The Relationships between Elementary School Principals' Emotional Intelligence, Leadership Style and School Culture

The role of the principal in school settings and the principal’s perceived effect on student achievement have frequently been considered vital factors in school reform. The relationships between emotional intelligence, leadership style and school culture have been widely studied. The literature reveals agreement among scholars regarding the principal’s vital role in developing and fostering a positive school culture. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between elementary school principals’ emotional intelligence, leadership style and school culture. The researcher implemented a non-experimental ex post facto research design to investigate four specific research hypotheses. Utilizing the Qualtrics Survey Software, 57 elementary school principals within a large urban school district in southeast Florida completed the Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i), and 850 of their faculty members completed the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ Form 5X). Faculty responses to the school district’s School Climate Survey retrieved from the district’s web site were used as the measure of school culture. Linear regression analyses revealed significant positive associations between emotional intelligence and the following leadership measures: Idealized Influence-Attributes (β = .23, p = < .05), Idealized Influence-Behaviors (β = .34, p = < .01), Inspirational Motivation (β = .39, p = < .01) and Contingent Reward (β = .33, p = < .01). Hierarchical regression analyses revealed positive associations between school culture and both transformational and transactional leadership measures, and negative associations between school culture and passive-avoidant leadership measures. Significant positive associations were found between school culture and the principals’ emotional intelligence over and above leadership style. Hierarchical linear regressions to test the statistical hypothesis developed to account for alternative explanations revealed significant associations between leadership style and school culture over and above school grade. These results suggest that emotional intelligence merits consideration in the development of leadership theory. Practical implications include suggestions that principals employ both transformational and transactional leadership strategies, and focus on developing their level of emotional intelligence. The associations between emotional intelligence, transformational leadership, Contingent Reward and school culture found in this study validate the role of the principal as the leader of school reform.

Differences Among Undergraduate and Graduate Nursing Students’ Cultural Competency

This study examined differences in cultural competency levels between undergraduate and graduate nursing students (age, ethnicity, gender, language at home, education level, program standing, program track, diversity encounters, and previous diversity training). Participants were 83% women, aged 20 to 62; 50% Hispanic/Latino; with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (n = 82) and a Master of Science in Nursing (n = 62). Degrees included high school diplomas, associate/diplomas, bachelors’ degrees in or out of nursing, and medical doctorate degrees from outside the United States. Students spoke English (n = 82) or Spanish (n = 54). The study used a cross-sectional design guided by the three-dimensional cultural competency model. The Cultural Competency Assessment (CCA) tool is composed of two subscales: Cultural Awareness and Sensitivity (CAS) and Culturally Competent Behaviors (CCB). Multiple regressions, Pearson’s correlations, and ANOVAs determined relationships and differences among undergraduate and graduate students. Findings showed significant differences between undergraduate and graduate nursing students in CAS, p <.016. Students of Hispanic/White/European ethnicity scored higher on the CAS, while White/non-Hispanic students scored lower on the CAS, p < .05. One-way ANOVAs revealed cultural competency differences by program standing (grade-point averages), and by program tracks, between Master of Science in Nursing Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioners and both Traditional Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Registered Nurse-Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Univariate analysis revealed that higher cultural competency was associated with having previous diversity training and participation in diversity training as continuing education. After controlling for all predictors, multiple regression analysis found program level, program standing, and diversity training explained a significant amount of variance in overall cultural competency (p = .027; R2 = .18). Continuing education is crucial in achieving students’ cultural competency. Previous diversity training, graduate education, and higher grade-point average were correlated with higher cultural competency levels. However, increased diversity encounters were not associated with higher cultural competency levels.

