Perceived health problems in swimmers according to the chemical treatment of water in swimming pools

The objective of this study was to determine which chemical treatment used for disinfecting water in indoor swimming pools had the least impact on users' perceptions of health problems, and which generated the greatest satisfaction with the quality of the water. A survey on satisfaction and perceived health problems was given to 1001 users at 20 indoor swimming pools which used different water treatment methods [chlorine, bromine, ozone, ultraviolet lamps (UV) and salt electrolysis]. The findings suggest that there is a greater probability of perceived health problems, such as eye and skin irritation, respiratory problems and skin dryness, in swimming pools treated with chlorine than in swimming pools using other chemical treatment methods. Pools treated with bromine have similar, although slightly better, results. Other factors, such as age, gender, time of day of use (morning and afternoon) and type of user (competitive and recreational), can also affect the probability of suffering health problems. For all of the above, using combined treatment methods as ozone and UV, or salt electrolysis produces a lower probability of perceived health problems and greater satisfaction.     

Predictors of foster parents' satisfaction and intent to continue to foster

OBJECTIVE: The United States General Accounting Office (United States General Accounting Office [USGAO], 1989) report on out-of-home care affirmed that the foster care system is in crisis. To shed light on some factors that influence retention, the study reported here asked "What factors influence the satisfaction of foster parents?" and "What factors influence the intent of licensed foster parents to continue to foster?" METHOD: A sample of 539 foster parents in eight urban counties in a large Midwestern state completed questionnaires aimed at addressing these questions. RESULTS: Some of the factors exerting the strongest influence on satisfaction were: feeling competent to handle the children who were placed; wanting to take in children who needed loving parents; no regrets about investment in foster children; foster mother's age; and agency social worker providing information and showing approval for a job well done. An example of factors exerting influence on intent to continue to foster include overall satisfaction, readiness to phone the social worker, number of foster boys in the home, being treated like one needed help oneself, and agency affiliation (private). CONCLUSIONS: Efforts to increase the supply of foster homes through recruitment is not enough. The support, training, and professional regard given to parents after they have begun the fostering task is of greater need. Based on analysis of the findings, implications for practice, programming, and policy are offered.     

Many choices,one destination: multimodal university brand construction in an urban public transportation system

Amidst global competition in higher education, colleges and universities adopt strategies that mimic and adapt business practices. Branding is now a widespread practice in higher education; multimodal advertisement is a manifestation of emerging branding strategies for universities. While the visibility of brands in higher education has grown substantially in recent years, its empirical study has lagged. This article reports on the findings from a study that employed social semiotic and multimodal analysis to explore text and visual rhetoric as brand construction strategies in publicly displayed university advertisements. After analyzing photographs representing advertising campaigns from 16 different universities displayed in an urban public transportation system, I suggest that universities construct their brand identity through messages that emphasize multiple choices and convenience, but construct success primarily according to corporate standards and values.     

Explaining the substantial inter-domain and over-time correlations in student achievement: the importance of stable student attributes

Multi-domain and longitudinal studies of student achievement routinely find moderate to strong correlations across achievement domains and even stronger within-domain correlations over time. The purpose of this study is to examine the sources of these patterns analysing student achievement in 5 domains across Years 3, 5 and 7. The analysis is of longitudinal population data of over 22,000 students and utilizes fixed-effects models to incorporate stable general and domain-specific latent factors. These latent factors correspond to a general cognitive-ability-like factor and specific aptitudes in particular, or types of, subject areas. The preferred model incorporates both general and domain-specific latent factors with stronger effects for the general factor, although the domain-specific factors are particularly strong for spelling and numeracy. When taking into account general and domain-specific latent factors, the effects of student’s socioeconomic status (SES) and school SES are trivial.     

Effects of maze geometry and experience on exploratory behavior in the rat

Rats were exposed twice in a rotated sequence to a series of six mazes, consisting of hexagonal alleys, balanced for different alley length and structural complexity. Locomotor activity increased with alley length and decreased with structural complexity of the mazes. Locomotion became less stereotyped with increased experience, showing an increasing number of turns, less constant velocity, loss of the initial preference for outward leading alleys and weakening of the forward tendency at reentry from side alleys into hexagonal alleys. In contrast to these qualitative changes of locomotion, the amount of activity remained almost unchanged throughout the experiment. The results suggest that these increases in locomotion complexity depend upon complex interactions between experience and stimulus content of the mazes.