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Achievement in science is a national concern, and graduating students who are college and career ready is a national imperative. In this study, we examine student achievement on the ACT science test as a high school transitioned from teaching biology, chemistry and physics with a teacher-centric pedagogy (the traditional instructional context) to the inverted curriculum (teaching physics, chemistry, then biology) to using the modeling instruction pedagogy (student-centric, inquiry-based) within the inverted curriculum. Data for students graduating over an eight-year period under these three instructional contexts were analyzed to determine if there were potential relationships between student achievement and the instructional context. This is an in situ study of the results of making an intentional change in the instructional context used to teach science. On average, ACT science scores and the percentage of students graduating college ready were higher for students learning in the two non-traditional instructional contexts.

Jennifer Dye was the recipient of the prestigious 2005 Distinguished Secondary School Science Teacher Award from the Tennessee Academy of Science (TAS). The award presentation, including a plaque and a [...]

A foundation degree is an ideal option for people who want to train to be a nurse but do not meet the entry requirements for an undergraduate degree. Foundation degrees [...]

Archaeological research on traditional Hawaiian agriculture has generally focused on two primary strategies: irrigated pondfield and intensive dryland cultivation. However, other cultivation strategies, such as colluvial slope agriculture, were practiced but have been less intensively studied and remain poorly understood. To begin to remedy this paucity of information, a joint education and research project between International Archaeological Research Institute, Inc., the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa (UHM) Department of Anthropology, and Kamehameha Schools (KS) was conducted in Punalu'u Ahupua'a to examine an integrated slope agricultural, religious, and residential complex. Subsurface investigations and radiometric dating indicate that initial vegetation clearing of the area may have occurred as early as the late thirteenth to early fifteenth centuries AD. As early as the fifteenth century, some stands of economic trees were growing, which may have coincided with initial placement of boundary walls along some portions of the slopes. Major expansion of the surface agricultural infrastructure along the landscape occurred through the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries AD. Religious structures and associated features were built as early as the seventeenth century and later. These results situate colluvial slope agriculture within the broader context of traditional Hawaiian agronomic strategies and political and social processes across the Hawaiian archipelago. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: To decide clinical and research priorities on pain features and psychological factors in persons with patellofemoral pain. DESIGN: Consensus development process. METHODS: We undertook a 3-stage process consisting of (1) updating 2 systematic reviews on quantitative sensory testing of pain features and psychological factors in patellofemoral pain, (2) an online survey of health care professionals and persons with patellofemoral pain, and (3) a consensus meeting with expert health care professionals. Participants responded that they agreed, disagreed, or were unsure that a pain feature or psychological factor was important in clinical practice or as a research priority. Greater than 70% participant agreement was required for an item to be considered important in clinical practice or a research priority. RESULTS: Thirty-five health care professionals completed the survey, 20 of whom attended the consensus meeting. Thirty persons with patellofemoral pain also completed the survey. The review identified 5 pain features and 9 psychological factors--none reached 70% agreement in the patient survey, so all were considered at the meeting. After the meeting, pain catastrophizing, fear-avoidance beliefs, and pain self-efficacy were the only factors considered clinically important. All but the thermal pain tests and 3 psychological factors were considered research priorities. CONCLUSION: Pain catastrophizing, pain selfefficacy, and fear-avoidance beliefs were factors considered important in treatment planning, clinical examination, and prognostication. Quantitative sensory tests for pain were not regarded as clinically important but were deemed to be research priorities, as were most psychological factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current mass drug administration (MDA) programs for the treatment of human river blindness (onchocerciasis) caused by the filarial worm Onchocerca volvulus rely on ivermectin, an anthelmintic originally developed for animal health. These treatments are primarily directed against migrating microfilariae and also suppress fecundity for several months, but fail to eliminate adult O. volvulus. Therefore, elimination programs need time frames of decades, well exceeding the life span of adult worms. The situation is worsened by decreased ivermectin efficacy after long-term therapy. To improve treatment options against onchocerciasis, a drug development candidate should ideally kill or irreversibly sterilize adult worms. Emodepside is a broad-spectrum anthelmintic used for the treatment of parasitic nematodes in cats and dogs (Profender and Procox). Our current knowledge of the pharmacology of emodepside is the result of more than 2 decades of intensive collaborative research between academia and the pharmaceutical industry. Emodepside has a novel mode of action with a broad spectrum of activity, including against extraintestinal nematode stages such as migrating larvae or macrofilariae. Therefore, emodepside is considered to be among the most promising candidates for evaluation as an adulticide treatment against onchocerciasis. Consequently, in 2014, Bayer and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) started a collaboration to develop emodepside for the treatment of patients suffering from the disease. Macrofilaricidal activity has been demonstrated in various models, including