Age differences in encoding-related alpha power reflect sentence comprehension difficulties

When sentence processing taxes verbal working memory, comprehension difficulties arise. This is specifically the case when processing resources decline with advancing adult age. Such decline likely affects the encoding of sentences into working memory, which constitutes the basis for successful comprehension. To assess age differences in encoding-related electrophysiological activity, we recorded the electroencephalogram from three age groups (24, 43, and 65 years). Using an auditory sentence comprehension task, age differences in encoding-related oscillatory power were examined with respect to the accuracy of the given response. That is, the difference in oscillatory power between correctly and incorrectly encoded sentences, yielding subsequent memory effects (SME), was compared across age groups. Across age groups, we observed an age-related SME inversion in the alpha band from a power decrease in younger adults to a power increase in older adults. We suggest that this SME inversion underlies age-related comprehension difficulties. With alpha being commonly linked to inhibitory processes, this shift may reflect a change in the cortical inhibition–disinhibition balance. A cortical disinhibition may imply enriched sentence encoding in younger adults. In contrast, resource limitations in older adults may necessitate an increase in cortical inhibition during sentence encoding to avoid an information overload. Overall, our findings tentatively suggest that age-related comprehension difficulties are associated with alterations to the electrophysiological dynamics subserving general higher cognitive functions

The Effects of Neurocognitive Aging on Sentence Processing

Across the lifespan, successful language comprehension is crucial for continued participation in everyday life. The success of language comprehension relies on the intact functioning of both language-specific processes as well as domain-general cognitive processes that support language comprehension in general. This two-sided nature of successful language comprehension may contribute to the two diverging observations in healthy aging: the preservation and the decline of language comprehension on both the cognitive and the neural level. To date, our understanding of these two competing facets is incomplete and unclear. While greater language experience comes with increasing age, most domain-general cognitive functions, like verbal working memory, decline in healthy aging. The here presented thesis shows that when the electrophysiological network relevant for verbal working memory is already compromised at rest, language comprehension declines in older adults. Moreover, it could be shown that, as verbal working memory capacity declines with age, resources may be- come insufficient to successfully encode language-specific information into memory, yielding language comprehension difficulties in old age. Age differences in the electrophysiological dynamics underlying sentence encoding indicate that the encoding of detailed information may increasingly be inhibited throughout the lifespan, possibly to avoid overloading the verbal working memory. However, limitations in verbal working memory could be attenuated by the use of language-specific constraints. That is, semantic and syntactic constraints can be used to establish relations between words which reduces the memory load from individual word information to information about word group. Here, it was found that older adults do not benefit from the use of syntactic constraints as much as younger adults while the benefit of using semantic constraints was comparable across age. Overall, the here presented thesis suggests that previous findings on language comprehension in healthy aging are not contradictory but rather converge on a simultaneous combination of selective preservation and decline of various language-specific processes, burdened by domain-general neurocognitive aging

The Pneuma as Authority and Moving Force in Paul, with Special Reference to 2 Corinthians 3:17

This thesis proposes to discuss the pneuma theology of St. Paul on the basis of the much disputed seventeenth verse of 2 Corinthians 3 and related passages. The study will concentrate on the role of pneuma as authority and moving force in the Pauline congregation. The word pneuma is used frequently in Paul\u27s letters, particularly in the Pillar Epistles, in a variety of contexts. Pneuma is unquestionably a key concept in Pauline theology. A study of Paul\u27s pneuma theology, then, is a vital one, for it strikes close to the heart of his entire theological thinking. The centrality of his pneuma theology is even more apparent when one takes note of the close connection which Paul makes between pneuma and Kyrios, especially in 2 Cor. 3:17, where the two words are connected with estin. The thesis will attempt to define as closely as possible the relationship that Paul sees between Kyrios and pneuma. It is tempting in this context to raise anachronistic questions; such as, what connection does Paul make between the second and third persons of the Blessed Trinity, or can Paul\u27s theology be classified as binitarian or modalistic, or would he have subscribed to the Niceno-Conatantinopolitanum or to the Quicunque vult? An exegetical study, to be true to its purpose, must resist the temptation to put such questions to Paul, since Paul never shows any interest in answering questions of this type. Ontological speculation concerning the pneuma is foreign to his epistles. Paul presents the pneuma dynamically, in action, since the pneuma is not to be studied so much as experienced

