District Level Research Articles

Multiple-Shaded or All Alike? Local Responses to the Multi-Tiered Systems of Support Implementation in Florida

ABSTRACT State variations in school policies and strong local governance have differentiated American school districts from their neighborhoods and led to substantial variability among local education agencies across states. With a burgeoning interest in delivery systems for more equitable educational opportunities, the Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) serve as one example of localized policies tied to federal and state regulations that influence academic and non-academic outcomes. This current study explores how local education agencies in Florida have responded to state guidelines related to MTSS and identifies key similarities and dissimilarities among local policies. By using policy and regulation information regarding MTSS practices from 77 school district websites, this study finds the largely uniform information available on Florida school districts’ web pages. This suggests that current local responses to MTSS offer limited details of how they assess diverse students, provide individualized support, and promote systemic changes. Furthermore, this study points out a pattern of mimicry in local responses to state policies, addressing a dearth of robust leadership in policy execution at the school district level.

The impact of past and current district-level climatic shifts on maize production and the implications for South African farmers

South Africa’s climate studies generally focus on coarser provincial levels, which aid policy recommendations, but have limited application at the farm level. District level climate studies are essential for farmer participation in climate change mitigation strategies and management. Our study aimed to investigate historical climate data for trends and their influence on maize yields at the magisterial level. Six sites were selected from three major maize-producing provinces in South Africa: Mpumalanga, Northwest, and Free State. Magisterial districts in each province were selected from different Köppen-Geiger climate zones. The climate variables assessed by the Mann–Kendall trend test included maximum or minimum temperature, rainfall, number of extreme high-temperature days, rainfall onset and cessation from 1986 to 2016. The average maximum temperatures were observed to have significant upward trends in most locations, except for Schweizer-Reneke and Bethlehem. The fastest rate of change was observed at Klerksdorp (0.1 °C per 30 years of study), while the Schweizer-Reneke district was the slowest (0.05 °C per 30 years of study). No significant changes were observed in rainfall onset, cessation, or total rainfall in Schweizer-Reneke, Standerton, and Bethlehem, which are scattered across the different provinces. The other districts in each province showed significant changes in these parameters. Rainfall accounted for the significant variation in maize yields over the study period, explaining between 18 and 40% of the variation in the North West, and between 1 and 17% in the Free State. These findings highlight the importance of understanding location-specific changes at a finer scale, which can help farming communities adjust agronomic practices and adapt to local climate shifts.

Assessing Stakeholders Views on Factors Influencing Female Participation in Sporting Activities: A Case Study at Bia West District in the Western North Region of Ghana

Female students’ participation in sporting activities has been an issue across the globe typically in Africa. This is due to factors that affects their active participation in these sporting activities. However, there may be different views on the factors affecting female students participation in sporting activities and this study seek to bridge the gap by assessing stakeholders view on these factors. The purpose of this study was to examine stakeholders’ views on factors influencing female participation in sporting activities at the senior high school level in Bia West District. Quantitative descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. The population of the study was 893 and purposive sampling technique was used to select all 893 participants for the study. Questionnaire was the main instrument for data collection. One-way ANOVA and 3 x 3 Factorial ANOVA were used in analyzing the results. The results of the study revealed that, there exist differences in views between the stakeholders (P = 0.00<0.05) with respect to factors influencing female students’ participation in sporting activities. The current study also revealed that, there is interaction among the three schools (p = 0.003) on their views with respect to factors influencing female students’ participation in sporting activities, however, there is no interactions among the stakeholders with their view with respect to the factors influencing female students’ participation in sporting activities (p = 0.12) . In addition, there exist no interaction between the schools and the stakeholders (p = 0.34). It is therefore recommended that stakeholders should be educated on the debilitating effect of misconceptions to help support female students to participate in sporting activities.

Fiscal Decentralization and Education Index: Evidence from Punjab, Pakistan

The study examines how fiscal decentralization affects the education index at the district level in Pakistan's Punjab province, which has five components. Disparities in the distribution of public services have existed throughout Pakistan's history, and current research on regional development emphasizes the importance of evaluating human development phenomena using spatial models like density, locality, and distance. According to the study's findings, the distance between districts and the capital city determines the significant positive effects of fiscal decentralization on the district-level education index; the more "distance from the city" that districts are from the city, the greater the positive effects of fiscal decentralization. Since geography affects the delivery of public services, differences between districts should be addressed by enhancing social and economic institutions and infrastructure in the nation's underdeveloped areas.

Analysis of the Implementation of Public Service Standards at the District Level

Analysis of the Implementation of Public Service Standards at the District Level

An Analysis of School-Based Mental Health Models and Policies.

