Anglian leadership in Northumbria, 547 A.D. through 1075 A.D.

The Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Britain were founded in warfare beginning in the fifth century. These kingdoms developed alongside the native Romanized Britons, who attempted to reassert their authority in Britain in the wake of the Roman withdrawal. Northumbria, located north of the Humber River, the largest and most northerly of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms played a vital role in the politics of early medieval Britain. During the seventh century, the Northumbrian kings were recognized as the overkings of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, as well as the neighboring British and Pictish kingdoms. Over the course of several centuries, the leaders of Northumbria alternately engaged in military conflict and peace alliances with their most powerful northern neighbor, the Scots. After York fell to an invading Danish army in the ninth century, the lands of Northumberland were permanently divided along the Tees River valley into Yorkshire and Northumbria. The tenth and eleventh centuries witnessed power struggles between the earls of Northumbria and the ‘English’ kings from Wessex. While the other Anglo-Saxon ealdormen received their political appointments from the kings and worked alongside their monarchs, the earls of Northumbria alone maintained political autonomy. Northumbria was uniquely located between the two emerging powers of Scotland and Anglo-Saxon England, yet never succumbed to either. Dedication to local Northumbrian ealdormen as earls, who exhibited strong military leadership and surprising political savvy, guaranteed Northumbria self-rule and unchanged laws until the Norman Conquest. Not until William Rufus II gained the throne of England in 1087 did Northumbria begin participating as a political and military entity within greater England

Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationParkinson disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder with selective damage of dopaminergic neurons within the Basal Ganglia (BG), leading to the most clearly recognized sequelae of motor deficits observed in PD. The BG have also been shown to be important during implicit motor sequence learning (IMSL), and individuals with BG lesions have demonstrated impairment in IMSL compared to healthy age matched controls. Additionally, individuals with PD are typically prescribed dopamine replacement or agonist medications, which have been found to reduce the observed movement deficits. However, it has been observed that dopamine addition may potentially impair IMSL. The primary purpose of this paper was to describe impairments in IMSL in individuals with PD, describe a neurobiological model for the observed deficits in IMSL, and to determine the impact of dopamine addition on acquisition performance and retention learning of repeated segments during a standing implicit continuous tracking task in individuals with PD. We hypothesized that IMSL would be impaired in individuals with PD on their usual dosage of dopamine. Secondarily, the impact of age, PD, and dopamine on sequence-specific integration was assessed, and it was hypothesized that there would be a graded deficit related to age, PD, and dopamine on sequencespecific integration. Finally, the relationship of spatial and temporal parameters within sequence learning was assessed as an exploratory aim. The results of this study supported an IMSL deficit primarily related to age and secondarily related to PD, but not dopamine replacement. Additionally, individuals with PD, regardless of medication, demonstrated impaired spatial integration compared to healthy young and elder participants. The type of task performed in this study was a demanding postural task compared to the traditional IMSL paradigms using the upper extremity and task difficulty could account for the lack of observed difference during acquisition. Longer time to practice the paradigm may be required to observe improved performance. Finally, although IMSL has been observed to be impaired in individuals with PD, a better understanding of the IMSL deficit related to the impact of medication and age during a standing motor task is warranted

A Comparison of Lecture and Interactive Lecture Using Student Response Systems in an Inclusive and Non-Inclusive Classroom

It is crucial for the most effective evidenced-based educational practices to be identified and implemented in our classrooms, so that students can reach their academic potential. Active learning is not a new pedagogy, but many gaps still exist in the literature specifically concerning the technology of student response systems. In an attempt to address these shortcomings, this study compared the effects of the traditional lecture method versus lectures that incorporated student response systems on students\u27 academic achievement immediately following the lecture. This study also examined the relation between student response systems and students with disabilities in an inclusive classroom. The instructional methods lecture and lecture plus student response systems were both effective in increasing student performance in a non-inclusive classroom and in an inclusive classroom. The student response system intervention was more effective than the lecture intervention in increasing students\u27 academic performance in the non-inclusive classroom. The lecture intervention was more effective than the student response intervention in increasing students\u27 academic achievement in the inclusive class setting. The participating students with disabilities showed improvement during the lecture condition as well as in the lecture plus student response system condition, thus it remains unclear which instructional method (lecture or SRS) was more effective for students with disabilities

Inflectional morphology and compounding in English : a single route, associative memory based account

Native English speakers include irregular plurals in English compounds (e. g., mice chaser) more frequently than regular plurals (e. g., *rats chaser) (Gordon, 1985). This dissociation in inflectional morphology has been argued to stem from an internal and innate morphological constraint as it is thought that the input to which English speaking children are exposed is insufficient to signal that regular plurals are prohibited in compounds but irregulars might be allowed (Marcus, Brinkmann, Clahsen, Weise & Pinker, 1995). In addition, this dissociation in English compounds has been invoked to support the idea that regular and irregular morphology are mediated by separate cognitive systems (Pinker, 1999). It is argued in this thesis however, that the constraint on English compounds can be derived from the general frequencies and patterns in which the two types of plural (regular and irregular) and the possessive morpheme occur in the input. In English both plurality (on regular nouns) and possession are denoted by a [-s] morpheme. It is argued that the constraint on the use of plurals in English compounds occurs because of competition between these two identical morphemes. Regular plurals are excluded before a second noun because the pattern -noun-[-sJ morpheme- noun- is reserved for marking possession in English. Irregular plurals do not end in the [-s] morpheme and as such do not compete with the possessive marker and consequently may be optionally included in compounds. Interestingly, plurals are allowed in compounds in other languages where this competitive relationship does not exist (e. g. Dutch (Schreuder, Neijt, van der Weide & Baayen, 1998) and French (Murphy, 2000). As well as not being in competition with the possessive structure irregular plurals also occur relatively infrequently in the input compared to regular plurals. This imbalance between the frequency of regular and irregular plurals in compounds also affects the way the two types of plural are treated in compounds. Thus there is no need for an innate mechanism to explain the treatment of plurals in English compounds. There is enough evidence available in the input to constrain the formation of compound words in English

