State Level Research Articles

Gender Representation in English Language Textbooks of Primary Education

Textbooks are carriers of social change. It is through textbooks and classroom experiences that from the stage of childhood in the school itself, students start learning to accept gender socialization, social norms, beliefs, gender roles, inequality, and bias. Hence, the need to make the textbooks gender neutral arises becausetheir analysis is necessary for this; it is in this light that the present study has analyzed English textbooks at the primary level of education in India toexaminethe incubation of gender stereotypes and bias. These were coupled with content analysis and qualitative and documentary research. The major findings reflect that gender patriarchy and bias are reflected in English textbooks.Overall, the results indicated that males were more prominently featured in textbooks, both in images and in text. Females were still underrepresented, had fewer diverse occupations, and were often depicted doing household chores in three textbooks. However, there were some positive portrayals and efforts to challenge stereotypes, with examples of gender-neutral language and activities shared by both genders.The findings of this study can also be used to shape policies at the state or national level in creating and applying guidelines for gender-neutral content in educational materials. These guidelines would guide the efforts of a textbook development agency,writers, and teachers in creating gender-sensitive curricula and textbooks.

Values Reflected in Pictorial Content of Textbooks at Elementary Level of Education in West Bengal, India

Textbooks function as catalysts for social change, influencing students’ values, beliefs, and cultural awareness from the primary education level. Textbooks serve as key learning resources for students that significantly influence students’ character development. Values should be incorporated into textbooks. Images in textbooks are powerful tools for shaping the values of students by engaging them visually, providing real-life context, fostering emotional connections, and promoting critical thinking and cultural sensitivity. The creation of textbooks that reflect current values is essential, and achieving this goal requires a comprehensive assessment of textbooks. This study investigates images used in primary education textbooks in West Bengal, India, to examine the representation of values. A total of 39 textbooks were analyzed, with eight key textbooks selected for in-depth analysis: ‘Amar Boi’ for classes I, II, and III, ‘Patabahar’ for classes IV and V, and ‘Atit O Aitihya’ for classes VI, VII, and VIII. These textbooks were chosen based on their widespread use and significance in the curriculum in govt. school in West Bengal. This study adopted qualitative and documentary research approaches through content analysis. The findings demonstrate that social, moral, environmental, spiritual, and historical values are emphasized across textbooks, reflecting the dominant cultural, social, or national values of the region. The findings of this study provide a foundation for policy changes at the state or national level to ensure the development and implementation of guidelines that promote value-balance content in educational materials and are useful for textbook development agencies, textbook writers, and teachers in developing value-alignment curricula and creating more inclusive, culturally sensitive, and ethically grounded visual materials.

Концепция создания общей ценности массового спорта

Mass sports is an important socio-cultural phenomenon that influences the formation of values and behavioural attitudes in society. The study of the concept of creating a common value of mass sports is important for understanding its influence on public consciousness and the development of socio-cultural environment. The relevance of this study is due to the importance of the development of mass sports as a means of strengthening the physical and psychological health of the population, the formation of social unity and solidarity, which, in turn, allows us to talk about the creation of a common value of mass sports. The research methods included retrospective literature review, analysis and synthesis, systematization and grouping of data, mathematization in the context of frequency determination and modelling. The paper proposed a conceptual model for creating shared value in mass sports, which describes opportunities for the development of sport organizations through addressing social problems and on this basis creating economic value for organizations, local communities, and the economy of the country. The results of the study showed that the concept of creating shared value in mass sports implies not only the achievement of sports results, but also the formation of favorable sociocultural and socio-economic conditions for the development of society and the economy. An important aspect of the concept realization is the integration of mass sports into public life and the creation of conditions for equal access to sport for all groups of the population. In conclusion, it is necessary to develop mass sports and implement the concept of creating common value to ensure the health and well-being of society. The results of the study can be used to develop strategies for the development of mass sports based on joint value creation. The concept of jointly created value in mass sports is implemented at both the state and local levels of government.

