IN THE: TWITED STATES, such credentials of schooling as diplomas and number of years completed have long been important for job and income prospects. Since World Kar II, the symbols of eclucatioii hare become crucial. In 1959, adult, workers with eighth-grade diplomas earned $3,600 a year on the average. Those who went on to high school but withdrew before graduating earned about $4,300. High s...

This paper reports the results of experiments designed to test the theory of the optimal composition of prizes in contests. In the aggregate the behavior of subjects is consistent with that predicted by the theory, but we find that such aggregate results mask an unexpected compositional effect on the individual level. Whereas theory predicts that subject efforts are continuous and increasing fu...

University researchers and teacher facilitators implemented a state-funded professional development project during the 2005-06 academic year to help county middle school teachers improve student achievement in mathematics. In this paper, we discuss lessons and results from this innovative model, whose iterative cycle includes teacher content knowledge, item analysis from a high-stakes test, ped...

BACKGROUND Web-based public health courses are becoming increasingly popular. "Public Health Principles in Disaster and Medical Humanitarian Response" is a unique Web-based course in Hong Kong. This course aimed to fill a public health training gap by reaching out to postgraduates who are unable to access face-to-face learning. OBJECTIVE The aim of this paper was to use a structured framework...

The employment effects of training programs for the unemployed are frequently studied, but little is known about the number, the characteristics, and the labor market prospects of those who drop out of these programs. The aim of this paper is to contribute to filling this gap. Using German administrative data it turns out that one out of five participants of further training programs drops out ...

Design of a clinical study to determine the impact of an experimental agent or regimen on dental caries activity must balance a number of interacting variables to yield meaningful results. At the outset, caries experience must be determined for each subject to permit sample stratification that will, in addition to age and sex, divide dental caries risk equally between the experimental groups. U...

The value of experiential learning in agricultural education has long been recognized as an important part of the educational process. Through practice and experience students apply what they have learned in real situations, thus the material becomes understandable and usable. Moreover, in the process of gaining experience, new problems and situations arise causing learners to seek additional i...

Background—The Iowa Department of Education undertook a study to determine district characteristics that are associated with success on statewide-standardized tests. A district profile was created for each Iowa public school district to determine if any association exists between a particular district’s characteristics and the test scores of 11th grade students. Contextual variables such as soc...

BACKGROUND The number of medical undergraduates taking part in Student Scientific Activities (SSA) at Jessenius Faculty of Medicine Comenius University in Slovakia remains low. The aim of this study was to discover some of the factors responsible and suggest improvements. METHODS An anonymous 30-item questionnaire was devised and sent to 245 medical undergraduates (UG) of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd an...

Although the rise in subprime lending and the ensuing wave of foreclosures was partly a result of market forces that have been well-identified in the literature, in the United States it was also a highly racialized process. We argue that residential segregation created a unique niche of poor minority clients who were differentially marketed risky subprime loans that were in great demand for use...