Preliminary Recommendations for Shareable Metadata Best Practices

A primary goal of the IMLS Digital Collections and Content project has been to encourage sharing of metadata and participation in aggregating projects. Benefits realized through these activities include increased visibility of the collection, an environment of complimentary resources, and enhanced discoverability of individual resources. In order for these benefits to be achieved, metadata from each repository must be interoperable with existing metadata in the aggregation. Although metadata may be quality metadata in the local context, the records must have certain characteristics in order to be relevant in the aggregated environment.IMLS National Leadership Grant LG-02-02-0281unpublishednot peer reviewe

A Transcendental Phenomenological Study of Novice Elementary Teachers\u27 Perceived Ability to Implement the North Carolina Multi-Tiered System of Support with Fidelity

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to gain a deeper understanding of novice elementary teachers’ perceived ability to implement the North Carolina Multi-Tiered System of Support (NC MTSS) model with fidelity in a suburban North Carolina school district. For the purposes of this research, fidelity was generally defined as the effective application of the tenets of NC MTSS according to evidence-based best practices as well as federal, state, and local policy (Hill, King, Lemons, & Partanen, 2012). Conducted under the leadership of Dr. Frank Bailey, this study sought to determine the extent to which a sample of 12 elementary teachers, each with three or fewer years of experience, feel able to fully and effectively implement NC MTSS in their suburban North Carolina schools. The theories that have guided this study are Bandura’s (1983) Social Cognitive Theory of Efficacy and Mitzel’s (1960) Theory of Teaching and Learning, as they establish a connection between educators’ self-efficacy and the likelihood of an initiative being implemented with fidelity. Thus, gaining a deeper understanding of teachers’ self-perceived ability to implement NC MTSS can improve implementation by informing teacher preparation, in-service professional development programming, and related support structures. Data was collected using unstructured and semi-structured interviews, as well as document analyses. Axial coding and conceptualization using Glaser and Strauss’s (1967) constant-comparative method were to identify and isolate emergent themes. Results showed that participants’ perceptions of self-efficacy are mixed. Half of participants conveyed moderate to high levels of self-efficacy, while half exhibited relatively low levels

A Critical Legal Pluralist Analysis of the Begum Case

This paper considers the advantages of a critical legal pluralist analysis of the English case R (on the application of Begum) v. Headteacher and Governors of Denbigh High School [2007] 1 AC 100. The case concerns whether a state school’s decision to exclude a pupil (Shabina Begum) for wearing an Islamic veil (a jilbab, which is a long coat-like garment which covers the whole body except the hands and face) infringed her right to manifest her religion and her right to an education protected under Articles 9 and 2 (of the First Protocol) of the European Convention of Human Rights 1950. The various court decisions of the case determine that both Articles 9 and 2 cannot be relied upon for claims related to the accommodation of religious dress in state schools. Compared with doctrinal legal scholarship and traditional legal pluralist analyses of the case, both criticised for essentialising normative orders and communities, a critical legal pluralist analysis provides the advantage of focusing on the subjective beliefs of a legal subject. Undertaking a critical legal pluralist approach as a legal methodology, rather than more traditional legal analyses, exposes and defeats various assumptions which surround the practice of veiling

Plasma Citrulline Levels in Horses at Risk of Acute Laminitis

Laminitis is a painful and irreversible disease in horses in which the soft tissue structures of the foot, called the laminae (connecting the coffin bone to the hoof wall), lose blood flow and deteriorate. Without the support of these laminae the coffin bone rotates downward, applying pressure to the sole of the foot and crushing the underlying structures, resulting in severe pain. Laminitis typically progresses through three stages: the early developmental stage is treatable yet undetectable, while the later acute and chronic stages are symptomatic but irreversible. Therefore, the identification of a diagnostic marker capable of detecting the developmental stage would allow earlier and more effective treatment. Laminitis is often triggered by unrelated events occurring elsewhere in the body such as gastrointestinal (GI) upset episodes, typically called “colic”, which involve intestinal epithelial cell death. Human studies have concluded that intestinal epithelium health can be measured using plasma citrulline concentrations. Citrulline is an α-amino acid circulated in the plasma that is produced mainly by intestinal epithelial cells. We hypothesized that horses in the developmental stage of laminitis would have reduced plasma citrulline concentrations resulting from intestinal epithelial cell death occurring from a GI upset episode. In this study, blood samples were collected from control horses (n=23) and horses at risk for developing laminitis (n=20). Plasma citrulline concentration was measured using chromatography based amino acid analysis. The normal range was then calculated from the control group and compared to the concentrations from horses that did or did not develop laminitis. Five of the 20 cases developed laminitis symptoms and also had reduced plasma citrulline concentrations. If decreased citrulline levels correlate with laminitis onset across a large set of samples, a simple and affordable blood test could be developed in the future to predict the likelihood of the disease progression to the acute and chronic (irreversible) stages. This would allow veterinarians to begin treatments that could significantly reduce the chance of the horse developing the condition, greatly improving their prognosis

No vacancy: Family vacations on the road, on the water, and on the edge.

