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Increasing PRIDE Skills for Child Engagement Using iPCIT with Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Get PDFMany children with autism spectrum disorder display elevated levels of problem behaviors, such as aggression and defiance, in addition to symptoms characteristic of autism, such as deficits in social communication and interaction. Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) is a behavioral parent training program designed to improve problem behavior in young children by teaching parents to use skills that reinforce appropriate behaviors. In addition, the interactive nature of PCIT may help children with autism increase the rates at which they engage and interact with their caregivers. There are many barriers to treatment completion in PCIT, including high attrition rates due to high mastery criteria to complete treatment and travel time and costs. Internet-delivered PCIT (iPCIT) may be an effective alternative to traditional clinic-based PCIT that may make intervention more accessible to family. The present study utilized a multiple baseline design across three caregiver-child dyads with autism to determine whether a CDI-only iPCIT protocol with more attainable mastery criteria affected caregivers’ use of PRIDE skills, children’s engagement, and children’s problem behavior. Results indicated that caregivers increased their use of PRIDE skills, two out of three children increased their engagement, and two out of three children showed improvements in problem behavior. Implications for practice, limitations of the current study, ideas for future research, and conclusions are presented
Roadkill Reverend
No full textRoadkill Reverend is a novel-in-progress about the citizens of a fictional, small New Jersey town named Cooper, coupled with a critical preface about human concern for non-human animals and the value of considering our interconnectedness. Spanning a single year and spread across four sections—each named after a season—the novel tells the story of a nascent connection between Francesca Sledge and Dupree Nutt, two children of local paragons. Born to long-established Cooper families and expected to take up the reins of their parents’ dreams, Francesca and Dupree oscillate between fears of remaining stagnant at home and building a life through opportunities that arise beyond the town’s limits. “Roadkill Reverend” explores the vertiginous, intersecting lives within Cooper and its sleepy environs for humans, non-humans, and the natural world alike, taking liberties to discover how a complex ecosystem of ordinary life can be formed, nurtured, or destroyed as suddenly as it appears. Works that have been and continue to be inspirational for this project include Tom Drury’s The End of Vandalism, Bonnie Jo Campbell’s American Salvage, Colson Whitehead’s Apex Hides the Hurt, Annie Proulx’s That Old Ace in the Hole, and Cormac McCarthy’s Suttree, as well as the philosophies of Brett Buchanan, Margo DeMello, Peter Singer, Jakob von Uexküll, and Kari Weil
The Vascular Flora of Marion County, Mississippi
No full textMississippi is one of the least botanically surveyed states in the southeastern United States. A floristic survey of Marion County, Mississippi, was undertaken from August 2021 through August 2024 to document and better understand the vascular flora that comprises Mississippi. Marion County is located in southern Mississippi within the Southeastern Plains physiographic region, characterized by irregular and dissected plains with acidic to circumneutral sandy-clay soils. One major river system occurs in the county, the Pearl River basin, which bisects the county from north to south. In total, 168 families, 542 genera, and 1,274 vascular plant species and infraspecific taxa were recorded. Four hundred ninety-eight (498) of these species were new county records, and 63 of these new county records were species of special concern by the Mississippi Natural Heritage Program. Overall, 109 state-ranked species and 134 globally-ranked species were documented in the vascular flora of Marion County, Mississippi
The Influence of Educational Big Data Visualization on Students\u27 Learning Initiative
Get PDFWith the development of educational informatization, a large amount of data has been generated in the field of education through various platforms, which prompted research on educational big data among numerous researchers. The quasi-experimental research method has certain controllability. This study adopts the method of quasi-experimental research to conduct a semester of educational big data visualization experiments teaching students through the learning platform. The purpose is to explore the impact of educational big data visualization on students’ learning initiatives. Participants were divided into two different groups, namely an experimental group (52 people) and a control group (40 people) for a 4-month teaching experiment from February 2023 to June 2023. The results indicated that there was no significant difference in the mean value of the learning initiative between these two groups. However, the results for the pre-and post-tests showed one stronger effect on the experimental group and much less compared to the control group. The size effect of the experimental group was 0.314, but the control group was only 0.167. This means that the effect has been stronger for the experimental group than for the control group
