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• 1. [Article] Teacher and School Contributions to Student Growth

  Teachers and schools both play important roles in students' education. Yet, the unique contribution of each to students' growth has rarely been explored. In this dissertation, a Bayesian multilevel model ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Teacher and School Contributions to Student Growth Author: Anderson, Daniel Year: 2015 Teachers and schools both play important roles in students' education. Yet, the unique contribution of each to students' growth has rarely been explored. In this dissertation, a Bayesian multilevel model was applied in each of Grades 3 to 5, with students' growth estimated across three seasonal (fall, winter, spring) administrations of a mathematics assessment. Variance in students' within-year growth was then partitioned into student-, classroom-, and school-level components. The expected differences in students' growth between classrooms and schools were treated as indicators of the teacher or school "effect" on students' mathematics growth. Results provided evidence that meaningful differences in students' growth lies both between classrooms within schools, and between schools. The distribution of teacher effects between schools was also examined through the lens of access and equity with systematic sorting of teachers to schools leading to disproportional student access to classrooms where the average growth was above the norm. Further, previous research has documented persistent and compounding teacher effects over time. Systematic teacher sorting results in students' having differential probabilities of being enrolled in multiple "high" or "low" growth classrooms in a row. While clear evidence of teacher sorting was found, the demographic composition of schools did not relate to the sorting, contrary to previous research. The persistence of teacher and school effects was also examined from a previously unexplored angle by examining the effect of students' previous teacher(s) on their subsequent rate of within-year growth during the school year. These effects were found to be small and teacher effects overall were found to decay quite rapidly. Title: Teacher and School Contributions to Student Growth Author: Anderson, Daniel Year: 2015 Teachers and schools both play important roles in students' education. Yet, the unique contribution of each to students' growth has rarely been explored. In this dissertation, a Bayesian multilevel model was applied in each of Grades 3 to 5, with students' growth estimated across three seasonal (fall, winter, spring) administrations of a mathematics assessment. Variance in students' within-year growth was then partitioned into student-, classroom-, and school-level components. The expected differences in students' growth between classrooms and schools were treated as indicators of the teacher or school "effect" on students' mathematics growth. Results provided evidence that meaningful differences in students' growth lies both between classrooms within schools, and between schools. The distribution of teacher effects between schools was also examined through the lens of access and equity with systematic sorting of teachers to schools leading to disproportional student access to classrooms where the average growth was above the norm. Further, previous research has documented persistent and compounding teacher effects over time. Systematic teacher sorting results in students' having differential probabilities of being enrolled in multiple "high" or "low" growth classrooms in a row. While clear evidence of teacher sorting was found, the demographic composition of schools did not relate to the sorting, contrary to previous research. The persistence of teacher and school effects was also examined from a previously unexplored angle by examining the effect of students' previous teacher(s) on their subsequent rate of within-year growth during the school year. These effects were found to be small and teacher effects overall were found to decay quite rapidly. Close

• 2. [Article] Parent Training for Parents of Children with Developmental Delays: Examining Parenting Strategies with Multiple Children

  Behavioral parent training programs have been widely used with caregivers to prevent and decrease challenging behaviors in young children with and without developmental delays and disabilities (DD). Although ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Parent Training for Parents of Children with Developmental Delays: Examining Parenting Strategies with Multiple Children Author: Makhiawala, Kenya Year: 2015 Behavioral parent training programs have been widely used with caregivers to prevent and decrease challenging behaviors in young children with and without developmental delays and disabilities (DD). Although behavioral parent training has a robust literature suggesting efficacy in reducing target children's problem behavior and increasing positive parenting, specific parenting behaviors and the impact on children with delays and their siblings is an area that has yet to be fully explored. The current study aimed to examine parenting behaviors during parent-child interactions with children with a developmental delay and their sibling. Fourteen families participating in an ongoing parent training randomized controlled trial intervention were included in the present study to better understand parenting behaviors. Inappropriate parenting behaviors predicted the behavior problems of target children and their siblings above and beyond child and family demographic variables. Primary caregivers in the current sample exhibited more inappropriate parenting behaviors with the target child with DD than their sibling. Title: Parent Training for Parents of Children with Developmental Delays: Examining Parenting Strategies with Multiple Children Author: Makhiawala, Kenya Year: 2015 Behavioral parent training programs have been widely used with caregivers to prevent and decrease challenging behaviors in young children with and without developmental delays and disabilities (DD). Although behavioral parent training has a robust literature suggesting efficacy in reducing target children's problem behavior and increasing positive parenting, specific parenting behaviors and the impact on children with delays and their siblings is an area that has yet to be fully explored. The current study aimed to examine parenting behaviors during parent-child interactions with children with a developmental delay and their sibling. Fourteen families participating in an ongoing parent training randomized controlled trial intervention were included in the present study to better understand parenting behaviors. Inappropriate parenting behaviors predicted the behavior problems of target children and their siblings above and beyond child and family demographic variables. Primary caregivers in the current sample exhibited more inappropriate parenting behaviors with the target child with DD than their sibling. Close

