The purpose of this study was to determine how well current students and graduates of principal preparation program cohorts in one large school district in the Mid-Atlantic perceived their program was preparing them, or has prepared them, to be school-based administrators. Current cohort students and graduates were studied to determine their perceptions regarding how well their principal preparation program prepared them to be school-based administrators as well as how well they believed their program was aligned with the current (2015) Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (PSELs). To ascertain if any significant differences appeared in the data, a two-tailed t test was used to compare participant groups (graduates with administrative positions and graduates without administrative positions) and an ANOVA was used to compare universities. Statistical analysis revealed that graduates with administrative positions perceived they were better prepared to be school-based administrators than graduates without administrative positions on most of the current PSELs. Additionally, graduates with school-based administrative positions believed their programs were better aligned the current PSELs than graduates without administrative positions. Furthermore, graduates and current students perceived that one of the universities under study did not prepare them as well and was not as well aligned as the other two universities under study based on some of the current PSELs. Focus group discussions revealed that significant differences in the data may be due to different administrative experiences/internships, curriculum, professors, and personal responsibility. A document review indicated that the standards taught were, in general, not well aligned with the current PSELs. / Doctor of Education / This study sought to determine the perceptions of preparedness of current students and graduates of principal preparation program cohorts in one large school district in the MidAtlantic. Additionally, this study sought to determine how well current students and graduates believed their programs were aligned with current Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (PSELs). A review of accreditation documents revealed that the standards taught in the principal preparation programs were not, in general, aligned with the current PSELs. A survey of current students and graduates of three principal preparation cohorts in the school district under study indicated that graduates with school-based administrative positions (principals, assistant principals, associate principals, deans) perceived they were better prepared than graduates without school-based administrative positions. Furthermore, graduates with school-based administrative positions indicated their programs were more aligned to the PSELs than did graduates without administrative positions. When comparing universities, current students and graduates perceived that one of the universities under study did not perform as well as the other two universities regarding perceptions of preparedness and PSEL alignment on some of the PSELs. A focus group determined that the possible reasons for the differences in the data were due to administrative experiences/internships, curriculum, professors, and personal responsibility. This study is significant because it informs the universities and school district of any perceived programmatic strengths and weakness. The school district and universities may want to gather more data to improve their program effectiveness.

No / Epidemiological evidence indicates that early life factors are important for obesity development but there are gaps in knowledge regarding the impact of exposures during pregnancy and early life, especially in South Asian children. There is a corresponding lack of evidence to guide development of culturally-appropriate, obesity prevention programmes. This paper describes the methodology and characteristics of participants in Born in Bradford 1000 (BiB1000), a nested cohort of the Born in Bradford prospective birth cohort. BiB1000 aims to enable a deep and extensive understanding of the predictors and influences of health-related behaviours to develop a culturally-specific obesity prevention intervention. 1,735 mothers agreed to take part in detailed assessments focused on risk factors of obesity. Of these, 1,707 had singleton births. Data were collected from the families during pregnancy, at birth and when the infant was aged 6, 12, 18, 24 and 36 months. Approximately half of the mothers (n=933) are of South Asian ethnicity; of which, just under half were born in the UK. Prevalence of obesity in BiB1000 is similar to the full BiB cohort and to UK national averages. In addition to pre-specified hypothesised targets for obesity prevention, (e.g. parental feeding styles, diet and activity), BiB1000 is exploring qualitative determinants of behaviours andother exposures with a lesser evidence base (e.g. food environments, sleep, parenting practices). These data will enable a rich understanding of the behaviours and their determinants in order to inform the development of a culturally-relevant, childhood obesity prevention intervention.

Abstract This dissertation consists of two essays. The first essay analyzes financial preparation for retirement of American men and women, using the 2013 Survey of Finances. Specifically, for retirement plan, income is an important factor for men and women aged 35-45 because of their insufficient income, health (excellent) for men and women aged 46-59 because of continuing work, number of weeks worked per year for men and women aged 60-67 because they have already retired or will retire and many of them are participating in a part time job. Also, health has significantly positive effects on the share of the financial wealth invested in the stocks while age has significantly negative effects in the analysis. The second essay analyzes the differences between the hippie cohort and the X and Y cohorts for the adequate preparation for retirement. In the hippie cohort, using the Internet or online for getting information to make decisions about investments and saving has positive effects on satisfaction of the retirement income from pensions and Social Security even if it’s statistically insignificant in the X and Y cohorts. In the responses regarding the question of how rate the retirement income from job pensions and Social Security, the findings show that the hippie cohort is more likely than the X and Y cohorts in satisfaction of the retirement income from pensions and Social Security income. The results show that the hippie cohort is better than the X and Y cohorts in preparation for retirement.

Thesis (M.Sc. (Tropical Medicine))--Mahidol University, 2007. / LICL has E-Thesis 0024 ; please contact computer services. LIRV has E-Thesis 0024 ; please contact circulation services.

