Skills for Independence for Children with Cerebral Palsy: a comparative longitudinal study

Thirty‐six children with cerebral palsy, aged 3.5 to 4.5 years were compared on their skills for independence. Of the 36 boys and girls, 19 children were enrolled in a Conductive Education Program in Birmingham and 17 were enrolled in British special education programs in the Greater Manchester area. Skills for independence were measured with the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales via teachers’ responses, once a year on three occasions. Parents were interviewed using the Developmental Profile 2, once a year on three occasions. The results of two‐way ANOVA with one repeated measure on both teachers’ and parents’ responses indicate that there was no significant difference between the two groups in their skills for independence. However, both groups performed significantly better as they were getting older. Despite the strong emphasis on independence in Conductive Education, the children's level of independence was no different from their counterparts. Thus, the claim for the effectiveness of Conductive Education is not supported by the study.     

Communication channels within ethnic groups

Major channels of communication are examined for two major functions: providing news of the ethnic community, and linking ethnics to the “mother country.” The four major channels are: interpersonal channels (friends and neighbors), radio, local metropolitan daily newspapers, and ethnic-language newspapers. Size of ethnic group is linked to channel preference, and greater ethnicity is related to a preference for ethnic media for both functions. Lower SES ethnics lend to rely more on interpersonal communication and ethnic media, while higher SES ethnics turn more to metro media and magazines. Channel preference as indicated by respondents is also linked to actual usage patterns.     

Stability studies of common biochemical analytes in serum separator tubes with or without gel barrier subjected to various storage conditions

Introduction

The collected and shipped blood samples are exposed to a various extra-analytical factors prior to analysis. The aim of the study was to determine the stability of analytes in serum gel tubes and plain tubes exposed to a range of storage temperatures and times after centrifugation.

Materials and methods:

Fifteen healthy volunteers were recruited and venous blood was collected into four tubes, two with and two without gel separator. Analyzing the baseline samples in 30 min, all were stored at 4ºC or 24ºC for 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, 48 and 72 hours and 1 week. Sixteen biochemical anaytes were measured on each sample. Variations remained under the desirable bias considered as clinically insignificant.

Results:

On day three, most analytes remained stable including albumin, protein, creatinine, cholesterol, triglycerides, gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), creatine kinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase (LD) regardless of tube types. Glucose concentration decreased markedly (P = 0.001) beginning from the first hours of storage in plain serum. The stability maximized for the analytes including glucose, total bilirubin, urea nitrogen (BUN), uric acid stored at 4 ºC in gel tubes. Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activity increased significantly (P = 0.002) up to 48-h, however bias was not significant clinically. High density lipoprotein (HDL) concentration was stable in gel tubes at 24 ºC, in plain tubes at 4 ºC stored up to 36-h.

Conclusion:

Serum gel or non-gel tubes might be used interchangeably for 11 analytes chilled or at 24 ºC, whereas some restrictions must be applied for glucose, AST, BUN, HDL, and uric acid.     

The instructional design portfolio:

Conclusion In order to make PIHnet forum more usable and useful, we recently redesigned the forum tool based on findings from a survey, interviews and observations of user posting patterns. We also developed a journal tool to assist teachers with their personal reflection. Interviews with four users showed that the new forum was easy to use and effectively helped them communicate with other members. We are still developing the journal tool, so user experiences with the new journal tool have not been investigated yet. We will continue to improve the tools based on critical feedback from actual users.     

Making Learning Active with Interactive Whiteboards,Podcasts, and Digital Storytelling in ELL Classrooms

The purpose of this study was to examine effective ways to integrate an interactive whiteboard, podcast, and digital storytelling for language proficiency development in English language learners. Researchers integrated these three technologies into a 60-hour intensive summer English program and investigated their impacts on student vocabulary skill development. Researchers collected multiple data including daily video podcasts, vocabulary tests, a student survey, Photostory videos, and a teacher interview. The results showed that using an interactive whiteboard for (a) visual presentations, (b) interactive games, and (c) test reviews was useful for the English language learners to learn new vocabulary and engage in learning. The effects of a digital storytelling project and the video podcasts are also discussed.     

