Studies of the effects of students playing sports in high school vary but results are mostly positive. This qualitative case study examined the perceptions of 15 teachers at a small rural Iowa high school to assess how they viewed the effects of sports participation on student athletes in the classroom and why the setting experienced a decline in participation numbers. The framework that drove this study was based on Pajares's concept that teacher expectations may influence students and their academic performance and behaviors. The data included individual interviews from 15 teachers and teacher/coaches who had a minimum of 5 years teaching experience and had student athletes in their classrooms. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed for emergent themes. Findings revealed that increased academic performance, learned leadership traits, and teamwork were the perceived benefits to sports participation. Missed class time and stressful time requirements on student athletes were the perceived detriments. Findings also indicated that a need for more cohesiveness better and communication between teachers and teacher/coaches, and a need for higher eligibility standards for student athletes to participate in athletics. These findings were used to develop a policy recommendation project that will update and overhaul the district's current athletic eligibility policy. This project will enable more students to participate in athletics and remain eligible for sports participation and additional tutoring. Social change could result from increased participation in athletics, improved academic performance, and greater cohesion among teachers at the school.

Over the years, participation in the School Breakfast Program (SBP) has increased, on both state and national levels. The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) offers free breakfast to all students regardless of income. The purpose of this study was to examine the perception of principals and school food service workers regarding the benefits, barriers, attitudes and beliefs about the implementation of the CEP. A survey was sent to principals and school food service workers. The majority of the participants were satisfied overall with the CEP and the nutritional quality of foods served for breakfast. The majority of the participants did not see any major barriers to CEP implementation; however, they acknowledged several benefits. Future research should combine qualitative and quantitative methods to explore these perceptions and gather information on why participants feel the way they do in regards to CEP implementation.

Master´s thesis describes an actual legal regulations in the sphere of public procurement. Goal is determine changes that brought amendment of act No 55/2012 Coll., about public orders and elaboration of recommendation for municipality Čkyně that must these changes break in the his public procurement contractual proceeding.

Thesis (M.S.H.P.) / BACKGROUND: Dual eligible (DE) patients qualify for Medicare and Medicaid. There are approximately nine million DE patients in the United States, and healthcare costs for this population totaled 319.5 billion dollars in 2011. Behavioral health illness (BHI) is a risk factor for increased healthcare service utilization. The healthcare utilization of adult DE patients <65 years of age with BHI has been studied sparsely. This study sought to describe the adult DE patient population <65 years of age at an urban academic safety net health center and compare hospital and emergency department (ED) utilization of those with and without BHI. METHODS: The study was a secondary analysis of hospital administrative data. Inclusion criteria were patients with Medicare and Medicaid between ages 18 and 65 years, who utilized Boston Medical Center between 1/1/2011 and 1/1/2012. The independent variable was diagnosis of BHI, and the dependent variables were hospital admission and ED utilization. Chi-square and Wilcoxon rank-sum tests were used for descriptive statistics on categorical and continuous variables, respectively. Greedy propensity-score matching without replacement with a caliper distance of half of a standard deviation was used to control for confounding factors. Rate ratios (RR) and confidence intervals (CI) were determined after matching and after adjusting for those variables that remained significantly different after matching. RESULTS: Pre-propensity-score matched data showed significant differences in age, sex, race/ethnicity, marital status, education, employment, physical comorbidities, and Charlson Comorbidity Index score. Post-propensity-score matched analysis found significant differences in sex, Hispanic race, and other education and employment status. As compared to those patients without BHI, patients with BHI had RR 2.07 (CI: 1.81- 2.38) (p<.0001) of hospital admission and a RR 1.61 (CI:1.46-1.77) (p<.0001) of ED utilization. After adjustment, RR for hospital admission and ED utilization remained significantly different and even increased slightly, RR 2.14 (CI: 1.87-2.46) (p<.0001) and RR 1.64 (CI:1.49-1.81) (p<.0001), respectively. CONCLUSION: As compared to DE patients without BHI, those with BHI had significantly more hospital admission and ED utilization, even after controlling for confounding factors. Results suggest interventions for decreasing healthcare services utilization in this population should focus on those DE patients with mental health illness. / 2031-01-01

1 Abstract Nationality in sport environment The main task of this thesis is to consider the current state of nationality in sport environment with the respect to increasing numbers of international transfers of athletes and the following possible connections of nationality and sport eligibility. At the same time, I am trying to find the answer to question whether it is possible to create complex regulations within international sport law on this issue. The main sources for my research were international treaties, different national laws and also European Union Law. Since much of this work is influenced by lex sportiva it became an integral part of this work as well. Within the first and second chapter I am dealing with the concepts of nationality and naturalization in general, which are analyzed mainly in the light of international treaties, international customs and available case law. I am complementing this data with the findings of national regulations which have had great influence for the field of nationality. In the following text I am analyzing the concept of sport eligibility, mainly its content and significance in general and within this work. I am doing this with the help of the judgments of the Court of Arbitration for Sport and the doctrinal articles. In Chapter Five I am referring to possible...

