The Effects Of The Attainment Of Functional Assessment Skills By Preschool Teachers And Their Assistants On Students\u27 Classr

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of teaching functional assessment skills to three Prekindergarten teachers and their teaching assistants. The effects were measured by examining the behavior of the teachers and assistants, as well as the behaviors of the students; before, during and after the delivery of three, two-hour functional assessment classes. The teaching staff videotaped themselves and their students during a regular class time, predetermined by the researcher and each teacher prior to the onset of baseline data collection, over an approximate nine-week period. The video was taken in twelve-minute segments every day. Later, the video was coded for specific behaviors. Although there were gains in appropriate intervention strategies from teachers and assistants during the intervention phase, the interventions generally peaked a week or two after the classes ended and gradually declined. Teacher skills were retained however, as most ratios of appropriate interventions maintained at higher rates than baseline. Relationships between student behavior and correct teacher interventions were established and maintained. The intervention resulted in changes in staff behavior, but results did not sustain at high levels over time. The realization that escape maintained some student behavior, and teaching skills to test for function, were likely the most important concepts for many of the participants. Further research should include adding a behavior coach to assist in shaping the teaching staffs\u27 emerging skills and to provide a sounding board when developing specific student interventions

Are They the First Two Women\u27s Studies Ph.D.\u27S?

Dear Ms. Reuben: In June we both graduated from the History of Consciousness program at the University of California, Santa Cruz. The History of Consciousness Board of Studies is interdisciplinary, and it is possible within the program to concentrate in an established discipline. Both of us concentrated our study within the area of women\u27s studies; we had women\u27s studies faculty on our oral and dissertation committees. Karen\u27s dissertation was The Social Construction of Female Sexual Experience, and Sally\u27s was That Word is Liberty: A Biography of Matilda Joslyn Gage (a nineteenth-century American feminist)

Petrogenesis and Concentric Zonation of the Belchertown Intrusive Complex, West-Central Massachusetts

The Belchertown Intrusive Complex is a ~164 km2 Devonian pluton that intruded Paleozoic metasedimentary and metavolcanic rocks in west-central Massachusetts. Intrusion of the pluton was synchronous with Acadian deformation (Ashwal, 1974). The complex is concentrically zoned, with a core of orthopyroxene-biotite monzodiorite, a middle zone of clinopyroxene-hornblende-biotite granodiorite, and an outermost zone of hornblende-biotite granodiorite. Zoning from a more to less hydrous mineral suite from the outside to the inside of the pluton led Ashwal (1974) to suggest that metamorphic hydration most strongly affected the outermost zones of the complex. Basaltic inclusions occur most commonly near the edges of the pluton. Many of these inclusions preserve textures suggestive of mafic-felsic magma interaction. The abundance of basaltic enclaves on the edges of the complex may suggest a bowl-shaped structure, with lower more mafic-dominated rocks exposed on the edges of the complex. Bulk rock major element analyses of granitoids, basalts and gabbros, and diorites from all zones of the complex show that intermediate samples, regardless of zone, plot on a mixing line between mafic and felsic end members, supporting a model in which mafic and felsic magmas may have mingled and mixed. Trace element analyses of intermediate-composition samples are similar across the entire complex, with enrichment in large ion lithophile elements and a pronounced Nb trough. In contrast, trace element concentrations in both the mafic rocks (basaltic enclaves and gabbroic inclusions), and in the granitoids, show considerable variation. The diversity of composition within both the mafic and felsic end-members suggests that either fractionation or differing degrees of partial melting of source rocks may account for these compositional ranges. Sanukitoids comprise a majority of the inner zone, and point to the mixing of parental melts at depth in a subduction tectonic regime as a likely model of petrogenesis for the complex

Carpentered World Hypothesis vs. Piaget: Revisiting the Illusions of Segall, Campbell and Herskovits

Individual and group differences in susceptibility to various visual illusions have interested psychologists at least since Binet (1895). At present, there appear to be at least two more-or-less competing explanations of the ontogeny of illusion suscpetibility: Piaget\u27s (1969) Law of Relative Centrations and Segall, Campell and Herskovits\u27 91966) Carpentered World hypothesis. While these theories sometimes produce similar predications, they may also lead to contradictory ones

Diffusion of Policy Innovation: The Case of Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) as an Asset-Building Policy

Diffusion of a policy innovation from one state to another is an important component of social change. Several theories and models have been developed to explain how and under what circumstances policy innovation and diffusion occurs. This paper examines the policy diffusion process through the case of Individual Development Accounts (IDAs), a policy innovation designed to provide matched saving opportunities for low-income people to accumulate assets. While our examination supports several of the prominent theories of policy diffusion, we suggest that a fusion of policy theories may better guide policy makers in more adequately predicting and executing the diffusion of policy innovation. Furthermore, these theories appear to hold most relevance at distinct stages of the process

Contributions of the Earned Income Tax Credit to Community Development in Indian Country

The earned income tax credit (EITC) has become a central element in a suite of programs and polices that promote “asset building” for the poor. Increasingly, it has become a way not only for individuals but also communities to turn their economic circumstances around. The Center for Social Development in collaboration with Kathryn M. Buder Center for American Indian Studies engaged ten Native community organizations currently providing free tax preparation services in a study that examined uptake and potential uses of Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) income by Native people. Through community surveys we learned that a majority of survey respondents (88.26%) have bank accounts. Respondents indicated that they would use their tax refunds to cover personal expenses such as emergencies and catching up on bills. 24.13% indicated that they plan to put their tax return in a savings account while others plan to use the refund to obtain necessary household items such as vehicles and furniture. Community members expressed strong interest in getting information about matched savings accounts, homeownership and financial management education, as well as starting their own business. These findings provide insight into the kinds of community infrastructure and programs that help dollars stay in a community and help citizens leverage their assets

Therapeutic Alliance and Involuntary Commitment of a Minor

Children are legally entitled to be present throughout the commitment hearing for continued hospitalization. The effect of this process on the therapeutic alliance between the child and the psychiatrist warrants examination. A case study of a 14 year-old boy who participated in the court proceedings is presented. The outcome of the hearing resulted in a disruption of the therapeutic alliance. Alter natives to current commitment procedures for minors are discussed