A Phenomenological Study of 21-29-Year-Old Teachers\u27 Perceptions of Using Twitter for Professional Development

This transcendental phenomenological study explored the perception of 21-29-year-old public school teachers’ use of Twitter in their professional development. However, while teachers in the 21-29-year-old age range were part of the demographic dominating online social media use in general, they did not use online social networks for professional development purposes as much as their older peers (Carpenter & Krutka, 2014; Visser et al., 2014). While professional development was important for improving teachers’ classroom performance and student achievement (Coldwell, 2017), traditional professional development often was ineffective in changing classroom instruction (Carpenter & Krutka, 2014; Dingle, Brownwell, Leko, Boardman, & Haager, 2011; Harcourt & Jones, 2016; Visser, Evering, & Barrett, 2014). Also, lack of relative professional development was cited as a reason teachers leave the profession within a few years of joining (Barry & Shields, 2017). Using Twitter for professional development was used by older teachers effectively, but younger teachers did not use it for potentially helpful professional development (Carpenter & Krutka, 2014; Visser et al., 2014). The theoretical frameworks of this study include sociocultural learning (Vygotsky, 1978), social networking theory (Moreno, 1946), and communities of practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991). Participants selected were six licensed K-12 public school teachers aged 21-29. The setting was a South Carolina suburban public middle school. Data collection methods included interviews, focus groups, and observation of Twitter use after participation in a professional development session on using Twitter in education. Data analysis included horizonalization, reduction and elimination, clustering, and thematizing recommended by Moustakas (1994) to develop themes to understand how teachers age 21-29 perceive using online social networks for professional development

Interview of John J. Rooney, Ph.D.

Dr. John J. Rooney was born in 1923 to a working class family in South Philadelphia. He went to primarily Catholic schools and during his childhood, witnessed three World Series from his house. He started attending La Salle University in 1940, majoring in chemistry. During World War II, he left school to join the Navy as a flight instructor. He came back to La Salle and graduated in 1946. From there, he went to Temple University to get a master’s and then Ph.D. in psychology. During this time, he simultaneously went to school, taught first chemistry and then psychology at La Salle, and was director of the counseling program. After receiving his Ph.D., he became a permanent professor at La Salle. He taught classes until 1983, during which time he witnessed many changes in both the school and the psychology department, including a change from commuter to resident students and the introduction of female students. After he retired from teaching, he became the director of the Master’s in counseling program, a position he has maintained up until the present. He has been active in a number of La Salle and professional organizations

Caffeine Use: Association with Nicotine Use, Aggression, and Other Psychopathology in Psychiatric and Pediatric Outpatient Adolescents

The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between caffeine use, other drug use, and psychopathology in adolescents, using self-report measures. The study group consisted of 132 adolescents (average age 14.01 ± 2.06 years, 52% female, 19% African American, 5% other categories, 76% Caucasian). Most (47%) were recruited from a child psychiatry clinic with emphasis on youth with disruptive disorders, with 35% from an adolescent pediatric clinic with emphasis on prevention of risk-taking behavior and 18% from a pediatric clinic for families with limited resources. Subjects were consecutively recruited before or after regular clinic visits. Consent was obtained from parents and assent from the youth. High caffeine consumption was associated with daily cigarette use; aggressive behavior; conduct, attention deficit/hyperactivity, and social problems; and increased somatic complaints in adolescents

