Employer Benefits and Costs of English@Work Participation

Evaluation of English@Work’s benefits and costs for participating employers.The Ray Marshall Center (RMC), with support from the Literacy Coalition of Central Texas (LCCT), has conducted an evaluation of English@Work’s benefits and costs for participating employers, a required component of LCCT’s grant from the Houston Center for Literacy-English@Work which was launched as a small nonprofit in Austin in 2005 and was subsumed by the LCCT in January 2014, is a unique approach to teaching English-language skills by contextualizing, customizing, and providing them in the workplace. Early results indicated that this approach substantially outperformed more traditional approaches that rely heavily on classroom instruction, provide few hours of actual instruction per week, and/or fail to contextualize and tailor instruction in the setting and language of the workplace. Students made larger gains on various literacy measure more quickly than these more traditional approaches. And, students indicated that they felt more motivated to learn in a cohort of their peers that was situated within their workplace. After three years evolving and growing under the auspices of the LCCT, the Texas Workforce Commission’s (TWC) Site-based Workplace Literacy Project has provided grant funding to scale up English@Work in Austin and expand it to the Houston area over the period from May 2016 to June 2017. The grant from TWC supports literacy and career services for more than 700 participants and plans to provide credentials or certificates of completion for around 490 of these participants over the grant period.Literacy Coalition of Central Texas and Houston Center for LiteracyRay Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resource

CareerAdvance® Implementation Study Findings through FY 2018

This report examines the implementation of the third year of HPOG II services in a five-year grant cycle, including post-HPOG sustainability planning for CareerAdvance®. This report focuses on how and why the program has changed and adjusted to meet the requirements of HPOG II, while responding to the needs of the participants being served, the local job market, and the partners working together to implement and sustain the program. First, this report briefly describes the organizations partnering to implement the HPOG II version of CareerAdvance®. It then examines changes made to the program components, including the eligibility requirements, recruitment, assessment, and selection process, support services, training options, and other program elements. Also, it describes the HPOG II FY 2018 (September 1, 2017-August 31, 2018) cohorts enrolled in training, including assessment scores and detailed demographic information on the participants and their families, as well as program completion and certification attainment of all HPOG II participants (April 2016-August 31, 2018). A final section addresses CareerAdvance® sustainability planning issues, options and opportunities. This report draws from previous CareerAdvance® reports, information on the HPOG II program participants and their families, and interviews with CAP, Tulsa Tech, Family and Children Services, and Tulsa Community WorkAdvance leadership and staff.Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human ServicesRay Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resource

Effect of dietary protein, selenium and temperature humidity index on reproductive traits of male rabbits in a tropical environment

The study aimed to evaluate the effects of dietary protein and selenium supplementation and temperature humidity index (THI) on male rabbit reproductive traits. Fourty eight male New Zealand White rabbits (23 ± 1.4 weeks of age) weighing 2.8 ± 1.13kg, were randomly allocated to one of six isocaloric diets (n = 8 animals/ treatment) that differed in either protein content (14g/100g, 18g/100g and 22g/100g) or selenium content (0.4 and 0.7 mg Se/ kg diet). The experimental design was 3 x 2 factorial. The study ran from April 2012 to September 2012. Significant (P= 0.001) differences observed in semen pH levels (R2 = 0.80, P= 0.010), reaction time [(libido)(R2= 0.85, P= 0.006)] and the proportion of abnormal sperm (R2= 0.44, P= 0.089) as time advanced suggesting positive relation with the changes in environmental THI. There were significant (P= 0.001) interactions between dietary protein level and Se on testis characteristics which seem to improve in Se supplemented group as dietary protein increased. The levels of THI experienced in this study were not sufficiently high enough to result in more pronounced responses on reproductive performance. Therefore there were no adverse effects on the rabbits reproductive traits fed dietary supplements in the tropics

Bio-potency of Selenium and Protein supplements on reproductive traits of male rabbits: a review

The inclusion of both micro and macro nutrients has been investigated in the field of animal production and research, expressing promising effects. Perhaps incorporation of both dietary Selenium and Protein at appropriate levels has presented a tremendous impact on productive and reproductive performance of livestock, particularly in tropical environments. However the efficiency of growth and normal physiological functions depends on composition and bioavailability of these nutrients in the diets. These effects could be mediated via the hypothalamic- pituitary-axis in regulating thyroid and growth hormones that have been shown to affect differentiation and proliferation of somatic and gonadal cells. However, under high ambient temperature and humidity the efficiency of feed utilization would be compromised and reproductive function deteriorates, as a consequence of impairment in appetite and subsequent oxidative stress due to hyperthermia. In addition consequent effects of thermal stress may also involved activation and or inhibition of the hypothalamus-pituitary liver axis. Apparently rabbits require a high protein diet in order to compensate for low feed intake under hot climatic conditions; and dietary selenium as a potent antioxidant. Therefore dietary protein and selenium supplementation at appropriate level of inclusion apparently have the potential to improve male rabbit general performance at reasonable cost

CareerAdvance® Implementation Study Findings through FY 2020: The impact of COVID-19 on service delivery

