This study was to examine whether the Manitoba Provincial Health Contact program for congestive heart failure is cost-effective and/or cost-benefit intervention relative to the standard treatment. The benefit-cost ratio was calculated in terms of the program cost and the cost savings from averted healthcare visits in order to determine whether the program would pay for itself. Then I conducted a cost-effectiveness study in which outcomes were measured in terms of QALYs derived from the SF-36. Bootstrap-resampled incremental cost-effectiveness ratios were computed to allow us to take into account the uncertainty related to small sample size. This intervention program generated a net saving of $28,307. The cost-effectiveness analysis suggests that the Health Lines intervention can generate an additional QALY for $26,486 and Health Line plus Monitoring for $70,266. The findings demonstrate that the Health Lines strategy for congestive heart failure holds great promise.

<p> Outcome-based report cards represent teacher judgments about student progress as determined by comparing the student's work against curricular outcomes. The outcome-based report card has become an important tool for student assessment, evaluation, and reporting. Because parents have an important role to play in supporting student learning, parental support and understanding of this new educational tool is critical. In 2009, the Yellowknife Education District No.1, in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories in Canada implemented the outcome-based report card to report assessment data of students in kindergarten to Grade 8. This qualitative research single case study explored parental support for and understanding of the outcome-based report card in this rural Canadian educational district. Data was collected using four focus groups, each made up of 4-6 parents of students in Grades 4-8. To confirm and validate the results, data from focus group process was triangulated with relevant historical/archival descriptive summaries and qualitative data retrieved from parent surveys in Yellowknife Education District No.1. Results of this study show that parents have a desire to know about the outcome-based report card and how it connects to formats of which they were more familiar (like the letter grade or percentage systems). Parents described a need for plain language alternatives for complex educational terms, phrases, and references. Parents expressed the need for personalized comments to describe individual student capabilities, and they desired grading level system that indicates student progress. Results from this study converge on a number of recommendations, including one that encourages leaders within the Yellowknife Education District No.1 to support additional research on the parental acceptance of the outcome-based report card once the recommendations for the practical applications of this case study have been acted upon. Further research could focus on the application of the outcome-based report card to engage students in self-assessment, increase motivation, and goal setting. This case study on the topic of parental support for and understanding of the outcome-based report card could be considered the starting point for future studies around how to realize the full benefits of formative assessment as it relates to grading and reporting.</p>

<p> This research project was a study that was based on a prior dissertation study that analyzed student success, as measured by achievement tests, within local communities with high poverty rates. Two Title 1 Reward high schools in the Phoenix area were examined through qualitative case studies to determine what had been implemented to help eliminate the perception of students coming from low income socio-economic backgrounds to achieve success on standardized tests. Five research questions were answered through classroom observation, interviews, and artifact collection and analysis to determine what efforts ensured student success. The aim of this dissertation study was to have provided other high schools whose student populations included low-socioeconomic backgrounds to implement and foster success for their students with possible replication. </p><p> Findings from this study included five research questions. Results from research question one outlined evidence that helped to explain how EHS was successful in helping their students be effective on standardized tests. Next, question two results exposed that EHS nurtured a culture of trust amongst teachers and administrators. Thirdly, question three illustrated for the reader more commonalities amongst the schools. Research question four results included that EHS and WHS worked hard to build student attitudes/attributes to have enjoyed success on standardized testing. Finally, question five results indicated that EHS used a shared leadership model having consisted of a principal, federal programs director, and counselor.</p>

<p>Abstract This research was designed to develop an instrument to evaluate how use of the Classroom Focused Improvement Process (CFIP) affected teachers' perceptions of using student data. The CFIP process requires that teacher teams regularly analyze student data, to strategically plan, reevaluate, and re-plan. Teams own achievement for all students. Ainsworth (2006) asserted teams must use collaboratively created short-cycle assessments to ensure common student growth. Data guide team-adjusted teaching, and professional development. Teacher belief in interim assessments' potential derives from formative assessment research, particularly studies demonstrating formative assessments and daily classroom feedback can improve teaching and student performance (Goertz, Olah, & Riggan, 2009). Engaging in this process, perhaps teachers can shift data perceptions from an accountability tool, to a means to improve student learning. The No Child Left Behind Act stipulated every child should test on-grade-level in reading and mathematics by 2014, evidenced by state standardized tests. Federal funding formulas required states to decrease achievement gaps, increase graduation rates, and prepare students for careers or college. The March 2010 draft Reauthorization of the ESEA stated teachers believe colleague collaboration is imperative to improve student achievement (USDE, 2010, p. 5), and Daniels (2009) testified that school structures must exist for teachers/administrators to analyze data and set goals. Additional research noted achievement gains when teachers examined student data in Professional Learning Communities (Aylsworth, 2012; Gallagher, Means, & Padilla, 2008; Galligan, 2011; Goddard, Hoy, & Hoy, 2000; Roberts, 2010). This research developed an instrument to discern CFIP's use in improving instruction and learning. The research design was a mixed methods concurrent design using survey research with quantitative analysis and open-ended qualitative questions, and qualitative structured, teacher interviews. Participants included 81 teachers from four CFIP and four non-CFIP elementary schools in two U.S.A. Mid-Atlantic suburban school systems. Conclusions indicated that value exists in pursuing research to discern if teacher teams using data literacy methods consistently and frequently can improve classroom instruction and student learning. Surveyed teachers identified the need and desire for more time for team data analysis and data literacy coaching. Educational leaders must consider providing this time and training for all teacher teams.

