Examination of K-12 School Administrators’ Perceptions of Their Preparation to Lead Special Education Programs

Current research tells us that when school administrators are not prepared to lead special education, the result can be an educational detriment to the student involved and cause a costly fiscal impact to the school district. The researcher set out to ascertain school administrators’ perceptions of the skills necessary to effectively lead special education programs; it was also important to gauge school administrators’ preparation to lead special education programs based on their special education knowledge. Ball and Green (2014) state that it is the role of the school principal to develop teachers and related support within their buildings, while Pazey, Gevarter, Hamrick, and Rojeski (2014) find that schools where special education programming is improperly implemented are confronted with lawsuits at increasingly higher rates. This study utilizes qualitative research methods through the use of transcendental phenomenology by interviewing current school administrators about their knowledge pertaining to special education and their perceived ability to lead the special education programs within the buildings they support. The interviews were conducted with two school principals, two assistant principals, and two special education administrators. The results of this research are discussed in detail, and recommendations are offered regarding how to better equip school administrators to lead special education

Mapping Deep-Sea Features in UK Waters For Use in Marine Protected Area Network Design

Full version unavailable due to 3rd party copyright restrictionsWith an increase in demand on deep-sea resources comes a need for appropriate and effective management of this ecosystem. The establishment of a representative network of deep-sea Marine Protected Areas offers one tool with which to address the conservation needs of the deep sea. While a number of deep-sea habitats have been identified as vulnerable to anthropogenic activities (e.g. cold-water coral reefs and sponge aggregations), poor knowledge of the distribution of these habitats hinders conservation efforts and network planning, and thus we need habitat maps. With improvements in acoustic data resolution acquired from the deep sea, and the ability to cover large areas rapidly, the use of acoustic techniques in mapping biological habitats is growing. Multibeam bathymetry and its derived terrain variables can potentially provide important information that can aid in the delineation and characterisation of biological communities. A necessary prelude to mapping is therefore the definition of biological assemblages for use as mapping units. Two megahabitat features (seamount and submarine canyons) were sampled using acoustic and ground-truthing to characterise and map the distribution of benthic assemblages. Species were identified as distinct morpho-types and catalogued, and still images quantitatively analysed. Standard multivariate community analysis was undertaken to define distinct faunal assemblage that may act as mapping units. Those clusters identified by the SIMPROF routine were taken against a set of criteria to reject/accept as robust assemblages that may be used as mapping units. Twenty two benthic assemblages or biotopes were defined from multivariate analysis of quantitative species data, 11 from the SW Approaches and 11 from Anton Dohrn Seamount, and a further one from video observations (SW Approaches). Taken against current definitions, 11 of these were considered as Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VME). Diversity was measured to compliment the comprehensive description of biotopes. The use of multivariate diversity indices proved better for comparing diversity of biotopes as it captures a more than one aspect of diversity of the community. Two biotopes were common to both megahabitat features, cold-water coral reef habitats, and those from Anton Dohrn Seamount were more diverse than from the SW Approaches. Modelling techniques were employed to test the relationship between biotopes and environmental and geophysical parameters, which may be used as surrogates to map VME. Generalised Additive Models of Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems revealed multibeam bathymetry and its derived parameters to be significant surrogate for mapping the distribution of some assemblages, particularly those that appear to be influenced by current regime; whilst not so well for those whose distribution is not so strongly current driven e.g. soft sediment communities. In terms of deep-sea mapping, the use of multibeam can prove a useful mapping tool if the resolution of the data is at an appropriate scale that will identify meso-scale geomorphological features, such as cliff-top mounds, that may act as proxies for occurrence of biotopes, but this relationship is still unclear. Surrogates were used to map VME across the seamount and submarine canyons, and full coverage maps were produced for all biotopes occurring on these megahabitat features.Joint Nature Conservation Committe

