Assessing Impacts of Rural Gentrification on an Appalachian Community in Watauga County, NC

Appalachia is a region of contradictions. While Appalachia resides in the wealthiest country in the world, it is characterized by a poor population that appears unable to keep up with the demands of modern American life. Explanations for this observation have traditionally been either a Culture of Poverty model or a view of Appalachia as a domestic colony of the United States. This research uses the domestic colony model to understand modern Appalachian experience in Watauga County, North Carolina. In particular, it examines the impact that newcomers have on old-timers’ ability to reproduce their native Appalachian culture. Previous work has identified two distinct drivers of rural gentrification, one being amenity or recreation based and the other being primarily an extension of suburban sprawl. Most research on rural gentrification has focused on housing areas in the mountain west where patterns have been characterized by very low density developments or hobby farms. On the surface, patterns emerging in rural western North Carolina’s Appalachian region appear to be similarly driven by natural amenities. However, rural landscape change in this region indicates more dense development patterns and stark land value contrasts. This research therefore uses mixed methods analysis to determine the nature of socioeconomic change to the primarily rural Watauga County. This research integrates Geographic Information System (GIS) analysis, quantitative assessment of housing density changes, and qualitative data gathered from interviews with six old-timers in the Triplett community, a relatively underdeveloped section of the county, and six newcomers to Watauga County. Comparison of interviews with old-timers and newcomers indicates differing perspectives on land ownership, land use, and the overall direction of development in Watauga County. Responses generally varied by the length of time the family has been established in Triplett. Triplett residents also voiced concern over land ownership as they describe newcomers as persons who value land ownership solely as an economic asset rather than a lifetime commitment. In addition, many residents report development in Triplett has occurred at a much slower pace, leaving residents of the area far behind others in the county in terms of income and access to more urban amenities. However, resentment and appreciation intertwine in this community as several residents have also reported benefiting financially directly from the region’s exurban growth. These interviews are placed within the context of countywide housing property value change and demographic transition. Results from this triangulation approach indicate the Triplett community residents’ perceptions of remaining underdeveloped and being left further behind economically to be strongly associated with quantitative evidence and GIS analysis of housing density changes and growth rates. This study provides a portrait of recent experiences in Watauga County that may be characterized as rural gentrification

The Role of Persons and Situations in Lay Predictions of Behavior

The present study examines the degree to which different kinds of information guide behavioral predictions, the kind of information that people believe is relevant to behavioral predictions, and the individual differences associated with the perception and use of specific kinds of information used by people when they make such predictions. One hundred and fourteen participants completed the Attributional Complexity Scale (ACS), California Adult Q-Sort (CAQ), and the Self-Monitoring Scale (SM) and made behavioral predictions for scenarios describing a person (e.g., anxious vs. relaxed) in some situation (e.g.,interview vs. chatting with friend). For each scenario, the degree to which each participant’s predictions were made by using either dispositional, situational, or interactional information was determined. Predictions were more strongly associated with dispositional distinctions, but the use of situational information was also apparent. In sum, the Behavioral Prediction Assessment (BPA) tool gives a reliable measure of individual differences in which people form predictions about others’ social behaviors. Future research might evaluate the meaning of these differences and their links to predictive accuracy

Facilitation of Mathematics Professional Development: a case study of supporting teachers’ learning of the core practice of leading mathematical discussions

Though there is a growing knowledge base emerging on Mathematics Professional Development (MPD), little is known about the practice of facilitating teachers learning in MPD. The purpose of this study was to explore the nature of facilitating practice-focused MPD for elementary grades teachers. This study of the practice of facilitation provides greater understanding of the purposes of instructional decisions made by facilitators leading professional learning tasks (PLTs) aimed to assist teachers in learning and enacting a core practice of mathematics instruction. In the context of a MPD project that lead to significant improvements in teachers’ instructional practices, this explanatory case study design examined the instructional decisions of two MPD leaders as they facilitated PLTs designed to support teacher learning about a core practice of mathematics instruction. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of observation, field notes, interviews, and planning guides from the Summer Institute were conducted to understand the nature of MPD facilitation that supports teacher learning of a core practice. Findings indicated that although facilitators use similar instructional moves as teachers in mathematics classrooms, the practice of facilitating practice-focused PLTs is fundamentally different than classroom instruction. Facilitators’ instructional moves when representing the core practice were most similar in their purpose. In PLTs that decomposed the practice and provided opportunities for teachers to approximate the practice, facilitation differed from classroom instruction in its focus and purpose. Results suggest facilitating MPD requires extensive MKT, as well as knowledge of teachers’ context, in order to foster the relationships needed to support teachers’ learning of enacting core instructional practices. The study’s outcomes have implications for leaders making decisions about MPD and teacher educators preparing facilitators to lead MPDs

