Nablus mask-like facial syndrome: deletion of chromosome 8q22.1 is necessary but not sufficient to cause the phenotype.

PubMed

Allanson, Judith; Smith, Amanda; Hare, Heather; Albrecht, Beate; Bijlsma, Emilia; Dallapiccola, Bruno; Donti, Emilio; Fitzpatrick, David; Isidor, Bertrand; Lachlan, Katherine; Le Caignec, Cedric; Prontera, Paolo; Raas-Rothschild, Annick; Rogaia, Daniela; van Bon, Bregje; Aradhya, Swaroop; Crocker, Susan F; Jarinova, Olga; McGowan-Jordan, Jean; Boycott, Kym; Bulman, Dennis; Fagerberg, Christina Ringmann

2012-09-01

Nablus mask-like facial syndrome (NMLFS) has many distinctive phenotypic features, particularly tight glistening skin with reduced facial expression, blepharophimosis, telecanthus, bulky nasal tip, abnormal external ear architecture, upswept frontal hairline, and sparse eyebrows. Over the last few years, several individuals with NMLFS have been reported to have a microdeletion of 8q21.3q22.1, demonstrated by microarray analysis. The minimal overlapping region is 93.98-96.22 Mb (hg19). Here we present clinical and microarray data from five singletons and two mother-child pairs who have heterozygous deletions significantly overlapping the region associated with NMLFS. Notably, while one mother and child were said to have mild tightening of facial skin, none of these individuals exhibited reduced facial expression or the classical facial phenotype of NMLFS. These findings indicate that deletion of the 8q21.3q22.1 region is necessary but not sufficient for development of the NMLFS. We discuss possible genetic mechanisms underlying the complex pattern of inheritance for this condition. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Survey on Infant Hearing Loss at Caritas Baby Hospital in Bethlehem-Palestine.

PubMed

Corradin, Lucia; Hindiyeh, Musa; Khaled, Rasha; Rishmawi, Fadi; Zidan, Marwan; Marzouqa, Hiyam

2014-03-06

This study describes the epidemiology of infants' hearing loss (IHL) among patients under 3 months of age at Caritas Baby Hospital, the only pediatric hospital in Palestine. It was aimed to demonstrate that IHL is a major health problem in Palestine and to assess the first available data of the newborn hearing screening program conducted between September 25, 2006 and December 31, 2011. Data was uploaded and analyzed using Microsoft Excel and the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software (SPSS version 21). A total of 8144 infants were tested, 4812 (59%) were males and 3332 (41%) were females. As to their origin, 72% (5886) came from the Bethlehem district, 25% (2044) from the Hebron district, while 3% (214) from the other Palestinian districts (Jericho, Ramallah, Nablus, Jenin and Jerusalem). The transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs) and the automated auditory brainstem response were used according to the manufacturer guidelines. The results were interpreted according to the indications of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Institutes of Health, and the European Consensus Development Conference on Neonatal Hearing Screening. Out of the 8144 infants tested, 1507 (14.6%) did not pass the 1(st) test, 477 (32.8%) of these 1507 infants failed retesting, while 498 (33%) patients were lost to follow-up. Only 152 (31.9%) patients that failed retesting went to an audiologist. The audiologist evaluation revealed that 101 (66.4%) patients presented with a mild-moderate or profound hearing loss according to the Bureau International of Audiophonologie standards, 44 (28.9%) patients had otitis media, whereas 7 cases (4.7%) had no hearing disorders. The overall unadjusted percentage of hearing loss was 1.24%, and the adjusted overall percentage was 1.85%. The chart review showed that jaundice, sepsis, prematurity, lung disease were more common among the affected patients. The high prevalence of childhood deafness in Palestine is of utmost importance and deserves immediate attention on the part of the Palestinian government. Meanwhile, Caritas Baby Hospital undertook to set up a newborn hearing screening unit utilizing the TEOAE method.

Femme Fatale: An Examination of the Role of Women in Combat and the Policy Implications for Future American Military Operations

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-06-01

Major Kristal Alfonso is a KC-135 pilot and maintenance officer. She is currently a student at the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies at Maxwell...violence can be “moralized as a structured activity—war—and thus be depersonalized and idealized,” a cultural aspect 1 Jane Slaughter, Women and the...Palestinian Territories. A student at the University of Nablus explained that their oppression did not derive from Islam but instead flowed from Israeli

A system dynamics approach for hospital waste management in a city in a developing country: the case of Nablus, Palestine.

PubMed

Al-Khatib, Issam A; Eleyan, Derar; Garfield, Joy

2016-09-01

Hospitals and health centers provide a variety of healthcare services and normally generate hazardous waste as well as general waste. General waste has a similar nature to that of municipal solid waste and therefore could be disposed of in municipal landfills. However, hazardous waste poses risks to public health, unless it is properly managed. The hospital waste management system encompasses many factors, i.e., number of beds, number of employees, level of service, population, birth rate, fertility rate, and not in my back yard (NIMBY) syndrome. Therefore, this management system requires a comprehensive analysis to determine the role of each factor and its influence on the whole system. In this research, a hospital waste management simulation model is presented based on the system dynamics technique to determine the interaction among these factors in the system using a software package, ithink. This model is used to estimate waste segregation as this is important in the hospital waste management system to minimize risk to public health. Real data has been obtained from a case study of the city of Nablus, Palestine to validate the model. The model exhibits wastes generated from three types of hospitals (private, charitable, and government) by considering the number of both inpatients and outpatients depending on the population of the city under study. The model also offers the facility to compare the total waste generated among these different types of hospitals and anticipate and predict the future generated waste both infectious and non-infectious and the treatment cost incurred.

Molecular characterization of Echinococcus granulosus isolated from sheep in Palestine.

PubMed

Adwan, Ghaleb; Adwan, Kamel; Bdir, Sami; Abuseir, Sameh

2013-06-01

A total of twenty-three Echinococcus granulosus hydatid cysts were collected from infected sheep slaughtered in Nablus abattoir, Nablus - Palestine. Protoscoleces or germinal membranes were used for DNA extraction followed by PCR amplification. Amplified products were analyzed the presence of a fragment of 444bp of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) gene followed by nucleotide sequencing. Overall, 21 hydatid cysts were positive compared to a negative control. The partial sequences of cox1 gene of E. granulosus strains indicated that the sheep in Palestine were infected with genotype 1 (G1), genotype 2 (G2) and genotype 3 (G3). The prevalence of these genotypes was (14/21) 66.7%, (4/21) 19.0% and (3/21) 14.3% for G1, G2 and G3, respectively. Our results showed that twelve strains of G1 belonged to the common haplotype EG01 which is the major haplotype in all the geographic populations. Phylogenetic analysis also showed that two sequences of G1 genotype which have GenBank accession No. KC109657 and KC109659 were corresponding to G1.4 micro-variants. Only the sequence of GenBank accession No. KC109652 identified in our study as G2 was found to have complete identity to the original sequence described for the cox1 gene (GenBank accession No. M84662). It is concluded that G1 genotype is the predominant genotype in sheep in Palestine. Therefore, these findings should be taken into consideration in developing prevention strategies and control programs for hydatidosis in Palestine. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Urbanization effect on groundwater quality (Paleohydrogeological study)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sabri, Raghid; Merkel, Broder; Tichomirowa, Marion

2015-04-01

Speleothem growing in caves usually contain hydrological information. Carbonates precipitation growing in tunnels under cities contain information about anthropological influence on water system. Carbonate samples were taken from Roman tunnels in rural and urban area in Nablus district- Palestine. These laminated samples were analyzed for rare earth elements (REE), 13C and 18O. For REE, five samples were examined, each lamination was extracted and diluted with 0.1 ml 65% HNO3 and measured using ICP-MS. Yet, limited number of lamination was used for isotope analysis using Isotope ratio mass spectrometry. Total concentration of rare earth elements were calculated for each of the five samples. In all examined samples, the newer laminations show higher peaks than the older one of each sample. On the other hand, one sample (8 measurements) of 13C show values between -31.6° and -36°. These values mean that the carbonate is from organic origin. In an urban area, wastewater infiltration into groundwater system can be the source of organic matter. 18O measurements show continues enrichments within the growth of the carbonate. This increase of the 18O values reflects drier weather. Our results can be explained by the increase of water consumption in the household in the recent 100 years, rather than the increase of using detergents and cleaning products which have influenced groundwater quality as appeared in the carbonate samples. On the other hand, 18O results could be linked with the expansion of the building up area in the city and subsequently reduction of groundwater recharge

Earthquake damage history in Israel and its close surrounding - evaluation of spatial and temporal patterns

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zohar, Motti; Salamon, Amos; Rubin, Rehav

2017-01-01

Israel was hit by destructive earthquakes many times in the course of history. To properly understand the hazard and support effective preparedness towards future earthquakes, we examined the spatial and temporal distribution of the resulted damage. We described in detail our systematic approach to searching the available literature, collecting the data and screening the authenticity of that information. We used GIS (Geographic Information System) to map and evaluate the distribution of the damage and to search for recurring patterns. Overall, it is found that 186 localities were hit, 54 of them at least twice. We also found that Israel was affected by 4, 17, 8 and 2 damaging earthquakes that originated, respectively, from the southern, central, central-northern and northern parts of the Dead Sea Transform (DST). The temporal appearance of the northern earthquakes is clustered; the central earthquakes are more regular in time, whereas no damage from the north-central and the central quakes, with the exception of the year 363 earthquake, seems to have occurred south of the Dead Sea region. Analyzing the distribution of the damage, we realized that the number of the damage reports reflects only half of the incidents that actually happened, attesting to incompleteness of the historical catalogue. Jerusalem is the most reported city with 14 entries, followed by Akko (Acre), Tiberias, Nablus and Tyre with 8, 7, 7 and 6 reports, respectively. In general, localities in the Galilee and north of it suffered more severely than localities in central Israel with the exception of Nablus and the localities along the coastal plain of Israel, most probably due to local site effects. For the sake of hazard management, these observations should be considered for future planning and risk mitigation.

Farmers' attitude toward treated sludge use in the villages of West Bank, Palestine.

PubMed

Rashid, Md M; Kattou'a, Mary G; Al-Khatib, Issam A; Sato, Chikashi

2017-07-01

An application of treated sewage sludge on agricultural land has been widely accepted, as this method is simple and economical for disposal of wastewater residues. When applied properly on an agricultural land, sludge can replenish organic matter and nutrients in soil. Although sewage sludge has been used in agriculture in many parts of the world, its acceptability varies with different cultures and beliefs among farmers. Farmers' concerns on sludge use are primarily due to its anthropogenic origin, pollutants that it carries, a general perception of sewage being dirty, and its offensive odor. This paper aims to investigate farmers' perceptions on land application of treated sewage sludge on their farm. This study targeted two farming communities, namely, Anza and Beit Dajan villages, located in Jenin and Nablus districts in the West Bank, Palestine. In this study, a sample of 106 farmers were randomly selected and surveyed through a mixture of structured and open-ended questions. Results indicated that, overall, farmers have positive perceptions on land application of sludge. A majority of the farmers are in favor of the concept of sludge use when a planned wastewater treatment plant is constructed and it becomes operational. Results also indicate that a majority of the farmers are in favor of using sludge for fertilizing fruit trees, rather than growing vegetables and other plants in a greenhouse, and that many of them have knowledge of sludge properties and advantages and disadvantages of sludge use in agriculture. Despite the positive perceptions by the majority of farmers, a small fraction of the farmers are in disfavor of the use of sludge for the following reasons: psychological and social concerns, potential health risks, and their religious beliefs. Results further suggest that the land application of treated sewage sludge can be accepted by more farmers if the consumers are willing to buy agricultural products fertilized by sludge, sludge meets the public health requirements, and sludge is available at low costs. To improve farmers' perceptions on the land application of sludge, several measures are recommended.

Traditional knowledge of wild edible plants used in Palestine (Northern West Bank): a comparative study.

PubMed

Ali-Shtayeh, Mohammed S; Jamous, Rana M; Al-Shafie', Jehan H; Elgharabah, Wafa' A; Kherfan, Fatemah A; Qarariah, Kifayeh H; Khdair, Isra' S; Soos, Israa M; Musleh, Aseel A; Isa, Buthainah A; Herzallah, Hanan M; Khlaif, Rasha B; Aiash, Samiah M; Swaiti, Ghadah M; Abuzahra, Muna A; Haj-Ali, Maha M; Saifi, Nehaya A; Azem, Hebah K; Nasrallah, Hanadi A

2008-05-12

A comparative food ethnobotanical study was carried out in fifteen local communities distributed in five districts in the Palestinian Authority, PA (northern West Bank), six of which were located in Nablus, two in Jenin, two in Salfit, three in Qalqilia, and two in Tulkarm. These are among the areas in the PA whose rural inhabitants primarily subsisted on agriculture and therefore still preserve the traditional knowledge on wild edible plants. Data on the use of wild edible plants were collected for one-year period, through informed consent semi-structured interviews with 190 local informants. A semi-quantitative approach was used to document use diversity, and relative importance of each species. The study recorded 100 wild edible plant species, seventy six of which were mentioned by three informants and above and were distributed across 70 genera and 26 families. The most significant species include Majorana syriaca, Foeniculum vulgare, Malvasylvestris, Salvia fruticosa, Cyclamen persicum, Micromeria fruticosa, Arum palaestinum, Trigonella foenum-graecum, Gundelia tournefortii, and Matricaria aurea. All the ten species with the highest mean cultural importance values (mCI), were cited in all five areas. Moreover, most were important in every region. A common cultural background may explain these similarities. One taxon (Majoranasyriaca) in particular was found to be among the most quoted species in almost all areas surveyed. CI values, as a measure of traditional botanical knowledge, for edible species in relatively remote and isolated areas (Qalqilia, and Salfit) were generally higher than for the same species in other areas. This can be attributed to the fact that local knowledge of wild edible plants and plant gathering are more spread in remote or isolated areas. Gathering, processing and consuming wild edible plants are still practiced in all the studied Palestinian areas. About 26 % (26/100) of the recorded wild botanicals including the most quoted and with highest mCI values, are currently gathered and utilized in all the areas, demonstrating that there are ethnobotanical contact points among the various Palestinian regions. The habit of using wild edible plants is still alive in the PA, but is disappearing. Therefore, the recording, preserving, and infusing of this knowledge to future generations is pressing and fundamental.

Traditional knowledge of wild edible plants used in Palestine (Northern West Bank): A comparative study

PubMed Central

Ali-Shtayeh, Mohammed S; Jamous, Rana M; Al-Shafie', Jehan H; Elgharabah, Wafa' A; Kherfan, Fatemah A; Qarariah, Kifayeh H; Khdair, Isra' S; Soos, Israa M; Musleh, Aseel A; Isa, Buthainah A; Herzallah, Hanan M; Khlaif, Rasha B; Aiash, Samiah M; Swaiti, Ghadah M; Abuzahra, Muna A; Haj-Ali, Maha M; Saifi, Nehaya A; Azem, Hebah K; Nasrallah, Hanadi A

2008-01-01

Background A comparative food ethnobotanical study was carried out in fifteen local communities distributed in five districts in the Palestinian Authority, PA (northern West Bank), six of which were located in Nablus, two in Jenin, two in Salfit, three in Qalqilia, and two in Tulkarm. These are among the areas in the PA whose rural inhabitants primarily subsisted on agriculture and therefore still preserve the traditional knowledge on wild edible plants. Methods Data on the use of wild edible plants were collected for one-year period, through informed consent semi-structured interviews with 190 local informants. A semi-quantitative approach was used to document use diversity, and relative importance of each species. Results and discussion The study recorded 100 wild edible plant species, seventy six of which were mentioned by three informants and above and were distributed across 70 genera and 26 families. The most significant species include Majorana syriaca, Foeniculum vulgare, Malvasylvestris, Salvia fruticosa, Cyclamen persicum, Micromeria fruticosa, Arum palaestinum, Trigonella foenum-graecum, Gundelia tournefortii, and Matricaria aurea. All the ten species with the highest mean cultural importance values (mCI), were cited in all five areas. Moreover, most were important in every region. A common cultural background may explain these similarities. One taxon (Majoranasyriaca) in particular was found to be among the most quoted species in almost all areas surveyed. CI values, as a measure of traditional botanical knowledge, for edible species in relatively remote and isolated areas (Qalqilia, and Salfit) were generally higher than for the same species in other areas. This can be attributed to the fact that local knowledge of wild edible plants and plant gathering are more spread in remote or isolated areas. Conclusion Gathering, processing and consuming wild edible plants are still practiced in all the studied Palestinian areas. About 26 % (26/100) of the recorded wild botanicals including the most quoted and with highest mCI values, are currently gathered and utilized in all the areas, demonstrating that there are ethnobotanical contact points among the various Palestinian regions. The habit of using wild edible plants is still alive in the PA, but is disappearing. Therefore, the recording, preserving, and infusing of this knowledge to future generations is pressing and fundamental. PMID:18474107

Cancer-related post-treatment pain and its impact on health-related quality of life in breast cancer patients: a cross sectional study in Palestine.

PubMed

Abu Farha, Nader H; Khatib, Mohammed T; Salameh, Husam; Zyoud, Sa'ed H

2017-01-01

Post-treatment pain has been suggested as an important indicator for health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with breast cancer. Therefore, this study was performed to examine the association between pain and its impact on HRQOL among breast cancer patients in Palestine. Also, this study aimed to determine the QOL profile for breast cancer patients and stated the factors associated with QOL. A correlational cross-sectional study was conducted from May 2016 to November 2016 at Al-Watani Hospital and An-Najah National University Hospital in the Nablus district in Palestine. The five-level EuroQol five-dimensional instrument (EQ-5D-5L) was used to examine HRQOL. Pain severity and interference were assessed using the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI). Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to determine the most important variables related with HRQOL. One hundred and seventy patients were involved in this study. Overall, all participants were female, with a mean ± SD for age of 51.71 ± 11.11 years. The reported HRQOL of this study was measured by using the median EQ-5D-5L index score, which was 0.67 (interquartile range: 0.51-0.84). There were moderate negative correlations between EQ-5D-5L index score and pain severity score (r = - 0.58, p value < 0.001), and pain interference score (r = - 0.604, p-value < 0.001). Furthermore, univariate analysis showed that age, marital status, employment status, income, current condition of cancer, and post-treatment pain were associated with quality of life (p-value < 0.05). Regression analysis revealed that patients with high income (p-value = 0.003), patients with lower pain severity score (p-value < 0.001), and lower pain interference score (p-value = 0.018) were independently associated with high QOL. This is the first study to present important data regarding QOL by using the EQ-5D-5L instruments that may help healthcare providers to identify patients at risk of low QOL. Healthcare providers and health strategy makers should be alerted to low level HRQOL among breast cancer patients with low income level, patients with post-treatment pain, especially in the state of severe pain, and the state of pain interfering with daily life to improve their HRQOL.

Beliefs About Medicines and Self-reported Adherence Among Patients with Chronic Illness: A Study in Palestine.

PubMed

Jamous, Raniah Majed; Sweileh, Waleed Mohamad; El-Deen Abu Taha, Adham Saed; Zyoud, Sa'ed Husni

2014-07-01

Identifying factors associated with adherence is of great value in clinical practice. The objective of this study was to investigate medication adherence, beliefs about medicines held by people with chronic illness and whether beliefs influence medication adherence. The study was carried out at primary health care clinic of the Palestinian Medical Military Services in Nablus, Palestine. The beliefs about medicines questionnaire was used to assess beliefs and Morisky medication adherence scale was used to assess adherence. A total of 187 patients were interviewed. Most participants (79.6%) agreed or strongly agreed that their medications were necessary for their current health. However, 58.2% of the participants were concerned about having to take their medicines on a regular basis and 57.8% were concerned about becoming dependent on their medicines. None of the demographic and clinical variables was significantly associated with medication adherence. However, multivariate analysis showed that patients who had higher beliefs about medication necessity had higher odds (1.107 [1.023-1.197]) of being adherent. On the other hand, patients who had higher concern beliefs had lower odds (0.908 [0.845-0.975]) of being adherent. Beliefs about medicines are a major contributing factor to medication adherence.

The Partnership of Medical Genetics and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery When Evaluating Craniofacial Anomalies.

PubMed

Lin, Angela E

2015-12-01

A medical geneticist who has an interest in craniofacial anomalies forms a natural partnership with an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, which facilitates patient care. Using complementary diagnostic and therapeutic skills, the search for a recognizable pattern can lead to a syndrome diagnosis. After the initial examination, there is usually genetic testing to confirm the clinical diagnosis. Once established, care coordination and genetic counseling can be provided for the parents and the patient. Enrolling the patient into a research study could be helpful to understand the diagnosis but, in some circumstances, might not have immediate clinical relevance. A multidisciplinary craniofacial team is generally necessary for long-term management. This article discusses illustrative patients evaluated from 2007 through 2011 with the senior oral and maxillofacial surgeon at the Massachusetts General Hospital (Leonard B. Kaban, DMD, MD). These include single patients with the Nablus mask-like facies syndrome and auriculo-condylar syndrome and a series of 20 patients with Gorlin syndrome followed by a multispecialty team. A successful collaboration between a medical geneticist and an oral and maxillofacial surgeon optimizes the treatment of patients with craniofacial anomalies. Copyright © 2015 American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

New species and host records of New World, mostly Neotropical, opiine Braconidae (Hymenoptera) reared from flower-infesting, stem-galling, and stem-mining Tephritidae (Diptera)

PubMed Central

Wharton, Robert; Norrbom, Allen L.

2013-01-01

Abstract New host records (all members of the family Tephritidae) are presented for 14 newly described species of opiine Braconidae from the neotropics and two previously described species, one from the neotropics and one from the Nearctic Region. Doryctobracon anneae Wharton, Opius baderae Wharton, O. baeblus Wharton, O. cablus Wharton, O. dablus Wharton, O. danielsae Wharton, O. gabriellae Wharton, O. godfrayi Wharton, O. marshi Wharton, O. nablus Wharton, O. pipitae Wharton, O. stecki Wharton, O. taramegillae Wharton, and O. yoderi Wharton are newly described. Hosts are newly recorded for the previously described species Opius nympha Fischer and O. peleus Fischer. A key is presented to Opiinae that have been reared from flower, stem, and leaf feeding tephritids in the New World. Host and host plant associations are discussed; a few of the tephritid host plant records are also new. Opius cosa (Fischer), is a comb. n. PMID:24294078

Conflict and well-being: a comparative study of health-related quality of life, stress, and insecurity of university students in the West Bank and Jordan.

PubMed

Asi, Yara M; Unruh, Lynn; Liu, Xinliang

2018-05-01

A significant body of research indicates that the conflict environment is detrimental to the quality of life and well-being of civilians. This study assesses the health-related quality of life, stress, and insecurity of the West Bank, which has been engaged in conflict for seven decades, in comparison to a demographically and culturally similar population in Jordan, a neighboring nation with no conflict. We expect the Jordanian sample to report better functioning. We collected 793 surveys from university students (mean age = 20.2) in Nablus, West Bank (398 [50.2%]) and Irbid, Jordan (395 [49.8%]). The survey instrument consisted of the SF-36 to measure HRQoL, the PSS-4 to measure stress, and an insecurity scale, along with demographic characteristics. Our findings indicate that outcomes in the West Bank were not significantly worse than in Jordan, and in some cases represented better functioning, especially in the SF-36 measures. Our counterintuitive results suggest that health and well-being outcomes are dependent on many factors in addition to conflict. For one, it may be that the better perceived health and well-being of the Palestinians is because they have developed a culture of resilience. Additionally, Jordanians are undergoing a period of instability due to internal struggles and surrounding conflicts.

Speleothem dating using Sulfur to Calcium ratio

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sabri, Raghid

2017-04-01

A speleothem sample from underground water tunnel in Nablus, Palestine, showed contamination from wastewater. The young sample has low concentration of Uranium and could not be dated with uranium thorium dating method. An alternative method was used to determine the age of the sample: lamina counting coupled with Sulfur to calcium ratio peaks counting. Sulfur and Calcium concentrations were measured using SEM-EDS to have a better resolution than the CNS analyzer. Assuming seasonal growth of laminations, it was possible to determine the primarily ages. The sinter was still growing during sampling in 2011. The counting reveals 271 laminae, for seasonal growth it means 135 years. In the 1959, it was observed that there is an unexpected peak of Sulfur to calcium ratio and this peak was repeated seasonally. The sulfur peak increased as a result of diesel use in the heating system during the winter season. For the youngest 117 laminae, 59 S/Ca peaks are observed. Each two lamination layers correspond to one peak. So, it was possible to determine the age of the sample using Sulfur to Calcium ratio.

Suburban District Leaders' Perception of Their Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garcia France, Roxanne

2013-01-01

In the field of district leadership, most studies focus only on the context and conditions existing in large urban districts in need of reform. This study examined whether district leadership practices have applicability to district leaders working within the suburban context. In addition, it determined whether district conditions (i.e., district…

Seasonal and spatial trends in the sources of fine particle organic carbon in Israel, Jordan, and Palestine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

von Schneidemesser, Erika; Zhou, Jiabin; Stone, Elizabeth A.; Schauer, James J.; Qasrawi, Radwan; Abdeen, Ziad; Shpund, Jacob; Vanger, Arye; Sharf, Geula; Moise, Tamar; Brenner, Shmuel; Nassar, Khaled; Saleh, Rami; Al-Mahasneh, Qusai M.; Sarnat, Jeremy A.

2010-09-01

A study of carbonaceous particulate matter (PM) was conducted in the Middle East at sites in Israel, Jordan, and Palestine. The sources and seasonal variation of organic carbon, as well as the contribution to fine aerosol (PM 2.5) mass, were determined. Of the 11 sites studied, Nablus had the highest contribution of organic carbon (OC), 29%, and elemental carbon (EC), 19%, to total PM 2.5 mass. The lowest concentrations of PM 2.5 mass, OC, and EC were measured at southern desert sites, located in Aqaba, Eilat, and Rachma. The OC contribution to PM 2.5 mass at these sites ranged between 9.4% and 16%, with mean annual PM 2.5 mass concentrations ranging from 21 to 25 ug m -3. These sites were also observed to have the highest OC to EC ratios (4.1-5.0), indicative of smaller contributions from primary combustion sources and/or a higher contribution of secondary organic aerosol. Biomass burning and vehicular emissions were found to be important sources of carbonaceous PM in this region at the non-southern desert sites, which together accounted for 30%-55% of the fine particle organic carbon at these sites. The fraction of measured OC unapportioned to primary sources (1.4 μgC m -3 to 4.9 μgC m -3; 30%-74%), which has been shown to be largely from secondary organic aerosol, is relatively constant at the sites examined in this study. This suggests that secondary organic aerosol is important in the Middle East during all seasons of the year.

Lessons Learned in Systemic District Reform: A Cross-District Analysis from the Comprehensive Aligned Instructional System (CAIS) Benchmarking Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Waters, Louise Bay; Vargo, Merrill

2008-01-01

Urban district reform has been hampered by the challenge of understanding and supporting the tremendous complexity of district change. Improving this understanding through actionable, practice-based research is the purpose of this study. The authors began the study with the hypothesis that achieving districts both align their instructional systems…

Drawing the Line: Student Reassignment Policies in South Carolina

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Simmons, Naomi Rachel

2013-01-01

This study investigates the complex nature of student reassignment plans developed between 2006 and 2008 in three South Carolina school districts: York School District 3, Dorchester School District 2, and Greenville School District. The study is guided by the following research question: How are the district policies for student reassignment…

School District Personnel Describe One Example of Effective Change Implementation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Toni Griego

Three large urban school districts located in the Midwest, Southwest, and West Coast regions were involved in a study designed to reveal district personnel's perceptions of change within their school district. After describing the study, this document analyzes perceptions of change related to one district's new bilingual program that was…

Source apportionments of ambient fine particulate matter in Israeli, Jordanian, and Palestinian cities.

PubMed

Heo, Jongbae; Wu, Bo; Abdeen, Ziad; Qasrawi, Radwan; Sarnat, Jeremy A; Sharf, Geula; Shpund, Kobby; Schauer, James J

2017-06-01

This manuscript evaluates spatial and temporal variations of source contributions to ambient fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) in Israeli, Jordanian, and Palestinian cities. Twenty-four hour integrated PM 2.5 samples were collected every six days over a 1-year period (January to December 2007) in four cities in Israel (West Jerusalem, Eilat, Tel Aviv, and Haifa), four cities in Jordan (Amman, Aqaba, Rahma, and Zarka), and three cities in Palestine (Nablus, East Jerusalem, and Hebron). The PM 2.5 samples were analyzed for major chemical components, including organic carbon and elemental carbon, ions, and metals, and the results were used in a positive matrix factorization (PMF) model to estimate source contributions to PM 2.5 mass. Nine sources, including secondary sulfate, secondary nitrate, mobile, industrial lead sources, dust, construction dust, biomass burning, fuel oil combustion and sea salt, were identified across the sampling sites. Secondary sulfate was the dominant source, contributing 35% of the total PM 2.5 mass, and it showed relatively homogeneous temporal trends of daily source contribution in the study area. Mobile sources were found to be the second greatest contributor to PM 2.5 mass in the large metropolitan cities, such as Tel Aviv, Hebron, and West and East Jerusalem. Other sources (i.e. industrial lead sources, construction dust, and fuel oil combustion) were closely related to local emissions within individual cities. This study demonstrates how international cooperation can facilitate air pollution studies that address regional air pollution issues and the incremental differences across cities in a common airshed. It also provides a model to study air pollution in regions with limited air quality monitoring capacity that have persistent and emerging air quality problems, such as Africa, South Asia and Central America. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Osteoporosis knowledge and beliefs in diabetic patients: a cross sectional study from Palestine.

PubMed

Ishtaya, Ghaith A; Anabtawi, Yazan M; Zyoud, Sa'ed H; Sweileh, Waleed M

2018-02-07

Osteoporosis is a potential metabolic complication of diabetes mellitus (DM). Therefore, patients with DM should have adequate osteoporosis knowledge and beliefs in order to get engaged in osteoporosis preventive behaviors. The objective of this study was to assess osteoporosis knowledge and beliefs among diabetic patients. This was a cross sectional study carried out at Al-Makhfiah governmental primary healthcare unit in Nablus, Palestine from September 2016 to December 2016. The tools used to assess knowledge and beliefs were Osteoporosis Health Belief Scale (OHBS) and the Osteoporosis Knowledge Test (OKT) respectively. Three hundred diabetic patients were interviewed regarding their knowledge and belief about osteoporosis. The study sample included 192 (64.0%) females. Mean ± standard deviation (SD) of the participants was 58.5 ± 9.3 years. Regarding co-morbidities, 229 (76.3%) had at least one co-morbidity other than DM. The majority of participants incorrectly answered 19 out of 32 questions of OKT scale. The mean OKT score was 13.5 ± 4.2 indicating poor osteoporosis - related knowledge. Females had significantly higher nutrition (p = 0.037), exercise (p = 0.043), and OKT score (p = 0.021) than males. Regarding OHBS, female participants had significantly higher belief score of susceptibility (p <  0.01) and seriousness (p <  0.01) of osteoporosis compared to males. Diabetic patients had poor osteoporosis knowledge and moderate perception of susceptibility and seriousness of osteoporosis. These results require implementation of awareness programs among DM patients to increase their practices regarding preventive measures of osteoporosis such as calcium intake and exercise.

Healthy Schools Initiative: Implementation Study in Four San Mateo County School Districts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Westrich, Lisa; Sanchez, Monika; Strobel, Karen; Duong, Nina

2012-01-01

The Sequoia Healthcare District (SHD), in collaboration with four local school districts--Belmont-Redwood Shores School District (BRSSD), Redwood City School District (RCSD), San Carlos School District (SCSD), and Sequoia Union High School District (SUHSD)--launched the Healthy Schools Initiative (HSI) in August 2010. This three-year initiative is…

Full-Day Kindergarten: A Case Study on the Perceptions of District Leaders in Four Suburban Pennsylvania School Districts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Santoro, Elizabeth A.

2011-01-01

This qualitative study explored the reasons why suburban district leaders opted for full-day or half-day kindergarten programming in a sample of four local suburban districts operating such programs in Southeastern, Pennsylvania. The primary data source was interviews with key district leaders including school board members, superintendents,…

The Interrelationship of School District Expenditures and Student Academic Achievement in Oklahoma Public Elementary School Districts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moore, Glenn M.

2012-01-01

Purpose and Method of Study. The primary purpose of this quantitative study was to analyze the relationship between school district expenditures and student academic achievement in 102 public elementary school districts in the state of Oklahoma. The secondary purpose was to investigate the relationship between school district expenditures and…

Genetics and the history of the Samaritans: Y-chromosomal microsatellites and genetic affinity between Samaritans and Cohanim.

PubMed

Oefner, Peter J; Hölzi, Georg; Shen, Piedong; Shpirer, Isaac; Gefel, Dov; Lavi, Tal; Woolf, Eilon; Cohen, Jonathan; Cinnioglu, Cengiz; Underhill, Peter A; Rosenberg, Noah A; Hochrein, Jochen; Granka, Julie M; Hillel, Jossi; Feldman, Marcus W

2013-12-01

The Samaritans are a group of some 750 indigenous Middle Eastern people, about half of whom live in Holon, a suburb of Tel Aviv, and the other half near Nablus. The Samaritan population is believed to have numbered more than a million in late Roman times but less than 150 in 1917. The ancestry of the Samaritans has been subject to controversy from late Biblical times to the present. In this study, liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization/quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometry was used to allelotype 13 Y-chromosomal and 15 autosomal microsatellites in a sample of 12 Samaritans chosen to have as low a level of relationship as possible, and 461 Jews and non-Jews. Estimation of genetic distances between the Samaritans and seven Jewish and three non-Jewish populations from Israel, as well as populations from Africa, Pakistan, Turkey, and Europe, revealed that the Samaritans were closely related to Cohanim. This result supports the position of the Samaritans that they are descendants from the tribes of Israel dating to before the Assyrian exile in 722-720 BCE. In concordance with previously published single-nucleotide polymorphism haplotypes, each Samaritan family, with the exception of the Samaritan Cohen lineage, was observed to carry a distinctive Y-chromosome short tandem repeat haplotype that was not more than one mutation removed from the six-marker Cohen modal haplotype. Copyright © 2014 Wayne State University Press, Detroit, Michigan 48201-1309.

A Longitudinal Study of School Districts' Sustained Improvement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sampson, Pauline M.

2011-01-01

In this longitudinal study of one region in the state of Texas, there was an examination of district leadership and the sustaining of high student achievement for their districts. The results of this study suggest that sustained improvement of student achievement is very difficult. The districts that had sustained improvement had stable district…

Home-Town Values and High Accountability: A Texas Recipe for Districtwide Success in an Urban School District

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Skrla, Linda; McKenzie, Kathryn Bell; Scheurich, James Joseph; Dickerson, Kimberly L.

2011-01-01

This article reports the findings from a case study of urban school district effectiveness taken from a larger, multistate study. The case study district, Galena Park Independent School District in Galena Park, Texas, was chosen for inclusion in the study based on quantitative analysis of student achievement data in Texas. An education production…

A Qualitative Case Study of the Bilingual Teacher Shortage in One Texas School District

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kennedy, Barbara H.

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine how stakeholders in one Texas school district perceive, experience, and respond to the Spanish bilingual teacher shortage. The research design was qualitative with an exploratory, single case study approach. The case study school district was a mid-sized suburban district in Texas that utilized a dual…

Analysis of County School Districts in Arkansas.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Budd, Karol B.; Charlton, J.L.

The 1948, Arkansas School District Reorganization Act was passed in an effort to reduce the 1589 small school districts to a smaller number. Those districts not consolidated would form county districts. As of the 1967-68 school year, 26 of these county districts remained. The purpose of this study was to provide information drawing attention to…

Drought disaster vulnerability mapping of agricultural sector in Bringin District, Semarang Regency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lestari, D. R.; Pigawati, B.

2018-02-01

Agriculture sector is a sector that is directly affected by drought. The phenomenon of drought disaster on agriculture sector has occurred in Semarang regency. One of districts in Semarang which is affected by drought is Bringin district. Bringin district is a productive agricultural area. However, the district experienced the most severe drought in 2015. The question research of this study is, “How is the spatial distribution of drought vulnerability on agriculture sector in Bringin district, Semarang regency?” The purpose of this study is to determine the spatial distribution of drought vulnerability on agriculture sector to village units in Bringin district. This study investigated drought vulnerability based on Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) by analyzing exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity through mapping process. This study used quantitative approach. There were formulation analysis, scoring analysis, and overlay analysis. Drought vulnerability on agriculture sector in Bringin district was divided into three categories: low, medium, and high.

Variability in the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act in Wisconsin school districts and science departments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miller, Christopher L.

In the United States of America, the public education system is comprised of over 14,000 school districts. Each of these unique districts is being affected by the enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. In turn, this diverse population of school districts is determining the impact on education of this sweeping federal education policy. This study examines eight of those school districts to determine their actions related to the early phase of the implementation of one portion of NCLB, the accountability provisions prescribing standardized assessment for the determination of Adequate Yearly Progress. Specifically, this study examines what these eight Wisconsin school districts, serving from 1,000 to over 5,000 students, did with the student achievement data resulting from their state assessment, the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Examinations (WKCE). A wide variety of responses were found in how school districts used the WKCE data. The eight school districts were examined to determine what features of their organizations were responsible for how they responded to the enactment of the AYP provisions, specifically how they used the WCKE data. District responses were found to be determined by district size, governance structures, personnel, and dispositions. The interactions of these characteristics were considered in light of organizational studies using conceptualizations borrowed from ecology and the theory of evolution and by studies of school districts.

School District Income Taxes and School Inputs: The Case of Ohio

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nguyen-Hoang, Phuong

2014-01-01

This study is the first to explore the relationship between school district income taxes and school inputs (expenditures and student-teacher ratios) using Ohio as a case study. The study employed reduced-form expenditure functions on a data panel of 609 school districts between 1990 and 2010. Treating for the endogeneity of school district income…

Barriers to District-Level Educational Reform: A Statewide Study of Minnesota School Superintendents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stewart, Courtney; Raskin, Candace; Zielaski, Daniel

2012-01-01

This study attempts to identify and describe Minnesota superintendents' perceptions of barriers to district-level reform as well as compare superintendents' perceptions of district reform related characteristics. This research also strives to identify factors preventing Minnesota's district-level leadership from implementing national reform…

Kentucky's Program for Educationally Deficient School Districts: A Case Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fry, Patricia; And Others

The development and implementation of Kentucky's Program for Educationally Deficient School Districts is examined in this case study. Implemented in 1987, the program required districts to meet certain performance, planning, and reporting criteria. Districts failing to comply could be placed in categories of noncompliance. Data were derived from…

How Does District Principal Evaluation Affect Learning-Centered Principal Leadership? Evidence from Michigan School Districts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sun, Min; Youngs, Peter

2009-01-01

This study used Hierarchical Multivariate Linear models to investigate relationships between principals' behaviors and district principal evaluation purpose, focus, and assessed leadership activities in 13 school districts in Michigan. The study found that principals were more likely to engage in learning-centered leadership behaviors when the…

San Diego Community College District Reprographic Services Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beuhner, Sandra

In 1981 a study was conducted at the San Diego Community College District to: (1) identify the types and quantity of internal reprographic services currently being provided in the District; (2) identify the types of services for which the District was contracting with outside printers; (3) provide an inventory of reprographic equipment in the…

A Study of Benefits and Selected Salaries of California Community College Districts.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kern Community Coll. District, Bakersfield, CA.

In an effort to assess the overall fringe benefit programs of community college districts in California and to determine the dollar amounts paid certificated employees, fringe benefit and salary remuneration were calculated for all 70 districts in the state. Study findings included the following: (1) 13 districts offered a "cafeteria…

Increasing Poverty: How Do Leaders in One Suburban District Respond?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spencer, Jennifer Dawn

2014-01-01

This dissertation addresses the question of how suburban school district leaders in one large Midwestern school district respond to increasing student poverty. The purpose of this study was to determine how suburban school district leaders respond to increasing student poverty in their decision making and actions. Data for this study came from one…

Challenge and Opportunity: The Impact of Charter Schools on School Districts. A Report of the National Study of Charter Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ericson, John; Silverman, Debra; Berman, Paul; Nelson, Beryl; Solomon, Debra

This report examines the operational and educational changes that school administrators attribute to charter schools. It is part of the U.S. Department of Education's 4-year study to document and analyze the charter-school movement. The study asked two questions: What changes have districts made in district operations and district education that…

Site Selection in School District Research: A Measure of Effectiveness Using Hierarchical Longitudinal Growth Models of Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bowers, Alex J.

2015-01-01

School districts in the USA are an active area of study in education research as findings have shown that some districts find success in certain contexts while others struggle. However, the research domain has had few actionable methods for site selection for in-depth qualitative studies. This study analyses all districts in the state of Ohio (n =…

Systematic Research and Evaluation in a Rural Pennsylvania School District.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leopold, Greg; And Others

This report summarizes the evaluation of a rural school district in Pennsylvania and offers recommendations reflecting the district's goals for school improvement and construction. Specifically, the objectives of the study were to identify curricular needs of the district and individual schools; review and assess district facilities with respect…

The Professional Development Needs of School-Based Leadership in Preparation for a District-Wide One-to-One Initiative in a Large Urban School District

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Simmons, Brandon Dean

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the professional development needs of school-based leadership in preparation for a district-wide one-to-one initiative in a large urban school district. This study used an explanatory sequential mixed methods design to answer the three research questions that drove the study. Research for this study was…

An ancient underground water tunnel as a proxy for environmental change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sabri, Raghid; Merkel, Broder

2014-05-01

Carbonate samples taken from a Roman water tunnel in Nablus, Palestine, were investigated with respect to geochemistry and mineralogy. This tunnel runs under the Roman Cardo of Neapolis and dates back to the 2nd century. Carbonate deposits samples were taken from the sidewall of the tunnel. Thin sections of the deposits were made along the growth axis and were analyzed using optical microscope and scanning electron microscope (SEM) and showed alternated lamination with dark and light zones. The microstructures of the deposits show a range of change of crystal formation change. It is also obvious that at one layer the crystals are pure with columnar fabric while the next layer has many impurities with mosaic fabric. This means, that the columnar layer had a sufficient time to grow, where the mosaic layer had only limited time. On the other hand, thirty seven points in the carbonate deposits around 40mm along the growth axis were measured using SEM. The measurement showed that C, Ca and O value fluctuates between each two measurement points. Si, Cl and Mg values also fluctuate but with reduced intensity and unpredicted pattern. The high fluctuation can be referred to seasonal change of the water quantity and quality. On the other hand, the low fluctuation values are referred to extreme events.

School District Labour Conflict and Frame Analysis: A Field Study of Contentious Negotiations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gates, Gordon S.; Vesneske, Staci S.

2012-01-01

Labour conflict in school districts is a largely neglected area of educational research. This study examines the perceptions, actions, and decisions of union and district leaders using social movement theory to describe, analyze, and interpret contentious contract negotiations in three school districts in the Pacific Northwest region of the US.…

Effective Strategies for District Leadership to Create Successful Inclusion Models: Special Education Directors and School Reform in Context of Least Restrictive Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bublitz, Gregory

2016-01-01

This qualitative mixed methods study explored how Special Education Directors transformed and maintained a successful inclusion model throughout their district. The study identified leadership strategies and inclusive behaviors utilized by Special Education Directors who have successfully transformed their district into inclusive school districts.…

Attachment of Young People to Their Home District

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sinkkonen, Merja

2013-01-01

This article focuses on young people's attachment to their home district. The purpose of this study was to establish how attached young people aged 17 were to their home district and what factors were involved in young people's attachment to their home districts. The structure of the young people's lives was studied on the basis of the…

Anchorage School District Full-Day Kindergarten Study: A Follow-up of the Kindergarten Classes of 1987-88, 1988-89, and 1989-90.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stofflet, Frederick P.

This study examined Anchorage School District (Alaska) kindergarten classes from 1987-88, 1988-89, and 1989-90; these years correspond to the last year in which there was no full-day kindergarten program in the district, and the first and second years of the district's full-day program. The study examined matriculation patterns, special education…

Analysis of Superintendent Longevity in Large School Districts: A Qualitative Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mouton, Nikki Golar

2013-01-01

School district leadership matters, as evidenced by a meta-analysis of 27 reports and 1,210 districts conducted by Waters and Marzano (2006) which highlights a statistically significant correlation between district leadership and student achievement. Because this relationship is significant, it is important for school districts to have effective…

Prevalence of malnutrition in hemodialysis patients: A single-center study in Palestine.

