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The use of brief dyslexia rating scales is increasing given current dyslexia legislation efforts across the United States. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the historical context of the use of brief dyslexia rating scales, strengths, and limitations of using these measures, criteria for selecting these measures, and a review of three commonly used brief dyslexia rating scales in the United States. A discussion of how brief dyslexia rating scales can be used in conjunction with other forms of assessment is also provided. Implications for practice on using brief dyslexia rating scales are addressed in the context of both assessment and intervention. Practitioner points: Dyslexia screeners are intended to identify students who are at risk of not meeting reading performance standards and consist of both performance‐based measures and brief dyslexia rating scales.Caution should be taken when using brief dyslexia rating scale screeners due to low sample sizes for certain populations, limited numbers of students with dyslexia in the standardization sample of some measures, and variable specificity and sensitivity levels.Practitioners are encouraged to utilize performance‐based screeners if scores on a brief dyslexia rating scale screener fall below a cut score. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Quality Rating and Improvement Systems use indicators to define early care and education quality. • Indicators often offer evidence-informed guidance to support and monitor development and foster mental health. • Development and mental health promotion often applies to center-based and family child care. • Opportunities exist to offer more specific guidance in quality indicators. • Future research can assess equity of child development and mental health promotion indicators. In the United States (U.S.), quality rating and improvement systems (QRIS) are used by many states to incentivize quality in ECE and may be a viable lever for promoting early childhood development and mental health on a population level. We conducted a qualitative review of publicly available data on state QRIS indicators to better understand how states incorporate evidence-informed early childhood development and mental health promotion standards in QRIS. We systematically compared QRIS indicators for 41 U.S. states with child development and mental health promotion quality standards from Caring for Our Children National Health and Safety Performance Standards; Guidelines for Early Care and Education Programs, 3rd Edition , as of March/April 2020. Of those, 39 states included at least one indicator consistent with child development or mental health promotion standards, including practices that can lead to early detection of developmental delays such as developmental monitoring, activities or curriculum addressing developmental domains, and regular communication and resource-sharing with parents/guardians. Opportunities exist within states for incorporating more specific guidance within indicators, such as use of childcare health consultants and advocates, validated screening tools, parent/guardian participation or input in developmental monitoring and screening, and staff training on family engagement. We found that in most states QRIS indicators offer guidance for ECE systems to support and monitor early development and foster mental health, with opportunities to enhance guidance. Findings point to QRIS as a viable opportunity for promotion of early childhood development and mental health standards in ECE systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Validity of performance standards is a key element for the defensibility of standard setting results, and validating performance standards requires collecting multiple pieces of evidence at every step during the standard setting process. This study employs a statistical procedure, latent class analysis, to set performance standards and compares latent class analysis results with previously established performance standards via the modified‐Angoff method for cross‐validation. The context of the study is an operational large‐scale science assessment administered in one of the southern states in the United States. Results show that the number of classes that emerged in the latent class analysis concurs with the number of existing performance levels. In addition, there is a substantial level of agreement between latent class analysis results and modified‐Angoff method in terms of classifying students into the same performance levels. Overall, the findings establish evidence for the validity of the performance standards identified via the modified‐Angoff method. Practical implications of the study findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Chronic pain patients frequently report cognitive problems including learning and memory. However, recent research involving induced pain has demonstrated an absence of reliably detectable decrements on several standard cognitive measures, suggesting that factors other than pain likely explain perceived cognitive deficits in chronic pain patients. This study examined potential effects of induced pain on verbal learning and memory as measured by the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT-2). Potential effects of self-reported pain intensity were also evaluated. Method: Participants (111 non-clinical undergraduate students in the Southwestern United States) completed one version (Standard or Alternate) of the CVLT-2 under normal conditions, and then were administered the other version (Alternate or Standard) either while experiencing cold pressor-induced pain (Pain condition) or non-painful warm water immersion (Control condition). Results: For the Pain condition decrements in performance across most CVLT-2 variables were observed, including a mean T-score decrease of 10.98 (SD = 10.99) for Trials 1-5, whereas the comparable decrease in the Control condition was an average of 1.5 words (SD = 8.27). Self-reported pain intensity was significantly correlated with the degree of Time 1 to Time 2 performance decrement for Short-Delay Free Recall (r = −.51, p <.050), but not for Trials 1-5 (r = −.37, p =.160). Conclusion: Induced pain produces detectable decrements in performance on a standard clinical measure of verbal learning and memory performance, suggesting that pain in clinical populations may contribute to learning and memory deficits apart from potential neurological conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we