A Tier 2 Support for Online Learners: Implementing a Technology-Aided Check-In/Check-Out for High School Students with Autism

Online education is an increasingly popular format of schooling used around the world (Digital Learning Collaborative, 2019). For students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs), challenges with executive functioning skills like self-management can have a significant impact on their ability to successfully participate in online learning. With a growing number of students with disabilities like ASD participating in online education, there is a need to explore support strategies that promote self-management in virtual environments that take into consideration the unique barriers of these students and their families. However, there is very limited research on providing behavioral support for students with ASD in online learning environments. This study used a mixed-method research design to determine the effectiveness of a technology-aided, modified Check-In/Check-Out (CICO) intervention package to improve the on-task behavior of three high school students with ASD enrolled in full-time online school. Additionally, this study sought to determine if there were changes in the self-efficacy of students and their parents throughout the duration of the study. The intervention package included a technology-aided CICO intervention, initial parent training of the intervention, and ongoing parent coaching. A multiple baseline across participants design was used to measure the percentage of on-task behavior for each student. Visual analysis was used to determine changes in trend and level across baseline and intervention phases of the intervention. Qualitative data was collected in two ways: students completed a self-efficacy questionnaire at the end of each observation, and parents described changes in their self-efficacy to support their students by participating in multiple semi-structured interviews throughout the study. The interviews were coded to identify common themes. A mixed-methods analysis was used to determine how the qualitative data informed the quantitative data. Results suggest the implementation of the CICO intervention increased on-task behavior of all three students. However, the intervention did not appear to have any influence on student self-efficacy. The parent interviews centered around four main themes: student learning challenges, parent engagement with the students, parent self-confidence, and support for the parent. Each parent viewed the intervention favorably and felt more capable of supporting their students after using the intervention. This study highlights areas that must be considered when developing and implementing individualized interventions in an online learning environment. For students to gain the skills necessary to self-manage in these settings, steps need to be made to ensure students and parents are active participants in intervention development and decision-making processes. Limitations of the study are addressed and suggestions for future research are provided

SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS’ EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING AND WORK-RELATED STRESSORS IN THE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT

There is little to no research regarding novice elementary special education teachers (SETs) and their emotional well-being while in the school environment. The goal of this work is to illuminate special education teacher’s voices missing in previous research. Additionally, this research examines the impact of work-related stressors on novice elementary SETs\u27 emotional well-being in the school environment. The theoretical perspective of heuristics is used to illuminate a problem or answer a question about the lived experience of the researcher. Lazarus and Folkman’s (1984) transactional theory of stress and coping framework guided the research question development, data analysis, and presentation of findings. Data was collected through a one time virtual interview with each participant as well as four weekly digital reflective journals completed by each participant. Data stored in Dedoose was thematically coded and environmentally triangulated. Findings indicated that SETs experience unique work-related stressors that can negatively influence emotional well-being. Work-related stressors identified by participants consisted of administrative tasks, lack of time, supervising colleagues, and managing student behaviors. SETs work-related stressors influenced feelings of stress, frustration, overwhelm, anxiety, exhaustion, and depression. Consistent negative feelings led SETs to engage in coping resources such as communication with school administrators and family, taking time off, and diet and exercise. SETs also recommended additional resources they would like to have in the school environment to foster a positive emotional well-being. Recommendations included reduced work-load, behavior coaching, additional adult support, fostered collaboration, training, physical and mental health support

The Impact of Pre-Performance Anxiety on VO2Peak Values in Female Collegiate Soccer Players

Peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak) testing is commonly performed to assess endurance training effectiveness in athletes, including soccer players. However, how variables such as playing position, training type (off-vs. in-season), and performance anxiety levels affect maximal exercise capacity have not been determined. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of positioning, training type, and pre-performance directional anxiety on VO2 max values in female soccer players. METHODS: Sixteen female collegiate soccer players completed two trials using a cycle ergometer. VO2peak was determined by the participant’s inability to continue pedaling and/or an established plateau in VO2 despite increasing workload. Prior to testing, a Competitive State Anxiety Inventory (CSAI-2) was completed to determine somatic anxiety, cognitive anxiety, and self-confidence. RESULTS: No significant differences were found between VO2peak and positioning, training type, and pre-performance directional anxiety (p=0.085, p=0.115, p=0. 244 respectively). However, a strong correlation was found between somatic and cognitive anxiety (r2= 0.736, p=0.079). CONCLUSION: VO2peak values were not affected by positioning type in female collegiate soccer players. High and low levels of anxiety did not predict maximal performance capabilities; however, somatic and cognitive anxiety positively interacted in determining performance. To better characterize performance anxiety in the future, research could examine cortisol levels prior to maximal performance

Validation of Novel Software Program to Assess Coincidence Anticipation Timing

The purpose of this study was to evaluate a novel coincidence anticipation timing (CAT) software tool by leveraging the testing protocol employed by Brady (1996). Eighteen test participants (8 men, 10 women) were recruited from a Division I Mid-Western State University. Participants comprised two groups, open skills athletes (n=9) and non-athletes (n=9). The CAT task delivered by the software tool involved a small green dot that traveled across a computer monitor at one of four different speeds (0.46 mph, 0.69 mph, 0.92 mph, and 1.15 mph). On the right side of the screen was a small, white target dot. Participants were instructed to depress the spacebar the instant that the green dot reached the white target dot. Absolute error (ms), constant error (ms), and variable error (ms) were measured and compared within and between the test groups corresponding with both athletic experience and sex. Error measurements were analyzed using a 3-way factorial MANOVA design. Similar to Brady (1996), results showed open skills athletes performed with less absolute error than non-athletes. On average, women were least accurate at 0.92 mph compared to all other speeds. In accordance with Brady (1996), open skills athletes performed with less response bias (as evidenced by constant error) compared to that of non-athletes. A significant main effect was observed for the influence of speed on variable error, however subsequent post-hoc analyses did not demonstrate significance for any specific comparison. Participants were most variable at the 0.92 speed, and least variable at the 0.46 speed. In conclusion, the newly developed CAT software tool elicited performance outcomes comparable to those observed by Brady (1996). Future assessments should include an evaluation of the repeatability of the CAT software utility. Ultimately, the software-based CAT test may offer a more cost-effective and flexible assessment tool than traditional Bassin Timer devices

