Using Word Boxes as a Large Group Phonics Approach in a First Grade Classroom

The purpose this study was to explore the effectiveness of word boxes phonics instruction on beginning first-grade children\u27s word identification and spelling performance. Forty-eight children were randomly selected to participate in either the word boxes instruction condition or a more traditional phonics condition. All children were administered a word identification and spelling pretest. At the completion of experimental conditions, children were administered word identification and spelling posttest and transfer measures

Women Scholars, Integration, and the Marianist Tradition: Learning from our Culture and Ourselves

In the fall of 1997, a group of junior tenure-track women faculty in the Department of Teacher Education at the University of Dayton decided to meet regularly in order to support each other’s scholarly endeavors in the process of achieving promotion and tenure. The group of subsequently became known as the Writing-Writers’ Support Group (WWSG). In 2000, the group conducted a self-study of its group process to determine how the formation of women’s WWSG fit with the mission and characteristics of a Marianist university. The results suggest that, although each of the characteristics could be identified in the group processes, the group best identified with the Marianist mandate to educate in family spirit. Each member of the group considered the possible reasons for this outcome

Women Scholars, Integration, and the Marianist Tradition: Learning From Our Culture and Ourselves

In the fall of 1997, a group of junior tenure-track women faculty in the Department of Teacher Education at the University of Dayton decided to meet regularly in order to support each others’ scholarly endeavors in the process of achieving promotion and tenure. The group of subsequently became known as the Writing ”“Writers’ Support Group (WWSG). In 2000, the group conducted a self-study of its group process to determine how the formation of women’s WWSG fit with the mission and characteristics of a Marianist university. The results suggest that, although each of the characteristics could be identified in the group processes, the group best identified with the Marianist mandate to educate in family spirit. Each member of the group considered the possible reasons for this outcome

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Women Scholars, Integration, and the Marianist Tradition: Learning From Our Culture and Ourselves

In the fall of 1997, a group of junior tenure-track women faculty in the Department of Teacher Education at the University of Dayton decided to meet regularly in order to support each others’ scholarly endeavors in the process of achieving promotion and tenure. The group of subsequently became known as the Writing ”“Writers’ Support Group (WWSG). In 2000, the group conducted a self-study of its group process to determine how the formation of women’s WWSG fit with the mission and characteristics of a Marianist university. The results suggest that, although each of the characteristics could be identified in the group processes, the group best identified with the Marianist mandate to educate in family spirit. Each member of the group considered the possible reasons for this outcome

Semantic fluency and processing speed are reduced in non-cognitively impaired participants with Parkinson’s disease

Introduction: Parkinson's disease (PD) is associated with a range of cognitive deficits. Few studies have carefully examined the subtle impacts of PD on cognition among patients who do not meet formal criteria for MCI or dementia. The aim of the current study was thus to describe the impact of PD on cognition in those without cognitive impairment in a well-characterized cohort.Methods: Non-cognitively impaired participants (122 with PD, 122 age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers) underwent extensive cognitive testing. Linear regression analyses compared diagnostic group performance across cognitive measures. For cognitive tasks that were significantly different between groups, additional analyses examined group differences restricting the group inclusion to PD participants with mild motor symptoms or disease duration less than 10 years.Results: Processing speed and semantic verbal fluency were significantly lower in the PD group (B = -3.77, 95% CIs [-5.76 to -1.77], p < .001, and B = -2.02, 95% CIs [-3.12, -0.92], p < .001, respectively), even after excluding those with moderate to severe motor symptoms (B = -2.73, 95% CIs [-4.94 to -0.53], p = .015 and B = -2.11, 95% CIs [-3.32 to -0.91], p < .001, respectively) or longer disease duration (B = -3.89, 95% CIs [-6.14 to -1.63], p < .001 and B = -1.58, 95% CIs [-2.78 to -0.37], p = .010, respectively). Semantic verbal fluency remained significantly negatively associated with PD diagnosis after controlling for processing speed (B = -1.66, 95% CIs [-2.79 to -0.53], p = .004).Conclusions: Subtle decline in specific cognitive domains may be present among people diagnosed with PD but without evidence to support a formal cognitive diagnosis. These results suggest the importance of early awareness of the potential for diminishing aspects of cognition in PD even among those without mild cognitive impairment or dementia