Lamaze prepared and non-formally prepared fathers : a comparative study of expectations and retrospections of the labor and delivery experience

This study explored the effect of Lamaze preparation on fathers' views of the childbirth experience. The purpose of the study was to determine whether there was a difference between the Lamaze prepared and the non-formally prepared fathers' expectations prior to the labor and delivery experience, and in their retrospections of the actual experience of labor and delivery. Four null hypotheses were tested: (1) There is no difference between the expectations and the retrospections of the labor and delivery experience for the Lamaze prepared father. (2) There is no difference between the expectations and the retrospections of the labor and delivery experience for the non-formally prepared father. (3) The Lamaze prepared father will have expectations of the labor and delivery experience no different from the non-formally prepared father. (4) The Lamaze prepared father will have retrospections of the actual labor and delivery experience no different from the non-formally prepared father. Twenty expectant fathers participated in the investigation. Fourteen fathers had attended Lamaze classes with their wives in preparation for childbirth, and six fathers had no formal preparation. All fathers accompanied their wives throughout labor and birth, and all met established criteria for inclusion in this study

A cross-validation of the Welsh origence-intelligence keys for the strong vocational interest blank

The purpose of the present study was to cross-validate Welsh's keys for scoring the Strong Vocational Interest Blank for Men. Welsh hypothesizes that the keys will identify and predict a subject's relative standing, high (Hi) or low (Lo), on the dimensions of origence (O), or creativity, and intelligence (I). Independent measures of origence and intelligence were obtained on 117 Ss, and on the basis of these measures Ss were identified as being in one of four quadrant combinations, Lo O, Lo I; Hi O, Lo I; Lo O, Hi I; or Hi O, Hi I. A chi-square analysis of the agreement between the Ss' independent measures (relative standing on O and I) and their placement on the Welsh-Strong keys in one of the four quadrants was significantly different from chance (. 05 level) for the Lo O, Lo I, and Hi O, Lo I combinations. A binomial test also showed significant agreement ( p < . 01) for the Hi O, Hi I combination. No results could be reported for the key which identifies Lo O, Hi I Ss as there were no Ss assigned to that quadrant by the independent measures. Also, it should be noted that an N of 7 for the Hi O, Hi I Ss is too small to determine validity. The results of the present study do indicate, however, that the keys have some concurrent validity and suggest that the study warrants replication

Assessing charter school choice in North Carolina: an analysis of the factors that impact student enrollment decisions

Families in the United States have more options with school choice than ever before; one option that exists is charter school. But within this free market education system, is school choice fully open to everyone? Unfortunately, current data suggest that charter schools nationwide, especially those in North Carolina where I focused this study, are significantly less diverse with regards to the students they serve than traditional public schools. The purpose of this study was to investigate approaches to marketing and messaging by North Carolina charter schools and the impact these may have on access for families. I was interested in barriers, both explicit and hidden, to charter school enrollment. Using critical discourse analysis, I studied 30 charter school websites. I also interviewed principals from four of these charter schools. Fifteen of the 30 websites were from schools with a student demographic that was predominantly White, in spite of being located within a racially diverse community. The other 15 websites were from racially diverse charter schools in which the largest student group by race made up less than half of the entire student population. Two of the 4 leaders for the interviews were from the predominantly White schools, and the other 2 were from the racially diverse group. Findings from this study contribute to existing literature and inform future practice and research. First, I found a general lack of intentional use of the school website for marketing and messaging purposes by charter school leaders. Messages about school offerings, opportunities, and services that one would expect to be commonplace were quite sporadic among the reviewed websites. Second, the school websites featured images that made the schools’ racial makeup very evident to prospective families who were looking for a strong match between themselves and the school. Third, there was a significant difference between schools in each set with regard to messaging on their websites in four key areas—free or reduced lunch opportunities, monetary and time contributions from parents, student participation in athletics, and curriculum and instruction within the school. Finally, the charter school leaders I interviewed differed in how they viewed marketing for recruitment purposes. Implications of this study involve decision-makers at the school level and the state level; I also share recommendations for future research. I suggest charter school leaders should form a concrete plan for increasing and maintaining diversity within their school and be more intentional with information and images on their schools’ websites. State legislators should consider ideas like the weighted lottery in order to move school choice toward a more inclusive model for all families. Future research should focus on how information is obtained and perceived by families, including those with special needs, via a range of possibilities that include the school website and the school tour

