Attitudes and perceptions of middle school students toward competitive activities in physical education

The attitudes and perceptions of middle school students toward competitive activities in physical education were examined. Ten boys and 14 girls volunteered (11-high-skilled, 11 moderate-skilled, and 2 low skilled students) in 6th and 7th grade from a total of 6 schools, all offering competitive activities. Data collection was conducted over several months and included focus groups consisting of students of mixed skill levels, observations of competitive class activities, and informal interviews with teachers. The three major themes that emerged were, having fun in competitive activities, not all students were attaining motor skills necessary to participate in activities due to a lack of time to engage in appropriate practice, and the structure of competitive activities affects student experience

Incarceration Effects on Children and Families

Children of incarcerated parents have been found to experience long-term trauma as an effect of parental incarceration. There is little information regarding resources and programs available to these children to mitigate these issues. This study aims to identify recurring themes experienced by children and families separated by incarceration which cause negative long-term issues. The study will identify these overlaps and identify plans that can be implemented by social service agencies to alleviate and diminish the rates at which children are affected by incarceration. The researcher will conduct individual interviews with participants to complete an exploratory cross-sectional study. Data gathered from the interviews will be transcribed and analyzed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis

A deaf child in the family : a preliminary study of the social-emotional impact of deafness on parenting and family life in Cape Town

Includes bibliographical references.This study documents hearing parents' experiences of the impact of deafness on raising their deaf children during the preschool years. It focuses on their experience of health services for their child. The study population of 20 children was drawn from parents with children under 6 years of age diagnosed with moderate to profound loss of hearing at the Developmental Ciinic, Red Cross Chiidren’s Hospital, Rondebosch; Cape Town. Data was collected from 2 sources, namely a semi-structured interview, which was analysed for themes, and a questionnaire, which measures parental stress, communication difficuities, and experience of professional support

Participation of people with psychosocial disability in mental health policy development in South Africa

This study addressed the following question: What are the barriers and strategies to support the participation of South Africans with psychosocial disability in mental health policy development in South Africa? A systematic literature review (objective 1) addressed the question: ""What supports people with psychosocial disability to participate in national mental health policy development?"" The WHO Checklist for Mental Health Legislation, the WHO Checklist for Mental Health Policy and Plan, and domain 4 of the World Health Organisation Assessment Instrument for Mental Health Systems (WHO-AIMS) were completed, and 96 semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders were conducted, to assess current stakeholder, mental health legislation and policy support for the participation of people with psychosocial disability in South Africa (Objective 2). Nvivo-7 software was used to analysis qualitative data, using a framework analysis approach to data analysis and interpretation. These interviews were also used to ascertain the views of 56 of the 96 South African stakeholders' involved in mental health services, on environmental barriers to the participation of people with psychosocial disability in mental health policy development in South Africa (objective 3). The remaining 40 interviews with people with psychosocial disability documented their lived experience of barriers to their participation in policy development, and highlighted their priorities for policy development (Objective 4). Eleven key informants involved in leadership roles in peer led organisations for people with psychosocial disability in Africa were interviewed to inform understanding of opportunities for supporting people with psychosocial disability to participate in mental health policy development (Objective 5). The findings of objectives 1-5 were triangulated to inform the development of a conceptual framework for supporting South Africans with psychosocial disability to participate in mental health policy development (objective 6). The framework proposes the need for social transformation to overcome barriers to the inclusion of people with psychosocial disability in society, including as policy participants, support for self-directed agency, and opportunity for meaningful participation in policy development

Penerapan Konsep Corporate Social Responsibility Dalam Mengembangkan UMKM Melalui Program BRIncubator

