Counting What Is Measured or Measuring What Counts? League Tables and Their Impact On Higher Education Institutions in England

This report investigates league tables and their impact on higher education institutions (HEIs) in England. It presents findings from two strands of research: – an analysis of five league tables selected for the study, their methodologies and the underlying data employed, and – an investigation of how higher education institutions respond to league tables generally and the extent to which they influence institutional decision-making and actions. The purpose of the research is to stimulate informed debate about the approaches and limitations of the various league tables, and greater understanding among the users and stakeholders of the implications of making decisions based on these sources of information

Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome virus reduces feed efficiency, digestibility, and lean tissue accretion in grow-finish pigs

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) virus is a major swine virus that causes reproductive impairment in sows, as well as respiratory disease, reduction in growth rates, and mortalities in all ages of pigs. The objective of this study was to quantify the impact PRRS has on grower-finisher pig feed efficiency and tissue accretion rates. Thirty PRRS naïve, littermate pairs of maternal line Choice Genetics gilts (33.6 ± 0.58 kg BW) were selected and pairs split across 2 barns consisting of 5 pens (n = 6 pigs/pen per barn). Pigs in both barns were fed corn-soybean-DDGS diets ad libitum. All pigs in one barn were inoculated (CHAL) via an i.m. injection of a live PRRS strain isolated from the region (0 d post inoculation, dpi), while pigs in the other barn were given a saline control injection (CONT). Pig performance (ADG, ADFI, G:F) was assessed from 35 kg BW until each group reached market BW (128 kg). Additionally, longitudinal apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) and body composition was assessed using Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) post inoculation (dpi) to estimate lean, protein, fat and bone accretion rates. Serological data from CHAL pigs showed that PRRS titers peaked 7 dpi and these pigs seroconverted by 35 dpi. According to both genomic and protein PRRS titers, CONT pigs were naïve to CHAL throughout the study. The PRRS infection reduced (P \u3c 0.001) ATTD of dry matter, energy and nitrogen by 3 to 5% at 21 dpi and the reduction in ATTD persisted after 65 dpi. Compared to the CONT, CHAL pigs had decreased ADG (0.89 vs. 0.80 kg/d, P \u3c 0.001), ADFI (2.05 vs. 1.93 kg/d, P \u3c 0.001), and G:F (0.44 vs. 0.41 kg/d, P \u3c 0.001) over the entire test period. The CHAL pigs also had attenuated DXA predicted whole body accretion of lean (547 vs. 633 g/d, P = 0.001), protein (109 vs. 126 g/d, P = 0.001) and fat (169 vs. 205 g/d, P = 0.001) compared to their CONT counterparts from dpi 0 to 80. Based on carcass data at slaughter (and consistent with the DXA data), CHAL pigs had leaner carcasses and reduced yields. These data clearly demonstrate that PRRS infection reduces digestibility, feed efficiency and protein accretion rates in grower-finisher pigs

WalkMore: a randomized controlled trial of pedometer-based interventions differing on intensity messages

Pedometer-based programs have elicited increased walking behaviors associated with improvements in blood pressure in sedentary/low active postmenopausal women, a population at increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Such programs typically encourage increasing the volume of physical activity with little regard for its intensity. Recent advances in commercially available pedometer technology now permit tracking of both steps/day and time in moderate (or greater) intensity physical activity on a daily basis. It is not known whether the dual message to increase steps/day while also increasing time spent at higher intensity walking will elicit additional improvements in blood pressure relative to a message to only focus on increasing steps/day. The purpose of this paper is to present the rationale, study design, and protocols employed in WalkMore, a 3-arm 3-month blinded and randomized controlled trial (RCT) designed to compare the effects of two community pedometer-based walking interventions (reflecting these separate and combined messages) relative to a control group on blood pressure in sedentary/low active post-menopausal women, a population at increased risk of cardiovascular disease. 120 sedentary/low active post-menopausal women (45-74 years of age) will be randomly assigned (computer-generated) to 1 of 3 groups: A) 10,000 steps/day (with no guidance on walking intensity/speed/cadence; BASIC intervention, n = 50); B) 10,000 steps/day and at least 30 minutes in moderate intensity (i.e., a cadence of at least 100 steps/min; ENHANCED intervention, n = 50); or a Control group (n = 20). An important strength of the study is the strict control and quantification of the pedometer-based physical activity interventions. The primary outcome is systolic blood pressure. Secondary outcomes include diastolic blood pressure, anthropometric measurements, fasting blood glucose and insulin, flow mediated dilation, gait speed, and accelerometer-determined physical activity and sedentary behavior. This study can make important contributions to our understanding of the relative benefits that walking volume and/or intensity may have on blood pressure in a population at risk of cardiovascular disease. ClinicalTrials.gov Record NCT01519583, January 18, 2012

