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This secondary research study uses data from two convenience samples of homeless persons in Central Arkansas collected during 2004 and 2011 Point in Time Counts. The prevalence of predictors of homelessness are compared across years, and also compared by age (<50 and > 50) controlling for year of survey. The number of older adults increased significantly between 2004 and 2011 surveys, and reporting serious mental illness and veteran status significantly decreased from 2004 to 2011. Age differences were noted in 2004 with older adults more likely to report serious mental illness in comparison to younger adults. Older adults were also more likely to report veteran status in comparison to younger adults during both the 2004 and 2011 surveys. The predictors of homelessness -- including serious health problems, substance abuse, race, age, and developmental disabilities-- remained fairly consistent from 2004 to 2011 and across "age groups". In addition to Point in Time data, qualitative surveys and interviews of providers were performed for their observations of the older homeless population. Providers indicated their belief that the older homeless population is increasing. Providers suggested possible challenges and reasons for the increase among older adults who are homeless. In central Arkansas, service providers feel the current economy, programs, and agencies that provide homeless services and funding sources are adequate at this time as evidenced by no increase in numbers. Due to new funding, improvement has occurred with the veteran population through VA programs. Even though this research did not find any change in gender, the providers feel that for future homeless, trends in gender (women in poverty), as well as older adults becoming homeless for the first time, should be watched in addition to other predictive factors such as the economy, increase in substance abuse, and physical and mental health concerns.

Texas A&M University changed the criteria for freshman admission after a legal decision in 1996 removed ethnicity from the list of possible admission criteria. The process now includes subjective criteria such as activities, leadership, service and awards as well as the traditional objective criteria such as test scores and rank in high school class. The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between some of the admission criteria and retention of freshmen from the first fall to the second fall. Retention of freshmen is a performance indicator for higher education in Texas. The results of the logistic regressions showed that the relationships were modest at best and had a very small pseudo r2. The objective criteria of test scores and high school rank were either not significant or did almost nothing to increase the odds ratio. The only variable that was significant in the regression, but had a modest odds ratio, across the regression for all students and for the regressions for the subgroups of female and male students, Anglo, Hispanic and Asian American students, and for students from targeted, disadvantaged high schools was parents' education level. The points assigned to students by admissions counselors for self-reported leadership activities were significant for the regressions for all students, for female students and for Anglo students, but did very little to increase the likelihood of retention. Test scores were significant in the regressions for all students, for female students and for Hispanic students, but did almost nothing to increase the likelihood of retention. None of the variables were significant in the regression for the small group of African American students. One conclusion from the analysis is that some students whose parents have the lowest levels of education and some students from targeted high schools have unmet needs that cause higher attrition rates for these groups. However, even within these groups, there are other factors driving the students' commitment to stay enrolled for the second year at the institution than those included in this study.

Hospitals and healthcare facilities in the United States are facing serious shortages of medical laboratory personnel, which, if not addressed, stand to negatively impact patient care. The problem is compounded by a reduction in the numbers of academic programs and resulting decrease in the number of graduates to keep up with the increase in industry demands. Given these challenges, the purpose of this study was to identify predictors of success for students in a selected 2-year Medical Laboratory Technology Associate in Science Degree Program. This study examined five academic factors (College Placement Test Math and Reading scores, Cumulative GPA, Science GPA, and Professional [first semester laboratory courses] GPA) and, demographic data to see if any of these factors could predict program completion. The researcher examined academic records for a 10-year period (N =158). Using a retrospective model, the correlational analysis between the variables and completion revealed a significant relationship (p < .05) for CGPA, SGPA, CPT Math, and PGPA indicating that students with higher CGPA, SGPA, CPT Math, and PGPA were more likely to complete their degree in 2 years. Binary logistic regression analysis with the same academic variables revealed PGPA was the best predictor of program completion (p < .001). Additionally, the findings in this study are consistent with the academic part of the Bean and Metzner Conceptual Model of Nontraditional Student Attrition which points to academic outcome variables such as GPA as affecting attrition. Thus, the findings in this study are important to students and educators in the field of Medical Laboratory Technology since PGPA is a predictor that can be used to provide early in-program intervention to the at-risk student, thus increasing the chances of successful timely completion.

Although there is significant prevalence of serious emotional disturbance in adolescents, research concerning the determination of appropriate levels of care is lacking. This study examined predictors of successful treatment completion in male adolescents (n=132) who were admitted to a suburban residential treatment center during a ten year period. Data on pre-treatment client variables, family participation in treatment, and length of stay were collected on each subject. Data were collected by sequentially reviewing 132 file records of previously discharged clients. Five variables (age upon admission, family constellation, family participation, previous out-of-home placements, criminal involvement) did not predict successful treatment completion. A significant relationship was found between length of stay in residential treatment and successful treatment completion. Implications for decision-making regarding admissions to residential treatment programs and needs for future research are discussed. / Master of Science

Despite the decreasing incidence of peritoneal dialysis (PD) peritonitis over time, its occurrence is still associated with adverse outcomes. This thesis focuses on determining factors associated with PD peritonitis in order to facilitate identification of patients at risk. Using data collected in a multicentre Canadian database between 1996 and 2005, the study population comprised 4,247 incident PD patients, of whom 1,605 had at least one peritonitis episode. Variables independently associated with peritonitis included age [rate ratio (RR) 1.04 per decade increase, 95% CI 1.01-1.08], Black race (RR 1.37, 95% CI 1.00-1.88) and having transferred from hemodialysis (RR 1.24, 95% CI 1.11-1.38). There was an interaction between gender and diabetes (p=0.011), with an increased peritonitis risk only among female diabetics (RR 1.27, 95% CI 1.10-1.47). Choice of continuous ambulatory PD vs. automated PD did not influence peritonitis risk. These results contribute to our understanding of peritonitis risk among PD patients.

