Designing Scholarships To Improve College Success: Final Report On the Performance-Based Scholarship Demonstration

Performance-based scholarships have two main goals: to give students more money for college and to provide incentives for academic progress. They are designed to reduce the financial burden on low-income students and help them progress academically by offering financial aid contingent upon meeting pre-specified academic benchmarks. The scholarships are intended to cover a modest amount of students' educational costs during the semesters they are offered -- generally between 15 and 25 percent of students' unmet financial need, the difference between students' calculated financial need to attend college and the financial aid they are awarded. The money is paid directly to students, on top of their existing federal and state need-based financial aid, and the students themselves decide how best to use the funds. MDRC launched the Performance-Based Scholarship Demonstration in 2008 to evaluate the effectiveness of these scholarships for as broad a range of low-income students as possible, in a variety of settings, and with varying incentive structures. As such, the evaluation includes more than 12,000 students in institutions across six states to test different performance-based scholarship designs. These results show that even relatively moderate investments in low-income students' education can have modest but long-lasting impacts on their academic outcomes. These findings may be especially relevant to states, institutions, and private scholarship providers seeking purposeful and efficient ways to give low-income students additional financial aid that can also help them succeed academically

A STUDY ON MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF CEMENT CONCRETE BY PARTIAL REPLACEMENT OF FINE AGGREGATES WITH BOTTOM ASH

Bottom Ash is a new waste material and abundantly available. It is a solid residue which falls into furnace bottom in modern large thermal power plants and constitutes about 20% of total ash content of the coal fed in the boilers. Direct use of this material with a large quantity, will provide a solution to dispose of this material, and the possibility as alternative materials in construction. The main objective of this research is to study the behavior of concrete mix which comprises of partial replacement of fine aggregates with bottom ash against plain concrete. The study was carried out using coal bottom ash as a partial replacement with fine aggregates in the concrete mix by 20%, 30%, 40%, and 50% by weight. The various strength properties studied consist of compressive strength, flexural strength and splitting tensile strength. The results shows that the compressive strength, split tensile strength and flexural strength decreased as the percentage of replacement of bottom ash increased as compared to plain concrete. It was observed that up to 20% replacement the results of compressive test, flexural test and split tensile test are approximately same as that of the controlled concrete

Audit Quality Review: An Analysis Projecting the Past, Present, and Future

Literature on audit quality remains plenteous, with researchers contemplating the area for 'forever and a day’. The present study proposes synthesising the existing literature on audit quality, discerning the prominent themes and providing future research avenues. This paper attempts to analyse and synthesise the dynamics of audit quality research by employing the diminuendos of systematic literature review with bibliometric and content analysis. Scopus database has been gleaned to systematically retrieve the literature on audit quality from 1981-2022. Analysing the 1101 relevant articles under review makes the USA the highest contributor. It is, however, enthralling to note that developing countries have also registered increased interest in the topic. Apart from the other documented findings, the study concluded that research has witnessed impeccable growth over the years under various lenses, which have been precisely synthesised into six clusters. While various reviews have been conducted using innumerable qualitative methods, this study attempts to employ quantitative methods to synthesise the extant literature, which is a rarity

A first instance of whale shark caught in Dol net and rescued in live condition at Gorai- Malvani, Maharashtra

The first observation of Rhincodon typus that was rescued live from Dol net on October 21 st, 2015 is given here. A male whale shark, about 6.5 m in length incidentally entered the Dol net at 30 m depth off Gorai-Malvani region, Mumbai. The net was hauled after about four hours with the help of a winch

PLASMA TRACE ELEMENT STATUS IN BETA-THALASSEMIA TRAIT PATIENTS

Objective: The study aims to evaluate the plasma trace element status in beta-thalassemia trait (BTT) patients and demonstrate the correlation between trace elements and hemoglobin (Hb)-A1, HbA2, and HbF.Methods: The study population consisted of 20 normal individuals and 40 patients with BTT aged between 25 and 55 years of both the sex. Hemoglobin variant analysis was performed in blood samples using cation exchange high-performance liquid chromatography. Patients were labeled as beta-thalassemia trait only if they had HbA2 >3.5% or HbF >2.0%. Plasma zinc was estimated by atomic absorption spectrometry, copper by bathocuproine disulfonate method, and iron by ferrozine method spectrophotometrically. Data were analyzed statistically by Student's t -test and Pearson's correlation using software SPSS version 20. p<0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: Plasma zinc and copper decreased significantly in BTT patients compared to healthy controls. There was an apparent decrease in plasma iron in these patients. Degree of decline in zinc (p<0.001) was much greater than that of copper (p<0.04). Moreover, there was significant elevation of copper-zinc ratio and iron-zinc ratio (p<0.001) in BTT patients compared to controls. Both HbA1 and HbA2 correlated positively with both copper and iron. Interestingly, HbF showed negative correlation with all the three trace elements in BTT patients.Conclusion: The study highlights marked deficiency of plasma trace elements, hence, the need for periodic assessment and prompt administration of these micronutrients to reduce the complications in BTT patients. Further, ratios are more valuable markers in the determination of trace element status than individual elements