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This Thesis describes the design, manufacture and evaluation of a single sided through-air Lamb wave scanner for Non-Destructive Evaluation (NDE). The new scanning system utilises novel wideband piezocomposite transducers and specialised receive electronics to detect and monitor the thickness of faults within the structure under investigation using a frequency agile approach. Based upon the superheterodyne principle, this frequency agility dispenses with the costly requirement for precision manipulation of the transducer alignment, by effectively tuning the system for the thickness of the sample. Several important applications are identified, including defect detection on samples with tapered thicknesses and defect depth characterisation on plates with thickness erosion, in addition to conventional defect evaluation. Through the application of finite element modelling and practical analysis, a new range of wideband composite transducer have been developed which offer a considerable improvement in operational bandwidth in comparison to conventional piezocomposites. Moreover, a specialised ultra low noise heterodyning amplifier was designed and constructed to provide sufficient gain and selectivity to detect the Lamb waves generated in the various structures under examination. Experimental results obtained from the prototype system illustrate a capability to distinguish defects within test specimens of differing materials and determine the thickness of the given defect. The current system is capable of resolving defects down to less than 2mm in diameter or 20% thinning in a 1mm thick aluminium plate for a Lamb wave with a wavelength of 3mm. Moreover, the handheld nature of the scanning head employed within this system has facilitated the examination of practical NDE examples, such as disbonds between vehicle support structures and outer panelling over curved structures.

This thesis considers the subject of crowd safety and investigates how the application of risk assessment can provide support for decision making in crowd safety management and planning. The focus is on major public venues and events where large crowds arc a normal part of the operation. Conventional methods of assessment tend to be ad hoc, reactive and rely on individual experiences. The risk assessment approach, which is comprehensive, systematic and pro-active, can help to overcome these shortfalls. Risk assessments have already been successfully applied in many workplaces, ranging from high hazard industrial plants to the office environment. However, this thesis argues that for it to be of benefit, the risk assessment must be appropriate to the nature of the operation and the nature and the extent of the hazards involved. The existing risk assessments are inappropriate to crowd safety in this respect and a more suitable methodology is required. In order to identify the methods and tools that could provide the potential solutions to the problems of assessing crowd and behaviour related hazards, a review of other risk assessments was conducted. It has highlighted a number of techniques and tools that could be applied to assess crowd safety risks. Based on the criteria mentioned above and the findings of this review, a prototype crowd safety risk assessment methodology was developed. A series of trials were conducted to evaluate the validity and usability of the prototype. Revisions were made accordingly to produce the final draft. Experiments and a questionnaire survey were then carried out on the final draft to test and verify the methodology. In general, they show that the methodology has led to an improvement in most aspects of crowd safety risk assessment. In the experiments that compared the methodology against methods representing the existing risk assessments and the conventional way of assessing crowd safety, subjects using the methodology tend to perform better in most areas. More hazards were identified. In the evaluation of risks, better consistency was achieved between individuals using the methodology. However, their judgements appeared to be less consistent over time. The use of a larger rating scheme with more choices available in the methodology could have an impact on consistency in risk evaluation. Another key factor could be that the subjects who took part in the experiments were all novice assessors. Possible learning effect may have occurred in between experiments, which could have resulted in a change of mind over time. If this is the case, this result could be an indication that the methodology is more sensitive to changes in risks or risk perception. It will be interesting to find out if experienced assessors can achieve better consistency. By and large, the experiments and questionnaire survey have served to verify, at least in part, the arguments that risk assessment is better than the conventional assessment method and that there are more benefits to be gained when the risk assessment is more appropriate to the nature and the extent of the crowd safety hazards that could arise in major public venues. Nevertheless, it is important to recognise that the research work presented in this thesis is merely the first step towards a crowd safety risk assessment methodology. There are outstanding issues yet to be resolved, not least the issue of the apparent lack of consistency over time in risk evaluation. This thesis has identified the research and development work that is required to resolve these issues and to further the benefits that risk assessment could bring to crowd safety.