Liquidity, Governance and Adverse Selection in Asset Pricing

A plethora of recent literature on asset pricing provides plenty of empirical evidence on the importance of liquidity, governance and adverse selection of equity on pricing of assets together with more traditional factors such as market beta and the Fama-French factors. However, literature has usually stressed that these factors are priced individually. In this dissertation we argue that these factors may be related to each other, hence not only individual but also joint tests of their significance is called for. In the three related essays, we examine the liquidity premium in the context of the finer three-digit SIC industry classification, joint importance of liquidity and governance factors as well as governance and adverse selection. Recent studies by Core, Guay and Rusticus (2006) and Ben-Rephael, Kadan and Wohl (2010) find that governance and liquidity premiums are dwindling in the last few years. One reason could be that liquidity is very unevenly distributed across industries. This could affect the interpretation of prior liquidity studies. Thus, in the first chapter we analyze the relation of industry clustering and liquidity risk following a finer industry classification suggested by Johnson, Moorman and Sorescu (2009). In the second chapter, we examine the dwindling influence of the governance factor if taken simultaneously with liquidity. We argue that this happens since governance characteristics are potentially a proxy for information asymmetry that may be better captured by market liquidity of a company’s shares. Hence, we jointly examine both the factors, namely, governance and liquidity – in a series of standard asset pricing tests. Our results reconfirm the importance of governance and liquidity in explaining stock returns thus independently corroborating the findings of Amihud (2002) and Gompers, Ishii and Metrick (2003). Moreover, governance is not subsumed by liquidity. Lastly, we analyze the relation of governance and adverse selection, and again corroborate previous findings of a priced governance factor. Furthermore, we ascertain the importance of microstructure measures in asset pricing by employing Huang and Stoll’s (1997) method to extract an adverse selection variable and finding evidence for its explanatory power in four-factor regressions.

Correlates of Vitamin D Status in Healthy Older Adults Living in Miami-Dade and its Association with Non-Skeletal Outcomes: A Cross-Sectional Study

Examining factors that affect vitamin D status in the fast-growing elderly population of Miami-Dade, Florida, is needed. Vitamin D deficiency in older adults has been linked to correlates of disability, including falls and fractures, and cardiovascular disease. The purpose of this study was to determine the proportion of vitamin D insufficient individuals and their relationship with vitamin D insufficiency in older adults (n=97) living in Miami-Dade. We evaluated the association between vitamin D status and 1) dual task physical performance to understand the link between vitamin D and cognition in the context of mobility; and 2) cardiometabolic risk, measured by galvanic skin response, pulse oximetry, and blood pressure to create a composite score based on autonomic nervous system and endothelial function. Participants completed baseline assessments that included serum levels of vitamin D, anthropometrics, body composition, dual task physical performance and cardiometabolic risk. Surveys to evaluate vitamin D intake, sun exposure, physical activity, and depressive symptoms were completed. Spearman’s correlations, independent t-tests, paired t-tests, repeated measures ANOVAs, and multiple logistic and linear regressions were used to examine the relationship of vitamin D insufficiency (25(OH)D /ml) and sufficiency (25(OH)D ≥30 ng/ml) with determinants of vitamin D status, dual task physical performance variables and cardiometabolic risk scores. Although the proportion of vitamin D insufficient individuals was lower when compared to the prevalance of the general United States elderly population, it was still common in healthy community-dwelling older adults living in Miami-Dade County, especially among Hispanics. Factors that affected skin synthesis (ethnicity, and sun exposure), and bioavailability/metabolism (obesity) were significant predictors of vitamin D status. Vitamin D insufficiency was not significantly correlated with worse dual task physical performance; however, cognitive performance was worse in the vitamin D insufficient group. Our results suggest a relationship of vitamin D insufficiency with executive dysfunction, and support an association with cardiometabolic risk using an innovative electro-sensor complex, possibly by modulating autonomic nervous system activity and vascular function, thus affecting cardiac performance.

