An Empirical Investigation of the Role Of Ownership in Creating Sustained School Reform

School reform policies have failed to produce sustained positive changes in education practice. Theories of school change provide structure to reform policy. Program evaluations focus on implementation and outcomes but seldom test the theoretical assumptions of the initiative. This study tested theory, specifically the influence of ownership , against the experience of Reading First Ohio. This literacy program was implemented in elementary schools in low performing and very low socio-economic status urban and rural public districts in Ohio from 2003-2009. Archival data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The analysis confirmed that the constructs of leadership and classroom change are mutually critical elements in school reform. The model failed to identify specific variables within the initiative structure that were tightly aligned to the theoretical assumptions. This study has implications for strengthening school reform polic

A guide for parents of gifted children

"UED 51 9/78/5M""A great emphasis of society in recent years has been to upgrade the education of the least able in our society. It has been easy to see the needs of these children and to feel justified in planning programs of care and education for them. But what have we done for the gifted child? Missouri Commissioner Arthur Mallory states. The brightest, most talented and most creative students in the public schools today are one of our greatest 'natural resources.'Yet, at a time when there is widespread concern about students who have 'special needs,' gifted and talented children are, too often, the most misunderstood and overlooked group in school."--from IntroductionCarl C. Fehrle and Sharon A. Brown ; photos by Duane DaileyIncludes bibliographical reference

A Bibliometric Analysis of Peer-Reviewed Journal Publications by British Occupational Therapy Authors

Background: A bibliometric analysis was completed of the peer-reviewed literature from 1991 to 2015 written by British occupational therapy authors that was indexed in the Science Citation Index-Expanded (SCI-Expanded) or Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) databases. Methods: “Occupational therapy” and “occupational therapist” were used as keywords to search journal articles’ publication title, abstract, author details, keywords, and KeyWords Plus. One of the authors had to be identified as a qualified occupational therapist with a British affiliation. Results: From 1991 to 2015, 680 journal articles were published by British occupational therapy authors. The top three journals in which authors published were the British Journal of Occupational Therapy, Clinical Rehabilitation, and Disability and Rehabilitation. The five institutions that generated the largest number of occupational therapy articles were the University of Nottingham, Brunel University London, University of Southampton, Queen Margaret University, and the University of East Anglia. British authors often collaborated in the writing of manuscripts with other authors from Australia, the United States, Canada, and Sweden. Conclusion: The quantity of occupational therapy peer-reviewed literature written by British authors has increased over the last 2 decades. British authors have made and continue to make noteworthy contributions to the profession’s body of refereed knowledge at the national and international levels

Integrating education, group support, and case management for diabetic Hispanics

Objectives: Culturally tailored diabetes self-management education (DSME) improves glycemic control and other health outcomes in Mexican Americans but sociocultural barriers to health improvements remain. This study explored the feasibility of adding a nurse case manager (NCM) to DSME to foster DSME attendance and increase utilization of other available health care services. Design, setting and participants: The setting was a rural community on the Texas-Mexico border in one of the poorest counties in the United States. Using a repeated measures pretest, post-test control group design, we enrolled 165 Mexican American adults into: 1) an experimental group that received a DSME intervention plus access to a NCM; or 2) a control group that received DSME only. Results: Both experimental and control groups received the DSME intervention, reported positive changes in diet and physical activity, and showed improved clinical outcomes; there were no significant group differences. A statistically significant reduction in body mass index was seen in women compared to men, regardless of group or number of NCM contacts. For individuals having the most NCM contacts, DSME attendance rates were greater. Participants expressed acceptance of the NCM; they preferred face-to-face contact rather than by telephone. Conclusions: Our previously tested, culturally tailored DSME continues to be an effective strategy for improving glycemic control in Mexican Americans. This feasibility study provided partial support for the NCM model for underserved border communities, but additional research is needed on resource utilization and the nature of NCM contacts

Cefepime Neurotoxicity in an Adolescent Cystic Fibrosis Patient with Aminoglycoside-Induced Acute Kidney Injury