No / The present study aimed to explore previously unreported ethnic differences in infant feeding practices during the introduction of solid foods, accounting for maternal and birth factors, and to determine whether these feeding patterns are associated with BMI at 3 years of age. An observational study using Poisson regression was carried out to investigate the relationship between ethnicity and infant feeding practices and linear regression was used to investigate the relationship between feeding practices and BMI at 3 years of age in a subsample of 1327 infants in Bradford. It was found that compared with White British mothers, mothers of Other ethnicities were less likely to replace breast milk with formula milk before introducing solid foods (adjusted relative risk (RR) – Pakistani: 0·76 (95 % CI 0·64, 0·91), Other South Asian: 0·58 (95 % CI 0·39, 0·86), and Other ethnicities: 0·50 (95 % CI 0·34, 0·73)). Pakistani and Other South Asian mothers were less likely to introduce solid foods early ( < 17 weeks) (adjusted RR – Pakistani: 0·92 (95 % CI 0·87, 0·96) and Other South Asian: 0·87 (95 % CI 0·81, 0·93)). Other South Asian mothers and mothers of Other ethnicities were more likely to continue breast-feeding after introducing solid foods (adjusted RR – 1·72 (95 % CI 1·29, 2·29) and 2·12 (95 % CI 1·60, 2·81), respectively). Pakistani and Other South Asian infants were more likely to be fed sweetened foods (adjusted RR – 1·18 (95 % CI 1·13, 1·23) and 1·19 (95 % CI 1·10, 1·28), respectively) and Pakistani infants were more likely to consume sweetened drinks (adjusted RR 1·72 (95 % CI 1·15, 2·57)). No association between infant feeding practices and BMI at 3 years was observed. Although ethnic differences in infant feeding practices were found, there was no association with BMI at 3 years of age. Interventions targeting infant feeding practices need to consider ethnicity to identify which populations are failing to follow recommendations.

Yes / Early interventions are recognised as key to improving life chances for children and reducing inequalities in health and well-being, however there is a paucity of high quality research into the effectiveness of interventions to address childhood health and development outcomes. Planning and implementing standalone RCTs for multiple, individual interventions would be slow, cumbersome and expensive. This paper describes the protocol for an innovative experimental birth cohort: Born in Bradford’s Better Start (BiBBS) that will simultaneously evaluate the impact of multiple early life interventions using efficient study designs. Better Start Bradford (BSB) has been allocated £49 million from the Big Lottery Fund to implement 22 interventions to improve outcomes for children aged 0–3 in three key areas: social and emotional development; communication and language development; and nutrition and obesity. The interventions will be implemented in three deprived and ethnically diverse inner city areas of Bradford. Method: The BiBBS study aims to recruit 5000 babies, their mothers and their mothers’ partners over 5 years from January 2016-December 2020. Demographic and socioeconomic information, physical and mental health, lifestyle factors and biological samples will be collected during pregnancy. Parents and children will be linked to their routine health and local authority (including education) data throughout the children’s lives. Their participation in BSB interventions will also be tracked. BiBBS will test interventions using the Trials within Cohorts (TwiCs) approach and other quasi-experimental designs where TwiCs are neither feasible nor ethical, to evaluate these early life interventions. The effects of single interventions, and the cumulative effects of stacked (multiple) interventions on health and social outcomes during the critical early years will be measured. Discussion: The focus of the BiBBS cohort is on intervention impact rather than observation. As far as we are aware BiBBS is the world’s first such experimental birth cohort study. While some risk factors for adverse health and social outcomes are increasingly well described, the solutions to tackling them remain elusive. The novel design of BiBBS can contribute much needed evidence to inform policy makers and practitioners about effective approaches to improve health and well-being for future generations. / Big Lottery

Doctor of Education / Department of Educational Leadership / Sarah Jane Fishback / Educators across the religious spectrum claim that the quest for spirituality and issues related to spiritual fulfillment are important to Americans. Nevertheless, only twenty percent of evangelical churches are growing. The rest are either not growing or are declining in attendance numbers (White, 2003). Many in the field of church growth have come to the conclusion that churches that are growing and meeting the needs of people are those that create within their membership a sense of belonging to a group which is achieved primarily through their Sunday School programs. The purpose of this qualitative case study is to explore the effect, if any, that developing close personal relationships in an adult Sunday School class has on increasing a person’s desire to attend. The work of Francis (2005), Mims (2001), Taylor (2003), and others indicates this is the case and that there are three basic facets of this development. The first is purposefully organizing adult Sunday School classes as age-graded cohorts. The second is designing lessons that involve student interaction through the use of group projects and group discussion, as is the case with lessons that follow the Experiential Learning Model. The third is to provide social opportunities for class members outside of class time. Data was gathered through semistructured interviews administered to members of a young adult Sunday School class which was created expressly for this study. The interview protocol was designed to allow the participants as much freedom as possible to express their own views. Six major themes emerged from the data: 1) young adults value being a part of a stable group; 2) age-grading Sunday School classes enhances relationship building; 3) young adults appreciate the support they get from the class; 4) extracurricular activities help build relationships; 5) relationships are more important to women than to men; and 6) the Experiential Learning Model facilitates relationship building. These results could help shape the way in which evangelical churches approach their Sunday School program design and development in order to facilitate ministering to people more effectively.

