SAFE Homes: is it worth the cost? An evaluation of a group home permanency planning program for children who first enter out-of-home care

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the SAFE Homes (SH) program, a short-term group care program for children between 3 and 12 years of age who enter care for the first time. The program aims to improve case outcomes by consolidating resources to facilitate assessment and treatment planning. METHODS: The 1-year outcomes of 342 children who received SAFE Home services and 342 matched foster care (FC) control children were compared. The 684 subjects used in this report were selected from a larger pool of 909 subjects using propensity score matching to control for hidden bias in treatment group assignment. We hypothesized that SAFE Homes would result in greater continuity of care for children (e.g., fewer placements, more placements with siblings and in towns of origin), identification of more relatives for substitute care when needed, reduced use of high-cost restrictive care settings (e.g., residential, inpatient), and reduced rates of re-abuse through earlier detection and provision of services to meet child and family treatment needs. RESULTS: Prior to the initiation of the SAFE Homes program, 75% of the children who entered care in the State experienced three or more placements in the first year. The outcomes of both the SH and FC cases were significantly improved over pre-SAFE Home State statistics. The FC group, however, had comparable or better outcomes on most variables examined. In addition, the total cost for out-of-home care for the children in FC was significantly less, despite the fact that the two groups spent similar amounts of time in care (average time in care: 7 months). This finding held when the total placement cost was calculated using the State reimbursement rate of 206.00 US dollars per day for SAFE Home care (SH: 20,851 US dollars +/- 24,231 US dollars; FC: 8,441 US dollars +/- 21,126 US dollars, p < .001), and a conservative SAFE Home program fee of 85.00 US dollars per day that only considered the child care and custodial staffing costs uniquely associated with the program (SH: 13,314 US dollars +/- 21,718 US dollars; FC: 8,441 US dollars +/-21,126 US dollars, p < .001). CONCLUSION: Improvements in outcomes related to continuity of care can be attained through staff training. The SAFE Home model of care is not cost-effective for first-time placements.     

Inequality in language achievement growth? An investigation into the impact of pupil socio‐ethnic background and school socio‐ethnic composition

This paper investigates how pupils' growth trajectories in three language domains (reading fluency, spelling, and reading comprehension) are related to their own socioeconomic and ethnic background and to the socioeconomic and ethnic composition of their primary school. Using multilevel piecewise growth curve analysis, the growth trajectories of approximately 5000 pupils from 170 primary schools were estimated. The results indicate that a pupil's socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds have the largest impact on achievement and growth in reading comprehension and the smallest impact on reading fluency. Furthermore, school ethnic composition—but not socioeconomic composition—was related to pupils' achievement in all three language domains at the first measurement occasion, though none of the types of school composition was related to growth. The research findings therefore imply that to combat the deficits in language proficiency often found in ethnic minority pupils, priority should be given to investments in individual intervention programmes over policy plans to desegregate schools. Moreover, our study identifies the specific points in time during primary school at which intervention programmes are needed the most.     

Poststructural feminism in education: An overview

Feminists in education increasingly use poststructuralism to trouble both discursive and material structures that limit the ways we think about our work. This overview of poststructural feminism presents several key philosophical concepts ? language; discourse; rationality; power, resistance, and freedom; knowledge and truth; and the subject ? as they are typically understood in humanism and then as they have been reinscribed in poststructuralism, paying special attention to how they have been used in education.     

Characteristic(s) of Hypermedia and How They Relate to Knowledge

This article offers a redefining of three problem areas associated with the cognitive effects of the semiotic characteristics of hypermedia, highlighted by the first years of research on this objective: the hypertext associativity, the non-linearity and the rapprochement of real and hypertext navigation. We focus on the question of navigation, and try to show how this question arises in hypermedia, and why it arises in a way, which is more important than in other supports, such as books. In addition, we show how the semiotic characteristics of hypermedia which are identified in the first part of the article (non-linearity, absence of reading a default unique path, etc.) makes illusory the aim of completely understanding the ideas of the author, as can happen with a book. The relationship to knowledge offered by hypertext is no longer based on the understanding of a body of knowledge prepared in advance by the author, but on a users personal reconstruction. This reversal calls into question the way of defining the navigation mentioned above, which implicitly assumes the need for the users to mentally picture for themselves the formal organization of the whole of the document being studied. Spécificité(s) des hypermédias et rapport au savoir. Cet article propose un recadrage de trois problématiques propres aux effets cognitifs des spécificités sémiotiques des hypermédias, stigmatisées par les premières années de recherche sur cet objet : l'associativité hypertextuelle, la non-linéarité et le rapprochement entre navigations réelle et hypertextuelle. Nous nous arrêtons sur la question de la navigation, et tenterons de montrer comment cette question se pose dans les hypermédias, et pourquoi elle s'y pose de faÇon plus importante que dans d'autres supports, comme le livre. Par ailleurs, nous mettons en évidence comment les spécificités sémiotiques des hypermédias identifiées dans la première partie de l'article(non-linéarité, absence de parcours de lecture par défaut unique, etc.)rendent illusoire le but d'appréhender le propos de l'auteur dans sa totalité, comme on peut le faire dans le livre. Le rapport au savoir proposé par l'hypertexte se fonde non plus sur l'appréhension d'un ensemble de connaissances préconstruit par un auteur, mais sur une reconstruction propre À l'utilisateur. Ce renversement remet en question la faÇon de cadrer la navigation évoquée plus haut, qui suppose implicitement la nécessité pour l'utilisateur de se représenter mentalement l'organisation formelle de l'ensemble du document consulté. Die Charakteristikas der Hypermedien und ihre Beziehung zu Wissen. Dieser Artikel versucht drei Problemstellungen - aus den ersten Forschungsjahren auf diesem Gebiet resultierend - neu zu definieren, die mit den kognitiven Auswirkungen der semiotischen Charakteristikas von Hypermedia assoziiert werden : die Assoziativität von Hypertext, die Nicht-Linearität, und die Gegenüberstellung von wirklicher zu hypertextueller Navigation. Wir versuchen der Frage nach der Navigation in den Hypermedien nachzugehen, und warum diese Frage hier von grössere Bedeutung ist, als bei anderen Medien, wie bespielsweise Büchern. Wir zeigen überdies, wie die semiotischen Charakteristikas von Hypermedia (identifiziert im ersten Abschnitt) illusorisch das Ziel erreichen, die Ideen eines Autors vollständig zu verstehen, wie es bei einem Buch der Fall ist. Die durch Hypertext ermöglichte Beziehung zu Wissen basiert nicht mehr auf einem vom Autor vorkonstruierten Ensemble von Kenntnissen, sondern auf die Rekonstruktion durch den Leser. Diese Umkehrung wirft die Frage nach der Definition der oben beschriebenen Navigation auf, die implizit die Notwendigkeit voraussetzt, dass sich der Leser die formelle Organisation des Dokumentes verbildlicht.     