• 3. [Article] Kindergarten Assessment: Analysis of the Child Behavioral Rating Scale (CBRS)

  Oregon’s Kindergarten Assessment (KA) is mandatory for all incoming Oregon kindergarteners starting in the 2013-14 school year. One component of Oregon’s KA is the Child Behavioral Rating Scale (CBRS), ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Kindergarten Assessment: Analysis of the Child Behavioral Rating Scale (CBRS) Author: Rowley, Brock Year: 2015 Oregon’s Kindergarten Assessment (KA) is mandatory for all incoming Oregon kindergarteners starting in the 2013-14 school year. One component of Oregon’s KA is the Child Behavioral Rating Scale (CBRS), which Oregon has adapted into the Approaches to Learning Assessment. Teachers complete the CBRS during the first four to six weeks of school. This study uses a convenience sample of 731 kindergarten students (across two years) from one district in Oregon to analyze behavioral readiness (self-regulation and social-emotional behaviors) as well as easyCBM indicators of academic readiness. The CBRS is compared with the Child Behavioral Checklist and the Ages and Stages Questionnaire: Social Emotional as criterion measures. Parent and teacher responses to the CBRS are analyzed for comparability, and a Receiver Operating Characteristic curve analysis of the data is used to determine optimal cut points (maximizing sensitivity and specificity) for predicting whether students are at risk compared to the criterion measure cut scores. Demographic variables of gender, English Language Learner status, and Socioeconomic Status, are analyzed as control variables. Pre-post behavior change on the CBRS is document over the kindergarten year, and kindergarten academic benchmark measures is used as a dependent measure. This study explores whether: (a) parent responses differ significantly from teacher responses (internal consistency), (b) a cut score on the CBRS successfully sorts students into categories of "typically developing" or "in need of further assessment," (c) teacher predictions align to the proposed CBRS cut score, (d) academic risk is correlated to the established CBRS cut score, and (e) change in behavior over the course of kindergarten is measured (pre-post) by the CBRS. Results from this research could support identification of students for interventions in both kindergarten and early childhood programs. Title: Kindergarten Assessment: Analysis of the Child Behavioral Rating Scale (CBRS) Author: Rowley, Brock Year: 2015 Oregon’s Kindergarten Assessment (KA) is mandatory for all incoming Oregon kindergarteners starting in the 2013-14 school year. One component of Oregon’s KA is the Child Behavioral Rating Scale (CBRS), which Oregon has adapted into the Approaches to Learning Assessment. Teachers complete the CBRS during the first four to six weeks of school. This study uses a convenience sample of 731 kindergarten students (across two years) from one district in Oregon to analyze behavioral readiness (self-regulation and social-emotional behaviors) as well as easyCBM indicators of academic readiness. The CBRS is compared with the Child Behavioral Checklist and the Ages and Stages Questionnaire: Social Emotional as criterion measures. Parent and teacher responses to the CBRS are analyzed for comparability, and a Receiver Operating Characteristic curve analysis of the data is used to determine optimal cut points (maximizing sensitivity and specificity) for predicting whether students are at risk compared to the criterion measure cut scores. Demographic variables of gender, English Language Learner status, and Socioeconomic Status, are analyzed as control variables. Pre-post behavior change on the CBRS is document over the kindergarten year, and kindergarten academic benchmark measures is used as a dependent measure. This study explores whether: (a) parent responses differ significantly from teacher responses (internal consistency), (b) a cut score on the CBRS successfully sorts students into categories of "typically developing" or "in need of further assessment," (c) teacher predictions align to the proposed CBRS cut score, (d) academic risk is correlated to the established CBRS cut score, and (e) change in behavior over the course of kindergarten is measured (pre-post) by the CBRS. Results from this research could support identification of students for interventions in both kindergarten and early childhood programs. Close

