Ball State University

To better understand linkages between hydrology and ecosystem carbon flux in northern aquatic ecosystems, we evaluated the relationship between plant communities, biofilm development, and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) exchange following long‐term changes in hydrology in an Alaskan fen. We quantified seasonal variation in biofilm composition and CO 2 exchange in response to lowered and raised water table position (relative to a control) during years with varying levels of background dissolved organic carbon (DOC). We then used nutrient‐diffusing substrates (NDS) to evaluate cause–effect relationships between changes in plant subsidies (i.e., leachates) and biofilm composition among water table treatments. We found that background DOC concentration determined whether plant subsidies promoted net autotrophy or heterotrophy on NDS. In conditions where background DOC was ≤ 40 mg L ⁻¹ , plant subsidies promoted an autotrophic biofilm. Conversely, when background DOC concentration was ≥ 50 mg L ⁻¹ , plant subsidies promoted heterotrophy. Greater light attenuation associated with elevated levels of DOC may have overwhelmed the stimulatory effect of nutrients on autotrophic microbes by constraining photosynthesis while simultaneously allowing heterotrophs to outcompete autotrophs for available nutrients. At the ecosystem level, conditions that favored an autotrophic biofilm resulted in net CO 2 uptake among all water table treatments, whereas the site was a net source of CO 2 to the atmosphere in conditions that supported greater heterotrophy. Taken together, these findings show that hydrologic history interacts with changes in dominant plant functional groups to alter biofilm composition, which has consequences for ecosystem CO 2 exchange.

The purpose of this study was to examine which early childhood (EC) teachers’ qualifications (i.e., degree, major, and teaching experience) are linked to teachers’ Metacognitive Awareness (MA) and science teaching efficacy, and to investigate the relation among EC teachers’ MA components and science teaching efficacy. A total of 153 Head Start teachers from eight U.S. states completed validated surveys that measured their science teaching efficacy and MA. Results from multilevel ANOVA and regression analysis showed that teachers with an early childhood education background were more positive about their ability to teach science, more mindful of their teaching strategies, and more likely to self-evaluate their teaching as compared to teachers without an EC education background. Also, teachers who were more aware of their teaching strategies and instructional goals, and monitored their teaching practices reported higher confidence in their ability to teach science. Our results revealed the role of MA in early science teaching efficacy and highlighted the importance of supporting EC teachers’ professional development, particularly for those whose backgrounds are not in EC.

There has been an emphasis on effect sizes for differential item functioning (DIF) with the purpose to understand the magnitude of the differences that are detected through statistical significance testing. Several different effect sizes have been suggested that correspond to the method used for analysis, as have different guidelines for interpretation. The purpose of this simulation study was to compare the performance of the DIF effect size measures described for quantifying and comparing the amount of DIF in two assessments. Several factors were manipulated that were thought to influence the effect sizes or are known to influence DIF detection. This study asked the following two questions. First, do the effect sizes accurately capture aggregate DIF across items? Second, do effect sizes accurately identify which assessment has the least amount of DIF? We highlight effect sizes that had support for performing well across several simulated conditions. We also apply these effect sizes to a real data set to provide an example. Results of the study revealed that the log odds ratio of fixed effects (Ln [Formula: see text]) and the variance of the Mantel–Haenszel log odds ratio ([Formula: see text]) were most accurate for identifying which test contains more DIF. We point to future directions with this work to aid the continued focus on effect sizes to understand DIF magnitude.