Onchocerca ochengi in cattle, the parasite most closely related to O. volvulus. Emodepside has now successfully passed Phase I clinical trials, and a Phase II study is planned. This Bayer–DNDi partnership is an outstanding example of "One World Health," in which experience gained in veterinary science and drug development is translated to human health and leads to improved tools to combat neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and shorten development pathways and timelines in an otherwise neglected area. Author summary: Onchocerca volvulus is the causative agent of human river blindness, and current elimination programs rely on the use of ivermectin to kill microfilariae. Since no adulticidal drug is available and adult worms have a life span of up to 15 years, elimination programs need to be sustained over several decades. Emodepside is an anthelmintic that is licensed as a dewormer for cats and dogs. Due to its ability to eliminate nematodes located in various extraintestinal host tissues, including migrating larvae and adult filarial worms, it is considered to be an excellent candidate for the treatment of onchocerciasis. Intense collaboration between academia and the pharmaceutical industry has led to a deep understanding of the novel mode of action of the drug and of its parasite target spectrum. Phase I clinical trials with emodepside have demonstrated its safety and adulticide activity against the closely related cattle parasite Onchocerca ochengi. Currently, Phase II clinical trials are planned to confirm that emodepside, developed initially to improve animal health, has also the potential to improve human health by tackling a very important neglected tropical disease (NTD). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate whether accounting discretion is (a) abused by opportunistic managers who exploit lax governance structures or (b) used by managers in a manner consistent with efficient contracting and shareholder value-maximization. Prior research documents an association between accounting discretion and poor governance quality and concludes that such evidence is consistent with abuse of the latitude allowed by accounting rules. We argue that this interpretation may be premature because, if such association is indeed evidence of opportunism, we ought to observe subsequent poor performance, ceteris paribus. We conduct our analysis in two stages. In the first stage, we extend the prior literature and again find a link between poor governance and managers' accounting discretion. However, in the second stage we fail to detect a negative association between accounting discretion attributable to poor governance and subsequent firm performance. This suggests that, on average, in our relatively large sample, managers do not abuse accounting discretion at the expense of firms' shareholders. Rather, we find some evidence that discretion due to poor governance is positively associated with future operating cash flows and ROA, which suggests that shareholders may benefit from earnings management, perhaps because it signals future performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I provide evidence on the demand for auditor reputation by examining the defections of Arthur Andersen LLP's clients following the accounting scandals and criminal conviction marring the auditor's reputation in 2002. About 95 percent of clients in my sample did not switch auditors until after Andersen was indicted for criminal misconduct regarding its failed audit of Enron Corp. I test whether the timing of client defections and the choice of a new auditor are consistent with managers' incentives to mitigate potentially costly information and agency problems. I find that clients defected sooner, mostly to another Big 5 auditor, if they were more visible in the capital markets; such clients attracted more analysts and press coverage, had larger institutional ownership and share turnover, and raised more cash in recent security issues. However, my proxies for agency conflicts -- managerial ownership and financial leverage -- are not associated with the timing of defections or the choice of new auditor. Overall, my study suggests that firms more visible in the capital markets tend to be more concerned about engaging highly reputable auditors, consistent with such firms trying to build and preserve their own reputations for credible financial reporting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the investigations of Spoehr in the 1950s, most researchers have accepted a date of ∼3500 BP/1500 BC for the initial human settlement of the Mariana Islands in the western Pacific. The relationship of this early expansion beyond Island Southeast Asia, characterized by Lapita-like pottery, to the appearance of Lapita in Near Oceania, generally was either given little thought or largely ignored. The Lapita settlement of Near Oceania is almost universally regarded as the initial expansion of Austronesian speakers into the Pacific, followed a few centuries later by a rapid migration to the east into Remote Oceania. More recently, however, radiocarbon evidence from several sites suggests that initial late Holocene expansion into the Pacific occurred in the Mariana Islands. This hypothesis needs critical evaluation. To this end, we created site- and region-level Bayesian calibration models. Results estimate that initial Lapita occupation of the Mussau Islands in the Bismarck Archipelago occurred between 3535 and 3234 cal BP (95% probability), which is 50–385 years (95% probability) earlier than the initial settlement of the Mariana Islands, dated to 3230–3085 cal BP (95% probability). Additionally, settlement of the Mariana Islands was either coeval or later (−66 to 254 years [95% probability]) than Lapita expansion out of Mussau into the greater Bismarck archipelago between 3397 and 3115 cal BP (95% probability). Radiocarbon datasets from these regions are hampered by problematic samples, and we anticipate that additional reliable radiocarbon dates will refine these estimates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article announces that Associate Editor Deborah Holtzman received the journal's Reviewer of the Year Award and the article "The Epidemic of Despair Among White Americans: Trends in the Leading Causes of Premature Death, 1999–2015" by E.M. Stein and others won the Paper of the Year Award.

