The effects of massage therapy on delayed-onset muscle soreness after unaccustomed exercise for healthy, sedentary adults

This study examined the effects of massage therapy on delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) following unaccustomed exercise in healthy, sedentary adults. Fifteen volunteers between the ages of 23 and 63 performed 100 calf raises followed by 15 minutes of rest. After the rest period, one leg was randomly assigned to receive a 5-minute massage while the other leg received a 5-minute placebo ultrasound treatment. A questionnaire was administered to evaluate DOMS at 24, 48, and 72 hour posttreatment intervals when DOMS reportedly is at its peak. A double blind control was employed so that the examiner was unaware as to which treatments were performed on each leg. A t-test for nonindependent samples was used with significance set at the 0.05 level. There was less DOMS reported in the massaged leg at each interval, however, only a significant reduction in DOMS was reported at the 24 hour posttreatment interval

Taking Stock of Common Core Math Implementation: Supporting Teachers to Shift Instruction: Insights from the Math in Common 2015 Baseline Survey of Teachers and Administrators

In spring 2015, WestEd administered surveys to understand the perspectives on Common Core State Standards-Mathematics (CCSS-M) implementation of teachers and administrators in eight California school districts participating in the Math in Common (MiC) initiative. From this survey effort, we were able to learn from over 1,000 respondents about some of the initial successes and challenges facing California educators attempting to put in place and support new -- and what some consider revolutionary -- ideas in U.S. mathematics education

Beyond Tuition, Costs of Teacher Preparation: Descriptive Analytics from the Aspiring Teachers\u27 Financial Burden Survey

This report shares analyses from the national survey of aspiring teachers carried out by Prepared To Teach during the 2019-2020 school year. Beyond Tuition, Costs of Teacher Preparation dives into the income sources, expenses, debt, and work realities of aspiring teachers across the country and identifies where candidates are in need of additional support.https://educate.bankstreet.edu/pt/1018/thumbnail.jp

VE-based training strategies for acquiring survey knowledge

Virtual environments (VEs) have been used successfully to train wayfinders to navigate through buildings and learn their layout. However, at the same time, for many, the VE deficiencies have reduced the effectiveness of VEs for training spatial tasks. In an effort to improve VE effectiveness, we conducted research to determine if certain unique capabilities of VEs could compensate for its deficiencies. Research participants were required to learn the layout or configuration of one floor of an office building as portrayed in a VE. To improve spatial learning, we developed three VE navigation training aids: local and global orientation cues, aerial views, and a themed environment enhanced with sights and sounds and divided into four distinct sectors. The navigation aids were provided during the training but were not available during testing of survey knowledge. Of the three training aids investigated, only the aerial views were effective in improving performance on the survey knowledge tests. The effectiveness of the navigation aids seemed to depend on how they were used during training. A retention test given one week after training indicated that spatial knowledge acquired in a VE diminished little over the one-week retention interval

VE-based training strategies for acquiring survey knowledge

Virtual environments (VEs) have been used successfully to train wayfinders to navigate through buildings and learn their layout. However, at the same time, for many, the VE deficiencies have reduced the effectiveness of VEs for training spatial tasks. In an effort to improve VE effectiveness, we conducted research to determine if certain unique capabilities of VEs could compensate for its deficiencies. Research participants were required to learn the layout or configuration of one floor of an office building as portrayed in a VE. To improve spatial learning, we developed three VE navigation training aids: local and global orientation cues, aerial views, and a themed environment enhanced with sights and sounds and divided into four distinct sectors. The navigation aids were provided during the training but were not available during testing of survey knowledge. Of the three training aids investigated, only the aerial views were effective in improving performance on the survey knowledge tests. The effectiveness of the navigation aids seemed to depend on how they were used during training. A retention test given one week after training indicated that spatial knowledge acquired in a VE diminished little over the one-week retention interval

Classroom Observations: Documenting Shifts in Instruction for Districtwide Improvement

