Evaluation by Foster Parents of Services Received from The Children’s Aid Society of Metropolitan Toronto

The problem area is evaluation of service by foster parents. My concern with this problem stems first from a general concern for what recipients of service value or devalue in that service. There is sparse available data in this area. John E. Mayer and Noel Timms state that “For many years caseworkers have experimented with different ways of helping people. Curiously, the resultant innovations have stemmed not from the client’s perception of what is helpful, but from the practitioner’s. Moreover, with few exceptions, the effectiveness of help has been judged by the persons offering, not receiving, help. In a word the client has rarely been asked what kind of help he wants or what he thinks of the help that has been given.” (Mayer, p. 32). Secondly, my concern stems from the fact that of many foster homes recruited and licensed, many are soon lost without clear reason from the agency’s point of view. It is hoped that if foster parents are encouraged to evaluate the service they expect or receive, new ideas for service and/or its differential use in foster homes might result in better maintenance of foster care for all concerned

Draft Genome Sequence of Botrytis cinerea BcDW1, Inoculum for Noble Rot of Grape Berries.

Botrytized wines are produced from grape berries infected by Botrytis cinerea under specific environmental conditions. Here, we report the draft genome sequence of B. cinerea BcDW1, a strain isolated from Sémillon grapes in Napa Valley in 1992 that is used with the intent to induce noble rot for botrytized wine production

Prejudice and Racism: Challenges and Progress in Measurement

The intent of this chapter is to review three categories of prejudice measures that practitioners and researchers can use in practice or research. Given that a recent comprehensive review of self-report racial prejudice measures was completed by Biernat and Crandall (1999), this chapter focuses on new developments in self-report measures of racial and anti-gay prejudice. Anti -gay prejudice is an important clinical and research area, and to date, only a few critical reviews of instruments measuring negative attitudes toward gay men and lesbian women have appeared in the literature (Herek, 1994; O\u27Donohue & Caselles, 1993; Schwanberg, 1993). Emerging prejudice measurement issues are the final focus, specifically addressing theoretical developments and the implications for prejudice measurement. Concluding comments address future needs in prejudice measurement and the application to counseling practice and research

Crossing the school house gates : a media access audit of public high schools

The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file.Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on October 14, 2009).Thesis advisor: Dr. Charles Davis.M.A. University of Missouri--Columbia 2009.This research tested the media access policy adopted by a large independent public school district in Oklahoma to determine if its high schools comport with district rules as applicable to self-governance theory. The researcher visited nine high schools in a large Oklahoma public school district and observed administrators' willingness to comply with their own Board of Education policy on media access. The researcher examined the levels of access granted reporters, if story the topic was a deciding factor in granting access, and the timeliness in which the administration responded. Seven of nine schools followed the policy, though not always in a timely manner. One school denied a request for access based on the story topic, while another sent the reporter off campus based upon her profession. Other administrators were unperturbed by a media presence in their schools, allowing the researcher to freely roam the school. During debriefing, many administrators reported that relationships between journalists and schools had more bearing on campus admission than strict interpretation of board policy.Includes bibliographical references

Six New Galactic Orbits of Globular Clusters in a Milky-Way-Like Galaxy

Absolute proper motions for six new globular clusters have recently been determined. This motivated us to obtain the Galactic orbits of these six clusters both in an axisymmetric Galactic potential and in a barred potential, such as the one of our Galaxy. Orbits are also obtained for a Galactic potential that includes spiral arms. The orbital characteristics are compared and discussed for these three cases. Tidal radii and destruction rates are also computed and discussed.Comment: 29 pages, 11 figures. Accepted for publication in Ap

Journal Writing: Exercises In Creative Thought and Expression

Claims that today’s college students are less able writers than their predecessors in some “Golden Age” of university instruction are legion in the discourses of college educators. Asking students to keep a journal using one or a combination of the journal writing techniques suggested here is one method that can be used to enhance communication skills, logical analysis, and creative expression. Journal assignments may be designed so that their positive effects can be seen in improved analysis of problems and writing on essay exams, term papers, and case analyses. Perhaps the most important change that journals can facilitate, however, is an improved attitude toward writing itself. In this paper we will focus on three uses of journal writing: to encourage creative expression, to strengthen logical thinking, and to help students improve specific writing skills. Numerous journal techniques are provided to accomplish these three purposes. Finally, we will discuss the process of making and evaluating these assignments

Determining the effects of cattle grazing treatments on Yosemite toads (Anaxyrus [=Bufo] canorus) in montane meadows.

Amphibians are experiencing a precipitous global decline, and population stability on public lands with multiple uses is a key concern for managers. In the Sierra Nevada Mountains (California, USA), managers have specifically identified livestock grazing as an activity that may negatively affect Yosemite toads due to the potential overlap of grazing with toad habitat. Grazing exclusion from Yosemite toad breeding and rearing areas and/or entire meadows have been proposed as possible management actions to alleviate the possible impact of cattle on this species. The primary objective of this study was to determine if different fencing treatments affect Yosemite toad populations. We specifically examined the effect of three fencing treatments on Yosemite toad breeding pool occupancy, tadpoles, and young of the year (YOY). Our hypothesis was that over the course of treatment implementation (2006 through 2010), Yosemite toad breeding pool occupancy and early life stage densities would increase within two fencing treatments relative to actively grazed meadows due to beneficial changes to habitat quality in the absence of grazing. Our results did not support our hypothesis, and showed no benefit to Yosemite toad presence or early life stages in fenced or partially fenced meadows compared to standard USDA Forest Service grazing levels. We found substantial Yosemite toad variation by both meadow and year. This variation was influenced by meadow wetness, with water table depth significant in both the tadpole and YOY models