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2016

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The Chemistry Of The Flint Water Crisis, Ernest M. Oleksy Dec 2016

The Chemistry Of The Flint Water Crisis, Ernest M. Oleksy

The Downtown Review: An Interdisciplinary Journal Written and Peer-Reviewed by Mandel Honors College Students at Cleveland State University

Politics and science do not always go hand-in-hand. Nowhere was this more clear than in the Flint Water Crisis. Negligence towards growing levels of lead poisoning in drinking water led to incredibly deleterious effects on Flint's citizens. The chemistry of equilibrium and the shortcomings of local leaders led to Flint's water becoming a crisis.

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Computing Planarity In Computable Planar Graphs, Patrick Mcmillan Dec 2016

Computing Planarity In Computable Planar Graphs, Patrick Mcmillan

Ursidae: The Undergraduate Research Journal at the University of Northern Colorado

We use methods from computability theory to answer questions about infinite planar graphs. A graph is computable if there is an algorithm, which decides whether given vertices are adjacent. Having a procedure for deciding the edge set might not help compute other properties or features of the graph, however. The goal of this paper is to investigate the extent to which features related to the planarity of a graph might or might not be computable. We propose three definitions for what it might mean for a computable graph to be computably planar and for each build a computable planar graph …

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Using Dif To Monitor Equivalence Of Translated Tests In Large Scale Assessments: A Comparison Of Native Speakers In Their Primary And The Test’S Source Language, Jorge Carvajal Espinoza Dec 2016

Using Dif To Monitor Equivalence Of Translated Tests In Large Scale Assessments: A Comparison Of Native Speakers In Their Primary And The Test’S Source Language, Jorge Carvajal Espinoza

TAPESTRY

This study utilized a Differential Item Functioning (DIF) methodology for examining translated tests wherein all the examinees have the same native language -the target language of the translation- in order to provide information about the psychometric equivalence of the original and translated versions of the tests at item level. This study has also found possible explanations for translation DIF in certain types of items.

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Language Policy And The Preparedness Of Mainstream Teachers For Serving Els In K-12 Classrooms, Laureen A. Fregeau, Robert D. Leier Dec 2016

Language Policy And The Preparedness Of Mainstream Teachers For Serving Els In K-12 Classrooms, Laureen A. Fregeau, Robert D. Leier

TAPESTRY

English language learners (ELs) numbers are increasing steadily in classrooms across the United States. Some southeastern states have seen more than a 200% EL student increase in recent years (Migration Policy Institute, 2010). Since the inception of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and especially since Title I “flexibility” revisions, responsibility for educating ELs has shifted from ESOL and bilingual teachers to primarily mainstream teachers. States that have opted out of NCLB under flexibility revisions are no longer as accountable to the U. S. Department of Education for the education of ELs. States and school districts are no longer required to …

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Accommodations And English Learners: Inconsistencies In Policies And Practice, Florin M. Mihai, N. Eleni Pappamihiel Dec 2016

Accommodations And English Learners: Inconsistencies In Policies And Practice, Florin M. Mihai, N. Eleni Pappamihiel

TAPESTRY

This article outlines the results of a survey of all the large-scale testing accommodations used with English learners across the United States, addressing the increasing challenge of integrating this population into a state’s accountability system in a valid and reliable manner. This examination of accommodation policies used in standardized content area assessments reveals that there is little consistency across states with regard to testing accommodations for ELs in providing accommodations when ELs are tested in academic content areas.

