Computer-mediated conferencing

This section addresses issues of Computer-Mediated Conferencing (CMC) as a teaching and learning resource, concentrating upon skills development within that context. The materials are appropriate for different experience levels of learners and provide a range of pathways to the materials and resources as appropriate for any individual learner or learner group

An integrated approach for evaluating coastal vulnerability in a changing climate

Coastal hazards such as flooding and erosion threaten many coastal communities and ecosystems. With documented increases in both storm frequency and intensity and projected acceleration of sea level rise, incorporating the impacts of climate change and variability into coastal vulnerability assessments is becoming a necessary, yet challenging task. We are developing an integrated approach to probabilistically incorporate the impacts of climate change into coastal vulnerability assessments via a multi-scale, multi-hazard methodology. By examining the combined hazards of episodic flooding/inundation and storm induced coastal change with chronic trends under a range of future climate change scenarios, a quantitative framework can be established to promote more sciencebased decision making in the coastal zone. Our focus here is on an initial application of our method in southern Oregon, United States. (PDF contains 5 pages

Bringing Twygs to life: PACE based lessons in an adult ESL classroom

Master's Project (M.A.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2017English grammar is a daunting subject for language learners and teachers alike. Traditionally, grammar is taught in an explicit manner in a teacher-fronted classroom. Rules are given and explained to students, who then practice with drills and example problems. As an alternative approach to teaching grammar, this project incorporates the PACE model (Presentation, Attention, Co-Construction, Extension) and task-based language teaching (TBLT). This method of teaching is a departure from traditional explicit-style teaching, and focuses more on the learner's role in the classroom than on the teacher's role. The PACE model uses stories to teach grammar, in this case English prepositions. Over the course of three weeks, a series of story-based lessons along with mini tasks were administered to a small academic writing class of adult ESL students. In addition to focusing on prepositions, the lessons were designed to allow practice for several other grammatical features appropriate to an academic writing class. The incorporation of PACE and task based activities showed that learners were able to understand the prepositions and use them appropriately in an original writing task

Controlled Impairments under the Americans with Disabilities Act: A Search for the Meaning of Disability

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) protects individuals with disabilities from discrimination. Since its passage in 1991, the number of individuals seeking protection under the Act has steadily increased and the types of impairments claimed to qualify as disabilities have dramatically expanded. Many disability claims test the boundaries of the Act and reveal a muddied conception of what constitutes a disability for purposes of the ADA. This Article investigates the meaning of the term disability to define more clearly who should benefit under the Act. By focusing on controlled impairments, a group of disability claims that has produced a split among lower courts, this Article analyzes the term disability in light of the ADA\u27s stated goals and proposed justifications. The Article concludes that the lack of understanding about the meaning of the term disability allows unintended and undeserving beneficiaries to expand the ADA\u27s scope beyond any justifiable boundary

The Role of Genetics with Alcoholism and its Effects on Genes ALDH2, ADH1B by Causing Mutations in the Genome

Alcohol use disorder, an illness described by harmful drinking patterns leading to negative ramifications both emotional and physical, has become more predominantly associated with genetics rather than behavioral. There are many factors that play into alcoholism, some being environmental, heritability, and now genetics related. There are two genes believed to be related to alcoholism, ADH1B and ALDH2. Alcoholism can lead to cirrhosis of the liver, cancer and necrosis. In efforts to understanding the role of genetics and alcoholism, a genome mapping evaluation would allow for researchers to understand the effect of alcoholism and the role of genes ALDH2 and ADH1B, and what mutations may occur to cause such results

American Church Leaders’ Responses to Mental Illness

This phenomenological study enlightens the experience between the development of mental illness and the help-seeking of Christian church leaders. Eleven church leaders in Dallas, Texas, were asked to describe their experiences with a mental disorder as church leaders. The theory guiding this study was Heidegger’s phenomenological theory. Heidegger’s phenomenological approach was the best for exploring the lived experiences of pastors as this theory supports that a person’s experience cannot be examined separately from their world system. Three research questions focused on the occasion of a mental health episode while in the role of a pastor in the Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, area. Data collection for this study included a mental health survey and interviews using researcher-developed questions to examine a purposeful sampling of church leaders who had a mental health episode during their ministry. The data analysis included an interpretative phenomenological method using an idiographic, inductive, and iterative process to create and cluster experiential statements to develop personal experiential themes. The results revealed that in the context of their mental health experience, training and education did not prepare the pastors for the realities of church leadership, including themes related to the problem of stigma in the church, difficulties coping with the overwhelming stress, misunderstandings about the source of mental illness, and the transition into healing and restoration. Keywords: Christian church leaders, severe mental illness, church culture, support, and recover

Impact of e-learning on learner participation, attainment, retention, and progression in further education : report of a scoping study

Recent and ongoing work has assessed progress in the provision of Information and Learning Technologies (ILT) to support e-learning in the UK further education (FE) sector. On the whole, this indicates that a strong infrastructure is in place with targets for student and staff access to Internet enabled computers being met in most colleges. Some investigations have been undertaken to review the extent of use of ILT for learning and teaching. These have, however, been at a relatively basic level, for example purely quantifying use of virtual learning environments (VLEs) for storing course documentation. The Scottish Centre for Research into Online Learning and Assessment (SCROLLA) and the SCRE Centre at the University of Glasgow undertook a scoping study of the impact of e-learning on participation, attainment, progression and retention in further education. This study was intended to inform the development of a research design for a later large study of impact

The Effects of Note-taking Strategies and Gender on Word Recognition

Technological advancements have changed the way notes are taken. This study will examine gender and note-taking style on the student\u27s ability to recognize words. Participants were instructed to either write, type or read a set of randomly generated words. After a word search buffer, participants were instructed to complete a post-test. Lastly,participants completed a questionnaire. Past studies have supported that handwriting notes is the most effective way for students to retain information and score higher on tests

Where do we go from here? Moving from systems-based practice process measures to true competency via developmental milestones

For many educators it has been challenging to meet the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education's requirements for teaching systems-based practice (SBP). An additional layer of complexity for educators is evaluating competency in SBP, despite milestones and entrustable professional activities (EPAs). In order to address this challenge, the authors present the results of a literature review for how SBP is currently being taught and a series of recommendations on how to achieve competency in SBP for graduate medical trainees with the use of milestones. The literature review included 29 articles and demonstrated that only 28% of the articles taught more than one of the six core principles of SBP in a meaningful way. Only 7% of the articles received the highest grade of A. The authors summarize four guiding principles for creating a competency-based curriculum that is in alignment with the Next Accreditation System (NAS): 1) the curriculum needs to include all of the core principles in that competency, 2) the objectives of the curriculum should be driven by clinical outcomes, 3) the teaching modalities need to be interactive and clinically relevant, and 4) the evaluation process should be able to measure competency and be directly reflective of pertinent milestones and/or EPAs. This literature review and the provided guiding principles can guide other residency educators in their development of competency-based curricula that meets the standards of the NAS