A Personalized Art Curriculum That Promotes Art Advocacy

The following project shows the development of a personalized drawing curriculum that will encourage students to become art advocates. The curriculum is based upon art history and is designed for students to relate historical ideas to their own lives. This personalization will help students learn more about art as a form of communication. Through this art experience, students will see the value of art in their own education and it is hoped that in the future, when these students are adults they will be advocates for the arts

The Predictability Between Demographic and Institutional Variables of Texas High School Principals and Their Attitudes Towards Parental Involvement

Over the past decades, the public school enterprise has been saturated with a myriad of social, political and academic ills. Problems such as reductions in state and federal funding, double digit percent student drop-outs, misidentification of students with learning disabilities, insufficient development of language skills in limited or non-English speaking students, shortage of highly qualified classroom teachers, unsafe schools, and students lacking college readiness are a few barriers to a student’s success in school. Perhaps the most disturbing of these issues, however, is the high percentage of students from low income households who are not meeting academic standards on statewide assessments. According to the Southern Education Foundation (2015), approximately 51% of all students attending American public schools live in poverty. Research suggests that a large number of these students are ethnic minorities (De Fraga & Oliveira, 2010). Inasmuch, as these nuisances weigh heavily upon our educational system, it is a widely held belief that parental involvement is a reliable predictor of a student’s academic success in school

A Double-Blind Trial of Adjunctive Valacyclovir to Improve Cognition in Early Phase Schizophrenia

poster abstractSchizophrenia is a chronic and debilitating neuropsychiatric disease that occurs in approximately one percent of the population and is characterized by cognitive deficits, including difficulties with abstract thinking, discerning reality from fiction, and communication. Cognitive deficits are a prominent feature of the illness and contribute to significant occupational and social disabilities. Additionally, there are no clinically effective treatments for cognitive deficits in schizophrenia. Although the etiology of these symptoms is unknown, recent studies have shown an association between Herpes Simplex Virus 1 (HSV-1) exposure and the severity of cognitive deficits in the schizophrenic population. Valacyclovir is an oral antiviral medication approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for treatment of herpes virus infections, including HSV-1. Results from a pilot study at the University of Pittsburgh show that treatment with adjunctive valacyclovir improved working and visual memory in comparison to placebo in a population of older adults with chronic phase schizophrenia. The primary goal of the main study is to determine the efficacy of adjunctive valacyclovir to improve cognition by studying visual and working memory in HSV-1 positive early phase schizophrenia patients in a multi-site clinical trial coordinated by the Indiana University Psychotic Disorders Program. The aim of this research is to present a comprehensive review of recent findings regarding the importance of HSV-1 exposure and inflammatory markers in schizophrenia, and to discuss the methods and expected outcomes of our ongoing study

Investigating perinatal depression, breastfeeding, and infant nutritional status among south Sudanese refugees in Uganda: A mixed methods study

Mothers in refugee settlements face challenges, including an increased risk of developing perinatal depression as well as complex barriers to breastfeeding. Issues of food insecurity and child undernutrition are common. Evidence suggests an association between maternal mental health status, breastfeeding practices and infant nutritional status exists. However, associations have been scantly studied among refugees and the scope of perinatal depression among refugees in Uganda is unknown. The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to investigate perinatal depression, breastfeeding, and infant nutritional status among South Sudanese refugees in Uganda. Qualitative data were collected through focus group discussions and in-depth individual interviews. Quantitative data collection occurred during a community based, longitudinal, randomized controlled trial. Six perceived common stressors were: lack of basic needs, issues involving childbirth, marital conflict and violence, other violence and conflict, inadequate health care, and issues involving children. Parents responded to stress by contacting leaders/authorities, talking to others, healthy coping skills, and unhealthy coping skills. Participants perceived the community could organizing community discussions, leadership, economic opportunities, recreational opportunities, and counseling. Breastfeeding barriers included: knowledge, physical, socioeconomic, and psychosocial. Beliefs and knowledge about breastfeeding benefits, support from husband/father, the community, and non-governmental organizations were facilitators of breastfeeding. During pregnancy, 70.3% of mothers had depressive symptoms and 19.9% had antenatal depression. Nearly a quarter (23.5%) had postpartum depression and 62.3% reported depressive symptoms. Over half (66.6%) breastfed within one hour of birth and 55.5% exclusively breastfed their infants. Among infants, 11.9% were underweight, 12.8% were stunted, and 7.1% were wasted. No association was determined between antenatal depression and breastfeeding practices or undernutrition. In adjusted analyses, mothers who met the criteria for postpartum depression were less likely to breastfeed within an hour of birth and less likely to exclusively breastfeed. Initiating breastfeeding within an hour after delivery and exclusively breastfeeding both significantly reduced the odds of developing postpartum depression. Early postpartum depression symptoms predicted significantly lower weight-for-age scores and lower length-for-age scores. These results indicate a connection between postpartum depression, breastfeeding, and infant nutritional status. Screening and treatment for perinatal depression during antenatal and postnatal care is important. Interventions aiming to improve breastfeeding among refugees may also consider including initiatives to address postpartum depression

