Abilities, disabilities and possibilities: a qualitative study exploring the academic and social experiences of gifted and talented students who have co-occurring learning disabilities

It is estimated that 1-2.5% of the UK school population are gifted and talented students who have co-occurring learning disabilities (National Association for Gifted Children, 2001). Many authors have published recommendations for helping to support this unique group. However, far fewer have supported these with empirical research. The current study used 1:1 interviews with secondary school and university students (N=18) to explore their academic and social experiences. As well as being identified as gifted and talented, the students also had a diagnosis of dyslexia, dyspraxia or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). A semi-structured interview schedule was used to ask students about their extra-curricular activities, friendships, bullying, support and future ambitions. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of interview transcripts revealed eight themes: everyday life, extra activities, social development, support, identification, underachievement, mental health issues and suggestions. Students were capable of making friends and mixing with peers but experienced problems with bullying and social isolation. Teachers, mentors, family and technology were found to be helpful, however, support could be inconsistent and parents themselves may benefit from support groups. Finally, some commonly used strategies to help these students were collated and could be useful to help others who share the same or similar experiences

Distribution, causes and nature of natural landslides in Devon and Cornwall

Between 1985 and 1990 a computerised database was assembled that contains information concerning the distribution and nature of 9000 landslides in Great Britain. The South West accounts for 1,700 of the listed slope failures. Problems have arisen because in many areas the database merely serves as an archive of previous studies and is not a true representation of landsliding in an area. The aim of this research was to identify landslide environments correlated with landslide frequency and character and through this develop a landslide susceptibility map. Analyses were undertaken so that distinct inland and coastal landslide environments could be defined. These landslide environments characterised the likely extent and type of landslides that would occur in each land system. In order to compile data over such a large region a land systems approach was taken to characterise areas where the geological and geomorphological conditions were similar. The methods used for primary data collection were aerial photograph interpretation, airborne thematic mapper data, terrain evaluation and limited field mapping for ground truthing purposes. This landslide susceptibility map used probability to assess the relative importance of parameters important to slope stability. The landslide susceptibility map, along with the landslide environments, highlighted areas were landsliding was more prevalent as well as identifying areas where landsliding is less likely to occur. Two landslide environments were identified as being particularly susceptible to landsliding, and this was primarily related to geological conditions. It was found that within environments changes in topography also acted as a strong control on the nature and extent of landsliding. It is anticipated that the method used for assessing landslide susceptibility could have widespread application in all GIS based landslide studies and can be used to develop the potential of the complete UK landslide database, once the rest of the original data have been updated.the British Geological Survey in conjunction with the University of Plymout

Stress, Health, and Mindfulness: Exploring Relationships and Mechanisms Using Self-Report Measures

The relationship between stress and physical health has been well established in the medical and psychological literature. Mindfulness meditation is a practice that has been successfully used to reduce stress in several populations, and the construct itself has recently begun to be measured as a naturally occurring characteristic. A recent study demonstrating the significant relationships between mindfulness, stress, and physical health prompted the investigation in the present study of the possible mechanisms underlying these relationships. It was hypothesised that the relationship between mindfulness and physical health would be largely mediated by stress, and that in addition, mindfulness would explain a significant proportion of the variance in health after stress had been accounted for. Participants were 129 undergraduate students who completed a battery of self-report questionnaires including the Perceived Stress Scale, the Short-Form 36 Health Survey, and two recently developed measures of mindfulness; the Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale and the Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills. Perceived stress was shown to account for a large proportion of the relationship between mindfulness and health, and mindfulness was also shown to explain a significant proportion of the variance in physical health after stress had been controlled for. An additional finding was that acceptance demonstrated stronger relationships with both physical and mental health than any of the other components of mindfulness studied. Potential mechanisms of mindfulness that may help explain these findings are discussed

A cohort study of the recovery of health and wellbeing following colorectal cancer (CREW study): protocol paper

Background: the number of people surviving colorectal cancer has doubled in recent years. While much of the literature suggests that most people return to near pre-diagnosis status following surgery for colorectal cancer, this literature has largely focused on physical side effects. Longitudinal studies in colorectal cancer have either been small scale or taken a narrow focus on recovery after surgery. There is a need for a comprehensive, long-term study exploring all aspects of health and wellbeing in colorectal cancer patients. The aim of this study is to establish the natural history of health and wellbeing in people who have been treated for colorectal cancer. People have different dispositions, supports and resources, likely resulting in individual differences in restoration of health and wellbeing. The protocol described in this paper is of a study which will identify who is most at risk of problems, assess how quickly people return to a state of subjective health and wellbeing, and will measure factors which influence the course of recovery. Methods: this is a prospective, longitudinal cohort study following 1000 people with colorectal cancer over a period of two years, recruiting from 30 NHS cancer treatment centres across the UK. Questionnaires will be administered prior to surgery, and 3, 9, 15 and 24 months after surgery, with the potential to return to this cohort to explore on-going issues related to recovery after cancer. Discussion: outcomes will help inform health care providers about what helps or hinders rapid and effective recovery from cancer, and identify areas for intervention development to aid this process. Once established the cohort can be followed up for longer periods and be approached to participate in related projects as appropriate and subject to funding<br/

Interactive effects of fire and large herbivores on web-building spiders

Altered disturbance regimes are a major driver of biodiversity loss worldwide. Maintaining or re-creating natural disturbance regimes is therefore the focus of many conservation programmes. A key challenge, however, is to understand how co-occurring disturbances interact to affect biodiversity. We experimentally tested for the interactive effects of prescribed fire and large macropod herbivores on the web-building spider assemblage of a eucalypt forest understorey and investigated the role of vegetation in mediating these effects using path analysis. Fire had strong negative effects on the density of web-building spiders, which were partly mediated by effects on vegetation structure, while negative effects of large herbivores on web density were not related to changes in vegetation. Fire amplified the effects of large herbivores on spiders, both via vegetation-mediated pathways and by increasing herbivore activity. The importance of vegetation-mediated pathways and fire–herbivore interactions differed for web density and richness and also differed between web types. Our results demonstrate that for some groups of web-building spiders, the effects of co-occurring disturbance drivers may be mostly additive, whereas for other groups, interactions between drivers can amplify disturbance effects. In our study system, the use of prescribed fire in the presence of high densities of herbivores could lead to reduced densities and altered composition of web-building spiders, with potential cascading effects through the arthropod food web. Our study highlights the importance of considering both the independent and interactive effects of disturbances, as well as the mechanisms driving their effects, in the management of disturbance regimes

A survey of services for the speech and hearing handicapped in New England

Thesis (Ed. M.)--Boston University, 195

A survey of services for the speech and hearing handicapped in New England

Thesis (Ed. M.)--Boston University, 195