An Analysis of Rx for Discovery Reading for Elementary Students Below Grade Level in Reading

Abstract Rx for Discovery Reading® is an intervention developed by the National Institute for Learning Development to impact the reading abilities of students below grade level in reading. For this study, the areas of phonological processing, decoding, and fluency were investigated using pre- and post-test scores from the KTEA-II, GORT, and DIBELS. The problem studied was whether Rx for Discovery Reading® would raise the mean standard scores in these three areas. Using a small-group format, twenty-nine students were involved in the intervention for fifty forty-five minute sessions over one school year. Eight NILD educational therapists in a variety of geographical areas implemented the intervention. At the conclusion of the field test, the data were examined, discovering that the students had significantly higher post-test standard scores compared to the pre-test standard scores. These results demonstrate that this intervention may contribute greatly in enabling students become more proficient readers, overcoming a reading deficit

Exploring creativity and progression in transition through assessment is for learning

This paper provides an overview of the aims, methods and findings of the Capability and Progression in Transition through Assessment for Learning in Design and Technology (CAPITTAL-DT) project. This project, funded by Determined to Succeed Scotland, aimed to identify useful approaches to aid progression in creativity through the current initiative entitled 'Assessment is for learning' (AifL, SEED, 2002). AifL encourages learners and teachers to engage with assessment for, as, and of learning and adopt a range of strategies and ideas. The project team gathered baseline and follow up data from teachers and learners using questionnaires to gauge attitudes towards creativity, structured conceptual design activities to assess performance, learner evaluations and teacher interviews. The team concludes that there is scope for adopting the tools explored to support formative and sustainable assessment strategies and approaches to gathering meaningful indicators that can be embedded into enterprising teaching and learning for Design and Technology Education

The Relationship Between Workplace Absenteeism and Alcohol Use: A Day-to-Day Examination

This investigation examined the conditional day-to-day relationship between alcohol use and workplace absenteeism among participants (N = 302) employed full-time in one of three large companies located in the northeastern U.S. Semi-structured interviews were used to gather information from employees on their daily use of alcohol and other drugs during a 1-month period. Employees\u27 absenteeism and work injury data during the same target time period were gathered from personnel files residing in the companies\u27 human resources departments. The presence of a current alcohol use disorder also was determined. The following primary hypotheses were tested: (a) there would be a significant conditional relationship between alcohol use and workplace absence the following day, and (b) workplace absence would be more likely on days after heavy drinking than on days after nonheavy drinking. This investigation also explored: (a) whether the presence of an alcohol use disorder influences the day-to-day conditional relationship between alcohol use and subsequent workplace absence; (b) the conditional relationship between employees\u27 use of psychoactive substances, other than alcohol, and workplace absence the following day; (c) the day-to-day relationship between alcohol consumption during working hours and the occurrence of workplace injury; and (d) the day-to-day conditional relationship between alcohol consumption and workplace absence among different classifications (e.g., executives, administrators, skilled laborers) of employees. The findings support the primary hypotheses. There was a significant conditional day-to-day relationship between alcohol use and workplace absence the following day. Those who engaged in any drinking the day before a scheduled workday were roughly 1.5 times more likely to be absent than on a day after no drinking. Moreover, workplace absence was more likely on days after heavy drinking than on days after non-heavy drinking. Those who engaged in heavy drinking 1 day before a scheduled workday were 1.7 times more likely to be absent the next day. Results indicate no relationship between non-heavy drinking 1 day before a scheduled workday and workplace absence. In addition, drinking was not associated with workplace absence when alcohol was consumed 2 days before a scheduled workday. The exploratory hypotheses were not supported

Prostitution is Cruelty and Abuse to Women and Children

Each day I rise to take up the truly good fight to stop the harm to women in prostitution. I long for complete liberation of all oppressed peoples. I passionately believe that the work I do to end prostitution is revolutionary. No one deserves to be used and abused, and that is the universal experience of prostituted women and children. It is also revolutionary work because my freedom as a woman is meaningless so long as some of us can be bought and sold. The giant sex industry grinds on, exploiting and enslaving women, while sexual liberals are well-paid by that industry to mock us with shallow concepts-concepts premised on never having heard the cries or experienced the terror of the victims of this monstrous institution

Determining Appropriate Outcome Measures in a Psychosocial Rehabilitation Model for the Mentally Ill: a Knowledgeable Citizen\u27s Perspective