The Effect of Supplemental Educational Services on Student Learning Outcomes

This study investigated the effects of Supplemental Educational Services on student achievement in reading and math. A meta-analysis was conducted to investigate the relationship between student achievement gains in reading and participation in SES. Six studies were used in the meta-analysis with a total of 395 participants. The combined weighted effect size correlation was r = 0.48. A meta-analysis was conducted to investigate the student achievement gains in math. Two studies were used in the meta-analysis, with a total of 136 participants. Their combined weighted effect size correlation was r = 0.04. The magnitude of this effect size correlation is trivial, indicating that participation in math SES produces little effect; however, the effect size correlation associated with reading SES suggests a large effect on learning outcomes in the content area of reading

An Administrator\u27s Perspective on the Novel Coronavirus

In our current situation, of COVID 19, many school administrators feel helpless and powerless. Bringing students back into the classroom puts leaders in a position where they cannot guarantee everyone’s safety. Leaders are under pressure to keep faculty, staff, and students safe and that responsibility can be overwhelming (National Association of Secondary School Principals, 2020a). Administrators have an obligation to provide an education to students. It is what educators, do, after all. However, school leaders also have an obligation as an employer to make sure our staff is supported and safe. It is hard to believe that leaders can do more than react to and manage this crisis. But leaders can choose to respond, not react. This article suggests actions to reduce our own anxiety, support others, and create a healthy environment. These choices are ones that will change our environment for the better

Nonproliferation: Rapid Retreat from the Gold Standard Negatively Impacts Future Nuclear Negotiations

In 2009, the United States and the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) concluded a nuclear cooperation agreement which contained a commitment on the part of the U.A.E. not to enrich uranium through its own domestic programs. Dubbed the Gold Standard” of nuclear nonproliferation by the Obama administration, such an accomplishment has not been repeated in nuclear agreements between 2009 and 2015. This paper examines American nuclear cooperation negotiations following the establishment of the Gold Standard,” and argues that the rapid reversal of American negotiating policy toward enrichment and reprocessing technologies will hinder U.S. nonproliferation goals going forward

Calculating with Unreliable Data in Business Analytics Applications

The success of operational and managerial decisions depends on the reliability of the information provided to decision makers by the respective business analytics applications. Thus, in this research-in-progress paper, we explain how the mathematical foundations of the Algebra of Random Varia-bles (AoRV) can be used to extend the capability of business analytics applications to process and report unreliable data. First, we present the theoretical foundations of the AoRV in a concise way that is tailored to business analytics. Second, we present and discuss two example cases, in which we evaluate an application of the AoRV to real-world business analytics scenarios. Initial results from this first design-and-evaluate feedback loop show that the additional reliability information provided by the AoRV is of high value for decision makers, since it allows to predict how uncertain-ties in complex business analytics scenarios will interact. As the next step of this research project, we plan to test the potential of the AoRV to extend business analytics applications through another evaluation loop in a fully natural setting

The Rising Tide of Child Poverty

Poverty is not a new struggle for families and students. Urban school districts have been plagued with high poverty rates for years, but now poverty is growing at substantial rates in suburban schools. Chronic absenteeism is one recurring problem that high poverty schools, of every typology, face on a regular basis. The case study presented here highlights the work of one urban principal in combating chronic absenteeism in her school. The purpose of this paper is to explore attendance problems in a high-poverty school. While this case study depicts a principal in a high-poverty school in an urban area, the lessons learned from combating chronic absenteeism in this setting will be examined to determine what techniques can be transferred when working with disadvantaged students and their families in suburban schools