UTILIZING TECHNOLOGY TO ENHANCE READING COMPREHENSION WITHIN MATHEMATICAL WORD PROBLEMS

Many students who are proficient with basic math facts struggle for understanding when it comes to word problems. Teachers time and time again teach and re-teach problem solving strategies in hope that their students will one day acquire all the skills necessary to become proficient in this area. Unfortunately understanding problem solving skills is not the only answer to solving word problems. There has been a significant amount of evidence linking reading comprehension to mathematical reasoning. The development of a website to assist teachers and students who are having difficulties with mathematical word problems is extremely beneficial. The website is designed with links, power points, and examples that enhance reading comprehension within mathematical word problems. Through this project, it has been determined that students who are exposed to an additional mathematical program related to breaking apart word problems show evidence of a greater understanding and mastery of solving mathematical word problems

“I Now Pronounce You PoliMigra”: Narrative Resistance to Police-ICE Interoperability

Police-ICE interoperability, known colloquially by immigrant rights actors as PoliMigra, is the cooperation of state and local law enforcement with federal immigration authorities to enforce federal immigration law. Hailed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and state and local authorities as a “common sense” approach to immigration enforcement, such collaboration is asserted to aid authorities in identifying and apprehending potential or proven threats to the nation. In contrast, immigrant rights actors argue that the blurring of lines between local police and federal immigration agents ultimately produces vulnerability for communities, both immigrant and native-born. In this article, I contextualize the foundations of recent police-ICE collaboration and discuss two individual programs, Secure Communities and 287(g), that exemplify interoperability. Drawing on observations from more than two years of participatory ethnographic field work in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina, I then examine one strategy that immigrant rights actors have used to resist the collaboration of local law enforcement with federal immigration authorities. This strategy, a mock PoliMigra wedding ceremony, functions as an ideological counternarrative to the common sense rationale of police-ICE interoperability as logical and beneficial for communitie

An Analysis of Women’s Access to Acute Opioid Detoxification Services in Maine: Identifying the Barriers to Treatment

The lack of treatment facilities and services for opioid use disorder in Maine, combined with an increased prevalence of addiction, creates a potential for health inequity between men and women that may be intensified by barriers in access to care. This capstone study utilized detoxification screening inquiry forms and data obtained from the Milestone Foundation’s acute opioid detoxification program to assess and categorize barriers to access by gender. A barriers model was developed based on existing literature and was to identify potential associations among and between the known barriers to accessing treatment. Barriers were described as internally or externally based, and categorized as pertaining to availability, affordability, accommodation, accessibility, and acceptability. Categories were compartmentalized in the barrier model by using a framework of structure, process, and outcome, which are Avedis Donabedien’s triad of healthcare quality. The results of the study demonstrate that the Milestone Foundation acute opioid detoxification program anticipates and mitigates many of the potential barriers to women, by counteracting deficiencies of specific components in the barrier model with strengths from other components in the category, or with linked components in an associated category. Barriers that prevent women from requesting treatment may still present a problem. Further revisions may be necessary as the prevalence of opioid use disorder in women continue

“I Now Pronounce You PoliMigra”: Narrative Resistance to Police-ICE Interoperability

Police-ICE interoperability, known colloquially by immigrant rights actors as PoliMigra, is the cooperation of state and local law enforcement with federal immigration authorities to enforce federal immigration law. Hailed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and state and local authorities as a “common sense” approach to immigration enforcement, such collaboration is asserted to aid authorities in identifying and apprehending potential or proven threats to the nation. In contrast, immigrant rights actors argue that the blurring of lines between local police and federal immigration agents ultimately produces vulnerability for communities, both immigrant and native-born. In this article, I contextualize the foundations of recent police-ICE collaboration and discuss two individual programs, Secure Communities and 287(g), that exemplify interoperability. Drawing on observations from more than two years of participatory ethnographic field work in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina, I then examine one strategy that immigrant rights actors have used to resist the collaboration of local law enforcement with federal immigration authorities. This strategy, a mock PoliMigra wedding ceremony, functions as an ideological counternarrative to the common sense rationale of police-ICE interoperability as logical and beneficial for communitie

EFFECT OF A 12-WEEK HOME-BASED NEUROMUSCULAR ELECTRICAL STIMULATION TREATMENT ON CLINICAL OUTCOMES FOLLOWING ARTICULAR CARTILAGE KNEE SURGERY

Articular cartilage defects in the knee are common, and can result in pain, decreased function and decreased quality of life. Untreated defects are considered to be a risk factor for developing osteoarthritis, a progressive degenerative joint disease with minimal treatment options. To address these issues, various surgical procedures are available to treat articular cartilage defects in the knee. While these procedures overall have positive results, after surgery patients experience large and persistent deficits in quadriceps strength. A contributing factor to this post-surgical weakness is believed to be the extended post-operative non-weight bearing period, with full weight bearing not initiated until approximately 4 – 6 weeks after surgery. During this non-weight bearing period a minimal amount of demand is placed upon the muscle. Subsequently, the quadriceps muscle undergoes a large degree of atrophy with a significant decrease in muscle strength. Muscular strength deficits reduce the knee joint stability, also increasing the risk of osteoarthritis development. Interventions that can be used to facilitate quadriceps strength while protecting the articular cartilage repair are needed. Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) is an effective post-knee surgery rehabilitation technique to regain quadriceps musculature. In recent years manufactures have been developing knee sleeve garments integrated with NMES allowing for portability of the NMES treatment. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a 12-week home-based neuromuscular electrical stimulation treatment on post-surgical clinical outcomes (quadriceps strength, lower extremity function, and patient reported outcomes) after articular cartilage knee surgery. Patients were randomized between a standard of care home-treatment group and a NMES home-treatment group. Patients completed isometric quadriceps strength testing, the Y-balance test, and the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) before surgery and at 3-months after surgery. The secondary aims of this study were to determine the most effective NMES parameters for post-surgical quadriceps strength; and to develop a framework to identify factors that may influence a patient’s adherence to a prescribed therapy program. From our results we can make several conclusions. First, we found only a small number of studies utilize similar parameters for post-surgical quadriceps strength treatments. The majority of the parameters reported in the literature were highly variable between studies. Second, clinicians can utilize the expanded Health Belief Model to identify situational and personal factors unique to a patient that may impact adherence to a prescribed treatment. Clinicians can then implement the proposed interventional strategies to address the identified situational and personal factors. Finally, there was no difference in quadriceps strength, lower extremity function, or self-reported scores at 3-month between a home-based NMES treatment and a standard of care home-based treatment. Patients’ adherence to the treatment protocols may have been a major factor contributing to these results. Utilizing a model, such as the proposed expanded Health Belief Model, may assist clinicians in improving a patients’ adherence to future prescribed home-treatment programs