Factors for Determining Validity of Evidence in Clean Air Act Litigation

This article focuses on the expanded liability and enforcement exposure that major stationary sources bear under the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 and subsequent EPA rules known as the Any Credible Evidence Rule and the Compliance Assurance Monitoring Rule. The article notes that these regulations fail to adequately define credible evidence and argues that a definition, and thus an intelligible evidentiary analysis, can be fashioned based on the Supreme Court\u27s ruling in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., as supported by the more recent cases of Joiner and Kuhmo Tire. The article\u27s thesis is that demonstration of scientific validity (as informed by the four Daubert factors and subsequent scholarly writings) is the hallmark of credible evidence. To reinforce this thesis, the article proposes a series of Daubert-type suggested factors to assess the scientific validity of a standard air emissions monitoring technology (Method 9). The article concludes that learning to analyze scientific validity is a well-advised exercise for courts, regulatory agencies, and the regulated community that must deal with environmental compliance data (which becomes evidence in the event of litigation) in a post-Daubert world

The impact of incoming student characteristics and college environment on community college student success

The primary purpose of this study was to identify incoming student characteristics and college environment variables predictive of student success at North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC). Using the I-E-O model developed by Astin, the researcher investigated input variables of prior academic achievement, gender, race, personality type, age, socio-economic status, and educational goal; environmental variables of full or part time attendance, on or off campus classes, commuter or dormitory residence, major area of study, goal congruence, student involvement, and student satisfaction; and student success measured by self-assessment, grade point average, and ratio of number of hours completed to number of hours attempted;Three null hypotheses were derived from the research questions concerning which incoming student characteristics predicted student success, which environmental variables predicted student success, and which independent variables were correlated;The population for this study was comprised of all first time enrollees at North Iowa Area Community College, a rural mid-western community college for the Fall 1991 term (1,019 students). Data on each student in the sample was derived from student registration records, permanent records, admission applications, and the ACT Student Opinion Survey - 2 year form administered the final month of school in the Spring of 1992. Return rate of the survey was 43%;In keeping with Astin\u27s methodology, a stepwise multiple regression was used to identify incoming student characteristics predictive of student success. A second multiple regression procedure identified college environment variables predictive of success. Pearson correlation was used to test the third hypothesis;Data analysis resulted in all three hypotheses being rejected. High prior academic achievement, race, age, and the thinking function of the Thinking/Feeling scale on the MBTI had significant positive correlations to success, while gender and high socio-economic status were negative. Goal congruence was the only environmental variable that was significant. The relationship between success and goal congruence was negative. Significant correlations between the independent variables included age negatively correlated with high prior academic achievement, high socioeconomic status, satisfaction, and dormitory residence; and positively correlated with part time student status and vocational major. Gender (male) was positively correlated to the thinking function of the MBTI. High prior academic achievement was negatively correlated with borderline academic achievement, intuition on the MBTI, general satisfaction, and dorm residence. Extraversion was positively correlated to dorm residence and negatively correlated to off campus classes. Goal congruence was positively correlated to general satisfaction. Conclusions and recommendations for further study were included

Challenging Conventional Wisdom: Building an Adult-Centered Degree Completion Program at a Traditional University\u27s Satellite Campus

This essay will discuss the creation of adult-learner degree programs at Wichita State University\u27s satellite campuses with a particular focus on how such programs complement the mission of a traditional urban-serving research institution. It will assess the decision-making process that led to the transformation of satellite campuses into adult-learner centers and evaluate how the adult-learner degree completion programs were marketed to both internal and external audiences

A survey of cost-sensitive decision tree induction algorithms

The past decade has seen a significant interest on the problem of inducing decision trees that take account of costs of misclassification and costs of acquiring the features used for decision making. This survey identifies over 50 algorithms including approaches that are direct adaptations of accuracy based methods, use genetic algorithms, use anytime methods and utilize boosting and bagging. The survey brings together these different studies and novel approaches to cost-sensitive decision tree learning, provides a useful taxonomy, a historical timeline of how the field has developed and should provide a useful reference point for future research in this field

NSF Graduate Teaching Fellows in K-12 Education at the University of Maine

The program for Graduate Teaching Fellows in K-12 Education at the University of Maine is consistent with the State\u27s legislatively mandated goals for education in Science and Technology. Twelve Fellows are working in four local school districts through this program, which engages colleagues at the University and K-12 schools in transfer of knowledge and curriculum development with respect to topics such as Classifying Living Things, Forestry & Pulp and Paper Studies, and The Hydrological Cycle. The project is providing K-12 students and teachers with access to curriculum development, field trips, technology, and equipment that local school budgets had not provided. A summer science camp is being used in the training program to establish the teaching teams (university faculty and K-12 teachers) that mentor Fellows. The program provides SMET fellowships for the University, professional development for K-12 teachers, important role models and knowledge to K-12 students, and a strong bond between the science faculty of the University and K-12 teachers

