Immunological parameters in girls with Turner syndrome

Disturbances in the immune system has been described in Turner syndrome, with an association to low levels of IgG and IgM and decreased levels of T- and B-lymphocytes. Also different autoimmune diseases have been connected to Turner syndrome (45, X), thyroiditis being the most common. Besides the typical features of Turner syndrome (short stature, failure to enter puberty spontaneously and infertility due to ovarian insufficiency) ear problems are common (recurrent otitis media and progressive sensorineural hearing disorder). Levels of IgG, IgA, IgM, IgD and the four IgG subclasses as well as T- and B-lymphocyte subpopulations were investigated in 15 girls with Turners syndrome to examine whether an immunodeficiency may be the cause of their high incidence of otitis media. No major immunological deficiency was found that could explain the increased incidence of otitis media in the young Turner girls

Information on Education Tax Credits & College Enrollment Decisions

PIs: Peter Bergman, Jeffrey T. Denning, and Dayanand Manoli. The United States federal income tax provides tax benefits for households with college-enrolled students. Nonetheless, the complexity of the tax code may prevent eligible individuals from fully taking advantage of this financial aid for college. In this project, we test the hypothesis that providing information on tax benefits for college enrollment can increase college attendance. The research is based on a randomized mailing experiment conducted in collaboration with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. In the experiment, we will randomly select applicants to receive information on federal tax benefits related to college-enrolled dependents will be mailed to households with student children who are considering college attendance. The analysis will measure the impact of providing this tax-benefit information on college application and enrollment outcomes. This experiment will be implemented beginning in the Fall of 2013, with outcome data becoming available by late Fall of 2014. AEA Registration: https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/22

Financial Distress Research Project

PIs: Jim Greiner, Lois Lupica, and Dalié Jiménez. In the United States, low- and moderate-income (“LMI”) individuals experience personal financial crisis through the lens of law. Small claims court debt collection, bankruptcy court, and contract negotiations with creditors dominate the experience. But LMI individuals are priced out of the private attorney market, and resource constraints prevent free legal services providers from offering traditional legal assistance to LMI individuals in financial distress. The result is a challenge: propose and test ways to provide low-cost self-help assistance to LMI individuals in financial distress. This study assesses legal and financial outcomes of LMI individuals when randomly assigned to two treatment contrasts. The first treatment contrast is a set of innovative, behaviorally informed, cartoon-based self-help packets covering the legal aspects of financial crisis versus a traditional attorney-client relationship with a legal aid attorney covering the same scope. The second contrast is “live” financial counseling (Internet or telephone call, as required by Congress to obtain a bankruptcy discharge) versus financial counseling delivered via a paper packet. Outcome variables include litigation results from court files; credit scores and over 200 credit attributes from a credit reporting agency; and survey responses focusing on financial knowledge and stress levels. Each of the four cells in the saturated design will have 300 subjects. Available cost information will facilitate efficiency comparisons. AEA Registration: https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/214

One Summer Chicago PLUS: Scaling and "Unpacking" a Successful Program

PIs: Marianne Bertrand and Sara Heller. Chicago's Department of Family and Support Services will provide summer employment and an adult mentor to disadvantaged Chicago youth over the summer of 2015 through its "One Summer PLUS" program. The researchers are assisting DFSS in running a lottery to randomly assign the pool of program applicants into two treatment groups and one control group, and evaluating the outcomes of the program. This random-assignment lottery will allow the program to be evaluated as a randomized controlled trial. Applicants will be randomly assigned to two versions of the program - one including an adult job mentor and one that only provides the job itself - or to a control group. We will track applicants to the program through existing administrative databases to assess the short- and long-term effects of the government's program, including education, crime, and labor market outcomes. Additionally, we will survey youth (both offered and not offered the program) in order to learn more about the differences in experiences and outcomes between those who were offered the program and those who were not. This is the third in a series of studies of Chicago's One Summer PLUS summer employment program. AEA Registration: https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/80

