With Their Whole Lives Ahead of Them: Myths and Realities About Why So Many Students Fail to Finish College

Based on a survey, explores the barriers to graduation college students face, examines common assumptions about college dropouts and realities, and compares the views of those who graduate and those who do not on solutions to help raise graduation rates

Cycles in the Multiverse

Eternal inflation is a seemingly generic consequence of theories that give rise to accelerated expansion of the universe and possess multiple vacuum states. Making predictions in an eternally inflating universe is notoriously difficult because one must compare infinite quantities, and a wide variety of regulating procedures yield radically different results. This is the measure problem of eternal inflation. In this paper, we analyze models of eternal inflation which allow for the possibility of cyclic bubble universes: in each bubble, standard cosmological evolution is re-played over and over again. Eternal inflation can generically arise in cyclic models that include a dark energy dominated phase. In such models, several problematic consequences of standard regulating procedures, such as the youngness and Boltzmann Brain problems, are substantially alleviated. We discuss the implications for making predictions in cyclic models, as well as some general implications for understanding the measure problem in eternal inflation.Comment: 22 pages and 8 figure

Ready, Willing and Able: Kansas City Parents Talk About How to Improve Schools and What They Can Do to Help

Are parents an untapped resource in improving and reimagining K -- 12 education in Kansas City? What do they think would enhance student learning and what are they willing to do to help their children get the education they deserve? These are among the questions explored in an in-depth survey of 1,566 parents with children now in public school in the Kansas City metropolitan area. This study finds the majority of parents in the Kansas City area ready, willing and able to be more engaged in their children's education at some level. For communities to reap the most benefit from additional parental involvement, it is important to understand that different parents can be involved and seek to be involved in different ways.The results of this research, detailed in the following pages, show that nearly a third of the region's parents may be ready to take on a greater role in shaping how local schools operate and advocating for reform in K -- 12 education. These parents say they would be very comfortable serving on committees focused on teacher selection and the use of school resources. Their sense of "parental engagement" extends beyond such traditional activities as attending PTA meetings, coaching sports, volunteering for bake sales, chaperoning school trips and seeing that their children are prepared for school each day. Yet, despite their broad interest in a deeper, more substantive involvement in shaping the region's school systems, relatively few of these "potential transformers" have actually participated in policy-oriented activities in the past year. Moreover, this survey finds that even though the majority of parents seem less inclined to jump into school policy debates, many say they could do more to support local schools in the more traditional school parent roles

Expression of the gene for main intrinsic polypeptide (MIP): separate spatial distributions of MIP and beta-crystallin gene transcripts in rat lens development

The main intrinsic polypeptide (MIP) is the major protein present in the lens fiber cell membrane and is the product of a gene which, as far as is known, is expressed only in the lens. We have used in situ hybridization and immunofluorescence microscopy to characterize the expression of this gene during the course of development in the rat. At progressive stages of lens morphogenesis, we find that synthesis of the protein is closely tied to the accumulation of MIP mRNA in cells that are committed to terminal differentiation, first in the elongating presumptive primary lens fibers and later in the secondary fibers as they differentiate from the anterior epithelial cells. The transcripts accumulate in the basal cytoplasm of the primary fibers and in the cytoplasm which surrounds the cell nucleus in the secondary fibers. We have compared this pattern of expression with that of a gene for a cytoplasmic protein, beta-crystallin beta-A1/A3. In sharp contrast to the localized concentrations seen for the MIP mRNA, beta-A1/A3 transcripts are relatively uniformly distributed throughout the cytoplasm. Neither MIP nor crystallin gene appears to be transcriptionally active in the undifferentiated epithelial cell, but transcripts from the beta-A1/A3 gene appear earlier in fiber cell differentiation than do those from the gene for MIP

Perceived Social Support and Burnout Among Nurses Working with Chronically Ill and Dying Pediatric Patients

This study focuses on the prevalence of burnout and its relationship to social support among nurses caring for chronically and terminally ill children. A convenience sample of 30 pediatric nurses were given surveys consisting of a demographic sheet, Maslach Burnout Inventory, Social Support Scale, and open-ended questions. The 14 completed and returned questionnaires were used in this nonexperimental, correlational study. Using the student t distribution it was determined that the mean emotional exhaustion burnout subscore was significantly (.05 confidence level) higher in the tested sample than in the normative sample. God/Higher Power and co-workers were rated as the most helpful sources of social support. No correlation (using the Pearson r ) was found between the burnout scores and social support scores. Greater burnout awareness and prevention measures are needed. Further study with a larger, random sample is recommended

No Easy Way Out: Citizens Talk About Tackling The Debt

This new report by Jean Johnson about recent citizen deliberations on the debt suggest the seeds of consensus on how to tackle the problem, but warns that deep cynicism about Washington makes many Americans question whether elected officials will act, and whether they can be trusted to act.In dozens of forums held over the past year, citizens were focused, open-minded, and realistic as they weighed alternative paths for stabilizing the debt, as outlined in the A Nation In Debt issue guide. Nearly all citizens were receptive to multiple ideas for needed change. At the same time, most had questions, doubts, and stipulations that leaders need to understand and address.The views of those who participated in the National Issues Forums deliberations are not a scientific sample of public opinion. However, they do represent the thinking of a diverse and concerned group of citizens. Even more important, these conversations reveal what might happen if more of the public had a chance to think seriously with their fellow citizens about the choices involved in tackling the debt. The questions participants raised, the doubts they voiced, and the criteria they discussed suggest what may be needed to develop a larger, stronger constituency for meaningful action on this historic national challenge

