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In recent years, computer-based testing (CBT) has grown in popularity, is increasingly being implemented across the United States, and will likely become the primary mode for delivering tests in the future. Although CBT offers many advantages over traditional paper-and-pencil testing, assessment experts, researchers, practitioners, and users have expressed concern about the comparability of scores between the two test administration modes. To help provide an answer to this issue, a meta-analysis was conducted to synthesize the administration mode effects of CBTs and paper-and-pencil tests on K-12 student reading assessments. Findings indicate that the administration mode had no statistically significant effect on K-12 student reading achievement scores. Four moderator variables—study design, sample size, computer delivery algorithm, and computer practice—made statistically significant contributions to predicting effect size. Three moderator variables—grade level, type of test, and computer delivery method—did not affect the differences in reading scores between test modes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The collection of perinatal data within Queensland, A ustralia, has traditionally been achieved via a paper form completed by midwives after each birth. Recently, with an increase in the use of e-health systems in healthcare, perinatal data collection has migrated to an online system. It is suggested that this move from paper to an ehealth platform has resulted in improvement to error rates, completion levels, timeliness of data transfer from healthcare institutions to the perinatal data collection and subsequent publication of data items. Worldwide, perinatal data are collected utilising a variety of methods, but essentially data are used for similar purposes: to monitor outcome patterns within obstetrics and midwifery. T his paper discusses current practice in relation to perinatal data collection worldwide and within Australia, with a specific focus on Queensland, highlights relevant issues for midwives, and points to the need for further research into the efficient use of an e-health platform for perinatal data collection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Survey data are used to examine the use of, and views about, information technology (IT) among U.S. national unions. Usable responses were received from nearly two-thirds of such unions. In addition to descriptive information regarding IT use in national unions, this paper tentatively explores both the causes and consequences of IT use. While IT use of some sort is found to be nearly universal, there is considerable variation across unions in the use of many forms of IT (e.g., e-mail, websites, video conferences) and in the areas to which IT is applied (e.g., bargaining, organizing, communicating with current members). However, a vast majority of survey respondents feel that IT has improved service and overall efficiency at their unions, and that continued IT emphasis is critical to union success. Results show preliminary support for most hypotheses concerning possible causes and consequences of IT use by unions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study of U.S. daily newspapers with circulations of 20,000 or greater shows that in 1998 journalists at 90 percent of the papers were using computers to find and analyze information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to explore the use of Instagram by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one of the representative public health authorities in the United States. For this aim, all of the photos uploaded on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Instagram account were crawled and the content of them were analyzed using Microsoft Azure Cognitive Services. Also, engagement was measured by the sum of numbers of likes and comments to each photo, and sentiment analysis of comments was conducted. Results suggest that the photos that can be categorized into "text" and "people" took the largest share in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Instagram photos. And it was found that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's major way of delivering messages on Instagram was to imprint key messages that call for actions for better health on photos and to provide the source of complementary information on text component of each post. It was also found that photos with more and bigger human faces had lower level of engagement than the others, and happiness and neutral emotions expressed on the faces in photos were negatively associated with engagement. The features whose high value would make the photos look splendid and gaudy were negatively correlated with engagement, but sharpness was positively correlated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the educational and economic attainment of Mexican Dreamers over the 4 years since DACA was implemented (2012–2016). A time-space stream of benefits and barriers is evaluated at the national, state, and individual levels. Based on assumptions linking the DACA-eligible to DACA recipients, I examine the annual American Community Survey (ACS) to glean insights not provided elsewhere. At national level, the results suggest that young Mexican Dreamers entered the workforce at higher rates, but college at lower rates, than a control group of Mexican Americans. At state level, in supportive states these Dreamers entered college at higher rates but the work force at slightly lower rates, than they did in restrictive states. At the individual level, it is revealed that DACA strongly promoted college over work for women, but just the reverse for men. These distinctions are bringing about new inequalities within the Mexican Dreamer community in the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study which analyzes the consequences of introducing electronic data processing (EDP) in several large offices in the U.S. The introduction of computers in offices revolutionizes the office system, alters the nature of the office work, increases labor productivity, upgrades the structure of the labor force, and changes its sex composition. Office automation reduced total labor requirements, but EDP has developed the skill composition of labor force. The application of EDP in office works of several companies included in the study had significant impact on office employment. However, office automation may be responsible for the decrease in growth rate of clerical jobs and that it may be reducing employment opportunities for women employees.

Despite the rapid and ongoing increase in the use and availability of computers and technology in and outside of public school classrooms, there is relatively little literature that has examined pre-service special education teachers' perceptions of their own computer use and self-efficacy with new technologies or how these perceptions may impact their educational and professional practice. This study used a Computer Use and Self-Efficacy (CUSE) survey to examine current rural and special education teacher candidates' computer use, their perceptions of computer self-efficacy, and the impact on performance in a teacher preparation program for teachers working with students with low-incidence disabilities. Data indicate a difference in perceptions of self-efficacy for rural and urban teacher candidates. Implications for practice and future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To explore changes in daily activities associated with high-intensity volunteering, this study assessed activities in a sample of 180 new Experience Corps (EC) volunteers serving low reading students in urban schools.Methods: Level of activity in 15 areas (visiting friends, reading, watching TV, etc.) was obtained at the beginning of this high-commitment volunteer experience and after 9 months of service. Latent class analyses were used to identify activity patterns, and regression analyses were used to identify factors associated with changes in activities.Results: At pre-test, 37% were classified in the low-activity group and were more likely to be first time volunteers, older, non-White, and have less education. At post-test, only 17% were classified as low activity. An increase in activity was more likely to occur for those who were low activity before joining the volunteer program.Implications: These findings demonstrate that increase in activity does occur for less active older adults who join a volunteer program. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Federal computer projects frequently fail because federal organizations are mandated to follow an erroneous Enterprise Architecture (EA) metaphor. The article promotes an alternative metaphor that highlights the principles of incremental evolution, learning, exploration and slow adaptation, experimentation, and minimal architecture. To advance this approach, the archaeological history of excavating the oldest man-made mountain (Tel Gezer where 28 ancient civilizations are layered one on top of the other) is compared with the history of modernizing the latest man-made mountain (the Internal Revenue Service's main computer systems where numerous generations of computer programs are layered one on top of the other). Through this most unusual "comparative tale," the article also exposes the human characteristics of successful federal information technology project leaders: humility, curiosity, and patience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While instant messaging (IM) via computers is well entrenched in the United States, text messaging on mobile phones is a more recent technology in America. To investigate the emergence of American texting, this study compared text messages and IMs produced by American college students with respect to transmission length, emoticons and lexical shortenings, and sentential punctuation. We examine our findings in light of other statistical studies of texting and IM, and with respect to personal computer use in the United States that predates text messaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This qualitative study compared the availability of access to, and use of new technologies in a group of low- and high-socioeconomic status (SES) California high schools. Although student-computer ratios in the schools were similar the social contexts of computer use differed, with low-SES schools affected by uneven human support networks, irregular home access to computers by students, and pressure to raise school test scores while addressing the needs of large numbers of English learners. These differences were expressed within three main patterns of technology access and use, labeled performativity, workability, and complexity, each of which shaped schools' efforts to deploy new technologies for academic preparation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents information on the utilization of the word processor called AmiPro for International Business Machines, and compatible computers by music educators. Publishers of AmiPro; Features of AmiPro; Cost of AmiPro; Information on drawing software, with specific reference to GeoDraw.