present a novel methodology, referenced as ORFEO (Ordinal classifier and Regressor Fusion for Estimating an Ordinal categorical target), to enhance the performance in ordinal classification problems for which the latent variable is observable. ORFEO is an artificial neural network model incorporating two outputs, one for ordinal classification, using the cumulative link model, and one for regression, using a linear model. Both outputs are simultaneously optimised considering a loss function that linearly combines both classification and regression losses. The main motivation behind developing the proposed approach is to enhance the performance of a standard ordinal classifier. This improvement is facilitated by considering the regression output, which allows the model to differentiate between patterns within the same category. The ORFEO model is applied to two problems in the field of marine and ocean engineering: short-term prediction of both significant wave height and flux of energy. Both problems are addressed considering four different coastal zones of the United States of America, using 13 datasets formed by buoys measurements and reanalysis data. A comprehensive comparison against 20 methodologies, including regression and nominal/ordinal classification approaches is performed, by using diverse nominal and ordinal performance metrics. Ranks achieved indicate that ORFEO outperforms all the compared methodologies in terms of all the performance measures, demonstrating the efficacy and robustness of the proposal. Finally, a statistical analysis is conducted, concluding that there are statistically significant differences across ordinal and nominal performance metrics in favour of the proposed ORFEO model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children -- Fifth Edition is the most recent update to this scale, launched originally in 2014 in the United Stated. WISC-V includes several improvements from previous versions, such as an updated factorial structure that includes more indexes, new process scores and new procedures for norming. These improvements are particularly relevant in the Chilean context, since the previous version available in the country was the WISC-IIIv.ch, whose factorial structure dates from 1991, although it was standardized for Chilean population in 2007. This article presents the standardization process for the WISC-V, which includes the translation, adaptation and norming procedures for the Chilean population. It includes evidence for reliability and validity, and also results for various special groups samples, such as intellectual disability (24), attentional deficit disorder with hyperactivity (27), autism spectrum disorder (26), specific language disorder (56) and rural population (47). The Chilean data shows excellent reliability results and an excellent adjustment to the factorial model used in the North American version. This research provides evidence for convergent validity between WISC-V and other versions of these scales, such as the WAIS-IV and the WISC-IIIv.ch. Finally, we perform a comparison between private, voucher and public schools using this scale and a comparison between male and female performance in this scale. The main finding of this research is that the Chilean standardization of the WISC-V has excellent psychometric properties that allow recommending the use of this instrument in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analytic objectivity as a standard for the US Intelligence Community appears to have been drawn from idealized conceptualizations of the scientific method as a kind of value-neutral epistemological framework used to develop knowledge "objectively." But this embrace of objectivity provides a poor foundation for contemporary conceptualizations of the applied epistemology of intelligence analysis, as well as performance standards. Instead, intelligence analysts should embrace a more realistic goal of aspiring to but never actually achieving analytic objectivity through the reduction of subjectivity while embracing the values of honesty, neutrality, and integrity encapsulated in the phrase "calling it as you see it". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the relationship between a peer-assessed reputation rating for each of the 247 doctoral universities and cross-institutional performance indicators for universities and their libraries. Using multiple regression, the variable of library expenditures, was the only consistently significant one using combinations of variables. This report is the first showing empiric evidence of the relationship between reputation with measures used in higher education and library performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current solar forecast verification processes place much attention on performance comparison of a group of competing methods. However, forecast verification ought to further answer how the best method within the group performs relative to the best-possible performance which one can attain under that forecasting situation, which makes the quantification of predictability and forecast skill immediately relevant. Unfortunately, the literature on the quantification of relative performance of solar irradiance has hitherto been lacking, and very few studies have focused on the spatial distributions of predictability and forecast skill of solar irradiance. The predictability and forecast skill of an atmospheric process depend on two concepts: (1) the growth of initial error in unresolved scale of motion, and (2) the forecast performance of the standard of reference. Based upon this formalism, predictability and forecast skill of solar irradiance in the United States are quantified and mapped. Through this study, a couple of common misconceptions in regard to irradiance predictability are refuted, and the original formulation of skill score revived. • A formal discussion on predictability of solar irradiance is presented. • A rigorous way of computing the forecast skill score is emphasized. • Predictability of solar irradiance in the United States is estimated. • Bounds of mean square error of ECMWF irradiance forecasts in the United States are derived. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the Association of Research Libraries' (ARL) E-Metrics project to measure the resources, uses and expenditures for supporting networked services in a research library setting in the United States. Knowledge inventory of ARL libraries; Organization of an ARL working group on database vendor statistics.

