Family Experiences with Standardized Assessments Leading to Participation in the Opt Out Movement

With the hope of giving voice to individuals who are usually left out of conversations regarding standardized assessments—the families who live with the effects of those tests on their children—this study was designed to answer the following research questions: 1) Who are some of the individuals who are participating in the opt out movement? 2) How are some individuals making the decision to participate in the opt out movement? a) What knowledge do these individuals who are participating in the opt out movement have regarding the standardized assessments that their children are being given in public schools? b) How have these individuals who are participating in the opt out movement been affected by the standardized assessments being given in public schools? Guided by interpretivist theory\u27s notion that reality is socially-constructed, I strove to better understanding the lived experiences of these individuals. The study\u27s initial phase was a national level census survey with open-ended responses and demographic questions. Eight descriptive interviews were conducted with selected census participants. Although each interview participant had their own experiences with standardized assessments and the opt out movement, it is striking how much their narratives resonated with each other and the predominant findings in the Census. The following conclusions can be drawn about parent\u27s perspectives from this study\u27s findings: Too much testing is going on in American schools, Testing is having negative effects on teachers and children, Schools and systems are not well-prepared to respond to families who wish to opt out, and Parents support their own teachers and/or schools, even when they believe education in general is on the wrong track. This research has implications for families, for schools, for opt out leaders, and for state education departments and policy makers. It points to the need for additional research regarding test anxiety in children, RtI effects on the well-being of children, in-depth case studies of individual states, and the effects of the opt out movement on reading

Group Empowerment Capacity and Capability in Associate Degree Schools of Nursing in the United States

The purpose of conducting this research was to determine the perception of group empowerment capacity (EC) and group empowerment capability (E) among faculty and administrators in associate degree nursing programs (ADN) in the United States (U.S.), whether there was a significant difference in the scores of EC and E between the two groups and if there was a significant relationship between the mediating variables and EC. The study was conducted online with administrators and faculty of ADN programs throughout the United States (U.S.). Information letters with questionnaire links were sent to all members of the Organization of Associate Degree Nurses (OADN) listserv and at least one administrator or faculty member from at least one ADN program in each state. The final sample number included 187 faculty members and 90 administrators. This study concluded that faculty and administrators in ADN programs in the U.S. perceived high levels of empowerment. Second, there was a significant difference in EC and E between faculty and administrators in ADN programs in the U.S. While faculty also perceived high levels of empowerment, their scores were significantly lower than administrators. Finally, there was a significant positive relationship between the mediating variables and EC

Phenotypic and genetic evaluation of stillbirths in United States Holsteins

Stillbirths, death of a calf within 48 h of parturition, create great economic losses to the dairy industry. The objectives of this research project were to determine: 1) if there have been changes in the rate of stillbirths in United States Holsteins, 2) the genetic and environmental factors that influence the occurrence of stillbirths, and 3) whether stillbirths are the same trait in primaparous and multiparous cows. Chi-squared Automated Interaction Detection algorithm was used to determine the most significant factors that affect the rate of stillbirths. Parity of the dam was the most significant factor; 11.0% in primaparous and 5.7% in multiparous cows. The second most significant factor was dystocia. As dystocia increased from 1 (= no assistance) to 3 (= needed assistance), so did the incidence of stillbirths, 6.1, 14.3, and 27.7% in primaparous cows; 3.9, 12.6, and 26.5% in multiparous cows. Inadequate maternal preparation for parturition was suggested as the cause of the continued increase in stillbirths.A mixed logistic regression analysis identified a significant increasing trend in the odds of a stillborn calf from 1985 to 1996; 4.1% per yr in primaparous cows, and 2.4% per yr in multiparous cows. The estimate of heritability for sire of the calf was 1.1% using data for primaparous cows and 1.5% for data for multiparous cows. Maternal grandsire heritability estimates were 2.2% for primaparous cows; 0.8% for multiparous cows. Despite the low genetic variance for stillbirths, there was a large range in PTA. Sire evaluation for survival can identify particular sires with low survival among their progeny. Herd-year variances were larger for all data sets than sire and maternal grandsire variances. Genetic change in the mean PTA for stillbirths was quite variable from year to year. There was no evidence of a genetic trend. Stillbirth rate should be monitored on an annual basis in Holsteins

Factor Structure of the Fear Survey Schedule for Children-Revised (FSSC-R): Identification of and Comparison of Fear Dimensions Between Singaporean, Australian, and American Children

This present study employed the Fear Survey Schedule for Children-Revised questionnaire to investigate the common normal fears experienced by Singaporean children, as well as to compare these fears with those identified for Australian and American children. This quantitative research employed frequency analysis to identify the top ten common fears reported, and factor analysis to identify fear dimensions that best represent the participants’ fear responses. A total of 1,234 Singaporean children aged 7 to 12 years participated in this study. The study’s findings revealed that the top common fears reported by Singaporean children relate to fears concerning death and danger. Factor analysis yielded a 10 factor structure that relates primarily to the fears of danger and death, and fears related to negative social consequences. Compared to children in Australia and the U.S., the findings from this study suggest higher fear sensitivity among Singaporean children towards ordinary day-to-day events. Findings from this study reinforce the need to consider the unique cultural and environment factors that can influence fears in children other than typical developmental fears that children experience

