Fostering Activities of Daily Living by Intact Nursing Home Residents

We assessed effectiveness of four education programs in providing nursing assistants with ability to produce a therapeutic milieu supportive of intact residents' activities of daily living, positive self-esteem and mood: (1) a combination of Orem's Systems of Nursing Care and Skinner's Applied Behavioral Analysis, (2) Applied Behavioral Analysis, (3) Orem's Systems of Nursing Care, and (4) regular in-service education. We hypothesized that the combination program was most effective. Results revealed no significant difference among programs. Education alone is not sufficient. Administrative and supervisory involvement and support is crucial for nursing assistants' successful implementation of newly acquired knowledge and skills.     

African Americans’ Participation in a Comprehensive Intervention College Prep Program

The National Center for Educational Statistics, in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Education, compiles statistical data for U.S. schools. As charts indicate, in 2001, it reported that nationwide, 76% of high-income graduates immediately enroll in colleges or trade schools. However, only 49% of Hispanic and 59% of African Americans enroll immediately after graduating from high school. Research demonstrates that high academic achievers from low-income families are only one-fifth as likely to enroll in college as high achievers from high-income families (U.S. Department of Education, Center for Educational Statistics, 2001). This article is an examination of the components of a college prep program, GEAR-UP, which is a federally funded comprehensive intervention program to determine if African American participants improved predictors of achievement (PSAT, SAT, and GPA scores).     

Significant research in the Eastern states

Lindsley, Charles F., Radio and Television Communication, N. Y.: McGraw‐Hill Book Co., 1952, 492 pp. $5.50.

White, Melvin R., Beginning Television Production, Minneapolis: Burgess Publishing Co., 1953, 107 pp. $2.50.

Chinn. Howard, Television Broadcasting, N. Y.: McGraw‐Hill Book Co., 1953, 700 pp. $10.00

Hahn, Elsie, et. al., Basic Voice Training for Speech, N. Y.: McGraw‐Hill Book Co., 253 pp. $4.25.

Raubicheck, Letitia, Your Voice and Speech, N. Y.: Prentice‐Hall, Inc., 1953, 376 pp. $4.05.

Irwin, Ruth S., Speech and Hearing Therapy, N. Y.: Harper and Brothers, 1953, 202 pp. $2.50.

Gruver, Bert, The Stage Manager's Handbook, N. Y.: Harper and Brothers, 1953, 202 pp. $2.50.

Krutch, Joseph Wood, "Modernism”; in Modern Drama, Ithaca, N. Y.: Cornell University Press, 1953, 138 pp. $2.75.

Kokeritz, Helge, Shakespeare's Pronunciation, New Haven: Yale University Press, 1953, 516 pp. $7.50.

Stevenson, Burton. The Standard Book of Shakespeare Quotations, N. Y.: Funk and Wagnalls Co., 1953, 766 pp. $7.50.

Lowrey, Sara and Johnson, Gertrude E., Interpretative Reading, N. Y.: Appleton‐Century‐Crofts, Inc., 1953, 595 pp. $3.75.     

Snakes and Eels and Dogs! Oh, My! Evaluating High School Students’ Tree-Thinking Skills: An Entry Point to Understanding Evolution

The biological community is currently undertaking one its greatest scientific endeavours, that of constructing the Tree of Life, a phylogeny intended to be an evidenced-based, predictive road map of evolutionary relationships among Earth’s biota. Unfortunately, we know very little about how such diagrams are understood, interpreted, or used as inferential tools by students—collectively referred to as tree thinking. The present study provides the first in-depth look at US high school students’ competence at tree thinking and reports how they engage cognitively with tree representations as a precursor to developing curricula that will provide an entry point into macroevolution. Sixty tenth graders completed a 12-question instrument that assessed five basic tree-thinking skills. We present data that show patterns of misunderstandings are largely congruent between tenth graders and undergraduates and identify competences that are pivotal to address during instruction. Two general principles that emerge from this study are: (a) Students need to be taught that cladograms are an authoritative source of evidence that should be weighted more than other superficial or ecological similarities; (b) students need to understand the vital importance and critical difference between most recent common ancestry and common ancestry. Further, we show how the objectives of this study are closely aligned with US and International Standards and argue that scientifically-literate citizens need at least a basic understanding of the science behind the Tree of Life to understand and engage in twenty-first century societal issues such as human health, agriculture, and biotechnology.     