Discusses the Coalition for Networked Information project on assessment in the networked information services and resources in the United States. Participating academic institutions; Testing of measures related to library and information resources as part of CNI; Data on use, quality and costs of network services.

Discusses the Association of Research Libraries' pilot project on client assessment of library service quality using a modified version of the ServQUAL instrument called LibQUAL+. Participating academic libraries; Preparation of a customized front-end Web page for the general survey; Addition of two dimensions to the original ServQUAL instrument.

Discusses the Association of Research Libraries' pursuit of novel ways to measure the performance of research and academic libraries in the United States and their contributions to teaching, research, scholarship and community service. Balance between maintaining the useful approaches of the past and exploring responses to the challenges of the present and the future.

Discusses LibQUAL+, a performance assessment tool for research and academic libraries in the United States. Origins in the SERVQUAL instrument; Affect of service; Reliability; Library as place; Provision of physical collections; Access to information; User perception of library quality at multiple levels.

Presents results of Texas A&M University's experience administering SERVQUAL as a performance assessment tool for research and academic libraries in the United States. Measurement of the difference between customers' minimum expectations and their perceptions of those services as delivered; Five customer-valued dimensions of service.

Discusses performance measurement initiatives in higher-education academic libraries and research libraries in the United States. Library Performance Indicators of the International Organization for Standards; User satisfaction; Public services; Technical services; Consistency in data collection; Ease versus utility in gathering data; Values and meaning.

A growing body of literature suggests that post-secondary students experience food insecurity (FI) at greater rates than the general population. However, these rates vary dramatically across institutions and studies. FI assessment methods commonly used in studies with college students have not been scrutinized for psychometric properties, and varying protocols may influence resulting FI prevalence estimates. The objective of this study was to assess the performance of standard food security assessment protocols and to evaluate their agreement as well as the relative accuracy of these protocols in identifying student FI. A randomized sample of 4,000 undergraduate students were invited to participate in an online survey (Qualtrics, LLC, Provo, Utah, USA) that evaluated sociodemographic characteristics and FI with the 2-item food sufficiency screener and the 10-item USDA Adult Food Security Survey Module (FSSM; containing the abbreviated 6-item module). Four hundred sixty-two eligible responses were included in the final sample. The psychometric analysis revealed inconsistencies in college student response patterns on the FSSM when compared to national evaluations. Agreement between FI protocols was generally high (>90%) but was lessened when compared with a protocol that incorporated the 2-item screener. The 10-item FSSM with the 2-item screener had the best model fit (McFadden's R2 = 0.15 and Bayesian Information Criterion = -2049.72) and emerged as the tool providing the greatest relative accuracy for identifying students with FI. Though the 10-item FSSM and 2-item screener yields the most accuracy in this sample, it is unknown why students respond to FSSM items differently than the general population. Further qualitative and quantitative evaluations are needed to determine which assessment protocol is the most valid and reliable for use in accurately identifying FI in post-secondary students across the U.S. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

