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The purposes of this study were to describe collegiate band members' preferred teacher interpersonal behaviors and perceptions of self-efficacy based on the gender, year in college, instrument, and major and to measure the relationship between preferences of interpersonal teacher behavior and self-efficacy scores. The sample (N = 1,020) was composed of band members at 12 universities from different regions of the United States. Participants completed the Teacher Interaction Preference Questionnaire (TIPQ) and the Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (SEQ). Descriptive statistics were calculated for each of the questionnaires. Results for the TIPQ showed that all sub-groups most preferred the dominant-cooperative behaviors, followed by submissive-cooperative behaviors, and least preferred the dominant-oppositional behaviors. Results for the SEQ showed subtle variations for all subgroups. Three Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients were calculated to measure the relationship between the three teacher interaction styles and students' perceived self-efficacy. Implications are discussed. (Contains 2 tables.)

This reflective paper discusses findings about differences and similarities in perspectives on play among early childhood educators in Japan, the United States, and Sweden. Analysis of survey data collected from educators in those nations yielded six themes regarding the meanings and uses of play: (1) process of learning, (2) source of possibilities, (3) empowerment, (4) creativity, (5) child's work, and (6) fun activities. Processes of learning, fun activities, and creativity were the universal themes of play that emerged during analysis. Japanese and Swedish teachers related play to the theme source of possibilities, but American teachers did not. The theme play as child's work was represented in the American and Swedish teachers' notions of play but not in those of the Japanese teachers. The theme of play as empowerment differentiated Japanese teachers from the others. Japanese and Swedish teachers reported offering unstructured play to children, while their American counterparts did not. Two themes emerged in the participants' responses regarding adult play: "state of heart" (state of mind) and positive feelings. Although American and Japanese teachers associated playfulness with a "state of the heart/mind," their Swedish counterparts did not indicate such associations. Teachers from all three nations did, however, agree that playfulness involves and promotes positive feelings.

To use Lisbeth Schorr's term, children who are at risk for "rotten outcomes" are not randomly scattered throughout the society but are, rather, concentrated in impoverished neighborhoods. In recent decades, government policy and public opinion in the U.S. has reflected the belief that children who experience rotten outcomes are, at least in large part, somehow responsible for their own problems. I assert that the social influences which the child experiences in their neighborhood of residence also influence their life outcomes in both direct and indirect ways. Neighborhoods are social environments where children experience life: presenting risks and opportunities, offering or withholding resources necessary for success, creating experiences with and beliefs about social institutions and their representatives, and providing the ecology in which children develop into adults. This article summarizes contemporary scholarly perspectives and unpublished research that describe how neighborhoods influence life outcomes for children. It adopts a social capital perspective in addressing the influence of neighborhood's residents, places, and institutions on the child's safety, health, and education, distinguishing between compositional and contextual neighborhood effects. It concludes that the life outcomes of children, be they successful or rotten, are influenced by their access to the resources of immediate family and peer social networks (bonding capital), connections to other residents and their networks (bridging capital), and relations with representatives of broader social institutions as manifested in their neighborhood (linking capital).

The purpose of this study was to investigate the ways in which a multi-layered women's calculus course influenced the participants' learning of mathematics. This study, conducted in a state university in the Midwestern region of the United States, revealed not only that women in this particular section of calculus were likely to select careers that involved mathematics, but that the focus on peer support, psychosocial issues such as self-confidence, and pedagogy helped the young women overcome gender barriers, as well as barriers of class, poverty, and race. In this article we provide some of the relevant quantitative statistics and relate the stories of two particular women through excerpts from interviews, student artefacts, and participant observation data. We selected these young women because they faced multiple barriers to success in Calculus I and might not have completed the course or taken additional mathematics courses without the support structures that were fundamental to the course. (Contains 3 tables.)

In this article, we test the hypothesis that beliefs about the ideal mother are convergent across cultures and that these beliefs overlap considerably with attachment theory's notion of the sensitive mother. In a sample including 26 cultural groups from 15 countries around the globe, 751 mothers sorted the Maternal Behavior Q-Set to reflect their ideas about the ideal mother. The results show strong convergence between maternal beliefs about the ideal mother and attachment theory's description of the sensitive mother across groups. Cultural group membership significantly predicted variations in maternal sensitivity belief scores, but this effect was substantially accounted for by group variations in socio-demographic factors. Mothers living in rural versus urban areas, with a low family income, and with more children, were less likely to describe the ideal mother as highly sensitive. Cultural group membership did remain a significant predictor of variations in maternal sensitivity belief scores above and beyond socio-demographic predictors. The findings are discussed in terms of the universal and culture-specific aspects of the sensitivity construct.