HE SYSTEM OF COLLECTION AND DISPOSAL OF HOUSEHOLD MEDICAL WASTE: CURRENT STATE, LEGAL REGULATION AND PROSPECTS OF IMPLEMENTATION IN THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN

The article is devoted to the study of the problem associated with the uncontrolled release of household pharmaceutical waste accumulated from expired or unused medicines. The authors conducted a review of foreign experience in its legal support, referring to the need to introduce a new method of waste management in the country, in particular, a system for collecting and disposing of household medical waste, which is successfully available in the world, which will reduce environmental damage from these wastes. The existing systems of collection and disposal of household medical waste in European countries are analyzed in depth as successful samples. The authors propose to adopt a special law for the successful implementation of the system and regulation of its functioning and to amend and supplement the codes on the environment and the health of the people and the country's health system. In addition, the authorized bodies consider that the draft law, which should be revised and developed by some regulatory acts, should contain a certificate on household medical waste, be established by the participating entities, and consolidate their rights and obligations. As a result of the study, the authors concluded that this change is necessary today, given that the implementation of the system in the country and its legal support require measures and resources that must be implemented at a large-scale state level. According to the authors, the problem can be solved only by proper utilization of medical waste. For this purpose, the state should have a legal mechanism of appropriate regulation. And legal regulation in Kazakhstan operates only in relation to waste exported from health care organizations. In the era of intensive use of medicines in households, this becomes a big problem that needs to be solved.

Literacy Promotion: An Essential Component of Primary Care Pediatric Practice: Technical Report.

Early literacy promotion in pediatric primary care supports parents and caregivers reading with their children from birth, offering counseling in interactive, developmentally appropriate strategies and providing developmentally and culturally appropriate and appealing children's books. This technical report reviews the evidence that reading with young children supports language, cognitive, and social-emotional development. Promoting early literacy in pediatric primary care offers a strengths-based strategy to support families in creating positive childhood experiences, which strengthen early relational health. An increasing body of evidence, reviewed in this report, shows that clinic-based literacy promotion, provided with fidelity to an evidence-based model, has benefits for children, for parents and caregivers, and for pediatric physicians and advanced care providers as well. Reading with young children supports early brain development and the neural "reading network," and improves school readiness. High-quality literacy promotion is especially essential for children who face disparities and inequities because of social factors, systemic racism, and socioeconomic risk. All families benefit from high-quality and diverse books and from developmentally appropriate guidance supporting interactions around books and stories. Thus, literacy promotion can be a universal primary prevention strategy to strengthen families and support healthy development. Partnerships at community, local, and state levels offer opportunities for integration with other programs, services, and platforms. Literacy promotion in primary care pediatric practice, recognized by the AAP as an essential component since 2014, has become increasingly common. There are successful models for public funding at federal, state, county, and municipal levels, but sustainable funding, including payment to pediatric physicians and advanced care providers, remains a need so that the benefits of pediatric early literacy promotion and the joys of books and shared reading can truly be offered on a population level.

Real-World Data Versus Probability Surveys for Estimating Health Conditions at the State Level

Abstract Government statistical offices worldwide are under pressure to produce statistics rapidly and for more detailed geographies, to compete with unofficial estimates available from web-based big data sources or from private companies. Commonly suggested sources of improved health information are electronic health records and medical claims data. These data sources are collectively known as real-world data (RWD) because they are generated from routine health care processes, and they are available for millions of patients. It is clear that RWD can provide estimates that are more timely and less expensive to produce—but a key question is whether or not they are very accurate. To test this, we took advantage of a unique health data source that includes a full range of sociodemographic variables and compared estimates using all of those potential weighting variables versus estimates derived when only age and sex are available for weighting (as is common with most RWD sources). We show that not accounting for other variables can produce misleading and quite inaccurate health estimates.

