Effect on mortality rates of the 1989 change in tabulating race

[by Donna L. Hoyert]."The report discusses the effect of the change in tabulation from race of child to race of mother on mortality rates. Infant, fetal, perinatal, and maternal mortality rates are shown by race of child and race of mother for 1970-89."Also available via the World Wide Web.Includes bibliographical references (p. 11)

Metastability of life

The physical idea of the natural origin of diseases and deaths has been presented. The fundamental microscopical reason is the destruction of any metastable state by thermal activation of a nucleus of a nonreversable change. On the basis of this idea the quantitative theory of age dependence of death probability has been constructed. The obtained simple Death Laws are very accurately fulfilled almost for all known diseases.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figure

Revisiting convergence and divergence: support for older people in Europe

Recent commentators have distinguished ‘weak’ from ‘strong’ family societies, arguing that older people in less family-oriented societies receive less support from family members than those in countries with strong family ties (e.g. Southern Europe). This study explored the north-south divide in various dimensions associated with support for older people among selected European countries participating in a European Scientific Foundation network, ‘Family Support for Older People: Determinants and Consequences’ (FAMSUP). Employing data from a wide variety of sources (e.g. nationally representative surveys, censuses, and official publications) we used principal components and cluster analysis to investigate patterns across countries in four dimensions designed to be indicative of the balance between family and formally provided resources for older people and the socio-economic, demographic and policy contexts in which these are provided. Rather than a clear-cut north-south division European countries reflect a more complex classification in terms of support for older individuals when a wide range of measures associated with different dimensions of support for older people are used. Future research requires comparable cross-national data on key indicators of family support

Annual Summary of Vital Statistics-2000

The birth rate in 2000 (preliminary data)was 14.8 births per 1000 population, an increase of 2% from 1999 (14.5). The fertility rate, births per 1000 women aged 15 to 44 years, increased 3% to 67.6 in 2000, compared with 65.9 in 1999. The 2000 increases in births and the fertility rate were the third consecutive yearly increases, the largest in many years, halting the steady decline in the number of births and fertility rates in the 1990s. Fertility rates for total white, non-Hispanic white, black, and Native American women each increased about 2% in 2000. The fertility rate for black women, which declined 19% from 1990 to 1996, has changed little since 1996. The rate for Hispanic women rose 4% in 2000 to reach the highest level since 1993. Birth rates for women 30 years or older continued to increase. The proportion of births to unmarried women remained about the same at one third, but the number of births rose 3%. The birth rate for teen mothers declined again for the ninth consecutive year. The use of timely prenatal care (83.2%) remained unchanged in 2000, and was essentially unchanged for non-Hispanic white (88.5%), black (74.2%), and Hispanic (74.4%) mothers. The number and rate of multiple births continued their dramatic rise, but all of the increase was confined to twins; for the first time in more than a decade, the number of triplet and higher-order multiple births declined (4%) between 1998 and 1999 (multiple birth information is not available in preliminary 2000 data). The overall increases in multiple births account, in part, for the lack of improvement in the percentage of low birth weight (LBW) births. LBW remained at 7.6% in 2000. The infant mortality rate (IMR) dropped to 6.9 per 1000 live births (preliminary data) in 2000 (the rate was 7.1 in 1999). The ratio of the IMR among black infants to that for white infants was 2.5 in 2000, the same as in 1999. Racial differences in infant mortality remain a major public health concern. The role of low birth weight in infant mortality remains a major issue. Among all of the states, Utah and Maine had the lowest IMRs. State-bystate differences in IMR reflect racial composition, the percentage LBW, and birth weight-specific neonatal mortality rates for each state. The United States continues to rank poorly in international comparisons of infant mortality. Expectation of life at birth reached a record high of 76.9 years for all gender and race groups combined. Death rates in the United States continue to decline. The age-adjusted death rate for suicide declined 4% between 1999 and 2000; homicide declined 7%. Death rates for children 19 years of age or less declined for 3 of the 5 leading causes in 2000; cancer and suicide levels did not change for children as a group. A large proportion of childhood deaths, however, continue to occur as a result of preventable injuries

Developing Faculty Communities of Practice to Expand the Use of Effective Pedagogical Techniques

The scholarship of teaching and learning literature is replete with examples of pedagogical techniques that have been demonstrated to be effective in improving learning, motivation, and student success. The extension of these techniques beyond the original context has tended to be slow, difficult, and incomplete. The following paper examines an intervention designed to encourage the exploration and use of a variety of pedagogical techniques by faculty in a traditional, four-year college faculty within the context of the AASCU Re-imagining the First Year Initiative. Small groups of six to eight faculty, joined and created communities of practice. The groups were known as Pedagogical Interest Groups, or PIGs for short. The faculty read about and analyzed a series of pedagogical techniques and committed to introducing at least one technique into their courses to further explore the techniques. When the techniques were successful, the faculty members redesigned entire classes to expand the impact. The communities of practice were successful in encouraging faculty to explore a wide variety of techniques. The average faculty group explored eight different pedagogical techniques. Faculty were able to use the opportunity to experiment with techniques with the support from their colleagues in their PIG. A dozen techniques were explored across the PIGs and dozens of class sections have been completely redesigned. To date, over 2000 students have experienced redesigned courses. Measures of student success, satisfaction, and interest in those sections have increased. The effort has been accompanied by a robust increase in the campus-wide retention rates. 

Perinatal mortality in the United States, 1985-91

[D.L. Hoyert]."August 1995".Also available via the World Wide Web

Increasing Student Success through a Cocktail of Cognitive Interventions

We extended a series of interventions developed in modern cognitive psychology to a group of students who had been academically dismissed and were at high risk to not complete college. Students learned how to respond adaptively to academic failure, how to embrace challenge, how to set realistic goals, and how to persist until their goals are achieved. The interventions were delivered within a sophomore seminar course. Within the class, students learned about, considered and practiced aspects of growth mindset, goal orientation, grit, stereotype threat, and belongingness. Before beginning the class, the 68 students had a mean cumulative GPA of 1.45, a course completion rate of 60%, and it was expected that over half would drop out of college within the next year. Following the intervention, students earned a mean semester GPA of 2.39, a course completion rate of 73%, 72% were retained for the next semester, and 58% were still enrolled one year later. These findings provide support for the benefits of these techniques used together to afford student success in a population of students that have previously struggled academically.