Personal stories go worldwide: the ritual of storytelling through Weblogs.

The once private traditional written diary is shifting to an electronic storytelling tradition. Online diaries or weblogs are a growing phenomenon that scholars have ignored until recently. This qualitative project uses narrative and rhetorical analysis to focus on storytelling themes in weblogs, rituals in storytelling and the similarities and differences from traditional written diaries. In this study, 30 weblogs were chosen from three web domains: livejournal.com, blogger.com and diarest.net. The findings show that weblogs are filled with rich storytelling that emulates many qualities of traditional diaries. In general, weblogs authors are communicating stories online to an interactive mass audience and forming new rituals in a new electronic forum

Effectiveness and Successful Program Elements of SOAR’s Afterschool Programs

Project SOAR provided after-school programs that afforded expanded learning opportunities to help students succeed in local public schools and to contribute to the general welfare of the community. Program components focused on building students’ academic skills and positive attitudes, aided by teachers, mentors, parent education, and local agencies. Instructional programs were conducted to help reduce drug use and violence. Activities included academic assistance, technology training, mentoring, service learning projects, and education in life skills and the arts. Parent involvement was encouraged. Behavioral and academic outcomes—especially at the high school level—were analyzed to determine program effectiveness regarding academic achievement, dropout rates, and rates and frequency of suspensions. Successful program elements and strategies are noted

Effectiveness and Successful Program Elements of SOAR’s Afterschool Programs

Project SOAR provided after-school programs that afforded expanded learning opportunities to help students succeed in local public schools and to contribute to the general welfare of the community. Program components focused on building students’ academic skills and positive attitudes, aided by teachers, mentors, parent education, and local agencies. Instructional programs were conducted to help reduce drug use and violence. Activities included academic assistance, technology training, mentoring, service learning projects, and education in life skills and the arts. Parent involvement was encouraged. Behavioral and academic outcomes—especially at the high school level—were analyzed to determine program effectiveness regarding academic achievement, dropout rates, and rates and frequency of suspensions. Successful program elements and strategies are noted

Knowledge and Awareness Among Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease Stage 3

Knowledge is a prerequisite for changing behavior, and is useful for improving outcomes and reducing mortality rates in patients diagnosed with chronic kidney disease (CKD). The purpose of this article is to describe baseline CKD knowledge and awareness obtained as part of a larger study testing the feasibility of a self-management intervention. Thirty patients were recruited who had CKD Stage 3 with coexisting diabetes and hypertension. Fifty-four percent of the sample were unaware of their CKD diagnosis. Participants had a moderate amount of CKD knowledge. This study suggests the need to increase knowledge in patients with CKD Stage 3 to aid in slowing disease progression

Patient Activation with Knowledge, Self-Management, and Confidence in Chronic Kidney Disease

Background Chronic kidney disease is a growing health problem on a global scale. The increasing prevalence of chronic kidney disease presents an urgent need to better understand the knowledge, confidence and engagement in self-managing the disease. Objectives This study examined group differences in patient activation and health-related quality of life, knowledge, self-management and confidence with managing chronic disease across all five stages of chronic kidney disease. Design The study employed a descriptive correlational design. Settings Participants were recruited from five primary care, three nephrology clinics and one dialysis centre in two Midwestern cities in the United States. Participants The convenience sample included 85 adults with hypertension, diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney disease, including kidney failure, who spoke English. Measurements Seven measurements were used to collect data via telephone interviews with participants not receiving haemodialysis, and face-to-face interviews with those receiving haemodialysis at the beginning of their treatment session. Results Analyses indicated that half the participants were female (50.58%), the mean age was 63.21 years (SD = 13.11), and participants with chronic kidney disease stage 3 were the most activated. Post hoc differences were significant in patient activation and blood pressure self-management and anxiety across chronic kidney disease stages, excluding stage 5. Conclusion Engaging patients in the self-management of their health care and enhancing patients’ ability to self-manage their blood pressure may work to preserve kidney health. Healthcare providers should collaborate with patients to develop strategies that will maintain patients’ health-related quality of life, like reducing anxiety as kidney disease progress

Seasonal temperature acclimatization in a semi-fossorial mammal and the role of burrows as thermal refuges.

Small mammals in habitats with strong seasonal variation in the thermal environment often exhibit physiological and behavioral adaptations for coping with thermal extremes and reducing thermoregulatory costs. Burrows are especially important for providing thermal refuge when above-ground temperatures require high regulatory costs (e.g., water or energy) or exceed the physiological tolerances of an organism. Our objective was to explore the role of burrows as thermal refuges for a small endotherm, the pygmy rabbit (Brachylagus idahoensis), during the summer and winter by quantifying energetic costs associated with resting above and below ground. We used indirect calorimetry to determine the relationship between energy expenditure and ambient temperature over a range of temperatures that pygmy rabbits experience in their natural habitat. We also measured the temperature of above- and below-ground rest sites used by pygmy rabbits in eastern Idaho, USA, during summer and winter and estimated the seasonal thermoregulatory costs of resting in the two microsites. Although pygmy rabbits demonstrated seasonal physiological acclimatization, the burrow was an important thermal refuge, especially in winter. Thermoregulatory costs were lower inside the burrow than in above-ground rest sites for more than 50% of the winter season. In contrast, thermal heterogeneity provided by above-ground rest sites during summer reduced the role of burrows as a thermal refuge during all but the hottest periods of the afternoon. Our findings contribute to an understanding of the ecology of small mammals in seasonal environments and demonstrate the importance of burrows as thermal refuge for pygmy rabbits

Maine Principals\u27 Perceptions of Beginning Teacher Preparation

The information presented in this report will help policymakers assess how well teacher preparation programs are doing in the training of new teachers hired in Maine, and to recommend changes to address any gaps in teacher preparation

Noxious and Selected Invasive Plant Populations along Illinois Toll Highway Rights-of-Way

• Repeated a 2010 survey for selected invasive species and listed noxious weeds throughout the ISTHA corridor. • Mapped 1345 populations of invasive species. • Found the ISTHA corridor to be heavily populated by invasive species throughout the length of each roadway. • Most frequently found species were Canada Thistle (Cirsium arvense) and Cut-leaf Teasel (Dipsacus laciniatus). • Recommend management specific to each of 8 species or groups of species found during the survey.Illinois State Toll Highway Authorityunpublishednot peer reviewedOpe