Worker absence and shirking : evidence from matched teacher-school data.

We utilise a unique matched teacher-school data set of absenteeism records to quantify the impact of group interaction on the absence behavior of primary and secondary teachers. To address problems of identification our study focuses on teachers who move between schools. The estimates for movers suggest that absenteeism is influenced by prevailing group absence behaviour at the school. Our finding suggests that a worker takes one more day of absenteeism if their average coworker takes 12 more days or 8 more days absenteeism per quarter for primary school and secondary school teachers, respectively. We interpret this as evidence that worker shirking is influenced by workplace absence norms

Learning patterns and learner profiles in learning object design

The questions that Andy Heath has posed are challenging and need more time for reflection than is possible here. The questions posed will inform the research as it develops further. However, in the interests of debate we would like to give our initial replies. We agree in general with Andy Heath's assessment of the limitations of the approach we are adopting. We recognise that this approach uses a very limited response to AccessForAll principles: our Transformation Augmentation and Substitution Service (TASS) is localised, not global, and relies on a limited set of learning patterns matched against a small subset of the potentially infinite set of learner profiles. Our intention is certainly not to reproduce the considerable efforts of the IMS AccessForAll or Dublin Core Adaptability working groups, but to interpret their potential impact on the thinking of courseware designers, tutors and students

The importance of unifying physical security within the energy sector

Due to its unique position within critical infrastructure, the energy sector is very vulnerable. Cyber security threats targeting critical infrastructure are a growing concern as they can even threaten national security. There is an urgent need to define unified cybersecurity solutions for the energy sector to keep it safe and reliable

Accessibility and adaptability of learning objects: responding to metadata, learning patterns and profiles of needs and preferences

The case for learning patterns as a design method for accessible and adaptable learning objects is explored. Patterns and templates for the design of learning objects can be derived from successful existing learning resources. These patterns can then be reused in the design of new learning objects. We argue that by attending to criteria for reuse in the definition of these patterns and in the subsequent design of new learning objects, those new resources can be themselves reusable and also adaptable to different learning contexts. Finally, if the patterns identified can be implemented as templates for standard authoring tools, the design of effective, reusable and adaptable resources can be made available to those with limited skills in multimedia authoring and result in learning resources that are more widely accessible

Delay Banking for Managing Air Traffic

Delay banking has been invented to enhance air-traffic management in a way that would increase the degree of fairness in assigning arrival, departure, and en-route delays and trajectory deviations to aircraft impacted by congestion in the national airspace system. In delay banking, an aircraft operator (airline, military, general aviation, etc.) would be assigned a numerical credit when any of their flights are delayed because of an air-traffic flow restriction. The operator could subsequently bid against other operators competing for access to congested airspace to utilize part or all of its accumulated credit. Operators utilize credits to obtain higher priority for the same flight, or other flights operating at the same time, or later, in the same airspace, or elsewhere. Operators could also trade delay credits, according to market rules that would be determined by stakeholders in the national airspace system. Delay banking would be administered by an independent third party who would use delay banking automation to continually monitor flights, allocate delay credits, maintain accounts of delay credits for participating airlines, mediate bidding and the consumption of credits of winning bidders, analyze potential transfers of credits within and between operators, implement accepted transfers, and ensure fair treatment of all participating operators. A flow restriction can manifest itself in the form of a delay in assigned takeoff time, a reduction in assigned airspeed, a change in the position for the aircraft in a queue of all aircraft in a common stream of traffic (e.g., similar route), a change in the planned altitude profile for an aircraft, or change in the planned route for the aircraft. Flow restrictions are typically imposed to mitigate traffic congestion at an airport or in a region of airspace, particularly congestion due to inclement weather, or the unavailability of a runway or region of airspace. A delay credit would be allocated to an operator of a flight that has accepted, or upon which was imposed, a flow restriction. The amount of the credit would increase with the amount of delay caused by the flow restriction, the exact amount depending on which of several candidate formulas is eventually chosen. For example, according to one formula, there would be no credit for a delay smaller than some threshold value (e.g., 30 seconds) and the amount of the credit for a longer delay would be set at the amount of the delay minus the threshold value. Optionally, the value of a delay credit could be made to decay with time according to a suitable formula (e.g., an exponential decay). Also, optionally, a transaction charge could be assessed against the value of a delay credit that an operator used on a flight different from the one for which the delay originated or that was traded with a different operator. The delay credits accumulated by a given airline could be utilized in various ways. For example, an operator could enter a bid for priority handling in a new flow restriction that impacts one or more of the operator s flights; if the bid were unsuccessful, all or a portion of the credit would be returned to the bidder. If the bid pertained to a single aircraft that was in a queue, delay credits could be consumed in moving the aircraft to an earlier position within the queue. In the case of a flow restriction involving a choice of alternate routes, planned altitude profile, aircraft spacing, or other non-queue flow restrictions, delay credits could be used to bid for an alternative assignment