PubMed

Rezeq, Hinar Abu; Khdair, Lubna N; Hamdan, Zakaria I; Sweileh, Waleed M

2018-01-01

Only a few studies have been published on the nutritional status of hemodialysis (HD) patients in Arab countries. The aim of this study was to determine the nutritional status and prevalence of malnutrition and its predictors among HD patients at An-Najah National University Hospital, Nablus, Palestine. A cross-sectional study was carried out on HD patients in this hospital. Seven-Point Subjective Global Assessment (7-point SGA) was used to assess the nutritional state of HD patients. Biochemical tests were obtained during the study period from medical files of the studied patients. A total of 106 HD patients were recruited for this study and assessed for nutritional status. More than half (60, 56.6%) of the recruited patients were males. The majority of the patients (86.8%) were above 45 years of age. Hypertension (65, 61.3%) was the most common comorbid conditions followed by diabetes mellitus (51, 48.1%). The median SGA score was 5.57 (5-6). More than half of the HD patients (56; 52.8%) were well-nourished while the remaining (50, 47.2%) had mild-to-moderate malnourishment. Univariate analysis indicated that SGA score was significantly higher in HD patients with college education (P = 0.026), nondiabetic (P = 0.044), nonhypertensive (P = 0.037), and those with current occupation (P = 0.025). No significant correlation was found between SGA score and potassium level (P = 0.134), calcium level (P = 0.883), albumin (P = 0.282), and phosphate level (P = 0.419). However, significant positive correlation was found between SGA core and hemoglobin level (P = 0.019; r = 0.227). Multivariate analysis showed no significant predictors of SGA score. In this pilot single-center study, malnutrition was detected in almost half of HD patients using SGA scale. Development of nutritional assessment protocols for HD is an important issue and needs to be followed up by health-care teams in HD centers.

Factors influencing the work efficiency of district health managers in low-resource settings: a qualitative study in Ghana.

PubMed

Bonenberger, Marc; Aikins, Moses; Akweongo, Patricia; Wyss, Kaspar

2016-01-14

There is increasing evidence that good district management practices can improve health system performance and conversely, that poor and inefficient management practices have detrimental effects. The aim of the present study was to identify factors contributing to inefficient management practices of district health managers and ways to improve their overall efficiency. Nineteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with district health managers in three districts of the Eastern Region in Ghana. The 19 interviews conducted comprised 90% of the managerial workforce in these districts in 2013. A thematic analysis was carried out using the WHO's leadership and management strengthening framework to structure the results. Key factors for inefficient district health management practices were identified to be: human resource shortages, inadequate planning and communication skills, financial constraints, and a narrow decision space that constrains the authority of district health managers and their ability to influence decision-making. Strategies that may improve managerial efficiency at both an individual and organizational level included improvements to planning, communication, and time management skills, and ensuring the timely release of district funds. Filling District Health Management Team vacancies, developing leadership and management skills of district health managers, ensuring a better flow of district funds, and delegating more authority to the districts seems to be a promising intervention package, which may result in better and more efficient management practices and stronger health system performance.

School Leaders' Perceptions of School Counselors as Leaders as Part of the District Leadership Team and Impact on the District Wide Change Process

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davis, James S., Jr.

2013-01-01

This exploration focuses on school leaders' perceptions of school counselors as leaders and their involvement with district wide change. This study explores school counselor leadership, school counselors' role in district level change, and barriers to school counselor leadership. This is a qualitative study utilizing grounded theory design.…

Educational Resource Allocation at the Elementary Level: A Case Study of One Elementary School District in California

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nguyen, Dominic

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the dispersion of human capital resources within one school district in southern California and compare the use of personnel at each school to the desired allocation informed by the district's strategies and staffing formula. The district's resource distribution was also compared to that of the Evidence…

What Do District Health Managers in Ghana Use Their Working Time for? A Case Study of Three Districts.

PubMed

Bonenberger, Marc; Aikins, Moses; Akweongo, Patricia; Bosch-Capblanch, Xavier; Wyss, Kaspar

2015-01-01

Ineffective district health management potentially impacts on health system performance and service delivery. However, little is known about district health managing practices and time allocation in resource-constrained health systems. Therefore, a time use study was conducted in order to understand current time use practices of district health managers in Ghana. All 21 district health managers working in three districts of the Eastern Region were included in the study and followed for a period of three months. Daily retrospective interviews about their time use were conducted, covering 1182 person-days of observation. Total time use of the sample population was assessed as well as time use stratified by managerial position. Differences of time use over time were also evaluated. District health managers used most of their working time for data management (16.6%), attending workshops (12.3%), financial management (8.7%), training of staff (7.1%), drug and supply management (5.0%), and travelling (9.6%). The study found significant variations of time use across the managerial cadres as well as high weekly variations of time use impulsed mainly by a national vertical program. District health managers in Ghana use substantial amounts of their working time in only few activities and vertical programs greatly influence their time use. Our findings suggest that efficiency gains are possible for district health managers. However, these are unlikely to be achieved without improvements within the general health system, as inefficiencies seem to be largely caused by external factors.

The Role of the Superintendent in Closing the Achievement Gap in Diverse Small School Districts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wright, Howell, Jr.; Harris, Sandra

2010-01-01

The purpose of this qualitative, narrative study was to investigate the role of the superintendent in leading the district to be more culturally proficient, resulting in the narrowing of the achievement gap in culturally diverse small districts. Eight superintendents of small school districts were purposefully selected based on their district size…

From Districts to Schools: The Distribution of Resources across Schools in Big City School Districts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rubenstein, Ross; Schwartz, Amy Ellen; Stiefel, Leanna; Amor, Hella Bel Hadj

2007-01-01

While the distribution of resources across school districts is well studied, relatively little attention has been paid to how resources are allocated to individual schools inside those districts. This paper explores the determinants of resource allocation across schools in large districts based on factors that reflect differential school costs or…

School Improvement Change Grant Community Survey, Final Report. A Report to Toluca Community Unit School District #2, El Paso Community Unit School District #375, Lowpoint-Washburn Community Unit School District #21, Minonk-Dana-Rutland Community Unit School District #108, and Roanoke-Benson Community Unit School District #60.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Connell, Patricia A.; And Others

This report presents the results of a collaborative study undertaken by five rural, unit school districts in Illinois to provide data to be used in planning for school improvement. Information was gathered from on-site visits by teams of constituents from other districts and through a survey of perceptions of local community persons regarding…

Public funding of health at the district level in Indonesia after decentralization – sources, flows and contradictions

PubMed Central

Heywood, Peter; Harahap, Nida P

2009-01-01

Background During the Suharto era public funding of health in Indonesia was low and the health services were tightly controlled by the central government; district health staff had practically no discretion over expenditure. Following the downfall of President Suharto there was a radical political, administrative and fiscal decentralization with delivery of services becoming the responsibility of district governments. In addition, public funding for health services more than doubled between 2001 and 2006. It was widely expected that services would improve as district governments now had both more adequate funds and the responsibility for services. To date there has been little improvement in services. Understanding why services have not improved requires careful study of what is happening at the district level. Methods We collected information on public expenditure on health services for the fiscal year 2006 in 15 districts in Java, Indonesia from the district health offices and district hospitals. Data obtained in the districts were collected by three teams, one for each province. Information on district government revenues were obtained from district public expenditure databases maintained by the World Bank using data from the Ministry of Finance. Results The public expenditure information collected in 15 districts as part of this study indicates district governments are reliant on the central government for as much as 90% of their revenue; that approximately half public expenditure on health is at the district level; that at least 40% of district level public expenditure on health is for personnel, almost all of them permanent civil servants; and that districts may have discretion over less than one-third of district public expenditure on health; the extent of discretion over spending is much higher in district hospitals than in the district health office and health centers. There is considerable variation between districts. Conclusion In contrast to the promise of decentralization there has been little increase in the potential for discretion at the district level in managing public funds for health – this is likely to be an important reason for the lack of improvement in publicly funded health services. Key decisions about money are still made by the central government, and no one is held accountable for the performance of the sector – the district blames the center and the central ministries (and their ministers) are not accountable to district populations. PMID:19371410

Public funding of health at the district level in Indonesia after decentralization-sources, flows and contradictions.

PubMed

Heywood, Peter; Harahap, Nida P

2009-04-16

During the Suharto era public funding of health in Indonesia was low and the health services were tightly controlled by the central government; district health staff had practically no discretion over expenditure. Following the downfall of President Suharto there was a radical political, administrative and fiscal decentralization with delivery of services becoming the responsibility of district governments. In addition, public funding for health services more than doubled between 2001 and 2006. It was widely expected that services would improve as district governments now had both more adequate funds and the responsibility for services. To date there has been little improvement in services. Understanding why services have not improved requires careful study of what is happening at the district level. We collected information on public expenditure on health services for the fiscal year 2006 in 15 districts in Java, Indonesia from the district health offices and district hospitals. Data obtained in the districts were collected by three teams, one for each province. Information on district government revenues were obtained from district public expenditure databases maintained by the World Bank using data from the Ministry of Finance. The public expenditure information collected in 15 districts as part of this study indicates district governments are reliant on the central government for as much as 90% of their revenue; that approximately half public expenditure on health is at the district level; that at least 40% of district level public expenditure on health is for personnel, almost all of them permanent civil servants; and that districts may have discretion over less than one-third of district public expenditure on health; the extent of discretion over spending is much higher in district hospitals than in the district health office and health centers. There is considerable variation between districts. In contrast to the promise of decentralization there has been little increase in the potential for discretion at the district level in managing public funds for health - this is likely to be an important reason for the lack of improvement in publicly funded health services. Key decisions about money are still made by the central government, and no one is held accountable for the performance of the sector - the district blames the center and the central ministries (and their ministers) are not accountable to district populations.

An Analysis of the New Jersey Public School District School Bond Referendum Process: A Historical Case Study of the Egg Harbor Township School District Bond Referendum of 2004-05

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Werner, Michael J.

2012-01-01

This dissertation presents a historical case study of the Egg Harbor Township School District bond referendum that passed with an exceptionally high 92 percent of votes in January 2005. The methodology used in this study resulted in both an examination of the components of the New Jersey Public School District bond referendum process as well as an…

A Correlational Study of Teacher Efficacy and Culturally Responsive Teaching Techniques in a Southeastern Urban School District

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Callaway, Roberta F.

2017-01-01

This study was conducted in the fall of 2015 in a large, urban school district located in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. There are 33 elementary schools, one kindergarten through eighth grade school, eight middle schools, and five high schools in the district; three of the five high schools in the district participated. The district…

The Motivators That Contribute to the Migration of African American Educators from Suburban School Districts to Urban School Districts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McGary, Ostrova Dewayne

2012-01-01

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the perceived motivators contributing African American educators' decision to migrate from a suburban school district to an urban school district. The case study approach was used in an effort to capture the participants' voices and the motivators contributing to their decision to migrate to an…

Rearranging Deck Chairs in Dallas: Contextual Constraints and Within-District Resource Allocation in Urban Texas School Districts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baker, Bruce D.

2012-01-01

The goal of this study is to simultaneously explore resource allocation across schools within large urban school districts and across all schools within major metropolitan areas that include those urban districts in the state of Texas. This study uses a three-year panel, from 2005 to 2007, for Texas elementary schools in the Houston, Dallas,…

District Support Systems for the Alignment of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment: Can We Predict Student Achievement in Reading and Writing for School Turnaround?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abbott, Laura Lynn Tanner

2014-01-01

The purpose of this quantitative non-experimental predictive study was to determine if CIA alignment factors and related district support systems are associated with student achievement to enable the turnaround of schools in crisis. This study aimed to utilize the District Snapshot Tool to determine if the district systems that support CIA…

Standards-Based Assessment, Grading, and Reporting in Classrooms: Can District Training and Support Change Teacher Practice?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McMunn, Nancy; Schenck, Patricia; McColskey, Wendy

Whether school district support and training in standards-based assessment, grading, and reporting in classrooms can change teacher practice in these areas was studied in a Florida school district. This district, Bay District Schools of Panama City, has been working with the SERVE Regional Educational Laboratory on a project that involves teachers…

NREL Study Predicts Fuel and Emissions Impact of Automated Mobility

Science.gov Websites

District | News | NREL Study Predicts Fuel and Emissions Impact of Automated Mobility District NREL Study Predicts Fuel and Emissions Impact of Automated Mobility District January 21, 2016 With NREL study shows that a campus-sized -- ranging from four to 10 square miles -- automated mobility

What Do District Health Managers in Ghana Use Their Working Time for? A Case Study of Three Districts

PubMed Central

Bonenberger, Marc; Aikins, Moses; Akweongo, Patricia; Bosch-Capblanch, Xavier; Wyss, Kaspar

2015-01-01

Background Ineffective district health management potentially impacts on health system performance and service delivery. However, little is known about district health managing practices and time allocation in resource-constrained health systems. Therefore, a time use study was conducted in order to understand current time use practices of district health managers in Ghana. Methods All 21 district health managers working in three districts of the Eastern Region were included in the study and followed for a period of three months. Daily retrospective interviews about their time use were conducted, covering 1182 person-days of observation. Total time use of the sample population was assessed as well as time use stratified by managerial position. Differences of time use over time were also evaluated. Results District health managers used most of their working time for data management (16.6%), attending workshops (12.3%), financial management (8.7%), training of staff (7.1%), drug and supply management (5.0%), and travelling (9.6%). The study found significant variations of time use across the managerial cadres as well as high weekly variations of time use impulsed mainly by a national vertical program. Conclusions District health managers in Ghana use substantial amounts of their working time in only few activities and vertical programs greatly influence their time use. Our findings suggest that efficiency gains are possible for district health managers. However, these are unlikely to be achieved without improvements within the general health system, as inefficiencies seem to be largely caused by external factors. PMID:26068907

[Living conditions and pattern of acute poisonings in Oslo].

PubMed

Kolvik, Hallgeir Mæsel; Heyerdahl, Fridtjof; Bjørnaas, Mari Asphjell; Hovda, Knut Erik; Jacobsen, Dag; Ekeberg, Øivind

2011-08-09

Hospitalized patients with acute poisoning come from all classes of society. The relationship between living conditions and pattern of poisoning is, however, unclear. The aim of this study was to examine the connection between living conditions in Oslo and the pattern of acute poisonings, measured by incidence, main toxic agents and intention. A one-year multi-centre study with prospective inclusion of all patients ≥ 18 years of age with a registered address in Oslo admitted to an Oslo hospital with acute poisoning from 1 April 2003 through 31 March 2004. The 15 city districts were grouped into three, according to the official living conditions index in Oslo: city district group 1 (best living conditions), city district group 2 (average living conditions) and city district group 3 (most difficult living conditions). Of a total of 947 patients admitted with acute poisoning as their main diagnosis in the study period, 691 were included in the study, 660 of whom had self-inflicted poisoning. In city district group 3, the annual incidence of acute poisonings was 2.14 per 1000 inhabitants, significantly higher than city district group 2, with 1.50 (p < 0.001), and city district group 1, with 1.36 (p < 0.001). Measured as intention assessed by the treating physician, suicidal and drug related poisonings and those induced by a "cry for help" were more common in city district group 3 (0.74, 0.59 and 0.74 per 1000 inhabitants, respectively) than in city district group 2 (0.62, 0.40 and 0.41, respectively) and city district group 1 (0.52, 0.32 and 0.45, respectively). The main toxic agents were predominantly benzodiazepines (20 %), ethanol (18 %) and paracetamol (12 %). There were no statistically significant differences in the distribution of main toxic agents between the city district groups. The findings show a social gradient, with the highest incidence of poisonings in the city district group with the most difficult living conditions.

Granite School District First Grade Reading Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Castner, Myra H.; And Others

A comparative study of first-grade reading instructional methods was undertaken with the support of the Granite School District Exemplary Center for Reading Instruction. This study was conducted in 19 schools of the district and involved approximately 1,295 students. Nine hypotheses concerning the various approaches used in reading instruction…

A Study of the Deregionalization of a High School District.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tuckman, Bruce W.; Libonate, George A.

In past decades communities regionalized their high school districts to overcome size limitations. Now, community growth, changes in property values, and concern with self-governance have prompted interest in deregionalization. This is the study of a constituent community's desire to withdraw from a regional district. The study has four…

[Counseling role of district nurses and district assistant nurses. A descriptive and evaluative study of the extent and intensity of counseling].

PubMed

Tiesinga, L J; Halfens, R J

1993-11-01

In nursing literature no consensus exists on the phenomenon 'counseling'. A literature search of the concept 'counseling' makes clear that it is possible to distinguish two dimensions of the concept 'counseling', namely 'range' and 'intensity' of counseling. These two dimensions are the starting point of this study. The main purpose of this study is to gain insight in the range and intensity of the counseling given by district nurses and district assistant nurses. This article aims to discover how often psychosocial nursing problems are recognized and how often nursing interventions are executed by nurses, and with how many patients this was done. The research is designed as a secondary analysis. We used data collected by Wiersma et al. (1991). The results confirm earlier research but also offer new points of view. The study confirms that counseling is an essential aspect of district nursing. Some (significant) differences were discovered between district nurses and district assistant nurses in the psychosocial care that was given. Factors like level of education, patient population and organization will probably explain the differences between the two professional groups. This aspect of the study needs further inquiry.

Spatial Dependency and Contextual Effects on Academic Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Matlock, Ki; Song, Joon Jin; Goering, Christian Z.

2014-01-01

This study investigated the influences of district-related variables on a district's academic performance. Arkansas augmented benchmark examination scores were used to measure a district's scholastic achievement. Spatial analysis fit each district's performance to its geographical location; spatial autocorrelation measured the amount of influence…

Outdoor Play and Learning: Policy and Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burriss, Kathleen; Burriss, Larry

2011-01-01

This study describes national school district policy and practice regarding elementary school children's outdoor learning and play. District representatives from 173 randomly selected school districts completed questionnaires describing policy and practice related to recess, outdoor play, outdoor curricular studies, playground materials, ADA…

School District Policies and Adolescents’ Soda Consumption

PubMed Central

Miller, Gabrielle F.; Sliwa, Sarah; Brener, Nancy D.; Park, Sohyun; Merlo, Caitlin L.

2016-01-01

Purpose Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are a significant source of calories and added sugars for youth ages 14–18 years in the United States. This study examined the relationship between district-level policies and practices and students’ consumption of regular soda, one type of SSB, in 12 large urban school districts. Methods Data from the 2012 School Health Policies and Practices Study and 2013 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System were linked by district. The outcome variable was soda consumption and exposure variables were district policies. We used multivariable logistic regression analyses to calculate adjusted odds ratios (AORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) after controlling for student characteristics and district free/reduced-price meal eligibility. Results About 18% of students reported consuming regular soda at least once per day. Most districts required high schools to have nutrition education, maintain closed campuses, and required/recommended that schools restrict promotional products and sale of beverages. Fewer districts required/recommended that schools offer healthful alternative beverages. Students in districts that restricted promotional products had lower odds of regular soda consumption (AOR = .84, 95% CI = .71–1.00), as did students in districts that restricted access to SSBs and offered healthful beverages when other beverages were available (AOR = .72, 95% CI = .54–.93, AOR = .76, 95% CI = .63–.91). Conclusions This study demonstrates that certain district-level policies are associated with student consumption of regular soda. These findings add to a growing consensus that policies and practices that influence the availability of healthier foods and beverages are needed across multiple settings. PMID:27021401

School District Policies and Adolescents' Soda Consumption.

PubMed

Miller, Gabrielle F; Sliwa, Sarah; Brener, Nancy D; Park, Sohyun; Merlo, Caitlin L

2016-07-01

Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are a significant source of calories and added sugars for youth ages 14-18 years in the United States. This study examined the relationship between district-level policies and practices and students' consumption of regular soda, one type of SSB, in 12 large urban school districts. Data from the 2012 School Health Policies and Practices Study and 2013 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System were linked by district. The outcome variable was soda consumption and exposure variables were district policies. We used multivariable logistic regression analyses to calculate adjusted odds ratios (AORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) after controlling for student characteristics and district free/reduced-price meal eligibility. About 18% of students reported consuming regular soda at least once per day. Most districts required high schools to have nutrition education, maintain closed campuses, and required/recommended that schools restrict promotional products and sale of beverages. Fewer districts required/recommended that schools offer healthful alternative beverages. Students in districts that restricted promotional products had lower odds of regular soda consumption (AOR = .84, 95% CI = .71-1.00), as did students in districts that restricted access to SSBs and offered healthful beverages when other beverages were available (AOR = .72, 95% CI = .54-.93, AOR = .76, 95% CI = .63-.91). This study demonstrates that certain district-level policies are associated with student consumption of regular soda. These findings add to a growing consensus that policies and practices that influence the availability of healthier foods and beverages are needed across multiple settings. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Achieving Competitive Advantage in Human Resource Management in General School District of Riyadh in Saudi Arabia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Al dakeel, Taghreed M.; Almannie, Mohamed A.

2015-01-01

The general school district of Riyadh is one of largest in the country of (45) school districts in Saudi Arabia. The school districts play an important roles in the development of education, therefore the objective of the study is to examine the roles of the management in the school districts to see if it is achieving competitive advantage. After…

Exploring Factors Affecting Girls' Education at Secondary Level: A Case of Karak District, Pakistan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Suleman, Qaiser; Aslam, Hassan Danial; Habib, Muhammad Badar; Yasmeen, Kausar; Jalalian, Mehrdad; Akhtar, Zaitoon; Akhtar, Basreen

2015-01-01

The study examined the factors that affect girls' education at secondary school level in Karak District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Pakistan). All the female heads, teachers and students serving and studying at secondary school level in Karak District constituted the population of the study. The study was delimited to only 30 girls' secondary schools in…

Conflict Management in Declining School Districts.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boyd, William Lowe; Wheaton, Dennis R.

1983-01-01

Professional literature about managing conflicts associated with declining enrollments indicates the existing tension in this area. A research study shows that, while upper-middle class districts may succeed using a rational approach to decision making, lower class districts, for various reasons, may not. Special problems of urban districts are…

A Political Analysis of Community Influence over School Closure

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Finnigan, Kara S.; Lavner, Mark

2012-01-01

This study seeks to understand community member participation in and influence over an urban school district's school closure process. Data from interviews with School Board members, district administrators, and community members, as well as district documents and newspaper articles suggest that district administrators limited participation…

Stakeholder Experiences in District-University Administrator Preparation Partnerships

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sanzo, Karen L.; Wilson, Jacob McKinley, III

2016-01-01

Our qualitative study explores the lived experiences of district stakeholders in university-district leadership preparation programs. Collaborative partnerships between school districts and universities focused on developing quality school leader are a part of recent efforts to provide the field of public education with exemplary leadership. The…

Effective Practices in High Performing Districts Serving Students in Special Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huberman, Mette; Navo, Matt; Parrish, Tom

2012-01-01

Through a rigorous selection process based on special education performance over four years, this study identified eight unified districts in California that showed unusually strong academic performance for their special education population compared to similar districts in the state. Researchers conducted interviews with these districts' special…

Leading Implementation of 21st Century Skills: Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blattner, David Craig

2012-01-01

A qualitative case study was conducted on the Mooresville Graded School Districts's (MGSD) digital conversion for the entire school district. MGSD is a semi-rural small suburban school district with 5,450 students kindergarten through twelfth grade. The school district consists of three elementary schools, two intermediate schools, one middle…

Collaborating with the Community: Lessons from a Rural School District

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walker, Anne

2012-01-01

This article, based on case study research, highlights how a rural school district in the midwestern United States collaborated with local community organizations to meet the needs of English language learners after the district and community experienced rapid ethnic diversification. In particular, the district EL coordinator spearheaded the…

Estimating the Efficiency of Michigan's Rural and Urban Public School Districts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maranowski, Rita

2012-01-01

This study examined student achievement in Michigan public school districts to determine if rural school districts are demonstrating greater financial efficiency by producing higher levels of student achievement than school districts in other geographic locations with similar socioeconomics. Three models were developed using multiple regression…

Scaling and Multifractality in Road Accidental Distances

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qiu, Tian; Wan, Chi; Zou, Xiang-Xiang; Wang, Xiao-Fan

Accidental distance dynamics is investigated, based on the road accidental data of the Great Britain. The distance distribution of all the districts as an ensemble presents a power law tail, which is different from that of the individual district. A universal distribution is found for different districts, by rescaling the distribution functions of individual districts, which can be well fitted by the Weibull distribution. The male and female drivers behave similarly in the distance distribution. The multifractal characteristic is further studied for the individual district and all the districts as an ensemble, and different behaviors are also revealed between them. The accidental distances of the individual district show a weak multifractality, whereas of all the districts present a strong multifractality when taking them as an ensemble.

The successful implementation of STEM initiatives in lower income schools

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bakshi, Leena

The purpose of this study was to examine the leadership strategies utilized by superintendents, district administrators and school principals and the impact of these identified strategies on implementing STEM initiatives specifically for lower-income students. This study set out to determine (a) What role does district leadership play in the implementation of STEM initiatives in lower income secondary schools; (b) What internal systems of accountability exist in successful lower income secondary schools' STEM programs; (c) What leadership strategies are used to implement STEM curriculum initiatives; (d) How do school and district leadership support staff in order to achieve student engagement in STEM Initiative curriculum. This study used a mixed-methods approach to determine the impact of leadership strategies utilized by superintendents, district administrators and school principals on implementing STEM initiatives. Quantitative data analyzed survey questionnaires to determine the degree of correlation between the school districts that have demonstrated the successful implementation of STEM initiatives at the school and district levels. Qualitative data was collected using highly structured participant interviews and purposeful sampling of four district superintendents, one district-level administrator and five school leaders to capture the key strategies in implementing STEM initiatives in lower income secondary schools. Through the process of triangulation, the results of the study revealed that superintendents and principals should consider the characteristics of effective STEM initiatives that have shown a considerable degree of correlation with positive outcomes for lower income students. These included the leadership strategies of personnel's making decisions about the district's and school's instructional direction and an emphasis on the conceptual development of scientific principles using the Next Generation Science Standards coupled with the Common Core State Standards across the grade levels. It also emphasized the importance of establishing community partnerships as a primary resource. This study highlighted the criteria district and school leadership should include in implementing STEM initiatives and designing professional development models that result in meaningful instructional practices of STEM curriculum for secondary lower income students. Overall, this study provides insight for superintendents, district leaders and school administrators that can play an integral role in implementing STEM initiatives with access for socioeconomically disadvantaged students.

A framework to assess management performance in district health systems: a qualitative and quantitative case study in Iran.

PubMed

Tabrizi, Jafar Sadegh; Gholipour, Kamal; Iezadi, Shabnam; Farahbakhsh, Mostafa; Ghiasi, Akbar

2018-01-01

The aim was to design a district health management performance framework for Iran's healthcare system. The mixed-method study was conducted between September 2015 and May 2016 in Tabriz, Iran. In this study, the indicators of district health management performance were obtained by analyzing the 45 semi-structured surveys of experts in the public health system. Content validity of performance indicators which were generated in qualitative part were reviewed and confirmed based on content validity index (CVI). Also content validity ratio (CVR) was calculated using data acquired from a survey of 21 experts in quantitative part. The result of this study indicated that, initially, 81 indicators were considered in framework of district health management performance and, at the end, 53 indicators were validated and confirmed. These indicators were classified in 11 categories which include: human resources and organizational creativity, management and leadership, rules and ethics, planning and evaluation, district managing, health resources management and economics, community participation, quality improvement, research in health system, health information management, epidemiology and situation analysis. The designed framework model can be used to assess the district health management and facilitates performance improvement at the district level.

Teacher Quality Roadmap: Improving Policies and Practices in Pittsburgh Public Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gonzalez, Angel; Kumar, Sudipti; Waymack, Nancy

2014-01-01

The Pittsburgh Public Schools study is the 12th district study since the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) began studying districts in-depth in 2009. The intent of these studies is to give select communities a comprehensive look at what is happening in their local school districts that may be either helping or hurting teacher quality, and…

Wisconsin District Case Study. A Report and Estimating Tool for K-12 School Districts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Consortium for School Networking, 2004

2004-01-01

The Wisconsin case study school district is primarily urban and growing with 21,500 students on 40 campuses. This document contains case studies that are presented in the same format at the 2003 studies, but also have a focus on additional technologies beyond the base distributed computing model. These new technologies are voice/data integration,…

Prevalence of dental erosion among 18-year-old adolescents in the borderland districts of Lviv (Ukraine) and Lublin (Poland).

PubMed

Bachanek, Teresa; Hendzel, Barbara; Wolańska, Ewa; Szybinsky, Volodymir; Ogonovsky, Roman; Hrynovets, Volodymir; Samborski, Dariusz; Nakonieczna-Rudnicka, Marta; Chałas, Renata

2018-03-14

Recent epidemiological studies have shown an association between dental erosion occurrence and changes in lifestyle and dietary habits in both developed and developing countries, and now affects different regions of the world. Furthermore, in current literature, studies have shown that the prevalence of erosive tooth wear has increased particularly among the younger population. The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence and severity of erosive tooth wear among 18-year-old adolescents in the districts of Lviv (Ukraine) and Lublin (Poland). College students (254 subjects) aged 18, living in the Lviv and Lublin districts were examined. Erosive lesions presented in the teeth were assessed on the basis of the BEWE (Basic Erosive Wear Examination) index. Among the 137 patients living in the Lublin district, 70 were females and 67 were males, while in the Lviv district, 60 women and 57 men were examined. In both districts, the following numbers of rural patients were examined: 66 in Lublin district and 56 in Lviv district; for urban inhabitants, the numbers were 71 in Lublin and 61 in Lviv. Analysing the BEWE values, it was noted that higher BEWE values, and resulting from them significant differences were observed in both male and female groups living in Lublin, compared with Lviv inhabitants. Based on clinical examination and statistical analysis, the occurrence of lesions of an erosive character in at least one sextant were observed in 59.85% of patients from Lublin district, and in 42.74% of patients from Lviv district. On the basis of the conducted study in the Polish and Ukrainian groups of 18-year-old adolescents living on the borderland, it can be stated that dental erosion is a problem noticeable in both groups of cohorts, but with higher prevalence in the Lublin district.

Perceptions of Relationships between District and School Level Administrators on Student Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brookins, Tyrone

2010-01-01

The purpose of this qualitative study was to assess the extent to which perceived Using a case study of an urban school district, serving 40,000 students in the Midwest region of the United States, this study investigated district and school administrative leaders' perceptions of how their interactions influenced the achievement of black students.…

Organizational Alternatives for Small Rural Schools. Final Report to the Legislature of the State of New York.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Monk, David H.; Haller, Emil J.

This report provides an overview of a two-year study which analyzed reorganization/consolidation of small rural school districts, studied alternatives of inter-district resource sharing and new instructional technologies, and developed recommendations for changes in state laws/procedures. Researchers studied 11 small rural school districts in New…

Superintendent Response to the Financial Downturn

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Starrett, Teresa Martin; Casey, Pat; Dunlap, Karen

2014-01-01

In this study, 79 local school district leaders from the state of Texas were contacted and asked for their input relating to strategic practices used during an economic downturn. Findings describe how the recent funding cuts affected the varied districts; how the districts fared in comparison with similar districts in the area; steps the district…

Research Use by Leaders in Canadian School Districts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cooper, Amander; Levin, Ben

2013-01-01

This paper, part of a larger study, investigates the ways research is used by leaders in Canadian schools and districts, an area in which there is relatively little empirical evidence. The paper analyzes survey results from 188 education leaders in 11 school districts across Canada about school and district practices related to the use of…

Conceptions of Evidence Use in School Districts: Mapping the Terrain

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coburn, Cynthia E.; Talbert, Joan E.

2006-01-01

Current policies place unprecedented demands on districts to use evidence to guide their educational improvement efforts. How districts respond is likely to be influenced by how individuals in the district conceptualize what it means to use evidence in their ongoing work. This study draws on sensemaking and institutional theory to investigate how…

Pewaukee School District, Wisconsin. Case Study: Measures of Academic Progress

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Northwest Evaluation Association, 2015

2015-01-01

For more than a decade, Pewaukee School District Superintendent JoAnn Sternke has watched her district get better and better at its mission: opening the door to each student's future. The Wisconsin district began using Measures of Academic Progress® (MAP®) computer adaptive interim assessments from Northwest Evaluation Association™ (NWEA™) in 2004…

Beyond Backpacks and Bus Tokens: Next Steps for a District Homeless Student Initiative

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hallett, Ronald E.; Low, Justin A.; Skrla, Linda

2015-01-01

How policies get translated and enacted by school districts frame how students experience reforms associated with federal law. This qualitative case study of a Northern California school district explores the importance of integrating homeless student initiatives within all aspects of the district functioning. Drawing from the equity framework of…

Projecting Enrollment in Rural Schools: A Study of Three Vermont School Districts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grip, Richard S.

2004-01-01

Large numbers of rural districts have experienced sharp declines in enrollment, unlike their suburban counterparts. Accurate enrollment projections are required, whether a district needs to build new schools or consolidate existing ones. For school districts having more than 600 students, a quantitative method such as the Cohort-Survival Ratio…

Teacher Trust in District Administration: A Promising Line of Inquiry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adams, Curt M.; Miskell, Ryan C.

2016-01-01

Purpose: We set out in this study to establish a foundation for a line of inquiry around teacher trust in district administration by (1) describing the role of trust in capacity building, (2) conceptualizing trust in district administration, (3) developing a scale to measure teacher trust in district administration, and (4) testing the…

A Study of Terrorism Emergency Preparedness Policies in School Districts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Umoh, Emmanuel

2013-01-01

The threat of terrorism is a concern in public facilities including schools. This study focused on school districts in a southwestern state. Terrorism emergency preparedness policies are well-documented as measures to protect students and staff in school districts from terrorism threats and vulnerabilities. However, those threats and…

Central Office Transformation for District-Wide Teaching and Learning Improvement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Honig, Meredith I.; Copland, Michael A.; Rainey, Lydia; Lorton, Juli Anna; Newton, Morena

2010-01-01

This report summarizes main results from a national study of how leaders in urban school district central offices fundamentally transformed their work and relationships with schools to support districtwide teaching and learning improvement. All three study districts had been posting gains in student achievement and credited their progress, in…

Patterns of Local Intergovernmental Cooperation in Illinois School Districts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilkey, Kathleen M.

2014-01-01

This study identified the use of intergovernmental cooperatives in Illinois school districts as a resource to improve the budget process. More specifically, the study focused on the types of intergovernmental cooperatives in Illinois school districts and the reason for entering into the cooperatives. The results of this research suggest that…

District Capacity and the Implementation of Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports: An Exploratory Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blakely, Allison Wright

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the relation between "district capacity" as measured by the District Capacity Assessment (DCA) and the "initial, depth, scale," and "sustained" implementation of an evidence-based practice (EBP), Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS). This exploratory analysis…

The Development Effectiveness Management Model for Sub-District Secondary School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Butsankom, Akachai; Sirishuthi, Chaiyuth; Lammana, Preeda

2016-01-01

The purposes of this research were to study the factors of effectiveness management model for subdistrict secondary school, to investigate current situations and desirable situations of effectiveness management model for sub-district secondary school, to develop the effectiveness management model for sub-district secondary school and to study the…

Evaluation of the district health management fellowship training programme: a case study in Iran

PubMed Central

Gholipour, Kamal; Tabrizi, Jafar Sadegh; Farahbakhsh, Mostafa; Iezadi, Shabnam; Ghiasi, Akbar; Jahanbin, Hasan

2018-01-01

Objective To evaluate the district health management fellowship training programme in the north-west of Iran. Data sources/study setting The programme was introduced to build the managerial capacity of district health managers in Iran. Eighty-nine heads of units in the province’s health centre, district health managers and the health deputies of the district health centres in the north-west provinces of Iran had registered for the district health management fellowship training programme in Tabriz in 2015–2016. Study design This was an educational evaluation study to evaluate training courses to measure participants' reactions and learning and, to a lesser extent, application of training to their job and the organisational impact. Data collection/extraction methods Valid and reliable questionnaires were used to assess learning techniques and views towards the fellowship, and self-assessment of health managers’ knowledge and skills. Also, pretest and post-test examinations were conducted in each course and a portfolio was provided to the trainees to be completed in their work settings. Principal findings About 63% of the participants were medical doctors and 42.3% of them had over 20 years of experience. Learning by practice (scored 18.37 out of 20) and access to publications (17.27) were the most useful methods of training in health planning and management from the participants’ perspective. Moreover, meeting peers from other districts and the academic credibility of teachers were the most important features of the current programme. Based on the managers’ self-assessment, they were most skilful in quality improvement, managing, planning and evaluation of the district. The results of the post-test analysis on data collected from district health managers showed the highest scores in managing the district (77 out of 100) and planning and evaluation (69) of the courses. Conclusion The results of this study indicated that training courses, methods and improvement in managers' knowledge about the health system and the skills necessary to manage their organisation were acceptable. PMID:29525773

Comprehensive assessment of health education and health promotion in five non-communicable disease demonstration districts in China: a cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Xu, Qiaohua; Huang, Yuelong; Chen, Biyun

2017-12-26

This study aims to develop assessment indicators of health education and promotion for non-communicable disease (NCD) demonstration districts in China and to identify significant factors associated with NCD health education and promotion work. Three complementary techniques were used to conduct this study in Hunan Province, China, between late 2013 and 2015. The Delphi technique was used to develop weighted assessment indicators, followed by the rank sum ratio (RSR) to normalise the weights through rank conversion. Lastly, the technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution was conducted to assess five randomly selected NCD demonstration districts representing five different orientations in the province. A total of 24 assessment indicators were constructed covering the following sections: organisational management, fund support, personnel supplies, health education and promotion, people's awareness of NCDs, management and control of patients with NCD, satisfaction with health education and promotion and health literacy of residents. Five districts were selected as samples for evaluation (Furong District, Ziyang District, Shaodong County, Shuangfeng County and Luxi County). Performance varied among the sites, with Furong District greatly surpassing the other sites, especially in fund support, media promotion, technical support for publicity materials, community promotion and supportive environment supplies. The latter four factors were also much greater in the second-ranked Luxi County site than those in the other sites (except Furong District). There were gaps in health education and promotion work in NCD demonstration districts in Hunan Province. The districts that performed better had obvious advantages in fund support, media promotion, technical support, community promotion and supportive environment supplies. Our study provided both a methodological reference and an assessment indicator framework for similar future studies. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Do Management and Leadership Practices in the Context of Decentralisation Influence Performance of Community Health Fund? Evidence From Iramba and Iringa Districts in Tanzania.

PubMed

Joseph, Chakupewa; Maluka, Stephen Oswald

2016-09-26

In early 1990s, Tanzania like other African countries, adopted health sector reform (HSR). The most strongly held centralisation system that informed the nature of services provision including health was, thus, disintegrated giving rise to decentralisation system. It was within the realm of HSR process, user fees were introduced in the health sector. Along with user fees, various types of health insurances, including the Community Health Fund (CHF), were introduced. While the country's level of enrolment in the CHF is low, there are marked variations among districts. This paper highlights the role of decentralised health management and leadership practices in the uptake of the CHF in Tanzania. A comparative exploratory case study of high and low performing districts was carried out. In-depth interviews were conducted with the members of the Council Health Service Board (CHSB), Council Health Management Team (CHMT), Health Facility Committees (HFCs), in-charges of health facilities, healthcare providers, and Community Development Officers (CDOs). Minutes of the meetings of the committees and district annual health plans and district annual implementation reports were also used to verify and triangulate the data. Thematic analysis was adopted to analyse the collected data. We employed both inductive and deductive (mixed coding) to arrive to the themes. There were no differences in the level of education and experience of the district health managers in the two study districts. Almost all district health managers responsible for the management of the CHF had attended some training on management and leadership. However, there were variations in the personal initiatives of the top-district health leaders, particularly the district health managers, the council health services board and local government officials. Similarly, there were differences in the supervision mechanisms, and incentives available for the health providers, HFCs and board members in the two study districts. This paper adds to the stock of knowledge on CHFs functioning in Tanzania. By comparing the best practices with the worst practices, the paper contributes valuable insights on how CHF can be scaled up and maintained. The study clearly indicates that the performance of the community-based health financing largely depends on the personal initiatives of the top-district health leaders, particularly the district health managers and local government officials. This implies that the regional health management team (RHMT) and the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MoHSW) should strengthen supportive supervision mechanisms to the district health managers and health facilities. More important, there is need for the MoHSW to provide opportunities for the well performing districts to share good practices to other districts in order to increase uptake of the community-based health insurance.

Examining the relationship between school district size and science achievement in Texas including rural school administrator perceptions of challenges and solutions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mann, Matthew James

Rural and small schools have almost one-third of all public school enrollment in America, yet typically have the fewest financial and research based resources. Educational models have been developed with either the urban or suburban school in mind, and the rural school is often left with no other alternative except this paradigm. Rural based educational resources are rare and the ability to access these resources for rural school districts almost non-existent. Federal and state based education agencies provide some rural educational based programs, but have had virtually no success in answering rural school issues. With federal and state interest in science initiatives, the challenge that rural schools face weigh in. To align with that focus, this study examined Texas middle school student achievement in science and its relationship with school district enrollment size. This study involved a sequential transformative mixed methodology with the quantitative phase driving the second qualitative portion. The quantitative research was a non-experimental causal-comparative study conducted to determine whether there is a significant difference between student achievement on the 2010 Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills 8 th grade science results and school district enrollment size. The school districts were distributed into four categories by size including: a) small districts (32-550); b) medium districts (551-1500); c) large districts (1501-6000); and d) mega-sized districts (6001-202,773). A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to compare the district averages from the 2010 TAKS 8th grade science assessment results and the four district enrollment groups. The second phase of the study was qualitative utilizing constructivism and critical theory to identify the issues facing rural and small school administrators concerning science based curriculum and development. These themes and issues were sought through a case study method and through use of semi-structured interviews with successful rural school administrators who serve campuses currently rated recognized or higher on the Texas Education Agency accountability system. The qualitative data analysis employed the coding of interviews and observations that allowed for and sought emergent themes and alternative rural perspectives.

Assessment of social vulnerability to natural hazards in Nepal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gautam, Dipendra

2017-12-01

This paper investigates district-wide social vulnerability to natural hazards in Nepal. Disasters such as earthquakes, floods, landslides, epidemics, and droughts are common in Nepal. Every year thousands of people are killed and huge economic and environmental losses occur in Nepal due to various natural hazards. Although natural hazards are well recognized, quantitative and qualitative social vulnerability mapping has not existed until now in Nepal. This study aims to quantify the social vulnerability on a local scale, considering all 75 districts using the available census. To perform district-level vulnerability mapping, 13 variables were selected and aggregated indexes were plotted in an ArcGIS environment. The sum of results shows that only 4 districts in Nepal have a very low social vulnerability index whereas 46 districts (61 %) are at moderate to high social vulnerability levels. Vulnerability mapping highlights the immediate need for decentralized frameworks to tackle natural hazards in district level; additionally, the results of this study can contribute to preparedness, planning and resource management, inter-district coordination, contingency planning, and public awareness efforts.

De-adoption of an evidence-based trauma intervention in schools: A retrospective report from an urban school district

PubMed Central

Nadeem, Erum; Ringle, Vanesa

2017-01-01

The de-adoption of evidence-based practices (EBPs) is a largely understudied topic. The present study examined factors related to the de-adoption of an EBP for students exposed to traumatic events in a large urban school district. Qualitative interviews conducted with school clinicians and district administrators two years after the district embarked on a large-scale roll-out of the EBP distinguished between factors that impacted partial de-adoption after one year (phase 1) and complete de-adoption by the district after two years (phase 2). Phase 1 factors included organizational consistency, workforce stability, prior success, positive student outcomes, school- and district- level supports, innovation-setting fit, and innovation-related issues. Phase 2 factors included district-level leadership changes, financial and workforce instability, and shifting priorities. Study results suggest that sustainment-enhancing strategies should be included in the early stages of program implementation to most effectively adapt to school- and system- level changes. PMID:28775793

Experiences of Leaders in One Texas School District Integrating Social Media as a Communication Medium: Bounded Phenomenological Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lewis, Bradley D.

2017-01-01

The purpose of this bounded phenomenological case study was to investigate the experiences of leaders in one Texas school district integrating social media into communication practices. The participants in this study were twelve campus leaders, four district level leaders, and the superintendent of schools. The focus groups consisted of three…

Tax Base Composition and Family Income in Measuring School District Fiscal Capacity. Working Papers in Education Finance, Paper No. 12.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vincent, Phillip E.; Adams, E. Kathleen

The authors' review of several studies on school district fiscal response to state aid formulas precedes a summary of their research results from case studies of Colorado and Minnesota. The studies reviewed examined factors influencing district fiscal capacity and expenditure changes made in response to aid formulas, especially to…

An Investigation of a Virtual School Program in One Public School District in Texas: A Descriptive Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Quadri, Rizvan

2012-01-01

This qualitative, descriptive case study employed the use of narrative to investigate a virtual school program in a public school district in Texas. A focus group interviewing process was used to interview the participants. Findings from this study conclude that with continued support from district leaders, along with having the appropriate…

K-12 Parents' Attitudes about Their School District's Mass Notification Service

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Downing, Joe R.