Detection of ethanol, cannabinoids, benzodiazepines, and opioids in older adults evaluated for serious injuries from falls

Background In 2020, there were 36.7 million reported falls among older adults (65+) in the United States. Ethanol and other sedating substances may increase fall risk among older adults due to their effect on cognitive and physical function. We estimate the prevalence of these substances in blood specimens of older adults presenting with a fall injury at selected trauma centers. Methods The initial study collected blood specimens from May 2020 through July 2021 from adults undergoing a trauma team evaluation at selected United States Level 1 trauma centers. We limited our study to older adults evaluated after a fall (n = 1,365) and selected a random sample (n = 300) based on age, sex, and trauma-center quotas. Medical health records and blood specimens obtained at trauma center presentation were analyzed. We estimated the prevalence of ethanol, benzodiazepines, cannabinoids, and opioids in the blood specimens. Two-sample tests of binomial proportions and Chi-square two-tailed tests were used to compare prevalence estimates of substances by demographic characteristics. Results At least one substance was detected among 31.3% of samples analyzed. Prevalences of specific substances detected were 9.3% (95% CI: 6.0–12.6%) for benzodiazepines, 4.3% (95% CI: 2.0–6.7%) for cannabinoids, 8.0% (95% CI: 5.2–11.7%) for ethanol, and 15.0% (95% CI: 10.9–19.1%) for opioids. There were 18 deaths (6%; 95% CI: 3.6–9.3%). One-third of decedents had at least one substance detected in their blood. Discussion Opioids were the most frequently detected substance, followed by benzodiazepines, ethanol, and cannabinoids. Substance use prevalence was not uniform across demographics, with differences observed by sex and age. Conclusions This study provides insight into the frequency of the presence of substances that may contribute to fall risk and serious injury among older adults. Screening older adults for substances that impair cognitive and physical function can enhance clinical fall prevention efforts.

Revealing patterns of SARS-CoV-2 variant emergence and evolution using RBD amplicon sequencing of wastewater

ObjectivesRapid evolution of SARS-CoV-2 has resulted in the emergence of numerous variants, posing significant challenges to public health surveillance. Clinical genome sequencing, while valuable, has limitations in capturing the full epidemiological dynamics of circulating variants in the general population. This study aimed to monitor the SARS-CoV-2 variant community dynamics and evolution using receptor-binding domain (RBD) amplicon sequencing of wastewater samples. MethodsWe sequenced wastewater from El Paso, Texas over 17 months, compared the sequencing data with clinical genome data, and performed biodiversity analysis to reveal SARS-CoV-2 variant dynamics and evolution. ResultsWe identified 91 variants and observed waves of dominant variants transitioning from BA.2 to BA.2.12.1, BA.4&5, BQ.1, and XBB.1.5. Comparison with clinical genome sequencing data revealed earlier detection of variants and identification of unreported outbreaks. Our results also showed strong consistency with clinical data for dominant variants at the local, state, and national levels. Alpha diversity analyses revealed significant seasonal variations, with the highest diversity observed in winter. By segmenting the outbreak into lag, growth, stationary, and decline phases, we found higher variant diversity during the lag phase, likely due to lower inter-variant competition preceding outbreak growth. ConclusionsOur findings underscore the importance of low transmission periods in facilitating rapid mutation and variant evolution. Our approach, integrating RBD amplicon sequencing with wastewater surveillance, demonstrates effectiveness in tracking viral evolution and understanding variant emergence, thus enhancing public health preparedness.

