Sensory Processing Predictors of Challenging Behavior

Previous research has demonstrated that sensory processing is a temperamental trait that can con-tribute to challenging behavior. Research linking sensory processing to behavior has primarily focused on diagnostic groups, such as autism. Protective factors, such as resiliency, can support children in managing their behavior. While previous research has suggested that relational aspects of the environment can influence protective factors, little research has addressed the contribution of the sensory environment. We aim to determine the contribution of sensory processing (using the Sensory Profile 2) to challenging behavior and protective factors (using the BASC-2) in a sample of 51 children ages 6-11 from the general population. Results indicate that certain sensory processing patterns do predict challenging behaviors and protective factors

Sensory Processing Predictors of Challenging Behavior

Previous research has demonstrated that sensory processing is a temperamental trait that can con-tribute to challenging behavior. Research linking sensory processing to behavior has primarily focused on diagnostic groups, such as autism. Protective factors, such as resiliency, can support children in managing their behavior. While previous research has suggested that relational aspects of the environment can influence protective factors, little research has addressed the contribution of the sensory environment. We aim to determine the contribution of sensory processing (using the Sensory Profile 2) to challenging behavior and protective factors (using the BASC-2) in a sample of 51 children ages 6-11 from the general population. Results indicate that certain sensory processing patterns do predict challenging behaviors and protective factors

The introduction of a new biomedical technology: A system dynamics approach to the business plan

Technologically orientated companies may have directors and board members who have engineering training but limited financial training. Clearly, it is essential for the functioning of such a company, that these individuals have a clear grasp of the financial processes. Engineers generally have a thought process that is guided by a systems approach to problem solving. This project explores the possibility of using system dynamics methodology to present the financial statements in parallel with the traditional spreadsheet approach typically used by people with financial training. The study is performed by examining the business case for a South African biomedical start-up company which is in the process of developing a device to locate a healthy vein for venepuncture. Extensive data obtained from market research, as well as a business plan in spreadsheet format is available and has been utilised in this project. A system dynamics model of the business plan is developed. First it is shown that the system dynamics model is accurate and produces output that corresponds with the financial statements on the spreadsheet – a minimum requirement. Following this, simulations are run in which sales projections are varied with the goal of finding the minimum viable number of sales that need to be made in order to keep cash flows positive. The effects of optimising stock production are analysed and a sensitivity simulation is performed in which 49 variations of different local and international sales projections are calculated and their results analysed. It is argued, based on the findings, that a system dynamics model of the financial statements is valuable not only because of the ability to do multiple simulations and sensitivity analysis, but also because it provides a visual perspective of the financial statements in a format that is familiar to engineers with systems training. This enables a more intuitive understanding of the relationship between the income statement, cash flow statement and balance sheet, which is invaluable for technical, but non-financially trained managers and staff. Finally it is shown that the system dynamics model displays the dependencies of elements in the model that are hidden from the eye in a spreadsheet. This facilitates an enhanced understanding of the model and more importantly, ensures that when the model is edited, these dependencies are kept in mind thereby ensuring that the changes made maintain the veracity of the model. This work demonstrates that the functionality of the system dynamics environment is able to capture all the relevant features that are present in the spreadsheet model, while achieving the representational advantages discussed above. It is anticipated that this approach will facilitate mutual understanding between people trained in engineering and technology and those with a purely financial background, thus facilitating the business processes in technologically orientated companies

Self-Determination Theory and Professional Reasoning in Occupational Therapy Students: A Mixed Methods Study

Occupational therapy (OT) education frequently utilizes experiential learning as an effective instructional method to develop professional reasoning in OT students. However, there is little information about the development of professional reasoning. The researchers used a mixed-methods design to determine the extent to which an experiential learning course was effective in supporting professional reasoning ability with thirty-six OT students. Participants were students enrolled in an experiential learning course, which was part of their didactic graduate curriculum. Students attended an assigned setting weekly for sixteen weeks. Researchers collected data using the Self-Assessment of Clinical Reflection and Reasoning (SACRR) as well as reflective journaling. Pre-post scores on the SACRR were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA and showed a statistically significant increase in self-perceived professional reasoning. The researchers analyzed journals from the perspective of Self-Determination Theory (SDT) using the tenets of competence, relatedness, and autonomy. Students developed professional reasoning along a continuum of competence to relatedness to autonomy. The results show that this progression does not occur in perfect stages or on a defined timeline, and provides novel insights into how the progression occurs. Occupational therapy educators can apply the results to better facilitate student development of professional reasoning. Further research could determine how to best employ SDT in OT education

Family Perspectives on Developmental Monitoring: A Qualitative Study

Developmental monitoring, an ongoing process to identify children at risk for developmental delays, is an essential component to the identification of a developmental disability in young children. In collaboration with families, medical professionals are expected to monitor the development of a child; however, current research focuses on screening with less attention on developmental monitoring and the role of the family. Here, we show the experiences of families with medical professionals specific to developmental monitoring and how families obtain and develop knowledge on child development. We analyze qualitative data from a sample of family caregivers using semi-structured interviews. With a thematic approach, we identified three themes: (1) developmental monitoring with physicians is not common, (2) families use diverse supports to learn about child development, and (3) contextual factors (e.g., maternal health, work demands, demographic components) influence and shape the child development experience within a family unit. These findings indicate variability in developmental monitoring practices, in addition to the unique needs of children and families

