Becoming a Child Care Provider

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Does self-theories research apply to pupils with speech, language and communication difficulties? :an exploratory case study

D.Ed.Psy ThesisThis thesis explores the applicability of self-theories research beyond the existing mainstream research contexts. Self-theories research investigates individuals’ perceptions of the nature of intelligence – whether it is considered fixed and innate (entity beliefs) or malleable, something that can be manipulated through behaviour (incremental beliefs). Dweck & Leggett (1988) suggest that the self-theories that each individual hold can affect their learning behaviours and subsequent academic achievement. Although there is general support for this research base, no information appears to exist about whether these findings also apply to individuals with ‘special’ needs. This case study explores the learning, intelligence and ability beliefs of a group of five pupils, aged 15 or 16, educated at Peachtree School, a non-maintained special school. These pupils are believed to have speech, language and communication (SLC) difficulties. Dweck’s research methods were adapted in consultation with staff for use with these pupils. An intervention was developed and shared which introduced key ideas about self-theories of intelligence to the pupils. This intervention included lessons, daily learning logs produced by the pupils and video recorded lessons. Perceptions of intelligence, ability and learning were captured from both pupils and staff using semi-structured interviews before and after this intervention. From a critical realist stance, the thesis also explores how to include pupils with SLC difficulties in the research process and how to help enable these pupils to share their perceptions. Findings are analysed using thematic analysis. In an attempt to share the perspectives and understandings of all participants, findings are presented at both an individual pupil and a collective level, which also includes two members of involved staff. viii Findings suggest that self-theories research may apply to pupils with SLC difficulties, based on this case study with some possible limitations which are discussed. Further research is suggested to consider the applicability of selftheories research beyond the context of this study. Implications for professionals working with children deemed to have special educational needs are explored. The quality of this research and the suitability of the chosen methods are also critically considered and discussed

The placental problem: Linking abnormal cytotrophoblast differentiation to the maternal symptoms of preeclampsia

The placenta is a remarkable organ. In normal pregnancy its specialized cells (termed cytotrophoblasts) differentiate into various specialized subpopulations that play pivotal roles in governing fetal growth and development. One cytotrophoblast subset acquires tumor-like properties that allow the cells to invade the decidua and myometrium, a process that attaches the placenta to the uterus. The same subset also adopts a vascular phenotype that allows these fetal cells to breach and subsequently line uterine blood vessels, a process that channels maternal blood to the rest of the placenta. In the pregnancy complication preeclampsia, which is characterized by the sudden onset of maternal hypertension, proteinuria and edema, cytotrophoblast invasion is shallow and vascular transformation incomplete. These findings, together with very recent evidence from animal models, suggest that preeclampsia is associated with abnormal placental production of vasculogenic/angiogenic substances that reach the maternal circulation with the potential to produce at least a subset of the clinical signs of this syndrome. The current challenge is to build on this knowledge to design clinically useful tests for predicting, diagnosing and treating this dangerous disorder

MAD GIRL'S LOVE SONG: Visibility Through Theatre Creation

The following thesis chronicles the process of creating, developing, rehearsing, and performing a solo theatre piece entitled MAD GIRLS LOVE SONG. The aim of this research is to create a solo performance of non-linear vignettes using poetic and gestural language that addresses my fear of being seen as a creator. By doing so, I hope to challenge theatre practices that impede bisexual visibility. MAD GIRLS LOVE SONG, a one-woman theatrical event, has arisen in response and relationship to the research, borrowing structures from other art forms, such as modernist poetry. By prioritizing the organization of theatrical time over linear story chronology, the theatrical event uses a queering of linear form to underscore the autobiographical queer content. As theatrical narrative has primarily been occupied by heterosexual voices, MAD GIRLS LOVE SONG is an exploration of how an alternative theatrical timeline may support bisexual content, and therefore visibility, on stage

A SOCIOLOGICAL EXAMINATION OF JUVENILE FRUIT MACHINE GAMBLING IN A SEASIDE TOWN

This thesis has two main aims. The first is to develop a standard measure of addiction to gambling in children which could be used to estimate the extent of dependency among children aged 11 to 16 years. The second focusses upon patterns of usage and seeks to understand the various meanings which children attach to fruit machine gambling in an arcade. The first aim has been achieved by adapting a measure used to diagnose addiction to gambling in adults for use with children. The resulting DSM-IV-J criteria were tested using a questionnaire survey on a sample of 467 schoolchildren aged between 11 and 16 years. Those children who were defined as "probable pathological" gamblers by the DSM-IV-J index were significantly more likely to be involved in behaviours hitherto associated with dependency, than were the control group. DSMIV- J appears to be a major advance in the discrimination of pathological gambling in children. This study disaffirms the popular, generic image of the typical young fruit machine "addict" as being a lone, adolescent male. "Probable pathological" gamblers were equally male or female, spread across the age range of eleven to sixteen years, and came from a range of social class and religious backgrounds. However, "probable pathological" gamblers were more likely than "social" gamblers to have started playing fruit machines when they were very young (at the age of eight years or younger) and to have parents who gambled. The second aim has been investigated by ethnographic fieldwork and is presented in the form of a typology. Arcade Kings and their Apprentices, Machine Beaters, Escape Artists, Action Seekers and Renta- Spacers comprise a classification which includes "addicts" as well as "social gamblers". The typology reveals the multi-dimensional nature of fruit machine gambling as a leisure pursuit. It thus provides a theoretical contribution to the sociology of gambling as well as an "ethnographic road map" for researchers and counsellors in the field

Creating Opportunities For Learning: Play As A Scaffold For Format Based Informational Text Features

Abstract A play intervention was used with second grade students to help them develop a deeper understanding of format based informational text features. On Day 1 of the intervention, groups of students role played as reporters as they observed classmates at play. During Days 2 - 5 of the intervention, the same students wrote an informational book about the play they had observed. A pre-interview was used to determine which format based informational text features were noticed and/or explained by the students in an informational trade book. The text features that were included in the trade book were: table of contents, heading, photograph, diagram, bold words, glossary, index and labels. On the post-interview, conducted months after the intervention, all groups increased the number of text features noticed and/or explained. Analysis of the discussions during Days 2 - 5 was conducted to see what aspect of the intervention was responsible for the increased score on the post-interview. For some students, hearing other members of the group mention a text feature during the intervention was the catalyst for learning that text feature. For other students, text features were noticed on the post-interview that were never mentioned during the intervention by group members. For those students, the play itself created opportunities for developing a greater understanding of format based text features

Letter to a Young Scientist

No abstract available

Impact of Asylum on Receiving Countries

Whereas asylum seekers and the systems for adjudicating their claims to refugee status in developed countries have garnished considerable attention and, often, have been at the centre of political controversy, there has been relatively little research on their actual impact on receiving countries. This article discusses the factors that determine the impact of asylum, as distinct from other forms of migration, concluding that the number of asylum seekers, government policies and socioeconomic characteristics all determine the impact of asylum. Hence, the impacts of asylum can differ significantly from country to country. Even within the same country, one could expect to see varied impacts depending on the age, education and skill level of individual asylum seekers. The paper then examines the fiscal, economic, and social impacts of asylum, as well as its impact on foreign policy and national security. It concludes with an examination of the impact of developed countries? asylum policies on the protection of refugees in developing countries. When refugee protection has been weakened in economically strong states and asylum restrictions are perceived as burden shifting, international protection in the developing world where most refugees try to survive has been undercut.asylum, fiscal impact, economic impact, national security