RMC and its partners have undertaken a dual-generation approach to poverty reduction that strengthens the investment in early childhood development by equipping Head Start parents with workforce training and gainful employment opportunities. This approach employs a more holistic model than traditional workforce development programs, as it also includes employee counseling and other support services to help parents complete training and adult basic education, retain their jobs, advance in their careers, and become economically self-sufficient.Health Profession Opportunity Grant Program Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human ServicesRay Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resource

Texas Early Childhood Education Needs Assessment Gaps Between Need and Availability of Early Care and Education

Texas Early Childhood Education Needs Assessment Gaps Between Need and Availability of Early Care and EducationThe Ray Marshall Center is beginning work with the Texas Early Learning Council and University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston to identify and evaluate education programs and services in Texas for children under the age of 13. The project has four objectives: 1. To understand and estimate the number of children under age 13 who will be eligible for early childhood education programs and services and before and after school-age care programs and services in the near term (2012-2015). 2. To understand and document the current supply across the state of Texas of formal providers of early childhood education programs and services as well as school-age care for children under the age of 13 based on data from federal, state and local agencies and service providers. 3. To conduct a gap analysis based on objectives #1 and #2. 4. To generate a final, comprehensive state of Texas needs assessment analyzing Texas’ early childhood education and school-age care system; and provides recommendations for meeting identified gaps in programs and services and quality and recommendations for conducting periodic needs assessment.Texas Early Learning Council, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, and Hobby Center for the Study of TexasRay Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resource

Four-Hundred-and-Ninety-Million-Year Record of Bacteriogenic Iron Oxide Precipitation at Sea-Floor Hydrothermal Vents

Fe oxide deposits are commonly found at hydrothermal vent sites at mid-ocean ridge and back-arc sea floor spreading centers, seamounts associated with these spreading centers, and intra-plate seamounts, and can cover extensive areas of the seafloor. These deposits can be attributed to several abiogenic processes and commonly contain micron-scale filamentous textures. Some filaments are cylindrical casts of Fe oxyhydroxides formed around bacterial cells and are thus unquestionably biogenic. The filaments have distinctive morphologies very like structures formed by neutrophilic Fe oxidizing bacteria. It is becoming increasingly apparent that Fe oxidizing bacteria have a significant role in the formation of Fe oxide deposits at marine hydrothermal vents. The presence of Fe oxide filaments in Fe oxides is thus of great potential as a biomarker for Fe oxidizing bacteria in modern and ancient marine hydrothermal vent deposits. The ancient analogues of modern deep-sea hydrothermal Fe oxide deposits are jaspers. A number of jaspers, ranging in age from the early Ordovician to late Eocene, contain abundant Fe oxide filamentous textures with a wide variety of morphologies. Some of these filaments are like structures formed by modern Fe oxidizing bacteria. Together with new data from the modern TAG site, we show that there is direct evidence for bacteriogenic Fe oxide precipitation at marine hydrothermal vent sites for at least the last 490 Ma of the Phanerozoic

Effect of milk type and processing on iodine concentration of organic and conventional winter milk at retail: implications for nutrition

Milk is the largest source of iodine in UK diets and an earlier study showed that organic summer milk had significantly lower iodine concentration than conventional milk. There are no comparable studies with winter milk or the effect of milk fat class or heat processing method. Two retail studies with winter milk are reported. Study 1 showed no effect of fat class but organic milk was 32.2% lower in iodine than conventional milk (404 vs. 595 μg/L; P < 0.001). Study 2 found no difference between conventional and Channel Island milk but organic milk contained 35.5% less iodine than conventional milk (474 vs. 306 μg/L; P < 0.001). UHT and branded organic milk also had lower iodine concentrations than conventional milk (331 μg/L; P < 0.001 and 268 μg/L: P < 0.0001 respectively). The results indicate that replacement of conventional milk by organic or UHT milk will increase the risk of sub-optimal iodine status especially for pregnant/lactating women

Views of parents, adults born preterm and professionals on linkage of real-world data of preterm babies

Objective To explore views of parents of preterm babies, adults born preterm and professionals, on the linkage of real-world health and education data for research on improving future outcomes of babies born preterm. Design Three-stage mixed-methods participatory design involving focus groups, a national survey and interviews. Survey participants who expressed uncertainty or negative views were sampled purposively for invitation to interview. Mixed methods were used for data analysis. Setting and participants All data collection was online. Participants were: focus groups—17 parents; survey—499 parents, 44 adults born preterm (total 543); interviews—6 parents, 1 adult born preterm, 3 clinicians, 2 teachers. Results Three key themes were identified: (1) Data linkage and opt-out consent make sense for improving future outcomes. We found clear demand for better information on long-term outcomes and strong support for data linkage with opt-out consent as a means of achieving this. (2) Information requirements—what, how and when. There was support for providing information in different formats and discussing linkage near to, or following discharge from, the neonatal unit, but not sooner. (3) Looking to the future; the rights of young people. We identified a desire for individuals born preterm to be consulted in the future on the use of their data. Conclusion With appropriate information provision, at the right time, parents, adults born preterm and professionals are supportive of data linkage for research, including where temporary identifiers and opt-out consent are used. Resources are being co-produced to improve communication about routine data linkage