IMPROVING OUTCOMES FOR OLDER STRUGGLING READERS IN SPECIAL EDUCATION RESOURCE

This research aimed to increase the reading achievement of sixth-grade special education students receiving interventions in a resource setting. This problem of practice was created in response to the theory of change made by a Network Improvement Community (NIC) rooted in the lack of professional development offered by the school district for special education teachers in teaching students foundational reading skills. The research questions used for this study this evaluation were 1) What percent of students made progress in each reporting category (word study, grammar, and comprehension) in the Lexia PowerUp literacy program? 2) To what extent did the teachers feel they implemented the Lexia PowerUp literacy program with fidelity? 3) To what extent did the implementation of Lexia PowerUp literacy increase student performance on the STAAR test? Specifically, what was the percentage increase for approaches and meets grade level? This research project also applied improvement science principles and mixed methods using an embedded experimental design. Throughout this research project, the researcher implemented interventions and evaluated outcomes as part of a plan-do-study-act (PDSA) inquiry cycle. The PDSA cycle was conducted in two phases with pre- and post-measures in addition to collecting quantitative and qualitative data. The quantitative data was collected through progress measures in each strand of instruction in the Lexia PowerUp literacy program for each campus and by reviewing the sixth grade State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) data in the areas of approaches, meets, and percent of students who made progress on the reading assessment. Qualitative data was collected by administering a teacher survey to determine the fidelity of implementing the intervention program. Findings indicated that students made progress in all three areas of the intervention program, and there was overall incremental growth on the STAAR reading assessment. Teachers self-reported implementation with fidelity, but there were minimal responses to the survey. Additionally, the school district limited the researcher in accessing available data

Waterlogging increases the infestation level of the pest psyllid Creiis lituratus on Eucalyptus dunnii

The lerp-forming psyllid, Creiis lituratus Froggatt, is the most damaging pest of Eucalyptus dunnii Maiden plantations growing in north-eastern New South Wales. During the past 10 years there have been numerous reports that stands of E. dunnii planted on low-lying areas that were prone to waterlogging were also prone to infestation by C. lituratus. The objective of this shadehouse study was to determine whether C. lituratus prefers young E. dunnii exposed to intermittent waterlogging compared with other treatments (drought, normal watering and a control using normal watering plus an insecticide). Also we assessed whether the nutritional status of E. dunnii foliage, in particular amino acid content, differed between watering treatments. Field-collected C. lituratus adults were released into the shadehouse three months after establishing the watering treatments to individually-potted E. dunnii arranged in a 14 × 6 randomised design. Three months after release of the psyllids, we counted significantly more eggs and nymphs present on the plants subjected to intermittent waterlogging compared with the other treatments. Applying general linear modelling (GLM) and Akaike\u27s information criterion (AIC) we found that the best model included both watering treatment and plant structure (through height and diameter), with psyllid infestation (eggs + nymphs) significantly higher on the waterlogged plants and significantly lower in the drought treatment compared with the normal watering treatment. The application of the generalised estimating equations technique to foliar content of individual amino acids and nutrients did not reveal a clear association with watering treatment or psyllid infestation. Most of the significant differences in amino acid content between treatments were between plants watered normally but with or without the systemic insecticide imidacloprid applied as a soil drench. No eggs or nymphal stages were recorded on the plants treated with imidacloprid. This trial demonstrated that the psyllid C. lituratus has a preference for young E. dunnii subjected to periodic waterlogging. Plantation growers can improve their site-species match for E. dunnii by avoiding sites prone to waterlogging

The Effects of Gender, Discipline, and Scientist Advocacy on Perceptions of Credibility and Motivations

We sought to replicate and extend research on the impact of scientists’ public advocacy on perceptions of credibility and motivation by adding scientists’ gender and discipline. We found that the field of science, but not gender, had an effect on perceived motives, but perceptions of credibility were not impacted

