Child Care for Parents in College: A State-by-State Assessment

Child care is a crucial support for the 4.8 million parents in college, but it is difficult for students to find and afford. Balancing the responsibilities of school, family, and work, student parents with young children rely on affordable, reliable child care arrangements to manage the many demands on their timewhile pursuing a postsecondary credential ( Gault et al. 2014). Much of student parents' need for care goes unmet, however, contributing to their low rates of degree attainment: only one-third attain a degree or certificate within six years of enrollment (Gault et al. 2014; Miller, Gault, and Thorman 2011). For many of the parents who leave school without earning a credential, better access to child care could have helped them avoid taking a break or dropping out completely (Hess et al. 2014; Johnson et al. 2009).Student parents' ability to find and pay for child care varies by state. Differences in the availability of child care on college campuses and in the restrictiveness of state eligibility rules for child care assistance means that many student parents have limited access to the services they need to complete school. This briefing paper analyzes data from the U.S. Department of Education on the share of public institutions that provide campus child care, and reviews current state child care subsidy rules, to assess state variation in the challenges facing student parents' access to affordable, quality child care

Which blueberries are better value? The development and validation of the functional numeracy assessment for adults with aphasia

BACKGROUND: People with aphasia (PWA) can experience functional numeracy difficulties, that is, problems understanding or using numbers in everyday life, which can have numerous negative impacts on their daily lives. There is growing interest in designing functional numeracy interventions for PWA; however, there are limited suitable assessments available to monitor the impact of these interventions. Existing functional numeracy assessments lack breadth and are not designed to be accessible for PWA, potentially confounding their performance. Additionally, they do not include real-life demands, such as time pressure, which may affect their ecological validity. Thus, there is a crucial need for a new assessment to facilitate further research of PWA's functional numeracy. AIMS: To develop, validate and pilot a wide-ranging, aphasia-friendly functional numeracy assessment to investigate how functional numeracy is impacted by aphasia severity and time pressure demands, and to explore predictors of PWA's functional numeracy. METHODS & PROCEDURES: To develop the Functional Numeracy Assessment (FNA), 38 items inspired by the General Health Numeracy Test (GHNT) and Excellence Gateway were adapted for suitability for PWA and entered in a computerized psychometric-style test. The final 23 items (FNA23) were selected based on 213 neurotypical controls' performance, and controlled for difficulty, response modality and required numeracy skills. Aphasia-friendly adaptations of the GHNT and Subjective Numeracy Scale were used to examine the FNA23's concurrent validity. Internal consistency reliability and interrater reliability (for spoken responses) were also examined. A novel Time Pressure Task was created by slight adaptation of seven FNA23 questions to explore the effects of time pressure on functional numeracy performance. A total of 20 PWA and 102 controls completed all measures on an online testing platform. OUTCOMES & RESULTS: The FNA23 demonstrated acceptable internal consistency reliability (KR-20 = 0.81) and perfect interrater reliability (for spoken responses). FNA23 and GHNT scores were positively associated, suggesting satisfactory concurrent validity. PWA demonstrated poorer functional numeracy than controls and took longer to complete assessments, indicating that aphasia impacts functional numeracy. Time pressure did not significantly impact performance. PWA demonstrated a wide range of functional numeracy abilities, with some performing similarly to controls. CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS: The FNA23 is a wide-ranging, valid and reliable assessment which, with further development, will be a useful tool to identify and monitor PWA's functional numeracy difficulties in research and clinical practice. Considering PWA's widespread functional numeracy difficulties evidenced by this study, all PWA would likely benefit from routine evaluation for functional numeracy difficulties as part of their neurorehabilitation journeys. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: What is already known on this subject Few studies have investigated functional numeracy difficulties in PWA. No published functional numeracy assessments exist that have been specifically designed to be accessible for PWA. What this paper adds to existing knowledge The newly developed FNA23 is a valid and reliable tool to extensively assess PWA's functional numeracy. This study confirmed previous findings of widespread functional numeracy difficulties in PWA that are related to their aphasia severity. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? The FNA23 can be used to assess PWA's functional numeracy to inform areas of strengths and difficulties to target in intervention, and to monitor progress towards achieving intervention objectives. All PWA should be routinely evaluated for functional numeracy difficulties

Développement d'une démarche d’aide à la connaissance pour la conception de bâtis performants

