Principal and Teacher Reports of Principal Leadership: An Examination of Congruence and Predictive Validity

Principals influence school characteristics including morale and teacher turnover, but the utility of different methods of measuring principal behavior is unclear. Using data from public schools in the National Study of Delinquency Prevention in Schools, I examined relations between school-level teacher reports and principal self-reports of leadership, which better predicted student-reported rule clarity and fairness, and whether agreement or congruence between reports of principal leadership predicted school morale, organizational focus, and teacher turnover. The data used are from 263 schools and thousands of respondents; limitations of the study include the measures of principal leadership used, which are not strictly parallel and the age of the data used. I hypothesized that correlations between teacher and principal reports would be small and positive, that teacher reports of leadership would better predict rule clarity and fairness, and that congruence between reports would predict better school morale, better organizational focus, and lower teacher turnover

Multicenter assessment of venous reflux by duplex ultrasound

Objective: This prospective multicenter investigation was conducted to define the repeatability of duplex-based identification of venous reflux and the relative effect of key parameters on the reproducibility of the test. Methods: Repeatability was studied by having the same technologist perform duplicate tests, at the same time of the day, using the same reflux-provoking maneuver and with the patient in the same position. Reproducibility was examined by having two different technologists perform the test at the same time of the day, using the same reflux-provoking maneuver and with the patient in the same position. Facilitated reproducibility was studied by having two different technologists examine the same patients immediately after an educational intervention. Limits of agreement between two duplex scans were studied by changing three elements of the test: time of the day (morning vs afternoon), patient's position (standing vs supine), and reflux initiation (manual vs automatic compression decompression). Results: The study enrolled 17 healthy volunteers and 57 patients with primary chronic venous disease. Repeatability of reflux time measurements in deep veins did not significantly differ with the time of day, the patient's position, or the reflux-provoking maneuver. Reflux measurements in the superficial veins were more repeatable (P < .05) when performed in the morning with the patient standing. The agreement between the clinical interpretations significantly depended on a selected cut point (Spearman's rho, -0.4; P < .01). Interpretations agreed in 93.4% of the replicated measurements when a 0.5-second cut point was selected. The training intervention improved the frequency of agreement to 94.4% (kappa = 0.9). Alternations of the time of the duplex scan, the patient's position, and the reflux-provoking maneuver significantly decreased reliability. Conclusions: This study provides evidence to develop a new standard for duplex ultrasound detection of venous reflux. Reports should include information on the time of the test, the patient's position, and the provoking maneuver used. Adopting a uniform cut point of 0.5 second for pathologic reflux can significantly improve the reliability of reflux detection. Implementation of a standard protocol should elevate the minimal standard for agreement between repeated tests from the current 70% to at least 80% and with more rigid standardization, to 90%. (J Vase Surg 2012;55:437-45.

Dairy science, 1969

Comparison of straw, shavings, peanut hulls, and shredded bark for bedding for dairy cattle / H. T. Nicholson, V. A. Neuhardt and L. O. Gilmore -- The interrelationship of scientific and practical principles of milking cows / K. L. Smith -- Magnesium deficiency (grass tetany) in cattle / L. A. Muir -- The relationship between rumen fermentation and diet / D. L. Palmquist -- Corn silage as the only forage for dairy cows / R. W. Wallenius -- Adaptation to urea rations / H. R. Conrad and J. W. Hibbs -- Alfalfa as an extender of urea / H. R. Conrad, J. W. Hibbs and V. A. Neuhardt -- Alfalfa and grain packaged in large high density bales as a complete feed for high-producing dairy cows / H. R. Conrad and J. W. Hibbs -- Response of dairy cows to corn and grain sorghum fed as soilage and silage / S. S. Gill, H. R. Conrad, W. H. Newland and W. J. Brakel -- Forage protein for dairy cows / R. W. Van Keuren and J. W. Hibbs -- Early cut forage is worth more for dairy cows / H. R. Conrad and J. W. Hibb