White workers in the United States earn almost 30 percent more per hour on average than Black workers, and this wage gap is associated with large racial differences in occupational assignments. In this article, we theoretically and empirically examine the Black-White disparity in occupations. First, we present a model based on Antonovics and Golan (2012) that relates occupational assignments to the incentives workers face while learning about their own unknown ability. Second, we document differences between Black and White workers in both the complexity of skills required in their initial occupations and the growth rates of this complexity over time. To do this, we match panel data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 with the Dictionary of Occupational Titles measures of occupational characteristics and find that, compared with White workers, Black workers start in occupations requiring less-complex skills, see slower growth in job complexity over time, and are relatively more likely to transition to jobs with lower complexity. Finally, we consider the relationship between our model and our empirical findings; for example, discrimination in hiring early in the career can have long-term consequences on the ability of Black workers to learn their best occupational match and explains part of their lower wage growth. We conclude with suggestions for policy and future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses developments related to the Association of Research Libraries' (ARL) E-Metrics project to measure the resources, uses and expenditures for supporting networked services in a research library setting in the United States. Digital Library Federation; EQUINOX project of the European Commission; Review of guidelines for measuring usage of Web resources.

Previews articles on the performance measurement of research libraries in the United States, published in the `Journal of Library Administration.' Context for the increased interest in performance measures within the higher education community; Need to balance continuing and emerging realities in the assessment of libraries; Individual institution efforts to assess networked information services.

The article discusses the opinions of the U.S. public on the 2015 Education Next poll for determining the existing stand of the children and the schools. It sates that the supporters of the Common Core State Standards are against the the new method practiced by the U.S. Congress. The government's No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was rewritten for students testing in order to collect the performance data of the teachers and the school including a change in the tenure, merit pays and tax credits.