2011-01-01

The study examined K-12 parents' attitudes about their school district's mass notification service. Survey data were collected from 146 parents with at least one child who attended school in the district. During an emergency, most parents surveyed wanted their district to expand its mass notification service from landline phone only to also…

Classroom Questioning Tendencies from the Perspective of Big Data

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lu, Wang; Rongxiao, Cai

2016-01-01

We are now living in an era of big data. From the perspective of data analysis of classroom questioning, the paper chooses three districts in City B that have significant differences. These are educationally developed District D, less developed District F, and developing District M. The study uses the stratified sampling method to choose from…

Little Things Count: Principal and New Teacher Feedback about District Support in the Hiring Process

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mac Iver, Martha Abele

2006-01-01

This study examines the role of district central offices in recruiting and hiring teachers and principals in an urban setting. Findings indicate many district human resources offices, particularly in urban settings, often lose quality candidates to suburban districts whose HR offices are better organized and pay closer attention to managing…

A Systems Theory Approach to the District Central Office's Role in School-Level Improvement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mania-Singer, Jackie

2017-01-01

This qualitative case study used General Systems Theory and social network analysis to explore the relationships between the members of a district central office and principals of elementary schools within an urban school district in the Midwest. Findings revealed sparse relationships between members of the district central office and principals,…

Changing Past Student Discipline Practices to Create a District-Wide Discipline Plan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Green, Judith A.

2009-01-01

Improving student discipline is a constant challenge in the field of P-12 education. The challenge is especially great for district-level administrators who must address the educational and social needs of all students. As a district-level administrator, the author participates in a study of a midwestern district of elementary (preschool-8)…

School District Personnel Selection Practices: Exploring the Effects of Demographic Factors on Rural Values within a Person-Organization Fit Model.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Little, Paula S.; Miller, Stephen K.

A study examined the extent to which demographic factors predict rural values in Kentucky public school district hiring officials. Among the demographic factors considered were school district metropolitan classification, school district size, community racial composition, decision makers' position in the organizational hierarchy, and decision…

Challenges Faced by Maine School Districts in Providing High Quality Public Education. Research Brief

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Silvernail, David L.; Linet, Sarah R.

2014-01-01

The goal of this study was to: (1) identify challenges faced by Maine school districts in providing high quality public education; (2) describe the magnitude of the challenges; and (3) identify areas where school districts were experiencing some success in meeting these challenges. The School Districts Challenge Survey was distributed online to…

A Simulation To Determine the Effect of Modifying Local Revenue Capacity.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

House, Jess E.; And Others

Because the amount of state-equalization aid received by Ohio school districts is inevitably related to district wealth, the measure of district ability is a concern. This paper presents findings of a study that used computer simulation to examine the effect of proposed modifications to district-revenue capacity on the equity of Ohio…

A District's Use of Data and Research to Inform Policy Formation and Implementation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seager, Andrew; Madura, John P.; Cox, Joshua; Carey, Rebecca

2015-01-01

This descriptive study of a change initiative by the Syracuse (NY) City School District informs the question, "How do school boards and districts better use research and data to inform policy decisions?" Researchers used interviews and artifacts to describe how the district developed and implemented a new discipline policy, the Syracuse…

Local Trustee Education Programs in California Community Colleges. Results of a Survey.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Cindra

This document reports the results of a survey conducted in the summer of 1998. Community college districts in California was surveyed on their practices regarding local board education and development programs. Approximately 80% of the districts, or 57 districts, responded. The study found that less than one-third of the districts had a written…

The path dependence of district manager decision-space in Ghana

PubMed Central

Kwamie, Aku; van Dijk, Han; Ansah, Evelyn K; Agyepong, Irene Akua

2016-01-01

The district health system in Ghana today is characterized by high resource-uncertainty and narrow decision-space. This article builds a theory-driven historical case study to describe the influence of path-dependent administrative, fiscal and political decentralization processes on development of the district health system and district manager decision-space. Methods included a non-exhaustive literature review of democratic governance in Ghana, and key informant interviews with high-level health system officials integral to the development of the district health system. Through our analysis we identified four periods of district health system progression: (1) development of the district health system (1970–85); (2) Strengthening District Health Systems Initiative (1986–93); (3) health sector reform planning and creation of the Ghana Health Service (1994–96) and (4) health sector reform implementation (1997–2007). It was observed that district manager decision-space steadily widened during periods (1) and (2), due to increases in managerial profile, and concerted efforts at managerial capacity strengthening. Periods (3) and (4) saw initial augmentation of district health system financing, further widening managerial decision-space. However, the latter half of period 4 witnessed district manager decision-space contraction. Formalization of Ghana Health Service structures influenced by self-reinforcing tendencies towards centralized decision-making, national and donor shifts in health sector financing, and changes in key policy actors all worked to the detriment of the district health system, reversing early gains from bottom-up development of the district health system. Policy feedback mechanisms have been influenced by historical and contemporary sequencing of local government and health sector decentralization. An initial act of administrative decentralization, followed by incomplete political and fiscal decentralization has ensured that the balance of power has remained at national level, with strong vertical accountabilities and dependence of the district on national level. This study demonstrates that the rhetoric of decentralization does not always mirror actual implementation, nor always result in empowered local actors. PMID:26318537

Cost analysis and efficiency of sub-district health facilities in two districts in Ghana.

PubMed

Aboagye, Anthony Q Q; Degboe, Arnold N K

2011-01-01

To establish the full costs borne by sub-district health facilities in providing services, we analysed the costs and revenues of 10 sub-district health facilities located in two districts in Ghana. The full costs were obtained by considering staff costs, cost of utilities, cost of using health facility equipment, cost of non-drug consumables, equipment maintenance expenses, amounts spent on training, community information sessions and other outreach activities as well as all other costs incurred in running the facilities. We found that (i) a large proportion of sub-district health facility costs is made up of staff salaries; (ii) at all facilities, internally generated funds (IGFs) are substantially lower than costs incurred in running the facilities; (iii) average IGF is several times higher in one district than the other; (iv) wide variations exist in efficiency indicators and (v) there is some evidence that sub-district health facilities may not necessarily be financially more efficient than hospitals in using financial resources. We suggest that the study should be replicated in other districts; but in the mean time, the health authorities should take note of the conclusions and recommendations of this study. Efforts should also be made to improve record keeping at these facilities. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Reaction to Budgetary Stress in Michigan Public Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bolen, Maria A.

2009-01-01

This study focuses on how school districts in Michigan are reacting to budgetary stress brought on by the downturn in the economic climate. It addresses the key factors school districts can implement to increase revenues or decrease expenditures and identifies which of these factors districts choose and the reasons why. This study also analyzes…

Examination of Resource Allocation in Education: Connecting Spending to Student Performance. Research Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pan, Diane; Rudo, Zena H.; Schneider, Cynthia L.; Smith-Hansen, Lotte

This document reports on a study on the relationship between resources and student performance. The study examined district-level patterns of resource allocation, district and school resource practices implemented to improve student performance, and barriers and challenges to efficient resource allocation faced by districts and schools. The study…

Making Mathematics Matter: Professional Development Improving Outcomes in High-Poverty Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Siebers, Carolyn A.

2012-01-01

This research study is a mixed-methods quantitative and qualitative study that analyzed data from an intensive, long-term professional development project named, "Project: Making Mathematics Matter. (PM[superscript 3])" carried out in two low-performing, high-poverty districts. Two of the districts served as treatment districts and ALL…

The Financial Equity Debate. Pennsylvania Educational Policy Studies, Number 15.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cooley, William W.; Pomponio, Debra

Discussion of inequity in funding of Pennsylvania schools has tended to focus on differences between wealthy and poor school districts. In Pennsylvania, 180 school districts have filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the existing public school funding scheme. A study of the state's 500 school districts, grouped by market value of…

An Empirical Validation of a Management Construct for District Level Supervisors.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Snyder, Karolyn J.; And Others

Findings of a study that examined the effects of a management/leadership program on school district work culture are presented in this paper. The Pasco County (Florida) school district under study was involved in school restructuring, part of which included participation in a management training program, Managing Productive Programs (MPP). MPP…

Study of School District Administration and Staffing.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Colorado State Dept. of Education, Denver.

School district administration and staffing patterns are examined in this report prepared in response to CRS 22-2-118, which requires the Colorado Department of Education to conduct a study to determine where savings of state and local funds may be realized. Section 1 offers an analysis of district staffing patterns from existing data. The second…

An Exploratory Study of the Relationship between Organizational Strategy and Performance among California's Largest Unified School Districts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abode, Philip Sanmi

2005-01-01

The purpose of this study was to understand the nature of the relationship between organizational strategy and district performance among California's largest unified school districts. Organizational strategy was measured using planned and realized strategies (independent variables). Realized strategy is also referred to strategic orientation.…

The Role of the School Business Official in Maintaining School District Financial Solvency

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, Ann C.

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to identify the job responsibilities perceived as most important in maintaining school district financial solvency. Additionally, the study sought to identify specific financial management strategies school business officials (SBO) could consider to maintain financial solvency in their school districts. A total of 208…

Knowing the Odds: Parameters that Predict Passing or Failing School District Bonds

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bowers, Alex J.; Metzger, Scott Alan; Militello, Matthew

2010-01-01

This study investigates parameters affecting the likelihood of passing school facility construction bonds by local district election. Using statewide data from Michigan, this study analyzes school bond data for urban (n = 30), suburban (n = 164), small town (n = 70), and rural (n = 241) school districts that held capital improvement bond elections…

Concept of Supervision and Supervisory Practices at Primary Level in Pakistan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Behlol, Malik Ghulam; Yousuf, Muhammad Imran; Parveen, Qaisara; Kayani, Muhammad Munir

2011-01-01

The study was conducted to find out the practices and problems of supervisors working at primary school level in Pakistan. The teachers, Headmasters, Area Education Officers, District Education Officers, Deputy District Education officers working in primary schools of Rawalpindi District were the population of the study. The questionnaire was…

Taking a Strengths-Based Focus Improves School Climate

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tschannen-Moran, Megan; Tschannen-Moran, Bob

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to learn whether focusing on strengths through appreciative inquiry would be related to measurable changes in school climate and trust within a small urban school district. The district studied was a beleaguered, underperforming school district in the Midwest Rust Belt. Through an appreciative inquiry initiative, the…

Drivers of routine immunization coverage improvement in Africa: findings from district-level case studies

PubMed Central

LaFond, Anne; Kanagat, Natasha; Steinglass, Robert; Fields, Rebecca; Sequeira, Jenny; Mookherji, Sangeeta

2015-01-01

There is limited understanding of why routine immunization (RI) coverage improves in some settings in Africa and not in others. Using a grounded theory approach, we conducted in-depth case studies to understand pathways to coverage improvement by comparing immunization programme experience in 12 districts in three countries (Ethiopia, Cameroon and Ghana). Drawing on positive deviance or assets model techniques we compared the experience of districts where diphtheria–tetanus–pertussis (DTP3)/pentavalent3 (Penta3) coverage improved with districts where DTP3/Penta3 coverage remained unchanged (or steady) over the same period, focusing on basic readiness to deliver immunization services and drivers of coverage improvement. The results informed a model for immunization coverage improvement that emphasizes the dynamics of immunization systems at district level. In all districts, whether improving or steady, we found that a set of basic RI system resources were in place from 2006 to 2010 and did not observe major differences in infrastructure. We found that the differences in coverage trends were due to factors other than basic RI system capacity or service readiness. We identified six common drivers of RI coverage performance improvement—four direct drivers and two enabling drivers—that were present in well-performing districts and weaker or absent in steady coverage districts, and map the pathways from driver to improved supply, demand and coverage. Findings emphasize the critical role of implementation strategies and the need for locally skilled managers that are capable of tailoring strategies to specific settings and community needs. The case studies are unique in their focus on the positive drivers of change and the identification of pathways to coverage improvement, an approach that should be considered in future studies and routine assessments of district-level immunization system performance. PMID:24615431

The Appropriateness of Consolidation in Illinois: A Study of the Impact of Poverty, District Type, and Size on Expenditures and Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dunlap, James A.

2013-01-01

This study examined whether or not enrollment, poverty rate, and district type could be used to predict cost and achievement, as measured on the Illinois Standards Achievement Test and Prairie State Achievement Exam, at the building and district levels within the state of Illinois. This study provides quantitative data that will aid educational…

A Comparative Case Study of the Role of the School District in Influencing School Improvement: Supporting and Turning around Low-Performing Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelly, Christopher

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the efforts of school districts in developing and sustaining their capacity to improve student achievement in response to increased accountability. The study sought to confirm what the research says regarding the role of the school district in influencing school improvement. While there is a significant…

Becoming a Community School: A Study of Oakland Unified School District Community School Implementation, 2015-2016

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fehrer, Kendra; Leos-Urbel, Jacob; Messner, Erica; Riley, Nicole

2016-01-01

Since 2014, Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) has partnered with the Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities at Stanford University (Gardner Center) to support OUSD's efforts to assess, enhance, and scale their community schools work. They began by working with the district to develop a System Strategy Map to articulate the district's…

An Analysis of Florida's School Districts' Attendance Policies and their Relationship to High School Attendance Rates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reardon, Ryan Turner

2008-01-01

The purpose of this non-experimental correlational study was to determine the relationship between the type of attendance policies in the high schools of the 67 Florida school districts, the size of the school district (number of high school students), the socioeconomic status SES) of the school district, and the average daily attendance rate of…

Within-District Resource Allocation and the Marginal Costs of Providing Equal Educational Opportunity: Evidence from Texas and Ohio

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baker, Bruce D.

2009-01-01

This study explores within-district fiscal resource allocation across elementary schools in Texas and Ohio large city school districts and in their surrounding metropolitan areas. Specifically, I ask whether districts widely reported as achieving greater resource equity through adoption of Weighted Student Funding (WSF) have in fact done so. I…

Exploring the Space between: Social Networks, Trust, and Urban School District Leaders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Daly, Alan J.; Finnigan, Kara S.

2012-01-01

A number of scholars are exploring the district context in which schools are embedded. These studies suggest the importance of the district office as a support or constraint to the work of schools and offer strategies for building relations between district and site leaders. While this is an important task, what is frequently overlooked is that…

The Politics of School-Based Management: Understanding the Process of Devolving Authority in Urban School Districts.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walker, Elaine M.

2002-01-01

Studied the implementation of school-based management in 30 of the poorest school districts in New Jersey (the Abbott districts). Findings show that genuine autonomy has been usurped by increased state power and authority, and that state elites allow little opportunity for capacity building at the district level. The level of democratization has…

Mississippi School Districts: Factors in the Disestablishment of Dual Systems. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Palmer, James M.

This research is basically a search for a model to explain why some districts achieved a higher degree of desegregation than others in their efforts to disestablish the dual system. The population studied consists of all of the school districts in Mississippi, and the unit of analysis was the local school district. Three types of variables were…

Leading Change for the Implementation of Common Core State Standards in Rural School Districts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lopez, Paul; Wise, Donald

2015-01-01

Rural school districts across the nation, with their limited resources, face daunting challenges posed by the implementation of the Common Core State Standards. This article presents a recent study of 13 rural school districts in the Central Valley of California and how these districts are responding to those challenges. A total of 352 teachers…

Opening the Schoolhouse Door: Helping Charter Schools Access Space in District-Owned Facilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gill, Sean; Maas, Tricia

2017-01-01

This paper is part of a series on district-charter cooperation, which has been studied by the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) for more than five years. School choice is growing in cities with the addition of charter schools, and more district leaders are adopting a portfolio approach to schooling: giving district schools autonomy…

Financing Facilities in Rural School Districts: Variations among the States and the Case of Arkansas.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hughes, Mary F.

This chapter examines the main challenges that rural school districts face in school facilities funding and illustrates these problems with a case study of Arkansas. Most rural school districts serve only a small number of students, which tends to limit the funds available for construction or renovation. In addition, rural districts are likely to…

Investigating the criteria and processes used in the selection, implementation, and evaluation of STEM within K-12 education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Delp, Matthew J.

This study utilized survey research to investigate how school districts within K-12 education select, implement, and evaluate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) programs. Thirty school districts within the Math and Science Collaborative located in Western Pennsylvania participated in this research. In addition to characterizing the STEM programs of the participating school districts, this study also analyzed the alignment of these programs to the components of comprehensive STEM programs and critical approaches to substantiate STEM program implementation as stated in the literature (Augustine, 2005; Bybee, 2010a, 2010b; Carnevale et al., 2011; DeJarnette, 2010; Epstein & Miller, 2011b; Gardner et al., 1983; Hossain & Robinson, 2011, 2012; Kuenzi, 2008). Findings suggest that the primary goal for school districts, as it relates to STEM program implementation, is to influence students' interest and pursuit of STEM-related careers and degrees. In order to achieve this goal, results of this study indicate the focus of STEM program implementation occurs with the greatest frequency at the middle school (grades seven and eight) level, are developed as an adaptation to the curriculum, and are very diverse from one school district to the next. In addition, findings suggest that although school districts maintain they aim to promote careers and degrees in STEM, districts rely on traditional methods of evaluating STEM program implementation (i.e. standardized test scores) and do not track the longitudinal impact their STEM programs as they related to degrees and careers in STEM. Furthermore, results indicate district STEM programs are not aligned to the characteristics of comprehensive STEM programs as defined by the literature. In order to address the misalignment of school district goals and evaluation processes involved in STEM program implementation and the absence of the characteristics commensurate with comprehensive STEM programs, this study has created a framework to guide school districts in STEM program selection, implementation, and evaluation.

Extraction of reduced alteration information based on Aster data: a case study of the Bashibulake uranium ore district

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ye, Fa-wang; Liu, De-chang

2008-12-01

Practices of sandstone-type uranium exploration in recent years in China indicate that the uranium mineralization alteration information is of great importance for selecting a new uranium target or prospecting in outer area of the known uranium ore district. Taking a case study of BASHIBULAKE uranium ore district, this paper mainly presents the technical minds and methods of extracting the reduced alteration information by oil and gas in BASHIBULAKE ore district using ASTER data. First, the regional geological setting and study status in BASHIBULAKE uranium ore district are introduced in brief. Then, the spectral characteristics of altered sandstone and un-altered sandstone in BASHIBULAKE ore district are analyzed deeply. Based on the spectral analysis, two technical minds to extract the remote sensing reduced alteration information are proposed, and the un-mixing method is introduced to process ASTER data to extract the reduced alteration information in BASHIBULAKE ore district. From the enhanced images, three remote sensing anomaly zones are discovered, and their geological and prospecting significances are further made sure by taking the advantages of multi-bands in SWIR of ASTER data. Finally, the distribution and intensity of the reduced alteration information in Cretaceous system and its relationship with the genesis of uranium deposit are discussed, the specific suggestions for uranium prospecting orientation in outer of BASHIBULAKE ore district are also proposed.

District nurses' experiences of caring for leg ulcers in accordance with clinical guidelines: a grounded theory study.

PubMed

Lagerin, Annica; Hylander, Ingrid; Törnkvist, Lena

2017-12-01

This qualitative study used the grounded theory method to investigate district nurses' experiences of caring for leg ulcers in accordance with clinical guidelines at seven primary health care centres in Stockholm, Sweden. Group interviews were conducted with 30 nurses. The results describe how district nurses strive to stay on track in order to follow clinical guidelines and remain motivated despite prolonged wound treatment and feelings of hopelessness. Three main obstacles to following the guidelines were found. District nurses used compensating strategies so the obstacles would not lead to negative consequences. If the compensating strategies were insufficient, perceived prolonged wound treatment and feelings of hopelessness could result. District nurses then used motivating strategies to overcome these feelings of hopelessness. Sometimes, despite the motivating strategies, treatment in accordance with guidelines could not be achieved. With some patients, district nurses had to compromise and follow the guidelines as far as possible.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Andersson, B.

This paper will present the status of the development of district cooling systems in Scandinavia over the last 5 years. It will describe the technologies used in the systems that have been constructed as well as the options considered in different locations. It will identify the drivers for the development of the cooling business to-date, and what future drivers for a continuing development of district cooling in Sweden. To-date, approximately 25 different cities of varying sizes have completed feasibility studies to determine if district cooling is an attractive option. In a survey, that was conducted by the Swedish District Heatingmore » Association, some 25 cities expected to have district cooling systems in place by the year 2000. In Sweden, district heating systems with hot water is very common. In many cases, it is simply an addition to the current service for the district heating company to also supply district cooling to the building owners. A parallel from this can be drawn to North America where district cooling systems now are developing rapidly. I am convinced that in these cities a district heating service will be added as a natural expansion of the district cooling company`s service.« less

A Phenomenological Study of Superintendents' and School Board Presidents' Perceptions Related to the Influence of School Boards on School District Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moten, Anthony C.

2015-01-01

This phenomenological narrative study was designed to investigate superintendents' and school board presidents' perception related to the influence of school boards on school district performance. Participants were three superintendents and three school board presidents whose districts were recognized as met standards for the 2014-2015 academic…

School Safety: Safer Schools with Different Kinds of Safety Personnel

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Herreras, Henry

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the difference between the total number of education code violations and the security personnel assigned by the school district. This study also proposed to examine factors such as socio-economic level of the district, the size of the district, and its location. Due to the increase in violence in…

Knowing What Matters: An Expanded Study of School Bond Elections in Michigan, 1998-2006

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bowers, Alex J.; Metzger, Scott Alan; Militello, Matthew

2010-01-01

This study investigates what factors are associated with the likelihood of passing school facility construction bonds by local district election. It uses statewide data from Michigan, 1998-2006, to examine the outcome of 789 bond elections in terms of the following ten variables: amount of the bond request; district enrollment; district locale;…

School District Size and Academic Performance: A Multi-Year Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lenear, Bonnie Clariss

2013-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of school district size on the academic performance of Texas students. Specifically addressed was the extent to which differences in school district size were related to differences in student academic performance. The academic performance of the three major ethnic groups (i.e., Black,…

An Examination of the Decision-Making Processes Used by Superintendents in Reducing School District Budgets

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Slaven, Lori A.

2014-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the degree of importance of Harvey et al.'s (1997) 13 problem-solving strategies for making retrenchment decisions on school district budgets as perceived by California superintendents of medium-sized school districts. Methodology: The subjects in the present study were 86 superintendents of…

Parallel Lives, Different Outcomes: A Twin Study of Academic Productivity in U.S. School Districts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hanna, Robert; Morris, Bo

2014-01-01

This paper explores what happens to similar groups of children educated in different school districts. In this case, the "twins" in the study are groups of students who live in the same state in similar geographies and who share certain demographic characteristics. For this report, "twin districts" have very similar sizes and…

Bringing the Community Along: A Case Study of a School District's Information Technology Rural Development Initiative

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schafft, Kai A.; Alter, Theodore R.; Bridger, Jeffrey C.

2006-01-01

We draw on interactional community theory to analyze the relationship between information technology and local development through a case study of a geographically isolated and economically disadvantaged rural school district. This district has used state-of-the-art information technology infrastructure in a broad-based community and economic…

Reculturing for Equity through Integrated Services: A Case Study of One District's Reform

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dentith, Audrey; Frattura, Elise; Kaylor, Maria

2013-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the early stages of an urban district's special education reform effort in which the entire district moved from a programme model to an integrated services delivery approach. We studied teacher and building administrator's responses garnered through focus group, individual interviews and observations at five…

Leadership Frame Preferences of Elected and Appointed School District Superintendents in Alabama, Florida, and Mississippi

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Landry, Cheri Lynne

2009-01-01

This study investigated the leadership orientation frames of school district superintendents in Alabama, Florida, and Mississippi, which are the only three states in the United States with both elected and appointed school district superintendents. The theoretical framework for this study was developed by Bolman and Deal's (1997) four frame…

Zero Benefit: Estimating the Effect of Zero Tolerance Discipline Polices on Racial Disparities in School Discipline

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoffman, Stephen

2014-01-01

This study estimates the effect of zero tolerance disciplinary policies on racial disparities in school discipline in an urban district. Capitalizing on a natural experiment, the abrupt expansion of zero tolerance discipline policies in a mid-sized urban school district, the study demonstrates that Black students in the district were…

Journey to Transformation: A Study of the Teachers' Perceptions of Technology Professional Development in a Rural School District

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fulton, Monica M.

2017-01-01

This single-case qualitative study explored the eighth and ninth grade teachers' perceptions of their experiences from participating in the district's technology professional development program and its influence on the district's journey to pedagogical transformation. The participants responded to a questionnaire, were observed, and interviewed…

Re-Imagining School Leadership Preparation to Restore a Failing School District: A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lightfoot, Jonathan; Thompson, Eustace

2014-01-01

This case study report will identify modifications made to a traditional leadership program's structures and the effects of the work on faculty perceptions of non-traditional doctoral programs. Union Free School District is the only school district to ever be taken over by the state. A nearby university's research-based educational leadership…

System Learning in an Urban School District: A Case Study of Intra-District Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Redding, Christopher; Cannata, Marisa; Miller, Jason

2017-01-01

This paper presents evidence from a unique reform model that allowed teachers and other educators in a large urban district to collaborate with one another in the development of an innovation meant to improve student ownership and responsibility. In this longitudinal case study, we describe school stakeholders' learning about the design, the…

School Dropouts in Rural Colorado School Districts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tombari, Martin; Andrews, Alex; Gallinati, Tina

2009-01-01

Dropouts from rural school districts have not received the same scrutiny as given to those from urban ones. The reasons behind this lack of knowledge about the experience of rural school districts with dropouts are unclear. The purpose of the present study was to begin to close this knowledge gap. A first major study of rural dropouts in the…

A Study of Benefits and Selected Salaries of California Community College Districts.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kern Community Coll. District, Bakersfield, CA.

In 1984, a study was conducted to assess the overall fringe benefit programs of California's 70 community college districts and to determine the total dollar amounts paid to certificated employees. A questionnaire requesting fringe benefit and salary information was mailed in January to the 70 districts, providing data which, with the 1983-84…

The Poor Little Rich District: The Effects of Suburbanization on a Rural School and Community

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Howley, Aimee; Carnes, Marilyn; Eldridge, Anita; Huber, Donna; Lado, Longun Moses; Kotler, Ruth; Turner, Maryalice

2005-01-01

Contextualized in relationship to other case studies about rural districts that have experienced population growth and decline as well as in relationship to the small sociological literature on "boom towns," this study considered the dynamics that seem to be interfering with one previously rural and now suburbanizing district's ability to address…

School District Information Study. Planning for the Management of Information through Technology. A Planning and Staff Development Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

New York State Education Dept., Albany. Div. of Elementary and Secondary Education Planning.

Designed to provide assistance to school district personnel who seek to develop a plan for information management and related applications of technology, this guide presents the School District Information Study (SDIS) model for the review of management policies, procedures, and activities related to information processing done by school district…

Strategies Utilized by Superintendents and Mathematics District Personnel That Impact Minority Student Outcomes in Algebra

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DuPree, Jared Bernard

2013-01-01

This study applies the constructs from effective instruction from the literature on teacher education to understand the impact of school district strategies on algebra outcomes for minority students. The purpose of this study was to examine the strategies utilized by superintendents and district personnel and the impact of these identified…

36th Annual Maintenance & Operations Cost Study: Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Agron, Joe

2007-01-01

Spending by school districts on maintenance and operations increased in 2006-2007, reversing years of historic low expenditures. According to "American School & University's" 36th annual Maintenance and Operations (M&O) Cost Study, the median school district spends 9.19% of total district expenditures (TDE) on M&O, up from 7.58% the year before.…

Leadership Development Institute: A California Community College Multi-College District Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leon, Bianca R.

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study is to examine a community college district Grow Your Own (GYO) leadership program in the Western United States, the Multi College Leadership Development Institute (MCLDI). The MCLDI was developed in-house for a multi-campus community college district and offered to interested employees at all position levels with the…

Attitudes and Beliefs of Upper Elementary Teachers Regarding the Teaching of Cursive Handwriting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Myers, Dorothy

2013-01-01

This study surveyed current third-, fourth- and fifth-grade teachers in two small school districts in the southeast. One school district has initiated a technology initiative in its elementary schools. The other school district involved in the study incorporates technology but does not have a specified technology initiative. This dissertation was…

System Learning in an Urban School District: A Case Study of Intra-District Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Redding, Christopher; Cannata, Marisa; Miller, Jason M.

2018-01-01

This paper presents evidence from a unique reform model that allowed teachers and other educators in a large urban district to collaborate with one another in the development of an innovation meant to improve student ownership and responsibility. In this longitudinal case study, we describe school stakeholders' learning about the design, the…

Effectiveness of a new long-lasting insecticidal nets delivery model in two rural districts of Mozambique: a before-after study.

PubMed

Arroz, Jorge A H; Candrinho, Baltazar; Mendis, Chandana; Varela, Pablo; Pinto, João; Martins, Maria do Rosário O

2018-02-05

In 2015, Mozambique piloted a new model of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) delivery in a campaign. The new delivery model was used in two rural districts were, and two others were considered as control, maintaining the old delivery model. The aim of this study is to compare the coverage of ownership and use of LLINs in intervention and control districts in Mozambique. A before-after design with control group was carried out 6 months after LLINs distribution. Using systematic probabilistic sampling, 1547 households were surveyed by means of a questionnaire. To find associations between the district categories (intervention and control) and the main outcomes of the study (LLIN ownership, use, and universal coverage achievement), odds ratio (OR) and respective confidence intervals were calculated. Of the 760 households surveyed in the intervention districts, 98.8% had at least one LLIN; of the 787 households surveyed in the control districts, 89.6% had at least one LLIN [OR: 9.7, 95% (CI 4.84-19.46)]. Around 95 and 87% of households owning at least one LLIN reported having slept under the LLIN the previous night in the intervention and control districts, respectively [OR: 3.2; 95% (CI 2.12-4.69)]. Seventy-one percent of the households surveyed achieved universal coverage in the intervention districts against 59.6% in the control districts [OR: 1.6; 95% (CI 1.33-2.03)]. The universal coverage campaign piloted with the new delivery model has increased LLINs ownership, use, and progression for reaching universal coverage targets in the community.

District health information system assessment: a case study in iran.

PubMed

Raeisi, Ahmad Reza; Saghaeiannejad, Sakineh; Karimi, Saeed; Ehteshami, Asghar; Kasaei, Mahtab

2013-03-01

Health care managers and personnel should be aware and literate of health information system in order to increase the efficiency and effectiveness in their organization. Since accurate, appropriate, precise, timely, valid information and interpretation of information is required and is the basis for policy planning and decision making in various levels of the organization. This study was conducted to assess the district health information system evolution in Iran according to WHO framework. This research is an applied, descriptive cross sectional study, in which a total of twelve urban and eight rural facilities, and the district health center at Falavarjan region were surveyed by using a questionnaire with 334 items. Content and constructive validity and reliability of the questionnaire were confirmed with correlation coefficient of 0.99. Obtained data were analyzed with SPSS 16 software and descriptive statistics were used to examine measures of WHO compliance. The analysis of data revealed that the mean score of compliance of district health information system framework was 35.75 percent. The maximum score of compliance with district health information system belonged to the data collection process (70 percent). The minimum score of compliance with district health information system belonged to information based decision making process with a score of 10 percent. District Health Information System Criteria in Isfahan province do not completely comply with WHO framework. Consequently, it seems that health system managers engaged with underlying policy and decision making processes at district health level should try to restructure and decentralize district health information system and develop training management programs for their managers.

Progress and Prospect: A Study of the Kansas City Metropolitan Junior College District; Report to the Board of Trustees.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Little (Arthur D.), Inc., Cambridge, MA.

The Board of Trustees of the Kansas City Metropolitan Junior College District sponsored a long range planning study for the future development of the district. Under the direction of Dr. Raymond J. Young, this study was designed to update an earlier one completed in 1968 by the staff in the light of changed conditions and trends. Information was…

Ten Studies Pertaining to Residence, Mobility, and School Attendance Patterns of Discrete Black and Mexican American Populations in Tucson, Arizona, Between 1918 and 1976. Volume I.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bockman, John F.

Volume I contains the substance of five studies originally filed with the United States District Court for the District of Arizona in the cases of "Fisher v. Lohr" and "Mendoza v. Tucson School District No. 1." Study I determines patterns of attendance at several elementary schools by non-Mexican American and Mexican American…

The Salida Valley Unified School District: A Case Study in Policy Making with Regard to the Award of Credit for Experience-Based Learning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Banker, Nancy Sirmay

This case study of a small suburban school district in the San Francisco Bay Area examines the interplay among individuals and groups within the district who make and implement policy decisions. The issue of awarding credit for experience-based learning focuses and directs the study. As an introduction to examination of the ways decisions are…

Beginning Teachers' Experiences Working with a District-Employed Teaching and Learning Coach in the Role of a Mentor in a North Carolina School District

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hobbs, Kari Sanderson

2015-01-01

This study is concerned with the experiences of beginning teachers working with a district-employed mentor. Based on Illeris's (2002) Three Dimensions of Learning, this study sought to understand the cognitive, emotional, and social processes involved in working with a mentor. This is a qualitative study using the research method of phenomenology…

Analysis of respirable particulate exposure and its effect to public health around lead smelter and e-waste processing industry in West Java, Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marselina, M.; Roosmini, D.; Salami, I. R. S.; Ayu A, M.; Cahyadi, W.

2016-03-01

Respirable particulate exposure strongly affects human health, especially for children who lived around industrial area. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of respirable particulate exposure to lung capacity of children. Study location in this study was Parung Panjang District, area of lead smelter industry and also in Astana Anyar District, area of e-waste processing industry. Thirty children were involved in Astana Anyar District and also thirty children in Parung Panjang District. The control groups were also studied in both areas. Predicted average daily intake (ADD) of respirable particulate was estimated and lung or respiration condition of children was measured by using spirometer. The lung condition of respondents was estimated by FEV1.0 and FVC values. As the result, the predicted ADD of children in lead smelter area is 3 times higher than the predicted ADD of children in e-waste processing area. It was correlated positively with the higher PM2.5 concentration in Parung Panjang District than the PM2.5 concentration in Astana Anyar District. Metals concentration in Parung Panjang was also measured with X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) in this study and it was clearly state that metals concentration in location study were higher than metals concentration in control area.

Many Districts Left Behind: An Individual Change Analysis of Inequity in the Kenyan Primary Educational Opportunities (2001-2007)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bagaka's, Joshua Gisemba

2010-01-01

The study examined variations in district performance in KCPE national examination in Kenya between 2001 and 2007. The individual change model revealed that district poverty rate was not a significant predictor of either the initial district performance (2001) or the rate of change over the seven-year period. The regional context of North Eastern…

Access to Educational Opportunity in Rural Communities: Alternative Patterns of Delivering Vocational Education in Sparsely Populated Areas. Volume 3: The Northwest Multi-District: A Mobile Facilities Center.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peterson, Roland L.; And Others

Representing the mobile facilities pattern of inter-district cooperation, the Northwest Multi-District case is one of four studies addressing access of rural students to vocational education through inter-school district cooperation. The report identifies essential features of this form of cooperation, details factors facilitating/impeding the…

Association between State Assistance on the Topic of Indoor Air Quality and School District-Level Policies That Promote Indoor Air Quality in Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Everett Jones, Sherry; Doroski, Brenda; Glick, Sherry

2015-01-01

Nationally representative data from the 2012 School Health Policies and Practices Study examined whether state assistance on indoor air quality (IAQ) was associated with district-level policies and practices related to IAQ and integrated pest management (IPM). Districts in states that provided assistance on IAQ were more likely than districts not…

The Sustained Reduction of Youth Suicidal Behavior in an Urban, Multicultural School District

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zenere, Frank J.; Lazarus, Philip J.

2009-01-01

An 18-year longitudinal case study of the suicide rates of students attending a large, urban, multicultural school district between 1989 and 2006 is described. The high rate of suicide (5.5 per 100,000 students ages 5-19) in the district during the period 1980-1988 led to the development and implementation of a district-wide Youth Suicide…

Use of Data to Support Teaching and Learning: A Case Study of Two School Districts. ACT Research Report Series, 2015 (1)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dougherty, Chrys

2015-01-01

This report summarizes how school and district leaders and academic coaches in two Texas school districts used assessment and other types of data to assess the quality of teaching and learning, to coach and supervise teachers, and to guide management decisions. The report also describes how district and school leaders supported teachers' use of…

Superintendent Turnover in Texas, Connecticut, Kentucky, and Oregon Public School Districts: Contributing Factors and Trends

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berryhill, Kathy S.

2009-01-01

School district administrator openings are occurring across Texas and many other states at an increasing rate. The high rate of turnover in the superintendency has become a national problem. Texas was chosen for the study due to the total number of school districts in the state and the high percent of rural districts. The other selected states,…

Using pathology-specific laboratory profiles in Clinical Pathology to reduce inappropriate test requesting: two completed audit cycles

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Systematic reviews have shown that, although well prepared, the Consensus Guidelines have failed to change clinical practice. In the healthcare district of Castelnovo né Monti (Reggio Emilia, Italy), it became necessary for the GPs and Clinical Pathologists to work together to jointly define laboratory profiles. Methods Observational study with two cycles of retrospective audit on test request forms, in a primary care setting. Objectives of the study were to develop pathology-specific laboratory profiles and to increase the number of provisional diagnoses on laboratory test request forms. A Multiprofessional Multidisciplinary Inter-hospital Work Team developed pathology-specific laboratory profiles for more effective test requesting. After 8 training sessions that used a combined strategy with multifaceted interventions, the 23 General Practitioners (GPs) in the trial district (Castelnovo nè Monti) tested the profiles; the 21 GPs in the Puianello district were the control group; all GPs in both districts participated in the trial. All laboratory tests for both healthcare districts are performed at the Laboratory located in the trial district. A baseline and a 1-year audit were performed in both districts on the GPs’ request forms. Results Seven pathology-specific laboratory profiles for outpatients were developed. In the year after the first audit cycle: 1) the number of tests requested in the trial district was distinctly lower than that in the previous year, with a decrease of about 5% (p < 0.001); 2) the provisional diagnosis on the request forms was 52.8% in the trial district and 42% in the control district (P < 0.001); 3) the decrease of the number of tests on each request form was much more marked in the trial district (8.73 vs. 10.77; p < 0.001). Conclusions The first audit cycle showed a significant decrease in the number of tests ordered only in the trial district. The combined strategy used in this study improved the prescriptive compliance of most of the GPs involved. The presence of the clinical pathologist is seen as an added value. PMID:22759353

Using pathology-specific laboratory profiles in clinical pathology to reduce inappropriate test requesting: two completed audit cycles.

PubMed

Baricchi, Roberto; Zini, Michele; Nibali, Maria Grazia; Vezzosi, Walter; Insegnante, Vincenzo; Manfuso, Clotilde; Polese, Alessandra; Costoli, Valmer; Spelti, Antonio; Formisano, Debora; Orlandini, Danilo; Nicolini, Fausto; Poli, Antonio

2012-07-03

Systematic reviews have shown that, although well prepared, the Consensus Guidelines have failed to change clinical practice. In the healthcare district of Castelnovo né Monti (Reggio Emilia, Italy), it became necessary for the GPs and Clinical Pathologists to work together to jointly define laboratory profiles. Observational study with two cycles of retrospective audit on test request forms, in a primary care setting. Objectives of the study were to develop pathology-specific laboratory profiles and to increase the number of provisional diagnoses on laboratory test request forms. A Multiprofessional Multidisciplinary Inter-hospital Work Team developed pathology-specific laboratory profiles for more effective test requesting. After 8 training sessions that used a combined strategy with multifaceted interventions, the 23 General Practitioners (GPs) in the trial district (Castelnovo nè Monti) tested the profiles; the 21 GPs in the Puianello district were the control group; all GPs in both districts participated in the trial. All laboratory tests for both healthcare districts are performed at the Laboratory located in the trial district. A baseline and a 1-year audit were performed in both districts on the GPs' request forms. Seven pathology-specific laboratory profiles for outpatients were developed. In the year after the first audit cycle: 1) the number of tests requested in the trial district was distinctly lower than that in the previous year, with a decrease of about 5% (p < 0.001); 2) the provisional diagnosis on the request forms was 52.8% in the trial district and 42% in the control district (P < 0.001); 3) the decrease of the number of tests on each request form was much more marked in the trial district (8.73 vs. 10.77; p < 0.001). The first audit cycle showed a significant decrease in the number of tests ordered only in the trial district. The combined strategy used in this study improved the prescriptive compliance of most of the GPs involved. The presence of the clinical pathologist is seen as an added value.

Breast Milk Lead Levels in 3 Major Regions of the West Bank of Palestine.

PubMed

Shawahna, Ramzi; Zyoud, Ahed; Dwikat, Jamela; El-Helo, Maram; Yacoub, Bayan; Hilal, Hikmat

2016-08-01

Lead is a neurotoxic pollutant that is ubiquitously spread in our environment. Breast milk contaminated with lead poses a potential risk of exposing a recipient infant to lead. The primary aims of this study were to evaluate the breast milk lead levels (BMLLs) in breastfeeding mothers in 3 major regions of the West Bank of Palestine and to investigate the effects of some sociodemographic variables on the BMLLs. Breast milk samples were collected from 89 breastfeeding mothers from the Nablus, Ramallah, and Jerusalem regions and analyzed for their BMLLs using graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Breastfeeding mothers were interviewed and responded to a sociodemographic questionnaire. The median BMLL was 4.0 µg/L, ranging from 2.0 to 12.0 µg/L. Breast milk lead levels in 19.1% of the samples analyzed were higher than the World Health Organization's safety limits of 2.0 to 5.0 µg/L for an occupationally unexposed population. Breast milk lead levels were significantly higher in breast milk of mothers who lived in cities and refugee camps (P < .01), had lower monthly household income levels (P < .05), lived close to paint shops (P < .05), lived in houses with peeling or chipping paint (P < .05), used eye kohl (P < .01), and worked in agriculture for a duration longer than 3 years (P < .01). Breast milk lead levels were higher than the safety limits for occupationally unexposed populations. Authorities need to implement measures to eliminate or reduce lead exposure, especially in refugee camps and cities. Marketed eye kohl preparations should be tested for their lead contents. © The Author(s) 2016.

Decentralisation and health services delivery in Tanzania: Analysis of decision space in planning, allocation, and use of financial resources.

PubMed

Kigume, Ramadhani; Maluka, Stephen; Kamuzora, Peter

2018-04-01

While decentralisation of health systems has been on the policy agenda in low-income and middle-income countries since the 1970s, many studies have focused on understanding who has more decision-making powers but less attention is paid to understand what those powers encompass. Using the decision space approach, this study aimed to understand the amount of decision-making space transferred from the central government to institutions at the periphery in the decentralised health system in Tanzania. The findings of this study indicated that the decentralisation process in Tanzania has provided authorities with a range of decision-making space. In the areas of priority setting and planning, district health authorities had moderate decision space. However, in the financial resource allocation and expenditure of funds from the central government, the districts had narrow decision-making space. The districts, nevertheless, had wider decision-making space in mobilising and using locally generated financial resources. However, the ability of the districts to allocate and use locally generated resources was constrained by bureaucratic procedures of the central government. The study concludes that decentralisation by devolution which is being promoted in the policy documents in Tanzania is yet to be realised at the district and local levels. The study recommends that the central government should provide more space to the decentralised district health systems to incorporate locally defined priorities in the district health plans. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The path dependence of district manager decision-space in Ghana.

PubMed

Kwamie, Aku; van Dijk, Han; Ansah, Evelyn K; Agyepong, Irene Akua

2016-04-01

The district health system in Ghana today is characterized by high resource-uncertainty and narrow decision-space. This article builds a theory-driven historical case study to describe the influence of path-dependent administrative, fiscal and political decentralization processes on development of the district health system and district manager decision-space. Methods included a non-exhaustive literature review of democratic governance in Ghana, and key informant interviews with high-level health system officials integral to the development of the district health system. Through our analysis we identified four periods of district health system progression: (1) development of the district health system (1970-85); (2) Strengthening District Health Systems Initiative (1986-93); (3) health sector reform planning and creation of the Ghana Health Service (1994-96) and (4) health sector reform implementation (1997-2007). It was observed that district manager decision-space steadily widened during periods (1) and (2), due to increases in managerial profile, and concerted efforts at managerial capacity strengthening. Periods (3) and (4) saw initial augmentation of district health system financing, further widening managerial decision-space. However, the latter half of period 4 witnessed district manager decision-space contraction. Formalization of Ghana Health Service structures influenced by self-reinforcing tendencies towards centralized decision-making, national and donor shifts in health sector financing, and changes in key policy actors all worked to the detriment of the district health system, reversing early gains from bottom-up development of the district health system. Policy feedback mechanisms have been influenced by historical and contemporary sequencing of local government and health sector decentralization. An initial act of administrative decentralization, followed by incomplete political and fiscal decentralization has ensured that the balance of power has remained at national level, with strong vertical accountabilities and dependence of the district on national level. This study demonstrates that the rhetoric of decentralization does not always mirror actual implementation, nor always result in empowered local actors. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press in association with The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Differences in Spending in School Districts across Geographic Locales in Minnesota. Summary. Issues & Answers. REL 2012-No. 124

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wan, Yinmei; Norbury, Heather; Molefe, Ayrin C.; Gerdeman, R. Dean; Meyers, Coby V.; Burke, Matthew

2012-01-01

This study examines differences in spending in school districts across geographic locales in Minnesota and factors that might contribute to these differences. The study finds that district spending per student in 2008/09 varied across locale types in Minnesota. These differences are largely accounted for by differences in regional characteristics…

The Development and Evaluation of a User-Friendly Database Describing PA's School Districts. Pennsylvania Educational Policy Studies, Number 13.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

George, Carole A.