Speaking And Writing Proficiency Of International Graduate Students In Elective, Mentoring Environments

Technical communication skills are critical for non-native speakers who must study and interact in English-only professional settings. Often, formal instruction to pass admission thresholds and other minimum requirements are not sufficient to attain proficiency. This paper describes elective, long-term programs that provide systematic opportunities for both speaking and writing development. These programs are tailored to international students through the key features of individualized activities, applied task-oriented practice, and social interaction. The elective programs attract and retain participants with interest and need for high-level language proficiency. Program evaluations show that participating graduate students give primary credit for their growing fluency to individualized practice and to sustained interaction with native speakers

Reviews

Teaching and Learning Materials and the Internet by Ian Forsyth, London: Kogan Page, 1996. ISBN: 0–7494‐ 20596. 181 pages, paperback. £18.99

The Linear-Size Evolution of Classical Double Radio Sources

Recent investigations of how the median size of extragalactic radio sources change with redshift have produced inconsistent results. Eales compared the radio and optical properties of a bright 3C and faint 6C sample and concluded that $D\propto(1+z)^{-1.1\pm0.5}$ ($\Omega_0 = 0$), with $D$ being the median size of the radio sources at a given epoch and z the redshift. Oort, Katgert, and Windhorst, on the other hand, from a comparison of the properties of a number of radio samples, found much stronger evolution, with $D\propto(1+z)^{-3.3 \pm0.5}$. In this paper we attempt to resolve the difference. We have repeated the analysis of Eales using the virtually complete redshift information that now exists for the 6C sample. Confining our analysis to FR2 sources, which we argue is the best-understood class of radio sources and the least likely to be affected by selection effects, we find $D\propto(1+z)^{-1.2\pm0.5}$ ($\Omega_0 = 0$) and $D\propto(1+z)^{-1.7\pm0.4}$ ($\Omega_0 = 1$). Our complete redshift information allows us to gain insight into our result by plotting a radio luminosity-size (P-D) diagram for the 6C sample. The most obvious difference between the 3C and 6C P-D diagrams is the clump of sources in the 6C diagram at $D\sim 100 kpc, P_{151}\sim 5x10^{27} WHz^{-1}sr^{-1}$. These clump sources have similar sizes to the emission-line regions found around high-redshift radio galaxies, suggesting that the presence of dense line-emitting gas around high-redshift radio galaxies is responsible for the size evolution. We show that this explanation can quantitatively explain the observed size evolution, as long as there is either little X-ray emitting gas around these objects or, if there is, it is distributed in a similar way to the emission-line gas: highly anisotropic and inhomogeneous.Comment: compressed and uuencoded postscript file. 33 pages including 5 figures (441951 bytes). Accepted for publication in September Ap

Correlation Between Previous Diagnosed Ankle Injuries and the Rate of Diagnosed Osteoarthritis Within Athletic Trainers