Estimation of Tax Benefit of US Nonprofit Hospitals

Nonprofit hospitals are under increasing scrutiny to justify the generous tax benefit they receive due to their tax-exempt status. Quantifying the value of the tax benefit they receive at the federal, state, and local levels is critical for designing informed public health policies and ensuring nonprofit hospitals' taxpayer accountability. To estimate the financial benefit that nonprofit hospitals derive from their tax-exempt status and assess how the benefit is distributed across state and local communities. Using methodologies and measures consistent with current tax law and practice and data from 2021 Medicare Cost Reports, this study calculated the total financial benefit from nonprofit hospitals' tax-exempt status for all US nonprofit hospitals with the required Cost Reports data. Nonprofit hospitals' total tax benefit, which equals the sum of federal and state income tax, sales tax, property tax, the fair market value of charitable contributions from donors, savings from tax exemptions on issued bonds, and federal unemployment tax. A total of 2927 US nonprofit hospitals received a $37.4 billion total tax benefit in 2021 from federal income tax ($11.5 billion; 31%), sales tax ($9.1 billion; 24%), property tax ($7.8 billion; 21%), state income tax ($3.7 billion; 10%), charitable contributions ($3.2 billion; 8%), bond financing ($2.1 billion; 6%), and federal unemployment tax ($200 million; <1%). Tax benefit varied substantially across states, from $25 098 (Delaware) to $159 464 (Massachusetts) per hospital bed and from $19 (Alabama) to $275 (Massachusetts) per capita. Tax benefit was highly concentrated, with 7% (n = 212) of hospitals accounting for half of the total amount. This study highlights the wide variation of nonprofit hospitals' tax benefit across states, its high concentration among a small number of hospitals, and the primary role played by state and local taxes. Policy efforts to strengthen nonprofit hospitals' taxpayer accountability are likely to be more effective when pursued at the local level. The detailed standardized estimation road map can be used by various stakeholders to estimate tax benefit for external valuation and reporting purposes, updated as laws change, and improved upon as better data sources become available.

The Ιmpact of Business Cycles on Health Status in the United States During the Past Half-Century

Abstract The association between mortality and business cycle is inconclusive. Most macro level studies find mortality to be pro-cyclical whereas micro level studies suggest the opposite. The consensus among these studies, however, is on the use of unemployment rate as a proxy for cyclical variations in economic activity. This study builds upon these findings by implementing an alternative proxy – per capita income – to better understand such a mediating relationship. Using state level annual data of the United States during 1968-2022, this study finds a negative association between state per capita income and mortality rate. Contrary to the findings of macro level studies, this analysis suggests that mortality declines during expansions. The results are robust to the inclusion of both old and new proxies for the business cycle. JEL Codes: E24, E32, I15. Keywords: Health, Mortality, Unemployment, Income.

Sex differences in state level prevalence of alcohol use among Black women and men in the United States

ABSTRACT Background To investigate differences in alcohol use among Black men and women across U.S. states, using data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Methods Measured any alcohol use, heavy drinking (i.e., 8+/15+ drinks for women/men in a 7-day period), and binge drinking (i.e., 4+/5+ drinks in one session). Weighted prevalence estimates were age-standardized to the 2000 US population. Results Binge drinking among Black men in Midwestern states was high, ranging from 40% in Minnesota to 45.8% in Iowa. Black women in Southern states had 6–10% points higher prevalence of heavy drinking than Black men. Conclusions Drinking prevalence in Southern states was higher than expected, especially among Black women.

Real-time prediction of the week-ahead flood index using hybrid deep learning algorithms with synoptic climate mode indices

This paper aims to propose a hybrid deep learning (DL) model that combines a convolutional neural network (CNN) with a bi-directional long-short term memory (BiLSTM) for week-ahead prediction of daily flood index (IF) for Bangladesh. The neighbourhood component analysis (NCA) is assigned for significant feature selection with synoptic-scale climatic indicators. The results successfully reveal that the hybrid CNN-BiLSTM model outperforms the respective benchmark models based on forecasting capability, as supported by a minimal mean absolute error and high-efficiency metrics. With respect to IF prediction, the hybrid CNN-BiLSTM model shows over 98% of the prediction errors were less than 0.015, resulting in a low relative error and superiority performance against the benchmark models in this study. The adaptability and potential utility of the suggested model may be helpful in subsequent flood monitoring and may also be beneficial to policymakers at the federal and state levels.

