Evidence for the reliability and validity, and some support for the practical utility of the two-factor Consideration of Future Consequences Scale-14

Researchers have proposed 1-factor, 2-factor, and bifactor solutions to the 12-item Consideration of Future Consequences Scale (CFCS-12). In order to overcome some measurement problems and to create a robust and conceptually useful two-factor scale the CFCS-12 was recently modified to include two new items and to become the CFCS-14. Using a University sample, we tested four competing models for the CFCS-14: (a) a 12-item unidimensional model, (b) a model fitted for two uncorrelated factors (CFC-Immediate and CFC-Future), (c) a model fitted for two correlated factors (CFC-I and CFC-F), and (d) a bifactor model. Results suggested that the addition of the two new items has strengthened the viability of a two factor solution of the CFCS-14. Results of linear regression models suggest that the CFC-F factor is redundant. Further studies using alcohol and mental health indicators are required to test this redundancy

Lessons for career guidance from return-on-investment analyses in complex education-related fields

Return on investment (ROI) has become part of the policymaking toolkit, particularly pertinent for activities like school-based career guidance deemed optional by some policymakers. There are institutions supporting ideal ROI methods alongside an academic critique, but little research on how ROI has been applied in practice in a guidance setting. In this systematic review, we document 32 ROI studies across nine countries that address either school-based guidance or one of three congruent fields: widening participation in education, behaviour in schools and adult career guidance. We find the corpus highly heterogenous in methods and quality, leading to problems in comparability. We argue for a pragmatic approach to improving consistency and the importance of policymakers’ capacity for critically reading ROI studies

Letter, T. E. Percy to Augusta H. Rice, June 18, 1864

Letter from T. E. Percy, Jackson, Mississippi, to Augusta Hopkins Rice in Oktibbeha County, thanking her for her hospitality during a recent visit, mentioning his Yerger neighbors, telling her about Yankee soldiers who damaged his house, almost burning it, and also put salt in the pianos. The house was saved from burning by the slave Arch, who begged the soldiers not to do it. 1864.https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/mss-rice-papers/1002/thumbnail.jp

Mechanism of thermal decomposition of poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK) from a review of decomposition studies

A review of the literature on the flammability and decomposition of poly(oxy-1,4-phenyleneoxy-1,4-phenylenecarbonyl-1,4-phenylene) (PEEK) is presented. This paper provides an overview of the flammability of PEEK and its decomposition mechanisms. Based on this literature, mechanisms have been suggested which attempt to explain the products formed at each stage of PEEK decomposition and indicate the intermediates which should be formed at each of these stages

Investing in careers: What is career guidance worth?

Career describes our pathway through life, learning and work. It is how we make a difference in the world and how we balance the competing demands on our time. When individuals make good choices about their education and training, access decent work, balance their various responsibilities and develop and progress throughout life, we have well-functioning societies. We have done extensive costing work to estimate how much the government is currently spending on career guidance and to compare that to the level of spend in 2009. We estimate the figures as follows: • We currently spend £68 per person, per year on the delivery of career guidance to young people. The equivalent figure in 2009 (adjusted for inflation) was £159. • We currently spend £26 per person, per year on the delivery of career guidance to adults. The equivalent figure in 2009 (adjusted for inflation) was £35. The level of investment is one of the major issues that career guidance in England faces. However, it is not the only one. Funding is currently highly fragmented and dependent on a series of local decisions in schools, colleges, universities and local authorities. There is a desperate need to manage funding more strategically to ensure greater consistency. The career guidance workforce has also been depleted and the system has been de-professionalised. There is a need to take actions to improve quality and strengthen the professionalism of the system. The Career Guidance Guarantee represents is a thought through and costed plan to achieve the improvements that are needed. To implement it in full we would need to spend an additional £315m on youth careers services and an additional £235m on adult careers services. This equates to an average additional spend of £47 per person on career guidance for young people and an additional £6 per head on working age adults. This represents a very modest new investment, which when combined with the other reforms in the Career Guidance Guarantee would lead to a much more effective system. Career guidance is a powerful intervention that can make a substantial difference to the lives of those who are able to access it. Currently too few people in England are able to access career guidance or are even aware that services are available and those that do get it often find that it is too poorly resourced. Government needs to take a more strategic approach, professionalise the system and ensure its quality and begin a programme of new investment. The Career Guidance Guarantee represents a clear and costed blueprint as to how this can be achieved

A History of Persia

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Opening the Solar System: An Advanced Nuclear Spacecraft for Human Exploration

Human exploration of the solar system is limited by our technology, not our imagination. We dream of a time when we can freely travel among the planets and truly become a spacefaring people. However, the current state of our technology limits our options for architecting missions to other planets. Instead of sailing the seas of space in the way that we cruise the seas of Earth, our limited propulsion technology requires us to depart Earth on a giant cluster of gas tanks and return in a lifeboat. This inefficient approach to exploration is evident in many of today's leading mission plans for human flights to Mars, asteroids, and other destinations. The cost and complexity of this approach to mission architecting makes it extremely difficult to realize our dreams of exploration beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO). This does not need to be the case. Researchers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) have been investigating the feasibility of a new take on nuclear propulsion with the performance to enable a paradigm shift in human space exploration. During the fall of 2013, engineers at MSFC's Advanced Concepts Office developed a spacecraft concept (pictured below) around this new propulsion technology and redefined the human Mars mission to show its full potential. This spacecraft, which can be launched with a fleet of soon-to-be available SLS launch vehicles, is fueled primarily with hydrogen, and is fully reusable with no staging required. The reusable nature of this design enables a host of alternative mission architectures that more closely resemble an ocean voyage than our current piecemeal approach to exploration

Systematic Analysis of Clinical Outcomes Following Stereotactic Radiosurgery for Central Neurocytoma.

Central neurocytoma (CN) typically presents as an intraventricular mass causing obstructive hydrocephalus. The first line of treatment is surgical resection with adjuvant conventional radiotherapy. Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) was proposed as an alternative therapy for CN because of its lower risk profile. The objective of this systematic analysis is to assess the efficacy of SRS for CN. A systematic analysis for CN treated with SRS was conducted in PubMed. Baseline patient characteristics and outcomes data were extracted. Heterogeneity and publication bias were also assessed. Univariate and multivariate linear regressions were used to test for correlations to the primary outcome: local control (LC). The estimated cumulative rate of LC was 92.2% (95% confidence interval: 86.5-95.7%, p<0.001). Mean follow-up time was 62.4 months (range 3-149 months). Heterogeneity and publication bias were insignificant. The univariate linear regression models for both mean tumor volume and mean dose were significantly correlated with improved LC (p<0.001). Our data suggests that SRS may be an effective and safe therapy for CN. However, the rarity of CN still limits the efficacy of a quantitative analysis. Future multi-institutional, randomized trials of CN patients should be considered to further elucidate this therapy