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Literacy In Our Lives, Past, Present And Future: Exploring Digital Stories By Uae Pre-Service Teachers, Patience A. Sowa Dec 2016

Literacy In Our Lives, Past, Present And Future: Exploring Digital Stories By Uae Pre-Service Teachers, Patience A. Sowa

TAPESTRY

The purpose of this research study was to examine how pre-service teachers in a college of education in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) used multimodal digital storytelling to explore their language and literacy learning experiences in Arabic and English. Twenty-one pre-service teachers participated in this qualitative study. Drawing on the digital stories, reflection papers and open-ended surveys as data, the study explored the pre-service teachers’ bilingual literacy language experiences and how they created their digital stories. Emerging themes included early experiences in language and literacy learning at home and at school, and expanded notions of literacy. The memoirs offered a …

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Problems And Possibilities: Emergent Bilinguals And Multimodalities, Kathy Marie Bussert-Webb Dec 2016

Problems And Possibilities: Emergent Bilinguals And Multimodalities, Kathy Marie Bussert-Webb

TAPESTRY

This commentary and review focuses on my teaching and research experiences with Mexican-heritage youths in the lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas, alongside Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico. Most of these youths were emergent bilinguals of poverty. I argue that high-stakes testing environments limited their experiences in diverse sign systems, including technology, in and out of school. These youths engaged in entertainment and friendship uses of technology outside of school, even though most had access to up-to-date digital tools at home for more higher-order technology use. They did not appear to have mentors or teachers who taught them to use …

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Multiliteracy In Three English As A Second Language (Esl) Middle School Classrooms, Elena Andrei Dec 2016

Multiliteracy In Three English As A Second Language (Esl) Middle School Classrooms, Elena Andrei

TAPESTRY

This study investigated the teaching of multiliteracy in three middle school English as a Second Language Arts classrooms. The research question was: How are English learners (ELs) developing multiliteracy - defined as critical literacy, electronic literacy, and socio-cultural literacy, if at all, in middle school ESL Language Arts classrooms? Collected data consisted of classroom observations, transcribed teacher and focus student interviews; copies of teacher and student artifacts such as handouts and student notebooks. The findings of the study suggest that teachers did not teach all aspects of multiliteracy and the students seemed to be developing mostly electronic literacy, but not …

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The Ribbed Drapery Of The Puerto Princesa Underground River (Palawan, Philippines): Morphology And Genesis, Paolo Forti, Giovanni Badino, Jose Maria Calaforra, Jo De Waele Dec 2016

The Ribbed Drapery Of The Puerto Princesa Underground River (Palawan, Philippines): Morphology And Genesis, Paolo Forti, Giovanni Badino, Jose Maria Calaforra, Jo De Waele

International Journal of Speleology

During the 2011 speleological expedition to the Puerto Princesa Underground River (Palawan, Philippines) a drapery characterized by several close-to-horizontal ribs has been noticed. Even without sampling and analyzing its internal growth layers, a detailed morphological study allowed to present a possible genetic model. The presented model helps to explain its evolution, which is mainly controlled by variation in water flow as a consequence of the Palawan climate. When validated by further analyses, the same genetic mechanism could define also the evolution of the very common but still unexplained complex flowstones, which exhibit several close-to-horizontal steps, widenings and narrowings along their …

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Cmf - An Open Source Hydrological Modelling Toolkit, Philipp Kraft, Hans-Georg Frede, Lutz Breuer Dec 2016

Cmf - An Open Source Hydrological Modelling Toolkit, Philipp Kraft, Hans-Georg Frede, Lutz Breuer

Open Water Journal

In the past four decades, hundreds (if not thousands) of hydrological models have been developed to predict the transfer of water through landscapes. Despite this variety of models, the basic challenge for all kind of models is the same: solve the dynamic local to global water mass balance of a landscape. However, the transport processes, surface flow, subsurface flow, snow drift, evaporation and transpiration can be modelled with differing complexity, theory and parameterizations. Clark et al. (2011) denote, that a hydrological model is therefore not one hypothesis of process behaviour, but a multitude of interconnected hypotheses, which remain untested, since …

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Using The Finite Volume Method For Generalized Approach Of Catchment Models, Ina Plesca, Philipp Kraft, Hans-Georg Frede, Lutz Breuer Dec 2016

Using The Finite Volume Method For Generalized Approach Of Catchment Models, Ina Plesca, Philipp Kraft, Hans-Georg Frede, Lutz Breuer

Open Water Journal

Classical mathematical models and methods have been constantly applied to solve different hydrological problems, especially for water flux processes description. The Catchment Modeling Framework (CMF) is an open source, modular and expandable platform which has been created to simulate the water balance from plot to landscape scale. CMF consists of several modules, each applied for specific flux-processes depending on different parameters or dimensions. The CMF expandability allows applying hydrological model structures that fit best the current context.