Performance standards have played an important part in the regulation of technology for many years, yet they have received little attention from historians. This article presents a three-part framework of analysis for examining the role of regulatory performance standards in technological change. Parts one and two of the framework focus on how regulatory agencies construct and enforce standards for technological risks, or "negative externalities." The final part addresses the important question of whether and how firms choose to internalize these standards in their design procedures and other organizational routines. The article provides examples from the history of automotive regulation in the United States to illustrate each part of the framework, and it gives some thoughts on how regulatory performance standards fit within the voluminous literature on standardization, including other work on de facto and voluntary consensus standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article we present results of an empirical study of the relationship between research productivity and research-related merit ratings over a 10-year period for tenured and tenure-track faculty in a school of education. The purpose of the study was to assess change in faculty productivity as a result of the institution's change in the Carnegie classification system. Results show that higher research expectations affected the productivity level of faculty in regard to increasing international conference presentations, national conference presentations, state conference presentations, and large unfunded grants. Furthermore, over time the variables that were important for merit scores changed and decreased in number. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of run-of-river hydropower is to produce cost-competitive renewable electricity with minimal disruption of the natural riverine ecosystem. Modeling and feasibility analysis of alternative design options are crucial for developing new run-of-river hydropower projects. Our review shows that existing run-of-river hydropower design models focus on maximizing economic potential at high-head diversion schemes with limited consideration of environmental outcomes. Since nearly three-quarters of new hydropower potential in the United States is found at low-head sites and environmental performance standards are imperative to project success, new models are needed to address the multi-dimensional design challenges at these sites. To aid in formulating holistic models, we synthesize the performance objectives and design variables related to early-stage run-of-river facility design. The objectives span six potential impact areas, including hydrologic alteration, sediment continuity, water quality, aquatic species passage, social, and economic. Based on these reviews, we identify three key areas to enhance the capabilities of run-of-river hydropower design models. These are 1) expanded model formulations, 2) assessment of barrier effects, and 3) explicit environmental objectives. The resulting modeling improvements would accelerate the identification of run-of-river hydropower designs that minimize environmental impacts, promote economic competitiveness, and incorporate the value of non-power benefits. • Current hydropower design models focus on economic potential of high-head projects. • New hydropower plants in the US will likely be low-head, instream, and run-of-river. • Flow allocation, technology selection, and headpond design are critical decisions. • Barrier effects on fish, sediment, and recreation should be modeled. • Win-win designs are possible when non-power benefits are explicitly optimized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Frequency regulation (FR) is the electric grid service responsible for maintaining the system frequency at its nominal value of 60 Hz in the United States — an indicator of energy balance on the grid. In cases of mismatch between power supply and demand, FR resources either on the generation or the demand side, responding rapidly to restore system frequency to its nominal value. Due to the limited responsiveness of generators, fast and accurate demand side resources (DSR) have recently been encouraged to participate in FR. However, the tested DSRs typically require high initial equipment investment (e.g., flywheels and batteries). Large commercial buildings can provide effective load shaping with little impact to occupants’ comfort and have significant amount of available capacity for FR participation. In addition, commercial buildings are characterized by numerous interdependent HVAC subsystems and control systems. Therefore, a high-level supervisory control strategy is needed that directs the interdependent HVAC systems for FR with strengthened interactions and depressed counteractions. Simulation results suggest that large commercial buildings can provide significant FR capacity and high performance scores. Dynamic building-to-grid integration automatically and continuously provides solutions maintaining energy balance on the gird. The benefit to the power system reliability would be significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of alternate fuels and raw materials in the cement manufacturing process has evolved substantially over the last two to three decades, along with approaches to acquire regulatory approval. Most recently, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has published new regulations as an overlay to what has been in place, having the potential to significantly impact this practice. Instead of dealing with the state agencies that usually have permitting authority, the new rules add another layer of regulatory hurdles by EPA. The new regulations also force a more significant overlap of the air permitting and solid waste rules. As a result, implementing an alternate material program and seeking approval has the potential to be considerably more challenging for the regulated community, in addition to adding complexity for the state agency permitting staff. This paper provides an update on the latest solid waste and air regulations applicable to alternative material use in cement plants, and potential implications for the U.S. industry. Early experiences will be explored, in addition to contemplating potential permitting and/or approval pathways expected to be encountered with the newest regulations in place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Termites are structurally destructive pests that can infest a consumer's most important investment, their home. The evolution of termite control is complex, involving people's understanding of termite biology and behavior, building construction, the use of soil termiticides, baits, wood treatments, and physical barriers, as well as regulations from different industries (pest control and building construction). Soil termiticides have been the standard method of treatment for decades, but the concern for human and environmental health has driven the development of alternatives. This article discusses the evolution of termite control methods that were alternatives to the standard of the time and the regulatory structure that provides a level of consumer protection for some products. The global economic impact of termites is estimated to be approximately USD 40 billion annually, and subterranean termites are responsible for about 80% of the total impact. Twenty-eight species of termites have been described as invasive, and these termites are spreading, partially due to global trade, making effective control methods essential. Termite control is complex, as is the biology and behavior of this social insect group. In the U.S., termite prevention and control (with claims of structural protection) is regulated by more than one industry (pest control and building construction), and at the federal and state levels. Termite prevention has historically relied on building construction practices that do not create conducive conditions for termite infestations, but as soil termiticides developed, heavy reliance on pesticides became the standard for termite control. The concern for human and environmental health has driven the development of termite control alternatives and regulation for products claiming structural protection. Product development has also provided unprecedented opportunities to study the biology and behavior of cryptobiotic termites. Technological advances have allowed for the re-examination of questions about termite behavior. Advances in communications via social media provide unrestricted access to information, creating a conundrum for consumers and science educators alike. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the enforcement of government regulations in America as of June 2013, focusing on a new source review enforcement initiative by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ). Professors Kristin E. Hickman and Claire A. Hill are addressed, along with various categories of regulatees such as maximal compliers, flouters, and minimal compliers. Deterrence and assistance are examined in relation to compliance with environmental regulations.

