SSI and Postsecondary Education Support for Students with Disabilities

Young adults with disabilities who receive Supplementary Security Income (SSI) may think that postsecondary education is beyond their financial reach because their SSI benefits do not provide them with enough income for living and medical expenses after the costs of education have been met. Employment in addition to schooling may not seem a viable option because earned income can result in a decrease in, or disqualification from, the receipt of SSI and related medical benefits. However, there are ways that students with disabilities can finance postsecondary education and retain all or some of their SSI benefits. The option of retaining benefits while financing postsecondary education is especially important for students with disabilities given findings that only approximately 27% of these students go on to postsecondary education as compared to 68% of students without disabilities (Blackorby and Wagner, 1996; Wittenburg, Fishman, Golden & Allen, 2000). Further, data shows that youth who participate in and complete postsecondary education or vocational training are more likely to secure employment than are those who do not (Benz, Doren and Yvanoff, 1998; Blackorby & Wagner, 1996; National Organization on Disabilities, 1998). The remainder of this article examines ways in which SSI can be compatible with postsecondary education support

Application of an analytical framework to describe young students' learning in technology

This paper discusses a framework for describing and analysing how young students (5–6 years) learn in technology with a view towards enhancing teaching and learning practice in technology. Examples of student work which demonstrate the complexity of learning in technology, and what young children can achieve with appropriate teaching strategies are presented. Holistic aspects as well as associated variables are highlighted

Birds on the Horizon

University of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/156360/1/Final_Draft_of_Thesis-_MJones.pd

Determining the Ability of an At-home Test Kit to Detect Lead in Drinking Fountains at East Carolina University

Lead and other contaminants in drinking water still pose as an important problem in today’s society and can have detrimental effects on human health. At-home water testing kits can offer consumers an easy and affordable way to evaluate their risk, but their accuracy and reliability is still uncertain. This study examined the ability of the AquaScreen Drinking Water Test Kit to detect lead, among other contaminants, in drinking fountain water at East Carolina University. The results were inconclusive as many of the tests were contradicting and had results that were hard to discern. The results highlight areas for possible improvement and suggest that several changes need to be made to at-home water testing kits in order to make them more reliable

Republicanism, Wives, and the Presidency The Political Dilemma of Washington, Adams, and Madison

The first three presidential spouses were thrust into a position of which there was no precedent, during a time when the role of women in politics was limited to their domestic role as guardians of virtuous children and husbands, an era in which they had no legal identity if married, and into an age which limited their civic rights and duties as citizens. As wives of the President, these women were expected to perform roles that were inherently political, and yet the idea of women in politics was anathema to those who subscribed to the varied ideals of republicanism. Confronted with such a precarious situation, each woman dealt with her time in the capital as best she could with the resources found within her own person and those at hand. The letters written by Martha Dandridge Custis Washington, Abigail Smith Adams, and Dolley Payne Todd Madison during the respective presidential administrations demonstrate the ways in which each woman addressed her ambiguous position as wife to the chief politician of the Early Republic and maneuvered through the principles of republicanism

Audit Quality: Detection of Material Misstatement

This dissertation is comprised of three studies that examine characteristics that have the potential to influence auditors\u27 ability to detect material misstatement and therefore, audit quality.;The first study examines the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) inspection process, and its relation to audit quality. This archival study concentrates on the group of companies that hire audit firms after Part II inspection reports containing quality control criticisms are made public. Results suggest that companies that switch to auditors with Part II reports have lower audit quality than companies that switch to auditors without Part II reports. Further, companies that switch to Part II report auditors do not appear to negotiate lower fees. This demonstrates an unintended consequence of Part II inspection reports. It is possible that some companies are using the reports to identify low-quality auditors that may be less likely to detect material misstatement.;The second study focuses on the influence of auditor substitution on professional skepticism. Staffing changes are necessary in practice due to auditor turnover and changes in client timing, which may result in a substitute auditor completing a task that is already started. The skepticism level may be lower for a substitute auditor compared to an auditor completing an entire task due to lack of information or lower feelings of meaningfulness and psychological ownership of the task. An experiment was conducted with professional accountants demonstrating that substitute auditors were less skeptical than auditors completing an entire task from start to finish. Evidence does not support that substitute auditors had lower feelings of meaningfulness and psychological ownership resulting in lower skepticism. However, results do suggest that substitute auditors are less skeptical in their judgment because red flags were not all transferred. This lower skeptical judgment then led to less skeptical action by the substitute auditors. The decline in skepticism may harm substitute auditors\u27 ability to detect material misstatement.;Lastly, study three focuses on how fraud inquiries of management are conducted. The audit standards include inquiries of management that mention the word fraud and are closed type questions. However, the Center for Audit Quality (CAQ) recommends avoiding the word fraud when having conversations with management regarding fraud risks. Also, the CAQ recommends questions that are all open-ended type. This study aims to explore whether slight changes in the verbiage of management inquiries could increase the likelihood fraud reporting to inquiring auditors. Results from an experiment using Amazon Mechanical Turk participants indicates that avoiding the word fraud increases the likelihood of reporting when closed type questions are used and the auditor lacks rapport with the client. Practically, this suggests that auditors lacking rapport with the client and using the inquiries from the standards (closed type questions which mention the word fraud), may be able to increase the likelihood of reporting by simply avoiding the word fraud. If clients are willing to share fraud risks, auditors would be in a better position to adjust the audit plan, and hopefully, have a better chance of detecting material misstatement due to fraud