This document describes a study that designed, developed, and evaluated the Pennsylvania school-district database program for use by educational decision makers. The database contains current information developed from data provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Education and describes each of the 500 active school districts in the state. PEP…

A Comparative Case Study of Veteran Superintendent's Leadership and Organizational Processes in Addressing the Academic Achievement of Students in Low Performing School Districts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reimer, Catherine Nicole

2010-01-01

This research study investigated the leadership behaviors and organizational frames utilized by two veteran superintendents of medium sized school districts in California to address issues of academic performance in their respective districts as perceived by the superintendents and their respective board members and principals. Current…

School District Leadership Styles and School Improvement: Evidence from Selected School Principals in the Eastern Cape Province

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moorosi, Pontso; Bantwini, Bongani D.

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate how leadership styles in the Eastern Cape school districts support school improvement. Mixed methods research was employed and data was collected through the use of questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with school principals in various districts. The study was guided by the following questions:…

An Exploratory Study of Central Office Best Practices in Washington's Top 5% Performing School Districts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ansingh, Pamela Jean

2012-01-01

How prepared are central office administrators to lead school districts in the face of changing standards and changing student populations? The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine the responses of central office administrators in the top 5% performing school districts in Washington State with the goal of identifying common attitudes…

Challenges in the Implementation of Outcomes-Based Assessment Program Review in a California Community College District

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bresciani, Marilee J.

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the manner in which a community college district planned to implement a systematic outcomes-based assessment program review process in order to have results inform institutional, district, and state policy discussions. Data derived from this grounded theory study indicated that there was not a shared…

A Study of Certificated Salaries and Fringe Benefits of California Community College Districts, 1990-91.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kern Community Coll. District, Bakersfield, CA.

In January 1991, a study was conducted to assess the fringe benefit programs of community college districts in California, and to determine the total dollar amounts paid to certified employees. Questionnaires requesting fringe benefits and salary information for 1990-91 were mailed to all 71 districts in the state. Rankings of salaries at three…

Perceptions of Psychological Contract Violations in School Districts that Serve Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: An Exploratory Qualitative Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lilly, Julianna D.; Reed, Dianne

2004-01-01

This study examined issues of psychological contract violation between parents of children with autism spectrum disorder and school districts that serve them. As such, the sampling strategy was to focus on parents who were dissatisfied with the educational services their child was receiving from the school district so that the parents' "lived…

The Correlates of Academic Performance for English Learner Students in a New England District

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parker, Caroline; O'Dwyer, Laura; Irwin, Clare

2016-01-01

English learner students are one of the fastest growing subgroups in America's schools, and gaps between English learner students and their native English-speaking peers in academic outcomes remain large in most districts and states. This study examines data for all English learner students in grades K-12 in the study district who took the…

Exploring the Politics of Differential Resource Allocation: Implications for Policy Design and Leadership Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Halverson, Thomas J.; Plecki, Margaret L.

2015-01-01

This qualitative case study explores the political and leadership challenges imbedded within the implementation of a district-wide resource reallocation policy. Based on a two-year study of a medium-sized district's efforts to address changing demographics of families in the district and a widening achievement gap, we draw upon concepts from…

Beginning Teachers' Experiences Working with a District-Employed Mentor in a North Carolina School District

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hobbs, Kari S.; Putnam, Jennifer

2016-01-01

This study is concerned with the experiences of beginning teachers working with a district-employed mentor. Based on Illeris's (2002) Three Dimensions of Learning, the study sought to understand the cognitive, emotional, and social processes involved in working with a mentor through the use of one-on one, in-depth interviews. Nine beginning…

District Allocation of Human Resources Utilizing the Evidence Based Model: A Study of One High Achieving School District in Southern California

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lane, Amber Marie

2013-01-01

This study applies the Gap Analysis Framework to understand the gaps that exist in human resource allocation of one Southern California school district. Once identified, gaps are closed with the reallocation of human resources, according to the Evidenced Based Model, requiring the re-purposing of core classroom teachers, specialists, special…

Processes and Challenges in Identifying Learning Disabilities among Students Who Are English Language Learners in Three New York State Districts. Issues & Answers. REL 2010-No. 085

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sanchez, Maria Teresa; Parker, Caroline; Akbayin, Bercem; McTigue, Anna

2010-01-01

Using interviews with district and school personnel and documents from state and district web sites in three districts in New York State, the study examines practices for identifying learning disabilities among students who are English language learners and the challenges that arise. Specifically, two research questions guided the project: (1)…

Mountain bikes and metropolitan park districts: issues and trends identified by state parks and state park districts in Ohio

Treesearch

Eric L. Longsdorf; Ruthie Kucharewski

2007-01-01

This study explored selected issues and trends related to mountain biking within Ohio State Parks and Park Districts. A convenience sample of 21 State Parks and 26 Park Districts completed a 24-item survey assessing mountain bike: (a) access, (b) activity levels, (c) planning, and (d) management. Results indicated that 86 percent of State Parks participating in the...

Ten Studies Pertaining to Residence, Mobility, and School Attendance Patterns of Discrete Black and Mexican American Populations in Tucson, Arizona, Between 1918 and 1976. Volume II.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bockman, John F.

Volume II contains the substance of five studies originally filed with the United States District Court for the District of Arizona in the cases of "Fisher v. Lohr" and "Mendoza v. Tucson School District No. 1." Study VI examines the migration of Spanish-surnamed households from Tucson's south and west sides to the east side…

Protecting the Civil Rights of English Language Learners Today: A Study of the Recent DOJ and OCR Investigations of Selected School Districts in the United States

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oyeleye, Omobola Awosika

2013-01-01

The purpose of the study was to examine the circumstances and practices that led to OCR and DOJ investigations in seven selected school districts, and to determine the emerging themes from the details of the settlement agreements between the school districts and the United States. The themes developed through this study were aimed at providing a…

A novel stochastic modeling method to simulate cooling loads in residential districts

DOE PAGES

An, Jingjing; Yan, Da; Hong, Tianzhen; ...

2017-09-04

District cooling systems are widely used in urban residential communities in China. Most of such systems are oversized, which leads to wasted investment, low operational efficiency and, thus, waste of energy. The accurate prediction of district cooling loads that can support the rightsizing of cooling plant equipment remains a challenge. This study develops a novel stochastic modeling method that consists of (1) six prototype house models representing most apartments in a district, (2) occupant behavior models of residential buildings reflecting their spatial and temporal diversity as well as their complexity based on a large-scale residential survey in China, and (3)more » a stochastic sampling process to represent all apartments and occupants in the district. The stochastic method was applied to a case study using the Designer's Simulation Toolkit (DeST) to simulate the cooling loads of a residential district in Wuhan, China. The simulation results agreed well with the measured data based on five performance metrics representing the aggregated cooling consumption, the peak cooling loads, the spatial load distribution, the temporal load distribution and the load profiles. Two prevalent simulation methods were also employed to simulate the district cooling loads. Here, the results showed that oversimplified assumptions about occupant behavior could lead to significant overestimation of the peak cooling load and the total cooling loads in the district. Future work will aim to simplify the workflow and data requirements of the stochastic method for its application, and to explore its use in predicting district heating loads and in commercial or mixed-use districts.« less

A novel stochastic modeling method to simulate cooling loads in residential districts

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

An, Jingjing; Yan, Da; Hong, Tianzhen

District cooling systems are widely used in urban residential communities in China. Most of such systems are oversized, which leads to wasted investment, low operational efficiency and, thus, waste of energy. The accurate prediction of district cooling loads that can support the rightsizing of cooling plant equipment remains a challenge. This study develops a novel stochastic modeling method that consists of (1) six prototype house models representing most apartments in a district, (2) occupant behavior models of residential buildings reflecting their spatial and temporal diversity as well as their complexity based on a large-scale residential survey in China, and (3)more » a stochastic sampling process to represent all apartments and occupants in the district. The stochastic method was applied to a case study using the Designer's Simulation Toolkit (DeST) to simulate the cooling loads of a residential district in Wuhan, China. The simulation results agreed well with the measured data based on five performance metrics representing the aggregated cooling consumption, the peak cooling loads, the spatial load distribution, the temporal load distribution and the load profiles. Two prevalent simulation methods were also employed to simulate the district cooling loads. Here, the results showed that oversimplified assumptions about occupant behavior could lead to significant overestimation of the peak cooling load and the total cooling loads in the district. Future work will aim to simplify the workflow and data requirements of the stochastic method for its application, and to explore its use in predicting district heating loads and in commercial or mixed-use districts.« less

Differences in Food and Beverage Marketing Policies and Practices in US School Districts, by Demographic Characteristics of School Districts, 2012

PubMed Central

Michael, Shannon; Brener, Nancy D.; Coffield, Edward; Kingsley, Beverly S.; Zytnick, Deena; Blanck, Heidi

2016-01-01

Introduction Foods and beverages marketed in schools are typically of poor nutritional value. School districts may adopt policies and practices to restrict marketing of unhealthful foods and to promote healthful choices. Students’ exposure to marketing practices differ by school demographics, but these differences have not yet been examined by district characteristics. Methods We analyzed data from the 2012 School Health Policies and Practices Study to examine how food and beverage marketing and promotion policies and practices varied by district characteristics such as metropolitan status, size, and percentage of non-Hispanic white students. Results Most practices varied significantly by district size: a higher percentage of large districts than small or medium-sized districts restricted marketing of unhealthful foods and promoted healthful options. Compared with districts whose student populations were majority (>50%) non-Hispanic white, a higher percentage of districts whose student populations were minority non-Hispanic white (≤50% non-Hispanic white) prohibited advertising of soft drinks in school buildings and on school grounds, made school meal menus available to students, and provided families with information on school nutrition programs. Compared with suburban and rural districts, a higher percentage of urban districts prohibited the sale of soft drinks on school grounds and used several practices to promote healthful options. Conclusion Preliminary findings showing significant associations between district demographics and marketing policies and practices can be used to help states direct resources, training, and technical assistance to address food and beverage marketing and promotion to districts most in need of improvement. PMID:27978408

Differences in Food and Beverage Marketing Policies and Practices in US School Districts, by Demographic Characteristics of School Districts, 2012.

PubMed

Merlo, Caitlin L; Michael, Shannon; Brener, Nancy D; Coffield, Edward; Kingsley, Beverly S; Zytnick, Deena; Blanck, Heidi

2016-12-15

Foods and beverages marketed in schools are typically of poor nutritional value. School districts may adopt policies and practices to restrict marketing of unhealthful foods and to promote healthful choices. Students' exposure to marketing practices differ by school demographics, but these differences have not yet been examined by district characteristics. We analyzed data from the 2012 School Health Policies and Practices Study to examine how food and beverage marketing and promotion policies and practices varied by district characteristics such as metropolitan status, size, and percentage of non-Hispanic white students. Most practices varied significantly by district size: a higher percentage of large districts than small or medium-sized districts restricted marketing of unhealthful foods and promoted healthful options. Compared with districts whose student populations were majority (>50%) non-Hispanic white, a higher percentage of districts whose student populations were minority non-Hispanic white (≤50% non-Hispanic white) prohibited advertising of soft drinks in school buildings and on school grounds, made school meal menus available to students, and provided families with information on school nutrition programs. Compared with suburban and rural districts, a higher percentage of urban districts prohibited the sale of soft drinks on school grounds and used several practices to promote healthful options. Preliminary findings showing significant associations between district demographics and marketing policies and practices can be used to help states direct resources, training, and technical assistance to address food and beverage marketing and promotion to districts most in need of improvement.

Investigating the Role of a District Science Coordinator

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whitworth, Brooke A.; Maeng, Jennifer L.; Wheeler, Lindsay B.; Chiu, Jennifer L.

2017-01-01

This study explored the professional responsibilities of district science coordinators, their professional development (PD) experiences, the relationship between their role, responsibilities, district context, and background, and barriers encountered in their work. A national sample (n = 122) of self-identified science coordinators completed a…

What Districts Can Do To Improve Instruction and Achievement in All Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Togneri, Wendy

2003-01-01

A study of five high-poverty districts making strides in improving student achievement revealed that these districts focused on systemwide strategies including new approaches to professional development; making decisions based on data, not instinct; and redefining leadership roles. (MLF)

Special Education Paraprofessionals in District Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Howley, Craig; Howley, Aimee; Telfer, Deborah

2017-01-01

This survey research investigated the experience of Ohio districts using paraprofessionals assigned to special education students. This study provides a unique statewide description of district experience. Based on themes from the literature and preliminary conversations with educational practitioners in Ohio, the survey conceptualized district…

Motivation and retention of health workers in Ghana's district hospitals: addressing the critical issues.

PubMed

Adzei, Francis A; Atinga, Roger A

2012-01-01

This study seeks to undertake a systematic review to consolidate existing empirical evidence on the impact of financial and non-financial incentives on motivation and retention of health workers in Ghana's district hospitals. The study employed a purely quantitative design with a sample of 285 health workers from ten district hospitals in four regions of Ghana. A stepwise regression model was used in the analysis. The study found that financial incentives significantly influence motivation and intention to remain in the district hospital. Further, of the four factor model of the non-financial incentives, only three (leadership skill and supervision, opportunities for continuing professional development and availability of infrastructure and resources) were predictors of motivation and retention. A major limitation of the study is that the sample of health workers was biased towards nurses (n = 160; 56.1 percent). This is explained by their large presence in remote districts in Ghana. A qualitative approach could enrich the findings by bringing out the many complex views of health workers regarding issues of motivation and retention, since quantitative studies are better applied to establish causal relationships. The findings suggest that appropriate legislations backing salary supplements, commitment-based bonus payments with a set of internal regulations and leadership with sound managerial qualities are required to pursue workforce retention in district hospitals.

The cost of the district hospital: a case study in Malawi.

PubMed

Mills, A J; Kapalamula, J; Chisimbi, S

1993-01-01

Described in an analysis of the cost to the Ministry of Health of providing district health services in Malawi, with particular emphasis on the district hospital. District resource allocation patterns were assessed by carefully disaggregating district costs by level of care and hospital department. A strikingly low proportion of district recurrent costs was absorbed by salaries and wages (27-39%, depending on the district) and a surprisingly high proportion by medical supplies (24-37%). The most expensive cost centre in the hospital was the pharmacy. A total of 27-39% of total recurrent costs were spent outside the hospital and 61-73% on hospital services. The secondary care services absorbed 40-58% of district recurrent costs. Unit costs by hospital department varied considerably by district, with one hospital being consistently the most expensive and another the cheapest. A total of 3-10 new outpatients could be treated for the average cost of 1 inpatient-day, while 34-55 could be treated for the average cost of 1 inpatient. The efficiency of hospital operations, the scope for redistributing resources districtwide, and the costing methodology are discussed.

The cost of the district hospital: a case study in Malawi.

PubMed Central

Mills, A. J.; Kapalamula, J.; Chisimbi, S.

1993-01-01

Described in an analysis of the cost to the Ministry of Health of providing district health services in Malawi, with particular emphasis on the district hospital. District resource allocation patterns were assessed by carefully disaggregating district costs by level of care and hospital department. A strikingly low proportion of district recurrent costs was absorbed by salaries and wages (27-39%, depending on the district) and a surprisingly high proportion by medical supplies (24-37%). The most expensive cost centre in the hospital was the pharmacy. A total of 27-39% of total recurrent costs were spent outside the hospital and 61-73% on hospital services. The secondary care services absorbed 40-58% of district recurrent costs. Unit costs by hospital department varied considerably by district, with one hospital being consistently the most expensive and another the cheapest. A total of 3-10 new outpatients could be treated for the average cost of 1 inpatient-day, while 34-55 could be treated for the average cost of 1 inpatient. The efficiency of hospital operations, the scope for redistributing resources districtwide, and the costing methodology are discussed. PMID:8324852

The Discourse of Crisis in Public Meetings: Case Study of a School District's Multimillion Dollar Error

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tracy, Karen

2007-01-01

School districts are both big businesses and a form of local governance that is part of American democracy. When a crisis makes a district's democratic face relevant, the organization will experience a dilemma that does not occur in business-only organizations. This study examines the public meetings of a school board in the western United States…

Houston, We Have a Problem: Studying the SAS Education Value-Added Assessment System (EVAAS) from Teachers' Perspectives in the Houston Independent School District (HISD)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Collins, Clarin

2012-01-01

This study examined the intended and unintended consequences associated with the Education Value-Added Assessment System (EVAAS) as perceived and experienced by teachers in the Houston Independent School District (HISD). To evaluate teacher effectiveness, HISD is using EVAAS for high-stakes consequences more than any other district or state in the…

Pupil Home Background Characteristics and Academic Performance in Senior Secondary Schools: A Case Study of Selected Secondary Schools in Kitwe District, Zambia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kakumbi, Zonic; Samuel, Elizabeth B.; Mulendema, Peter J.

2016-01-01

The purpose of this research was to investigate pupil background characteristics and academic performance in senior secondary schools in Kitwe district with a view of recommending on how to improve pupils' performance. The study was conducted in Kitwe district because in the past years pupils' performance in senior secondary schools has been…

Teacher Perceptions Regarding the Instrumental Factors That Impact Their Decisions to Remain in an Urban District

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Luckett, Tiffany Pointer

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the factors that impact teachers' decisions to remain teaching in an urban school district. The researcher analyzed survey data provided by the Office of Planning and Accountability for an urban school district in Tennessee. The findings of the study are also discussed as well as any implication for…

The Effects of Tier One RtI at the Elementary School Level Using I-Station on Reading Text Fluency

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lundin, Meredith M.

2017-01-01

This study looked at the effects of Tier 1 Response to Intervention (RtI) on elementary school reading fluency using I-Station assessment and intervention. The study included four elementary schools within the same school district that represented the four quadrants of the school district so that a variety of factors and the district's demographic…

Fiscal Capacity and Educational Finance: Variations Among States, School Districts and Municipalities. National Educational Finance Project Special Study Number 10.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rossmiller, Richard A.; And Others

The major objectives of this NEFP satellite study were to identify in the fiscal capacities of school districts serving areas of varying economic and demographic characteristics and to assess the effect on the fiscal capacity of school districts and municipalities when all expenditures for public services by local government units are considered.…

The Role of Place: Labor Market Dynamics in Rural and Non-Rural School Districts. WCER Working Paper No. 2017-4

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goff, Peter T.; Bruecker, Ellie M.

2017-01-01

A considerable body of work has addressed teacher labor markets and the sorting of teachers within and among school districts. Many studies have focused on urban schools within teacher labor markets, but far less research has examined teacher supply and demand among rural school districts. This study examines the pool of applicants vying for…

WWC Quick Review of the Report "Charter School Performance in Los Angeles Unified School District: A District and Neighborhood Matched Comparison Analysis"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

What Works Clearinghouse, 2008

2008-01-01

The study examined whether charter schools have higher growth in student achievement than traditional public schools. The study analyzed data on 79 charter schools and 593 traditional public elementary, middle, and high schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District from 2005-06 to 2006-07. School-level academic achievement was measured using…

Student-Issued One-to-One Laptop Computers on Secondary Campuses in Four Texas School Districts: A Phenomenological Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoyer, Randall J.

2011-01-01

The purpose of this phenomenological case study was to investigate the impact of one-to-one student issued laptop computers on secondary campuses in four rural Texas school districts. Data were collected using focus groups which included 27 leaders in four rural Texas school districts that had implemented the one-to-one laptop initiative. The…

A Longitudinal Study of Selected Impacts of the School District Finance and Quality Performance Accreditation (SDFQPA) Act on Representative Kansas School Districts, 2002-2011

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jordan, Brian C.

2012-01-01

Information gained from the present study should provide important policy insights into whether adjustments to the School District Finance and Quality Performance Accreditation (SDFQPA) Act funding formula have supported the original goal behind SDFQPA, which was to provide more equal funding to public elementary and secondary pupils in Kansas.…

A Longitudinal Study of Selected Impacts of the School District Finance and Quality Performance Accreditation (SSDFQPA) Act on Representative Kansas School Districts, 2002-2011

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jordan, Brian C.

2012-01-01

Information gained from the present study should provide important policy insights into whether adjustments to the School District Finance and Quality Performance Accreditation (SDFQPA) Act funding formula have supported the original goal behind SDFQPA, which was to provide more equal funding to public elementary and secondary pupils in Kansas.…

Teacher Career Advancement Initiatives: Lessons Learned from Eight Case Studies. Phase II of Creating Sustainable Teacher Career Pathways: A 21st Century Imperative

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Natale, Catherine Fisk; Gaddis, Lynn; Bassett, Katherine; McKnight, Katherine

2016-01-01

The purpose of this report is to describe what the authors learned from studying eight teacher career advancement initiatives implemented across a variety of contexts, including urban, suburban, and rural districts; high poverty and affluent districts; and in schools/districts both with and without strong union presence. They describe key…

School District Size and the Deployment of Personnel Resources.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Daft, Richard L.; Becker, Selwyn W.

1978-01-01

The administrative component was found to receive a smaller proportion of salaries in large districts, while clerical and maintenance service proportions increased, producing a net effect of larger overhead costs in this study of high school districts in the midwestern U.S. (KR)

Data, Our GPS

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Rich; Johnson, Marcus; Thompson, Karen D.

2012-01-01

A low-performing California school district experienced a dramatic turnaround when faculty members began studying student assessment data and working together to ensure students had the support they needed. Sanger Unified School District began its reform journey in 2004 when district leaders launched an effort to focus deliberately on student…

District nurses’ experiences of caring for leg ulcers in accordance with clinical guidelines: a grounded theory study

PubMed Central

Lagerin, Annica; Hylander, Ingrid; Törnkvist, Lena

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT This qualitative study used the grounded theory method to investigate district nurses’ experiences of caring for leg ulcers in accordance with clinical guidelines at seven primary health care centres in Stockholm, Sweden. Group interviews were conducted with 30 nurses. The results describe how district nurses strive to stay on track in order to follow clinical guidelines and remain motivated despite prolonged wound treatment and feelings of hopelessness. Three main obstacles to following the guidelines were found. District nurses used compensating strategies so the obstacles would not lead to negative consequences. If the compensating strategies were insufficient, perceived prolonged wound treatment and feelings of hopelessness could result. District nurses then used motivating strategies to overcome these feelings of hopelessness. Sometimes, despite the motivating strategies, treatment in accordance with guidelines could not be achieved. With some patients, district nurses had to compromise and follow the guidelines as far as possible. PMID:28747091

Modeling the Commuting Travel Activities within Historic Districts in Chinese Cities

PubMed Central

Yin, Fengjun; Hu, Qizhou

2014-01-01

The primary objective of this study is to analyze the characteristics of commuting activities within the historical districts in cities of China. The impacts of various explanatory variables on commuters' travels are evaluated using the structural equation modeling (SEM) approach. The household survey was conducted in the historical districts in Yangzhou, China. Based on the data, various individual and household attributes were considered exogenous variables, while the subsistence activity characteristics, travel times, numbers of three typical home-based trip chains, trip chains, and travel mode were considered as the endogenous variables. Commuters in our study were classified into two main groups according to their working location, which were the commuters in the historic district and those out of the district. The modeling results show that several individual and household attributes of commuters in historic district have significant impacts on the characteristics of travel activities. Additionally, the characteristics of travel activities within the two groups are quite different, and the contributing factors related to commuting travels are different as well. PMID:25435864

Modeling the commuting travel activities within historic districts in Chinese cities.

PubMed

Ye, Mao; Yu, Miao; Li, Zhibin; Yin, Fengjun; Hu, Qizhou

2014-01-01

The primary objective of this study is to analyze the characteristics of commuting activities within the historical districts in cities of China. The impacts of various explanatory variables on commuters' travels are evaluated using the structural equation modeling (SEM) approach. The household survey was conducted in the historical districts in Yangzhou, China. Based on the data, various individual and household attributes were considered exogenous variables, while the subsistence activity characteristics, travel times, numbers of three typical home-based trip chains, trip chains, and travel mode were considered as the endogenous variables. Commuters in our study were classified into two main groups according to their working location, which were the commuters in the historic district and those out of the district. The modeling results show that several individual and household attributes of commuters in historic district have significant impacts on the characteristics of travel activities. Additionally, the characteristics of travel activities within the two groups are quite different, and the contributing factors related to commuting travels are different as well.

Measuring Health System Strengthening: Application of the Balanced Scorecard Approach to Rank the Baseline Performance of Three Rural Districts in Zambia

PubMed Central

Mutale, Wilbroad; Godfrey-Fausset, Peter; Mwanamwenge, Margaret Tembo; Kasese, Nkatya; Chintu, Namwinga; Balabanova, Dina; Spicer, Neil; Ayles, Helen

2013-01-01

Introduction There is growing interest in health system performance and recently WHO launched a report on health systems strengthening emphasising the need for close monitoring using system-wide approaches. One recent method is the balanced scorecard system. There is limited application of this method in middle- and low-income countries. This paper applies the concept of balanced scorecard to describe the baseline status of three intervention districts in Zambia. Methodology The Better Health Outcome through Mentoring and Assessment (BHOMA) project is a randomised step-wedged community intervention that aims to strengthen the health system in three districts in the Republic of Zambia. To assess the baseline status of the participating districts we used a modified balanced scorecard approach following the domains highlighted in the MOH 2011 Strategic Plan. Results Differences in performance were noted by district and residence. Finance and service delivery domains performed poorly in all study districts. The proportion of the health workers receiving training in the past 12 months was lowest in Kafue (58%) and highest in Luangwa district (77%). Under service capacity, basic equipment and laboratory capacity scores showed major variation, with Kafue and Luangwa having lower scores when compared to Chongwe. The finance domain showed that Kafue and Chongwe had lower scores (44% and 47% respectively). Regression model showed that children's clinical observation scores were negatively correlated with drug availability (coeff −0.40, p = 0.02). Adult clinical observation scores were positively association with adult service satisfaction score (coeff 0.82, p = 0.04) and service readiness (coeff 0.54, p = 0.03). Conclusion The study applied the balanced scorecard to describe the baseline status of 42 health facilities in three districts of Zambia. Differences in performance were noted by district and residence in most domains with finance and service delivery performing poorly in all study districts. This tool could be valuable in monitoring and evaluation of health systems. PMID:23555590

Measuring health system strengthening: application of the balanced scorecard approach to rank the baseline performance of three rural districts in Zambia.

PubMed

Mutale, Wilbroad; Godfrey-Fausset, Peter; Mwanamwenge, Margaret Tembo; Kasese, Nkatya; Chintu, Namwinga; Balabanova, Dina; Spicer, Neil; Ayles, Helen

2013-01-01

There is growing interest in health system performance and recently WHO launched a report on health systems strengthening emphasising the need for close monitoring using system-wide approaches. One recent method is the balanced scorecard system. There is limited application of this method in middle- and low-income countries. This paper applies the concept of balanced scorecard to describe the baseline status of three intervention districts in Zambia. The Better Health Outcome through Mentoring and Assessment (BHOMA) project is a randomised step-wedged community intervention that aims to strengthen the health system in three districts in the Republic of Zambia. To assess the baseline status of the participating districts we used a modified balanced scorecard approach following the domains highlighted in the MOH 2011 Strategic Plan. Differences in performance were noted by district and residence. Finance and service delivery domains performed poorly in all study districts. The proportion of the health workers receiving training in the past 12 months was lowest in Kafue (58%) and highest in Luangwa district (77%). Under service capacity, basic equipment and laboratory capacity scores showed major variation, with Kafue and Luangwa having lower scores when compared to Chongwe. The finance domain showed that Kafue and Chongwe had lower scores (44% and 47% respectively). Regression model showed that children's clinical observation scores were negatively correlated with drug availability (coeff -0.40, p = 0.02). Adult clinical observation scores were positively association with adult service satisfaction score (coeff 0.82, p = 0.04) and service readiness (coeff 0.54, p = 0.03). The study applied the balanced scorecard to describe the baseline status of 42 health facilities in three districts of Zambia. Differences in performance were noted by district and residence in most domains with finance and service delivery performing poorly in all study districts. This tool could be valuable in monitoring and evaluation of health systems.

Improving hepatitis B birth dose in rural Lao People's Democratic Republic through the use of mobile phones to facilitate communication.

PubMed

Xeuatvongsa, Anonh; Datta, Siddhartha Sankar; Moturi, Edna; Wannemuehler, Kathleen; Philakong, Phanmanisone; Vongxay, Viengnakhone; Vilayvone, Vansy; Patel, Minal K

2016-11-11

Hepatitis B vaccine birth dose (HepB-BD) was introduced in Lao People's Democratic Republic to prevent perinatal hepatitis B virus transmission in 2008; high coverage is challenging since only 38% of births occur in a health facility. Healthcare workers report being unaware of home births and thus unable to conduct timely postnatal care (PNC) home visits. A quasi-experimental pilot study was conducted wherein mobile phones and phone credits were provided to village health volunteers (VHV) and healthcare workers (HCWs) to assess whether this could improve HepB-BD administration, as well as birth notification and increase home visits. From April to September 2014, VHVs and HCWs in four selected intervention districts were trained, supervised, received outreach per diem for conducting home visits, and received mobile phones and phone credits. In three comparison districts, VHVs and HCWs were trained, supervised, and received outreach per diem for conducting home visits. A post-study survey compared HepB-BD coverage among children born during the study and children born one year before. HCWs and VHVs were interviewed about the study. Among intervention districts, 463 study children and 406 pre-study children were enrolled in the survey; in comparison districts, 347 study children and 309 pre-study children were enrolled. In both arms, there was a significant improvement in the proportion of children reportedly receiving a PNC home visit (intervention p<0.0001, comparison p=0.04). The median difference in village level HepB-BD coverage (study cohort minus pre-study cohort), was 57% (interquartile range [IQR] 32-88%, p<0.0001) in intervention districts, compared with 20% (IQR 0-50%, p<0.0001) in comparison districts. The improvement in the intervention districts was greater than in the comparison districts (p=0.0009). Our findings suggest that the provision of phones and phone credits might be one important factor for increasing coverage. However, reasons for improvement in both arms are multifactorial and discussed. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

A Study Similarities and Differences in Selected Human Resource Practices and Their Relation to Teacher Retention in a Sample of Four School Districts, Two with High and Two with Low Rates of Retention

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Phelan, Patrick M.

2010-01-01

This is a study of the practices utilized by four school districts, two with high and two with low retention rates of teachers, to examine how similarities and differences in selected human resources practices relate to the successful retention of teachers in these districts. The factors studied that may impact teacher retention included…

Geography of Alaska Lake Districts: Identification, Description, and Analysis of Lake-Rich Regions of a Diverse and Dynamic State

USGS Publications Warehouse

Arp, Christopher D.; Jones, Benjamin M.

2009-01-01

Lakes are abundant landforms and important ecosystems in Alaska, but are unevenly distributed on the landscape with expansive lake-poor regions and several lake-rich regions. Such lake-rich areas are termed lake districts and have landscape characteristics that can be considered distinctive in similar respects to mountain ranges. In this report, we explore the nature of lake-rich areas by quantitatively identifying Alaska's lake districts, describing and comparing their physical characteristics, and analyzing how Alaska lake districts are naturally organized and correspond to climatic and geophysical characteristics, as well as studied and managed by people. We use a digital dataset (National Hydrography Dataset) of lakes greater than 1 hectare, which includes 409,040 individual lakes and represents 3.3 percent of the land-surface area of Alaska. The selection criteria we used to identify lake districts were (1) a lake area (termed limnetic ratio, in percent) greater than the mean for the State, and (2) a lake density (number of lakes per unit area) greater than the mean for the State using a pixel size scaled to the area of interest and number of lakes in the census. Pixels meeting these criteria were grouped and delineated and all groups greater than 1,000 square kilometers were identified as Alaska's lake districts. These lake districts were described according to lake size-frequency metrics, elevation distributions, geology, climate, and ecoregions to better understand their similarities and differences. We also looked at where lake research and relevant ecological monitoring has occurred in Alaska relative to lake districts and how lake district lands and waters are currently managed. We identified and delineated 20 lake districts in Alaska representing 16 percent of the State, but including 65 percent of lakes and 75 percent of lake area. The largest lake districts identified are the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Arctic Coastal Plain, and Iliamna lake districts with high limnetic ratios of 19, 17, and 21 percent, respectively. The three smallest districts we considered were Tetlin in the eastern interior, Menhiskof on the Alaska Peninsula, and Matanuska-Susitna at the head of Cook Inlet with limnetic ratios of 14, 9, and 9 percent, respectively. Lake density and limnetic ratio were poorly related among lake districts, such that some districts had a few large lakes like Iliamna with Lakes Iliamna and Becharof - the two largest in the State, compared to other districts with many very small lakes like Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta with 111,130 lakes and 63 percent of these less than 10 hectares. Most lake districts are in regions with relatively low precipitation, but temperature regimes varied widely among lake districts. Approximately one-half of lake districts were glaciated during the Pleistocene and similar numbers occur in regions classified as having continuous, discontinuous, and sporadic permafrost, or perennially unfrozen soils. Most districts are at low elevations (less than 250 meters) with two important exceptions being Tetlin with a mean elevation of 530 meters and Ahtna with a mean elevation of 760 meters. These higher elevation districts, particularly Ahtna, had distinct characteristics from other lake districts such as continuous permafrost and Pleistocene glaciation. Several lake districts share similar boundaries to defined ecoregions with lake districts occurring in less than one-half of these 32 ecoregions of Alaska. Most lake districts are lands fully or partly managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service, with other land management by the Bureau of Land Management and State and borough government. Much of the U.S. Geological Survey's lake water-quality sampling efforts has been done in the Arctic Coastal Plain, Matanuska-Susitna, and Iliamna districts but no recorded collections in nine lake districts. Similarly, most lake limnological studies in Alaska were site-specific an

An ecological study of food desert prevalence and 4th grade academic achievement in new york state school districts.

PubMed

Frndak, Seth E

2014-12-02

This ecological study examines the relationship between food desert prevalence and academic achievement at the school district level. Sample included 232 suburban and urban school districts in New York State. Multiple open-source databases were merged to obtain: 4(th) grade science, English and math scores, school district demographic composition (NYS Report Card), regional socioeconomic indicators (American Community Survey), school district quality (US Common Core of Data), and food desert data (USDA Food Desert Atlas). Multiple regression models assessed the percentage of variation in achievement scores explained by food desert variables, after controlling for additional predictors. The proportion of individuals living in food deserts significantly explained 4th grade achievement scores, after accounting for additional predictors. School districts with higher proportions of individuals living in food desert regions demonstrated lower 4th grade achievement across science, English and math. Food deserts appear to be related to academic achievement at the school district level among urban and suburban regions. Further research is needed to better understand how food access is associated with academic achievement at the individual level. Significance for public healthThe prevalence of food deserts in the United States is of national concern. As poor nutrition in United States children continues to spark debate, food deserts are being evaluated as potential sources of low fruit and vegetable intake and high obesity rates. Cognitive development and IQ have been linked to nutrition patterns, suggesting that children in food desert regions may have a disadvantage academically. This research evaluates if an ecological relationship between food desert prevalence and academic achievement at the school district level can be demonstrated. Results suggest that food desert prevalence may relate to poor academic performance at the school district level. Significant variation in academic achievement among urban and suburban school districts is explained by food desert prevalence, above additional predictors. This research lays the groundwork for future studies at the individual level, with possible implications for community interventions in school districts containing food desert regions.

Interventions for hiring, retaining and training district health systems managers in low- and middle-income countries.

PubMed

Rockers, Peter C; Bärnighausen, Till

2013-04-30

District managers are playing an increasingly important role in determining the performance of health systems in low- and middle-income countries as a result of decentralization. To assess the effectiveness of interventions to hire, retain and train district health systems managers in low- and middle-income countries. We searched a wide range of international databases, including the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE and EMBASE. We also searched online resources of international agencies, including the World Bank, to find relevant grey literature. Searches were conducted in December 2011. District health systems managers are those persons who are responsible for overseeing the operations of the health system within a defined, subnational geographical area that is designated as a district. Hiring and retention interventions include those that aim to increase the attractiveness of district management positions, as well as those related to hiring and retention processes, such as private contracting. Training interventions include education programs to develop future managers and on-the-job training programs for current managers. To be included, studies needed to use one of the following study designs: randomized controlled trial, nonrandomized controlled trial, controlled before-and-after study, and interrupted time series analysis. We report measures of effect in the same way that the primary study authors have reported them. Due to the varied nature of interventions included in this review we could not pool data across studies. Two studies met our inclusion criteria. The findings of one study conducted in Cambodia provide low quality evidence that private contracts with international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) for district health systems management ('contracting-in') may improve health care access and utilization. Contracting-in increased use of antenatal care by 28% and use of public facilities by 14%. However, contracting-in was not found to have an effect on population health outcomes. The findings of the other study provide low quality evidence that intermittent training courses over 18 months may improve district health system managers' performance. In three countries in Latin America, managers who did not receive the intermittent training courses had between 2.4 and 8.3 times more management deficiencies than managers who received the training courses. No studies that aimed to investigate interventions for retaining district health systems managers met our study selection criteria for inclusion in this review. There is low quality evidence that contracting-in may improve health care accessibility and utilization and that intermittent training courses may improve district health systems managers' performance. More evidence is required before firm conclusions can be drawn regarding the effectiveness of these interventions in diverse settings. Other interventions that might be promising candidates for hiring and retaining (e.g., government regulations, professional support programs) as well as training district health systems managers (e.g., in-service workshops with on-site support) have not been adequately investigated.

Research on the Positioning of Protection and Utilization of Historic Districts Under Big Data Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, J.; Zhang, J.; Huo, X.; Zheng, W.; Zheng, X.; Zhang, M.

2017-08-01

Historic districts are a special type of cultural heritage, as living cultural heritage, the utilization and development of historical districts is an inevitable issue. How to accurately position the protection and utilization of districts and achieve its healthy and sustainable development is the key work in the protection of districts. In this paper, the Internet data including Tencent's location big data are employed to study some Chinese historic and cultural streets, establish protection and development index system for historic and cultural streets, carry out in-depth study of ten core indicators, and sum up the positioning and development direction for the protection and use of districts. Historic district, as a special type of cultural heritage, is the birthplace and supporting zone of urban context, and also the place for the daily life of the general public. It boasts profound historic and humanistic background and the characteristics of a living form. As the living cultural heritage, its use and development are necessary, and attention shall also be paid to static protection and dynamic comprehensive management. But judging from the current practice, protection and use of historic districts face a host of challenges. Some districts are devoid of popularity and vitality and become cold galleries. Some districts suffer excessive development for tourism and commercialism, and lose its "original" cultural characteristics. In addition, throngs of tourists exert a negative impact on the life of the local people and the protection of immovable cultural relics. Disorderly business format and increasingly similar landscape go against the presentation of local characteristics. We should regard historic district as a dynamic urban heritage, and achieve dynamic development and protection in accordance with its inherent development laws and the principle of "step by step" through the "organic update" mode, with emphasis on the continuous comprehensive management of material space environment and cultural society. Therefore, how to make accurate positioning of the protection and utilization of districts and achieve its healthy and sustainable development is the key work in the protection of districts.

Examining the influence of family physician supply on district health system performance in South Africa: An ecological analysis of key health indicators.

PubMed

Von Pressentin, Klaus B; Mash, Bob J; Esterhuizen, Tonya M

2017-04-28

The supply of appropriate health workers is a key building block in the World Health Organization's model of effective health systems. Primary care teams are stronger if they contain doctors with postgraduate training in family medicine. The contribution of such family physicians to the performance of primary care systems has not been evaluated in the African context. Family physicians with postgraduate training entered the South African district health system (DHS) from 2011. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of family physicians within the DHS of South Africa. The objectives were to evaluate the impact of an increase in family physician supply in each district (number per 10 000 population) on key health indicators. All 52 South African health districts were included as units of analysis. An ecological study evaluated the correlations between the supply of family physicians and routinely collected data on district performance for two time periods: 2010/2011 and 2014/2015. Five years after the introduction of the new generation of family physicians, this study showed no demonstrable correlation between family physician supply and improved health indicators from the macro-perspective of the district. The lack of a measurable impact at the level of the district is most likely because of the very low supply of family physicians in the public sector. Studies which evaluate impact closer to the family physician's circle of control may be better positioned to demonstrate a measurable impact in the short term.

Buckeye Union High School District. Report of Survey.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arizona State Univ., Tempe. Bureau of Educational Research and Services.

Embracing 4 Arizona elementary school districts (Arlington, Buckeye, Liberty, and Palo Verde) visited by consultants for evaluative purposes, this report presents information about and recommendations for the elementary schools in the Buckeye Union High School District. Summaries on the educational programs (language arts, social studies,…

[Health status and living conditions in medical district of Sandnes during the period 1866-1900].

PubMed

Helgaland, T; Rosvold, E O

1999-12-10

The municipality of Sandnes became a separate medical district in 1866. The district physicians' reports give us an insight into health and living conditions in this district in the last half of the 19th century. This paper is based on a study of all statistical data and physicians' comments concerning the Sandnes district for the 1866-1900 period. The incidence of various diseases is estimated. Mental illness seems to have been more frequent in Sandness than in the rest of the county. In the physicians' reports, this was explained by the dominance of religious Puritanism in the district. The incidence of other disease, such as typhoid fever, tuberculosis and scarlet fever, did not differ essentially between Sandnes and the county as a whole. The living conditions in the district were rather good during the whole period, though the physicians' reports provide interesting insight in changes from one year to another.

Trip generation and data analysis study.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-09-01

Through the Trip Generation and Data Analysis Study, the District of Columbia Department of : Transportation (DDOT) is undertaking research to better understand multimodal urban trip generation : at mixed-use sites in the District. The study is helpi...

District-level variations in childhood immunizations in India: The role of socio-economic factors and health infrastructure.

PubMed

Rammohan, Anu; Awofeso, Niyi

2015-11-01

Routine childhood immunizations against measles and DPT are part of the World Health Organization's (WHO) Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) set up in 1974, with the aim of reducing childhood morbidity and mortality. Despite this, immunization rates are sub-optimal in developing countries such as India, with wide heterogeneity observed across districts and socio-economic characteristics. The aim of this paper is to examine district-level variations in the propensity to vaccinate a child in India for measles and DPT3, and analyse the extent to which these immunizations are given age-inappropriately, either prematurely or delayed. The present study uses data from the Indian District Level Household Survey (DLHS-3) collected in 2008, and the final sample contains detailed information on 42157 children aged between 12 and 60 months, across 549 Indian districts for whom we have complete information on immunization history. Our empirical study analyses: (i) the district-level average immunization rates for measles and DPT3, and (ii) the extent to which these immunizations have been given age-appropriately. A key contribution of this paper is that we link the household-level data at the district level to data on availability and proximity to health infrastructure and district-level socio-economic factors. Our results show that after controlling for an array of socio-economic characteristics, across all our models, the district's income per capita is a strong predictor of better immunization outcomes for children. Mother's education level at the district-level has a statistically significant and positive influence on immunization outcomes across all our models. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Spatial Distribution of the Population at Risk of Cholangiocarcinoma in Chum Phaung District, Nakhon Ratchasima Province of Thailand.

