Dialogic literary argumentation and close reading: effects on high school students' literature-related argumentative writing and motivational beliefs.

Given evidence that adolescent students' motivation to read and write about literature declines with age, we proffer an approach called dialogic literary argumentation (DLA) that asks students to explore literature through argumentation in pursuit of understanding the meanings and possibilities of being human. This quasi-experimental study compared the effectiveness of DLA with close reading (CR), a common approach to teaching literature in high school English language arts classrooms, in improving students' motivational beliefs about writing and literature-related argumentative writing. The study also examined how the links between motivational beliefs and argumentative writing performance varied by instructional contexts.

Reference state and benchmark concepts for better biodiversity conservation in contemporary ecosystems.

Measuring the status and trends of biodiversity is critical for making informed decisions about the conservation, management or restoration of species, habitats and ecosystems. Defining the reference state against which status and change are measured is essential. Typically, reference states describe historical conditions, yet historical conditions are challenging to quantify, may be difficult to falsify, and may no longer be an attainable target in a contemporary ecosystem.

Computationally efficient joint species distribution modeling of big spatial data.

The ongoing global change and the increased interest in macroecological processes call for the analysis of spatially extensive data on species communities to understand and forecast distributional changes of biodiversity. Recently developed joint species distribution models can deal with numerous species efficiently, while explicitly accounting for spatial structure in the data. However, their applicability is generally limited to relatively small spatial data sets because of their severe computational scaling as the number of spatial locations increases.

Identifying wildlife corridors for the restoration of regional habitat connectivity: A multispecies approach and comparison of resistance surfaces.

Many large-scale connectivity initiatives have been proposed around the world with the aim of maintaining or restoring connectivity to offset the impacts on biodiversity of habitat loss and fragmentation. Frequently, these are based on the requirements of a single focal species of concern, but there is growing attention to identifying connectivity requirements for multi-species assemblages. A number of methods for modelling connectivity have been developed; likewise, different approaches have been used to construct resistance surfaces, the basic input data for connectivity analyses.

On the selection of thresholds for predicting species occurrence with presence-only data.

Presence-only data present challenges for selecting thresholds to transform species distribution modeling results into binary outputs. In this article, we compare two recently published threshold selection methods (maxSSS and maxF pb) and examine the effectiveness of the threshold-based prevalence estimation approach. Six virtual species with varying prevalence were simulated within a real landscape in southeastern Australia.

Species- and sex-specific connectivity effects of habitat fragmentation in a suite of woodland birds.

Loss of functional connectivity following habitat loss and fragmentation could drive species declines. A comprehensive understanding of fragmentation effects on functional connectivity of an ecological assemblage requires investigation of multiple species with different mobilities, at different spatial scales, for each sex, and in different landscapes. Based on published data on mobility and ecological responses to fragmentation of 10 woodland-dependent birds, and using simulation studies, we predicted that (1) fragmentation would impede dispersal and gene flow of eight "decliners" (species that disappear from suitable patches when landscape-level tree cover falls below species-specific thresholds), but not of two "tolerant" species (whose occurrence in suitable habitat patches is independent of landscape tree cover); and that fragmentation effects would be stronger (2) in the least mobile species, (3) in the more philopatric sex, and (4) in the more fragmented region.

Can a computer-generated voice be sincere? A case study combining music and synthetic speech.

This article explores enhancing sincerity, honesty, or truthfulness in computer-generated synthetic speech by accompanying it with music. Sincerity is important if we are to respond positively to any voice, whether human or artificial. What is sincerity in the artificial disembodied voice? Studies in musical expression and performance may illuminate aspects of the 'musically spoken' or sung voice in rendering deeper levels of expression that may include sincerity.

Predicting landscape-genetic consequences of habitat loss, fragmentation and mobility for multiple species of woodland birds.

Inference concerning the impact of habitat fragmentation on dispersal and gene flow is a key theme in landscape genetics. Recently, the ability of established approaches to identify reliably the differential effects of landscape structure (e.g.

Raising the bar for systematic conservation planning.

Systematic conservation planning (SCP) represents a significant step toward cost-effective, transparent allocation of resources for biodiversity conservation. However, research demonstrates important consequences of uncertainties in SCP and of basing methods on simplified circumstances involving few real-world complexities. Current research often relies on single case studies with unknown forms and amounts of uncertainty as well as low statistical power for generalizing results.

