Impaired function in care-recipients predicts caregiver burden, and also interacts with demographical- and caregiving-related factors. Thus, it will be beneficial to both care-recipients and caregivers to target nursing interventions and community services to improve the functional abilities of individuals with dementia.

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This study examined the relationship of self-concept, school belonging, school engagement to school performance of Caucasian-and African-American students. The main purpose is to assess the ethnicity-based differences in these psycho-social constructs and to explore their differential relationship to school achievement in high-school students from different ethnic background. The data were collected through a survey questionnaire in three school divisions in the Southwest region of Virginia of the United States. The results showed significant ethnicity-based difference in self-concept and in school engagement, but no significant difference in school belonging. The achievement differences were also significant, Caucasian students being higher on self-reported grades. In the regression model, self-concept was not a significant predictor of school outcomes, while school belonging had a significant relationship to school achievement for African-American students. Both self-concept and school engagement were significant for Caucasian students. The findings of the study provide better understanding of the relationship of these variables to school achievement and point to some policy-relevant implications.

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The study explored the effects of computer use on the mathematical performance of students with special attention to ELL students. To achieve a high generalizability of findings, the study used a U.S. nationally representative database, the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K), and adopted proper weights. The study conducted both crosssectional and longitudinal analyses to examine the direct and longitudinal effects of three types of computer use: home computer access, computer use for various purposes, and computer use for math. The study found positive effects of home computer access and computer use for various purposes for English-speaking groups. It is important to note that computer use for math was associated with a reduced gap in math achievement between native English-speaking and ELL students. In particular, when Hispanic and Asian students frequently used computers for math, they showed high math performances when compared with their English-speaking counterparts.