Supporting students with learning disabilities in the general education classroom

Current mandate of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act places students with mild to moderate learning disabilities in the least restrictive environment to the maximum extent possible with general education students. At the secondary level, this mandate challenges both general education teachers and students with mild to moderate learning disabilities. The purpose of this study is to understand the needs of students with mild to moderate learning disabilities and their general education teachers in an effort to move toward academic engagement and achievement through differentiated instruction. This study took place in a small coastal California high school where teachers were surveyed about their knowledge, understanding, and implementation of differentiated instruction. A teacher’s focus group was also formed and met with the researcher in an effort to determine a better understanding of the principles and support needed for practicing differentiated instruction. Finally, high school students with mild to moderate learning disabilities were interviewed to determine the support they perceived as essential for achieving academic success in general education classrooms. The results showed that while many of the teachers knew the principles and components of differentiated instruction, many of the myths were also believed to be true. During the focus group many of the common barriers to inclusion were found to be present. A lack of time to plan for differentiated instruction proved to be the most frequently mentioned barrier. The most common need for students with mild to moderate learning disabilities was for general education teachers to be aware of the students’ different learning styles so their strengths could be utilized and appreciated. This was closely followed by the need for approachable teachers and friends to satisfy the feeling of community and belonging. Until schools begin to identify ways to truly include students with mild to moderate learning disabilities in general educat! ion clas srooms, the likelihood increases that genuine inclusion will not take place

Mechanisms of IRF-1 Induced Cancer Growth Inhibition

The tumor suppressor IRF-1 has been gaining interest as a mediator of anticancer therapies and its role in mediating apoptosis and cell cycle arrest are currently being elucidated. Through the creation of recombinant adenoviral (Ad-) IRF-1 in our lab, we are in a unique position to study the underlying mechanisms of IRF-1 mediated tumor growth inhibition. First, we will further determine the role of IRF-1 in caspase-mediated apoptosis. Our work will examine the mechanism of IRF-1 activation of initiator caspase 8 and effector caspases 3 and 7 and the role of soluble factors. Our second course of study will delineate the role of IRF-1 mediated cell cycle effects and with a focus on G1 arrest and p21waf1cip1 upregulation. Our initial hypothesis that IRF-1 induces caspase 3/7 mediated apoptosis through a death receptor pathway in conjunction with the secretion of soluble factors in cancer was not supported by results obtained. We found that death ligands were not mediating IRF-1 growth inhibition; however we did find that the caspase cascade was clearly involved. Moreover, we have shown that caspase 8 activity is central in mediating IRF-1 apoptosis. While investigating the intrinsic pathway we made a novel discovery that IRF-1 localizes to the mitochondria. The significance of this finding is still under investigation.Studies of p21 knock down confirmed that IRF-1 utilizes p21 in p53 independent G1 cell cycle arrest. We hypothesized that cell cycle arrest would "protect" the cells from apoptosis but found that p21 up regulation by IRF-1 corresponded to caspase cleavage and that apoptosis was suppressed in our p21 knock down cell lines. We also found that the inhibitor of apoptosis, survivin may account for this effect. Finally, we show that IRF-1 growth inhibitory effects are directed to malignant and not normal breast cells. We show that this too may be linked to survivin which is commonly overexpressed in cancers and suppressed by IRF-1.Greater understanding of the mechanisms of IRF-1 cancer growth inhibition is significant to public health because it may allow better utilization and development of IRF-1 and agents that are mediated by IRF-1 in cancer treatment

Off the Rural Back Road: Describing the Experiences of Rural Students who Enrolled at an Urban 4-Year University

