Experiences of Traditional and Non-Traditional College Students

This is a quantitative study of the experiences of traditional and non-traditional at the college level. The study results from a sample of 176 undergraduate students at the University of New Hampshire. Using a questionnaire, results show that there is a significant difference in the time spent studying and preparing for class between traditional and non-traditional students. The majority of non-traditional students spend upward of 6 hours each week preparing for class, where only half as many traditional students spend this much time. Results also show a significant difference in the social expectations both groups have upon entering college. Traditional students reported that their social expectations were exceeded, while the majority of non-traditional students reported having no social expectations for college. When looking at learning environment preference, results show that both traditional and non-traditional students prefer face-to-face classroom learning over online learning. Larger implications of this study show the importance of recognizing the needs of non-traditional students, as well as giving them a support system to allow a more enjoyable college experience

Children's Social Welfare in China

Fundamental changes in China’s finance system for social services have\r\ndecentralized responsibilities for provision to lower levels of government and\r\nincreased costs to individuals. The more localized, market-oriented approaches to\r\nsocial service provision, together with rising economic inequalities, raise questions\r\nabout access to social services among China’s children. With a multivariate analysis\r\nof three waves of the China Health and Nutrition Survey (1989, 1993 and 1997), this\r\narticle investigates two dimensions of children’s social welfare: health care, operationalized\r\nas access to health insurance, and education, operationalized as enrolment\r\nin and progress through school. Three main results emerge. First, analyses do not\r\nsuggest an across-the-board decline in access to these child welfare services during\r\nthe period under consideration. Overall, insurance rates, enrolment rates and gradefor-\r\nage attainment improved. Secondly, while results underscore the considerable\r\ndisadvantages in insurance and education experienced by poorer children in each\r\nwave of the survey, there is no evidence that household socio-economic disparities\r\nsystematically widened. Finally, findings suggest that community resources conditioned\r\nthe provision of social services, and that dimensions of community level of\r\ndevelopment and capacity to finance public welfare increasingly mattered for some\r\nsocial services.

A Quantitative Analysis of IRAS Maps of Molecular Clouds

We present an analysis of IRAS maps of five molecular clouds: Orion, Ophiuchus, Perseus, Taurus, and Lupus. For the classification and description of these astrophysical maps, we use a newly developed technique which considers all maps of a given type to be elements of a pseudometric space. For each physical characteristic of interest, this formal system assigns a distance function (a pseudometric) to the space of all maps; this procedure allows us to measure quantitatively the difference between any two maps and to order the space of all maps. We thus obtain a quantitative classification scheme for molecular clouds. In this present study we use the IRAS continuum maps at 100$\mu$m and 60$\mu$m to produce column density (or optical depth) maps for the five molecular cloud regions given above. For this sample of clouds, we compute the ``output'' functions which measure the distribution of density, the distribution of topological components, the self-gravity, and the filamentary nature of the clouds. The results of this work provide a quantitative description of the structure in these molecular cloud regions. We then order the clouds according to the overall environmental ``complexity'' of these star forming regions. Finally, we compare our results with the observed populations of young stellar objects in these clouds and discuss the possible environmental effects on the star formation process. Our results are consistent with the recently stated conjecture that more massive stars tend to form in more ``complex'' environments.Comment: 27 pages Plain TeX, submitted to ApJ, UM-AC 93-15, 15 figures available upon reques

Water as a Part of the Public Trust: A Review of Select State Codes

The purpose of this paper is to survey state codes primarily in the Western States for the purpose of determining the extent to which water resources have been explicitly identified as a part of the state's public trust. Our primary interest was in states wherein water law is based on the prior appropriation doctrine. A strict limitation was found to be impractical, given that some states have water rights based on prior appropriation and the riparian doctrine.Each code is arbitrarily graded A, B, or C, to indicate the strength of public trust statements found in the state codes. We recognize that the State's Supreme Court, not the legislature, decides what resources are included in a public trust, as well as any limits on the legislature's issuance of usufructuary rights to use the resource. Therefore, this was taken into account when grading the state's code.The method used to access data reported here was using a keyword search in Lexis-Nexis. The reader should keep in mind that the authors are not lawyers nor were the state codes reviewed in their entirety. The key words used in the search were: "public trust", "public interest", and "water". Working Paper #2002-00