Towards a new and integrated approach to submarine canyon research. Introduction

Submarine canyons, steep-walled valleys that cut across virtually every continental margin around the world (Harris and Whiteway, 2011), are considered major sediment transport pathways between continental shelves and the deep sea (e.g., Shepard, 1963 and Puig et al., 2014). Owing to their steep topography and high terrain heterogeneity, in addition to their unique current patterns and episodic down-canyon flushing events, which result in locally increased nutrient concentrations and food availability, submarine canyons are often considered as biodiversity hotspots (e.g., Tyler et al., 2009 and De Leo et al., 2010). On the other hand, considerable differences have been observed between individual canyon systems, and between different faunal groups in terms of their response to the typical canyon environment (e.g., Cunha et al., 2011, Ingels et al., 2011 and Schlacher et al., 2007). Unfortunately, in addition to transporting sediment, submarine canyons also tend to funnel our human litter and pollutants into the deep sea, extending the anthropogenic impact on the oceans far beyond our shores (e.g., de de Jesus Mendes et al., 2011, Mordecai et al., 2011 and Schlining et al., 2013)

Marine litter-fauna interactions: a standardised reporting framework and critical review of the current state of research with a focus on submarine canyons

Litter is ubiquitous in the ocean, interacting with fauna and causing impacts that are unquantified at present. Mainly sourced from land, marine litter is very persistent, and undergoes slow degradation upon settling on the ocean floor. Submarine canyons contain more litter than other oceanographic features due to hydrological processes, but study of litter in canyons is made difficult by logistical requirements. Monitoring and quantification of marine litter often do not consider interactions between fauna and litter, meaning impacts are largely unconsidered and unknown. Among publications that have reported litter-fauna (L-F) interactions in canyons, the large majority occur in the Mediterranean Sea, and the most reported interaction is of corals entangled in fishing gear. When it occurs, the reporting of L-F interactions is unstandardised, resulting in a lack of global comparison and trend analysis. A standardised, comprehensive framework for the reporting of L-F interactions has been created and includes 6 major categories: entanglement, ingestion, smothering, habitat provision, adaptive behaviour, and encountering (entanglement and smothering occur on abiotic features as well). Use of the framework will aid in research collaboration and creation of a global dataset of L-F interactions. Impacts resulting from interactions are plentiful, most coming from entanglement and smothering

JNCC Offshore Natura Survey : Anton Dohrn Seamount and East Rockall Bank areas of search : 2009/03-JNCC Cruise Report

This cruise report summarises operations and initial observations onboard the M/V Franklin during cruise 2009/03-JNCC on behalf of the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC). The cruise took place between the 1st and 29th of July 2009 and surveyed two Areas of Search (AoS) for offshore Special Areas of Conservation (SACs): Anton Dohrn Seamount located 155km west of the St Kilda archipelago, and East Rockall Bank located 260km west of the St Kilda archipelago (Figure 1). The main aims of the survey were to acquire acoustic and photographic “ground-truthing” data to enable geological, geomorphological and biological characterisation of the Anton Dohrn Seamount and East Rockall Bank AoS. Specifically, the data acquired will lead to the production of broadscale habitat maps, the identification and description of Annex I reef habitats with particular attention to the occurrence of bedrock, stony and biogenic reef, to identify and record any anthropogenic impacts in the areas of search and finally to evaluate data acquisition methods, techniques and equipment. The work programme was highly successful with 215 line kilometres of multibeam echosounder and 10 photographic “ground-truthing” sites acquired in the Anton Dohrn Seamount AoS, and 692 line kilometres of multibeam echosounder and 168 line kilometres of sidescan sonar data and 17 photographic “ground-truthing” sites acquired in the East Rockall Bank AoS. No physical sea-bed samples were acquired during this cruise. The data revealed the flanks and area immediately adjacent to Anton Dohrn Seamount to comprise predominantly gravel-rich sediment with bedrock outcropping on the steeper sections of the Seamount flanks. East Rockall Bank comprised predominantly gravelly muddy sand on the eastern flank of the Bank with gravel- and sand-rich sediments dominating the crest of the Bank. Interestingly, the parasitic cones surveyed within the Anton Dohrn area of search comprised predominantly corals, including large gorgonian species, small bamboo coral, the soft coral Anthomastus sp. and the antipatharian Leiopathes sp. Significant bedrock reef was encountered during the course of this cruise along an escarpment located on the eastern flank of Rockall Bank roughly coincident with the 500m bathymetric contour. This laterally extensive feature primarily comprises volcanic bedrock with possible sedimentary bedrock cropping out at sea bed colonised by large stylsaterid hydrocorals and sponges. Preliminary observations and interpretation of the data acquired during the course of this cruise suggest that several sites may fit the definition of Annex I reef under the EC Habitats Directive. If they fulfil the criteria for Annex I reef, they will be assessed against site selection criteria as possible areas for consideration as SACs

Hypertension among adults in a deprived urban area of Peru – Undiagnosed and uncontrolled?

