Predicting U.S. News & World Report ranking of regional universities in the South using public data

2017 Fall.Includes bibliographical references.Using correlational analyses and multiple regressions, this study uses U.S. News & World Report's (USNWR) 2016 college rankings data and data from the National Center for Education Statistics' (NCES) Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) to examine variables that explain institutional peer assessment score and rank. This study focused on the 97 institutions included in the USNWR's 2016 Best Regional Universities (South). Analyses in this study addressed four major foci: 1) correlations between USNWR subfactor data values and selected IPEDS proxies, 2) IPEDS variables that explained variance in peer assessment score, 3) IPEDS variables that explained variance in rank, and 4) the extent to which rank could be predicted based on these results. The results of this study indicated three main findings. First, USNWR subfactors with direct or indirect IPEDS proxies were highly correlated with the identified proxies. Second, more than 85% of variation in peer assessment score can be explained by five or fewer proxy variables, which differ dependent upon institution sector (private or public). Third, more than 85% of variation in institutional ranking can be explained by five proxy variables and without the inclusion of the peer assessment score subfactor. Collectively, findings suggest USNWR rankings are no more than a reflection of institutional outcomes and financial resources

Prevalence of mental health conditions and relationship with general health in a whole-country population of people with intellectual disabilities compared with the general population

Background: There are no previous whole-country studies on mental health and relationships with general health in intellectual disability populations; study results vary. Aims: To determine the prevalence of mental health conditions and relationships with general health in a total population with and without intellectual disabilities. Method: Ninety-four per cent completed Scotland’s Census 2011. Data on intellectual disabilities, mental health and general health were extracted, and the association between them was investigated. Results: A total of 26 349/5 295 403 (0.5%) had intellectual disabilities. In total, 12.8% children, 23.4% adults and 27.2% older adults had mental health conditions compared with 0.3, 5.3 and 4.5% of the general population. Intellectual disabilities predicted mental health conditions; odds ratio (OR)=7.1 (95% CI 6.8–7.3). General health was substantially poorer and associated with mental health conditions; fair health OR=1.8 (95% CI 1.7–1.9), bad/very bad health OR=4.2 (95% CI 3.9–4.6). Conclusions: These large-scale, whole-country study findings are important, given the previously stated lack of confidence in comparative prevalence results, and the need to plan services accordingly

Attributions for Success and Failure in Athletic Administration Positions

The under-representation of women in senior level athletic administration positions continues to attract the attention of scholars in sports studies. The most glaring lack of female representation occurs at the athletic director (A.D.) position, with women holding only 8.4% of those positions at the Division I level. Using the concept of causal attribution and role congruity theory, this project examined perceptions of success and failure of male and female candidates for either an athletic director or life skills director position. One hundred eleven female and 73 male (n = 191) administrators in athletics at the collegiate level participated. Contrary to previous research, which found that male candidates are attributed success because of internal characteristics, findings from this study indicated that both male and female candidates for A.D. were provided internal attributions for success and external attributions for failure. This may be due to the fact that so few women are represented at the A.D. position at the Division I level that an evaluator may attribute her success to internal characteristics because she “must be” outstanding in order to have achieved such a high position in the world of athletics. Results are discussed in light of causal attribution and role congruity theory in the context of such a rare role combination – being female and being an athletic director

Trends and variations in per capita expenditure on adult intellectual disabilities health and social care across Scotland, and by urban/rural class

Background: Following the global financial crisis in 2007/08, the UK implemented an austerity programme which may impact on services. Scotland comprises both densely-populated urban conurbations and highly-dispersed remote rural and island communities. Methods: Expenditure data were extracted from Scottish Government statistics. Per capita expenditure was calculated using adjusted Scotland’s 2011 census data. Results: There was a 3.41% decrease in real term expenditure on adult intellectual disabilities services between 2012/13 and 2014/15 (>£32million). In 2014/15, per capita expenditure on adult intellectual disabilities health care ranged from £1,211-£17,595; social care from £21,147-£83,831; combined health and social care expenditures from £37,703-£85,929. Per capita expenditure on combined health and social care was greater in rural areas; with more on intellectual disabilities social care, though less on health care. Conclusions: Scottish expenditure on adult intellectual disabilities services has not kept abreast of rising living costs. It varies considerably across the country: a post-code lottery

