An Investigation of the Association Between Arithmetic Achievement and Symbolic and Nonsymbolic Magnitude Processing in 5-9 Year-old Children: Evidence from a Paper-and-pencil Test

Recently, there has been a growing emphasis on basic number processing competencies (such as the ability to judge which of two numbers is larger) and their role in predicting individual differences in school-relevant math achievement. Children’s ability to compare both symbolic (e.g. Arabic numerals) and nonsymbolic (e.g. dot arrays) magnitudes has been found to correlate with their math achievement. The available evidence, however, has focused on computerized paradigms, which may not always be suitable for universal, quick application in the classroom. Furthermore, it is currently unclear whether both symbolic and nonsymbolic magnitude comparison are related to children’s performance on tests of arithmetic competence and whether either of these factors relate to arithmetic achievement over and above other factors such as working memory and reading ability. In order to address these outstanding issues a quick (two-minute) paper-and-pencil tool was designed to measure children’s ability to compare symbolic and nonsymbolic numerical magnitudes. Individual differences in children’s performance on this test were then correlated with individual differences in arithmetic achievement. Chapter 2 demonstrated that both symbolic and nonsymbolic number comparison accuracy were related to individual differences in arithmetic achievement. However, only symbolic number comparison performance accounted for unique variance in arithmetic achievement. Results also revealed that symbolic scores accounted for unique variance in children’s arithmetic scores when controlling for age, IQ, reading skills and working memory. Chapter 3 assessed the soundness of the paper-and-pencil test. Results indicated that the paper-and-pencil test demonstrated criterion-related validity, levels of convergent validity and test-retest reliability. Findings again revealed that only children’s performances on symbolic items accounted for unique variance in arithmetic scores. In Chapter 4, further evidence of the convergent validity of the paper-and-pencil test was demonstrated and again, symbolic processing accounted for unique variance in children’s arithmetic achievement. Results also demonstrated that participants’ performance on the paper-and-pencil test in kindergarten was a significant predictor of their math grade in Grade 1. Together these three studies give evidence to suggest that a simple two-minute paper-and-pencil test is a valuable and reliable tool for assessing basic magnitude processing in children from kindergarten to the third grade

A Review of School Board Cyberbullying Policies in Alberta

An online search for school board cyberbullying/bullying policies in Alberta was conducted. The results showed that while only five school boards had a bullying policy, many schools had technology or Internet use guidelines. The online search included an assessment of one extensive school board cyberbullying policy as well as Internet use guidelines in two large school boards in Alberta. While technology and Internet use guidelines support anti-bullying initiatives, it is argued that a clear well defined policy empowers administrators to make informed decisions on how to handle cyberbullying. Finally, policy recommendations are proposed based on the results of the online search. On a entrepris une recherche en ligne pour trouver les politiques des conseils scolaires albertains en matière d’intimidation/harcèlement en ligne. Les résultats indiquent que si seulement cinq conseils ont mis en place une politique en matière d’intimidation, plusieurs écoles ont des directives quant à l’emploi des technologies et de l’internet. La recherche en ligne a comporté l’évaluation d’une politique scolaire approfondie sur le harcèlement en ligne ainsi que les directives quant à l’emploi de l’internet de deux grands conseils scolaires en Alberta. Bien que les directives en matière de l’emploi des technologies et de l’internet appuient les initiatives contre le harcèlement, nous affirmons que la mise en place d’une politique clairement définie permet aux administrateurs de prendre des décisions éclairées quant à la gestion du harcèlement en ligne. Nous terminons en proposant des recommandations stratégiques reposant sur les résultats de la recherche en ligne

The Nigga News: a collection of poems

The Nigga News, first and foremost, is a representation (through poetry) of those voices that have been excluded from economic, political, and social decision making processes that affect and effect a vast majority of persons in this world. This representation ranges from thoughts on relationships and the thoughts of social outcasts to political malice and Native American religion. By creating such a document, this thesis, in its title and a number of voices in its text, clearly shows that the world we live in is divided into two parts: those who have and those who have not. This piece also gives insight into why there are those who have not. The few who have are often represented in many parts of life. The many who have not will, as a start, get representation in The Nigga News

Feasibility study ASCS remote sensing/compliance determination system

A short-term technical study was performed by the MSC Earth Observations Division to determine the feasibility of the proposed Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service Automatic Remote Sensing/Compliance Determination System. For the study, the term automatic was interpreted as applying to an automated remote-sensing system that includes data acquisition, processing, and management

COVID-19 School Closures: Professional and Personal Impacts on Building Principals

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a global impact resulting in an altered reality for educational systems around the world. The mandate by the governor of Washington State to close all school buildings produced immediate and significant impacts to the educational systems throughout the state, which resulted in professional and personal challenges for building leaders. The researchers, two school administrators at different levels in separate districts, had a unique “front row seat” to the challenges being faced by educators in the region and across the state. Based on this positionality and the current reality, the overarching question of this study focused on the professional and personal impacts to elementary and secondary public-school principals during the COVID-19 crisis to develop an understanding of these impacts on school leaders in Washington State, as well as the potential long-term effects. A survey of Washington State school administrators was conducted with a focus on the professional demands of the job during a crisis, social-emotional and physical well-being, the technological and learning challenges of remote learning, and the inequities associated with a virtual platform. The data analysis examined levels of job satisfaction pre- and post- the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the availability of support systems and coping mechanisms employed by administrators during the crisis. Recommendations for potential support systems in the time of crises and further research are based on the survey data and subsequent analyses

A director's fiduciary duty of disclosure: the case(s) against

Beth Nosworth

P-17 Predictors of Statistics Anxiety Among Graduate Students in Saudi Arabia

This quantitative study will examine the levels of statistics anxiety among 356 graduate students in Saudi Arabia. The study will also assess a theoretical model which proposes that attitudes toward statistics, statistics self-efficacy and previous statistics experience predict statistics anxiety. Results will indicate statistics anxiety levels and show its predictors

A novel approach to antibiofilm susceptibility testing using a thermo-reversible matrix

Method: Pseudomonas aeruginosa (NCIMB 8626) was cultured in medium containing poloxamer 407 at 37°C for 24 hours to generate biofilms. The preparation was cooled to liquefy the poloxamer and allow recovery of the biofilm cells, which were then stained with SYTO9 to determine viability following exposure to four antimicrobials: polyhexanide, octenadine dihydrochloride, povidone-iodine and silver carbonate. Over an 8-minute time period, fluorescence levels were spectrophotometrically measured and compared with bacterial controls, cultured in the absence of poloxamer and without antimicrobial. Results: Untreated cells showed no reduction in viability over this period. Importantly, planktonic cells were more susceptible to test agents compared with those of a ‘biofilm’ phenotype cultured in poloxamer. Antibiofilm activity was evident for all of the test agents, with highest relative activity seen with octenadine dihydrochloride. Conclusion: In summary, a novel and relatively rapid approach to screen compounds for antibiofilm activity has been described. The method uses standard laboratory equipment and can be readily adapted to test a wide range of microorganisms and other antibiofilm compounds

Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction of Online Learners’ Autonomous Self-Regulation in Higher Education

Online learners are oftentimes seen as a vague and abstract “variable” with barely no human face in the context of discussing how to optimize online learning. To see and hear online learners in the joint effort of meeting their complex needs which are essential to making them striving and fully functioning, we need to look into the autonomous self-regulation of online learners. In this session, we will share how basic psychological needs satisfaction predicts the autonomous self-regulation in the learner-centered teaching and learning of higher education