The youth mental health crisis in the United States was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as in part by widespread, frequent use of the internet and social media. Schools provide an opportune setting for delivering prompt preventative interventions to actively mitigate this crisis. The purpose of this project was to identify policy recommendations for improving school-based mental health services and reducing inequities in care, as well as to produce guidelines on how to advocate for better policies for school mental health services. School policies were analyzed in 3 states at 3 different levels: the state level, district level, and school level. To augment the policy reviews, unstructured interviews were conducted with 5 school nurses from the 3 states. Recommendations for just and sustainable policies for school-based mental health care and strategies on how to advocate for such policies are outlined. This project exemplifies the need for strong policies to support school mental health, with a focus on the role of the school nurse.

Small-area variation in child under-vaccination in India: a multilevel analysis of cross-sectional data from 36 states and Union Territories, 707 districts, and 22,349 small-area clusters

India has made exceptional advances in child immunisation, but subnational inequities in vaccination coverage impede attainment of key programmatic goals. Our study provides an up-to-date national portrait of local variations in child vaccination using a comprehensive set of indicators relevant to routine immunisation. Indicators representing unvaccinated (zero-dose) children, incomplete basic immunisation, and vulnerability to measles and polio, were constructed from India's 2019-2021 National Family Health Survey. We used four-level random effects logistic regression models to partition the total outcome variation over state, district and cluster levels, and produce precision-weighted estimates of prevalence across clusters. District-level prevalence and within-district variation using standard deviation measures were derived for each outcome. Boxplots graphically summarised the distribution of precision-weighted mean cluster prevalence by state. The analysis included 87,622 children aged 12-36 months. Clusters accounted for 67.6% (var: 1.36; SE: 0.127) of the variation among zero-dose children, and more than 50% for all indicators. Districts with a higher prevalence of under-vaccination tended to have higher within-district heterogeneity, interpretable as greater within-district child vaccination inequities. For vaccines administered in the first year of life, the northeastern states and Uttar Pradesh had the highest median under-vaccination. Despite India's high aggregate vaccine coverage, the distribution of small-area (cluster) mean prevalence highlighted pockets of low coverage in most states, suggesting ongoing vulnerability to measles and polio. Achieving India's vaccination goals requires a strategic shift towards identification and targeting of low-immunity clusters at the sub-district level. Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

School-Based Epidemiology of Schistosoma haematobium Infection in Kharif District of Amran Governorate, North of Yemen: Need for Chemopreventive Strategy Revisiting.

Urogenital schistosomiasis is a persistent public health problem in many rural areas of Yemen. Since 2014, Schistosoma haematobium epidemiology has not been assessed in Amran governorate, north of Yemen, where S. haematobium is known to be highly endemic. Therefore, this study determined the prevalence and risk factors associated with S. haematobium infection among schoolchildren in Kharif district of the governorate. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 529 schoolchildren aged 7 to 15 years in Kharif district. Data on children's demographics, clinical features, behaviors, and infection-related environmental factors were collected using a structured questionnaire. The urine filtration technique was used to detect and count S. haematobium eggs, and chemical reagent strips were used to detect microhematuria. The number of eggs per 10 mL of urine (EP10mL) was used to estimate the intensity of infection, which was classified as light (≤50 EP10mL) or heavy (>50 EP10mL). Multivariable binary logistic regression analysis was used to identify predictors of infection. Light-intensity S. haematobium infection was prevalent among 34.8% of schoolchildren in Kharif district, with a 95% confidence interval (CI) ranging from 30.7 to 38.8. Infection was significantly associated with microhematuria (P <0.001) and self-reported dysuria (P = 0.003). Family ownership of agricultural land was significantly associated with S. haematobium infection among schoolchildren [odds ratio (OR) = 1.8, 95% CI: 1.10-3.17; P = 0.030], which was further identified as an independent predictor of infection (adjusted OR = 2.2, 95% CI: 1.21-3.95; P = 0.010). A considerable proportion of schoolchildren in Kharif district have light-intensity S. haematobium infections, mostly presenting with microhematuria and self-reported dysuria. The district's level of risk should be updated to moderate. Consequently, the chemopreventive strategy needs to be revisited to treat all school-age children biennially, regardless of enrollment status.

