Using Formative Assessments to Motivate Students in English Language Arts

In English Language Arts (ELA) classes, teachers can use formative assessments when students are reading and responding to complex texts to collect information about how individual students and the class as a whole are progressing towards meeting the learning goal. Teachers can then use that data to adjust instruction to further help motivate students to continue working towards meeting that goal. This quantitative two group study was designed to examine if formal formative assessments in the form of daily exit tickets and a weekly formative quiz used in ELA classes impacted tenth grade student motivation. Student motivation was measured using The Situational Motivation Scale as a pre- and post-test. The treatment group was given an exit ticket every Monday and Wednesday and a no-point quiz every Friday for six weeks. It was hypothesized that the treatment group’s motivation would increase. The results of the independent and paired t-tests showed no statistically significant difference in motivation between the treatment and control groups. However, students were more consistent with their self-reported motivation rankings on the SIMS post-test than the control group. Future research should be conducted to determine the impact that formative assessments can have on student motivation in ELA classrooms

How Twenty-First Century Technology Affects Inmates\u27 Access to Prison Law Libraries in the United States Prison System

In today’s generation America is open 24 hours, 7 days a week. Americans live in an open-all-night society, where with one click, one can buy groceries, watch a 3D movie, bowl a perfect game, and eat pizza all at two in the morning without ever leaving his or her living room. Therefore, is not a stretch to imagine a single digital device, such as a computer or phone, that could hold thousand, if not, millions of books with topics ranging from comedy, fiction, nonfiction, business, cooking, fitness, etc. But most importantly, and one of the focuses of this Comment, are those digital devices that hold various legal texts. Specifically, texts that inform the reader on legal lingo and procedures, such as how to file a claim with the court, or modern case law dealing with criminal charges. For the general public, access to and the availability of legal information can be displayed on their computer, tablet, gaming systems (e.g. Xbox or PlayStation), or cellphone. Advances in technology makes it so that any device with internet access can provide the user with legal information. However, what effect do advances in technology have on inmates’ legal research while incarcerated in prisons? Part I of this Comment will briefly describe the evolution of prison law libraries from the Bounds and Casey decisions to the present. Part II of this Comment will examine the adequacy of prison law libraries under the Casey decision. Part III of this Comment will answer the question of whether twenty-first century technology helps or hinders an inmate’s access to the court via prison law libraries. Part IV of this Comment will discuss the strength and weakness of twenty-first century digital materials versus standard print materials. Part V of this Comment will brief mention the Author’s inferences regarding jail law libraries. Finally, this Comment will conclude by recommending steps prison officials can take to ensure that their prison law libraries are adequate under the United States Supreme court decision of Casey, and by suggesting that further research be conducted to ensure prisoners are fully using their right to access the courts

Master of Arts

thesisRecent research indicates that knowledge of words' spelled forms can affect the underlying phonological forms in second language learners. Notably, the research suggests that second learners can use orthographic input to infer information about the phonological forms of words. A familiar orthography with grapheme-phoneme correspondences inconsistent with those of the first language may cause learners to create nontarget-like lexical representations. In German, word-final obstruents are systematically devoiced. Word-final devoicing (WFD) is not represented orthographically. For example, , 'advice' and , 'wheel' are both pronounced [rat]. Research suggests that access to spelled forms delays native English speakers' acquisition of this phonological pattern. Other research has found that phonetic training about phonological patterns may help learners' productions become more target-like. This study investigates whether phonetic training helps learners overcome the delay in acquiring WFD by giving explicit instruction on pronunciation. Native English speakers were randomly assigned to one of four groups: Spell-Instruction; Spell-No Instruction; No Spell-Instruction; and No Spell-No Instruction. They were taught six German nonword minimal pairs, differing in the voicing of the final consonant (kreip/kreib). Learners in the spell groups saw spelled forms of the words and learners in the instruction group saw instructions about pronunciation ( "a 'b' at the end of a word is pronounced 'p.'"). Words spelled with voiced final consonants were more likely to be produced with voiced final consonants than those whose final consonants were spelled voiceless. Participants in both Spell conditions were less likely to devoice targets with voiced final consonants than those in the No Spell conditions, confirming a relationship between seeing spelled forms and not acquiring WFD. Finally, learners in the Instruction conditions (NI and SI) devoiced voiced final consonants at no greater rate than learners in the No Spell conditions, suggesting that instruction provided no clear benefit for acquiring WFD

