Your search found 101 results.

Descriptors:
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS); Prevention; African Americans; Males; Sexual Orientation; Sexually Transmitted Diseases; Intervention; Urban Areas; Empowerment; Masculinity; Fathers; Health Education; Health Behavior

Abstract:
In the United States, racial disparities in HIV/AIDS are stark. Although African Americans comprise an estimated 14% of the U.S. population, they made up 52% of new HIV cases among adults and adolescents diagnosed in 2009. Heterosexual transmission is now the second leading cause of HIV in the United States. African Americans made up a full two-thirds of all heterosexually acquired HIV/AIDS cases between 2005 and 2008. Few demonstrated efficacious HIV prevention interventions designed specifically for adult, African-American heterosexual men exist. Here, we describe the process used to design a theory-based HIV prevention intervention to increase condom use, reduce concurrent partnering, and increase HIV testing among heterosexually active African-American men living in high HIV prevalence areas of New York City. The intervention integrated empowerment, social identity, and rational choices theories and focused on four major content areas: HIV/AIDS testing and education; condom skills training; key relational and behavioral turning points; and masculinity and fatherhood. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Social Problems; Intervention; Problem Solving; Metacognition; Effect Size; Psychological Patterns; Interpersonal Competence; Elementary Education; Models; Emotional Problems; Behavior Problems; Self Control; Curriculum; School Psychology

Abstract:
Researchers have demonstrated that cognitive-behavioral intervention strategies--such as social problem solving--provided in school settings can help ameliorate the developmental risk for emotional and behavioral difficulties. In this study, we report the results of a randomized controlled trial of Tools for Getting Along (TFGA), a social problem-solving universally delivered curriculum designed to reduce the developmental risk for serious emotional or behavioral problems among upper elementary grade students. We analyzed pre-intervention and post-intervention teacher-report and student self-report data from 14 schools, 87 classrooms, and a total of 1296 students using multilevel modeling. Results (effect sizes calculated using Hedges' g) indicated that students who were taught TFGA had a more positive approach to problem solving (g = 0.11) and a more rational problem-solving style (g = 0.16). Treated students with relatively poor baseline scores benefited from TFGA on (a) problem-solving knowledge (g = 1.54); (b) teacher-rated executive functioning (g = 0.35 for Behavior Regulation and 0.32 for Metacognition), and proactive aggression (g = 0.20); and (c) self-reported trait anger (g = 0.17) and anger expression (g = 0.21). Thus, TFGA may reduce risk for emotional and behavioral difficulties by improving students' cognitive and emotional self-regulation and increasing their pro-social choices. (Contains 4 tables.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Blindness; Disabilities; Task Analysis; Neurological Organization; Age; Control Groups; Brain; Brain Hemisphere Functions; Language Processing; Memory; Vision; Neurological Impairments; Auditory Stimuli

Abstract:
Imaging studies in blind subjects have consistently shown that sensory and cognitive tasks evoke activity in the occipital cortex, which is normally visual. The precise areas involved and degree of activation are dependent upon the cause and age of onset of blindness. Here, we investigated the cortical language network at rest and during an auditory covert naming task in five bilaterally anophthalmic subjects, who have never received visual input. When listening to auditory definitions and covertly retrieving words, these subjects activated lateral occipital cortex bilaterally in addition to the language areas activated in sighted controls. This activity was significantly greater than that present in a control condition of listening to reversed speech. The lateral occipital cortex was also recruited into a left-lateralized resting-state network that usually comprises anterior and posterior language areas. Levels of activation to the auditory naming and reversed speech conditions did not differ in the calcarine (striate) cortex. This primary "visual" cortex was not recruited to the left-lateralized resting-state network and showed high interhemispheric correlation of activity at rest, as is typically seen in unimodal cortical areas. In contrast, the interhemispheric correlation of resting activity in extrastriate areas was reduced in anophthalmia to the level of cortical areas that are heteromodal, such as the inferior frontal gyrus. Previous imaging studies in the congenitally blind show that primary visual cortex is activated in higher-order tasks, such as language and memory to a greater extent than during more basic sensory processing, resulting in a reversal of the normal hierarchy of functional organization across "visual" areas. Our data do not support such a pattern of organization in anophthalmia. Instead, the patterns of activity during task and the functional connectivity at rest are consistent with the known hierarchy of processing in these areas normally seen for vision. The differences in cortical organization between bilateral anophthalmia and other forms of congenital blindness are considered to be due to the total absence of stimulation in "visual" cortex by light or retinal activity in the former condition, and suggests development of subcortical auditory input to the geniculo-striate pathway. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Brain; Neurological Organization; Cognitive Processes; Behavior