Purpose The Parent–Enhanced Moved by Reading to Accelerate Comprehension in English (Parent EMBRACE) program offers a bilingual parent-training literacy intervention for Latino families. Within the context of shared book reading, the application leverages both the home language and technology to increase parent question-asking during shared reading. Research goals were to (a) examine the potential of the Parent EMBRACE tutoring system at teaching parents to increase the quantity and variety of their question-asking during shared book reading, (b) examine changes to parents' reading attitudes or motivation, and (c) examine whether children's reading attitude is correlated with parent interactions. Method Twenty-one participants were randomized into three conditions: a digital storybook (DS) group ( n = 7), an interactive storybook (EMBRACE) group ( n = 6), and a parent-teaching interactive storybook (Parent EMBRACE) group ( n = 8). Participants received iPads with digital storybooks for use during the intervention (in which the parent-teaching group received prompts from the app to ask questions while reading). Shared book reading assessments before and after the intervention involved hard-copy books, and behaviors were analyzed using video-recorded reading sessions before and after the intervention. Group differences were explored using descriptive analysis. Reading attitude and motivation were measured through pre- and post-intervention surveys. The relationship between parent interactions and reading attitudes was explored through regression. Results Results indicate that after the intervention, four out of seven parents in the parent-teaching interactive storybook group asked more questions to their children. Parents' reading attitudes and motivations did not significantly change. There was a nonlinear relationship with parent interactions and children's reading attitude. Conclusion Overall, the Parent EMBRACE tool shows feasibility and warrants further study on its efficacy as a linguistically responsive literacy-based language intervention for Latino parents to develop shared book reading strategies.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is complex neurodevelopmental disorder that is exhibited through a wide‐range of symptoms including social interactions, communication deficits, limited interests, and repetitive behaviors (e.g., stimming). The prevalence of autism amongst children and adolescents continues to grow with 1 in 36 diagnosed annually (CDC, 2024). Because autism often comes with a myriad of comorbidities (e.g., sleep disorders, seizure activity, nutritional imbalances, gastrointestinal issues, and mental health disorders), children and adolescents are often prescribed medications and/or treatments to help with the management of these chronic diseases. Croen et al., (2006) found that adolescents are six times more likely to be hospitalized than their neuro‐typical peers. Managing autism takes a multi‐disciplinary approach. Navigating a large university system, academics, and being away from home can be challenging for any teenager. But, adding the complexity of managing a chronic neurodevelopmental disorder on top of the new environment could potentially be overwhelming for the autistic adolescent. It makes sense to use all available resources when transitioning into a college setting. Registered nurses (RN) and advanced practice nurses (APN) are employed at university clinics to help manage student healthcare issues including acute healthcare problems (e.g., viruses), traumatic issues, and chronic healthcare issues. This paper will examine how nursing professionals can assist autistic adolescents when they are entering into a college environment by managing medications and other treatment modalities while being a student advocate within a multi‐disciplinary team.

This article compares Habraken's Open-Building framework to Ostrom's design principles. While both frameworks aim to create adaptable and self-governing environments, Ostrom focuses on long-lasting commons governance, while Habraken focuses on designing for change. Unlike Ostrom, Habraken focuses on excludability, implying that private spaces include private and club goods, and public spaces combine public goods and common-pool resources. For Habraken, space is public to people from lower levels who have the right to enter but is private to people from higher levels who can only enter as guests. Habraken also focuses on separating design tasks, such as putting utilities in public spaces accessible from apartment building corridors, to reduce maintenance and repair costs. Utility access from public areas also reduces the need for temporary management and access rights from neighbouring territories, changing many repair and maintenance decisions from collective to private choices. Separating the infill level from the base building gives agents on the lower levels greater ability to adapt and control their own environments. Habraken views the built environment as a self-organizing polycentric system, and an important part of self-organization is appropriately applying themes, patterns, types, and systems. Unlike Ostrom, Habraken doesn't think there are focal action situations.

Community college faculty play a significant role in the educational lives of their students. The focus of this article is to outline the ways faculty can support their students' mental health beyond referring students to on‐ or off‐campus resources such as a counseling center or support group. Strategies faculty can use such as leveraging assessment data, deploying trauma‐informed pedagogies, and using micro‐counseling approaches are discussed.

