Comprehensive Validation Of A Measure Of Student School Engagement: A Pilot Study Of Middle School Students

Although it may sound reasonable that American education continues to be more effective at sending high school students to college, in a study conducted in 2009, The Council of the Great City Schools states that "slightly more than half of entering ninth grade students arrive performing below grade level in reading and math, while one in five entering ninth grade students is more than two years behind grade level...[and] 25% received support in the form of remedial literacy instruction or interventions" (Council of the Great City Schools, 2009). Students are distracted with technology (Lei & Zhao, 2005), family (Xu & Corno, 2003), medical illnesses (Nielson, 2009), learning disabilities and perhaps the most detrimental to academic success, the very lack of interest in school (Ruch, 1963). In a Johns Hopkins research study, Building a Graduation Nation - Colorado (Balfanz, 2008), warning signs were apparent years before the student dropped out of high school. The ninth grade was often referenced as a critical point that indicated success or failure to graduate high school. The research conducted by Johns Hopkins illustrates the problem: students who become disengaged from school have a much greater chance of dropping out of high school and not graduating. The first purpose of this study was to compare different measurement models of the Student School Engagement (SSE) using Factor Analysis to verify model fit with student engagement. The second purpose was to determine the extent to which the SSE instrument measures student school engagement by investigating convergent validity (via the SSE and Appleton, Christenson, Kim and Reschly's instrument and Fredricks, Blumenfeld, Friedel and Paris's instrument), discriminant validity (via Huebner's Student Life Satisfaction Survey) and criterion-related validity (via the sub-latent variables of Aspirations, Belonging and Productivity and student outcome measures such as achievement, attendance and discipline). Discriminant validity was established between the SSE and the Appleton, Christenson, Kim and Reschly's model and Fredricks, Blumenfeld, Friedel and Paris's (2005) Student Engagement Instruments (SEI). When confirming discriminant validity, the SSE's correlations were weak and statistically not significant, thus establishing discriminant validity with the SLSS. Criterion-related validity was established through structural equation modeling when the SSE was found to be a significant predictor of student outcome measures when both risk score and CSAP scores were used. The third purpose of this study was to assess the factorial invariance of the SSE instrument across gender to ensure the instrument is measuring the intended construct across different groups. Conclusively, configural, weak and metric invariances were established for the SSE as a non-significant change in chi-square indicating that all parameters including the error variances were invariant across groups of gender. Engagement is not a clearly defined psychological construct; it requires more research in order to fully comprehend its complexity. Hopefully, with parental and teacher involvement and a sense of community, student engagement can be nurtured to result in a meaningful attachment to school and academic success.

Sobrevida de mulheres e homens com 60 anos e mais no município de São Paulo - Estudo SABE: as diferenças nas semelhanças em características do curso de vida

Objetivos: Avaliar numa coorte de idosos se há diferenças entre as situações do curso de vida que contribuem para uma maior chance de sobrevida em homens e mulheres com 60 anos e mais. Métodos: 2.143 idosos entrevistados em 2000 foram acompanhados durante quase 15 anos. Utilizou-se na análise estatística o teste de associação para amostras complexas (Rao-Scott), o estimador produto limite de Kaplan-Meier, o teste de log-rank, análise univariada e multivariada do modelo de riscos proporcionais de Cox, sendo construídos, através deste último, dois modelos finais por gênero, ao nível de significância de 5 por cento . Resultados e discussão: Dos 836.204 idosos paulistanos representados pelo estudo 51,6 por cento continuavam vivos (43,0 por cento dos homens e 57,7 por cento das mulheres). Em ambos os gêneros, os/as que tinham boas condições materiais e que realizavam sem dificuldade e sem ajuda mais da metade das atividades básicas e instrumentais de vida diária (ABVD/AIVD) apresentaram maior chance de sobrevivência. O mesmo foi verificado naquelas mulheres com menos de duas limitações de determinadas doenças, nas casadas, nas que ofereciam algum tipo de ajuda e nas que realizaram ações preventivas em relação a sua condição de saúde. Entre os homens o mesmo ocorreu naqueles que se referiram ser chefe de família, nos que tinham participação comunitária, nos que residiam com algum outro morador que foi ou ia à escola, que trabalharam predominantemente como proprietário ou por conta própria e nos que relataram ter tido alguma doença em seus primeiros quinzes anos de vida. Conclusão: As chances de sobrevida são diferentes entre gêneros, e entre si, mesmo em situações aparentemente semelhantes do curso de vida vivenciados e presentes em homens e mulheres idosas.

