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The purpose of this study was to examine multi-track Year-Round Education (YRE) elementary school principals' perceptions of the effects of YRE on their instructional leadership activities. A review of the related literature revealed that principals perceived that multi-track YRE has increased their management activities. A questionnaire was developed and sent to a selected sample of 105 principals who served at multi-track (60-20 calendar) YRE elementary schools with grade level configurations of K-5 and K-6. In addition. the principals selected for this study had prior experience as principal s of traditional calendar schools and were assigned full-time administrative assistance (e.g., vice-principal. assistant principal, or equivalent). Ten of 64 principals who returned completed questionnaires were interviewed.

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The purpose of this comparative study was to determine the relationship of a First-Year Seminar course as well as student entry demographics to retention and graduation rates at community college in Tennessee. In the fall of 2013, the enrollment for the participating college was 3,790 with a mean composite ACT score of 18.9 and a mean GPA of 2.823. First-Year Experience programs at the community college consisted of First-Year Seminar (FYS), New Student Online Orientation (NSOO), New Student Advisement and Registration (NSAR), and mandatory academic advisement. For the purpose of this study the researcher examined only the First-Year Seminar course. The First-Year Seminar course was designed to provide students with strategies to further develop academic as well as life management skills. The course incorporated techniques to assist students in a successful beginning at the institution. Major topics focused on goal setting, institutional resources and activities, time management, basic study strategies including note-taking and test-taking, development of an academic plan, developing relationships, stress management, and career exploration. The populations studied were students who participated in a First-Year Seminar course and students who did not participate in a First-Year Seminar course. Those students who participated in the First-Year Seminar course were compared to the overall population of students prior to the implementation of mandatory participation in the first-year programs. The research questions in this study were addressed through data analysis using chi-square two-way contingency table. Archival data were retrieved from the institutions data system, about students who participated in a First-Year Seminar course and those students who did not participate. Additional demographic information were collected on student gender, age, and financial aid status. The findings in the study indicated there were significantly higher rates of retention for those students who participated in a First-Year Seminar course than those students who did not participate in a First-Year Seminar course. In regards to gender, age, and financial aid status overall retention rates were significantly higher for those students who participated in a First-Year Seminar course. The findings however did not indicate a significant correlation between participation in a First-Year Seminar course and graduation rates.

In the last 50 years, the trend in the field of composition pedagogy has turned away from traditional grammar instruction, condemning pedagogical practices that focus on preventing and remediating error. In the early 1960s, Richard Braddock, Richard Lloyd-Jones, and Lowell Schoer invoked the death sentence on traditional grammar instruction: "The teaching of formal grammar has a negligible or, because it usually displaces some instruction and practice in actual composition, even a harmful effect on the improvement of writing" (37-38). Having been enlightened by this scholarship, the field refocused instruction to emphasize elements like writing process, collaboration, modeling, and prewriting, pushing grammar instruction to the side. As a result of this shift in pedagogies, we are helping our students to see writing differently. We're teaching them that "good writing" is more than correct spelling and well-placed commas,which is correct. But grammar is still an important part of language, and an integral part of rhetoric. Recent scholars like Cheryl Glenn, Virginia Tufte, T.R. Johnson, Constance Weaver, Martha Kolln, and Nora Bacon have recognized this oversight in the sharp move away from grammar instruction, and have developed different strategies to rewrite the tradition so that grammar instruction can be an effective part of writing instruction. I will add to their efforts by identifying the shift in theoretical principles that makes what we refer to as traditional grammar instruction so ineffective, by using the Greco-Roman curriculum (specifically Quintilian's imitatio) as a framework for understanding where these new grammar instructions come from, and by synthesizing this new understanding into a new curriculum for the writing classroom that more effectively integrates grammar instruction.

Robert Schumann’s compositional work during 1840 stands out as an unexpected turn of events. With relatively no background composing songs, Schumann suddenly produced a plethora of widely successful and monetarily lucrative songs all within one year. Perhaps most fascinating was the amount of detail Schumann placed into each song. This detail can be seen in the sketches which include the composer’s handwritten edits in both the piano and vocal scores. With a focus on Schumann’s song cycle, Frauenliebe und -leben the qualities of Schumann’s songs and the compositional process used to create the songs’ final versions are examined through this study. The origins of the poems and their author, Adelbert von Chamisso, are investigated in addition to the relationship created by Schumann between the poems and vocal lines. Main emphasis is placed on tracing the progression from the rough vocal lines found in the autograph score to the relatively finished copyist’s score and finally to the final published version of the cycle

yes / The Royal Academy of Engineering, together with the Higher Education Academy Engineering Subject Centre, organised one of the two Dissemination Seminars at University of Bradford. This event was for the project leaders of funded engineering projects under their three calls, opened between March 2010 and March 2011. / Royal Academy of Engineering, National HE STEM Programme.

Background: The registered nursing profession is a profession with high complexity and those who practice the profession must have knowledge and understanding to be able to independently practice and apply skills based on theoretical and examined knowledge. However, despite the shortage of nurses in healthcare, many choose to leave the profession because of fatigue or emotional exhaustion. Aim: The aim of the study was to describe newly graduated nurses’ experiences during the first year in the profession Method: The method used in this study was a literature based study, nine qualitative articles chosen from the databases CINAHL and PubMed were analyzed by Friberg's five step method. The articles were quality checked. Results: Results are based on the newly graduated nurses' experience in the first year of working life via three main themes and eight sub-themes. The main themes were “The first period in the profession”, “Need for collegial support”, and “Workload”.  Conclusion: The first year of professional work is a difficult time for newly graduated nurses, they experience high demands set on the work task, uncertainty about making correct patient assessments and handling heavy workloads. Introduction to the workplace, support from colleagues and the need for individual strategies with the aim of dealing with work-related stress were perceived as important aspects.

Britt (1998) indicated that to get to the heart of the complex issues first year teachers face, it is necessary to give first year teachers an opportunity to tell their own stories of their experiences as neophytes. The purpose of this study was to share the experiences of first year teachers. Of particular interest was how well these first year teachers believed their teacher preparation program had prepared them. The research question posed for this study was: How do graduates of Mississippi State University describe their first year teaching experience? A multiple-case design was used in this research study. Because this research was exploratory and descriptive, and because it had multiple cases, the replication approach to multiple-case studies was employed. The researcher was the instrument used for the collection of data. Five first year teachers participated in this study. All graduated from Mississippi State University and were teaching for the first time during the 2003-2004 school year. Six major themes emerged from the data. These themes were: (a) a feeling of being overwhelmed, (b) dealing with student misbehavior, (c) concern for student learning, (d) ineffective mentoring, (e) understanding the local culture, particularly in the area of discipline, and (f) lack of commitment to remain in the teaching profession. Three additional concerns of three participants emerged as well. These were: (a) negative student teaching experience, (b) conflict with parents, and (c) difficulties with other professionals. Recommendations included: (a) re-examining the practicum experience throughout the teacher education program, (b) implementing a follow-up program for graduates of the teacher education program, (c) re-examining the critical needs scholarship, and (d) implementing a study concerning student teacher placement.

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