An investigation of the status, functions, and practices of high school homerooms in Virginia

No data have been discovered determining exactly why or when the first homeroom originated. In a study by Galen Jones published in 1935, it was reported that there were two homerooms introduced between 1875-1879; two in the period 1900-1904; three, in 1905-1909; and nine in the period from 1910-1914. From then on the growth was rapid. The homeroom appeared and developed with amazing rapidity because it seemed to offer a solution to the strong demand for a type of education which would include proper emphasis upon important physical, social, emotional, and spiritual factors largely ignored in traditional instruction. Since its conception the homeroom has been to some administrators another avenue for facilitating the admini­ strative, educational, and guidance functions of the school, and to other administrators the homeroom has been a puzzle. In statements on the purpose of the homeroom, some authors included the opinion that the homeroom offers the perfect setting for group activity work or group guidance. Other authorities asserted that the homeroom was an illogical place for such plans. The purpose of this study was to determine, analyze, and compare the functions and practices of high school home­ rooms in Virginia. The problems of this investigation were: (1) what is the purpose of the homeroom; (2) who is responsible for the homeroom plans; (3) what are the major activities of the home­ room; and (4) at what time does the homeroom meet? The intent of the writer was to trace trends in the concepts and practices of homerooms in the State of Virginia. Survey results were used only to report this information, and no attempt was made to discuss, compare, or evaluate guidance services in individual schools

Marker effects and examination reliability: a comparative exploration from the perspectives of generalizability theory, Rasch modelling and multilevel modelling

This study looked at how three different analysis methods could help us to understand rater effects on exam reliability. The techniques we looked at were: generalizability theory (G-theory) item response theory (IRT): in particular the Many-Facets Partial Credit Rasch Model (MFRM) multilevel modelling (MLM) We used data from AS component papers in geography and psychology for 2009, 2010 and 2011 from Edexcel.</p

The inner workings of working memory: Preliminary data from unimpaired populations

Wright et al. (2007) tested Persons With Aphasia (PWA) using three N-Back tasks featuring different types of linguistic information &ndash; phonological, semantic, and syntactic -- to determine whether Verbal Working Memory (VWM) is a single, united resource.  The current study tested two groups of cognitively normal individuals with the same tasks, as well as an additional vision-focused task, to expand on this previous research and provide a baseline for future studies of WM in PWA.  Results indicated no effects of aging outside of Reaction Times, and significant differences in performance across all types of information except phonological and visual cues

Assessment as a Service Not a Place: Transitioning Assessment Centers to School-Based Identification Systems

The World Health Organization and World Bank (2011) estimate that there are more than 1 billion people with disabilities in the world. To address this population’s diverse needs, the United Nations drafted their Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in 2006. Article 24 (Education) of the CRPD requires ratifying countries to develop an inclusive education system to address the educational needs of students with disabilities alongside their peers without disabilities. Despite substantive improvements and movement toward inclusive education, many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) continue to struggle with accurately identifying and supporting students with disabilities, including knowing how to effectively screen, evaluate, and qualify students for additional services (Hayes, Dombrowski, Shefcyk, & Bulat, 2018a). These challenges stem from the lack of policies, practices, and qualified staff related to screening and identification. As a result, many students with less-apparent disabilities—such as children with learning disabilities—remain unidentified and do not receive the academic supports they need to succeed in school (Friend & Bursuck, 2012). This guide attempts to address the lack of appropriate, useful disability screening and identification systems and services as countries look to educate all students in inclusive settings. Specifically, this guide introduces viable options for screening and identification related to vision, hearing, and learning disabilities in inclusive classrooms in LMICs. It also provides guidance on how LMICs can transition from an assessment-center model toward a school-based identification model that better serves an inclusive education system

State Drought Programs and Plans: Survey of the Western United States

Drought preparedness programs are considered a primary defense against drought hazards. This article investigates state drought programs in the western United States, including a review of drought plans and interviews with state drought officials. While nearly all states have developed drought plans and larger drought programs, the scope and depth of these programs vary widely. State programs and plans typically address monitoring, declaration and response, and communication and coordination. Yet few states conduct postdrought assessments or impact and risk assessments. Resources tend to be allocated more for drought response than mitigation. Officials emphasized not only the importance of available monitoring data, but also the need for improved information for monitoring and predicting drought. State drought officials recommended the following: (1) clear and relevant drought indicators and triggers; (2) frequent communication and coordination among state agencies, local governments, and stakeholders; (3) regularly updated drought plans; and (4) strong leadership that includes a full-time state drought coordinator