A Discursive Perspective on China's Global Politics of Climate Change, 1992-2013

This dissertation investigates China’s recent shift in its climate change policy with a refined discourse approach. Methodologically, by adopting a neo-Gramscian notion of hegemony, a generative definition of discourse and an ontological pluralist position, the study constructs a theoretical framework named “discursive hegemony” that identifies the “social forces” for enabling social change and focuses on the role of discursive mechanisms via which the forces operate and produce effects. The key empirical finding of this study was that it was a co-evolution of conditions that shaped the outcome as China’s climate policy shift. In examining the case, a before-after within-case comparison was designed to analyze the variations in the material, institutional, and ideational conditions, with methods including interviews, conventional narrative/text analysis and descriptive statistics. Specifically, changes in energy use, the structure of decision-making body, and the narratives about sustainable development reflected how the above three types of social force processed in China in the first few years of the 21st century, causing the economic development agenda to absorb the climate issue, and turning the policy frame for the latter from mainly a diplomatic matter to a potential opportunity for better-quality growth. With the discursive operation of the “Science-based development”, China’s energy policy has been a good example of the Chinese understanding of sustainability characterized by economic primacy, ecological viability and social green-engineering. This way of discursive evolution, however, is a double-edged sword that has pushed forward some fast, top-down mitigation measures on the one hand, but has also created and will likely continue creating social and ecological havoc on the other hand. The study makes two major contributions. First and on the empirical level, because China is an international actor that was not expected to cooperate on the climate issue according to major IR theories, this study would add one critical case to the studies on global (environmental) governance and the ideational approach in the IR discipline. Second and on the theory-building level, the model of discursive hegemony can be a causally deeper mode of explanation because it traces the process of co-evolution of social forces.

An accurate distance scale to the extremely massive cluster Stephenson 2

Discoveries during the last two years have revealed the existence of a vast region of star formation close to the base of the Scutum Arm, where at least five clusters of red supergiants have been found. In order to understand the nature of this region, we need to determine accurate distances to the clusters. We present here the first results of an ongoing program to derive fundamental parameters (such as age, distance, etc.) to the massive cluster Stephenson 2 studying for the first time its main sequence stars.

Tendència poblacional de la garsa (Pica pica) per al període 1994-2009 a la desembocadura del riu Millars (Castelló)

Aquesta nota mostra la tendència poblacional de la garsa (Pica pica) al llarg del kilòmetre 1 (des de la línea de costa, riu amunt) del paisatge protegit de la Desembocadura del riu Millars (Castelló), per al període comprés de 1994-2009 (16 anys). Els resultats se centren en censos realitzats a la zona mitjançant el mètode del transecte lineal duts a terme 3 o 4 vegades al mes. L’espècie se censa per primera vegada l’any 1997 i des l’aleshores mostra una tendència a l’alça sobretot a partir de 2003 i molt especialment en els dos últims (2008-2009). S’ha estabilitzat una abundància mitjana de 8,3 aus/km. Pel que fa a les correlacions amb la meteorologia, en els anys més freds presenta menor abundància que en els càlids. Els hiverns càlids podrien permetre major supervivència i, a més, major disponibilitat de recursos amb els quals assegurar un bon nombre de polls. L’espècie troba en la zona suficients recursos tròfics per sobreviure i un lloc excel·lent on lliurar-se de la pressió cinegètica.

Student mathematical textbook of James Freeman, 1774

Manuscript volume containing portions of text copied from Nicholas Saunderson’s Elements of algebra, Nicholas Hammond’s The elements of algebra, and John Ward’s The young mathematician’s guide. The volume is divided into two main parts: the first is titled Concerning the parts of Arithmetick (p. 1-98) and the second, The elements of Algebra, extracted from Hammond, Ward & Saunderson (p. 99-259).

Student notebook of Thomas Prince, ca. 1707

Paper notebook in Latin on classical Greek grammar. The name "Thomas Prince" appears on the first page. The manuscript is undated. Based on the signature, this volume is assumed to have belonged to Thomas Prince, Sr., although it is undated and may have indeed belonged to Thomas Prince, Jr.