Tinto (1993) argued that all students have different needs and require different resources and services to enable them to persist at the university level. One group of students that requires individualized attention is students from rural areas. During the 2010-2011 academic year, 57% of public school districts in the U.S. were in rural areas (U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, 2013). These rural school districts serve a quarter of the students who attend public schools in the U.S. (Schiess & Rotherham, 2015). Rural students have lower college enrollment and persistence rates than non-rural students (Aylesworth & Bloom, 1976; Koricich, 2014; U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2016). Rural students may be less prepared for college than their non-rural peers, which may lead them to decide not to enroll in college (Schiess & Rotherham, 2015). Additionally, they may possess many of the qualities, such as coming from a family that has a low level of education and belonging to a low socio-economic group, that increase a student’s risk of dropping out of college (Aylesworth & Bloom, 1976). There is little information available about the experiences of college students from rural areas. This study begins to fill this research gap by exploring the following question, “How do rural students perceive their experiences coming from a rural background and enrolling at a 4-year urban university?” A phenomenological study was conducted using data from in-depth interviews of rural students enrolled at a 4-year urban university between the fall of 2013 and the fall of 2016. Interview data was coded for common themes. Findings of this study include: 1) Rural students face isolation in their rural communities. This isolation includes both geographic and social isolation; 2) Rural students face many of the same challenges that students from other geographic locations, but these challenges appear to be more severe for students from rural backgrounds; 3) Rural students often struggle to fit into their college environment; and 4) Coming from a rural background can also be an advantage for students when enrolling in college. This report discusses these findings in more detail and suggests how the information gained from this study could help rural students in the futur

Comparative Study of Local Seed Business and Public Seed Supply Systems’: The case of Atsbiwemberta Woreda

Seed is generally considered to be the most affordable external input for farmers, and many of its benefits are assumed to be scale-neutral. So investments in crop improvement potentially can reach a wide range of farmers. While many other areas are also important for agricultural development such as markets, credit supply, support institutions, and policies access to appropriate seed is clearly the first step. This study is intended for comparative study of LSB and Public seed supply systems’ of the study area; to map the actor’s linkages to identify influential factors for the smooth functioning of the system and to explore the influence of policy in providing an enabling environment in relation to the seed supply system in Atsbiwemberta Woreda. Two stages sampling were used in which both nonrandom sampling and systematic random sampling procedures were followed to select two tabia and 134 respondents. Structured interview schedule and questionnaires were used for collecting the essential quantitative and qualitative data from the sampled respondents and seed suppliers respectively. To generate qualitative data, field observations; informal interview with key informants; and discussions with separate focus groups were conducted. The quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistical tools chi-square test, t-test and Logistic Regressions from inferential statistics. The major output of the study indicates that the system is highly characterized by relatively good linkage between actors and farmers in the study area. Moreover, participation in seed supply system was significantly influenced by household family size, radio owner ship, access to market, extension service and credit access. In addition to this, from the supply sector factors like skilled man power, delay of temporary loan settlement by users, policy environment, storage facilities at grass root level, efficient marketing system, timely demand claims from users, clearly defined role and responsibilities of each partner, availability of improved seeds in terms of their germination, viability and adaptability, farmers willingness to take risks and demand for improved crop varieties were some of mentioned factors that influence the system positively and/or negatively. As to the enabling policy environment, pitfalls identified were; inflexibility of rules and regulations, lack of strong quarantine measures on imported seeds and prolonged time given for variety release and registration were amongst all. Therefore, it is recommended that, the existing extension service should be strengthened in a way that working in harmony with relevant actors to bring about change for efficient and effective delivery of improved seed. Likewise, policy should account the flexibility of rules on credit provision and organization of small farmers groups in addressing resource poor farmers to ensure food self sufficiency of rural community in particular and the nation at large

A deep-sea coral record of North Atlantic radiocarbon through the Younger Dryas: Evidence for intermediate water/deepwater reorganization

