Assessing a Coalition for Outreach and Enrollment in Minnesota’s Health Insurance Exchange

Using a case-study approach, representatives of the Insure Duluth coalition were interviewed in order to evaluate processes, strengths, challenges and outcomes associated with using a coalition approach to community outreach and enrollment in health insurance via the new state marketplace, which is part of the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Overall, interview participants cited numerous strengths to the coalition approach as well as technical challenges with enrolling persons in health insurance. They also felt such challenges had the unintended effect of strengthening the relationships between coalition organizations. Community level outcomes were identified as being associated with the coalition’s work. Participants also discussed key contextual factors supporting the coalition. The coalition approach appears to be a promising tactic to increase health insurance access. States can provide funding for and foster policies to assist coalitions expand health insurance access

Georgia\u27s special instructional assistance program : the impact on academic achievement

This study examined the impact of the Special Instructional Assistance program on academic achievement as reported through reading and math standardized test results on the ITBS of students from one Georgia school system. The study tracked students from kindergarten through grade three and reported the number of years the student participated in the SIA program. Test comparisons were made to determine if the number of years of participation made a significant impact on academic achievement in either reading or mathematics. Test comparisons were also made between students who were SIA participants and students who never participated in the program. Finally, third grade and fifth grade ITBS results in reading and mathematics were compared for SIA participants to determine maintenance of effectiveness. Evaluation of the SIA program had previously included subjective measures such as teacher comments. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the SIA program utilizing objective and validated measures of achievement that are presently being requested by those in policymaking positions who influence the financial allocations given to such programs. The study made no attempt to evaluate the methods of implementation or the eligibility and identification criteria. The study found no significant differences in the reading or math test results among SIA participants, no matter how many years students participated in the program. These results may have been influenced by the placement process of using teacher recommendations. Students who participated for only one year may not have demonstrated the greatest need and would have shown a greater test score than the other groups. A significant difference was found, however, when comparing the reading and mathematics achievement scores between SIA and non- SiA participants. Students who had never participated in the program had significantly higher tests results for both reading and mathematics but this also may be attributable to the success of the identification process for the SIA program. The comparison of third- and fifth- grade tests results for SIA participants also indicated a significant increase in the areas of reading and mathematics. Though the reading score was still lower than the score expected for average ability students, the reading scores of the SIA participants made the same increase as that expected of average ability students. The same was not true in the area of of mathematics. The mathematics scores of SIA participants did not make the same increase as that expected of average ability students. The main conclusions of this study ware that due to program design problems such as the absence of a true experimental and control situation, this study could not demonstrate that the number of years of participation had any significant impact on academic achievement in reading or mathematics; the conclusion that student achievement improved the longer a student participated in the SIA could not be made due to the possible success of the identification process; and, even though the average standard score for SIA participants was not as great the average score expected of average ability students in reading or mathematics, SIA participants did make the same academic gains in reading as could be expected of average ability students. Recommendations included conducting a study which can document both pre- and post-test results; measuring achievement on a yearly basis through consistent administration of a standardized achievement test such as the ITBS; conducting a study which can examine the achievement differences between a true experimental and control group situation; comparing test results of SIA participants to non-SIA participants between third and fifth grade; examining different SIA implementation models and comparing the achievement differences of their participants; expanding this study to include a greater sampling of school systems across Georgia, but doing so only after eliminating current design problems which prohibit clear comparisons of SIA and non-SIA participants; including students who change schools during the years of possible SIA participation; and, evaluating effects of the SIA program, other than achievement differences, such as teacher morale, student discipline issues, grade retention, and student motivation

Young Adult\u27s Perspectives on Being Uninsured and Implications for Health Reform

Young adults between the ages of 18-34 are most likely to lack health insurance in the United States. The Affordable Care Act (ACA), a federal statute signed into law in 2010, contains provisions specific to increasing access to health insurance for young adults including the provision that persons under 26 can stay on their parents’ insurance. While the reasons for uninsurance among young adults have been documented, how they operate and are perceived on an individual level have not been explored in great detail. Further, it is poorly understood how the ACA policies and the state health insurance exchanges can serve young adults. Thus, we interviewed uninsured young adults aged 18-35 in northeastern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin and used inductive thematic analysis to explore these issues. Findings suggest that young adults don’t feel at risk for health problems and therefore have low levels of health insurance literacy and place little value on health insurance. Multiple barriers to health insurance coverage, including the provision about staying on a parent’s policy, persist despite the ACA. Our findings also suggest valuable lessons for state health insurance exchanges on how to better serve this population