Language teacher educators’ identity is a significant contributor to pedagogical and professional choices they make in their work. Utilizing Foucault's notion of ethico‐political self‐formation as adapted by Clarke (2009), the researchers explored the identities of six advocacy‐oriented language teacher educators (LTEs) working in the United States. In their polyvocal exploration, they focus on the ethical substance, authority sources, and self‐practices that contribute to the formation of advocacy‐oriented professional identities. Analysis revealed interactions between prior experiences, relationships, key theories, and self‐practices of reflection as formative to identities as advocacy‐oriented LTEs. The researchers discuss their findings in light of the relationship of identity formation to pedagogy and what collaborative self‐reflection reveals about the formation of an advocacy‐oriented LTE identity. The findings contribute to our developing understanding of advocacy within the context of language teaching and language teacher education.

This paper details the ongoing actions behavior analysts should be prepared to take to ensure that behavior analyst licensure laws protect the public and behavior analysts. Behavior analysts will want to be aware of these processes to engage with government officials in an informed way relative to any possible changes to the relevant laws and regulations. Although behavior analysts have increasingly become knowledgeable about the processes to pass licensure legislation, they can be unaware of the significant impact that rules for implementing a licensure law can have on their work and the public. Additionally, legislative actions can change or eliminate licensure laws after implementing the original law. Behavior analysts and their collaborating public (i.e., citizens committed to behavior analysis licensure legislation) can be caught off guard if unexpected rules or regulations for implementing licensing laws are proposed and adopted. Years later, behavior analysts may be further surprised by sunset laws that can result in the automatic termination or substantial revision of licensure laws. Although sunset laws may be relevant in many states, those in which most politicians oppose regulation are most at risk for termination of licensure laws despite the initial years of effort and collaboration needed to enact the law. We offer an analysis of these processes and how they impact the public and behavior analysts concerning the practice of behavior analysis. Further, we suggest that behavior analysts address factors relevant to behavior analyst licensure once established.

To enact democracy, which is to live in communication with difference, requires a formative process that involves an education of the whole person for and through civic life. Drawing on Charles Mills's theory of Herrenvolk ethics and Jonathan Lear's analysis of psychosocial lapses that ail us, Sheron Fraser‐Burgess and Chris Higgins pursue a critical, historiographical, and psychosocial reading of our failures to live up to this aspiration, offering (1) a critique of our tendency to saddle ourselves with a false choice between a homogenizing unity and a differentiated but fractured republic; (2) a demonstration of why we must eschew a thin universalism of principles and confront difference as embodied; (3) an argument from the ethics of risk against the urge to reify and compartmentalize difference; and (4) an evocation of how deep pluralism itself might serve as a unifying creed. Civic education is not a matter of informing but of forming and cultivating vision and values. In pursuing the credal deep pluralism that is required to do justice to the prospects and perils of our democracy‐in‐the‐making, the task of the formative educator may be more difficult; but by embracing this creed, teachers may inspire their students to do the same.

Previous scholarly investigations of the effectiveness of political lobbying are abundant but have not yet reached a consensus. This study incorporates the work of Adam Smith, Vernon Smith, and Deidre McCloskey to consider the question from a new perspective, that of humanomics, with its emphasis on the efficacy and significance of human relationships. In doing so, we test the proposition that lobbying is neither a one-time quid pro quo nor reducible to dollars and cents but most often is based on a relationship between the lobbyist and the lobbied that has developed over time. We explore the impact of a more powerful executive branch by analyzing the efforts to lobby people who are or may become governors of US states. We estimate the effect of new term limits for state legislators (adopted from 2000 to 2015) on political donations to governors, lieutenant governors, attorneys general, and secretaries of state. If, as we suspect, shorter terms of office for legislators undermine the likelihood of durable lobbyist-legislator relationships, it follows that lobbyists will shift their focus, proxied by repeat-contribution behavior, toward the executive branch. Our findings indicate that that, indeed, is what happens, offering empirical evidence that relationship-building over time is a key component of the effort to exercise political influence.