Digital Commons Network^™

Taiwanese Elementary School Teachers’ Mindset Of Content And Language Integrated Learning (Clil) Instruction, Chin-Wen Chien

Journal of English Learner Education

Teachers need to undergo a mindset shift in language learning and teaching. This study used both qualitative and quantitative data to explore seven Taiwanese Content and language integrated learning (CLIL) teachers’ mindsets and led to the following major findings. First, the CLIL teachers had a stronger mindset regarding their instructional strategies, lesson preparations, and efficacy, compared to their more moderate mindset regarding their CLIL training and preparation. Secondly, the CLIL teachers had a different mindset regarding language use in their CLIL instruction due to their learners’ English proficiency levels. Finally, their lesson designs were lacking a 4Cs culture. Based on …

Empowering Multilingual Families By Reconceptualizing Family Engagement, Melissa J. Cuba, Carolyn Waters, Luciana C. De Oliveira

Journal of English Learner Education

One of the most pressing issues in U.S. public schools is the engagement of multilingual families with children who are multilingual learners. So much so, federal policies, such as the Parent and Family Engagement Provisions in the Every Student Succeeds Act, prioritize and financially support activities and professional development focused on family engagement. In addition, these policies provide opportunities for families to contribute to agreed-upon school district policy that can reshape family engagement. However, as we reflect on the current sociopolitical context in the U.S., how are school systems creating opportunities for multilingual families to contribute and inform local family …

Digital Stories Of Resilience: A Case Study Of Urban Community College English Learners, Patricia George Hunter

Journal of English Learner Education

This study utilizes a qualitative case study approach to learn how project-based, digital storytelling (DST) voices the resilience of post-secondary English language learners (ELLs) attending a minority-serving, open-access, community college in New York City. Along with many studies that have examined the usefulness of DST in oral production, this research investigates whether project-based digital storytelling enhances students’ understanding of academic content related to resilience and conventional composition. Narrative inquiry (NI) research technique is the basis of the digital story project in an English as a Second Language (ESL) course. In this case, the study relies on observations and artifacts to …

Literacy Instruction For English Language Learners In Indiana Elementary Schools Before And During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Haiyan Li, Wayne E. Wright, Trish Morita-Mullaney

Journal of English Learner Education

This mixed-methods study investigates the impact of COVID-19 on elementary school literacy instruction for multilingual learners officially classified as English Language Learners (ELLs) across 35 teachers in four Indiana school districts. Classroom lesson videos and observation rubrics for 19 teachers were collected from the beginning of 2020-2021 school year (during the pandemic) and compared with those collected pre-pandemic from 16 teachers at the beginning of school years of 2018-2019 (n=7) and 2019-2020 (n=9). Findings demonstrate schools made efforts during the pandemic to offer quality literacy instruction within socially distanced classrooms, online synchronous instruction, and hybrid learning environments. However, teachers spent …

Formation, Operation, And Maintenance Of A Community Advisory Board For Research With Lgbtq+ Parents, Aubrey Jones, Olivia S. Yinger, Rachel H. Farr, Keisa Fallin-Bennett, Sabrina Beiring, Cassi Crouse, Carolyn Greenstrom

Transforming Communities

Community-engaged research is becoming increasingly popular to promote health equity. Objective: The purpose of this paper is to describe the formation, operation, and maintenance of a community advisory board (CAB) of LGBTQ+ parents and healthcare providers who work with LGBTQ+ parents. Method: Using Newman and colleagues outline, we describe the formation, operation, and maintenance phases of our CAB process. Inclusion criteria for CAB members is as follows, CAB members must be 18 years of age or older, live in the U.S., and (a) self-identify as LGBTQ+ and have had a child in the NICU more than five years prior to …

A More Sustainable Future For Dentistry, Jillian Bulter

Virginia Dental Journal

Jillian Bulter, a biomedical engineering major, became involved in a research project at VCU focused on developing biodegradable plastics to replace single-use plastics in dental clinics. Collaborating with Dr. Eser Tüfekçi and Dr. Todd Kitten, the team tested the effectiveness of these novel plastics in preventing bacterial contamination. Although initial results indicated the need for further development, the project represents a significant step towards more sustainable dental practices.

