"Personality and Earnings"

This paper studies personality as a potential explanation for wage differentials between apparently similar workers. This follows initial studies by Jencks (1979) that suggest that certain personality traits, such as industriousness and leadership, have an impact on earnings. The paper aims to provide a theoretical framework within which these effects may be analyzed. The study begins by outlining four issues as a backdrop to the model: rationality, the industry, firms, and workers. A crucial factor to the model is the memeÑa mental gene that affects personality. Taking these four factors into consideration, the Contested Exchange model from Bowles and Gintis (1990) is used. Then, it is adapted to study memetic effects on the wage rate. This is followed by an analysis of how memes may affect personality and thus earnings. The issues that require further study and resolution are 1) which traits create wage differentials, and 2) two-way causality: does personality affect the wage, or does a wage premium become an incentive for a person to adopt new memes?

That Was Then And This Is Now: The Changing Roles Of Veteran Special Education Teachers As A Result Of Response To Intervention

This study explored how the process of Response to Intervention (RTI) has changed the roles of three veteran special educators. The background knowledge of these teachers that helped make the initiative successful, as well as the building blocks that were present in the initial implementation of RTI models in their settings, were described. The essential components that contributed to successful RTI processes in K-12 settings were described by the participants. In addition, the successes, challenges, and recommendations of these veteran special educators for the future of RTI implementation were explored. The experiences of three veteran special education teachers who participated in successful RTI models, as well as current literature on best practice in Response to Intervention, were described. Recommendations for teacher preparation programs, schools, and future research were presented. Keywords: collaboration, curriculum-based measurement, fidelity, problem solving, progress monitoring, Response to Intervention (RTI), scientifically-based interventions, tiers of support, universal screenin

Steam Integration at Aro Academy

This organizational improvement plan centres around a problem of practice at a faith-based independent elementary school in Ontario. Faced with several organizational challenges including declining enrolment and pressure by stakeholders to ensure curriculum delivery remains relevant for 21st Century learners, there is a goal of embedding Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM) integrated learning in a meaningful way. The school has made physical space and has the technology available to support instructional change including a dedicated Marker Space and Robotics Room. A robotics specialist and an administrator supervising innovation have been hired to support teachers but integration in the past two years has been slow. There are divisions between the English and the faith-based teachers that are pronounced. STEAM will be a driver for design thinking and 21C skill development across both the English and the faith-based teaching groups and the Design Thinking Cycle will guide the process. Many aspects of change management are addressed, including managing resisters, conflict teams and how to implement a lateral leadership model when historically the organization has been hierarchical in nature. Using a Logic Model to identify and articulate the problem of practice and choosing transformational leadership alongside incremental change theory provides the theoretical frame for this process. The Design Thinking cycle provides the conceptual frame as it articulates the change and ultimately the goal for all stakeholders. This problem of practice seeks to build staff capacity and cohesiveness through a process of lateral leadership. Ultimately a final curricular document that outlines STEAM learning at each grade level will be created by members of the STEAM Team and staff will have built capacity. Equity issues such as religion, gender and internal bias will be made transparent and problem solving around these issues will be paramount. Ultimately, the document will be continually revised to react to the global market and as each new technology emerges onto the global landscape and job market the school must pivot and redesign the nature of the STEAM curriculum to reflect these shifts

Predictors of Readiness to Quit Among a Diverse Sample of Sexual Minority Male Smokers

ABSTRACT Introduction: Readiness to quit smoking - a pattern of attitudes, intentions, and behaviors that reflect a likelihood of engaging in cessation activities—is a useful heuristic for understanding smoking disparities based on sexual orientation. This study examined demographic, tobacco-use patterns, psychosocial and cognitive factors associated with readiness to quit among gay and bisexual male smokers. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted as part of a larger Tobacco Elimination and Control Collaboration (Q-TECC) initiative in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. Readiness to quit was measured by a composite score created from four variables (motivation to quit, importance of quitting, plan to quit, and confidence in quitting) (alpha=.87, M=3.42, SD=.96, range 1-5). Results: The sexual minority smokers in the sample (N=208; M=33 years) were racially/ethnically diverse. Latino men had significantly lower levels of readiness to quit compared to African American and White men. Hierarchical linear regression analyses were performed to explore the relative contributions of sociodemographic, tobacco-use patterns, psychosocial and cognitive factors on Readiness to Quit. In the final model, the following variables were associated with readiness to quit scores: Latino ethnicity, fewer quit attempts, positive expectancies for the beneficial effects of smoking, and lower perceived importance of smoking as an important LGBT health issue. None of the psychosocial factors were associated with readiness to quit. Discussion: Readiness to quit scores were largely predicted by modifiable attitudes, behaviors, and expectancies. Study findings have implications for improving outreach and awareness and for the development of effective treatment approaches