Mindfulness and meditation interventions in dementia : experiences, adaptations and effects of well-being

This portfolio thesis consists of three parts: a systematic literature review, an empirical paper and a set of appendices. The thesis as a whole considers the effects of meditation-based interventions for people living with dementia and age-related cognitive impairments, and their caregiver on wellbeing, including their experiences of meditation-based interventions and appropriate adaptations to these interventions.The first section is a systematic literature review that explores the domains of wellbeing which have been targeted and measured in studies of meditation-based interventions for people living with dementia and mild and subjective cognitive impairment, and the effects of these interventions. The review also considers the methodological quality of the evidence in this area. Fourteen papers were identified and synthesised using a narrative approach. The findings are discussed within the context of previous literature relating to meditation interventions for people living with dementia and age-related cognitive impairments. The clinical and research implications for these findings are also considered.The second section is an empirical study that explores how dementia dyads experience and engage with an adapted mindfulness-based intervention and what the impact of this is on subjective wellbeing. The research used a qualitative method, gathering data using a Grounded Theory approach, which due to not meeting data saturation was analysed using Thematic Analysis. Four superordinate and 11 subordinate themes emerged from the data. The results of this analysis are discussed in the context of previous literature relating to mindfulness-based interventions for people living with dementia and their caregivers, previous adaptations, the impact of these interventions on dyadic wellbeing and dyadic conceptualisations of mindfulness. The clinical and research implications for these findings are also discussed.The third section consists of a set of appendices which relate to the systematic literature review and empirical paper. Within these appendices are a reflective and epistemological statement, which includes the primary researcher’s reflections on the journey of these pieces of research, and the philosophical position and underlying assumptions of the research

The effectiveness of using speech-to-text technology to support writing of students with learning disabilities

This study examined the effects of using Speech Recognition (SR) technology to create more cohesive writing for students with learning disabilities as compared to the use of paper and pencil. Six students with IEPs from general education classrooms, ages 7 years old to 9 years old, participated in this study. Prior to the start of this study, the subjects completed a baseline assessment to measure their expressive writing abilities in response to a narrative prompt. The students were required to include a topic sentence, beginning, middle, and end, and demonstrate understanding of the conventions of writing. There was not a requirement for number of words or a time limit. The writing samples were graded on a grade-appropriate rubric (see Appendix A) to measure for holistic quality, organization and cohesiveness, grammar, and mechanics of writing. The students participating in this study did not demonstrate a significant improvement in writing when utilizing the speech-to-text technology to compose narrative writing samples compared to paper and pencil transcription. Implications and suggestions for future studies regarding utilizing SR technology to accommodate students with Learning Disabilities are discussed

Book Review: Akron’s “Better Half”: Women’s Clubs and the Humanization of the City, 1825-1925

Review of Akron’s “Better Half”: Women’s Clubs and the Humanization of the City, 1825-1925 by Kathleen L. Endre

Power Imbalance within the Setting of Special Education Mediation: A View toward Structural and Organizational Factors Influencing Outcome

Research on mediation as a means of dispute resolution has alluded to potential injustices that may emerge from the process when conflict occurs between persons of unequal status. An example of such inequity would be when one parly in the dispute is an individual who is somehow dependent on the second party (who may represent an organization or institution). In a recent evaluation of special education mediation services, structural and organizational factors were identified that could influence the impact of power imbalance between disputants (parents and school personnel) independent of the mediation session itself. This paper examines these factors and proposes that future research broaden its perspective on power-imbalance theories associated with mediation. In particular, the present examination brings into question the sufficiencies of claims that mediation is procedurally inappropriate when an inherent power imbalance exists in conflict situations