Machine learning and spatio-temporal analysis of meteorological factors on waterborne diseases in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh is facing a formidable challenge in mitigating waterborne diseases risk exacerbated by climate change. However, a comprehensive understanding of the spatio-temporal dynamics of these diseases at the district level remains elusive. Therefore, this study aimed to fill this gap by investigating the spatio-temporal pattern and identifying the best tree-based ML models for determining the meteorological factors associated with waterborne diseases in Bangladesh. This study used district-level reported cases of waterborne diseases (cholera, amoebiasis, typhoid and hepatitis A) obtained from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) and meteorological data (temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and precipitation) sourced from NASA for the period spanning 2017 to 2020. Exploratory spatial analysis, spatial regression and tree-based machine learning models were utilized to analyze the data. From 2017 and 2020, Bangladesh reported 73, 606 cholera, 38, 472 typhoid, 2, 510 hepatitis A and 1, 643 amoebiasis disease cases. Among the waterborne diseases cholera showed higher incidence rates in Chapai-Nawabganj (456.23), Brahmanbaria (417.44), Faridpur (225.07), Nilphamari (188.62) and Pirojpur (171.62) districts. The spatial regression model identified mean temperature (β = 12.16, s.e: 3.91) as the significant risk factor of waterborne diseases. The optimal XGBoost model highlighted mean and minimum temperature, relative humidity and precipitation as determinants associated with waterborne diseases in Bangladesh from 2017 to 2020. The findings from the study, incorporating the One Health perspective, provide insights for planning early warning, prevention, and control strategies to combat waterborne diseases in Bangladesh and similar endemic countries. Precautionary measures and intensified surveillance need to be implemented in certain high-risk districts for waterborne diseases across the country.

The Effectiveness of Policy Implementation for the Development of Disaster-Resilient Tourism by the Padang City Government

This study aims to analyze the effectiveness of the implementation of disaster-resilient tourism development policies carried out by the Padang City Government. The research was conducted in 11 districts in Padang City, with informants being stakeholders who play a key role in the implementation of this policy, such as the Mayor of Padang, the Regional Secretary of Padang City, the Padang City Council, the Padang City Tourism Office, the Padang City BPBD, members of the Balawisata Padang, members of Pokdarwis Padang, the Board of the Disaster Risk Reduction Forum (FPRB) Padang, members of the Disaster Alert Group (KSB), as well as Non-Governmental Organizations involved in the implementation of this policy, such as the Tsunami Alert Community (Kogami) Padang, and the Disaster Alert Cadets (Tagana) Padang, Districts and Villages under the policy’s supervision, as well as the communities in the target areas of this policy.The research method used is descriptive qualitative, with informant selection using purposive sampling techniques, combining data from observations, interviews, and documentation, and interpreting both etic and emic data in an integrated manner. The results of this study conclude that overall, the implementation of the disaster-resilient tourism development policy by the Padang City Government has been carried out but is not yet effective. This is due to several factors, such as the lack of regulations and derivative documents that can serve as guidelines, which has caused stakeholders and the community to be hesitant and passive in implementing the policy. Furthermore, in terms of integration, the lack of communication and coordination between policy implementers at the city level and stakeholders at the district and village levels has resulted in a relationship pattern that does not align with what was initially planned. Regarding the adaptation instrument, the limited facilities and infrastructure owned by the village and district offices have caused the policy implementation to stagnate in these areas.

Participation in Arts and Crafts Activities Impact the Academic Achievement of Students at Secondary School Level

This research article aims to investigate the impact of arts and crafts activities on the academic achievement of students at the secondary school level in Bannu district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The nature of the study was descriptive. The population of the study consisted of all the secondary schools of the Bannu district. As a sample, 500 respondents were selected randomly. For the collection of data, the researcher used a self-made questionnaire with a points Likert scale. The academic achievement of the students was obtained from the 9th-grade students' detailed marks certificate from the concerned examination board. A t-test was used for descriptive statistics, while Pearson coefficient correlation was used for inferential statistics. The results of the study revealed that there is a positive correlation between students, academic achievement, and arts and crafts activities, but no relationship was found between the two groups who participated and those who did not participate in these activities.

Who wants to live among racists? The impact of local right-wing attitudes on interregional labour migration in Germany

ABSTRACT Right-wing attitudes are increasing in most countries. Within the countries, there is a large variation in popularity. At the same time, regions are competing against each other to attract workers. This article examines the influence of right-wing attitudes at the regional level, measured by the electoral success of right-wing parties, on labour migration at the German district level. Using an empirical strategy that combines a treatment setup with entropy balancing, we find that right-wing attitudes in a district region significantly reduce in-migration to these regions. Across different groups, we find the strongest effects for young and high-skilled individuals. With respect to out-migration, right-wing attitudes do not encourage Germans to move away but encourage them to stay. For non-Germans, the effects are reversed; they tend to leave regions with high levels of right-wing attitudes, but with the exception of highly qualified individuals, they are also more likely to move to these regions.

