Despite the wealth of information on suicide prevention issues and the widespread implementation of suicide prevention strategies, program evaluation efforts have been limited. Lack of sound program evaluation remains one of the most significant barriers to identification and implementation of effective intervention and prevention strategies. The purpose of this study was two-fold: to conduct a summative evaluation of the gatekeeper suicide prevention program implemented at the Toronto Transit Commission, and to concomitantly, appraise the efficacy and effectiveness of the Kirkpatrick evaluation model as an analytical framework to guide suicide prevention program evaluations. The study used a two-phase, sequential mixed-method approach of converging quantitative and qualitative methodologies. The quantitative study employed a repeated measures design and examined the immediate and long-term effects of the gatekeeper program on attitudes, knowledge, intervention abilities. The qualitative study consisted of semi-structured interviews and explored participants’ effective and utility reactions to the gatekeeper training program. The results of this study indicated safeTALK and suicideAWARE training programs increased participants’ knowledge of suicide and suicidal behaviour, enhanced positive attitudes toward the suicidal individual, suicide intervention, and improved intervention skills. The empirical findings from this study support the premise that the Kirkpatrick evaluation model could be adapted for use in gatekeeper program evaluations. The model provides a highly relevant, well-rounded, rigorous approach to suicide prevention program evaluations.

Background – Every competent person in Ontario has the right to decide whether or not he or she will be admitted to long-term care. If your capacity to make such a decision is in doubt, then it is evaluated. The current evaluation process is inaccessible to people with aphasia or other communication barriers, and social work evaluators report significant problems in communicating with this population. Competent individuals have been found lacking in capacity because of communication barriers. Aims – To create a communicatively accessible capacity evaluation process with training in specialized communication techniques. Also, to test the validity and effectiveness of the Communication Aid to Capacity Evaluation (CACE) to reveal the inherent capacity of participants with aphasia using social work evaluators. Methods – 32 social workers were partnered with 32 competent participants with aphasia. They were randomly divided into an experimental and control group. Both groups administered the current ‘Capacity to Make Admissions Decisions’ questionnaire to establish a baseline measurement of capacity. The social workers in the experimental group were introduced to CACE and received communication training. Following a two-week interval they administered CACE and the control group re-administered the current capacity questionnaire. The 64 capacity evaluations were video recorded and 3 independent speech-language pathologists administered standardized assessment measures on the recordings. Finally, the participants completed surveys measuring confidence and communication abilities. Outcomes - Using the current capacity questionnaire, one social worker found a competent participant lacking in capacity and one third of social workers were unable to determine capacity. Following the introduction of CACE with communication training, analyses of the standardized measures and survey results showed a statistically significant difference between the participants in the experimental group and the control group. The social workers in the experimental group had significantly better communication skills, (‘Revealing Competence’ f (2, 29) = 12.03, p = 0.002), the participants with aphasia’ abilities to ‘Transfer Information’ increased, (f (2, 29) = 10.51, p < 0.003), and the evaluators’ confidence in their determinations of capacity improved (f (2, 29) = 13.511, p = .001). The use of CACE with communication training resulted in accurate determinations of capacity in competent participants with aphasia. Conclusions - CACE was an effective tool to evaluate the capacity to make a decision regarding admission to long-term care. It was communicatively accessible for this research population with aphasia, enhancing comprehension of the capacity process and enabling the person to communicate a response. Improved communication skills, transfer of information and confidence allowed the evaluators to accurately determine capacity.

