Da Kine Talk: From Pidgin to Standard English in Hawaii

Humanities Open Book Program, a joint initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Andrew W. Mellon FoundationHawaii is without parallel as a crossroads where languages of East and West have met and interacted. The varieties of English (including neo-pidgin) heard in the Islands today attest to this linguistic and cultural encounter. "Da kine talk" is the Island term for the most popular of the colorful dialectal forms--speech that captures the flavor of Hawaii's multiracial community and reflects the successes (and failures) of immigrants from both East and West in learning to communicate in English

Grade retention in high stakes and low stakes testing years

Recent political calls for an end to social promotion have led to an era in which many states are using high stakes tests to make retention decisions. Several decades of research have shown that retention is not an effective practice academically or socially. Louisiana is one state that has adopted a high stakes testing policy. This study examines a state-wide database to examine the predictors of retention in high stakes and low stakes testing years. Multiple regression analyses, discriminant analyses, and logistic regression analyses were run on data from students in grade 4 through grade 8 in Louisiana. The results showed that current year achievement most strongly predicted retention, followed by prior year achievement and finally demographic factors. This finding was consistent over all grade levels. It was also found that even in high stakes testing years, test results are not the sole determinant of retention status. Several exceptions to the high stakes testing policy exist in Louisiana. Limitations of this study and directions for future research are also discussed

Alien Registration- Ball, Nellie Elizabeth M. (Camden, Knox County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/15128/thumbnail.jp

Structure and Functional Effects of Age-Related Posttranslational Modifications of Aquaporin 0 in the Normal Human Lens

Aquaporin 0 (AQP0, MIP), a water channel protein found in the ocular lens fiber cells, has been proposed to maintain osmotic homeostasis by contributing to an internal circulatory system within the avascular lens. The formation of cataracts in patients with mutations in the AQP0 gene and in heterozygous AQP0 deficient mice suggests that AQP0 is necessary for establishing and preserving lens transparency. Previous structural characterization of AQP0 revealed that the C-terminus, a putative regulatory domain, is subject to many age-related posttranslational modifications. The goal of the present study was to map the spatial distribution of posttranslationally modified forms of AQP0 within normal human lenses and determine the effects of the post translational modifications on AQP0 membrane water permeability. Mass spectrometric analysis of AQP0 isolated from concentrically dissected human lenses ages 34, 35, and 38 revealed novel sites of phosphorylation at shrines 229 and 231, backbone cleavage at residues 249, 260, 261, and 262, and isomerization/racemization of L-Asp 243 to D-iso-Asp. As anticipated the extent of truncation and isomerization/racemization increased as a function of fiber cell age, whereas the level of phosphorylation was highest in the inner cortex and decreased in the lens nucleus. The water permeability of AQP0 was not affect by substitution of phosphorylation site 231, incorporation of a negative charge at sites of deamination 246 and 259, nor removal of the C-terminal twenty amino acid residues. These findings suggest that within the human lens modified AQP0 in aged fiber cells may retain the ability to transport water. Elucidation of the sites and extent of post translational modifications of AQP0 revealed that truncation at residues 24 and 259, the most abundant sites of backbone cleavage detected, may occur through a spontaneous truncation event. Identification of an age-related increase in racemized/isomerized D-iso-Asp 243 provides evidence for the presence of protein L-isoaspartate O-methyl transferase, a potentially active protein repair enzyme in the human lens. The results obtained and methods developed in this study provide the groundwork for understanding the structure and function of AQP0 in the normal human lens and future investigation of the role of AQP0 in the development of cataract

Changing what it means to be "normal": a grounded theory study of the mobility choices of people who are blind or visually impaired

Introduction: The ability to get out and about is important to social inclusion and quality of life and it is one of the most significant challenges for people who are blind or visually impaired. There has been little research into the underlying concerns of people who are blind or visually impaired when making decisions about mobility. Method: This grounded theory study explored the main mobility-related concerns of people who are blind or visually impaired. It uses qualitative data, drawn from a combination of online discussions, face-to-face, telephone and email interviews, and focus groups with people who are blind or visually impaired and rehabilitation practitioners. Results: The primary concern of people who are blind or visually impaired when making choices about where to go, and when and how to do so, was a desire to see oneself and to be seen by others as “normal”. Self-identity and perceived “normality” are subjective and changeable and are continually internally co-reconstructed to achieve congruence between them. The mobility strategies used are those that are perceived as most “normal”. Discussion: Perceived “normality” has a powerful influence on behaviour. By harnessing this, rehabilitation services may be better able to promote autonomy and self-reliance. Implications for Practitioners: To promote independence, rehabilitation services must change people’s perception of what is “normal”. People must be supported to come to perceive fulfilment of valued social roles, autonomy and self-reliance as “normal”

Tactile communication in the home environment

Communication is a crucial part of home-life. It includes interactions, both face-to-face and remotely, with others living in the household, friends/relatives and service providers. Effective communication in these, and other situations, is important to quality of life. Deafblindness has a profound impact on communication. This paper considers some of the issues that arise when using English-based tactile communication and the implications for the home environment

Urban Growth Boundaries and their impact on land prices

Investigation of the effects of Urban Growth Boundaries (UGB) on land prices are restricted by a lack of good land market data. However, undeveloped land transactions at the urban fringe of the Melbourne metropolitan area in Australia are recorded in a data set that enables exploration of the impact of its UGB. Estimation can take account of endogeneity issues, while controlling for policy anticipation effects and other potential influences on land prices. OLS and instrumental variable estimates indicate that land prices rose substantially inside the UGB after its enactment in 2003 but did not rise much outside of it

Building skills, knowledge and confidence in eating and exercise behavior change: Brief motivational interviewing training for healthcare providers

Objective: Obesity related health problems affect individuals, families, communities and the broader health care system, however few healthcare providers (e.g., doctors, nurses, social workers, psychologists, counselors) receive formal training in obesity prevention interventions. We examined the effectiveness of training healthcare providers in brief motivational interviewing (brief MI) targeting eating and exercise behavior change. Methods: 163 healthcare providers participated. 128 participants completed a one-day experiential brief MI training workshop followed by electronic peer-support and a further 35 matched controls did not receive the training. Results: Participant's knowledge of brief MI and confidence in their ability to counsel patients using brief MI significantly improved following training (p< 0.05) and remained at 3 and 6-month follow-up (p< 0.05). Brief MI skills assessed during the simulated patient interactions indicated a significant improvement across two practical training blocks (p< 0.05). Conclusion: Healthcare providers can learn brief MI skills and knowledge quickly and confidence in their counseling abilities improves and is sustained. Practice implications: Healthcare providers may consider brief MI as an obesity prevention intervention