The Relationship of Instructor Technical Literacy to the Academic Performance of Students in Career Academies

Career Academy instructors’ technical literacy is vital to the academic success of students. This nonexperimental ex post facto study examined the relationships between the level of technical literacy of instructors in career academies and student academic performance. It was also undertaken to explore the relationship between the pedagogical training of instructors and the academic performance of students. Out of a heterogeneous population of 564 teachers in six targeted schools, 136 teachers (26.0 %) responded to an online survey. The survey was designed to gather demographic and teaching experience data. Each demographic item was linked by researchers to teachers’ technology use in the classroom. Student achievement was measured by student learning gains as assessed by the reading section of the FCAT from the previous to the present school year. Linear and hierarchical regressions were conducted to examine the research questions. To clarify the possibility of teacher gender and teacher race/ethnic group differences by research variable, a series of one-way ANOVAs were conducted. As revealed by the ANOVA results, there were not statistically significant group differences in any of the research variables by teacher gender or teacher race/ethnicity. Greater student learning gains were associated with greater teacher technical expertise integrating computers and technology into the classroom, even after controlling for teacher attitude towards computers. Neither teacher attitude toward technology integration nor years of experience in integrating computers into the curriculum significantly predicted student learning gains in the regression models. Implications for HRD theory, research, and practice suggest that identifying teacher levels of technical literacy may help improve student academic performance by facilitating professional development strategies and new parameters for defining highly qualified instructors with 21st century skills. District professional development programs can benefit by increasing their offerings to include more computer and information communication technology courses. Teacher preparation programs can benefit by including technical literacy as part of their curriculum. State certification requirements could be expanded to include formal surveys to assess teacher use of technology.

Prospect theory and the effects of bankruptcy laws on entrepreneurial aspirations

We apply prospect theory to explain how personal and corporate bankruptcy laws affect risk perceptions of entrepreneurs at time of entry and therefore their growth ambitions. Previous theories have reached ambiguous conclusions as to whether countries with more debtor-friendly bankruptcy laws (i.e. laws that are more forgiving towards debtors in bankruptcy proceedings) are likely to have more entrepreneurs, or whether, creditorfriendly regimes have positive effects on new ventures via enhanced incentives for the supply of credit to entrepreneurs. Responding to this ambiguity, we apply prospect theory to propose that entrepreneurs do not attach the same significance to different elements of bankruptcy codes—and to explain which aspects of debtor-friendly bankruptcy laws matter more to entrepreneurs. Based on this, we derive and confirm hypotheses about the impact of aspects of bankruptcy codes on entrepreneurial activity using the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor combined with data on both personal and corporate bankruptcyregulations for 15 developed OECD countries. We use multilevel random coefficient logistic regressions to take account of the hierarchical nature of the data (country and individual levels). Because entrepreneurs and creditors are sensitive to different elements of the codes, there is scope for optimisation of the legal design of bankruptcy law to achieve both an adequate supply of credit and to encourage high-ambition entrepreneurship.

L’objectif de modifier ou de contrôler son poids chez les adolescents : vecteur de promotion des saines habitudes de vie ou facteur de risque à la santé ?

L’objectif de modifier son poids est associé à certains comportements potentiellement dangereux, mais ses retombées sur les saines habitudes de vie des adolescents sont peu connues. L’objectif du mémoire est de quantifier les associations entre l’objectif relatif au contrôle du poids et la consommation de fruits et légumes, de boissons sucrées et d’aliments de restauration rapide, la prise du déjeuner et la pratique d’activité physique. Des régressions logistiques ont été effectuées sur les données de l’Enquête québécoise sur la santé des jeunes du secondaire 2010-2011. Respectivement, 25 %, 34 %, 12 % et 29 % des adolescents essayaient de perdre, maintenir, gagner du poids et ne rien faire à propos de leur poids. Chez les garçons et les filles, essayer de perdre du poids était associé à une probabilité plus faible de déjeuner quotidiennement (RC garçons = 0,72 ; 95%IC = 0,61 - 0,84, RC filles = 0,61 ; 95%IC = 0,56 -0,70) et chez les filles, cela était aussi associé à une probabilité plus élevée de consommer au moins cinq portions de fruits et légumes par jour (RC = 1,20 ; 95%IC = 1,04 - 1,37) et une probabilité plus faible de consommer des boissons sucrées quotidiennement (RC = 0,77 ; 95%IC = 0,66 - 0,90). Essayer de maintenir son poids et de gagner du poids étaient minimalement associés à une habitude plus délétère. L’objectif de contrôler son poids n’est donc pas strictement positif ou négatif. Il semble plus prudent de promouvoir directement les saines habitudes de vie plutôt que d’encourager l’adoption d’un objectif de contrôle du poids.

