Averting behavior and urban air pollution.

[Dataset available: http://hdl.handle.net/10411/15668]

A review of research of the effectiveness of kindergarten training

Thesis (Ed. M.)--Boston University, 195

Information Technology, Workplace Organization and the Demand for Skilled Labor: Firm-Level Evidence

Recently, the relative demand for skilled labor has increased dramatically. We investigate one of the causes, skill-biased technical change. Advances in information technology (IT) are among the most powerful forces bearing on the economy. Employers who use IT often make complementary innovations in their organizations and in the services they offer. Our hypothesis is that these co-inventions by IT users change the mix of skills that employers demand. Specifically, we test the hypothesis that it is a cluster of complementary changes involving IT, workplace organization and services that is the key skill-biased technical change. We examine new firm-level data linking several indicators of IT use, workplace organization, and the demand for skilled labor. In both a short-run factor demand framework and a production function framework, we find evidence for complementarity. IT use is complementary to a new workplace organization which includes broader job responsibilities for line workers, more decentralized decision-making, and more self-managing teams. In turn, both IT and that new organization are complements with worker skill, measured in a variety of ways. Further, the managers in our survey believe that IT increases skill requirements and autonomy among workers in their firms. Taken together, the results highlight the roles of both IT and IT-enabled organizational change as important components of the skill-biased technical change.

An evaluation of recordings for teaching auditory discrimination of word elements for beginning reading

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston Universit

DataQ: A Collaborative Platform for Sharing Knowledge and Developing Best Practices to Support Research Data in Libraries

Objective As librarians take on new roles in supporting the management of research data, they may require opportunities and tools for professional development. To address this need, librarians at the University of Colorado Boulder began exploring ways to offer librarians guidance for answering research data questions. Methods The DataQ project is an IMLS­funded effort by the University of Colorado Boulder Libraries, the Greater Western Library Alliance (GWLA), and the Great Plains Network (GPN) to develop an online knowledge­base of research data questions and answers curated for and by the library community. Content will be crowd­sourced and reviewed by an editorial team. The site will also include links to resources, best practices, and practical approaches for working with researchers to address specific research data issues. Results The DataQ project is intended to address the growing need for resources to assist libraries with providing support for the research data needs of faculty and students. The project team is currently establishing its editorial team and designing the site and will be seeking content contributions during 2015. The project will also establish an online community of professionals who will collaborate in the development of practical, authoritative, and peer­reviewed answers to research data questions. Conclusions With the management and curation of research data becoming a priority for many institutions, libraries, as campus centers for research services and infrastructure, are often looked to as a point of support for research data questions, and practical tools, such as DataQ, are essential for supporting this work in libraries

Large Scale Dynamical Model of Macrophage/HIV Interactions

Properties emerge from the dynamics of large-scale molecular networks that are not discernible at the individual gene or protein level. Mathematical models - such as probabilistic Boolean networks - of molecular systems offer a deeper insight into how these emergent properties arise. Here, we introduce a non-linear, deterministic Boolean model of protein, gene, and chemical interactions in human macrophage cells during HIV infection. Our model is composed of 713 nodes with 1583 interactions between nodes and is responsive to 38 different inputs including signaling molecules, bacteria, viruses, and HIV viral particles. Additionally, the model accurately simulates the dynamics of over 50 different known phenomena, including molecular events associated with viral infection, endocytosis, transport, replication, budding, and cellular release. Statistical analyses of the model reveal network components with significant potential to influence molecular systems in both normal and infected macrophages, many of which have been confirmed in cell and animal models of HIV infection. We designed a Probabilistic Confidence Interval analysis for Boolean models (PCIB), demonstrating that our model emulates approximately 82% of a mass spectrometry dataset, collected from 7 macrophage samples infected with HIV across 67 proteins known to be central to the HIV infection process. The reproducibility of our model will facilitate guided hypothesis creation for future in vitro and in vivo studies. Additionally, the model allows for protein signaling interactions in human macrophages during HIV infection to be studied from a non-reductionist point of view

Pharmacological treatment of focal epilepsy in adults: an evidence based approach.

INTRODUCTION: Focal seizures represent the most common seizure type and focal epilepsies the most common epilepsy type. Anti-seizure medications (ASMs) still represent the main form of treatment for epilepsy. AREAS COVERED: The aim of this review article is to provide an overview of available evidence about current and upcoming pharmacological options and strategies for adults with focal epilepsy focusing on the last 5 years. EXPERT OPINION: Seventeen drugs are currently approved for the treatment of focal seizures including cenobamate as the very latest option. Ten of these drugs are also licensed for monotherapy. Level A evidence for initial monotherapy is available for seven drugs with no robust data supporting that one drug is superior to the other. Safety, tolerability as well as pharmacoeconomic reasons would then drive treatment decisions. Data on adjunctive treatment are available for 13 ASMs showing again no obvious difference in terms of efficacy. Evidence on specific drug combinations is almost non-existent and the final decision of combining specific drugs is based on the experience of the individual clinician rather than on robust evidence. Current outcome measures do not consider number of previously failed drugs and the observation period is often too short

Preferences of children in grades two through eight in social studies subject areas

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit