Teachers' experiences with student bullying in five rural middle schools

Bullying is a common form of school violence, which is a major issue of concern for students, parents, teachers, and administrators across the country. Episodes of school violence beginning in the 1990s have created a national focus on school safety and the problems associated with bullying. Schools across the country are attempting to deal with the problem of student bullying by writing anti-bullying policies, instituting bully-prevention programs, and developing character-education programs. Because teachers spend the most time with and around students, they are often the most familiar with the issues their students face. They have the opportunity to observe bullying as it takes place in schools. The purpose of this study was to investigate teacher experiences with student bullying. Data were collected from interviews with 13 different teachers in 5 rural middle schools. Information from the interviews was divided into three domains: Teachers‘ Experiences with Student Bullying; Interventions; and Professional Development and Participation in the Development of Policy. Interviews revealed a diverse set of teacher experiences with student bullying as told through each teacher‘s story. Several common categories emerged from the data including: (a) dimensions of bullying, (b) discrimination and harassment, (c) adolescent behavior and development, (d) the secrecy of bullying, and (e) teachers‘ perceptions. The second domain included interventions which teachers considered to be effective or ineffective. The following types of interventions emerged from the teacher interviews: (a) observation of student behavior, (b) trusting relationship, (c) counseling students, (e) involving others, (f) and unsure how to handle the situation. The last section listed the types of professional development teachers had been exposed to, and whether or not teachers had participated in the development of anti-bullying policy. Information gathered from the interviews revealed that teachers thought bullying was a serious issue for schools and it was important for them to be able to know and recognize bullying when it happens. Teachers also said that bullying can happen in many forms including physical, verbal, emotional, and psychological. They said socialization and the developmental changes middle school students go through tend to compound bullying. Teachers were divided as to the impact of the rural environment on student bullying but agreed that their schools probably experience less bullying than schools serving more urban or suburban populations. The most frequent intervention teachers discussed was the development of a trusting relationship between teachers and students. Teachers also listed team teaching and character-education programs as effective interventions for dealing with student bullying. The interviews revealed that very few teachers had experienced any sort of professional development in relation to student bullying, and very few had been involved with the development of anti-bullying policy

Ecological Impacts of the TVA Coal Ash Spill in Kingston, TN: A Two Year Assessment

A two year investigation into the environmental impacts of a coal combustion waste spill at the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Kingston coal-fired power plant revealed several impacts. First, selenium concentrations were identified above criterion continuous concentration (CCC) set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in total available water samples, and sediment samples were elevated up to 21 times background concentrations for arsenic following the spill. Second, fish body burdens for arsenic and selenium were statistically elevated in the months following the spill, particularly in redear sunfish. Third, body burdens were found to be statistically different between fish species for many elements, which can be attributed to diet and trophic level. Forth, concentrations of selenium in fish tissues were above proposed biological effects concentrations. Furthermore, fish were identified with pathological abnormalities such as exopthalmus, histopathological changes in the gills, reduced condition index, bacterial infections, and fin erosion. However, following an analysis of young bluegill sunfish demonstrating exopthalmus, no direct correlation could be made between these individuals and highly elevated contaminant concentrations. Fish populations are showing sustained elevation of toxic elements two years following the spill but are also likely benefitting from immigration/ emigration of individuals from healthy source populations

“Robin Hood of the Blue Ridge”: The Life, Legend, and Songs of Otto Wood, the Bandit

Otto Wood, a native of Wilkes County, North Carolina, became nationally known during the 1920s for his repetitive flights from the North Carolina State Prison. Wood began his rambling at an early age and spent his childhood years in the coalfields of southern West Virginia. After killing a Greensboro pawnbroker in the fall of 1923, he was sent to the North Carolina State Prison. Between 1924 and 1930, Wood made four escapes from the penitentiary and rose to the status of a criminal celebrity. He wrote his autobiography, Life History of Otto Wood, while incarcerated in 1926. In his Life History, Wood claimed that the poverty and neglect he experienced in childhood formed the roots of his criminal lifestyle. Governor O. Max Gardner attempted to use Wood as an “experiment in humanity,” but failed after Wood made his fourth escape in 1930. He died on December 31, 1930, following a gunfight with police on the streets of Salisbury, North Carolina. Wood’s legend was later spread in song by early country music artists. Drawing on primary sources, this thesis provides a biography of Otto Wood and places him within the economic and social context of the period in which he lived

Mitigating Pretrial Publicity With A Cognitive Interview

Previous research has found that negative pretrial publicity (PTP) about a defendant biases mock jurors’ decision making. Remedies that have been implemented by the court systems to combat negative PTP have shown to be ineffective in reducing juror bias. The present study examined whether or not mock jurors who were exposed to negative PTP could have an improved memory of where information came from and a reduction in guilty verdicts after receiving a Modified Cognitive Interview (CI), compared to mock jurors who did not have the CI. Additionally, I tested to see if source-memory accuracy for trial information mediated the effect of the CI on verdicts. The present study used materials from Christine Ruva to investigate this issue. This was a two-part study, in which participants read the negative PTP or unrelated PTP in Phase 1. In Phase 2 participants received the CI, watched the criminal trial video, and finally rendered their verdicts and took the source monitoring questionnaire. This was a 2 (PTP: Negative PTP vs. unrelated PTP) X 2 (Interview: Cognitive Interview vs. No Cognitive Interview) between-subjects factorial design (n=163). Results indicated that the CI did not influence source memory. In contrast, it was found that the CI did influence guilt decisions. Individuals who were exposed to negative PTP and received the CI rendered fewer guilty verdicts than participants in the no CI condition. Further, the mediation analysis suggested that both the CI and trial accuracy scores did predict guilt decisions independently for the negative PTP conditions, however the trial accuracy scores did not mediate the relationship between the CI and guilt decisions

