates obtained from random effects models. On the other hand, when the selection mechanism is fairly well understood and the researcher has access to rich data, the random effects model should naturally be preferred because it can produce policy-relevant estimates while allowing a wider range of research questions to be addressed. Moreover, random effects estimators of regression coefficients and shrinkage estimators of school effects are more statistically efficient than those for fixed effects.fixed effects, random effects, multilevel modelling, education, pupil achievement

Healthy fish, healthy people: how fish can inform our understanding of effects of metabolism disrupting compound exposure on wildlife and human health

Biologists have traditionally studied adverse health effects of contaminants on wildlife, whereas public health researchers have independently studied effects of the same chemicals on humans. This siloed approach limits maximal progress towards understanding and managing pollution if relevant findings are not translated between fields. A new threat to human health, and potentially ecological health, is metabolic disruption. Metabolism disrupting chemicals (MDCs) are environmental chemicals that can act at systemic and molecular levels across the lifespan to interfere with normal adipose tissue development, lipid storage in the liver, and alter whole-body energetics. Using fish from New Bedford Harbor (NBH), Massachusetts, a marine Superfund site, this research demonstrates the benefit of using a holistic approach to examine exposures to and effects of contaminants in urban waterways. The overall goals of this dissertation were to investigate trends in polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination in NBH and to test the hypothesis that PCB and/or organotin exposure has resulted in metabolic disruption in Atlantic killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus) resident in New Bedford Harbor. First, trends in PCBs in seafood harvested throughout NBH since 2003 were characterized over time and space. PCBs declined in shellfish, but not finfish, over time. My risk assessment shows that human health risks associated with seafood consumption have decreased, but safe levels in seafood are not likely to be reached by the end of NBH sediment remediation, in the early 2020s. PCBs and tributyltin (TBT), a pollutant also commonly found in commercial harbors because of its use as an antifouling agent in marine paints, act as MDCs by distinct mechanisms. Dioxin-like PCBs act through the aryl hydrocarbon receptor. TBT acts through nuclear receptors, particularly PPARγ and RXR. In the second aim, using historical sediments and current sediments, I document the presence of tin in NBH above background levels. Biological investigations show that adult killifish two generations removed from NBH have more adipose tissue and higher levels of liver triglycerides than killifish from an uncontaminated location. Initial analyses show that changes in PPAR signaling may be particularly important in male killifish. In the third aim, I demonstrate that killifish embryos are minimally responsive to changes in PPARγ-regulated gene expression when treated with TBT or mammalian agonists. However, embryonic TBT exposure interferes with caudal fin development, likely through RXR activation and a reduction in bone formation signaling. Overall, these findings demonstrate metabolic disruption is occurring in a fish species resident to a highly polluted harbor and support the use of sentinel species not only for addressing potential human exposures but also potential adverse human health effects

Public definitions of success in weight management

Objective: To examine perceptions of success in weight control and future weight-control intentions in a community sample. Design: Cross-sectional postal survey. Subjects: There were 1500 adults randomly selected from the Electoral Roll of Victoria (47% response). Setting: Community. Main outcome measures: Retrospective weight change over previous 12 months; perceived weight-control success; future weight-control intentions. Statistical analyses: Pearson\u27s &chi;&sup2; tests were used to compare perceived weight-control success by sex, and by age, education level, initial BMI, amount of weight change and weight-loss behaviour within sex. ANOVA was used to compare mean weight change associated with perceived weight control success within sex, and within age, education, body mass index and weight-loss behaviour by sex. The distribution (frequency) of weight-control intentions are reported within perceived weight-control success and amount of weight change. Results: One in two (53%) reported maintaining their weight within 1kg in the preceding 12 months, 26% of men and 21% of women reported weight gain and 20% of men and 26% of women reported weight loss. Almost one-third (30%) of those who maintained their weight considered themselves unsuccessful. A majority of those who lost weight considered themselves successful at controlling their weight. However, more than 45% of men who gained weight also considered themselves successful. Those who considered themselves unsuccessful experienced less weight loss (1.1 &plusmn; 3.9kg) than those who considered themselves quite successful (-1.4 &plusmn; 4.5 kg, P &lt; 0.001) or very successful (-1.3 &plusmn; 7.8 kg, P &lt; 0.001). Conclusion: Public views of what constitutes successful weight control may need to be reoriented to be consistent with public health goals. <br /

Assessing Ice Island Drift Patterns, Ice Island Grounding Locations, and Gridded Bathymetry Products between Nares Strait and the North Atlantic

Large, tabular icebergs known as “ice islands” frequently transit the eastern Canadian Arctic and sub-Arctic after breaking away from ice tongues in northern Greenland. Here, we mine the Canadian Ice Island Drift, Deterioration and Detection (CI2D3) Database to contribute a descriptive assessment of the drift and grounding locations of Petermann ice islands (PII) following calving events at the Petermann Glacier in 2008, 2010, and 2012. We also use the CI2D3 Database to demonstrate how gridded bathymetry products can be improved using observations of ice island grounding and knowledge of ice island thickness. We find that most PII fragments followed a common southbound drift route directed by outflow from the Arctic Ocean and the dominant Baffin and Labrador Currents, which are strongest along the steep continental shelf break. Smaller ice islands were more prone to drift into the deeper waters of central Baffin Bay. As previously noted by northern community members, ice islands were also observed to drift into many adjacent sounds, channels, inlets, and straits. PIIs often grounded on shoals in Kane Basin, to the east of Coburg Island, and along the southeast coast of Baffin Island. Potential inaccuracies in two gridded bathymetry products were located in Jones Sound, near Coburg Island, and along the east coast of Baffin Island. Our approach to identifying these potential inaccuracies is shown to be sensitive to the estimate of ice island keel depth. Overall, this work provides synthesized observations of ice island occurrence and grounding as well as an approach to improving bathymetry products in a resource-rich marine region where traffic and industry operations are increasing.