Objective: To describe a case of cefepime neurotoxicity in an adolescent with cystic fibrosis and aminoglycoside-associated acute kidney injury (AKI). Case Summary: A 15-year-old, 46-kg male with cystic fibrosis (CF) and chronic sinusitis was admitted to the hospital for CF exacerbation. The patient was subsequently discharged to complete home antibiotic therapy with intravenous gentamicin and cefepime. Thirteen days after discharge, while still receiving intravenous antibiotics, the patient presented to an outside hospital complaining of vomiting, fatigue, decreased appetite, and decreased urine output. The patient was diagnosed with AKI and was transferred to our institution, where he displayed signs and symptoms consistent with encephalopathy. Encephalopathy was thought to be consistent with cefepime-associated neurotoxicity. After 2 hemodialysis sessions, the encephalopathy resolved. Over the course of admission, the patient\u27s renal function improved. Discussion: This patient experienced neurotoxicity thought to be secondary to cefepime in the setting of AKI. Aminoglycoside therapy most likely led to the AKI. We believe that our patient represents the fourth pediatric patient with cefepime-associated encephalopathy described in the literature and the second without chronic renal dysfunction. Conclusions: Children receiving cefepime should be monitored for AKI. In the presence of AKI, cefepime doses may need to be adjusted and the patient should be monitored for signs and symptoms of neurotoxicity

Learning Our Way Through: Collaborative Self-study in an Evolving Professional Development School (PDS) Partnership

Purpose of study: Professional development schools (PDSs) are essentially learning communities in which all participants increase their knowledge about how teaching and learning works and how best to manage the collaborative enterprise (Goodman, 2002; Horn, 2007; Mantle- Bromley, 2002; Patrizio & Gadja, 2007; Sue, 2002). The National Council for the Accreditation of Teachers (NCATE, 2010), identified PDS as an avenue through which aspiring teachers can be provided the opportunity to integrate theory with practice. In addition, PDS partnerships serve as a vehicle for the professionalization of teachers and systematic examination and evaluation of practice. However, according to the National Association of Professional Development Schools (NAPDS, 2008), many colleges and universities who participate in PDS partnerships do not fully understand the true meaning of PDS. This creates a void between the concept of PDS as originally proposed (Holmes Group, 1990), and the reality of the PDS as it operates in many of the partnerships (Webb-Dempsey, Steel, Shambaugh and Dampsey, 2007). In addition, while interorganizational collaboration is a PDS imperative, it remains complex, multilayered and labor-intensive for both school and university faculty (Patrizio & Gadja, 2007; Rice & Afman, 2002; Su, 2002). This situation calls for a clear understanding of the concept of PDS as well as frequent and systematic review of the goals and objectives of PDS partnerships. The purpose of this study was to better understand one teaching college\u27s collaborative relationship with the partner schools. The study is guided by the following questions. What was the nature of the collaboration between a teaching college and five urban-based PDSs? What were the individual and collective experiences of the faculty as well as other stakeholders in the collaboration? What factors, if any, impacted the collaboration

Effects of the Spin-Orbit and Tensor Interactions on the M1M1 and E2E2 Excitations in Light Nuclei

The effects of varying the spin-orbit and tensor components of a realistic interaction on $M1$ excitation rates and $B(E2)'s$ are studied on nuclei in the $0p$ and $1s-0d$ shells. Not only the total $M1$ but also the spin and orbital parts separately are studied. The single-particle energies are first calculated with the same interaction that is used between the valence nucleons. Later this stringent condition is relaxed somewhat and the $1s$ level is raised relative to $0d$. For nuclei up to $^{28}Si$, much better results i.e stronger $B(M1)$ rates are obtained by increasing the strength of the spin-orbit interaction relative to the free value. This is probably also true for $^{32}S$, but $^{36}Ar$ presents some difficulties. The effects of weakening the tensor interaction are also studied. On a more subtle level, the optimum spin-orbit interaction in the lower half of the $s-d$ shell, as far as $M1$ excitations are concerned, is substantially larger than the difference $E(J=3/2^+)_1-E(J=5/2^+)_1=5.2~MeV$ in $^{17}O$. A larger spin-orbit splitting is also needed to destroy the triaxiality in $^{22}Ne$. Also studied are how much $M1$ orbital and spin strength lies in an observable region and how much is buried in the grass at higher energies. It is noted that for many nuclei the sum $B(M1)_{orbital}+B(M1)_{spin}$ is very close to $B(M1)_{total}$, indicating that the summed cross terms are very small.Comment: 39 pages, revtex 3.

Isoscalar g Factors of Even-Even and Odd-Odd Nuclei

We consider T=0 states in even-even and odd-odd N=Z nuclei. The g factors that emerge are isoscalar. We find that the single j shell model gives simple expressions for these g factors which for even-even nuclei are suprisingly close to the collective values for K=0 bands. The g factors of many 2+ in even-even nuclei and 1+ and 3+ states in odd-odd nuclei have g factors close to 0.5