Growth or decline in the Church of England during the decade of Evangelism: did the Churchmanship of the Bishop matter?

The Decade of Evangelism occupied the attention of the Church of England throughout the 1990s. The present study employs the statistics routinely published by the Church of England in order to assess two matters: the extent to which these statistics suggest that the 43 individual dioceses finished the decade in a stronger or weaker position than they had entered it and the extent to which, according to these statistics, the performance of dioceses led by bishops shaped in the Evangelical tradition differed from the performance of dioceses led by bishops shaped in the Catholic tradition. The data demonstrated that the majority of dioceses were performing less effectively at the end of the decade than at the beginning, in terms of a range of membership statistics, and that the rate of decline varied considerably from one diocese to another. The only exception to the trend was provided by the diocese of London, which experienced some growth. The data also demonstrated that little depended on the churchmanship of the diocesan bishop in shaping diocesan outcomes on the performance indicators employed in the study

Mental Health Courts: An Interface Between Social Work and Criminal Justice

Mental health courts (MHCs) are emerging as a critical element in the nationwide effort to counter overcrowding in the US prison system and more adequately address the plight of offenders who are diagnosed with a mental illness. The goals of MHCs, an example of problem-solving courts, are to improve the quality of life for those involved in the criminal justice system, link clients to community treatment resources, and reduce recidivism and crime rates in a more cost-effective manner than within the traditional criminal justice process. This article provides a brief history of MHCs, including the rationale behind their initial implementation, an overview of their clientele and process, a review of the role social workers play, arguments for and against their broader introduction, and specific research recommendations to better ascertain their current and future effectiveness. Although MHCs are still too nascent to draw broad conclusions about their rates of efficacy, early results are promising

Some Results On Normal Homogeneous Ideals

In this article we investigate when a homogeneous ideal in a graded ring is normal, that is, when all positive powers of the ideal are integrally closed. We are particularly interested in homogeneous ideals in an N-graded ring generated by all homogeneous elements of degree at least m and monomial ideals in a polynomial ring over a field. For ideals of the first trype we generalize a recent result of S. Faridi. We prove that a monomial ideal in a polynomial ring in n indeterminates over a field is normal if and only if the first n-1 positive powers of the ideal are integrally closed. We then specialize to the case of ideals obtained by taking integral closures of m-primary ideals generated by powers of the variables. We obtain classes of normal monomial ideals and arithmetic critera for deciding when the monomial ideal is not normal.Comment: 19 page

Motivation to Read in the Middle Grades

This study explored the reading motivations of sixth grade students. Results from the Motivation to Read Profile- Fiction/NonFiction survey (MRP-F/NF) (Marinak et al., 2017; Malloy et al., 2017; Parsons et al., 2018) exposed a decline in sixth grade students\u27 reading motivation in both fiction and nonfiction texts. An item analysis revealed survey items relating to students\u27 desire to tell friends about good books and talk about books in groups were considered items of low motivation. As a result of the noticeable decline in reading motivation for sixth graders and the difficulty in understanding this decline based on the survey results, three problem statements were established. First, gaps in research remain in regard to how students in the middle grades describe what would make reading more enjoyable for them. Furthermore, there are few instruments that specifically measure middle grade students\u27 motivation to read and also focus on discussion. Finally, a gap in knowledge exists from a researcher, practitioner, and design perspective regarding how instructional models of book clubs can support peer-to-peer discussion of books. To address these gaps in research, the researcher selected a multiphase mixed method design in order to explore, measure, and address the problem of low reading motivation for students in sixth grade. A multiphase design examines a central problem or topic of interest through several phases of qualitative and quantitative research that builds on data discovered in earlier phases (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2011). Each phase then informs or guides the adjacent phases. For the purposes of this study, the researcher separated this study into three phases: Phase I - an exploratory qualitative phase; Phase II – a quantitative instrument design phase, and; Phase III - a design-based case study phase. At the conclusion of this study a retrospective analysis revealed four theoretical assertions: (a) Choice is important; (b) Peer-to-peer collaboration is influential; (c) Time and value are related; and students\u27 (d) Self-concept is complicated. Students\u27 reading motivation is positively influenced by their ability to participate in an authentic reading experience where they are free to select texts that appeal to them; given time to collaborate in peer-to-peer discussion through a format of their choice with conversational topics that interest them; and can openly and honestly review and recommend texts to others. Based on the results of this study, these authentic experiences may have a positive influence middle grade students\u27 motivation to read

Private Homosexual Activity and Fitness To Practice Law: Florida Board of Bar Examiners, In re N.R.S.