The Testing and Evaluation Department of the US Navy Entomology Center of Excellence (NECE), Naval Air Station, Jacksonville, Florida, is dedicated to the evaluation of novel equipment and vector control techniques to provide guidance on effective protection measures against human pathogens transmitted by blood-feeding arthropods. Personal protective measures (PPM), to include repellents, are part of a series of techniques that contribute toward reducing human-vector contact for globally and domestically deployed military forces. However, improper PPM use and limited availability has created vulnerabilities, causing troops to purchase spatial repellent products that are not approved by the Department of Defense. In order to ensure the most effective products are available, NECE has evaluated the spatial repellency response of Aedes albopictus (Skuse) to 4 commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) spatial repellents to provide technical guidance on proper use and effectiveness. The COTS products evaluated ThermaCELL, OFF! Clip On, Lentek Bite Shield, and Bug Button Mosquito Eliminator. A Biogents Sentinel (BGS) trap was placed in 5 locations with a spatial repellent device suspended at the level of the BGS trap opening over 4 of them (the fifth was control). Each trap catch was collected every 12 hours, at which time the spatial repellent device was rotated to the next position. Using this method, each spatial repellent device and control was rotated across each of the 5 locations a total of 6 times. Spatial repellent efficiency was evaluated by comparing the total number of mosquitoes collected in the BGS traps during a 12-hour period. The number of adult mosquitoes repelled by the ThermaCell spatial repellent was significantly more than other spatial repellents with the exception of OFF!. These data indicate that COTS products using repellent insecticide rather than botanicals are more effective at deterring Ae. albopictus from biting a host. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Race to the Top is resulting in the widespread adoption of value-added models to measure teacher performance. There are concerns about the reliability and validity of these methods and about the wisdom of the Federal government mandating how to conduct non-federal employees' performance reviews. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We analyze the effects of the New Source Review (NSR) environmental regulations on coal-fired electric power plants. Regulations that grew out of the Clean Air Act of 1970 required new electric generating plants to install costly pollution control equipment but exempted existing plants. Plants lost their exemptions if they made “major modifications.” We examine whether this caused firms to invest less in grandfathered plants, possibly leading to lower efficiency and higher emissions. We find evidence that heightened NSR enforcement reduced capital investment at vulnerable plants. However, we find no discernible effect on other inputs or emissions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In the past decade, American professional psychology has taken significant steps toward a unified statement of the competencies that define the practice of psychology, regardless of specialty. The purpose of this article is to explain the current competency initiative in professional psychology and examine its implications and potential impact on graduate training in school psychology. A brief overview of competency-based training and the current competencies initiative in psychology is presented. Two significant challenges to implement competency-based training are then discussed. The first challenge has to do with conceptualizations of training and practice across accreditation agencies. As a part of the discussion, two recently published competency documents from the Assessment of Competencies Benchmark Workgroup of the American Psychological Association and the National Association of School Psychologists are compared in a content analysis. The second challenge discussed is the difficulties associated with operationalizing and measuring competencies. Specifically, the empirical and consequential bases for existing assessment methods are examined. In spite of current pressure by accrediting agencies to implement a competency-based training model, based on the challenges examined in this article, significant work remains if school psychology trainers want to assure that competency-based training is done well. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The environmental movement of the 20th century has evolved into a large, diverse and well-financed global community that is increasingly required to prove its worth. Though the environmental sector collects and uses data to determine the status of ecological and social systems, the effectiveness of the programs and policies it uses to affect this status remains largely untested. As governments and donor institutions insist on greater transparency, accountability and evidence of what works and what does not, much is being learned from other fields (e.g. health services, education, international development) and increasingly sophisticated approaches are emerging to manage effectiveness. For example, program evaluation, adaptive management, and systematic review provide frameworks and methods to collect and use information to measure and improve performance. However, the critical data and collaborations necessary for an effectiveness revolution are marginalized by technical, cultural and political obstacles. Learning from other fields, the environmental sector must exploit key leverage points, such as flows of information and self-organization, to overcome impediments and create incentives to initiate and realize an era of effectiveness in environmental management. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article focuses the Model Business Corporation Act (MBCA) in the U.S., including its governing rules and standards. It notes that legal rules and standards are significantly different in approach despite the fact that they share the same social goal. It adds that the relative merits of rules versus standards in lawmaking have been largely ignored with reference to corporation law due to its reliance almost exclusively on general standards in expressing legal obligations and rights. The concept on the representation of an important new model for corporate legislation by the MBCA is also highlighted.

