Showing papers by "David Cohen published in 2001"

Learning Policy: When State Education Reform Works

Abstract: Education reformers and policymakers argue that improved students' learning requires stronger academic standards, stiffer state tests, and accountability for students' scores. Yet these efforts seem not to be succeeding in many states. The authors of this important book argue that effective state reform depends on conditions which most reforms ignore: coherence in practice as well as policy and opportunities for professional learning. The book draws on a decade's detailed study of California's ambitious and controversial program to improve mathematics teaching and learning. Researchers David Cohen and Heather Hill report that state policy influenced teaching and learning when there was consistency among the tests and other policy instruments; when there was consistency among the curricula and other instruments of classroom practice; and when teachers had substantial opportunities to learn the practices proposed by the policy. These conditions were met for a minority of elementary school teachers in California. When the conditions were met for teachers, students had higher scores on state math tests. The book also shows that, for most teachers, the reform ended with consistency in state policy. They did not have access to consistent instruments of classroom practice, nor did they have opportunities to learn the new practices which state policymakers proposed. In these cases, neither teachers nor their students benefited from the state reform. This book offers insights into the ways policy and practice can be linked in successful educational reform and shows why such linkage has been difficult to achieve. It offers useful advice for practitioners and policymakers seeking to improve education, and to analysts seeking to understand it.

Plasmapheresis treatment of recurrent FSGS in adult renal transplant recipients.

Abstract: Plasmapheresis (PP) is often employed in the treatment of recurrent focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) in the renal allograft, where it appears to be effective in the pediatric population. The efficacy of PP in adults and predictors of response are not well documented. We analyzed the records of 13 adult patients from three transplant centers who underwent PP for recurrent FSGS between 1993 and 1999. One patient (8%) had a complete response, one (8%) had a partial response, and 3 (23%) partially responded but remain PP-dependent. All 5 responders were started on PP within 30 days of recurrence, while 7 of the 8 non-responders initiated PP after a delay of at least 42 days (p = 0.0047). FSGS recurred within 30 days of transplantation in all 5 responders, while 4 of 8 non-responders had no evidence of recurrence until 42-150 days after transplantation (p = 0.098). Post-transplant biopsies were examined in 10 patients and revealed either cellular (6) or collapsing (4) variants of FSGS. We conclude PP is less effective in adults than in children as a treatment for recurrent FSGS in the renal allograft. Predictors of response to PP include early initiation of treatment after recurrence and possibly an early recurrence of disease.

The rhetoric of justice: strategies of reconciliation and revenge in the restoration of Athenian democracy in 403 BC

Abstract: This paper examines from a comparative perspective the first historically documented case of transitional justice: the restoration of the Athenian democracy in 403 BC. It analyzes in particular the rhetoric of amnesty, justice, reconciliation and revenge and the discursive strategies informing the prosecutions and litigation which followed the transition. Comparison of the Athenian experience with modern situations of transitional justice helps to identify key features which made the Athenian reconciliation so successful.

Is phrenic nerve dysfunction after cardiac surgery related to internal mammary harvesting

Abstract: Background: Although many surgeons feel that internal mammary artery (IMA) harvesting is a risk factor for phrenic nerve dysfunction (PND) following coronary artery bypass grafting surgery (CABG), objective data confirming this are lacking. We sought to compare two groups of cardiac surgical patients to determine if an association exists between IMA harvesting and PND following CABG. Methods: Using inpatient medical records and chest radiographs, we performed a retrospective analysis of 25 consecutive CABG patients and 25 consecutive valve procedure patients in order to compare the incidence of PND following cardiac surgery with and without IMA harvesting. Results: Two patients were excluded. Thirty-one patients underwent IMA harvesting as part of their procedure, of whom 42% had PND evidenced on postextubation chest X-ray. Seventeen patients did not have IMA harvesting, and the incidence of PND in this group was 12% (p = 0.05). Both groups were similar in preoperative variables and operative techniques. Conclusion: This study suggests IMA harvesting is indeed a risk factor for PND following CABG.

Power and Equality in Athenian Litigation

Abstract: Athenian democracy prided itself on its (on the Athenian view) unique respect for equality and the rule of law. It was these democratic values that many Athenians saw as protecting Athens from the violence and political instability that characterized oligarchies. At the same time, however, Athenian society was highly competitive and, according to its critics, allowed the rivalry for power to corrupt both political decision—making in the Assembly and the administration of justice by the popular courts. This paper will focus on the apparent contradiction between these two views of Athenian democracy in the classical age by looking at the way in which tensions about equality, wealth, and rivalry for social precedence informed Athenian litigation.