Speech-Language Pathologists\u27 Opinions on Communication Disorders and Violence

Purpose: This study investigated the opinions of speech-language pathologists (SLPs) regarding their role, education, and training in serving students with communication disorders who have been involved in violence. Method: A survey consisting of 26 items was given to 598 SLPs from eight states representing geographic regions of the United States. Results: Participants acknowledged that violence is an increasing concern. They also recognized the valuable role they have in planning prevention programs and serving on multidisciplinary teams. In contrast, SLPs\u27 opinions suggested that they did not feel well trained to deal with violence, nor did they feel that the role of communication in violence was understood by SLPs or educators. Comparisons between SLPs from different school and nonschool settings on their education and training and their role in serving this population were not significant. Participants with violence education and training responded significantly more favorably than those without such education and training on planning prevention programs; contributing important information to multidisciplinary teams in planning programs; and the impact of intervention on academics, behavior, and social interactions. Statistically significant findings indicated that both groups disagreed on understanding the role of communication in violence and being trained to provide services. However, findings need to be interpreted cautiously because both groups\u27 means fell within the same categories of agreement/disagreement, and actual differences between groups were small. Quantitative and qualitative findings revealed that education and training are prevalent concerns of SLPs. Their written feedback suggested that SLPs provide critical information as we plan for this population. Clinical Implications: Additional education and training are needed in areas such as the role of the SLP in communication and violence, intervention that addresses behavior management, and multicultural issues

Changes in ecosystem carbon following afforestation of native sand prairie

Includes bibliographical references (pages 1622-1624).Determining the dynamics of carbon (C) as a function of vegetation and residue inputs is important for predicting changes in ecosystem functions and the global C cycle. Litter and soil samples were analyzed from plantations of eastern red cedar (Juniperous virginiana) and ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) and native prairie at the Nebraska National Forest to evaluate the impact of different types of land management on soil C contents and turnover rates. Total soil C to a depth of 1 m was greatest in the cedar stands. Pine ecosystems stored more C in the tree biomass and litter but lost more native prairie C from the soil. The soil 13C content showed 82% of the original, and prairie C remained under cedars compared with ∼45% under pine. Soil cation contents were greatest overall in cedar soils and lowest in pine. The C content in cedar soils was strongly related to Ca content. Differences in microbial community fatty acid profiles were related to vegetation type, and nutrients explained ∼60% of the variation in profiles. Our research indicates that changes in soil C and nutrient content following conversion from prairie to forest are dependent on tree species planted, characteristics of the plant litter, and cation cycling in the plant–soil system

Speckle observations with PISCO in Merate - V. Astrometric measurements of visual binaries in 2006

International audienceWe present relative astrometric measurements of visual binaries made during the first semester of 2006, with the Pupil Interferometry Speckle camera and COronagraph at the 102-cm Zeiss telescope of the Brera Astronomical Observatory, in Merate. Our sample contains orbital couples as well as binaries whose motion is still uncertain. We obtained 217 new measurements of 194 objects, with angular separations in the range 0.1-4.2arcsec, and an average accuracy of 0.01arcsec. The mean error on the position angles is 0.5°. About half of those angles could be determined without the usual 180° ambiguity by the application of triple-correlation techniques. We also present a revised orbit for ADS 277 for which the previously published orbit resulted in a large residual from our measurements