Effects of Peer-Mediated Vocabulary Intervention on Science Achievement of Seventh Grade Students With and Without Learning Disabilities

Vocabulary knowledge is critical for accessing content-area information for students with learning disabilities who receive instruction in general education content-area classes. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a peer-mediated science vocabulary intervention in general education classrooms on academic achievement of seventh-grade students with and without learning disabilities. A quasi-experimental design with multiple pre- and posttest measures was used to determine the effects of the intervention and whether the intervention was differentially effective for students with learning disabilities compared to their nondisabled peers. The study included 8 teacher participants and 675 student participants in 41 classes. The peer-mediated science vocabulary intervention took place two days per week with a third day for weekly assessments. Students learned 8 new science terms per week by working with their partner using a student routine and researcher developed science vocabulary cards. Results indicated that students in the peer-mediated vocabulary intervention condition outperformed students in the non peer-mediated condition on three academic measures including vocabulary assessments, science standards-based assessments, and numerical grades. However, students\u27 weekly vocabulary growth on science curriculum-based measures was similar for students in both groups. Teachers who implemented the peer-mediated science vocabulary intervention reported overall positive perceptions of the effectiveness and feasibility of the intervention. Students who participated in the peer-mediated science vocabulary intervention indicated they enjoyed working with a peer but reported less favorable opinions regarding the general vocabulary procedures

Lament

This ‘Lament’ is presented as a concrete prose poem addressing the loss of in person sessions and the move to the online platform during the covid-19 pandemic. The chiasm literary structure has been used to format the words of the ‘Lament’ in an archaic form and to present language and thoughts in a way that challenges our perceptions of the ways we read text and picture online. The work of Riley, Lemma and J. J. Gibson have been introduced to help frame beginning thoughts on what it means to be working with another in an art therapeutic context online. Keywords: Lament, chiasm, intersubjectivity, loss, online, virtua

The perceptions and experience of Black students in higher education : looking at the notion of welcome .

The retention of Black students in higher education is a problem faced by virtually all institutions. Despite early contact programs and admissions procedures designed to best assess the likelihood of success, and despite the plethora of programs intended to relieve the discernible problems facing students, the attrition rate for Black students remains high. Vincent Tinto suggests that we understand early departures from higher education as a process. He discusses leaving as a function of social or academic incongruence, the mismatch of student and institution that makes leaving seem the only choice. Effective planning thus necessitates our understanding the students\u27 experience from their perspective, and mandates that local conditions, the circumstances which determine the particular suitability of any program to an institution, be accommodated. Research data about retention concerns was gathered from three sources: (1) the review of literature, which was used as the external criteria for discussing the university\u27s programs; (2) the programs of the university as described in its publicly-disseminated material; and (3) the perceptions and experiences of Black students, gathered through an interview-survey-data process. Additional data about the university came from the experience and observations of the researcher, a teacher there for six years. These data were then compared: literature to university, university to student perception and experience, and literature to student concerns. Racism was a key student concern. Yet what emerged as an equal or greater concern was their experience of welcome or unwelcome in their relationships with faculty, administration, and the social environs. Faculty and administration behaviors and priorities, understood as part of the local conditions and whether or not directly aimed toward students, had a pronounced negative effect on the Black students\u27 experiences and perceptions. Potential areas of academic and social incongruence ultimately centered not in the programs which were offered (or their lack thereof), but in the students\u27 general and specific experiences of unwelcome at the institution

Rethinking social support in women\u27s midlife years: Women\u27s experiences of social support in online environments

The midlife years (45–55) often coincide with fundamental changes in women’s lives, as women experience transitions such as menopause, changes to family structure due to departure of children or divorce, and parents’ ageing and death. These circumstances tend to increase women’s reliance upon their social support networks. Evidence suggests that social support is critical in helping women manage transitions during the midlife period and develop a sense of self-efficacy; this article highlights that this support is being increasingly exchanged through mediated communication channels. The article presents a comparative investigation of mediated communication channels, primarily email and online chat, through which women give and receive social support, and addresses the factors underpinning women’s media choices. The findings indicate that in determining their media selection, women are judging their ‘audience’ and social context of their communication in order to select the most appropriate channel through which to exchange support

