The Perceptions of Teachers in a Rural South Georgia County Regarding Merit Pay Based on Student Achievement

The study explored the perceptions of teachers in a rural south Georgia county regarding merit pay based on student achievement. The study examined 205 teachers\u27 personal and professional demographics and perceptions of the use of student achievement in awarding merit pay. The study employed a descriptive, survey approach to address the research questions. A self-designed survey questionnaire was developed to explore teachers\u27 perceptions of merit pay and included a quantitative orientation. Findings indicated that the majority of the teachers who responded to the survey worked at the middle school level, were greater than 50 years old, and had between 0-9 years experience. They typically held a Master\u27s Degree. The majority of the respondents worked at a school that did not make AYP for the 2009-2010 school year. Respondents did not want a merit pay plan implemented in the district even though the district is a Race to the Top Grant Award recipient that mandates a merit pay plan be implemented. The teachers were undecided if student achievement should be used to award a merit pay plan if one were to be implemented. The teachers indicated that a merit plan would negatively impact the school climate, which would destroy collaboration, which in turn could lead to a negative impact on student achievement. Teachers also indicated that teacher evaluations would have administrators playing favorites toward those teachers who do not rock the boat or raise questions about certain practices. The teachers were undecided on the number of evaluations that would be adequate to award merit pay. Based on demographics, there were no significant differences in the years of experience, the school level, and AYP status. There were differences with age. The younger the teacher, the more motivated the teacher was to improve student achievement in order to be awarded merit pay. The less education the teacher obtained, the more undecided the teacher was with improving student achievement in order to be awarded merit pay. The teachers, who had attained a Specialist\u27s Degree, were more undecided on using student achievement in order to be awarded merit pay

Structural Style and Tectonic Evolution of the Northern Maverick Basin

An incorporation of seismic data from the Maverick Basin with other studies reveals influence from the Paleozoic Ouachita thrust on the Triassic-Jurassic Chittim Rift’s formation and the influence of this rift on the later Cretaceous-Eocene Laramide compressional event. These features are the geologic remnant of a complete cycle of continental tectonics; from collision to rifting and eventual flooding. Signatures of all of these events are preserved in the subsurface of southwest Texas. I suggest that tectonic inheritance at a range of scales is recognized in the successive imprints of the continental margins preserved within the crust of the present Maverick Basin. The lithology and structure of a portion of the Maverick Basin in Maverick and Kinney Counties, Texas, have been reanalyzed using a new 3D seismic volume and two existing 2D seismic profiles. Amplitude reflectors in the volume were traced, mapped and correlated with reflectors in the 2D lines. These data were compared with published well data and used to develop a stratigraphic-structural model of the basin identifying the probably lithologies of the subsurface layers and key structural features. The geographic and geologic relationships established are used to illustrate a sequence of tectonic inheritance and the role of preexisting structural styles in subsequent tectonic events. The model reveals northeast directed thrusting of Paleozoic marine sediments along a west-northwest to east-southeast striking thrust fault related to the Ouachita Orogeny. This thrusting abated against the pre-existing Devil’s River Uplift north of the study area. Subsequent to thrusting, Triassic-Jurassic rifting formed the Chittim Rift, one of many half-graben sub-basins to form in the Maverick Basin during this time. The orientation of the rift axis parallel to the Ouachita thrust fault and not to the ultimate spreading center in the Gulf of Mexico, suggests utilization of pre-existing structural weaknesses. A left lateral transform fault active during rifting potentially formed along an existing tear fault in the Ouachita thrust. Movement along this fault constrained the northern wall of the Chittim Rift as well as lead to a stratigraphically distinct mini-basin within the Chittim Rift from pull-apart motion along the fault. Compression during the Laramide Orogeny produced the Chittim Anticline in Cretaceous marine layers above the Chittim Rift. The Chittim anticlinal axis is parallel and geographically collocated with the Chittim Rift axis, providing further evidence of tectonic inheritance and utilization of pre-exiting features. The data presented here helps to demonstrate the role of inherited structural features from specific tectonic events at the local scale on subsequent sedimentation and deformation, and how the presence of these local-scale subsurface features are significant to the overall development of the current south Texas continental margin. The resultant stratigraphic-structural model of this portion of the Maverick Basin helps to further unravel the history of the Gulf of Mexico passive margin specifically, and the development of passive margins in general, where features may not always appear to be oriented optimally to the far-field stress state. The study also presents a clear interpretation of the little-studied Central Maverick Basin area and adds to the limited studies on the region