This paper examines how the definition of family, within Federal public housing and welfare policy, corresponds with changes in family patterns in America from 1950 to 2000. The definition of family as used to determine welfare eligibility is extremely important not only for how it defines recipients of cash aid but also because of how it affects public housing clients. In the name of economic vitality, needy individuals might choose to define their family according to the lowest common denominator to gain access to both welfare and public housing, thus negating diverse forms of family. Since family definition serves as an important gate-keeping device for program benefits to otherwise eligible families, it is important to establish if policy definitions of family reflect changing patterns of need or perceived normative definitions of "proper" family form. While public housing policy is the focal point of this research, it is necessary to review both housing and welfare policy to ascertain the impact of welfare policy's definition on overlapping participants. The changes in policy definition will be juxtaposed with cultural and legal shifts in family form to explore the policy's interaction with larger social trends. Public housing and welfare policy beginning with their respective inaugural legislation, the Wagner-Steagall Housing Act of 1937 and the Social Security Act of 1934, and their subsequent revisions are examined to track modifications to family definition. U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Reports, Series P20-537, "America's Families and Living Arrangements" data from 1950-2000 and Persons of Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters (POSSLQ) forecasting have been used to track social trends related to family composition patterns. Additionally, Federal and State Supreme Court rulings related to family formation and Domestic Partner legislation in California and Vermont have been used to gauge the legal legitimacy of varying family forms. Among the study's findings is public housing legislation's ongoing broad definition of family, the degree of influence welfare policy has historically had on the family form of public housing residents, and public housing's new "mixed family". Recommendations for future research include an examination of public housing's new "mixed family" issue and an examination of the impact on family form of the current public housing and welfare legislation: Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act (QHWRA) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). / Master of Urban and Regional Planning

Clinical trials are important to the advancement of medical science. They provide the experimental and statistical basis needed to determine the benefit of diagnostic and therapeutic agents and procedures. The more patients enrolled in a clinical trial, the more confidence we can have in the trial's results. However, current practices for identifying eligible patients can be expensive and time-consuming. To assist in making identification of eligible patients more cost effective, we have developed a system for translating the eligibility criteria for clinical trials to an executable form. This system takes as input the eligibility criteria for a trial formatted as first order predicates. We then map these criteria against concepts in a target database. The mapped criteria are output as an Arden Syntax medical logic module using virtual medical record queries in the curly braces. The system was able to successfully process 85 out of 100 trials attempted. From these 85 trials, the system idendified 1,545 eligibility criteria. From these criteria, we generate 520 virtual medical record queries, 253 of which were deemed useful in helping to determine eligibility.

No description available.

The purposes of this study were to (a) identify training provided by North Carolina school systems for its Administrative Placement Committee/Specific Learning Disabilities (APC/SLD) eligibility committee members, and (b) assess the perceived training needs of APC/SLD eligibility committee members. The sample consisted of 77 special education program administrators, 58 teachers (special education and regular education), 56 pupil support personnel and 63 school administrators. Descriptive data were gathered using two questionnaires. The special education program administrator survey contained items regarding the composition and selection criteria of the APC/SLD eligibility committee and system-wide training provided. In addition, the survey made inquiry regarding problems and concerns that committee members have expressed regarding their understanding and implementation of SLD requirements and the efficiency or effectiveness of committee meetings. The eligibility committee survey included items regarding job title, SLD criteria/requirements, information crucial to eligibility decisions, structure of eligibility meetings, group dynamics, and training needed for effective decisions regarding eligibility and placement of students in programs for the learning disabled. The major conclusions drawn from this study were that (1) training is being conducted in the school systems regarding the regulations and procedures for determining a specific learning disability; (2) that there is a definite need for training to be conducted with the eligibility teams on all aspects of making effective eligibility decisions; and (3) there is little difference among the training needs of teachers, support personnel and administrators. / Ed. D.

This dissertation examines the health insurance status of young adults during the transition to adulthood. In a series of three essays, I analyze what happens as young adults reach important milestones and the effects of public policies. The first essay is a descriptive study on how insurance status changes after reaching age 19 and graduating from college. The likelihood of becoming uninsured rises sharply once turning age 19 and then peaks at age 23. While the proportion uninsured also increases following college graduation, this increase disappears after one year. The second essay analyzes the effect of a dependent age law in New Jersey, which allowed dependent coverage for young adults up to age 30 and did not require full-time student status. Pennsylvania did not pass a law and was used as a control state. Among 19-to-22-year olds, there was a rise in health insurance coverage in New Jersey relative to Pennsylvania. There also was a negative effect on college enrollment in New Jersey relative to Pennsylvania. The final essay considers other unintended consequences of dependent age laws. Using a national dataset, I estimate that there were no clear effects on decisions related to living arrangements, marriage, and full-time employment.