Factors associated with concussion-symptom knowledge and attitudes toward concussion care seeking in a national survey of parents of middle-school children in the US

Background:Developing appropriate concussion prevention and management paradigms in middle school(MS)settings requires understanding parents’general levels of concussion-related knowledge and attitudes.This study examined factors associated with concussion-symptom knowledge and care-seeking attitudes among parents of MS children(aged 10-15 years).Methods:A panel of 1224 randomly selected U.S.residents,aged ≥18 years and identifying as parents of MS children,completed an online questionnaire capturing parental and child characteristics.The parents’concussion-symptom knowledge was measured using 25 questions,with possible answers being“yes”,“maybe”,and“no”.Correct answers earned 2 points,“maybe”answers earned 1 point,and incorrect answers earned 0 point(range:0-50;higher scores=better knowledge).Concussion care-seeking attitudes were also collected using five 7-point scale items(range:5-35;higher scores=more positive attitudes).Multivariable ordinal logistic regression models identified predictors of higher scores.Models met proportional odds assumptions.Adjusted odds ratios(aORs)with 95%confidence intervals(95%CIs)(excluding 1.00)were deemed statistically significant.Results:Median scores were 39(interquartile range:32-44)for symptom knowledge and 32(interquartile range:28-35)for care-seeking attitude.In multivariable models,odds of better symptom knowledge were higher in women vs.men(aOR=2.28;95%CI:1.71-3.05),white/non-Hispanics vs.other racial or ethnic groups(aOR=1.88;95%CI:1.42-2.49),higher parental age(10-year-increase aOR=1.47;95%CI:1.26-1.71),and greater competitiveness(10%-scale-increase aOR=1.24;95%CI:1.13-1.36).Odds of more positive care-seeking attitudes were higher in white/non-Hispanics vs.other racial or ethnic groups(aOR=1.45;95%CI:1.06-1.99)and in older parental age(10-year-increase aOR=1.24;95%CI:1.05-1.47).Conclusion:Characteristics of middle school children’s parents(e.g.,sex,race or ethnicity,age)are associated with their concussion-symptom knowledge and care-seeking attitudes.Parents’variations in concussion knowledge and attitudes warrant tailored concussion education and prevention.     

Parshanut Through Art: The High School Student as Biblical Commentator

The following research study presents data drawn from an arts-based qualitative research study from 2013. Students created artistic interpretations of biblical texts using a variety of media. One of the significant findings of the study was that learning through the arts provided students with an opportunity to take on the role of parshan, or biblical commentator. Three examples of artwork is presented and combined, they show that by taking on the role of parshan, students were able to craft original interpretations of text and develop new connections with the text. Learning in this way demonstrated the significance of integrating the arts into Bible curricula as a vehicle for developing new types of positive and educational experiences for students.     

Cost-Benefit Analysis Using Economic Surpluses: A Case Study of a Televised Event

Economic impact studies based on short-run spending injections and multipliers lack conceptual ties to measures of economic surplus, fail to capture intangible benefits and generally fail to measure costs. In this case study of the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) held in Israel in 1999, national benefits from the government-financed televising of the ESC are measured as producer surplus (approximated by private sector incremental profits), consumer surplus (measured as the incremental willingness to pay for an event staged at home) and government surplus (linked to national implicit benefits in the form of promotional advertising cost savings). The opportunity costs of diverting resources to this particular televised event are expressly included as an offset to these gross surplus benefits. Despite the conservative approach, the results show moderate social justification for public support of this high profile televised spectacle and suggest that a cost-benefit approach to cultural events can have wider applications.     

An Institutional Code of Ethics.- A Response to Attitude of Israeli Teachers＇ Education College Students Towards Academic Plagiarism

Academic plagiarism becomes very easy due to new opportunities provided by the Internet era （Scrinber, 2003; Underwood ＆ Sazabo, 2003; Ross, 2005）. We believe that academic dishonesty is a major issue, because it strikes at the heart of the academic and social values： honesty, trust and integrity. When dealing with education students, the future educators of children, academic dishonesty takes on added significance with much graver consequences for our society. This paper is aimed to reveal the opinions of 200 Israeli teacher education students towards different aspects of plagiarism. These responses, which were collected using likert scale questionnaire, led us to define some principles for a plan to reduce academic dishonesty, especially internet based plagiarism （Mc Murtry, 2001; Foster, 2002; Landau, Druen, ＆ Arcuri, 2002; Murray, 2002）. We suggest focusing on a plan for an institutional ethic code to reduce plagiarism and unconscious academic dishonesty.     

The Counseling Opportunity Structure: Examining Correlates of Four-Year College-Going Rates

This study examines the relationships between the normative and resource dimensions of a high school counseling department and four-year college-going rates. Utilizing data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS: 09), we employ multiple regression and latent class analysis to identify salient factors related to the college-going culture of a high school and to classify schools according to their underlying counseling opportunity structure, respectively. Results demonstrate that both norms (i.e., average caseload and hours spent on college counseling) and resources (i.e., college fairs, college course offerings, and financial aid) are important predictors of a school’s four-year college-going rates. These results, in turn, produced a three-level typology of schools based on a divergent, emergent, and convergent classification system. The study concludes with a discussion of findings and implications for researchers and policymakers interested in improving and better understanding the counseling opportunity structure.     

Effects of Response Format on Difficulty of SAT-Mathematics Items: It's Not the Strategy

Problem-solving strategy is frequently cited as mediating the effects of response format (multiple-choice, constructed response) on item difficulty, yet there are few direct investigations of examinee solution procedures. Fifty-five high school students solved parallel constructed response and multiple-choice items that differed only in the presence of response options. Student performance was videotaped to assess solution strategies. Strategies were categorized as "traditional"–those associated with constructed response problem solving (e.g., writing and solving algebraic equations)–or "nontraditional"–those associated with multiple-choice problem solving (e.g., estimating a potential solution). Surprisingly, participants sometimes adopted nontraditional strategies to solve constructed response items. Furthermore, differences in difficulty between response formats did not correspond to differences in strategy choice: some items showed a format effect on strategy but no effect on difficulty; other items showed the reverse. We interpret these results in light of the relative comprehension challenges posed by the two groups of items.     

Discomfort as a means of pre-service teachers’ professional development – an action research as part of the ‘Research Literacy’ course

This paper focus on defining a research question while conducting action research among third-year students attending a course on Research Literacy at a teacher education college. This paper discusses the process of preparing for and conducting action research among third-year students attending a course on Research Literacy at a teacher education college. The students were asked to conduct an action research on their classroom activities. The aim of this article is to present the process and pinpointing the discomfort of the students in formulating a research question suited to action research thanks to two prerequisite conditions: the ‘safe space’ and the ‘tender spot’. The research findings illustrate that the students had difficulty defining their ‘tender spot’. It was necessary to create a ‘safe space’. Furthermore, the findings show that the ‘tender spot’ issues were associated with disciplinary content far more than with generic lesson management or classroom management issues. The approach discussed here is leading to positive change and it may be that this professional development tool can facilitate the induction of novice teachers everywhere.