Developing scientists in Hispanic substance use and health disparities research through the creation of a national mentoring network

Hispanics are disproportionately affected by substance use and related health harms yet remain underrepresented across scientific disciplines focused on researching and addressing these issues. An interdisciplinary network of scientists committed to fostering the development of social and biomedical researchers focused on Hispanic substance use and health disparities developed innovative mentoring and career development activities. We conducted a formative evaluation study using anonymous membership and conference feedback data to describe specific mentoring and career development activities developed within the national network. Successful mentoring initiatives and career development activities were infused with cultural and community values supportive of professional integration and persistence. Mentoring initially occurred within an annual national conference and was then sustained throughout the year through formal training programs and informal mentoring networks. Although rigorous evaluation is needed to determine the success of these strategies in fostering long-term career development among scientists conducting Hispanic health and substance use research, this innovative model may hold promise for other groups committed to promoting career development and professional integration and persistence for minority (and non-minority) scientists committed to addressing health disparities.     

A Tutorial in Bayesian Potential Outcomes Mediation Analysis

Statistical mediation analysis is used to investigate intermediate variables in the relation between independent and dependent variables. Causal interpretation of mediation analyses is challenging because randomization of subjects to levels of the independent variable does not rule out the possibility of unmeasured confounders of the mediator to outcome relation. Furthermore, commonly used frequentist methods for mediation analysis compute the probability of the data given the null hypothesis, which is not the probability of a hypothesis given the data as in Bayesian analysis. Under certain assumptions, applying the potential outcomes framework to mediation analysis allows for the computation of causal effects, and statistical mediation in the Bayesian framework gives indirect effects probabilistic interpretations. This tutorial combines causal inference and Bayesian methods for mediation analysis so the indirect and direct effects have both causal and probabilistic interpretations. Steps in Bayesian causal mediation analysis are shown in the application to an empirical example.     

Where Does the Money Go? Trends in Supporting California English Learners in District Local Control Accountability Plans

In 2013, the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) was enacted to replace the previous California school finance system. The purpose was to stream various funding sources (e.g., basic revenues, categorical funds, block grants) such that districts could engage in comprehensive planning to support all students. Additional monies designated for English Learners, foster youth, and students living in poverty supplement district funding. We analyzed district Local Control Accountability Plans developed for the 2017–18 school year (n = 50) using qualitative document analysis. Seven coding categories emerged: EL status, personnel, curriculum, instruction, monitoring, counseling, and parent involvement. The second stage of our analysis was in identifying goals, supports, programs, and interventions for English Learners that fell within one of four divisions across two planes. The first is general versus specific, meaning that the approach was intended for all designated groups or for EL students alone. The second plane we used is conventional versus innovative approaches. We saw both conventional and innovative elements across each of the seven categories. Collectively, these findings highlight the strategic ways in which districts are committing to goals and actions in allocating LCFF funding to impact their English Learner populations in meaningful ways.     

Factors Contributing to Scholarly Productivity of Assistant Professors in Counseling

Doctoral research training and faculty departmental research culture were explored in relation to research interest, self‐efficacy, and productivity among 49 counselor education assistant professors. Doctoral research training environment consistently held strong positive relationships with research interest and self‐efficacy, suggesting that a solid foundation in research at the doctoral level is imperative for initial research productivity.     

Higher education,brain drain and overseas employment in the Philippines: towards a differentiated set of solutions

This paper describes the interlocking conflicts and resulting problems of higher education in the Philippines. The educational system produces first degree graduates for certain professions and fields of specialization while failing to produce enough graduates in unpopular fields of pure science, middle-level technician specializations, and graduate training for research and higher education. The few scientists and graduate degree holders trained abroad migrate to other countries, making the shortage even more acute. For oversubscribed professions, graduates seek overseas employment. In the meantime, the mismatch continues.The author proposes different solutions for each problem; no uniform solution is possible as the nature of the problem is different for each area. For oversubscribed professions, the writer accepts overseas employment as a viable option; it is a source of foreign exchange and a natural way of population control. For undersubscribed professions he proposes a system of incentives tied to a period of mandatory service, after which the beneficiary may exercise his/her options.The writer concludes with some general insights about allowing the invisible hand to regulate the process of manpower demand and supply but supports limited and specific government interventions at the right moment.     

A comparison of successful and unsuccessful placements of youths with mental handicaps into competitive employment

Abstract

We compared 54 matched pairs of high school students and young adults with mental retardation. One member of each pair had remained successfully employed for 10 or more hours per week at minimum wage or better for at least 6 months, and the other had not. Placement counselors, trainers, or supervisors completed case study questionnaires about their students (or clients). The results indicated successful placements in a variety of positions and communities across the nation. The most important elements contributing to this success are placement agency follow‐up support; home support; the individual's job skills, social ability, and match to job demands; the creativity and persistence of the placement specialist; incentive to employers (e.g., tax credits and employment subsidies) and employer's support of the placement.     

Are returns to education on the decline in Venezuela and does Mission Sucre have a role to play?

Anecdotal evidence points to a falling standard of living for the educated in Venezuela. During this same period, President Hugo Chávez implemented several education reforms. We focus on a major university education reform known as Mission Sucre and its potential impact on returns to university education. First, we show that returns to education decreased significantly in Venezuela from 2002 to 2008. Subsequently, we explore the impact of the program on non-program participants and provide evidence that a substantial part of the falling returns at the tertiary level can be linked to Mission Sucre. Our results suggest that the reform created a negative externality on students who did not participate in the program, leading to a 2.7 percentage point decline in returns to university education for non-Mission Sucre students in the 23–28 age cohort.     

Distributed Departments: A New Approach to Protecting the Vitality of Small Programs

The Texas Electronic Coalition for Physics was established in 2000 as a means of demonstrating that by linking together, small programs can maintain their vitality in higher education. Using Interactive Television, the Internet, telephones, faxes, and other electronic media, five physics programs scattered across the state of Texas formed a distributed physics department. In addition to jointly offering lecture courses, the group (i) established procedures for operating as a unified entity, (ii) encouraged research regardless of location, (iii) provided a locus for professional camaraderie, (iv) created a distance-based advanced physics laboratory course, and (v) developed assessment tools for measuring success in a distance environment. Through these, the coalition demonstrated that a distributed department can carry out all of the functions associated with a traditional department.     

A biologically inspired model for pattern recognition

In this paper, a novel bionic model and its performance in pattern recognition are presented and discussed. The model is constructed from a bulb model and a three-layered cortical model, mimicking the main features of the olfactory system. The olfactory bulb and cortex models are connected by feedforward and feedback fibers with distributed delays. The Breast Cancer Wisconsin dataset consisting of data from 683 patients divided into benign and malignant classes is used to demonstrate the capacity of the mod...