• 4. [Article] The Relation of Kindergarten Entry Skills to Early Literacy and Mathematics Achievement

  Learning-related behavioral and academic skills upon kindergarten entry, sometimes referred to as kindergarten readiness, is a construct of growing importance in education, having implications for early ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: The Relation of Kindergarten Entry Skills to Early Literacy and Mathematics Achievement Author: Irvin, Phillip Year: 2015 Learning-related behavioral and academic skills upon kindergarten entry, sometimes referred to as kindergarten readiness, is a construct of growing importance in education, having implications for early learning and eventual achievement. Much of the research on entry skills has been limited to initial status only with inferences drawn about preparedness for school. In this study, I examine the relation among kindergarten entry skills in literacy and mathematics as well as outcomes measured at the end of the kindergarten school year. Two extant datasets were used—learning-related behavioral ratings and academic proficiency skills scores from a fall administration of a statewide kindergarten entry assessment and interim-formative assessment data collected for a subsample of students in the spring of the same academic year. The assessments were analyzed for their factor structures (using both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses) as well as a hypothesized structural model. Factor analyses tested and confirmed the underlying structure and relations among items and measures included in the state entry assessment. Follow-up structural modeling confirmed the measurement model and concurrently estimated the effects of entry skills on emergent literacy and math skills measured in the spring, while accounting for student-level demographic characteristics. Results indicated that the state’s entry assessment measured three distinct skillsets: self-regulation and social-interpersonal learning-related behaviors, and academic proficiency. Importantly, kindergarten entry skills explained a large proportion of variance in spring emergent literacy achievement, beyond that of learning-related behavioral skills and student demographic characteristics. In contrast, these entry skills explained far less variance in spring math achievement. These findings are interpreted in the context of existing theory and recent empirical research. Title: The Relation of Kindergarten Entry Skills to Early Literacy and Mathematics Achievement Author: Irvin, Phillip Year: 2015 Learning-related behavioral and academic skills upon kindergarten entry, sometimes referred to as kindergarten readiness, is a construct of growing importance in education, having implications for early learning and eventual achievement. Much of the research on entry skills has been limited to initial status only with inferences drawn about preparedness for school. In this study, I examine the relation among kindergarten entry skills in literacy and mathematics as well as outcomes measured at the end of the kindergarten school year. Two extant datasets were used—learning-related behavioral ratings and academic proficiency skills scores from a fall administration of a statewide kindergarten entry assessment and interim-formative assessment data collected for a subsample of students in the spring of the same academic year. The assessments were analyzed for their factor structures (using both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses) as well as a hypothesized structural model. Factor analyses tested and confirmed the underlying structure and relations among items and measures included in the state entry assessment. Follow-up structural modeling confirmed the measurement model and concurrently estimated the effects of entry skills on emergent literacy and math skills measured in the spring, while accounting for student-level demographic characteristics. Results indicated that the state’s entry assessment measured three distinct skillsets: self-regulation and social-interpersonal learning-related behaviors, and academic proficiency. Importantly, kindergarten entry skills explained a large proportion of variance in spring emergent literacy achievement, beyond that of learning-related behavioral skills and student demographic characteristics. In contrast, these entry skills explained far less variance in spring math achievement. These findings are interpreted in the context of existing theory and recent empirical research. Close