Using Adherence-Contingent Rebates on Chronic Disease Treatment Costs to Promote Medication Adherence: Results from a Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Poor adherence to medications is a global public health concern with substantial health and cost implications, especially for chronic conditions. In the USA, poor adherence is estimated to cause 125,000 deaths and cost $US100 Billion annually. The most successful adherence-promoting strategies that have been identified so far have moderate effect, are relatively costly, and raise availability, feasibility, and/or scalability issues. Objective: The main objective of SIGMA (Study on Incentives for Glaucoma Medication Adherence) was to measure the effectiveness on medication adherence of a novel incentive strategy based on behavioral economics that we refer to as adherence-contingent rebates. These rebates offered patients a near-term benefit while leveraging loss aversion and regret nd increasing the salience of adherence. Methods: IGMA is a 6-month randomized, controlled, open-label, single-center superiority trial with two parallel arms. total of 100 non-adherent glaucoma patients from the Singapore National Eye Centre were randomized into intervention (adherence-contingent rebates) and usual care (no rebates) arms in a 1:1 ratio. The primary outcome was the mean change from baseline in percentage of adherent days at Month 6. The trial registration number is NCT02271269 and a detailed study protocol has been published elsewhere. Findings: We found that participants who were offered adherence-contingent rebates were adherent to all their edications on 73.1$US5.94 as of 2 November 2017) per month during the intervention period. Conclusion: This study shows that simultaneously leveraging several insights from behavioral economics can significantly improve medication adherence rates. The relatively low cost of the rebates and significant health and cost implications of medication non-adherence suggest that this strategy has the potential to cost-effectively improve health outcomes for many conditions

Impact of Personalization on Acquisition and Generalization of Script Training: A Preliminary Analysis

Eight individuals with chronic aphasia underwent intensive computer-based script training. Trained and untrained generalization scripts, matched for length and complexity, were developed. The two scripts shared personalized and non-personalized words/phrases. Training lasted three weeks. Script performance was probed periodically. For acquisition, the gain from baseline to post-treatment for both personalized and non-personalized words/phrases on the trained script was significant; the effect size of personalization over non-personalization was moderate. For generalization, the gain for both personalized and non-personalized items was also significant, but the effect size of personalization over non-personalization was small. Limitations of the study are discussed

Alcohol, tobacco and other drug concerns of newly arrived 'CaLD' (culturally and linguistically diverse) women in Perth