The EXPORT Health Project at the Center for Minority Health, University of Pittsburgh, partnered with the Center of Excellence in Minority Health at Jackson State University to design and present a Summer Research Career Development Institute (SRCDI) in 2005 and 2006. The goal of the SRCDI was to enhance the early academic career survival skills of postdoctoral and junior faculty investigators doing research on minority health disparities. Institute organizers seek to increase the number of minority investigators who are successful in securing faculty appointments and independent funding through federal agencies. The Pittsburgh Jackson State University SRCDI admitted a total of 55 (26 in 2005 and 29 in 2006) outstanding postdoctoral fellows and assistant professors from institutions across the United States. Elements of this model can be exported to other institutions to assist minority faculty in achieving their career goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the continued importance of the globalization era, there is an ever-increasing interest in the correlation between marketing mix standardization and the firm's market performance. This issue focuses on the firm's pursuit of global markets in an environment conditional to internal and external market factors. The research examines factors on multinational firm's marketing mix (program and process marketing) from Australia, Japan, and the United States and the impact on market performance. The results are mixed providing some support for marketing standardization and profit performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving the care for individuals with substance use disorders is a national health policy priority. Like other parts of the health care system, the addiction field is under pressure for higher accountability—more efficient use of treatment resources, the delivery of quality services, and the production of positive client outcomes. This introductory article highlights the importance of the collection of articles being published in this special issue as they describe California's efforts toward making the alcohol and drug (AOD) treatment system more accountable and effective. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 encouraged public transit authorities to reassess the way they serve aging populations and physically-handicapped individuals requiring door-to-door services. As the demand for paratransit services rose dramatically the last few years due to a growing number of aging baby-boomers and injured Iraq-Afghanistan War veterans, many public transit authorities have been faced with the dilemma of meeting the growing demand while controlling costs in times of ongoing budget crises. To help public transit authorities better cope with such a dilemma, this paper evaluates the comparative operating efficiency of 75 selected paratransit agencies in the United States using data envelopment analysis (DEA) and then identifies the best-practice paratransit systems. Lagging paratransit agencies can use such systems as benchmark reference points to evaluate their performance against other systems. Finally this paper develops a profile of both efficient and inefficient paratransit agencies to discern a host of factors influencing the operating efficiency of paratransit systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the 1990s, most US states adopted new forms of performance-based accountability, e.g., performance-based budgeting, funding, or reporting. This study analyzed changes in institutional performance following the adoption of these new accountability standards. We measured institutional performance by representative education and research indicators—graduation rates and levels of federal research funding. We collected data from 1997 to 2007 and used a hierarchical linear modeling growth curve analysis. The main finding was that states which adopted performance-based accountability did not see a noticeable increase in institutional performance. In addition, we highlighted a critical policy issue—whether state and institutional factors contribute most to institutional performance in higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines potential consequences of the discrepancies between national and state performance standards for school funding in Kentucky and Maine. Applying the successful schools observation method and cost function analysis method to integrated data-sets that match schools' eight-grade mathematics test performance measures to district funding, this study conducts empirical searches for adequate instructional expenditures per pupil to meet desired proficiency targets on national versus state assessments. While Kentucky (high-stakes testing state) had a lower performance standard than Maine (low-stakes testing state), this study reveals a relatively lower level of school funding adequacy and a weaker relationship between school expenditures and performance for Kentucky than for Maine. The study suggests that state educational accountability systems and policies may influence the level of state performance standards and the proficiency gaps between national and state assessments, which in turn lead to potential gaps in school funding. Implications for policy and research are discussed to address problems with dual standards of school performance and to improve school funding adequacy and efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on a study that describes the association between nighttime awakenings and workplace functioning, performance, and productivity in the U.S. Employees at four U.S. companies who described their sleep patterns have been the subject of the study. Findings of the study revealed that workers who experienced greater than, or equal to three nighttime awakenings manifest poorer work productivity and performance compared to workers who experience fewer awakenings.

