Description: This paper discusses research in assessment guided instruction. Abstract: The purpose of the authors' research was to determine the accuracy of their assessments in guiding their instruction. The authors pursued this by administering tests to one class of fifteen general education students and one of thirteen Spanish bilingual education students upon completing mathematics instructional units. The authors hypothesized that their scores on these assessments would significantly correlate with District Benchmark scores at the p < .05 level. The authors also believed that mastery observed on weekly post-assessments would also significantly correlate with district benchmark evaluations of mastery at the p < .05 level. The authors discovered that in-class mastery of specific standards did indeed predict mastery of those standards on District assessments. Also, student in-class averages correlated highly with averages on District assessment.

Description: This paper discusses research on the Court of the Captain of the People. Abstract: The Court of the Captain of the People was part of the judicial system in Florence, Italy, in the 14th century. It was created to defend the common man from the political infighting between the Papacy and the Holy Roman Emperor as well as the noble families who fought for power. There were two other courts that, in the beginning, had their own jurisdiction, the Podesta and the Executor. Later, toward the middle of the 14th century, their jurisdiction began to overlap. All three rectors were foreign and brought their own officials to help them run the judicial system. With the overlapping of jurisdiction it is unclear what kinds of cases the captain and the other rectors oversaw. Through reading and translating court documents from this period, the author will attempt to illustrate what the jurisdiction of the Captain was.

Description: This paper discusses research on whether anger expressions, coping strategies and interpersonal support dynamics relate to CD4 count in HIV-positive adults. Abstract: The expression of anger is associated with positive health outcomes (Iyer, Korin, Higginbotham & Davidson, 2010). Healthy immune function is salient for people living with HIV (PLH) and has been studied vigorously over the past few decades (Weeks & Alcamo, 2010). Suppression of anger has been known to lead to negative mental health outcomes for PLH (Daniel, Goldston, Erkanle, Franklin & Mayfield, 2009); therefore, finding alternative ways to express anger is critical for mental health professionals working with PLH. The aim of this investigation is to examine the relationships between expression of anger, active coping, social support and CD4 count, hypothesizing that expression of anger, active coping and social support contribute to the health of PLH, specifically via a physiological marker. The best predictor of immune function decline for this population is CD4 T-helper cell count (Kelly, 1992); as CD4 count decreases, disease symptoms increase. Social support, however, is related to decreased distress (Blaney, Goodkin, Feaster, Morgan, Millon, Szapocznik & Eisdorfer, 1997) and less self-reported HIV-related health symptoms over time (Ashton et al., 2005). Active coping is a ...

Description: This paper discusses research on the effect of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) mutations on tropomyosin structure. Since most other current research in this field focuses on fewer mutations, the author's results stand to modify the common hypothesis of HCM mutations only destabilizes tropomyosin structure. This modification would be instrumental in devising a drug that would cure HCM structurally.

Description: This paper discusses research on the effectiveness of growth plans in kindergarten classrooms. Abstract: During the 2009-2010 school year, two teachers from the kindergarten team at McNair Elementary implemented a new behavior modification plan in the hopes that it would allow the students an opportunity to take responsibility for their own behavior. Through the use of growth plans and contracts, the teaching team attempted to modify the behavior of a select few kindergarten students. Prior to the start of the student teacher rotations, the mentor teachers kept a behavior log for each student in their respective classroom. While many students responded to the new plan, there were some that did not appear to understand the concept of internalizing appropriate behavior and remained unaffected by the use of the growth plans.