abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of individualized afterschool tutoring, under federal Supplemental Educational Services (SES), on mathematical and general academic intrinsic motivation and mathematical achievement of at-risk students. The population of this study consisted of two third graders and five fourth graders from an elementary school in the Reynolds School District in Portland, Oregon. One participant was male. The other six were female. Six of the students were Hispanic, and one student was multiethnic. Students' parents enrolled their children in free afterschool tutoring with Mobile Minds Tutoring, an SES provider in the state of Oregon. The participants were given pre- and post-assessments to measure their intrinsic motivation and achievement. The third graders took the Young Children's Academic Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (Y-CAIMI) and the fourth graders took the Children's Academic Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (CAIMI). All students took the Group Mathematics Assessment and Diagnostic Evaluation (GMADE) according to their grade level. The findings from this study are consistent with the literature review, in that individualized tutoring can help increase student motivation and achievement. Six out of the seven students who participated in this study showed an increase in mathematical achievement, and four out of the seven showed an increase in intrinsic motivation. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.A. Mathematics Education 2011

The southern elephant seal (SES), Mirounga leonina, was intensively harvested during the 18th and 19th centuries, though never reduced to the levels seen for the northern species (Mirounga angustirostris). Although a number of putative populations occurring within the species’ circumpolar distribution in the Southern Ocean have been genetically assessed, no data was previously available for the Marion Island population. This study integrates Marion Island into the broader database by genetically profiling individuals with 9 microsatellite DNA loci (n = 73) and a single mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA, n = 68) locus corresponding to hypervariable region I (HVRI) of the non-coding displacement loop (D-loop). These data were then combined with existing haplotype datasets from five island populations, namely Heard Island, Peninsula Valdés, Macquarie Island, South Georgia, Elephant Island, and Sea Lion Island breeding colonies, and with comparable microsatellite typing data from four populations, namely Peninsula Valdés, South Georgia, Elephant Island and Sea Lion island, respectively, permitting inter-population level comparisons. Genetic variation of the Marion Island population was high for both microsatellite and mtDNA and consistent with levels previously reported for the other populations, with the exception of Peninsula Valdés (Argentina) where diversity levels are low. Forty polymorphic sites defined 44 mtDNA haplotypes from 68 Marion Island individuals. Of the 44 sequence haplotypes, three were shared with Sea Lion Island, one with Elephant Island, two with Heard Island and one with Macquarie Island. From the microsatellite data, it was found that Marion Island, like most other SES populations, had no private alleles. The one exceptional population is that at Sea Lion Island which has several private alleles at two loci. Marion Island was significantly differentiated from each of the other breeding colonies included in the study based on FST analyses for both microsatellite and mtDNA data. The magnitude of genetic differentiation between Marion Island and the South Georgia, Sea Lion and Elephant Islands was somewhat higher than that previously reported when the latter three islands were compared, but considerably less than the differentiation found between Marion Island and either Peninsula Valdés or Macquarie Island. Though the two markers showed similar trends with respect to population structuring, the pairwise differentiation at microsatellite loci was an order of magnitude lower than that of mtDNA, suggesting more frequent male-mediated gene flow between putative populations than female-mediated gene flow. Higher male dispersal was also confirmed by migration rate estimates from the microsatellite data compared to estimates from the mtDNA locus. These data are consistent with the earlier interpretation that most putative island populations show moderate levels of differentiation not directly related to geographic distance, while the mainland population in Argentina and the population at Macquarie Island stand out as being highly differentiated from the rest. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Zoology and Entomology / unrestricted

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In a Midwest school district, school personnel and students are concerned that the Extra School Time (EST) program student enrollment is declining. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore teacher, administrator, and adult age student perceptions to gain a deeper understanding of the problem leading to declining enrollment in the EST program. Using Lewin's holistic model of systemic leadership and evaluation of programs, teachers', students' and administrators' perceptions of factors, processes for support, curriculum needs, and actions to improve implementation of the EST program were explored. Using a qualitative case study, data were collected via semi-structured interviews and a survey of 9 purposefully sampled participants. Sampling criteria included being a current or former adult age student who attended the EST program, current EST teacher, and EST administrators. Data from semi-structured interviews and surveys were triangulated and analyzed using inductive and comparative coding, and a constant comparative analysis method. Emerging themes were coded using axial coding. Six themes emerged: lack of child care, transportation, work conflict with class attendance, convenience of times classes were offered, and offering courses that were relevant to the student. A 24-hour faculty professional development program was developed to educate EST faculty and staff on the issues influencing declining EST enrollment and develop strategies and actions to improve implementation of the EST program by addressing student and teacher needs. Positive social change from this study may include increased graduation rates, meaningful employment for EST participants, college entrance, and employment growth for the local community.

