Clinton, County of and the Clinton County Sheriff\u27s Department and CSEA Local 884 (Clinton County General Unit 6450-01)

Report and Recommendations of the Fact Finder In the matter of The County of Clinton and the Clinton County Sheriff’s Department and CSEA Local 884 (Clinton County General Unit 6450 - 01) PERB Case No. M2007-275. Fact Finder: Don Mesibov

Jefferson, County and Security and Law Enforcement Employees Council 82, AFSCME, AFL-CIO, Jefferson County Sheriff\u27s Employees Local 3089

In the matter of the fact-finding between the County of Jefferson, employer, and the Security and Law Enforcement Employees Council 82, AFSCME, AFL-CIO, Jefferson County Sheriff\u27s Employees Local 3089, union. PERB case no. M2015-121. Before: Don Mesibov, fact finder

Ecology and conservation of Tasmanipatus barretti and T. anophthalmus, parapatric onychophorans (Onychophora:Peripatopsidae) from northeastern Tasmania.

Tasmanipatus barretti and T anophthalmus are parapatrically distributed in northeastern Tasmania with known ranges of about 600 km2 and 200km2 respectively. Both species occur in wet sclerophyll forest

Tasmanipatus barretti gen. nov., sp. nov. and T. anophthalmus sp. nov.: two new and unusual onychophorans (Onychophora: Peripatopsidae)from northeastern Tasmania

Tasmanipatusgen. nov., Peripatopsidae Bouvier 1907, is characterised by eighteen dorsalplical folds on each body segment, in combination with a unique distribution of male crural papillae and a lack of pigmentation over all or most ofrhe ventral budy surface. The type species T. barrettisp. nov. is unique in relation to its combination of I arge size, uniform, patternless colouration, and well-developed crural papillae in both sexes. Tasmanipatus sp. nov. is unusual in lacking eyes and body pigmentation. The two species occur parapatrically in a small area in northeastern Tasmania. Their diagnostic features are described here

Beyond Educational Videogames to Educational Systems-That-Incorporate Videogames: A Case Study of a System for Learning about Energy

A common goal for designers of educational videogames is to make learning fun. Unfortunately, the result is often a game that tries to combine the fun aspects of videogames with learning elements, but that is neither fun nor effective for learning. In this paper we present our discovery of an alternative approach—a system that combines both education and entertainment, but that separates them into different modules that are loosely-coupled. Entertainment motivates education through a reward mechanism, where performance in the education module yields tokens that can be redeemed for in-game assets in the entertainment module. We present a case study of our specific implementation of this system, and we discuss how it can be generalized to motivate the learning of any topic where performance can be measured. This research contributes to our understanding of designing cognitive artifacts, and to our understanding of designing educational systems as distributed services

Screening, intervention and outcome in autism and other developmental disorders: the role of randomized controlled trials

We draw attention to a number of important considerations in the arguments about screening and outcome of intervention in children with autism and other developmental disorders. Autism screening in itself never provides a final clinical diagnosis, but may well identify developmental deviations indicative of autism—or of other developmental disorders—that should lead to referral for further clinical assessment. Decisions regarding population or clinic screening cannot be allowed to be based on the fact that prospective longitudinal RCT designs over decades could never be performed in complex developmental disorders. We propose an alternative approach. Early screening for autism and other developmental disorders is likely to be of high societal importance and should be promoted and rigorously evaluated

An approach to supporting young people with autism spectrum disorder and high anxiety to re-engage with formal education - the impact on young people and their families

School refusal is an important factor impacting upon poor outcomes for adolescents and youth. Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience characteristic difficulties regarding social interaction and communication, rigidity of thinking and sensory sensitivities. These difficulties, coupled with the heightened anxiety that many on the spectrum experience, place them at particular risk of school refusal. This study investigates activity undertaken in one UK local authority, where provision was developed to help such students to re-engage with formal education. Data were collected at three points through the first year of the provision’s existence. Findings show all students were successfully supported to attend the provision and re-engage with formal education. Factors supportive of re-engagement are presented and considered in the light of an ecological model of support for school refusers and what is considered as ‘good practice’ in autism education. It is suggested that the factors identified are indicative of good practice across both areas of activity

Augmentative and alternative communication for children with autism spectrum disorder: an evidence-based evaluation of the Language Acquisition through Motor Planning (LAMP) programme

Children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder often have restricted verbal communication. For children who do not use functional speech, augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices can be an important support. We evaluated the effectiveness of one AAC programme, the Language Acquisition through Motor Planning (LAMP) using a Vantage Lite™ device as the speech output in the home and school environments. Eight children with limited communication were assessed by a speech pathologist prior to the introduction of the programme, after five weeks of training and again after a further two weeks of use of the programme, but without the supported training. The pre-/post-assessment measures revealed that all eight children made gains in the development of spontaneous communication using the device during the implementation period. Parents and teachers also reported that the gains achieved during the five-week trial were greater than those achieved in previous interventions. Two years after the completion of the study, a follow-up phone interview was completed which identified that children who received ongoing support from a LAMP-trained speech pathologist continued using the LAMP programme. As a result of this study, a specialised LAMP specific classroom was established in one of the participating schools

Verbal labeling, rehearsal, and short-term memory

The effects of verbal labeling in a serial position short-term memory (STM) task were investigated in two studies. In the first, 32 children at each of the grades 4, 6, and 8 were tested. In the second, 40 college students were tested. The stimuli consisted of eight cards with a central and an incidental picture on each. Half of the subjects overtly labeled the central pictures as they were presented; half did not. In Study I there were eight trials; in Study II there were additional trials in which stimuli contained only the central pictures. In Study I labeling did not affect overall performance; in Study II labeling was found to decrease performance significantly. For both studies labeling had differential effects at the primacy and recency portions of the serial-position data. There was no effect of one versus two stimuli per card in Study II. The findings were discussed in terms of issues concerning verbal mediation and rehearsal strategies. A developmental model for the processes involved in serial-position STM was presented.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/32831/1/0000206.pd