While athletic trainers take care of many active individuals from prevention to rehabilitation of injury and illness, these healthcare professionals do not often apply the same concepts to their own health. After may years of standing along sidelines and other playing surfaces, they may often find themselves with osteoarthritis (OA) of various joints especially the ankle. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to expand the knowledge in certified or licensed athletic trainers regarding the rate of OA as it correlates to their own personal ankle injuries and to develop an understanding of how important it is as health care providers to care for the injuries that may be sustained on as well as off the job. METHODS: This study consisted of a of 133 anonymous participants. Out of the 133 participants, 13 were male and 120 were female. The study participants were recruited via social media posts and completed a 14-question survey. 8 out of the 14 questions were multiple choice including 1 multiple-choice question consisting of 7 answer choices. 4 questions were answered on a Likert scale question. The remaining question was open ended. RESULTS: The frequencies of answers for each question were compared. Select question were further analyzed by using an independent t-test or ANOVA. 91 of the participants answered “no” to “Have you been diagnosed with Osteoarthritis in your ankle?” 15 answered “yes”, 7 were “unsure”. There was a significant difference in comparing age and diagnosed OA in the ankle with those 36+ years of age reporting more incidences of the condition compared with their counterparts under 35. (p-value \u3c.001). There was also a significant difference in comparing diagnosed OA in the ankle and the years of experience as a certified or licensed athletic trainer with those having more experience noting an increased rate of the condition. This was note with a p-value=.013. There was no significant difference when comparing how long it was between last ankle injury and diagnosis of OA in the ankle (p-value .847). Similar analysis of other paired questions demonstrated no significant statistical difference between previous ankle injuries and OA in the ankle. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that there is no correlation to previous ankle injuries and ankle osteoarthritis in the athletic training population. This study can lead to further investigation of joint pain within the ankle due to previous ankle injuries as well as potential relationship to work-related tasks of the certified or licensed athletic trainer

The Athletic Trainer’s Perspective on Athletics’ Drug Policy and Program at the Junior and Community College Level

The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) has only a position statement in regards to drug testing policy and procedure when compared to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) detailed drug testing program handbook.The NJCAA position statement brings about speculation of how drug testing is monitored and enforced on this level, and if there is a drug education program being implemented by every institution. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to look at the quality of drug policy and intervention programs through the athletic trainer at different institutions within the NJCAA. This considers whether perception of policy and intervention programs measure up to the NCAA drug policy and program guidelines.METHODS: A survey was developed in Qualtrics based on guidelines presented in the NCAA drug testing program handbook. After receiving approval from the institutional review board, a study was sent out to 200 institutions within the NJCAA that had a listed athletic trainer. Email requests for participation were sent with follow-up reminders sent at the two- and four-week marks. The survey remained open for a period of five weeks. After the survey was closed, nonparametric analysis was used to see whether the perceived characteristics of institutional guidelines were in line with the NCAA\u27s guideline on banned drugs, drug education guidelines, and institutional drug testing. RESULTS: Descriptive statistical analysis was used to describe the relationship between the characteristics of institutional guidelines and the NCAA’s guideline on banned drugs, drug education guidelines, and institutional drug testing. The average, median, and mode was taken for each question. In running a descriptive analysis, it was shown that the average answer for awareness of policy was “yes;” however the average answer whether they had read the either policy was “no.” When asked if the institution athletics department had a substance use/abuse education program, the most reported and average answer was “no.” Likert scale questions 9.2, 9.4, and 9.9 regarding characteristics of that institution’s drug policy and program showed significant findings. The average answer to these questions was “somewhat disagree,” but the answer that was most reported was “disagree.” CONCLUSION: The results of the survey showed that there is some following of NCAA guidelines despite the lack of detailed guidelines from the NJCAA. When it came to whether an institution’s drug testing policy and program shared characteristics of the NCAA’s handbook on drug testing, most athletic trainers in the NJCAA who completed the survey either agreed or somewhat agreed to most of the Likert scale questions. However, questions 9.2, 9.4, and 9.9 from the survey showed a lack of agreement on average and within mode. These questions covered some key characteristics of the NCAA\u27s handbook.Overall, the NJCAA could enforce better drug testing guidelines with either a handbook, like the NCAA\u27s, or by outlining them in more detail in their position statement