The Effects of Enrollment In Remedial Classes on Students’ High School Graduation Rates

The purpose of this study is to determine the effects on high school graduation rates of students who are placed in remedial and non-remedial classes while controlling for the students’ attendance rates. The importance of this study is to identify indicators which can positively or negatively affect high school graduation rates. The results may provide information to improve the historical low high school graduation rates. It is a quantitative study using a causal comparative design. Archival data will be retrieved from four public high schools in the panhandle of Florida. 00 students will be sampled, with 00 female students and 00 male students. Two of the schools are rural and two are suburban. The data collection retrieved will identify each student’s attendance rates, placement in remedial courses or not placed in remedial courses, and whether they graduated from high school in four years or did not, and this is from the student’s 9th grade year through their 12th grade year

Making the Case for Leadership Roles in Partnerships for Policy, Systems and Environmental Change Approaches to Healthy Communities

Background: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that chronic diseases are a leading cause of death (70%) in the US each year and have a significant impact on quality of life, and disability. A variety of reports heralded the need to focus on chronic disease; including reports from the Surgeon General’s Office, Institute of Medicine (IOM); and the first-ever White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity. All these reports consistently stated that chronic disease and its associated factors were issues of national importance that require immediate action. These documents outline the need for leadership through broad-based partnerships for preventive public health practice to remedy this problem. A policy, systems and environmental (PSE) change approach to healthy communities includes changes such as: improving the built environment to promote walkability, policies to improve nutrition and physical activity, and legislation to ban smoking. These approaches, however, require specific actions, leadership and political will within communities, and the appropriate level of players within the partnership to enact meaningful change. Leaders with decision-making influence have been called to action to be involved in the process of creating change through partnerships. However, little guidance is given on the roles these leaders should play in the partnership process. Methods: This exploration included a comprehensive review of available resources related to chronic disease, healthy communities, partnerships, coalitions, leadership frameworks, and national models to answer the following questions: What does the research tell us about the roles of leaders in successful PSE change partnerships approaches for healthy communities? Does involvement in these partnerships by leaders with decision making influence increase the effectiveness of PSE approaches? What are the documented results of effective leadership within partnerships that may be applied to healthy community partnerships? Results: The exploration identified a gap in the literature related to leadership roles in partnerships for policy, system and environmental change approaches. Leadership has not been consistently defined or measured, particularly related to leaders in formal positions, such as in city government. There is a need to provide training and resources to leaders to bolster their ability to apply these concepts in successful partnerships. There is an evidence base established for coalitions and partnerships that can be used to support a growing understanding of leadership and partnership success factors. While the hallmarks of successful partnership is reflected in the literature, there is little published on the evidence for a leadership involvement pathway as a stepwise guide for leaders and partnerships to recommend engagement strategies, identify potential leader actions, and create roles best suited to the leader’s resources and influence. Such a pathway may help to establish a methodology for approaching leadership roles in healthy communities’ and PSE change partnerships that may be validated and replicated across communities.Master of Public Healt

A Community Of Practice For Literacy Leaders: An Action Research Study

As with other roles in education, the role of the literacy leader is one that is particularly susceptible to professional isolation. Recognizing the need for additional collaborative opportunities for literacy leaders in the District, this mixed methods action research study sought to implement an intervention in which a group of literacy leaders who are the sole literacy leader in their schools participated in a community of practice (CoP) focused on problems of practice identified by the group. The study examined how the select literacy leaders’ participation in a CoP influenced their perceptions of self-efficacy, isolation and trust with one another, and professional growth and practice within their literacy leader roles. Measurement instruments included surveys, semi-structured interviews, CoP meeting transcripts, and a field notes journal kept by the researcher. Following their participation in the CoP, literacy leader participants described their experience as one that promoted confidence, collaboration, affirmation, validation, and influence. Study findings also concluded that the CoP was a source of belonging, collegiality, and trust for participants. The CoP intervention that was implemented in the study was additionally found to promote a learning community and opportunities for situated learning among participants within an authentic context. Recommendations include that collaborative activities that promote self-efficacy be continued in the District and that time during the professional workday be devoted to the implementation of these activities on a regular basis

Investigation of Alterations in Brain White Matter of Individuals Diagnosed with Smith-Lemli-Opitz Syndrome and Sjögren-Larsson Syndrome

Advisor: Igor NestrasilThis research was supported by the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)

Alcohol promotes breast cancer cell invasion by regulating the Nm23-ITGA5 pathway

