Factor Analysis of the Preschool Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale for Children in Head Start Programs

Strength-based assessment of behaviors in preschool children provides evidence of emotional and behavioral skills in children, rather than focusing primarily on weaknesses identified by deficit-based assessments. The Preschool Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scales (PreBERS) is a normative assessment of emotional and behavioral strengths in preschool children. The PreBERS has well-established reliability and validity for typically developing children as well as children with identified special education needs, but this has not yet been established for children in Head Start programs, who tend to be at high risk for development of emotional and behavioral concerns. This study explores the factorial validity of the PreBERS scores for a large sample of children participating in Head Start programs around the United States. Results not only confirm the fit of the four-factor model of the PreBERS for this population, but also demonstrate the application of a bifactor model to the structure of the PreBERS which, in turn, allows for the computation of model-based reliability estimates for the four subscales (Emotional Regulation, School Readiness, Social Confidence, Family Involvement) and overall strength index score. The implications suggest that the PreBERS items are reliable scores that can be used to identify behavioral strengths in preschool children in Head Start, and support planning of interventions to selectively address component skills to promote child social and academic success

Factor Analysis of the Preschool Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale for Children in Head Start Programs

Strength-based assessment of behaviors in preschool children provides evidence of emotional and behavioral skills in children, rather than focusing primarily on weaknesses identified by deficit-based assessments. The Preschool Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scales (PreBERS) is a normative assessment of emotional and behavioral strengths in preschool children. The PreBERS has well-established reliability and validity for typically developing children as well as children with identified special education needs, but this has not yet been established for children in Head Start programs, who tend to be at high risk for development of emotional and behavioral concerns. This study explores the factorial validity of the PreBERS scores for a large sample of children participating in Head Start programs around the United States. Results not only confirm the fit of the four-factor model of the PreBERS for this population, but also demonstrate the application of a bifactor model to the structure of the PreBERS which, in turn, allows for the computation of model-based reliability estimates for the four subscales (Emotional Regulation, School Readiness, Social Confidence, Family Involvement) and overall strength index score. The implications suggest that the PreBERS items are reliable scores that can be used to identify behavioral strengths in preschool children in Head Start, and support planning of interventions to selectively address component skills to promote child social and academic success

Recent Developments: The Uniform Arbitration Act

Arbitration, once viewed as an undesirable alternative to litigation, has become widely accepted as a viable and often superior cost-effective approach to resolving disputes. In 1955, the national Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws proposed a Uniform Arbitration Act.\u27 Currently, 35 jurisdictions have arbitration statutes patterned after the U. A.A..\u27 What began as an article in the Missouri Law Review entitled Recent Developments: The Uniform Arbitration Act, has evolved into an annual survey of recent developments in case law interpreting state versions of the U.A.A.\u27 This detailed update monitors the underlying principles and rationales that develop from recent decisions. The goal of this analysis of recent developments is promotion of uniformity in interpreting the U.A.A. and providing a framework for analyzing similar case

Recent Developments: The Uniform Arbitration Act

Arbitration, once viewed as an undesirable alternative to litigation, has become widely accepted as a viable and often superior cost-effective approach to resolving disputes. In 1955, the national Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws proposed a Uniform Arbitration Act.\u27 Currently, 35 jurisdictions have arbitration statutes patterned after the U. A.A..\u27 What began as an article in the Missouri Law Review entitled Recent Developments: The Uniform Arbitration Act, has evolved into an annual survey of recent developments in case law interpreting state versions of the U.A.A.\u27 This detailed update monitors the underlying principles and rationales that develop from recent decisions. The goal of this analysis of recent developments is promotion of uniformity in interpreting the U.A.A. and providing a framework for analyzing similar case

Constraints on the Clustering, Biasing and Redshift Distribution of Radio Sources

