Predicting Student Pragmatic Social Skills Development by Student Age and Behavior Classification

Over the course of a decade, schools have experienced an increase in inappropriate student behaviors and suspensions with a decrease in teacher retention. Students are demonstrating intensive externalizing and internalizing behaviors that are producing a negative effect on their success in the classroom, with low teacher efficacy in knowing how to properly address those behaviors and concerns. Students receiving special education services in behavior tend to experience challenges with more than just behavior but tend to only experience addressing of behavior. Studies have shown that an increased number of students with a behavioral disorder are more likely to have an undiagnosed language impairment. The sample size was drawn from a Washington school district. There were56 participants who had special education classifications of either specific learning disability (SLD), other health impairment (OHI), or emotional behavior disturbance (EBD). This study administers the Pragmatic Language Observation Scale (PLOS) to measure not only the likelihood of a student presenting with a deficit in their pragmatic language, but to measure the effectiveness of direct instruction, addressing pragmatic communication on the student’s behavior. A predictive correlational research design was implemented to allow the researcher to evaluate the intervention administered to measure its effectiveness. The results from the multiple linear regression demonstrated no significant predictive relationship between student social interaction and the students age and behavior classification, resulting in a failure to reject the null hypothesis. A recommendation for future research could include an increase in participants as well as the collection of pre and post data

The confluence of Gaussian process emulation and wavelets

We discuss two thriving research areas, emulation (in the statistical sense) and wavelet analysis, and explore ways in which the two areas can complement each other to tackle problems that both areas face. The Gaussian process, which is the popular choice in emulation, is used due to its ability to be a surrogate for a function when we are only able to make a limited number of observations from the function. The Gaussian process, however, does not perform well when the underlying function contains a discontinuity. Wavelet analysis, on the other hand, is known for its ability to model and analyse functions that contain discontinuities. Wavelet analysis tends to require a large number of datapoints to be able to model functions accurately, tending to struggle when the amount of data is limited. As it appears that one area’s strength is the other area’s weakness, this thesis is aimed at exploring the possible overlaps between the two methods, and the ways in which they could benefit each other. Particular attention in the thesis is paid to the challenges that are faced when the function that we are attempting to model contains discontinuities, or, areas of space in which there is a sharp increase/decrease in the value of our observations. We develop methods to select the location of additional design points after we have observed the function at our original design points with the objective of better defining the location of the discontinuity. We also develop novel methods to model the unknown function that we believe contains discontinuities, and look to accurately find our uncertainty in this function

Somatic computationalism: Damasio\u27s clever error

Neuroscientist Antonio Damasio wrote a book entitled DESCARTES’ ERROR (1994) in order to address popular misconceptions about the mind, particularly those which relate to Cartesian philosophy. One of the author’s major goals for the book is to argue that emotion contributes to reason, that emotion is in fact necessary for rational thought to occur. In order to link emotion to reason, Damasio proposes a theory of mind which explains several mental functions in terms of neurological representations. Consciousness, reason, instinct and emotion all occur because the brain forms representations of the subject’s body and of the world in which the body acts. Thought, in the broadest sense of the term, is the process in which the brain manipulates these representations and causes them to interact. This thesis will examine Damasio’s theory of mind in relation to two traditional topics in cognitive science: consciousness and intelligence. The first chapter simply explains the theory as given in DESCARTES’ ERROR. Chapter two argues that, like everyone before him, Damasio fails to explain how or why the brain generates consciousness. Although the theory fails in this regard, it is still useful as a description of the neurological processes which underlie consciousness, of the mechanics of mind. As such, this theory could serve as a conceptual complement to the traditional paradigms of cognitive science, “GOFAI” and Embodied Cognition. Chapter three will argue that Damasio’s theory is better suited to work with the latter paradigm than the former

DEFORESTATION OF CLOUD FOREST IN THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS OF GUATEMALA: SOIL EROSION AND SUSTAINABILITY IMPLICATIONS FOR Q\u27EQCHI\u27 MAYA COMMUNITIES

