Educators\u27 Perceptions of Reasons for and Strategies to Correct the Underrepresentation of African Americans in Gifted Education Programs

The purpose of this study was to determine elementary and middle school educators\u27 perceptions of the reasons for the underrepresentation of African Americans in gifted education programs. The mixed method paradigm included a combination of both qualitative and quantitative research methods. The two instruments used were an eight-item interview questionnaire and a two page researcher-designed survey. The participants were selected based on the operation of their gifted eligibility teams from three selected elementary schools and twenty middle schools. Three elementary principals and three middle school principals were interviewed to gain an in-depth knowledge of the reasons for and strategies to correct the underrepresentation of African Americans in gifted education programs. Sixty-nine surveys were mailed to principals at three elementary schools and twenty middle schools of a large school system in metro Atlanta. The principals distributed the surveys to members of his or her schools gifted eligibility team. The survey assessed the reasons for the underrepresentation of African Americans in gifted education programs based on the perceptions of principals and teachers. The 31 respondents surveys, a 44.9% return rate, were analyzed and indicated that reasons for the underrepresentation of African Americans in gifted education programs consisted of the following: (1) African American culture does not value intellectual giftedness; (2) Definition of giftedness inhibits identification of minority students; (3) Identification process for admission into the gifted program is problematic; (4) Low socio-economic status of African American students inhibits their identification for the gifted program; (5) Non-standard language of African American students inhibits their identification for the gifted program; (6) The educational level of African American parents negatively affects student attitudes about the gifted program; (7) Race causes African American students not to be nominated; (8) Late identification of African American students causes them not to stay in the gifted program; (9) Teachers do not recognize gifted potential of African American students; (10) Test bias works against African American students; (11) Student unwillingness to participate in the program is problematic. As a result of the principals\u27 interviews, nine strategies were formulated to address the underrepresentation of African Americans in gifted education programs

Academic and non-academic factors as predictors of early academic success in bacclaureate nursing programs

Nurses are in very high demand and this situation has placed an unprecedented call for faculty in higher education institutions to produce more graduates. With more students applying to nursing programs and a limited number of nursing slots available, admission to nursing programs has become increasingly competitive. Given these conditions, a trend toward increasing admissions standards has been noticed as program leaders and faculty struggle to institute some type of sorting method to select the applicants who are most likely to succeed in their nursing education programs. Entrance examinations have been increasingly used as a major part of admissions criteria for nursing programs with an assumption that high test scores on entrance examinations will correlate with program success. The purpose of this study was to examine selected academic and non-academic variables of first-term nursing major students to identify variables that correlate with early in-program success, and second, to compare the predictive efficiency between widely used nursing entrance tests (i.e., NET, TEAS, CCTST, ATI-CTT). This study was a retrospective, descriptive, and correlational investigation of 651 baccalaureate nursing students at a single study site. The researcher compiled data from academic student records to examine 18 independent variables for predictive correlation with the criterion variable of term-one success. The results of data analysis demonstrated that of the variables investigated, 43% to 48% of the variance in term-one outcome was predicted by these two main variables: pre-nursing grade-point average (GPA) and critical thinking test score. Nursing entrance test scores did not add to prediction of term-one success. Multiple regression analyses demonstrated stronger predictive efficiency with the model utilizing pre-nursing GPA and ATI Critical Thinking Test scores. The researcher also found significantly lower term-one pass rates in minority, African American, and English-as-a-second language students. This area of investigation should be studied further. Additionally, by using results of this study, a model, the Early Academic Success (EAS) Prediction model, was developed for nursing leaders and faculties interested in investigating predictors of early academic success in their baccalaureate programs

Immunoglobulin variable-region gene mutational lineage tree analysis: application to autoimmune diseases

Lineage trees have frequently been drawn to illustrate diversification, via somatic hypermutation (SHM), of immunoglobulin variable-region (IGV) genes. In order to extract more information from IGV sequences, we developed a novel mathematical method for analyzing the graphical properties of IgV gene lineage trees, allowing quantification of the differences between the dynamics of SHM and antigen-driven selection in different lymphoid tissues, species, and disease situations. Here, we investigated trees generated from published IGV sequence data from B cell clones participating in autoimmune responses in patients with Myasthenia Gravis (MG), Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), and Sjögren's Syndrome (SS). At present, as no standards exist for cell sampling and sequence extraction methods, data obtained by different research groups from two studies of the same disease often vary considerably. Nevertheless, based on comparisons of data groups within individual studies, we show here that lineage trees from different individual patients are often similar and can be grouped together, as can trees from two different tissues in the same patient, and even from IgG- and IgA-expressing B cell clones. Additionally, lineage trees from most studies reflect the chronic character of autoimmune diseases

