School Psychology Shortages in West Virginia

The United States continues to experience a shortage of school psychologists nationwide which has been found to impact both students and school psychologists in negative ways. There is a broad scope of practice that school psychologists are competently able to provide but are physically unable to deliver because of their need to focus on required assessments and testing. Overwhelming workloads can create stress and lead to burnout. However, little research has been done to understand the shortage of school psychologists in the country, including the state of West Virginia. To better understand West Virginia’s shortage problem, this researcher conducted a survey successfully completed by one participant from 47 of the 55 counties in West Virginia. It was found that 33 of 47 counties currently had a ratio of students to school psychologists higher than the nation’s average ratio of students to school psychologists (1:1,381). Only 4 counties met the NASP recommended ratio of no more than 1,000 students per school psychologist. Ratios did not vary by size or location of the county. Common reasons believed by participants for shortages include inadequate numbers of students produced by graduate programs, lack of interest due to salary, and lack of awareness about the profession. Common strategies to address the shortages include utilizing contract psychologists and advertising positions. Recommendations for future studies include expanding the current study to have a wider population by surveying contracted school psychologists and special education teachers

The effects of interdisciplinary team size on student achievement, behavior, attendance, and student perceptions about community

This study explored the impact of interdisciplinary team size on student achievement, behavior, attendance, and perceptions about community in an affluent Midwestern suburban middle school. Interdisciplinary teams were divided up in to three-, four- and five-teacher configurations. Data were gathered through the use of the district\u27s School Information and Management System (SIMS) as well as the School Ethical Climate Index (SECI) (Schulte et al., 2002). The dependent variables were (a) academic achievement, (b) student behavior, (c) student attendance, and (d) student perceptions about community. Independent variables were the interdisciplinary team and grade level. All four research questions were answered using the two-way analysis of variance conducted at the .01 level to control for Type I errors. A total of 210 out of 213 students (98.6%) participated in the study

Brittle Fracture of Dental Amalgam

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/67331/2/10.1177_00220345650440053801.pd

Making a Place for the Next Generation of Geoscientists

Early-career scientists from the AGU Mentoring Network discuss how the global pandemic has exacerbated long-standing issues with the availability of positions in and the diversity of the geosciences.</jats:p

Characterizing Accelerated Weathering Conditions for Wood Adhesive Bonds

Accelerated weathering (AW) tests have become a requirement for many wood composite products. This project monitored temperature and moisture content of specimens undergoing AW exposure for the following standards: ASTM D3434 (automatic boil test), CSA O112.9 (boil-dry-freeze), and PS2 (Section 7.17, 6-cycle VPS). Each AW procedure was conducted with three types of specimens that differed by geometry and size. Using fine-wire thermocouples, temperature was measured in the center of the specimen during AW regimes. Average MC of specimens was determined by weight measurements, along with a final oven-dry weight. MC gradient was determined by periodic destructive testing, by removing a specimen from the AW environment and promptly cutting into sections for a gravimetric MC determination. Results include plots of temperature and MC as a function of time and/or cycle. Mechanical tests were performed on the weathered specimens, as well as dry control specimens. Geometries included lap-shear in tension, compression shear blocks and short-span shear in bending (SSB) which was manufactured using laminated veneer lumber (LVL). Direct comparisons between AW methods were conducted through non-linear regression by fitting the VPS and BDF data to equivalent cycles of the ABT. The SSB specimens showed to retain the greatest amount of strength after mechanical testing while the compression-shear block geometry had the greatest overall loss in strength. Lap-shear specimen mechanical results yielded the greatest variability among all three AW regimes. Temperature measurements were as expected within the lap-shear and compression block geometries, indicating that they were receptive to the exposure conditions. The SSB geometry, showed to be the least responsive to changes in temperature throughout exposure conditions in ASTM D3434. MC measurements, taken after each test’s respective drying phase, showed to be under the fiber-saturation point within CSA 0112.9 and PS2 6-cycle vacuum pressure soak test, as expected. Results of ASTM D3434 showed that there was essentially no occurrence of drying among all three specimen geometrie

An evaluation of two timber supply models for state assessments

The objectives of this paper are to: (1) describe the structure and output of SHRUB and RMS8O, (2) evaluate their respective ability to satisfy the needs of a state level timber assessment, and (3) demonstrate their application to forest planning using the state of California as the focus of a case study. The results of the SHRUB runs made for this analysis were compared to the results of previous research on the same regions conducted with the RMS8O model (McLean, 1981). Both sets of runs utilized the same data base and management assumptions. In the process of evaluating SHRUB and RMS8O, this paper addresses assessment objectives and approaches, as well as types of computer-based models. To put SHRUB and RMS8O and the type of analysis that follows into perspective, the next chapter presents some background information on timber supply analysis objectives and models

A study to identify the animal science technical competencies needed by vocational agriculture instructors

