Effectiveness of the Coping Power Program in Middle-school Children with Disruptive Behaviours and Hyperactivity Difficulties

The purpose of this article is to discuss the effectiveness of the Coping Power Program (CPP); an evidencebased treatment delivered in a group format to at-risk middle-school children. Initially, two groups were randomised and formed: an intervention group of 24 CPP sessions and a control group. All students were enrolled in public schools from two rural counties in the United States. Out of the 119 total participants 63 (37 male) were in the intervention and 56 (35 male) were in the control group. From the larger intervention group, a subset of students was identified as ‘significantly improved’. Using the Behavior Assessment Scale for Children-2 (BASC-2), a pre- and post-intervention measure showed that students with clinically significant hyperactivity and behavioural difficulties scores were the most sensitive to the group intervention

The Relationship between Narcotic Administration and Emergency Department Recidivism

The present study investigated the impact of narcotic administration on quantity and frequency of recidivism by patients presenting to the Emergency Department (ED) with a primary complaint of chronic pain. This study explored the relationship between narcotic administration, gender, prescribing physician and subsequent ED visits. We analyzed the data from the twelve months of medical records for 80 patients (278 visits) who presented at the ED of a general medical center in a rural area. Results indicated that the number of visits by those who received narcotics was significantly higher than for those who did not receive narcotics. There was also a significant difference in prescribing patterns, with females being more likely than males to receive a narcotic. Observable differences were found between the frequency of days between visits for those who received narcotics vs. those who did not, and the differential pattern of narcotic administration between providers. These findings raise the question that the receipt of a narcotic may reinforce visits to the ED. This study concluded that an established protocol for treating patients with chronic pain who present in the ED may be useful

The Poverty Puzzle: The Surprising Difference between Wealthy and Poor Students for Self-efficacy and Academic Achievement

This study explored the relationship between intellectual ability, socioeconomic status (SES), academic achievement and self-efficacy in a cross-cultural sample. Data from 90 students (63 students from Central America and 27 from the US) showed that regardless of culture or IQ, students from low SES families had signifi cantly lower grade point averages than students from medium- or high-SES families. Unexpectedly, data showed that regardless of culture or IQ, students from high-SES families had the lowest self-efficacy, but the highest academic performance. Results suggest that self-efficacy is likely to be related to expectations and selfperception beyond IQ or culture

Formal verification of embedded systems based on CFSM networks

Both timing and functional properties are essential to characterize the correct behavior of an embedded system. Verification is in general performed either by simulation, or by bread-boarding. Given the safety requirements of such systems, a formal proof that the properties are indeed satisfied is highly desirable. In this paper, we present a formal verification methodology for embedded systems. The formal model for the behavior of the system used in POLIS is a network of Codesign Finite State Machines. This model is translated into automata, and verified using automatatheoretic techniques. An industrial embedded system is verified using the methodology. We demonstrate that abstractions and separation of timing and functionality is crucial for the successful use of formal verification for this example. We also show that in POLIS abstractions and separation of timing and functionality can be done by simple syntactic modification of the representation of the system

A Case Study in Embedded System Design: an Engine Control Unit

A number of techniques and software toolsfor embedded system design have been recently proposed. However,the current practice in the designer community is heavily basedon manual techniques and on past experience rather than on arigorous approach to design. To advance the state of the artit is important to address a number of relevant design problemsand solve them to demonstrate the power of the new approaches.We chose an industrial example in automotive electronics to validateour design methodology: an existing commercially available EngineControl Unit. We discuss in detail the specification, the implementationphilosophy, and the architectural trade-off analysis. We analyzethe results obtained with our approach and compare them withthe existing design underlining the advantages offered by a systematicapproach to embedded system design in terms of performance and design time

A Case Study in Embedded System Design: an Engine Control Unit

A number of techniques and software tools for embedded sys- tem design have been recently proposed. However, the cur- rent practice in the designer community is heavily based on manual techniques and on past experience rather than on a rigorous approach to design. To advance the state of the art it is important to address a number of relevant design prob- lems and solve them to demonstrate the power of the new approaches. We chose an industrial example in automotive electronics to validate our design methodology: an existing commercially available Engine Control Unit. We discuss in detail the spec- ication, the implementation philosophy, and the architec- tural trade-o analysis. We analyze the results obtained with our approach and compare them with the existing design un- derlining the advantages oered by a systematic approach to embedded system design in terms of performance and design time