Abstract:
An increasingly large number of neuroimaging studies have investigated functionally connected networks during rest, providing insight into human brain architecture. Assessment of the functional qualities of resting state networks has been limited by the task-independent state, which results in an inability to relate these networks to specific mental functions. However, it was recently demonstrated that similar brain networks can be extracted from resting state data and data extracted from thousands of task-based neuroimaging experiments archived in the BrainMap database. Here, we present a full functional explication of these intrinsic connectivity networks at a standard low order decomposition using a neuroinformatics approach based on the BrainMap behavioral taxonomy as well as a stratified, data-driven ordering of cognitive processes. Our results serve as a resource for functional interpretations of brain networks in resting state studies and future investigations into mental operations and the tasks that drive them. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Medical Schools; Computer Assisted Instruction; Computer Software; Geriatrics; Patients; Case Studies; Teaching Methods; Medical Education; Instructional Effectiveness; Older Adults; Computer Simulation

Abstract:
The virtual patient is a case-based computer program that combines textual information with multimedia elements such as audio, graphics, and animation. It is increasingly being utilized as a teaching modality by medical educators in various fields of instruction. The inherent complexity of older patients and the shortage of geriatrics educators have spurred the development of virtual patient programs to teach geriatrics at the medical undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate levels. As an instructional tool, the Virtual Patient must be placed in the correct educational context to help educators identify opportunities for its proper use in the curriculum. In this review, the experiences of three medical schools in the development and application of geriatric virtual patients are described as case studies. In each case study, the challenges encountered and solutions developed are presented. Areas of future research in the use of virtual patients in geriatrics education include the determination of the optimal combination of features, the settings of use of virtual patient programs, the underlying pedagogy, and the limitations in its application in clinical instruction. (Contains 3 tables.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Special Education Teachers; Special Education; Teacher Persistence; Faculty Mobility; Teacher Shortage; Mentors; Beginning Teacher Induction; Professional Development; Change Strategies; Organizational Change; Teacher Responsibility; Teacher Role; Organizational Climate

Abstract:
The experiences that beginning special education teachers encounter moving from the pre-service environment into the first year of classroom teaching put them in a uniquely tenuous position that could lead to leaving the classroom after only a few years of teaching. District- and school-level administrators can influence the retention rates of beginning special educators by encouraging a welcoming and supportive school climate that facilitates collaboration among teachers, other school personnel, and parents. Administrators can promote induction by focusing on the instructional and material needs of beginning special educators that match their varied teaching assignments. Assigning a mentor who is knowledgeable about special education practices and policies and who is available for brief but frequent meetings will help reduce confusion, frustration, or lack of confidence new teachers may feel as they begin their teaching experience. Providing beginning special educators with opportunities to advance their knowledge through professional development can promote a sense of preparedness in a variety of teaching situations. Administrators can reduce beginners' stress levels by monitoring caseload and paperwork burdens. Noting the difficulties of filling special education positions in their schools, administrators have at their disposal multiple and effective strategies to retain practicing special education teachers, especially those new to the profession. Focused and individualized attention on beginning special education teachers, who are most vulnerable to attrition, can improve the retention of their services over a long period of time and ultimately improve the services for students with disabilities. (Contains 2 tables.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Control Groups; Schizophrenia; Autism; Legislators; Diseases; Adolescents; Patients; Brain; Hypothesis Testing; Case Studies; Longitudinal Studies; Brain Hemisphere Functions; Meta Analysis; Symptoms (Individual Disorders); Adults; Neurology; Developmental Stages

Abstract:
Early-onset schizophrenia appears to be clinically more severe than the adult-onset form of the disease. In a previous study, we showed that anatomically related grey and white matter abnormalities found in adolescents patients were larger and more widespread than what had been reported in the literature on adult schizophrenia. Particularly, we found novel structural abnormalities in the primary sensorimotor and premotor systems. Here, we tested alternative hypotheses: either this striking sensorimotor-related pattern is an artefact due to a better sensitivity of the methods, or apparent greater structural abnormalities in the early-onset population are "specifically" associated with earlier disease onset. Then, if we were to find such characteristic structural pattern, we would test whether these anatomical abnormalities would remain static or, conversely, show dynamic changes in the still developing brain. To address these questions, we combined a cross-sectional study of brain structure for adolescent-onset patients (n = 25) and adult-onset patients (n = 35) and respective matched healthy subjects with a longitudinal study of adolescent-onset patients (n = 12, representative subset of the cross-sectional group) and matched healthy controls for greater than 2 years. Looking at differences between adolescent and adult patients' grey matter volume and white matter microstructure abnormalities, we first confirmed the specificity (especially in motor-related areas) and the greater severity of structural abnormalities in the adolescent patients. Closer examination revealed, however, that such greater anomalies seemed to arise because adolescent patients fail to follow the same developmental time course as the healthy control group. Longitudinal analysis of a representative subset of the adolescent patient and matched healthy populations corroborated the delayed and altered maturation in both grey and white matters. Structural abnormalities specific to adolescent-onset schizophrenia in the sensori-motor cortices and corticospinal tract were less marked or even disappeared within the longitudinal period of observation, grey matter abnormalities in adolescent patients evolving towards the adult-onset pattern as defined by recent meta-analyses of adult schizophrenia. Combining cross-sectional adolescent and adult datasets with longitudinal adolescent dataset allowed us to find a unique, abnormal trajectory of grey matter maturation regardless of the age at onset of symptoms and of disease duration, with a lower and later peak than for healthy subjects. Taken together, these results suggest common aetiological mechanisms for adolescent- and adult-onset schizophrenia with an altered neurodevelopmental time course in the schizophrenic patients that is particularly salient in adolescence. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Civil Rights; Voluntary Desegregation; School Desegregation; Citizen Participation; Leadership Effectiveness; School Districts; Federal Government; Boards of Education; Politics of Education; School Location; School District Reorganization; Social Class; Race; Public Opinion; Case Studies; Educational Policy; Equal Education; Court Litigation; African American Students; White Students