Vcu Enhances Cultural Competency And Provides Better Care For Patients, Giovanni Flores

Virginia Dental Journal

The Hispanic Student Dental Association (HSDA) at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is working to improve healthcare for Hispanic communities by addressing language barriers and promoting cultural competency. With Hispanics making up 19.1% of the U.S. population but only a small percentage of the dental workforce, VCU's HSDA provides Spanish dental terminology booklets and hosts Spanish workshops for students, faculty, and staff. These efforts aim to enhance communication with Spanish-speaking patients and improve their overall healthcare experience.

Your Vda Membership Could Easily Be Paying For Itself, Karen Wood

Virginia Dental Journal

The Virginia Dental Association (VDA) membership offers significant savings through various endorsed vendors. Members can save on malpractice and group health insurance with RK Tongue, reduce credit card processing fees with BestCard, and get discounts on website design with Prosites. Additional savings are available on encrypted file transfers with iCore Exchange and dental supplies through Torch Dental. These benefits can easily cover the cost of annual dues, making the membership a valuable investment. For personalized assistance, members can contact Karen Wood, Director of Operations.

Sustainable Dentistry: A Two-Fold Strategy To Recession-Proofing Your Dental Practice, Ashli Klingaman

Virginia Dental Journal

The document outlines strategies for recession-proofing a dental practice by focusing on both internal and external tools. Internally, it emphasizes the importance of using a robust practice management system (PMS) with automation features to enhance operational efficiency and cost-effective supply chain management to mitigate financial risks. Externally, it highlights the benefits of digital marketing, telehealth services, and community partnerships to attract and retain patients. By adopting these strategies, dental practices can ensure growth and stability even during economic downturns.

Virginia Board Of Dentistry Meeting Notes March 8, 2024, Ursula Klostermyer Dds, Phd

Virginia Dental Journal

The Virginia Board of Dentistry meeting on March 8, 2024, covered various topics, including the approval of previous meeting minutes and a report from DHP Director Arne W. Owens on legislative activities and staffing changes. Dr. Bryant shared insights from recent dental conferences, while Yetty Shobo, Ph.D., presented workforce data showing trends in the demographics, income, and debt of dentists and dental hygienists. The report highlighted an increase in younger dentists and a decline in dental hygienists since 2022. Regulatory updates and disciplinary actions were also discussed, with 135 new cases received and 154 cases closed, including 11 with violations.

Dentistry’S Best Advocate—You, Michaela Mishoe

Virginia Dental Journal

The document discusses strategies to address the shortage of dental hygienists in Virginia by promoting dentistry as a career. It suggests partnering with educational institutions, hosting career fairs, empowering staff to mentor, leveraging social media, and using patient interactions to inform about dental careers. It highlights the importance of community involvement and provides resources like the G3 tuition assistance program for aspiring dental professionals. The document also outlines various dental career roles, including dental assistants, hygienists, office managers, and administrators.

2024 General Assembly Session Review, Tripp Perrin, Missy Wesolowski

Virginia Dental Journal

The 2024 General Assembly session, held from January 10 to March 9, saw significant legislative activity with 2,311 bills introduced. Key achievements for the Virginia Dental Association (VDA) included the passage of bills to increase transparency in dental insurance, authorize a dentist and dental hygienist compact for license portability, secure funding for a new VCU School of Dentistry, extend the remote supervision period for dental hygienists, and expand civil liability protections under the SafeHaven™ program. Defensive efforts successfully amended or defeated problematic bills related to medical debt reporting, medical malpractice caps, and universal licensure.