How to promote STEM competencies through design

Introduction: This study explored the impact of a community of inquiry on Science, Design and Technology and Mathematics curriculum competencies of 159 Year six students as they carried out a design task. Methods: A quasi-experimental design was employed with both qualitative and quantitative analyses. A community of inquiry approach was adopted by the teachers (n = 3) in the experimental group but not by teachers (n = 4) in the comparison group. Both groups participated in a learning sequence on electricity culminating in a design challenge in small collaborative groups. Results: The results showed that the experimental group (n = 65) demonstrated significantly greater instances and a broader range of Science, Design and Technology and Mathematics competencies across the design task as well as significantly higher learning gains than their comparison group (n = 94) peers. Discussion: The cognitive shifts towards higher competency development in the experimental group is stronger as a result of the reflection and reasoning required to engage in a community of inquiry

Exploring ocean acidification in undergraduate chemistry workshops

BACKGROUND Ocean acidification (OA) has profound impacts on marine ecosystems, particularly the Great Barrier Reef. While many studies investigate students’ understanding of climate change, there is a paucity of research on OA (Aubrecht, 2018; Danielson & Tanner, 2015). Literature suggests effective climate change education is affect-driven and personally relevant (Rousell & Cutter-Mackenzie-Knowles, 2020; Monroe et al., 2019). AIMS This study aims to investigate how to develop students’ understanding of and concern about OA. DESCRIPTION OF INTERVENTION Three first-year undergraduate chemistry workshops were designed with different pedagogical approaches. The Community of Inquiry workshop engaged students in philosophical discussion about the scientific, ethical, and social complexities of OA. In the Socioscientific Issues workshop students debated how we should respond to OA. The control workshop aligned with current practices and involved students solving chemistry problems within the context of OA. DESIGN AND METHODS The interventions were implemented in Semester 1 2022. A quasi-experimental design was used, students self-selected their workshop. Mixed-methods evaluation involved collection of pre- and post-test data and audio recording students’ group discussions during workshops. These data are undergoing statistical and thematic analysis, informed by literature. CONCLUSIONS Insights from this project will inform development of an OA inquiry-based learning opportunity that builds students’ knowledge and fosters care for the environment. REFERENCES Aubrecht, K. B. (2018). Teaching relevant climate change topics in undergraduate chemistry courses: Motivations, student misconceptions, and resources. Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry, 13, 44-49. Danielson, K. I., & Tanner, K. D. (2015). Investigating undergraduate science students’ conceptions and misconceptions of ocean acidification. CBE–Life Sciences 14(3), ar29. Monroe, M. C., Plate, R. R., Oxarart, A., Bowers, A. & Chaves, W. A. (2019). Identifying effective climate change education strategies: A systematic review of the research. Environmental Education Research, 25(6), 791-812. Rousell, D. & Cutter-Mackenzie-Knowles, A. (2020). A systematic review of climate change education: Giving children and young people a ‘voice’ and a ‘hand’ in redressing climate change. Children's Geographies, 18(2), 191-208

Sediment Characterization of Coastal Lagoons and Bays, Virginian Province

Sediment characterizations for the following estuaries and rivers: Chesapeake Bay Potomac River Rappahannock River York River James River Chester River Choptank Rive

Electron-Phonon Interactions in C28_{28}-derived Molecular Solids

We present {\it ab initio} density-functional calculations of molecular solids formed from C$_{28}$-derived closed-shell fullerenes. Solid C$_{28}$H$_4$ is found to bind weakly and exhibits many of the electronic structure features of solid C$_{60}$ with an enhanced electron-phonon interaction potential. We show that chemical doping of this structure is feasible, albeit more restrictive than its C$_{60}$ counterpart, with an estimated superconducting transition temperature exceeding those of the alkali-doped C$_{60}$ solids.Comment: Lower quality postscript file for Figure 1 is used in the manuscript in order to meet submission quota for pre-print server. Higher quality postscript file available from author: [email protected] This article has been updated to reflect changes incorporated during the peer review process. It is published in PRB 70, 140504(R) 200

Crafting Partnerships: Exploring Student-Led Feminist Strategies for Community Literacy Projects

Relationships have served as a cornerstone to feminist research in community-based research and service learning sites, as feminist scholars have argued for co-constructing knowledges in these sites, while being attentive to the reciprocal nature of these relationships within any context of and for learning (Bayer, Grossman, & Dubois, 2015; Parks & Goldblatt, 2000; Novek, 1999). These relationships are especially crucial when feminists attempt to create real and sustained partnerships through mentoring in their community-based literacy site (DuBois & Karcher, 2005). We stress the value of cultivating sustained relationships, as oftentimes discourses surrounding service learning exhibit a level of engagement that is not sustained and/or does not adequately expose the workings of power and privilege in a systematic way (Deans, 2002). In light of our feminist motivations, we need to continuously create spaces to foreground the value of experience and take seriously the process of cultivating relationships with students in ways that are both ethical and accountable.https://nsuworks.nova.edu/shss_facbooks/1122/thumbnail.jp