Staff training on choice availability and its effects on adaptive and maladaptive behavior in persons with developmental disabilities in the group home setting

Recent research regarding persons with developmental disabilities has focused on the effects of choice availability on adaptive and maladaptive behavior. Because degree of choice within one\u27s living environment is considered a key element of quality of life, it seems important to evaluate this variable and its relationship to adaptive and maladaptive behavior. In this preliminary study, direct-care staff members in a group-home setting were taught to increase choice opportunities in the areas of eating, leisure, and personal hygiene for residents with mild, moderate, or severe mental retardation. This investigation also examined the effects of increased choice availability on residents\u27 adaptive and maladaptive behaviors. Increased staff training on choice availability was expected to result in improved choice and changes in levels of adaptive and maladaptive behavior for such residents. Results indicated that direct-care staff members who received training to increase choice reported increased choice opportunities for their residents. Increased choice, however, did not lead to improved levels of adaptive and maladaptive behavior for treatment group residents

Teachers' experiences of indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) found in the life sciences curriculum : a case study of life sciences teachers at a high school in the Pinetown District.

Masters of Education in Curriculum Studies. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Edgewood 2015.A number of curriculum reforms which attracted much criticism in post apartheid South Africa have resulted in the curriculum currently adopted. Curriculum changes bring forward issues concerned with the achievement in the attained curriculum of the vision of the intended curriculum through its implementation as forms of curriculum are experienced differently at various levels, largely making teachers responsible for the implementation of the intended curriculum. This qualitative case study of three Life Sciences teachers within the interpretive paradigm aims to explore teachers’ experiences of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) found in the Life Sciences curriculum at a high school in South Africa. This exploration of these experiences is done with the utilisation of a conceptual framework namely, the curricular spider web which identifies what these experiences are, which incorporates the classroom practice of the teachers. In exploring teachers’ experiences the study identifies the attitudes of the teachers’ towards IKS and the influence of these experiences which involves their attitudes on their classroom practice. Purposive and convienance sampling was used in selecting the three teachers who participated in this study. Data was generated from the participants using questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and document analysis in the form of the analysis of teacher lesson plans which were analysed using guided analysis. Findings show that the teachers have above adequate understandings of relevant concepts related to the teaching of Life Sciences, these being the Nature of Science (NOS) and Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS), which manifests in them having positive attitudes towards IKS which however, does not translate well in their classroom practice. As further findings show that there is a misalignment between the intended curriculum and attained curriculum. A misalignment which is a result of poor implementation of the curriculum by the teachers due to various reasons which includes a lack of understanding of components found within the curricular spider web

Solving open channel flow problems with a simple lateral distribution model

Keynote Lecture

Human Clostridium difficile infection caused by a livestock-associated PCR ribotype 237 strain in Western Australia

Introduction: Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is a significant gastrointestinal disease in the developed world and increasingly recognised as a zoonotic infection. In North America and Europe, the PCR ribotype (RT) 078 strain of C. difficile is commonly found in production animals and as a cause of disease in humans although proof of transmission from animals is lacking. This strain is absent in Australian livestock. We report a case of human CDI caused by a strain of C. difficile belonging to known Australian livestock-associated RT 237. Case presentation: A young male was admitted for multiple trauma following a motor vehicle accident and placed on piperacillin/tazobactam for pneumonia. After 4 days of treatment, he developed symptoms of CDI, which was confirmed in the laboratory. His symptoms resolved after 6 days of intravenous metronidazole. The strain of C. difficile isolated was identified as RT 237, an unusual RT previously found in with several Western Australia piggeries. Conclusion: This case of CDI caused by an unusual livestock-associated C. difficile RT 237 supports the hypothesis of zoonotic transmission. The case highlights the potential of livestock to act as reservoir for C. difficile and the need for continued surveillance of CDI in both human and animal populations

A Complete Pipeline for Heart Rate Extraction from Infant ECGs

\ua9 2024 by the authors.Infant electrocardiograms (ECGs) and heart rates (HRs) are very useful biosignals for psychological research and clinical work, but can be hard to analyse properly, particularly longform (≥5 min) recordings taken in naturalistic environments. Infant HRs are typically much faster than adult HRs, and so some of the underlying frequency assumptions made about adult ECGs may not hold for infants. However, the bulk of publicly available ECG approaches focus on adult data. Here, existing open source ECG approaches are tested on infant datasets. The best-performing open source method is then modified to maximise its performance on infant data (e.g., including a 15 Hz high-pass filter, adding local peak correction). The HR signal is then subsequently analysed, developing an approach for cleaning data with separate sets of parameters for the analysis of cleaner and noisier HRs. A Signal Quality Index (SQI) for HR is also developed, providing insights into where a signal is recoverable and where it is not, allowing for more confidence in the analysis performed on naturalistic recordings. The tools developed and reported in this paper provide a base for the future analysis of infant ECGs and related biophysical characteristics. Of particular importance, the proposed solutions outlined here can be efficiently applied to real-world, large datasets

Skin- and gut-homing molecules on human circulating gamma delta T cells and their dysregulation in inflammatory bowel disease

Changes in phenotype and function of γδ T cells have been reported in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). Dysregulation of lymphocyte migration plays a key role in IBD pathogenesis; however, data on migratory properties of γδ T cells are scarce. Human circulating γδ T cells from healthy controls (n = 27), patients with active CD (n = 15), active UC (n = 14) or cutaneous manifestations of IBD (n = 2) were characterized by flow cytometry. Circulating γδ T cells in healthy controls were CD3(hi) and expressed CD45RO. They expressed gut-homing molecule β7 but not gut-homing molecule corresponding chemokine receptors (CCR)9, or skin-homing molecules cutaneous lymphocyte-associated antigen (CLA) and CCR4, despite conventional T cells containing populations expressing these molecules. CCR9 expression was increased on γδ T cells in CD and UC, while skin-homing CLA was expressed aberrantly on γδ T cells in patients with cutaneous manifestations of IBD. Lower levels of CD3 expression were found on γδ T cells in CD but not in UC, and a lower proportion of γδ T cells expressed CD45RO in CD and UC. Enhanced expression of gut-homing molecules on circulating γδ T cells in IBD and skin-homing molecules in cutaneous manifestations of IBD may be of clinical relevance

Measuring Strategic Uncertainty in Coordination Games

Lecture on the first SFB/TR 15 meeting, Gummersbach, July, 18 - 20, 2004This paper explores predictability of behavior in coordination games with multiple equilibria. In a laboratory experiment we measure subjects' certainty equivalents for three coordination games and one lottery. Attitudes towards strategic uncertainty in coordination games are related to risk aversion, experience seeking, gender and age. From the distribution of certainty equivalents among participating students we estimate probabilities for successful coordination in a wide range of coordination games. For many games success of coordination is predictable with a reasonable error rate. The best response of a risk neutral player is close to the global-game solution. Comparing choices in coordination games with revealed risk aversion, we estimate subjective probabilities for successful coordination. In games with a low coordination requirement, most subjects underestimate the probability of success. In games with a high coordination requirement, most subjects overestimate this probability. Data indicate that subjects have probabilistic beliefs about success or failure of coordination rather than beliefs about individual behavior of other players