This collection of five papers explores the validity of exam accommodations in Ireland, in particular the spelling and grammar waiver, an accommodation unique to Ireland. A review of the literature relating to each accommodation is followed by two papers investigating the validity of the spelling and grammar waiver. A spelling and grammar waiver can be granted to a student with a specific learning disability who attains a standard score of 85 or below on a spelling test. Two groups of students were compared- those who had or had not been granted a waiver, Mock exam scripts of both groups were marked both with and without a spelling and grammar waiver by experienced markers. When a spelling and grammar waiver was applied, the scores of both groups significantly increased. The ‘boost’ received by students who had been granted a waiver was not significantly higher than the ‘boost’ received by the other students, suggesting that the spelling and grammar waiver gives an advantage to all who receive it. Examiner markings were re-examined in a follow up study to investigate possible examiner bias. Results found that elements of the marking scheme, which should not have been affected by a spelling and grammar waiver, were marked more leniently when the examiner marked students’ scripts which had a spelling and grammar waiver applied to it. These studies suggest that the spelling and grammar waiver is not a valid accommodation. In the following study, three spelling tests commonly used by teachers to apply for accommodations were compared. Significant differences were found among the scores. Students scoring below the cut off point for a spelling and grammar waiver ranged from 5.8% to 43.8% depending on the test used. These significant differences in scores across the three tests highlighted the need for an Irish normed spelling test. The final paper details the creation and standardisation of a spelling test in the Republic of Ireland. Limitations to each study and areas of further research are addressed. Suggestions to improve the validity of the spelling and grammar waiver by using an alternative marking scheme and teacher training are discussed.

Discutir a problemática histórica das transgressões nos oferece a possibilidade de investigar mais detidamente uma característica marcante das formações sociais brasileiras coloniais e imperiais. Nas formações sociais da história brasileira transgredia-se muito e continuadamente. Ao mesmo tempo - traço fundamental dos modos de viver dessas sociedades - exercia-se cotidianamente uma visível tolerância social para com as transgressões. O estudo das práticas transgressoras oferece, portanto, a possibilidade de compreender um pouco mais sobre a complexidade desse processo social na história brasileira, moldado sobre parece ser mesmo esta a palavra mais adequada em um equilíbrio tenso, sem dúvida, mas estável, entre o que o era interdito, proibido e o que efetivamente, se permitia na vivência social cotidiana. Este trabalho pretende estudar a problemática das transgressões em um momento fundamental da história brasileira, a segunda metade do século XIX, quando, em meio a conflitos e tensões, iniciou-se o processo através do qual as configurações coloniais que definiram a vida social, política e econômica e cultural durante mais de três séculos foram gradualmente cedendo lugar à novos arranjos políticos e sócio-econômicos que fundamentariam a construção do Brasil contemporâneo. As décadas de 1850-1900 constituem assim um período crucial, marcado por difíceis e traumáticas transições. Na cidade de Taubaté, situada no médio Vale do Paraíba Paulista, região de importante significação econômica para a província de São Paulo e para o império em boa parte desse período, as transformações marcaram inapelavelmente a vivência cotidiana. A Taubaté da segunda metade do século dezenove coloca-se como cenário privilegiado para um estudo sobre a dinâmica da transgressão-transigência. Essa dinâmica, inequivocamente uma das efetivas permanências de caráter colonial na sociedade brasileira do século dezenove, não desapareceu no decorrer das transformações que marcaram as décadas finais do século. O complexo jogo de tensões entre o transgredir e transigir persistiu. Mas as vivências transgressoras nele pautadas tornaram-se progressivamente mais dificultosas, enfrentando resistências, hostilidade e impasses crescentes. / Discussing the historical problem of transgressions offers us the possibility to investigate more carefully a remarkable characteristic of the Brazilian social formations during colonial and imperial times. In social formation of Brazilian history transgressions were frequent and continuous. At the same time fundamental trait of the way of living of such societies people daily performed a visible social toleration for transgressions. Therefore, the study of the transgressions performances offers the possibility to understand a bit more about the complexity of this social process in the Brazilian society in a tense but stable balance, no doubt, between what was forbidden and what was in fact permitted in the everyday social behavior. This work intends to study the problematical of the transgressions on a very fundamental moment of the Brazilian history, the second half of the XIX century, when in between conflicts and tensions, it was started the process through which the colonial configurations that defined the social, political, economical and cultural life during more than three centuries had to gradually give in to new political and social-economical arrangements that would support the construction of the contemporary Brazil. For this reason the years 1850-1900 are a crucial time, marked by difficult and traumatic transition. At Taubaté, a town located in the middle Vale do Paraíba Paulista, region of economical importance for the province of São Paulo and for the empire, the changes marked strongly the everyday living. Taubaté of the second half of the nineteenth century places itself as a privileged scenery for a study over the dynamic of transgression-permission. This dynamic, no mistake one of the effective remains of the colonial nature in the Brazilian society of the nineteenth did not disappear during the changes that marked the final decades of the century. The complex game of tensions between transgress and permit persisted. But the transgressions there lined became progressively more difficult, facing resistance, hostility and impasses.

