Evaluating Safety, Permanency, and Well-Being Outcomes for Adolescents in Family Home Program Care

Policy decision makers have restricted the use of residential behavioral health services for youth involved in child welfare and juvenile justice systems, threatening their existence. Family Home Program (FHP), an evidence-based residential model, is an example of a program at risk of extinction because of negative characterization. While in-home, community-based, and foster care levels of child welfare services are assessed for conformity with federal outcomes using the federal Child and Family Services Review (CFSR), residential care does not receive this review. The purpose of this study was to bridge the evaluation gap between in-home and community-based child welfare programs and the FHP residential model. Utilizing an input-process-outcome conceptual framework, the relationship between the program participants, implementation of program components, and program outcomes was assessed. The primary research question focused on assessing FHP performance using the CFSR for equitable comparison to other levels of care. Secondary data from 311 FHP participants were collected. A Kruskal-Wallas H statistical test was used to analyze variances between male and female outcome frequencies to assess for differences. Two variables indicated statistically significant gender differences, both within permanency outcome measures, implying an opportunity to improve gender equity in implementation. Results indicated FHP attains safety, permanency, and well-being for participants at of rate of at least 90% per performance measure. Implications for positive social change include policy and funding decisions that support model sustainability, and continued availability of FHP for youth in need of this level of care

An Examination of the Effects of the America Reads Tutoring Program and Tutor Training on the Attitude and Academic Achievement of Urban At-Risk Minority Students

The American educational system is struggling to identify methods of preventing early reading failure. Many schools are implementing tutoring intervention programs to supplement classroom instruction and to help meet the needs of struggling at-risk readers. Although there is substantial research on tutoring programs that employ professional teachers, there is a dearth of research on the effectiveness of non-professional volunteer tutoring programs. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of the America Reads tutoring program and tutor training on the reading achievement and reading attitude of urban, at-risk, K–3 minority students. The population sample was drawn from four inner-city urban schools of similar racial composition and academic achievement level. Two schools received America Reads tutoring services and two schools served as comparison schools. Numerous standardized tests in place in the school system were used to gauge reading achievement and The Elementary Reading Attitude Survey was used to measure reading attitude. Six research questions were addressed: (1) Is there a significant difference in reading achievement between students who received America Reads tutoring and a comparison group of similar students who did not receive America Reads tutoring? (2) Is there a difference between the reading scores of students who were taught by moderately-trained tutors and those who were taught by minimally-trained tutors? (3) Is there a change over the course of an academic year in the America Reads tutee\u27s attitude in contrast to a comparison group? (4) Is there a relationship between the student\u27s reading attitude and reading achievement? (5) Is there a difference in female and male students attitudes toward reading after participating in a tutoring intervention program? (6) Is there a difference in the strategies that moderately-trained and minimally-trained tutors implement in their tutoring sessions? One-way between groups analysis of covariance, multivariate analysis of covariance, and Pearson Product Moment correlations were employed. Results indicated that: (1) the tutored group achieved significantly higher mean scores on five of the ten reading achievement tests; (2) only a significant negative correlation in grade three was found between reading attitude and reading achievement; (3) there were no significant changes in participants reading attitudes; (4) there were no significant differences in female and male attitudes toward reading; (5) there were some differences in strategies that moderately-trained tutors implemented in their tutoring sessions compared to minimally-trained tutors; (6) that reading tutoring intervention programs that employ non-professional tutors can have a significant impact upon tutee reading achievement

ANALYSIS OF CONSUMER PREFERENCES FOR PACKAGE SIZES FOR BEEF AND PORK PRODUCTS AS RELATED TO THEIR DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS

Delaware consumers were surveyed to obtain information about package size preferences for fresh beef and pork products. A chi-square and gamma analysis was made and age was found to be significant and positively correlated to the size of package chosen for various roasts and flank steak. Age and preferred package size was negatively correlated for ground beef, sirloin steak, spareribs, and pork chops. The larger the family the greater the tendency to buy larger packages of ground beef and roasts, as well as spareribs and pork chops. Those with higher incomes tended to purchase larger steaks. Females showed preferences for smaller packages while males preferred larger packages.Consumer/Household Economics,

Gender and Sexuality (first edition)

Learning Objectives: Identify ways in which culture shapes sex/gender and sexuality. Describe ways in which gender and sexuality organize and structure the societies in which we live. Assess the range of possible ways of constructing gender and sexuality by sharing examples from different cultures, including small-scale societies. Analyze how anthropology as a discipline is affected by gender ideology and gender norms. Evaluate cultural “origin” stories that are not supported by anthropological data

Supplier Selection and Development: The Relationship between Small Manufacturing Enterprises and Mass Merchandisers