Ancient Celts: myth, invention or reality? Dental affinities among continental and non- continental Celtic groups

Thesis (M.A.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2016Dental anthropological study of the proto-Celts, and continental and non-continental Celtic tribes during the Iron Age, particularly its applicability in estimating biological affinities of these tribes, has been generally overlooked. The present study helps fill the gap in the current understanding of these groups in several ways. First, 36 morphological traits in 125 dentitions from four regional samples, representing the proto-Celts, the continental and non-continental Celts, along with a comparative European Iron Age sample, were recorded and analyzed. Frequencies of occurrence for each dental and osseous nonmetric trait were recorded for each sample. Second, the suite of traits was then compared among samples using principal components analysis, (PCA), and the Mean Measure of Divergence (MMD) distance statistic. Multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis were subsequently employed on the triangular pairwise MMD distance matrix to graphically illustrate the relationships between samples. These biological distance estimates suggest the following: 1) dental phenetic heterogeneity is evident across samples, 2) the proto-Celtic sample does not show any evidence of population continuity with the continental Celtic sample, 3) there is a significant difference between continental and non-continental Celtic samples, and 4) there is a comparably significant difference among the Celtic, proto-Celtic and comparative samples. Simply put, the comparative results suggest that these groups represent biologically distinct populations. These findings were compared with published cultural, linguistic, genetic and bioarchaeological information to test for concordance between dental analysis and other lines of evidence. Several previous studies defined the Celts linguistically, using languages to link all the populations. The present study does not support these findings, and suggests there is more genetic diversity than previously assumed under this linguistic hypothesis. Thus, it appears that the transition from proto-Celtic to Celtic culture in these regions, and the subsequent spread of Celtic culture to Britain during the La Tène period, may have been primarily a cultural transition. The present study comprises the most comprehensive dental morphological analysis of the Celts to date, contributes to an improved understanding of Celtic tribal relationships and microevolution, and provides an initial impression of Celtic relationships to other European populations during the Iron Age.Chapter 1: Introduction -- Chapter 2: Historical and archaeological background -- Archaeological culture and ethnicity -- Hallstatt Archaeological background, location, and spread -- Why Hallstatt D is believed to be proto-Celtic -- La Tène Archaeological background, location, and spread -- Why La Tène culture is believed to represent fully a Celtic material culture -- Evidence of cultural continuity from Hallstatt D to La Tène (A) -- Chapter 3: Continental and non-continental Celts -- Archaeological evidence for the presence of the non-continental Celts -- Linguistic evidence for the presence of the continental and non-continental Celts -- Genetic evidence for the presence of biologically distinct continental and non-continental Celtic populations -- Summary -- Chapter 4: Methodological background -- Dental anthropology -- Microevolutionary dental analysis -- Disadvantages of using teeth as a research tool -- Advantages of using teeth as a research tool -- Chapter 5: Materials and methods -- British Isles Cemeteries -- Rudston Makeshift Cemetery -- Garton Station -- Burton Fleming -- Wetwang Slack -- Kirkburn -- Continental Celtic sample: Munsingen-Rain -- Continental proto-Celtic sample: Hallstatt -- Comparative sample: Pontecagnano -- Methods: data collection -- Quantitative analysis -- Principal components analysis (PCA) -- Mean measure of divergence (MMD) -- Multidimensional scaling -- Chapter 6: Results -- Principal components analysis -- Mean measure of divergence -- Multidimensional scaling -- Hierarchal cluster analysis -- Chapter 7: Discussion, conclusions and future research -- Discussion -- Was population movement from continental Celtic populations (i.e., from Munsingen-Rain) outside Gaul responsible for the diachronic changes in material culture in Yorkshire during the Iron Age? -- Is there evidence for population continuity or discontinuity between the Hallstatt D (i.e., Hallstatt D) and La Tène (i.e., Munsingen-Rain) samples? -- Is there sufficient evidence to suggest that the inhabitants of Yorkshire during the Iron Age were Celtic or is it a nominal association based on cultural diffusion? -- Is there a specific dental complex that can be identified among the Celtic populations that serves to unite the continental and non-continental Celts? -- Does the continental Celtic Munsingen-Rain population represent a biologically distinct population? -- Summary and conclusions -- Future work -- References -- Appendix

Multiwavelength Studies of PSR J1420-6048, a Young Pulsar in the Kookaburra

We present X-ray, radio, and infrared observations of the 68 ms pulsar PSR J1420-6048 and its surrounding nebula, a possible counterpart of the gamma-ray source GeV J1417-6100/3EG J1420-6038. Pulsed X-ray emission at the radio period is marginally detected by ASCA from a source embedded in the hard spectrum X-ray nebula AX J1420.1-6049. At radio wavelengths, the pulsar is found to be strongly linearly and circularly polarized, and the polarization sweep is measured. A comparison of high resolution ATCA radio imaging of the Kookaburra's upper wing (G313.6+0.3), which contains the pulsar and the X-ray nebula, with infrared images suggests the radio emission is partly non-thermal.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Astrophysical Journal Letter