Associations prospectives entre l'environnement des repas en famille et le développement bio-psycho-social d'enfants d'âge scolaire

Contexte. Depuis quelques années, plusieurs études se sont intéressées aux effets protecteurs des repas en famille sur divers aspects du développement des enfants et des adolescents. Objectif. Identifier les associations prospectives entre l'environnement des repas en famille à 6 ans et le développement bio-psycho-social à 10 ans. Méthode. Les participants sont 1 085 filles et 1 138 garçons faisant partie de l'Étude Longitudinale du Développement des Enfants du Québec (ÉLDEQ), qui a sélectionné un échantillon aléatoire et stratifié en utilisant le registre des naissances du Québec. Dans ce devis prospectif-longitudinal, les parents ont fourni une mesure sur l'environnement de leurs repas en famille à l'âge de 6 ans. Quatre années plus tard, les parents ont également fourni des mesures sur le niveau de condition physique de leur enfant ainsi que sa fréquence de consommation de boissons gazeuses; les enseignants ont mesuré la réussite en lecture et en mathématiques; les enfants ont auto-rapporté leurs niveaux d’agressivité physique globale, d’opposition, du trouble du comportement non agressif et d’agressivité réactive. Des analyses de régressions multiples ont été réalisées. Résultats. Un environnement plus sain lors des repas en famille à 6 ans a prédit les bénéfices suivants à 10 ans : une augmentation de la condition physique (β = 0,24; 95 % intervalle de confiance [IC], 0,12 à 0,36) ainsi qu'une diminution de la consommation de boissons gazeuses (β = -0,43; 95 % IC, -0,62 à -0,23), de l'agressivité physique globale (β = -0,38; 95 % IC, -0,58 à -0,18), de l'opposition (β = -0,72; 95 % IC, -1 à -0,4), du trouble du comportement non agressif (β = -0,33; 95 % IC, -0,50 à -0,17) et de l'agressivité réactive (β = -0,70; 95 % IC, -0,98 à -0,42). Contrairement à nos attentes, l'environnement des repas en famille n'était pas significativement relié au rendement scolaire. Conclusion. Les repas familiaux ont une forte influence à long terme sur le développement de l'enfant, par rapport à sa santé physique et à son ajustement social. Par conséquent, ils pourraient nourrir une campagne informative intéressante qui porterait sur la promotion de la santé mentale et physique des jeunes à travers ce rituel social.

Human resources management, citizenship behavior, and turnover intention in the portuguese public administration

Framed by a social exchange perspective, this study address the issue of whether positive employees’ perceptions about human resource management practices influence positive attitudes and behaviour. We hypothesize that human resource management practices (HRMP) have a significant negative effect on intention to voluntary leave the organization and a positive effect on organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB), and that OCB could mediate the relationship between HRMP and turnover intention. A sample of 165 employees from the Portuguese public administration participated in the study. Data was analysed through descriptive statistics, confirmatory factor analysis and hypotheses were tested using single and multiple linear regressions. Results indicate that HRMP is positively associated with OCB, but only internal communication practice is highly valued by Portuguese public employees and successfully predicts OCB. HRMP also show a positive association with turnover intention but only celebration and recognition practices are predictors of turnover intention. Contrary to our hypothesis OCB did not acted as mediator between HRMP and turnover intention. Some suggestions on managerial human resource practices were proposed as well as some main questions raised in the Portuguese public administration context.