Investigation on the vibrational relaxation and ultrafast electronic dynamics of S1 state in 2,4-difluoroanisole.

Intramolecular vibrational energy redistribution (IVR) has a profound impact on dynamic processes. We have studied two types of IVR processes, restricted and dissipative, and ultrafast dynamics of the S1 state of 2,4-difluoroanisole using time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy and time-of-flight mass spectroscopy. The restricted IVR occurs in the intermediate regime of 219cm-1 vibrational level, and the dissipative IVR occurs in the statistical regime of 1200cm-1. The lifetimes of IVR processes are measured to be 90 and 11ps, respectively, depending on the internal energies of the S1 state and differ by a factor of eight. Similar subsequent dynamics were observed at two vibrational levels in the S1 state. The population undergoes IVR following the initial excitation and subsequently leaks into a triplet state, accompanied by intersystem crossing within ∼400ps followed by a slower nonradiative relaxation of the triplet state on the nanosecond time scale. Furthermore, the values of 3s and 3px Rydberg states of 2,4-difluoroanisole were experimentally determined to be 5.02 and 6.28eV.

Технологии информационного моделирования в концепции устойчивого строительства автомобильных дорог

Based on the analysis of open statistical data, the authors conclude that the volume of industrial and household waste is growing rapidly, most of which is not recycled. The growing environmental impact of the construction industry is leading to the development of green standards for highway design and construction at the state level. The paper considers the peculiarities of the construction sector in the context of sustainable road development. One of the tools for such development is the application of information models that ensure energy efficiency and environmental friendliness of the project. The paper characterises the ecologically-oriented directions of development of design, construction and operation of automobile roads. The authors present One Click LCA software as an example. It allows to assess the environmental impact of the constructed object - a road - throughout the entire life cycle.

Where is rural? An analysis of the agreement between quantitative measures of rurality

Government agencies and researchers often rely on quantitative measures to map where rural places are and who belongs to rural communities. To better understand the consistency, or lack thereof, across different quantitative rural measures, we compare four common measures applied at the county level for the contiguous United States. Our purpose was to (1) quantify and map the degree of rural agreement among these selected rural measures and (2) describe key characteristics of counties classified as rural through urban. We found that different measures yielded little agreement on rural places with consensus of only 114 of 3108 counties. County variables contributing to good separability in rural to urban classifications included remoteness, population density, percent of the population aged 65 and over, employment in the agricultural sector, and both developed and grassland landcover. Closer examination of the underlying characteristics of the 114 consensus rural counties provides an opportunity to reflect on the nature of popular rural measures and the variables they use. If these counties are not representative of how researchers conceptualize “rural” across US regions, it is motivation for working toward new and/or spatially adaptive rural measures that better represent the communities that policy and research intends to help.

Basic Affective Systems and Sex Differences in the Relationship between Anger and Fear.

The possible interactions between anger and fear have not been widely explored in the psychological literature. Fear and anger are currently beginning to be studied by looking at their interrelationships, rather than seeing them as simply opposing emotions. Furthermore, there is a tendency to think that anger is more typical of men and fear of women. Our contribution proposes a particular perspective of affective neuroscience. The objectives of the study are as follows: (1) to assess possible differences in affective systems, and states and traits of anger in relation to biological sex; (2) to assess correlations between ANGER, FEAR, and SADNESS, as well as state and trait anger in both a female and male sample; (3) to assess possible differences in basic affective systems in relation to different levels of ANGER, FEAR, and SADNESS, state and trait anger, in female and male samples. A non-clinical sample of 339 females and 99 males completed the ANPS 3.1 to assess basic affective states and the STAXI-2 to assess anger states and traits. No significant differences were found for ANGER and FEAR scores and for state and trait scores between the male and female samples. Clear correlations emerged (p < 0.01) between SADNESS and FEAR in both the female and male samples. Among the differences that emerged in the affective systems, we emphasise that in the female group, the highest scores on the SEEKING and PLAY scales are expressed by the group of women who have the lowest scores in FEAR; PLAY and CARE also vary in relation to different scores in SADNESS. Given the importance of the SEEKING and PLAY variables, it is of paramount importance to monitor the environmental and relational situations to guarantee that women, too, are provided with the conditions of safety and protection that are prerequisites for their well-being and the positive expression of their resources.