PubMed

Kaewpitoon, Soraya J; Rujirakul, Ratana; Loyd, Ryan A; Matrakool, Likit; Sangkudloa, Amnat; Kaewthani, Sarochinee; Khemplila, Kritsakorn; Eaksanti, Thawatchai; Phatisena, Tanida; Kujapun, Jirawoot; Norkaew, Jun; Joosiri, Apinya; Kaewpitoon, Natthawut

2016-01-01

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a serious health problem in Thailand, particularly in northeastern and northern regions, but epidemiological studies are scarce and the spatial distribution of CCA remains to be determined. A database for the population at risk is required for monitoring, surveillance and organization of home health care. This study aim was to geo-visually display the distribution of CCA in northeast Thailand, using a geographic information system and Google Earth. A cross-sectional survey was carried out in 9 sub-districts and 133 villages in Chum Phuang district, Nakhon Ratchasima province during June and October 2015. Data on demography, and the population at risk for CCA were combined with the points of villages, sub-district boundaries, district boundaries, and points of hospitals in districts, then fed into a geographical information system. After the conversion, all of the data were imported into Google Earth for geo-visualization. A total of 11,960 from 83,096 population were included in this study. Females and male were 52.5%, and 47.8%, the age group 41-50 years old 33.3%. Individual risk for CCA was identifed and classified by using the Korat CCA verbal screening test as low (92.8%), followed by high risk (6.74%), and no (0.49%), respectively. Gender (X2-test=1143.63, p-value= 0.001), age group (X2-test==211.36, p-value=0.0001), and sub-district (X2-test=1471.858, p-value=0.0001) were significantly associated with CCA risk. Spatial distribution of the population at risk for CCA in Chum Phuang district was viewed with Google Earth. Geo-visual display followed Layer 1: District, Layer 2: Sub-district, Layer 3: Number of low risk in village, Layer 4: Number of high risk in village, and Layer 5: Hospital in Chum Phuang District and their related catchment areas. We present the first risk geo-visual display of CCA in this rural community, which is important for spatial targeting of control efforts. Risk appears to be strongly associated with gender, age group, and sub-district. Therefor, spatial distribution is suitable for the use in the further monitoring, surveillance, and home health care for CCA.

Robust small area estimation of poverty indicators using M-quantile approach (Case study: Sub-district level in Bogor district)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Girinoto, Sadik, Kusman; Indahwati

2017-03-01

The National Socio-Economic Survey samples are designed to produce estimates of parameters of planned domains (provinces and districts). The estimation of unplanned domains (sub-districts and villages) has its limitation to obtain reliable direct estimates. One of the possible solutions to overcome this problem is employing small area estimation techniques. The popular choice of small area estimation is based on linear mixed models. However, such models need strong distributional assumptions and do not easy allow for outlier-robust estimation. As an alternative approach for this purpose, M-quantile regression approach to small area estimation based on modeling specific M-quantile coefficients of conditional distribution of study variable given auxiliary covariates. It obtained outlier-robust estimation from influence function of M-estimator type and also no need strong distributional assumptions. In this paper, the aim of study is to estimate the poverty indicator at sub-district level in Bogor District-West Java using M-quantile models for small area estimation. Using data taken from National Socioeconomic Survey and Villages Potential Statistics, the results provide a detailed description of pattern of incidence and intensity of poverty within Bogor district. We also compare the results with direct estimates. The results showed the framework may be preferable when direct estimate having no incidence of poverty at all in the small area.

Fine Particulate Matter Pollution and Hospital Admissions for Respiratory Diseases in Beijing, China.

PubMed

Xiong, Qiulin; Zhao, Wenji; Gong, Zhaoning; Zhao, Wenhui; Tang, Tao

2015-09-22

Fine particulate matter has become the premier air pollutant of Beijing in recent years, enormously impacting the environmental quality of the city and the health of the residents. Fine particles with aerodynamic diameters of 0~0.3 μm, 0.3~0.5 μm, and 0.5~1.0 μm, from the yeasr 2007 to 2012, were monitored, and the hospital data about respiratory diseases during the same period was gathered and calculated. Then the correlation between respiratory health and fine particles was studied by spatial analysis and grey correlation analysis. The results showed that the aerial fine particulate matter pollution was mainly distributed in the Zizhuyuan sub-district office. There was a certain association between respiratory health and fine particles. Outpatients with respiratory system disease in this study area were mostly located in the southeastern regions (Balizhuang sub-district office, Ganjiakou sub-district office, Wanshoulu sub-district office, and Yongdinglu sub-district office) and east-central regions (Zizhuyuan sub-district office and Shuangyushu sub-district office) of the study area. Correspondingly, PM₁ (particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter smaller than 1.0 um) concentrations in these regions were higher than those in any other regions. Grey correlation analysis results showed that the correlation degree of the fine particle concentration with the number of outpatients is high, and the smaller fine particles had more obvious effects on respiratory system disease than larger particles.

School Boards at the Dawn of the 21st Century: Conditions and Challenges of District Governance.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hess, Frederick M.

This report draws on the results of an extensive study to illuminate the nature of school boards and the challenges they face. Data were gathered from a survey of board members in 2,000 school districts. The response rate was 41 percent. Following are some of the more notable findings from the study. Boards in large districts (more than 25,000…

Entitlements for Federally Affected School Districts Under Public Laws 874 and 815: Case Studies. Volume II.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stanford Research Inst., Menlo Park, CA.

Public laws 874 and 815 are intended to help relieve the financial burdens imposed on public school districts as a result of the tax-exempt nature of federal property. Where volume 1 presented a broad statistical analysis of the impact of P.L. 874 and 815 in 54 school districts, this volume contains indepth case studies of the laws' effects in…

Title I: Although Definitions of Administrative Expenditures Vary, Almost All School Districts Studied Spent Less Than 10 Percent on Administration. Report to Congressional Committees.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shaul, Marnie S.

As mandated by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, the Government Accounting Office was charged with examining how school districts defined and spent Title I funds on administrative activities, and with reviewing Title I expenditures in at least six school districts. This document reports on how five studies defined Title I administrative…

The Effectiveness of Using the Mississippi Student Progress Monitoring System to Improve a District's State Test Scores

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilcox, Timothy Eugene

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine if there were differences in MCT2 scores between students who attended a school district that used MSPMS and students who attended a school district that did not use MSPMS. The data for this study were archived and consisted of math and language arts MCT2 scores for two groups of students. The independent…

Accountability Policy Implementation and the Case of Smaller School District Capacity: Three Contrasting Cases that Examine the Flow and Use of NCLB Accountability Data

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Christopher L.

2010-01-01

The No Child Left Behind Act increases pressure on schools and districts to use standardized state test data. Seeking to learn about the process of turning accountability data into actionable information, this paper presents findings from three case studies of small to medium sized school districts. The study examines the flow of state science…

Math Placement Validation Study: A Summary of the Criterion-Related Validity Evidence and Multiple Measures Data for the San Diego Community College District.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Armstrong, William B.

In Fall 1994, the San Diego Community College District (SDCCD), in California, conducted a study to determine the validity of the Mathematics Diagnostic Testing Project (MDTP) placement test. The MDTP provides tests at four levels (i.e., algebra readiness, elementary algebra, intermediate algebra, and pre-calculus) and is used in the District for…

No Child Left Behind and Its Effect on Recruiting and Retaining Special Education Teachers in Rural South Carolina School Districts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin, Deborah S.

2010-01-01

The study examined the No Child Left Behind Act as it relates to the recruiting and retention of special education teachers in rural school districts. The focus of the research was to examine those factors that have influenced teachers to leave the profession or to seek employment in more urban school districts. Data for the study were collected…

Iodine deficiency in children: A comparative study in two districts of south-interior Karnataka, India.

PubMed

Ahmed, Mansoor; Zama, Syed Y; Nagarajarao, Vadiraja; Khan, Mudassir A

2014-01-01

Iodine is an essential component of the hormones produced by the thyroid gland that are essential for mammalian life. Although goiter is the most visible sequelae of iodine deficiency, the major impact of hypothyroidism as a result of iodine deficiency is impaired neurodevelopment, particularly early in life. According to the World Health Organization, it is the single most preventable cause of mental retardation and brain damage. The simplest, most effective and inexpensive preventive method is the consumption of iodized salt. The objective of the following study is to estimate the prevalence of goiter in children in the rural areas of Mysore and Coorg districts in India and estimate iodine levels in salt samples. A cross-sectional study in the age group of 6-12 years, using population proportionate to size systematic sampling method. The total sample size was 10,082: out of which 5337 was from Mysore and the rest from Coorg district. Clinical examination of the thyroid gland was done and salt samples collected for the estimation of Iodine. The total prevalence of goiter was 19.01% in children of 6-12 years in Coorg district and 8.77% in Mysore district and it was more in females than in males. It was observed that iodine deficiency disorders is endemic in both districts, with a prevalence of 19.01% in children aged 6-12 years in Coorg district and 8.77% in Mysore district. Analysis of salt samples suggested that most of the samples were inadequately iodised (73.92% in Coorg and 45.92% in Mysore).

Evaluation of small area crop estimation techniques using LANDSAT- and ground-derived data. [South Dakota

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Amis, M. L.; Martin, M. V.; Mcguire, W. G.; Shen, S. S. (Principal Investigator)

1982-01-01

Studies completed in fiscal year 1981 in support of the clustering/classification and preprocessing activities of the Domestic Crops and Land Cover project. The theme throughout the study was the improvement of subanalysis district (usually county level) crop hectarage estimates, as reflected in the following three objectives: (1) to evaluate the current U.S. Department of Agriculture Statistical Reporting Service regression approach to crop area estimation as applied to the problem of obtaining subanalysis district estimates; (2) to develop and test alternative approaches to subanalysis district estimation; and (3) to develop and test preprocessing techniques for use in improving subanalysis district estimates.

Characteristics of School Districts That Participate in Rigorous National Educational Evaluations

PubMed Central

Stuart, Elizabeth A.; Bell, Stephen H.; Ebnesajjad, Cyrus; Olsen, Robert B.; Orr, Larry L.

2017-01-01

Given increasing interest in evidence-based policy, there is growing attention to how well the results from rigorous program evaluations may inform policy decisions. However, little attention has been paid to documenting the characteristics of schools or districts that participate in rigorous educational evaluations, and how they compare to potential target populations for the interventions that were evaluated. Utilizing a list of the actual districts that participated in 11 large-scale rigorous educational evaluations, we compare those districts to several different target populations of districts that could potentially be affected by policy decisions regarding the interventions under study. We find that school districts that participated in the 11 rigorous educational evaluations differ from the interventions’ target populations in several ways, including size, student performance on state assessments, and location (urban/rural). These findings raise questions about whether, as currently implemented, the results from rigorous impact studies in education are likely to generalize to the larger set of school districts—and thus schools and students—of potential interest to policymakers, and how we can improve our study designs to retain strong internal validity while also enhancing external validity. PMID:29276552

District heating and cooling systems for communities through power plant retrofit distribution network. Volume 3. Final report, September 1, 1978-May 31, 1979

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

This final report of Phase I of the study presents Task 4, Technical Review and Assessment. The most-promising district-heating concept identified in the Phase I study for the Public Service Electric and Gas Company, Newark, New Jersey, is a hot-water system in which steam is extracted from an existing turbine and used to drive a new, small backpressure turbine-generator. The backpressure turbine provides heat for district heating and simultaneously provides additional electric-generating capacity to partially offset the capacity lost due to the steam extraction. This approach is the most-economical way to retrofit the stations studied for district heating while minimizingmore » electric-capacity loss. Nine fossil-fuel-fired stations within the PSE and G system were evaluated for possibly supplying heat for district heating and cooling in cogeneration operations, but only three were selected to supply the district-heating steam. They are Essex, Hudson, and Bergen. Plant retrofit, thermal distribution schemes, consumer-conversion scheme, and consumer-metering system are discussed. Extensive technical information is provided in 16 appendices, additional tables, figures, and drawings. (MCW)« less

Case Studies of a Behavior Inclusion Model in an Elementary School District

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Santa Cruz, Margaret Escobar

2017-01-01

School discipline practices have traditionally been reactive and punitive in nature. Students violating a school district's code of conduct were often met with exclusionary discipline policies such as out-of-school suspensions, long-term suspensions, and expulsions. Districts attempted to resolve these practices by creating alternative education…

Perceptions of the Leadership Practices of Principals in a High Performing School District

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dinning, Molly

2014-01-01

The dissertation, "Perceptions Of The Leadership Practices Of Principals In A High Performing School District," explores the understandings of leadership practices from the perspective of parents, teachers, and principals in one high performing school district. The study addressed the leadership practices deemed important by the…

Educational Progress: Cities Mobilize To Improve Their Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hill, Paul T.; And Others

This report identifies the strategies that multiproblem urban school districts have used to make major improvements in recent years. A panel of experts familiar with urban school systems nominated over 30 candidate urban districts for study. The following districts were chosen for analysis: (1) Atlanta (Georgia); (2) Cincinnati (Ohio); (3) Memphis…

Collaborative Strategic Decision Making in School Districts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brazer, S. David; Rich, William; Ross, Susan A.

2010-01-01

Purpose: The dual purpose of this paper is to determine how superintendents in US school districts work with stakeholders in the decision-making process and to learn how different choices superintendents make affect decision outcomes. Design/methodology/approach: This multiple case study of three school districts employs qualitative methodology to…

Mentoring and Coaching Rural School Leaders: What Do They Need?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duncan, Heather E.; Stock, Mark J.

2010-01-01

This study explores the types of principal mentoring/coaching programs delivered in Wyoming school districts, USA, and the areas of need perceived by principals at different levels of experience. Some formalized district principal mentorship programs existed in larger school districts but these mainly targeted beginning principals. Most of the…

Educational Specifications, New Caney Independent School District.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Houston Univ., TX. Bureau of Educational Research and Services.

A year-long study of the communities encompassed by the New Caney Independent School District in Montgomery County, Texas, was conducted by the College of Education at the University of Houston. Educational facilities and program were surveyed. Planning data included--description of district, land usage, pupil residence, population density and…

Attitudes of School Board Members Toward Inter-School District Cooperation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fain, Robert P.

The purposes of this study were to determine the attitudes of selected public school district board members toward inter-school-district cooperation and the extent to which selected variables were related to board member attitudes. Data from questionnaires that sought demographic data, local-cosmopolitan orientation, and other information relevant…

Rural School Busing. ERIC Digest.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Howley, Aimee; Howley, Craig

This digest summarizes information suggesting that long bus rides are part of the hidden costs of school and district consolidation. Rural school districts spend more than twice per pupil what urban districts spend on transportation. A review of studies shows that rural school children were more likely than suburban school children to have bus…

Competition for Students in a Local School District

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chisesi, Lawrence J.

2015-01-01

I study how competition played out between elementary schools in a Colorado school district. When the school board approved new schools without catchments, schools faced with declining catchment populations responded. Some schools adapted by altering programming away from the standard district curriculum. I model a school's success in recruiting…

Evidence, Interpretation, and Persuasion: Instructional Decision Making at the District Central Office

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coburn, Cynthia E.; Toure, Judith; Yamashita, Mika

2009-01-01

Background/Context: Calls for evidence-based decision making have become increasingly prominent on the educational landscape. School district central offices increasingly experience these demands. Yet there are few empirical studies of evidence use at the district level. Furthermore, research on evidence use among policy makers in noneducation…

Making Sense of an Urban District's Adolescent Literacy Reform

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Patterson, Jean A.; Eubank, Heather; Rathbun, Shelia E.; Noble, Steve

2010-01-01

Weick's theory of sensemaking is used to analyze findings from a qualitative study of the implementation of a district-initiated adolescent intervention literacy course in two urban secondary schools. The authors concluded that implementation of the literacy course was hampered because district administrators, building leaders, teachers, and…

Potential Synergy: Rural School Districts and International Student Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Casto, Hope G.; Steinhauer, Alexandra; Pollock, Pamela M.

2012-01-01

Many rural school districts face declining enrollments. A few districts have taken the unusual path of recruiting international students in order to boost their enrollments. This study examines a community using this strategy and the resulting financial, academic, and social situations for the school, community, and students, both local and…

Children's Perceptions of a District-Wide Physical Education Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Prusak, Keven A.; Davis, Tirza; Pennington, Todd R.; Wilkinson, Carol

2014-01-01

Couched in attitude theory, this follow-up study examines children-voiced perceptions of "enjoyment" and "usefulness" toward a "district mandated" elementary physical education (PE) program. Attitudes of 277 5th and 6th grade males and females from four representative schools from within a district were assessed in a…

The Relationship between Pupil Control Ideology and Academic Optimism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gilbert, Michael J.

2012-01-01

This study investigates the relationship between pupil control ideology and academic optimism. Information was generated through responses to a questionnaire emailed to teachers in two school districts in Central New Jersey. The districts were categorized GH, as determined by the State's district factor grouping. The research concludes that there…

Everybody Leads: A Model for Collaborative Leadership

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maxfield, C. Robert; Klocko, Barbara A.

2010-01-01

This mixed-methods case study analyzes the perceptions of participants in a year-long collaborative leadership initiative conducted at a small school district situated between larger urban districts and multiple suburban districts in a midwestern state. The initiative was facilitated by the Galileo Institute for Teacher Leadership in cooperation…

Connect the Heart and Hands of Literacy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Novak, Sandi; Houck, Bonnie

2018-01-01

Curriculum is the "heart" of any educational Organization. Realizing its importance, many school districts engage in a curriculum renewal cycle. Doing this well can be a crucial factor in students' academic success During a typical cycle, the district identifies an area of study, at which point district and school personnel dive deep…

Decision-Making Processes in Texas School Districts That Arm Personnel

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Domain, Melinda Willoughby

2014-01-01

This qualitative phenomenological study employed narrative inquiry to describe the decision-making processes that Texas school districts followed in enacting firearms policies that allow school employees to carry concealed weapons on district property. Exploration of the lived experiences of eight Texas superintendents in such schools contributed…

How Do Local School Districts Formulate Educational Technology Policy?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hunt, Jeffrey L.; Lockard, James

This study reports on the formulation of educational technology policy in three Illinois K-12 school districts (n=36). Major findings included: (1) educational policy formulation in the districts focused on collecting the objects of technology, such as computers, modems, networks, rather than viewing educational technology as a systematic process…

Leading Effective Educational Technology in K-12 School Districts: A Grounded Theory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hill, Lara Gillian C.

2011-01-01

A systematic grounded theory qualitative study was conducted investigating the process of effectively leading educational technology in New Jersey public K-12 school districts. Data were collected from educational technology district leaders (whether formal or non-formal administrators) and central administrators through a semi-structured online…

Urban Multi-Unit Community Colleges: Adaptation for the '70s.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Palola, Ernest G.; Oswald, Arthur R.

This study examines the relationship between the organizational structure of multi-unit community college districts and the performance of urban campuses in serving disadvantaged students. Emphasis is on the expanding functions and changing structure of urban community colleges, the relationship between district office and district colleges, and…

The Plains City Story

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van Olphen, Marcela; Rios, Francisco; Berube, William; Dexter, Robin; McCarthy, Robert

2006-01-01

This case study portrays a contemporary phenomenon that affects many U.S. school districts. Specifically, the authors address the challenges that the superintendent of the Plains City school district faced as a result of a change in the demographic distribution of his district. The gradual development of the pig farming industry in Plains City…

The Study of Literacy Reinforcement of Science Teachers in Implementing 2013 Curriculum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dewi, W. S.; Festiyed, F.; Hamdi, H.; Sari, S. Y.

2018-04-01

This research aims to study and collect data comprehensively, new and actual about science literacy to improve the ability of educators in implementing the 2013 Curriculum at Junior High School Padang Pariaman District. The specific benefit of this research is to give description and to know the problem of science literacy problem in interaction among teacher, curriculum, facilities and infrastructure, evaluation, learning technology and students. This study uses explorative in deep study approach, studying and collecting data comprehensively from the interaction of education process components (curriculum, educator, learner, facilities and infrastructure, learning media technology, and evaluation) that influence the science literacy. This research was conducted in the districts of Padang Pariaman consisting of 17 subdistricts and 84 junior high schools managed by the government and private. The sample of this research is science teachers of Padang Pariaman District with sampling technique is stratified random sampling. The instrument used in this study is a questionnaire to the respondents. Research questionnaire data are processed by percentage techniques (quantitative). The results of this study explain that the understanding of science teachers in Padang Pariaman District towards the implementation of 2013 Curriculum is still lacking. The science teachers of Padang Pariaman District have not understood the scientific approach and the effectiveness of 2013 Curriculum in shaping the character of the students. To improve the understanding of the implementation of Curriculum 2013, it is necessary to strengthen the literacy toward science teachers at the Junior High School level in Padang Pariaman District.

Counseling, Psychological, and Social Services Staffing: Policies in U.S. School Districts.

PubMed

Brener, Nancy; Demissie, Zewditu

2018-06-01

Schools are in a unique position to meet the mental and behavioral health needs of children and adolescents because approximately 95% of young people aged 7-17 years attend school. Little is known, however, about policies related to counseling, psychological, and social services staffing in school districts. This study analyzed the prevalence of such policies in public school districts in the U.S. Data from four cycles (2000, 2006, 2012, and 2016) of the School Health Policies and Practices Study, a national survey periodically conducted to assess policies and practices for ten components of school health, were analyzed in 2017. The survey collected data related to counseling, psychological, and social services among nationally representative samples of school districts using online or mailed questionnaires. Sampled districts identified respondents responsible for or most knowledgeable about the content of each questionnaire. The percentage of districts with a district-level counseling, psychological, and social services coordinator increased significantly from 62.6% in 2000 to 79.5% in 2016. In 2016, 56.3% of districts required each school to have someone to coordinate counseling, psychological, and social services at the school. Fewer districts required schools at each level to have a specified ratio of counselors to students (16.2% for elementary schools, 16.8% for middle schools, and 19.8% for high schools), and the percentage of districts with these requirements has decreased significantly since 2012. Increases in the prevalence of district-level staffing policies could help increase the quantity and quality of counseling, psychological, and social services staff in schools nationwide, which in turn could improve mental and behavioral health outcomes for students. This article is part of a supplement entitled The Behavioral Health Workforce: Planning, Practice, and Preparation, which is sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Published by Elsevier Inc.

The impact of area-based initiatives on physical activity trends in deprived areas; a quasi-experimental evaluation of the Dutch District Approach.

PubMed

Kramer, Daniëlle; Droomers, Mariël; Jongeneel-Grimen, Birthe; Wingen, Marleen; Stronks, Karien; Kunst, Anton E

2014-03-11

Numerous area-based initiatives (ABIs) have been implemented in deprived neighbourhoods across Europe. These large-scale initiatives aim to tackle the socio-economic and environmental problems in these areas that might influence physical activity (PA). There is little robust evidence of their impact on PA. This study aimed to assess the impact of a Dutch ABI called the District Approach on trends in leisure-time PA in deprived districts. Repeated cross-sectional data on 48401 adults across the Netherlands were obtained from the Integrated Survey on Household Living Conditions (POLS) 2004-2011. 1517 of these adults resided in deprived target districts and 46884 adults resided elsewhere in the Netherlands. In a quasi-experimental interrupted time-series design, multilevel logistic regression analyses were performed to assess trends in leisure-time walking, cycling, and sports before and during the intervention. Trends in deprived target districts were compared with trends in various control groups. The role of the intensity of environmental interventions was also assessed. Deprived target districts showed a significantly positive change in walking trend between the pre-intervention and intervention period. The trend change in the deprived target districts was significantly larger compared to the rest of the Netherlands, but not compared to other deprived districts. For cycling and sports, neither deprived districts nor control districts showed a significant trend change. For all leisure-time PA outcomes, trend changes were not related to the intensity of environmental interventions in the deprived target districts. Some evidence was found to suggest that ABIs like the District Approach have a positive impact on leisure-time PA in deprived districts, regardless of the intensity of environmental interventions.

The impact of area-based initiatives on physical activity trends in deprived areas; a quasi-experimental evaluation of the Dutch District Approach

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Numerous area-based initiatives (ABIs) have been implemented in deprived neighbourhoods across Europe. These large-scale initiatives aim to tackle the socio-economic and environmental problems in these areas that might influence physical activity (PA). There is little robust evidence of their impact on PA. This study aimed to assess the impact of a Dutch ABI called the District Approach on trends in leisure-time PA in deprived districts. Methods Repeated cross-sectional data on 48401 adults across the Netherlands were obtained from the Integrated Survey on Household Living Conditions (POLS) 2004–2011. 1517 of these adults resided in deprived target districts and 46884 adults resided elsewhere in the Netherlands. In a quasi-experimental interrupted time-series design, multilevel logistic regression analyses were performed to assess trends in leisure-time walking, cycling, and sports before and during the intervention. Trends in deprived target districts were compared with trends in various control groups. The role of the intensity of environmental interventions was also assessed. Results Deprived target districts showed a significantly positive change in walking trend between the pre-intervention and intervention period. The trend change in the deprived target districts was significantly larger compared to the rest of the Netherlands, but not compared to other deprived districts. For cycling and sports, neither deprived districts nor control districts showed a significant trend change. For all leisure-time PA outcomes, trend changes were not related to the intensity of environmental interventions in the deprived target districts. Conclusion Some evidence was found to suggest that ABIs like the District Approach have a positive impact on leisure-time PA in deprived districts, regardless of the intensity of environmental interventions. PMID:24612770

School District Crisis Preparedness, Response, and Recovery Plans - United States, 2012.

PubMed

Silverman, Brenda; Chen, Brenda; Brener, Nancy; Kruger, Judy; Krishna, Nevin; Renard, Paul; Romero-Steiner, Sandra; Avchen, Rachel Nonkin

2016-09-16

The unique characteristics of children dictate the need for school-based all-hazards response plans during natural disasters, emerging infectious diseases, and terrorism (1-3). Schools are a critical community institution serving a vulnerable population that must be accounted for in public health preparedness plans; prepared schools are adopting policies and plans for crisis preparedness, response, and recovery (2-4). The importance of having such plans in place is underscored by the development of a new Healthy People 2020 objective (PREP-5) to "increase the percentage of school districts that require schools to include specific topics in their crisis preparedness, response, and recovery plans" (5). Because decisions about such plans are usually made at the school district level, it is important to examine district-level policies and practices. Although previous reports have provided national estimates of the percentage of districts with policies and practices in place (6), these estimates have not been analyzed by U.S. Census region* and urbanicity.(†) Using data from the 2012 School Health Policies and Practices Study (SHPPS), this report examines policies and practices related to school district preparedness, response, and recovery. In general, districts in the Midwest were less likely to require schools to include specific topics in their crisis preparedness plans than districts in the Northeast and South. Urban districts tended to be more likely than nonurban districts to require specific topics in school preparedness plans. Southern districts tended to be more likely than districts in other regions to engage with partners when developing plans. No differences in district collaboration (with the exception of local fire department engagement) were observed by level of urbanicity. School-based preparedness planning needs to be coordinated with interdisciplinary community partners to achieve Healthy People 2020 PREP-5 objectives for this vulnerable population.

Changing Land Use: The Back Lachlan District of Australia. A Case Study of Land Use in a Semi-Arid Area [And] Student Work Book.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Laws, Kevin

A social studies unit and student workbook explore changes in land use that have occurred over time in a semiarid area of eastern Australia, the Back Lachlan District. Part of the "outback," the District consists of a huge level plain with low rainfall, only one river, and vegetation ranging from timber to grass and shrub. Chapter I…

Biomass district heating methodology and pilot installations for public buildings groups

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chatzistougianni, N.; Giagozoglou, E.; Sentzas, K.; Karastergios, E.; Tsiamitros, D.; Stimoniaris, D.; Stomoniaris, A.; Maropoulos, S.

2016-11-01

The objective of the paper is to show how locally available biomass can support a small-scale district heating system of public buildings, especially when taking into account energy audit in-situ measurements and energy efficiency improvement measures. The step-by-step methodology is presented, including the research for local biomass availability, the thermal needs study and the study for the biomass district heating system, with and without energy efficiency improvement measures.

Reorganization of the Peralta Community College District: A Study of Reorganization of the Territory Presently Included in the Plumas County Portion of the District. Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 54.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alt, Weston M.

In compliance with legislative mandate, this two-part report provides a comprehensive feasibility assessment of the reorganization of territory presently included in the Plumas County portion of the Peralta Community College District (PCCD). Part I begins with an overview of the study and its background, and then discusses barriers to and…

How They Decide: A Case Study Examining the Decision Making Process for Keeping or Cutting Music Education in a K-12 Public School District

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Major, Marci L.

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine and understand the decision making process for keeping or cutting music programs in one selected public school district. Berkley School District, in the Detroit suburb of Berkley, Michigan, has not made extreme cuts to the music program in over ten years, nor have they specifically targeted their music…

How They Decide: A Case Study Examining the Decision-Making Process for Keeping or Cutting Music in a K-12 Public School District

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Major, Marci L.

2013-01-01

This study was designed to examine the decision-making process for keeping or cutting the music program in one selected public school district. Lekbery School District, in the Detroit suburb of Lekbery, Michigan, had not made extreme cuts to the music program in over 10 years, nor had it specifically targeted the music program when budgets cuts…

The Epidemiology of Anti-Sperm Antibodies Among Couples with Unexplained Infertility in North West Bank, Palestine.

PubMed

Yasin, Anas Lotfi; Yasin, Ahmad Lotfi; Basha, Walid Salim

2016-03-01

Anti sperm antibodies (ASA) can present in serum and semen and they may lead to impair the sperms function leading to infertility. The precise mechanism of generation of these antibodies is yet to be discovered. This study was performed to determine the prevalence of anti-sperm antibodies (ASA) in patients with unexplained infertility. The study was initiated also to explore the possible factors that may associate with ASA formation and how ASA status is associated with pregnancy rates after going with in vitro fertilization - intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF-ICSI). A cross-sectional study was conducted on 42 normal infertile couples consulting Razan Medical Center for Infertility & I.V.F. in Nablus, Palestine, from December 2012 - March 2013. Serum levels of immunoglobulins G (IgG) ASA were measured in participants (males and females) using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In addition, participants also filled a questionnaire about the presence of previous varicocele repair, inguinal hernia repair, orchitis, testicular trauma and vasectomy reversal among males and severe coitus bleeding and coitus during menses or puerperium among females. Couples were also asked about previous IVF-ICSI procedures and the outcome of the procedure in terms of either they got pregnant or not. Data was analysed using SPSS software. The prevalence of ASA was 14.3% (6/42) among all couples, 9.5% (4/42) among males and 4.8% (2/42) among females. There was no significant relationship between previous varicocele repair, previous inguinal hernia repair, or orchitis and formation of ASA (p value =0.64, 0.56, and 0.26 respectively). Previous trauma, vasovasostomy, severe coitus bleeding and coitus during menses or puerperium were not observed in any of the study sample. ASA did not seem to affect the outcome of IVF-ICSI (p-value =0.54). Prevalence of ASA in infertile couples in the north part of Palestine is similar to that obtained worldwide. ASA formation does not relate to any of the studied risk factors and does not seem to associate with pregnancy rate after IVF-ICSI. We recommend further studies using a larger sample size and including all parts of Palestine in order to generalize the obtained results.

Is it better to invest in place or people to maximize population health? Evaluation of the general health impact of urban regeneration in Dutch deprived neighbourhoods.

PubMed

Droomers, Mariël; Jongeneel-Grimen, Birthe; Bruggink, Jan-Willem; Kunst, Anton; Stronks, Karien

2016-09-01

To study the general health impact of urban regeneration programmes in deprived Dutch districts. We compared initiatives that focused on the improvement of place with initiatives that mainly invested in people. A quasi-experimental design compared the trend in good perceived general health in the target districts with comparison districts. Generalized general mixed models assessed the rate of change in prevalence of good health per half year during a prolonged period before and after the start of the interventions. Neither the target districts that invested mainly in place nor the ones with interventions focused on people showed trends in general health different than comparison districts (p>0.05). However, only districts with interventions focused on place showed no deterioration in general health during the intervention period. The trend change in these districts differed significantly from the change in the districts that invested mainly in people (p<0.05). Urban regeneration programmes that focus on place may be effective in promoting general health. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of a monitoring program for assessing the effects of management practices on the quantity and quality of drainwater from the Panoche Water District, western San Joaquin Valley, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Leighton, David A.; Fio, John L.

1995-01-01

An evaluation was made of an existing monitoring program in the Panoche Water District for 1986-93. The Panoche Water District is an agricultural area located in the western San Joaquin Valley of California. Because irrigation drainage from this area has high concentrations of dissolved solids and selenium, management strategies have been developed to improve the quality of drainwater discharge. The purpose of the Panoche Water District's monitoring program is to assess the effects of water- and land-use practices on local ground water and drain flow from the district. Drainflow from the district consists of the discharge from 50 separate on-farm underground tile-drainage systems. The Panoche Water District maintains information on water deliveries, planned and actual crop types, and planned and actual acreages planted each year. In addition, the water district monitors ground-water and drainage-system discharges using a variety of data-collection methods. A total of 62 observation well sites are used to monitor ground-water level and quality. A total of 42 sites were monitored for drainflow quantity, and drain flow quality samples were collected from the outlets of each of the 50 drainage systems. However, these data were collected inconsistently and (or) intermittently during the period studied. All data obtained from the water district were compiled and stored in a geographic information system database. Water delivered for irrigation by the Panoche Water District is a mix of imported water and local ground water pumped directly into delivery canals. Although delivered water is a mix, information on the proportion of water from the two sources is not reported. Also, individual growers pump directly to their crops unknown quantities of ground water, the total of which could be greater than 60 percent of total applications during years when water district deliveries are greatly reduced (for example, the years during and following a drought). To evaluate the effects of irrigation on ground-water and drainflow quality, data on the combined chemical characteristics and the volume of water applied to crops are needed as part of the district's monitoring program. For example, without these data, this study could estimate only the effects of irrigation on ground-water recharge for 1986 (60.4 106 m3/y), 1987 (74.2 106 m3/y), and 1988 (56.0 106 m3/y) in the Panoche Water District water years when the amount of ground water pumped by individual growers was probably small. Water-level data show a significant decline of the water table in the upslope, undrained parts of the study area, and little or no significant change in the down slope, drained parts of the study area. Pumping from productions wells, most of which are located in the upslope part of the study area, may have contributed to the decline of the water table in the upslope area. The quantities of drainflow, dissolved solids, and selenium discharged from the study area decreased during the study period. However, drainflow, dissolved solids, and selenium discharged from individual on-farm drainage systems did not decrease. These data also illustrate the need for consistent and regular monitoring of the factors that affect drainage in the western San Joaquin Valley.

Examining the influence of family physician supply on district health system performance in South Africa: An ecological analysis of key health indicators

PubMed Central

Mash, Robert J.

2017-01-01

Background The supply of appropriate health workers is a key building block in the World Health Organization’s model of effective health systems. Primary care teams are stronger if they contain doctors with postgraduate training in family medicine. The contribution of such family physicians to the performance of primary care systems has not been evaluated in the African context. Family physicians with postgraduate training entered the South African district health system (DHS) from 2011. Aim This study aimed to evaluate the impact of family physicians within the DHS of South Africa. The objectives were to evaluate the impact of an increase in family physician supply in each district (number per 10 000 population) on key health indicators. Setting All 52 South African health districts were included as units of analysis. Methods An ecological study evaluated the correlations between the supply of family physicians and routinely collected data on district performance for two time periods: 2010/2011 and 2014/2015. Results Five years after the introduction of the new generation of family physicians, this study showed no demonstrable correlation between family physician supply and improved health indicators from the macro-perspective of the district. Conclusion The lack of a measurable impact at the level of the district is most likely because of the very low supply of family physicians in the public sector. Studies which evaluate impact closer to the family physician’s circle of control may be better positioned to demonstrate a measurable impact in the short term. PMID:28470076

Due Process Hearing Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bateman, David F.

2008-01-01

Chris resides with his parents and attends school in an unnamed district ("the District"). During the second half of second grade, Chris started to have problems with reading and written expression. The District evaluated Chris and did not find problems significant enough to identify him as having a learning disability. At about the same time his…

A Qualitative Study of Teachers' Work in Professional Learning Communities in a Small Urban District

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thessin, Rebecca Ann

2010-01-01

Numerous districts are implementing Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) as a part of reform efforts to improve student achievement to meet external accountability mandates. Few districts, however, have considered the essential supports and components that teachers working in PLCs require for these teams to result in instructional improvement.…

Cognitively Guided Instruction: An Implementation Case Study of a High Performing School District

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dowdy, William D. B.

2011-01-01

No Child Left Behind legislation developed goals for every student to be proficient in each academic subject by 2014. California's students are far from meeting this goal, especially in mathematics. One Southern Californian school district, renamed Green Valley Unified School District for anonymity, began using Cognitively Guided Instruction…

Campaign Expenditures in School Levy Referenda and Their Relationship to Voter Approval: Evidence from Ohio, 2007-2010

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ingle, William Kyle; Johnson, Paul Andrew; Givens, Matt Ryan; Rampelt, Jerry

2013-01-01

Using logistic regression, this study sought to understand the relationship between district characteristics, district finances, levy characteristics, and campaign expenditures with new operating levy outcomes. We found that employee benefits as a percentage of the district's budget were negatively associated with levy outcomes, while salaries…

Local/Global Cognitive Interfaces within Industrial Districts: An Italian Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grandinetti, Roberto

2011-01-01

Purpose: With the advance of globalization the competitive chances of industrial districts depends increasingly on their ability to connect to the cognitive circuits of the global economy. This challenge demands the presence of local actors capable of acting as cognitive interfaces between the district context and the global environment. The paper…

The Influence of Reduction in Force on Educators in One Texas School District

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oge, Debra Reviere

2015-01-01

The purpose of this phenomenological narrative study was to explore influences of a reduction in force (RIF) on educators in one Texas school district. The four questions that guided the research examined the relationships, job performance, supportive action and suggestions for improvement for districts contemplating a reduction in force. Nine…

NAEP Reporting Practices: Investigating District-Level and Market-Basket Reporting. The Compass Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DeVito, Pasquale J., Ed.; Koenig, Judith A., Ed.

A committee of the National Research Council studied the desirability, feasibility, and potential impact of two reporting practices for National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results: district-level reporting and market-basket reporting. NAEP's sponsors believe that reporting district-level NAEP results would support state and local…

Designing a Transportation System for a Parent Choice School District: A Transportation Supervisor's Handbook.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Paller, Alan; And Others

This study was commissioned to investigate the special transportation problems in parent-choice school districts and to prepare a handbook to assist transportation supervisors in overcoming these problems. Intended for school districts that have alternative schools, open enrollment plans, magnet schools, or other kinds of parent and student choice…

Coherent District Reform: A Case Study of Two California School Districts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ezzani, Miriam

2015-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to enhance our understanding of districts that are implementing sustainable professional learning in data-driven decision-making (DDDM) to improve student achievement. The data-informed leadership framework, comprised of leadership practices that acknowledge the complexities that play into data use, guided the inquiry.…

Making Sense, Making Do: Local District Implementation of a New State Induction Policy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ellis, Chad D.

2016-01-01

Connecticut's Teacher Education and Mentoring (TEAM) program is in its early stages of implementation. This study examined how local school districts implemented TEAM and identified factors that affected implementation. It was based on interviews with twenty-two participants at the state, district, and local school levels. The intentions of the…

Services for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Three, Large Urban School Districts: Perspectives of Parents and Educators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Iadarola, Suzannah; Hetherington, Susan; Clinton, Christopher; Dean, Michelle; Reisinger, Erica; Huynh, Linh; Locke, Jill; Conn, Kelly; Heinert, Sara; Kataoka, Sheryl; Harwood, Robin; Smith, Tristram; Mandell, David S.; Kasari, Connie

2015-01-01

This study used qualitative methods to evaluate the perceptions of parents, educators, and school administrators in three large, urban school districts (Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Rochester) regarding services for children with autism spectrum disorder within the context of limited district resources. Facilitators followed a standard…

Who Moved My Curriculum? Leadership Preparation Programs and the Core Technology of Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Doolittle, Gini; Browne, Evelyn Gallagher

2011-01-01

This cross-case study utilizes the publically available data of three urban low-performing, low-socioeconomic-status districts designated as "districts in need of improvement" under No Child Left Behind legislation. Despite multiple interventions aimed at improving student learning, these and other districts remain in corrective action.…

A Study of the Predictability of School District Bond Ratings.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vedra, Kenneth David

School district bond ratings, issued on request by Standard and Poor's Corporation or Moody's Investors Service, hold implications for school districts' financial management. Ultimately, the bond rating assigned is a factor affecting the total cost of the bond issuance, related to the principal and interest payments over the life of the debt. A…

Comparison of Students with Emotional and/or Behavioral Disorders as Classified by Their School Districts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mattison, Richard E.

2015-01-01

This study of 182 secondary special education students with emotional and/or behavioral disorders investigated their classification by their school districts, in particular how well they were distinguished and represented by their federal categories. The districts used four classification groups (emotional disturbance, other health impairment…

The Strength of School Wellness Policies: One State's Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Metos, Julie; Nanney, Marilyn S.

2007-01-01

Background: This study examines the results of federal legislation on the content and quality of policies written in 2005-2006 by Utah school districts (n = 30). Methods: Policies were gathered by phone call requests to school districts or obtained on district Web pages. Content was compared to requirements outlined in the Child Nutrition…

Differences in Spending in School Districts across Geographic Locales in Minnesota. Issues & Answers. REL 2012-No. 124

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wan, Yinmei; Norbury, Heather; Molefe, Ayrin C.; Gerdeman, R. Dean; Meyers, Coby V.; Burke, Matthew

2012-01-01

This study examines the relationship between school district expenditures and district characteristics, including regional features (enrollment size, student population density, labor costs, and geographic remoteness) and level of student need (percentages of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, of special education students, and of…

Investment Practices of Local School Districts.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cober, John G.

This study determined the number of Pennsylvania school districts that invest surplus funds and the rate of return on these investments. Also examined was the relationship among the amount of money earned from investments and the assessed value of the district, the aid ratio, the income from real estate, and the beginning and ending balance to…

Reducing Lead in School Drinking Water: A Case Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Odell, Lee

1991-01-01

The Seattle School District began a program in 1990 to identify lead levels in the district's drinking water and to implement measures to lower any high lead levels. Recounts each of the seven steps of the program, discusses what the district found, and explains how it lowered lead levels in the drinking water. (MLF)

Collision Course: Embracing Politics to Succeed in District-Charter Collaboration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jochim, Ashley; Yatsko, Sarah; Opalka, Alice

2018-01-01

Many who attempt district-charter collaboration point to "politics" as a constraint that affects their work, but little is understood about why some collaborations enjoy broad support while others become mired in conflict. Drawing upon CRPE's multiyear study of district-charter collaborations in dozens of cities as well as research on…

K-8 Teachers Using Mobile Technology as a Student Centered Instructional Tool

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Durbin, Annette L.

2013-01-01

Mobile technology is increasing its presence in the educational environment. The public school district in this study has made great strides improving technology usage in schools with updated hardware, extensive district-wide infrastructure, a technology plan, and professional development. While the district has been successful in some areas, like…

Preassessment Team Practices in Rural Settings: An Analysis of Team Activities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ormsbee, Christine K.; Haring, Kathryn

A study in a small rural school district used district preassessment records of students referred for a comprehensive, special education evaluation to determine if preassessment practices had improved. The district was located in a midwestern state that mandated preassessment practices in the mid-1980s in an effort to control special education…

A Case Study of School District Consolidation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cronin, Joseph M.

2010-01-01

Several New England states have been rethinking the system whereby small towns make the key decisions about school budgets and staffing under the banner of local control. Maine already has mandated a reduction in the number of local school districts from 290 to 80, allowing localities to vote on the larger districts. This consolidation, unpopular…

Per Pupil Expenditure, Graduation Rates, and ACT Scores in Tennessee School Districts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Irvin, Jay Andrew

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate and identify possible relationships between academic achievement, as measured by high school graduation rate and ACT composite scores of individual school districts within the state of Tennessee, and the per-pupil expenditure of each district. Research was conducted to determine whether a significant…

Improving Outcomes for Students with Disabilities: Identifying Characteristics of Successful Districts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DeVries, Melissa; Tkatchov, Oran

2017-01-01

The common characteristics among Arizona districts and charters with high academic outcomes for student disabilities were identified in a qualitative study involving site visits and interviews. In 2014, the Arizona Department of Education examined over three years of state testing data to identify districts and charter schools that closed the…

Parental and Professional Participation in the IEP Process: A Comparison of Discourses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harris, Apollos Ramon

2010-01-01

This study examined the participation styles of nine parents while attending Individual Educational Program (IEP) meetings for their children. The nine parents consisted of three parents from a suburban school district, three parents from a rural school district, and three parents from an urban school district. Data collection through videotaping…

An Examination of Student Reengagement District Administrative Procedures: An Action Research Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoadley, Jared Louis

2016-01-01

Changes in Washington State law require all school districts to adopt policies and procedures concerned with student reengagement. This dissertation describes the action research undertaken in the Mead School District to address requirements of the new law to successfully reenter students after being absent due to exclusionary discipline. The…

Strategies to Maintain School District Financial Solvency: Illinois School Business Officials' Recommendations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, Ann C.; Kersten, Thomas A.