Our record of Younger Dryas intermediate-depth seawater Δ^(14)C from North Atlantic deep-sea corals supports a link between abrupt climate change and intermediate ocean variability. Our data show that northern source intermediate water (∼1700 m) was partially replaced by (14)^C-depleted southern source water at the onset of the event, consistent with a reduction in the rate of North Atlantic Deep Water formation. This transition requires the existence of large, mobile gradients of Δ^(14)C in the ocean during the Younger Dryas. The Δ^(14)C water column profile from Keigwin (2004) provides direct evidence for the presence of one such gradient at the beginning of the Younger Dryas (∼12.9 ka), with a 100‰ offset between shallow (<∼2400 m) and deep water. Our early Younger Dryas data are consistent with this profile and also show a Δ^(14)C inversion, with 35‰ more enriched water at ∼2400 m than at ∼1700 m. This feature is probably the result of mixing between relatively well ^(14)C ventilated northern source water and more poorly ^(14)C ventilated southern source intermediate water, which is slightly shallower. Over the rest of the Younger Dryas our intermediate water/deepwater coral Δ^(14)C data gradually increase, while the atmosphere Δ^(14)C drops. For a very brief interval at ∼12.0 ka and at the end of the Younger Dryas (11.5 ka), intermediate water Δ^(14)C (∼1200 m) approached atmospheric Δ14C. These enriched Δ^(14)C results suggest an enhanced initial Δ^(14)C content of the water and demonstrate the presence of large lateral Δ^(14)C gradients in the intermediate/deep ocean in addition to the sharp vertical shift at ∼2500 m. The transient Δ^(14)C enrichment at ∼12.0 ka occurred in the middle of the Younger Dryas and demonstrates that there is at least one time when the intermediate/deep ocean underwent dramatic change but with much smaller effects in other paleoclimatic records

Mountain View Design Project

Mountain View is a unique community bound by the Bosque and rich history of industry, agriculture, urban settlement and dispute. The boundary along 2nd Street marks the division within the community and its sense of place. It also marks a challenge to rethink the parameters of economy, ecology and welfare and reconcile the disparities between them. Our assignment was simple. Redesign 2nd Street. But along the way we realized that Mountain View holds much more meaning and purpose. This neighborhood has the potential to face its challenges through innovative, elegant design and serve as an example of a beautiful reconciliation. The master plan and specific site designs presented in this book are just the beginning.https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/dpac_projects/1016/thumbnail.jp

Carbonate deposition, Pyramid Lake subbasin, Nevada: 2. Lake levels and polar jet stream positions reconstructed from radiocarbon ages and elevations of carbonates (tufas) deposited in the Lahontan basin

Most of the tufas in the Pyramid Lake subbasin were deposited within the last 35,000 yr, including most of the mound tufas that border the existing lake. Many of the older tufas (\u3e 21,000 yr B.P.) contained in the mounds were formed in association with ground-water discharge. The radiocarbon (14C) ages of the older tufas represent maximum estimates of the time of their formation. Lake Lahontan experienced large and abrupt rises in level at ~ 22,000, 15,000, and 11,000 yr B.P. and three abrupt recessions in level at ~ 16,000, 13,600, and 10,000 yr B.P. The lake-level rises that were initiated at ~23,500 and 15,500 yr B.P. are believed to indicate the passage of the polar jet stream over the Lahontan basin. During expansion of the Laurentide Ice Sheet, the jet stream moved south across the basin, and during the contraction of the Ice Sheet, the jet stream moved north across the basin. The bulk of the carbonate contained in the mound tufas was deposited during the last major lake cycle (~23,500-12,000 yr B.P.), indicating that ground- and surface-water discharges increased at ~23,500 and decreased at ~ 12,000 yr B.P. A lake-level oscillation that occurred between 11,000 and 10,000 yr B.P. is represented by a 2-cm thick layer of dense laminated tufa that occurs at and below 1180 m in the low-elevation tufa mounds and at 1205 m in the Winnemucca Lake subbasin

Europäische Integration aus historischer Erfahrung. Ein Zeitzeugengespräch mit Michael Gehler = European Integration as historical experience. Discussion with Michael Gehler. ZEI Discussion Paper C220, 2013

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