Go Green, Save Money: Lowering Flood Insurance Rates in Virginia with Stormwater Management

FEMA, National Flood Insurance Program\u27s Community Rating System, and Local Government Liability Panelists will discuss issues surrounding FEMA reforms to the NFIP, how stormwater management actions can assist local governments in response to those changes, and what liabilities exist for governments

An analysis of a middle school curriculum: through the lens of personal responsibility, social responsibility, and social justice

One of the fundamental goals of 21st century schools is for students to become independent thinkers through the use of comprehensive academic curriculum that merges academic and social skills to prepare students to compete and engage in an increasingly changing world. The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify the ways in which three of Schwab’s four functions, social responsibility, personal responsibility, and social justice, were embedded and measured within core academic curriculum. The study also examined how teachers perceived students’ behaviors as a result of a social justice mindset. The study was conducted using a traditional qualitative methodology consisting of an in-depth review of district policy, curriculum, learning standards, and interviews with 8th grade core academic content teachers and the district curriculum specialist over a period of 8 months. The review of the data and interviews showed that there is a greater need to more purposefully embed social learning components within academic content. Changes in policy, practice, and research are necessary to achieve environments that equally prioritize academic and social learning

Developing individualized education programs with culturally and linguistically diverse families from low-income homes : a heuristic inquiry of special education teachers

Research shows evidence of overrepresentation of culturally and linguistically diverse children enrolled in special education services, a positive correlation between parent involvement and academic success, and a plethora of barriers impeding active 6 parent participation in IEP development. Barriers include language, culture, low income, . and school climate and team dynamics. The aim of this study was to explore: (a) In what ways do special education teachers engage with culturally and linguistically diverse families from low-income homes in the IEP development process? (b) In what ways do special education teachers address culturally and linguistically diverse children\u27s educational needs while also addressing both legal and workplace expectations? (c) In what ways do special education teachers develop IEPs with culturally and linguistically diverse families from low-income homes addressing both legal and workplace expectations? These questions were addressed qualitatively utilizing Moustakas\u27s heuristic inquiry. Deductively exploring themes using Lipsky\u27s street-level bureaucracy framework exposed challenges special education teachers in this study had addressing both legal and workplace expectations, such as meeting IDEA 2004 mandates. With a systems theory approach, themes and subthemes were identified as being interconnected. Power imbalances between stakeholders and socioeconomic differences across families appeared to be the most prolific barriers impeding parent participation. Inductive analysis explored emergent and uncovered themes elucidating what it meant to be a special education teacher

MS

thesisOne hundred and four families who had received services from the Intermountain Cystic Fibrosis Pediatric Gastrointestinal Center within the past year agreed to participate in a retrospective, exploratory study of the relationship between stressful life events and the severity of cystic fibrosis (CF). Supporting the hypotheses, life events of both the primary caretaker and the CF child were found to be related to CF severity. Of the various measures of CF severity, two measures of pulmonary involvement, current antibiotic therapy and the x-ray component of the Shwachman score were found to be the most strongly related to stressful life events. A multiple regression analysis of the primary caretaker's life events identified eight events which accounted for 19% of the variability of each of these two pulmonary measures. In declining order of importance, these life events included marital separation, vacations, change in work responsibilities, a loan of less than $10,000, gaining a new family member, divorce, change in living conditions, and change in social activities. It was concluded that these events may interfere with the primary care taker's ability to provide home pulmonary therapy. Alternative interpretations were discussed

Cultural and Narrative Shifts of Nineteenth Century Children\u27s Literature in Hawthorne\u27s Wonder Book for Girls and Boys

Both folklorists and literary critics have been drawn to Nathaniel Hawthorne’s body of work because of his distinctive style and incorporation of folk motifs. Such motif-spotting presents no challenge in Hawthorne’s juvenile literature like his retellings from Greek mythology in Wonder Book for Girls and Boys; however, contemporary folklore redirects the focus of this scholarship to “how particular literary uses of folklore fit into a larger, more fundamental concept of what folklore is and how and what folklore communicates” (de Caro & Jordan 2015:15). Hawthorne’s work interacts with other forms of cultural expression in the nineteenth century such as dominant cultural narratives and artwork to transform the classical narratives in Wonder Book for Girls and Boys into narratives that reflect customs in conversational discourse and childrearing practice

The Mason Music & Memory Initiative (M3I)

Educational Objectives 1. Explain the benefits of a nonpharmacological intervention, such as the M3I, for persons with dementia. 2. Describe the work of M3I and its collaboration with students and faculty throughout the state. 3.Highlight lessons learned and future directions for the M3I