PRANAYAMA AND ITS ROLE IN MANAGING COMPETITIVE ANXIETY: A STUDY ON FEMALE BASKETBALL PLAYERS

This study explores the impact of pranayama, a yogic breathing practice, on reducing state anxiety in collegiate female basketball players facing competitive pressures. Anxiety is a key psychological factor that can hinder athletic performance, and effective strategies to manage it are critical. The study involved nine female athletes (19.11 ± 0.93) competing at collegiate and district levels, who participated in a single-group, pre-post intervention design. Using the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2) to measure anxiety levels, assessments were conducted before and after an eight-week yoga-based intervention. The results revealed a significant reduction (p&lt;0.05) in both somatic and cognitive components of state anxiety, alongside a notable improvement in self-confidence (p&lt;0.05). These findings suggest that integrating pranayama into athletes’ training regimens can effectively alleviate pre-competitive anxiety, bolster psychological resilience, and enhance overall readiness for competition. The study emphasises the potential of pranayama as a practical and beneficial tool in sports psychology and athlete development programs.

Green Cities, Healthier Children: The Effect of Expanding Urban Green Space on Body Weight for Primary School Starters.

The discussion on tackling childhood obesity is often centered around fostering physical activity. A potential relationship yet overlooked could run from providing the proper environment for healthy lifestyles to reduced weight problems. A unique quasi-experimental setting of transforming former airport grounds to a large urban green space allows me to apply a difference-in-differences approach within an intention-to-treat framework, comparing several weight outcomes of residential children to children living further away before and after park opening. I use new administrative data on the Berlin district level from mandatory school entrance examinations and provide robust evidence of a lower probability by 4.3% points for treated children to be overweight (BMI>90 P.), driven entirely by girls, mainly by children from foreign cultural backgrounds and children with less childcare exposure. My results are robust to corrective methods of inference, including synthetic controls, and may open a new perspective for obesity policy action and prevention.

КРАЖИ С БАНКОВСКОГО СЧЕТА, А РАВНО В ОТНОШЕНИИ ЭЛЕКТРОННЫХ ДЕНЕЖНЫХ СРЕДСТВ: ПРОБЛЕМЫ РАСКРЫТИЯ

Introduction: the authors consider features of bank accounts fraud, as well as online banking fraud; crime detection methods taken by internal affairs bodies; recommendations to improve police action in this field. Materials and Methods: sociological method and interviewing law enforcement officers, as well as criminal cases study and regulatory acts regulating law enforcement activity of the Russian Federation were used when investigating bank accounts fraud, as well as online banking fraud. The authors used content-analysis of scientific articles and Results: the authors suggest proposals to improve the work of law enforcement in the area of combating bank accounts fraud and online banking fraud. Discussion and Conclusions: the authors suggest authorize the local internal affairs bodies at district level (they are the ones who face the challenge of solving of crime at the initial stage) to direct appeal to financial institutions and network operators in investigations and obtain information about the users in real-time. Nowadays it is important to create a single interdepartmental platform to obtain information about all transactions in “a single chart”. Such a platform can be implemented in the Financial Sector Computer Emergency Response Team of the Bank of Russia.

Small Area Estimation Approaches Using Satellite Imageries Auxiliary Data for Estimating Per Capita Expenditure in West Java, Indonesia

Introduction/Main Objectives: The economy of a country can determine the welfare of its people. One of the economic indicators in Indonesia is per capita expenditure, which has the lowest estimation at the district level. Background Problems: Sub-district level estimates provide detailed information on inequality that cannot be explained at the district level. Unfortunately, subdistrict level estimates of per capita expenditure in Indonesia have poor Relative Standard Error (RSE) values. Research Method: The Small Area Estimation (SAE) method can improve estimator accuracy on small samples by using auxiliary variable information. Novelty: The existence of big geospatial data such as remote sensing provides an advantage in the efficient use of auxiliary variables. Finding Result: The Empirical Best Linear Unbiased Prediction (EBLUP) model using Nighttime Light Intensity (NTL) as an auxiliary variable provides the best results of the five proposed models. Remote sensing data can potentially be used in SAE auxiliary variables. It provides opportunities for cheaper, faster, and more efficient data collection compared to conventional data.

