What Degree Does the Home Environment Contribute to Gross Motor Skill Development in Young Children?

It is theorized that the home plays a big role in the motor development of a child. Home is usually the place where a young child spends most of their time. The aim of this research project was to see if the home environment correlates in any way to a child’s motor development in children ages 18-42 months. Seven children and their parents participated in this study. Parents filled out the AHEMD survey which asked questions about their child’s home environment and toys available. The AHEMD survey is a reliable and valid parental self-report assessment instrument that addresses the quality and quantity of factors in the home that are conducive to enhancing motor development. A motor assessment was performed on each child evaluating their running, jumping, kicking, and throwing skills. The results showed that there was a large correlation between a child’s play materials used for gross movements with the arm and legs and an increased kicking and throwing score on the motor assessment. The results showed that there was not a large correlation between a child’s throwing or kicking score on the motor evaluation and play materials used for gross movement exploration that were used in their home. Results showed that there was not much of an association between having a playroom in their home and their throwing, kicking, running, and jumping scores on the motor assessment

We\u27ve got the \u27hots\u27 for changing teacher misconceptions of learning styles: a mixed-methods approach.

In this dissertation I added to the literature surrounding the myth that teachers should cater to students’ learning styles to improve learning outcomes. I operated from the “hot” paradigm for conceptual change, through the use of the Cognitive Reconstruction of Knowledge Model (CRKM) as the theoretical framework to examine teachers’ conceptual change about learning styles. More specifically, I considered teachers’ existing conceptions as related to their essentialist beliefs, as well as how their motivation and the content of the message contribute to conceptual change. I also responded to the literature on teacher perceptions of researchers by examining the use of teachers themselves as the source of the message prompting conceptual change. I used a mixed methods approach, conducting both a multiple regression and a qualitative coding analysis. I measured teachers’ conceptual change about learning styles after randomly assigning those who endorsed learning styles to receive a conceptual change text (refutation vs, expository) from a source (teacher vs. researcher), and after measuring their level of essentialist beliefs. I included level of essentialism, source type and text type in a model, along with a control for grade level. The model did not significantly predict teachers’ conceptual change about learning styles F(5,112) = 1.26, p = .28, R2= .01. I uncovered ten major themes about teachers’ experiences with conceptual change about learning styles. Some primary findings were that few participants reported strong conceptual change, with little differences across experimental groups. Participants reported a preference for their own experiences, and were skeptical and critical of research. Teachers who did not endorse learning styles consistently reported that an exposure to and understanding of empirical evidence was instrumental in their conceptual change. This study adds to the literature on conceptual change and debunking learning styles. The primary limitations include a small sample size and a need for additional scale development, content, and construct validity. I discuss theoretical implications, as well as implications for educational practices. Finally, I discuss potential avenues for future research in conceptual change about learning styles

A College and Career Readiness Framework for Secondary Students with Disabilities

In this qualitative study, a proposed organizing framework of college and career readiness for secondary students with disabilities was developed based on a synthesis of extant research articulating student success. The original proposed framework included six domains representing academic and nonacademic skills associated with college and career readiness: academic engagement, academic mind-sets, learning processes, critical thinking, social skills, and transition knowledge. Focus groups were conducted to examine perspectives among state-level stakeholders with knowledge and expertise regarding college and career readiness, drop-out prevention, and secondary transition. Through an iterative process, the focus group data were analyzed and the framework was refined based on findings. Implications for practice and suggestions for future research are discussed

“Epic-Genetics”: An exploration of preservice helping professionals’ (mis)understanding of epigenetic influences on human development

Mental health researchers emphasize the importance of practitioner understanding of biology-environment interplay. Accordingly, our goal of the study described in this article was to understand students’ preconceptions and misconceptions about biological and environmental influences on development through investigating their conceptions of epigenetics. Using a short-term longitudinal design, we explored preservice helping professionals’ conceptions and misconceptions pertaining to epigenetics within the framework of a graduate level human development course. Baseline knowledge about epigenetics was low. Students developed multiple misconceptions about epigenetics and how the phenomenon relates to biological and environmental influences on human development. Students reported feeling highly efficacious for detecting and resolving misconceptions related to biology-environment interactions but varied in their perceptions of interest for learning about the content. Findings support the use of open-ended questions to detect misconceptions about epigenetics and are discussed in light of how to teach students about this phenomenon. Overall, this research speaks to the importance of understanding the misconceptions students believe and instructional strategies that may assist in correcting them

