Teacher Expectations of a Literacy Coaching Model

Public school instructional coaching programs are designed to improve pedagogy via collaboration between teachers and coaches. However, the utility of literacy coaching is limited because teachers may lack understanding of the instructional coaching model. The purpose of this case study was to explore teachers\u27 expectations of literacy coaching in order to enhance professional development and teacher-coach partnerships. Guided by Knowles adult learning theory which states that adults benefit from designing and understanding relevancy of learning, this study examined elementary teachers\u27 perceptions of the coaching model. The guiding questions explored ways to optimize teacher professional growth through coaching. Four teachers who had partnered with literacy coaches were selected as participants. Qualitative data were collected from the participants through in-depth interviews and a researcher-created, open-ended questionnaire. The interviews allowed for probing questions, and the questionnaires provided time for detailed reflections on the part of participants. Qualitative data were analyzed to determine coding categories, and consistent with Knowles adult learning theory, prominent themes regarding self-direction and relevancy of learning emerged. Results indicated that the teachers believed literacy coaches to have a positive impact on their pedagogical growth, but current methods provided inadequate clarity about the coaching model to be relevant to teachers. Based on the results, professional development sessions were designed to support teacher-coach partnerships which will benefit students, teachers, coaches, and administrators by providing a collaborative foundation to promote student success

Spectroscopic Studies Concerning Certain Biologically Important Substances

The object of the research described in this thesis has been to utilise infrared spectroscopy in the study of the detailed structure and the interactions of some biologically important molecules capable of inter- and intra-molecular hydrogen bonding. Interest has been particularly directed towards the study of a number of salicylates which have been used therapeutically with some degree of success by the late Dr. James Reid and his colleagues of the Medical Research Council, at the Clinical Chemotherapy Research Unit, Western Infirmary, Glasgow. The research falls into five convenient sections. The reasons for undertaking the work in each section, a description of the work and its results are given below. Section 1. The Ethynyl-Hydrogen Bond. Association In solution. A number of interesting acetylenic compounds were available for study. These acetylenes offered an excellent opportunity to obtain first hand experience of intermolecular associations by proton donating groups where steric interferences were at a minimum. The spectra of these compounds were obtained for liquid or solid state, in hexane, carbon disulphide, and ether solutions. The effects of self association and association with ether have been evaluated. Section 2. Infrared Spectra of Aryl Carboxylic Acids and their Esters. As a necessary preliminary to the interpretation of substituted salicylic acid spectra, some substituted benzoic acids and esters were studied. Complex carbonyl absorption in ortho halogeno-benzoic acids and esters was observed and ascribed to conformational isomerism rather than Fermi Resonance. This finding initiated a larger scale investigation into the spectra of substituted benzoic acids, esters, benzaldehydes and acetophenones. Some correlations between relative acidity and infrared spectra have been considered. Section 3. Infrared Spectra of Substituted Salicylic Acids and their Esters. As mentioned above, the biological importance of some substituted salicylic acids merits detailed investigation into their structures and inter-actions. Spectra of a large number of substituted salicylic acids and esters in several solvents have been recorded. Marked frequency shifts by 6-alkyl or bulky 3-alkyl groups have been ascribed to steric enhancement of chelation by compression of the phenolic hydroxyl group. Section 4. Infrared Spectra of Substituted Salicylaidehydes. The two main objectives of this section were to ascertain (a) if competitive intramolecular bonding existed between a phenolic hydroxyl group and carbonyl or nitro groups as alternative proton acceptor sites, in a series of 3-nitrosalicylaldehydes and (b) if the steric enhancement of chelation, found for substituted salicylic acids and esters, also existed in the corresponding substituted salicylaldehydes. A parallel trend to (b) has indeed been found. However the subject matter of this section is mostly concerned with the competitive intramolecular bonding afforded by the 3-nitro substituents. The character of the hydroxyl, carbonyl and nitro absorptions (in a non polar medium) shows that the phenolic group is bonded principally to the nitro group, but that the chelated o-hydroxy-carbonyl species predominates in 2-hydroxy-3-nitro-acetophenone and methyl 3-nitrosalicylate. Section 5. Phenol-Ether Association. It is difficult to interpret the true nature of the effects due to bulky alkyl groups ortho to a grouping involved in intermolecular association. Both steric inhibition to association and deactivation of acidic protons by inductive effects are equally reasonable explanations for the resultant spectral characteristics normally identified with hydrogen bond weakening. Spectroscopically detected entropy effects of considerable magnitude are found in the association of a range of ortho alkyl substituted phenols with a series of dialkyl ethers. This system was chosen for a more detailed quantitative investigation of the problems mentioned above. It has been found that systematic alkyl substitution in the ortho positions of phenols and the a-positions of the ether molecules lowers the equilibrium coefficients for the phenol-ether association. However the strength of the bond, as indicated by the hydroxyl frequency shift, is affected by steric factors due to the phenol, only in solutions of 2,6-di-t-butyl phenol. Of the ethers, di-t-butyl ether shows some bond weakening but only with the ortho dialkyl phenols