Improving the quality of learning outcomes for all learners represents a major target for the organisers of the 2015 World Education Forum in Korea. Enhancing the effectiveness of what teachers do in the classrooms is a key strategy for reaching this target. This paper seeks to provide some insights into the use of Teacher Effectiveness Maps (TEMs) and the associated targeting, analysing, contextualising, translating, interpreting, changing, suggesting (TACTICS) framework as strategies for educators and governments seeking to document the nature and impact of professional learning activities for improving the quality of learning outcomes for all learners. The USA's concept of "Teacher Leader" and principles teacher professional learning provide a conceptual lens for interpreting the impact of using these strategies. Despite the limitations of a pilot size of two, the results offer some useful insights about designing and documenting teacher leader professional learning activities for improving the quality of learning outcomes for all learners. The authors identify the integration of collaborative teacher leader professional learning and the use of TEMs as promising practices for improving the quality of learning for all learner in the post-2015 era among the benefits linked to this research agenda.

Early childhood teachers' understandings of play were examined in a qualitative comparative study of 41 Japanese and 41 American participants. Qualitative analysis of the data yielded five themes: the power of living, the opportunity to learn and to develop, fun activities, child's work, and the opportunity to explore nature. Two themes emerged in regard to the meaning of play for adults: enjoyable and voluntary activities and child's play. Finally, we identified two themes regarding playfulness: state of heart and fun feelings. Teachers in both nations used rhetoric that is congruent with the current Zeitgeist of developmentally appropriate early education. One theme that differentiated the groups was the notion that play is children's work. While several Americans mentioned this slogan, this was not the case for the Japanese participants. In contrast, the theme of play as the power of living was more representative of Japanese teachers' understandings of play, and this reflects the philosophy set forth by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology. (Contains 3 tables.)

Federal privacy law is all too often misconstrued or perverted to preclude the disclosure of video recordings that capture students victimized by violent crime or tortious injury. This misuse of federal law impedes transparency and accountability and, in many cases, even jeopardizes the health, safety, and lives of children. When properly construed, however, federal law is no bar to disclosure and, at least in public schools, works in tandem with freedom of information laws to ensure disclosure. This Article posits that without unequivocal guidance from federal administrative authorities, uncertainty regarding the disclosure of such recordings will continue to linger, jeopardizing the ability of plaintiffs to access needed information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the present study was to examine collegiate band, choir, and orchestra members' preferred teacher interpersonal behaviors. The sample (N = 705) was composed of band, choir, and orchestra members at six universities. Participants completed the Teacher Interaction Preference Questionnaire (TIPQ). Descriptive results showed that all sub-groups most preferred the dominant-cooperative (DC) behaviors, followed by submissive-cooperative (SC) behaviors, and least preferred the dominant-oppositional (DO) behaviors. Three one-way, between-subjects ANOVAs were used with ensemble type (band, choir, and orchestra) as the independent variable and the TIPQ category (DC, SC, DO) as the dependent variable. A main effect was found for ensemble on the TIPQ-SC category with band and choir participants having a significantly higher preference for submissivecooperative teacher interactions than orchestra participants. These findings indicate that the use of a formative assessment tool could be valuable to the music teacher in gauging preferences and effectiveness in the music classroom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Residential lawns are highly managed ecosystems that occur in urbanized landscapes across the United States. Because they are ubiquitous, lawns are good systems in which to study the potential homogenizing effects of urban land use and management together with the continental-scale effects of climate on ecosystem structure and functioning. We hypothesized that similar homeowner preferences and management in residential areas across the United States would lead to low plant species diversity in lawns and relatively homogeneous vegetation across broad geographical regions. We also hypothesized that lawn plant species richness would increase with regional temperature and precipitation due to the presence of spontaneous, weedy vegetation, but would decrease with household income and fertilizer use. To test these predictions, we compared plant species composition and richness in residential lawns in seven U.S. metropolitan regions. We also compared species composition in lawns with understory vegetation in minimally-managed reference areas in each city. As expected, the composition of cultivated turfgrasses was more similar among lawns than among reference areas, but this pattern also held among spontaneous species. Plant species richness and diversity varied more among lawns than among reference areas, and more diverse lawns occurred in metropolitan areas with higher precipitation. Native forb diversity increased with precipitation and decreased with income, driving overall lawn diversity trends with these predictors as well. Our results showed that both management and regional climate shaped lawn species composition, but the overall homogeneity of species regardless of regional context strongly suggested that management was a more important driver. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Federal changes to higher education policy are always on the horizon. In recent years, a lot has transformed within the area of financial aid, improving the college selection experience for students and parents and creating a ripple effect for future generations. This white paper examines the history of financial aid legislation and looks specifically at net price calculators, from the 2008 requirement of the Higher Education Opportunity Act, to 2015 and the shift to priorprior year FAFSA data. Because nothing ever happens exactly as expected-and to avert unintended consequences-it is imperative to look back in order to best prepare for the future. This report provides a framework for higher education practitioners to understand past and future policy related to financial aid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jamaican immigrant students are highly represented in U.S. public schools, primarily in regions concentrated throughout the east coast. Many of these students and their families have personal and social concerns that have implications for school counselors. In particular, scholars suggest that among this population, harsh methods of child discipline (e.g., corporal punishment) are prevalent and have ramifications for academic achievement, child abuse reporting, and socialization within the school. Few studies, however, document the disciplinary techniques of Jamaican immigrants in the United States. This exploratory study was developed to fill this gap in the literature. Results challenge prevailing assumptions about the universality of corporal punishment among Jamaican immigrants. Participants in the current study reported using a variety of disciplinary techniques and corporal punishment was not among the most used. Implications for school counselors and future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A visually apparent but scientifically untested outcome of land-use change is homogenization across urban areas, where neighborhoods in different parts of the country have similar patterns of roads, residential lots, commercial areas, and aquatic features. We hypothesize that this homogenization extends to ecological struc-ture and also to ecosystem functions such as carbon dynamics and microclimate, with continental-scale impli-cations. Further, we suggest that understanding urban homogenization will provide the basis for understanding the impacts of urban land-use change from local to continental scales. Here, we show how multi-scale, multi-disciplinary datasets from six metropolitan areas that cover the major climatic regions of the US (Phoenix, AZ; Miami, FL; Baltimore, MD; Boston, MA; Minneapolis-St Paul, MN; and Los Angeles, CA) can be used to deter-mine how household and neighborhood characteristics correlate with land-management practices, land-cover composition, and landscape structure and ecosystem functions at local, regional, and continental scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the U.S. privacy norms that accentuate the blend of the European Union privacy trends, as they reflect effective standards when compared to media's proposed standards. It informs that the EU proposed norms highlights a balancing approach to free expression and privacy that manifests characteristic of European human rights law. Such an approach in the U.S. may deny privacy as an all-or-nothing proposition and build frameworks for privacy law for contemporary social norms.