Examining the Effect of a Body Image Cognitive Dissonance Prevention Program on Disordered Eating, Risky Alcohol Use, and Sexual Risk Taking

Eating disorders and body image issues are significant problems which affect many domains of the lives of both men and women. These constructs have, in turn, been associated with health risk taking behaviors such as sexual risk taking and risky alcohol use. Ninety-six participants completed self-report data before and after a body image cognitive dissonance (CD) program or an active health education control to determine if participation in the program lead to less health risk taking behaviors such as disordered eating, risky alcohol use, and sexual risk taking. T-tests and ANOVA revealed that participants who went through Reflections training exhibited lower global Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) scores, however did not differ on Sexual Risk Taking Scale (SRTS) scores. Future studies may require larger samples to address floor effects and may want to consider ways to improve random assignment in order to adequately assess whether cognitive dissonance training can be expanded to be used to lower risky health behaviors

The effect of capture, confinement and immobilisation on acute phase protein, ands immune and haemostatic responses in the impala( aepyceros melampus)

Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science (Med) Wildlife Stress PhysiologyBackground: Environmental and anthropogenic disturbances have a variety of direct and indirect impacts on wildlife. Various methods have been proposed to identify and quantify stressors that negatively impact wildlife. Objectives: In this review, we examined the physiological stress response elicited during capture, confinement, and immobilisation on the acute phase response (APR), and immune and haemostatic responses in the impala. Method: Blood- and faecal-centric approaches were used to determine: (1) the hypothalamicpituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity by measuring cortisol in blood using a radioimmunoassay (RIA) and faecal glucocorticoid metabolites (FGM) using an RIA for corticosterone validated in many species, (2) the innate immune activity by measuring the circulating levels of leukocytes using manual white blood cell (WBC) counts and a haemocytometer, and leukocyte coping capacity (LCC) in response to challenges using reactive oxygen species (ROS) assay, (3) the secretion of acute phase proteins (APP) by measuring circulating levels of haptoglobin (Hp) and serum amyloid A (SAA) using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and (4) the coagulation potential by measuring the intrinsic pathway using an activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) assay, the extrinsic pathway using a prothrombin time (PT) assay, fibrinogen conversion using a thrombin time (TT) assay, and fibrinogen concentration using a fibrinogen assay. Results: In response to the chronic effects of confinement and the repeated stress of immobilisation we observed an initial increase in HPA activity and common coagulation pathway activity, and resultant depletion in body reserves. There was a decline in HPA activity as the trials progressed and corresponding immunesuppression. Thereafter, as animals habituated to stressors, we found that several of the parameters measured in the impala showed recovery to initial levels (including body weight and condition, FGM concentration, ROS generating capability of whole blood, and coagulability). In response to 30 min of immobilisation the impala showed decreased HPA activity and coagulability, and immune-enhancement. IV Conclusion: These results demonstrate the feasibility of using physiological examinations to progress the understanding of short- and long-term impacts of anthropogenic disturbances on wildlife fitness, and improve animal welfare during conservation interventions.GR201

A Life-History Approach to Community Reintegration: Female Ex-Offenders' Experiences of Facilitators and Barriers of Successful Community Reintegration