The Impacts of Charter Schools on Traditional Public School Districts: Lessons for Mississippi

Charter schools are a fast-growing trend in alternative education policy across the United States. As of the 2015-16 school year, seven percent of public schools were charter schools. Between the 2000-01 and the 2015-16 school years, the total number of charter schools across the United States increased by approximately 350 percent. In some states, up to nine percent of students are enrolled in a charter school (National Center for Education Statistics, 2018). In 2013, Mississippi signed into law the Mississippi Charter Schools Act of 2013, allowing for charter schools to enter the field of public education in the state. The aim of the study is to predict the long-term, overall impact of charter schools on traditional public school districts in Mississippi by examining similar districts to those in Mississippi with established charter schools, identifying trends in those districts, and assessing whether or not similar impacts likely would be felt in Mississippi’s traditional public school districts. This qualitative study interviews traditional public school district and charter school officials in Jackson, Mississippi and Clarksdale, Mississippi as well as officials from similar districts across the country in which charter schools have been present longer. The findings of this study reveal that the long-term, overall impact of charter schools in Mississippi remains open, but largely can be shaped by public policy that (1) encourages communication between charter school and traditional public school officials; (2) (when establishing new charter schools) accounts for the number and enrollment in traditional public school districts from which the charter school would likely draw its students; and (3) promotes charter schools that begin at early grade-levels, prior to a student’s entrance into the traditional public school system

Individuals with Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities and Meaningful Employment

Individuals with disabilities tend to face poverty at a higher rate compared to those without disabilities (Kelley, 2016). Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) benefit from a variety of supports to work in their communities. Not providing services to address these needs can cause increased unemployment rates and dependence on others. Currently, there is a lack of attention by OTP on supporting individuals with IDD (14-26 years) when acquiring meaningful employment. Increasing OTP’s awareness about the relationship between self-determination and employment can promote more services. Self-Determination is about acting or causing things to happen in your life as you work toward your goals (Shogren et al., 2015), and has been linked to enhanced employment outcomes and higher quality of life (Mumbardo-Adam et al., 2020). Advocating for the use of the Self-Determined Career Design Model (SDCDM) by occupational therapy practitioners (OTP) when working with individuals with IDD will help provide employment opportunity, equality, and life-fulfillment to those searching for meaningful employment.https://soar.usa.edu/otdcapstones-spring2022/1032/thumbnail.jp

Multigrid for Chiral Lattice Fermions: Domain Wall

Critical slowing down for the Krylov Dirac solver presents a major obstacle to further advances in lattice field theory as it approaches the continuum solution. We propose a new multi-grid approach for chiral fermions, applicable to both the 5-d domain wall or 4-d Overlap operator. The central idea is to directly coarsen the 4-d Wilson kernel, giving an effective domain wall or overlap operator on each level. We provide here an explicit construction for the Shamir domain wall formulation with numerical tests for the 2-d Schwinger prototype, demonstrating near ideal multi-grid scaling. The framework is designed for a natural extension to 4-d lattice QCD chiral fermions, such as the M\"obius, Zolotarev or Borici domain wall discretizations or directly to a rational expansion of the 4-d Overlap operator. For the Shamir operator, the effective overlap operator is isolated by the use of a Pauli-Villars preconditioner in the spirit of the K\"ahler-Dirac spectral map used in a recent staggered MG algorithm [1].Comment: 39 pages, 13 figure

Preventive zinc supplementation for children, and the effect of additional iron: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective: Zinc deficiency is widespread, and preventive supplementation may have benefits in young children. Effects for children over 5 years of age, and effects when coadministered with other micronutrients are uncertain. These are obstacles to scale-up. This review seeks to determine if preventive supplementation reduces mortality and morbidity for children aged 6 months to 12 years. Design: Systematic review conducted with the Cochrane Developmental, Psychosocial and Learning Problems Group. Two reviewers independently assessed studies. Meta-analyses were performed for mortality, illness and side effects. Data sources We searched multiple databases, including CENTRAL and MEDLINE in January 2013. Authors were contacted for missing information. Eligibility criteria for selecting studies Randomised trials of preventive zinc supplementation. Hospitalised children and children with chronic diseases were excluded. Results: 80 randomised trials with 205 401 participants were included. There was a small but non-significant effect on all-cause mortality (risk ratio (RR) 0.95 (95% CI 0.86 to 1.05)). Supplementation may reduce incidence of all-cause diarrhoea (RR 0.87 (0.85 to 0.89)), but there was evidence of reporting bias. There was no evidence of an effect of incidence or prevalence of respiratory infections or malaria. There was moderate quality evidence of a very small effect on linear growth (standardised mean difference 0.09 (0.06 to 0.13)) and an increase in vomiting (RR 1.29 (1.14 to 1.46)). There was no evidence of an effect on iron status. Comparing zinc with and without iron cosupplementation and direct comparisons of zinc plus iron versus zinc administered alone favoured cointervention for some outcomes and zinc alone for other outcomes. Effects may be larger for children over 1 year of age, but most differences were not significant. Conclusions: Benefits of preventive zinc supplementation may outweigh any potentially adverse effects in areas where risk of zinc deficiency is high. Further research should determine optimal intervention characteristics and delivery strategies