Economic Impact of Community Colleges on Local Economies

Abstract

This report applies the American Council on Education model in determining the institutional spending impact on local economies. Specifically, the economic impact of Cypress Community College on surrounding local economies was ascertained. Economically affected by college operations were business sales volume, property values, commercial bank credit, employment, personal income, and local government expenditures and revenues. Evaluation of this economic impact suggests that community colleges may significantly affect local economies in a positive direction. This model may be applied in similar community college districts to determine economic impacts, and may serve as an initial step in evaluating benefits derived from tax payments to support community college districts.     

Influence of ingesting a carbohydrate‐electrolyte solution on endurance capacity during intermittent,high‐intensity shuttle running

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of ingesting a carbohydrate‐electrolyte solution on endurance capacity during a prolonged intermittent, high‐intensity shuttle running test (PIHSRT). Nine trained male games players performed two exercise trials, 7 days apart. On each occasion, they completed 75 min exercise, comprising of five 15‐min periods of intermittent running, consisting of sprinting, interspersed with periods of jogging and walking (Part A), followed by intermittent running to fatigue (Part B). The subjects were randomly allocated either a 6.9% carbohydrate‐electrolyte solution (CHO) or a non‐carbohydrate placebo (CON) immediately prior to exercise (5 ml kg^‐1 body mass) and every 15 min thereafter (2 ml kg^‐1 body mass). Venous blood samples were obtained at rest, during and after each PIHSRT for the determination of glucose, lactate, plasma free fatty acid, glycerol, ammonia, and serum insulin and electrolyte concentrations. During Part B, the subjects were able to continue running longer when fed CHO (CHO = 8.9 ± 1.5 min vs CON = 6.7 ± 1.0 min; P < 0.05) (mean ± s.e.m.). These results show that drinking a carbohydrate‐electrolyte solution improves endurance running capacity during prolonged intermittent exercise.     

Wicked Wikipedia? Communities of Practice,the Production of Knowledge and Australian Sport History

Academic responses to Wikipedia since its inception in 2001 have shifted from scepticism and hostility to serious critique. Wikipedia is a project driven by a community of amateur, and sometimes professional, scholars and it is this community – and associated rules and practices – that shapes the site's publicly viewable content. Despite the centrality of egalitarianism and communal wisdom to the Wikipedian ethos, the encyclopaedia is not filled equitably with historical knowledge or topics. This article addresses the role of Wikipedia in the production of knowledge in a sport history context. An analysis of 115 Wikipedia articles written about notable Australian sportspeople revealed a disproportionately large group of high-quality cricket biographies. Further investigation revealed that a small group of Wikipedians were responsible for writing these articles. The work of this community of practice is indicative of the influence that dedicated special interest groups can have over the production of knowledge on Wikipedia and raises broader questions about the production of knowledge in sport history.     

Development of an Instrument to Assess Fourth and Fifth Grade Students' Attitudes Toward Physical Education

The purpose of the authors in this study was to develop an instrument to assess fourth and fifth grade students' attitudes toward physical education. The methods for validation included (a) an elicitation study and instrument question development, (b) a pilot study, and (c) a series of analyses to assess, construct, and content validity and to assess reliability. Once data for 1,344 students were collected, an iterative process was completed using principal component analysis, exploratory factor analysis, Cronbach's alpha, and confirmatory factor analysis using structure equation modeling. Data analysis showed that the instrument fit two different models. The first model shows students' attitudes to be influenced by cognition and affect. The second model shows a 4-factor model comprised of cognition- teacher, cognition-curriculum, affect- teacher, and affect-curriculum. This study yielded an instrument with valid and reliable scores that can assess elementary school students' attitudes toward physical education.