Letters from Benjamin Welles to John Henry Tudor, 1799-1801

Benjamin Welles wrote these six letters to his friend and classmate, John Henry Tudor, between 1799 and 1801. Four of the letters are dated, and the dates of the other two can be deduced from their contents. Welles wrote Tudor four times in September 1799, at the onset of their senior year at Harvard, in an attempt to clear up hurt feelings and false rumors that he believed had caused a chill in their friendship. The cause of the rift is never fully explained, though Welles alludes to "a viper" and "villainous hypocrite" who apparently spread rumors and fueled discord between the two friends. In one letter, Welles asserts that "College is a rascal's Elysium - or the feeling man's hell." In another he writes: "College, Tudor, is a furnace to the phlegmatic, & a Greenland to thee feeling man; it has an atmosphere which breathes contagion to the soul [...] Villains fatten here. College is the embryo of hell." Whatever their discord, the wounds were apparently eventually healed; in a letter written June 26, 1800, Welles writes to ask Tudor about his impending speech at Commencement exercises. In an October 29, 1801 letter, Welles writes to Tudor in Philadelphia (where he appears to have traveled in attempts to recover his failing health) and expresses strong wishes for his friend's recovery and return to Boston. This letter also contains news of their classmate Washington Allston's meeting with painters Henry Fuseli and Benjamin West.

Reflections on the institutional balance, the Community Method and the interplay between jurisdictions after Lisbon. Research Papers in Law, 04/2012

[Introduction.] Over the last two years, not only inside but also outside the framework of the EU treaties, far reaching measures have been taken at the highest political level in order to address the financial and economic crisis in Europe and in particular the sovereign debt crisis in the Euro area. This has triggered debates forecasting the “renationalisation of European politics.” Herman Van Rompuy, the President of the European Council, countered the prediction that Europe is doomed because of such a renationalisation: “If national politics have a prominent place in our Union, why would this not strengthen it?” He took the view that not a renationalisation of European politics was at stake, but an Europeanization of national politics emphasising that post war Europe was never developed in contradiction with nation states.1 Indeed, the European project is based on a mobilisation of bundled, national forces which are of vital importance to a democratically structured and robust Union that is capable of acting in a globalised world. To that end, the Treaty of Lisbon created a legal basis. The new legal framework redefines the balance between the Union institutions and confirms the central role of the Community method in the EU legislative and judiciary process. This contribution critically discusses the development of the EU's institutional balance after the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon, with a particular emphasis on the use of the Community Method and the current interplay between national constitutional courts and the Court of Justice. This interplay has to date been characterised by suspicion and mistrust, rather than by a genuine dialogue between the pertinent judicial actors.

The Convention on the Future of Europe: Extended Working Group or Constitutional Assembly? Research Papers in Law, 4/2005

From the Introduction. “We are a Convention. We are not an Intergovernmental Conference because we have not been given a mandate by Governments to negotiate on their behalf the solutions which we propose. We are not a Parliament because we are not elected by citizens to draft legislative texts. […] We are a Convention. What does this mean? A Convention is a group of men and women meeting for the sole purpose of preparing a joint proposal. […] It is a task modest in form but immense in content, for if it succeeds in accordance with our mandate, it will light up the future of Europe”.1 In his speech inaugurating the Convention process on 26 February 2002 in Brussels, Convention President VALÉRY GISCARD D’ESTAING raises three issues: first, he refers to the Convention’s nature and method; second, he talks of the Convention’s aim and output; and, third, he evokes the Convention’s historic and symbolic significance. All three aspects have been amply discussed in the past two years by politicians and academics analysing whether the Convention’s purpose and instruments differ fundamentally from those of previous reform rounds; whether the input into and output of the Convention process qualitatively improves European Treaty revision; and whether the Convention as an institution lived up to its symbolic and normative load, reflected in comparisons with “Philadelphia” or references to a “constitutional moment”.2

Biomarqueurs pronostiques dans le cancer de la prostate : mieux prédire pour mieux traiter