Research suggests that the experiences of female offenders differ greatly from their male counterparts; however, because females only make up a small proportion of offenders in North America, community reintegration programs often focus on male offenders (Belknap, 2007). This shortcoming stimulated the current study, which was conducted to better understand the experiences of reintegration for female offenders as told by the women themselves. Using life-history interviews with five female ex-offenders, accessed through the Elizabeth Fry Society of Saskatchewan, in-depth stories about reintegration were created from the perspective of those closest to these experiences (Patton, 2002). The data were analyzed using a narrative analysis approach in which stories were re-written in chronological order. Each story depicts a single character and underlines the events and meanings prescribed by the participants themselves. Results indicated several shared themes across participants’ stories that referred pathways to crime, experiences during and after incarceration, facilitators and barriers to successful reintegration and resilience. Whether participants were first-time or repeat offenders, results offered some support for past research regarding pathways to crime and difficulties with community reintegration; however, various unique and distinct experiences emerged. The nature of the study allowed for an in-depth exploration of issues including family reunification, stigma and securing stable employment, and gave participants a chance to share their stories. These stories suggest various implications for research and practice such as one-on-one counselling, child advocacy and concrete release planning, which may lead to improved support for female offenders during and after incarceration

Exploring the effects of programmatic intervention on family planning health literacy and contraceptive utilization in eastern Uganda

Uganda Village Project (UVP) implemented the Healthy Village Initiative (HVI) and conducted household surveys to assess the effects of the initiative. This data adds to the limited body of knowledge regarding the efficacy of community health interventions for reproductive health in rural east Africa. As part of the HVI, UVP surveys rural Ugandan households before and after a 3-year programmatic intervention to assess changes in family planning health literacy, and contraception utilization. Results showed that there was an increase in contraceptive utilization, an increase in family planning health literacy, and a decrease in unmet need for contraception. Community-based outreaches led by community members and health workers can contribute to improving access to contraception, utilization of contraception, and health literacy surrounding contraception

Influence of Multiple Traumatic Event Types on Mental Health Outcomes: Does Count Matter?

The experience of potentially traumatizing events (PTEs) may be associated with conflicting outcomes: individuals may experience greater psychological distress (dose-response theory), or individuals may become more resilient against repeated PTEs (stress-inoculation theory). With limited empirical data comparing these theories, we examined the relationships between the count of lifetime PTE types and psychological outcomes [posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, impaired distress tolerance] using linear and quadratic regressions. A linear relationship would support the dose-response theory, and a quadratic relationship would support the stress-inoculation theory. We also explored whether there was a threshold number of PTE types fostering resiliency before an increase of distressing outcomes. The sample included 123 (68.30% female) treatment-seeking patients at a community mental health center participating in a larger study (Contractor et al. in Psychiatry Research, 252, 252215–252222, 2017). Linear regression results indicated number of PTE types significantly predicted increasing PTSD and depression severity and distress tolerance difficulties. Quadratic regression model results were not significant. ROC analyses indicated exposure to at least 3.5 PTE types predicted PTSD with moderate accuracy. In conclusion, the dose-response theory was supported, with results indicating there may be a threshold count of lifetime PTE types (\u3e 3) influencing traumatic stress outcomes

Functional Altruism Among Agreeable and Narcissistic Donors: Evidence from Crowdsourced Fundraisers

Given the increasing popularity of crowdsourced fundraisers, understanding how characteristics of funding initiatives and donors influence donations has critical real-world implications. Across two studies, we identified potential situational factors most conducive to successful crowdsourcing while also determining whether individual differences in various personality factors predicted differing levels of donation. Participants in Study 1 (MAge = 19.99; 309 women, 75 men) viewed descriptions that manipulated donation type (organizer donation, anonymous donation, no donation) and type of fundraiser (self-organized, other-organized), and reported their willingness to donate to an individual’s medical treatment and completed inventories assessing Big Five personality traits. In Study 2 participants (MAge = 20.22; 322 women, 102 men) viewed vignettes describing fundraisers for an individual’s vacation fun and completed inventories assessing participantslevels of narcissism using the Pathological Narcissism Inventory. Higher agreeableness in men predicted heightened donation interest, regardless of type of cause, particularly when someone else has already donated (Study 1). Unexpectedly, narcissistic men and women both reported heightened donation interest (Study 2). We frame these findings through a framework assessing the adaptive utility of altruism as a function of personality in modern donation contexts