What plus-size means for plus-size women: A mixed-methods approach

Western fashion is constantly evolving and in order to obtain notoriety, brands need to positively connect with consumers. Individuals who wear plus-sizes are acutely aware of their reduced clothing choices and rely on language cues to find clothing. Unfortunately, the categorisation of plus-size consumers is fraught with discord and frustration. Fashion communication should consider consumer needs and preferences. However, the language used to classify plus-size consumers has yet to be examined. Plus-size women were recruited online to rate twelve terms associated with plus-size women’s clothing. The survey collected a total of 324 responses of age, height, weight and ratings of terms used to classify plus-size apparel, such as Women’s, Curvy. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and analysis of variance to compare differences considering age and body mass. This study revealed 96% of the sample ranked the classification Women’s higher than Plus-Size. The study offers insights into how plus-size consumers view sizing communications. It also offers a useful ranking of terms that fashion companies can adopt to ensure they are communicating in language that the intended consumer prefers. This study contributes to research on social identity of clothing size, plus-size consumer experiences, and further validates the multidimensional challenges faced by plus-size consumers

Mental health and well-being of fathers of children with intellectual disabilities: systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Caring for a child with intellectual disabilities can be a very rewarding but demanding experience. Research in this area has primarily focused on mothers, with relatively little attention given to the mental health of fathers. AIMS: The purpose of this review was to summarise the evidence related to the mental health of fathers compared with mothers, and with fathers in the general population. METHOD: A meta-analysis was undertaken of all studies published by 1 July 2018 in Medline, PsycINFO, CINAHL and EMBASE, using terms on intellectual disabilities, mental health and father carers. Papers were selected based on pre-defined inclusion and exclusion criteria. RESULTS: Of 5544 results, 20 studies met the inclusion criteria and 12 had appropriate data for meta-analysis. For comparisons of fathers with mothers, mothers were significantly more likely to have poor general mental health and well-being (standardised mean difference (SMD) -0.38, 95% CI -0.56 to -0.20), as well as higher levels of depression (SMD, -0.46; 95% CI -0.68 to -0.24), stress (SMD, -0.32; 95% CI -0.46 to -0.19) and anxiety (SMD, -0.30; 95% CI -0.50 to -0.10). CONCLUSIONS: There is a significant difference between the mental health of father and mother carers, with fathers less likely to exhibit poor mental health. However, this is based on a small number of studies. More data is needed to determine whether the general mental health and anxiety of father carers of a child with intellectual disabilities differs from fathers in the general population

The Relationship between CD27 Negative and Positive B Cell Populations in Human Peripheral Blood

CD27 expression has been used to distinguish between memory and naive B cells in humans. However, low levels of mutated and isotype-switched CD27−IgD− cells are seen in healthy adults, and these are increased in some autoimmune diseases and in the elderly. Thus CD27 is not a universal marker of memory B cells in humans. Various hypotheses have been put forward as to the function of the CD27− memory population. Since we have previously found high-throughput IGHV repertoire analysis useful to distinguish “innate-like” memory B cells (CD27+IgD+), we have employed similar analyses to elucidate the relationship between CD27− and CD27+ memory B cells. IgM+IgD− memory cells in both the CD27+ and CD27− compartments share the unique characteristics of the “innate-like” IgM+IgD+CD27+ cells. The switched CD27+ and CD27− memory cells share a similar IGHV repertoire, having more in common with each other than with “innate-like” memory cells, although it is interesting that IgG2 and IgA2 subclasses of antibody in both switched memory populations have a more “innate-like” repertoire. Clonality analysis shows evidence of a close clonal relationship between the two populations in that both CD27− and CD27+ switched memory cells can be found in the same genealogical tree. The expression of CD27 does not appear to occur in a linear developmental fashion, since we see CD27− cells as precursors of CD27+ cells and vice versa. Despite the similarities, the CDR-H3 repertoire of the CD27− cells is significantly different from both the CD27+IgD+ and CD27+IgD− populations, indicating that perhaps the lack of CD27 might be related to binding properties of the Ig CDR-H3 region

Of Student Teachers and Avatars: Working Towards an Effective Model for Geographically Distributed Learning Communities of Pre-Service Educators Using Virtual Worlds.

With greater distribution of learning communities through the expanding use of online and distance learning, researchers emphasize focus on the effective use of specific technologies on student preference and achievement. One such technology drawing significant interest in scholarly and practical circles is the use of Multi-User Virtual Environments (MUVE), with the more common environment being Second Life, a product of Linden Labs, This research project, having gone through a pilot stage and under current implementation, addresses preference and effectiveness through a mixed-method research endeavor, examining forming communities using Second Life’s environment for small group discussions and large group seminar presentations for pre-service student teachers in a teacher education program. Methods of data collection and analysis include survey comparative analysis (using Keller’s Instructional Materials Motivation Survey and Rovai’s Community Survey Instrument), observation, semi-structured interview and comparative analysis of achievement on a content-based assessment