Using professional learning communities to improve online instruction

This paper describes a process for working with online instructors to\ud improve the level of instruction and to introduce instructors to new technologies

A Comparison of Management Strategies for the Federally Endangered Running Buffalo Clover (Trifolium stoloniferum) on the Blue Grass Army Depot, KY

Running buffalo clover (Trifolium stoloniferum) is a federally endangered plant that appears to depend on habitat disturbance, although proposed management strategies such as cattle grazing, mowing, and herbicide application have never been compared in a controlled study. We evaluate the efficacy of these techniques on the Blue Grass Army Depot (BGAD) in Madison County, KY, where one of T. stoloniferum’s largest populations occurs. Fifty-nine patches of T. stoloniferum on the BGAD were treated annually between 2012 and 2014 with combinations of mowing and grass-specific herbicide. Patches of T. stoloniferum also were exposed to one of three types of cattle exposure (traditional dispersed grazing, enclosed grazing, and no grazing). Patches that were both mowed and sprayed with herbicide had significantly greater increases in abundance and higher survival rates than those with other treatments. Plants in any treatment group produced significantly longer and more numerous stolons than plants in control groups in the first year. Grazing status had no significant effect on abundance but ungrazed plants had significantly higher survival rates as well as significantly longer and more numerous stolons in the second year than plants in openly grazed areas. Enclosed grazing produced significantly higher increases in flower production. Although the results were sometimes inconsistent between years, they provide evidence in support of a mixed management strategy for T. stoloniferum that incorporates both mowing and grass-specific herbicides. The use of cattle as a management tool may hold potential, but care should be taken to regulate the duration and intensity of grazing because unrestricted grazing was more detrimental than no grazing at all

The Quest for Legitimacy in American Administrative Law

In the United States, administrative law suffers from a perceived lack of legitimacy largely due to a lack of democratic accountability or what some have called a democratic deficit. These misgivings stem, in part, from a deep-seated American distrust of bureaucracy. This Article examines how the quest for legitimacy has led practitioners (and theorists) of administrative law to undertake our interrelated projects: the Accountability Project, the Rationality Project, the Transparency Project, and the Participatory Project, all designed to create a substitute or shadow form of democratic legitimacy. Through an examination of these projects, I clarify how they try to address the democratic deficit, and whether they effectively do so. Specifically, this article investigates the impact of judicial review, informal rule-making, increased access to information, and public participation as efforts to meet the legitimacy challenge. Moreover it disputes the contention that the pursuit of democratic legitimacy is less consequential for administrative law than the need for bureaucratic rationality, by illustrating that bureaucratic rationality is but one component of a larger scheme intended to serve as a functional substitute for legitimacy. At bottom, because Americans do not share the fondness for the technocratic model displayed by many other legal systems, legitimacy projects have an enduring place in American administrative law

The Living U. S. Constitution : story, text, fully indexed guide, portraits of the signers

176 p. ; 18 cm

Reducing Problem Behavior in Children with Autism by Implementing Relaxation Exercise Interventions at the Onset of Precursor Behavior

Many children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) engage in problem behaviors (e.g., aggression and self-injurious behavior) that present safety concerns for both the children themselves and others around them. Previous research has shown that treating precursor behaviors that precede problem behavior may prove to be an alternative, safer method for preventing and treating problem behavior. The present study used a multiple baseline design across subjects (n = 4) to assess the efficacy of relaxation interventions on reducing precursor behavior and preventing problem behavior in children with ASD. Researchers first identified precursor behaviors for all participants through observation. During the intervention phase, all four children were taught deep breathing relaxation exercises. After participants received relaxation training, researchers cued relaxation exercises when precursors occurred, and the frequency of precursor, problem, and on-task behavior was observed. Results showed that problem behavior decreased in all participants following the relaxation intervention. Additionally, for the majority of participants, precursor behavior decreased and on-task behavior increased post-intervention. Implications for practice and future research on interventions that target precursor behaviors are discussed

The Living U. S. Constitution : Story. Text fully indexed guide portraits of the Signers

176 p. ; 17 cm

The living U. S. constitution : story, text, fully indexed guide, portraits of the signers

176 p. ; 18 cm