Correction equations to adjust self-reported height and weight for obesity estimates among college students

The purposes of this study were to generate correction equations for self-reported height and weight quartiles and to test the accuracy of the body mass index (BMI) classification based on corrected self-reported height and weight among 739 male and 434 female college students. The BMIqc (from height and weight quartile-specific, corrected self-reported measurements) provided a more accurate estimation of BMI classification than BMIc (from corrected self-reported measurements) and BMIs (from self-reported measurements) by showing a greater ability to predict cases with either a high or a low BMI category while still maintaining a high specificity. However, the equations are applicable only to Caucasian college student populations, so cross-validation in similar populations is needed before they are used more broadly.     

Towards an understanding of the use of an institutional repository with integrated social networking tools: A case study of PocketKnowledge

Transaction log analysis (TLA), content analysis, and grounded theory procedures were used to explore the use of an institutional digital repository and social networking website by the academic community of a graduate school of education in the northeastern United States. Three successive years of usage records were gathered and analyzed to determine: (a) the numbers and categories of persons signing up to use the repository during each school semester, (b) the type of content being archived and its rate of growth, and (c) the possible influence of the repository on collaborative, online and open access scholarship within the institution. Findings show a steady increase in the usage of the repository for archiving and sharing digital resources, and an item-tagging scheme that suggests user preference of the resource as a platform for enhancing professional rather than personal interests. User interactivity by way of textual scholarly discussions on the repository platform is however almost nonexistent.     

University and vocational education,and youth labour market outcomes in Australia

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of university and vocational education, and other influences on a variety of labour market outcomes for Australian youths aged between 16 and 25. The six labour market outcomes investigated are: occupational status, hourly and weekly earnings, employment, unemployment and full-time work. The study finds that a bachelor’s degree has clear positive effects on each of these youth labour market outcomes, in contrast to vocational qualifications. Among men, vocational qualifications show no sizable positive effects on these outcomes. Among women, the higher-level vocational diploma is beneficial for employment and unemployment. In no instance are the positive effects of vocational education stronger than that for a bachelor’s degree. Many of these labour market outcomes are strongly associated with prior experiences of employment and unemployment. The findings suggest that policies, rather than focusing on expanding and reforming vocational education, should aim to ensure that young people quickly secure employment, preferably full-time, and avoid unemployment.     

Evaluating the Locational Attributes of Education Management Organizations (EMOs)

This study uses logistic and multinomial logistic regression models to analyze neighborhood factors affecting EMO(Education Management Organization)-operated schools’ locational attributes (using census tracts) in 41 states for the 2014–2015 school year. Our research combines market-based school reform, institutional theory, and resource dependency to explore one important issue regarding EMO location: What are the factors associated with the presence of varied types and sizes of EMOs in neighborhoods? To our knowledge, this is the first multistate study of neighborhood characteristics associated with the location of EMO-operated schools. The results show that the locational patterns of EMO-operated schools are sensitive to high minority areas, as expected, but also to socioeconomic characteristics of the neighborhood. Our findings also suggest that larger EMOs tend to gravitate to areas where they can mobilize resources. For those concerned about spatial efficiency-equity trade-offs in EMO location policies, our results suggest a need for close monitoring of the distributive patterns of EMO expansion across neighborhoods, racial/ethnic and income groups, and the net effect of EMO location on neighborhood attributes.     

The associations among preschool children’s growth in early reading,executive function,and invented spelling skills

The purpose of the present study was to examine associations among children’s emergent literacy (early reading), language, executive function (EF), and invented spelling skills across prekindergarten. Participants included 123, primarily African American, 4-year-old children enrolled in a variety of prekindergarten settings. In addition to describing the concurrent and longitudinal relations between children’s emergent literacy, EF, and invented spelling skills, this study investigated associations among children’s growth in these targeted skills and explored potential indirect effects from children’s EF to invented writing skill. Multiple regression analyses suggested that although early reading skills were significantly and concurrently associated with invented spelling skills, children’s phonological awareness was the only early reading skill predictive of later invented spelling skills. Children’s EF was not concurrently or longitudinally associated with invented spelling after controlling for early reading skills. However, regression analyses of children’s residual scores suggested that children’s EF skill at the beginning of the semester was predictive of their later invented spelling skills through children’s letter-sound knowledge.     

How Individual Differences Interact With Task Demands in Text Processing

Reading is affected by both situational requirements and one’s cognitive skills. The current study investigated how individual differences interacted with task requirements to determine reading behavior and outcome. We recorded the eye movements of college students, who differed in reading efficiency, while they completed a multiple-choice (MC) comprehension test in two within-subject conditions: one in which they read passages and answered MC questions as in a typical reading test and one in which they wrote a summary before answering the MC questions. We found students spent longer time reading the text in the summary-writing condition, resulting in a benefit in the time they spent when answering MC questions. This time benefit was larger for students who had relatively low reading efficiency. These results demonstrated that both task requirements and individual differences can interact to affect reading behavior and performance. Implications for reading practice and assessment are discussed.     

Characterizing and comparing the friendships of anxious-solitary and unsociable preadolescents

Friendships matter for withdrawn youth because the consequences of peer isolation are severe. From a normative sample of 2,437 fifth graders (1,245 females; M age = 10.25), a subset (n = 1,364; 638 female) was classified into 3 groups (anxious-solitary, unsociable, comparison) and followed across a school year. Findings indicated that it was more common for unsociable than anxious-solitary children to have friends, be stably friended, and participate in multiple friendships. For withdrawn as well as nonwithdrawn children, peer rejection predicted friendlessness, but this relation was strongest for anxious-solitary children. The friends of unsociable youth were more accepted by peers than those of anxious-solitary youth. The premise that friendship inhibits peer victimization was substantiated for withdrawn as well as nonwithdrawn youth.