• 5. [Article] An Examination of the Oregon Kindergarten Assessment

  A surge of interest has emerged across the US in high-quality early childhood education programs that prepare children for success in school and later years. In particular, attention has been focused on ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: An Examination of the Oregon Kindergarten Assessment Author: Wilson, Allison Year: 2015 A surge of interest has emerged across the US in high-quality early childhood education programs that prepare children for success in school and later years. In particular, attention has been focused on the kindergarten year as having important consequences for a child’s acquisition of knowledge and skills that determine later school success. However, children begin kindergarten with a diverse array of skills and experiences, including many who have not been enrolled in any preschool programs outside the home environment. State kindergarten entry assessments can provide baseline information to help teachers target instruction and assist in meeting child learning benchmarks. In fall of 2013, school districts in Oregon began administering the Oregon Kindergarten Assessment (OKA) to all entering kindergarten students. Administered within the first six weeks of school, the OKA includes measures in early literacy, early math, and approaches to learning. This study explored student performance on the OKA as well as its utility as perceived by Oregon kindergarten teachers. Specifically, the following questions were asked: (1) Are there significant differences in children’s performance on the OKA based on demographic characteristics? (2) What is the performance of children previously receiving Early Childhood Special Education on the OKA? and (3) What is the utility of the OKA, as evaluated by kindergarten teachers? Data collected by the Oregon Department of Education were used, as well as data from kindergarten teacher interviews. Results of the study reinforce what is known about the opportunity gap among young children prior to entering kindergarten, as well as provide insight on how the intended purposes of the OKA are being met. Findings may assist administrators, teachers, parents, and policy makers in understanding current use of the OKA as well as assisting with future steps to modify curriculum, instructional methodology, teacher training, and transition practices. Title: An Examination of the Oregon Kindergarten Assessment Author: Wilson, Allison Year: 2015 A surge of interest has emerged across the US in high-quality early childhood education programs that prepare children for success in school and later years. In particular, attention has been focused on the kindergarten year as having important consequences for a child’s acquisition of knowledge and skills that determine later school success. However, children begin kindergarten with a diverse array of skills and experiences, including many who have not been enrolled in any preschool programs outside the home environment. State kindergarten entry assessments can provide baseline information to help teachers target instruction and assist in meeting child learning benchmarks. In fall of 2013, school districts in Oregon began administering the Oregon Kindergarten Assessment (OKA) to all entering kindergarten students. Administered within the first six weeks of school, the OKA includes measures in early literacy, early math, and approaches to learning. This study explored student performance on the OKA as well as its utility as perceived by Oregon kindergarten teachers. Specifically, the following questions were asked: (1) Are there significant differences in children’s performance on the OKA based on demographic characteristics? (2) What is the performance of children previously receiving Early Childhood Special Education on the OKA? and (3) What is the utility of the OKA, as evaluated by kindergarten teachers? Data collected by the Oregon Department of Education were used, as well as data from kindergarten teacher interviews. Results of the study reinforce what is known about the opportunity gap among young children prior to entering kindergarten, as well as provide insight on how the intended purposes of the OKA are being met. Findings may assist administrators, teachers, parents, and policy makers in understanding current use of the OKA as well as assisting with future steps to modify curriculum, instructional methodology, teacher training, and transition practices. Close

• 6. [Article] Local Growth and Land Use Intensification: A Sociological Study of Urbanization and Environmental Change