Reading Comprehension Interventions for Students with Autism
Get PDFResearch focused on reading comprehension interventions for students with autism is limited. Available research focuses primarily on the impact of single intervention methods, whether teacher-led or technology-based. Research on intervention methods paired with technology is limited. The researcher conducted a survey of 51 special education teachers to identify what interventions, whether teacher-led or technology-based, are most frequently and effectively utilized within the classroom, as well as what methods teachers prefer to utilize within the classroom. The researcher also interviewed a sample of 5 teachers and conducted a thematic analysis to identify factors that teachers identify as most important in teaching reading comprehension. The researcher found that teacher-led instruction is preferred by most teachers, although both teacher-led and technology-based instruction were found to have some benefit within the classroom. The researcher also found that teachers preferred to work with students in a direct-instruction setting. Findings of this study will be shared as well as recommendations for future research and practice
Faculty Attitudes Toward the Preparation of Baccalaureate Nursing Students for Practice in Hospital and Non-Hospital Settings
Get PDFThe ongoing nursing shortage worsened in recent years following the COVID-19 pandemic, has resulted in increasing concerns about future deficits in the nursing workforce. Many nurses are approaching retirement age at a time when the overall demand for healthcare services is expected to increase. Changes in nursing education have been recommended to ensure that the next generation of nurses are willing and prepared to meet the needs of an ageing population. Nursing faculty will have important roles in the education and mentoring of students to prepare them to care for diverse populations in a variety of practice settings. Understanding faculty attitudes about these changes and whether there are long-held beliefs or ‘sacred cow’ practices that may be challenged is an essential first step.
A descriptive qualitative study was conducted to answer the following research question: What do nurse faculty perceive as priority areas for preparing students for practice, and does this affect their teaching? A sample of 13 participants were recruited comprised of nursing faculty from baccalaureate programs across the United States to participate in focus group interviews to explore their perceptions of priority areas for the educational preparation of the next generation of registered nurses. A total of three focus group interviews with four to five participants each were conducted virtually via Zoom between September and November of 2023. The researcher acted as moderator for each of the focus group interviews and asked a set of nine questions that were developed for the purposes of this study. Content analysis was conducted to sort the narrative data collected from the interview transcripts into five categories and 16 subcategories. The data were further analyzed to identify themes of repeating ideas or concepts from within the interview transcripts. A total of five themes emerged during analysis of the narrative data collected from the focus group interviews. The themes included Desire for Students to Succeed, Perceptions of Specific Roles/Settings, Comfort in What is Familiar, Acknowledgment of Changes in Nursing, and Faculty Influence on Students.
The findings of this study provide sight into faculty attitudes toward the preparation of students for practice in various settings. The findings revealed that nursing faculty generally perceive some roles and practice settings to be more appropriate for new nurses and that they prioritize certain areas of content above others The findings also indicate that faculty perceptions of priority areas may affect their teaching in terms of how much focus is given to certain content compared to others. Although further research is recommended to explore this topic, this study provides a basis on which to build and expand the knowledge of this aspect of nursing education
Arab Citizens’ Contributions to Investigative Reporting: An Examination of Arabs\u27 Awareness, Willingness, and Satisfaction Toward Citizen Investigative Reporting
No full textThis dissertation aims to measure Arabs\u27 understanding of investigative reporting and willingness to engage in investigative reporting practices through a survey of 421 Arab citizens from countries that include the Eastern African, Northern African, Arabian Peninsula, and Fertile Crescent regions. It also aims to measure Arabs\u27 understanding of gatekeeping and their willingness to serve as gatekeepers. Further, this dissertation emphasizes various hypotheses, including that increased investigative reporting would benefit the region\u27s citizens and increase the quality of journalistic work. The gatekeeping theory fits into this dissertation because of the significant development of the news delivery process on social media in the Arab world. The findings reported that while respondents aged 34-41 exhibit a firmer grasp of investigative reporting, demographic variables like age, gender, education, and region don\u27t affect their willingness to engage. Three factors (risk avoidance, check to power, and hardcore) form the reporting environment. Understanding investigative