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Exploring New Paths To Academic Literacy For English Language Learners, Mayra C. Daniel, Dong-Shin Shin Dec 2016

Exploring New Paths To Academic Literacy For English Language Learners, Mayra C. Daniel, Dong-Shin Shin

TAPESTRY

This article discusses a revised paradigm for understanding the role of technology in learning in today’s 21st century’s digital world. We propose that the digital literacy that is an integral part of learners’ daily lives requires a concentrated examination. We argue that appropriate selection and incorporation of current technologies in instruction can improve today’s schoolhouse and raise the academic achievement of English language learners. This commentary addresses the ways teachers prepare to use technology effectively in literacy education for collaborative learning, for multi-modal authoring, and for the virtual classroom. Specific applications are considered and recommended for classrooms with English learners.

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Generation Of Flower High-Order Poincaré Sphere Laser Beams From A Spatial Light Modulator, T. H. Lu, T. D. Huang, J. G. Wang, L. W. Wang, Robert R. Alfano Dec 2016

Generation Of Flower High-Order Poincaré Sphere Laser Beams From A Spatial Light Modulator, T. H. Lu, T. D. Huang, J. G. Wang, L. W. Wang, Robert R. Alfano

Publications and Research

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a new complex laser beam with inhomogeneous polarization distributions mapping onto high-order Poincaré spheres (HOPSs). The complex laser mode is achieved by superposition of Laguerre-Gaussian modes and manifests exotic flower-like localization on intensity and phase profiles. A simple optical system is used to generate a polarization-variant distribution on the complex laser mode by superposition of orthogonal circular polarizations with opposite topological charges. Numerical analyses of the polarization distribution are consistent with the experimental results. The novel flower HOPS beams can act as a new light source for photonic applications.

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Do In-State Tuition Benefits Affect The Academic Performance Of Non-Citizens? Data From Texas Public Universities, Terry K. Shaw Dec 2016

Do In-State Tuition Benefits Affect The Academic Performance Of Non-Citizens? Data From Texas Public Universities, Terry K. Shaw

Theses and Dissertations

This paper investigates whether receiving in-state tuition benefits effects the academic performance of non-citizen students attending Texas public state-universities. Using data from the Texas Higher Education Opportunity Project, it examines the effect of the HB-1403 policy on contributing factors affecting academic performance of non-citizen students.

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Rationality, Parapsychology, And Artificial Intelligence In Military And Intelligence Research By The United States Government In The Cold War, Guy M. Lomeo Dec 2016

Rationality, Parapsychology, And Artificial Intelligence In Military And Intelligence Research By The United States Government In The Cold War, Guy M. Lomeo

Theses and Dissertations

A study analyzing the roles of rationality, parapsychology, and artificial intelligence in military and intelligence research by the United States Government in the Cold War. An examination of the methodology behind the decisions to pursue research in two fields that were initially considered irrational.