Children who are socially skilled are better able to make use of the learning environment in schools and are more likely to form positive relationships with others. This is especially important during the transition to kindergarten since early experiences in school can establish self-sustaining trajectories; children who succeed socially and academically early on are more likely to continue in their success. Research suggests that aspects of the classroom environment, home environment, and children's individual characteristics are important for young children's social development. However, research so far has not examined the intersection of these three levels of influence (classroom, child, and family) on children's social skills at this critical transition to formal schooling. The present study utilized a multi-method, multi-informant, longitudinal research design to examine the ways in which preschool classroom-level factors (teacher quality, teacher beliefs and practices, and classroom climate), family-level factors (parenting style and family stress), and child-level characteristics (language ability and externalizing behaviors) predict parent and teacher ratings of the social skills of a diverse sample of kindergarteners. Developmentally appropriate teaching beliefs and practices, better language ability, and fewer externalizing behaviors each uniquely predicted better teacher-rated kindergarten social skills, controlling for all other variables. More parental warmth, less family stress, fewer externalizing behaviors, and better language ability uniquely predicted higher parent-rated social skills in kindergarten, controlling for all other variables. Classroom-level factors did not significantly moderate the relationships between family or child-level characteristics and social skill ratings. Gender and ethnic differences were found in the strength of the relationships between predictors and outcomes.

This research studied two predominantly rural counties in Virginia to understand whether residents have equal access to uncontaminated drinking water by socio-economic status. Statistical associations were developed with the total value of each residence based on county tax assessment data as the independent variable to explain levels of nitrate, the presence of bacteria (total coliform and Escherichia coli), and specific household well characteristics (well age, well depth, and treatment). Nearest neighbor analysis and chi-square tests based on land cover classifications were also conducted to evaluate the spatial distribution of contaminated and uncontaminated wells. Based on the results from the 336 samples analyzed in Louisa County, rural residents with private wells may have variable access to household drinking water free of bacteria; particularly if lower-value homes in the community tend to be older with more dated, shallower wells. This study also suggested that, in Louisa County, the presence of water treatment devices was also significantly related to total home value as an index of socio-economic status. Analysis of the 124 samples taken from household wells in Augusta County did not result in any significant associations among selected well characteristics, total home value, and water quality. Lower community participation in Augusta County as a result of a more expensive water quality testing fee may have contributed to the lack of hypothesized relationships in that county's case study. / Master of Science

Once a luxury, mobile devices are now utilized by most members of society, including those in even the poorest communities. Unfortunately, little research has examined the effects of mobile media use in young children, and even less on young children from low-SES communities. Past research on television, and preliminary research on mobile technology, suggests that mobile media may affect school readiness, and that the direction and strength of this relation could depend on the content and context of the use. The current study examined the relation between mobile media use and a composite school readiness measure that included preliteracy, emergent math, and executive functioning, in a sample of low SES preschoolers. We found that weekly mobile media time significantly predicted poorer school readiness skills, which was predicted given the scarcity of high-quality apps for preschoolers. This relation was especially clear in regard to preschoolers’ executive functioning, which had not been previously examined. While the effects of content and context of the usage were examined, few relationships emerged, perhaps due to measurement issues. The main results are concerning because children in this sample already have poorer school readiness than the general U.S. population, and their parents report considerable screen use. The results support efforts to limit screen time of preschoolers and are a step towards understanding the complicated relation between achievement and mobile technology use in preschoolers.

Promoting population health is an essential task for sustainable development. This study explores the association between socioeconomic status and perceived health in the United States, with special attention on the influence of living arrangements. It also improves the existing explanations of causal mechanisms underlying the impact of SES on health among Americans over 50. Using the first and seventh waves of Health and Retirement Study to run ordered logistic regression, this research addresses the importance of living arrangements and social capital on self-reported health. Income and education are both important predictors of self-reported health. In addition, living arrangements and household social capital also affects self-reported health after controlling individuals’ characteristics and SES indicators. These effects do not appear to mediate the socioeconomic effects on self-reported health. Future research should highlight better measures of living arrangements and social capital, as well as explore longitudinal analyses.

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No description available.