School Climate Development Survey

Over the last twenty-five years the Consortium on Chicago School Research has engaged in systematic study of more than 400 Chicago Public Schools to determine organizational traits that are related to improvement in student learning. This effort was designed to help explain widely divergent levels of student success between very similar schools in the Chicago system. Initial discussions with educators at all levels, reviews of previous research, pilot studies, and field studies led to the identification of five school contextual factors – the 5Essential Supports – determined to be critical to school success: (1) effective leaders, (2) collaborative teachers, (3) involved families, (4) supportive environment, and (5) ambitious instruction. The framework of the 5Essential Supports served as a theoretical basis for a survey effort designed to measures and report on facets of school culture that could then be used by school leaders and practitioners to guide school improvement efforts. Research related to the 5Essential Supports consistently demonstrates a strong relationship between the presence of these supports and gains in student achievement. Led by Dr. James McMillan and Dr. Charol Shakeshaft from VCU’s School of Education, the purpose of this MERC study was (1) to develop a shortened version of the 5Essentials staff climate survey for the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium schools, (2) to pilot test the new survey with teachers and administrators, and (3) to determine effective methods of dissemination to support schools use f the survey data for school improvement purposes. The piloting and validation phase of the study demonstrated that the core constructs underlying the 5Essentials maintained high levels of validity and reliability in the shortened version. MERC also piloted and received feedback from school leaders on formats for reporting school climate results

Altered intrinsic functional coupling between core neurocognitive networks in Parkinson\u27s disease

Parkinson3s disease (PD) is largely attributed to disruptions in the nigrostriatal dopamine system. These neurodegenerative changes may also have a more global effect on intrinsic brain organization at the cortical level. Functional brain connectivity between neurocognitive systems related to cognitive processing is critical for effective neural communication, and is disrupted across neurological disorders. Three core neurocognitive networks have been established as playing a critical role in the pathophysiology of many neurological disorders: the default-mode network (DMN), the salience network (SN), and the central executive network (CEN). In healthy adults, DMN–CEN interactions are anti-correlated while SN–CEN interactions are strongly positively correlated even at rest, when individuals are not engaging in any task. These intrinsic between-network interactions at rest are necessary for efficient suppression of the DMN and activation of the CEN during a range of cognitive tasks. To identify whether these network interactions are disrupted in individuals with PD, we used resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) to compare between-network connectivity between 24 PD participants and 20 age-matched controls (MC). In comparison to the MC, individuals with PD showed significantly less SN–CEN coupling and greater DMN–CEN coupling during rest. Disease severity, an index of striatal dysfunction, was related to reduced functional coupling between the striatum and SN. These results demonstrate that individuals with PD have a dysfunctional pattern of interaction between core neurocognitive networks compared to what is found in healthy individuals, and that interaction between the SN and the striatum is even more profoundly disrupted in those with greater disease severity

Response to Intervention to Educate the Diverse Needs of Elementary Students

Much research has been done regarding how to implement RTI, effective strategies for RTI, and outcomes of RTI, which is not the focus of the current study. This investigation will focus on assessing the current perceptions of elementary school educators and staff on thier current understanding of and needs for more effective implementation of RTI

Sunrise Presentations: A Study in Valuing and Divesting a Small Business

Sarah Barnett has decided to go back to school to earn an MBA. For several years she has run a graphic design business. Sarah has unexpectedly been accepted into the MBA program with a scholarship a year earlier than she planned. Classes begin in two weeks and the school she is attending does not allow first year MBAs to work outside of the school curriculum. Sarah has decided to divest her business and now must consider several options to do so. She is most concerned about making sure her customers continue to receive outstanding service, and secondarily concerned about selling the business for enough to pay off the business debt and to help pay her living expenses while she is a graduate student

Fear responses to safety cues in anxious adolescents: preliminary evidence for atypical age-associated trajectories of functional neural circuits