This dissertation research focused on the determination of appropriate outcome measures for community-based psychosocial rehabilitation programs for the mentally ill from the perspective of knowledgeable citizens. Specifically, this research identified a conflict between the Mississippi Department of Mental Health, as the certifying agency, and the Mississippi Division of Medicaid, as the funding agency, with regard to the transitional employment component of the psychosocial rehabilitation program. In order to ascertain whether transitional employment should be retained in the psychosocial rehabilitation program, survey questionnaires and in-depth interviews were completed with one hundred and sixty-eight consumers and twenty-three staff in six psychosocial rehabilitation Clubhouse programs in north central Mississippi. The survey questionnaires and interviews focused primarily on the effects of demographics, diagnosis, and barriers to employment on the willingness of consumers with mental illness to participate in transitional employment. Eleven independent variables were identified including age, living arrangements, years of attendance in the psychosocial rehabilitation program, diagnosis, stigma/attitudes, external influence, symptoms of mental illness, training/experience/education deficits, social/cognitive/behavior deficits, financial barriers, and total barriers to employment. Mixed methodology found convergence between quantitative and qualitative findings with regard to seven independent variables and differences with regard to four. Mixed methods found age, living arrangements, and years of attendance in the psychosocial rehabilitation program were not predictive of willingness to participate in transitional employment. Mixed methods found that stigma/attitudes, external influence, symptoms of mental illness, and total barriers to employment were predictive of willingness to participate in transitional employment. Symptoms of mental illness were found to have the greatest impact. Mixed methods also differed in the findings with regard to four variables. While no statistical significance was found to support diagnosis, training/experience/education deficits, social/cognitive/behavior deficits, or financial barriers as predictors of willingness to participate in transitional employment, substantively these variables are important. Based on the findings, the study recommends adjustments and considerations by the Mississippi Department of Mental Health, the Mississippi Division of Medicaid, and the psychosocial rehabilitation programs that will reconcile the differences and lead to the development and implementation of appropriate outcome measures

The Implications of Prison Privatization on the Conduct of Prisoner Litigation Under 42 U.S.C. Section 1983

Prisoners often seek redress in federal courts through causes of action brought under 42 U.S.C. Section 19831 for violations of their constitutional rights caused by the overall condition of their confinement or by one specific condition or incident. Although commentators disagree over the extent to which these cases burden federal district courts, they agree that prisoner litigation constitutes a large percentage of the civil rights litigation in district courts. One of the attractions of prison privatization for state and local governments is the belief that contracting prison management to private firms will relieve the government of the burden of defending the multitude of individual and class-wide civil rights actions and the expense of complying with comprehensive and often financially burdensome court orders.\u2

Four-Toed Salamander (hemidactylium Scutatum) Nest Site Characteristics In Natural And Constructed Wetlands In Eastern Kentucky

Forested freshwater wetlands have undergone loss and alteration more than other types of wetlands. Wetland creation has slowed wetland losses, but many created wetlands do not functionally replace natural wetlands. Plant and animal communities and wetland drying cycles often differ between natural and constructed wetlands. It is important to understand what specific habitat characteristics differ between natural and constructed wetlands and what impact these differences might have on the animal assemblages. Having restrictive habitat requirements makes the four-toed salamander a good candidate for study. The objectives of this study were to understand four-toed salamander (Hemidactylium scutatum) nesting ecology and nest-site characteristics and to determine if these differ between natural and constructed wetlands. Another objective was to add to our knowledge of the natural history of the species in Kentucky. Six natural and six constructed wetlands were studied in the Daniel Boone National Forest in Kentucky during 2011. Several nest- and wetland-level variables were measured in each wetland and at each nest site. Data were collected at 207 nests (133 nests in natural wetlands, and 74 nests in constructed wetlands). Multiple regression analyses indicated that four-toed salamander eggs were more abundant in natural wetlands (P = 0.03), although there were more eggs per nest in constructed wetlands (P \u3c 0.001). There were more nests in wetlands with more moss (P \u3c 0.001), and amount of moss available for nesting was more limited in constructed wetlands. Constructed wetlands were similar in many measured characteristics to those in natural wetlands, and the results underscore the importance of abundant moss and moisture for nesting substrate. However, this study was unable to address embryonic and larval survival in natural and constructed wetlands. In the absence of such data, long-term population monitoring with nest surveys is recommended to determine if this species is impacted by greater predation in constructed wetlands

Rapid Advance: High Technology in China in the Global Electronic Age

This study examines how a critical high technology industry in China, the semiconductor industry, advanced from being an isolated, centrally planned industry in the mid 1980s to being an important participant in the competitive global semiconductor industry after 2000. The research examines the most important trends, projects, and enterprises in China, with attention to China's global partners and China's rapidly growing role in the world economy. In the 1990s, semiconductor enterprises in China proactively made key structural changes and global linkages that set the stage for the industry's growth after 2000. The study thus provides an industry level assessment of how reforms and technological upgrading occurred in contemporary China, including the degree and character of so-called state led development. This research also shows that the development of this high technology industry had direct and positive effects on China's larger business environment and trade policies. Finally, this study compares the development of the semiconductor industry in China with its development in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, identifying differences in national approaches and the effects of the global information revolution