Understanding the nexus between deforestation, food production, land degradation, and culture contributes knowledge that is useful for development practitioners working to enhance conservation and food security. Documenting deforestation and soil erosion in the Sierra Yalijux and Sierra Sacranix in the Central Highlands of Guatemala adds new knowledge about the rates and dynamics of deforestation and land degradation in areas with unique and sensitive cloud forest ecosystems. It also suggests possible areas of emphasis for efforts targeted at combining cloud forest conservation with sustainability for indigenous Q\u27eqchi\u27 communities. In addition, this work contributes to a small but growing body of literature concerned with human-environment interactions in cloud forests, and demonstrates how a transdisciplinary approach can be used to investigate these interactions. The cloud forest in the Sierra Yalijux and Sierra Sacranix in the Central Highlands of Guatemala is largely unprotected and provides habitat for a wide variety of wildlife and critical ecosystem services for rural communities. A mix of research methods was used to investigate the human-environment interactions between the cloud forest and the Q\u27eqchi\u27 people living in the vicinity, and implications for sustainability. Deforestation patterns and rates for the cloud forest, and impacts on soil erosion, were examined using land use change mapping from remote sensing imagery (Landsat TM, high-resolution digital orthophotos, and digital elevation models) and soil erosion modeling using the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation. Contributing factors to deforestation, as well as implications for sustainability of food production and ecosystem services in Q\u27eqchi\u27 communities were investigated using analysis of quantitative and qualitative data from surveys and focus groups in several communities. Annual deforestation rates were highest in the Sierra Yalijux study area, nearly doubling from 0.65 percent/year between 1986 and 1996 to 1.19 percent/year between 1996 and 2006. In the Sierra Sacranix, the annual deforestation rate increased from approximately 0.25 percent/year to 0.81 percent/year, more than tripling between 1986 and 2006. Population increase in Q\u27eqchi\u27 communities is driving land subdivision, which is leading to reduced fallow periods on land already cleared for subsistence farming, and is ultimately leading to increased clearing of cloud forest. Thus deforestation has been caused by expansion of subsistence agriculture in response to increased food demand and increased pressure on land resources, such as soils. Farmers have been gradually clearing cloud forest on increasingly steep slopes in order to cultivate enough land to meet growing food needs. The implications of cloud forest loss are significant for Q\u27eqchi\u27 communities. Farmers rely on the cloud forest for ecosystem services such as organic matter input to enhance soil fertility, potable water availability, and microclimate stability. The Q\u27eqchi\u27 have observed reductions in the input of leaf matter to their agricultural plots, changes in the precipitation regime, and decreased availability of potable water from springs in recent decades, all of which are associated with cloud forest removal. Estimates of soil erosion rates from model calculations show that soil loss is most severe in agricultural areas. Expansion of agriculture was observed in both catchments, and as a result soil loss rates have increased. However the increase of soil loss as a result of deforestation was relatively small compared to the overall contribution from agricultural areas. Simulation results comparing current practices to a soil conservation scenario indicate that support practices such as bench terracing and polyculture would significantly mitigate the most severe soil erosion. These measures accomplish this by reducing slope (terracing) and increasing vegetation cover (polyculture). We anticipate that reducing soil loss through support practices would likely increase soil fertility in the long-term and increase nutrition in Q\u27eqchi\u27 communities through the consumption of a wider variety of crops, which would enhance food security. Reducing the decline of soil fertility in the long run and increasing agricultural intensity through polyculture would also curb pressure on the cloud forest, even as population continues to increase in the region

Beyond E11

We study the non-linear realisation of E11 originally proposed by West with particular emphasis on the issue of linearised gauge invariance. Our analysis shows even at low levels that the conjectured equations can only be invariant under local gauge transformations if a certain section condition that has appeared in a different context in the E11 literature is satisfied. This section condition also generalises the one known from exceptional field theory. Even with the section condition, the E11 duality equation for gravity is known to miss the trace component of the spin connection. We propose an extended scheme based on an infinite-dimensional Lie superalgebra, called the tensor hierarchy algebra, that incorporates the section condition and resolves the above issue. The tensor hierarchy algebra defines a generalised differential complex, which provides a systematic description of gauge invariance and Bianchi identities. It furthermore provides an E11 representation for the field strengths, for which we define a twisted first order self-duality equation underlying the dynamics.Comment: 97 pages. v2: Minor changes, references added. Published versio