An Exploratory Model of the Antecedent Factors Contributing to Fan Support/Attendance at HBCU Basketball Games

The factors that impact attendance at sporting events in general and at small college sporting events in particular have been widely examined by sports marketing academicians. Among the various factors emerging over two decades has been attendance based on identity with individual teams and players, to idiosyncratic factors such as the environment and the entertainment value of the sporting event itself. Less is known, however, about what creates and promotes the desire to attend sporting events associated with historically black colleges and universities (HBCU’s). HBCU’s, like their other small college athletic departments, are now facing financial difficulties because of dwindling administrator support ensuing from declining state budgets, forcing the athletic directors of these schools to come up with innovative methods to bolster attendance---the primary source of revenue at small colleges. The authors develop and then test a 33 item scale that includes 11 potential factors explaining attendance at HBCU sporting events. Results and conclusions are then reported. As the authors note, the unique role sports plays in the life of the HBCU fan is ripe for further investigation, and practically speaking, is a valuable area of research for those interested in helping preserve the rich heritage of these programs

Intention and Attention in Image-Text Presentations: A Coherence Approach

In image-text presentations from online discourse, pronouns can refer to entities depicted in images, even if these entities are not otherwise referred to in a text caption. While visual salience may be enough to allow a writer to use a pronoun to refer to a prominent entity in the image, coherence theory suggests that pronoun use is more restricted. Specifically, language users may need an appropriate coherence relation between text and imagery to license and resolve pronouns. To explore this hypothesis and better understand the relationship between image context and text interpretation, we annotated an image-text data set with coherence relations and pronoun information. We find that pronoun use reflects a complex interaction between the content of the pronoun, the grammar of the text, and the relation of text and image

An Exploratory Comparison of Private and HBCU Marketing Student Study Abroad Program (SAP) Participation Intentions

The current research compares two demographically diverse universities regarding their respective awareness of the study abroad programs (SAPs) offered by their school. The study focuses on each sample’s awareness of SAP opportunities (i.e., as offered by their own institution) as well as each group’s opinion of the level of university administrator effort aimed at promoting the SAP offerings at each school. The authors analyzed whether student perceptions of the level of administrator support affected student expectations regarding SAP participation prior to graduation. Given the different socio-economic characteristics of the two student samples used in the study, the authors provide additional insight as to the relatively low rate of minority SAP participation

Hungry for Respect: Discrimination Among Adults Using Emergency Food Services

Objectives: We examined how adults using emergency food services report discrimination and how these reports may be associated with well-being. Methods: Data come from a survey (n=318) and from five focus groups of adults using emergency food services, conducted between 2003-2004. The survey included measures derived from the Everyday Discrimination Scale and the Centers for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Focus groups were analyzed with content analysis. Results: The survey data suggest that everyday discrimination was associated with the CES-D, conditional on covariates. Focus group data are consistent with the survey results and suggest several avenues for future research, including how some individuals may forgo access to food and medications in order to protect their dignity in the face of discrimination. Conclusions: Qualitative and quantitative data converge into a similar theme - discrimination may be an important factor associated with well-being

SMAD transcription factors are altered in cell models of HD and regulate HTT expression

Transcriptional dysregulation is observable in multiple animal and cell models of Huntington's disease, as well as in human blood and post-mortem caudate. This contributes to HD pathogenesis, although the exact mechanism by which this occurs is unknown. We therefore utilised a dynamic model in order to determine the differential effect of growth factor stimulation on gene expression, to highlight potential alterations in kinase signalling pathways that may be in part responsible for the transcriptional dysregulation observed in HD, and which may reveal new therapeutic targets. We demonstrate that cells expressing mutant huntingtin have a dysregulated transcriptional response to epidermal growth factor stimulation, and identify the transforming growth factor-beta pathway as a novel signalling pathway of interest that may regulate the expression of the Huntingtin (HTT) gene itself. The dysregulation of HTT expression may contribute to the altered transcriptional phenotype observed in HD