The central purpose of this study was to identify what animal science technical competencies are needed by vocational agriculture instructors and the degree of proficiency they need to perform these selected animal science technical competencies. The following questions were considered: 1. What animal science technical competencies are needed by vocational agriculture instructors? 2. What degree of proficiency is needed by a vocational agriculture instructor in performing selected animal science technical competencies? 3. Is there a difference between states in the animal science technical competencies needed by vocational agriculture instructors or in the proficiency they need to perform these competencies? 4. Is there a difference between vocational agriculture instructors and people in the animal science industry in how they perceive which animal science technical cornpetencies are needed by vocational agriculture instructors? 5. What degree of proficiency do vocational agriculture instructors feel they possess in performing these selected animal science technical competencies? 6. Did the college or university where the Bachelor's Degree was earned have an affect on the degree of proficiency possessed in performing these selected animal science technical competencies? 7. Did the years of teaching experience have an affect on the degree of proficiency possessed in performing these selected animal science technical competencies? 8. Where did vocational agriculture instructors acquire the proficiency to perform these animal science technical competencies? The finding of this study suggests that: Vocational agriculture teachers should have at least some knowledge and skill to perform most of the 130 competencies. There were 30 competencies with a mean score over 4.00 which is high and this shows that a high degree of skill is needed for this competency. There were 92 competencies between 3. 00 and 3. 99 which shows that vocational agriculture teachers should have competency to perform this task. The eight competencies that fell below the 2.99 range are not considered important. The three states were the same for 102 of the competencies with a difference being shown for only 28. This difference was between Oregon and California for 15 competencies, between Oregon and Washington for 10 competencies, Oregon and both California and Washington for two competencies and one competency that could not be tested to find where the difference was. The most variation found in this study was between what instructors felt was important for them to know and what industry felt was important for agriculture instructors to know. Fifty-seven of the competencies were found to be different in this test. The degree of proficiency an agriculture instructor has in performing the 130 competencies was varied. Many instructors felt they needed more skill in each area especially for the more important competencies. The college or university where the instructor earned his Bachelor's Degree had little effect on his ability to perform most of the competencies. Eighteen competencies showed a difference for where the degree was earned. Only 17 competencies showed any effect of years of teaching and the degree of competency an instructor had. The major factor that this study shows is the large number of agriculture instructors that finish a teacher education program without the technical competency in animal science to perform their job. They must take time to learn these skills after they are on the job and this may prevent them from doing the kind of teaching job that they are expected to do by their administration and the community

The fate of sediment, wood and organic carbon eroded during an extreme flood, Colorado Front Range, USA

Identifying and quantifying the dominant processes of erosion and tracking the fate of sediment, wood, and carbon eroded during floods is important for understanding channel response to floods, downstream sediment and carbon loading, and the influence of extreme events on landscapes and the terrestrial carbon cycle. We quantify sediment, wood, and organic carbon (OC) from source to local sink following an extreme flood in the tectonically quiescent, semi-arid Colorado (USA) Front Range. Erosion of >500,000 m3 or as much as ~115 yr of weathering products occurred through landsliding and channel erosion during September 2013 flooding. More than half of the eroded sediment was deposited at the inlet and delta of a water supply reservoir, resulting in the equivalent of 100 yr of reservoir sedimentation and 2% loss in water storage capacity. The flood discharged 28 Mg C/km2, producing an event OC flux equivalent to humid, tectonically active areas. Post-flood remobilization resulted in a further ~100 yr of reservoir sedimentation plus export of an additional 1.3 Mg C/km2 of wood, demonstrating the ongoing impact of the flood on reservoir capacity and carbon cycling. Pronounced channel widening during the flood created accommodation space for 40% of flood sediment and storage of wood and eroded carbon. We conclude that confined channels, normally dismissed as transport reaches, can store and export substantial amounts of flood constituents

Luminescence Dating Without Sand Lenses: an Application of Osl to Coarse-grained Alluvial Fan Deposits of the Lost River Range, Idaho, USA

Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating is increasingly used to estimate the age of fluvial deposits. A significant limitation, however, has been that conventional techniques of sampling and dose rate estimation are suitable only for thick (\u3e60 cm) layers consisting of sand size or finer grains. Application of OSL dating to deposits lacking such layers remains a significant challenge. Alluvial fans along the western front of the Lost River Range in east-central Idaho, USA are one example. Deposits are typically pebble to cobble sheetflood gravels with a sandy matrix but thin to absent sand lenses. As a result, the majority of samples for this project were collected by excavating matrix material from gravelly deposits under light-safe tarps or at night. To examine the contributions of different grain-size fractions to calculated dose-rates, multiple grain-size fractions were analyzed using ICP–MS, high resolution gamma spectrometry and XRF. Dose rates from bulk sediment samples were 0.4–40% (mean of 18%) lower than dose-rate estimates from the sand-size fractions alone, illustrating the importance of representative sampling for dose rate determination. We attribute the difference to the low dose-rate contribution from radio-nuclide poor carbonate pebbles and cobbles that occur disproportionately in clast sizes larger than sand. Where possible, dose rates were based on bulk sediment samples since they integrate the dose-rate contribution from all grain sizes. Equivalent dose distributions showed little evidence for partial bleaching. However, many samples had significant kurtosis and/or overdispersion, possibly due to grain-size related microdosimetry effects, accumulation of pedogenic carbonate or post-depositional sediment mixing. Our OSL age estimates range from 4 to 120 ka, preserve stratigraphic and geomorphic order, and show good agreement with independent ages from tephra correlation and U-series dating of pedogenic carbonate. Furthermore, multiple samples from the same deposit produced ages in good agreement. This study demonstrates that with modified sampling methods and careful consideration of the dose rate, OSL dating can be successfully applied to coarse-grained deposits of climatic and tectonic significance that may be difficult to date by other methods