Prediction of adult height in girls: the Beunen-MalinaFreitas method

The purpose of this study was to validate and cross-validate the Beunen-Malina-Freitas method for non-invasive prediction of adult height in girls. A sample of 420 girls aged 10–15 years from the Madeira Growth Study were measured at yearly intervals and then 8 years later. Anthropometric dimensions (lengths, breadths, circumferences, and skinfolds) were measured; skeletal age was assessed using the Tanner-Whitehouse 3 method and menarcheal status (present or absent) was recorded. Adult height was measured and predicted using stepwise, forward, and maximum R2 regression techniques. Multiple correlations, mean differences, standard errors of prediction, and error boundaries were calculated. A sample of the Leuven Longitudinal Twin Study was used to cross-validate the regressions. Age-specific coefficients of determination (R2) between predicted and measured adult height varied between 0.57 and 0.96, while standard errors of prediction varied between 1.1 and 3.9 cm. The cross-validation confirmed the validity of the Beunen-Malina-Freitas method in girls aged 12–15 years, but at lower ages the cross-validation was less consistent. We conclude that the Beunen-Malina-Freitas method is valid for the prediction of adult height in girls aged 12–15 years. It is applicable to European populations or populations of European ancestry.

The Effect of Climate Variability on Main Components of Cow Milk in Iran

The main purpose of this study is to assess the relationship between six bioclimatic indices for cattle (temperature humidity (THI), environmental stress (ESI), equivalent temperature (ESI), heat load (HLI), modified heat load (HLInew) and respiratory rate predictor(RRP)) and fundamental milk components (fat, protein, and milk yield) considering uncertainty. The climate parameters used to calculate the climate indices were taken from the NASA-Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research and Applications (NASA-MERRA) reanalysis from 2002 to 2010. Cow milk data were considered for the same period from April to September when cows use natural pasture, with possibility for cows to choose to stay in the barn or to graze on the pasture in the pasturing system. The study is based on a linear regression analysis using correlations as a summarizing diagnostic. Bootstrapping is used to represent uncertainty estimation through resampling in the confidence intervals. To find the relationships between climate indices (THI, ETI, HLI, HLInew, ESI and RRP) and main components of cow milk (fat, protein and yield), multiple liner regression is applied. The least absolute shrinkage selection operator (LASSO) and the Akaike information criterion (AIC) techniques are applied to select the best model for milk predictands with the smallest number of climate predictors. Cross validation is used to avoid over-fitting. Based on results of investigation the effect of heat stress indices on milk compounds separately, we suggest the use of ESI and RRP in the summer and ESI in the spring. THI and HLInew are suggested for fat content and HLInew also is suggested for protein content in the spring season. The best linear models are found in spring between milk yield as predictands and THI, ESI,HLI, ETI and RRP as predictors with p-value < 0.001 and R2 0.50, 0.49. In summer, milk yield with independent variables of THI, ETI and ESI show the highest relation (p-value < 0.001) with R2 (0.69). For fat and protein the results are only marginal. It is strongly suggested that new and significant indices are needed to control critical heat stress conditions that consider more predictors of the effect of climate variability on animal products, such as sunshine duration, quality of pasture, the number of days of stress (NDS), the color of skin with attention to large black spots, and categorical predictors such as breed, welfare facility, and management system. This methodology is suggested for studies investigating the impacts of climate variability/change on food quality/security, animal science and agriculture using short term data considering uncertainty or data collection is expensive, difficult, or data with gaps.

Déterminants biologiques et maternels des problèmes de comportement chez l’enfant inuit d’âge scolaire

Méthodologie: Corrélations de Pearson, Matrice de Raven

Association entre l’environnement social en milieu de garde et les comportements liés à l’apport alimentaire et l'activité physique des enfants de trois à cinq ans

