Underachievement in gifted students

This study reflected on literature concerning gifted students who underachieve in school. Its purpose was to review the literature to examine the various definitions of underachievement, the characteristics of gifted underachievers, the risk factors for underachievement related to gifted students and the existence of promising interventions to ameliorate underachievement. The writer concluded that underachievement is a discrepancy related to performance behaviors that can be changed. She found that positive change can best be accomplished by the use of individualized interventions involving both the school and the family

Connecting Representations and Ways of Thinking about Slope from Algebra to Calculus

While slope is a topic in the algebra curriculum, having a robust understanding of slope is needed for students to truly understand several single and multivariable calculus topics with any depth. We begin with a review of the topic of slope and present what is known from its existing corpus of literature. We then outline the tenets of APOS theory. Building from there, we suggest what a robust, flexible understanding of slope involves, as well as how slope is used, with the APOS-slope framework acting as a theoretical lens. This is followed by the cases of two hypothetical students built from amalgamations of research and experience to emphasize why moving easily between different ways of thinking about and the various uses of slope is vital to successfully transition into calculus. We offer suggestions as to how university instructors might consider slope understanding when teaching calculus, then conclude with suggestions for future research on slope

Radiation Proctitis: Current Strategies in Management

Radiation proctitis is a known complication following radiation therapy for pelvic malignancy. The majority of cases are treated nonsurgically, and an understanding of the available modalities is crucial in the management of these patients. In this paper, we focus on the current treatments of radiation proctitis

Power Hours-Invasive Species Communication Through Collaborative Webinars

The collaborative webinar project Emerald Ash Borer University (EAB-U) was established in 2009 to address pressing communications needs regarding the invasive emerald ash borer in the midst of national financial crisis. The 40 EAB-U webinars to date have been viewed over 10,000 times. Results of a post-webinar survey evaluating audience composition, impact, and participant satisfaction are presented, and suggest EAB-U webinars reach key audiences who share and apply learned information. Extension professionals faced with complex issues such as invasive species should consider a collaborative webinar approach to efficiently communicate harmonized messages in a cost effective manner

The importance of practitioner smoking status: A survey of NHS Stop Smoking Service practitioners

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the smoking status of stop smoking practitioners, the impact of this on their practice, and clients' quit rates. METHODS: Smoking cessation practitioners in the UK NHS Stop Smoking Service were asked about their smoking status, client quit rates and practitioner-client interaction, using an online survey. Associations between responses were investigated using logistic regression. RESULTS: 51% of the sample (N=484) were ex-smokers. Most practitioners had been questioned about their smoking status by clients, with more never than ex-smokers claiming that this reduced their confidence when advising. Never smokers more frequently reported that clients questioned their ability as a practitioner, but no significant difference in quit rates was reported between never and ex-smokers. CONCLUSION: Although evidence suggests smokers believe many practitioners are never smokers, this survey found that this is not true. Research investigating how many smokers might not be seeking support to quit because of this could be beneficial. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Raising awareness of the similarity of quit rates achieved by never and former smoker practitioners, and the experience practitioners draw upon when offering advice, might encourage greater use of the NHS SSS. It could also be beneficial to improve training in never smokers to address confidence issues

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least $4m$. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the $6.5m$ James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure

Chaos in Balance: Non-Linear Measures of Postural Control Predict Individual Variations in Visual Illusions of Motion

Visually-induced illusions of self-motion (vection) can be compelling for some people, but they are subject to large individual variations in strength. Do these variations depend, at least in part, on the extent to which people rely on vision to maintain their postural stability? We investigated by comparing physical posture measures to subjective vection ratings. Using a Bertec balance plate in a brightly-lit room, we measured 13 participants' excursions of the centre of foot pressure (CoP) over a 60-second period with eyes open and with eyes closed during quiet stance. Subsequently, we collected vection strength ratings for large optic flow displays while seated, using both verbal ratings and online throttle measures. We also collected measures of postural sway (changes in anterior-posterior CoP) in response to the same visual motion stimuli while standing on the plate. The magnitude of standing sway in response to expanding optic flow (in comparison to blank fixation periods) was predictive of both verbal and throttle measures for seated vection. In addition, the ratio between eyes-open and eyes-closed CoP excursions during quiet stance (using the area of postural sway) significantly predicted seated vection for both measures. Interestingly, these relationships were weaker for contracting optic flow displays, though these produced both stronger vection and more sway. Next we used a non-linear analysis (recurrence quantification analysis, RQA) of the fluctuations in anterior-posterior position during quiet stance (both with eyes closed and eyes open); this was a much stronger predictor of seated vection for both expanding and contracting stimuli. Given the complex multisensory integration involved in postural control, our study adds to the growing evidence that non-linear measures drawn from complexity theory may provide a more informative measure of postural sway than the conventional linear measures