O fortalecimento da Atenção Primária à Saúde (APS) é uma estratégia fundamental para a mudança do modelo assistencial, bem como para a estruturação de redes de atenção que garantam a integralidade e o acesso às ações e serviços de saúde. Considerando a extensão territorial do Brasil e as distintas configurações dos serviços de atenção primária quanto a estrutura, serviços disponíveis e processo de trabalho, este estudo pretende identificar sob a perspectiva do Programa Nacional de Melhoria do Acesso e da Qualidade da Atenção Básica (PMAQ-AB) as diferentes organizações dos serviços de APS. Objetivo: Analisar os arranjos organizativos da atenção primária à saúde. Materiais e Método: Trata-se de estudo ecológico exploratório, as unidades de análise foram vinte e dois municípios do Departamento Regional de Saúde XIII, inscritos no segundo ciclo do PMAQ-AB. Os municípios foram analisados por região de saúde: Horizonte Verde, Aquífero Guarani e Vale das Cachoeiras e arranjos organizativos. Foram analisados os resultados da avaliação externa de 110 unidades de APS, sendo que 36 destas contavam com consultório de Saúde Bucal, 93 equipes de APS, 40 equipes de Saúde Bucal e 375 usuários. Resultados: Foram identificados oito tipos de arranjos organizativos: UBS-ESF, UBS-ESB, UBS-ESF-ESB, Posto-ESF, Posto-ESB, Policlínica-ESB, Outros-ESF e Outros-ESB. Na região Horizonte Verde identificam-se quatro tipos de arranjos, na região Aquífero Guarani seis tipos, e cinco arranjos distintos na região Vale das Cachoeiras. Verifica-se que em sua maioria as equipes se organizam sob a perspectiva do modelo da Estratégia de Saúde da Família nas três regiões de saúde analisadas. A disponibilidade de materiais, equipamentos, a estrutura da unidade de atenção primária e aspectos do processo de trabalho diferenciam-se discretamente entre os arranjos. Cada região de saúde parece exercer influencia na organização dos seus serviços, determinando similaridades entre os diferentes arranjos quando as unidades de saúde são de uma mesma região. A organização dos serviços de atenção primária quanto a estrutura e processo de trabalho deve ser norteada pelas necessidades da população assistida, portanto é relevante investimentos em estrutura física, materiais, equipamentos e formação de profissionais para atuarem na APS, sob a premissa do fortalecimento de todo sistema de saúde. / The strengthening of Primary Health Care (PHC) is a fundamental strategy for changing the care model, as well as structuring care networks that guarantee integrality and access to health services and actions. Considering the territorial extension of Brazil and the different configurations of the primary care services regarding structure, available services and work process, this study intends to identify from the perspective of the \"Programa Nacional de Mellhoria do Acesso e da Qualidade da Atenção Básca\" (PMAQ-AB) different organizations of the PHC services. Objective: To analyze the organizational arrangements of primary health care. Materials and Methods: This is an exploratory ecological study, the units of analysis were twenty-two municipalities of the Regional Health Department XIII, enrolled in the second cycle of PMAQ-AB. The municipalities were analyzed by health region: Horizonte Verde, Aquífero Guarano and Vale das Cachoeiras and organizational arrangements. The results of the external evaluation of 110 units of PHC were analyzed, of which 36 had a Oral Health clinic, 93 PHC teams, 40 Oral Health teams and 375 users. Results: Eight types of organizational arrangements were identified: UBS-ESF, UBS-ESB, UBS-ESF-ESB, Posto-ESF, Posto-ESB, Polyclinic-ESB, Other-ESF and Other-ESB. In the Horizonte Verde region four types of arrangements are identified, in the region of Aquífero Guarani six types, and five distinct arrangements in the Vale das Cachoeiras region. It is verified that the majority of the teams are organized under the perspective of the Family Health Strategy model in the three health regions analyzed. The availability of materials, equipment, the structure of the primary care unit and aspects of the work process differ discretely between the arrangements. Each health region seems to exert influence in the organization of its services, determining similarities between the different arrangements when the health units are from the same region. The organization of primary care services regarding the structure and work process should be guided by the needs of the assisted population, so it is important to invest in physical structure, materials, equipment and training of professionals to work in PHC, under the premise of strengthening all health system.