Virginia Dental Workforce Council Report To The Vda House Of Delegates, Paul Logan

Virginia Dental Journal

The Virginia Dental Workforce Council's January 2024 report addresses the state's dental workforce challenges, emphasizing the need for more providers, especially in rural areas. The report highlights the impact of the pandemic on dentists' duties, the aging workforce, and the shortage of dental hygienists. It outlines early outcomes, such as improved relationships with educational institutions and new data on workforce needs. Recommendations include making workforce data accessible, promoting dental careers, supporting dental programs, addressing licensure barriers, and supporting federal initiatives to enhance the dental workforce.

Call To Arms, Dustin Reynolds Dds

Virginia Dental Journal

Dr. Dustin Reynolds, President of the VDA, expresses gratitude for the strong member participation in Dental Days at the Capitol and highlights the success of the 2024 Virginia legislative session. Key legislative victories include the passage of the Dentist and Dental Hygienist Compact Bills, Remote Supervision Bills, Safe Haven Bills, and the Dental Insurance Transparency Bill. Dr. Reynolds emphasizes the importance of maintaining and growing membership to continue influencing legislative decisions and encourages members to reach out to colleagues to join or renew their membership. He also highlights the need for increased contributions to the Tooth PAC to further support …

Va Dent J April, May And June 2024

Virginia Dental Journal

The April-June 2024 issue of the Virginia Dental Journal (VDJ) explores significant themes affecting the dental profession in Virginia. Key highlights include a feature on the dental workforce crisis, addressing shortages and its impact on patient care and practice expansion. The Virginia Dental Workforce Council provides a comprehensive report with recommendations to enhance workforce capacity through educational investments, policy changes, and collaborative efforts. Other topics include scientific studies, such as a pilot investigation on non-invasive treatments for xerostomia, advocacy updates on legislative successes like the SafeHaven™ program for mental health support, and industry insights on sustainability and cybersecurity in dental …

Lawmakers, Media, And Patients: Conveying Key Messages With Authority, Michaela Mishoe

Virginia Dental Journal

The Virginia Dental Association’s Communications Team uses media relations to advocate for the dental profession and oral health initiatives. They provide media training to help members and leaders effectively communicate with reporters, lawmakers, and patients. Key strategies include keeping messages simple, relying on key messages, using a problem-solution framework, and practicing through role-playing and mock interviews. These techniques ensure clear, focused, and persuasive communication.

Virginia Board Of Dentistry Meeting Notes December 8, 2023, Ursula Klostermyer Dds, Phd

Virginia Dental Journal

The Virginia Board of Dentistry meeting on December 8, 2023, introduced new members and discussed various updates. Key points included the approval of draft botulinum toxin regulations, the introduction of a dental licensure compact for easier multi-state licensing, and the report on disciplinary actions. The Board also highlighted the ongoing healthcare workforce shortage and the upcoming budget presentation by Governor Youngkin. Additionally, the meeting covered the success of the Piedmont Smiles event, which provided dental care to underserved communities.

An Interview With Dr. Richard Roadcap Virginia Dental Journal Editor (2007 – 2023), Richard F. Roadcap Dds

Virginia Dental Journal

Dr. Richard Roadcap, who served as the editor of the Virginia Dental Journal from 2007 to 2023, reflects on his journey, challenges, and achievements. He highlights the transition from print to digital, the satisfaction of recognizing community members' accomplishments, and the importance of persistence and collaboration with contributors. Roadcap emphasizes the editor's role in fostering debate and adapting to change. As he retires, he hopes the Journal continues to meet members' needs and plans to start a new online publication focused on public service.

Treatment Access And Outcomes For Craniofacial Care: Patient And Parent Perspectives, Benjamin F. Lowe Iii, Dds, Bhavna Shroff, Steven J. Lindauer, Caroline K. Carrico, A Abubaker

Virginia Dental Journal

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to evaluate craniofacial patients and parent attitudes toward access to care, quality of care, and use of telehealth.