The Austen Women: A Look at Character

Thesis written by a student in the UNT Honors College discussing female characters of Jane Austin's novels and how they achieve happiness

Re-Assessing Green Building Performance: A Post Occupancy Evaluation of 22 GSA Buildings

2nd report on the performance of GSA's sustainably designed buildings. The purpose of this study was to provide an overview of measured whole building performance as it compares to GSA and industry baselines. The PNNL research team found the data analysis illuminated strengths and weaknesses of individual buildings as well as the portfolio of buildings. This section includes summary data, observations that cross multiple performance metrics, discussion of lessons learned from this research, and opportunities for future research. The summary of annual data for each of the performance metrics is provided in Table 25. The data represent 1 year of measurements and are not associated with any specific design features or strategies. Where available, multiple years of data were examined and there were minimal significant differences between the years. Individually focused post occupancy evaluation (POEs) would allow for more detailed analysis of the buildings. Examining building performance over multiple years could potentially offer a useful diagnostic tool for identifying building operations that are in need of operational changes. Investigating what the connection is between the building performance and the design intent would offer potential design guidance and possible insight into building operation strategies. The 'aggregate operating cost' metric used in this study represents the costs that were available for developing a comparative industry baseline for office buildings. The costs include water utilities, energy utilities, general maintenance, grounds maintenance, waste and recycling, and janitorial costs. Three of the buildings that cost more than the baseline in Figure 45 have higher maintenance costs than the baseline, and one has higher energy costs. Given the volume of data collected and analyzed for this study, the inevitable request is for a simple answer with respect to sustainably designed building performance. As previously stated, compiling the individual building values into single metrics is not statistically valid given the small number of buildings, but it has been done to provide a cursory view of this portfolio of sustainably designed buildings. For all metrics except recycling cost per rentable square foot and CBE survey response rate, the averaged building performance was better than the baseline for the GSA buildings in this study

Prevalence of physical conditions and multimorbidity in a cohort of adults with intellectual disabilities with and without Down syndrome: cross-sectional study

Abstract: Objectives To investigate the prevalence of multimorbidity in adults with intellectual disabilities with and without Down syndrome. Design: Large, population-based cross-sectional study. Setting: The geographical area of one Health Board, Scotland. Participants: All adults (aged 16+ years) known to general practitioners to have intellectual disabilities and adults receiving services provided or paid by intellectual disabilities health or social work services. 1023/1562 potential participants took part (65.5%); 562 (54.9%) men and 461 (45.1%) women, aged 43.9 years (16–83 years). 186 had Down syndrome and 837 did not. Main outcome measures: The prevalence of International Statistical Classification of Diseases, 10th revision, physical health conditions and multimorbidity detected at a comprehensive health assessment. Results: The mean number of physical health conditions/participant was 11.04, and 98.7% had multimorbidity. The most prevalent conditions are painful and/or disabling and, in some cases, life threatening. The five most prevalent were visual impairment, obesity, epilepsy, constipation and ataxic/gait disorders. The pattern of multimorbidity differs from that seen in the general population and is spread across the entire adult life course. The extent of multimorbidity in the adults with Down syndrome was similar to that of the adults without Down syndrome, while the prevalence of individual conditions differed. Conclusions: This robustly designed study with a large population found an extremely high prevalence of multimorbidity in adults with intellectual disabilities across the entire adult life course. This increases complexity of medical management that secondary healthcare services and medical education are not yet geared towards, as these tend to focus on single conditions. This is in addition to complexity due to limitations in communication and understanding. As the physical conditions within their multimorbidity also differ from that seen in the older general population, urgent attention is needed to develop the care pathways and guidelines that are required to inform and so improve their healthcare