Despite the decreasing incidence of peritoneal dialysis (PD) peritonitis over time, its occurrence is still associated with adverse outcomes. This thesis focuses on determining factors associated with PD peritonitis in order to facilitate identification of patients at risk. Using data collected in a multicentre Canadian database between 1996 and 2005, the study population comprised 4,247 incident PD patients, of whom 1,605 had at least one peritonitis episode. Variables independently associated with peritonitis included age [rate ratio (RR) 1.04 per decade increase, 95% CI 1.01-1.08], Black race (RR 1.37, 95% CI 1.00-1.88) and having transferred from hemodialysis (RR 1.24, 95% CI 1.11-1.38). There was an interaction between gender and diabetes (p=0.011), with an increased peritonitis risk only among female diabetics (RR 1.27, 95% CI 1.10-1.47). Choice of continuous ambulatory PD vs. automated PD did not influence peritonitis risk. These results contribute to our understanding of peritonitis risk among PD patients.

The purpose of this study was to identify clinical and demographic predictors of seizure recurrence in medically-treated patients with epilepsy. Innovus Invision™ Data Mart insurance claims from January 1, 2007 to September 30, 2010 were retrospectively analyzed. Patients aged 18-64 years with a primary or secondary diagnosis of epilepsy and >1 prescription claim for an antiepileptic drug (AED) pre-index were included. The primary outcome was incidence of seizures defined as an occurrence of an emergency room visit, ambulance service use or hospitalization with a primary or secondary diagnosis of epilepsy during the 1-year follow-up period. Predictor variables included antiepileptic drug (AED) adherence (Proportion of Days Covered ≥ 80 %), general comorbidity (Charlson’s Comorbidity Index ≥ 1), any mental health comorbidity, evidence of a prior seizure, type of epilepsy diagnosis (intractable versus non-intractable), presence of AED-interacting medications and any bioequivalent AED switch. The covariates included age, gender and geographic region of residence. The overall incidence of post-index seizures in the 1-year follow-up period for all four monotherapy cohorts combined was 5.3 % (n=166/3140), but was higher for the Keppra®/levetiracetam cohort (7.9%; n=88/1114) compared to the other cohorts [Lamictal®/lamotrigine (3.9%; n=45/1143), Trileptal®/oxcarbazepine (4.0%; n=18/456) and Topamax®/topiramate (3.5%; n=15/427)]. The combined cohort analysis demonstrated that pre-index seizures (odds ratio [OR] = 4.28; 95% CI, 2.81-6.53), any mental health comorbidity ([OR] = 3.41; 95% CI, 2.10-5.54), Charlson comorbidity Index ≥1 ([OR] = 2.88; 95% CI, 1.96-4.24) and monotherapy with Keppra®/levetiracetam ([OR] = 1.54; 95% CI, 1.03-2.31) were significant predictors of seizure recurrence. Among covariates, only geographic region was a significant predictor, with patients residing in the Northeast U.S. having higher odds of post-index seizure ([OR] = 1.92; 95% CI, 1.19-3.10), while controlling for clinical, medication and demographic characteristics. A bioequivalent AED switch, type of epilepsy diagnosis, AED adherence and the presence of interacting medications were not significant predictors of seizure recurrence in the combined cohort (p>0.05). Results indicate that epilepsy patients with comorbid conditions (both mental and somatic diseases), as well as patients who may have initially been unstable (with previous seizure occurrences) were more likely to experience seizures during the follow-up period. / text

A mini dissertation submitted to the Faculty Of Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree Of Master Of Education (Research Methodology) in the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Needs Education at the University Of Zululand, 2017 / Introduction to Programming Systems is considered to be very difficult and has a very high average failure rate of between 30% and 40%. Some researchers have studied the characteristics of students who pass Introduction to Programming Systems without struggling and used those characteristics as predictors of success in Introduction to Programming Systems. This research studied the relationship between selected predictors (Calculus, Discrete Mathematics, Classic Mechanics and General Chemistry) and Introduction to Programming Systems. The study adapted a case study and correlation research design. A sample size of 399 was selected using a non-probability sampling method called convenient sampling. Data from only one university were used. SPSS’s Pearson correlation and multiple regression was used to analyse the collected data. The results showed that there is a positive correlation between the criterion (Introduction to Programming Systems) and the predictors. Multiple regression results showed that the ordinal strength of predictor was as follows: Calculus, Discrete Mathematics, Classic Mechanics and General Chemistry. Only General Chemistry had an insignificant effect on the criterion. The variation was 34 %.

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