Methods: An original survey was sent to families in treatment with the Virginia Commonwealth University craniofacial team to assess opinions toward various aspects of care.

Results: On average, no factors were considered a barrier to care. Quality of care was highly rated. Respondents felt neutral about telehealth overall, but those with past telehealth experience were significantly more likely to find value in its use (p < 0.01).

Conclusion: Respondents had satisfactory treatment outcomes and good access to …

Where We Have Been And Where We’Re Going In 2024, Gary Oyster Dds

Virginia Dental Journal

Gary D. Oyster, DDS, reflects on his tenure as the 16th district trustee of the American Dental Association (ADA) and highlights significant changes. Key initiatives include the formation of the Strategic Forecasting Committee to enhance responsiveness, the partnership with the Forsyth Institute to boost research capabilities, and efforts to engage new dentists and dental students to reverse declining membership. The ADA is also transitioning to Salesforce/Fonteva for better membership data management and adopting a flexible Financial Operating Plan to quickly adapt to program changes. Workforce shortages and dental benefits programs remain ongoing challenges. The ADA aims to thrive through collaboration …

Farewell, Richard F. Roadcap Dds

Virginia Dental Journal

Dr. Richard Roadcap reflects on his 16-year tenure as Editor of the Virginia Dental Journal, highlighting the transition from analog to digital publishing and the sense of community he aimed to create. He expresses gratitude to his Managing Editor Shannon Jacobs, publishers Dr. Terry Dickinson and Ryan Dunn, and his supportive wife Norma. He acknowledges the contributions of the Journal’s Editorial Board and thanks the VDA staff. As he steps down, he introduces Dr. Sarah Friend as the new Editor and hopes the Journal continues to thrive.

The Professional Student, Sarah Friend Dds

Virginia Dental Journal

Dr. Sarah Friend, a dentist, shares her journey of embracing new technology through a fellowship in forensic dentistry. Despite initial challenges and reliance on younger colleagues for tech support, she highlights the importance of continuous learning and adapting to technological advancements in the dental field. She encourages fellow professionals to expand their comfort zones, learn new techniques, and stay current to succeed in the evolving world of dentistry.

Va Dent J January, February And March 2024

Virginia Dental Journal

The latest issue of the Virginia Dental Journal (Volume 101, Number 1) highlights significant advancements and challenges in Virginia's dental community. A central feature is a farewell to Dr. Richard Roadcap, who reflects on his impactful 16-year tenure as editor. The issue includes a compelling research study on patient and parent perspectives regarding craniofacial care, with a focus on treatment access, outcomes, and the role of telehealth. Advocacy efforts take center stage with updates on legislative initiatives aimed at increasing transparency in dental insurance and improving patient care access. Additional columns emphasize the importance of embracing technological advancements in dentistry, …

The Shifting The Balance Duology: A Book Critique From A Teacher Education Perspective, David Wolff

Essays in Education

Reading instruction has become a critical focus in many states in the country. Both in-service and pre-service teachers are adopting innovative approaches in reading instruction embedded in the Science of Reading. However, the transition to these new methods require a shift in practice that should be differentiated for both groups. In-service teachers have a wealth of knowledge and experience to draw upon, while pre-service teachers because of the lack of prior knowledge of past practices in literacy that include the Balanced Literacy approach. This book critique examines the Shifted the Balance duology, offering insights to its implications to Teacher Education.