Homosexual conduct has existed for many years, but it has become a politically and morally controversial topic in today\u27s society. Debates rage over the unnaturalness of sexually deviant behavior and one\u27s right to enjoy freedom of sexual choice and expression

Introduction to the study of the mould-fungi parasitic on man

During recent years the attention of Bacteriologists has been directed by the discovery of certain facts to the question of racial variations in the lower and higher pathogenic fungi. It was steadfastly held by the founders of Bacteriology that the individuals of a species uniformly presented, under all circumstances, the type characters of the species; and when these individuals were associated etiologically with certain diseases, they were described as fixed forms. When deviations in form were met with in the same, or closely allied diseases they were categorically put down as new species. Tulasne, for the first time, pointed out the possibility of pleomorphism and he demonstrated that many forms which were currently described as distinct species were in reality merely different stages of development of the same individual. But the value of his discovery and its bearings on the problems of pathology were not recognised for many years, till the recent, greatly enlarged, cultivation of the pathogenic fungi, brought into prominence the fact that the individuals of the several pathogenic species presented astonishing differences under cultivation. When reared side by side in a common soil there are often marked physical differences, sometimes in the matter of colour, or growth-energy ; and when the inquiry is pushed still further, aided by the microscope, minuter, but still characteristic, variations may be discovered, such as alterations in the shape of the cell-elements, or fruit-bearing organs. Sometimes marked differences of another sort are discovered, such as the kind or degree of modification impressed on the soil by the growth of the fungus. If the soil is gelatinous, one individual may liquify the gelatine, while another may not, although both specimens may be, undoubtedly, members of the same species. Many instances might be drawn from the recent study of the lower fungi to illustrate this principle, and in an excellent paper by Adami,* the bacteriologist who doubt its truth may find for his consideration a large collection of well arranged examples. No one who has cultivated the moulds, which are pathogenic on man, on a sufficiently large and extensive scale, collecting his specimens from different countries, can fail to be impressed with the same truth. Fungi-culture has taught us that these Cryptogams are no exception to that general principle that Plants are specially liable to variation under cultivation, a principle which was illustrated by Darwin, in his own masterly style, in his work on "Animals and Plants under Domestication," but, in spite of which, many observers and bacteriologists have worked as if it had never been written at all. It is part of the object of this Thesis to show how wide is the range of these variations, and how differences, perhaps worthy of being considered racial, may be originated by changes in the conditions of cultivation. Extreme caution is needed when we come to deduce inferences; for every step we take into this new field of inquiry may discover facts which may cause us to modify, or even abandon, a previous conclusion. Now we are only at the verge of the unknown and this Thesis is offered as a contribution to aid us forward more by suggestions of facts than by demonstrated .conclusions

On Similarities between Inference in Game Theory and Machine Learning

In this paper, we elucidate the equivalence between inference in game theory and machine learning. Our aim in so doing is to establish an equivalent vocabulary between the two domains so as to facilitate developments at the intersection of both fields, and as proof of the usefulness of this approach, we use recent developments in each field to make useful improvements to the other. More specifically, we consider the analogies between smooth best responses in fictitious play and Bayesian inference methods. Initially, we use these insights to develop and demonstrate an improved algorithm for learning in games based on probabilistic moderation. That is, by integrating over the distribution of opponent strategies (a Bayesian approach within machine learning) rather than taking a simple empirical average (the approach used in standard fictitious play) we derive a novel moderated fictitious play algorithm and show that it is more likely than standard fictitious play to converge to a payoff-dominant but risk-dominated Nash equilibrium in a simple coordination game. Furthermore we consider the converse case, and show how insights from game theory can be used to derive two improved mean field variational learning algorithms. We first show that the standard update rule of mean field variational learning is analogous to a Cournot adjustment within game theory. By analogy with fictitious play, we then suggest an improved update rule, and show that this results in fictitious variational play, an improved mean field variational learning algorithm that exhibits better convergence in highly or strongly connected graphical models. Second, we use a recent advance in fictitious play, namely dynamic fictitious play, to derive a derivative action variational learning algorithm, that exhibits superior convergence properties on a canonical machine learning problem (clustering a mixture distribution)

