Planning Effective Whole Language Staff Development Programs: A Guide for Staff Developers

Whole language is sweeping the country. It has been described as part of a revolution in teaching and learning (Hiebert and Fisher, 1990), an exciting grass-roots teacher movement that is changing curricula around the world (Watson, 1989), and the newest manifestation of progressive education (Veatch, 1991). Several factors help provide evidence for its impact. First, approximately five percent of elementary teachers nationwide are using aspects of whole language and more are becoming users daily (O\u27Neil, 1989). Second, twenty-three states have literacy programs centered upon the use of literature (Cullinan, 1989). Third, membership in the Teaching About Whole Language Umbrella, a network for whole language groups, is numbered at 20,000 (D. Watson, personal communication, 1990). Whole language is clearly the classroom innovation of choice for many teachers in the 1990s

Encounters with information text: Perceptions and insights from four gifted readers

This study examines the nature of engagement with informational text by exploring four gifted students\u27 responses to children\u27s information books and informational storybooks. The researchers interviewed the students and students recorded their responses to books in journals over the course of the study. Results indicated that these children expressed a variety of reasons for reading nonfiction and held interesting perceptions and strong opinions about informational content, which varied according to text type. Children identified authors\u27 purposes and genre differences, and expressed preference for books with depth of coverage along with a creative format

Co-Bedding Preterm Infants in the NICU

Providing the best possible environment for premature infants continues to be a challenge in the neonatal inten­sive care unit (NICU). The purpose of this literature review was to examine the evidence related to the care of preterm twins and whether twins benefit from co-bedding verses keeping them separated. Co-bedding is defined as caring for two or more infants in the same incubator and is considered a developmental initiative to minimize adverse effects of preterm birth. Twins share a tight space in utero and support each other as they grow. Skin-to-skin contact with preterm infants and their mothers has been shown to increase the healing time and lead to better outcomes as shown in other studies. The five studies that were examined observed for improvements in self-regulation, quality of sleep, response to pain, weight gain, and safety. Based on the results, co-bedding was found to promote self-regulation, quiet sleep, weight gain, decreased crying, and decreased pain in the twin preterm infants. Co-bedding is a comforting measure for infants that can be implemented without significant adverse effects and is a noninvasive solution to improving overall physiological stability

The Classroom Library: A Place for Nonfiction, Nonfiction in its Place

This manuscript provides a rationale for classroom libraries and the need to include nonfiction with them. Guidelines for effective libraries, selecting nonfiction books, and strategies for promoting them are also shared

Understanding young people's transitions in university halls through space and time

This article contributes to the theoretical discussion about young people's transitions through space and time. Space and time are complex overarching concepts that have creative potential in deepening understanding of transition. The focus of this research is young people's experiences of communal living in university halls. It is argued that particular space-time concepts draw attention to different facets of experience and in combination deepen the understanding of young people's individual and collective transitions. The focus of the article is the uses of the space-time concepts 'routine', 'representation', 'rhythm' and 'ritual' to research young people's experiences. The article draws on research findings from two studies in the North of England. © 2010 SAGE Publications

Relationship of glycemic control, exogenous insulin, and C-peptide levels to ischemic heart disease mortality over a 16-year period in people with older-onset diabetes: the Wisconsin Epidermologic Study of Diabetic Retinopathy (WESDR)

OBJECTIVE - the purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of glycemic control and exogenous and endogenous insulin levels with all-cause and cause-specific mortality (ischemic heart disease and stroke) in an older-onset diabetic population.RESEARCH DESIGN and METHODS - the Wisconsin Epidemiologic Study of Diabetic Retinopathy (WESDR) is an ongoing, prospective, population-based cohort study of individuals with diabetes first examined in 1980-1982. A stratified sample of all individuals with diabetes diagnosed at 30 years of age or older was labeled older-onset (n = 1,370). Those participating in the 1984-1986 examination phase (n = 1,007) were included in the analysis. Endogenous insulin was determined by measurements of plasma C-peptide (in nanomoles per liter), and exogenous insulin was calculated in units per kilogram per day. Glycemic control was determined by levels of glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA(1)).RESULTS - After 16 years of follow-up, 824 individuals died (all-cause mortality); 358 deaths involved ischemic heart disease and 137 involved stroke. C-peptide and HbA(1) were significantly associated with all-cause and ischemic heart disease mortality in our study. the hazard ratio (95% CI) values for all-cause mortality were 1.12 (1.07-1.17) per 1% increase in HbA, 1.20 (0.85-1.69) per 1 unit . kg(-1) - day(-1) increase in exogenous insulin, and 1.15 (1.04-1.29) per 1 nmol/l increase in C-peptide and for ischemic heart disease mortality were 1.14 (1.06-1.22), 1.50 (0.92-2.46), and 1.19 (1.02-1.39) for HbA(1), exogenous insulin, and C-peptide, respectively, after adjusting for relevant confounders. C-peptide was associated with stroke mortality only among men (1.65 [1.07-2.53]).CONCLUSIONS - Our results show that individuals with higher endogenous insulin levels are at higher risk of all-cause, ischemic heart disease, and stroke mortality.Univ Wisconsin, Sch Med & Publ Hlth, Dept Ophthalmol & Visual Sci, Madison, WI 53726 USAUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Severe hypoglycemia and smoking in a long-term type 1 diabetic population - Wisconsin Epidemiologic Study of Diabetic Retinopathy