Earth moving machine whole-body vibration and the contribution of Sub-1Hz components to ISO 2631-1 metrics.

Exposure to whole-body vibration (WBV) is an occupational hazard for operators of industrial vehicles, such as earth-moving machines. Quantification of WBV exposure in terms of impact on health forms one aspect of the Standard ISO 2631-1 (1997). Regarding assessment of risk to health, ISO 2631-1 (1997) states that if WBV components below 1 Hz are not ;relevant nor important' then they can be excluded from the assessment.

Facing up to binge drinking: reducing binge drinking in adolescent males.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of an orofacial trauma-based brief intervention, designed to raise adolescent males' awareness about the immediate dangers of binge drinking.

Design: Non-randomised controlled exploratory trial.

Setting: Secondary level schools.

Listening to music: the case for its use in teaching medical humanism.

Listening to music has rarely been used by educators as a tool to teach humanism to medical students and residents. The authors present the argument that music embodies the characteristics of medical humanism (i.e.

An educational model to introduce staff nurses to continuous quality improvement/total quality management concepts.

A new healthcare reforms are implemented and as the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organization standards are revised, the demand for continuous quality improvement/total quality management in acute care settings continues to rise. In this article, the authors describe the process used to introduce nursing staff to continuous quality improvement/total quality management. A curriculum committee of staff nurses, nurse educators, and clinical specialists used the continuous quality improvement process to develop a 1-day program that included didactic and experiential activities geared toward assisting the staff nurse to participate actively in total quality management initiatives.

A light microscopic study of oogenesis in the brushtail possum Trichosurus vulpecula.

Ovaries from young of the brushtail possum, Trichosurus vulpecula, were examined histologically and histochemically to determine stages of oogenesis. Groups of dividing oogonia were first present in a 13-day-old pouch young, with extensive oogonial proliferation after about 23 days of age. Meiosis was initiated in some oogonia by 48 days of age, and by 88 days numerous early primordial follicles were present.

The influence of flavor and color on drink identification by children and adults.

This study investigated how color and flavor influences drink identification by children and adults. The children ranged in age from 2 to 18 years of age. Each subject tasted four drinks that differed in color and flavor.

Association between malignancies of the upper aerodigestive tract and uterine cervix.

Cancers of the cervix and buccal cavity share histologic, epidemiologic, and exposure characteristics. In particular, cigarette smoking and human papillomavirus (HPV) have been cited as etiologic cofactors of both malignancies. Using incidence data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program of the National Cancer Institute for the years 1973 through 1984, we evaluated the incidence of second cancers of the buccal cavity following an initial cervical cancer.

Cancer control and the older person. Prevention and detection in older persons.

Older persons are appropriate targets for a range of prevention and early detection interventions, however, greater emphasis should be given to structuring the delivery of prevention and detection services to the special needs of this population. This may require research and program development to reach older persons in the most effective and cost-effective manner. The American Cancer Society and other program efforts must accommodate the heterogeneity and special needs of segments of the older population.

Familial patterns of prostate cancer: a case-control analysis.

Epidemiological data have not yet enabled physicians to look beyond age and race to identify men at increased risk for prostate cancer. We conducted a hospital-based case-control study of familial patterns of prostate cancer with self-reported data from a risk-factor questionnaire. There were 385 patients with histologically confirmed prostate cancer, and 385 race and age-matched (+/- 5 years) controls with other cancers.

Risk profiles of women with cervical neoplasia.

Risk-factor profiles were compared in M.D. Anderson Cancer Center patients with various uterine cervix histologic diagnoses.

History of cigarette smoking and risk of leukemia and myeloma: results from the Adventist health study.

The risks of leukemia and myeloma associated with cigarette smoking were evaluated in a cohort study of 34,000 Seventh-day Adventists. Although Seventh-day Adventists do not smoke by church proscription, many are adult converts who smoked cigarettes prior to their baptism into the church. In comparison with those who never smoked, ex-smokers experience a relative risk of 2.

Salivary gland cancer. A case-control investigation of risk factors.

Unlike most upper aerodigestive tract cancers, salivary gland cancers are relatively infrequent, are characterized by a diversity of histologic subtypes, and have never been etiologically associated with tobacco exposure. We present the results of a case-control study of risk factors for these cancers, with risk estimates derived from self-administered comprehensive risk-factor questionnaires distributed to patients at The University of Texas M. D.