A study of the effects of explicit story structure instruction on narrative writing in the upper primary school : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MLitEd (Master of Literacy Education) at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand

Many New Zealand middle and upper primary students, struggle with writing. This is a challenge, as research shows a continuing downward trend in writing standards as children move across the grades. Therefore, it is helpful to know whether children can write better narratives after appropriate instruction so that writing achievement can be improved. Previous research has found that teaching story structure in a very explicit way improves narrative writing quality and quantity but few studies have been done in New Zealand classrooms. Hence the present study. Participants were initially 50 children from a country school and a city school. The study started with 50 children from two classrooms in schools, one in the country and one in the city. Of these, 41 children completed all the assessments, 18 in the country school and 23 children in the city school. Initial data from the schools about the children in terms of ethnicity, gender, and writing achievement enabled the researcher to assign children randomly either to an experimental group or control group. The experimental group received writing instruction that focused on aspects such as setting, characters, plot, and theme. The control group received writing instruction that focused less on structure and more on main ideas and using literary elements. Both groups received tuition in how to use a story planner as a guide when writing. The lessons ran daily, for an hour at a time, for three days. The classroom teacher taught the experimental group and the researcher taught the control group. Children wrote three stories across five days. The results showed that the story structure intervention did have an effect on children’s writing of stories in the country school but the effect was smaller in the city school. The discussion focuses on possible reasons for this

Alien Registration- Mooney, Margaret (Bangor, Penobscot County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/11686/thumbnail.jp

Setanta: a university-school collaboration project

This article reports on a collaborative project between the school of Computer Applications, Dublin City University (DCU) and St. Aidan's Secondary school. The project involves the development of courseware, which takes the form of a Virtual Art Museum (VAM), for use in Irish Secondary schools. It suggests that a partnership between Second and Third level institutions is one way of facilitating the creation of courseware and it highlights the organisational and technical challenges inherent in such a project. The paper traces the design and development of courseware, offers suggestions for improvements, and notes the pedagogical advantages of the courseware. The openness of the participants' to the learning of new skills is a key factor if this type of project is to succeed

Hypermobility syndromes in paediatrics: progressions in assessment and management

Joint Hypermobility Syndrome (JHS) and Ehlers Danlos Syndrome-Hypermobility Type (EDS-HM) referred to collectively as Hypermobility Syndromes (HMS), are heritable disorders of connective tissue comprising symptomatic joint hypermobility predisposing to arthralgia, soft-tissue injury and joint instability which if not managed effectively result in ongoing cycles of disability. How HMS affects paediatric patients and how physiotherapists approach the condition in this population is unclear. The aim of this thesis was to address gaps in knowledge and practice and advance strategies in assessment and management of symptoms. Study 1 involved an original online survey of paediatric physiotherapists, gauging understanding of HMS in children, and investigating current trends in clinical practice regarding diagnosis, treatment and management, in a UK context. Findings highlighted the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain and injury in children, the unsuitability of current diagnostic tools for assessing children, the lack of a standardised approach to diagnosis in addition to preferences for exercise interventions. This needs analysis informed Study 2 which involved the design and implementation of a novel Physical Assessment Battery for Paediatric Hypermobility merging 4 existing tests: the Nine-Point Beighton Score, Revised Brighton Criteria, Paediatric Balance Scale and Paediatric Pain Questionnaire, to capture a more complete profile of symptoms in the functional and clinical assessment of children. Children with diagnoses of HMS were assigned to a clinical group (n=29), and age and gender matched children recruited as a control group (n=25) were tested. Distinct differences were revealed between groups in terms of functional balance, pain intensity and location and trends in physical activity, exercise and sport, in addition to significant correlations observed between hypermobility and both balance and pain intensity scores. Findings from Study 1 and Study 2 twinned with supplementary qualitative data, collectively confirm the need to validate a paediatric specific assessment tool, and design blended treatment and management strategies for children experiencing symptoms to increase quality of life and reduce disability

Identifying the American Goldfinch

An infographic with tips on how to identify a common backyard visitor, the American goldfinch. Animal behavior (BIO 350/350L) final projec

Ozone depletion, greenhouse gases, and climate change

This symposium was organized to study the unusual convergence of a number of observations, both short and long term that defy an integrated explanation. Of particular importance are surface temperature observations and observations of upper atmospheric temperatures, which have declined significantly in parts of the stratosphere. There has also been a dramatic decline in ozone concentration over Antarctica that was not predicted. Significant changes in precipitation that seem to be latitude dependent have occurred. There has been a threefold increase in methane in the last 100 years; this is a problem because a source does not appear to exist for methane of the right isotopic composition to explain the increase. These and other meteorological global climate changes are examined in detail

