Sherry L. McConnell

Do No Harm—A Comparison of the Effects of On-Line Vs. Traditional Delivery Media on a Science Course

This paper presents the results of a study designed to examine the effects of distance delivery on student performance and classroom interactions in an upper level science (Histology) course. Outcomes were assessed by comparing performance on content pre- and posttests for students enrolled in on-campus and on-line sections of the same course. Interactions were classified according to initiator, topic, and Blooms taxonomy level for content interactions. The resulting patterns were analyzed to compare behaviors in different settings. It was found that although the groups were indistinguishable in content knowledge at the outset of the study, by the end of the semester, students in the on-line group significantly out-performed their peers in the on-campus section. The on-line settings had a greater proportion of high-level interactions (according to Blooms taxonomy) than the on-campus setting.

Crosstrails A Unique Foster Program to Provide Safety for Pets of Women in Safehouses

Domestic violence does not happen in isolation from other forms of violence, and there is a growing recognition that domestic violence, child abuse, and animal abuse often occur in the same households. Recent studies have found that many women seeking shelter in safehouses report that their abuser had threatened to harm or had harmed/killed their pet and that concern about their pets’ safety caused them to delay leaving an abusive situation. Few safehouses in the United States, however, have established programs to provide temporary shelter for women’s companion animals. The following activist/advocate note outlines the development of one animal foster program at a women’s safehouse in Colorado.Domestic violence does not happen in isolation from other forms of violence, and there is a growing recognition that domestic violence, child abuse, and animal abuse often occur in the same households. Recent studies have found that many women seeking shelter in safehouses report that their abuser had threatened to harm or had harmed/killed their pet and that concern about their pets’ safety caused them to delay leaving an abusive situation. Few safehouses in the United States, however, have established programs to provide temporary shelter for women’s companion animals. The following activist/advocate note outlines the development of one animal foster program at a women’s safehouse in Colorado.