To study the implications of Electronic Toll Collection System using RFID technology

Transportation is the backbone of any country’s economy. Due to increasing number of vehicles on the road, problems such as congestion, air pollution and many others have become a major factor of concern. Traditional toll collection booths require a number of operations like stopping the vehicle, lowering the window, finding the correct coinage or valid card before travelers can continue their journey. This research paper describes the Electronic toll collection system based on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology. As time and efficiency are a matter of priority nowadays, the traditional method has to be reformed. In order to overcome the major issues of traffic congestion and time consumption RFID technology is used. RFID reader fixed at tollgate frame reads the tag attached to windshield of vehicle. The object detection sensor in the reader detects the approach of the incoming vehicle’s tag and toll deduction takes place through a prepaid card assigned to the concerned RFID tag that belongs to the owners’ account. Electronic toll collection system (ETC) has various advantages compared to traditional method

INCIDENCE OF MINOR AILMENTS OF PUERPERIUM AND RELATED KNOWLEDGE AMONG POSTNATAL MOTHERS.

Objective: The objective of the study was to identify the incidence and knowledge of minor ailments of puerperium among postnatal mothers and to develop an information leaflet on the management of minor ailments of puerperium.Methods: A quantitative approach with descriptive design and convenience sampling technique was used in this study. With these methods, the researcher selected 100 postnatal mothers attending Obstetrics and Gynecology ward, AIMS, Kochi. A semi-structured questionnaire along with a checklist was used to assess the knowledge and the incidence of minor ailments among postnatal mothers.Result: The result showed that the common incidence of minor ailments was afterpain (67%), perineal discomfort (50%), constipation (43%), and fatigue (67%). Majority of the postnatal mothers had average knowledge (65%) level, and some of them had good knowledge (21%), and some of them had poor knowledge (14%).Conclusion: The study revealed that the main four problems of minor ailments of puerperium were afterpain, perineal discomfort, constipation, and fatigue. Number of studies from different part of the world, including India, shows that a large proportion of postnatal mother experiences minor ailments of puerperium. This provides evidence for giving importance to minor ailments of puerperium. Researchers also provided a baseline information leaflet on the management of minor ailments of puerperium

Preliminary Investigations for Policy Framework to Regulate the Utilisation of Residual Strength of Demolition Waste Aggregate in Cement Concrete Mix

Millions of tonnes of demolition waste of different types is generated from various sources in the construction industry. Improper disposal of such waste results in loss of valuable land in cities and also such deposits may breach into reservoirs, water bodies, canals, etc. leading to blocking the path for the free flow of rainwater. Dissolution of harmful compounds that may be present results in contamination of water bodies. Hence it is necessary to frame guidelines and rules for regulating the various Demolition activities. This facilitates the granting of permission, actual demolition, segregating different materials and making the best use of the derived aggregates for various activities. Using derived aggregates in partial /full replacement is possible in concrete mixes of different grades. An attempt is made to collect demolition waste from three different locations. Requisite tests were conducted. An attempt is made to design a pavement quality concrete (PQC) of M40 grade to satisfy compressive and flexural strength requirements. A policy framework is needed at the national level for utilizing demolition waste aggregate in civil engineering works of both structural and nonstructural applications. Proper regulation of CD waste management is essential to channelize the entire process to convert it into useful construction material

NAPROXEN INDUCED ERYTHEMA MULTIFORME-A RARE CASE REPORT

Erythema multiforme (EM) is a hypersensitivity reaction characterized by varying degrees of blisters and ulcerations. We report a case of 4 y old girl child born for Non-custodial parents who has a history of seizures and a known case of carbamazepine-induced SLE (Systemic Lupus Erythematosus) when treated with anti-inflammatory drugs developed EM. The offending drug was identified and withdrawn. Steroid was given as a part of symptomatic treatment. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are one of the most commonly prescribed groups of drugs for a variety of indications. The patient gradually improved and got discharged

Heavy landings of juveniles of Indian scad, Decapterus russelli at Munambam Fisheries Harbour

Among the carangid fishes, the Indian scad, Decapterus russelli is an important pelagic fish and a major commercial species contributing to the marine fisheries of Kerala. The fish is locally called “kozhuchala” and it forms a regular fishery. The species is often caught as by-catch in shrimp trawl nets having cod-end mesh sizes ranging from 15 mm to 20 mm that is operated in the depth range of 55- 90 m almost throughout the year. They are consumed fresh as well as sun dried form