Review of the evidence base in relation to early childhood approaches to support children in highly disadvantaged communities for the Children’s Ground Project

The Children’s Ground project aims to develop a place-based approach to support children and their families in highly disadvantaged communities. The project approach is informed by research and evidence, recognising the multiple and multi-level influences on children’s development and the need to support the role of communities in improving outcomes for children. The review of the evidence base, undertaken by the Centre for Community Child Health in collaboration with the Royal Children’s Hospital Education Institute, begins by outlining the changing social and environmental conditions and the influence of these changes on vulnerable children and families. The report then discusses actions undertaken to address these challenges and the reasons why these actions have failed. Next, key factors enabling optimal outcomes for children and contemporary Australian and international evidence-based interventions and approaches that support vulnerable children are examined. The review concludes by summarising the research on the financial and social costs of doing nothing to intervene and improve outcomes for children. In summary, the review endorses the development of a place-based approach with a number of key strategies that simultaneously address families’ immediate needs for support (the foreground factors) and the broader conditions under which families are raising young children (the background factors). The approach needs to promote wrap around, integrated services that are responsive to and driven by the community. Focus must also be given to how services are delivered rather than what is delivered. In order to implement the approach, it is critical that a robust governance structure or entity capable of coordinating and supporting the many stakeholders and services involved is established and a long-term financial and policy commitment is made. Key messages encapsulating broad themes from the literature, supported by concluding statements, have been developed to enable clear communication to a variety of audiences.&nbsp

Private equity and the concept of brittle trust

This paper focuses on private equity in the UK and is set in the context of debates about transformations in the City of London and the financial services sector specifically. The article focuses on a particular concept of trust as expressed by senior members of the private equity sector. The argument developed is based on interviews with five senior founding partners of private equity firms who talked to us about their background and education, their understanding of how private equity worked and the basis for successful money making and their relationships with those inside and outside the organisation. All interviewees strongly asserted the need for absolute trust between senior partners as an essential condition for the successful operation of their business. At the same time, their description of trust in this context was that while it is deep, it is also easily broken, and that once broken, the breach cannot be forgiven. We call this ‘brittle trust:’ asserted to be simultaneously strong while extremely fragile. The paper argues, drawing on Diego Gambetta’s work on the Sicilian Mafia, that this concept of ‘trust’ reflects a particular understanding of the practice of private equity as a high risk, tough and unforgiving business that nevertheless requires high standards of personal integrity. The study allows us to understand something more about the social ideals that were built into this financial sector by its founders, which we argue formed a crucial part of the transformation of the financial sector.Peer reviewe

Giving the Gift of Goodness: An Exploration of Socially Responsible Gift-Giving

Previous research demonstrates that consumers support firms' CSR activities, and increasingly demand socially responsible products and services. However, an implicit assumption in the extant literature is that the purchaser and the consumer of the product are the same person. The current research focuses on a unique form of socially responsible consumption behavior: gift-giving. Through 30 depth consumer interviews, we develop a typology of consumers based on whether consumers integrate CSR-related information into purchases, and whether the purchases are for themselves or for others (i.e., gifts). We find that in some instances, consumers actively avoid purchasing products from socially responsible organizations and do so with the intention of managing their impressions with the gift recipient. This is counter to previous research that suggests consumers often choose to make socially responsible consumption decisions in efforts to satisfy self-presentation concerns. In addition, the decision to engage in socially responsible consumption for oneself but not for others was motivated by a variety of factors including the role of the recipient and a concern over the credibility of socially responsible gifts. Finally, some participants who do not incorporate CSR into their own personal consumption chose gifts based on a variety of CSR activities in an effort to build awareness for socially responsible organizations

Discourses in Interaction: The intersection of literacy and health research internationally

Literacy and health are deeply influential in social participation, utilisation of social resources and quality of life. This paper discusses interacting discourses and common conceptual points shared by the adult literacy and public health fields and situates how the sub-field at the intersection of these two domains, known as ‘health literacy’, is constructed and enacted. Emerging approaches that recognise the convergence of education and health within international policy, research and in practice are articulated. The paper argues a case for re-thinking the literacy-health connection from a cross-sectoral perspective and for more effective approaches furthering the interests of both life-long learning and wellbeing.