Integrating Irrigation Decision Support Systems for Efficient Water Use: A Case Study on Mediterranean Agriculture

Irrigation plays a pivotal role in Southern Europe, and its importance is expected to further increase due to rising climatic variability. Concurrently, the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) mandates the safeguarding of water bodies and the implementation of incentive pricing strategies to promote efficient water management. Within this context, Irrigation Scheduling Decision Support Systems (IS-DSS) could contribute to the achievement of these objectives, although there are still obstacles to their adoption due to uncertainties regarding their potential benefits. This paper aims to derive a pricing model that reflects actual water use through the adoption of an IS-DSS. The innovation of this study lies in showing that adopting an IS-DSS to reduce irrigation volumes can potentially lower concession fees in collective irrigation systems. Thus, it contributes to the fulfilment of the WFD’s objectives regarding incentive water pricing. Notably, the tool is evaluated using the case study of a farm located in the Mediterranean region. The results demonstrate the dual benefits of IS-DSS adoption: on the one hand, it helps preserve water resources with a 24% reduction in irrigation volumes; on the other, it decreases irrigation costs by 20% at the farm level and by 9.4% at the irrigation district level. Therefore, the presented study provides insights into the potential of IS-DSS to enhance water pricing policies to promote efficient water management in Southern European agriculture in alignment with the WFD requirements.

Framework for Monitoring the Spatiotemporal Distribution and Clustering of the Digital Society Index of Indonesia

Digital disparities remain a significant challenge in Indonesia, particularly across its diverse regions, with uneven access to digital infrastructure, skills, and economic opportunities. This study aims to map these digital disparities at the district level, analyze the spatial distribution and clustering of digital transformation using the Digital Society Index of Indonesia (IMDI), and investigate the key drivers of digital inequality across four core pillars: Infrastructure and Ecosystem, Digital Skills, Empowerment, and Jobs. To measure the IMDI, primary data were collected from the industrial sector and the general population over three years (2022–2024), combined with secondary data on internet usage and service standards. A multistage random sampling approach ensured representativeness, considering demographic variations and industrial segments. The analysis employed spatiotemporal methods to capture temporal trends and spatial clustering. The results revealed a significant IMDI increase from 37.80 in 2022 to 43.18 in 2023, followed by stability at 43.34 in 2024. The hotspots of digital transformation remain concentrated on Java Island, while low spots persist in eastern Indonesia. This study provides critical insights into Indonesia’s digital readiness, identifying priority areas for targeted interventions to bridge the digital divide and foster equitable digital development.

How do Kuwaiti teachers and headteachers practice their voice behavior? Influential factors in a centralized school structure

PurposeThe study investigates the voice behavior of teachers and headteachers in Kuwaiti schools, along with organizational factors associated with teachers’ voice behavior.Design/methodology/approachThe study employed a convergent mixed-method approach. Questionnaires were administered to a sample of 815 teachers and headteachers, with 28 of them participating in open-ended interviews.FindingsIn quantitative findings, high levels of prosocial voices were observed, while interviews revealed significant occurrences of defensive and acquiescent voice behaviors. Teachers practice prosocial voice behavior to protect students' interests, but various factors, such as individual characteristics, school leadership, hierarchy and governmental decisions at the district levels, influence their voices.Originality/valueThe findings enhance our understanding of voice behavior among teachers and headteachers, shedding light on the factors influencing voice behavior in Kuwait and centralized systems worldwide.

Initiating and Sustaining GSAs Across the District as Part of a Vision for Equity: A Case Study in Chicago Public Schools.

Increasingly, there are calls for educational equity to explicitly include LGBTQ+ students, including the creation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer/questioning (LGBTQ+) clubs, or Genders and Sexualities Alliances (GSAs), which are associated with positive outcomes for LGBTQ+ students and promote a safer school climate for all students. However, less is known about strategies to initiate and sustain GSAs. Chicago Public Schools (CPS) serves as a case study of how to embrace LGBTQ+ equity through an evaluation of its current practices to support GSAs. The study is comprised of two qualitative data strands, including 20 interviews with GSA sponsors and six focus groups with GSA students. Both forms of data were recorded, transcribed, and thematically analyzed. Analyses from each set of data were integrated, and overall themes were generated. Eleven school-level strategies for initiating and sustaining GSAs were identified and six district-level strategies were identified. CPS is using these evaluation findings to further strengthen their work to support GSAs, and other districts can learn from their experiences, such as creating guidance and training to educate the school community about the rights of students and sponsors and resources, including funding for stipends to sponsors. Increasing the number of schools with thriving GSAs is essential. CPS provides an illustrative case study of the key strategies at both the school and district levels to ensure that GSAs can serve to affirm, protect, and uplift LGBTQ+ students.