Résumé : Problématique : Puisque les enfants de moins de cinq ans passent environ 29 heures par semaine dans les milieux de garde et qu’ils apprennent en observant et en imitant les autres, les éducateurs et les pairs peuvent être des modèles importants dans l’apprentissage de saines habitudes de vie. Les objectifs étaient d’analyser les associations entre 1) les pratiques des éducateurs et l’apport alimentaire, 2) l’activité physique (AP) des enfants de trois à cinq ans dans les milieux de garde, 3) le degré d’influence des pairs sur l’apport alimentaire, et 4) l’AP des enfants de trois à cinq ans. Méthodes : Les associations entre les pratiques des éducateurs et les comportements liés à l’apport alimentaire et l’AP des enfants ont été étudiées à l’aide d’une étude transversale, menée auprès de 723 enfants de trois à cinq ans de 51 milieux de garde en Saskatchewan et au Nouveau-Brunswick à l’automne 2013 et 2014. Le degré d’influence des pairs sur l’apport alimentaire et l’AP des enfants a été étudié à l’aide d’une étude longitudinale, menée auprès de 238 enfants de trois à cinq ans au début et à la fin des années scolaires 2013-2014 et 2014-2015. L’AP des enfants a été mesurée à l’aide d’accéléromètres, et l’apport alimentaire a été mesuré à l’aide d’une analyse de consommation par pesée et photographiée. Une grille d’observation de l’environnement a permis de mesurer les pratiques des éducateurs en milieu de garde. Des régressions linéaires multiniveaux ont répondu aux quatre objectifs de l’étude. Résultats : Le modelage est positivement associé à l’apport en sucre (p=0,026) et l’éducation alimentaire est négativement associée à l’apport en calories (p=0,026) et en fibres (p=0,044). Ne pas utiliser de récompenses alimentaires est négativement associée à l’apport en gras (p=0,049). Aucune pratique n’est associée à l’AP des enfants. Plus l’écart entre l’apport alimentaire et l’AP des enfants et ceux de leurs pairs est grand au début de l’année, plus les enfants voient leur apport alimentaire et leur AP changer, se rapprochant de la moyenne de leurs pairs neuf mois plus tard (p<0,05). Conclusion : Les éducateurs et les pairs jouent un rôle important dans l’adoption d’habitudes alimentaires saines et d’AP chez les enfants de trois à cinq ans dans les milieux de garde. L’environnement social est donc important à considérer dans les interventions de promotion d’habitudes de vie saine dans les milieux de garde.

Size at maturity and length-weight relationships of the blurred lantern shark Etmopterus bigelowi (Squaliformes: Etmopteridae) caught off southeastern Brazil

The blurred lantern shark Etmopterus bigelowi, a deep-water squaloid shark, is globally widespread in temperate and tropical waters, but there is little available information about its biology owing to its relative rarity of capture and taxonomic confusion with its sibling species Etmopterus pusillus. Specimens used in this study were collected from July to December 2004 as by-catch in the commercial deepwater trawl fishery targeting red shrimp Aristaeomorpha foliacea in the southwestern Atlantic. We examined 55 specimens (22 males and 33 females) ranging in total length (TL) from 31.5 to 73 cm and in total weight from 103 to 1600 g. Length-weight relationships were explored for each sex and significant differences were found in the slope coefficients of the male and female regressions. The size at maturity for each sex was evaluated fitting a logistic regression. Females matured at larger sizes than males, with estimated sizes at first maturity of 56.0 cm TL for females and 45.1 cm TL for males. The present study provides important preliminary information about E. bigelowi that can be incorporated in risk assessment and stock assessment models, essential for efficient management practices aimed at avoiding overexploitation of these vulnerable deep-sea sharks.

Prediction of adult height in girls: the Beunen-MalinaFreitas method

The purpose of this study was to validate and cross-validate the Beunen-Malina-Freitas method for non-invasive prediction of adult height in girls. A sample of 420 girls aged 10–15 years from the Madeira Growth Study were measured at yearly intervals and then 8 years later. Anthropometric dimensions (lengths, breadths, circumferences, and skinfolds) were measured; skeletal age was assessed using the Tanner-Whitehouse 3 method and menarcheal status (present or absent) was recorded. Adult height was measured and predicted using stepwise, forward, and maximum R2 regression techniques. Multiple correlations, mean differences, standard errors of prediction, and error boundaries were calculated. A sample of the Leuven Longitudinal Twin Study was used to cross-validate the regressions. Age-specific coefficients of determination (R2) between predicted and measured adult height varied between 0.57 and 0.96, while standard errors of prediction varied between 1.1 and 3.9 cm. The cross-validation confirmed the validity of the Beunen-Malina-Freitas method in girls aged 12–15 years, but at lower ages the cross-validation was less consistent. We conclude that the Beunen-Malina-Freitas method is valid for the prediction of adult height in girls aged 12–15 years. It is applicable to European populations or populations of European ancestry.