BACKGROUND: In Peru, cardiovascular disease was the second most common cause of death in those aged 65 years or more in 2000. Hypertension is a major modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and if treated can significantly reduce cardiovascular disease risk. The objectives of this study were to investigate the prevalence of hypertension and levels of awareness, treatment and control in a deprived urban area of Peru. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was completed. Blood pressure measurements were recorded in triplicate. Hypertension was defined as systolic blood pressure >/= 140 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure >/= 90 mmHg, or self report of receiving antihypertensive medication at the time of interview. RESULTS: The study sample was 584 adults (29.1% male, mean age 35.3 years). Age standardized prevalence of hypertension was 19.5% (95% CI 9.9%, 29.1%) in men, 11.4% (95% CI 3.7%, 19.1%) in women, and 13.2% (95% CI 5.0%, 21.5%) overall. Among those with hypertension 38.3% (95% CI 22.7%, 53.9%, n = 18/47) were aware of their condition with greater awareness among women than men. Of those aware, 61.1% (n = 11/18) were treated, equating to 23.4% (95% CI 10.1%, 36.7%, n = 11/47) of all adults with hypertension. Of those treated 63.6% (n = 7/11) had controlled hypertension, equating to 14.9% (95% CI 3.0%, 26.8%, n = 7/47) of all adults with hypertension. CONCLUSION: Levels of awareness and control in this population were low. Lack of control is likely to be due to both a failure to diagnose hypertension, especially among men, and initiate or comply with treatment, especially among women. These results suggest a considerable burden of undiagnosed hypertension, and poor levels of control in those treated, in a deprived urban area of Lima, Peru

Understanding the Hysteresis Loop Conundrum in Pharmacokinetic / Pharmacodynamic Relationships

This is the published version. Copyright 2014 Canadian Society for Pharmaceutical SciencesHysteresis loops are phenomena that sometimes are encountered in the analysis of pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic relationships spanning from pre-clinical to clinical studies. When hysteresis occurs it provides insight into the complexity of drug action and disposition that can be encountered. Hysteresis loops suggest that the relationship between drug concentration and the effect being measured is not a simple direct relationship, but may have an inherent time delay and disequilibrium, which may be the result of metabolites, the consequence of changes in pharmacodynamics or the use of a non-specific assay or may involve an indirect relationship. Counter-clockwise hysteresis has been generally defined as the process in which effect can increase with time for a given drug concentration, while in the case of clockwise hysteresis the measured effect decreases with time for a given drug concentration. Hysteresis loops can occur as a consequence of a number of different pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic mechanisms including tolerance, distributional delay, feedback regulation, input and output rate changes, agonistic or antagonistic active metabolites, uptake into active site, slow receptor kinetics, delayed or modified activity, time-dependent protein binding and the use of racemic drugs among other factors. In this review, each of these various causes of hysteresis loops are discussed, with incorporation of relevant examples of drugs demonstrating these relationships for illustrative purposes. Furthermore, the effect that pharmaceutical formulation has on the occurrence and potential change in direction of the hysteresis loop, and the major pharmacokinetic / pharmacodynamic modeling approaches utilized to collapse and model hysteresis are detailed