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to identify financial management strategies that school business officials have found most successful in achieving school district financial stability. To accomplish, 208 Illinois school business officials in six counties: Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will counties, excluding Chicago School District 299,…

Strategies and Factors Influencing Public School District Referendums

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stauffacher, Alan N.

2012-01-01

Many school districts are in need of a successful plan of action for school district referendums. The purpose of this descriptive study was to determine the perceived effectiveness between factors and strategies surrounding referendums and the passage of those measures meant to improve school funding and facilities. The findings from Johnson and…

Physical Education for Individuals with Disabilities in Washington State's Rural School Districts.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Palma, Gloria M.

This study investigated the nature and extent of physical education programs for individuals with disabilities in Washington State's small rural public school districts. Questionnaires were sent to 185 superintendents of small rural school districts in the state. Of the 128 responses, 70.3% enrolled individuals with disabilities. Fifty-eight…

The Impact of Leadership Behavior of the Superintendent on Restructuring Rural Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boone, Mike

This study was conducted to identify the ways that superintendents in rural school districts deal successfully with restructuring. The analysis is based on interviews with superintendents and principals in four rural districts. The districts, in Texas and Oklahoma, were selected especially for their successful restructuring programs. The two Texas…

An Analysis of ESL/Bilingual Education Policy in Oregon School Districts.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Mary E.; Heflin, John F.

A study of English-as-a-second-language (ESL) and bilingual education policies in Oregon's local school districts analyzed their contribution to equal educational opportunity and quality education for language minority students. A survey of all public school districts in the state elicited information about eight policy areas: identification and…

Case Study III: The University of Washington and Bellevue School District Partnership

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coburn, Cynthia E.; Penuel, William R.; Geil, Kimberly E.

2015-01-01

This design-research partnership involves learning scientists, design researchers, and graduate students from the Learning in Informal and Formal Environments (LIFE) Center and the College of Education at the University of Washington (UW), and district staff, teachers, and students from the Bellevue School District (BSD). The goal of their work is…

Policy Poison or Promise: Exploring the Dual Nature of California School District Collective Bargaining Agreements

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Strunk, Katharine O.

2012-01-01

Purpose: This study examines policies set in the collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) negotiated between teachers' unions and school boards and explores what kinds of districts have contract provisions that restrict district administrators, enhance administrative flexibility, and/or improve teachers' professional work lives and that have…

The Vulnerability of Urban Elementary School Arts Programs: A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shaw, Ryan D.

2018-01-01

With the intent of improving understanding of cuts to elementary arts programs, the purpose of this research was to investigate how one urban school district (Lansing School District in Lansing, Michigan) eliminated its elementary arts specialists. Research questions were (1) What policy conditions enabled the Lansing School District's decision to…

Segregation by District Boundary Line: The Fragmentation of Memphis Area Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Frankenberg, Erica; Siegel-Hawley, Genevieve; Diem, Sarah

2017-01-01

Boundary lines have long served as a mechanism to divide people, determining the quality of available resources, and ultimately, educational opportunity. In recent years, new school district boundaries have proliferated as local communities attempt to secede from larger school districts. In this study of Memphis-Shelby County, Tennessee, we extend…

Mental Health Program for Sacramento Unified School District Elementary School Principals.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davis, Robert F.

This study reports on the development of a professionally prepared and delivered mental health program addressed to the needs and interests of elementary principals in a California school district. The needs of the principals were identified at a series of meetings with the district's principals association in which 15 program goals were…

Superintendent Turnover in Kentucky. Summary. Issues & Answers. REL 2011-No. 113

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Jerry; Huffman, Tyler; Madden, Karen; Shope, Shane

2011-01-01

This study examines superintendent turnover in Kentucky public school districts for 1998/99-2007/08, looking at how turnover varies by rural status, Appalachian and non-Appalachian region, and 2007/08 school district characteristics. Key findings include: (1) Kentucky school districts averaged one superintendent turnover during 1998/99-2007/08;…

Superintendent Turnover in Kentucky. Issues & Answers. REL 2011-No. 113

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Jerry; Huffman, Tyler; Madden, Karen; Shope, Shane

2011-01-01

This study examines superintendent turnover in Kentucky public school districts for 1998/99-2007/08, looking at how turnover varies by rural status, Appalachian and non-Appalachian region, and 2007/08 school district characteristics. Key findings include: (1) Kentucky school districts averaged one superintendent turnover during 1998/99-2007/08;…

District-Wide Involvement: The Key to Successful School Improvement.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mundell, Scott; Babich, George

1989-01-01

Describes the self-study process used by the Marana Unified School District to meet accreditation requirements with minimal expense, to emphasize curriculum development, and to improve the school. Considers the key feature of the cyclical review model to be the personal involvement of nearly every faculty member in the 10-school district. (DMM)

Unwrapping the Suburban "Package Deal": Race, Class, and School Access

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rhodes, Anna; Warkentien, Siri

2017-01-01

Large disparities in educational quality exist between cities and surrounding suburban school districts and are increasing between suburban districts--a trend that emerged over the past several decades and shows signs of growing. Using in-depth interviews, this study examines how children are sorted into different school districts across a…

The Lilead Survey: A National Study of District-Level Library Supervisors: The Position, Office, and Characteristics of the Supervisor

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weeks, Ann Carlson; DiScala, Jeffrey; Barlow, Diane L.; Massey, Sheri A.; Kodama, Christie; Jarrell, Kelsey; Jacobs, Leah; Moses, Alexandra; Follman, Rebecca; Hall, Rosemary

2016-01-01

The school district library supervisor occupies a pivotal position in library and information services programs that support and enhance the instructional efforts of a school district: providing leadership; advocating for the programs; supporting, advising, and providing professional development to building-level librarians; and representing…

The Impact of Centralization on Local School District Governance in Canada

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Galway, Gerald; Sheppard, Bruce; Wiens, John; Brown, Jean

2013-01-01

Across Canada there have been numerous recent examples of incidents where the political and ideological interests of provincial governments have run counter to the mandates of school districts. In this pan-Canadian study, focus groups were conducted with school board trustees and school district superintendents to examine the relationships between…

School District Approval for Staff Development: "Garbage Can" Decision-Making.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Furman, Gail Chase

This paper explores the decision-making process leading to school district approval for staff development. A retrospective field study approach was used to investigate the decision of a small, rural school district in eastern Washington (enrollment 2,200) to adopt a comprehensive English composition teaching program throughout the curriculum. This…

The Rise of American Urbanized Suburban High Schools: Teachers' Perceptions of Leadership

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Artiles, Dagoberto

2013-01-01

In the United States a high school diploma offers a pathway to the growing professional occupations creating the American middle class. The continuous influx of minority families into suburban school districts eventually urbanized districts. As a result, multiple districts struggle in the process of educating a shifted population. Studies have…

Human Resource Support for School Principals in Two, Urban School Districts: An Exploratory Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lochmiller, Chad R.

2010-01-01

School districts are increasingly focused on instructional practice in classrooms. Many urban school districts have shifted decision-making responsibility to school principals in order to improve instruction. This reform strategy has been referred to as decentralization or school-based management. Decentralization has a significant influence on…

A Qualitative Study of One District's Efforts to Improve Mathematics Instruction to Scale

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Osborne, Brian George

2011-01-01

Mathematics learning is critical for student success, and frequently acts as a gatekeeper, preventing students from graduating from high school and pursuing higher education. While many districts have attempted to improve mathematics instruction by implementing some sort of reform, few districts have attempted to execute a multifaceted systems…

Doing More with Less: A Preliminary Study of the School District Investment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

MacPhail-Wilcox, Bettye

1983-01-01

Changes in cash management practices from 1978 to 1981 were investigated in a random sample of 145 North Carolina school districts, stratified by attendance size. Analysis using chi-square tests indicated the level of investment sophistication (as measured by the proportion of cash invested) has increased, especially for large districts. (RW)

Increased fairness in priority setting processes within the health sector: the case of Kapiri-Mposhi District, Zambia

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background The challenge of priority setting (PS) in health care within contexts of severe resource limitations has continued to receive attention. Accountability for Reasonableness (AFR) has emerged as a useful framework to guide the implementation of PS processes. In 2006, the AFR approach to enhance legitimate and fair PS was introduced by researchers and decision makers within the health sector in the EU funded research project entitled ‘Response to Accountable priority setting for Trust in health systems’ (REACT). The project aimed to strengthen fairness and accountability in the PS processes of health systems at district level in Zambia, Tanzania and Kenya. This paper focuses on local perceptions and practices of fair PS (baseline study) as well as at the evolution of such perceptions and practices in PS following an AFR based intervention (evaluation study), carried out at district level in Kapiri-Mposhi District in Zambia. Methods Data was collected using in depth interviews (IDIs), focus group discussions (FGDs) and review of documents from national to district level. The study population for this paper consisted of health related stakeholders employed in the district administration, in non-governmental organizations (NGO) and in health facilities. Results During the baseline study, concepts of legitimacy and fairness in PS processes were found to be grounded in local values of equity and impartiality. Government and other organizational strategies strongly supported devolution of PS and decision making procedures. However, important gaps were identified in terms of experiences of stakeholder involvement and fairness in PS processes in practice. The evaluation study revealed that a transformation of the views and methods regarding fairness in PS processes was ongoing in the study district, which was partly attributed to the AFR based intervention. Conclusions The study findings suggest that increased attention was given to fairness in PS processes at district level. The changes were linked to a number of simultaneous factors among them the concepts introduced by the present project with its emphasis on fairness and enhanced participation. A responsive leadership that was increasingly accountable to its operational staff and communities emerged as one of the key elements in driving the processes forward. PMID:24548767

Increased fairness in priority setting processes within the health sector: the case of Kapiri-Mposhi District, Zambia.

PubMed

Zulu, Joseph M; Michelo, Charles; Msoni, Carol; Hurtig, Anna-Karin; Byskov, Jens; Blystad, Astrid

2014-02-18

The challenge of priority setting (PS) in health care within contexts of severe resource limitations has continued to receive attention. Accountability for Reasonableness (AFR) has emerged as a useful framework to guide the implementation of PS processes. In 2006, the AFR approach to enhance legitimate and fair PS was introduced by researchers and decision makers within the health sector in the EU funded research project entitled 'Response to Accountable priority setting for Trust in health systems' (REACT). The project aimed to strengthen fairness and accountability in the PS processes of health systems at district level in Zambia, Tanzania and Kenya. This paper focuses on local perceptions and practices of fair PS (baseline study) as well as at the evolution of such perceptions and practices in PS following an AFR based intervention (evaluation study), carried out at district level in Kapiri-Mposhi District in Zambia. Data was collected using in depth interviews (IDIs), focus group discussions (FGDs) and review of documents from national to district level. The study population for this paper consisted of health related stakeholders employed in the district administration, in non-governmental organizations (NGO) and in health facilities. During the baseline study, concepts of legitimacy and fairness in PS processes were found to be grounded in local values of equity and impartiality. Government and other organizational strategies strongly supported devolution of PS and decision making procedures. However, important gaps were identified in terms of experiences of stakeholder involvement and fairness in PS processes in practice. The evaluation study revealed that a transformation of the views and methods regarding fairness in PS processes was ongoing in the study district, which was partly attributed to the AFR based intervention. The study findings suggest that increased attention was given to fairness in PS processes at district level. The changes were linked to a number of simultaneous factors among them the concepts introduced by the present project with its emphasis on fairness and enhanced participation. A responsive leadership that was increasingly accountable to its operational staff and communities emerged as one of the key elements in driving the processes forward.

The Development of Historical and Eco-Tourism District of Setu Babakan in South Jakarta, Indonesia: Ecodistrict Planning Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Samsirina; Dwi Pratiwi, Wiwik; Putri, Reiska M.

2018-05-01

On the development of tourism within a settlement, its sustainability depends on how to make the lowest possible environment impact and provide long-term economic and social benefits to local communities. This paper describes the results of analysis on a settlement where the tourism activities developed in it. The principal of eco-district was the main theory used in the analysis in order to accelerate district-scale sustainability. Eco-district is the principle of urban planning that aims to integrate the objectives of sustainable development and reduce the ecological impact of the development. The case study was located in Setu Babakan, a lakeside and a historical tourism district in South Jakarta, Indonesia. The focus of the study was on the physical condition of the open spaces and activities inside them. In some tourism destination areas, many of the attractions took place in open spaces. The results of the evaluation were several recommendations for the development concept of open spaces in the historical and ecotourism district of Setu Babakan which hopefully will guarantee it’s sustainability in the future.

Studies of adaptive traits of Bali cattle in Buleleng district, Bali and Barru district, South Sulawesi

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aritonang, S. B.; Yuniati, R.; Abinawanto, Imron, M.; Bowolaksono, A.

2017-05-01

Bali cattle have high adaptability, so the distribution area is spread across Indonesia. These studies aimed to determine the effect of environmental factors on physiology performance of Bali cattle in Buleleng district and Barru district. Skin and rectal temperature and respiration rate within a minute were measured in cattle across 5-days. Ambient temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and light intensity were measured as environmental factors. Our findings suggest that environmental factors between the two districts were different (p<0.05), but the temperature and wind speed were not. In Buleleng, the relative humidity was 82.6 ± 1 4.4% and light intensity was 123.03 ± 24.83 kW/m2, whereas in Barru the relative humidity was 75.4 ± 12.6% and light intensity was 200.96 ± 25.11 kW/m2. Although both regions had different environmental conditions, the respiration rate of cattle was different between the two districts (p<0.05). Cattle respiration rate in Buleleng was 26-34 BPM, whereas in Barru it was 22-28 BPM. Our results indicate that the changes in environmental conditions affect changes in the cattle physiology profile in each district. Thus, Bali cattle have adaptability towards a variety of environmental conditions.

Spatial Random Effects Survival Models to Assess Geographical Inequalities in Dengue Fever Using Bayesian Approach: a Case Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Astuti Thamrin, Sri; Taufik, Irfan

2018-03-01

Dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF) is an infectious disease caused by dengue virus. The increasing number of people with DHF disease correlates with the neighbourhood, for example sub-districts, and the characteristics of the sub-districts are formed from individuals who are domiciled in the sub-districts. Data containing individuals and sub-districts is a hierarchical data structure, called multilevel analysis. Frequently encountered response variable of the data is the time until an event occurs. Multilevel and spatial models are being increasingly used to obtain substantive information on area-level inequalities in DHF survival. Using a case study approach, we report on the implications of using multilevel with spatial survival models to study geographical inequalities in all cause survival.

Determinants of modern family planning use among women of reproductive age in the Nkwanta district of Ghana: a case–control study

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Average contraceptive prevalence rate in the Nkwanta district of Ghana was estimated to be 6.2% relative to the national average at the time, of 19%. While several efforts had been made to improve family planning in the country, the district still had very low use of modern family planning methods. This study sought to determine the factors that influenced modern family planning use in general and specifically, the factors that determined the consistently low use of modern family planning methods in the district. Methods A case–control study was conducted in the Nkwanta district of Ghana to determine socio-economic, socio-cultural and service delivery factors influencing family planning usage. One hundred and thirty cases and 260 controls made up of women aged 15–49 years were interviewed using structured questionnaires. A logistic regression was fitted. Results Awareness and knowledge of modern family planning methods were high among cases and controls (over 90%). Lack of formal education among women, socio-cultural beliefs and spousal communication were found to influence modern family planning use. Furthermore, favourable opening hours of the facilities and distance to health facilities influenced the use of modern contraceptives. Conclusion While modern family planning seemed to be common knowledge among these women, actual use of such contraceptives was limited. There is need to improve use of modern family planning methods in the district. In addition to providing health facilities and consolidating close-to-client service initiatives in the district, policies directed towards improving modern family planning method use need to consider the influence of formal education. Promoting basic education, especially among females, will be a crucial step as the district is faced with high levels of school dropout and illiteracy rates. PMID:25117887

Determinants of modern family planning use among women of reproductive age in the Nkwanta district of Ghana: a case-control study.

PubMed

Eliason, Sebastian; Awoonor-Williams, John K; Eliason, Cecilia; Novignon, Jacob; Nonvignon, Justice; Aikins, Moses

2014-08-13

Average contraceptive prevalence rate in the Nkwanta district of Ghana was estimated to be 6.2% relative to the national average at the time, of 19%. While several efforts had been made to improve family planning in the country, the district still had very low use of modern family planning methods. This study sought to determine the factors that influenced modern family planning use in general and specifically, the factors that determined the consistently low use of modern family planning methods in the district. A case-control study was conducted in the Nkwanta district of Ghana to determine socio-economic, socio-cultural and service delivery factors influencing family planning usage. One hundred and thirty cases and 260 controls made up of women aged 15-49 years were interviewed using structured questionnaires. A logistic regression was fitted. Awareness and knowledge of modern family planning methods were high among cases and controls (over 90%). Lack of formal education among women, socio-cultural beliefs and spousal communication were found to influence modern family planning use. Furthermore, favourable opening hours of the facilities and distance to health facilities influenced the use of modern contraceptives. While modern family planning seemed to be common knowledge among these women, actual use of such contraceptives was limited. There is need to improve use of modern family planning methods in the district. In addition to providing health facilities and consolidating close-to-client service initiatives in the district, policies directed towards improving modern family planning method use need to consider the influence of formal education. Promoting basic education, especially among females, will be a crucial step as the district is faced with high levels of school dropout and illiteracy rates.

District Policies and Practices Vary in Their Association With Adolescents' Consumption of Milk and 100% Fruit Juice.

PubMed

Sliwa, Sarah A; Miller, Gabrielle F; Brener, Nancy D; Park, Sohyun; Merlo, Caitlin L

2017-05-01

Researchers previously examined the relationship between school beverage policies and sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption. This study addressed a research gap by examining cross-sectional associations between district-level policies and practices and U.S. high school students' consumption of milk and 100% fruit juice. Data from the 2012 School Health Policies and Practices Study and 2013 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System were linked for 12 large urban school districts. Outcome variables were daily milk consumption (≥1 glass/day) and 100% fruit juice consumption (≥1 time/day). Exposure variables were five district policies (i.e., restrict SSB sales, maintain closed campuses, offer/sell healthful alternatives, restrict promotional products, and require nutrition education). Logistic regression models estimated the odds of consuming milk or 100% fruit juice daily, conditional on the policies and adjusting for sex, race/ethnicity, grade level, weight status, and district free/reduced-price lunch eligibility (n = 23,173). Students in districts that required/recommended restricting the times of SSB sales had 55% higher (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 1.55; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.28-1.87) odds of consuming ≥1 glass/day of milk than students in districts without this policy. Closed campus policies were associated with lower odds of consuming milk (AOR, .72; 95% CI, .63-.82) and higher odds of consuming juice (AOR, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.07-1.50). Policies requiring/recommending that districts offer/sell healthful alternatives were associated with lower odds of consuming 100% fruit juice daily. Results suggest that restricting SSB sales may support adolescents' milk consumption. Future studies should assess whether the implementation of federal standards that further restrict SSB sales in school leads to increased milk consumption. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Change of strategy is required for malaria elimination: a case study in Purworejo District, Central Java Province, Indonesia.

PubMed

Murhandarwati, E Elsa Herdiana; Fuad, Anis; Sulistyawati; Wijayanti, Mahardika Agus; Bia, Michael Badi; Widartono, Barandi Sapta; Kuswantoro; Lobo, Neil F; Supargiyono; Hawley, William A

2015-08-16

Malaria has been targeted for elimination from Indonesia by 2030, with varying timelines for specific geographical areas based on disease endemicity. The regional deadline for malaria elimination for Java island, given the steady decrease of malaria cases, was the end of 2015. Purworejo District, a malaria-endemic area in Java with an annual parasite incidence (API) of 0.05 per 1,000 population in 2009, aims to enter this elimination stage. This study documents factors that affect incidence and spatial distribution of malaria in Purworejo, such as geomorphology, topography, health system issues, and identifies potential constraints and challenges to achieve the elimination stage, such as inter-districts coordination, decentralization policy and allocation of financial resources for the programme. Historical malaria data from 2007 to 2011 were collected through secondary data, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions during study year (2010-2011). Malaria cases were mapped using the village-centroid shape file to visualize its distribution with geomorphologic characteristics overlay and spatial distribution of malaria. API in each village in Purworejo and its surrounding districts from 2007 to 2011 was stratified into high, middle or low case incidence to show the spatiotemporal mapping pattern. The spatiotemporal pattern of malaria cases in Purworejo and the adjacent districts demonstrate repeated concentrated occurrences of malaria in specific areas from 2007 to 2011. District health system issues, i.e., suboptimal coordination between primary care and referral systems, suboptimal inter-district collaboration for malaria surveillance, decentralization policy and the lack of resources, especially district budget allocations for the malaria programme, were major constraints for programme sustainability. A new malaria elimination approach that fits the local disease transmission, intervention and political system is required. These changes include timely measurements of malaria transmission, revision of the decentralized government system and optimizing the use of the district capitation fund followed by an effective technical implementation of the intervention strategy.

Population-Based Study of Trachoma in Guatemala.

PubMed

Silva, Juan Carlos; Diaz, Marco Antonio; Maul, Eugenio; Munoz, Beatriz E; West, Sheila K

2015-01-01

A prevalence survey for active trachoma in children aged under 10 years and trichiasis in women aged 40 years and older was carried out in four districts in the Sololá region in Guatemala, which is suspected of still having a trachoma problem. Population-based surveys were undertaken in three districts, within 15 randomly selected communities in each district. In addition, in a fourth district that borders the third district chosen, we surveyed the small northern sub-district, by randomly selecting three communities in each community, 100 children aged under 10 years were randomly selected, and all females over 40 years. Five survey teams were trained and standardized. Trachoma was graded using the World Health Organization simplified grading scheme and ocular swabs were taken in cases of clinical follicular or inflammatory trachoma. Prevalence estimates were calculated at district and sub-district level. Trachoma rates at district level varied from 0-5.1%. There were only two sub-districts where active trachoma approached 10% (Nahualá Costa, 8.1%, and Santa Catarina Costa, 7.3%). Trichiasis rates in females aged 40 years and older varied from 0-3%. Trachoma was likely a problem in the past. Trachoma is disappearing in the Sololá region in Guatemala. Health leadership may consider further mapping of villages around the areas with an especially high rate of trachoma and infection, and instituting trichiasis surgery and active trachoma intervention where needed.

A study of forest fire danger district division in Lushan Mountain based on RS and GIS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiao, Jinxiang; Huang, Shu-E.; Zhong, Anjian; Zhu, Biqin; Ye, Qing; Sun, Lijun

2009-09-01

The study selected 9 factors, average maximum temperature, average temperature, average precipitation, average the longest days of continuous drought and average wind speed during fire prevention period, vegetation type, altitude, slope and aspect as the index of forest fire danger district division, which has taken the features of Lushan Mountain's forest fire history into consideration, then assigned subjective weights to each factor according to their sensitivity to fire or their fire-inducing capability. By remote sensing and GIS, vegetation information layer were gotten from Landsat TM image and DEM with a scale of 1:50000 was abstracted from the digital scanned relief map. Topography info. (elevation, slope, aspect) layers could be gotten after that. A climate resource databank that contained the data from the stations of Lushan Mountain and other nearby 7 stations was built up and extrapolated through the way of grid extrapolation in order to make the distribution map of climate resource. Finally synthetical district division maps were made by weighing and integrating all the single factor special layers,and the study area were divided into three forest fire danger district, include special fire danger district, I-fire danger district and II-fire danger district. It could be used as a basis for developing a forest fire prevention system, preparing the annual investment plan, allocating reasonably the investment of fire prevention, developing the program of forest fire prevention and handle, setting up forest fire brigade, leaders' decisions on forest fire prevention work.

Paragenetic and minor- and trace-element studies of Mississippi Valley-type ore deposits of the Silesian-Cracow district, Poland

USGS Publications Warehouse

Viets, J.G.; Leach, D.L.; Lichte, F.E.; Hopkins, R.T.; Gent, C.A.; Powell, J.W.

1996-01-01

Paragenetic and minor- and trace-element studies were conducted on samples of epigenetic ore and gangue minerals collected from mines and drill core in the Silesian-Cracow (S-C) district of southern Poland. Four discrete mineral suites representing four mineralizing stages can be identified throughout the district. The earliest epigenetic minerals deposited during stage 1 consist of a late dolomite cement together with minor pyrite and marcasite. Stage 2 was the first ore-forming stage and included repetitive deposition of sphalerite and galena in a variety of morphologies. Stage 3 abruptly followed the first ore stage and deposited marcasite and pyrite with variable amounts of late sphalerite and galena. In the samples studied, minerals deposited during stage 3 are predominately marcasite-pyrite with minor sphalerite and galena in the Pomorzany and Olkusz mines, whereas, at the Trzebionka mine, stage 3 mineralization deposited mostly galena and sphalerite with little marcasite or pyrite. Stage 4 minerals include contains barite, followed by calcite, with very minor pyrite and a rare, late granular sphalerite. Compared to other major Mississippi Valley-type (MVT) districts of the world, the Silesian-Cracow district contains sphalerite with the second largest range in Ag concentrations and the largest range in Fe and Cd concentrations of any district. Unlike in other districts, very wide ranges in minor- and trace-element concentrations are also observed in paragenetically equivalent samples collected throughout the district. This wide range indicates that the minor- and trace-element content of the ore-forming environment was highly variable, both spatially and temporally, and suggests that the hydrologic system that the ore fluids traversed from their basinal source was very complex. Throughout the district, a significant increase in Tl, Ge, and As concentrations is accompanied by a lightening of sulfur isotopes between stage 2 and stage 3 minerals. This change appears to record a major district-scale hydrologic event that probably reflects the introduction of fluids with significantly different geochemistry than that of earlier ore-forming fluids.

People Participation Towards Opisthorchis viverrini Prevention and Control in Chaiyaphum Province, Northeastern Thailand.

PubMed

Phongsiripapat, Rutjirapat; Chimplee, Kanokporn; Rujirakul, Ratana; Kaewpitoon, Soraya; Keawpitoon, Natthawut

2016-01-01

This cross-sectional descriptive and qualitative study was aimed to study the people participation and their approaches toward the human carcinogenic liver fluke, Opisthorchis viverrini, prevention and control in Ban Chaun sub-district administrative organization (BCSAO) and Bamnet Narong sub-district municipality (BNSM), Bamnet Narong district, Chaiyaphum Province, Thailand between June 2013 and February 2014. Participants were purposive selected, included chiefs of sub-district administrative organizations, sub-district municipalities, sub-district health promotion hospitals (SHPHs), heads of village, and a further sample was selected with a multi- stage random sampling for public health volunteers, and villagers. The pre-designed questionnaire contained items for individualized status and the participatory steps of sharing ideas, decision-making, and planning, procession, evaluation, and mutual benefit, for the project O. viverrini prevention and control (POPC). In-depth interviews were used for collection of need approaches to POPC. With 375 participants who completed the questionnaire, it was found that people had a high level regarding to participate in the POPC, particularly in the process stage (X_ =3.78, S.D. = 0.56), but the lowest level was found in sharing ideas, decision making, and planning step (X_ =3.65, S.D. = 0.63). By comparison, participant status and organization did not significantly differ with people participation. In each step, Ban Chaun sub-district had a high level of participation in the step of sharing ideas, decision making, and planning toward POPC, more than Bamnet Narong sub-district municipality (t=2.20, p=0.028). Approaches for POPC in Ban Chaun sub-district and Bamnet Narong sub-district municipality included requirements for budget support, annual campaigns for liver fluke prevention and control, campaign promotion, risk group observation, home visiting, community rules regarding reducing raw fish consumption in their communities, and a professional public health officer for working in their communities, BCSAO, BNSM, and SHPH, for O. viverrini prevention and control. This study indicates that people realize that eradication of the liver fluke needs a continuous people participation for O. viverrini prevention and control in their communities.

Snohomish County Public Utility District Geothermal Energy Exploration Study Final Technical Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lewis, Adam; Collar, Craig W.

2012-10-04

Supported by funds from this award, the District thoroughly explored the feasibility of a hydrothermal geothermal development within its service territory. The District successfully planned and drilled six exploratory geothermal wells and added significantly to the knowledge of the geology of the area. The Straight Creek Fault region, which was the sole location that showed significant potential for hydrothermal development in the District's service territory, was determined not to be feasible for development. The District subsequently expanded its search for geothermal development locations to include all of Washington State. Mount Baker has been identified as the area of the statemore » with the greatest potential for geothermal development. Having gathered additional information about the Mount Baker region with support from this award, the District is actively pursuing exploration and development in the area.« less

Assessing the gap between the acute trauma workload and the capacity of a single rural health district in South Africa. What are the implications for systems planning?

PubMed

Clarke, D L; Aldous, C; Thomson, S R

2014-06-01

This study focuses on a single rural health district in South Africa, and attempts to establish the burden of disease and to review the capacity of the district hospitals to deal with this load. Ethical approval to undertake this study was obtained from both the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal and the Department of Health. The audit was performed over a 6-month period in the four district hospitals of rural Sisonke District. There were four components to this audit. 1. Information on the hospital incidence of acute trauma in Sisonke was also sourced from the epidemiology unit of the Department of Health in Pietermaritzburg 2. Each of the district hospitals was visited and the medical manager was interviewed. The medical manager was asked to complete the World Health Organization's Tool for Situational Analysis to Assess Emergency and Essential Surgical Care. (SAT). 3. The operative registers were reviewed to determine the number of index cases for trauma. This information was used to determine the unmet need of acute trauma in the district. 4. Each hospital was classified according to the Trauma Society of South Africa (TSSA) guidelines for levels of trauma care. The annual incidence of trauma in the Sisonke District is estimated to be 1,590 per 100,000 population. Although there appeared to be adequate infrastructure in the district hospitals, the SAT revealed significant deficits in terms of capacity of staff to adequately treat and triage acute trauma patients. There is a significant unmet need for trauma care in Sisonke. The four district hospitals can best be classified as Level IV centers of trauma care. There is a significant burden of trauma in the Sisonke District, yet the capacity to deal with this burden is inadequate. Although the physical infrastructure is adequate, the deficits relate to human resources. The strategic choices are between enhancing the district hospitals' capacity to deal with acute trauma, or deciding to bypass them completely and deliver all acute trauma patients to large regional trauma centers. If the first option is chosen, urgent intervention is required to build up the human resource capacity of district hospitals.

Courting disaster? A survey of the autopsy service provided by district surgeons in Kwazulu-Natal.

PubMed

Dada, M A; Clarke, J E

2000-01-01

To provide information on the overall quality of the autopsy service provided by district surgeons in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and in particular to identify factors which may have a negative impact on the judicial process. Confidential questionnaires were sent to 73 district surgeons and 216 legal practitioners including prosecution advocates, regional court prosecutors, defence advocates and attorneys. One hundred and twenty (43%) replies (47 doctors and 73 lawyers) were suitable for analysis. District surgeons have no shortage of experience or maturity but their performance is hampered by the following: lack of appropriate training in forensic pathology; high case load; inadequate facilities and support staff; and lack of access to ancillary services. This study has shown that the standard of autopsy services by district surgeons varies considerably. Overall, there is evidence that inadequacies on the part of district surgeons have negative repercussions for the criminal justice system. Urgent attention should be given to implement training programmes for the district surgeons and to improve service conditions.

[The results of conducting a program for the supplementary education of medical workers in the problems of preventing and treating arterial hypertension (a population study)].

PubMed

Britov, A N; Zhukovskiĭ, G S; Sviderskiĭ, V G; Varlamova, T A; Liubimova, L V; Naumova, V V; Deev, A D; Spizhovyĭ, V N; Adon'ev, B I; Grishenko, E A

1992-07-01

A programme on supplementary health education of medical staff from city polyclinics in the prevention and treatment of arterial hypertension was launched in one of the Moscow districts for 3 years. Another district was used as a comparison subject. Representative samples of residents aged 35-64 years from the two districts were screened before and after implementation of the programme. The WHO International MONICA programme was used to evaluate the efficiency of the programme proposed by the authors. The intervention district showed an improvement of hypertensives' awareness of the disease and a double increase in the number of patients with a high compliance. In the comparison district, these parameters remained unchanged. According to the criteria developed in the MONICA programme, there was a downward tendency in the incidence of myocardial infarction and stroke and these diseases-related deaths in the intervention district, whereas this was not observed in the district under comparison.

Feasibility of geothermal space/water heating for Mammoth Lakes Village, California. Final report, September 1976--September 1977

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sims, A.V.; Racine, W.C.

1977-12-01

Results of a study to determine the technical, economic, and environmental feasibility of geothermal district heating for Mammoth Lakes Village, California are reported. The geothermal district heating system selected is technically feasible and will use existing technology in its design and operation. District heating can provide space and water heating energy for typical customers at lower cost than alternative sources of energy. If the district heating system is investor owned, lower costs are realized after five to six years of operation, and if owned by a nonprofit organization, after zero to three years. District heating offers lower costs than alternativesmore » much sooner in time if co-generation and/or DOE participation in system construction are included in the analysis. During a preliminary environmental assessment, no potential adverse environmental impacts could be identified of sufficient consequence to preclude the construction and operation of the proposed district heating system. A follow-on program aimed at implementing district heating in Mammoth is outlined.« less

Simple versus composite indicators of socioeconomic status in resource allocation formulae: the case of the district resource allocation formula in Malawi

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background The district resource allocation formula in Malawi was recently reviewed to include stunting as a proxy measure of socioeconomic status. In many countries where the concept of need has been incorporated in resource allocation, composite indicators of socioeconomic status have been used. In the Malawi case, it is important to ascertain whether there are differences between using single variable or composite indicators of socioeconomic status in allocations made to districts, holding all other factors in the resource allocation formula constant. Methods Principal components analysis was used to calculate asset indices for all districts from variables that capture living standards using data from the Malawi Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2006. These were normalized and used to weight district populations. District proportions of national population weighted by both the simple and composite indicators were then calculated for all districts and compared. District allocations were also calculated using the two approaches and compared. Results The two types of indicators are highly correlated, with a spearman rank correlation coefficient of 0.97 at the 1% level of significance. For 21 out of the 26 districts included in the study, proportions of national population weighted by the simple indicator are higher by an average of 0.6 percentage points. For the remaining 5 districts, district proportions of national population weighted by the composite indicator are higher by an average of 2 percentage points. Though the average percentage point differences are low and the actual allocations using both approaches highly correlated (ρ of 0.96), differences in actual allocations exceed 10% for 8 districts and have an average of 4.2% for the remaining 17. For 21 districts allocations based on the single variable indicator are higher. Conclusions Variations in district allocations made using either the simple or composite indicators of socioeconomic status are not statistically different to recommend one over the other. However, the single variable indicator is favourable for its ease of computation. PMID:20053274

[Effect of fluoride on human hypothalamus-hypophysis-testis axis hormones].

PubMed

Hao, Pengfei; Ma, Xiaoying; Cheng, Xuemin; Ba, Yue; Zhu, Jingyuan; Cui, Liuxin

2010-01-01

To study of endocrine disturbing effect of fluoride on human hypothalamus-hypophysis-testis axis hormones. Sunying County, Kaifeng City was selected as polluted district which the fluoride in drinking water was 3.89 mg/L, and Shenlilou county was selected as control district which the fluoride was less than 1.0 mg/L. 150 individual lived there more than 5 years were srlected randomly. And investigated by medical examination, then blood and urine sample were collected, and the serum level of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), luteinizing hormone (LH), testosterone (T) and estradiol (E2) were measured by RIA method, and the urine level of fluoride were measured. Other than that, the concentration of fluoride in the water, food, soil and air were detected by the standard methods. The concentrations of fluoride in the water, food and soil of the fluoride polluted district were significantly higher than those of control district (P < 0.05), and the concentration fluoride in the air of two district were not found. There was no significant difference of serum level of GnRH between fluoride polluted district and control district (P > 0.05). The serum level of LH in men of fluoride polluted district was significantly higher than that of control group (P < 0.05), and the serum level of T in men of fluoride polluted district was significantly less than that of control group (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference of serum level of LH between fluoride polluted district and control district (P > 0.05), and the serum level of T in women of fluoride polluted district was significantly higher than that of control group (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference of serum level of E2 between fluoride polluted district and control district (P > 0.05). Fluoride could effect hormone levels of each layer of the hypothalamus-hypophysis-testis axis, and show the reproductive endocrine disturbing effects. The reproductive endocrine disturbing effects of male maybe more severe than those of female.

An assessment of the compliance with good pharmacy practice in an urban and rural district in Sri Lanka.

PubMed

Wijesinghe, P R; Jayakody, R L; De A Seneviratne, R

2007-02-01

To evaluate the compliance of private pharmacies to good pharmacy practice (GPP) in an urban and rural district in Sri Lanka and identify deficiencies with a view to improving supply of safe and effective drugs to consumers. Lot quality assurance sampling (LQAS) method was used to determine the number of pharmacies that need to be studied and the threshold limit of defective elements. An inspection of 20 pharmacies in the urban and all 18 pharmacies in the rural district was carried out using a structured checklist. Compliance to seven subsystems of GPP was studied. Storage of drugs, maintenance of cold chain, dispensing and documentation were comprehensively substandard in both districts. Individual items of supervision in registration, physical environment and order of the pharmacy were also found to be substandard in both districts. This study shows that the LQAS method can be used to identify inadequate pharmacy services in the community as a whole. There was poor compliance to GPP by the private pharmacies in both districts. There are concerns about the quality of drugs and the safety of private pharmacy services to the community. Some of the deficiencies could be easily corrected by educating the pharmacists and authorised officers, and more effective and streamlined supervision.

Fertility transition and adverse child sex ratio in districts of India.

PubMed

Mohanty, Sanjay K; Rajbhar, Mamta

2014-11-01

Demographic research in India over the last two decades has focused extensively on fertility change and gender bias at the micro-level, and less has been done at the district level. Using data from the Census of India 1991-2011 and other sources, this paper shows the broad pattern of fertility transition and trends in the child sex ratio in India, and examines the determinants of the child sex ratio at the district level. During 1991-2011, while the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) declined by 1.2 children per woman, the child sex ratio fell by 30 points in the districts of India. However, the reduction in fertility was slower in the high-fertility compared with the low-fertility districts. The gender differential in under-five mortality increased in many districts of India over the study period. The decline in the child sex ratio was higher in the transitional compared with the low-fertility districts. The transitional districts are at higher risk of a low child sex ratio due to an increased gender differential in mortality and increase in the practice of sex-selective abortions. The sex ratio at birth and gender differential in mortality explains one-third of the variation, while region alone explains a quarter of the variation in the child sex ratio in the districts of India.

University students' knowledge of corneal donation and willingness to donate corneas in the occupied Palestinian territory: a cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Al-Labadi, Liana; Gammoh, Yazan; Shehada, Reham; Shahin, Reem; Jbarah, Walaa; Amro, Madleen; Athamny, Hanan

2018-02-21

Access to corneal transplantation is limited worldwide because of poor knowledge. Ethical, religious, and cultural barriers contribute to low rates of corneal donation. In the occupied Palestinian territory, limited information is available on factors affecting corneal donation. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge and willingness towards corneal donation in Palestinian students. This cross-sectional study included university students selected through convenience sampling in Nablus in the summer of 2016. The sample size was determined using the sample formulae and a 15% non-response rate. All students registered in obligatory courses were included in the study after verbal consent. Each participant was given a self-administered questionnaire consisting of 14 questions to assess knowledge, awareness, and willingness toward corneal donation. Frequencies were used for descriptive analysis, and associations were determined using multivariate analysis and χ 2 test, with a p value of less than 0·05 considered significant. Of the 634 students completing the questionnaire, 411 (65%) were women, 614 (97%) were Muslims, and 155 (25%) were health or medical students. 592 (93%) respondents were unaware of eye bank availability, and 407 (69%; p=0.002) of these respondents did not show willingness towards corneal donation. 431 (67%) respondents were aware of a lack in corneal donation, but 274 (64%; p=0·01) of these respondents did not show willingness towards corneal donation. 429 (68%) respondents were not willing to donate their corneas, the most common reasons being disapproval by family members and poor awareness. We found no association between sociodemographic factors and willingness was determined. Palestinian students are aware of the lack of local cornea donation but are unwilling to donate their corneas. The study results are not representative of the entire population because of the homogeneous nature of the sample. Large efforts are needed locally to develop the eye bank infrastructure to increase knowledge and awareness relating to corneal donation. None. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Burnout among rural hospital doctors in the Western Cape: Comparison with previous South African studies.

PubMed

Liebenberg, Andrew R; Coetzee Jnr, Johan F; Conradie, Hofmeyr H; Coetzee, Johan F

2018-05-24

Burnout among doctors negatively affects health systems and, ultimately,patient care. To determine the prevalence of burnout among doctors working in the district health system in the Overberg and Cape Winelands districts of the Western Cape Province and to compare the findings with those of previous South African studies. Rural district hospitals. During 2013, a validated questionnaire (Maslach Burnout Inventory) was sent to 42 doctors working in the district health system within the referral area of the Worcester Hospital, consisting of the Overberg health district and the eastern half of the Cape Winelands. Response rate was 85.7%. Clinically significant burnout was found among 81% of respondents. High levels of burnout on all three subscales were present in 31% of participants.Burnout rates were similar to those of a previous study conducted among doctors working in the Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality primary health care facilities. Scores for emotional exhaustion (EE) and depersonalisation (DP) were greater than those of a national survey;however, the score for personal accomplishment (PA) was greater. EE and PA scores weresimilar to that of a study of junior doctors working in the Red Cross Children's Hospital;however, EE was smaller. This study demonstrates high burnout rates among doctors working at district level hospitals, similar to the prevalence thereof in the Cape Town Metropolitan primary health care facilities. Health services planning should include strategies to address and prevent burnout of which adequate staffing and improved work environment are of prime importance.

Comparative Analysis of Fluoride Concentrations in Groundwaters in Northern and Southern Ghana: Implications for the Contaminant Sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sunkari, Emmanuel Daanoba; Zango, Musah Saeed; Korboe, Harriet Mateko

2018-04-01

Bongo and Sekyere South districts, both in the northern and southern parts of Ghana, respectively, have high populations living in rural areas and most of them use groundwater for drinking purposes. The groundwater in these areas is prone to contamination from natural and/or artificial sources. Therefore this study aims; (1) to present a comparative analysis of the fluoride concentration in groundwater samples from Bongo and Sekyere South districts and the associated groundwater-rock interaction that may be the cause for the varied fluoride concentrations, (2) to determine the leaching potential of fluoride from the host rocks as the possible mechanism for groundwater contamination. Sixty (60) groundwater samples from active pumping wells and twelve (12) rock samples from outcrops were collected from various communities in the two districts for fluoride concentration and mineralogical analysis. Based on the variations in fluoride concentration, fluoride spatial distribution maps were prepared using empirical Bayesian kriging interpolation method and analysed by means of hierarchical cluster analysis. The fluoride concentration in Bongo district varies between 1.71 and 4.0 mg/L, whereas that in Sekyere South district changes from 0.3 to 0.8 mg/L. From the mineralogical studies, biotite has the highest percentage in the Bongo district and has positive correlation with fluoride concentration in the analysed water samples than in the Sekyere South district. The elevated fluoride concentration in the Bongo district relative to the Sekyere South district is due to the dissolution of biotite in the groundwater and the sufficient groundwater-rock interaction since the water samples are mainly sourced from deeper boreholes. This high fluoride concentration has resulted in a plethora of reported cases of dental fluorosis and other health-related issues in Bongo.

Comparative Analysis of Fluoride Concentrations in Groundwaters in Northern and Southern Ghana: Implications for the Contaminant Sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sunkari, Emmanuel Daanoba; Zango, Musah Saeed; Korboe, Harriet Mateko

2018-05-01

Bongo and Sekyere South districts, both in the northern and southern parts of Ghana, respectively, have high populations living in rural areas and most of them use groundwater for drinking purposes. The groundwater in these areas is prone to contamination from natural and/or artificial sources. Therefore this study aims; (1) to present a comparative analysis of the fluoride concentration in groundwater samples from Bongo and Sekyere South districts and the associated groundwater-rock interaction that may be the cause for the varied fluoride concentrations, (2) to determine the leaching potential of fluoride from the host rocks as the possible mechanism for groundwater contamination. Sixty (60) groundwater samples from active pumping wells and twelve (12) rock samples from outcrops were collected from various communities in the two districts for fluoride concentration and mineralogical analysis. Based on the variations in fluoride concentration, fluoride spatial distribution maps were prepared using empirical Bayesian kriging interpolation method and analysed by means of hierarchical cluster analysis. The fluoride concentration in Bongo district varies between 1.71 and 4.0 mg/L, whereas that in Sekyere South district changes from 0.3 to 0.8 mg/L. From the mineralogical studies, biotite has the highest percentage in the Bongo district and has positive correlation with fluoride concentration in the analysed water samples than in the Sekyere South district. The elevated fluoride concentration in the Bongo district relative to the Sekyere South district is due to the dissolution of biotite in the groundwater and the sufficient groundwater-rock interaction since the water samples are mainly sourced from deeper boreholes. This high fluoride concentration has resulted in a plethora of reported cases of dental fluorosis and other health-related issues in Bongo.

