Information and communication technology solutions for outdoor navigation in dementia

INTRODUCTION: Information and communication technology (ICT) is potentially mature enough to empower outdoor and social activities in dementia. However, actual ICT-based devices have limited functionality and impact, mainly limited to safety. What is an ideal operational framework to enhance this field to support outdoor and social activities? METHODS: Review of literature and cross-disciplinary expert discussion. RESULTS: A situation-aware ICT requires a flexible fine-tuning by stakeholders of system usability and complexity of function, and of user safety and autonomy. It should operate by artificial intelligence/machine learning and should reflect harmonized stakeholder values, social context, and user residual cognitive functions. ICT services should be proposed at the prodromal stage of dementia and should be carefully validated within the life space of users in terms of quality of life, social activities, and costs. DISCUSSION: The operational framework has the potential to produce ICT and services with high clinical impact but requires substantial investment

Coach and Athlete Perceptions of an Athlete Monitoring and Strength and Conditioning Program

Purpose: The purpose of this investigation was to assess athlete perceptions of an athlete monitoring program throughout an academic year and coach perceptions throughout a competitive season. The secondary purpose was to develop a questionnaire designed to assess coach and athlete perceptions of the monitoring program. Methods: Athletes and coaches participating in the athlete monitoring program at East Tennessee State University’s (ETSU) Sport Performance Enhancement Consortium (SPEC) were invited to participate. Reliability for the coach and athlete questionnaires and principle components analysis (PCA) of the athlete questionnaire was completed after initial development of the questionnaire (11 questions for athletes and 20 for coaches) in the spring of 2013. To analyze changes throughout the academic year, 4 additional questionnaires were administered at the beginning and end of the fall 2013 and spring 2014 semesters. Results: Both athlete and coach questionnaires were considered reliable (athletes = 0.842, coaches = 0.919). PCA revealed a 3 component model (KMO = 0.798, Bartlett’s test of Sphericity = p \u3c 0.001) with eigenvalues over one explaining 68.88% of total variance. Statistical differences between the pre and all other time points were noted for athlete’s perceptions of the SPEC programs influence on overall performance, skill, strength, speed, power, and understanding of the SPEC monitoring protocols. Coachs’ perceptions were statistically different from pre-to postseason only for skill. Conclusion: The questionnaire was shown reliable and can be considered for future use. The first component of the PCA revealed that perceptions of overall performance are influenced by perceptions of strength, skill, and power and agreement that testing data reflects performance, while the second showed that aerobic and anaerobic endurance as well as speed are all highly correlated and, finally, the third revealed that athletes’ understanding of the SPEC program monitoring increased with return of data. Overall, perceptions of the SPEC programs ability to influence the components assessed by the questionnaire were positive ranging from no different to much better for coaches and athletes. In conclusion, the SPEC athlete monitoring program seems to be a beneficial model for enhancing athletes’ and coaches’ perceptions of certain aspects of performance

Effects of Collaborative Problem Solving Training for Parents of Children with Challenging Behavior in a Public School Setting

The intent of the Think:Kids Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS) Parent Group Therapy curriculum is to help parents recognize the underlying skill deficits contributing to their child\u27s challenging behavior, identify pathways leading to the behavior, and make environmental changes to prevent problem behavior. This quasi-experimental study assessed the effects of implementing a 6-week, 12-hour Think:Kids CPS parent curriculum in a public school setting with an intervention group compared to a non-random waitlist group. Data was collected for both groups at pre-, post-and one-month follow-up on the following measures: the Parent Child Relationship Inventory (PCRI); the Parenting Stress Index, 4th edition, Short Form (PSI-SF); the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory (ECBI); and the Think:Kids Parent Group Therapy Questionnaire. Data was collected weekly and at one-month follow-up on the Think:Kids - Change Over Time (TK-COT) and the Goal Attainment Scale (GAS). Seven parents participated in the intervention group and four parents participated in the waitlist comparison group. Attrition was low as all intervention group parents completed the class. Results on the PSI-SF did indicate statistically significant improvement in parent-child interactions for the intervention group compared to the waitlist group and in parent perception of their child\u27s behavior for both groups, warranting further study of the Think:Kids Parent Group Therapy with larger sample sizes and a randomized control design. Results indicated the Think:Kids Change Over Time (TK:COT) shows promise as an outcome measure for measuring adherence to the CPS philosophy. Mixed results on the PCRI could indicate issues with its use in applied settings. Implications of these findings and further research directions of the Think:Kids CPS parent curriculum are discussed