Adoption of the 2006 Field Triage Decision Scheme for Injured Patients

Background: When emergency medical services (EMS) providers respond to the scene of an injury, they must decide where to transport the injured patients for further evaluation and treatment. This is done through a process known as “field triage”, whereby a patient’s injuries are matched to the most appropriate hospital. In 2005-2006 the National Expert Panel on Field Triage, convened by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, revised the 1999 American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma Field Triage Decision Scheme. This revision, the 2006 Field Triage Decision Scheme, was published in 2006.Methods: State Public Health departments’ and EMS’ external websites were evaluated to ascertain the current status of implementation of the 2006 Field Triage Decision Scheme.Results: Information regarding field triage was located for 41 states. In nine states no information regarding field triage was available on their websites. Of the 41 states where information was located, seven were classified as “full adopters” of the 2006 Field Triage Decision Scheme; nine were considered “partial adopters”; 17 states were found to be using a full version or modification of the 1999 Field Triage Decision Scheme; and eight states were considered to be using a different protocol or scheme for field triage.Conclusion: Many states have adopted the 2006 Decision Scheme (full or partial). Further investigation is needed to determine the reasons why some states do not adopt the guidelines. [West J Emerg Med. 2011;12(3):275-283.

A hazard and probabilistic safety analysis of a high-level waste transfer process

This paper describes a safety analysis of a transfer process for high-level radioactive and toxic waste. The analysis began with a hazard assessment that used elements of What If, Checklist, Failure Modes and Effects Analysis, and Hazards and Operability Study (HAZOP) techniques to identify and rough-in accident sequences. Based on this preliminary analysis, the most significant accident sequences were developed further using event trees. Quantitative frequency estimates for the accident sequences were based on operational data taken from the historical record of the site where the process is performed. Several modeling challenges were encountered in the course of the study. These included linked initiating and accident progression events, fire propagation modeling, accounting for administrative control violations, and handling mission-phase effects

Texas Transportation Researcher

Quarterly newsletter of the Texas Transportation Institute discussing the research, professional, and service activities of the organization as well as general research and innovations related to transportation in Texas

Texas Transportation Researcher

Quarterly magazine of the Texas Transportation Institute discussing the research, professional, and service activities of the organization as well as general research and innovations related to transportation in Texas

Texas Transportation Researcher

Quarterly magazine of the Texas Transportation Institute discussing the research, professional, and service activities of the organization as well as general research and innovations related to transportation in Texas

Treatment, Services and Follow-up for Victims of Family Violence in Health Clinics in Maputo, Mozambique

Background: Family violence (FV) is a global health problem that not only impacts the victim, but the family unit, local community and society at large.Objective: To quantitatively and qualitatively evaluate the treatment and follow up provided to victims of violence amongst immediate and extended family units who presented to three health centers in Mozambique for care following violence.Methods: We conducted a verbally-administered survey to self-disclosed victims of FV who presented to one of three health units, each at a different level of service, in Mozambique for treatment of their injuries. Data were entered into SPSS (SPSS, version 13.0) and analyzed for frequencies. Qualitative short answer data were transcribed during the interview, coded and analyzed prior to translation by the principal investigator.Results: One thousand two hundred and six assault victims presented for care during the eight-week study period, of which 216 disclosed the relationship of the assailant, including 92 who were victims of FV. Almost all patients (90%) waited less than one hour to be seen, with most patients (67%) waiting less than 30 minutes. Most patients did not require laboratory or radiographic diagnostics at the primary (70%) and secondary (93%) health facilities, while 44% of patients received a radiograph at the tertiary care center. Among all three hospitals, only 10% were transferred to a higher level of care, 14% were not given any form of follow up or referral information, while 13% required a specialist evaluation. No victims were referred for psychological follow-up or support. Qualitative data revealed that some patients did not disclose violence as the etiology, because they believed the physician was unable to address or treat the violence-related issues and/or had limited time to discuss.Conclusion: Healthcare services for treating the physical injuries of victims of FV were timely and rarely required advanced levels of medical care, but there were no psychological services or follow-up referrals for violence victims. The healthcare environment at all three surveyed health centers in Mozambique does not encourage disclosure or self-report of FV. Policies and strategies need to be implemented to encourage patient disclosure of FV and provide more health system-initiated victim resources. [West J Emerg Med. 2011;12(3):348-353.