Health insurance premium increases for the 5 largest school districts in the United States, 2004-2008.

PubMed

Cantillo, John R

2010-03-01

Local school districts are often one of the largest, if not the largest, employers in their respective communities. Like many large employers, school districts offer health insurance to their employees. There is a lack of information about the rate of health insurance premiums in US school districts relative to other employers. To assess the change in the costs of healthcare insurance in the 5 largest public school districts in the United States, between 2004 and 2008, as representative of large public employers in the country. Data for this study were drawn exclusively from a survey sent to the 5 largest public school districts in the United States. The survey requested responses on 3 data elements for each benefit plan offered from 2004 through 2008; these included enrollment, employee costs, and employer costs. The premium growth for the 5 largest school districts has slowed down and is consistent with other purchasers-Kaiser/Health Research & Educational Trust and the Federal Employee Health Benefit Program. The average increase in health insurance premium for the schools was 5.9% in 2008, and the average annual growth rate over the study period was 7.5%. For family coverage, these schools provide the most generous employer contribution (80.8%) compared with the employer contribution reported by other employers (73.5%) for 2008. Often the largest employers in their communities, school districts demonstrate a commitment to provide choice of benefits and affordability for employees and their families. Despite constraints typical of public employers, the 5 largest school districts in the United States have decelerated in premium growth consistent with other purchasers, albeit at a slower pace.

Health Insurance Premium Increases for the 5 Largest School Districts in the United States, 2004–2008

PubMed Central

Cantillo, John R.

2010-01-01

Background Local school districts are often one of the largest, if not the largest, employers in their respective communities. Like many large employers, school districts offer health insurance to their employees. There is a lack of information about the rate of health insurance premiums in US school districts relative to other employers. Objective To assess the change in the costs of healthcare insurance in the 5 largest public school districts in the United States, between 2004 and 2008, as representative of large public employers in the country. Methods Data for this study were drawn exclusively from a survey sent to the 5 largest public school districts in the United States. The survey requested responses on 3 data elements for each benefit plan offered from 2004 through 2008; these included enrollment, employee costs, and employer costs. Results The premium growth for the 5 largest school districts has slowed down and is consistent with other purchasers—Kaiser/Health Research & Educational Trust and the Federal Employee Health Benefit Program. The average increase in health insurance premium for the schools was 5.9% in 2008, and the average annual growth rate over the study period was 7.5%. For family coverage, these schools provide the most generous employer contribution (80.8%) compared with the employer contribution reported by other employers (73.5%) for 2008. Conclusions Often the largest employers in their communities, school districts demonstrate a commitment to provide choice of benefits and affordability for employees and their families. Despite constraints typical of public employers, the 5 largest school districts in the United States have decelerated in premium growth consistent with other purchasers, albeit at a slower pace. PMID:25126311

Understanding Standards and Assessment Policy in Science Education: Relating and Exploring Variations in Policy Implementation by Districts and Teachers in Wisconsin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anderson, Kevin John Boyett

Current literature shows that many science teachers view policies of standards-based and test-based accountability as conflicting with research-based instruction in science education. With societal goals of improving scientific literacy and using science to spur economic growth, improving science education policy becomes especially important. To understand perceived influences of science education policy, this study looked at three questions: 1) How do teachers perceive state science standards and assessment and their influence on curriculum and instruction? 2) How do these policy perspectives vary by district and teacher level demographic and contextual differences? 3) How do district leaders' interpretations of and efforts within these policy realms relate to teachers' perceptions of the policies? To answer these questions, this study used a stratified sample of 53 districts across Wisconsin, with 343 middle school science teachers responding to an online survey; science instructional leaders from each district were also interviewed. Survey results were analyzed using multiple regression modeling, with models generally predicting 8-14% of variance in teacher perceptions. Open-ended survey and interview responses were analyzed using a constant comparative approach. Results suggested that many teachers saw state testing as limiting use of hands-on pedagogy, while standards were seen more positively. Teachers generally held similar views of the degree of influence of standards and testing regardless of their experience, background in science, credentials, or grade level taught. District SES, size and past WKCE scores had some limited correlations to teachers' views of policy, but teachers' perceptions of district policies and leadership consistently had the largest correlation to their views. District leadership views of these state policies correlated with teachers' views. Implications and future research directions are provided. Keywords: science education, policy, accountability, standards, assessment, district leadership

The Paris Declaration in practice: challenges of health sector aid coordination at the district level in Zambia

PubMed Central

Sundewall, Jesper; Forsberg, Birger C; Jönsson, Kristina; Chansa, Collins; Tomson, Göran

2009-01-01

Background The increasing resources available for and number of partners providing health sector aid have stimulated innovations, notably, the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, which aim to improve aid coordination. In this, one of the first studies to analyse implementation of aid coordination below national level, the aim was to investigate the effect of the Paris Declaration on coordination of health sector aid at the district level in Zambia. Methods The study was carried out in three districts of Zambia. Data were collected via interviews with health centre staff, district managers and officials from the Ministry of Health, and from district action plans, financial reports and accounts, and health centre ledger cards. Four indicators of coordination related to external-partner activity, common arrangements used by external partners and predictability of funding were analysed and assessed in relation to the 2010 targets set by the Paris Declaration. Findings While the activity of external partners at the district level has increased, funding and activities provided by these partners are often not included in local plans. HIV/AIDS support show better integration in planning and implementation at the district level than other support. Regarding common arrangements used for fund disbursement, the share of resources provided as programme-based support is not increasing. The predictability of funds coming from outside the government financing mechanism is low. Conclusion Greater efforts to integrate partners in district level planning and implementation are needed. External partners must improve the predictability of their support and be more proactive in informing the districts about their intended contributions. With the deadline for achieving the targets set by the Paris Declaration fast approaching, it is time for the signatories to accelerate its implementation. PMID:19505300

Challenges of Asthma Management for School Nurses in Districts with High Asthma Hospitalization Rates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liberatos, Penny; Leone, Jennifer; Craig, Ann Marie; Frei, Elizabeth Mary; Fuentes, Natalie; Harris, India Marie

2013-01-01

Background: School nurses play a central role in assisting elementary school children in managing their asthma, especially those in higher-risk school districts that are at increased risk of uncontrolled asthma. Study purposes are to (1) identify barriers to asthma management by school nurses in higher-risk school districts; and (2) assess the…

All Aboard!: In One Iowa District, All Teachers and Principals Are on the Same Journey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hansen, Deb; Anderson, Colleen; Munger, Linda; Chizek, Mitzi

2013-01-01

Collaborative learning teams are improving teacher practice and student learning results in the Dallas Center-Grimes Community School District near Des Moines, Iowa. Since 2009, all teachers and principals in the district have participated in collaborative learning teams to study a process known as assessment for learning, in which formative…

School Technology: Five School Districts' Experiences in Funding Technology Programs. Report to Congressional Requesters.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

General Accounting Office, Washington, DC. Health, Education, and Human Services Div.

This document contains a letter to members of the United States Senate reporting the information gathered from a study of five school districts' experiences funding technology programs. Appendices, which comprise the majority of the document, include the project scope and evaluation, and the reports from each school district. The five school…

School Emergency Preparedness in North Dakota Public School Districts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Swiontek, Steven Wayne

2009-01-01

The basis for this study was to determine: (1) If school districts in North Dakota have an emergency response plan; (2) How comprehensive their emergency response plan is; (3) How well prepared school districts in North Dakota are for any type of disaster; and (4) The extent to which North Dakota LEAD Center school emergency response training and…

District Resource Capacity and the Effects of Educational Policy: The Case of Primary Class Size Reduction in Ontario

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mascall, Blair; Leung, Joannie

2012-01-01

In a study of Ontario, Canada's province-wide Primary Class Size Reduction (PCS) Initiative, school districts' ability to direct and support schools was related to their experience with planning and monitoring, interest in innovation, and its human and fiscal resource base. Districts with greater "resource capacity" were able to…

Community and School Characteristics and Voter Behavior in Ohio Rural School District Property Tax Elections.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baker, Matt; McCracken, J. David

This study explores the relationships between the percentage of successful property tax issues and community and school characteristics in rural school districts in Ohio. Data were obtained for 74 rural school districts between 1984 and 1988; sources were government statistics and a questionnaire survey of school principals. The dependent variable…

Allocation Anatomy: How District Policies That Deploy Resources Can Support (or Undermine) District Reform Strategies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roza, Marguerite

2008-01-01

The goal of this paper is to explore the effects of micro-budgeting decisions and show how they might support or hamper district reform strategies. The study draws on public and private sector resource allocation literature to identify key elements of resource allocation decisions. These elements are used to highlight different allocation…

An Analysis of Community Use Policies in Missouri School Districts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eyler, Amy A.; Swaller, Erin M.

2012-01-01

Background: Joint use or community use policies are state-, district-, or school-level policies that allow for shared use of space or facilities between a school and a city or private organization. For this study, we (1) created an inventory of community use policies within Missouri school districts; (2) analyzed the policies for content, and (3)…

Vocational + Academic Integration: Preparing Texas Students for the Work Force. Evaluation Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Texas State Council on Vocational Education, Austin.

In a study of integration of vocational and academic education in Texas, administrators of a stratified random sample of 112 school districts in the state were surveyed, and 65% responded. Steps toward integration were being taken in 84% of the districts; however, only four districts have implemented integration plans described as comprehensive.…

Historical Review of Teacher and Student Diversity in an Urban Kentucky School District

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Francis, James L.

2010-01-01

Drawing on court records, state archival information, and local school district reports, this project examined student diversity and teacher diversity over more than five decades in an urban school district established in 1974 by court mandate. This study especially focused on the impact of a ratio set by the federal court regarding the high…

"Hired Guns" and "Legitimate Voices": The Politics and Participants of Levy Campaigns in Five Ohio School Districts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ingle, William Kyle; Johnson, Paul Andrew; Petroff, Ruth Ann

2012-01-01

Background: In Ohio, levy campaigns are a burdensome task for district administrators and stakeholders alike. To date, there is little research on the districts' role in crafting school budget referenda campaigns. Purpose: This study asked three research questions: How did the macropolitical contexts shape stakeholders' decision making in terms of…

Effects of a Theoretically Based Large-Scale Reading Intervention in a Multicultural Urban School District

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sadoski, Mark; Willson, Victor L.

2006-01-01

In 1997, Lindamood-Bell Learning Processes partnered with Pueblo School District 60 (PSD60), a heavily minority urban district with many Title I schools, to implement a theoretically based initiative designed to improve Colorado Student Assessment Program reading scores. In this study, the authors examined achievement in Grades 3-5 during the…

Building Teacher Quality in the Kansas City, Missouri School District

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Corso, Aileen; Franck, Valerie; Kelliher, Kate; McCorry, Betsy

2011-01-01

This study looks at the policies and practices shaping teacher quality in the Kansas City, Missouri School District (KCMSD). It is part of a series of analyses by the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) in school districts across the nation. Framing this analysis are five policy goals for improving teacher quality: (1) Staffing. Teacher…

Converting Data to Knowledge: One District's Experience Using Large-Scale Proficiency Assessment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davin, Kristin J.; Rempert, Tania A.; Hammerand, Amy A.

2014-01-01

The present study reports data from a large-scale foreign language proficiency assessment to explore trends across a large urban school district. These data were used in conjunction with data from teacher and student questionnaires to make recommendations for foreign language programs across the district. This evaluation process resulted in…

A Case Study of District Decentralization and Site-Based Budgeting: Cordell Place School District.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fermanich, Mark; Odden, Allan; Archibald, Sarah

A previously high-ranking suburban school district with declining student achievement changed to site-based budgeting. The account of the change may also be a cautionary tale about change taken too rapidly. Although a poor economy, the annexation of two Department of Defense schools, and organizational stagnation helped to create lower student…

Teacher Incentive Pay Programs in the United States: Union Influence and District Characteristics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liang, Guodong; Zhang, Ying; Huang, Haigen; Qiao, Zhaogang

2015-01-01

This study examined the characteristics of teacher incentive pay programs in the United States. Using the 2007-08 SASS data set, it found an inverse relationship between union influence and districts' incentive pay offerings. Large and ethnically diverse districts in urban areas that did not meet the requirements for Adequate Yearly Progress as…

Attitude Adjustment: The Stockton, Calif., District Gets Serious about Lowering--and Verifying--Its Dropout Rate

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gewertz, Catherine

2009-01-01

When Superintendent Anthony Amato arrived in Stockton, California's 38,000-student district, he knew that three of its four comprehensive high schools had been labeled "dropout factories." Mr. Amato, who has led the Hartford, Connecticut, Kansas City, Missouri, and New Orleans districts, studied Stockton's data to form his plan. Then he…

Peer Evaluation of Teachers in Maricopa County's Teacher Incentive Fund Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Milanowski, Anthony; Heneman, Herbert G., III; Finster, Matthew

2015-01-01

This case study describes the peer evaluation system the Maricopa County Educational Services Agency (MCESA) is using in the districts participating in its Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) 3 and 4 grants. Maricopa County's TIF districts cover much of the Phoenix, Arizona, metropolitan area. Including both TIF 3 and 4 cohorts, 12 districts with a total…

Achieving Coherence in District Improvement: Managing the Relationship between the Central Office and Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Susan Moore; Marietta, Geoff; Higgins, Monica C.; Mapp, Karen L.; Grossman, Allen

2015-01-01

"Achieving Coherence in District Improvement" focuses on a problem of practice faced by educational leaders across the nation: how to effectively manage the relationship between the central office and schools. The book is based on a study of five large urban districts that have demonstrated improvement in student achievement. The…

Stretching to Survive: District Autonomy in an Age of Dwindling Resources

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Howley, Aimee; Howley, Marged; Hendrickson, Katie; Belcher, Johnny; Howley, Craig

2012-01-01

This case study focuses on a four-district collaborative that shared services for more than 15 years in an effort to retain rural schools and thereby to preserve community identity. With population losses in the four districts and suburbanization in the largest, the collaborative made extensive use of distance education in addition to itinerant…

Responses to Positive Results from Suspicionless Random Drug Tests in US Public School Districts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ringwalt, Chris; Vincus, Amy A.; Ennett, Susan T.; Hanley, Sean; Bowling, J. Michael; Yacoubian, George S., Jr.; Rohrbach, Louise A.

2009-01-01

Background: Little is known about the context in which school-based suspicionless random drug testing (SRDT) occurs. The primary purpose of the current study was to describe school districts' responses to students' first positive result in districts with SRDT programs. Methods: Data were collected in spring 2005 from 1612 drug prevention…

Accessibility of School Districts' Web Sites: A Descriptive Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bray, Marty; Flowers, Claudia; Gibson, Patricia

2003-01-01

Many school districts (SDs) use the World Wide Web (WWW or Web) to disseminate a wide variety of information about things such as district events, policies, and a wide variety of student information. On-line barriers limit the accessibility of the WWW for persons and students with disabilities and thus can limit their access to vital information.…

A Study of Fringe Benefits and Selected Salaries of California Community College Districts.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kern Community Coll. District, Bakersfield, CA.

A questionnaire requesting fringe benefit and salary information was mailed to the 70 California community college districts. Data, with the 1977-78 salary schedule provided by each district, were used to determine compensation. After fringe benefit information was determined, the dollar amount for each plan was calculated at each of three salary…

Reinventing School: Becoming a District of Choices. Michigan's Schools of Innovation // Berrien Springs Public Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Beek, Michael

2013-01-01

In this latest installment of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy's new "Schools of Innovation" series, we discuss how Berrien Springs school district is reinventing public school. This study examines how the district has become more racially diverse, enrollment is growing rapidly, and they are using that growth to inject some much…

Association and Diffusion of Nutrition and Physical Activity Policies on the State and District Level

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taber, Daniel R.; Chriqui, Jamie F.; Chaloupka, Frank J.

2012-01-01

Background: School district wellness policies designed to reduce obesity and promote student health and well-being often lack specific requirements or any mandate that schools comply with the policy. Researchers, educators, and policymakers have called for states to take an active role in shaping district policies. The objective of this study was…

Coordinated School Health and the Contribution of a District Wellness Coordinator

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Westrich, Lisa; Sanchez, Monika; Strobel, Karen

2015-01-01

Background: A San Francisco Bay Area school health initiative was established in fall 2010 to improve wellness programs in 4 local school districts using the Coordinated School Health (CSH) model. This study examines the role of district-wide wellness coordinators and the ways in which they contribute to intentional coordination of health and…

Bigger ? Better: The Comprehensiveness and Strength of School Wellness Policies Varies by School District Size

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meendering, Jessica; Kranz, Emily; Shafrath, Tara; McCormack, Lacey

2016-01-01

Background: District size has been shown to impact the anticipated barriers to wellness policy creation and implementation. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to determine if strength and comprehensiveness of wellness policies differs among school districts of varying size. Methods: Wellness policies were collected from 10 large, 29…

The Decision-Making Process Used by Central Office Administrators as They Implement Full Day Kindergarten

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Palte, Suzanne C.

2014-01-01

The State of Michigan, as of 2012-2013, requires school districts to enroll students in full day kindergarten to receive full funding. This study investigated the decision-making process that was used by public school districts to determine kindergarten programs in their district. Specifically, how did administrators and staff members use the…

Framing Innovation: The Impact of the Superintendent's Technology Infrastructure Decisions on the Acceptance of Large-Scale Technology Initiatives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arnold, Erik P.

2014-01-01

A multiple-case qualitative study of five school districts that had implemented various large-scale technology initiatives was conducted to describe what superintendents do to gain acceptance of those initiatives. The large-scale technology initiatives in the five participating districts included 1:1 District-Provided Device laptop and tablet…

The "Post-Racial" Politics of Race: Changing Student Assignment Policy in Three School Districts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McDermott, Kathryn A.; Frankenberg, Erica; Diem, Sarah

2015-01-01

Many school districts have recently revised, or tried to revise, their policies for assigning students to schools, because the legal and political status of racial and other kinds of diversity is uncertain, and the districts are facing fiscal austerity. This article presents case studies of politics and student assignment policy in three large…

The Relationship between Illinois School District Superintendent Longevity and High School Student Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Libka, Robert J.

2012-01-01

Frequent changes in school district superintendents may be having a detrimental impact on student achievement. Rapid changes in leadership today parallel the present (NCLB) era of high stakes state assessments. The goal of the study was to provide correlation research that would have a positive effect on school district management, superintendent…

Knowledge about HIV and AIDS among Young South Africans in the Capricorn District, Limpopo Province

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Melwa, Irene T.; Oduntan, Olalekan A.

2012-01-01

Objective: To assess the basic knowledge about HIV and AIDS among young South Africans in the Capricorn District of Limpopo Province, South Africa. Design: A questionnaire-based cohort study, involving data collection from senior high school students. Setting: Randomly selected high schools in the Capricorn District, Limpopo Province, South…

Demographic Differences in District-Level Policies Related to School Mental Health and Social Services--United States, 2012

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Demissie, Zewditu; Brener, Nancy

2017-01-01

Background: Mental health conditions among youth are a major concern. Schools can play an important role in supporting students affected by these conditions. This study examined district-level school health policies related to mental health and social services to determine if they varied by district demographic characteristics. Methods: The School…

Evaluation of a Smartphone Decision-Support Tool for Diarrheal Disease Management in a Resource-Limited Setting

PubMed Central

Khatun, Selina; Ahmed, Mujaddeed; Kache, Saraswati; Chisti, Mohammod Jobayer; Sarker, Shafiqul Alam; Maples, Stace D.; Pieri, Dane; Vardhan Korrapati, Teja; Sarnquist, Clea; Federspiel, Nancy; Rahman, Muhammad Waliur; Andrews, Jason R.; Rahman, Mahmudur; Nelson, Eric Jorge

2017-01-01

The emergence of mobile technology offers new opportunities to improve clinical guideline adherence in resource-limited settings. We conducted a clinical pilot study in rural Bangladesh to evaluate the impact of a smartphone adaptation of the World Health Organization (WHO) diarrheal disease management guidelines, including a modality for age-based weight estimation. Software development was guided by end-user input and evaluated in a resource-limited district and sub-district hospital during the fall 2015 cholera season; both hospitals lacked scales which necessitated weight estimation. The study consisted of a 6 week pre-intervention and 6 week intervention period with a 10-day post-discharge follow-up. Standard of care was maintained throughout the study with the exception that admitting clinicians used the tool during the intervention. Inclusion criteria were patients two months of age and older with uncomplicated diarrheal disease. The primary outcome was adherence to guidelines for prescriptions of intravenous (IV) fluids, antibiotics and zinc. A total of 841 patients were enrolled (325 pre-intervention; 516 intervention). During the intervention, the proportion of prescriptions for IV fluids decreased at the district and sub-district hospitals (both p < 0.001) with risk ratios (RRs) of 0.5 and 0.2, respectively. However, when IV fluids were prescribed, the volume better adhered to recommendations. The proportion of prescriptions for the recommended antibiotic azithromycin increased (p < 0.001 district; p = 0.035 sub-district) with RRs of 6.9 (district) and 1.6 (sub-district) while prescriptions for other antibiotics decreased; zinc adherence increased. Limitations included an absence of a concurrent control group and no independent dehydration assessment during the pre-intervention. Despite limitations, opportunities were identified to improve clinical care, including better assessment, weight estimation, and fluid/ antibiotic selection. These findings demonstrate that a smartphone-based tool can improve guideline adherence. This study should serve as a catalyst for a randomized controlled trial to expand on the findings and address limitations. PMID:28103233

Evaluation of a Smartphone Decision-Support Tool for Diarrheal Disease Management in a Resource-Limited Setting.

PubMed

Haque, Farhana; Ball, Robyn L; Khatun, Selina; Ahmed, Mujaddeed; Kache, Saraswati; Chisti, Mohammod Jobayer; Sarker, Shafiqul Alam; Maples, Stace D; Pieri, Dane; Vardhan Korrapati, Teja; Sarnquist, Clea; Federspiel, Nancy; Rahman, Muhammad Waliur; Andrews, Jason R; Rahman, Mahmudur; Nelson, Eric Jorge

2017-01-01

The emergence of mobile technology offers new opportunities to improve clinical guideline adherence in resource-limited settings. We conducted a clinical pilot study in rural Bangladesh to evaluate the impact of a smartphone adaptation of the World Health Organization (WHO) diarrheal disease management guidelines, including a modality for age-based weight estimation. Software development was guided by end-user input and evaluated in a resource-limited district and sub-district hospital during the fall 2015 cholera season; both hospitals lacked scales which necessitated weight estimation. The study consisted of a 6 week pre-intervention and 6 week intervention period with a 10-day post-discharge follow-up. Standard of care was maintained throughout the study with the exception that admitting clinicians used the tool during the intervention. Inclusion criteria were patients two months of age and older with uncomplicated diarrheal disease. The primary outcome was adherence to guidelines for prescriptions of intravenous (IV) fluids, antibiotics and zinc. A total of 841 patients were enrolled (325 pre-intervention; 516 intervention). During the intervention, the proportion of prescriptions for IV fluids decreased at the district and sub-district hospitals (both p < 0.001) with risk ratios (RRs) of 0.5 and 0.2, respectively. However, when IV fluids were prescribed, the volume better adhered to recommendations. The proportion of prescriptions for the recommended antibiotic azithromycin increased (p < 0.001 district; p = 0.035 sub-district) with RRs of 6.9 (district) and 1.6 (sub-district) while prescriptions for other antibiotics decreased; zinc adherence increased. Limitations included an absence of a concurrent control group and no independent dehydration assessment during the pre-intervention. Despite limitations, opportunities were identified to improve clinical care, including better assessment, weight estimation, and fluid/ antibiotic selection. These findings demonstrate that a smartphone-based tool can improve guideline adherence. This study should serve as a catalyst for a randomized controlled trial to expand on the findings and address limitations.

Decentralization in Zambia: resource allocation and district performance.

PubMed

Bossert, Thomas; Chitah, Mukosha Bona; Bowser, Diana

2003-12-01

Zambia implemented an ambitious process of health sector decentralization in the mid 1990s. This article presents an assessment of the degree of decentralization, called 'decision space', that was allowed to districts in Zambia, and an analysis of data on districts available at the national level to assess allocation choices made by local authorities and some indicators of the performance of the health systems under decentralization. The Zambian officials in health districts had a moderate range of choice over expenditures, user fees, contracting, targeting and governance. Their choices were quite limited over salaries and allowances and they did not have control over additional major sources of revenue, like local taxes. The study found that the formula for allocation of government funding which was based on population size and hospital beds resulted in relatively equal per capita expenditures among districts. Decentralization allowed the districts to make decisions on internal allocation of resources and on user fee levels and expenditures. General guidelines for the allocation of resources established a maximum and minimum percentage to be allocated to district offices, hospitals, health centres and communities. Districts tended to exceed the maximum for district offices, but the large urban districts and those without public district hospitals were not even reaching the minimum for hospital allocations. Wealthier and urban districts were more successful in raising revenue through user fees, although the proportion of total expenditures that came from user fees was low. An analysis of available indicators of performance, such as the utilization of health services, immunization coverage and family planning activities, found little variation during the period 1995-98 except for a decline in immunization coverage, which may have also been affected by changes in donor funding. These findings suggest that decentralization may not have had either a positive or negative impact on services.

Geothermal space/water heating for City of Mammoth Lakes, California. Draft final report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sims, A.V.; Racine, W.C.

1977-09-01

The results of a study to determine the technical, economic and environmental feasibility of geothermal district heating for Mammoth Lakes Village, California are presented. The geothermal district heating system selected is technically feasible and uses existing technology in its design and operation. During a preliminary environmental assessment, no potential adverse environmental impacts could be identified of sufficient consequence to preclude the construction and operation of the proposed district heating system. A follow-on program aimed at implementing district heating in Mammoth is outlined.

The influence of health system organizational structure and culture on integration of health services: the example of HIV service monitoring in South Africa.

PubMed

Kawonga, Mary; Blaauw, Duane; Fonn, Sharon

2016-11-01

Administrative integration of disease control programmes (DCPs) within the district health system has been a health sector reform priority in South Africa for two decades. The reforms entail district managers assuming authority for the planning and monitoring of DCPs in districts, with DCP managers providing specialist support. There has been little progress in achieving this, and a dearth of research exploring why. Using a case study of HIV programme monitoring and evaluation (M&E), this article explores whether South Africa's health system is configured to support administrative integration. The article draws on data from document reviews and interviews with 54 programme and district managers in two of nine provinces, exploring their respective roles in decision-making regarding HIV M&E system design and in using HIV data for monitoring uptake of HIV interventions in districts. Using Mintzberg's configurations framework, we describe three organizational parameters: (a) extent of centralization (whether district managers play a role in decisions regarding the design of the HIV M&E system); (b) key part of the organization (extent to which sub-national programme managers vs district managers play the central role in HIV monitoring in districts); and (c) coordination mechanisms used (whether highly formalized and rules-based or more output-based to promote agency). We find that the health system can be characterized as Mintzberg's machine bureaucracy. It is centralized and highly formalized with structures, management styles and practices that promote programme managers as lead role players in the monitoring of HIV interventions within districts. This undermines policy objectives of district managers assuming this leadership role. Our study enhances the understanding of organizational factors that may limit the success of administrative integration reforms and suggests interventions that may mitigate this. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press in association with The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

What variables should be considered in allocating Primary health care Pharmaceutical budgets to districts in Uganda?

PubMed

Mujasi, Paschal N; Puig-Junoy, Jaume

2015-01-01

A key policy question for the government of Uganda is how to equitably allocate primary health care pharmaceutical budgets to districts. This paper seeks to identify variables influencing current primary health care pharmaceutical expenditure and their usefulness in allocating prospective pharmaceutical budgets to districts. This was a cross sectional, retrospective observational study using secondary administrative data. We collected data on the value of pharmaceuticals procured by primary health care facilities in each district from National Medical Stores for the financial year 2011/2012. The dependent variable was expressed as per capita district pharmaceutical expenditure. By reviewing literature we identified 26 potential explanatory variables. They include supply, need and demand, and health system organization variables that may influence the demand and supply of health services and the corresponding pharmaceutical expenditure. We collected secondary data for these variables for all the districts in Uganda (n = 112). We performed econometric analysis to estimate parameters of various regression models. There is a significant correlation between per capita district pharmaceutical expenditure and total district population, rural poverty, access to drinking water and outpatient department (OPD) per capita utilisation.(P < 0.01). The percentage of health centre IIIs (HC III) among each district's health facilities is significantly correlated with per capita pharmaceutical expenditure (P < 0.05). OPD per capita utilisation has a relatively strong correlation with per capita pharmaceutical expenditure (r = 0.498); all the other significant factors are weakly correlated with per capita pharmaceutical expenditure (r < 0.5). From several iterations of an initially developed model, the proposed final model for explaining per capita pharmaceutical expenditure explains about 53% of the variation in pharmaceutical expenditure among districts in Uganda (Adjusted R(2) = 0.528). All variables in the model are significant (p < 0.01). From evaluation of the various models, proposed variables to consider in allocating prospective primary health care pharmaceutical budgets to districts in Uganda are: district outpatient department attendance per capita, total district population, total number of government health facilities in the district and the district human poverty index.

Effect of supportive supervision on routine immunization service delivery-a randomized post-test study in Odisha.

PubMed

Som, Meena; Panda, Bhuputra; Pati, Sanghamitra; Nallala, Srinivas; Anasuya, Anita; Chauhan, Abhimanyu Singh; Sen, Ashish Kumar; Zodpey, Sanjay

2014-06-30

Routine immunization is a key child survival intervention. Issues related to quality of service delivery pose operational challenges in delivering effective immunization services. Accumulated evidences suggest that "supportive supervision" improves the quality of health care services. During 2009-10, Govt. of Odisha (GoO) and UNICEF jointly piloted this strategy in four districts to improve routine immunization. The present study aims to assess the effect of supportive supervision strategy on improvement of knowledge and practices on routine immunization among service providers. We adopted a 'post-test only' study design to compare the knowledge and practices of frontline health workers and their supervisors in four intervention districts with that of two control districts. Altogether we interviewed 170 supervisors and supervisees (health workers), each, using semi-structured interview schedules. We also directly observed 25 ice lined refrigerator (ILR) points in both groups of districts. The findings were compared with the baseline information, available only for the intervention districts. The health workers in the intervention districts displayed a higher knowledge score in selected items than in the control group. No significant difference in knowledge was observed between control and intervention supervisors. The management practices at ILR points on key routine immunization components were found to have improved significantly in intervention districts. The observed improvements in the ILR management practices indicate positive influence of supportive supervision. Higher level of domain knowledge among intervention health workers on specific items related to routine immunization could be due to successful transfer of knowledge from supervisors. A 'pre-post' study design should be undertaken to gain insights into the effectiveness of supportive supervision in improving routine immunization services.

Accessibility and potency of uterotonic drugs purchased by simulated clients in four districts in India.

PubMed

Stanton, Cynthia; Nand, Deepak Nitya; Koski, Alissa; Mirzabagi, Ellie; Brooke, Steve; Grady, Breanne; Mullany, Luke C

2014-11-13

Surveillance of drug quality for antibiotics, antiretrovirals, antimalarials and vaccines is better established than surveillance for maternal health drugs in low-income countries, particularly uterotonic drugs for the prevention and treatment of postpartum hemorrhage. The objectives of this study are to: assess private sector accessibility of four drugs used for uterotonic purposes (oxytocin, methylergometrine, misoprostol, valethamate bromide); and to assess potency of oxytocin and methylergometrine ampoules purchased by simulated clients. The study was conducted in Hassan and Bagalkot districts in Karnataka state and Agra and Gorakhpur districts in Uttar Pradesh state. A sample of 877 private pharmacies was selected (using a stratified, systematic sampling with random start), among which 847 were successfully visited. The target sample size for assessment of accessibility was 50 pharmacies per drug, per district. The target sample size for potency assessment was 100 purchases each of oxytocin and methylergometrine across all districts. Successful drug purchases varied by state. In Agra and Gorakhpur, 90%-100% of visits for each of the drugs resulted in a purchase. In Bagalkot and Hassan, only 29%-52% of visits for each drug resulted in a purchase. Regarding potency, the percent of active pharmaceutical ingredient was assessed using United States Pharmacopeia monograph #33 for both drugs; 193 and 188 ampoules of oxytocin and methylergometrine, respectively, were assessed. The percent of oxytocin ampoules outside manufacturer specification ranged from 33%-40% in Karnataka and from 22%-50% in Uttar Pradesh. In Bagalkot and Hassan, 96% and 100% of the methylergometrine ampoules were outside manufacturer specification, respectively. In Agra and Gorakhpur, 54% and 44% were outside manufacturer specification, respectively. Private sector accessibility of uterotonic drugs in study districts in Karnataka warrants attention. Most importantly, interventions to assure quality oxytocin and particularly methylergometrine are needed in study districts in both states.

A Multilevel, Statewide Investigation of School District Anti-Bullying Policy Quality and Student Bullying Involvement.

PubMed

Gower, Amy L; Cousin, Molly; Borowsky, Iris W

2017-03-01

Although nearly all states in the United States require school districts to adopt anti-bullying policies, little research examines the effect of these policies on student bullying and health. Using a statewide sample, we investigated associations between the quality of school district anti-bullying policies and student bullying involvement and adjustment. School district anti-bullying policies (N = 208) were coded for their quality based on established criteria. District-level data were combined with student reports of bullying involvement, emotional distress, and school connectedness from a state surveillance survey of 6th, 9th, and 12th grade students (N = 93,437). Results indicated that policy quality was positively related to bullying victimization. Furthermore, students reporting frequent perpetration/victimization who also attended districts with high-quality policies reported more emotional distress and less school connectedness compared with students attending districts with low quality policies. Although statistically significant, the magnitude of these associations was small. Having a high-quality school district anti-bullying policy is not sufficient to reduce bullying and protect bullying-involved young people. Future studies examining policy implementation will inform best practices in bullying prevention. © 2017, American School Health Association.

Characteristics of Illinois School Districts That Employ School Nurses.

PubMed

Searing, Lisabeth M; Guenette, Molly

2016-08-01

Research indicates that school nursing services are cost-effective, but the National Association of School Nurses estimates that 25% of schools do not have a school nurse (SN). The purpose of this study was to identify the characteristics of Illinois school districts that employed SNs. This was a secondary data analysis of Illinois School Report Card system data as well as data obtained from district websites regarding SNs. Employment of an SN was determined for 95% of the 862 existing districts. Binary logistic regression analysis found that district size was the largest significant predictor of employment of an SN. Other factors included the type of district and diversity of the teaching staff as well as the percentage of students receiving special education services or with limited English proficiency. These findings indicate where to focus advocacy and policy efforts to encourage employment of SNs. © The Author(s) 2015.

Water-resources activities of the U.S. Geological Survey in Utah, October 1, 1993, to September 30, 1994

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hardy, Ellen E.; Dragos, Stefanie L.

1996-01-01

This report contains summaries of the progress of water-resources studies in Utah by the U.S. Geological Survey, Water Resources Division, Utah District, from October 1, 1993, to September 30, 1994. The water-resources program in Utah during this period consisted of 21 projects; a discussion of each project is presented in the main body of this report.The following sections outline the origin of the U.S. Geological Survey, the basic mission of the Water Resources Division, the organizational structure of the Utah District, office addresses of the Utah District, the distribution of District funding in terms of source of funds and type of activity funded, and the agencies with which the District cooperates. The last part of the introduction is a list of reports produced by the District from October 1993 to September 1994.

Can action research strengthen district health management and improve health workforce performance? A research protocol.

PubMed

Mshelia, C; Huss, R; Mirzoev, T; Elsey, H; Baine, S O; Aikins, M; Kamuzora, P; Bosch-Capblanch, X; Raven, J; Wyss, K; Green, A; Martineau, T

2013-08-30

The single biggest barrier for countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) to scale up the necessary health services for addressing the three health-related Millennium Development Goals and achieving Universal Health Coverage is the lack of an adequate and well-performing health workforce. This deficit needs to be addressed both by training more new health personnel and by improving the performance of the existing and future health workforce. However, efforts have mostly been focused on training new staff and less on improving the performance of the existing health workforce. The purpose of this paper is to disseminate the protocol for the PERFORM project and reflect on the key challenges encountered during the development of this methodology and how they are being overcome. The overall aim of the PERFORM project is to identify ways of strengthening district management in order to address health workforce inadequacies by improving health workforce performance in SSA. The study will take place in three districts each in Ghana, Tanzania and Uganda using an action research approach. With the support of the country research teams, the district health management teams (DHMTs) will lead on planning, implementation, observation, reflection and redefinition of the activities in the study. Taking into account the national and local human resource (HR) and health systems (HS) policies and practices already in place, 'bundles' of HR/HS strategies that are feasible within the context and affordable within the districts' budget will be developed by the DHMTs to strengthen priority areas of health workforce performance. A comparative analysis of the findings from the three districts in each country will add new knowledge on the effects of these HR/HS bundles on DHMT management and workforce performance and the impact of an action research approach on improving the effectiveness of the DHMTs in implementing these interventions. Different challenges were faced during the development of the methodology. These include the changing context in the study districts, competing with other projects and duties for the time of district managers, complexity of the study design, maintaining the anonymity and confidentiality of study participants as well as how to record the processes during the study. We also discuss how these challenges are being addressed. The dissemination of this research protocol is intended to generate interest in the PERFORM project and also stimulate discussion on the use of action research in complex studies such as this on strengthening district health management to improve health workforce performance.

Best management practices to exchange information between the TOC and district offices.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-06-01

The objective of this study was to develop best management practices for exchange information between the Transportation Operation Center (TOC) and the district offices and regional traffic management centers. Data collected for this study included: ...

Condom availability in high risk places and condom use: a study at district level in Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background A number of studies from countries with severe HIV epidemics have found gaps in condom availability, even in places where there is a substantial potential for HIV transmission. Although reported condom use has increased in many African countries, there are often big differences by socioeconomic background. The aim of this study was to assess equity aspects of condom availability and uptake in three African districts to evaluate whether condom programmes are given sufficient priority. Methods Data on condom availability and use was examined in one district in Kenya, one in Tanzania and one in Zambia. The study was based on a triangulation of data collection methods in the three study districts: surveys in venues where people meet new sexual partners, population-based surveys and focus group discussions. The data was collected within an overall study on priority setting in health systems. Results At the time of the survey, condoms were observed in less than half of the high risk venues in two of the three districts and in 60% in the third district. Rural respondents in the population-based surveys perceived condoms to be less available and tended to be less likely to report condom use than urban respondents. Although focus group participants reported that condoms were largely available in their district, they expressed concerns related to the accessibility of free condoms. Conclusion As late as thirty years into the HIV epidemic there are still important gaps in the availability of condoms in places where people meet new sexual partners in these three African districts. Considering that previous studies have found that improved condom availability and accessibility in high risk places have a potential to increase condom use among people with multiple partners, the present study findings indicate that substantial further efforts should be made to secure that condoms are easily accessible in places where sexual relationships are initiated. Although condom distribution in drinking places has been pinpointed in the HIV/AIDS prevention strategies of all the three countries, its priority relative to other HIV/AIDS measures must be reassessed locally, nationally and regionally. In practical terms very clear supply chains of condoms to both formal and informal drinking places could make condom provision better and more reliable. PMID:23181969

Condom availability in high risk places and condom use: a study at district level in Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia.

PubMed

Sandøy, Ingvild Fossgard; Blystad, Astrid; Shayo, Elizabeth H; Makundi, Emmanuel; Michelo, Charles; Zulu, Joseph; Byskov, Jens

2012-11-26

A number of studies from countries with severe HIV epidemics have found gaps in condom availability, even in places where there is a substantial potential for HIV transmission. Although reported condom use has increased in many African countries, there are often big differences by socioeconomic background. The aim of this study was to assess equity aspects of condom availability and uptake in three African districts to evaluate whether condom programmes are given sufficient priority. Data on condom availability and use was examined in one district in Kenya, one in Tanzania and one in Zambia. The study was based on a triangulation of data collection methods in the three study districts: surveys in venues where people meet new sexual partners, population-based surveys and focus group discussions. The data was collected within an overall study on priority setting in health systems. At the time of the survey, condoms were observed in less than half of the high risk venues in two of the three districts and in 60% in the third district. Rural respondents in the population-based surveys perceived condoms to be less available and tended to be less likely to report condom use than urban respondents. Although focus group participants reported that condoms were largely available in their district, they expressed concerns related to the accessibility of free condoms. As late as thirty years into the HIV epidemic there are still important gaps in the availability of condoms in places where people meet new sexual partners in these three African districts. Considering that previous studies have found that improved condom availability and accessibility in high risk places have a potential to increase condom use among people with multiple partners, the present study findings indicate that substantial further efforts should be made to secure that condoms are easily accessible in places where sexual relationships are initiated. Although condom distribution in drinking places has been pinpointed in the HIV/AIDS prevention strategies of all the three countries, its priority relative to other HIV/AIDS measures must be reassessed locally, nationally and regionally. In practical terms very clear supply chains of condoms to both formal and informal drinking places could make condom provision better and more reliable.

Community and District Empowerment for Scale-up (CODES): a complex district-level management intervention to improve child survival in Uganda: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Waiswa, Peter; O'Connell, Thomas; Bagenda, Danstan; Mullachery, Pricila; Mpanga, Flavia; Henriksson, Dorcus Kiwanuka; Katahoire, Anne Ruhweza; Ssegujja, Eric; Mbonye, Anthony K; Peterson, Stefan Swartling

2016-03-11

Innovative and sustainable strategies to strengthen districts and other sub-national health systems and management are urgently required to reduce child mortality. Although highly effective evidence-based and affordable child survival interventions are well-known, at the district level, lack of data, motivation, analytic and planning capacity often impedes prioritization and management weaknesses impede implementation. The Community and District Empowerment for Scale-up (CODES) project is a complex management intervention designed to test whether districts when empowered with data and management tools can prioritize and implement evidence-based child survival interventions equitably. The CODES strategy combines management, diagnostic, and evaluation tools to identify and analyze the causes of bottlenecks to implementation, build capacity of district management teams to implement context-specific solutions, and to foster community monitoring and social accountability to increase demand for services. CODES combines UNICEF tools designed to systematize priority setting, allocation of resources and problem solving with Community dialogues based on Citizen Report Cards and U-Reports used to engage and empower communities in monitoring health service provision and to demand for quality services. Implementation and all data collection will be by the districts teams or local Community-based Organizations who will be supported by two local implementing partners. The study will be evaluated as a cluster randomized trial with eight intervention and eight comparison districts over a period of 3 years. Evaluation will focus on differences in uptake of child survival interventions and will follow an intention-to-treat analysis. We will also document and analyze experiences in implementation including changes in management practices. By increasing the District Health Management Teams' capacity to prioritize and implement context-specific solutions, and empowering communities to become active partners in service delivery, coverage of child survival interventions will increase. Lessons learned on strengthening district-level managerial capacities and mechanisms for community monitoring may have implications, not only in Uganda but also in other similar settings, especially with regard to accelerating effective coverage of key child survival interventions using locally available resources. ISRCTN15705788 , Date of registration; 24 July 2015.

The economic costs of malaria in four Kenyan districts: do household costs differ by disease endemicity?

PubMed

Chuma, Jane; Okungu, Vincent; Molyneux, Catherine

2010-06-02

Malaria inflicts significant costs on households and on the economy of malaria endemic countries. There is also evidence that the economic burden is higher among the poorest in a population, and that cost burdens differ significantly between wet and dry seasons. What is not clear is whether, and how, the economic burden of malaria differs by disease endemicity. The need to account for geographical and epidemiological differences in the estimation of the social and economic burden of malaria is well recognized, but there is limited data, if any, to support this argument. This study sought to contribute towards filling this gap by comparing malaria cost burdens in four Kenyan districts of different endemicity. A cross-sectional household survey was conducted during the peak malaria transmission season in the poorest areas in four Kenyan districts with differing malaria transmission patterns (n = 179 households in Bondo; 205 Gucha; 184 Kwale; 141 Makueni). There were significant differences in duration of fever, perception of fever severity and cost burdens. Fever episodes among adults and children over five years in Gucha and Makueni districts (highland endemic and low acute transmission districts respectively) lasted significantly longer than episodes reported in Bondo and Kwale districts (high perennial transmission and seasonal, intense transmission, respectively). Perceptions of illness severity also differed between districts: fevers reported among older children and adults in Gucha and Makueni districts were reported as severe compared to those reported in the other districts. Indirect and total costs differed significantly between districts but differences in direct costs were not significant. Total household costs were highest in Makueni (US$ 19.6 per month) and lowest in Bondo (US$ 9.2 per month). Cost burdens are the product of complex relationships between social, economic and epidemiological factors. The cost data presented in this study reflect transmission patterns in the four districts, suggesting that a relationship between costs burdens and the nature of transmission might exist, and that the same warrants more attention from researchers and policy makers.

