Comparison of classroom organization and behavior management across elementary education teacher preparation programs within colleges and universities in New England

This study was designed to examine general education teacher preparation programs and how colleges and universities in New England approach classroom organization and behavior management in their syllabi. This replication study was based on the 2007 study by Oliver & Reschly who examined syllabi from special education teacher preparation in classroom organization and behavior management. Nine colleges and universities in New England contributed 91 elementary education syllabi. Results indicate that there is still insufficient training in teacher preparation programs in the areas of classroom organization and behavior management. A thematic analysis of the same syllabi was implemented to develop five themes, including Diversity, Professional Skills, Curriculum, Family and Community, and Social Justice. Limitations for the study are discussed along with further research needs in this area

A Few Interventions and Offerings from Five Movement Lawyers to the Access to Justice Movement

We are five lawyers who occupy very different corners of justice work. We are civil rights, human rights, and criminal defense lawyers, and we have worked at and managed legal services programs. We have taught law at law schools and universities and have built our own organizations. We currently work in interdisciplinary spaces with community organizers, funders, and other stakeholders in the justice system. As diverse as our perspectives are, we share a common belief that any mobilization around access to justice fails if it does not center the vision and strategies of larger social justice movements. We share here our collective calls to action to the legal community—and the allies that support and resource legal services—to expand our mission beyond chasing a standard of fairness that is impossible to achieve as long as we have deeply embedded structural and systemic inequity. Instead, let us reimagine what our communities actually need to be safe, free, and to live in our fullest humanity. We believe the role of movement lawyers is to use the law as a tool of social change, at the direction of communities most impacted by injustice. When we focus our lawyering on listening to community organizers, clients, and activists with a broader vision for social change, we can become partners in transforming systems, rather than simply making them more hospitable

Stewarding Nebraska\u27s Digital Heritage

In Nebraska, little is known of the potential needs and perceived challenges related to stewarding digital materials in libraries, archives, and museums (LAMs)), many of which are operating in small communities with limited resources. This presentation outlines the preparation, design, and results of a questionnaire distributed to Nebraska-based LAMs to gain a better understanding of the current state of digital stewardship across Nebraska

Building a Framework to Guide Residents through Scholarly Activities

Objective: The objective of this project was to build an online resource that will help guide residents through their Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) scholarly activity requirement by providing guidelines, advice, and resources on publishing, presenting, and research. Methods: The Clinical Services Librarian first met with the Graduate Medical Education (GME) office to determine the needs of the residencies and clarify current ACGME requirements. Meetings were then set with representatives from the largest residencies to discuss how the scholarly activity requirement was currently being met and to collect resources. After these meetings the librarian began building an online resource in the LibGuides software for both residents and junior faculty. The Research and Scholarly Activity Guide combines practical advice with tips and tricks for completing projects. Sections include information on how to set up and where to print a poster, how to write an abstract, and how to submit articles to journals. Research resources help guide residents through the institutional review board process, finding a mentor, and identifying statistical expertise. Results: The Research and Scholarly Activity Guide was completed over the summer and introduced to new interns and returning residents during noon conferences and orientations. The guide was also presented at both the residency directors’ and residency coordinators’ monthly meetings. The guide was well received and comments and suggestions were incorporated were appropriate. Conclusions: The Research and Scholarly Activity Guide was available starting July 2018. The guide brings a number of disparate resources together easing residents’ road to completion of their scholarly activity requirement as well as assisting junior faculty with research endeavors. Residency directors and coordinators have expressed how much this guide will help their programs

Intelligence and Attractiveness: Do Better Grades Cause and Assumption of Attractiveness?

A study in 1978 discovered that teachers tended to favor more attractive students when evaluating their academic work. (Demeis & Turner, 1978.). In the United States, attractiveness is positively correlated with intelligence. (r=.126) (Kanizawa, 2011) Another study indicated that the actual quality of academic work is not necessarily linked to the grade given on the assignment. (Begany, et al. 2008) Are college students likely to assume attractiveness based on the quality of academic work? Would a letter grade of varying quality on the paper affect this assumption? Our hypothesis was that participants would more frequently indicate an attractive student as the author of a high quality essay, regardless of letter grade, and vice versa with an unattractive student and an essay of lesser quality

Potent CRISPR-Cas9 inhibitors from Staphylococcus genomes.

Anti-CRISPRs (Acrs) are small proteins that inhibit the RNA-guided DNA targeting activity of CRISPR-Cas enzymes. Encoded by bacteriophage and phage-derived bacterial genes, Acrs prevent CRISPR-mediated inhibition of phage infection and can also block CRISPR-Cas-mediated genome editing in eukaryotic cells. To identify Acrs capable of inhibiting Staphylococcus aureus Cas9 (SauCas9), an alternative to the most commonly used genome editing protein Streptococcus pyogenes Cas9 (SpyCas9), we used both self-targeting CRISPR screening and guilt-by-association genomic search strategies. Here we describe three potent inhibitors of SauCas9 that we name AcrIIA13, AcrIIA14, and AcrIIA15. These inhibitors share a conserved N-terminal sequence that is dispensable for DNA cleavage inhibition and have divergent C termini that are required in each case for inhibition of SauCas9-catalyzed DNA cleavage. In human cells, we observe robust inhibition of SauCas9-induced genome editing by AcrIIA13 and moderate inhibition by AcrIIA14 and AcrIIA15. We also find that the conserved N-terminal domain of AcrIIA13-AcrIIA15 binds to an inverted repeat sequence in the promoter of these Acr genes, consistent with its predicted helix-turn-helix DNA binding structure. These data demonstrate an effective strategy for Acr discovery and establish AcrIIA13-AcrIIA15 as unique bifunctional inhibitors of SauCas9

How Does Weight Influence the Timing of Puberty Onset in Female Adolescents?

Background: The early onset of puberty poses threats to a child\u27s social, emotional, and physical well-being including an increase in the risk of developing chronic conditions. Studies have shown an increased incidence of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and breast and endometrial cancers for adults who experienced menarche earlier than their peers (Villamor & Jansen, 2016). Data has shown most females of higher weight have experienced menarche at younger ages than those of lesser weight. Purpose/Specific Aims: The purpose of this systematic review was to investigate the influence of weight, on the timing of puberty onset in adolescent females. Methods: A systematic review was conducted for articles comparing the onset of menarche and weight in females using EBSCOHost, Google Scholar, and CINAHL Plus. Inclusion criteria included female participants, menarche as the determining factor for onset of puberty, written in English in the last ten years, early onset puberty, and obesity, overweight, or elevated BMI as an influencing factor. Only articles using the onset of menarche as the determining factor for the onset of puberty were included. Results: The initial search yielded 35 studies; four met the inclusion criteria for this review. No randomized control studies met inclusion criteria. Commonalities between studies included a higher incidence of earlier menses in females with higher amounts of adipose tissue, higher BMIs, increased dietary fat, and/or higher prepubescent weights. Limitations of this study include, but are not limited to, recall bias for age of menses, age of menses often reported in whole years rather than exact age, and limited sample size. Conclusion: Results of this study show an association between increased prepubescent weight in females and earlier onset of menarche. Considering these findings, efforts should be made to decrease the prevalence of childhood obesity and the risk of early menarche