Reducing Stress of Inservice Teachers

A prototype treatment developed to significantly reduce symptoms of stress among inservice teachers was tested in this experiment. Thirty participants selected for high stress levels were randomly assigned to treatment and control groups. They were assessed on environmental, personality, and emotional variables, using self-report and expert-judge measures, both pre- and posttreatment. The experimental treatment was holistic, incorporating all processes previously found to be related to reducing teacher stress. At posttreatment, the treatment group averaged 1.02 standard deviations lower on the stress measures than the control group. Significant differences in the posttest means, favoring the experimental group, were found for 23 of the 39 variables measured on the three self-report instruments. As a group the participants demonstrated substantially lower stress levels than the control group after the treatment, with a substantial decrease from their pretreatment stress levels. Since the control group received no treatment, some of the difference nay be due to Hawthorne Effect

An Operational Look at Federal Impact Aid: The West Point Highland Falls Example (Revised)

This is an analysis of funding changes in the Federal Impact Aid program and the effect on the Highlands Falls School District

The Death of Distance?: The Influence of Computer Mediated Communication on Perceptions of Distance

The expectation that information and communication technologies lead users to transcend the constraints of physical separation has been expressed as the death of distance. Perceptions of distance – the psychological distance – significantly influence how individuals evaluate events and objects. As computer mediated communication technologies allow individuals to interact as easily with those who are remote as with those who are proximate, how do they influence the psychological distance from remote others? And as these technologies are increasingly employed even in interactions with physically proximate others, how does this influence perceived distances? The results suggest that computer mediated communication technologies significantly reduce the psychological distance of remote others

Organizational Learning Theory and Districtwide Curriculum Reform: The Role of the Principal in Organizational Learning

Thesis advisor: Rebecca LownhauptThis qualitative case study examined the role of the principal in organizational learning in one small, urban school district. The study focused on ways in which building leaders acquired, interpreted, and distributed information in schools, and how these practices were monitored. Findings from analysis of principal interviews and document review showed that monthly meetings with the superintendent served as the primary source of information gathered by principals, while meetings with their peers provided a vehicle for interpreting information shared. Within their buildings, principals used various building-level meetings, written communication, and the teacher evaluation processes as vehicles for information distribution to staff. Meetings and observation of practice were utilized to monitor efficacy of their distribution practices. Findings suggested that principals did not identify themselves as the primary keepers or distributors of information as it pertained to teaching and learning. Using a distributed approach, they instead relied on district directors and instructional coaches for that aspect of the work.Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2016.Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education.Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education

An empirical method to cluster objective nebulizer adherence data among adults with cystic fibrosis

Background: The purpose of using preventative inhaled treatments in cystic fibrosis is to improve health outcomes. Therefore, understanding the relationship between adherence to treatment and health outcome is crucial. Temporal variability, as well as absolute magnitude of adherence affects health outcomes, and there is likely to be a threshold effect in the relationship between adherence and outcomes. We therefore propose a pragmatic algorithm-based clustering method of objective nebulizer adherence data to better understand this relationship, and potentially, to guide clinical decisions. Methods to cluster adherence data: This clustering method consists of three related steps. The first step is to split adherence data for the previous 12 months into four 3-monthly sections. The second step is to calculate mean adherence for each section and to score the section based on mean adherence. The third step is to aggregate the individual scores to determine the final cluster (“cluster 1” = very low adherence; “cluster 2” = low adherence; “cluster 3” = moderate adherence; “cluster 4” = high adherence), and taking into account adherence trend as represented by sequential individual scores. The individual scores should be displayed along with the final cluster for clinicians to fully understand the adherence data. Three illustrative cases: We present three cases to illustrate the use of the proposed clustering method. Conclusion: This pragmatic clustering method can deal with adherence data of variable duration (ie, can be used even if 12 months’ worth of data are unavailable) and can cluster adherence data in real time. Empirical support for some of the clustering parameters is not yet available, but the suggested classifications provide a structure to investigate parameters in future prospective datasets in which there are accurate measurements of nebulizer adherence and health outcomes