Separability in Cohomogeneity-2 Kerr-NUT-AdS Metrics

The remarkable and unexpected separability of the Hamilton-Jacobi and Klein-Gordon equations in the background of a rotating four-dimensional black hole played an important role in the construction of generalisations of the Kerr metric, and in the uncovering of hidden symmetries associated with the existence of Killing tensors. In this paper, we show that the Hamilton-Jacobi and Klein-Gordon equations are separable in Kerr-AdS backgrounds in all dimensions, if one specialises the rotation parameters so that the metrics have cohomogeneity 2. Furthermore, we show that this property of separability extends to the NUT generalisations of these cohomogeneity-2 black holes that we obtained in a recent paper. In all these cases, we also construct the associated irreducible rank-2 Killing tensor whose existence reflects the hidden symmetry that leads to the separability. We also consider some cohomogeneity-1 specialisations of the new Kerr-NUT-AdS metrics, showing how they relate to previous results in the literature.Comment: Latex, 15 pages, minor typos correcte

Compared to primaries, caucuses are less representative andmore likely to select an ideologically extreme nominee.

The next 19 months will see nearly endless speculation over the candidates and the outcome of the 2016 presidential election. But how important is the nomination process? In new research on presidential primaries and caucuses using data from the Cooperative Congressional Election Study, Christopher F. Karpowitz & Jeremy C. Pope find that compared to primaries, caucuses are seen by many voters as being less fair and more likely to advantage special interests, making them less representative, and more likely to attract more partisan voters. This in turn means that caucuses are more likely to select a more extreme nominee

Cost Should Be No Barrier: An Evaluation of the First Year of Harvard's Financial Aid Initiative

This paper evaluates the first year of Harvard's Financial Aid Initiative, which increased aid and recruiting for students from low income backgrounds. Using rich data from the Census and administrative sources, we estimate family incomes for the vast major of plausible applicants from the U.S. We find that the Initiative had a significant effect almost entirely because it attracted a pool of applicants that was larger and slightly poorer. It appears that very similar standards of admission were used for this group as had been used in previous years. This group, once admitted, enrolled at a rate very similar to that of previous years. Thus, there are a greater number of low income students in the Class of 2009 than in the Class of 2008 simply because more well-qualified, low income students applied. Many apparently qualified students still do not apply, and many of these "missing applicants" come from high schools that have little or no tradition of sending applications to selective private colleges. Targeted outreach to such "one offs" -- that is, students who are one of only a few qualified students from their school in recent years -- may be a way for selective private colleges to increase their income diversity.

Underemployment and Workforce Development in the Mississippi Delta: Community-Based Action Research for Program Planning to Increase Livelihood Security

Underemployment and poverty are important social problems, and they have received attention from researchers and policymakers with interest directed toward workforce development programs. Building from the knowledge obtained through regional and national quantitative studies, this project assessed what employers and underemployed adults living in Mississippi Delta communities had to say about these problems and how to address them for the purpose of informing a community-based organization. Following a review of Census data, qualitative telephone interviews and focus groups were utilized in this community-based action research effort aimed at informing workforce development program planning to increase livelihood security. Results from asset mapping and needs assessment processes indicate that employers and the underemployed share similarities in how they view the area\u27s socioeconomic condition, but there are differences between the groups in interpreting the position of the underemployed in relation to wanting to work. Follow-up meetings were used to check, expand, and interpret these research results, and additional planning meetings were held. Program and policy implications are discussed

A bioenergetic model for zebrafish \u3ci\u3eDanio rerio\u3c/i\u3e (Hamilton)

A bioenergetics model was developed from observed consumption, respiration and growth rates for zebrafish Danio rerio across a range (18–32° C) of water temperatures, and evaluated with a 50 day laboratory trial at 28° C. No significant bias in variable estimates was found during the validation trial; namely, predicted zebrafish mass generally agreed with observed mass