CONSUMERISM AND THE AGING

The need for consumer health education for the aged has been expressed by a variety of authors. This paper focuses on the rationale, development, implementation, and evaluation of a consumer health education program for the aged.     

Circles on pommel horse with a suspended aid: influence of expertise

In the third study of this series, we examined how circles with a suspended aid would vary depending of the gymnast's level of expertise. We analysed circles with the aid performed by three groups of eight gymnasts: expert, intermediate, and developing groups. The gymnasts for the expert and intermediate groups were selected from the previous studies based on judges' evaluation of their non-aid circles. The developing group of eight gymnasts, who were unable to perform circles on pommel horse without an aid, were added to this study and performed three sets of 10 circles on the pommel horse with the aid. Discriminative biomechanical variables identified in the previous two studies were used to compare circles with the aid among the three groups. As a result, the expert group demonstrated a larger pommel reaction force and a smaller aid reaction force than the other two groups, implying that they were less dependent on the aid. The smaller aid reaction force resulted in a smaller net hip joint moment. Furthermore, the expert group showed a shorter total duration and a greater shoulder excursion. In summary, the suspended aid can be used in a progressive manner depending on the gymnast's level of expertise.     

Beyond the “Charmed Circle” of OECD: New Directions for Studies of National Innovation Systems

In this paper, we engage with the widespread and influential approach of National Innovation Systems (NIS). We discuss its adequacy to non-OECD countries, especially in Latin America where it tends to be reified. Although the NIS approach is meant to address the most pressing needs of the economies it applies to, we argue that it would benefit from developing a more encompassing scope, allowing integration of greater diversity and complexity. By retracing the history of regimes of science, technology and innovation in Latin America, we explore the following paradox: whereas numerous Southern scholars urge the pressing need to develop an innovation agenda for Southern countries with a “Southern framework of thought”, they continue to heavily rely on a reductionist version of the NIS-approach that prevents such a “Southern perspective” to fully emerge. This creates problems for actors willing to use NIS more reflexively, and it also affects the effectivity of science, technology and innovation (STI) policies in non-OECD countries. We formulate a research agenda with three suggestions for further engaging NIS both conceptually and practically. Using such analytical perspectives, we argue, might benefit both to scholarly work about NIS, but could also allow for a better articulation with STI regimes in Southern countries.     

Spontaneous change from seated to standing cycling position with increasing power is associated with a minimization of cost functions

Spontaneous changes of movement patterns may allow to elucidate which criteria influence movement pattern preferences. However, the factors explaining the sit-stand transition in cycling are unclear. This study investigated if biomechanical and/or muscle activation cost functions could predict the power at which the spontaneous sit-stand transition occurs. Twenty-five participants performed an incremental test leading to the sit-to-stand transition, and subsequent randomized pedaling trials at 20 to 120% of the transition power in seated and standing position. A Moment Cost Function based on lower limbs net joint moments and two Electromyographic Cost Functions based on EMG data were defined. All cost functions increased with increasing crank power (p < 0.001) but at different rates in the seated and standing positions. They had lower values in the seated position below the transition power and lower values in the standing position above the transition power (p < 0.05). These results suggest that spontaneous change of position observed in cycling with increasing crank power represents an optimal choice to minimize muscular efforts. These results support the use of simple cost functions to define optimal settings in cycling and to assess the cost of cycling during short-term efforts.     

Customising Microsoft Office to develop a tutorial learning environment

Powerful applications such as Microsoft Office's Excel and Word are widely used to perform common tasks in the workplace and in education. Scripting within these applications allows unanticipated user requirements to be addressed. We show that such extensibility, intended to support office automation‐type applications, is well suited to the creation of learning activities and learning environments. We have developed a range of tutorial activities using Excel and Word in introductory mathematics, writing and economics courses. These tutorials have the dual purpose of teaching academic concepts and practical computer literacy skills. The software architecture of our learning environment includes a database‐supported back‐end to automatically record students’ responses, which allows for greater control over what students do. Additionally, this allows one to automate common procedures to improve usability and feedback automation to support learning. We have been applying our ideas for the last six years and currently 1,500 students are using the environment. We suggest that this pragmatic solution can provide a high degree of interactivity and flexibility in a range of learning contexts that represents a cost‐effective alternative for use alongside traditional approaches.