Assessing the Organizational Social Context (OSC) of child welfare systems: Implications for research and practice

ObjectiveThe study: (1) provides the first assessment of the a priori measurement model and psychometric properties of the Organizational Social Context (OSC) measurement system in a US nationwide probability sample of child welfare systems; (2) illustrates the use of the OSC in constructing norm-based organizational culture and climate profiles for child welfare systems; and (3) estimates the association of child welfare system-level organizational culture and climate profiles with individual caseworker-level job satisfaction and organizational commitment.MethodsThe study applies confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and hierarchical linear models (HLM) analysis to a US nationwide sample of 1,740 caseworkers from 81 child welfare systems participating in the second National Survey of Child and Adolescent Wellbeing (NSCAW II). The participating child welfare systems were selected using a national probability procedure reflecting the number of children served by child welfare systems nationwide.ResultsThe a priori OSC measurement model is confirmed in this nationwide sample of child welfare systems. In addition, caseworker responses to the OSC scales generate acceptable to high scale reliabilities, moderate to high within-system agreement, and significant between-system differences. Caseworkers in the child welfare systems with the best organizational culture and climate profiles report higher levels of job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Organizational climates characterized by high engagement and functionality, and organizational cultures characterized by low rigidity are associated with the most positive work attitudes.ConclusionsThe OSC is the first valid and reliable measure of organizational culture and climate with US national norms for child welfare systems. The OSC provides a useful measure of Organizational Social Context for child welfare service improvement and implementation research efforts which include a focus on child welfare system culture and climate.     

Skate blade hollow and oxygen consumption during forward skating

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of skate blade hollow on oxygen consumption during forward skating on a treadmill. Varsity level female hockey players (n = 10, age = 21.7 years) performed skating tests at three blade hollows [0.25 in (6.35 mm), 0.50 in (12.7 mm), and 0.75 in (19.05 mm)]. The subjects skated for four minutes at three submaximal velocities (12, 14 and 16 km h⁻¹), separated by five minutes of passive recovery. In addition, a VO₂max test was performed on the day that the subjects skated at the 0.50 in hollow. The VO₂max test commenced at 14 km h⁻¹ and increased by 1 km h⁻¹ each minute until volitional exhaustion was achieved. Four variables were measured for each skating bout, volume of gas expired (V _E), volume of oxygen consumed (VO ₂), heart rate (HR) and rating of perceived exertion (RPE). No significant differences (p < 0.05) were found in any of the four test variables (V _E, VO₂, HR, RPE) across the three skate hollows. These results show that when skating on a treadmill at submaximal velocities, skate blade hollow has no significant effect onV _E, VO₂, HR or RPE.     

All the Polling (Data) That’s Fit to Print? An Analysis of Online News Coverage of 2016 Primary Polls

As U.S. news outlets grapple with the challenges of delivering news in a digital era, journalists cover elections with tighter deadlines and fewer resources. Consequently, we are seeing an explosion in coverage of polls, which require little original reporting and attract readers through their “horse race” appeal. As the number of polls increases, news professionals are culling data from a wider spectrum of sources that vary in methodology and credibility. What remains unclear is how effective the news media are in providing polling context in their online coverage that is less limited by the space and time constraints of more traditional mediums. Utilizing the 2016 U.S. primaries, this exploratory study examines online news articles focused on polls to evaluate the quality of digital coverage across national news outlets.

Keywords: Campaigns and Elections; Content Analysis; Journalism; News Media; Political Communication     

Cryptography in Context: Co-teaching Ethics and Mathematics

Abstract

Many of the applied mathematics courses we teach touch upon a range of rich and important ethical issues – issues that, for a number of reasons, are rarely openly discussed in class. In this work, we describe a sequence of activities co-designed and co-taught by philosophy and mathematics faculty in the hopes of bridging the divide between the application and implementation of modern cryptography and the ethical dilemmas it creates. Although we have specifically focused on one area of applied mathematics at one particular type of institution, we highlight throughout the work the areas in which our approach can be changed to suit different content areas and student populations.     

A Version of Access

This article explores accessibility ontologically, proposing nonequal design as a way to include and encourage difference. Part One situates the possibility for a multiple version approach to accessibility; Part Two finds affinities in science and technology studies where several figures have explored the politics of multiple versions of ontologies; Part Three introduces three design principles—syncopation, medium specificity, and versioning—for enacting how an nonequal approach opens up generative possibilities for accessibility.     

Description and interactions of informative text structure knowledge and skills of French-speaking Grade 6 students

This study was conducted in the province of Québec, Canada, among French-speaking Grade 6 students (n?=?175) in the context of a school curriculum that does not clearly address text structure and main idea instruction. It aims to understand whether these students can identify informative text structures and main ideas in isolated paragraphs, comprehend main ideas and text structure in an informative text, and write a short structured informative text. It also describes relationships between these knowledge and skills coming from different reading and writing tasks. Three assessments relative to informative text structures were administered: a multiple-choice test on text structure knowledge and identification of main ideas, a reading comprehension test, and a short writing task. Results revealed that students performed better in the multiple-choice assessment compared to other assessments. Correlations between variables stemming from the three assessments were significant but their effect sizes were low to moderate. A hypothesized model was investigated via a path analysis suggesting that structure knowledge and main idea identification influence reading comprehension, which then influence writing.     

“It will be hard because I will have to learn lots of English”: experiences of education for children newly arrived in Australia

Educational experiences during childhood are critically important for development, but migrant children often experience unique challenges. To ameliorate these, extra training in English language – such as provided by the intensive English language programme in South Australia (IELP) – is frequently offered to children taking on English as an additional language. The present study aimed to examine the experience of transition into mainstream classes for children in the IELP, particularly in relation to their overall well-being. As such, the study utilised interviews conducted with newly arrived children in Australia aged 5–13 who were enrolled in an IELP, with interviews conducted both pre- and post-transition into mainstream primary school classes. The findings indicate that most children felt anxious prior to transition, especially regarding speaking English, but were less concerned about this once entering their new class. Making friends was considered to be difficult, but easier when there were children with whom they were familiar from other contexts or if there was another child in the class with a shared cultural or linguistic background.     

New verse or the same old chorus?: looking holistically at distance education research

While there continues to be a proliferation in the number of studies conducted on various aspects of distance education, we are often left with little understanding of the holistic planning and effects of it. This paper draws lessons learned from the literature on distance education over the past five years. This review did not seek to be exhaustive in presenting the findings of every study, but instead focuses on specific instruction we can take from past research at the institutional, faculty, and student levels.     

Teaching Inquiry to High School Teachers Through the Use of Mathematics Action Research Projects

Abstract

This paper describes the use of Mathematics Action Research Projects (ARPs) as a capstone experience in lieu of a Master’s Thesis in a Master’s program for in-service secondary teachers. The ARPs include two primary components: (i) each teacher participant conducts mathematical research that is new to them on a topic that is connected in some way to the material they teach in one of their classes; and (ii) each teacher participant also creates an in-class innovation related to the mathematical research they have been doing, and implements it in their own classroom. Ten teacher participants have completed such ARPs with the author over the last 3 years. In completing their ARPs, teacher participants not only learn how to conduct mathematical inquiry themselves, but also most often choose to implement some kind of inquiry-based classroom innovation that allows them to share some of this experience with their own students. This course structure has had the effect of encouraging teachers to decide to try more inquiry-based teaching methods, and at the same time, has given them the knowledge and tools to be successful in doing so.