Improving Reading Comprehension: An Investigation of Two Intervention Procedures and the Social Validity of the Ask-Read-Tell Reading Strategy

The first chapter of this dissertation reports the results of a review of the practice and application of social validity assessments in SCD studies within the field of school psychology. Adopting similar procedures described in the Snodgrass et al. (2018) analysis, this review systematically investigated the extent to which social validity was evaluated in school psychology SCD studies, the characteristics of social validity assessments, the prevalence of assessing total construct social validity (i.e., goals, procedures, and outcomes), and the extent to which social validity findings were integrated with visual analyses to form conclusions about interventions. Although the content analysis revealed several encouraging aspects of the current state of social validity assessment, the majority of the findings suggested that there was still much to be done to advance the rigor of social validity practice. The second chapter reports the findings of a mixed-method study that utilized an alternating treatments design to investigate the effects of McCallum and colleagues\u27 (2011) Ask-Read-Tell (ART) procedure on the reading comprehension of three fourth-graders with a learning disability in reading. Three conditions were used as the independent variable: (1) Control (baseline) condition in which students did not use any prescribed strategies while reading, (2) ART Condition: Students used the three-step ART procedure, and (3) ART + PD (Peer Discussion) Condition: Students used the ART sequence followed by a discussion of text with peers. Dependent variables included students’ reading comprehension level (%C) and rate (%C/M) as measured by students’ comprehension performances on 400-word expository passages. Both interventions had positive effects on reading performance as compared to the baseline for all three participants. Results indicated that ART+PD led to the greatest gains in rate and level for two participants, while ART resulted in greater gains for the third participant who presented with significant inattention and distractibility. Finally, quantitative KIP and qualitative social validity data indicated that participants perceived the interventions as enjoyable, effective in improving their understanding of text, beneficial when doing schoolwork, and relevant in helping them achieve reading goals. By situating students as the primary respondents, the researcher hoped to underscore the importance of considering students’ voices in determining the social validation of intervention effects

Impacts of industrialization on rural employment in Nghi Son economic zone, Tinh Gia District, Thanh Hoa Province

This research focuses on the impact of industrialization on rural employment in Nghi Son economic zone where has been seen as an important southern economic zone of Than hoa province which was built in 2006 and included 12 communes. The cultivated land that is seen as a crucial tool for the survival of peasants was dispossessed for building numerous factories to establish a new industrial town. Although industrialization has created a wide range of jobs for residents, the peasants are not able to catch up with the strong development of economic development. the industrial enterprises were not employed all redundant labor of Hai Yen commune. So, farmers obviously fell into unemployment situation as an obvious result

Evolutionary tracks for Betelgeuse

We have constructed a series of non-rotating quasi-hydrostatic evolutionary models for the M2 Iab supergiant Betelgeuse ($\alpha~Orionis$). Our models are constrained by multiple observed values for the temperature, luminosity, surface composition and mass loss for this star, along with the parallax distance and high resolution imagery that determines its radius. We have then applied our best-fit models to analyze the observed variations in surface luminosity and the size of detected surface bright spots as the result of up-flowing convective material from regions of high temperature in the surface convective zone. We also attempt to explain the intermittently observed periodic variability in a simple radial linear adiabatic pulsation model. Based upon the best fit to all observed data, we suggest a best progenitor mass estimate of $20 ^{+5}_{-3} M_\odot$ and a current age from the start of the zero-age main sequence of $8.0 - 8.5$ Myr based upon the observed ejected mass while on the giant branch.Comment: 27 pages, 11 figures, Revised per referee suggestions, Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

A Simple Procedure for Extraction of Surface Protein of Salmonella Serotypes and Escherichia coli Strains Isolated from Poultry and Pigs

