A description and analysis of an academic enrichment program at Bennett College

The purpose of this study was to describe and analyze an Academic Enrichment Program (AEP) implemented at Bennett College in 1981 and continuing for three years, and to evaluate the program's impact on students' (a) study habits, (b) academic performance, and (c) persistence at the college. Eighty-five black female students were the subjects, and their combined scores on the verbal and mathematical portions of the SAT ranged between 400 - 580. Data was obtained from a questionnaire constructed by the researcher based on a five-point Likert Scale, and from transcripts, attrition records, academic probation lists, and course outlines. The findings revealed that the program was successful in helping students adjust, academically, their freshman year with at least over fifty percent of the students returning for their sophomore year. At this level there was a decline in students' academic performance, and the attrition rate was high. Based on the results obtained from the questionnaire, students ranked "support given by the AEP faculty" as the most important aspect of the program in helping them adjust to the college

Emotional eloquence : the argument from pathos in deliberation

The argument from pathos is one of the three normative modes of persuasion in deliberation. The argument from pathos in deliberation serves six functions. It serves as a perceptual capacity; it is a constituent element of deliberative judgment: it communicates importance: it is a powerful motivator: it serves several aesthetic functions, and it is expressive. An examination of the cognitive structure of the emotions reveals the epistemic potential of the emotions. The success conditions necessary for an emotion to grasp its object yields three epistemic results. The apprehension of particular object of an emotion confers salience: the formal object names a quality that conceptually relates the emotion to a normative principle, and the propositional object provides the connection to semantic matters. The semantic properties of emotional language help structure and determine the sophistication of one’s emotional responses

Building trust: the key to principal transitions

Principals transitioning to a new school often struggle to build or sustain a positive school climate in the first 100 days, which can impede school progress and achievement. (Leithwood, Harris, & Hopkins, 2008; MacNeil, Prater, & Busch, 2009). School systems and principals must prioritize successful transitions if they wish to prevent negative impacts to the school community. Using the dissertation in practice model, this paper details and analyzes an improvement initiative designed to enhance the principal transition process; an initiative focused on building trust between teachers and principals who are new to their school. The process was implemented and analyzed using the 90-day Cycle improvement research strategy (Park and Takahashi, 2013). This disquisition employed a case study design examining an induction program focused on building trust through the principal’s attention to, and expression of, openness, benevolence, and competency (Tschannen-Moran and Gerias, 2015). Specific activities and the implementation process for these three domains are shared. The findings suggest that the induction program may have contributed positively to the teachers’ feelings of trust for the new principal, as demonstrated by the teachers’ reported perception of the principal as open, benevolent, and competent

A performance edition of Five works by William Grant Still (1895-1978): brass quintet arrangements of Memphis man, Bayou home, Mississippi, Elegy, and All that I am

William Grant Still (1895-1978) was one of the most prolific African-American composers of the 20th Century. In fact during his career, Still composed over 150 musical works. He was the first African-American to conduct a major American symphony orchestra, hear his own Symphony performed by a leading orchestra, have his opera produced by a major opera company, and view his opera broadcast on a national television network. As a result of these and many other musical accomplishments, Still has been titled, "Dean of African-American Composers." Still spent the majority of his life composing and arranging compositions that featured his unique style of incorporating Western harmonies with African-American blues. Although known primarily for his orchestral works, Still's vocal works have been integrated into the core repertoire of many college, university, and professional ensembles. The purpose of this study was to arrange five works by Still for brass quintet including Memphis Man (1923), Bayou Home (1944), Mississippi (1948), Elegy (1963), and All That I Am (1965). A secondary purpose was to present a biographical sketch of Still. A descriptive analysis about each of the arrangements for brass quintet was included along with the actual settings. Included in the document are performance editions of the five works. The vocal works, Memphis Man, Bayou Home, and Mississippi were created from versions of songs in William Grant Still, An Art Song Collection compiled by Celeste Anne Headlee with lyrics by Verna Arvey. Elegy was taken from William Grant Still: An Organ Collection and is the only work in the collection written for organ. All That I Am was transcribed from an edition for solo voice and piano edited by Celeste Anne Headlee. The spirituals included in this study that date from several different periods of his career are representative of many of his other compositions because they do not include extensive ornamentation or embellishment found in works by other composers. Still created passionate melodic lines and straightforward harmonies to communicate inherent emotion and powerful impact to the audience. In these settings, the melodies have been left unaltered

