Sorting Second-Grade Students: Differentiating Those Retained From Those Promoted.

A cohort of 2nd-grade students provided comparisons of academic and social competence based on school retention/promotion decisions. Sample groups were (a) retained, (b) at risk for retention, (c) special education, and (d) promoted. Findings suggested most children with academic deficiencies are identified by schools early and are sorted into educational treatments differing in intensity that represent a continuum of competence. The authors provide empirical evidence counter to the assumptions that retained students have the requisite ability to catch up and have more problem behaviors than other low-achieving students. The relevance of high-stakes test scores for promotion/retention decisions and the parallels between schools' implementation of retention policy and implementation of regulations for identifying children with disabilities are included in the discussion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perspectives on Design and Innovation

A series of studies of top European and other firms has revealed patterns of design management associated with commercial success. Firms that invest resources and professional expertise in product and industrial design in traditional and new industries have been commercially more successful than firms that pay less attention to these aspects of design. As an industry matures there is a shift in emphasis from design associated with technological innovation, to designs supporting technical improvements, and then to supporting user needs, fashion and product variants. These issues are illustrated through the history of the evolution of the bicycle.     

Technology transfer projects in developing countries—furthering the Project Management perspectives

This paper attempts to broaden the analysis of the technology transfer phenomenon by refocusing research attention on the level of performance assessment of technology transfer projects. An holistic evaluation framework based on the considerations of an extended Project Life Cycle model is proposed to overcome some of the shortcomings of conventional approaches to project evaluation. This also reinforces the need for open systems thinking in assessing and managing risk of technology transfer projects. The discussion is based on two case studies which articulate the experiences with two integrated mechanisms of technology transfer used in Algeria from 1965 to 1990: turnkey and “product-in-hand”. The aim is to gain a better understanding of the processes of technology transfer and to contribute to the improvement of associated managerial practices in developing economies.     

Nonparametric bootstrapping of the reliability function for multiple copies of a repairable item modeled by a birth process

Nonparametric bootstrap inference is developed for the reliability function estimated from censored, nonstationary failure time data for multiple copies of repairable items. We assume that each copy has a known, but not necessarily the same, observation period; and upon failure of one copy, design modifications are implemented for all copies operating at that time to prevent further failures arising from the same fault. This implies that, at any point in time, all operating copies will contain the same set of faults. Failures are modeled as a birth process because there is a reduction in the rate of occurrence at each failure. The data structure comprises a mix of deterministic & random censoring mechanisms corresponding to the known observation period of the copy, and the random censoring time of each fault. Hence, bootstrap confidence intervals & regions for the reliability function measure the length of time a fault can remain within the item until realization as failure in one of the copies. Explicit formulae derived for the re-sampling probabilities greatly reduce dependency on Monte-Carlo simulation. Investigations show a small bias arising in re-sampling that can be quantified & corrected. The variability generated by the re-sampling approach approximates the variability in the underlying birth process, and so supports appropriate inference. An illustrative example describes application to a problem, and discusses the validity of modeling assumptions within industrial practice.     

Creating a Student Centered Learning Environment at the University of Denver

A team of faculty members at the University of Denver changed the learning environment in key courses in the Department of Engineering from predominately teacher centered to student centered. Through this funded project new grading methods were implemented, classrooms were renovated and wired with studio layouts to facilitate learning, the Engineering Circuits Laboratory was rewired and instrumented for automated data acquisition and reporting, and two new pedagogical approaches were developed. At the onset of the project, six goals were established related to student learning. The introduction of industry standard hardware and software provided students with unprecedented hands‐on experience and project related activities stimulated faculty innovations in other current and future courses. Assessment results indicate that the new grading system improved the clarity of expectations for students before assignments were given resulting in increased reported motivation for learning in many courses. Even though course GPAs did not always reflect higher achievement on graded work, faculty members firmly believe that deeper understanding was achieved because more complex material was assimilated.     

A longitudinal examination of the social-cognitive model applied to high school girls' choices of nontraditional college majors and aspirations.

This study tested a partial version of R. W. Lent, S. D. Brown, and G. Hackett's (1994) social-cognitive career theory model. Among 204 high school girls who attended science, math, and engineering (SME) career conferences, the authors used a 4-year longitudinal design to predict the choice of an SME college major and SME self-efficacy and outcome expectations in college. In addition, among students who had declared SME majors, variables assessed in high school and college were used to predict aspirations to become leaders in SME fields. The results generally provided empirical validation of the model. Regression analyses revealed that college SME outcome expectations were associated with plans to become a leader in an SME field. Implications for research and interventions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Purification and characterization of a human bradykinin binding protein from inflammatory cells

Bradykinin (BK) is a potent mediator with a broad spectrum of pharmacological and inflammatory actions which are exerted through cell surface receptors. We report here the affinity chromatographic purification of a novel 14 kDa BK binding protein from human blood neutrophils and also peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), 80% of which are lymphocytes. Radioreceptor crosslinking experiments using bifunctional crosslinkers and radiolabelled BK identified a 14 kDa protein in these cell types both on the cell surface, in glycerol purified plasma membranes and in detergent solubilized cell extracts. Purification by BK affinity chromatography from a variety of BK responsive human cell types i.e. CCD-16Lu lung fibroblasts, HL60 promyelocytes, U937 myelomonocytes and Jurkat T lymphocytes also demonstrated a 14 kDa protein. Purified material obtained from three different BK affinity columns all demonstrated three major proteins at 190, 50 and 14 kDa when eluted with either excess BK or mild acid. Neutrophil fractions from detergent solubilized cell extracts contained an additional 150 kDa protein when eluted with mild acid. Neutrophil and PBMC crude plasma membrane BK affinity column purifications yielded only a single 14 kDa protein. Radioreceptor dot assays of the purified neutrophil eluates containing the 14 kDa protein revealed specific binding to [125I]-BK with a 160 fold excess signal ratio over the original membrane extract. Our data indicates that we have successfully isolated a 14 kDa novel human BK specific binding protein expressed on the surface of inflammatory cells.