The article lists the names of individuals from the American Political Science Association (APSA) who completed their doctoral dissertations at political science departments in the U.S. from 2013-2014 including Alex Acs, Michael Barber, and Ivy Cargile.

Most studies investigating anuran jumping behaviour have examined the relationship between body size and parameters such as jump distance, velocity, and force; however, few have investigated jump trajectory. We constructed an arena to determine escape trajectories in relation to the direction of an artificial stimulus in the aromobatid Mannophryne trinitatis (Garman, 1888) and two treefrogs, Trachycephalus venulosus (Laurenti, 1768) and Hypsiboas geographicus (Spix, 1824). Three categories of M. trinitatis (i.e., tadpole-transporting males, nontransporting males, and females) and three ontogenetic stages of the treefrogs were compared. Mannophryne trinitatis escaped in a broadly predictable trajectory away from the stimulus, although jump trajectories were highly variable, suggesting a degree of unpredictability. No systematic differences were found between categories of M. trinitatis, adding to the findings of previous studies that larval transport incurs no measurable locomotor costs on antipredatory jumping behaviour with regards to jump angle and distance. The treefrogs showed similar patterns of escape trajectory and unpredictability. There were no consistent differences between life-history stages and no relationship between distance jumped and angular deviation. In M. trinitatis and H. geographicus, there was some evidence of bimodality in escape trajectory. The results are discussed in the context of other work on escape trajectories and the concept of 'protean' defence strategies. La plupart des études qui se sont intéressées au comportement de saut chez les anoures ont examiné la relation entre la taille corporelle et des variables, telles que la distance, la vitesse et la force du saut; peu ont considéré la trajectoire du saut. Nous avons construit une arène pour déterminer les trajectoires de fuite en fonction de la direction d'un stimulus artificiel chez un aromobatidé, Mannophryne trinitatis (Garman, 1888), et deux grenouilles arboricoles, Trachycephalus venulosus (Laurenti, 1768) et Hypsiboas geographicus (Spix, 1824). Nous avons comparé trois catégories de M. trinitatis, des mâles porteurs de têtards, des mâles non porteurs et des femelles et trois stades ontogéniques des grenouilles arboricoles. Mannophryne trinitatis s'échappe en suivant une trajectoire globalement prévisible qui s'éloigne du stimulus, bien que les trajectoires des sauts soient très variables, indiquant une certaine imprévisibilité. Il n'existe pas de différences systématiques entre les catégories de M. trinitatis, ce qui corrobore les résultats d'études antérieures qui ont démontré que le transport des larves n'entraîne pas de coûts additionnels mesurables de locomotion dans le comportement de sauts anti-prédateurs en ce qui a trait à l'angle et la distance du saut. Les grenouilles arboricoles ont des patrons semblables de trajectoires de fuite et d'imprévisibilité. Il n'y a pas de différences stables entre les stades du cycle biologique et aucune relation entre la longueur du saut et l'écart angulaire. Chez M. trinitatis et H. geographicus, il y a des indications de bimodalité dans les trajectoires de fuite. Nous discutons des résultats dans le contexte d'autres travaux sur les trajectoires de fuite et du concept des stratégies de défense « protéennes ». [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents information on Phi Alpha Theta initiatives in several universities and colleges as of September 2004. Abilene Christian University; Adelphi University; Adrian College.

This article presents a commentary on earnings management and associated accounting practices. The commentary is intended to provide a framework for thinking about the implications of research design choices in earnings management research, to demonstrate some tradeoffs involved in making those choices, and to describe the connection between earnings management research and some other areas of accounting research. According to the author, although the variety of accrual options available under generally accepted accounting principles and the susceptibility of accruals to manipulation mean that the resulting accounting numbers could in principle be managed to the point of uninformativeness, available empirical evidence indicates that accruals do in fact have information content. The author focuses on three issues: defining the object of earnings management; exploring conditions giving rise to earnings management; and designing empirical tests of earnings management. Under an informational perspective, earnings are one of many signals which may be used to make certain decisions and judgments, such as, the decision in the valuation of securities. The informational perspective on earnings management assumes that managers have private information which they can use in making accounting decisions.

The present study addresses children's assessments of responses to teasing. Participants viewed videotaped interactions in which one child was being teased by two other children and responds in one of three ways (i.e., with humor, by ignoring, or with hostility). Participants rated the humorous response to teasing as the most effective way to respond to teasing, followed by ignoring. The hostile response was rated the least effective. The target's response to teasing significantly affected perceptions of the friendliness and popularity of the teasers and target. In addition, participants' previous experiences with teasing, as both victim and teaser, significantly affected their perceptionsof the teasing interaction. Results are discussed as they relate to understanding childhood teasing and effective ways of responding to teasing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]