Recruitment, Retention, and Future Direction for a Heart Health Education and Risk Reduction Intervention Led by Community Health Workers in an African American Majority City

Heart disease is a leading cause of death for African Americans. A community-academic partnership cross-trained community health workers to engage African American adults in a 6-month heart health education and risk reduction intervention. We conducted a one-group feasibility study using a one group (pre-posttest) design. A total of 100 adults were recruited from 27 zip codes in an African American majority city through community-based organizations (46%), churches (36%), and home visits (12%). Ninety-six percent were African American; 55% were female, 39% were male, and 6% were transgender. Their mean age was 44.6 years (SD=15.9). Ninety-two percent had health insurance. Seventy-six percent of participants averaged blood pressure (BP) readings\u3e130/80 mmHg. Eleven percent of participants had a 30% or higher probability of developing cardiovascular disease in the next 10 years. Six-month follow-up was completed with 96% of participants. There were statistically significant increases in knowledge and in perception of personal risk for heart disease. However, slightly more participants (n=77, 80.2%) had BP\u3e130/80 mmHg. The Community Advisory Group recommended expanding the intervention to 12 months and incorporating telehealth with home BP monitoring. Limited intervention duration did not meet longer term objectives such as better control of high BP and sharing risk reduction planning with primary care providers

Stretch goals and the distribution of organizational performance

Many academics, consultants, and managers advocate stretch goals to attain superior organizational performance. However, existing theory speculates that, although stretch goals may benefit some organizations, they are not a “rule for riches” for all organizations. To address this speculation, we use two experimental studies to explore the effects on the mean, median, variance, and skewness of performance of stretch compared with moderate goals. Participants were assigned moderate or stretch goals to manage a widely used business simulation. Compared with moderate goals, stretch goals improve performance for a few participants, but many abandon the stretch goals in favor of lower self-set goals, or adopt a survival goal when faced with the threat of bankruptcy. Consequently, stretch goals generate higher performance variance across organizations and a right-skewed performance distribution. Contrary to conventional wisdom, we find no positive stretch goal main effect on performance. Instead, stretch goals compared with moderate goals generate large attainment discrepancies that increase willingness to take risks, undermine goal commitment, and generate lower risk-adjusted performance. The results provide a richer theoretical and empirical appreciation of how stretch goals influence performance

Personality Traits and Personal Values:A Meta-Analysis

Personality traits and personal values are important psychological characteristics, serving as important predictors of many outcomes. Yet, they are frequently studied separately, leaving the field with a limited understanding of their relationships. We review existing perspectives regarding the nature of the relationships between traits and values and provide a conceptual underpinning for understanding the strength of these relationships. Using 60 studies, we present a meta-analysis of the relationships between the Five-Factor Model (FFM) of personality traits and the Schwartz values, and demonstrate consistent and theoretically meaningful relationships. However, these relationships were not generally large, demonstrating that traits and values are distinct constructs. We find support for our premise that more cognitively based traits are more strongly related to values and more emotionally based traits are less strongly related to values. Findings also suggest that controlling for personal scale-use tendencies in values is advisable