Salmonella and E.coli possess different surface protein structures that can induce protective immune responses. Identification of these proteins capacitates development of diverse applications in prevention and diagnosis that contribute to effectively control disease-causing enterobacteria pathogens such as Salmonella and E.coli. A simple procedure for obtaining protein complexes of Salmonella serotypes and E.coli is performed in this study. A sonication process with heat treatment of whole bacteria induced the release of protein complexes. Concentration of the protein extract was quantified using protein quantification Kits-Rapid, and protein complex profile was obtained by SDS-PAGE (Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis) and silver staining. The concentrations of protein ranged from 29.45 to 45.35 µg/mL in the  Salmonella protein extracts, and from 25.35 to 36.72 µg/mL in the E.coli protein extracts. Six major groups of proteins from E. coli (YfiO, NipB, OmpF, YfgL, Talc, YaeT) and four major groups of proteins from Salmonella (Flagellin, OmpA, Porin, SEF21) were preliminarily determined by a simple procedure of extraction based on the molecular weight

Bibliometric analysis of virtual reality in tourism and hospitality

It is experienced that the tourism and hospitality industry has been changing dramatically year by year, not only the crisis of the pandemic outbreak related to the restriction of travelling but also due to novel of technology evolution, including applications of virtual reality. In fact, applying virtual world into business operation to increase customer intention have been paid more attention from practitioners, scholars, and stakeholders. Yet, it is necessary to comprehend this field's trend and its impact on business strategies and the future perspective of applying virtual reality experiences in tourism and the hospitality industry. This study mainly aims to examine the current state of research and trends of virtual reality related-tourism and hospitality studies from the beginning to the outbreak of the pandemic and post-pandemic and discuss them over the period time towards the future perspective of this research. By proposing a bibliometric approach to analyse 1441 studies from Scopus data published over three last decades related to virtual reality experience in tourism and hospitality sector to generalize information associated with research opportunity for future in this area. This study uses a combination of RStudio 2022 and VOSViewer 1.6.18 software to analyse databases that were retrieved from reliable resources and the most signification impact so as to provide a whole picture of virtual reality connecting with the relevant context. With regard to offering information in terms of the volume document of studies, citations, authors, countries, authorship networks, keyword networks and keyword co-occurrences, the relevant research direction in this field as well as the top journals and conferences that have most published in this field by over years. By using bibliometric analysis, this study's result gives an understanding of value information and suggestions by visual overview for future virtual reality studies on the tourism and hospitality context

OUTPUT FEEDBACK CONTROL WITH CONSTRAINTS FOR NONLINEAR SYSTEMS VIA PIECEWISE QUADRATIC OPTIMIZATION

Very few output feedback control methods can be applied for a large class of nonlinear objects. If the control problem has supplementary constraints to satisfy, the number of suitable methods will be fewer. The paper proposes a nonlinear control method, which can be applied to output tracking control a wide range of various perturbed nonlinear objects. This output feedback controller is established based on piecewise quadratic optimizing subjected to input constraints for state feedback control and then combined with an appropriate EKF or UKF for system state observation. The simulation results obtained by applying this proposed controller to output tracking control inverted pendulum and boiler-turbine unit had confirmed its promising applicability in practice

The impact of pediatric emergency department crowding on patient and health care system outcomes: a multicentre cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Emergency department overcrowding has been associated with increased odds of hospital admission and mortality after discharge from the emergency department in predominantly adult cohorts. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between crowding and the odds of several adverse outcomes among children seen at a pediatric emergency department. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study involving all children visiting 8 Canadian pediatric emergency departments across 4 provinces between 2010 and 2014. We analyzed the association between mean departmental length of stay for each index visit and hospital admission within 7 days or death within 14 days of emergency department discharge, as well as hospital admission at index visit and return visits within 7 days, using mixed-effects logistic regression modelling. RESULTS: A total of 1 931 465 index visits occurred across study sites over the 5-year period, with little variation in index visit hospital admission or median length of stay. Hospital admission within 7 days of discharge and 14-day mortality were low across provinces (0.8%-1.5% and \u3c 10 per 100 000 visits, respectively), and their association with mean departmental length of stay varied by triage categories and across sites but was not significant. There were increased odds of hospital admission at the index visit with increasing departmental crowding among visits triaged to Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS) score 1-2 (odds ratios [ORs] ranged from 1.01 to 1.08) and return visits among patients with a CTAS score of 4-5 discharged at the index visit at some sites (ORs ranged from 1.00 to 1.06). INTERPRETATION: Emergency department crowding was not significantly associated with hospital admission within 7 days of the emergency department visit or mortality in children. However, it was associated with increased hospital admission at the index visit for the sickest children, and with return visits to the emergency department for those less sick