Will It Be On The Test?: A Closer Look At How Leaders And Parents Think About Accountability In The Public Schools

The Kettering Foundation studies the problems that keep our democracy from working as it should. One of these is a lack of trust that has eroded confidence in our major institutions, including the public schools. To remedy this problem, federal, state, and local officials have pursued a broad range of reforms aimed at ensuring that the nation's public school system is more accountable.Most Americans applaud the goals of this accountability movement, and they support some of what it has accomplished. However, new research from the Kettering Foundation and Public Agenda suggests that there are important differences between the way most leaders and most parents define and think about accountability in public education.This report summarizes this research, which includes focus groups held in Washington, DC; Detroit; New Orleans; Westchester County, NY; Birmingham, AL; and Denver. The report lays out areas of agreement, where leaders and parents see eye-to-eye on accountability, and areas of tension, where the perspectives of leaders and parents part company. Finally, it explores whether it is possible to blend the competing views and poses some questions for the field

Divided We Fail: Are Leaders and Citizens Talking Past Each Other on Higher Education? (Interim Report)

In 2012 -- 2013, NIF forums held around the country have brought college students, high school students, parents, faculty, employers, retirees, and others together to deliberate about the mission of higher education and the role it should play in the nation's social, political, and economic progress. This interim report finds that Americans outside the policymaking arena want to think and talk about the mission of higher education and its role in shaping our collective future. How does their vision compare with that of leaders now proposing and adopting reforms? The challenge highlighted here is that the country is now having two very different, largely separate, conversations about the future of higher education

The Effects of Skin-to-Skin Contact on Breastfeeding Choice at Discharge

Context: Mothers today are increasingly more likely to choose delivery by C- section rather than vaginally. With the increase in C-section deliveries comes increased concern regarding breastfeeding. Skin-to-skin contact between a mother and a newborn has been shown to have an effect on breastfeeding. Objective: This study investigated the effects on breastfeeding choice for mothers that delivered by C-section and received skin-to-skin contact in the Operating Room or Post-Anesthesia Recovery unit after birth. Previous studies have shown that skin-to-skin contact following birth promotes breastfeeding. Breastfeeding has been shown to provide many benefits to newborns, so it is important for healthcare providers to be aware of the best practices for promoting breastfeeding. The study looked for a correlation between skin-to-skin contact and mothers’ decisions regarding breastfeeding at time of discharge. Design: A randomized control trial was conducted to analyze data from chart reviews. Setting: This study was conducted at a large hospital in the Northwest Arkansas area from Nov. 2013-Feb. 2014. Participants: Participants included mothers who had a C-section delivery and received skin to skin contact in the PACU or OR. There were 51 women included, and the mean age was 28. Interventions: A chart auditing tool was used to collect pertinent data. These were completed by RNs caring for the mother. Main outcome measures: The dependent variable in this study was the mother’s breastfeeding choice at discharge. This was recorded using the audit tool, and a t-test was utilized to determine correlation. Results: 68% of women did not change their feeding preference at discharge. 8% of women changed from bottle to breastfeeding, while 16% changed from breastfeeding to both. 8% of women changed from bottle feeding to both. In 69.23% of mothers, skin to skin contact did not influence their decision to breast feed following discharge. In 30.77% of mothers, skin to skin contact did influence their decision to breast feed following discharge. Fisher’s Exact Test Pro

Inhibition of gap junction and adherens junction assembly by connexin and A-CAM antibodies

We examined the roles of the extracellular domains of a gap junction protein and a cell adhesion molecule in gap junction and adherens junction formation by altering cell interactions with antibody Fab fragments. Using immunoblotting and immunocytochemistry we demonstrated that Novikoff cells contained the gap junction protein, connexin43 (Cx43), and the cell adhesion molecule, A-CAM (N-cadherin). Cells were dissociated in EDTA, allowed to recover, and reaggregated for 60 min in media containing Fab fragments prepared from a number of antibodies. We observed no cell-cell dye transfer 4 min after microinjection in 90% of the cell pairs treated with Fab fragments of antibodies for the first or second extracellular domain of Cx43, the second extracellular domain of connexin32 (Cx32) or A-CAM. Cell-cell dye transfer was detected within 30 s in cell pairs treated with control Fab fragments (pre-immune serum, antibodies to the rat major histocompatibility complex or the amino or carboxyl termii of Cx43). We observed no gap junctions by freeze-fracture EM and no adherens junctions by thin section EM between cells treated with the Fab fragments that blocked cell-cell dye transfer. Gap junctions were found on approximately 50% of the cells in control samples using freeze-fracture EM. We demonstrated with reaggregated Novikoff cells that: (a) functional interactions of the extracellular domains of the connexins were necessary for the formation of gap junction channels; (b) cell interactions mediated by A-CAM were required for gap junction assembly; and (c) Fab fragments of antibodies for A-CAM or connexin extracellular domains blocked adherens junction formation