A Comparative Analysis of Levels of Importance, Satisfaction, and Engagement among Adult Learners and Tennessee Reconnect Recipients at two Community Colleges

This primary goal of this study was to compare the levels of importance, satisfaction, and perceived engagement between adult learners and Tennessee Reconnect adult learners at two Tennessee community colleges. A two-group comparison research design using existing data from two survey instruments was used for this study. The data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics based on the scales and subscales of the two surveys: Adult Learner Inventory (ALI) and Survey of Entering Student Engagement (SENSE). Because Tennessee Reconnect is a new program, very little literature has been conducted targeting this specific population. Therefore, this study attempted to add to this body of literature and fill the gap in literature in regard to the Tennessee Reconnect population. Sixteen statistically significant differences in importance and six statistically significant differences in satisfaction were found between adult learners and Tennessee Reconnect adult learners. These were found over all subscales, except learning process. In all these differences Tennessee Reconnect adult learners had higher mean importance and satisfaction levels. These findings show changes that have been implemented since Tennessee Reconnect (i.e., professional advisors, career counselors, extended hours of operation for student services, etc.) have led to an increase in the mean satisfaction rate among Tennessee Reconnect adult learners. Statistically significant differences were also found between adult learners and traditional college students in the areas of perceived engagement with student services and faculty. Adult learners showed higher mean scores for engagement with faculty inside the classroom and with student services such as tutoring and skills labs. However, adult learners also showed the lowest mean satisfaction scores with these same student services. These findings show there are areas that need improvement to better serve the Tennessee Reconnect population, including changes to tutoring services and skills labs. This study provides support for literature findings that adult learners are a different population of students with different needs and requiring different or modified accommodations for success

The judgement process in evidence-based medicine and health technology assessment.

This article describes the judgements used to interpret evidence in evidence-based medicine (EBM) and health technology assessment (HTA). It outlines the methods and processes of EBM and HTA. Respectively, EBM and HTA are approaches to medical clinical decision making and efficient allocation of scarce health resources. At the heart of both is a concern to review and synthesise evidence, especially evidence derived from randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of clinical effectiveness. The driver of the approach of both is a desire to eliminate, or at least reduce, bias. The hierarchy of evidence, which is used as an indicator of the likelihood of bias, features heavily in the process and methods of EBM and HTA. The epistemological underpinnings of EBM and HTA are explored with particular reference to the distinction between rationalism and empiricism, developed by the philosopher David Hume and elaborated by Immanuel Kant in the Critique of Pure Reason. The importance of Humian and Kantian principles for understanding the projects of EBM and HTA is considered and the ways in which decisions are made in both, within a judgemental framework originally outlined by Kant, are explored

Recognising Desire: A psychosocial approach to understanding education policy implementation and effect

It is argued that in order to understand the ways in which teachers experience their work - including the idiosyncratic ways in which they respond to and implement mandated education policy - it is necessary to take account both of sociological and of psychological issues. The paper draws on original research with practising and beginning teachers, and on theories of social and psychic induction, to illustrate the potential benefits of this bipartisan approach for both teachers and researchers. Recognising the significance of (but somewhat arbitrary distinction between) structure and agency in teachers’ practical and ideological positionings, it is suggested that teachers’ responses to local and central policy changes are governed by a mix of pragmatism, social determinism and often hidden desires. It is the often underacknowledged strength of desire that may tip teachers into accepting and implementing policies with which they are not ideologically comfortable

The role of social and/or ecological contexts influences assessment strategy use in Tilapia

Animals engage in costly agonistic contests during which winners procure resources. During these interactions, the combatants obtain and use information to make decisions on whether to persist or to withdraw from the fight, which is termed assessment. Recent theory and work have suggested that the types of assessment employed may be more variable than previously thought, with the use of different strategies possibly being influenced by social and ecological conditions during priming. This study addresses the contextual components (social and ecological) that affect the utilization of one assessment strategy over another. Male tilapia were primed with different combinations of social (large and small animals) and ecological (resource rich or poor) contexts 24 hr prior to fighting in staged, dyadic contests. When opponents were primed with the same context, a clear assessment strategy emerged and differed as a function of priming treatment. Conversely, when fish were primed with different treatment contexts, there was no discernible assessment. In addition, priming conditions had differing effects for large and small fish. Thus, assessment strategies in cichlids are dependent upon a combination of social, ecological contexts and size of the animal. Since assessment strategies change as a function of both of these contexts, as well as others, future framework investigating assessment strategies should include both intrinsic and extrinsic factors that may shape fighting dynamics.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/151902/1/eth12936_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/151902/2/eth12936.pd

