Special investigation of Hardin County Solid Waste Disposal Commission for the period January 1, 2002 through December 31, 2007

Special investigation of Hardin County Solid Waste Disposal Commission for the period January 1, 2002 through December 31, 2007

Special investigation of the City of Postville for the period July 1, 2000 through June 30, 2006

Special investigation of the City of Postville for the period July 1, 2000 through June 30, 2006

Special investigation of the Area XV Regional Planning Commission located in Ottumwa, Iowa for the period July 1, 2000 through June 30, 2006

Special investigation of the Area XV Regional Planning Commission located in Ottumwa, Iowa for the period July 1, 2000 through June 30, 2006

Special investigation of selected accounts at Burlington High School for the period July 1, 2004 through February 16, 2006

Special investigation of selected accounts at Burlington High School for the period July 1, 2004 through February 16, 2006

Special investigation of the City of Mingo for the period September 1, 2002 through June 30, 2006

Special investigation of the City of Mingo for the period September 1, 2002 through June 30, 2006

Special investigation of the City of Center Point Library for the period January 1, 2006 through December 6, 2007

Special investigation of the City of Center Point Library for the period January 1, 2006 through December 6, 2007

Nonparametric bounds on the returns to language skills

This paper applies the theoretical literature on nonparametric bounds ontreatment effects to the estimation of how limited English proficiency (LEP)affects wages and employment opportunities for Hispanic workers in theUnited States. I analyze the identifying power of several weak assumptionson treatment response and selection, and stress the interactions between LEPand education, occupation and immigration status. I show that thecombination of two weak but credible assumptions provides informative upperbounds on the returns to language skills for certain subgroups of thepopulation. Adding age at arrival as a monotone instrumental variable alsoprovides informative lower bounds.

Special investigation of the City of Schleswig for the period January 1, 2003 through January 31, 2007

Special investigation of the City of Schleswig for the period January 1, 2003 through January 31, 2007

Special report on the City of Norwalk for the period July 1, 2006 through April 9, 2008

Special report on the City of Norwalk for the period July 1, 2006 through April 9, 2008

Mandatory communication skills training for oncologists: enforcement does not substantially impact satisfaction.

PURPOSE: Even though there is evidence that both patients and oncology clinicians are affected by the quality of communication and that communication skills can be effectively trained, so-called Communication Skills Trainings (CSTs) remain heterogeneously implemented. METHODS: A systematic evaluation of the level of satisfaction of oncologists with the Swiss CST before (2000-2005) and after (2006-2012) it became mandatory. RESULTS: Levels of satisfaction with the CST were high, and satisfaction of physicians participating on a voluntary or mandatory basis did not significantly differ for the majority of the items. CONCLUSIONS: The evaluation of physicians' satisfaction over the years and after introduction of mandatory training supports recommendations for generalized implementation of CST and mandatory training for medical oncologists.

Special report on the Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office for the period December 1, 2004 through December 31, 2007

Special report on the Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office for the period December 1, 2004 through December 31, 2007

Relationship of aerobic fitness and motor skills with memory and attention in preschoolers (Ballabeina): A cross-sectional and longitudinal study.

Background: The debate about a possible relationship between aerobic fitness and motor skills with cognitive development in children has recently re-emerged, because of the decrease in children's aerobic fitness and the concomitant pressure of schools to enhance cognitive performance. As the literature in young children is scarce, we examined the cross-sectional and longitudinal relationship of aerobic fitness and motor skills with spatial working memory and attention in preschool children.Methods: Data from 245 ethnically diverse preschool children (mean age: 5.2 (0.6) years, girls: 49.4%) analyzed at baseline and 9 months later. Assessments included aerobic fitness (20 m shuttle run) and motor skills with agility (obstacle course) and dynamic balance (balance beam). Cognitive parameters included spatial working memory (IDS) and attention (KHV-VK). All analyses were adjusted for age, sex, BMI, migration status, parental education, native language and linguistic region. Longitudinal analyses were additionally adjusted for the respective baseline value.Results: In the cross-sectional analysis, aerobic fitness was associated with better attention (r = 0.16, p = 0.03). A shorter time in the agility test was independently associated with a better performance both in working memory (r = -0.17, p = 0.01) and in attention (r = -0.20, p = 0.01). In the longitudinal analyses, baseline aerobic fitness was independently related to improvements in attention (r = 0.16, p = 0.03), while baseline dynamic balance was associated with improvements in working memory (r = 0.15, p = 0.04).Conclusions: In young children, higher baseline aerobic fitness and motor skills were related to a better spatial working memory and/or attention at baseline, and to some extent also to their future improvements over the following 9 months.

Special investigation of the City of Searsboro for the period July 1, 2000 through October 9, 2006

Special investigation of the City of Searsboro for the period July 1, 2000 through October 9, 2006

Special investigation of the City of Grinnell Police Department for the period January 1, 2006 through April 30, 2008

Special investigation of the City of Grinnell Police Department for the period January 1, 2006 through April 30, 2008

Special investigation of the City of Vinton Parks and Recreation Department for the period July 19, 2001 through August 30, 2007

Special investigation of the City of Vinton Parks and Recreation Department for the period July 19, 2001 through August 30, 2007