Examining Training Needs of Elementary Paraprofessionals to Provide Applicable Professional Development

A need exists to provide professional development (PD) to paraprofessionals to ensure they are adequately and appropriately prepared and trained to work with students with disabilities (Individuals with Disabilities Act, 2004). The purpose of this study was to examine the needs for training of elementary paraprofessionals in order to tailor professional development around things that are applicable to their daily job requirements. A survey was sent to paraprofessionals and special education teachers in order to inform the training needs of paraprofessionals. Participants identified that paraprofessionals needed PD around strategies for managing behavior, supervising students, student behavior intervention plans, and supporting student learning. Additionally, when professional development was given around the topics identified, paraprofessionals perceived the training was more applicable to their position. This information may allow schools to find ways to enhance the professional development of paraprofessionals that will be tailored to meet their specific needs. It will also provide school and district leaders with the necessary information to create, plan, and implement future professional development training for paraprofessionals

Palaeolimnology of Adelaide Tarn, a ~14,000-year-old low-alpine glacial lake, northwestern South Island, New Zealand

A palaeolimnology study has been carried out on a ~14,000 calendar [cal]-year-old low-alpine glacial lake, Adelaide Tarn. The lake is located in a cirque basin at ~1260 m elevation in the Tasman Mountains, just below present-day treeline, within Kahurangi National Park, northern South Island, New Zealand. A 5.6-m long sediment core was retrieved from the lake by staff of GNS Science. The chronology of the core was constructed from 15 ¹⁴C dates obtained via AMS on 14 samples of in-situ plant macrofossils and one sample of bulk organic sediment. The core was divided into lithozones 1, 2, and 3 from the base through to the top of the core. Lithozone 1 (5.6–4.8 m) comprises inorganic (carbon content 0.3 to 4%) grey silts with gravel (Munsell colour 5Y 6/1) and these sediments, primarily composed of angular particles identifed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), date to a little earlier than ~13,932 cal yr BP. Lithozone 2 consists of organic (carbon content up to 15%) brownish black (10YR 2/3) silt and clay and extends from ~13,932 to ~7709 cal yr BP. In lithozone 2, diatoms appear, as identified by SEM. Lithozone 3 is made up of dark brown (10YR 3/4) organic silt (carbon content 5 to 10%) and extends from ~7709 cal yr BP through to the top of the core which has an age estimated to be a little older than ~700 cal yr BP on the basis of a ¹⁴C date (~926 cal yr BP) at 13 cm depth and a pollen record that shows neither a Polynesian deforestation signal (i.e. the sediments likely pre-date ~700 cal yr BP) nor European adventives (i.e. the sediments pre-date ~1840 AD). Lithozone 3 is diatom-rich with subordinate angular particles. Intermittent yellow/brown (10YR 6/8) laminae occur throughout lithozones 2 and 3; one lamination occurs near the top of lithozone 1. These yellow/brown laminae comprise mainly angular clastic particles (evident in SEM micrographs) and show a slight increase in sand compared with non-laminated sediments, and the laminae are inferred to reflect terrigenous input to the lake as a consequence of storms or during intense rainfall events. These possible storm events may correspond with ENSO events as described/identified in Lake Tutira in Hawke’s Bay. Multiple components of the sediment archive were analysed to reconstruct the history of the lake and its catchment. Properties included were X-radiography, grey-scale, magnetic susceptibility, grain size, plant macrofossil assemblages, organic carbon content, and isotopes δ¹⁵N and δ¹³C. The results show four phases of climate variability (Adelaide Tarn climate events, AT-CEs) from the onset of lake formation ~14,000 cal yr BP. AT-CE1: early sediments ~14,000 cal yr BP show enhanced terrigenous input (fine-grained grey silts, with gravel layers, of lithozone 1), consistent with fluvio-glacial in-wash during retreat from the Adelaide Tarn basin of a local cirque glacier. AT-CE2: from ~13,932 to ~10,000 cal yr BP, erosion of the catchment is much diminished, indicated by decreases in modal grain size and magnetic susceptibility, and lake productivity concomitantly commences as shown by the δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N isotope records. Poaceae species dominate the macrofossil plant assemblages with no tree-species found. AT-CE2 (~13,932 to ~10,000 cal yr BP) is inferred to be one of warming but the catchment was not yet stable and little or no soil formation occurred that would allow habitation by tree species. AT-CE3: the third palaeoenvironmental phase, from ~10,000 to ~2400 cal yr BP, is marked by an expansion of Nothofagus (Nothofagus menziesii and Nothofagus fusca) forest with minor constituents of Libocedrus biwillii and Phyllocladus alpinus. This phase is inferred to be one of sustained warm conditions and a stable catchment. Adelaide Tarn is situated 250 m higher than the present-day altitudinal limit of N. fusca and the presence of macrofossils of this species in the sediment record suggests that between ~6400 and ~2400 cal yr BP the mean annual temperature was possibly ~1.2˚C warmer than present based on an observed environmental lapse rate of 0.47˚C/100 m. There was slight increase in denitrification from ~8000 through to ~3000 cal yr BP, suggesting that primary productivity increased in the lake. AT-CE4: from ~2400 cal yr BP, the fourth phase, the plant assemblage shifted to Poaceae-dominated; cold-sensitive taxa were forced to descend, marked by disappearance of forest species from the plant macrofossil assemblage. The climate is inferred to have deteriorated and the tree-line descended to near the present-day position. The Adelaide Tarn record is one of only a few spanning the last ~14,000 years in central New Zealand, and is especially useful in adding to the plant macrofossil records, which are rare. The Adelaide Tarn record was compared with the newly-published New Zealand climate event stratigraphy (NZ-CES), with the proposed tripartite subdivision of the Holocene, and with a number of records across New Zealand that are based on various proxies including speleothems and pollen assemblages. None of the NZ-CES events were clearly evident in the Adelaide Tarn record (apart from NZce-1), and the proposed boundaries of the subdivided Holocene (at ~8.2 ka and 4.2 ka) were not evident. A palynological record spanning the last ~12,000 years from Cropp Valley, western South Island, showed close consistency with the Adelaide Tarn record

