The Effects of Peer Mentoring on Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder

The purpose of this study was to determine the characteristics of students with autism and their peer mentors that may contribute to the success of peer-mediated intervention strategies. Target students and peer mentors were matched based on skill level, age, and preferences; the students participated in a variety of activities throughout a week-long day camp. Peer mentors were taught how to interact with students, and behavior technicians were trained to facilitate these interactions. A qualitative case study was designed to determine patterns across the matched pairs. Findings indicate that peer mentor characteristics and the characteristics of the target student contribute to the success of a peer mentoring intervention

UA94/6/1 Thomas Cherry Tichenor Correspondence

Correspondence of Thomas Cherry Tichenor to his parents Thomas Alexander and David Ellen (Cherry) Tichenor regarding his time as a student at WKU, 1931-1936. Consists of typed letters, postcards and report cards. There is also a letter from W.M. Baker on Talisman stationery

Some two-component beta decay measurements

The shorter half-life of a two-component beta decay was determined. Natural silver was activated with thermal neutrons to produce isotopes Ag108 and Ag110. The shorter half-life decay (that of Ag110) was isolated from that of Ag108 by measuring the decay of only the higher energy betas associated with Ag110. Because a large portion of the energy spectrum was excluded, pile-up corrections were necessary. The half-life was also determined using the more conventional two-component method. The single component method yielded a half-life of 23.26 =/- .03 seconds compared with 23.43 =/- .04 seconds determined by the two-component methods. (Only statistical uncertainties are shown above.) The techniques used for making pile-up corrections are described, and systematic errors are discussed. This investigation indicates that accurate half-life determinations can be obtained with the single-component method.http://archive.org/details/sometwocomponent00ballCaptain, United States ArmyApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited

A comparative study of selected sorbents for sampling of aromatic VOCs from indoor air

Indoor air canbecome pollutedwith VOCs, and understanding the factors which affect adsorption of VOCs from indoor air is important for: (i) the accurate measurement of VOCs, and (ii) to apply mitigation strategies when high analyte concentrations are measured. In this study four VOCs (toluene, ethylbenzene, cumene and dichlorobenzene) were generated as a constant and controlled polluted air stream of VOCs from a dynamic atmospheric chamber. The effects of relative humidity, and sampling flow rate, on adsorption onto Tenax TA and the relatively new silica adsorbents SBA-15 or MCM-41 were studied

Differences in client and therapist views of the working alliance in drug treatment

Background - There is growing evidence that the therapeutic alliance is one of the most consistent predictors of retention and outcomes in drug treatment. Recent psychotherapy research has indicated that there is a lack of agreement between client, therapist and observer ratings of the therapeutic alliance; however, the clinical implications of this lack of consensus have not been explored. Aims - The aims of the study are to (1) explore the extent to which, in drug treatment, clients and counsellors agree in their perceptions of their alliance, and (2) investigate whether the degree of disagreement between clients and counsellors is related to retention in treatment. Methods - The study recruited 187 clients starting residential rehabilitation treatment for drug misuse in three UK services. Client and counsellor ratings of the therapeutic alliance (using the WAI-S) were obtained during weeks 1-12. Retention was in this study defined as remaining in treatment for at least 12 weeks. Results - Client and counsellor ratings of the alliance were only weakly related (correlations ranging from r = 0.07 to 0.42) and tended to become more dissimilar over the first 12 weeks in treatment. However, whether or not clients and counsellors agreed on the quality of their relationship did not influence whether clients were retained in treatment. Conclusions - The low consensus between client and counsellor views of the alliance found in this and other studies highlights the need for drug counsellors to attend closely to their clients' perceptions of the alliance and to seek regular feedback from clients regarding their feelings about their therapeutic relationship

An Examination of Cognitive Complexity & Its Relationship with Urban-Rural Locality