Examining social climate and youth social goals on extended wilderness courses: A path toward improving participant experiences

This dissertation examined participants\u27 expectations of the social climate on extended wilderness courses, how students\u27 actually experienced the social climate during their course, and how these expectations, perceptions and the influence of environmental characteristics, impacted their goals for peer interactions. Pre and posttest surveys were used to assess students\u27 expectations and perceptions of their experience and multi level modeling was used to better understand the relationship of social climate to peer interaction. The research was undertaken to improve the practical and theoretical understanding of organizations\u27 and leaders\u27 ability to facilitate a social climate that promotes adaptive forms of social motivation. Changes in social development goal orientation were used as an indicator of adaptive changes in peer interaction. It was found that, on average, students\u27 social development goals changed, but not in the predicted direction. These negative changes can be understood as a maladaptive shift that could have implications for participants\u27 social goal orientation in other settings, making it important to understand why this shift is occurring and what significant on-course predictors are, because the results provide insights into social climates that facilitate youth goals shifting in an adaptive direction. According to the model created with this data, courses in which students had (a) higher perceptions of group cohesion and task orientation combined with (b) lower perceptions of leader control were be more likely to have higher positive changes in their social development goal orientations. Additional analysis used instructor reports to understand other factors influencing youth. Findings show that when students are having fun, it related to their group cohesion, and when students perceive higher levels of cohesion within their course group it was shown to positively predict changes in social development goal orientation. For some organizations this implies growth areas in group facilitation to include more of an emphasis on the importance of fun and playfulness as a factor in building a cohesive and productively task oriented social climate, in order to promote developmental outcomes

SimProgramming : the development of an integrated teaching approach for computer programming in higher education

Conferência realizada em Valência de 7-9 de março de 2016Computer programming courses in higher education tend to have high rates of academic failure and students struggle, particularly so in the transition from entry-level programming to advanced programming. Some of the reasons given in the literature relate to the type of teaching approach and the strategies used by students and their attitudes towards computer programming. The literature also mentions that educational approaches are not always appropriate to the needs of students and to the development of skills required in the job market. We developed a teaching approach to try to address some of these issues and support students learning computer programming in the transition from entry-level to advanced computer programming: the SimProgramming approach. This approach was introduced at the University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (Portugal), within the scope of the course “Programming Methodologies III”, part of the second curricular year of the programmes of studies in Informatics Engineering and in Information & Communication Technologies. We present in detail the origins of the SimProgramming approach, starting from the first trials that introduced, in two iterations, learning activities based on problem-based learning, and up to the third iteration where the current SimProgramming approach was implemented. We describe the reasoning, design and implementation of these three iterations, to show how the approach evolved. The SimProgramming approach is based in four conceptual foundations: business-like learning environment, self-regulated learning, co-regulated learning and formative assessment. For each of these conceptual foundations, we explain the teaching strategies adopted. In SimProgramming, the learning activity process develops in four phases, and students have specific tasks in each phase. We analyse interview data regarding student perceptions about the SimProgramming approach, and registration grids data on team work dynamics and final assessment of the assignment, noting the impact of SimProgramming in student grades. The application of SimProgramming revealed promising evidences in the overall results of student learning in the activities proposed in this approach. The average grades improved, and did the number of students regularly submitting their tasks on schedule. The perceptions of students regarding the SimProgramming approach are very positive: they recommend using it in the following years, and provided some suggestions to improve the approach. We conclude with reflections and recommendations for subsequent development of the SimProgramming approach in its application to the teaching of computer programming and potential for using it in other educational contexts.FC

Planning for Enrichment and Equity in Dual Language Education: A Study of Eight Program Master Plans