OBJECTIVE - the purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship of severe hypoglycemia and smoking in a population-based cohort of individuals with long-term type 1 diabetes.RESEARCH DESIGN and METHODS - This was a cross-sectional analysis of the population-based cohort of the Wisconsin Epidemiologic Study of Diabetic Retinopathy. the analyses in this report were limited to 537 type 1 diabetic individuals with complete data who participated in the last examination phase (2000-2001). Severe hypoglycemia was defined as having one or more episodes of loss of consciousness or overnight hospitalization attributable to hypoglycernia in a 1-year period before the examination.RESULTS - the prevalence of severe hypoglycemia in this population was 14.3%. in univariate analysis, current snickers had a greater chance of having severe hypoglycemia compared with never smokers (odds ratio 2.40 [95% CI 1.30-4.401). When we controlled for relevant confounders such as age, sex, AIC, waist-to-hip ratio, orthostatic hypotension, alcohol consumption, intensive insulin treatment, past history of severe hypoglycemia, and late complications of diabetes (nephropathy, neuropathy, and retinopathy), the association remained statistically significant, with current smoking presenting similar to 2.6 times greater odds of developing severe hypoglycernia.CONCLUSIONS - Current smokers with type 1 diabetes have higher odds of severe hypoglycemia episodes.Univ Wisconsin, Dept Ophthalmol & Visual Sci, Madison, WI USAUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Ophthalmol, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Ophthalmol, São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Rescue of a genotype 4 human hepatitis E virus from cloned cDNA and characterization of intergenotypic chimeric viruses in cultured human liver cells and in pigs

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is an important but extremely understudied human pathogen. Genotypes 1 and 2 are restricted to humans, whereas genotypes 3 and 4 are zoonotic, infecting both humans and pigs. This report describes, for the first time, the successful rescue of infectious HEV in vitro and in vivo from cloned cDNA of a genotype 4 human HEV (strain TW6196E). The complete genomic sequence of the TW6196E virus was determined and a full-length cDNA clone (pHEV-4TW) was assembled. Capped RNA transcripts from the pHEV-4TW clone were replication competent in Huh7 cells and infectious in HepG2/C3A cells. Pigs inoculated intrahepatically with capped RNA transcripts from pHEV-4TW developed an active infection, as evidenced by faecal virus shedding and seroconversion, indicating the successful rescue of infectious genotype 4 HEV and cross-species infection of pigs by a genotype 4 human HEV. To demonstrate the utility of the genotype 4 HEV infectious clone and to evaluate the potential viral determinant(s) for species tropism, four intergenotypic chimeric clones were constructed by swapping various genomic regions between genotypes 1 and 4, and genotypes 1 and 3. All four chimeric clones were replication competent in Huh7 cells, but only the two chimeras with sequences swapped between genotypes 1 and 4 human HEVs produced viruses capable of infecting HepG2/C3A cells. None of the four chimeras was able to establish a robust infection in pigs. The availability of a genotype 4 HEV infectious clone affords an opportunity to delineate the molecular mechanisms of HEV cross-species infection in the future

How to Launch an Interdisciplinary Leadership Program

Building a doctoral program in leadership is never an easy task, and building an interdisciplinary doctoral program is even more difficult. Yet, it is the interdisciplinary approach that differentiates typical leadership programs from others and offers learners an integrated view of leadership theories and practices. This special report presents an example of designing and implementing an interdisciplinary doctoral program that promotes social justice leadership. Drawing from firsthand experiences of program faculty, staff, and administration, we share lessons learned and the logic behind adopting an interdisciplinary approach for those creating programs that seeks to promote social justice. We found that by allowing students and faculty to convene together, rather than disperse into separate, isolated academic disciplines, emerging scholar-practitioners are encouraged to engage in realistic, professional practice investigation and problem-solving techniques. Through this experience, we also found that conscious coursework design involves integrating multiple, often quite divergent, disciplines into a core set of courses. Additionally, we learned that unifying students through a common mission permits distinctive discussions, including personal reflection and ethical decision-making opportunities among the concepts, constructs, and knowledge that extend beyond disciplinary lines (Cherney et al., 2012). We also found that cultivating a diverse student body and faculty base requires everyone to work strategically within the program, recognizing the call for coherence and consistency across disciplinary lines. Finally, we discovered that developing a dissertation in practice allows students to implement an evidence-based solution within their professional practice setting as their pinnacle doctorate work (Herr & Anderson, 2014; Olson & Clark, 2009). We conclude this paper by reiterating our finding that leadership programs that promote social justice are enhanced by adopting an interdisciplinary approach as this allows for the creation of a program that challenges students to learn at a more complex level, faculty to integrate disciplines, and programs to promote socially just ideals. We discuss implications for other schools seeking to develop an interdisciplinary doctoral leadership program