  This dissertation takes a sociological look at the relationship between urbanization and environmental change. While sociological studies on urbanization have long addressed the social dimensions of the ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Local Growth and Land Use Intensification: A Sociological Study of Urbanization and Environmental Change Author: Clement, Matthew Year: 2015 This dissertation takes a sociological look at the relationship between urbanization and environmental change. While sociological studies on urbanization have long addressed the social dimensions of the built environment, the natural environment has not been treated as a primary concept in urban sociology. Based on an analysis of local land use change across the United States at the beginning of the 21st century, this dissertation brings the built and natural environments together, recognizing both as important dimensions of urbanization. The expansion of the built environment, through deforestation and the covering up of fertile agricultural land, represents a modern form of land use change with direct and indirect impacts on the natural environment, the most severe effects of which are seen in biodiversity loss, disruption of the nitrogen cycle, and climate change. Drawing on literatures and theories in environmental, rural, and urban sociology as well as demography and human ecology, the bulk of the dissertation involves empirical analyses of overall changes in forest cover as well as the loss of forest cover and agricultural land to the built environment (i.e., the impervious structures and surfaces that cover the land), a process I refer to as land use intensification. My dissertation project uses quantitative methods to examine the demographic, economic, and social forces behind this process in contemporary America. Hypotheses are derived from the various literatures mentioned above; to test these hypotheses, I integrate county-level data from US governmental sources with satellite imagery on land cover change from the National Land Cover Database (NLCD). For the years 2001-2006, I use the NLCD data to quantify three dependent variables at the county-level: overall change in the area of forest cover as well as the area of forest cover and agricultural land lost to the built environment. Results from regression analyses demonstrate that urbanization is a multidimensional process that differentially transforms the American landscape. With a focus on land use intensification, this study advances a sociological framework to address connections between urbanization and changes in both the built and natural environments. Title: Local Growth and Land Use Intensification: A Sociological Study of Urbanization and Environmental Change Author: Clement, Matthew Year: 2015 This dissertation takes a sociological look at the relationship between urbanization and environmental change. While sociological studies on urbanization have long addressed the social dimensions of the built environment, the natural environment has not been treated as a primary concept in urban sociology. Based on an analysis of local land use change across the United States at the beginning of the 21st century, this dissertation brings the built and natural environments together, recognizing both as important dimensions of urbanization. The expansion of the built environment, through deforestation and the covering up of fertile agricultural land, represents a modern form of land use change with direct and indirect impacts on the natural environment, the most severe effects of which are seen in biodiversity loss, disruption of the nitrogen cycle, and climate change. Drawing on literatures and theories in environmental, rural, and urban sociology as well as demography and human ecology, the bulk of the dissertation involves empirical analyses of overall changes in forest cover as well as the loss of forest cover and agricultural land to the built environment (i.e., the impervious structures and surfaces that cover the land), a process I refer to as land use intensification. My dissertation project uses quantitative methods to examine the demographic, economic, and social forces behind this process in contemporary America. Hypotheses are derived from the various literatures mentioned above; to test these hypotheses, I integrate county-level data from US governmental sources with satellite imagery on land cover change from the National Land Cover Database (NLCD). For the years 2001-2006, I use the NLCD data to quantify three dependent variables at the county-level: overall change in the area of forest cover as well as the area of forest cover and agricultural land lost to the built environment. Results from regression analyses demonstrate that urbanization is a multidimensional process that differentially transforms the American landscape. With a focus on land use intensification, this study advances a sociological framework to address connections between urbanization and changes in both the built and natural environments. Close

• 7. [Article] Social Disposition and Anthropomorphism of Smartphones

  Smartphones are the most personalized and in the meantime the most anthropomorphized computing and communication technology in our society. Existing studies, especially Computers as Social Actors studies, ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Social Disposition and Anthropomorphism of Smartphones Author: Wang, Wenhuan Year: 2015 Smartphones are the most personalized and in the meantime the most anthropomorphized computing and communication technology in our society. Existing studies, especially Computers as Social Actors studies, on anthropomorphism and social interactions focus on how to implement and elicit positive anthropomorphic effects but fail to address the motivations and dispositional factors. Through an online survey that incorporates well-tested social psychological scales, this study provides empirical evidences that smartphone users’ social dispositions including chronic loneliness, attachment style, and cultural orientations are associated with their acceptance and awareness of anthropomorphism. Findings in this study suggest that existing studies are limited to method of choice and overlooked how people adapt to communication technologies differently in real life settings. Anthropomorphic design in communication technology and anthropomorphized message in advertising strategies need further examination when targeting a diversified or specified demographic. Title: Social Disposition and Anthropomorphism of Smartphones Author: Wang, Wenhuan Year: 2015 Smartphones are the most personalized and in the meantime the most anthropomorphized computing and communication technology in our society. Existing studies, especially Computers as Social Actors studies, on anthropomorphism and social interactions focus on how to implement and elicit positive anthropomorphic effects but fail to address the motivations and dispositional factors. Through an online survey that incorporates well-tested social psychological scales, this study provides empirical evidences that smartphone users’ social dispositions including chronic loneliness, attachment style, and cultural orientations are associated with their acceptance and awareness of anthropomorphism. Findings in this study suggest that existing studies are limited to method of choice and overlooked how people adapt to communication technologies differently in real life settings. Anthropomorphic design in communication technology and anthropomorphized message in advertising strategies need further examination when targeting a diversified or specified demographic. Close

• 8. [Article] Assembly of microbial communities associated with the developing zebrafish intestine

