Analysing a discussion on an online university forum: A communicative approach to discursive democracy

This paper explores academics’ interaction in an online forum, where perceptions of racism are debated. The communicative model of democratic discourse directs the interpretation of an emancipatory discursive interaction, following a deductive textual analysis of the forum and interview texts from selected participants. The communicative model discourages normative judgements of others and focuses on an understanding of difference. The findings indicate that participants who engage in a deliberative demonstration of power, do not appreciate diverse social-historical contexts. Discursive interactions which indicate an understanding of participants’ contexts are marked by a mitigating and sympathetic approach which allows for doubt in the judgements of participants. These mitigating interactions do however not persuade all participants to critically reflect on limiting opinions, attitudes and ways of interaction. An online curator who invites participants from diverse contexts might make the discourse more nuanced, create the opportunity to understand multiple realities and facilitate a transformative discussion

The Influence of Self-Efficacy on Job Satisfaction in New Jersey Public School Principals

This quantitative, descriptive, correlational study sought to describe the nature of the relationship between the self-efficacy of school principals and their job satisfaction. The data were obtained from an online survey sent to all New Jersey public school principals. A total of 822 principals participated in the study. The independent variables included demographic characteristics of respondents and principal self-efficacy as measured by the Principal Self-Efficacy Scale (Tschannen-Moran & Gareis, 2004). The dependent variable was principal job satisfaction, as measured by the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire Short-Form (Weiss, Dawis, England, & Lofquist, 1967). The analyses of the data were completed using simultaneous and hierarchical regression models and mediation analysis. The results indicated that principal self-efficacy is significantly and positively related to principal job satisfaction and partially mediates the relationship between select demographic characteristics of principals and their job satisfaction. The study revealed that a principal’s self-efficacy level contributes significantly to his or her job satisfaction, a finding with implications for principal retention

Tuning nonlinearity, dynamic range, and frequency of nanomechanical resonators

We explore an electrostatic mechanism for tuning the nonlinearity of nanomechanical resonators and increasing their dynamic range for sensor applications. We also demonstrate tuning the resonant frequency of resonators both upward and downward. A theoretical model is developed that qualitatively explains the experimental results and serves as a simple guide for design of tunable nanomechanical devices

Dynamic range of nanotube- and nanowire-based electromechanical systems

Nanomechanical resonators with high aspect ratio, such as nanotubes and nanowires are of interest due to their expected high sensitivity. However, a strongly nonlinear response combined with a high thermomechanical noise level limits the useful linear dynamic range of this type of device. We derive the equations governing this behavior and find a strong dependence [[proportional]dsqrt((d/L)[sup 5])] of the dynamic range on aspect ratio

The Influence of Self-Efficacy on Job Satisfaction in New Jersey Public School Principals

This quantitative, descriptive, correlational study sought to describe the nature of the relationship between the self-efficacy of school principals and their job satisfaction. The data were obtained from an online survey sent to all New Jersey public school principals. A total of 822 principals participated in the study. The independent variables included demographic characteristics of respondents and principal self-efficacy as measured by the Principal Self-Efficacy Scale (Tschannen-Moran & Gareis, 2004). The dependent variable was principal job satisfaction, as measured by the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire Short-Form (Weiss, Dawis, England, & Lofquist, 1967). The analyses of the data were completed using simultaneous and hierarchical regression models and mediation analysis. The results indicated that principal self-efficacy is significantly and positively related to principal job satisfaction and partially mediates the relationship between select demographic characteristics of principals and their job satisfaction. The study revealed that a principal’s self-efficacy level contributes significantly to his or her job satisfaction, a finding with implications for principal retention

Economic evaluation of vaccines:Considerations on evidence, discounting, models and futures challenges

OBJECTIVES: During the last decade, with the arrival of new innovative vaccines, there was a huge increase in the number of papers on economic evaluation of vaccination programmes. Our study had a 3-fold objective: 1) Appraise available methodological papers dealing with specificities of vaccines in term of health economics; 2) Illustrate the impact of each issue in term of decision-making process with concrete examples; and 3) Identify futures challenges. METHODS: A comprehensive literature search was conducted to identify methodological papers dealing with specificities of economic evaluations of vaccines. Each issue was illustrated with concrete examples of cost-effectiveness analyses recently performed for HPV vaccines, or pneumococcal diseases. RESULTS: Except guidelines issued in 2008 by the WHO and a few general papers, most of methodological papers focused on modelling techniques and showed a trend in using more and more sophisticated methods (e.g. calibration). Several papers highlighted the need for having strong dynamic transmission models of infectious diseases to evaluate appropriately the cost-effectiveness of vaccination programmes. Other papers focused on the issue of discounting, and showed the extreme impact of discounting for some vaccines given this long-term assessment, possibly warranting an alternative method of discounting for vaccines. Fewer papers highlighted the different type of clinical evidence compared with curative pharmaceutical drugs, in particular the need to model immunological responses into clinical endpoints of disease and short-term efficacy into long-term effectiveness. Although there is an increasing level of expertise in the field, other important issues such as the choice of realistic assumptions (coverage rates or vaccine prices) and the inclusion of externalities (i.e. changes in the epidemiology of the infection) are not well analysed. CONCLUSIONS: It is important for decision makers to keep in mind the above vaccine specificities when they assess the cost-effectiveness of new vaccination programmes in order to provide relevant conclusions

The prevalence and classification of mandibular third molar impactions and associated second molar pathology in a Gauteng population group. A retrospective study.

An impacted tooth is one that has not erupted or is unlikely to erupt into its functional position within the dental arch1, and which has remained embedded in the jawbone or mucosa for more than 2 years following its physiological eruption time2 . It may be visible, not visible but palpable, or neither visible nor palpable but evident on a radiograph.1,3 Third molars are the most commonly impacted teeth followed by maxillary canines, with reported variations in prevalence amongst different population groups2,4. In 2000 The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) issued guidelines stating that third molars should only be removed if there is evidence of pathology, and advocated that the practice of prophylactic removal be discontinued.

Basins of attraction of a nonlinear nanomechanical resonator

We present an experiment that systematically probes the basins of attraction of two fixed points of a nonlinear nanomechanical resonator and maps them out with high resolution. We observe a separatrix which progressively alters shape for varying drive strength and changes the relative areas of the two basins of attraction. The observed separatrix is blurred due to ambient fluctuations, including residual noise in the drive system, which cause uncertainty in the preparation of an initial state close to the separatrix. We find a good agreement between the experimentally mapped and theoretically calculated basins of attraction