This qualitative study analyzed eight dual language master plans developed by school districts on the West Coast of the United States. Each of the plans represented one or more dual language programs within each school district. The purpose of the study was to determine how school districts express their priorities for dual language programming. Master plans were analyzed for their structure, rationales, and their intended impact on students and families. Through numerous coding passes, several themes revealed themselves related to proposed benefits to students in language, academics, and social-emotional growth. The findings of this study indicated an informal community of practice among the groups who wrote the plans, and conceptions of family involvement that positioned families as receivers, rather than actors in the education of their children. This analysis illuminated areas where equity in emergent bilinguals’ access to authentic language and parent involvement could be improved. Implications for further research point to the need for ethnographic study of programs as compared to their plans, and a deeper examination of the ways the dual language community of practice functions. Implications for practice include the need to expand the implied canon of dual language research informing dual language master planning, and the importance of revisiting translanguaging for both pedagogical and equity reasons. Finally, future dual language master planning ought to expand on particular ways to support new teachers in this complex work through locally-relevant professional training and leadership roles

The Impact of a Culturally Responsive Intervention on Perceived Career Barriers, Ethnic Identity, Student Motivation and Engagement, and Career Decision Making Self-Efficacy of Middle School Minority Females

This study investigated the impact of a culturally responsive intervention on perceived career barriers, ethnic identity, student motivation and engagement, and career decision making self-efficacy of middle school minority females. The author analyzed data from the Female Leadership Academy for Minority Excellence (FLAME) program at a local rural middle school. Data was collected from 34 Black female middle school students who participated in the program. The study was a repeated measures quasi-experimental, quantitative single group pre-test, mid-test, and post-test design. According to results from a series of repeated measures ANOVAs, significant differences were found between pre-group, mid-group, and post-group scores. Upon further analysis, significant differences were found between specific subscales of the student motivation and engagement survey. Specifically, differences were found between pre-group and mid-group and pre-group and post-group scores on the Performance Approach Orientation (ME_PerfApproach) subscale. Differences were also found between pre-group and post-group scores on the self-efficacy subscale (ME_SelfE) as well as between pre-group and mid-group and between mid-group and post-group scores for the Engagement Behavioral subscale (ME_Bx). Regarding the last research question, significant differences were found between pre-group and post-group and mid-group and post-group scores when examining perceived career barriers. The results from the Career Decision Making Self-Efficacy and the Ethnic Identity scale did not yield significant results. These results provide initial support in suggesting that culturally responsive career development programs do impact career development of minority middle school females especially in the areas of student motivation and engagement and perceived career barriers

Perceptions Of Induction: A Phenomenological Case Study

The first months of teaching can significantly diminish a probationary teacher’s perception of their ability when the nuances of the job and students become overwhelming. On average, a school will lose three out of every 20 teachers annually. The problem this study researches is how faculty and staff provide support for probationary teachers. Too often, induction models remain underdeveloped, understudied, and rarely are formative assessments associated with faculty interactions. In this study, the dynamic interplay between the individual, the environment, and behavior establish a deeper understanding of the teacher network as a social system with expected returns. The tenets of Lin’s social capital theory (2001) and Bandura’s theory of self-efficacy (1997) reveal more about the network and embedded resources. Using a case study design, I conducted interviews with new teachers, continuing teachers, and mentors. Findings from interviews supported a gap in the literature pertaining to the intention design of an induction program specific to social learning opportunities to gain capital among the faculty network, thus increasing the new teacher’s autonomy to problem-solve and operate independently. The results from this study may influence other schools to integrate similar induction programs designed to permit new members opportunities to exchange knowledge with returning members to build social capital before they must find resources independently

EVALUATION OF A LOCAL ADULT GENERAL EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (GED) PROGRAM

The General Educational Development (GED) is a high school equivalency credential sought after by millions of Americans who do not hold a traditional high school diploma. This program evaluation offers insight to a local adult GED program as it seeks to increase the retention and GED completion rates of the students in their program. The evaluation utilized a participatory approach and qualitative design, with document review and semi-structured interviews as the primary data sources. Thematic analysis was utilized to organize evaluation results into themes representing areas of effectiveness and improvement. The recommendations include addressing learner barriers through individualized education plans, focused skill development, peer support structures, highly engaged learning, learner pathways, team professional development, streamlining program processes, and fully leveraging program benefits