  The communities of microorganisms associated with humans and other animals are characterized by a large degree of diversity and unexplained variation across individual hosts. While efforts to explain this ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Assembly of microbial communities associated with the developing zebrafish intestine Author: Burns, Adam Year: 2016 The communities of microorganisms associated with humans and other animals are characterized by a large degree of diversity and unexplained variation across individual hosts. While efforts to explain this variation in host-associated systems have focused heavily on the effects of host selection, community assembly theory emphasizes the role of dispersal and stochastic demographic processes, otherwise known as ecological drift. In this dissertation, I characterize the communities of microorganisms associated with the zebrafish, Danio rerio, intestine, and assess the importance of microbial dispersal and drift to their assembly. First, I describe changes in the composition and diversity of the zebrafish intestinal microbiome over zebrafish development and show that while host development is a major driver of community composition over time, there remains a large amount of unexplained variation among similar hosts of the same age. I go on to show that random dispersal and ecological drift alone in the absence of host selection are sufficient to explain a substantial amount of this variation, but the ability of these processes to predict the distribution of microorganisms across hosts decreases over host development. Finally, I present an experimental test of dispersal in host-associated systems, and show that not only does dispersal among individual zebrafish hosts have a large impact on the composition and diversity of associated microbial communities, but it can also overwhelm the effects of important host factors, such as the innate immune system. As a whole, this work demonstrates that the composition and diversity of microbial communities associated with animal hosts are not solely the result of selection by the host environment, but rather dispersal and stochastic processes have important and often overwhelming effects on their assembly. To fully understand the assembly of host-microbe systems, we must broaden our focus to include scales beyond that of an individual host and their associated microorganisms. Title: Assembly of microbial communities associated with the developing zebrafish intestine Author: Burns, Adam Year: 2016 The communities of microorganisms associated with humans and other animals are characterized by a large degree of diversity and unexplained variation across individual hosts. While efforts to explain this variation in host-associated systems have focused heavily on the effects of host selection, community assembly theory emphasizes the role of dispersal and stochastic demographic processes, otherwise known as ecological drift. In this dissertation, I characterize the communities of microorganisms associated with the zebrafish, Danio rerio, intestine, and assess the importance of microbial dispersal and drift to their assembly. First, I describe changes in the composition and diversity of the zebrafish intestinal microbiome over zebrafish development and show that while host development is a major driver of community composition over time, there remains a large amount of unexplained variation among similar hosts of the same age. I go on to show that random dispersal and ecological drift alone in the absence of host selection are sufficient to explain a substantial amount of this variation, but the ability of these processes to predict the distribution of microorganisms across hosts decreases over host development. Finally, I present an experimental test of dispersal in host-associated systems, and show that not only does dispersal among individual zebrafish hosts have a large impact on the composition and diversity of associated microbial communities, but it can also overwhelm the effects of important host factors, such as the innate immune system. As a whole, this work demonstrates that the composition and diversity of microbial communities associated with animal hosts are not solely the result of selection by the host environment, but rather dispersal and stochastic processes have important and often overwhelming effects on their assembly. To fully understand the assembly of host-microbe systems, we must broaden our focus to include scales beyond that of an individual host and their associated microorganisms. Close

• 9. [Article] The Performance of Four Native Perennial Forb Species Along a Climate Gradient in Pacific Northwest Prairies

  To determine how Pacific Northwest prairies are influenced by local site factors versus. regional climate, we studied the reproduction, plant size, and density of sixteen natural populations of four perennial ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: The Performance of Four Native Perennial Forb Species Along a Climate Gradient in Pacific Northwest Prairies Author: Hendricks, Lauren Year: 2016 To determine how Pacific Northwest prairies are influenced by local site factors versus. regional climate, we studied the reproduction, plant size, and density of sixteen natural populations of four perennial forb species native to Pacific Northwest prairies: Ranunculus austro-oreganus, Sidalcea malviflora spp. virgata, Microseris laciniata, and Eriophyllum lanatum. These populations were distributed along a 700 kilometer latitudinal gradient from southern Oregon to Whidbey Island, Washington. We found significant differences in plant size and reproduction among populations for all species, but correlations among edaphic and climate variables and plant size and reproduction were weak. Instead, density was more strongly correlated with both edaphic and climate variables, suggesting that this is a better indicator of long-term demographic processes. Although a few factors are important across species (e.g., nutrient availability and minimum temperature), response is idiosyncratic at the individual species level in Pacific Northwest prairies. Title: The Performance of Four Native Perennial Forb Species Along a Climate Gradient in Pacific Northwest Prairies Author: Hendricks, Lauren Year: 2016 To determine how Pacific Northwest prairies are influenced by local site factors versus. regional climate, we studied the reproduction, plant size, and density of sixteen natural populations of four perennial forb species native to Pacific Northwest prairies: Ranunculus austro-oreganus, Sidalcea malviflora spp. virgata, Microseris laciniata, and Eriophyllum lanatum. These populations were distributed along a 700 kilometer latitudinal gradient from southern Oregon to Whidbey Island, Washington. We found significant differences in plant size and reproduction among populations for all species, but correlations among edaphic and climate variables and plant size and reproduction were weak. Instead, density was more strongly correlated with both edaphic and climate variables, suggesting that this is a better indicator of long-term demographic processes. Although a few factors are important across species (e.g., nutrient availability and minimum temperature), response is idiosyncratic at the individual species level in Pacific Northwest prairies. Close