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Undergraduate Sorority Students' Perceptions Of Current Body Size, Ideal Body Size, Eating Habits, And The Relation To Body Image Dissatisfaction, Julie Beiter Dec 2016

Undergraduate Sorority Students' Perceptions Of Current Body Size, Ideal Body Size, Eating Habits, And The Relation To Body Image Dissatisfaction, Julie Beiter

DNP and Student Works

Disordered eating patterns and body discontent are widespread in Western society, especially among young women. Many adopt the "thin ideal," a belief that women should have very slender bodies with small waists and minimal body fat. This body image is shaped by television, social media, and magazines. Research has shown that women who internalize the thin ideal are more likely to have concerns with body image dissatisfaction and disordered eating habits. The goal of the current descriptive correlational study was to examine relationships between perceived current body size, imagined ideal body size, actual body weight, eating patterns, and body satisfaction …

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Can Functional Traits Predict Plant Community Response To Global Change?, Sarah Kimball, Jennifer L. Funk, Marko J. Spasojevic, Katharine N. Suding, Scot Parker, Michael K. Goulden Dec 2016

Can Functional Traits Predict Plant Community Response To Global Change?, Sarah Kimball, Jennifer L. Funk, Marko J. Spasojevic, Katharine N. Suding, Scot Parker, Michael K. Goulden

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

One primary goal at the intersection of community ecology and global change biology is to identify functional traits that are useful for predicting plant community response to global change. We used observations of community composition from a long-term field experiment in two adjacent plant communities (grassland and coastal sage shrub) to investigate how nine key plant functional traits were related to altered water and nitrogen availability following fire. We asked whether the functional responses of species found in more than one community type were context dependent and whether community-weighted mean and functional diversity were significantly altered by water and nitrogen …

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Predicting Rift Valley Fever Inter-Epidemic Activities And Outbreak Patterns: Insights From A Stochastic Host-Vector Model, Sansao A. Pedro, Shirley Abelman, Henri E.Z. Tonnang Dec 2016

Predicting Rift Valley Fever Inter-Epidemic Activities And Outbreak Patterns: Insights From A Stochastic Host-Vector Model, Sansao A. Pedro, Shirley Abelman, Henri E.Z. Tonnang

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Rift Valley fever (RVF) outbreaks are recurrent, occurring at irregular intervals of up to 15 years at least in East Africa. Between outbreaks disease inter-epidemic activities exist and occur at low levels and are maintained by female Aedes mcintoshi mosquitoes which transmit the virus to their eggs leading to disease persistence during unfavourable seasons. Here we formulate and analyse a full stochastic host-vector model with two routes of transmission: vertical and horizontal. By applying branching process theory we establish novel relationships between the basic reproduction number, R0, vertical transmission and the invasion and extinction probabilities. Optimum climatic conditions and presence …

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A Locomotion Control Algorithm For Robotic Linkage Systems, Jeffrey L. Dohner Dr. Dec 2016

A Locomotion Control Algorithm For Robotic Linkage Systems, Jeffrey L. Dohner Dr.

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

This dissertation describes the development of a control algorithm that transitions a robotic linkage system between stabilized states producing responsive locomotion. The developed algorithm is demonstrated using a simple robotic construction consisting of a few links with actuation and sensing at each joint. Numerical and experimental validation is presented. In this algorithm, transitioning excitations, called rhythms, are formulated using terminal state control solutions. Rhythms are constrained to be low order parameterized functions allowing for the optimal control problem to be replaced by a parametric optimization problem with a limited set of easily solved unknowns. This algorithm is developed and demonstrated …

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The Subject Librarian Newsletter, Nanoscience, Fall 2016, Sandy Avila Dec 2016

The Subject Librarian Newsletter, Nanoscience, Fall 2016, Sandy Avila

Libraries' Newsletters

No abstract provided.

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Minutes From December 21 2016, University Senate Dec 2016

Minutes From December 21 2016, University Senate

University Senate Minutes

Minutes from December 21 2016 University Senate Meeting

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Robustness, Flexibility, And Sensitivity In A Multifunctional Motor Control Model, David N. Lyttle, Jeffrey P. Gill, Peter J. Thomas, Hillel J. Chiel Dec 2016

Robustness, Flexibility, And Sensitivity In A Multifunctional Motor Control Model, David N. Lyttle, Jeffrey P. Gill, Peter J. Thomas, Hillel J. Chiel