Urban Residents\u27 Adoption of Stormwater Best Management Practices: Final Report

The practices and decisions of Lewiston and Auburn residents regarding lawn care have a profound impact on stormwater runoff pollution and local water quality. In order to mitigate the substantial effects of these pollutants on waterways, it is critical for local residents to develop an understanding of best management practices (BMPs) which they feel compelled to implement in order to minimize the effects of stormwater pollution on water quality. With a five-year permit cycle for stormwater runoff put forth by the state, the Androscoggin Valley Stormwater Working Group (AVSWG) is contractually tasked with performing educational outreach in the community regarding the importance of stormwater runoff pollution, and with evaluating these educational outreach efforts to ensure that local residents are adequately understanding the BMPs they can adopt to minimize stormwater pollution. Our research on water pollutants, survey design, and behavioral change theory allowed us to produce a survey aimed at assessing residents’ lawn care decisions and at assessing stormwater pollution awareness and outreach efforts in the Lewiston and Auburn area. The survey we created will be sufficient to meet the upcoming permit requirements and to help determine behavioral trends in relation to the adoption of lawn care BMPs, the effectiveness of previous AVSWG educational outreach efforts, and the existing barriers to the adoption of BMPs. Central to our survey design process was the popular and heavily cited behavioral change theory developed by M. Fishbein and I. Ajzen (2010), the Reasoned Action Approach, which locates behavioral intention as the closest predictor of behavior implementation and identifies attitudes, norms, and behavioral control (both perceived and actual) as primary factors to examine which structure a person’s behavioral intent. To inform our survey construction, we also conducted interviews with local residents and pretested an initial version of the survey on several Bates College faculty members. After making revisions, we have produced a final version of the survey which will be distributed to residents of Lewiston and Auburn door-to-door in the coming month, as well as generated hypotheses as to the effectiveness of the AVSWG’s educational outreach efforts surrounding stormwater pollution. The initial information we have gathered via the framework of the Reasoned Action Approach on residents’ attitudes, norms, and perceived and actual control over their lawn care decisions both allow us to begin analyzing the effectiveness of the AVSWG’s educational outreach efforts, and to begin identifying leverage points which future education and outreach efforts could target. Our research has allowed us to create a set of conceptual tools which the AVSWG may continue to use in the coming years