COVID-19, Social Justice, and Clinical Cancer Research

The COVID-19 pandemic and related socioeconomic events have markedly changed the environment in which cancer clinical trials are conducted. These events have resulted in a substantial, immediate-term decrease in accrual to both diagnostic and therapeutic cancer investigations as well as substantive alterations in patterns of oncologic care. The sponsors of clinical trials, including the United States National Cancer Institute, as well as the cancer centers and community oncology practices that conduct such studies, have all markedly adapted their models of care, usage of health care personnel, and regulatory requirements in the attempt to continue clinical cancer investigations while maintaining high levels of patient safety. In doing so, major changes in clinical trials practice have been embraced nationwide. There is a growing consensus that the regulatory and clinical research process alterations that have been adopted in response to the pandemic (such as the use of telemedicine visits to reduce patient travel requirements and the application of remote informed consent procedures) should be implemented long term. The COVID-19 outbreak has also refocused the oncologic clinical trials community on the need to bring clinical trials closer to patients by dramatically enhancing clinical trial access, especially for minority and underserved communities that have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic. In this Commentary, changes to the program of clinical trials supported by the National Cancer Institute that could improve clinical trial availability, effectiveness, and diversity are proposed.This work was supported in whole or in part with federal funds from the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, ZIA BC 011078; Phase 0/1 Clinical Trials

Citizen science to improve patient and public involvement in GUideline Implementation in oral health and DEntistry (the GUIDE platform)

Background: Citizen science is a way to democratise science by involving groups of citizens in the research process. Clinical guidelines are used to improve practice, but their implementation can be limited. Involving patients and the public can enhance guideline implementation, but there is uncertainty about the best approaches to achieve this. Citizen science is a potential way to involve patients and the public in improving clinical guideline implementation. We aimed to explore the application of citizen science methods to involve patients and the public in the dissemination and implementation of clinical guidelines in oral health and dentistry. Methods: We developed GUIDE (GUideline Implementation in oral health and DEntistry), a citizen science online platform, using a participatory approach with researchers, oral health professionals, guideline developers and citizens. Recruitment was conducted exclusively online. The platform focused on prespecified challenges related to oral health assessment guidelines, and asked citizens to generate ideas, as well as vote and comment on other citizens' ideas to improve those challenges. Citizens also shared their views via surveys and two online synchronous group meetings. Data were collected on participant's demographics, platform engagement and experience of taking part. The most promising idea category was identified by an advisory group based on engagement, feasibility and relevance. We presented quantitative data using descriptive statistics and analysed qualitative data using inductive and deductive thematic analysis. Results: The platform was open for 6 months and we recruited 189 citizens, from which over 90 citizens actively engaged with the platform. Most citizens were over 34 years (64%), female (58%) and had a university degree (50%). They generated 128 ideas, 146 comments and 248 votes. The challenge that led to most engagement was related to prevention and oral health self-care. To take this challenge forward, citizens generated a further 36 ideas to improve a pre-existing National Health Service oral care prevention leaflet. Citizens discussed motivations to take part in the platform (understanding, values, self-care), reasons to stay engaged (communication and feedback, outputs and impact, and relevance of topics discussed) and suggestions to improve future platforms. Conclusion: Citizen science is an effective approach to generate and prioritise ideas from a group of citizens to improve oral health and dental services. Prevention and oral health self-care were of particular interest to citizens. More research is needed to ensure recruitment of a diverse group of citizens and to improve retention in citizen science projects. Patient or Public Contribution: This project was inherently conducted with the input of public partners (citizen scientists) in all key aspects of its conduct and interpretation. In addition, two public partners were part of the research team and contributed to the design of the project, as well as key decisions related to its conduct, analysis, interpretation and dissemination and are co-authors of this manuscript.</p

Identification of Pharmacodynamic Transcript Biomarkers in Response to FGFR Inhibition by AZD4547

The challenge of developing effective pharmacodynamic biomarkers for preclinical and clinical testing of FGFR signaling inhibition is significant. Assays that rely on the measurement of phospho-protein epitopes can be limited by the availability of effective antibody detection reagents. Transcript profiling enables accurate quantification of many biomarkers and provides a broader representation of pathway modulation. To identify dynamic transcript biomarkers of FGFR signaling inhibition by AZD4547, a potent inhibitor of FGF receptors 1, 2, and 3, a gene expression profiling study was performed in FGFR2-amplified, drug-sensitive tumor cell lines. Consistent with known signaling pathways activated by FGFR, we identified transcript biomarkers downstream of the RAS-MAPK and PI3K/AKT pathways. Using different tumor cell lines in vitro and xenografts in vivo, we confirmed that some of these transcript biomarkers (DUSP6, ETV5, YPEL2) were modulated downstream of oncogenic FGFR1, 2, 3, whereas others showed selective modulation only by FGFR2 signaling (EGR1). These transcripts showed consistent time-dependent modulation, corresponding to the plasma exposure of AZD4547 and inhibition of phosphorylation of the downstream signaling molecules FRS2 or ERK. Combination of FGFR and AKT inhibition in an FGFR2-mutated endometrial cancer xenograft model enhanced modulation of transcript biomarkers from the PI3K/AKT pathway and tumor growth inhibition. These biomarkers were detected on the clinically validated nanoString platform. Taken together, these data identified novel dynamic transcript biomarkers of FGFR inhibition that were validated in a number of in vivo models, and which are more robustly modulated by FGFR inhibition than some conventional downstream signaling protein biomarkers