Faculty Scholarship

Motor systems must adapt to perturbations and changing conditions both within and outside the body. We refer to the ability of a system to maintain performance despite perturbations as “robustness,” and the ability of a system to deploy alternative strategies that improve fitness as “flexibility.” Different classes of pattern-generating circuits yield dynamics with differential sensitivities to perturbations and parameter variation. Depending on the task and the type of perturbation, high sensitivity can either facilitate or hinder robustness and flexibility. Here we explore the role of multiple coexisting oscillatory modes and sensory feedback in allowing multiphasic motor pattern generation to be …

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Myofilament Calcium Sensitivity: Consequences Of The Effective Concentration Of Troponin I, Jalal K. Siddiqui, Svetlana B. Tikunova, Shane D. Walton, Bin Liu, Meredith Meyer, Pieter P. De Tombe, Nathan Neilson, Peter M. Kekenes-Huskey, Hussam E. Salhi, Paul M.L. Janssen, Brandon J. Biesiadecki, Jonathan P. Davis Dec 2016

Myofilament Calcium Sensitivity: Consequences Of The Effective Concentration Of Troponin I, Jalal K. Siddiqui, Svetlana B. Tikunova, Shane D. Walton, Bin Liu, Meredith Meyer, Pieter P. De Tombe, Nathan Neilson, Peter M. Kekenes-Huskey, Hussam E. Salhi, Paul M.L. Janssen, Brandon J. Biesiadecki, Jonathan P. Davis

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Control of calcium binding to and dissociation from cardiac troponin C (TnC) is essential to healthy cardiac muscle contraction/relaxation. There are numerous aberrant post-translational modifications and mutations within a plethora of contractile, and even non-contractile, proteins that appear to imbalance this delicate relationship. The direction and extent of the resulting change in calcium sensitivity is thought to drive the heart toward one type of disease or another. There are a number of molecular mechanisms that may be responsible for the altered calcium binding properties of TnC, potentially the most significant being the ability of the regulatory domain of TnC to …

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A New Operational Snow Retrieval Algorithm Applied To Historical Amsr-E Brightness Temperatures, Marco Tedesco, Jeyavinoth Jeyaratnam Dec 2016

A New Operational Snow Retrieval Algorithm Applied To Historical Amsr-E Brightness Temperatures, Marco Tedesco, Jeyavinoth Jeyaratnam

Publications and Research

Snow is a key element of the water and energy cycles and the knowledge of spatio-temporal distribution of snow depth and snow water equivalent (SWE) is fundamental for hydrological and climatological applications. SWE and snow depth estimates can be obtained from spaceborne microwave brightness temperatures at global scale and high temporal resolution (daily). In this regard, the data recorded by the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer—Earth Orbiting System (EOS) (AMSR-E) onboard the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) AQUA spacecraft have been used to generate operational estimates of SWE and snow depth, complementing estimates generated with other microwave sensors flying on …

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Wave Motion Induced By Turbulent Shear Flows Over Growing Stokes Waves, Shahrdad Sajjadi, Serena Robertson, Rebecca Harvey, Mary Brown Dec 2016

Wave Motion Induced By Turbulent Shear Flows Over Growing Stokes Waves, Shahrdad Sajjadi, Serena Robertson, Rebecca Harvey, Mary Brown

Publications

The recent analytical of multi-layer analyses proposed by Sajjadi et al. (J Eng Math 84:73, 2014) (SHD14 therein) is solved numerically for atmospheric turbulent shear flows blowing over growing (or unsteady) Stokes (bimodal) water waves, of low-to-moderate steepness. For unsteady surface waves, the amplitude a(t)∝ekcita(t)∝ekcit, where kcikci is the wave growth factor, k is the wavenumber, and cici is the complex part of the wave phase speed, and thus, the waves begin to grow as more energy is transferred to them by the wind. This will then display the critical height to a point, where the thickness of the inner …

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Short-Term Retention Of Location-Identity Bindings For Complex Objects, Alexander Nalbandian Dec 2016