Dissertation submitted in partial compliance with the requirements for the Master's Degree in Technology: Chiropractic, Durban University of Technology, 2009. / Modern surfing dates as far back as the 1960’s when the first amateur and professional surfing competitions were held (1). Since these humble beginnings, surfing has enjoyed a sustained growth over the last half a century, principally through increased commercialization of surfing apparel and an increased positive association with the lifestyle of surfers. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine a retrospective cohort analysis of the injury profile of internationally competitive surfers and provide information on chronic, repetitive strain injuries suffered by them. Therefore, for the purpose of this study, the following information was gathered in order to create an injury profile: • Demographics of internationally competitive surfers competing in the Mr. Price Pro, Durban, South Africa, • Prevalence of surfing injuries, • Treatment received for injuries. Methods: This study was a retrospective, quantitative, epidemiological study (9), on the Chiropractic Student Sports Association’s (CSSA) questionnaire in order to produce a retrospective cohort analysis of the injury profile of internationally. On entry into the Chiropractic treatment facility, the surfer is requested to complete their portion of the CSSA questionnaire. Thereafter the senior intern then takes a brief case history, elaborating on the information provided by the surfer, followed by a standard clinical assessment related to the anatomical region or list of differential diagnoses based on the history. iv The study was limited to any surfer, male or female, who was competing on the World Championship Tour or the World Qualifying Series and registered to compete in the Mr. Price Pro. Results: Chronic injuries made up for 52.7% of surfing injuries, with the spine and surrounding musculature being the most commonly affected regions. Factors associated with injury were the repetitive nature of certain aspects of surfing and the age of the surfer. The findings in this study concurred with previous literature with the respect to sustaining of an injury related to surfing. However, many of the findings in this study differed to that of previous literature with respect to the common site of injury. The spine was the most common site of injury, as opposed to lower extremities as had been previously reported. The factors associated with injury also differed somewhat from previous literature. Therefore, this warrants further investigation with due consideration to the recommendations from this study.

Age-Period-Cohort models offer a useful framework to study trends of time-specific phenomena in various areas. Yet the perfect linear relationship among age, period, and cohort induces a singular design matrix and brings about the identification issue of age, period, and cohort model due to the identity Cohort = Period -- Age. Over the last few decades, multiple methods have been proposed to cope with the identification issue, e.g., the intrinsic estimator (IE), which may be viewed as a limiting form of ridge regression. This study views the ridge estimator from a Bayesian perspective by introducing a prior distribution(s) for the ridge parameter(s). Data used in this study describe the incidence rate of cervical cancer among Ontario women from 1960 to 1994. Results indicate that a Bayesian ridge model with a common prior for the ridge parameter yields estimates of age, period, and cohort effects similar to those based on the intrinsic estimator and to those based on a ridge estimator. The performance of Bayesian models with distinctive priors for the ridge parameters of age, period, and cohort effects is affected more by the choice of prior distributions. In sum, a Bayesian ridge model is an alternative way to deal with the identification problem of age, period, and cohort model. Future studies should further investigate the influences of different prior choices on Bayesian ridge models. / text

Learning community literature supports the use of student cohorts to enhance learning through increased peer interaction and common course work. Researchers employed the qualitative method of phenomenography to identify various ways doctoral counseling students conceptualize and experience learning in a cohort over the course of a single academic year. Participants were all 10 members of a single southwestern U.S. university counseling program doctoral cohort of full-time students between 20 and 59 years of age with 5 members 20-29, 4 members 30-39, 1 member 50-59; 8 female, 2 male; 9 White non-Hispanic, 1 African-American. Data were transcripts from 30 one-hour interviews, three for each participant over the course of their first year of study. The research team that analyzed the data consisted of three advanced counseling program doctoral students, each with research methods coursework. Results revealed nine dynamic structural aspects of learning: dialogue, diversity, knowledge, motivation, support, shared experience, relationship development, interpersonal awareness, and conflict. Findings support the use of learning communities in doctoral level counselor education programs. Cohort members demonstrated increasing awareness of the potential learning benefits of cohort interaction and developed more in depth strategies over time to utilize the cohort to enhance learning. Future counselor educators may now with greater confidence design learning communities and curriculum to facilitate doctoral cohort development for optimal student interaction.