Even seemingly straightforward education policy ideas are interpreted and implemented quite differently as they make their way through the levels of the education system (Cohen, 1990; Cohen & Hill, 2001; Spillane, 2000). Complex ideas that lack clear and specific instructional guidance, like the Common Core State Standards in mathematics (CCSS-M) -- with their increased emphasis on rigorous and coherent content, standards for mathematical practice, and instructional pedagogies that support students' deep conceptual mathematics learning -- may prove challenging as teachers attempt to interpret and implement them in their own classrooms. The combination of limited instructional guidance for the CCSS-M and individual teacher variation (resulting from each teacher's different beliefs, skills, knowledge, and interests) leaves room for significant variation in how the central CCSS-M reform ideas are interpreted and implemented in the classroom. As such, there will likely be wide variation in teachers' instruction as they implement the CCSS-M in their classrooms.Yet if, as research has shown, teachers affect student achievement more than any other school-related factor (Rivkin, Hanushek, & Kain, 2005), Math in Common districts will need to understand and monitor how CCSS-M ideas are taught in classrooms in order to improve mathematics education for all students. Understanding the extent of teachers' instructional variation will help districts build on and spread best practices and support improvement of CCSS-M implementation

Lyman alpha Luminosity Functions at Redshift z = 4.5

We present a spectroscopically confirmed sample of Lyman alpha emitting galaxies (LAEs) at z ~ 4.5 in the Extended Chandra Deep Field South (ECDFS), which we combine with a sample of z ~ 4.5 LAEs from the Large Area Lyman Alpha (LALA) survey to build a unified Lya luminosity function (LF). We spectroscopically observed 64 candidate LAEs in the ECDFS, confirming 46 objects as z~4.5 LAEs. We did not detect significant flux from neither C_iv 1549\AA\ nor the He_ii 1640\AA\ emission in individual LAE spectra, even with a coadded spectrum. With the coadded line ratio of He_ii to Lya constraining the Population III star formation rate (SFR) to be <0.3% of the total SFR, and <1.25% of the observed SFR (both at the 2-$\sigma$ level). Only one LAE was detected in both the X-ray and radio, while the other objects remained undetected, even when stacked. The Lya LF in our two deepest narrowband filters in the ECDFS differ at >2$\sigma$ significance, and the product $L^*\Phi^*$ differs by a factor of >3. Similar LF differences have been used to infer evolution in the neutral gas fraction in the intergalactic medium at z>6, yet here the difference is likely due to cosmic variance, given that the two samples are from adjoining line-of-sight volumes. Combining our new sample of LAEs with those from previous LALA narrowband surveys at z = 4.5, we obtain one of the best measured Lya LFs to date of L* = 42.83 $\pm$ 0.06 and $\Phi^*$ = -3.48 $\pm$ 0.09. We compare our new LF to others from the literature to study the evolution of the Lya luminosity density at 0 < z < 7. We find tentative evidence for evolution in the product $L^* \Phi^*$, which approximately tracks the cosmic SFR density, but since field-to-field and survey-to-survey variations are in some cases as large as the possible evolution, some caution is needed in interpreting this trend.Comment: 21 pages, 17 figures and 6 tables. Re-submitted to MNRAS to a new referee. Big changes with two referees' comment

Bodyweight Perceptions among Texas Women: The Effects of Religion, Race/Ethnicity, and Citizenship Status

Despite previous work exploring linkages between religious participation and health, little research has looked at the role of religion in affecting bodyweight perceptions. Using the theoretical model developed by Levin et al. (Sociol Q 36(1):157–173, 1995) on the multidimensionality of religious participation, we develop several hypotheses and test them by using data from the 2004 Survey of Texas Adults. We estimate multinomial logistic regression models to determine the relative risk of women perceiving themselves as overweight. Results indicate that religious attendance lowers risk of women perceiving themselves as very overweight. Citizenship status was an important factor for Latinas, with noncitizens being less likely to see themselves as overweight. We also test interaction effects between religion and race. Religious attendance and prayer have a moderating effect among Latina non-citizens so that among these women, attendance and prayer intensify perceptions of feeling less overweight when compared to their white counterparts. Among African American women, the effect of increased church attendance leads to perceptions of being overweight. Prayer is also a correlate of overweight perceptions but only among African American women. We close with a discussion that highlights key implications from our findings, note study limitations, and several promising avenues for future research

The Effect of Medicare Eligibility on Spousal Insurance Coverage

A majority of married couples in the United States take advantage of the fact that employers often provide health insurance coverage to spouses. When the older spouses become eligible for Medicare, however, many of them can no longer provide their younger spouses with coverage. In this paper, we study how spousal eligibility for Medicare affects the health insurance and health care access of the younger spouse. We find spousal eligibility for Medicare results in the younger spouse having worse insurance coverage and reduced access to health care services