journalism significantly predicts a desire to participate in the industry, which is correlated with the belief that citizens\u27 contributions enhance Arab journalism quality. Consequently, a predicted understanding of investigative reporting significantly correlates with a willingness to be involved in the industry. These findings shed light on how Arab citizens contribute to investigative reporting and its potential to increase journalistic quality in the Arab world. The findings suggest that the correlation between Arabs\u27 interest in gate-watching and their interest in investigative reporting reflects their awareness of the active roles in the journalistic industry, such as monitoring media performance and uncovering hidden issues that might not be brought into the spotlight. Taken altogether, the findings supporting this study’s hypotheses suggest that Arabs (i.e., those not employed by a media organization) who better understand investigative reporting as a dynamic method of journalism are more likely to play the roles of gate watchers. This depicts the value of knowledge in promoting participatory media accountability and control mechanisms within Arab communities
Beyond Grades: Disrupting dominant narratives of success in undergraduate science through community engagement
No full textThis dissertation investigates the role of community-engaged volunteer experiences in enhancing culturally relevant science communication self-efficacy and future scientific community engagement among undergraduate STEM students. Critical Theory with a Foucauldian lens was leveraged to interpret how community engaged learning can disrupt the current view of “success” in postsecondary STEM education by diversifying the skills and knowledge emphasized, thereby redistributing power. The research was conducted within a partnership between the University of Southern Mississippi and the Hattiesburg Zoo, involving undergraduate students in a zoology course. Participants volunteered as docents at the zoo, engaging in science communication with diverse public audiences. Data were collected through surveys administered multiple times over a semester, assessing science communication self-efficacy and propensity for future community engagement. Results suggest a nuanced relationship between participation in the docent program at the Hattiesburg Zoo and measures of self-efficacy and community engagement, and some conclusions are constrained due to small sample sizes. Notable results include a significant difference in both culturally relevant science communication self-efficacy and propensity to participate in future scientific community engagement activities between transfer and non-transfer students, with transfer students having higher scores for both measures. This could indicate that transfer students thrive when given opportunities to demonstrate their skills outside of the classroom. It was concluded that community-engaged learning has the potential to disrupt established systems and structures of power and create more equitable educational opportunities. It calls for a shift away from reductionist measures of achievement toward a holistic approach that values applied knowledge and inclusive practices. This research contributes to the discourse on decolonizing STEM education and offers insights into fostering persistence and success among all students, particularly those from marginalized communities. This research underscores the importance of redefining success in STEM education to promote equity and inclusion, ultimately aiming to cultivate a diverse and competent STEM workforce capable of addressing global challenges
Adverse Childhood Experiences and Career Decision Making In College Students: Investigating The Moderating Effects Of Perceived Covid-19 Impact And Ambiguity Tolerance
Get PDFCollege students face many difficult decisions as they navigate adulthood, including making a decision about their career. Although much research has already been conducted to explore these difficulties, little has explored the potential impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on one’s career-related cognitions. Further, the COVID-19 pandemic has provided a new context in which difficulties with career-related decisions may be exacerbated. Through the lens of psychological stress, the current study examined the responses of 231 undergraduate students using a university-based online participant recruiting site, SONA. It was predicted that level of ACEs would be positively related with levels of negative career thoughts and career decision-making difficulty. Additionally, it was predicted that perceived COVID-19 impact would moderate these relationships, and that levels of career decision-making ambiguity tolerance would influence that moderating effect. Although there was some evidence to suggest a significant relationship between ACEs and negative career thoughts, there was no evidence to support the other hypotheses. However, exploratory analyses revealed significant positive relationships between perceived COVID-19 impact and levels of both negative career thoughts and career decision-making difficulties. These findings could inspire further research, as well as contribute to the development of more informed career counseling interventions. Some limitations to this study include convenience sampling, questionnaire length, and questionnaire content possibly resulting in participant burnout