教養教育英語科目におけるTOEIC® Speaking and Writingの導入

本論文では，広島大学外国語教育研究センターで実施したTOEIC® Speaking and Writing IP テストの結果を報告する。広島大学が2014年に文部科学省の「スーパーグローバル大学創成支援タイプA：トップ型」を受ける13大学の一つとして認定されたことを受け，本センターでは2016年に小規模編成型英語授業プログラム，HiSPEC プログラムを開始した。本論文で実施報告をするTOEIC® Speaking and Writing IP テストは，このプログラムの成果を評価するために導入されることとなったものである。HiSPEC プログラムは2年後に中止となったが，TOEIC® Speaking and Writing IP テストはその後も通常カリキュラムの下で2019年まで4年連続で実施された。本論文では，2016年から2017年までのHiSPEC プログラムの下でのTOEIC® Speaking and Writing IP テスト実施を振り返り，2018年と2019年の通常カリキュラムの下での実施への移行について，2019年のスコア報告を中心として述べる。スピーキングとライティングの総合的なスコアを見ると，2019年が四年間で最も成果をあげた年であり，比較的短期間で学生のスコアを向上させることができた。しかし，ライティングのみのスコアの向上は，過去3年間の成績に比べて小さいものであった。This paper reports the results of the TOEIC® Speaking and Writing IP test administered by the Institute for Foreign Language Research and Education at Hiroshima University. In response to Hiroshima University’s accreditation by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology as one of the 13 universities involved in the “Top Global University Project” in 2014, the administration of the TOEIC® Speaking and Writing IP test was initiated at our institute to evaluate the outcomes of a small-scale English language accelerator program launched in 2016. The program was discontinued after two years, but the TOEIC® Speaking and Writing IP test continued to be administered for four consecutive years, until 2019. This paper reviews the program from 2016 to 2017 and describes its integration into the mainstream curriculum in 2018 and 2019. When looking at the overall results for speaking and writing, 2019 was the most accomplished year. The results showed that students were able to improve their scores in a relatively short period of time. However, the improvement in writing scores was smaller than those in the previous three years

Editorial: Submarine canyons: human connections to the deep sea

Submarine canyons are described as conduits to the deep sea where the interplay between oceanographic, biological/ecological processes, and bathymetric and topographical features have consequences on the functioning and associated diversity of both pelagic and benthic communities. Impacts from human activities range from fishing, resource extraction, and as transport ‘sinks’. The true human connection to these important features is often unknown, under-reported, and/or poorly understood. In order to better address the various challenges submarine canyons face, there is a need to strengthen our understanding of the types of anthropogenic pressures on and threats to submarine canyons and their associated communities. This Research Topic, Submarine Canyons: Human Connections to the Deep Sea, presents three review papers and eight original research papers from 20 different countries (70 authors), and presents research that spans the field of submarine canyons and the wider deep-sea area, providing insight into the links between anthropogenic activities and canyons. Here, we summarize some of the highlights derived from the 11 articles published in this Research Topic

Benthic assemblages of the Anton Dohrn seamount (NE Atlantic): defining deep-sea biotopes to support habitat mapping and management efforts with a focus on vulnerable marine ecosystems

In 2009 the NW and SE flanks of Anton Dohrn Seamount were surveyed using multibeam echosounder and video ground-truthing to characterise megabenthic biological assemblages (biotopes) and assess those which clearly adhere to the definition of Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems, for use in habitat mapping. A combination of multivariate analysis of still imagery and video ground-truthing defined 13 comprehensive descriptions of biotopes that function as mapping units in an applied context. The data reveals that the NW and SE sides of Anton Dohrn Seamount (ADS) are topographically complex and harbour diverse biological assemblages, some of which agree with current definitions of ‘listed’ habitats of conservation concern. Ten of these biotopes could easily be considered Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems; three coral gardens, four cold-water coral reefs, two xenophyophore communities and one sponge dominated community, with remaining biotopes requiring more detailed assessment. Coral gardens were only found on positive geomorphic features, namely parasitic cones and radial ridges, found both sides of the seamount over a depth of 1311–1740 m. Two cold-water coral reefs (equivalent to summit reef) were mapped on the NW side of the seamount; Lophelia pertusa reef associated with the cliff top mounds at a depth of 747–791 m and Solenosmilia variabilis reef on a radial ridge at a depth of 1318-1351 m. Xenophyophore communities were mapped from both sides of the seamount at a depth of 1099–1770 m and were either associated with geomorphic features or were in close proximity (< 100 m) to them. The sponge dominated community was found on the steep escarpment either side of the seamount over at a depth of 854-1345 m. Multivariate diversity revealed the xenophyophore biotopes to be the least diverse, and a hard substratum biotope characterised by serpulids and the sessile holothurian, Psolus squamatus, as the most diverse