Labour and the unions: exploring Labour Party evolution

Labour parties are not all that common in democratic systems and as such labour parties, with their explicit ties to unions, have not been fully accounted for in the literature exploring the evolution of political parties. In this paper I will draw on interviews conducted with union officials and party activists in Australia, Britain and Sweden to explore the extent to which the labour parties in these three countries have moved away from Duverger’s ‘mass party model’ and instead adopted features more associated with electoralist parties.1 I will begin by examining the environment in which these three parties operate before examining the strategies they have adopted to maintain their electability. I seek to discover if there are commonalities in the way labour parties have evolved, as well as explore the role of unions in either forming a barrier, or providing additional pressure, for party change. This paper is not meant to provide definitive answers, but rather to spark a debate about whether labour parties should be seen as a distinct party family that face similar pressures and opportunities

Behavioral and neural correlates of chronic blast-related mild traumatic brain injury

Blast-related mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is a common injury among Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) veterans due to the frequent use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). A significant minority of veterans with blast-related mTBI complain of postconcussion symptoms (PCS) and cognitive difficulties, even years after the injury. Studies have suggested that these behavioral sequelae are primarily linked to mental health disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, mTBI is associated with neural changes and the impact of these changes on behavioral sequelae is unclear. As such, this dissertation had three goals. First, this dissertation assessed whether the severity of PCS in blast-exposed individuals is associated with the extent of mTBI-related neural injury. Results revealed that individuals with mTBI with loss of consciousness (LOC) had significantly more white matter abnormalities than no-TBI controls and that these white matter abnormalities were spatially variable across individuals. Importantly, the extent of white matter abnormality was associated with physical PCS severity and mediated the relationship between mTBI with LOC and physical PCS. Second, this dissertation examined whether these white matter abnormalities were also associated with overall cognitive impairment. In light of the observed variability in white matter injury, a measure of overall cognitive status that takes into account heterogeneity of cognitive impairment was used. Results showed that the extent of white matter abnormality was associated with cognitive status and mediated the relationship between mTBI with LOC and cognitive impairment. Third, this dissertation examined performance and brain function in the context of an experimental measure of cognitive control known to be sensitive to residual effects of mTBI. Results revealed that although behavioral performance was similar across groups, the mTBI group had enhanced functional connectivity between brain networks important for task performance, suggesting a potential compensatory mechanism in mTBI. Together, the findings of this dissertation suggest that mTBI is associated with structural and functional connectivity alterations years after the injury. Further, this dissertation suggests that whereas structural connectivity changes may have negative behavioral consequences, changes in functional connectivity may serve as a compensatory mechanism for successful performance

Adult Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Quality Improvement Project

Adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) vary widely in their symptom presentation and functional deficits, which can make management in the primary care setting challenging for providers (Morstedt, Corbisiero, Bitto, & Stieglitz, 2015). Measurement-based care is common in the management of medical disease, however is rarely used as standard practice in treatment of psychiatric disorders (Waldrop & McGuinness, 2017). As a result, treatment for psychiatric conditions, such as ADHD, may vary widely among clinicians and may result suboptimal treatment and patient outcomes (Waldrop & McGuinness, 2017). The proposed solution was to introduce the use of a standardized measurement tool for evaluating ADHD symptoms in the primary care setting. The purpose of this project was to implement an ADHD tool kit and a validated ADHD symptom scale and evaluate clinical practices surrounding the assessment and treatment of ADHD

Cognitive and Emotional Correlates of Improved Gait Distance During the Course of Physical Therapy Treatment for an Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury

Objective The focus of spinal cord injury rehabilitation over the past four decades has shifted from medical management to issuses that affect quality of life and community participation (Gómara- Toldrà, Sliwinski, & Dijkers, 2014). However, the care team for spinal cord injury patients still need to collaberate in order to design and implement interventions that result in maximum participation to provide an individual with a spinal cord injury an effective rehabilitation program. In order to create such a rehablitation program, the care team must know how certain psychological and cognitive aspects, such as depression and implict memory, are related to the course and out comes of physcial therapy treatment. The aim of this pilot study was to complie research concerning how depression and implicit memory are related to the physical therapy outcomes of an individual with a spinal cord injury. Design The study team administered a battery of psychological tests to two control groups, one consisting of younger individuals and the other consisting of older individuals, and a patient group. These tests were administered on two separate occassions to both control groups and on four separate occassions to the patient group. The data collected was annalyzed by runing repeated measure ANOVAs, appropriate post-hoc tests, and partial correlation tests. Results and Conclusions There was no way to normalize the physical therapy improvement data for patients. This was the result of there not being a universal approach to treating incomplete spinal cord injuries and documenting improvement rates. However, the study team did find effects related to symptoms of depression and implicit memory ability across the patient and healthy control groups. Specifically, the patient group had greater symptoms of depression compared to either the younger or older control groups, and the older control group had the slowest implicit memory compared to either the younger control group or patient group

Parent Perspectives on Homeschooling in Minnesota

This paper explores the perspective of parents who have experience homeschooling their children in the state of Minnesota. Five families participated in the study in an interview format. In each case the mother was interviewed as she was primarily responsible for homeschooling. Data collected from interviews showed themes among all participants in the areas of: continual assessment of the choice to homeschool, the positive affect homeschooling had on the preservation of family structure, a dissatisfaction with other education options, the importance of support systems and the issue of socialization, and the benefits of Post-Secondary Enrollment Options (PSEO). All families in the study were satisfied with their decision to homeschool their children. Research surrounding homeschooling is limited and further research could be conducted to help homeschooling families find increased success; as well as looking at the effectiveness of homeschooling in the area of career and college readiness

Calling Space Traffic Control

The space environment (at least where the Earth’s orbits are concerned) is increasingly congested. As a natural result, collisions between space objects are becoming more likely and much more disastrous

Implementing a Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Phonics Curriculum that Incorporates Music to Meet the Needs of English Language Learners in the Response to Intervention Process

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of the Sing, Spell, Read, Write (SSRW) phonics curriculum that uses explicit and systematic methods and incorporates music to teach literacy skills implemented as a tier-two reading intervention in the Response to Intervention process to meet the cultural and linguistic needs of English Language Learners. A sequential explanatory mixed methods design will be used to explore the research questions. Using a quantitative quasi-experimental comparison method, the researcher gathered archived data relating to ELLs reading achievement using the reading portion of the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests and the STAR Reading assessment. The qualitative component of this study used a phenomenological case study design to examine the shared experiences of teachers whose students participated in this study and were exposed to the SSRW reading intervention. Teachers\u27 perceptions were examined through open ended post intervention interviews. The interviews aimed to gather data related to the effect the intervention had on teachers\u27 perceptions of the appropriate types of interventions to use when working with ELLs. The music intervention was implemented in addition to students\u27 daily reading instruction. The sample for this study was comprised of third and fifth grade teachers, and third and fifth grade ELLs in tier- two of the RTI process for reading

Improving Student Critical Thinking Skills Through Explicit Teaching Strategies

This action research project aimed at finding the impact of teaching critical thinking skills through teacher modeling, guided practice, and independent activities. The eight-week intervention took place with a third grade group of students in a midwest suburban elementary school. Data was collected before the intervention, at the midpoint of the eight weeks, and then after the intervention was completed. Student self-assessment surveys as well as teacher observations were used to gather data around both the application of skills and the student confidence levels of that application. Through the interventions that were implemented, students showed positive growth in both confidence levels and the specific skills of critical thinking

The promotion and prevention of Ahwahnee water principles for resource efficient land use in the cities of Ontario and San Bernardino

This project will explore the environmental benefits of sustainable land use practices as defined in the Ahwahnee Water Principles for Resource Efficient Land Use. These principles identify resource efficient land use practices that local communities can implement. City ordinances contain barriers to prevent the implementation of Ahwahnee Water Principles. The city of Ontario\u27s municipal code, New Model Colony General Plan, and several specific area plans as well as San Bernardino\u27s general plan, municipal code, and University Hills Specific Plan were analyzed to identify preventions and promotions of these water principles. It was discovered both cities have high percentages in the use of impervious cover which increases runoff and causes water contamination