Passing on Success? Productivity Outcomes for Quarterbacks Chosen in the 1999-2004 National Football League Player Entry Drafts

Seventy quarterbacks were selected during six NFL drafts held 1999-2004. This paper analyzes information available prior to the draft (college, college passing statistics, NFL Combine data) and draft outcomes (overall number picked and signing bonus). Also analyzed for these players are measures of NFL playing opportunity (games played, games started, pass attempts) and measures of productivity (Pro Bowls made, passer rating, DVOA, and DPAR) for up to the first seven years of each drafted player’s NFL career. We find that more highly-drafted QBs get significantly more opportunity to play in the NFL. However, we find no evidence that more highly-drafted QBs become more productive passers than lower-drafted QBs that see substantial playing time. Furthermore, QBs with more pass attempts in their final year of more highly-ranked college programs exhibit lower NFL passing productivity.Sports, NFL, Draft, Quarterback, Productivity

Superstars and Journeymen: An Analysis of National Football Team’s Allocation of the Salary Cap across Rosters, 2000-2005

The National Football League constrains teams’ payrolls via a “salary cap.” We analyze how teams allocate cap spending across rosters using a data set of over 10,000 player-season observations during 2000-2005. We find that a few players account for relatively high portions of teams’ caps, and that the players’ “cap values” are consistent with both “superstar” and Yule-Simon income distributions. A theoretical model based on a utility function convex with respect to winning is used to explain this result. We also find that the cap has been substantially effective in reducing teams’ ability to “spend their way to championships.”Sports, NFL, Draft, Quarterback, Productivity

We are not alone: international learning for professionals caring for children requiring palliative care

BACKGROUND: Educational opportunities for professionals working with children requiring palliative care are central to future development within the specialty across countries. International educational initiatives involving a range of professionals are important for learning with and from others working within the field. AIM: To explore the experiences and value to students from participating in an international online discussion forum. METHOD: This article examines one such initiative; the use of an international asynchronous discussion forum with students in Melbourne, Australia and Belfast, UK who work with children and families. The innovation is examined and student perspectives of the forum's value are presented. RESULTS: Students endorsed the value of the forum, identifying three main areas of learning: differences across locations within countries, respecting different views and being open, and need for continued learning within children's palliative care. The overarching theme 'we are not alone' supported the idea that participation in the international discussion forum enabled students to see a broader perspective. Ideas for future developments of similar forums are also explored

Boston Women's Fund Annual Report 2008

The Boston Women's Fund provides start-up and on-going funding for women's/girls' organizations or projects that address social and economic injustice. Our focus is on women with the least access to resources, who have been excluded from full participation in society because of their race, class, age, ability, immigrant status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or religion. Women and girls organizing on their own behalf is a priority for the Fund. The Boston Women's Fund understands organizing as a collective action to challenge the status quo, demand changes in policy and practice, and educate communities about root causes and just solutions. The Fund recognizes that there are a variety of stages and strategies that lead to community organizing. Therefore, BWF supports strategies that build community, encourage collaborations with other organizations, increase skills and/or access to resources, and produce leadership from within the constituency directly affected.

The effectiveness of nurse-led interventions to prevent childhood and adolescent overweight and obesity: A systematic review of randomised trials

Background: Obesity among children and adolescents continues to rise worldwide. Despite the efforts of the healthcare workforce, limited high-quality evidence has been put forward demonstrating effective childhood obesity interventions. The role of nurses as primary actors in childhood obesity prevention has also been underresearched given the size of the workforce and their growing involvement in chronic disease prevention. Aim: To examine the effectiveness of nurse-led interventions to prevent childhood and adolescent overweight and obesity. Design: A systematic review of randomised trials. Data sources: Medline, CINAHL, EMBASE, Cochrane (CENTRAL), ProQuest Central and SCOPUS were searched from inception to March 2020. Review methods This review was informed by the Cochrane handbook for systematic reviews of interventions. Results: Twenty-six publications representing 18 discrete studies were included (nine primary prevention and nine secondary prevention). Nurse-led interventions were conducted in diverse settings, were multifaceted, often involved parents and used education, counselling and motivational interviewing to target behaviour change in children and adolescents’ diet and physical activity. Most studies did not determine that nurse-led interventions were more effective than their comparator(s) in preventing childhood and adolescent overweight and obesity. Conclusions: Nurse-led interventions to prevent juvenile obesity are feasible but have not yet determined effectiveness. With adequate training, nurses could make better use of existing clinical and situational opportunities to assist in the effort to prevent childhood obesity

Scooter Solutions: Side Car Companion for 50cc Motor Scooter

Scooter Solutions is a composite structured chassis designed to be connected to a two-wheeled small engine vehicle for the purpose of transporting cargo and passengers. Manufactured using woven carbon fiber/epoxy panels with an XPS foam core and Aluminum 6063-T5 framing, the structure must be light for user practicality and reducing engine wear while maintaining adequate strength for the passenger load and debris deflection while exposed to the natural environment. This product is unique due to its carbon fiber reinforced foam sandwich panels with a two-part epoxy matrix allowing for a lighter, more durable side car than its contemporaries. The light weighting is achieved via novel carbon composite construction in substitution of the steel and thick fiberglass used by competitors in this market

Announcements Versus Conversations to Improve HPV Vaccination Coverage: A Randomized Trial

Improving provider recommendations is critical to addressing low human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination coverage. Thus, we sought to determine the effectiveness of training providers to improve their recommendations using either presumptive “announcements” or participatory “conversations.

Mechanisms underlying the exquisite sensitivity of Candida albicans to combinatorial cationic and oxidative stress that enhances the potent fungicidal activity of phagocytes

Copyright © 2014 Kaloriti et al.Peer reviewedPublisher PD