BATF Regulation of Nfil3, Wnt10a, and miR155hg during Lymphocyte Activation Critical for T Cell Differentiation and Antibody Class Switch Recombination

B cell activating transcription factor (BATF), an immune specific AP-1 transcription factor, functions together with IRF4 and JUNB to regulate genes important for antibody class switch recombination (CSR) in B cells and for the functional differentiation of distinct CD4+T helper (Th) subsets, including Th2, Th9, Th17 and T follicular helper cells. At the time this work was initiated, the expression of BATF in T cells and B cells was known to be critical to the host response to antigen and for the production of class switched immunoglobulins, yet the precise details of how BATF functioned in those roles was unknown. I have demonstrated that BATF expression is increased rapidly, and transiently, immediately following B cell stimulation and I have generated an inducible mouse model of Batf deletion (Izt mice) to show that BATF induction is necessary and sufficient, to trigger the program of CSR. My studies identified two genes (Nfil3 and miR155gh) that are positively regulated by BATF and one gene (Wnt10a) that is negatively regulated by BATF following B cell activation. The molecules encoded by all three of these BATF targets play essential roles in CSR and my studies have shown that each influences the expression and/or function of one other. In addition, I generated a conditional T cell knockout mouse (Tzt mice) in which the Batf alleles are deleted at the double positive stage of T cell development in the thymus. Using Tzt T cells, a cell-intrinsic role for BATF was demonstrated in the differentiation of several CD4+ Th cell lineages. Interestingly, the target genes identified as regulated by BATF in B cells are regulated by BATF in CD4+ Th cells and the products of these genes are required for the normal development of Th2, Th17, and Tfh cells. Manipulating the re-expression of BATF, NFIL3, WNT10A and miR155 through retroviral rescue experiments allowed for the positioning of these molecules in an interactive network downstream of BATF induction and upstream of the terminal events of CSR in B cells and cytokine secretion in differentiated Th2, Th17, and Tfh cells. In conclusion, this work has demonstrated a required role for BATF early in the activation of both B and T lymphocytes, identified genes whose expression depends upon BATF and extends knowledge of the molecular network controlling antibody CSR and Th cell differentiation

An Educational Resource Forum for Family Caregivers of Individuals with Alzheimer\u27s Disease

There are currently 10 million Americans who care for a loved one with Alzheimer\u27s disease or another form of dementia (Alzheimer\u27s Association, 2008). Monitoring and maintaining the health of the caregiver is important because it allows the individual with Alzheimer\u27s disease to remain in their familiar home environment for as long as possible. It has been proven that both physical and emotional health of a caregiver decline with the demands associated with caregiving (O\u27Rourke, Cappeliez, & Neufeld, 2007). Healthcare professionals are responsible for assisting caregivers with maintaining their own health while caring for their loved one. Therefore, it is important to develop and implement health education directed toward a caregiver to promote their overall health and well-being. A review of the literature revealed that emotional and physical health of a caregiver is negatively impacted with the increased demands associated with caregiving (O\u27Rourke et al., 2007). Demographic differences including gender, age, race, premorbid relationship satisfaction, education, and income all are found to affect the experience felt by the caregiver. A variety of interventions including education, psychoeducation, supportive therapy, respite care, psychotherapy, and multicomponent approaches have been shown to be beneficial to the caregiver population and have been useful in decreasing burden and in improving overall health and well-being. This educational resource forum was designed to maintain or improve a caregiver\u27s physical and emotional health enabling them to adequately care for their loved one for as long as possible. The forum used an interdisciplinary, multicomponent approach and incorporated education, psycho education, supportive therapy, and community resources into the interactive six-session course. Future plans consist of pilot testing and implementation of this educational series into community settings within the region