This thesis is a memoir about the best and worst of traveling on summer vacations with my family as a child and as an adult. This piece is an ode to both my parents and to the art of the family road-trip, which is all but lost thanks to cheap flights, cell phone screens, and a general reluctance to take significant time off work. By alternating between lighter and heavier material with each chapter, this memoir avoids the saccharine nature of nostalgia while still being true to all the brilliance and poignancy of the past. By telling the chapters through a timeline tracking my parents’ earliest trips, to those of my childhood, to my family’s continued reliance on summer vacations to keep us connected, this memoir explores the commonality and frailty of families when pushed to their limits—both good and bad—on the road to the next summer destination

Opening Research through LoboVault

Presentation slides from Open Source/Open Access Da

The Independent Reading Level Assessment and Its Impact on Third Grade Reading Achievement

This study focuses on the developmental reading taxonomy known as the Independent Reading Level Assessment (IRLA). The purposes of the study were to analyze the inclusion and timing of the elements required for learning to read, and to discover whether the use of the IRLA impacted results on summative third grade assessments (Smarter Balanced Assessments). A taxonomic structure was used to examine the content validity study of the IRLA. Findings were that while the developmental progressions were accurate and the elements were inclusive, the areas of executive functioning, phonological awareness, and vocabulary could be strengthened, and that spelling could be more pronounced to strengthen decoding and encoding of language. ANOVA analysis of standardized test scores in 49 IRLA schools over four years showed no statistically significant change. The wide range of scores from year one to year four indicated potential issues with implementation of the IRLA. This study yielded two conclusions: (1) the elements and timing for teaching reading as presented in the IRLA largely match the research base; 2) no evidence through standardized test scores of the impact of the IRLA was found

The Therapeutic Effects Upon Dog Owners Who Interact With Their Dogs in a Mindful Way

Problem. For many in contemporary culture, the pursuit of possession has become an attempt to achieve happiness. However, this path may not always be congruent with psychological well-being. In addition, this path may lead us further away from relationships within the natural world. Humanistic and existential psychologists have suggested that a mindful connection to ourselves, to other-than-human beings, and to the natural world would enable more meaningful lives. If dogs are considered an extension of nature and those interactions between dog and owner that promote mindfulness are examined, there is the potential to obtain a better understanding of how individuals are affected by these interactions in terms of self-growth. Specifically, how do these interactions influence relationships with themselves and others? Purpose. The purpose of the study was to describe the experiences of three individuals who have worked with their dogs in a mindful manner and to understand how these experiences influenced their relationships with themselves, others, and the natural world and to determine the benefits of these experiences on self-growth and increased happiness from an existential perspective. Methodology. A qualitative single-case study was chosen for this research. I chose to examine three individuals\u27 experiences of mindful interactions with their dogs. Participants were selected based on recommendation from Patricia McConnell, Ph.D., who has worked with these individuals and their dogs, promoting a mindful interaction and who observed general benefits to psychological well-being in these three individuals. The data for the study consisted of open-ended interviews and field texts of observations and researcher notes. Results and Conclusions. Six major themes emerged from the data: Context; Intervening Conditions; Interventions; Differences in Relationships With Others; Changes in Self-Awareness; and Spiritual Growth. Working with an interim text of fictional journals as alternative data representation verified the emerged themes. A cross-case analysis was performed within athree-dimensional space inquiry to deepen the understanding of experience and qualify self-growth for the individuals who participated. These interactions and processes of working with dogs in a natural way appeared to promote mindfulness, heightened awareness, and reportedly improved relationships to other-than-human beings. A process emerged that started with a shift of focus from dog interventions to theindividuals\u27 actions and awareness of self. Once there was increased self-awareness, theindividual had the opportunity to practice with their dog and make improvements within that relationship. The heightened self-awareness from the relationship with the dog appeared to transfer to other human relationships. As the individual experienced greater satisfaction within themselves and connecting to others, a deeper sense of connection and meaning reportedly developed for that individual. This study supports the opinion that therapeutic benefit can be obtained through reestablishing a sense of self as part-of-nature utilizing the dog as an extension of nature. The results of this study have the potential to significantly assist humanistic and existential psychotherapists as well as counselors and other clinicians by providing their clients a direct and practical means of developing new life meanings, to address the problems of life and confront existential issues, all with the accessible modality of the family dog

Open Access @ UNM

An overview of Open Access publishing models and why they are important to the UNM community