The Effects of Individualized Literacy Interventions on Reading Motivation and Achievement for a Student with Cognitive Disabilities

This study was a case study which focused on improving reading achievement and reading motivation for a student attending a large mid-West urban school district. The student was in second grade at and is diagnosed with a mild cognitive disability. The intervention consisted of ten sessions, for 60 minutes. The sessions focused on research-based methods to increase reading motivation and achievement: content goals, student choice, and hands on activities. Pre and post data was collected on the students reading motivation, reading achievement, performance in the literacy sessions, and classroom behaviors. The results of the study indicated that the interventions had an effect on the students motivation as measured in a motivation survey, behavior in sessions and classroom behavior. In addition, the student\u27s reading achievement increased through the study. At the end the student was able to move from a frustration level to an instruction level on primer text

Stream Bank and Bar Erosion Contributions and Land Use Influence on Suspended Sediment Loads in Two Ozark Watersheds, Southeast Missouri

In-channel sources and storages of fine-sediment such as in banks and bars can influence sediment loads and overall geomorphic activity in stream systems. However, in-channel processes and effects on sediment load are rarely quantified in geomorphic or water quality studies. This study uses a sediment budget approach to assess the influence of bank erosion and bar deposition on fine sediment loads in Mineral Fork (491 km2) and Mill Creek (133 km2) watersheds located in the Ozark Highlands in Washington County, Missouri. These watersheds were disturbed by historical lead and barite mining which included the construction of large tailings dams across headwater valleys. USEPA’s Spreadsheet Tool for Estimating Pollutant Loads (STEPL) was used to quantify suspended sediment delivery from upland areas and assess land use-load relationships. Aerial photographs from 1995 and 2015 were used to identify spatial patterns of erosion and deposition in bank and bar forms. LiDAR was used to characterize the channel network and determine bank and bar heights. Field measurements were used to ground-truth bank and bar heights and fine-sediment composition of alluvial deposits. Historical tailings dams capture runoff from 27% of Mineral Fork and 28% of Mill Creek drainage areas, trapping 38% and 26% of the suspended sediment load annually, respectively. The total annual sediment yield for Mineral Fork watershed was 92 Mg/km2 /yr with 55% released by bank erosion and \u3c1% reduced by bar storage. The sediment yield for Mill Creek was 99 Mg/km2 /yr with 33% released by bank erosion and 24% reduced by bar storage. These results indicate that in-channel processes are important contributors to sediment yields in these watersheds

First Line Research Data Management for Life Sciences: a Case Study

Modern life sciences studies depend on the collection, management and analysis of comprehensive datasets in what has become data-intensive research. Life science research is also characterised by having relatively small groups of researchers. This combination of data-intensive research performed by a few people has led to an increasing bottleneck in research data management (RDM). Parallel to this, there has been an urgent call by initiatives like FAIR and Open Science to openly publish research data which has put additional pressure on improving the quality of RDM. Here, we reflect on the lessons learnt by DataHub Maastricht, a RDM support group of the Maastricht University Medical Centre (MUMC+) in Maastricht, the Netherlands, in providing first-line RDM support for life sciences. DataHub Maastricht operates with a small core team, and is complemented with disciplinary data stewards, many of whom have joint positions with DataHub and a research group. This organisational model helps creating shared knowledge between DataHub and the data stewards, including insights how to focus support on the most reusable datasets. This model has shown to be very beneficial given limited time and personnel. We found that co-hosting tailored platforms for specific domains, reducing storage costs by implementing tiered storage and promoting cross-institutional collaboration through federated authentication were all effective features to stimulate researchers to initiate RDM. Overall, utilising the expertise and communication channel of the embedded data stewards was also instrumental in our RDM success. Looking into the future, we foresee the need to further embed the role of data stewards into the lifeblood of the research organisation, along with policies on how to finance long-term storage of research data. The latter, to remain feasible, needs to be combined with a further formalising of appraisal and reappraisal of archived research data

Leraren en scholen voor het jeugdonderwijs : essay over crisisbestrijding en vitalisering van het leraarsberoep

In dit essay geven we een schets van de problemen waarmee het leraarsberoep te kampen heeft. Om deze problemen de baas te worden is een reeks maatregelen getroffen, zoals de vernieuwing van de lerarenopleidingen, de modernisering van de schoolorganisatie en de dynamisering van de beroepsgroep. De hoofdlijnen van deze maatregelen worden beschreven. We reflecteren afrondend op de vraag in hoeverre deze maatregelen succesvol waren en wat er de komende jaren nog op de vernieuwingsagenda staat

Accreditation of the PGD laboratory

Accreditation according to an internationally recognized standard is increasingly acknowledged as the single most effective route to comprehensive laboratory quality assurance, and many countries are progressively moving towards compulsory accreditation of medical testing laboratories. The ESHRE PGD Consortium and some regulatory bodies recommend that all PGD laboratories should be accredited or working actively towards accreditation, according to the internationally recognized standard ISO 15189, ‘Medical laboratories—Particular requirements for quality and competence'. ISO 15189 requires comprehensive quality assurance. Detailed management and technical requirements are defined in the two major chapters. The management requirements address quality management including the quality policy and manual, document control, non-conformities and corrective actions, continual improvement, auditing, management review, contracts, referrals and resolution of complaints. Technical requirements include personnel competence (both technical and medical), equipment, accommodation and environment, and pre-analytical, analytical and post-analytical processes. Emphasis is placed on the particular requirements of patient care: notably sample identification and traceability, test validation and interpretation and reporting of results. Quality indicators must be developed to monitor contributions to patient care and continual improvement. We discuss the implementation of ISO 15189 with a specific emphasis on the PGD laboratory, highlight elements of particular importance or difficulty and provide suggestions of effective and efficient ways to obtain accreditation. The focus is on the European environment although the principles are globally applicabl