Exploring Digital Equity Through Parent Perceptions of Students’ Use of 1:1 Devices: a Mixed Methods Approach

Over the last two decades, 1:1 initiatives, in which each child in a school building is provided a school-issued device, have increased dramatically around the world. However, the outcomes of such programs are not always clear and studies regarding 1:1 one programs have found mixed results. It is important to ensure that1:1 initiatives are equitable and do not perpetuate the digital divide. Many studies exist that examine use of 1:1 devices in schools from a teacher or student perspective. However, only a few studies examine the experience of 1:1 initiatives from a parent perspective and also focus on equity. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to explore parents’ perspectives about their child’s use of school-issued devices for learning and completion of schoolwork in school and at home. The setting for this study was a rural school district in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, which began implementing a 1:1 initiative several years ago. An online survey comprised of demographic questions, Likert-scale items and open-ended response was utilized to collect information regarding parents’ feelings about the devices. Results of the study find that parents are generally positive regarding the devices and feel they are important for their child’s learning, but parents still have some concerns. This study also found that access to reliable, high-speed internet is still a barrier in this rural community

Digital Equity in the time of COVID-19: The Access Issue

This report is a part of a series of reports on digital equity in the time of COVID-19 written by members of the MERC SY20 study team. MERC launched the SY20 project to provide rapid response, iterative research to help address immediate and enduring needs by school divisions in metropolitan Richmond. The project has the following goals: (1) To convene conversations between scholars and practitioners on critical topics in public education relevant to the moment, (2) To share examples of local efforts that illustrate innovation and best practice, (3) To encourage community engagement and dialogue on our work through broad dissemination

Digital Equity in the Time of COVID: Student Use of Technology for Equitable Outcomes

This issue brief is the third and final in a series published by the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium (MERC) addressing digital equity in K-12 schools. It examines research regarding students’ use of and outcomes related to technology. Research finds that inequities exist in use and outcomes for students based on gender, language, ability, race, SES and other sociocultural factors. Based on these inequities, theoretical and practical recommendations are discussed

Manipulation of Cell:Cell Contacts and Mesoderm Suppressing Activity Direct Lineage Choice from Pluripotent Primitive Ectoderm-Like Cells in Culture

In the mammal, the pluripotent cells of embryo differentiate and commit to either the mesoderm/endoderm lineages or the ectoderm lineage during gastrulation. In culture, the ability to direct lineage choice from pluripotent cells into the mesoderm/endoderm or ectoderm lineages will enable the development of technologies for the formation of highly enriched or homogenous populations of cells. Here we show that manipulation of cell:cell contact and a mesoderm suppressing activity in culture affects the outcome of pluripotent cell differentiation and when both variables are manipulated appropriately they can direct differentiation to either the mesoderm or ectoderm lineage. The disruption of cell:cell contacts and removal of a mesoderm suppressor activity results in the differentiation of pluripotent, primitive ectoderm-like cells to the mesoderm lineage, while maintenance of cell:cell contacts and inclusion, within the culture medium, of a mesoderm suppressing activity results in the formation of near homogenous populations of ectoderm. Understanding the contribution of these variables in lineage choice provides a framework for the development of directed differentiation protocols that result in the formation of specific cell populations from pluripotent cells in culture

Influence of depression on racial and ethnic disparities in diabetes control

Introduction We tested the hypotheses that depression diagnoses influence racial and ethnic disparities in diabetes control and that mental health treatment moderates that relationship.Research design and methods We created a national cohort of Veterans Health Administration (VHA) patients with diabetes using administrative data (n=815 067). Cross-sectional linear mixed effects regression models tested the hypothesized indirect effect of depression on poor diabetes control (glycosylated hemoglobin >9%) and tested whether mental health treatment (visits or antidepressant prescriptions) moderated the effect of depression (α=0.05). Results represent the percentage point difference in probability of poor diabetes control. Covariates included primary care visits, sex, age, and VHA facility.Results Overall, 20% of the cohort had poor diabetes control and 22% had depression. Depression was more common among racial and ethnic minoritized groups. The probability of poor diabetes control was higher for most minoritized groups compared with White patients (largest difference: American Indian or Alaska Native patients, 5.2% (95% CI 4.3%, 6.0%)). The absolute value of the proportion of racial and ethnic disparities accounted for by depression ranged from 0.2% (for Hispanic patients) to 2.0% (for Asian patients), with similar effects when accounting for the moderating effect of mental health treatment. Patients with depression and 5+ mental health visits had a lower probability of poor diabetes control compared with those with fewer visits, regardless of antidepressant prescription status.Conclusions The influence of depression on disparities in diabetes control was small. High rates of depression among people with diabetes, especially among those from racial and ethnic minoritized groups, highlight a need to ensure equitable and coordinated care for both conditions, as the effects of mental health treatment may extend to the control of physical health conditions

Addresses at the dinner to the President of the United States by the citizens of Washington under the auspices of the Board of trade and Chamber of commerce, Saturday evening, May eighth, nineteen hundred and nine.

Introductory address of Mr. Edson.--Address of the Honorable Wendell Phillips Stafford.--Address of the President.--Reproduction of contents of souvenir

Incidence of End Rots and Internal Necrosis in Sweetpotato Is Affected by Cultivar, Curing, and Ethephon Defoliation

Two distinct syndromes have emerged in some production areas that have caused losses of sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas) storage roots during postharvest storage: a complex of fungal rots (end rots) progressing from either end of storage roots and a necrotic reaction (internal necrosis) progressing internally from the proximal end of storage roots. This study was conducted in multiple environments to evaluate whether the use of preharvest ethephon application and storage with or without curing after harvest could be used to screen sweetpotato breeding lines for susceptibility/resistance to these two disorders. Treating vines with ethephon 2 weeks before harvest and placing harvested roots directly into storage at 60 °F without curing resulted in the greatest incidence of end rots in each state and there were significant differences in incidence among the sweetpotato genotypes evaluated. However, when ethephon was not used and roots were cured immediately after harvest, the incidence of end rots was low in all the genotypes evaluated except for one breeding line. Incidence and severity of internal necrosis were greatest when ethephon was applied preharvest and roots were cured immediately after harvest, but two cultivars, Hatteras and Covington, had significantly more internal necrosis than all others

The MEDII-associated mesoderm suppressing activity is found within the small molecular weight components of the medium.

<p>(A). <i>Mixl1:GFP</i> ES cells were cultured as aggregates in MEDII for 3 days to form EPL cells. Aggregates were transferred to unsupplemented medium or medium supplemented with 50% MEDII, 50% E or R and cultured for a further 2 days before reduction to a single cell suspension. The proportion of GFP⁺ cells present was determined by flow cytometry. n = 7 independent experiments (MEDII⁻Dis⁻R⁺ n = 3). Error bars represent sem. (a) represents a decrease when compared with MEDII-Dis- where p<0.001. (B). EPL cells were prepared as for (A) and transferred to unsupplemented medium or medium supplemented with 50% MEDII or 50% E. Aggregates were maintained in culture for a further 4 days before being seeded individually into 48 tissue culture wells and allowed to differentiate. Aggregates were scored for the presence of visible red blood cells, beating cardiocytes and neural extensions and the peak score for each represented. n = 3 independent experiments and includes data generated from both <i>Mixl1:GFP</i> and D3 ES cell lines. Error bars represent sem.</p