Keypad mobile phones are associated with a significant increased risk of microbial contamination compared to touch screen phones

The use of mobile phones in the clinical environment by healthcare workers has become widespread. Despite evidence that these devices can harbour pathogenic micro-organisms there is little guidance on how to reduce contamination. Recently touchscreen phones with a single flat surface have been introduced. We hypothesise that bacterial contamination of phones used in hospitals will be lower on touchscreen devices compared to keypad devices. Sixty seven mobile phones belonging to health care workers were sampled. The median colony count for touchscreen phones and keypad devices was 0·09 colony forming units (cfu)/cm2 (interquartile range (IQR) 0.05–0·14) and 0·77 cfu/cm2 (IQR range 0·45–3.52) respectively. Colony counts were significantly higher on the keypad phones (Fisher’s exact test p<0.001). Multivariate analysis showed the type of phone (keypad vs. touch screen) was associated with increased colony counts (F-statistic 14.13: p<0.001). Overall, nine (13%) phones grew either meticillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus or vancomycin resistant enterococci. Eight (24%) keypad phones were contaminated with these organisms compared with one touch screen phone (3%). Our data indicate that touchscreen mobile phones are less contaminated than their keypad counterparts, and they are less likely to harbour pathogenic bacteria in the clinical setting

Policy Implementation in Higher Education: The Dynamics of a Fall Break

A case study using mixed methods that critically appraises the implementation of a mental health policy in higher education in the absence of evidence to inform the policy using an exemplar case from one mid-sized post-secondary institution was the motivation for this research. Explanation building was used to iteratively analyse data on rival explanations of the implementation of the fall break policy. Analyses from the surveys revealed that overall, only 36.9 per cent of students perceived an increase in workload before the break and only 29.6 per cent of students perceived an increase in workload after the break. However, the focus groups and professor interviews revealed that the timing of the fall break had an impact on how students and professors experienced the break and their perceptions on its impact on student mental health. If baseline data regarding the implementation of the fall break would have been collected prior to its implementation, we could have possibly avoided the implementation issues that arose. While this research provides an exemplar case of a fall break policy at one post-secondary institution, the policy learning is universal

Precision mass measurements on neutron-rich rare-earth isotopes at JYFLTRAP - reduced neutron pairing and implications for the rr-process calculations

The rare-earth peak in the $r$-process abundance pattern depends sensitively on both the astrophysical conditions and subtle changes in nuclear structure in the region. This work takes an important step elucidating the nuclear structure and reducing the uncertainties in $r$-process calculations via precise atomic mass measurements at the JYFLTRAP double Penning trap. $^{158}$Nd, $^{160}$Pm, $^{162}$Sm, and $^{164-166}$Gd have been measured for the first time and the precisions for $^{156}$Nd, $^{158}$Pm, $^{162,163}$Eu, $^{163}$Gd, and $^{164}$Tb have been improved considerably. Nuclear structure has been probed via two-neutron separation energies $S_{2n}$ and neutron pairing energy metrics $D_n$. The data do not support the existence of a subshell closure at $N=100$. Neutron pairing has been found to be weaker than predicted by theoretical mass models. The impact on the calculated $r$-process abundances has been studied. Substantial changes resulting in a smoother abundance distribution and a better agreement with the solar $r$-process abundances are observed.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Physical Review Letter

Walkability and cardiometabolic risk factors: Cross-sectional and longitudinal associations from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis

We used data from 3,227 older adults in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (2004–2012) to explore cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between walkability and cardiometabolic risk factors. In cross-sectional analyses, linear regression was used to estimate associations of Street Smart Walk Score® with glucose, triglycerides, HDL and LDL cholesterol, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and waist circumference, while logistic regression was used to estimate associations with odds of metabolic syndrome. Econometric fixed effects models were used to estimate longitudinal associations of changes in walkability with changes in each risk factor among participants who moved residential locations between 2004 and 2012 (n=583). Most cross-sectional and longitudinal associations were small and statistically non-significant. We found limited evidence that higher walkability was cross-sectionally associated with lower blood pressure but that increases in walkability were associated with increases in triglycerides and blood pressure over time. Further research over longer time periods is needed to understand the potential for built environment interventions to improve cardiometabolic health