Financial Distress Research Project

PIs: Jim Greiner, Lois Lupica, and Dalié Jiménez. In the United States, low- and moderate-income (“LMI”) individuals experience personal financial crisis through the lens of law. Small claims court debt collection, bankruptcy court, and contract negotiations with creditors dominate the experience. But LMI individuals are priced out of the private attorney market, and resource constraints prevent free legal services providers from offering traditional legal assistance to LMI individuals in financial distress. The result is a challenge: propose and test ways to provide low-cost self-help assistance to LMI individuals in financial distress. This study assesses legal and financial outcomes of LMI individuals when randomly assigned to two treatment contrasts. The first treatment contrast is a set of innovative, behaviorally informed, cartoon-based self-help packets covering the legal aspects of financial crisis versus a traditional attorney-client relationship with a legal aid attorney covering the same scope. The second contrast is “live” financial counseling (Internet or telephone call, as required by Congress to obtain a bankruptcy discharge) versus financial counseling delivered via a paper packet. Outcome variables include litigation results from court files; credit scores and over 200 credit attributes from a credit reporting agency; and survey responses focusing on financial knowledge and stress levels. Each of the four cells in the saturated design will have 300 subjects. Available cost information will facilitate efficiency comparisons. AEA Registration: https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/214

Texting Students to Help Achieve Their Goals

PI: Philip Oreopoulos Many social scientists and policy makers express concern over low levels of college completion and poor overall academic performance. One explanation, drawing on recent insights from behavioral science, suggests that youth often overemphasize the present or rely too much on routine. Another, drawing on social-psychology, suggests incoming students with weak academic identities (perhaps due to being a first generational or international student) struggle in transitioning to their new environment. This study explores ways to counter these tendencies using online exercises and electronic messaging. Randomly selected students at a 4-year college are randomized into three treatment groups and a control. The first group is given an online goal-setting exercise to think about their future and what steps to take now to help them achieve their goals. The second group is offered additional electronic messages containing advice, information, motivation, and reminders, with the aim of improving performance, experience, and completion. The third group's online exercise involves reading through past 'testimonials' how previous students struggled with their college transition yet persevered and were successful. AEA Registration: https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/81

One Summer Chicago PLUS: Scaling and "Unpacking" a Successful Program

PIs: Marianne Bertrand and Sara Heller. Chicago's Department of Family and Support Services will provide summer employment and an adult mentor to disadvantaged Chicago youth over the summer of 2015 through its "One Summer PLUS" program. The researchers are assisting DFSS in running a lottery to randomly assign the pool of program applicants into two treatment groups and one control group, and evaluating the outcomes of the program. This random-assignment lottery will allow the program to be evaluated as a randomized controlled trial. Applicants will be randomly assigned to two versions of the program - one including an adult job mentor and one that only provides the job itself - or to a control group. We will track applicants to the program through existing administrative databases to assess the short- and long-term effects of the government's program, including education, crime, and labor market outcomes. Additionally, we will survey youth (both offered and not offered the program) in order to learn more about the differences in experiences and outcomes between those who were offered the program and those who were not. This is the third in a series of studies of Chicago's One Summer PLUS summer employment program. AEA Registration: https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/80

Information on Education Tax Credits & College Enrollment Decisions

PIs: Peter Bergman, Jeffrey T. Denning, and Dayanand Manoli. The United States federal income tax provides tax benefits for households with college-enrolled students. Nonetheless, the complexity of the tax code may prevent eligible individuals from fully taking advantage of this financial aid for college. In this project, we test the hypothesis that providing information on tax benefits for college enrollment can increase college attendance. The research is based on a randomized mailing experiment conducted in collaboration with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. In the experiment, we will randomly select applicants to receive information on federal tax benefits related to college-enrolled dependents will be mailed to households with student children who are considering college attendance. The analysis will measure the impact of providing this tax-benefit information on college application and enrollment outcomes. This experiment will be implemented beginning in the Fall of 2013, with outcome data becoming available by late Fall of 2014. AEA Registration: https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/22