Indian sovereignty and religious freedom : United States public land management and Indian sacred sites, 1978-2014

Dissertation supervisor: Dr. Mark M. Carroll.Includes vita.Combining historical and policy analysis, this study argues that executive and congressional actions have strengthened and deepened the consultation process instituted by the American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978, which requires federal authorities to take into account the preferences of Native Americans regarding the uses of public lands that violate their sacred sites. The consultation process has helped bridge the gap in cultural understanding and knowledge of the Indigenous peoples, federal authorities, and private developers at odds over the management of public lands encompassing Indian sacred grounds. On the other hand, a continuing lack of First Amendment free exercise constraints on official land management choices has left open the door for administrators to allow cultural prejudices shape their decisions in ways inimical to the protection of tribal religious grounds. Improved understanding of Native American religions and of federal policy regarding Indian lands can help advance a new understanding of sovereignty for Native Americans and protect their constitutional right to religious freedom.Includes bibliographical references (pages 354-369)

Kachinas are snowmakers : United States public land management and the Hopi quest for religious freedom, 1962-2008

Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on Aug. 18, 2010).The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file.Thesis advisor: Dr. Mark M. Carroll.M.A. University of Missouri--Columbia 2010.This study constitutes an original in-depth look at the first federal judicial case to test the scope of religious protections offered to Native American sacred places on public lands by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, Navajo Nation v. Forest Service (2005). In doing so, it explores the efforts of the Hopi Nation 1962-2008 to prevent the expansion of the Snow Bowl Resort from despoiling the most sacred of Hopi places, Nuvatukyaovi, also known as the San Francisco Peaks, situated in the Coconino National Park. It places this enquiry within the larger political and historical context of the Hopi Nation and its relationship to the government of the United States from the late nineteenth century to 2008. While this investigation engages in a traditional legal analysis of Navajo Nation, it employs a distinctive existentialist-humanist analysis of the decision-making processes of the Forest Service administrators that generated the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision. It concludes that the ordeal of the Hopi with the Snowbowl Resort reveals how a system of law and administrative regulation of public land, theoretically designed to harmonize relations between Native Americans and the needs of public lands management of the United States, was easily subverted by those with culturally-constructed predispositions to discount the differing sensibilities and spiritual concerns of the Native Americans whom their decisions affected.Includes bibliographical reference

Solving reward-collecting problems with UAVs: a comparison of online optimization and Q-learning

Uncrewed autonomous vehicles (UAVs) have made significant contributions to reconnaissance and surveillance missions in past US military campaigns. As the prevalence of UAVs increases, there has also been improvements in counter-UAV technology that makes it difficult for them to successfully obtain valuable intelligence within an area of interest. Hence, it has become important that modern UAVs can accomplish their missions while maximizing their chances of survival. In this work, we specifically study the problem of identifying a short path from a designated start to a goal, while collecting all rewards and avoiding adversaries that move randomly on the grid. We also provide a possible application of the framework in a military setting, that of autonomous casualty evacuation. We present a comparison of three methods to solve this problem: namely we implement a Deep Q-Learning model, an ε-greedy tabular Q-Learning model, and an online optimization framework. Our computational experiments, designed using simple grid-world environments with random adversaries showcase how these approaches work and compare them in terms of performance, accuracy, and computational time.R.Y. is partially supported by NSF DMS 1916037 and Consortium for Robotics and Unmanned Systems Education and Research (CRUSER).NSF DMS 1916037Consortium for Robotics and Unmanned Systems Education and Research (CRUSER

Novel Single Photon Detectors for UV Imaging

There are several applications which require high position resolution UV imaging. For these applications we have developed and successfully tested a new version of a 2D UV single photon imaging detector based on a microgap RPC. The main features of such a detectors is the high position resolution - 30 micron in digital form and the high quantum efficiency (1-8% in the spectral interval of 220-140 nm). Additionally, they are spark- protected and can operate without any feedback problems at high gains, close to a streamer mode. In attempts to extend the sensitivity of RPCs to longer wavelengths we have successfully tested the operation of the first sealed parallel-plate gaseous detectors with CsTe photocathodes. Finally, the comparison with other types of photosensitive detectors is given and possible fields of applications are identified.Comment: Presented at the 5th International Workshop on RICH detectors Playa del Carmen, Mexico, November 200