• 10. [Article] Language Learning Perspectives and Experiences of Stakeholders in the Community of Flowers Bay, Roatan, Honduras

  When searching for pluralistic models of bilingual education, looking globally for examples is beneficial. The overarching global perspective toward bilingual and multilingual education supports literacy ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Language Learning Perspectives and Experiences of Stakeholders in the Community of Flowers Bay, Roatan, Honduras Author: McNelly, Carla Year: 2014 When searching for pluralistic models of bilingual education, looking globally for examples is beneficial. The overarching global perspective toward bilingual and multilingual education supports literacy in the student's first, second, and including the possibility of a third or more languages to attain socio-political pluralism. This dissertation project will specifically examine the voices of stakeholders in the local community of Flowers Bay, Roatan, Honduras where the mission of bilingual education is a pluralistic society. The goal of the research study is to examine the perspectives and experiences around language learning within the lens of language as a problem, a right, and a resource of stakeholders in their local community. Chapter I of this dissertation includes the problem statement of the research project, a historical and contextual explanation of the land, people, and social movement toward multilingual education on the Bay Islands of Honduras. Chapter II is a review of the literature surrounding the two frameworks in the research project. The first framework I utilize is the public sphere to describe who is or is not included in the conversations of multilingual education within the community of Flowers Bay, Roatan, Honduras. The second framework I utilize is language as a problem, a right, and a resource to describe and analyze the data collected from national policies, field observations, and stakeholders. Chapter III is an in-depth description of the research design, the demographics of the stakeholders in Flowers Bay, the method data collected and analysis of the data. Chapter IV features the findings from the data analysis using the two frameworks outlined in Chapter II. Chapter V offers a discussion of the frameworks and further research projects inspired by this dissertation project. Three themes emerged from framework of language as a right and resource of stakeholder voices from Flowers Bay, Roatan, Honduras: access, economy, and identity. Two themes emerged from the stakeholder voices not represented in the frameworks: resources needed and parent engagement. Title: Language Learning Perspectives and Experiences of Stakeholders in the Community of Flowers Bay, Roatan, Honduras Author: McNelly, Carla Year: 2014 When searching for pluralistic models of bilingual education, looking globally for examples is beneficial. The overarching global perspective toward bilingual and multilingual education supports literacy in the student's first, second, and including the possibility of a third or more languages to attain socio-political pluralism. This dissertation project will specifically examine the voices of stakeholders in the local community of Flowers Bay, Roatan, Honduras where the mission of bilingual education is a pluralistic society. The goal of the research study is to examine the perspectives and experiences around language learning within the lens of language as a problem, a right, and a resource of stakeholders in their local community. Chapter I of this dissertation includes the problem statement of the research project, a historical and contextual explanation of the land, people, and social movement toward multilingual education on the Bay Islands of Honduras. Chapter II is a review of the literature surrounding the two frameworks in the research project. The first framework I utilize is the public sphere to describe who is or is not included in the conversations of multilingual education within the community of Flowers Bay, Roatan, Honduras. The second framework I utilize is language as a problem, a right, and a resource to describe and analyze the data collected from national policies, field observations, and stakeholders. Chapter III is an in-depth description of the research design, the demographics of the stakeholders in Flowers Bay, the method data collected and analysis of the data. Chapter IV features the findings from the data analysis using the two frameworks outlined in Chapter II. Chapter V offers a discussion of the frameworks and further research projects inspired by this dissertation project. Three themes emerged from framework of language as a right and resource of stakeholder voices from Flowers Bay, Roatan, Honduras: access, economy, and identity. Two themes emerged from the stakeholder voices not represented in the frameworks: resources needed and parent engagement. Close