Review of Prior Commercial Building Energy Efficiency Retrofit Evaluation: A Report to Snohomish Public Utilities District

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Price, Phillip N.

2014-11-01

Snohomish County Public Utilities District (the District or Snohomish PUD) provides electricity to about 325,000 customers in Snohomish County, Washington. The District has an incentive programs to encourage commercial customers to improve energy efficiency: the District partially reimburses the cost of approved retrofits if they provide a level of energy performance improvement that is specified by contract. In 2013 the District contracted with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to provide a third-party review of the Monitoring and Verification (M&V) practices the District uses to evaluate whether companies are meeting their contractual obligations. This work helps LBNL understand the challenges faced bymore » real-world practitioners of M&V of energy savings, and builds on a body of related work such as Price et al. (2013). The District selected a typical project for which they had already performed an evaluation. The present report includes the District's original evaluation as well as LBNL's review of their approach. The review is based on the document itself; on investigation of the load data and outdoor air temperature data from the building evaluated in the document; and on phone discussions with Bill Harris of the Snohomish County Public Utilities District. We will call the building studied in the document the subject building, the original Snohomish PUD report will be referred to as the Evaluation, and this discussion by LBNL is called the Review.« less

Improving malaria treatment and prevention in India by aiding district managers to manage their programmes with local information: a trial assessing the impact of Lot Quality Assurance Sampling on programme outcomes.

PubMed

Valadez, Joseph J; Devkota, Baburam; Pradhan, Madan Mohan; Meherda, Pramod; Sonal, G S; Dhariwal, Akshay; Davis, Rosemary

2014-10-01

This paper reports the first trial of Lot Quality Assurance Sampling (LQAS) assessing associations between access to LQAS data and subsequent improvements in district programming. This trial concerns India's approach to addressing an increase in malaria-attributable deaths by training community health workers to diagnose, treat and prevent malaria, while using LQAS to monitor sub-district performance and make programme improvements. The Ministry of Health introduced LQAS into four matched high malaria burden districts (Annual Parasite Incidence >5) (N > 5 million). In each sub-district, we sampled four populations in three 6-monthly surveys: households, children <5 years, people with fever in the last 2 weeks and community health workers. In three districts, trained local staff collected, analysed and used data for programme management; in one control district, non-local staff collected data and did not disseminate results. For eight indicators, we calculated the change in proportion from survey one to three and used a Difference-in-Differences test to compare the relative change between intervention and control districts. Coverage increased from survey one to three for 24 of 32 comparisons. Difference-in-Differences tests revealed that intervention districts exhibited significantly greater change in four of six vertical strategies (insecticide treated bed-nets and indoor residual spraying), one of six treatment-seeking behaviours and four of 12 health worker capacity indicators. The control district displayed greater improvement than two intervention districts for one health worker capacity indicator. One district with poor management did not improve. In this study, LQAS results appeared to support district managers to increase coverage in underperforming areas, especially for vertical strategies in the presence of diligent managers. © 2014 The Authors. Tropical Medicine & International Health published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The Abrams report--communicable disease control; how do Health Districts measure up to the recommendations?

PubMed

Grime, L P; Horsley, S D

1995-12-01

The aims of the study were to examine whether Health Districts in the North Western Region complied with the recommendations in the Abrams report regarding the control of communicable disease [incorporated into the Annex to Circular HSG(93)56], and to identify areas that need further attention. The recommendations were extracted and arranged in questionnaire form. Further items were included dealing with the use of Epinet in communicating with the profession. A compliance score was derived from affirmative and qualified affirmative responses. Many recommendations were met by all or most Districts. Compliance was 90 percent or over for 58 percent of the questions where an assessment was appropriate. Of the 16 Districts in consortia, 75 percent did not have a consortium plan. Day-to-day plans were informal in 21 percent of Districts. In 63 percent of Districts the Family Health Services Authority (FHSA) was not involved to the extent that it should be. The Consultant in Communicable Disease Control (CCDC) had insufficient District Health Authority support in 42 percent of Districts and insufficient Local Authority support in 16 percent of Districts. In 58 percent of Districts there was lack of inclusion of matters relating to the control of infectious disease in contractual statements between purchaser and provider. There was a lack of audit in 47 percent of Districts. One plan or a compatible series of plans are required across each District. Informal day-to-day plans should be formalized. The FHSA should be fully involved in infectious disease control plans. Certain Districts require a Community Infection Control Nurse, accountable to the CCDC and/or administrative support to input and scan surveillance data. Contractual statements between purchaser and provider should include appropriate infection control requirements when this is not already the case. Communicable disease control audit should be a regular part of CCDC duties.

Comparing State and District Test Results to National Norms: Interpretations of Scoring "Above the National Average."

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Linn, Robert L.; And Others

Norm-referenced test results reported by states and school districts and factors related to those scores were studied through mail and telephone surveys of 35 states and a nationally representative sample of 153 school districts to determine the degree to which "above average" results were being reported. Part of the stimulus for this…

The Relation among School District Health, Total Quality Principles for School Organization and Student Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marshall, Jon; Pritchard, Ruie; Gunderson, Betsey

2004-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the congruence among W. E. Deming's 14 points for Total Quality Management (TQM), the organizational health of school districts, and student achievement. Based on Kanter's (1983) concept of a Culture of Pride with a Climate of Success, healthy districts were defined as having an organizational culture…

The Status of Women in Higher Education and the Professions: Metropolitan Junior College District, 1971-1972.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alfred, Richard L.; Good, Mary F.

Latent factors involved in sex role determination in higher education and the professions were studied using educational and occupational data on the population of male and female students at each member college of the Metropolitan Junior College District, the population of non-academic staff employed by the district, the population of academic…

Differential Impacts of Intensive District-Level Technical Assistance on Student Achievement: A Study of California's District Assistance and Intervention Teams

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Strunk, Katharine O.; McEachin, Andrew

2012-01-01

Building on Strunk, McEachin, and Westover (2011), the authors examine whether or not District Assistance and Intervention Teams (DAITs) have a differential impact on student performance across school and student characteristics. They use a quasi-experimental design to examine the impacts of DAITs on student achievement on math and English…

Urban School District's Preparing New Principals Program 2008-2011: Perceptions of Program Completers, Supervising Principals, and Senior Level School District Administrators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, Rosemarye T.; Pelletier, Kelly; Trimble, Todd; Ruiz, Eddie

2014-01-01

The purpose of these three parallel mixed method studies was to measure the effectiveness of an urban school district's 2011 Preparing New Principals Program (PNPP). Results supported the premise that preparing principals for school leadership in 2013 must develop them as instructional leaders who can improve teacher performance and student…

The Sustainability of Comprehensive School Reform Models in Changing District and State Contexts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Datnow, Amanda

2005-01-01

This article addresses the sustainability of comprehensive school reform (CSR) models in the face of turbulent district and state contexts. It draws on qualitative data gathered in a longitudinal case study of six CSR models implemented in 13 schools in one urban district. Why do reforms sustain in some schools and not in others? How do changing…

Return on Educational Investment: A District-by-District Evaluation of U.S. Educational Productivity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boser, Ulrich

2011-01-01

This report is the culmination of a yearlong effort to study the efficiency of the nation's public education system and includes the first-ever attempt to evaluate the productivity of almost every major school district in the country. In the business world, the notion of productivity describes the benefit received in exchange for effort or money…

Job Sharing in the Schools: A Study of Nine Bay Area Districts. A Preliminary Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

New Ways to Work, Palo Alto, CA.

Under job sharing, two people share responsibility for one full-time position. Each person has a permanent, part-time job with salary and fringe benefits prorated according to hours worked. Job sharing has been available in some Bay Area school districts for the last four years. For this preliminary report, nine districts--Alum rock, Fremont,…

Gifted and at Risk: A Cross-District Comparison of Gifted Student Growth and Solutions for Urban Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kurt, Layla J.; Chenault, Krystel H.

2017-01-01

In this study, the researchers highlight differences in district level value-added growth data of gifted students in urban and suburban districts, as categorized by the Ohio Department of Education. In addition to analyzing the difference between the academic growth of urban and suburban gifted students, the researchers sought to synthesize…

Improving Ethnic Balance and Intergroup Relations; An Advisory Report to the Board of Education, Corona Unified School Districts.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

California State Dept. of Education, Sacramento. Bureau of Intergroup Relations.

This report contains the findings of a field study of the ethnic and racial composition and intergroup relations in the schools in the Corona Unified School District, California. These findings are information on (1) the district's approaches to desegregation and its policy on intergroup relations, (2) students' achievement differences, (3)…

Small Schools Mathematics Curriculum, K-3: Reading, Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies. Scope, Objectives, Activities, Resources, Monitoring Procedures.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hartl, David, Ed.; And Others

Developed during 1975-76 by 40 primary teachers and 10 elementary principals from 12 small school districts in 2 Washington counties and first used during 1976-77 in more than 20 districts, this K-3 mathematics curriculum is designed to assist district compliance with Washington's Student Learning Objectives (SLO) Law, which requires…

Parental Experiences Related to an Intra-District Boundary Adjustment Transition at the Elementary School Level

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schockaert, Frederik

2014-01-01

School districts at times need to implement structural and programmatic changes requiring students to attend a different school, which tends to elicit strong parental emotions. This qualitative study analyzes how parents in one suburban Rhode Island district responded to a large-scale redistricting at the elementary level in order to (a) attain a…

Perceptions of Elementary Teachers from an Urban School District in Southern California Regarding Their Inquiry-Based Science Instructional Practices, Assessment Methods, and Professional Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ugwu, Romanus Iroabuchi

2012-01-01

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to describe the perceptions of elementary teachers from an urban school district in Southern California regarding their inquiry-based science instructional practices, assessment methods and professional development. The district's inquiry professional development called the California Mathematics and…

Beacon Charter School Needs a School: A Case of Capital Outlay of Charters in a Public District

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wronowski, Meredith L.

2017-01-01

The case study presented below is a representation of a real-world, ongoing situation involving a public school district's capital outlay for charter schools within its boundaries. One particular charter, Beacon Charter School, was promised a permanent building by the public school district that also acts as its authorizer. However, recent events…

The Relationship between Components of the Ohio Local School District Report Card and the Outcome of a School Tax Levy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wheatley, Vicki Ann

2012-01-01

The relationship between components of the local school district report card, school district typology, and the outcome of public school tax levy requests were examined in this study. A correlation research design was used to measure the relationship between the independent variables (performance index, average yearly progress, value added,…

Metamorphosis: Texas District Opts for Learner-Centered Professional Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ellinger, Alan; Launius, Keri; Scott, Annette

2017-01-01

Like many districts across the United States, Galveston, Texas, is focused on building a culture of excellence. The district is a study in contrasts. On one hand, it is laced with opulent vacation homes and resort hotels used by out-of-town owners. On the other, the median household income level is $28,895, with 22% of the population living below…

The Impact of Budget Cutbacks on Music Teaching Positions and District Funding in Three Midwestern States

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burrack, Frederick William; Payne, Phillip; Bazan, Dale E.; Hellman, Daniel S.

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the existence and impact of budgetary cutbacks to music teaching positions and district funding in three Midwestern states, namely Kansas, Nebraska, and Missouri. The results revealed cuts to staffing and district funding of music programs without a reduction in student enrollments in 2011-2012…

Are Bad Schools Immortal? The Scarcity of Turnarounds and Shutdowns in Both Charter and District Sectors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stuit, David A.

2010-01-01

This study investigates the successes of the charter and district sectors in eliminating bad schools via dramatic turnarounds in performance and/or shutdowns. It identified 2,025 low-performing charter and district schools across ten states, each of which is home to a sizable number of charter schools. These particular schools were tracked from…

The Perceptions of District Leaders of Cyber Charter Schools in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Norman J.

2012-01-01

Given the growth of cyber charter schools in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, more research is needed in this new wave of school reform. In fact, little research currently addresses the perceptions that district leaders have in regard to cyber charter schools and that is what this study proposed to address. District leaders interviewed included…

Motivators of Classroom Technology Use and Types of Technology Being Used in Public Elementary Schools in an Urban School District

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heffernan, Ruth M.

2012-01-01

Although the public school district under study values technology, the district did not have a measurement tool specifically designed to determine motivators of teacher usage of technology and what technology is being used. Such a tool could be used to make informed decisions about technology purchases and professional development opportunities.…

Improving Literacy for Diverse, Low Socioeconomic Status, Middle School Students in an Urban District

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Means, Vivian Fowler

2017-01-01

In an urban district, Surfside School personnel were concerned that student literacy proficiency levels were low during 2011-2014 and teachers had not been able to close the achievement gap despite a focus on literacy practices and literacy professional development (PD) provided by the district. The purpose of this case study was to explore the…

Who, What, Where, When, and Why: Demographic and Ecological Factors Contributing to Hostile School Climate for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Youth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kosciw, Joseph G.; Greytak, Emily A.; Diaz, Elizabeth M.

2009-01-01

This study examines how locational (region and locale), community-level (school district poverty and adult educational attainment), and school district-level (district size and ratios of students to key school personnel) variables are related to indicators of hostile school climate for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth.…

Operational Issues Encountered by School Nutrition Directors in School Districts with Less than 30,000 Student Enrollment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rushing, Keith; Nettles, Mary Frances; Johnson, James T.

2009-01-01

Purpose: To identify operational issues and practices associated with operating school nutrition (SN) programs in school districts with less than 30,000 student enrollment. Method: The survey was adapted from a similar study that explored operational issues in school districts with enrollments of 30,000 or more students. The survey asked SN…

Linked Learning in Pasadena: Creating a Collaborative Culture for Sustainable District Reform. Linked Learning Case Study Series

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rice, Erik; Rutherford-Quach, Sara

2012-01-01

This is the story of how Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) is creating sustainable high school reform. PUSD, through a set of district leadership practices, thoughtfully built the capacity of and sense of ownership among essential stakeholders to design, implement, and support a system of Linked Learning pathways. Though firmly anchored by…

The Discrepancy between The Programs and Disaster Management Policy in Klapanunggal District, Bogor, West Java

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Puspito Sari, D. A.; Listiyowati, I.; Nefianto, T.; Lasmono

2018-03-01

Bogor regency consists of 40 districts, 23 are prone tonatural disasters. Klapanunggal district is listed in 10 districts declared as most vulnerable to natural disasters. Natural disasters could lead to loss of property and infrastructure damage and will affect the food security in the region. Food shortages is one example of the condition which causes food insecurity. The aim of this research is to analyze the government's food security strategy in anticipation of disaster with a case study of food insecurity in Klapanunggal district. The analysis suggested that; 1) FSVA is an appropriate program to identify food shortage areas, 2) Food Shortage Relief Program (Program Penanganan Daerah Rawan Pangan-PDRP) is the optimal efforts in reducing food shortages in the region, 3)The mismatch between FSVA indicators and Food Shortage Relief Program makes Klapanunggal district difficult in achievingfree status food-shortage. Based on the analysis, it is suggested that the implementation of Food Shortages Relief Program could be carried out based on the priority issues and implemented with integrated coordination and assistance among stakeholders. Such priority issues, integrated coordination and assistance are fully analyzed in this study.

Seasonal variation of Ganoderma spore concentrations in urban and suburban districts of the city of Szczecin, Poland.

PubMed

Grinn-Gofroń, Agnieszka; Strzelczak, Agnieszka; Przestrzelska, Katarzyna

2015-01-01

According to recent studies, Ganoderma may be the third genus, after Alternaria and Cladosporium, the spores of which cause symptoms of allergy, and concentration is related to meteorological factors. The aerobiology of Ganoderma spores in Szczecin in urban and suburban districts was examined using Lanzoni Volumetric Spore Traps in 2008-2010. Ganoderma spores were present in the atmosphere on more than 90% of the days from June through September with peak concentrations in June, July and September. The number of days with spores was lower in the suburban district, while the total number of spores collected was higher there than in the urban district. Correlation and multiple regression analyses revealed weak relationships between Ganoderma and meteorological conditions, while testing the significance of differences between the districts showed that urban development did not have a clear impact on the values of meteorological parameters. A significantly higher abundance of spores in the suburbs of Szczecin seemed to be conditioned by the closeness of potential area sources. This study indicates that a single measuring site in the city centre insufficiently reflected the dynamics and level of Ganoderma spore concentration in peripheral districts.

A Study of District Governing Boards.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harkins, Clifton L.; And Others

This study was undertaken to obtain and analyze information pertinent to the Arizona Revised Statutes for community colleges dealing with precinct selection, District Governing Board member terms, and their qualifications, vacancies, and election procedures. The study design involved questionnaire surveys of practices in other states and of State…

OXYGEN TRANSFER STUDIES AT THE MADISON METROPOLITAN SEWERAGE DISTRICT FACILITIES

EPA Science Inventory

Field studies at the Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District facilities were conducted over a 3-year period to obtain long-term data on the performance of fine pore aeration equipment in municipal wastewater. The studies were conducted on several basins in the East Plant containi...

Technical efficiency of public district hospitals in Madhya Pradesh, India: a data envelopment analysis.

PubMed

Jat, Tej Ram; Sebastian, Miguel San

2013-09-24

Scarcity of resources for healthcare is a well-acknowledged problem. In this context, efficient utilization of existing financial and human resources becomes crucial for strengthening the healthcare delivery. The assessment of efficiency of health facilities can guide decision makers in ensuring the optimum utilization of available resources. The objective of this study was to evaluate the technical efficiency (TE) of the public district hospitals in Madhya Pradesh, India, with special emphasis on maternal healthcare services, using data envelopment analysis (DEA). Data from 40 district hospitals from January to December 2010 were collected from the health management information system and other records of the department of health and family welfare of the state. DEA was performed with input orientation and variable returns to scale assumption. TE and scale efficiency scores of the district hospitals were 0.90 (SD = 0.14) and 0.88 (SD = 0.15), respectively. Of the total district hospitals in the study, 20 (50%) were technically efficient constituting the 'best practice frontier'. The other half were technically inefficient, with an average TE score of 0.79 (SD = 0.12) meaning that these hospitals could produce the same outputs by using 21% less inputs from current input levels. Twenty-six (65%) district hospitals were found to be scale inefficient, manifesting a mean score of 0.81 (SD = 0.16). Half of the district hospitals in the study were operating inefficiently. Decision makers and administrators in the state should identify the causes of the observed inefficiencies and take appropriate measures to increase efficiency of these hospitals.

Understanding the organisational culture of district health services: Mahalapye and Ngamiland health districts of Botswana

PubMed Central

Mash, Robert; Phaladze, Nthabiseng

2015-01-01

Background Botswana has a shortage of health care workers, especially in primary health care. Retention and high performance of employees are closely linked to job satisfaction and motivation, which are both highest where employees’ personal values and goals are realised. Aim The aim of the study was to evaluate employees’ personal values, and the current and desired organisational culture of the district health services as experienced by the primary health care workers. Setting The study was conducted in the Ngamiland and Mahalapye health districts. Method This was a cross sectional survey. The participants were asked to select 10 values that best described their personal, current organisational and desired organisational values from a predetermined list. Results Sixty and 67 health care workers completed the survey in Mahalapye and Ngamiland districts, respectively. The top 10 prevalent organisational values experienced in both districts were: teamwork, patient satisfaction, blame, confusion, job insecurity, not sharing information and manipulation. When all the current values were assessed, 32% (Mahalapye) and 36% (Ngamiland) selected by health care workers were potentially limiting organisational effectiveness. The organisational values desired by health care workers in both districts were: transparency, professional growth, staff recognition, shared decision-making, accountability, productivity, leadership development and teamwork. Conclusions The experience of the primary health care workers in the two health districts were overwhelmingly negative, which is likely to contribute to low levels of motivation, job satisfaction, productivity and high attrition rates. There is therefore urgent need for organisational transformation with a focus on staff experience and leadership development. PMID:26842516

Perceptions of health care providers and patients on quality of care in maternal and neonatal health in fourteen Bangladesh government healthcare facilities: a mixed-method study.

PubMed

Islam, Farzana; Rahman, Aminur; Halim, Abdul; Eriksson, Charli; Rahman, Fazlur; Dalal, Koustuv

2015-06-19

Bangladesh has achieved remarkable progress in healthcare with a steady decline in maternal and under-5 child mortality rates in efforts to achieve Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5. However, the mortality rates are still very high compared with high-income countries. The quality of healthcare needs improve to reduce mortality rates further. It is essential to investigate the current quality of healthcare before implementing any interventions. The study was conducted to explore the perception of healthcare providers about the quality of maternal and neonatal health (MNH) care. The study also investigated patient satisfaction with the MNH care received from district and sub-district hospitals. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used in the study. Two district and 12 sub-district hospitals in Thakurgaon and Jamalpur in Bangladesh were the study settings. Fourteen group discussions and 56 in-depth interviews were conducted among the healthcare providers. Client exit interviews were conducted with 112 patients and their attendants from maternity, labor, and neonatal wards before being discharged from the hospitals. Eight physicians and four anthropologists collected data between November and December 2011 using pretested guidelines. The hospital staff identified several key factors that affected the quality of patient care: shortage of staff and logistics; lack of laboratory support; under use of patient-management protocols; a lack of training; and insufficient supervision. Doctors were unable to provide optimal care because of the high volume of patients. The exit interviews revealed that 85 % of respondents were satisfied with the hospital services received. Seven out of 14 respondents were satisfied with the cleanliness of the hospital facilities. More than half of the respondents were satisfied with the drugs they received. In half of the facilities, patients did not get an opportunity to ask the healthcare providers questions about their health conditions and treatments. The quality of healthcare is poor in district and sub-district hospitals in Bangladesh because of the lack of healthcare personnel and logistic support. An integrated quality improvement approach is needed to improve MNH care service in district and sub-district hospitals in Bangladesh.

Geo-spatial analysis of land-water resource degradation in two economically contrasting agricultural regions adjoining national capital territory (Delhi).

PubMed

Kaur, Ravinder; Minhas, P S; Jain, P C; Singh, P; Dubey, D S

2009-07-01

The present study was aimed at characterizing the soil-water resource degradation in the rural areas of Gurgaon and Mewat districts, the two economically contrasting areas in policy zones-II and III of the National Capital Region (NCR), and assessing the impact of the study area's local conditions on the type and extent of resource degradation. This involved generation of detailed spatial information on the land use, cropping pattern, farming practices, soils and surface/ground waters of Gurgaon and Mewat districts through actual resource surveys, standard laboratory methods and GIS/remote sensing techniques. The study showed that in contrast to just 2.54% (in rabi season) to 4.87% (in kharif season) of agricultural lands in Gurgaon district, about 11.77% (in rabi season) to 24.23% (in kharif season) of agricultural lands in Mewat district were irrigated with saline to marginally saline canal water. Further, about 10.69% of agricultural lands in the Gurgaon district and 42.15% of agricultural lands in the Mewat district were drain water irrigated. A large part of this surface water irrigated area, particularly in Nuh (48.7%), Nagina (33.5%), and Punhana (24.1%) blocks of Mewat district, was either waterlogged (7.4% area with 0.05 ppm). In fact, sub-surface drinking waters of some areas around battery and automobile manufacturing units in Gurgaon and Pataudi blocks were associated with exceptionally high (>0.1 ppm) Ni concentrations. In general, the ground waters of waterlogged or potentially waterlogged areas in the rural areas of Mewat were more contaminated than the ground waters in the rural areas of Gurgaon district with deeper (>5 m) water depths.Though Cr concentrations in the surface and sub-surface irrigation waters of both Gurgaon and Mewat districts were far above the maximum permissible limit of 1 ppm, their bio-available soil-Cr concentrations were well within permissible limit. Even bio-available Ni concentrations in agricultural lands of Gurgaon district associated with Ni contaminated sub-surface irrigations were well within desirable limit of 0.20 ppm. This was primarily attributed to the calcareous nature of the soils of the study area. About 35% of Gurgaon district and 59% of Mewat district irrigated with poor quality waters were salt-affected. These waterlogged/potentially waterlogged calcareous-salt affected soils of Mewat district were having acute zinc (Zn) deficiency (<0.6 ppm). Some areas with extremely high iron (Fe: 20-25 ppm) and Mn (10-25 ppm) concentrations were also noticed in the Gurgaon, Nuh and Punhana blocks. Generation of reduced conditions owing to paddy cultivation in areas with 3-3.5 m water depths appeared to be the main cause of such point contaminations. Extensive cadmium (Cd) contamination was also noticed in the waterlogged sodic agricultural lands of Nagina village in Mewat district associated with a large scale scrap automobile and battery business. The study could document the processes and provide spatially accurate information to the managers (e.g., National Capital Region Planning Board) and the concerned citizen groups. It could, in fact, clearly point out that dumping of industrial and domestic wastewaters especially from NCT-Delhi into river Yamuna and, to some extent, from NCT-Delhi re-located hazardous industrial units into Najafgarh drain tributaries at Delhi-Gurgaon boundary, and poor "off-farm" water management practices were the main reasons for extensive (point/non-point source) land-water degradation in Gurgaon and Mewat districts of NCR.

Fission-track dating applied to mineral exploration

USGS Publications Warehouse

Naeser, C.W.

1984-01-01

The partial to total resetting of fission-track ages of minerals in country rock near a mineralized area can be used to (1) locate a thermal anomaly, and (2) date the mineralizing event. Two mining districts in Colorado have been studied - Rico and Gilman. Rico is a precious- and base-metal mining district. Initial fission-track dating of a sill located about 6 km from the center of the district gave ages of 20 Myr and 65 Myr for apatite and zircon, respectively. The Eagle Mine in the Gilman District is the largest producer of zinc in the state of Colorado. Fission-track dating of zircon from a 70 Myr-old sill shows partial resetting of the zircon (45 Myr). The thermal anomaly identified by fission-track dating is seen in both districts far outside the area affected by obvious alteration. Based on the results of these two pilot studies, fission-track dating can be a useful exploration method for thermal anomalies associated with buried or otherwise poorly expressed mineral deposits.

Pawnee-Divernon Educational Feasibility Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Myers, Dean L., Ed.; And Others

The feasibility study concerns itself with the possible school district reorganization for the Pawnee and Divernon School Districts. Citizens' committees, boards of education, administration, and teachers provided consultant information about their schools. The evaluation committees, comprised of citizens from the Pawnee and Divernon School…

Measurement of health system performance at district level: A study protocol.

PubMed

Sharma, Atul; Prinja, Shankar; Aggarwal, Arun Kumar

2017-12-13

Limited efforts have been observed in low and middle income countries to undertake health system performance assessment at district level. Absence of a comprehensive data collection tool and lack of a standardised single summary measure defining overall performance are some of the main problems. Present study has been undertaken to develop a summary composite health system performance index at district level. A broad range of indicators covering all six domains as per building block framework were finalized by an expert panel. The domains were classified into twenty sub-domains, with 70 input and process indicators to measure performance. Seven sub-domains for assessing health system outputs and outcomes were identified, with a total of 28 indicators. Districts in Haryana state from north India were selected for the study. Primary and secondary data will be collected from 378 health facilities, district and state health directorate headquarters. Indicators will be normalized, aggregated to generate composite performance index at district level. Domain specific scores will present the quality of individual building block domains in the public health system. Robustness of the results will be checked using sensitivity analysis. The study presents a methodology for comprehensive assessment of all health system domains on basis of input, process, output and outcome indicators which has never been reported from India. Generation of this index will help identify policy and implementation areas of concern and point towards potential solutions. Results may also help understand relationships between individual building blocks and their sub-components.

GPs’ use of defibrillators and the national radio network in emergency primary healthcare in Norway

PubMed Central

Zakariassen, Erik; Hunskaar, Steinar

2008-01-01

Objective To study the geographic size of out-of-hours districts, the availability of defibrillators and use of the national radio network in Norway. Design Survey. Setting The emergency primary healthcare system in Norway. Subjects A total of 282 host municipalities responsible for 260 out-of-hours districts. Main outcome measures Size of out-of-hours districts, use of national radio network and access to a defibrillator in emergency situations. Results The out-of-hours districts have a wide range of areas, which gives a large variation in driving time for doctors on call. The median longest transport time for doctors in Norway is 45 minutes. In 46% of out-of-hours districts doctors bring their own defibrillator on emergency callouts. Doctors always use the national radio network in 52% of out-of-hours districts. Use of the radio network and access to a defibrillator are significantly greater in out-of-hours districts with a host municipality of fewer then 5000 inhabitants compared with host municipalities of more than 20 000 inhabitants. Conclusion In half of out-of-hours districts doctors on call always use the national radio network. Doctors in out-of-hours districts with a host municipality of fewer than 5000 inhabitants are in a better state of readiness to attend an emergency, compared with doctors working in larger host municipalities. PMID:18570012

Prevalence of depression among people with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a cross sectional study in Palestine.

PubMed

Sweileh, Waleed M; Abu-Hadeed, Hanadi M; Al-Jabi, Samah W; Zyoud, Sa'ed H

2014-02-13

Diabetes mellitus is a common chronic metabolic disorder and one of the main causes of death in Palestine. Palestinians are continuously living under stressful economic and military conditions which make them psychologically vulnerable. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of depression among type II diabetic patients and to examine the relationship between depression and socio-demographic factors, clinical factors, and glycemic control. This was a cross-sectional study at Al-Makhfiah primary healthcare center, Nablus, Palestine. Two hundred and ninety-four patients were surveyed for the presence of depressive symptoms using Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) scale. Patients' records were reviewed to obtain data pertaining to age, sex, marital status, Body Mass Index (BMI), level of education, smoking status, duration of diabetes mellitus, glycemic control using HbA1C test, use of insulin, and presence of additional illnesses. Patients' medication adherence was assessed using the 8-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8). One hundred and sixty four patients (55.8%) of the total sample were females and 216 (73.5%) were < 65 years old. One hundred and twenty patients (40.2%) scored ≥ 16 on BDI-II scale. Statistical significant association was found between high BDI-II score (≥ 16) and female gender, low educational level, having no current job, having multiple additional illnesses, low medication adherence and obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2). No significant association between BDI score and glycemic control, duration of diabetes, and other socio-demographic factors was found. Multivatriate analysis showed that low educational level, having no current job, having multiple additional illnesses and low medication adherence were significantly associated with high BDI-II scores. Prevalence of depression found in our study was higher than that reported in other countries. Although 40% of the screened patients were potential cases of depression, none were being treated with anti-depressants. Psychosocial assessment should be part of routine clinical evaluation of these patients at primary healthcare clinics to improve quality of life and decrease adverse outcomes among diabetic patients.

Prevalence of depression among people with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a cross sectional study in Palestine

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Diabetes mellitus is a common chronic metabolic disorder and one of the main causes of death in Palestine. Palestinians are continuously living under stressful economic and military conditions which make them psychologically vulnerable. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of depression among type II diabetic patients and to examine the relationship between depression and socio-demographic factors, clinical factors, and glycemic control. Methods This was a cross-sectional study at Al-Makhfiah primary healthcare center, Nablus, Palestine. Two hundred and ninety-four patients were surveyed for the presence of depressive symptoms using Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) scale. Patients' records were reviewed to obtain data pertaining to age, sex, marital status, Body Mass Index (BMI), level of education, smoking status, duration of diabetes mellitus, glycemic control using HbA1C test, use of insulin, and presence of additional illnesses. Patients’ medication adherence was assessed using the 8-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8). Results One hundred and sixty four patients (55.8%) of the total sample were females and 216 (73.5%) were < 65 years old. One hundred and twenty patients (40.2%) scored ≥ 16 on BDI-II scale. Statistical significant association was found between high BDI-II score (≥ 16) and female gender, low educational level, having no current job, having multiple additional illnesses, low medication adherence and obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2). No significant association between BDI score and glycemic control, duration of diabetes, and other socio-demographic factors was found. Multivatriate analysis showed that low educational level, having no current job, having multiple additional illnesses and low medication adherence were significantly associated with high BDI-II scores. Conclusion Prevalence of depression found in our study was higher than that reported in other countries. Although 40% of the screened patients were potential cases of depression, none were being treated with anti-depressants. Psychosocial assessment should be part of routine clinical evaluation of these patients at primary healthcare clinics to improve quality of life and decrease adverse outcomes among diabetic patients. PMID:24524353

Leadership Preparation: A Phenomenological Study of a District-University Partnership

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haynes, Raymond Lamont

2014-01-01

The aim of this study was to ascertain principals' preparedness as implemented by a Peninsula City Schools-Madison University partnership under the design constructs of planning, collaboration, internship, and mentorship. The study was framed upon research asserting that district-university partnerships are cultivating instructional leaders who…

Social Studies Framework: Kindergarten-Grade 12.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Texas Education Agency, Austin.

This document provides general instructional guidelines for district administrators and teachers in Texas as they attempt to meet the goal of preparing students for citizenship in a democracy. The framework includes the legal requirements for social studies and provides guidelines to school districts in planning social studies programs for grades…

Decentralization and health resource allocation: a case study at the district level in Indonesia.

PubMed

Abdullah, Asnawi; Stoelwinder, Johannes

2008-01-01

Health resource allocation has been an issue of political debate in many health systems. However, the debate has tended to concentrate on vertical allocation from the national to regional level. Allocation within regions or institutions has been largely ignored. This study was conducted to contribute analysis to this gap. The objective was to investigate health resource allocation within District Health Offices (DHOs) and to compare the trends and patterns of several budget categories before and after decentralization. The study was conducted in three districts in the Province of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam. Six fiscal year budgets, two before decentralization and four after, were studied. Data was collected from the Local Government Planning Office and DHOs. Results indicated that in the first year of implementing a decentralization policy, the local government budget rose sharply, particularly in the wealthiest district. In contrast, in relatively poor districts the budget was only boosted slightly. Increasing total local government budgets had a positive impact on increasing the health budget. The absolute amount of health budgets increased significantly, but by percentage did not change very much. Budgets for several projects and budget items increased significantly, but others, such as health promotion, monitoring and evaluation, and public-goods-related activities, decreased. This study concluded that decentralization in Indonesia had made a positive impact on district government fiscal capacity and had affected DHO budgets positively. However, an imbalanced budget allocation between projects and budget items was obvious, and this needs serious attention from policy makers. Otherwise, decentralization will not significantly improve the health system in Indonesia.

System-level determinants of immunization coverage disparities among health districts in Burkina Faso: a multiple case study.

PubMed

Haddad, Slim; Bicaba, Abel; Feletto, Marta; Taminy, Elie; Kabore, Moussa; Ouédraogo, Boubacar; Contreras, Gisèle; Larocque, Renée; Fournier, Pierre

2009-10-14

Despite rapid and tangible progress in vaccine coverage and in premature mortality rates registered in sub-Saharan Africa, inequities to access remain firmly entrenched, large pockets of low vaccination coverage persist, and coverage often varies considerably across regions, districts, and health facilities' areas of responsibility. This paper focuses on system-related factors that can explain disparities in immunization coverage among districts in Burkina Faso. A multiple-case study was conducted of six districts representative of different immunization trends and overall performance. A participative process that involved local experts and key actors led to a focus on key factors that could possibly determine the efficiency and efficacy of district vaccination services: occurrence of disease outbreaks and immunization days, overall district management performance, resources available for vaccination services, and institutional elements. The methodology, geared toward reconstructing the evolution of vaccine services performance from 2000 to 2006, is based on data from documents and from individual and group interviews in each of the six health districts. The process of interpreting results brought together the field personnel and the research team. The districts that perform best are those that assemble a set of favourable conditions. However, the leadership of the district medical officer (DMO) appears to be the main conduit and the rallying point for these conditions. Typically, strong leadership that is recognized by the field teams ensures smooth operation of the vaccination services, promotes the emergence of new initiatives and offers some protection against risks related to outbreaks of epidemics or supplementary activities that can hinder routine functioning. The same is true for the ability of nurse managers and their teams to cope with new situations (epidemics, shortages of certain stocks). The discourse on factors that determine the performance or breakdown of local health care systems in lower and middle income countries remains largely concentrated on technocratic and financial considerations, targeting institutional reforms, availability of resources, or accessibility of health services. The leadership role of those responsible for the district, and more broadly, of those we label "the human factor", in the performance of local health care systems is mentioned only marginally. This study shows that strong and committed leadership promotes an effective mobilization of teams and creates the conditions for good performance in districts, even when they have only limited access to supports provided by external partners. ABSTRACT IN FRENCH: See the full article online for a translation of this abstract in French.

Cost-effectiveness of the stream-gaging program in the Hawaii District

USGS Publications Warehouse

Matsuoka, I.; Lee, R.; Thomas, W.O.

1985-01-01

This project documents the results of a study of the cost-effectiveness of the stream-gaging program in the Hawaii District. The stream gages in the District were divided into two groups, the State of Hawaii and the Other Pacific Areas. Data uses and funding sources were identified for the 124 continuous stream gages currently being operated in the Hawaii District with a budget of $570,620. All the stream-gages were identified as having sufficient reason to continue their operation and they should be maintained in the program for the foreseeable future. (USGS)

77 FR 57563 - Notice of Submission for OMB Review; Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-09-18

... review of recent research on the identification of ELs with special needs, and (2) case studies of six school districts and three schools in each district. Findings will be descriptive in nature. The study is...

Identifying cholera "hotspots" in Uganda: An analysis of cholera surveillance data from 2011 to 2016

PubMed Central

Bwire, Godfrey; Sack, David A.; Nakinsige, Anne; Naigaga, Martha; Debes, Amanda K.; Ngwa, Moise C.; Brooks, W. Abdullah; Garimoi Orach, Christopher

2017-01-01

Background Despite advance in science and technology for prevention, detection and treatment of cholera, this infectious disease remains a major public health problem in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Uganda inclusive. The aim of this study was to identify cholera hotspots in Uganda to guide the development of a roadmap for prevention, control and elimination of cholera in the country. Methodology/Principle findings We obtained district level confirmed cholera outbreak data from 2011 to 2016 from the Ministry of Health, Uganda. Population and rainfall data were obtained from the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, and water, sanitation and hygiene data from the Ministry of Water and Environment. A spatial scan test was performed to identify the significantly high risk clusters. Cholera hotspots were defined as districts whose center fell within a significantly high risk cluster or where a significantly high risk cluster was completely superimposed onto a district. A zero-inflated negative binomial regression model was employed to identify the district level risk factors for cholera. In total 11,030 cases of cholera were reported during the 6-year period. 37(33%) of 112 districts reported cholera outbreaks in one of the six years, and 20 (18%) districts experienced cholera at least twice in those years. We identified 22 districts as high risk for cholera, of which 13 were near a border of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), while 9 districts were near a border of Kenya. The relative risk of having cholera inside the high-risk districts (hotspots) were 2 to 22 times higher than elsewhere in the country. In total, 7 million people were within cholera hotspots. The negative binomial component of the ZINB model shows people living near a lake or the Nile river were at increased risk for cholera (incidence rate ratio, IRR = 0.98, 95% CI: 0.97 to 0.99, p < .01); people living near the border of DRC/Kenya or higher incidence rate in the neighboring districts were increased risk for cholera in a district (IRR = 0.99, 95% CI: 0.98 to 1.00, p = .02 and IRR = 1.02, 95% CI: 1.01 to 1.03, p < .01, respectively). The zero inflated component of the ZINB model yielded shorter distance to Kenya or DRC border, higher incidence rate in the neighboring districts, and higher annual rainfall in the district were associated with the risk of having cholera in the district. Conclusions/significance The study identified cholera hotspots during the period 2011–2016. The people located near the international borders, internationally shared lakes and river Nile were at higher risk for cholera outbreaks than elsewhere in the country. Targeting cholera interventions to these locations could prevent and ultimately eliminate cholera in Uganda. PMID:29284003

Identifying cholera "hotspots" in Uganda: An analysis of cholera surveillance data from 2011 to 2016.

PubMed

Bwire, Godfrey; Ali, Mohammad; Sack, David A; Nakinsige, Anne; Naigaga, Martha; Debes, Amanda K; Ngwa, Moise C; Brooks, W Abdullah; Garimoi Orach, Christopher

2017-12-01

Despite advance in science and technology for prevention, detection and treatment of cholera, this infectious disease remains a major public health problem in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Uganda inclusive. The aim of this study was to identify cholera hotspots in Uganda to guide the development of a roadmap for prevention, control and elimination of cholera in the country. We obtained district level confirmed cholera outbreak data from 2011 to 2016 from the Ministry of Health, Uganda. Population and rainfall data were obtained from the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, and water, sanitation and hygiene data from the Ministry of Water and Environment. A spatial scan test was performed to identify the significantly high risk clusters. Cholera hotspots were defined as districts whose center fell within a significantly high risk cluster or where a significantly high risk cluster was completely superimposed onto a district. A zero-inflated negative binomial regression model was employed to identify the district level risk factors for cholera. In total 11,030 cases of cholera were reported during the 6-year period. 37(33%) of 112 districts reported cholera outbreaks in one of the six years, and 20 (18%) districts experienced cholera at least twice in those years. We identified 22 districts as high risk for cholera, of which 13 were near a border of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), while 9 districts were near a border of Kenya. The relative risk of having cholera inside the high-risk districts (hotspots) were 2 to 22 times higher than elsewhere in the country. In total, 7 million people were within cholera hotspots. The negative binomial component of the ZINB model shows people living near a lake or the Nile river were at increased risk for cholera (incidence rate ratio, IRR = 0.98, 95% CI: 0.97 to 0.99, p < .01); people living near the border of DRC/Kenya or higher incidence rate in the neighboring districts were increased risk for cholera in a district (IRR = 0.99, 95% CI: 0.98 to 1.00, p = .02 and IRR = 1.02, 95% CI: 1.01 to 1.03, p < .01, respectively). The zero inflated component of the ZINB model yielded shorter distance to Kenya or DRC border, higher incidence rate in the neighboring districts, and higher annual rainfall in the district were associated with the risk of having cholera in the district. The study identified cholera hotspots during the period 2011-2016. The people located near the international borders, internationally shared lakes and river Nile were at higher risk for cholera outbreaks than elsewhere in the country. Targeting cholera interventions to these locations could prevent and ultimately eliminate cholera in Uganda.

Reference Values of Within-District Intraclass Correlations of Academic Achievement by District Characteristics: Results from a Meta-Analysis of District-Specific Values

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hedberg, E. C.; Hedges, Larry V.

2014-01-01

Randomized experiments are often considered the strongest designs to study the impact of educational interventions. Perhaps the most prevalent class of designs used in large scale education experiments is the cluster randomized design in which entire schools are assigned to treatments. In cluster randomized trials (CRTs) that assign schools to…

Misalignment and Perverse Incentives: Examining the Politics of District Leaders as Brokers in the Use of Research Evidence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Daly, Alan J.; Finnigan, Kara S.; Jordan, Stuart; Moolenaar, Nienke M.; Che, Jing

2014-01-01

In the current accountability policy context, access to and use of research evidence are central to district and school improvement. Our study examines the network of relations between central office administrators and principals using a political lens to consider the ways in which the underlying politics in a district may call into question some…

The Value of NJ School District Demographic Data in Explaining School District NJ ASK Grade 3 Language Arts and Mathematics Scores

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Turnamian, Peter G.

2012-01-01

This study examined the strength and direction of the relationship between 2009 NJ ASK 3 Language Arts and Mathematics scores and district social and demographic data (i.e., lone-parent household, level of parental education, and household income levels) found in the extant literature to influence student achievement on high-stakes standardized…

Primary School Environment Trend, Class-Ratio and Head Teachers Overcrowded Classrooms Management Strategies in Northern Senatorial District of Ondo State, Nigeria

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Babatunde, Ehinola Gabriel

2015-01-01

Primary school Enrolment Trend, Class-Ratio and Head Teachers overcrowded classrooms management strategies in Northern Senatorial District of Ondo State, Nigeria was investigated. The purpose of the study is to examine the current enrolment trend in public primary schools in northern senatorial District of Ondo State. Also, is to ascertain the…

The Impact of a State Takeover on Academic Achievement, School Performance, and School Leadership in a Rural South Carolina School District

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bishop, Janice Zissette

2009-01-01

This case study on the impact of a state takeover in one of South Carolina's most rural school districts ("referred to as the County School District") was completed using a quasi-experimental mixed methods design to examine the impact on academic achievement, school performance, and school leadership as a result of the South Carolina…

Trends in Segregation of Hispanic Students in Major School Districts Having Large Hispanic Enrollment. Ethnographic Case Studies, Volume II. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aspira, Inc., New York, NY.

School desegregation did not lead to greater understanding of the Hispanic community by white educational personnel in two school districts analyzed to document the desegregation process and the impact of school desegregation on the Hispanic community. Each district was in a white-controlled, tri-ethnic community in its second year of successful…