Preschool Teachers’ Professional Background,Process Quality,and Job Attitudes: A Person-Centered Approach

Research Findings: This exploratory study identified preschool teacher quality profiles in early childhood education settings using 9 indicators across teachers’ professional background, observed process quality, and job attitudes toward teaching (e.g., job-related stress, satisfaction, and intention to leave the job). The sample consisted of 96 teachers from 48 child care programs in a midwestern U.S. state. A latent profile analysis revealed 3 profiles: (a) less experienced, lower quality, and more positive attitudes; (b) less experienced, average quality, and less positive attitudes; and (c) more experienced, better quality, and mixed attitudes. Multiple program- and teacher-level covariates were incorporated into the latent profile model to examine the associations between program and teacher characteristics and profile membership. Practice or Policy: Results of this study provide important information for use in early child care interventions and suggest a new approach toward more integrated professional development programs that cover both teachers’ practices and job attitudes. This study also suggests the need for new coaching systems that can be individualized based on each teacher’s strengths and challenges.     

Child sexual abuse: A study of prevalence in Great Britain

Of 2019 men and women (aged 15 years and over) interviewed as part of a MORI Survey of a nationally representative sample of Great Britain, 10% reported that they had been sexually abused before the age of 16 (12% of females; 8% of males). There was no increased risk associated with specific social class categories or area of residence. For all types of sexual abuse, the mean age of victims when first abused was significantly lower for females. Subjective reports of the effects of sexual abuse indicated that the majority (51%) felt harmed by the experience, while only 4% reported that it had improved the quality of their life. We estimate that there are over 4.5 million adults in Great Britain who were sexually abused as children, and that a potential 1,117,000 children will be sexually abused before they are 15 years of age. At least 143,000 of these will be abused within the family. The social and mental health implications are enormous, and the authors suggest that an effective intervention and prevention policy is urgently required.     

8毫米便携式微波辐射-散射计的控制、数据采集和处理系统

In this paper we describe a system used to control,collect and process data in 8mm portable microwave radiometer-scatterometer,We focus on hardware and software design of the system based on a PIC16F874 chip.The system has been successfully used in an 8mm portable microwave radiometer-scatterometer,compared with other similar systems,the system modularization miniatureization and intelligentization are improved so as to meet portable instrument requirements.     

Finding autonomy in activity: Development and validation of a democratic classroom survey

This paper developed a Democratic Classroom Survey to measure students’ perceived democratic environment of the classroom. Perceived democratic environment is one of the most important variables for understanding classroom activity and indeed any type of group activity, but actually measuring perceptions in an objective manner has been problematic. We developed the survey items from both a strong theoretical and a practical perspective, with the contention that Pleasing Authority/External Motivation, Performance Orientation, Cooperation/Collaboration, Integrated Activity, and Goals before Trust/Inter-subjective would be important factors for measuring individual students’ perceptions of the classroom along an authoritarian/democratic continuum. Factor analyses (Exploratory followed by Confirmatory analyses) confirmed the structure of the hypothesized subscales, and the good model fit indicated that the survey is valid. Also, correlation analyses with Classroom Community Scale showed good construct validity. Finally, reliability tests for each subscale and split-half reliability tests showed that the survey is a reliable tool to use in college classrooms. Implications and future directions are discussed.     

Students Connecting with the Elderly: Validation as a Tool

In this article we respond to the call to action that is the crisis among seniors called The Silver Tsunami! We describe the education of students through the use of Feil's Validation Therapy. There are growing concerns among social service providers regarding the rapid increase of the elderly population and the lack of adequate staff to provide care for our seniors. If we as educators, agency administrators, or committed family members ignore this call to action, the cycle of the employee “revolving door” will continue with inadequately trained and emotionally disconnected personnel working with aging persons. Frontline workers are the backbone of any agency. They are the ones who interact with seniors and their loved ones and collaborate with other medical and community professionals. We, as their teachers, must enhance their knowledge and skills so they many continue to provide service to the second most vulnerable population.