The Status of Educational Sciences In Vietnam: A Bibliometric Analysis From Clarivate Web Of Science Database Between 1991 And 2018

Since 2013, Vietnam has implemented a plan to reform the whole education sector. However, there is little understanding on the status of educational research in Vietnam, which may lay the foundation for such plan. Thus, this research aims to analyze the whole picture of educational research from Vietnam, as seen from the Clarivate Web of Science (WOS) database: 215 publications were recorded, ranging from 1991 to 2018. These 215 publications were further analyzed from five perspectives: 1) number of publications by year; 2) research fields and levels of education; 3) top institutions with the highest number of publications; 4) international collaboration; and 5) quality. Some of the most notable results are: 1) the educational sciences in Vietnam have been still under-developed until recently; 2) among different research topics research among educational sciences, some (e.g., Vocational Education and Training or Early Childhood Education) seemed to be overlooked whereas others (e.g., Higher Education and Teaching and Learning) seemed to receive more attention from educational scholars; 3) all the most major education – specialized universities did not appear among the top five institutions with highest number of publications; 4) Australia, Thailand, the USA, New Zealand and China were the countries with the highest number of co-publications with Vietnamese researchers; and 5) The majority of publications belonged to low-ranked journals. Implications would be withdrawn for Vietnamese policymakers, education leaders, educational researchers and teachers in order to adjust their policies and/or action plans; thus, enhancing the performance and impacts of educational research in the future

Adaptive randomised controlled non-inferiority multicentre trial (the Ketodex Trial) on intranasal dexmedetomidine plus ketamine for procedural sedation in children: Study protocol

Introduction Up to 40% of orthopaedic injuries in children require a closed reduction, almost always necessitating procedural sedation. Intravenous ketamine is the most commonly used sedative agent. However, intravenous insertion is painful and can be technically difficult in children. We hypothesise that a combination of intranasal dexmedetomidine plus intranasal ketamine (Ketodex) will be non-inferior to intravenous ketamine for effective sedation in children undergoing a closed reduction. Methods and analysis This is a six-centre, four-arm, adaptive, randomised, blinded, controlled, non-inferiority trial. We will include children 4-17 years with a simple upper limb fracture or dislocation that requires sedation for a closed reduction. Participants will be randomised to receive either intranasal Ketodex (one of three dexmedetomidine and ketamine combinations) or intravenous ketamine. The primary outcome is adequate sedation as measured using the Paediatric Sedation State Scale. Secondary outcomes include length of stay, time to wakening and adverse effects. The results of both per protocol and intention-to-treat analyses will be reported for the primary outcome. All inferential analyses will be undertaken using a response-adaptive Bayesian design. Logistic regression will be used to model the dose-response relationship for the combinations of intranasal Ketodex. Using the Average Length Criterion for Bayesian sample size estimation, a survey-informed non-inferiority margin of 17.8% and priors from historical data, a sample size of 410 participants will be required. Simulations estimate a type II error rate of 0.08 and a type I error rate of 0.047. Ethics and dissemination Ethics approval was obtained from Clinical Trials Ontario for London Health Sciences Centre and McMaster Research Ethics Board. Other sites have yet to receive approval from their institutions. Informed consent will be obtained from guardians of all participants in addition to assent from participants. Study data will be submitted for publication regardless of results. Trial registration number NCT0419525