Prevalence And Correlates Of Medical And Learning Disorders Among Food Insecure Students At Appalachian State University

Rates of food insecurity (FI) and correlates were compared among Appalachian State University students with and without medical and learning disorders. An online questionnaire measured FI using the USDA Adult Food Security Survey, coping strategies and perceived barriers for food access, academic progress, and identified disorders. Descriptive and inferential procedures were computed. Statistical significance was p<0.05. FI students comprised 56.5% of the sample. Two-thirds of FI students had one or more medical and/or learning disorders. Coping strategies for students with and without disorders, respectively, included “brought food back to school” (90.9% vs. 63.0%) and “ate less healthy food to eat more” (77.7% vs. 49.4%). FI students with disorders had significantly more medical expenses (p < 0.01), and their barriers for food access included “feel overwhelmed making food choices” (12.7%) and “meal plan runs out” (10.2%). FI correlates for students with disorders included female gender, employed, off-campus residence, receiving financial aid, “good/excellent” perceived health, greater use of coping strategies and more perceived barriers, and suboptimal academic progress, all p < 0.05. Findings indicate a need for continued efforts to facilitate food access by FI students, especially for those with disorders

The Nomological Network of Fit: Where Do Different Fit Measurements Fit?

The concept of Person-Environment fit has been studied utilizing three measurement techniques (i.e., perceived, subjective, and objective) to capture the concept of fit. The relationships between three measures of fit using the same context, content dimension, and outcomes were examined using students’ and instructors’ learning goals to evaluate their predictions of behavioral and attitudinal outcomes. Data were collected at three time periods during the semester from undergraduate students. It was expected that: 1) the three measurements of fit would be weakly related to one another; 2) subjective and perceived fit would be related to attitudinal outcomes more strongly than to behavioral outcomes with perceived being the stronger predictor; and 3) objective fit would be related to behavioral outcomes more strongly than to attitudinal outcomes. Support was found for the first set of proposed fit-outcome relationships, partial support for the first set of proposed relationships, and no support for the final set of proposed relationships. No traditional fit relationships were revealed; however, positive and negative fit relationships significantly predicted attitudes and behaviors. These relationships provided evidence that researchers should discriminate among the types of fit because the three fit measurement approaches are not equivalent and differentially predict academic-related outcomes

An examination of the influence of social information on territory selection by a partially migratory population of song sparrows (Melospiza melodia)

Territory selection can greatly affect a species’ ecology, from density to interactions among individuals. Previously, habitat quality was found to be one of the driving forces in territory selection. However, the use of social information received from other individuals in a population has shown to also play a role in territory selection, especially when habitat is consistent. In a study of black-throated blue warblers, Betts et al. (2008) were able to influence territory selection by playing song in empty potential territories during the post-breeding season when juveniles and males were prospecting for territories. The following year, more males set up territories in the places where song had been played than in places where it had not. I looked to see if a similar effect could be observed in a partially migratory population of song sparrows. Song sparrows have a much longer breeding season than black-throated blue warblers, remaining territorial from early in the spring into the autumn, and many male song sparrows remain yearround residents. Empty territories in suitable habitat were found across the campus of Western Carolina University and song was played in half of them for ten hours a day for ten days during August of 2009. Point counts were done in every territory until April of 2010, and playbacks were done in every territory in May and June of 2010 to test for territoriality. While there was initially a strong presence of birds in the experimental territories compared to the control, ultimately there was no difference in occupancy between experimental and control territories. This could be partially due to densitydependent habitat selection since the population at the field site was very dense. Song sparrows also display a wide variety of territorial behavior, which could result in less emphasis on social information in territory selection when compared to black-throated blue warblers

The music of the Vietnam War

Slides for a presentation on popular songs associated with the Vietnam War

A historical study of the founding and development of Tuskegee Institute

Tuskegee Institute was established by an act of the General Assembly of Alabama on February 12, 1881, and Booker T. Washington opened the school on July 4 of that year to become its founder and first principal. Mr. Washington’s aim was to educate the head, the heart, and the hand, and through his students, transmit this learning to the community. He was committed to industrial, not liberal education, for the recently emancipated black population. Tuskegee Institute’s historical controversial philosophy of industrial education has been the subject of much criticism by some black leaders. Washington’s critics felt that the educational program at Tuskegee Institute was not in the best interest of black youth. There was also concern that Washington’s philosophy of education and his philosophy of race relations would force the Negro into a second slavery

In a dry season

By day, the swamp is birds: birds that fish the dark channels, hunt the tangles, crow or sing in the tree tops. Wild canaries flit like green and yellow gnats among the vines, hell-divers and coots squabble and splash in the shallows, herons stalk solemnly through the reeds, egrets perch and preen on their junk-heap nests, woodpeckers rattle busily in the trees, scrub jays scream and limpkins moan. Always, overhead, sometimes nearly out of sight, turkey-buzzards soar. There are a pair of bald eagles, too, that nest in a dead cypress tree deep in the swamp and four or five families of fish-hawks. Song birds carol in the jungle and other birds scream or whistle or hoot. There's one that makes a clattering noise like a cracked bell