This study presented an empirical analysis of the key market, regulatory, organizational, operational and financial factors associated with hospital entry into joint venture (JV) arrangements with Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASCs) as examined through the framework of resource dependency theory complimented with neo-institutional theory. This study used a cross sectional design to examine hospitals that entered into a joint venture arrangement with ASCs in 2006 and 2007. The data for this study were drawn from five main sources: the American Hospital Association Annual Survey (AHA), the Area Resource File (ARF), the CMS (Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services) minimum dataset, the National Legislative Assembly Website and the CM case-mix files. Descriptive analysis and multivariate logistic regression were performed to examine the association of various factors in this study. The study found that market factors such as unemployment rate and percentage of elderly were strongly associated with the hospitals decision to joint venture with ASCs. Also organizational size (measured by bed size) was a significant factor in these decisions. Other factors which showed a marginal significance were Herfindahl-Hirschman Index, number of ASCs, certificate of need laws, ownership status, and operating expense per adjusted discharge of the hospital. This research project sheds light on joint venture arrangements between hospitals and ASCs at a very opportune time. In light of the new Health Reform Legislation, studying hospital-ASC joint ventures is very important. For hospitals and ASCs, and their collaborative interests such as joint ventures, Accountable Care Organizations (ACO’s) could either provide incentives to help improve quality of care to patients or stint on needed care by making them focus narrowly on higher margin services (Fisher and Shortell 2010; Shortell and Casalino 2010). Since policy measures should encourage the first and not the second outcome, it is important to have a transparent performance measurement system that can win the confidence of the provider organizations such as hospitals and ASCs. Lacking which, it may discourage joint venture arrangements between hospitals and ASCs in future.

Some managers tend to resist virtual work and find it challenging to manage the productivity of subordinates working virtually. This phenomenological study examined managers' perceptions of subordinate productivity in virtual work arrangements. Adaptive structuration theory and McGregor's X and Y theory guided this study. The primary research questions focused on the managers' perceptions of worker productivity in virtual work arrangements and the related challenges. Data collection included semistructured interviews with 40 business managers responsible for overseeing the productivity of virtual workers. The study was conducted in the Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan area. Utilizing the Stevick'Colaizzi'Keen method of data analysis, 3 primary themes emerged: (a) subordinate productivity was not negatively affected by the use of virtual work arrangements, (b) virtual work arrangements posed challenges for managers responsible for overseeing virtual worker productivity with the lack of face'to'face interaction identified as the most significant, and (c) there was managerial support for the use of virtual work arrangements. Social change implications, given the findings, include an increased awareness of worker productivity in virtual work arrangements, which could lead to increased opportunities for individuals to work in a virtual setting. The increase in virtual work arrangements benefits society by reducing fuel consumption, road congestion, and related pollutants. Organizational leaders can use the findings from the study to develop business strategies to sustain virtual worker productivity and address the related challenges to improve the quality of life for managers of virtual workers.

Balancing a successful career with a family life can be challenging and impact on a person's satisfaction in their work and family roles, affecting not only the person but their partner and children as well. This study examined the influence of social support from family and work associates on the role satisfaction of female and male managers, and their children's adjustment. Participants were 96 male and 100 female managers and their families. The first aim of this study was to examine the relative importance of work and family support for satisfaction in the roles of paid worker, spouse and parent. Findings showed that social support had a domain-specific effect, with work support associated with job satisfaction, and family support associated with marital and parenting satisfaction. The second aim of the study was to evaluate gender differences in perceived social support, and the association of support with role satisfaction. Although there were considerable differences in the managers' work and family arrangements, female managers and male managers reported receiving similar levels of work and family support, and the strength of the relationship between social support and role satisfaction was similar for both genders. The final aim of the study was to examine the role of social support in the larger family system, as research has mainly focussed on the influence of social support on the support recipient. This study extended research on the relationship between social support and role satisfaction, by showing that family support was not only associated to managers' role satisfaction, but also to managers' interactions with their children, and their children's adjustment. Work support on the other hand, was related to job satisfaction, but not to parent-child interactions and child adjustment. The findings from this study could inform clinicians' treatment of families with children experiencing problems by addressing the relationship of family support with child adjustment. Findings could also inform governments' work and family agendas, which generally focus on providing assistance to employers with the development of workplace policies to improve work-family balance. Governments should also promote the role of family support, and provide information for families on how to arrange household and childcare tasks and provide support to each other to facilitate work-family balance. Furthermore, the current study showed that work support is positively related to employee's job satisfaction, which is important for employees as well as employers. Employers can promote supportive relationships among employees through establishing networking opportunities for their employees, such as breakfast meetings, workshops and seminars, and business planning days. This study showed that some people can have it all - a satisfying and successful career, a happy marriage, and fulfilling parenthood - and social support appears to play a significant role in achieving this.