Determining Writing Readiness: Effects on Retention, Persistence & Academic Success

WRITING READINESS INITIATIVE RESEARCH PLAN Phase I: The Impacts of the Writing Readiness Initiative Phase I examines the relationship between Writing Readiness and Retention, Persistence and Academic Success. (FRIG 2012 Grant) Phase II: The Student Experience Impact of the Writing Readiness Initiative. Phase II of the Impacts of Writing Readiness Initiative study will be surveying and interviewing students to determine their perspectives on this initiative as well as their perceived impact on their writing.https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/archivedposters/1019/thumbnail.jp

So very really variable: Social patterning of intensifier use by Newfoundlanders online

Previous studies have shown that one of the linguistic tools that individuals use to identify themselves is adjectival intensification (e.g., so cool, very cool, really cool). We assembled and analyzed a corpus of over 3000 intensifiable adjectives (i.e., environments where intensification could occur) extracted from Newfoundland-oriented public internet forums. Statistical analysis of the correlations between intensifier choice social patterning among our speakers led to findings similar to previous studies. So is the most common variant, especially among urban females, while the older variants really and very are favoured in rural areas, especially among males. Conditioning of the less frequent variant fuckin( g) seems to show the persistence of gender distinctions outside urban areas

Contributing Factors in the Underachievement of Gifted Middle School Students

This study investigates the educational experiences of 15 middle school underachievers. A review of the literature reveals underachievement is occurring due to a variety of factors comprising school and home settings. They include the school related factors of teacher and peer interactions, and classroom ecology. The factors, not solely attributable to the school setting, include family dynamics and self-esteem. Phenomenological research is presented, confirming the need to further question students, regarding the areas they have identified as having contributed to their underachievement. An investigation of underachievement from the students' perspectives, using case study methodology, clarifies the reasons children feel they underachieve. The students relate their educational experiences and highlight times of difficulties. The underachievers then discuss reasons they feel cause them to underachieve. Recommendations for teachers and educators arise from analysis of the case study data. These include recommendations from the students with regard to what they feel teachers could have done differently to prevent their underachievement. Recommendations have the possibility to influence the education of future teachers, current educators, and school students. They include: greater discussion with students regarding their education, matching student and teacher personalities where possible, teacher education, and flexible pacing

Sustained microglial depletion with CSF1R inhibitor impairs parenchymal plaque development in an Alzheimer's disease model.

Many risk genes for the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD) are exclusively or highly expressed in myeloid cells. Microglia are dependent on colony-stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF1R) signaling for their survival. We designed and synthesized a highly selective brain-penetrant CSF1R inhibitor (PLX5622) allowing for extended and specific microglial elimination, preceding and during pathology development. We find that in the 5xFAD mouse model of AD, plaques fail to form in the parenchymal space following microglial depletion, except in areas containing surviving microglia. Instead, Aβ deposits in cortical blood vessels reminiscent of cerebral amyloid angiopathy. Altered gene expression in the 5xFAD hippocampus is also reversed by the absence of microglia. Transcriptional analyses of the residual plaque-forming microglia show they exhibit a disease-associated microglia profile. Collectively, we describe the structure, formulation, and efficacy of PLX5622, which allows for sustained microglial depletion and identify roles of microglia in initiating plaque pathogenesis