We discuss how different theoretical predictions for the variance $\sigma^2$ of the distribution of radio sources can be matched to measurements from the FIRST survey at different flux limits. The predictions are given by the integration of models for the angular correlation function $w(\theta)$ for three different functional forms of the redshift distribution $N(z)$, different spatial correlation functions and by different evolutions of the bias $b(z)$ with redshift. We also consider the two cases of open and flat Universes. Although the predicted $w(\theta)$ show substantial differences due to differences in the $N(z)$'s, these differences are not significant compared to the uncertainties in the current observations. It turns out that the best fit is provided by models with constant biasing at all times, although the difference between models with epoch-independent bias and models with bias that evolves linearly with redshift is not very large. All models with strong evolution of bias with epoch are ruled out. As a further step we directly calculated $w_{obs}(\theta)$ at 3mJy from the catalogue and matched it with our models for the angular correlation function in the hypothesis that the clustering signal comes from two different populations, namely AGN-powered sources and starbursting galaxies. The results are consistent with a scenario for hierarchical clustering where the fainter starbursting galaxies trace the mass at all epochs, while brighter AGN's are strongly biased, with $b(z)$ evolving linearly with redshift, as suggested by some theories of galaxy formation and evolution.Comment: 14 pages, 12 figures, version to appear on MNRA

The Angular Two-Point Correlation Function for the FIRST Radio Survey

The FIRST (Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty Centimeters) survey now covers 1550 square degrees of sky where $07^{h}16 < \alpha < 17^{h}40$ and $28^{\circ}.3 < \delta < 42^{\circ}$. This yields a catalog of 138,665 sources above the survey threshold of 1 mJy, about one third of which are in double-lobed and multi-component sources. We have used these data to obtain the first high-significance measurement of the two-point angular correlation for a deep radio sample. We find that the correlation function between $0.02^{\circ}$ and $2^{\circ}$ is well fitted by a power law of the form $A\theta^{\gamma}$ where $A\approx 3\times 10^{-3}$ and $\gamma\approx -1.1$. On small scales ($\theta<0.2^{\circ}$), double and multi-component sources are shown to have a larger clustering amplitude than that of the whole sample. Sources with flux densities below 2 mJy are found to have a shallower slope than that obtained for the whole sample, consistent with there being a significant contribution from starbursting galaxies at these faint fluxes. The cross-correlation of radio sources and Abell clusters is determined. A preliminary approach to inferring spatial information is outlined.Comment: 22 pages, latex, 4 figures. To appear in Astrophysical Journal. Replaced paper contains a revised value for the the spatial correlation function amplitude (r_0

Prediction of exercise capacity and training prescription from the 6-minute walk test and rating of perceived exertion

Walking tests, such as the 6-min walk test (6MWT), are popular methods of estimating peak oxygen uptake (VO(2)peak) in clinical populations. However, the strength of the distance vs. VO(2)peak relationship is not strong, and there are no equations for estimating ventilatory threshold (VT), which is important for training prescription and prognosis. Since the 6MWT is often limited by walking mechanics, prediction equations that include simple additional predictors, such as the terminal rating of perceived exertion (RPE), hold the potential for improving the prediction of VO(2)max and VT. Therefore, this study was designed to develop equations for predicting VO(2)peak and VT from performance during the 6MWT, on the basis of walking performance and terminal RPE. Clinically stable patients in a cardiac rehabilitation program (N = 63) performed the 6MWT according to the American Thoracic Society guidelines. At the end of each walk, the subject provided their terminal RPE on a 6–20 Borg scale. Each patient also performed a maximal incremental treadmill test with respiratory gas exchange to measure VO(2)peak and VT. There was a good correlation between VO(2)peak and 6MWT distance (r = 0.80) which was improved by adding the terminal RPE in a multiple regression formula (6MWT + RPE, R(2) = 0.71, standard error of estimate, SEE = 1.3 Metabolic Equivalents (METs). The VT was also well correlated with walking performance, 6MWT distance (r = 0.80), and was improved by the addition of terminal RPE (6MWT + RPE, R(2) = 0.69, SEE = 0.95 METs). The addition of terminal RPE to 6MWT distance improved the prediction of maximal METs and METs at VT, which may have practical applications for exercise prescription