Perusahaan terbuka di Indonesia wajib untuk melaksanakan Corporate Social Responsibility yang telah diatur dalam Undang – Undang. CSR dilakukan sebagai bentuk kesadaran perusahaan untuk melakukan tanggung jawab terhadap masyarakat ataupun lingkungan sekitar operasional perusahaan. PT. Bank Rakyat Indonesia (Persero) Tbk yang merupakan perusahaan di industri perbankan yang memiliki fokus di bidang bisnis mikro, membentuk kegiatan CSR untuk mengembangkan UMKM melalui kolaborasi dengan Desk Inkubasi dengan Program BRIncubator. Program ini bertujuan mengembangkan UMKM untuk melakukan ekspor serta membentuk Digital Economy Ecosystem sesuai dengan arahan Kementerian BUMN. Penelitian ini dibuat untuk mengetahui bagaimana penerapan CSR serta prinsip - prinsip CSR yang dilakukan untuk mengembangan UMKM. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode kualitatif deskriptif. Peneliti menggunakan pencarian data primer melalui wawancara semi struktur serta melakukan riset melalui data perusahaan, buku, jurnal dan situs web. Hasil penelitian yang didapat adalah pengembangan UMKM yang dilakukan oleh Program BRIncubator dalam penerapan CSR masih sulit dilakukan oleh UMKM, sehingga UMKM melakukan CSR dengan cara melakukan produksi produk dengan bahan ramah lingkungan. Prinsip - prinsip CSR yang telah dilaksanakan dengan baik walaupun masih kurang dalam hal pemberitahuan secara langsung terkait pelatihan UMKM merupakan bagian dari CSR perusahaan. Selanjutnya untuk pengembangan UMKM terdapat beberapa kendala dari pihak eksternal yang masih belum melek teknologi sehingga menghambat pelatihan UMKM, disarankan pelatihan UMKM untuk dipecah kelasnya agar sesuai dengan kemampuan UMKM mengenai digitalisasi serta perlu adanya pengkomunikasian mengenai Program BRIncubator merupakan bagian dari CSR Bank BRI

Preschool Teachers’ Stated Approaches to Imaginary Companion Behavior Among Preschool Students

The purpose of this study was to examine the responses of preschool teachers toward students with imaginary companions, in particular, their reactions to situations involving imaginary companions in the classroom settings. Past research has focused on reflections of individuals who have had imaginary companions in childhood. Professional attitudes toward these children have ranged from very positive to suggestive of mental illness, requiring treatment. The subjects were 27 female preschool teachers currently teaching nursery school in the western New York region. Eight hypothetical imaginary companion scenarios were devised. Each scenario was comprised of three to five short sentences. Subjects responded to each scenario in a free-response written format. They were instructed to respond to the situations presented as they would in their own classroom. All responses were then analyzed for overall feeling tone/theme. Eight themes were found to be present in the responses. These themes were: Responsible/”correct” behavior; Diversion/socialization; Extension/school activities; Praise, acknowledgment; Questioning/child/parent/”friend”; Sarcasm/rude comments/derision; Acceptance/ignore behavior; and Don\u27t know. Responses elicited revealed no definitive across-case approach to imaginary companion behavior in the preschool classroom. There were definitive response patterns/themes found within cases. Each student\u27s case was unique and specific, individualized responses were given by subjects to each scenario. Teaching implications suggested the need to treat children with imaginary companions with respect and encourage the positive aspects of such behavior. Female students in particular tended to be treated not as creative, but dependent and in need of “weaning” from the imaginary companion. Future research in real classroom settings would help determine whether stated responses are reflective of actual teacher actions. Other possible research would include cross-cultural studies and interviewing of adults who presently have imaginary companions

A deaf child in the family : a preliminary study of the social-emotional impact of deafness on parenting and family life in Cape Town

Includes bibliographical references.This study documents hearing parents' experiences of the impact of deafness on raising their deaf children during the preschool years. It focuses on their experience of health services for their child. The study population of 20 children was drawn from parents with children under 6 years of age diagnosed with moderate to profound loss of hearing at the Developmental Ciinic, Red Cross Chiidren’s Hospital, Rondebosch; Cape Town. Data was collected from 2 sources, namely a semi-structured interview, which was analysed for themes, and a questionnaire, which measures parental stress, communication difficuities, and experience of professional support

The Software Engineering Laboratory: An operational software experience factory

For 15 years, the Software Engineering Laboratory (SEL) has been carrying out studies and experiments for the purpose of understanding, assessing, and improving software and software processes within a production software development environment at NASA/GSFC. The SEL comprises three major organizations: (1) NASA/GSFC, Flight Dynamics Division; (2) University of Maryland, Department of Computer Science; and (3) Computer Sciences Corporation, Flight Dynamics Technology Group. These organizations have jointly carried out several hundred software studies, producing hundreds of reports, papers, and documents, all of which describe some aspect of the software engineering technology that was analyzed in the flight dynamics environment at NASA. The studies range from small, controlled experiments (such as analyzing the effectiveness of code reading versus that of functional testing) to large, multiple project studies (such as assessing the impacts of Ada on a production environment). The organization's driving goal is to improve the software process continually, so that sustained improvement may be observed in the resulting products. This paper discusses the SEL as a functioning example of an operational software experience factory and summarizes the characteristics of and major lessons learned from 15 years of SEL operations