This study examines the results of a program intended to act as a selection tool for mass merchandisers and a development tool for small manufacturers. The evaluation program assessed the management practices and products of potential suppliers. Based on past experience, buyers for mass merchandisers consider small manufacturing enterprises a poor risk as potential suppliers of retail goods. As part of the evaluation process, firms were asked 34 closed-end questions regarding their management practices, and each product was evaluated on 41 specific qualities necessary for the mass merchandising market. Of the 1,690 firms that participated in this project, about 5 percent had their products accepted by a national mass merchandiser. A review of the evaluation data reveals that firms needed high performance in both areas of evaluation to be successful in the marketplace, not just a strong firm or a marketable product. However, each of these areas separately had a statistically significant effect on the success of the product in gaining a retail buyer’s attention

Artemisinin-based combination therapy does not measurably reduce human infectiousness to vectors in a setting of intense malaria transmission

<p>Background: Artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) for treating malaria has activity against immature gametocytes. In theory, this property may complement the effect of terminating otherwise lengthy malaria infections and reducing the parasite reservoir in the human population that can infect vector mosquitoes. However, this has never been verified at a population level in a setting with intense transmission, where chronically infectious asymptomatic carriers are common and cured patients are rapidly and repeatedly re-infected.</p> <p>Methods: From 2001 to 2004, malaria vector densities were monitored using light traps in three Tanzanian districts. Mosquitoes were dissected to determine parous and oocyst rates. Plasmodium falciparum sporozoite rates were determined by ELISA. Sulphadoxinepyrimethamine(SP) monotherapy was used for treatment of uncomplicated malaria in the contiguous districts of Kilombero and Ulanga throughout this period. In Rufiji district, the standard drug was changed to artesunate co-administered with SP (AS + SP) in March 2003. The effects of this change in case management on malaria parasite infection in the vectors were analysed.</p> <p>Results: Plasmodium falciparum entomological inoculation rates exceeded 300 infective bites per person per year at both sites over the whole period. The introduction of AS + SP in Rufiji was associated with increased oocyst prevalence (OR [95%CI] = 3.9 [2.9-5.3], p < 0.001), but had no consistent effect on sporozoite prevalence (OR [95%CI] = 0.9 [0.7-1.2], p = 0.5). The estimated infectiousness of the human population in Rufiji was very low prior to the change in drug policy. Emergence rates and parous rates of the vectors varied substantially throughout the study period, which affected estimates of infectiousness. The latter consequently cannot be explained by the change in drug policy.</p> <p>Conclusions: In high perennial transmission settings, only a small proportion of infections in humans are symptomatic or treated, so case management with ACT may have little impact on overall infectiousness of the human population. Variations in infection levels in vectors largely depend on the age distribution of the mosquito population. Benefits of ACT in suppressingtransmission are more likely to be evident where transmission is already low or effective vector control is widely implemented.</p&gt

Examination of the Role of Religious and Psychosocial Factors in HIV Medication Adherence Rates

Optimal adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) is associated with favorable HIV outcomes, including higher CD4 cell counts, HIV virus suppression and a lower risk of HIV transmission. However, only 25% of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWH) in the USA are virally suppressed. Sub-optimal adherence (p\u3c 0.05). Social support satisfaction was also significantly associated with ART adherence (OR = 1.52, 95% CI [1.11–2.08], p \u3c 0.05) and energy/fatigue/vitality (OR = 1.03, 95% CI [1.00–1.05], p \u3c 0.05)

Taxonomic bias in amphibian research : Are researchers responding to conservation need?

Amphibians are very diverse, widely distributed, and the most endangered class of vertebrates. As with other taxa, effective conservation of amphibians needs to be supported by detailed scientific knowledge. However, species rich and broadly distributed taxa are typically characterized by high variability in research effort. Our objective was therefore to understand which factors (ecological and cultural) have led some amphibian species to be more researched than others. We used two proxies of research effort: i) the total number of articles on Web of Science (WoS) that mention the scientific name (or synonyms) of each species, and; ii) the number of conservation science articles on WoS that mention the scientific name (or synonyms) of each species. These measures were used as dependent variables in zero hurdle regression models with the aim of identifying the most important factors driving species-level knowledge production. Well researched species (generally, and for conservation) tend to have a longer history of scientific research, come from countries with high scientific capacity, have large body size, and to be present in man-made habitats. Endangered species tend to be less researched, generally and for conservation, possibly because they are often more difficult to study: many endangered amphibians are restricted to small, fragmented and remote habitats in countries with low scientific capacity. We conclude with a discussion of how taxonomic biases in research effort on amphibians can be addressed given the limited funds available for conservation research.Peer reviewe