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Introduction: Pennsylvania opened its first medical marijuana (MMJ) dispensary in 2018. Qualifying conditions include six conditions determined to have no or insufficient evidence to support or refute MMJ effectiveness. We conducted a study to describe MMJ dispensary access in Pennsylvania and to determine whether dispensary proximity was associated with MMJ certifications and community demographics. Methods: Using data from the Pennsylvania Department of Health, we geocoded MMJ dispensary locations and linked them to US Census Bureau data. We created dispensary access measures from the population-weighted centroid of Zip Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs): distance to nearest dispensary and density of dispensaries within a 15-min drive. We evaluated associations between dispensary access and the proportion of adults who received MMJ certification and the proportion of certifications for low evidence conditions (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, epilepsy, glaucoma, Huntington's disease, opioid use disorder, and Parkinson's disease) using negative binomial modeling, adjusting for community features. To evaluate associations racial and ethnic composition of communities and distance to nearest dispensary, we used logistic regression to estimate the odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI), adjusting for median income. Results: Distance and density of MMJ dispensaries were associated with the proportion of the ZCTA population certified and the proportion of certifications for insufficient evidence conditions. Compared to ZCTAs with no dispensary within 15 min, the proportion of adults certified increased by up to 31% and the proportion of certifications for insufficient evidence decreased by up to 22% for ZCTAs with two dispensaries. From 2018 to 2021, the odds of being within five miles of a dispensary was up to 20 times higher in ZCTAs with the highest proportions of individuals who were not White (2019: OR: 20.14, CI: 10.7-37.8) and more than double in ZCTAs with the highest proportion of Hispanic individuals (2018: OR: 2.81, CI: 1.51-5.24), compared to ZCTAs with the lowest proportions. Conclusions: Greater dispensary access was associated with the proportions of certified residents and certifications for low evidence conditions. Whether these patterns are due to differences in accessibility or demand is unknown. Associations between community demographics and dispensary proximity may indicate MMJ access differences. Keywords: Medical cannabis, Geospatial, Evidence-based medicine, Marijuana, Dispensary, Author(s): Annemarie G. Hirsch; Eric A. Wright; Cara M. Nordberg; Joseph DeWalle; Elena L. Stains; Amy L. Kennalley; Joy Zhang; Lorraine D. Tusing; Brian J. Piper Introduction The legalization of [...]

The unstructured multiple-attempt (MA) item response data in virtual learning environments (VLEs) are often from student-selected assessment data sets, which include missing data, single-attempt responses, multiple-attempt responses, and unknown growth ability across attempts, leading to a complex and complicated scenario for using this kind of data set as a whole in the practice of educational measurement. It is critical that methods be available for measuring ability from VLE data to improve VLE systems, monitor student progress in instructional settings, and conduct educational research. The purpose of this study is to explore the ability recovery of the multidimensional sequential 2-PL IRT model in unstructured MA data from VLEs. We conduct a simulation study to evaluate the effects of the magnitude of ability growth and the proportion of students who make two attempts, as well as the moderated effects of sample size, test length, and missingness, on the bias and root mean square error of ability estimates. Results show that the model poses promise for evaluating ability in unstructured VLE data, but that some data conditions can result in biased ability estimates.

Virtual exchange programs represent a relatively novel approach designed to foster a more global perspective and promote discipline-specific learning; however, this approach has not been widely adopted in sociology. This article reports findings on student experiences and learning in a virtual exchange program involving two large introductory sociology classes in Hong Kong and Atlanta. A postsurvey invited students to reflect qualitatively on their experiences, and six major themes emerged from the data: (1) global application of sociological knowledge, (2) social and cultural relativism, (3) breaking the shell and gaining intellectual and social flexibility, (4) social networking opportunities, (5) challenges and adjustments, and (6) keeping contact beyond school. Based on our experience and the students' feedback, we conclude that virtual exchange is an effective pedagogical approach for internationalizing sociology curricula, enhancing intercultural competency, and deepening students' understanding of core sociological concepts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]