New Reader Response: An Examination Of Three High-Achieving High School Readers And Their Literacies, Minkyu Kim

Essays in Education

Since its inception, reader response theory has battled misrepresentations. It was reduced to discursive anarchy, perceived as not rigorous, and set apart from important scholarship movements like critical theory. This research argues that by expanding the definition of “reader” in “reader response” to include digital (aka “new”) literacies, the reader-text transaction can be much more inclusive, dynamic, and most importantly, true to our students’ everyday literacies. This article also includes a discussion of why it is so important for teachers to include digital platforms as sites of interrogation in a safe educative setting. By studying the out-of-school literacy behaviors of …

Evidence For Explicitation: Working From Asl Into English, Campbell Mcdermid, Carrie Humphrey, Anita Harding

Journal of Interpretation

A study was done to examine the explicitation and compression strategies used by interpreters working from American Sign Language (ASL) into spoken English. To date, most research has focused only on their work from English into ASL. A review of the literature identified several expansion and compression strategies that interpreters and translators utilize, and these served as a model of coding the data and for triangulation. The methodology for this study was qualitative and descriptive. Twenty-two interpreters volunteered to simultaneously interpret four ASL recorded texts into spoken English, for a total of 88 target texts. The researchers identified 9 expansions …

Lyrical Stillness, Madhav Patel

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

“Lyrical Stillness” is a poem I wrote during my radiation oncology rotation, during which I was provided the opportunity to learn more about multidisciplinary cancer care while delving deeper into radiotherapy. Cancer can be an overwhelming disease process physically, psychologically, and emotionally. Patients undergoing treatment often experience stress and anxiety with the uncertainty of their prognoses. In this poem, I describe a patient receiving radiation therapy whom I enjoyed speaking to about his favorite hobby: bird watching. During his subsequent radiation treatment sessions, I decided to play a CD of mockingbirds singing in a tropical forest, in the hopes it …

Assessment Of The European Hernia Society Classification Of Ventral Hernias And Clinical Outcomes, Oluwatunmininu A. Anwoju, Ashtyn Barrientes, Connor Hogan, Erik Askenasy, Jacob Greenberg, Keith Jerrod, Scott J. Roth, Zuhair Ali, Mike K. Liang

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

Background

Ventral hernias are a common but heterogeneous disease. Communication among key stakeholders (eg, patients, clinicians, administrators, payers, and researchers) can be augmented by a widely utilized classification system. The European Hernia Society (EHS) developed an expert-opinion-based hernia classification system organized by hernia type (primary versus incisional) and size. We sought to assess what components of the EHS ventral hernia classification system were correlated to real-world clinical outcomes.

Methods

This was a multicenter cohort study. All hospitals contributing to the database were affiliated with 1 of 6 academic institutions. All adult patients who underwent ventral hernia repair over a 4-year …

Survey: A Study On Image Encryption Using Dna In Bioinformatics, Rana M. Zaki, Zaed S. Mahdi, Matheel E. Abdulmunim

Journal of Soft Computing and Computer Applications

One area of study between computer science and biology is bioinformatics, which deals with methods for collecting, processing, storing, and evaluating biological data. Sequences of RiboNucleic Acid (RNA), DeoxyriboNucleic Acid (DNA), and proteins make up biological data, which has a wide range of uses in domains such as feature extraction, data segmentation, data security, and more. In cryptography, DNA sequences are used as data carriers, enhancing the unique properties of biomolecules. This approach involves using DNA sequences to enhance the security of confidential data that must be transmitted over networks or stored securely. Several DNA-based security techniques have been developed, …

New Feature Selection Using Principal Component Analysis, Zaid Mundher Radeef, Soukaena Hassan Hashem, Ekhlas Khalaf Gbashi

Journal of Soft Computing and Computer Applications

Dimensionality reduction techniques streamline machine learning by reducing data complexity, improving model accuracy, and cutting computational costs. They remove noise and irrelevant features, making models faster and more efficient. These techniques also enhance data visualization and interpretation by condensing data into manageable, insightful dimensions. Ultimately, dimensionality reduction leads to simpler, more interpretable models without sacrificing critical information, making it a cornerstone of efficient data analysis and machine learning applications. Theoretically, feature extraction tends to create new features that encapsulate more information by combining multiple existing features, resulting in more concentrated and informative features. In contrast, feature selection involves choosing a …