Challenging Normative Representations Of Women’s Sexual Agency In American Television

Real-life scenarios frequently inspire art and media. As the frequency of television shows that are labeled as “feminist” increases, it is important to acknowledge the ways in which these shows may depict women’s sexual agency and how what messages the depictions send may impact the real lives of viewers. This paper examines how “feminist” television depictions of women’s sexual agency differ from or adhere to normative constructions of women’s sexualities, as well as the potential implications depictions may have for viewers’ understandings of women’s sexual agency. While television depictions may be labeled as “feminist,” and generally seem to incorporate feminist constructions of women’s sexualities in their depictions, they still frequently rely on normative and traditional constructions

Perceptions and Enactment of Instructional Coaching in North Carolina

The instructional coaching role has become a source of support for teacher professional development in districts across the United States, yet there is little agreement among researchers regarding the particular structure of this role. I conducted this portraiture study in three districts in North Carolina and used interviews, observations, and document review to determine how coaches, teachers, and principals understand the role of the instructional coach. The research questions used to guide this study were (a) how do instructional coaches understand their roles, (b) how do other education professionals understand the instructional coaching role, and (c) how does context impact understanding of the instructional coaching role. Major findings from the study suggest that contextual factors influence role enactment for an instructional coach. Results of the study imply that principals should bring clarity to the purpose of the instructional coach within a school setting. For a coach to feel successful, the coach needs a role description that is both focused and flexible. Results stop short of articulating a coaching role description; therefore, more research is needed to support how to describe the role in order to achieve both focus and flexibility

Camp No and soldier-writers: disidentification and ethical remapping in post-9/11 narratives of dissent

America’s post-9/11 soldier-writers challenge pivotal contemporary assumptions about allegiance, solidarity, national identity, and the political-emotional maps of responsibility and belonging that artists, activists, and citizens at large draw up mentally as they picture their affiliations with and duties to their community, territory, country, or state institution. Organized around a triad of concepts (parrhesia, cosmopolitanism, and dissensus), this project argues that this generation of writers represents a significant literary movement. Specifically, I read their work as the loci of a “dissenting” overhauling of the official narratives and rhetorical maps that chart the United States’ Global War on Terror

Whole genome sequencing identifies putative associations between genomic polymorphisms and clinical response to the antiepileptic drug levetiracetam

In the context of pharmacogenomics, whole genome sequencing provides a powerful approach for identifying correlations between response variability to specific drugs and genomic polymorphisms in a population, in an unbiased manner. In this study, we employed whole genome sequencing of DNA samples from patients showing extreme response (n=72) and non-response (n=27) to the antiepileptic drug levetiracetam, in order to identify genomic variants that underlie response to the drug. Although no common SNP (MAF>5%) crossed the conventional genome-wide significance threshold of 5e-8, we found common polymorphisms in genes SPNS3, HDC, MDGA2, NSG1 and RASGEF1C, which collectively predict clinical response to levetiracetam in our cohort with ~91% predictive accuracy. Among these genes, HDC, NSG1, MDGA2 and RASGEF1C are potentially implicated in synaptic neurotransmission, while SPNS3 is an atypical solute carrier transporter homologous to SV2A, the known molecular target of levetiracetam. Furthermore, we performed gene- and pathway-based statistical analysis on sets of rare and low-frequency variants (MAF<5%) and we identified associations between the following genes or pathways and response to levetiracetam: a) genes PRKCB and DLG2, which are involved in glutamatergic neurotransmission, a known target of anticonvulsants, including levetiracetam; b) genes FILIP1 and SEMA6D, which are involved in axon guidance and modelling of neural connections; and c) pathways with a role in synaptic neurotransmission, such as WNT5A-dependent internalization of FZD4 and disinhibition of SNARE formation. In summary, our approach to utilise whole genome sequencing on subjects with extreme response phenotypes is a feasible route to generate plausible hypotheses for investigating the genetic factors underlying drug response variability in cases of pharmaco-resistant epilepsy