Adolescent anxiety is common and impairing and often persists into adulthood. There is growing evidence that adult anxiety is characterized by abnormal fear responses to threat and safety cues, along with perturbations in fear-related neural circuits. Although some of this work has been extended to adolescents, with promising results, it is not yet clear whether changes in these circuits across developmental age varies between anxious and non-anxious adolescents. Here we used fMRI to examine how age modulates neural responses as adolescents are exposed to threat and safety cues. Participants were 15 anxious and 11 non-anxious adolescents (age 12-17) who completed a fear conditioning paradigm. The paradigm incorporated a threat cue comprising a neutral face which was paired with a fearful, screaming face, a safety cue comprising a different neutral face, and a control stimulus. Across the whole sample, neural activation to the threat cue (relative to the control cue) correlated positively with age in a number of regions, including the dorsal anterior cingulate and bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (PFC). However, neural activation to the safety cue (relative to the control cue) was modulated differently by age in the two groups: a more positive association between activation and age was observed in the control group compared to the anxious group in various regions including medial and dorsolateral PFC, anterior insula, and amygdala. These findings suggest that maturation of the neural substrates of fear responses to safety cues may be perturbed in anxious adolescents, potentially contributing to the emergence and maintenance of anxiety disorders in adulthood

Decoupled Programs, Payment Incidence, and Factor Markets: Evidence from Market Experiments

We use laboratory market experiments to assess the impact of asymmetric knowledge of a per-unit subsidy and the effect of a decoupled annual income subsidy on factor market outcomes. Results indicate that when the subsidy is tied to the factor as a per-unit subsidy, regardless of full or asymmetric knowledge for market participants, subsidized factor buyers distribute nearly 22 percent of the subsidy to factor sellers. When the subsidy is fully decoupled from the factor, as is the case with the annual payment, payment incidence is mitigated and prices are not statistically different from the no-policy treatment.laboratory market experiments, agricultural subsidies, subsidy incidence, land market, ex ante policy analysis, Agricultural and Food Policy, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Q18, D03, C92,

Point-of-Purchase Alcohol Ads in One Low-Income Community in Central California: Occurrence and Women’s Perceptions

This study explores the occurrence of point-of-purchase (POP) alcohol ads in one low-income community Central California, identifies their target audience and themes, and obtains their perspective on how the ads influence women’s alcohol consumption. Methods included observation of POP alcohol ads in local supermarket and convenience stores that sell alcohol products, content analysis of a selection of these POP alcohol ads, and focus group discussions with young women who are mostly in their twenties from both Latina and non-Latina backgrounds. A total of 2,021 POP alcohol ads were observed in 164 retail establishments that sell alcohol. Of these ads, we took photos of 64 different ads for content analysis. Our content analysis indicated that most POP alcohol poster ads appealed both to men and women, with themes mainly related to sex and sports. Focus group interviews indicated that sex and sports-themed alcohol ads, coupled with the presence of peers and family members that drink alcohol, are influential in women’s decisions to drink. The influence of alcohol ads on norms regarding alcohol consumption warrant stronger anti-alcohol policies, such as the banning alcohol ads in places frequented by minors, and the implementation of anti-alcohol marketing campaigns with a health consequences focus

The transport of nutrient-rich Indian Ocean water through the Red Sea and into coastal reef systems

Driven by upwelling-favorable monsoon winds, nutrient-rich Gulf of Aden Intermediate Water (GAIW) enters the Red Sea from the Indian Ocean each summer. Hydrographic and velocity data acquired in autumn 2011 provide the first indication that GAIW is carried rapidly northward along the eastern Red Sea margin in a well-defined subsurface current with speeds \u3e30 cm s–1. The nutrient-rich (NO2 + NO3 concentrations up to 17 μmol l–1) GAIW overlaps the euphotic zone and appears to fuel enhanced productivity over depths of 35–67 m. GAIW is broadly distributed through the Red Sea, extending northward along the eastern Red Sea boundary to ∼24°N and carried across the Red Sea in the circulation of a basin-scale eddy. Of particular significance is the observed incursion of GAIW into coastal areas with dense coral formations, suggesting that GAIW could be an important source of new nutrients to coral reef ecosystems of the Red Sea

Civil War Almanac: The Best Civil War Books of All Time

For our latest newsstand-only special issue, The Civil War Almanac, we asked a panel of Civil War historians—J. Matthew Gallman, Matthew C. Hulbert, James Marten, and Amy Murrell Taylor—for their opinions on a variety of popular topics, including the war\u27s most overrated and underratred commanders, top turning points, most influential women, and best depictions on film. Space constraints prevented us from including their answers to one of the questions we posed: What are the 10 best Civil War books ever published (nonfiction or fiction)? Below are their responses