Short-Term Retention Of Location-Identity Bindings For Complex Objects, Alexander Nalbandian

Theses

Knowing what is where is an essential and complex component of human perception. This ability refers to the concept of Situation Awareness (SA). The underlying mechanisms for this ability show parallels to the tracking of a set of identical objects moving on a screen, a theory known as Multiple Object Tracking (MOT) (Pylyshyn & Storm, 1988). This theory was useful for investigating the fundamental factors of visual tracking, but lacked a connection to real-world scenarios. In an attempt to bridge that gap, Oksama and Hyönä (2008) created the Model of Multiple Identity Tracking (MOMIT), which includes unique identities for each …

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Evaluating Machine Learning Classifiers For Defensive Cyber Operations, Michael D. Rich, Robert F. Mills, Thomas E. Dube, Steven K. Rogers Dec 2016

Evaluating Machine Learning Classifiers For Defensive Cyber Operations, Michael D. Rich, Robert F. Mills, Thomas E. Dube, Steven K. Rogers

Military Cyber Affairs

Today’s defensive cyber sensors are dominated by signature-based analytical methods that require continuous maintenance and lack the ability to detect unknown threats. Anomaly detection offers the ability to detect unknown threats, but despite over 15 years of active research, the operationalization of anomaly detection and machine learning for Defensive Cyber Operations (DCO) is lagging. This article provides an introduction to machine learning concepts with a focus on the unique challenges to using machine learning for DCO. Traditional machine learning evaluation methods are challenged in favor of a value-focused evaluation method that incorporates evaluator-specific weights for classifier and sensitivity threshold selection …

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Leveraging Lexical Link Analysis (Lla) To Discover New Knowledge, Ying Zhao, Douglas J. Mackinnon, Shelley P. Gallup, Joseph L. Billingsley Dec 2016

Leveraging Lexical Link Analysis (Lla) To Discover New Knowledge, Ying Zhao, Douglas J. Mackinnon, Shelley P. Gallup, Joseph L. Billingsley

Military Cyber Affairs

Lexical Link Analysis (LLA) is a form of text mining in which word meanings represented in lexical terms (e.g., word pairs) are treated as if they are in a community of a word network. LLA can provide automated awareness for analyzing text data and reveal previously unknown, data-driven themed connections. We applied LLA to develop authentic archetypes and conversely determine potential imposters of that same archetype. We use publically available social media data to develop a cyber professional as an example. This paper reports the development of the algorithm, the collection and labeling of data, as well as the results …

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Military Cyber Professionals Have An Important Part To Play In The Obama-Trump Transition, Michael V. Hayden Dec 2016

Military Cyber Professionals Have An Important Part To Play In The Obama-Trump Transition, Michael V. Hayden

Military Cyber Affairs

Over the course of decades in service, I have experienced multiple presidential transitions. Each new Commander in Chief updates policies, personnel, and priorities…especially when the transition involves a new political party. In this respect, the current transition from the Obama to the Trump administration is no different. While this periodic exercise of our democracy may seem disruptive to some, it is a true opportunity for military cyber professionals to help shape our future national security posture.

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Teacher Knowledge And Selection Of Evidence-Based Practices: A Survey Study, Maria B. Sciuchetti, John W. Mckenna, Andrea L. Flower Dec 2016

Teacher Knowledge And Selection Of Evidence-Based Practices: A Survey Study, Maria B. Sciuchetti, John W. Mckenna, Andrea L. Flower

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

Federal legislation and state and local policies mandate the use of evidence-based practices (EBPs) and aim to improve the quality of education for all students. Federal mandates (No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001) coupled with teacher training requirements and the need for identifying effective practices for use with students with and without disabilities, highlight the need for teachers to not only implement EBPs but to identify such practices for implementation. The passage of NCLB marked the first time in education that the use of scientific research to inform instructional decisions was mandated.

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