Les arrangements de droites du plan sont étudiés en géométrie algorithmique pour leur simplicité géométrique couplée à leur grande richesse combinatoire, ou topologique. Notre contribution porte en partie sur la recherche de structures de données couplées à des algorithmes, efficaces à la fois pour la construction des arrangements et l'exploitation de l'information minimale les définissant. Mais l'apport principal de notre travail est l'étude de la représentation géo-métrique des arrangements, notamment par la définition d'une équivalence géométrique entre deux ensembles de droites du plan euclidien par isotopie, qui justifie théoriquement l'algorithme d'optimisation géométrique que nous proposons. Cet algorithme se base sur des critères de ``lisibilité'' de la représentation d'un arrangement, que nous proposons et justifions. Nous donnons également des résultats d'optimisation analytique pour les très petits nombres de droites.

A model was created in order to assist classical musicians, especially pianists, with the process of creating their own musical niches in order to achieve public recognition, build an audience following and experience financial gain. This blueprint involved creating six arrangements for the piano four-hand medium that were then self-recorded, self-marketed and self-distributed. This essay introduces the repertoire used for this project, five Argentinean tangos by Eduardo Arolas and a habanera by Sebastian Yradier and it also examines the criteria by which they were chosen. A discussion of the arrangements follows, focusing on the compositional techniques that were used. Next, the essay presents the methods employed to self-record, self-market and self-distribute the compilation as well as additional means available to independent musicians pursuing a similar endeavor. The discussion focuses on techniques that pertain to musicians who do not have the support of a record label or a music publisher. The conclusion of this study is that there are a number of accessible methods that independent musicians can employ in order to self-record, self-market and self-distribute their music. However, the level of success of such endeavors depends on the musicians' ability to create a high quality musical product, constantly interact with new audiences and employ various promotional methods. A recommendation for further study is enclosed.

Watersheds in Canada are under increasing threats due to the cumulative environmental effects from natural and anthropogenic sources. Cumulative effect assessment (CEA), however, if done at all is typically done on a project-by-project basis. This project-based approach to CEA is not sufficient to address the cumulative effects of multiple stressors in a watershed or a region. As a result, there is now a general consensus that CEA must extend from the project to the more regional scale. The problem, however, is that while the science of how to do watershed CEA (W-CEA) is progressing, the appropriate institutional arrangements to sustain W-CEA have not been addressed. Based on a case study of the South Saskatchewan Watershed (SSW), this research is aimed to identify the institutional requirements necessary to support and sustain W-CEA.<p> The research methods include document reviews and semi-structured interviews with regulators, administrators, watershed coordinators, practitioners, and academics knowledgeable on cumulative effect assessment and project-based environmental assessments (EAs). The findings from this research are presented thematically. First, participants perspectives on cumulative effects, the current state of CEA practice, and general challenges to project-based approaches to CEA are presented. The concept of WCEA is then examined, with a discussion on the need for linking project-based CEA and W-CEA. This is followed by the institutional requirements for W-CEA. The Chapter concludes with foreseeable challenges to implementing W-CEA, as identified by research participants.<p> The key findings include that cumulative effect assessments under project-based EAs are rarely undertaken in the SSW, and the project-based EA approach is faced with considerable challenges. The project-based EA challenges suggested by interview participants are similar to the ones discussed in the literature, and are primarily related to the lack of guidance to proponents regarding boundaries of assessments and thresholds, the lack of data from other project EAs, and the lack of capacity of both proponents and regulators to achieve a good CEA under project EA. These challenges could be addressed by establishing regional objectives at a broader scale, which could provide better context to project-based approaches. Further, interview results revealed several opportunities for the government to take the lead in implementing and sustaining W-CEA, but a multistakeholder approach is essential to W-CEA success. The results also suggest that the establishments of thresholds and data management are necessary components of W-CEA, but that the need for legislation concerning such thresholds and W-CEA initiatives is not agreed upon. At the same time, research results emphasize that the coordination and education among various stakeholders will be difficult to achieve. The lack of financial commitment, political will, and difficulties in establishing cause-effect relationships currently impede the implementation of W-CEA.

The stride interval of typical human gait is correlated over thousands of strides. This statistical persistence diminishes with age, disease, and pace-constrained walking. Considering the widespread use of treadmills in rehabilitation and research, it is important to understand the effect of this speed-constrained locomotor modality on stride interval dynamics. To this end, and given that the dynamics of children have been largely unexplored, this study investigated the impact of treadmill walking, both with and without handrail use, on paediatric stride interval dynamics. An initial stationarity analysis of stride interval time series identified both non-stationary and stationary signals during all walking conditions. Subsequent scaling analysis revealed diminished stride interval persistence during unsupported treadmill walking compared to overground walking. Finally, while the correlation between stride interval dynamics and gross energy expenditure was investigated in an effort to elucidate the clinical meaning of persistence, no simple linear correlation was found.