Abstract: Background: All patients at our academic medical center complete a mandatory bariatric surgery information session before scheduling their first clinic visit. The patients could attend an in-person information session or view a prerecorded information session through our Web site. The study aimed to compare the information retention after both delivery methods using an institutional review board-approved test in an academic medical center in the United States. Methods: From February 2010 through March 2011, 338 tests were voluntarily completed by new preoperative bariatric patients at their clinic visit. The patients provided basic demographic information, co-morbid medical conditions, and identified which bariatric procedures they were interested in. The test assessed the retention of information delivered during the information session, including knowledge of the risks and benefits of bariatric surgery, the surgical options available at our center, and the steps commonly required for insurance approval. The patients and surgeons were kept unaware of the results. Results: Of the patients, 54% attended the on-line information session; 80% of these participants were women, and their mean body mass index was 48.09 kg/m2. The remaining 46% attended the in-person information session, and 83% of these participants were women and their mean body mass index was 49.08 kg/m2. The average test score was 85.69% for the on-line group and 80.32% for the in-person group. The difference in test scores for the on-line and in-person groups was statistically significant (P = .003). Conclusion: Internet-based training is rapidly becoming a key educational tool. Our results suggest that on-line training has the potential to be as effective as traditional in-person training in educating patients about bariatric surgery. Bariatric surgery centers might consider incorporating on-line training into their educational programs as a convenient and potentially effective way to educate patients. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article presents a study on the occurrence and fate of 45 pesticides and 40 pesticides degradates in four contrasting agricultural settings in Maryland, Nebraska, California, and Washington. Analysis of water samples from all four areas had detected two classes herbicides, which were triazines and chloroacetanilides. Insecticides and fungicides were not present in the shallow ground water. The Root-Zone Water-Quality Model was utilized to study the occurrence and fate of metolachlor at the Maryland site.

This article examines the purity and disability Margaret Fuller's New York reform writing. The section measures the development of Fuller's mode of purity in writing by glancing at the texts she completed just before moving to New York City in 1844 through her poetry and book entitled "Woman in the Nineteenth Century." The column also provides the author's personal perspective of Fuller's political, social, and intellectual idealism.

Discusses the impact on groundwater by manure storage in deep ground pits. Groundwater quality at two hog finishing facilities in Illinois that use deep-pit systems for manure storage; Detection of fecal streptococcus bacteria in groundwater from all monitoring wells at both sites; Threat to human health if the ground water is used for drinking.

Focuses on the news management used by President Franklin D. Roosevelt during World War II in the U.S. Creation of an Office for Censorship to encourage cooperation of the press; Objective of the censorship to prevent publication of information useful to the enemy; Function of newsreels in conveying the everyday meaning of the war to the American people.

The article focuses on art education in U.S. public schools. Several factors are considered to help understand a clearer perspective of this concept. These include defining a theory of accountability that is compatible with public education, formulating presuppositions that underlie a theory of art and of teaching, and examining the concepts of a behavioral methodology. The authors stress that the assessment methodology being used in educational accountability, and which is rooted in behavioral sciences, is inconsistent with the beliefs and ideas to which most art education programs adhere.