Adult Education at the Oriental Institute in the Twenty-First Century

For over fifty years, the Oriental Institute Adult Education program has taught outside of the traditional academic framework as exemplified by the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago. The classes of this program were converted to hybrid availability in 2015. The primary motivation for these expansions was to increase access to, and expand the audience for, the offerings within the program. In doing so, we have found a very motivated audience of global learners hungry for serious engagement with historical, linguistic, and anthropological issues. Although our experience has been punctuated largely by success, several challenges will require continual attention as we develop a more inclusive online environment

Revenue Cycle Management

The healthcare industry continues to navigate through legislative changes requiring a change from the fee-for-service model to a value-based model. Healthcare is required to balance quality care of the patient and financial viability. The general problem to be addressed is the inefficient adoption of a revenue integrity program within the revenue cycle management process resulting in a revenue deficit for healthcare providers. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to add to the body of knowledge exploring the possible inefficient insurance denial management process within non-profit hospital-owned physician practices resulting in revenue deficits for the provider clinics. The study achieved this purpose by exploring barriers to the revenue cycle management process. The researcher conducted a qualitative case study with 14 participants. Based on the identified themes the researcher shared implications and strategies to improve general business practices. Additionally, this study shared recommendations for future research. To improve revenue cycle process healthcare organizations can consider improved communications, increase knowledge and skill set, focus on staff resources and retention efforts, review data analytics, and consider a revenue integrity adoption program

Transcriptomic Response to Immune Challenge in Zebra Finch (Taeniopygia Guttata) Using RNA-SEQ

Despite the convergence of rapid technological advances in genomics and the maturing field of ecoimmunology, our understanding of the genes that regulate immunity in wild populations is still nascent. Previous work to assess immune function has relied upon relatively crude measures of immunocompetence. However, with next-generation RNA-sequencing, it is now possible to create a profile of gene expression in response to an immune challenge. In this study, captive zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata; adult males) were challenged with bacterial lipopolysaccharide (2 mg/Kg BW; dissolved in 0.9% saline) or vehicle (0.9% saline) to stimulate the immune system. Two hours after injection, birds were euthanized and hypothalami, spleen, and red blood cells (RBCs) were collected. Taking advantage of the fully sequenced genome of zebra finch, total RNA was isolated, sequenced, and partially annotated in these tissue/cells. The data show 628 significantly upregulated transcripts in the hypothalamus, as well as 439 and 121 in the spleen and RBCs, respectively, relative to controls. Also, 134 transcripts in the hypothalamus, 517 in the spleen, and 61 in the RBCs were significantly downregulated. More specifically, a number of immunity-related transcripts (e.g., IL-1β, RSAD2, SOCS3) were upregulated among tissues/cells. Additionally, transcripts involved in metabolic processes (APOD, LRAT, RBP4) were downregulated, suggesting a potential trade-off in expression of genes that regulate immunity and metabolism. Unlike mammals, birds have nucleated RBCs, and these results suggest a novel transcriptomic response of RBCs to immune challenge. Lastly, molecular biomarkers could be developed to rapidly screen bird populations by simple blood sampling in the field

Learning-Disabled Students: A Comparison of Achievement Scores of Students Receiving Services in Pull-Out Classrooms and Inclusion Classrooms

The purpose of this study was to compare the achievement scores in reading/language arts and math of fourth and fifth grade special education learning-disabled students who received academic instruction in an inclusion classroom or a pull-out classroom. Student achievement scores from the 2012-2013 Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) and the Discovery Education Assessment (DEA) improvement scores were compared with regard to service location and analyzed for significant differences between the locations: inclusion and pull-out classrooms. A quantitative study was used to find the differences in reading/language arts and math achievement scores for fourth and fifth grade special education learning-disabled students in an East Tennessee school district. Eleven research questions guided the study. The results of the analyses indicated significant differences in reading/language arts and math scores between the groups in all but 2 analyses. The inclusion students scored higher than the pull-out students. The fourth grade inclusion students scored significantly higher than the fourth grade pull-out students in TCAP reading/language arts, TCAP math, and DEA math but scored with similar results in DEA reading/language arts. The fifth grade inclusion students scored significantly higher than the fifth grade pull-out students in TCAP reading/language arts, TCAP math, and DEA reading/language arts but scored with similar results in DEA math. This study supported the idea that learning-disabled students receiving academic instruction in an inclusion classroom score significantly higher on achievement tests than the students who received their instruction in the pull-out classroom

Exploring How Preschoolers Use IPads to Develop Phonemic Awareness: A Case Study

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to describe how iPads may be used to develop phonemic awareness as part of emergent literacy skills acquisition for six preschool students at Little Lambs Christian Preschool (pseudonym) in central Tennessee. The theories guiding this study were the social constructivist theory, as it related to the use of play for the development of new skills, and the emergent literacy theory, which provided a framework for identifying and defining the skills children need to develop before learning to read. The following was the proposed central research question: How does the use of iPads in the preschool classroom affect young children’s development of phonemic awareness? This study used three methods of data collection – observations, document analysis, and interviews – to describe how children use iPads to acquire phonemic awareness skills in the preschool setting. Data analysis was conducted using patterns in the data that developed into themes. The goal was to gain insight into ways children develop phonemic awareness while using iPads and to enhance teachers’ understanding of how to use iPads in the early childhood education setting. The findings indicated that while students were able to use iPads to practice phonemic awareness, teachers had concerns surrounding the lack of human interaction when students engage with technology. Despite teacher concerns, student-participants engaged with each other and with the iPads in creative ways while practicing phonemic awareness

The Slippery Slope: A Connection Between Smoking and Drug Attitudes

This research investigated how an individual’s self-reported smoking status between the ages of 15 and 25 relates to an individual’s current attitude on recreational drug use. Participants responded to an online survey asking about their opinions of the wrongness of drug use in six categories. The group of participants who identified as a smoker between the ages of 15 and 25 has a significantly higher score than the group of participants who identified as a non-smoker during the same ages. The mean score for those who identified as a smoker (n=65) was 14.27. The mean score for those who identified as a non-smoker (n=67) was 10.57. There was a significant difference between the smokers and non-smokers, t(130) = 3.46, p \u3c .05. This difference indicates smokers have a more accepting attitude regarding drug use than non-smokers

Floyd County - Henry P. Scalf Articles from the Floyd County Times

Reprinted articles written by Henry P. Scalf on the history of Eastern Kentucky and Floyd County, Kentucky for the Floyd County Times from 1952 to 1963