Both aspirations of users and improvements in the thermal regulation require that the comfort and the energy efficiency of new buildings improve. In addition to these requirements, regulations are strengthening in many fields such as acoustics, fire safety and mechanical performance. The combined effects of these factors are making it increasingly hard to design buildings. This thesis presents a knowledge-aid approach for designing high-performance buildings based on an optimization method. This approach aims to provide clear knowledge of the potential of projects (exploration of various options) for architects and design offices at the beginning of the design that will allow them to design the best possible high-performance buildings. This potential is evaluated using external and internal geometric parameters as well as the energy characteristics of buildings. This approach also allows them to assess geometries and design solutions which are intended to be used for their projects.This approach will be applied to an office building in Lyon, France. For the tested case, the approach obtains quickly efficient solutions and also finds, for some parameters, values to design efficient solutions on part of the Paretofront or in this entire front. This application of the approach also shows that there may be solutions which are close in terms of energy needs and cost but could be very different on design parameters. This problem could influence robustness of the approach but highlights a new problem. This thesis then lays the foundation of a new study on this topic.Les demandes des usagers conjuguées à la réglementation nécessitent de concevoir des bâtiments de plus en plus confortables et économes en énergie. En parallèle de ces exigences, les réglementations concernant les bâtiments sont renforcées dans différents domaines (acoustique, sécurité incendie, risque sismique,…) afin d’obtenir des bâtiments plus sûrs et correspondant aux demandes des usagers. Les impacts conjugués de ces deux facteurs engendrent une complexification de la conception des bâtiments.Cette thèse présente une démarche d’aide à la connaissance pour la conception de bâtis performants se basant sur une méthode d’optimisation. Cette démarche vise à ce que les architectes et les bureaux d’études aient une connaissance claire du potentiel de leur projet (exploration de solutions) en phase amont de conception, pour concevoir des bâtiments les plus performants possibles. Ce potentiel est évalué via des paramètres de la géométrie extérieure et intérieure ainsi que des caractéristiques énergétiques du bâti. La démarche leur permet également d’évaluer les avantages et inconvénients de différentes géométries et solutions de conception qu’ils envisagent pour répondre à leurs projets. Cette démarche est appliquée à un immeuble de bureaux à Lyon.Pour le cas testé, la démarche permet d’obtenir rapidement des solutions performantes et de définir pour certains des paramètres étudiés, des valeurs conduisant aux solutions performantes dans une partie de l’espace des solutions ou dans l’ensemble de cet espace.Cette application de la démarche montre également qu’il peut exister des solutions ayant des besoins énergétiques et des coûts de construction proches mais étant très différentes en termes de paramètres de conception. Bien que remettant en cause l'applicabilité directe de la démarche, ce résultat met en exergue un problème nouveau. Cette thèse pose alors les bases pour une nouvelle étude

Piezoelectric textile structures based on PVDF for energy conversion : from mechanical to electrical energy

Cette étude s’inscrit dans le cadre du projet Autonotex et vise à développer un textile connecté et autonome en énergie. Le textile permettra de monitorer des draps médicaux et des sous-vêtements professionnels. Le principal objectif est de s’affranchir des batteries traditionnelles dans les smart textiles et développer un textile qui utilisera les mouvements du corps humain comme source d’énergie pour alimenter les capteurs placés aux endroits stratégiques sur les vêtements. Pour relever ce challenge, le projet Autonotex s’est basé sur le développement de nouvelles fibres piézoélectriques. Ces matériaux permettent de générer un fort potentiel électrique lorsqu’ils sont soumis à des sollicitations mécaniques. Dans un contexte textile, le polymère polyfluorure de vinylidène (PVDF) a été utilisé pour la production de multi-filaments par procédé de filage en voie fondue. Ce polymère est connu pour son caractère piézoélectrique lorsqu’il se trouve dans une certaine conformation cristalline. Le premier enjeu du sujet de thèse est donc d’optimiser cette phase lors du procédé de production des filaments. Par la suite, deux stratégies ont été envisagées. Dans un premier cas, les filaments 100 % PVDF sont utilisés pour la fabrication d’étoffes textiles qui une fois instrumentées par des électrodes permettent de générer une tension de sortie électrique. Un premier prototype d’une étoffe piézoélectrique couplée à des électrodes imprimées en 3D a permis de vérifier la faisabilité du dispositif. La seconde stratégie a été de développer un filament tricomposant, formé par le polymère piézoélectrique et deux couches de composites polymères conducteurs jouant le rôle d’électrodes.This study is part of the Autonotex project and aims to develop a connected and autonomous energy textile. The textile is intended for the manufacture of medical sheets monitoring patients and professional underwear. The main objective is to overcome the traditional batteries in smart textiles and develop a textile that will use the movements of the human body as a battery to power sensors placed strategically on clothing. To meet this challenge, the Autonotex project is focused in part on the development of new piezoelectric fibers. These materials generate a high electrical potential when subjected to mechanical stresses. In this new context, poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) polymer can be used to produce multi-filaments by melt spinning process. This polymer is known for its piezoelectric property linked its crystalline forms. The first issue of the PhD subject is to optimize this phase during the process of production of the filaments. Subsequently, two strategies were considered. In a first case, the 100% PVDF filaments are used for the production of textile fabrics which, once instrumented by electrodes, generate an electrical output voltage. A first prototype of a piezoelectric fabric coupled to electrodes by 3D-printing allows checking the feasibility of the plan. The second strategy was to develop a tri-component filament formed by the piezoelectric polymer and two layers of conducting polymer composites acting as external/internal electrodes

La gestion du risque d'infection liée aux soins en médecine générale (intérêt de l'audit)

CAEN-BU Médecine pharmacie (141182102) / SudocPARIS-BIUM (751062103) / SudocSudocFranceF