Proces postupné inkorporace Listiny práv na státní úrovni ve Spojených státech amerických do konce 60. let 20. století

In his article, the author deals with the issue of the “nationalization” of civil rights in the USA, by which, in the context of the issue, he means primarily the incorporation of civil liberties contained in the federal Bill of Rights at the level of individual states of he Union. As he explains, this incorporation was rejected until the Civil War based on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Barron v. Baltimore in 1833. Other possibilities for such incorporation opened up after the passage of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution in 1868. However, even here, this solution was first rejected in the so-called “slaughterhouse cases” of 1873, when the “immunities and privileges clause” of the amendment was not used. The gradual incorporation of the Bill of Rights thus occurs only through the “due process clause” of the 14th Amendment, as evidenced in particular by the decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court adopted in the 20th century. This whole process, which very well documents the issue of the federal system in the USA, is primarily completed in the 1960s.

Synergistic Effects of Surface States and Deep Energy Level Traps on InGaAs p-i-n Diodes under Proton Irradiation

Synergistic Effects of Surface States and Deep Energy Level Traps on InGaAs p-i-n Diodes under Proton Irradiation

Policies and practices for recruiting and retaining teachers of color

Despite growing interest and investment in building a more racially and ethnically diverse teacher workforce, increases in the share of teachers of color nationally have stalled in recent years. Even with more new teachers of color entering the profession each year, about 80% of the teacher workforce has been white since 2015. This trend highlights the need for researchers and policymakers to view the recruitment and retention of teachers of color as interrelated and critically important to increase the diversity of the teacher workforce. This paper synthesizes what we know about policies and practices at the national, state, and local levels that support recruiting and retaining teachers of color: access to comprehensive teacher preparation, access to mentoring, and supportive teaching conditions. The paper also provides a series of policy recommendations that can improve recruitment and retention for teachers of color based upon the literature.

Comparative Analysis of Inclusive Writing in University Discourse: Case Studies from France and Italy

This article examines inclusive writing in the university discourse of France and Italy from a comparative perspective. The research aims to analyze the use of gender-specific and gender-neutral forms in higher education institutions in Paris (Sorbonne University and Paris Catholic Institute) and at the University of the Aosta Valley in Italy (a private university located in a region where French is the second official language). The study is based on a corpus of archival texts and documents, selected through continuous sampling from electronic versions on archive.org between 2020 and 2023. The authors draw conclusions about the specificity and frequency of inclusive writing in these institutions. The findings indicate that, in France, despite the country’s language policy efforts to ban inclusive spelling at the official level, public universities actively use it, in contrast to private institutions, where gender-specific forms are primarily found in job vacancy sections. The authors conclude that the choice of using gender-specific or gender-neutral forms is often left to the discretion of the individual or institution. The study also explores the most common methods of expressing gender specification, including the duplication of feminine and masculine forms, the use of feminine endings/suffixes in brackets or separated by a hyphen, and the marking of positions/professions with “(M/F)” after the masculine form. The potential implications of these practices are analyzed. In Italy, the study reveals a strong connection between French and Italian university cultures but finds no evidence of inclusive writing within the Italian university discourse. Despite the active development of gender equality programs at the state level, there remains an uneven tendency toward gender specification in Italy. The authors conclude that the methods of expressing gender specification play a significant role in shaping the university discourse in both France and Italy. They also note the complete absence of gender-neutral language or any moves beyond the gender binary in the universities studied.