Responses of North American Birds to Recent Climate Change: Effects of Distributional Changes on Migration Distances, Community Structure and Biodiversity Patterns

Species distributions are becoming increasingly altered by climate change which has been identified as one of the leading threats to biodiversity through altered community composition. I address changes in species distributions of North American birds and how species responses affect community assemblages, functional traits and temporal trends in biodiversity. Chapter 1 investigates inter-seasonal differences in range shifts for 77 species of North American migratory birds. I quantify how shifts between winter and breeding ranges have potentially impacted migration distances. I found that winter range shifted predominantly northward while shifts in breeding range were more variable. These disproportional shifts have caused decreased migration distances. Species in this study tracked their historic temperatures and precipitation conditions in winter, but only tracked precipitation during the breeding season. Chapter 2 focuses on species-specific responses to climate during the breeding season, and how changes in species distributions can alter community composition. I evaluate the temporal changes of two community indices, the Community Temperature Index (CTI), which measures contributions of “warm” or “cool” dwelling species in a community and then establish a new index, the Community Precipitation Index (CPI), which measures relative influences contributions of “high precipitation” or “low precipitation” affiliated species. CTI and CPI significantly increased over time, though the strength and significance of these relationships varied at difference latitudes. Most changes were characterized by southerly species moving to higher latitudes and concurrent decreases in “cool” and “low precipitation” species affiliated with urban and grassland habitats. Chapter 3 builds on the results from Chapter 2 and investigates if these community indices inform alpha (α) and beta (ß) diversity. Species richness decreased over time at the regional scale, and varied with latitude. CTI varied inversely with richness, while CPI showed a positive relationship. Beta diversity also changed over time, driven by biotic homogenization at higher latitudes, and greater community dissimilarity at the lowest latitudes. Multi-species, inter-seasonal studies are scare in the literature. The complementary analyses presented in this dissertation provide new insights into the macroecological responses of North American birds to changing climate at the population and community levels. Chapter 1 demonstrates that wintering and breeding range shifts have occur independently in North American birds and is the first study to evaluate independent range shifts using multiple species. Chapter 2 addresses changes in community composition in response to temperature and precipitation and show that species contribution to CTI and CPI are different among latitude bands. Chapter 3 expands on Chapter 2 and demonstrates that temporal trends in species turnover and nestedness have resulted in biotic homogenization between the highest latitudes of the study. While communities become increasingly composed of southern dwelling species moving north, we observe decreased species richness. These chapters combined offer perspective on population and community changes that can be used in informing conservation at the macroecology scale

Rescue therapy within the UK Cystic Fibrosis registry: an exploration of the predictors of intravenous antibiotic use amongst adults with CF

Background and objective: Intravenous (i.v.) antibiotics are needed for rescue when preventative therapy fails to achieve stability among adults with cystic fibrosis (CF). Understanding the distribution of i.v. days can provide insight into the care that adults with CF need. We aim to determine the baseline characteristics that are associated with higher i.v. use, in particular to test the hypothesis that prior-year i.v. use is associated with future-year i.v. use. Methods: This is a cross-sectional analysis of the 2013–2014 UK CF registry data. Stepwise logistic regression was performed using current-year i.v. days as the dependent variable, and demographic variables including prior-year i.v. days as the covariates. Based on these results, study sample was divided into clinically meaningful subgroups using analysis similar to tree-based method. Results: Data were available for 4269 adults in 2013 and 4644 adults in 2014. Prior-year i.v. use was the strongest predictor for current-year i.v. use followed by forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1). Adults with high prioryear i.v. use (>14 days) continued to require high levels of i.v., regardless of FEV1. Those with high prior-year i. v. use and FEV1 ≥70% had higher current-year i.v. days compared to adults with low prior-year i.v. use and FEV1 <40% (28 days, interquartile range (IQR): 11–41 days vs 14 days, IQR: 0–28 days; Mann–Whitney P-value <0.001 in 2013). Conclusion: CF people with prior high levels of rescue often continue to need high levels of rescue even if they have good FEV1. The reasons for this require further investigations