<p>The purpose of this thesis was to study how and to what extent ISO 9000 quality standards management certification is taught on the undergraduate level in courses in California ABET-accredited 4-year engineering programs. The level of knowledge of the standard among graduates is of concern because well-educated engineers are important to the future of businesses in the global economy, and the ISO 9000 series is an enduring standard of global significance. An email survey was conducted of over 2000 undergraduate engineering professors who are currently teaching in public and private California universities. The overview of responses indicates that, although the majority of professors have over 10 years of teaching experience and a past background in industry, ISO 9000 series certification is not widely understood, taught, or valued. Engineering students and their future employers are clearly not gleaning the benefits of learning this valuable global standard. </p>

<p> The identification of effective teaching is a continuous and challenging task. This study was an investigation of the relationship among the teacher evaluation, student perception surveys, and student growth scores of students in grades 3 through 8. The entire population of the small district was included in the study. The sources for this study were the North Carolina Educator Evaluation System (NCEES), Educator Assessment Score (EVAAS), and student perception surveys. The purpose was to identify traits of effective teachers from these meaningful sources or among the combinations of these sources. The teachers' EVAAS index was used for all calculations. The index was calculated by dividing how much progress the teachers' students made compared to other students across the state by the standard error for the population. </p><p> The data were analyzed using <i>t</i>-test, Pearson product-moment correlation, and multiple regressions. The results showed statistically significant correlations between the teacher evaluations performed by school administrators and the students' perceptions from the surveys. There were no significant correlations related to student growth scores. Multiple regressions disclosed a significant statistical finding in these areas: the combination of NCEES standard 4 (facilitation of learning), and student perception characteristics of a challenging, engaging classroom where their input is important are predictor of student growth scores (EVAAS). Additional research is needed to validate and expand upon these findings.</p>

The literature on formative evaluation advocates the use of both subject matter and learner experts to review instructional materials, yet there has been little research to support this recommendation. The present study investigates the distinguishing characteristics of these two expert reviewers, in particular the type and amount of oral feedback they produced and the cognitive processes they engaged in. The think-aloud method was employed to obtain feedback about a six page instructional unit from eight experts; four subject matter and four learner experts. Comments from the experts were transcribed, segmented and coded according to three coding systems. Results indicated that the two groups produced similar data. In addition, the findings showed that both groups referred to similar domains of knowledge, evoked or constructed similar plans and identified their task as detecting problems. These findings contradict the use of both types of experts during formative evaluation. Some practical recommendations for practitioners are offered.

<p>The topic of educational spending and its connection to student achievement was long-debated before charter schools entered the conversation. With the rise in government spending on education, particularly charter school funding, the financial debate has strengthened and evoked much controversy. Though the Tennessee Department of Education (TNDOE) had some of the most demanding charter school laws in the country in 2011, it wasn&rsquo;t immune to the firestorm of debate as the number of open charters grew to forty-nine during the 2012&ndash;13 school year. Along with the charter school movement in Tennessee came the issuing of charter school grants. To assist in the opening of charter schools in the state, the TNDOE began distributing $600,000&ndash;700,000 allotments of a $22 billion United States Department of Education Charter Schools Program (CSP) grant. Charters could apply for a CSP grant to offset start-up costs associated with opening a charter to supplement the basic education funding (BEP) given to each school based on student enrollment. </p><p> This research evaluates the CSP grant spending in six Tennessee charter schools serving grades 5&ndash;8 during each year of the three-year life of the grant while evaluating spending patterns into the categories of instruction, supplies, facilities, and technology. While evaluating only CSP grant spending in the school&rsquo;s total budget, findings from this research suggest that year one targeted spending in the area of instruction from CSP grants in Tennessee has a positive correlation with student achievement and school sustainability. </p>

