Using social stories and trained peer partners to teach perspective taking

The purpose of this study was to examine whether, by developing skill in understanding theory of mind skills as well as understanding how perspectives are formed, students would be able to identify more than one possible perspective in a variety of situations. The goal was for them to accept that other peoples\u27 intent may be different from their interpretation of intent. Students were guided through a thorough understanding of the skills involved and the many ways in which the concepts impact interaction. They were taught how the neurotypical population interprets interactions. Skills were instructed individually and then combined with other skills to form the broader understanding of what comprises socialization. Social stories with thought bubbles, role-playing, peer partners and coaching where utilized to help students acquire understanding and the ability to apply skills. These structures helped this researcher\u27s students to make progress in learning the thinking process behind social interaction. Students were evaluated and parents assessed their children\u27s abilities prior to and after therapy. Students demonstrated understanding of concepts by identifying multiple possible intents for each individual in the same scenario when presented with five videos to evaluate. The study utilized a single subject AB design. The results of this research suggest that by utilizing these methods students increased their theory of mind and perspective taking skills. The results demonstrate that these skills can be instructed. Thinking of these deficits as skills that can be instructed instead of considering them acting out, rudeness, unreasonableness, or deliberate acts of carelessness of others\u27 feeling can change how responses occur to these behaviors and empower teachers, parents, and therapists to work on helping the student acquire skills

On the Front Lines: Educating Teachers about Bullying and Prevention Methods

Problem statement: Bullying is a serious problem in American schools and is characterized by aggressive behavior distinguished by unequal power and the intention to cause physical, social, or emotional harm to others Bullying is evolving from the classic image of a big schoolyard bully picking on smaller kids to a more technologically, sophisticated model of kids using cyber technology to electronically tease, bully and harass their peers with texting, voicemails, emails and posts on public websites, like Facebook, that are popular with young students. While parents are and should be encouraged and trained to recognize understand the insidious nature of techno bullying, it is not enough. The schools should take an active stance against bullying and this includes training teachers and other personnel to be trained to recognize the signs and to intervene in bullying. Approach: This article discussed a research project undertaken to get assess the following: how educators recognize bullying, what they can do and actually do to intervene as well as their need for more training and autonomy to intervene. Results: There were 145 completed surveys, with 51 partially completed surveys. The results were reported for the completed surveys only. Conclusion: This study examined how well a subset of teachers recognize the signs of cyber/techno bullying as well as their feelings of preparedness to intervene with the bullies and the bullied

Coping Styles as Predictors of Alcohol Consumption with Undergraduate College Students Perceiving Stress

Coping was examined as a potential predictor for alcohol consumption with an undergraduate college population. Eighty-nine undergraduate students in the United States participated in the study by completing a survey between February and October 2016. A hierarchical multiple regression was used to analyze whether specific coping styles predict problematic drinking among undergraduate college students who report experiences of perceived stress. The following self-report questionnaires measured the variables: the subjective portion of the Perceived Stress Scale, Coping Strategies Inventory-Short Form (CSI-S), Cahalan’s (1969) Quantity Frequency Index, and a background demographic questionnaire developed to assess basic demographic information. Findings revealed that weekend drinking was predicted by emotion-focused disengagement. Students with higher scores on the emotion-focused disengagement reported more problematic weekend drinking than other study participants. This study expanded upon existing literature by further clarifying the correlation between stress and drinking among undergraduate college students

Causes and Effects of the Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776

The question that is explored in this thesis is the formation of democratic government in colonial Pennsylvania and post-colonial Pennsylvania. How the Charter of 1701 in colonial Pennsylvania laid the basis for the development of the Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776. The methodology used in this historical examination of the Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776, its overturn and subsequent replacement by the Pennsylvania Constitution of 1790, is to illustrate these events through the processes of law and the processes of revolution. The American Revolution had a critical impact on the nature of constitutional developments in Pennsylvania. But the processes of law always maintained itself. The parallel development of the U.S. Constitution of 1789 and its effects on Pennsylvania politics is also examined. Sub-topics that are discussed include the role of the frontier in Pennsylvania political development, the issue of community, the Bank of North America, and key episodes of violence that left their mark on the Pennsylvania polity

Listening to Those Who Matter Most, the Beneficiaries

The views and experiences of the people who benefit from social programs are often overlooked and under appreciated, even though they are an invaluable source of insight into a program's effectiveness. This paper concentrates on why beneficiaries in development assistance should be the first point of call in seeking advise and in measurement of impacts

SOL PROBE AND METHOD OF OBTAINING MOISTURE,TEMPERATURE AND ROOT DISTRIBUTION OF A SOIL PROFILE

To provide a profile of simultaneous moisture, temperature and root density characteristics at different depths of soil, a soil probe is inserted in the soil with a viewing and camera section extending above the soil. Similarly, the probe provides a profile of simultaneous moisture, temperature and presence of molds, insects or other foreign matter in grain or similar media including liquid as well as solid granulated material. The portion of the probe that is in the soil or other media includes a source of light or light conveyance and windows which transmit an image of the soil at various depths along the length of the probe through light conductors for further transmission to the viewing and camera section. Liquid crystals sense the temperature of the soil at different locations and light conductors transmit color changes of the liquid crystals to the surface so that a profile may be compiled of moisture, temperature and root patterns by observation of the transmitted images in the viewing section. Viewed and photographic images can be com pared with known color calibration standards to ascertain in situ moisture and temperature conditions of the soil profile

Frozen water waves over rough topographical bottoms

The propagation of surface water waves over rough topographical bottoms is investigated by the multiple scattering theory. It is shown that the waves can be localized spatially through the process of multiple scattering and wave interference, a peculiar wave phenomenon which has been previously discussed for frozen light in optical systems (S. John, Nature {\bf 390}, 661, (1997)). We demonstrate that when frozen, the transmission of the waves falls off exponentially, and a cooperative behavior appears, fully supporting previous predictions. A phase diagram method is used to illustrate this distinct phase states in the wave propagation.Comment: 4 pages and 5 figure

Guiding optical flows by photonic crystal slabs made of dielectric cylinders

We investigate the electromagnetic propagation in two-dimensional photonic crystals, formed by parallel dielectric cylinders embedded a uniform medium. The frequency band structure is computed using the standard plane-wave expansion method, while the propagation and scattering of the electromagnetic waves are calculated by the multiple scattering theory. It is shown that within partial bandgaps, the waves tend to bend away from the forbidden directions. Such a property may render novel applications in manipulating optical flows. In addition, the relevance with the imaging by flat photonic crystal slabs will also be discussed.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Stemming the tide of HIV infection : a multidimensional analysis of risk and prevention for Acquired Immuno-deficiency Virus

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 1989.Title as it appeared in M.I.T. Graduate List, June 1989: Risk and prevention for Acquired Immuno-deficiency Syndrome; a feminist analysis.Includes bibliographical references.by Fay Debra Twersky.M.C.P