Measuring and understanding patterns of change in intervention studies with children: implications for evidence-based practice

Purpose: Comparisons across studies of the effects of intervention are problematic. Such analyses raise both methodological and statistical challenges. A single data set was examined to investigate whether different established approaches to measuring change in children with specific language impairments alter the conclusions that can be drawn regarding the efficacy of an intervention. Methods: Measures of cognitive and language skills were collected at baseline and at six months following an intervention. Reliable and valid psychometric measures were used. Data from the intervention study were used to explore the patterns of results obtained using four different measures of change: change of diagnostic category, differential improvement across assessment measures, item specific changes and predictors of individual change. Results: Associations between different tests purporting to measure similar constructs were modest. The measures identified different children as impaired both at baseline and follow-up. No effect of intervention was evident when a categorical analysis of impairment was used. Both treatment and comparison children changed significantly across time on the majority of measures, providing evidence of development, but specific effects of the intensive intervention were evident using ANCOVAs. Item analysis indicated that one of the standardized language tests adopted in the evaluation was insensitive to change over a six month period. Change in individual children's performance was predicted by language level on entry to the project. Conclusion: The implications of the results are discussed in terms of the range of analytic approaches available to intervention researchers and the need to consider combinations of methods when analysing outcome data. †We would like to thank ICAN, the health trusts involved and the two research officers, Kerry Williams and Belinda Seeff, who collected the data. © 2007 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

On the Structure and Stabilization Mechanisms of Planar and Cylindrical Premixed Flames

The configurational simplicity of the stationary one-dimensional flames renders them intrinsically attractive for fundamental flame structure studies. The possibility and fidelity of studies of such flames on earth, however, have been severely restricted by the unidirectional nature of the gravity vector. To demonstrate these complications, let us first consider the premixed flame. Here a stationary, one-dimensional flame can be established by using the flat-flame burner. We next consider nonpremixed flames. First it may be noted that in an unbounded gravity-free environment, the only stationary one-dimensional flame is the spherical flame. Indeed, this is a major motivation for the study of microgravity droplet combustion, in which the gas-phase processes can be approximated to be quasi-steady because of the significant disparity between the gas and liquid densities for subcritical combustion. In view of the above considerations, an experimental and theoretical program on cylindrical and spherical premixed and nonpremixed flames in microgravity has been initiated. For premixed flames, we are interested in: (1) assessing the heat loss versus flow divergence as the dominant stabilization mechanism; (2) determining the laminar flame speed by using this configuration; and (3) understanding the development of flamefront instability and the effects of the flame curvature on the burning intensity

Investigating the role of language in children's early educational outcomes

Most children develop speech and language skills effortlessly, but some are slow to develop these skills and then go on to struggle with literacy and academic skills throughout their schooling. It is the first few years of life that are critical to their subsequent performance.\ud This project looks at what we know about the early communication environment in a child’s first two years of life, and the role this plays in preparing children for school using data from a large longitudinal survey of young people (ALSPAC - the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children).\ud It examines the characteristics of the environment in which children learn to communicate (such as activities undertaken with children, the mother’s attitude towards her baby, and the wider support available to the family) and the extent to which this affects a child’s readiness for school entry (defined as their early language, reading, writing, and maths skills that they need in school).\ud \ud Key Findings:\ud •\ud There is a strong association between a child’s social background and their readiness for school as measured by their scores on school entry assessments covering language, reading, maths and writing.\ud •\ud Language development at the age of 2 years predicts children’s performance on entry to primary school. Children’s understanding and use of vocabulary and their use of two or three word sentences at 2 years is very strongly associated with their performance on entering primary school.\ud •\ud The children’s communication environment influences language development. The number of books available to the child, the frequency of visits to the library, parents teaching a range of activities, the number of toys available, and attendance at pre-school, are all important predictors of the child’s expressive vocabulary at 2 years. The amount of television on in the home is also a predictor; as this time increased, so the child’s score at school entry decreased.\ud •\ud The communication environment is a more dominant predictor of early language than social background. In the early stages of language development, it is the particular aspects of a child’s communication environment that are associated with language acquisition rather than the broader socio-economic context of the family.\ud •\ud The child’s language and their communication environment influence the child’s performance at school entry in addition to their social background. Children’s success at school is governed not only by their social background; the child’s communication environment\ud before their second birthday and their language at the age of two years also have a strong influence

What is the effect of West Virginia principals\u27 leadership styles, their levels of computer anxiety, and selected personal attributes upon their levels of computer use?

This study examined the relationship between the preferred leadership styles, the levels of computer anxiety, and the selected personal attributes of sex, age, and computer training upon the computer use of West Virginia public school principals. A one shot case study design was used to examine the relationships. Three instruments the Leadership Behavior Description Questionnaire-Self (LDBQ-Self), the Computer Anxiety Rating Scale-C (CARS-C), and the Levels of Computer Use (LCU) survey, along with a cover letter and a short personal attribute questionnaire were mailed to randomly selected sample of 160 West Virginia principals. Responses were received from 93 (58.1%) of the principals. Data analysis revealed a statistically significant relationship between the principals\u27 levels of computer anxiety and their levels of computer use. A statistically significant relationship was also discovered between the principals preferred leadership style of consideration and the principals\u27 level of computer anxiety. It was also found that a larger percentage of female principals were functioning at the higher computer usage level of integration than male principals. This study provided mixed results. The significant negative relationships found between the principals\u27 computer anxiety and computer use and between the principals\u27 leadership style of consideration and computer anxiety confirmed earlier research. However, the absence of a significant relationship between the principals\u27 leadership style and computer use, the principals\u27 age and computer use, the principals\u27 sex and computer use, and the principals\u27 computer training and computer use were contrary to earlier research findings. The results of this study may be beneficial to educational leaders at the local, and state levels as well as higher education in the planning for, and implementation of computers in schools. The results of this study may also be of use in the planning of principal inservice