Abstract:
Background/Context: Unlike the situation nationally where desegregation progress is faltering, the school district in Rock Hill, South Carolina, has recently undertaken measures to increase balance in pupil assignment despite considerable local opposition to these measures and the absence of a court order requiring the district to do so. Moreover, while other districts that are also pursuing desegregation increasingly rely on voluntary strategies such as magnets, the Rock Hill school district has relied more on adjusting the boundaries of mandatory attendance zones. This article investigates the conditions and developments that facilitated the school district's voluntarily increasing its desegregation efforts through the use of mandatory strategies. In so doing, the article expands upon our previous work that raises the possibility of a new politics of school desegregation. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study: The purpose of this essay is to clarify the meaning of voluntary desegregation; to understand the political, demographic, and other conditions that affected desegregation efforts in Rock Hill; and to relate these conditions to broader issues such as the changed (since the civil rights era) relationship between the federal government and local school districts on issues involving desegregation, the relative merits of race- versus class-based public policy, citizen participation in desegregation planning, and the Supreme Court's consideration of voluntary desegregation. Setting: Rock Hill South Carolina. Research Design: Case study. Conclusions/Recommendations: We find that Rock Hill's school desegregation efforts were facilitated by a change in school board elections, the current relatively loose coupling of policy venues on issues involving desegregation, the overlap between the interests of Blacks and working-class Whites in the development of a high school reassignment plan, citizen participation in desegregation planning, and effective leadership from the district's administration. The findings from this case study suggest that in some situations class-based public policy is more effective than race-based public policy, but they also caution equally strongly against making any sweeping claims for the generic effectiveness of class-based public policy. The findings also suggest why and how, contrary to the situation in the civil rights era, the workings of local politics in southern school districts may currently be consistent with the pursuit of school desegregation, not antithetical to it. Because of this consistency, a Supreme Court ruling against voluntary desegregation may be viewed as undermining not only the pursuit of equality of opportunity, but also the democratic ideal of popular sovereignty. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Intervention; Educational Research; Health Behavior; Theory Practice Relationship; Behavior Modification; Behavior Change; Special Education; Educational Practices; Emotional Disturbances; Behavior Disorders; Children; Researchers

Abstract:
In intervention research, treatment fidelity is defined as the strategies that monitor and enhance the accuracy and consistency of an intervention to ensure it is implemented as planned and that each component is delivered in a comparable manner to all study participants over time. Reviews of the literature in special education and other disciplines reveal that reports of treatment fidelity are limited. In this article, we examine some recommendations made by the National Institutes of Health Behavior Change Consortium that may be adapted to document treatment fidelity in educational research. We discuss the critical importance of planning for, collecting, and reporting treatment fidelity data at each stage of intervention research and discuss the implications of these practices for validity issues, efficacy and effectiveness studies, and cost-benefit considerations. Throughout the article, we use our own classroom-based research to provide examples of expanding treatment fidelity in randomized field trials. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
School Safety; Health Promotion; Intervention; Social Support Groups; Mental Health Programs; Mental Health; Health Services; Program Evaluation; Summative Evaluation

Abstract:
This article profiles selected Safe Schools/Healthy Students (SS/HS) interventions in three Oregon communities that have completed Safe Schools/Healthy Students projects, representing a substantial investment in building school and community collaborations, expanding positive behavior supports in schools, and establishing school-based mental health services. The University of Oregon Institute on Violence and Destructive Behavior served as the local evaluator for these projects. Although the scope of each project encompassed the six intervention elements required by the federal funding agencies, we focus on lessons learned from select components of the projects: Positive Behavior Supports in Schools, Mental Health Service integration, and Sustainability. This article describes the methods and outcomes of each component, from project startup to summative analysis of the outcomes. We conclude with our observations and recommendations for research and evaluation methodology and implementing future SS/HS projects. (Contains 5 tables and 4 figures.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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