Discrepancy between Parents and Children in Reporting of Distress and Impairment: Association with Critical Symptoms

Background: We examined discrepant parent–child reports of subjective distress and psychosocial impairment. Method: Parent–child pairs (N = 112 pairs) completed the Health Dynamics Inventory at intake for outpatient therapy. Results: Average parent scores were significantly higher than average child scores on distress, impairment, and externalizing symptoms, but not internalizing symptoms. There were significant associations between parent–child discrepancy (i.e. children who reported greater distress or impairment than parents or vice versa) and child endorsement of several notable symptoms (rapid mood swings, panic, nightmares, and suicidal ideation). Conclusion: Parents tended to report more externalizing symptoms, distress, and impairment than children reported; however, when children report more distress and impairment than parents, this may indicate serious psychological problems

Concentration and sulfur isotopic composition of authigenic sulfide minerals at methane seep sites versus diffusive sites

This study investigates the amount of sulfide sulfur and its sulfur isotopic composition (δ34S) in seep site sediments of the Blake Ridge Diapir (BRD; offshore southeastern United States) and Monterey Bay (offshore California, United States). The geochemistry of these sediments is influenced by anaerobic methane oxidation (AMO). Our aim is to compare the sulfur geochemistry of seeps sites, where advective delivery of methane is an important process, to other localities where AMO is also an important biogeochemical process but where diffusion is the dominant mass transport mechanism. Sulfide sulfur of authigenic sulfide minerals was extracted from sediments using chromium reduction. We measured sulfide sulfur concentration via iodometric titration and in separate runs obtained sulfide precipitate for δ34S analyses. Our concentration measurements are flawed and the δ34S data are pending, so we used data from other studies for our comparisons. Methane seep sediments of Monterey Bay seem to have significantly higher sulfide content than do those from the BRD, but diffusive and advective sites cannot be distinguished by sulfide sulfur content alone. Data from the literature show that the 34S content of sulfide minerals from seep sites (modal δ34S, ~-30‰ CDT) is intermediate between that of diffusive sediments unaffected by AMO (modal δ34S, ~-35‰) and those affected by AMO (modal δ34S, ~-20‰). However, sulfide sulfur from seep sites and advective sites cannot be distinguished isotopically. Some samples from diffusive sediments located near the present-day sulfate-methane interface show unique sulfide sulfur isotopic compositions with strong 34S enrichment (δ34S \u3e 0‰)

An Analysis of Governance Policies and Practices in one School District Regarding English Learners

In a large, urban, high school district, secondary English-learning students are not achieving at the same rates as other identified subgroups on state and local standardized tests. This gap compounds economic and social inequities in the region. A solution to the problem is important to educators and policy makers in providing an equitable education for all students. Using the conceptual framework of organizational culture, this qualitative project study explored the district\u27s policies and practices on the academic program for English learners and whether policies result in meeting academic needs of English-learning students at the secondary level. One-on-one interviews with district personnel, observations in classrooms, and documents were analyzed using interpretive policy analysis. Three goals drove the data collection: (a) identify inconsistent or conflicting district policies; (b) identify the impact of district policies on diverse groups; and (c) determine a foundation for district administration to write policy. While no inconsistent or conflicting policies were identified, the evidence suggested the need for clear, frequent communication between the different policy actors and professional development for administrators and teachers in schools to create successful academic systems for English learners. Implications for positive social change are that these students will achieve greater academic success and be less likely to drop out of school

Quantifying the impact and relevance of scientific research

Qualitative and quantitative methods are being developed to measure the impacts of research on society, but they suffer from serious drawbacks associated with linking a piece of research to its subsequent impacts. We have developed a method to derive impact scores for individual research publications according to their contribution to answering questions of quantified importance to end users of research. To demonstrate the approach, here we evaluate the impacts of research into means of conserving wild bee populations in the UK. For published papers, there is a weak positive correlation between our impact score and the impact factor of the journal. The process identifies publications that provide high quality evidence relating to issues of strong concern. It can also be used to set future research agendas

First-order nature of the ferromagnetic phase transition in (La-Ca)MnO_3 near optimal doping