A sociological study of the manifestation of multi-culturalism in public schools

Debates on multi-culturalism are prevalent in politics, the mass media, and the educational system. I identify the range of local and national views concerning multi-culturalism and multi-cultural education, and explore how these views are manifest in actual multi-cultural practices in the schools. My central thesis is that the implementation of multi-culturalism in the schools threatens core, traditional values functional to the power structure. Yet, effective, quality multi-cultural education does takes place. This reveals a contradiction between the needs of the Nation-State to maintain certain core values and the need for multi-culturalism by international capitalism. I have explored multi-cultural issues in New Hampshire through teacher surveys and interviews. Many educators support multi-cultural education but say that it is not yet needed in New Hampshire. A broad range of views are found in both educational trade journals and the popular press. Two major multi-cultural issues in the U.S. are described: bilingualism is explored as the first multi-cultural issue in New Hampshire, and, as the effect of the post-1492 European expansion into the New World is reexamined, the homage paid to Columbus within the school system is questioned. Direct focus on the structure of oppression and on racism and sexism is largely absent in the writings on multi-culturalism that I have examined, particularly those for educators. Related topics I have explored are: the political correctness debate, cultural relativism, race relations and Afrocentric curriculum, the validity and inclusiveness of the Canon, reverse discrimination and affirmative action. Obstacles to an understanding of the relationship of multi-culturalism to educational equity include: lack of public knowledge of civil rights laws in education, the role education plays in social reproduction, and the mystification of the structure of educational finance. My suggestions for future research include critical analysis of textbooks to determine both the focus on and avoidance of multi-culturalism and the perpetration of Eurocentrism in textbooks. Individualism is offered as one explanation for the scepticism towards multi-culturalism on the part of some teachers. I have made some recommendations for a true multi-cultural, gender-fair, and global education

Optimization of NANOGrav's Time Allocation for Maximum Sensitivity to Single Sources

Pulsar Timing Arrays (PTAs) are a collection of precisely timed millisecond pulsars (MSPs) that can search for gravitational waves (GWs) in the nanohertz frequency range by observing characteristic signatures in the timing residuals. The sensitivity of a PTA depends on the direction of the propagating gravitational wave source, the timing accuracy of the pulsars, and the allocation of the available observing time. The goal of this paper is to determine the optimal time allocation strategy among the MSPs in the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) for a single source of GW under a particular set of assumptions. We consider both an isotropic distribution of sources across the sky and a specific source in the Virgo cluster. This work improves on previous efforts by modeling the effect of intrinsic spin noise for each pulsar. We find that, in general, the array is optimized by maximizing time spent on the best-timed pulsars, with sensitivity improvements typically ranging from a factor of 1.5 to 4.Comment: Accepted by Astrophyiscal Journa

Trust in Internet Shopping: A Proposed Model and Measurement Instrument

Despite the phenomenal growth of Internet users in recent years, the penetration rate of Internet shopping is still very low and one of most often cited reasons is the lack of consumers’ trust [e.g. Hoffman et al., 1999]. Although trust is an important concept in Internet shopping, there is a paucity of theory-guided empirical research in this area. In this paper, a theoretical model is proposed for investigating the nature of trust in the specific context of Internet shopping. In this model, consumers’ trust in Internet shopping is affected by two groups of antecedent factors, namely, “trustworthiness of Internet vendors” and “external environment”. In addition, the effects of these factors on trust are moderated by the consumers’ propensity to trust. Trust, in turn, reduces consumers’ perceived risk in Internet shopping. As a step towards the rigorous testing of the model, a 30-item measurement instrument has been developed with its reliability and validity empirically tested. This research contributes to the development of trust theory in e-commerce and provides a validated instrument for the measurement of various important trust related constructs

The Effect of Bereavement Counseling On Women with Psychological Problems Associated with Late Pregnancy Loss

Pregnancy is most often a joyful experience and a woman’s plans and dreams are shattered when the death of an unborn or newborn infant occurs. Studies have reported that these women experience psychological problems such as grief, depression, and anxiety which can be minimized by counselling. Hence, this study was undertaken to assess the effect of bereavement counseling on women with psychological problems associated with pregnancy, focusing on Roy’s adaptation theory. An experimental design, with pre-test and post-test, was used with randomly allocated experimental and control groups. Women were randomly allocated to the experimental and control groups with 45 women in each group. As pre assessment, grief, depression, and anxiety were measured using the Perinatal Bereavement Grief Scale and the Hamilton Depression and Hamilton Anxiety Scale, respectively. Women in the experimental group were given the counselling intervention and those in the control group were given the standard care, after pre-assessment. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. The reduction in the level of grief, depression, and anxiety were significantly better in the experimental group as compared to the control group (all P value

Online Consumer Reviews: Does Negative Electronic Word-of-Mouth Hurt More?

Web-based technologies have created numerous opportunities for electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) communication. This phenomenon impacts retailers as this easily accessible information could greatly affect consumer purchasing decision. The connectivity of the Web allows one-to-many and many-to-many communications among users that make information spread much faster and broader, including the spread of negative information. In this paper, we investigate the impact of online consumer reviews on consumer online purchasing decision. Specifically, we compare the impact of both negative and positive eWOM using a laboratory experiment. Our results show that the mean values of emotional trust and intention to shop online are significantly lower in the negative treatment group. We expect the result of this paper will generate researchers and marketers’ interest in this important area of research and practice