The accountability movement in public policy hails a new programme for US foreign assistance – the Millennium Challenge Account established in 2004 with the aim of ‘picking winners’ for grants among developing countries based on their demonstrated quality of governance. This article uses the MCA's own rating system to dispute its claim to know in advance which countries are best positioned to meet major development goals. High governance scores alone bear little or no relationship to growth in national income or decline in poverty. Attempting to measure public-policy performance limits the range of choice available to policy-makers, and may inadvertently limit true performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we examine the impacts of toxic chemical releases on labor productivity. The hypothesis is that exposure to releases results in chronic or acute illnesses, which increases number of work days lost. To test the hypothesis we combine data from the National Health Interview Survey with data from US Environmental Protection Agency’s Toxic Release Inventory, using an instrumental variable approach to control for endogeneity of subjective binary health status. We find that the survey respondents are significantly more likely to have increased work days lost as their exposure to toxic releases increases and that work days lost increase at an increasing rate with diminished health status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the Ambassadors in Education awards for middle school and high school teachers. The awards were created in 2003 by the National Civic League and MetLife Foundation to recognize teachers who create successful relationships between their students, those students' families, and the communities in which the schools are located. The qualifications for the awards,which center on partnerships with community organizations and businesses which foster both academic excellence and civic engagement by students, are given. A list is presented of the 2009 winners of the award, and descriptions of the programs and activities for which they were cited are given.

Management of supervisees who do not meet performance standards is an area of special concern in clinical training. Supervisors may inappropriately apply the concept of impairment when assessing or describing substandard performance; legal liability is introduced when the construct is misapplied. The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) Amendments Act of 2008 (effective January 1, 2009) has compounded the legal risks associated with the inappropriate use of impairment. This article briefly describes the historical use of the term impairment, discusses the legal risks associated with the misapplication of the construct, and presents best practices in clinical supervision when addressing supervisee performance within the legal constraints of the ADA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses automated performance management tools which were developed by the United States Army Security Assistance Command and which connect directly to the command's legacy management systems to automatically update and populate its performance measures. The features of the systems include the Defense Security Assistance Management System and the Centralized Integrated System-International Logistics System, are discussed.

The primary goal of this study was to investigate the role of the mathematics coach at Tabaka Middle School during the school's implementation of the Georgia Performance Standards through the utilization of Connected Mathematics Project materials. The study explores the coach's emergent understanding of her role as she provided teachers support through professional development, observation, and feedback in dealing with new content, adapting to new methods of teaching, working in collaborative groups, adapting to new ways of assessing students, and learning how to use new curriculum materials. The study suggests that in regards to teacher beliefs and practices, teachers benefit from a site-based long-term professional development program that targets content and pedagogical knowledge. The study underscores the importance of teamwork, collaboration, and having a mathematics coach on site in bringing to reality a new vision of a school's mathematics program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various analyses have used the transfer rate as a performance indicator for community colleges, but the question of what constitutes an appropriate denominator in the transfer-rate equation remains a point of contention. This article examines the potential drawbacks of using student-reported educational goals to determine which students are included in the denominator and notes how the behavioral signal approach — based on the courses students take and complete — may be a more appropriate alternative. In addition, the article discusses the prospects of employing a "transfer opportunity diagnosis" based on multiple indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the laws and regulations regarding sexual harassment in the U.S. It discusses the approaches on sexual harassment law and its difference on the claims under Title VII. It mentions the forms of sexual harassments including the quid pro quo which is a request for sexual favors in exchange for employment benefits and hostile work environment which involves intimidation that affects the employees' work performance. It also cites the extent to which employers can be held responsible for claims of sexual harassment by their employees. Moreover, it also presents the defenses for employers to defend themselves from charges on sexual harassment.