C1QBP Inhibits DUX4-Dependent Gene Activation and Can Be Targeted with 4MU

FSHD is linked to the misexpression of the DUX4 gene contained within the D4Z4 repeat array on chromosome 4. The gene encodes the DUX4 protein, a cytotoxic transcription factor that presumably causes the symptoms of the disease. However, individuals have been identified who express DUX4 in their muscle biopsies, but who remain asymptomatic, suggesting that there are other factors that modify FSHD penetrance or severity. We hypothesized that an FSHD-modifying factor would physically interact with DUX4, and we took a proteomic approach to identify DUX4-interacting proteins. We identified the multifunctional C1QBP protein as one such factor. C1QBP is known to regulate several processes that DUX4 affects, including gene expression, oxidative stress, apoptosis, and pre-mRNA splicing. We used siC1QBP knockdown assays to determine if C1QBP affects DUX4 activity. While C1QBP had little effect on DUX4 activity in myotubes, we found that it inhibits the kinetics of DUX4-target gene activation during myogenic differentiation. This identifies C1QBP as a regulator of DUX4 activity and a potential target for FSHD therapeutics. Importantly, C1QBP is regulated by binding to the signaling molecule hyaluronic acid (HA). Decreasing HA by treating cells with 4-methylumbelliferone (4MU), an inhibitor of HA synthesis, resulted in a sharp decline in DUX4 activity and also greatly reduced its cytotoxicity. We have found that DUX4-induced cytotoxicity is associated with severe mislocalizaton of C1QBP, which is prevented by 4MU. This defect is not a downstream result of DUX4-induced oxidative stress, as it could not be prevented by treating cells with an antioxidant, nor could it be recapitulated by exposing cells to oxidants. This identifies C1QBP as a target for the treatment of FSHD, and in particular indicates that 4MU, already an approved drug in Europe and currently under investigation for other indications, may be an effective C1QBP-targeting FSHD therapeutic compound

Caffeine Use: Association with Nicotine Use, Aggression, and Other Psychopathology in Psychiatric and Pediatric Outpatient Adolescents

The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between caffeine use, other drug use, and psychopathology in adolescents, using self-report measures. The study group consisted of 132 adolescents (average age 14.01 ± 2.06 years, 52% female, 19% African American, 5% other categories, 76% Caucasian). Most (47%) were recruited from a child psychiatry clinic with emphasis on youth with disruptive disorders, with 35% from an adolescent pediatric clinic with emphasis on prevention of risk-taking behavior and 18% from a pediatric clinic for families with limited resources. Subjects were consecutively recruited before or after regular clinic visits. Consent was obtained from parents and assent from the youth. High caffeine consumption was associated with daily cigarette use; aggressive behavior; conduct, attention deficit/hyperactivity, and social problems; and increased somatic complaints in adolescents

Multipotent Capacity of Immortalized Human Bronchial Epithelial Cells

While the adult murine lung utilizes multiple compartmentally restricted progenitor cells during homeostasis and repair, much less is known about the progenitor cells from the human lung. Translating the murine stem cell model to humans is hindered by anatomical differences between species. Here we show that human bronchial epithelial cells (HBECs) display characteristics of multipotent stem cells of the lung. These HBECs express markers indicative of several epithelial types of the adult lung when experimentally tested in cell culture. When cultured in three different three-dimensional (3D) systems, subtle changes in the microenvironment result in unique responses including the ability of HBECs to differentiate into multiple central and peripheral lung cell types. These new findings indicate that the adult human lung contains a multipotent progenitor cell whose differentiation potential is primarily dictated by the microenvironment. The HBEC system is not only important in understanding mechanisms for specific cell lineage differentiation, but also for examining changes that correlate with human lung diseases including lung cancer

A Proposed Study to Use Related Arts Teachers to Increase Student Achievement in Reading and Writing

Teacher valued-added measures are one way to use student achievement on state-mandated tests as a means of determining teacher effectiveness in yearly evaluations. However, for teachers who do not have state-mandated tests, such as related arts teachers, some states use the combined test results for the entire school known as school value-added to measure teacher effectiveness. Related arts teachers need to incorporate more reading, writing, and mathematics into their curriculum along with joining in more cross-curricular lessons with academic teachers. Related arts teachers need access to instructional coaching and student data to analyze to help design effective lessons. These additions to normal related arts curriculum should help raise student achievement and in return help related arts teachers with their own school value-added levels. This proposed study examines the effect of adding more reading, writing, and cross-curricular activities into art curriculum on student achievement in reading and writing