The Effects of a DNA-V Program on Psychological Flexibility Moderated by Gender and Race

Previous research suggests that adolescents are vulnerable to a wide range of psychological issues and that these issues are often inadequately addressed. When addressed, mental health concerns are commonly handled in schools, who are in a unique position to intervene with social and emotional difficulties. Unfortunately, the implementation of social and emotional curriculum present barriers for implementation and impacting positive change in student functioning. An emerging model of behavior change uses principles of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, positive psychology, and behaviorism to target behaviors and promise healthy behaviors in youth. Data were collected from four Health/PE classes in a rural high school. The participants received a 6-week universal prevention intervention targeting social and emotional learning skills and psychological inflexibility. Participants who received the intervention curriculum did not exhibit significant changes in psychological inflexibility. Moderation analyses were conducted to determine if the change from pre- to post-intervention was moderated by gender or race. Overall, neither gender nor race moderated the relationship between pre-intervention psychological inflexibility to post-intervention psychological inflexibility

Differentiating the EdD and the PhD in Higher Education: A Survey of Characteristics and Trends

Purpose: Higher education, as a field of study, is one of the few programmatic areas that offer two doctoral degrees: The Doctor of Education (EdD) and the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). In the United States, the two degrees are often conflated. Conversations, to this point, have done more to contribute to the theoretical debate than to operationally distinguish between the two degree paths. Method: The current study analyzed data collected from a review of the 188 doctoral programs at 145 institutions listed with the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE). Results: Results suggest that while there is a shift toward operational differences between the EdD and the PhD in higher education, the similarities in entrance requirements, formats, and research expectations, to list a few, suggest that the EdD and PhD still require further refinement to reach the theoretical clarity common in many conversations about the education doctorate

LVAD as Destination Therapy - The Economic Dilemma

The artificial heart, after decades of development, remains a long way off as a practical remedy for people with failing hearts. But a related technology, the left ventricular assist device (LVAD), has passed major milestones in its development and is poised for widespread use. This technology, which is an offshoot of the artificial heart program, may well have greater impact on society than the artificial heart. It is time to consider its probable costs to society. A heart transplant is the present treatment of choice for end-stage heart failure (ESHF)

Vulnerable Populations and the Transition to Adulthood

D. Wayne Osgood, E. Michael Foster, and Mark E. Courtney examine the transition to adulthood for youth involved in social service and justice systems during childhood and adolescence. They survey the challenges faced by youth in the mental health system, the foster care system, the juvenile justice system, the criminal justice system, and special education, and by youth with physical disabilities and chronic illness, as well as runaway and homeless youth

MRI Processing Pipeline Variability and Infant Brain Morphometry Associations to 4-Month Infant Temperament

Negative reactive temperament, an infant temperament characterized by fear of novelty, is associated with adolescent amygdala volume (Filippi et al, 2020) and adult prefrontal cortex (PFC) thickness (Schwartz et al, 2010). However, it remains unknown whether these differences in brain morphometry emerge in infancy. Further, evaluating this possibility is a challenge because few pipelines are optimized for processing infant magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data. Thus, evaluation of available infant MRI processing pipelines is necessary prior to examining associations between negative reactivity and brain morphometry. This study examines (1) which MRI pipeline performs best for 4-month-old infant MRI data and (2) associations between temperament and brain morphometry. Behavioral reactivity was assessed by presenting novel stimuli to infants. High-resolution structural MRI data was acquired a few weeks later. MRI data were processed using the iBEAT (Dai et al, 2013), dHCP (Makropoulos et al, 2018), and CIVET (Ad-Dab’bagh et al., 2006) pipelines to obtain estimates of amygdala and PFC volume. The quality of segmentations of the three pipelines was then assessed. The processing pipelines showed differences in terms of quality of gray/white segmentation and percentage of processing failures. Overall, iBEAT performed the best with the highest percent of useable data. Using the iBEAT output, we examined the associations between infant brain morphometry and reactivity. Results indicated no significant association between amygdala or PFC volume and reactivity