Landau levels and magnetopolaron effect in dilute GaAs:N

The magnetic-field dependence of the energy spectrum of GaAs doped with nitrogen impurities is investigated. Our theoretical model is based on the phenomenological Band Anticrossing Model (BAC) which we extended in order to include magnetic field and electron - phonon interaction. Due to the highly localized nature of the nitrogen state, we find that the energy levels are very different from those of pure GaAs. The polaron correction results in a lower cyclotron resonance energy as compared to pure GaAs. The magneto-absorption spectrum exhibits series of asymmetric peaks close to the cyclotron energy

Mid-winter temperatures, not spring temperatures, predict breeding phenology in the European starling Sturnus vulgaris

In many species, empirical data suggest that temperatures less than 1 month before breeding strongly influence laying date, consistent with predictions that short lag times between cue and response are more reliable, decreasing the chance of mismatch with prey. Here we show in European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) that mid-winter temperature ca 50–90 days before laying (8 January–22 February) strongly (r2 = 0.89) predicts annual variation in laying date. Mid-winter temperature also correlated highly with relative clutch size: birds laid later, but laid larger clutches, in years when mid-winter temperatures were lower. Despite a high degree of breeding synchrony (mean laying date 5–13 April = ±4 days; 80% of nests laid within 4.8 days within year), European starlings show strong date-dependent variation in clutch size and productivity, but this appears to be mediated by a different temporal mechanism for integration of supplemental cue (temperature) information. We suggest the relationship between mid-winter temperature and breeding phenology might be indirect with both components correlating with a third factor: temperature-dependent development of the starling\u27s insect (tipulid) prey. Mid-winter temperatures might set the trajectory of growth and final biomass of tipulid larvae, with this temperature cue providing starlings with information on breeding season prey availability (though exactly how remains unknown)

Mid-winter temperatures, not spring temperatures, predict breeding phenology in the European starling Sturnus vulgaris

In many species, empirical data suggest that temperatures less than 1 month before breeding strongly influence laying date, consistent with predictions that short lag times between cue and response are more reliable, decreasing the chance of mismatch with prey. Here we show in European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) that mid-winter temperature ca 50–90 days before laying (8 January–22 February) strongly (r2 = 0.89) predicts annual variation in laying date. Mid-winter temperature also correlated highly with relative clutch size: birds laid later, but laid larger clutches, in years when mid-winter temperatures were lower. Despite a high degree of breeding synchrony (mean laying date 5–13 April = ±4 days; 80% of nests laid within 4.8 days within year), European starlings show strong date-dependent variation in clutch size and productivity, but this appears to be mediated by a different temporal mechanism for integration of supplemental cue (temperature) information. We suggest the relationship between mid-winter temperature and breeding phenology might be indirect with both components correlating with a third factor: temperature-dependent development of the starling\u27s insect (tipulid) prey. Mid-winter temperatures might set the trajectory of growth and final biomass of tipulid larvae, with this temperature cue providing starlings with information on breeding season prey availability (though exactly how remains unknown)

ISICSoo: a class for the calculation of ionization cross sections from ECPSSR and PWBA theory

ISICS, originally a C language program for calculating K-, L- and M-shell ionization and X-ray production cross sections from ECPSSR and PWBA theory, has been reengineered into a C++ language class, named ISICSoo. The new software design enables the use of ISICS functionality in other software systems. The code, originally developed for Microsoft Windows operating systems, has been ported to Linux and Mac OS platforms to facilitate its use in a wider scientific environment. The reengineered software also includes some fixes to the original implementation, which ensure more robust computational results and a review of some physics parameters used in the computation. The paper describes the software design and the modifications to the implementation with respect to the previous version; it also documents the test process and provides some indications about the software performance.Comment: Preprint submitted to Computer Physics Communication

Patient Contact Recall after SARS Exposure

We reinterviewed healthcare workers who had been exposed to a patient with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in an intensive care unit to evaluate the effect of time on recall reliability and willingness to report contact activities and infection control precautions. Healthcare workers reliably recalled events 6 months after exposure

The testimony of the spirit, the decline of Calvinism, and the origins of restoration rational religion

The mid-seventeenth century turn to moralism in English Protestant theology – exemplified here by ‘Ignorance’ in Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress – involved a clear rejection of the Calvinistic doctrine of the ‘internal testimony’ of scripture. The upshot was the emergence of a religious impulse that emphasised the salience of a ‘rational account’ of scripture’s credibility. The shift is conventionally traced through Richard Hooker, William Chillingworth, and the Cambridge Platonists. Hooker was, however, more Calvinist and Chillingworth more Laudian than has been recognised. The Cambridge Platonists and their ‘latitudinarian’ successors emerged from and were shaped by puritan culture