Neutron scattering has been used to study the nature of the ferromagnetic transition in single crystals of La_0.7Ca_0.3MnO_3 and La_0.8Ca_0.2MnO_3, and polycrystalline samples of La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO_3 and La_5/8Ca_3/8MnO_3 where the naturally occurring O-16 can be replaced with the O-18 isotope. Small angle neutron scattering on the x=0.3 single crystal reveals a discontinuous change in the scattering at the Curie temperature for wave vectors below ~0.065 A^-1. Strong relaxation effects are observed for this domain scattering, for the magnetic order parameter, and for the quasielastic scattering, demonstrating that the transition is not continuous in nature. There is a large oxygen isotope effect observed for the T_C in the polycrystalline samples. For the optimally doped x=3/8 sample we observed T_C(O-16)=266.5 K and T_C(O-18)=261.5 K at 90% O-18 substitution. The temperature dependence of the spin-wave stiffness is found to be identical for the two samples despite changes in T_C. Hence, T_C is not solely determined by the magnetic subsystem, but instead the ferromagnetic phase is truncated by the formation of polarons which cause an abrupt transition to the paramagnetic, insulating state. Application of uniaxial stress in the x=0.3 single crystal sharply enhances the polaron scattering at room temperature. Measurements of the phonon density-of-states show only modest differences above and below T_C and between the two different isotopic samples.Comment: 13 pages, 16 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Różnorodność i zmiana: polityka rządowa a wpływ otoczenia

The article addresses the issue of change in the government-university relationships. As has become increasingly clear for both analysts of higher education policy and for administrators in higher education institutions, a fundamental shift in the relationship between national governments and higher education institutions is taking place in many Western European countries. In some countries, these changes are occurring at greater speed than in others, but movement to what has been labelled “state supervision” is quite dominant. The first part of the article analyses the rationale for this change at system level by tracing its historical imperatives; after which it discusses the concept of the supervisory governance model. The second part focuses in particular on one of the key of this objective and what doing so implies for the role and function of higher education institutions. By focussing on the specific issue of diversity, the authors intend to demonstrate the dynamic relationship between governments and higher education institutions that is implied in the supervisory model.Artykuł jest poświęcony zmianom w stosunkach między rządem i uniwersytetem. Zarówno dla analizujących politykę wobec szkolnictwa wyższego, jak i dla zarządzających szkołami wyższymi coraz bardziej oczywisty staje się fakt, że w wielu państwach Europy Zachodniej dokonują się zasadnicze zmiany w relacjach między państwem a instytucjami szkolnictwa wyższego. W niektórych krajach zmiany te zachodzą szybciej niż w pozostałych, lecz powszechna jest tendencja do przeobrażania stanu nazwanego „regulacją państwową” . W pierwszej części artykułu autorzy zajmują się systemowymi determinantami tych zmian, eksponując czynniki historyczne, oraz sposobem tworzenia państwowej regulacji. W drugiej części koncentrują się na jednym z kluczowych celów polityki w stosunku do szkół wyższych, to jest na problemie różnorodności i instrumentach realizacji strategii regulacji, a także na skutkach, jakie one wywierają w sferze misji oraz zadań szkół wyższych. Koncentrując się na problemie różnorodności, autorzy starają się pokazać zmiany zachodzące - pod wpływem modelu regulacji - w stosunkach między państwem a szkołami wyższymi

Uncorrelated and correlated nanoscale lattice distortions in the paramagnetic phase of magnetoresistive manganites

Neutron scattering measurements on a magnetoresistive manganite La$_{0.75}$(Ca$_{0.45}$Sr$_{0.55}$)$_{0.25}$MnO$_3$ show that uncorrelated dynamic polaronic lattice distortions are present in both the orthorhombic (O) and rhombohedral (R) paramagnetic phases. The uncorrelated distortions do not exhibit any significant anomaly at the O-to-R transition. Thus, both the paramagnetic phases are inhomogeneous on the nanometer scale, as confirmed further by strong damping of the acoustic phonons and by the anomalous Debye-Waller factors in these phases. In contrast, recent x-ray measurements and our neutron data show that polaronic correlations are present only in the O phase. In optimally doped manganites, the R phase is metallic, while the O paramagnetic state is insulating (or semiconducting). These measurements therefore strongly suggest that the {\it correlated} lattice distortions are primarily responsible for the insulating character of the paramagnetic state in magnetoresistive manganites.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures embedde