Inquiry-based leadership:The influence of affective attitude, experienced social pressure and self-efficacy

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to improve the understanding of psychological factors that influence inquiry-based leadership. This study investigates how affective attitude, experienced social pressure, and self-efficacy relate to aspects of inquiry-based school leadership. A school leader’s inquiry habit of mind, data literacy, and the extent to which he or she creates a culture of inquiry in the school are each identified as aspects of inquiry-based leadership. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from questionnaires completed by a sample of 79 school leaders. Findings A significant relationship was found between self-efficacy regarding inquiry-based leadership and all aspects of inquiry-based leadership. Affective attitude toward inquiry-based leadership was significantly related to creating a culture of inquiry. There was no unique relationship between experienced social pressure and inquiry-based leadership. Practical implications Administrators and educators of school leaders who aim to stimulate inquiry-based school leadership should not only focus on increasing the capacity of school leaders to lead their school in an inquiry-based way, but they should also focus on leaders’ self-efficacy and on fostering leaders’ positive attitude toward inquiry-based school leadership. Administrators and educators can, for example, give positive feedback, emphasize the added value of inquiry-based leadership, encourage working with critical friends, and stimulate collaboration with other leaders. Originality/value This study addresses two gaps in the existing research, by focusing on inquiry-based leadership instead of data use and on psychological factors instead of knowledge and skills that are related to this type of leadership

On Character varieties of two-bridge knot groups

We find explicit models for the PSL(2,C)- and SL(2,C)-character varieties of the fundamental groups of complements in S^3 of an infinite family of two-bridge knots that contains the twist knots. We compute the genus of the components of these character varieties, and deduce upper bounds on the degree of the associated trace fields. We also show that these knot complements are fibered if and only if they are commensurable to a fibered knot complement in a Z/2Z-homology sphere, resolving a conjecture of Hoste and Shanahan.Comment: 36 pages, 4 figure

Assessing and Improving Positional Accuracy and its Effects on Areal Estimation at Coleambally Irrigation Area

If management decisions are made with geospatial data that have not been assessed for positional accuracy, then debate about both methodologies of measurement and management decisions can occur. This debate, in part, can be avoided by assessing the positional accuracy of geospatial data, leading to increased confidence (decreased uncertainty) in both the data and the decisions made from the data. In this study, we assessed the positional accuracy of two Geographic Information System (GIS) baseline datasets at the Coleambally Irrigation Area (CIA); high-resolution digital aerial photography acquired in January 2000, and the Digital Topographic Data Base (DTDB) roads data. We also assessed areal error of paddock measurements from an improved accuracy version of the high-resolution digital aerial photography. Positional accuracies were assessed by comparing well-defined features from both baseline datasets (original aerial photography and DTDB roads) to high-level accuracy Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) data for the same features. This assessment showed that neither baseline dataset met the National Mapping Council of Australia’s standards of map accuracy. Consequently, we processed the original digital photography to create an improved dataset, which was over 2.5 times more accurate than the original photography, and over 4 times more accurate than the DTDB data. The improved dataset also met the map accuracy standard for Australia. We also assessed areal error by comparing paddock boundaries delineated from the improved dataset to those delineated from a DGPS associated with paddock soil surveys. The 90% confidence interval measured from the improved data for any individual paddock is approximately at the ± 5% target error set by Coleambally Irrigation Limited (CIL). The 95% confidence interval is roughly ± 6%. Overall areal error of multiple paddocks is much lower than the individual case with the 95% confidence interval for 2 paddocks being from about ± 4% error reducing to less than ± 2% for 8 or more paddocks. Knowledge of both positional and areal accuracies of the improved high-resolution digital aerial photography provides a means to more effectively manage environmental compliance of rice farmers at CIA and gives the CIL justification for making management decisions from this spatial data

The impact of cessation or continuation of family violence on children

Children exposed to family violence are at risk for developing long-lasting problems. Family violence is a pervasive problem, however, studies comparing continuation with cessation of family violence are limited. Understanding the cessation or continuation of family violence on child development is a prerequisite to prevent enduring problems and develop interventions. This study compares posttraumatic stress and delinquent behavior of children aged between eight and eighteen years for whom severe violence continues to children for whom violence diminishes or ceases. Children (N = 162, 43% boys, mean age 12 years) and their parents reported to child protection services (CPS) with severe violence were included. Levels of family violence, posttraumatic stress and delinquent behavior were re-assessed after 18 months. Most families (74%) still experienced severe family violence at the second assessment despite involvement of CPS. Structural equation modelling was applied. In the group where violence diminished or stopped, delinquent behavior decreased. A decrease of posttraumatic stress only occurred when violence diminished but surprisingly no decrease was observed when violence stopped completely. The findings demonstrate that overall family violence is persistent. Differing paths can be discerned for delinquent behavior and posttraumatic stress, indicating different developmental and recovery pathways after cessation of family violence. Nonetheless, it is fair to state that specialized and long-term care is crucial

A new CT-based method to quantify radiation-induced lung damage in patients

SummaryA new method to assess radiation-induced lung toxicity (RILT) using CT-scans was developed. It is more sensitive in detecting damage and corresponds better to physician-rated radiation pneumonitis than routinely-used methods. Use of this method may improve lung toxicity assessment and thereby facilitate development of more accurate predictive models for RILT

Waiting List Dynamics and Lung Transplantation Outcomes After Introduction of the Lung Allocation Score in The Netherlands

The Netherlands was the third country to adopt the lung allocation score (LAS) for national allocation of donor lungs in April 2014. Evaluations of the introduction of the LAS in the United States and Germany showed mainly beneficial effects, including increased survival after transplantation. Methods: Data for transplant candidates from 2010 to 2019 were retrieved from the Dutch Transplant Foundation database. Diagnosis categories and outcomes were compared between the periods before and after the introduction of the LAS. Time-dependent Cox regression and Fine-Gray analyses were performed to compare the chance for transplantation before and after introduction of the LAS. Results: The cohort comprised 1276 patients. After introduction of the LAS, the annual number of transplantations and waiting list mortality did not change. The proportion of patients on the waiting list and transplanted patients with pulmonary fibrosis increased (25%-37%, P < 0.001; 22%-39%, P < 0.001). The chance of transplantation increased significantly for patients with pulmonary fibrosis after introduction of the LAS (hazard ratio 1.9 [95% confidence interval 1.4-2.9]). Patients who died on the waiting list had an increased LAS compared to the time of placement on the waiting list, reflecting clinical deterioration. This was not the case in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (P < 0.001). Overall survival was similar after introduction of the LAS (5-y survival 68%, compared to 74% [P = 0.171]). Conclusions: After the introduction of the LAS in The Netherlands, an increased proportion of transplantations was performed for patients with pulmonary fibrosis. Overall survival after transplantation did not change