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Alcohol consumption is an established risk factor for breast cancer metastasis. Yet, the mechanism by which alcohol promotes breast cancer metastases is unknown. The ability of cancer cells to invade through tissue barriers (such as basement membrane and interstitial stroma) is an essential step towards establishing cancer metastasis. In the present study, we identify and examine the roles of two genes, <it>Nm23 </it>and <it>ITGA5</it>, in alcohol-induced breast cancer cell invasion.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Human breast cancer T47D cells were treated with ethanol at various concentrations. Boyden chamber invasion assays were used to measure cellular invasive ability. The mRNA expression level of metastasis suppressor genes including <it>Nm23 </it>was determined by qRT-PCR. <it>ITGA5 </it>was identified using a qRT-PCR array of 84 genes important for cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix interactions. <it>Nm23 </it>overexpression in addition to <it>Nm23</it>- and <it>ITGA5 </it>knock-down were used to determine the role of the Nm23-ITGA5 pathway on cellular invasive ability of T47D cells. Protein expression levels were verified by Western blot.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Alcohol increased the invasive ability of human breast cancer T47D cells in a dose-dependent manner through the suppression of the <it>Nm23 </it>metastatic suppressor gene. In turn, <it>Nm23 </it>down-regulation increased expression of fibronectin receptor subunit <it>ITGA5</it>, which subsequently led to increased cellular invasion. Moreover, <it>Nm23 </it>overexpression was effective in suppressing the effects of alcohol on cell invasion. In addition, we show that the effects of alcohol on invasion were also inhibited by knock-down of <it>ITGA5</it>.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results suggest that the Nm23-ITGA5 pathway plays a critical role in alcohol-induced breast cancer cell invasion. Thus, regulation of this pathway may potentially be used to prevent the establishment of alcohol-promoted metastases in human breast cancers.</p

Maintaining the Strength of American Capitalism

The American economic system has always been the foundation of our national strength. But this foundation is showing cracks—from high levels of income inequality, declining economic mobility, and persistent economic insecurity among low- and middle-income Americans.Many now conclude that our economic system is broken. Recent polling data show that trust in capitalism is declining, especially among younger people. A 2018 Gallup poll found that less than half of respondents (45%) ages 18-29 held positive views of capitalism. This shift represents a 20-point decline since 2010 in the share of young adults' who held positive views of capitalism.The upshot is clear: American capitalism is in trouble. We need to strengthen our system to ensure that more people participate in our economic success. This means updating and adjusting our policies to ensure the outcomes of our market-based economy are consistent with fundamental American values of freedom, opportunity, and equality.Doing so isn't just an imperative for economic reasons. We believe that strengthening capitalism is as important for the health of the American economy as it is for the strength of our democracy. High levels of economic inequality will only contribute to increasing political dysfunction.The essays contained in this volume seek to clarify the lines of debate on some of the greatest economic policy challenges of our time and present evidence- based analysis on how to address them. It examines the hypothesis that growing market concentration is inhibiting a dynamic and competitive economy. Next, it examines the health of America's fiscal situation and what it implies about the continued strength of our market-based economy. Finally, it takes a hard look at recent policy proposals that would dramatically raise taxes on the rich and expand access to public benefit programs in response to high levels of income inequality and declining economic mobility.The perspectives presented in this volume are not intended to represent the consensus view of Aspen Economic Strategy Group members. Our goal is to equip policymakers with the best analysis available to better inform decision making and to help Americans better understand the difficult trade-offs our leaders face in making such decisions.There is no single solution to the challenges facing the American economy. The important role of evidence-based policies with bipartisan appeal, however, is difficult to overstate. This volume cannot claim to represent the end of thinking on ways to strengthen American capitalism, but we believe it provides a useful start

Securing Our Economic Future

The American economy is in the midst of a wrenching crisis, one caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and aggravated further by a series of climate-driven natural disasters. While the economy has made some steps towards recovery, the pandemic has laid bare the reality that too many Americans are unable to meet many of their urgent and basic needs. At the same time, it has become painfully clear that American society is not equipped to deal with the risks emerging from our changing climate. This book is a contribution towards policy options for addressing these challenges. Although it was largely written before the pandemic crises beset our country, the analyses, diagnoses, and prescriptions contained within all shed new light on the underlying fragilities that have since been exposed. The volume is composed of nine commissioned chapters and is divided into three sections, covering the 'Economics of the American Middle Class'; the 'Geographic Disparities in Economic Opportunity'; and the 'Geopolitics of the Climate and Energy Challenge and the US Policy Response.' Part I focuses on the economic wellbeing of the American middle class and the chapters in this section evaluate the prevailing narrative of its decline. The chapters in part II investigate the large variation in income and economic opportunities across places, and include a specific policy proposal for emergency rental assistance. Part III is devoted to the global climate crisis. The chapters in this final section emphasize the mounting social and economic costs of inaction and discuss potential policy approaches for tackling the climate challenge

Rebuilding the Post-Pandemic Economy

After suffering the worst economic shock since the Great Depression, the American economy is recovering in fits and starts. While many businesses are reopening their doors and thriving, continued uncertainty about the course of the virus, the inflation outlook, labor shortages, and many other factors are hampering a full return to normal activity. The COVID-19 pandemic reinforced and exacerbated many of the biggest structural economic challenges in our society. It precipitated the largest economic relief and stimulus spending in US history and transformed the way that millions of Americans live and work, with automation, e-commerce, and telework all playing a bigger role.The policy volume Rebuilding the Post Pandemic Economy examines important questions about how the post-pandemic economy will take shape. What are some initial lessons we can take away from the novel government programs that were deployed to provide economic relief and stimulus? How can we implement new infrastructure investments to maximize efficiency and equity, and best respond to the climate crisis? After a year of widespread school closures, what have we learned about the role of K-12 education in perpetuating or reducing social and economic inequities? And how should American trade policies evolve to promote economic recovery and strengthen America's role in the global economy