But your mother was an activist: Black women's activism in North Carolina

Black women have had a long history of unrecognized community activism. This includes involvement in the freedom struggle as recorded by Naples (1998), Rodriguez (1998), Knupfer (2006) and Patricia Hill Collins (2000) and others. I review research on Black women's activism in the Civil Rights Movement, and such roles as Black librarians. Black women serve as bridge leaders with a strong orientation toward social justice and social activism. Robnett (1997) theorized that bridge leaders were those who utilized frame bridging, amplification, extension and transformation to foster ties between the social movement and the community: between prefigurative strategies and political strategies. The focus of my research is Black women's grassroots activism in the Triad area of North Carolina. In defining grassroots, Naples (1998) states that being from the grassroots generally means being free from any constraining political affiliations and being responsible to no authority except their own group. The research of these seven women redefines an understanding and knowledge of why Black women fight for their communities and increases the knowledge of the political, cultural, social, and historical context of grassroots activism. This study utilizes narrative research methodology (Casey, 1993, 1995-6). I asked seven women to tell me the story of your life. I taped each interview and transcribed and analyzed each life story, taking note of selectivity, slippage, silence, and intertextuality (Popular Memory Group, 1982). I discuss the collective stories of these women in terms of the influence of their families, especially their fathers, the role of the church in their lived experience and the key impetus of education. Their life stories provide insights into their reasons for their activism which includes community issues that involved their own children and their communities. Some of the women were instrumental in developing an academic computer science, implementing a preschool and after school educational programs, and advocating for local public library services and building. Some served on the city council while others worked to save a historical Black high school, fight for welfare rights, and train community residents on community empowerment. Their other work would include undoing racism and addressing the deterioration of their housing, neighborhoods, and communities. Through their love of others and the need to make their neighborhoods and communities a better place for their families, these women represent the voices for social justice, social change, and community change that have not been heard

Some aspects of the effects of day care on infants' emotional and personality development

There is general agreement among theorists that the infant-mother relationship, or attachment, significantly affects the emotional and personality development of the young child. Separation of the infant from his mother which interferes with or dilutes this relationship is believed to have serious developmental consequences. There is concern about brief separations which infants today are experiencing in day care settings. It is important to determine if there are differences in emotional and personality development of infants in day care that might be a function of their being separated from their mother for eight to ten hours a day, five days a week, and cared for by a number of caregivers

EFFECTS OF SCHEMA-BASED INSTRUCTION DELIVERED THROUGH COMPUTER-BASED VIDEO INSTRUCTION ON MATHEMATICAL WORD PROBLEM SOLVING OF STUDENTS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER AND MODERATE INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY

The Common Core State Standards initiative calls for all students to be college and career ready with 21st century skills by high school graduation, yet the question remains how to prepare students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and moderate intellectual disability (ID) with higher order mathematical concepts. Mathematical problem solving is a critical, higher order skill that students need to have in order to solve real-world problems, but there is currently limited research on teaching problem solving to students with ASD and moderate ID. This study investigated the effects of schema- based instruction (SBI) delivered through computer-based video instruction (CBVI) on the acquisition of mathematical problem solving skills, as well as the ability to discriminate problem type, to three elementary-aged students with ASD and moderate ID using a single-case multiple probe across participants design. The study also examined participant’s ability to generalize skills to a paper-and-pencil format. Results showed a functional relation between SBI delivered through CBVI and the participants’ mathematical word problem solving skills, ability to discriminate problem type, and generalization to novel problems in paper-and-pencil format. The findings of this study provide several implications for practice for using CBVI to teach higher order mathematical content to students with ASD and moderate ID, and offers suggestions for future research in this area

The effect of first pregnancy on selected aspects of the marital relationship

Marital adjustment during the first pregnancy was explored initially by comparing couples in early pregnancy to those in late pregnancy on interpersonal conflict, marital satisfaction, and time spent apart. The second approach was to determine whether preferences the couples held for gender roles had an impact on the same three aspects of the marital relationship. Couples were recruited from local health agencies where women received prenatal care. The sample consisted of 100 white couples, 48 of whom were in early pregnancy and 52 in late pregnancy. Each couple provided demographic data and completed a questionnaire which included the Attitudes toward Women Scale (Spence & Helmreich, 1978), a scale developed by Braiker and Kelley (1979) measuring conflict in close relationships, the Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale (Schumm et al., 1983), and a set of questions developed by the investigator about time spent on various activities. The early and late groups were comparable on demographic characteristics. T test comparisons of the early and late pregnancy groups showed that wives but not husbands in late pregnancy reported more interpersonal conflict than those in early pregnancy, a difference which was statistically different but small. There were no differences in marital satisfaction or time spent apart between the early and late group. Additionally, the couples were categorized according to gender role preferences (both traditional, both nontraditional, and mixed). Simple ANOVA revealed that these three groups did not differ on conflict or marital satisfaction