An Intervention Strategy to Facilitate the Achievement of Potential in Two Underachieving Gifted Students: Two Case Studies

Not all gifted students achieve according to their exceptional potential. Up to half of the gifted population underachieve. Though significant research has been conducted into identification and characteristics of underachieving gifted students, there is a need for current research to use the established theoretical understandings and investigate practical strategies for the reversal and remediation of underachievement in gifted students. The researcher proposes the Creative Writing Program as an intervention strategy for underachieving gifted students. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of the researcher‟s Creative Writing Program and, in so doing, identify the successful teaching strategies that facilitate the achievement of potential in two underachieving gifted students. To answer these research objectives, two separate case studies were conducted with two participants identified as being gifted, yet underachieving. The data were gathered from multiple sources and perspectives including: interviews with student-participants, teachers and parents; the researcher‟s observations and field notes; and a qualitatively evaluated pre- and post-test. The data were analysed using open-coding methods and it was found that the Creative Writing Program impacted the student-participants‟ negative feelings, underachieving behaviours and social awareness. It was also found that the following strategies were successful for facilitating the achievement of potential in underachieving gifted students: one-to-one teaching, positive teacher identification and differentiatio

Perceptions of the Psychological Rehabilitation of a Student-Athlete with an injury in Sport at the NCAA Division I Level : A Narrative Approach of Student-Athletes and Athletic Trainers

How an athlete responds and recovers from an injury varies with each unique situation. One\u27s reaction to their sport injury can be an influential determinant of their return to sport (Ahern & Lohr, 1997; Podlog & Eklund, 2005; Podlog & Eklund, 2009; Podlog, Lochbaum, & Stevens, 2009; Walker, Thatcher, & Lavallee, 2007). Those working directly with injured athletes are in a unique position to administer both physiological and psychological rehabilitation. Research has surfaced regarding the need of athletic trainers to also focus on the mental aspects of recovery (Barefield & McCallister, 1997; Gordon, S., Milios, D., & Grove, J.R., 1991; Grindley, E.J. & Zizzi, S.J., 2005). The objective of this narrative study is to focus and uncover the perceptions of coping with an injury among 4 NCAA Division I athletes and also the athletic trainers with whom they work. Interviews will be transcribed and a thematic structure of the lived experience of an injury will be revealed. With this investigative research, health and sport professionals will be able to approach both the mental and physical sides of rehabilitation

Providing Refuge: A Regime Analysis of Legal Protections for Displaced Persons in Sub-Saharan Africa

While refugees are entitled to the right of asylum vis-a-vis the U.N. 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the subsequent 1967 Protocol, which includes rights of a legal resident in the host country, African states vary in their domestic implementation of refugee rights. Sub-Saharan Africa host approximately 29 percent of the world’s refugees and as such represents a key region for understanding the dynamics of refugee rights and protections. With 45 member states having ratified (another 4 having signed) the Organization of African Unity’s 1969 Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of the Refugee Problem in Africa (OAU Convention), and 53 states having ratified the African Charter on Human and Peoples\u27 Rights, Africa is one of the most legally inclusive for refugees. Even so, domestic refugee laws come into conflict with international and regional legal commitments, in some cases threatening legal protections in detrimental ways. This study comparatively analyzes domestic laws pertaining to the rights of refugees, creating a typology of refugee regimes for the region. We then situate and comparatively analyze the refugee rights and protections for the most recent mass displacement of Burundians to Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. Drawing on these three cases, the paper asks which aspects of their domestic refugee laws are the most significant in protecting displaced persons. Based on content analysis of relevant regional and domestic laws, we argue that in addition to commitments to international and regional legal conventions, domestic respect for freedom of movement and employment opportunities are key factors that drive different outcomes for fulfilling refugee human rights

Large-scale Victorian manufacturers: reconstructing the lost 1881 UK employer census

We present the first available - and near-complete - list of large UK manufacturers in 1881, by complementing the employer data from that year’s population census (recovered by the British Business Census of Entrepreneurs project) with employment and capital estimates from other sources. The 438 largest firms with 1,000 or more employees accounted for around one-sixth of manufacturing output. Examples can be found in most industries. Exploiting powered machinery, intangible assets, new technologies and venture capital, and generally operating in competitive markets, their exports about equalled domestic sales. The more capital-intensive accessed stock markets, more - and in larger firms - than in follower economies. Some alleged later causes of UK decline relative to the US or Germany cannot be observed in 1881. Indeed, contemporary overseas observers - capitalist and socialist - correctly recognized the distinctive features of UK manufacturing as its exceptional development of quoted corporations, professional managers and “modern,” scalable, factory production

Mentor / mentee: a 360 degree look at the relationships

One mentor, Kristy Widdicombe, and two mentees, Cheryl Clark and Hannah Bennett, share experiences of their professional development journey

Estimates of GB firm-size by sector in 1881 using BBCE sector definitions (EA17 sector codes)

Employer response in the censuses for 1851-81 gave the number employees. This information provides invaluable national-level information on individual firms unavailable elsewhere. However, deficiencies in the census process and its digital capture have limited previous analysis. This paper develops a methodology of data re-scaling raw responses to allow for non- response and biases in digital data preparation using the BBCE standard EA17 sector codes to give a first set of estimates of firm-size by sector for 1881. The paper records work in progress; it is subject to revision of method, and updating of the firm-size estimates

Underachieving Gifted Students: Two Case Studies

Almost half of all gifted students do not achieve according to their exceptional potential. Though significant research has investigated identifying characteristics of underachieving gifted students, current research is yet to fully employ the established theoretical knowledge to determine practical strategies for the reversal and remediation of underachievement in gifted students. This study utilised a specifically designed Creative Writing Program and adopted a part-time withdrawal strategy to explore the impact of particular teaching strategies on reversing the underachievement of two gifted students. Through the two case studies, qualitative data were gathered from multiple sources and perspectives. These data were analysed using open-coding methods. The Creative Writing Program was found to impact the students\u27 negative feelings, underachieving behaviours and social awareness. Furthermore, a number of teaching strategies were identified as being successful for facilitating the achievement of potential in underachieving gifted students: one-to-one teaching, positive teacher identification and differentiation

Rationalizing the Pediatric Emergency Department Workload: An Epidemiological Profile of Presentations Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: Infectious respiratory disease in children provides a significant seasonal workload burden to pediatric emergency departments. Studies from the Southern hemisphere during the first wave of coronavirus (COVID-19) had shown a decrease in seasonal pediatric respiratory infections. During the COVID-19 pandemic, predicted drops in infectious disease circulating in children led to redeployment of junior doctors in pediatric services to adult services. Methods: We extracted data on children presenting to a tertiary emergency department with a respiratory illness, comparing winter 2019-2020 (pre-COVID-19) to winter 2020-2021 (post-COVID-19). We compiled demographic and epidemiological data and compared the two groups with regards to number and type of infectious respiratory presentations, admissions, days spent in hospital, and whether intensive or high dependency support was required. Results: We have found a reduction in respiratory disease presentations post-COVID-19 compared to pre-COVID-19. These patients were more likely to be admitted but their stay was reduced, and there was a trend towards a reduction in requirement for intensive or high dependency support during their admission. Conclusion: This work supports the redeployment of junior doctors in pediatric departments to adult departments given increased demand in other areas of medical care at that time. In view of the changing landscape, we suggest the introduction of a flexible staffing format to ensure adequate support to areas with higher demand