Projecting to the NAEP Scale: Results from the North Carolina End-of-Grade Testing Program

Data from the North Carolina End-of-Grade test of eighth-grade mathematics are used to estimate the achievement results on the scale of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Trial State Assessment. Linear regression models are used to develop projection equations to predict state NAEP results in the future, and the results of such predictions are compared with those obtained in the 1996 administration of NAEP Standard errors of the parameter estimates are obtained using a bootstrap resampling technique.     

Web pages as a tool for a strategic description of the Spanish largest firms

The need for this study lies in the assumption that an in-depth examination of the map site of a firm that has a well-developed website can provide patterns about its corporate strategy through all the elements surrounding the organisation, and even a primary source for benchmarking. This technique has made it possible to identify the key issues in the strategic management of the most excellent large Spanish firms and also to describe trends in this sense. The methodology used consisted in a content analysis of the web pages of the Ibex35 companies of the Spanish Stock Market. Rather than focusing on the breakdown of businesses developed by each corporation, it was thought more appropriate to assess their respective corporate principles, as this would allow a better identification of the underlying managerial, organisational and strategic realities of these organisations. As a conclusion we can say that thanks to this technique, it has been possible to identify the key issues in the strategic management of the most excellent large Spanish firms. Additionally, it is shown how this way of working can be generalised to any group of enterprises.     

Performance evaluation of the high sensitive troponin I assay on the Atellica IM analyser

IntroductionThe Fourth Universal Definition of Myocardial Infarction Global Taskforce recommends the use of high sensitive troponin (hs-Tn) assays in the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction. We evaluated the analytical performance of the Atellica IM High-sensitivity Troponin I Assay (hs-TnI) (Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics Inc., Tarrytown, USA) and compared its performance to other hs-TnI assays (Siemens Advia Centaur, Dimension Vista, Dimension EXL, and Abbott Architect (Wiesbaden, Germany)) at one or more sites across Europe.Materials and methodsPrecision, detection limit, linearity, method comparison, and interference studies were performed according to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute protocols. Values in 40 healthy individuals were compared to the manufacturer’s cut-offs. Sample turnaround time (TAT) was examined.ResultsImprecision repeatability CVs were 1.1–4.7% and within-lab imprecision were 1.8–7.6% (10.0–25,000 ng/L). The limit of blank (LoB), detection (LoD), and quantitation (LoQ) aligned with the manufacturer’s values of 0.5 ng/L, 1.6 ng/L, and 2.5 ng/L, respectively. Passing-Bablok regression demonstrated good correlations between Atellica IM analyser with other systems; some minor deviations were observed. All results in healthy volunteers fell below the 99th percentile URL, and greater than 50% of each sex demonstrated values above the LoD. No interference was observed for biotin (≤ 1500 µg/L), but a slight bias at 5.0 g/L haemoglobin and 50 ng/L Tn was observed. TAT from was fast (mean time = 10.9 minutes) and reproducible (6%CV).ConclusionsReal-world analytical and TAT performance of the hs-TnI assay on the Atellica IM analyser make this assay fit for routine use in clinical laboratories.     

Using Photographs to Assess Equity Climate: A Taxonomy

Our challenge as teachers and as human beings is to begin the process of "changing our voices," facing who we are and what that means in a society based on power and oppression. We must learn to listen to others, so we can speak together with voices both united and unique. The journey described is personal, yet it is also generalizable. Changing one's voice may be the only real way in which a teacher can be a model of diversity and multiculturalism. If as a teacher I do nothing to change my own voice, I have accomplished little in terms of effective teaching. My attitudes, behaviors, words should reflect and embody humanity, not just those who "look" like me or are thought of as more capable learners. I must challenge my students' thinking in terms of diversity and multicultural issues and push them to think of the "other."     

Wrestling Whiteness: Three Stages of Shifting Multicultural Perspectives among White Pre-service Teachers

Pedagogical progress in the field of multicultural education moves at a snail's pace due to pre-service teachers' level of acceptance of multiculturalism and its tenets. Teacher candidates and seasoned teachers are simply unconscious and apathetic about matters of diversity. Pre-service teachers, primarily White and middle class, are mandated to take multicultural courses and grapple with recognizing their own cultural beings and the cultural realities of others. While student populations grow more diverse, the pre-service teacher population is becoming more homogenous. A major obstacle in teacher preparation programs arising from this mismatch of teacher and student cultures is the ability to facilitate a critical consciousness. This includes the ability to analyze the world and employ equity pedagogy in pre-service teachers who are resistant to diversity issues.

Pre- and post-course surveys, in open-ended and anonymous narrative form, were administered to White pre-service teachers (= 94), and this article is divided into two sections based on the results. First, I outline the three shifting perspectives that were identified during a semester-long course with White and middle class pre-service students, and then connect these perspectives to existing research on racial identity ego, theorizing whiteness, and curriculum integration. This new theoretical model addresses equity pedagogy and is framed within whiteness and consciousness studies and may serve as a reflective tool for educators to self-evaluate their pedagogical proclivities. Second, the implications of this informal action research project for White pre-service educators and research in theorizing whiteness are developed.     

A “suitably dead” woman: Grieving Andrea Dworkin

This article investigates the discursive register through which lives become grievable by focusing on a case study of the discourses surrounding the death of radical feminist, Andrea Dworkin. I argue that Dworkin becomes embroiled in an interlocking nexus of illicit subject positions that set the terms of her grievability and obstruct recognition of her as a rational being by framing her (1) as the quintessential emotional and irrational woman who is not worthy of the respect typically offered to the dead and (2) in relation to her wild, unruly, and excessive body, which is conflated with her feral work.     

Presidential policy and information dissemination: An analysis of the Reagan moratorium on government publishing

In 1981, President Reagan declared a moratorium on the production of new government-financed pamphlets, periodicals, and audiovisuals. This study examines the impact of that action on the format and content of printed publications, issued during the freeze, by the Department of Health and Human Services. Analysis of those publications distributed to Government Printing Office depository libraries during the moratorium reflected: (1) no significant reduction in the number of documents produced, (2) a shift toward smaller, less-costly print formats, and (3) no significant reduction in the release of publicity/advertising materials. Changes observed in the quantity, format, and content of Department of Health and Human Services publications issued during the moratorium were not those expected given the presidential guidelines.