Apical periodontitis, an acute or chronic inflamination around the apex of the tooth, is caused by bacteria in the root canal. In Sweden the dentists devote around 10X of their total time to treating this disease. The treatment usually requires 3 to 5 sessions. The treatment may fail in up to 25X of the cases. In the present study various treatment regimens were evaluated. One hundred and forty singlerooted teeth with apical periodontitis were treated. The importance of mechanical instrumentation, irrigating solutions and antibacterial dressings in eliminating bacteria from the infected root canals was studied using bacteriological techniques. The healing of the apical periodontitis after treatment was followed for 2 to 5 years on recall radiographs. Bacteria were found in all 140 root canals at the beginning of the treatment. Most of these bacteria were anaerobes and they represented a restricted group of bacteria compared to the bacteria present at other sites in the oral cavity. Mechanical instrumentation with files and reamers in combination with saline irrigation reduced the number of bacterial cells in the root canal 100- to 1000-fold during one treatment session. Bacteria could be eliminated from about half the number of root canals if this treatment was performed at 4 sessions. Mechanical instrumentation and irrigation with 0.5X or 5X sodium hypochlorite solutions or with the 5X solution in combination with 15X EDTA solution wa3 more efficient and the bacteria were eliminated from about half the treated canals after one treatment session. The bacteria which persisted in the root canal after this treatment usually increased in number during the interval up to the next session and reached levels which were often as high as in the initial sample at the previous session. All bacteria persistent in the root canals after the previous treatment regimens were with 2 exceptions eliminated by dressing the root canals for 1 to 2 months with calcium hydroxide paste. Thirty-four out of 35 root canals treated at the first session with mechanical instrumentation, irrigation with sodium hypochlorite solution and dressed with calcium hydroxide paste were free of bacteria at the second session. Calcium hydroxide paste was superior to camphorated phenol and camphorated paramonochlorophenol as dressing. Healing of 79 out of the 140 treated teeth was followed for 2 to 5 years. The majority of the lesions healed completely or decreased in size in such a way that they could be expected to heal. There was no or only an insignificant decrease in the size of the lesions in 5 cases. In 2 of these cases bacteria were demonstrated in the periapical tissues and in a third case dentin chips. Periapical lesions may thus fail to heal in a few cases due to an establishment of bacteria outside the root canal, and in that site the bacteria are inaccessible to conventional endodontic treatment. The present study showed that treatment of the majority of infected non-vital teeth can be completed in only 2 sessions, if mechanical instrumentation, sodium hypochlorite irrigation and calcium hydroxide dressing are combined. / <p>Diss. (sammanfattning) Umeå : Umeå universitet, 1986, härtill 5 uppsatser.</p> / digitalisering@umu

Work with sheep indicated that fractionation of whole crop barley (WCB) further than material other than grain (MOG) and grain was of no benefit. Feeding WCB to sheep demonstrated the effectiveness of NaOH (53g/kg DM), aqueous NH₃ and anhydrous NH₃ (both 42g/kg DM) as treatment chemicals for mature (800g DM /kg) WCB, OMD being increased by around 5 percentage units for all three treatments. A laboratory scale trial indicated that aerobic stability of WCB was improved by NH₃ treatment, the optimum level being 30 to 40g /kg DM. In the work which followed WCB of between 350 and 800g DM /kg was treated with anhydrous ammonia at a level of 35g /kg DM and fed to steers of 350 kg liveweight. In cattle of this weight faecal grain loss was significantly correlated with dry matter intake (g /kg^0.75 LW). Ammonia treatment increased intake by 25% while grain loss increased from a mean of 0.177 of ingested grain for diets of 670 and 770g DM /kg to 0.284 after NH₃ treatment. Rate and extent of DM loss from whole grains incubated in the rumen were increased by NH₃ treatment of the WCB. Distribution of anhydrous NH₃ in crops < 600g DM was uneven. The final trial used steers of liveweight 150, 250 and 350 kg to test the hypothesis that smaller cattle digest whole grain more fully than do large cattle. The influence of animal size on starch digestibility coefficient was found to be significant when a multiple regression analysis was performed on the data. However faecal grain loss was still high (digestibility coefficient of starch < 0.85) for all diets and animal categories. Urea effectively preserved WCB of 675g DM /kg, the resulting material being readily consumed. It is concluded that WCB harvesting with subsequent chemical treatment, and feeding to cattle cannot be justified because of the high faecal grain loss which occurs at productive levels of intake, but the possibility does exist for inclusion in complete diets for sheep.

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