Serum neurofilament dynamics predicts neurodegeneration and clinical progression in presymptomatic Alzheimer's disease

Neurofilament light chain (NfL) is a promising fluid biomarker of disease progression for various cerebral proteopathies. Here we leverage the unique characteristics of the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network and ultrasensitive immunoassay technology to demonstrate that NfL levels in the cerebrospinal fluid (n = 187) and serum (n = 405) are correlated with one another and are elevated at the presymptomatic stages of familial Alzheimer's disease. Longitudinal, within-person analysis of serum NfL dynamics (n = 196) confirmed this elevation and further revealed that the rate of change of serum NfL could discriminate mutation carriers from non-mutation carriers almost a decade earlier than cross-sectional absolute NfL levels (that is, 16.2 versus 6.8 years before the estimated symptom onset). Serum NfL rate of change peaked in participants converting from the presymptomatic to the symptomatic stage and was associated with cortical thinning assessed by magnetic resonance imaging, but less so with amyloid-β deposition or glucose metabolism (assessed by positron emission tomography). Serum NfL was predictive for both the rate of cortical thinning and cognitive changes assessed by the Mini-Mental State Examination and Logical Memory test. Thus, NfL dynamics in serum predict disease progression and brain neurodegeneration at the early presymptomatic stages of familial Alzheimer's disease, which supports its potential utility as a clinically useful biomarker

Symptoms of anal incontinence and quality of life : A psychometric study of the Norwegian version of the ICIQ-B amongst hospital outpatients

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Prevalence and correlates of fecal incontinence among nursing home residents: a population-based cross-sectional study

Background Fecal incontinence is highly prevalent among nursing home residents. Previous nursing home studies have identified co-morbidity associated with fecal incontinence, but as this population is increasingly old and frail, we wanted to see if the rate of fecal incontinence had increased and to investigate correlates of fecal incontinence further. Methods Cross-sectional study of the entire nursing home population in one Norwegian municipality. Registered nurses filled in a questionnaire for all residents in the municipality (980 residents aged ≥65). Statistical methods used are descriptive statistics, binary logistic regression and multivariable logistic regression. Results The response rate of the study was 90.3%. The prevalence of fecal incontinence was 42.3%. In multivariable analysis of FI, residents with diarrhea (OR 7.33, CI 4.39-12.24), urinary incontinence (OR 2.77, CI 1.73-4.42) and dementia (OR 2.17, CI 1.28-3.68) had higher odds of having fecal incontinence compared to those without the condition. Residents residing in a nursing home between 4–5 years had higher odds of having fecal incontinence compared to residents who had stayed under a year (OR 2.65, CI 1.20-5.85). Residents with deficiency in feeding (2.17, CI 1.26-3.71), dressing (OR 4.03, CI 1.39-11.65), toilet use (OR 7.37, CI 2.65-20.44) and mobility (OR 2.54, CI 1.07-6.00) had higher odds of having fecal incontinence compared to residents without deficiencies in activities of daily living (ADL). Needing help for transfer between bed and chair was a protective factor for fecal incontinence compared to residents who transferred independently (OR 0.49, CI 0.26-0.91). Conclusions Fecal incontinence is a prevalent condition in the nursing home population and is associated with ADL decline, frailty, diarrhea and quality of care. This knowledge is important for staff in nursing home in order to provide the best treatment and care for residents with fecal incontinence

Wicked Wisdoms: Illuminations of Conceptual Capacities among Local Leaders of the Yellowstone River

The Yellowstone River is the longest free-flowing river in the lower 48 states. Traveling unfettered for more than 600 before its confluence with the Missouri River, the river and its basin support wide ranging natural resource based economic activities, including mining, oil and gas production, extensive wildlife habitat, ranching, farming and tourism. In 1997, various state and federal entities began an initiative to develop and implement holistic management plans for the river corridor. This study, which analyses data gathered from 68 interviews with civic leaders working in jurisdictions all along the river corridor, endeavors to understand how these officials comprehend the complex interaction of scientific, technical, political, social and economic variables, the wicked problems that characterize management efforts along the river. The study also seeks to develop a clearer understanding of how these leaders conceptualize their roles amid such complexities. Using a phenomenological interpretation, the findings reveal that local leaders have and recognize their own capacity to understand and deal with wicked problems. The article concludes with preliminary suggestions of how this capacity might contribute to capacity of these officials and their communities' to engage in collaborative or participatory management efforts.Key words: Yellowstone River; holistic management plans; river corrido