This study examined the relationship of cognitive complexity with urban-rural locality, communication apprehension, and world view. Emphasis was placed upon the population variable of urban-rural locality as it related to cognitive complexity; however, the variables of communication apprehension and world view were also examined in an attempt to discover an interrelationship among the variables. Using the Crockett Role Category Questionnaire, the short version of McCroskey\u27s Personal Report of Communication Apprehension, a world view scale as developed by Dodd and Garmon, and selected demographic and group membership items, the researcher tested one hundred fifteen undergraduate college students. Data analyses included analyses of variance and correlation and regression analyses. Results of the study indicated a significant sex difference in which females were shown to have a higher degree of cognitive complexity than males. A multiple regression found the variables of number of children in the family, sex, and other organization membership to be chief predictors of cognitive complexity. The group membership variables were discovered to have a strong correlation with one another, with the other organization membership variable exerting the strongest influence. An analysis of variance, however, revealed the major finding of the study, a significant three-way interaction of the variables of population, world view, and communication apprehension with cognitive complexity

Topics in Graph Compositions

For any discrete undirected graph G with vertex set V(G) and edge set E(G) (respectively), a graph composition of G is defined to be a partition of V(G) where every element of the partition yields a connected, induced subgraph of G. This dissertation is comprised of 5 chapters. The first is a general introduction to the concept of graph compositions and a survey of previously researched work; the second focuses on the composition number of deletions of specific graphs from complete graphs; the third focuses on establishing bounds for the composition number of general graphs and the Bell number coefficients of general graphs; the fourth focuses on the connection between graph compositions and Aitken\u27s array, a well researched array; finally, the fifth focuses on the number of compositions of graphs where the number of components is restricted

To Foster Change

The current study intended to investigate the effects of increased similarity to upward, lateral, and downward comparison targets on changes to participants’ psychological well-being and self-aspect valence. Based on previous literature, hypotheses were proposed in regard to the effect of increased similarity to each direction of comparison. A sample of students in introductory psychology classes from Eastern Kentucky University were employed to test these hypotheses. All of the participants completed measures that captured their self-aspect valence and centrality, perception of comparison targets, and psychological well-being. The results of this study confirmed some of the hypotheses. The results showed that for upward comparisons, increased similarity to the upward target was associated with increased psychological well-being and self-aspect valence at Time 2. The effects for self-aspect valence were moderated by increased closeness and positive valence of upward target. For lateral comparisons, increased similarity to the lateral target was not associated with changes in self-aspect valence or psychological well-being at Time 2. For downward comparisons, increased similarity to the downward target was associated with a marginal decrease in self-aspect valence at Time 2. These findings provided evidence that an individual becoming more similar to people perceived to be better than they are can improve their psychological well-being and the way they feel about themselves

Comparing speaker-based and observer-based measures of the perception of physical tension during stuttering

People who stutter commonly experience increased levels of physical tension during moments of stuttering. These increased levels of physical tension have been shown to vary in location of the body and from individual to individual (Brutten & Shoemaker, 1967; Wingate, 1964). Though treatment of increased physical tension often involves speaker self-evaluation (see Van Riper, 1973), a widely-used assessment of physical tension relies on a clinician’s observations (SSI-4; Riley, 2009). This study proposed to answer the question, “how do clinicians’ perceptions of physical tension compare to the speaker’s perceptions of physical tension?” Ten adults who stutter recruited from the Pittsburgh chapter of the National Stuttering Association (NSA), were audio-video recorded in select speaking samples. Two expert speech and language pathologists who are also board recognized specialists in fluency disorders (BRS-FD) evaluated selected samples from each participant who stutters using the SSI-4 and a Perception of Physical Tension Form developed for this study. Participants who stutter evaluated themselves using the same forms and discussed their experience of physical tension during an interview so key themes related to physical tension could be identified and compared to results from the clinicians’ observations and test results. Results revealed that physical tension occurring in certain locations, such as the abdomen, chest, throat, cheeks, and tongue, may not be perceived by clinicians. Thematic analysis revealed that the speakers’ experience of physical tension is highly variable and changes over time, possibly relating to other themes of acceptance and self-perception. These results warrant the development of a more specific method of perceiving physical tension using self-reports of speakers. Such assessment may lead to better diagnostic and therapeutic outcomes