Womens Health Services (WHS) in Perth provides medical services, counselling, information, community talks and workshops, referral, and outreach to women in Western Australia. WHS works with women from over sixty different nationalities, including many newly arrived migrants and refugees. New arrivals access a wide range of WHS programs, but at the time the current study was developed few ethnic women attend the alcohol and other drug (AOD) services offered by the organisation. To address this a needs assessment was conducted with newly arrived women (0 to 5 years in Australia). The needs assessment examined the use of alcohol and other drugs by newly arrived women, the barriers that prevent women from accessing alcohol and other drug (AOD) services and explored the types of services and programs newly arrived women wanted.Method. The needs assessment used both qualitative and quantitative methods. Twenty two service providers working with newly arrived migrant and humanitarian entrant women were either interviewed individually or attended a focus group. The views and experiences of 26 newly arrived women from a variety of culturally and linguistic backgrounds were also collected through one-on-one interviews (n=6) and through focus groups (n=5). The information gathered from these interviews and discussions informed the design of a questionnaire that was administered to 268 newly arrived women. All women participating in the project were 18 years of age or more, Australian citizens, permanent Australian residents or in the process of being granted permanent residency and had lived in Australia 5 years or less.Findings Regarding Tobacco and Alcohol Use. Australian cultural attitudes had had an impact on newly arrived women's alcohol and other drug use. Some impacts were positive, for example, increasing restrictions and the decrease in acceptability of smoking in public places along with strong educational messages about the risk of smoking had influenced some women to quit since coming to Australia. Unfortunately, not all Australian cultural attitudes had a positive impact on newly arrived women. Just under one third of the women (31.7%) who drank alcohol were drinking more alcohol since coming to Australia. Reasons for drinking more alcohol were varied and included alcohol being cheaper in Perth than in their own countries, socialising with Australians who drank alcohol, and using alcohol as a way of coping with stress. However, it is important to note that only a very small percentage of the newly arrived women participating in the needs assessment drank at levels considered risky or high risk for either short term or longer term harm. The vast majority of respondents surveyed did not smoke (n=207; 77.2%) and did not use alcohol (n=201; 76.1%), often due to cultural or religious reasons.Other Results. Other findings of the needs assessment included: • Over 21% of newly arrived women responding to the survey had been put in fear by some one under the influence of alcohol and/ or drugs. Nearly 17% of women responding to the survey had been verbally abused by some one under the influence of alcohol and/ or drugs. • More than one third of the women responding to the survey indicated that they wanted information and support on family violence. • Over 40% of the women responding to the survey wanted information and support for depression. • Forty women (14.9%) responding to the survey wanted support for husbands or children that were drinking too much alcohol.A surprising finding was the high level of interest in women's only exercise classes and opportunities to participate in other types of physical activity Two thirds of questionnaire respondents said that exercise was a priority for them. Subsequent feedback sessions with newly arrived women about the results of the needs assessment confirmed the need for opportunities to participate in a variety of physical activities in a safe, affordable, women only environment where childcare was available.Understandings of Alcohol and Other Drug Services. Participants in the study appeared to have a poor understanding of what AOD services were, different types of treatments and models that could be used, who was entitled to access them (not just the alcohol or other drug user), the associated costs and fees, and whether or not the police would become involved. There was a significant lack of understanding by service providers working with newly arrived women about eligibility to access alcohol and drug services and what assistance and support these agencies could provide either to women using alcohol and other drugs or to family and friends impacted by another's drug use. Few service providers asked their clients any questions about alcohol or other drug use on a regular basis.The findings from the needs assessment have been used to improve programs and services with newly arrived women at WHS. These have included the addition of a specific alcohol and other drugs program for women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds with a focus on prevention activities as well as opportunities for newly arrived women to participate in a variety of physical activity classes

Liquid-like behaviour of gold nanowire bridges

A combination of Focused Ion Beam (FIB) and Reactive Ion Etch (RIE) was used to fabricate free standing gold nanowire bridges with radii of 30 nm and below. These were subjected to point loading to failure at their mid-points using an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM), providing strength and deformation data. The results demonstrate a dimensionally dependent transition from conventional solid metallic properties to liquid-like behaviour including the unexpected reformation of a fractured bridge. The work reveals mechanical and materials properties of nanowires which could have significant impact on nanofabrication processes and nanotechnology devices such as Nano Electro Mechanical Systems (NEMS)

Electron gyroscale fluctuation measurements in National Spherical Torus Experiment H-mode plasmas

A collective scattering system has measured electron gyroscale fluctuations in National Spherical Torus Experiment [M. Ono et al., Nucl. Fusion 40, 557 (2000)] H-mode plasmas to investigate electron temperature gradient (ETG) turbulence. Observations and results pertaining to fluctuation measurements in ETG-stable regimes, the toroidal field scaling of fluctuation amplitudes, the relation between fluctuation amplitudes and transport quantities, and fluctuation magnitudes and k-spectra are presented. Collectively, the measurements provide insight and guidance for understanding ETG turbulence and anomalous electron thermal transport. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3262530]X116sciescopu

Short-scale turbulent fluctuations driven by the electron-temperature gradient in the national spherical torus experiment

Measurements with coherent scattering of electromagnetic waves in plasmas of the National Spherical Torus Experiment indicate the existence of turbulent fluctuations in the range of wave numbers k(perpendicular to)rho(e)=0.1-0.4, corresponding to a turbulence scale length nearly equal to the collisionless skin depth. Experimental observations and agreement with numerical results from a linear gyrokinetic stability code support the conjecture that the observed turbulence is driven by the electron-temperature gradient.X1155sciescopu