Le cancer de la prostate (CP) est le cancer le plus fréquemment diagnostiqué en Amérique du Nord et est au troisième rang en termes de létalité chez les hommes. Suite aux traitements de première ligne, 20 à 30% des patients diagnostiqués avec un cancer localisé auront une récidive biochimique de la maladie. La déplétion androgénique mène fréquemment au développement du stade de résistance à la castration (RC). Ce dernier est associé avec une augmentation de la morbidité (métastases osseuses) et de la mortalité avec une survie moyenne inférieure à deux ans. L’évolution du CP est très hétérogène dans la population et il n’existe actuellement aucun biomarqueur pronostique permettant d’identifier les patients à risque de récurrence biochimique, de métastases osseuses et de développement d’une résistance à la castration. De nombreuses études ont démontré que les cytokines inflammatoires IL-6 et IL-8 jouent un rôle dans la pathogénèse du CP, notamment dans le développement de la résistance à la castration. Par ailleurs, les niveaux sériques élevés de ces cytokines ont été associés à un mauvais pronostic. Précédemment, notre laboratoire a démontré in vitro que la protéine IKKε entraîne une augmentation de la sécrétion de ces cytokines dans les cellules du CP et qu’elle est exprimée davantage dans les tissus de cancers plus avancés. Le premier objectif du présent mémoire fut d’évaluer dans des tissus humains la corrélation d’IKKε, IL-6 et IL-8 avec des paramètres cliniques. Nos résultats soulignent le potentiel d’IKKε comme biomarqueur tissulaire pronostique de récurrence biochimique et de métastases osseuses. Nous n’avons trouvé aucune association entre IL-6/IL-8 et les paramètres cliniques inclus dans l’étude. Le second objectif de ce projet fut d’évaluer la coexpression de ces trois molécules dans l’épithélium du CP. Nos résultats confirment les observations in vitro en mettant en évidence une forte association entre l’expression d’IKKε, IL-6 et IL-8. Le troisième objectif fut d’évaluer la relation entre les niveaux sériques et tissulaires d’IL-6 et d’IL-8. Aucune relation significative n’a été établie, suggérant que les cytokines sériques ne sont pas uniquement d’origine prostatique. En conclusion, mon projet de maîtrise aura permis de préciser le potentiel d’IKKε comme biomarqueur tissulaire pronostique et de valider pour la première fois dans des tissus humains sa co-expression avec les cytokines IL-6 et IL-8, dont le rôle dans la pathogénèse de la maladie est bien établi. Une étude plus exhaustive des voies de signalisation d’IKKε reste d’intérêt pour élucider notamment les mécanismes par lesquels IKKε stimule la production de cytokines et par quels moyens cette protéine pourrait être impliquée dans le développement d’un état résistant à la castration.

Ukrainian economy on the verge of recession. OSW Commentary No. 96, 2012-11-21

In the third quarter of 2012, Ukraine’s economy recorded negative growth (-1.3%) for the first time since its 2009 economic crisis. Q4 GDP is projected to suffer a further decline, bringing Ukraine into formal recession. In addition to the worsening macroeconomic indicators, Ukraine is also facing a series of concomitant economic problems: a growing trade deficit, industrial decline, shrinking foreign exchange reserves, and the weakening of the hryvnia. Poor economic growth is expected to result in lower than projected budget revenues, which in turn could lead to the sequestration of the budget in December. The decline evident across the key economic indicators in the second half of 2012 brings to a close a period of relative economic stability and two years of economic growth, which had been seen as a significant personal achievement of President Viktor Yanukovych and the ruling Party of Regions. The health of the Ukrainian economy largely depends on the state of the country’s export- -oriented industries. The current economic forecasts for foreign markets are not very optimistic. It is impossible to determine whether the current economic downturn is likely to be merely temporary or whether it heralds the onset of a prolonged economic crisis. The limited capacity to deal with the growing economic problems may mean that Kiev will need to seek financial support from abroad. This is particularly significant with regard to external debt servicing, since in 2013 Ukraine will need to pay back around 9 billion USD, including over 5.5 billion USD to the International Monetary Fund. In order to overcome the recession and stabilise public finances, the government may be forced to take a series of unpopular measures, including raising the price of natural gas and utilities. These measures have been stipulated by the IMF as a condition of further financial assistance and the disbursement of the 12 billion USD stabilisation loan granted to Ukraine in July 2010. The only alternative for Western loans and economic reforms appears to be financial support from Russia. The price for Moscow’s help might however turn out to be very high, and precipitate a turn in Kiev’s foreign policy towards a gradual re-integration of former Soviet republics under Moscow-led geopolitical projects.

Late Putin. The end of growth, the end of stability. OSW POINT OF VIEW #55, 2015-10-05

Since Vladimir Putin returned to the Kremlin as President in May 2012, the Russian system of power has become increasingly authoritarian, and has evolved towards a model of extremely personalised rule that derives its legitimacy from aggressive decisions in internal and foreign policy, escalates the use of force, and interferes increasingly assertively in the spheres of politics, history, ideology or even public morals. Putin’s power now rests on charismatic legitimacy to a much greater extent than it did during his first two presidential terms; currently the President is presented not only as an effective leader, but also as the sole guarantor of Russia’s stability and integrity. After 15 years of Putin’s rule, Russia’s economic model based on revenue from energy resources has exhausted its potential, and the country has no new model that could ensure continued growth for the economy. The Putinist system of power is starting to show symptoms of agony – it has been unable to generate new development projects, and has been compensating for its ongoing degradation by escalating repression and the use of force. However, this is not equivalent to its imminent collapse.

Estratégias e técnicas para ter sucesso no contar ou ler histórias

Relatório de estágio para a obtenção do grau de mestre na especialidade de Educação pré-escolar

Report of the Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, for the years .

Description based on: 1887 and 1888.