Late-Talking Toddlers: MLU and IPSyn Outcomes at 3;0 and 4;0

Expressive language outcomes measured by MLU and the Index of Productive Syntax (IPSyn) at ages 3;0 and 4;0 were investigated in 34 late talkers with normal receptive language identified between 2;0 to 2;7 and 16 typically developing comparison children matched on age, SES, and nonverbal ability. Late talkers made greater gains than comparison children between 3;0 and 4;0 in both MLU and IPSyn raw score. However, when age-standardized x-scores were analysed, the late talkers were about 2.5 Standard deviations below comparison children on both measures at both ages. At 3;0, 41 % of the late talkers had MLUs above the 10th percentile based on Scarborough\u27s (1990) benchmark sample; by 4;0, 71 % did so. Using the IPSyn, a more stringent measure, 34% scored above the 10th percentile at 3;0 and only 29 % did so at 4;0. MLU was significantly correlated with the IPSyn at both ages for the late talkers, but only at 3;0 for the comparison children. A converging set of regression analyses indicated no group differences in the predictive relationship between MLU and IPSyn, suggesting that the late talkers were delayed on both measures but not deviant in their development

Internet searching produces misleading findings regarding violent deaths in crisis settings: short report

Donor and agency priorities are influenced by a variety of political, social, and media-related forces that can have a profound impact on response and resource provision. We have attempted to assess how well internet searches articulate the span of violent death rates for five current “crisis” settings. In three graduate classes (2 public health, 1 information science) at US universities, during a four month period in 2017–2018, we asked approximately 60 graduate students to conduct an internet search to determine which of five countries had the highest and lowest “violence specific mortality rate”: Venezuela, Syria, Yemen, Central African Republic (CAR), or Mali. Students were divided into groups of three, and within each group explored this question by three approaches. Many graduate students in all groups could not determine the relative rates, especially which country had the lowest violence specific mortality rate. Of the 34 searches that identified a highest violent death rate country, 27.5 (81%) concluded it was Venezuela, followed by Syria (4.5; 13%), Mali (1; 3%) and CAR (1; 3%). Of the 26 searches that identified a least violent death rate 21.5 (83%) reported either CAR or Mali, followed by Yemen (2.5; 10%) and Syria (2; 8%). Aside from lack of data on CAR and Mali, students were perplexed about whether to include suicides or executions in the measure. This resulted in almost half of all inquiries unable to estimate a highest and lowest rate among these five countries. Where conclusions were drawn, it is likely the internet drew students to the opposite conclusion from reality. There are several reasons for this discordance, such as differing categories of violent deaths as defined by the World Health Organization, and search engine algorithms. It is probable, however, that larger issues of connectivity of individual societies with each other and the outside world are playing a profound role in the deceptive results found in this exercise. This insight emphasizes the internet’s under-reporting in the world’s most poor and remote locations, and highlights the importance of primary data collection and reporting in such settings

Late-Talking Toddlers: MLU and IPSyn Outcomes at 3;0 and 4;0

Expressive language outcomes measured by MLU and the Index of Productive Syntax (IPSyn) at ages 3;0 and 4;0 were investigated in 34 late talkers with normal receptive language identified between 2;0 to 2;7 and 16 typically developing comparison children matched on age, SES, and nonverbal ability. Late talkers made greater gains than comparison children between 3;0 and 4;0 in both MLU and IPSyn raw score. However, when age-standardized x-scores were analysed, the late talkers were about 2.5 Standard deviations below comparison children on both measures at both ages. At 3;0, 41 % of the late talkers had MLUs above the 10th percentile based on Scarborough\u27s (1990) benchmark sample; by 4;0, 71 % did so. Using the IPSyn, a more stringent measure, 34% scored above the 10th percentile at 3;0 and only 29 % did so at 4;0. MLU was significantly correlated with the IPSyn at both ages for the late talkers, but only at 3;0 for the comparison children. A converging set of regression analyses indicated no group differences in the predictive relationship between MLU and IPSyn, suggesting that the late talkers were delayed on both measures but not deviant in their development