📄 social science

Multiple methods in quadratic-equation teaching: Same-lesson correspondence and discordance between coded material opportunity and observed student activity across eight sites

This study of 1,270 quadratic-equation lessons across eight sites reveals that while instructional materials providing multiple solution methods significantly increase the likelihood of observing corresponding student activity, they do not guarantee it, indicating that material coding cannot fully substitute for direct classroom observation.

Jonas A. Mandalunes¹˒²˒2026-08-28
📄 social science

What Happens When Proportional Representation of Political Parties Is Ruled Off the Table? Equal Treatment in the Context of Plurality-Based Elections

This paper examines U.S. jurisprudence on equal protection in plurality-based elections, where proportional representation is rejected, by proposing a four-part typology of representation—person, place, party, and race—to explore alternative frameworks for achieving electoral equality beyond vote-seat proportionality.

Bernard Grofman2026-08-28
📄 social science

What counts as competent? A documentary analysis of minimum clinical hour requirements across four health professions in Aotearoa New Zealand

This documentary analysis of health professions in Aotearoa New Zealand reveals that minimum clinical hour requirements are largely historically derived and lack an explicit evidence-based rationale linking specific hour thresholds to practitioner competence, with current standards shaped more by regulatory obligations, professional expectations, and system constraints than by empirical research.

Tania Fleming, Verna Stavric2026-08-28
📄 social science

A friend for this and a friend for that: A qualitative study of how Kenyan adolescents perceive social capital as a resource for mental health

This qualitative study of 15 Kenyan adolescents reveals that while social capital—cultivated through trusted family and peer networks—serves as a vital resource for mental health by fostering self-esteem and providing support, its benefits are conditional and can be undermined by exclusion, economic inequality, and negative peer influences.

Kennedy Ouma Sigodo2026-08-28