Wearable technologies for students with disabilities

Students with disabilities typically experience academic, social, and behavioural challenges in school. Some of these students also often experience anxiety and stress associated with school situations and events. Wearable technologies are an emerging innovation in the United States that can support students with disabilities during stressful academic or social situations. This article discusses issues associated with wearables, offers questions to consider when considering a wearable device for a student, and describes several wearable technologies for students with disabilities.     

Digital Module 16: Longitudinal Data Analysis

In this digital ITEMS module, Dr. Jeffrey Harring and Ms. Tessa Johnson introduce the linear mixed effects (LME) model as a flexible general framework for simultaneously modeling continuous repeated measures data with a scientifically defensible function that adequately summarizes both individual change as well as the average response. The module begins with a nontechnical overview of longitudinal data analyses drawing distinctions with cross-sectional analyses in terms of research questions to be addressed. Nuances of longitudinal designs, timing of measurements, and the real possibility of missing data are then discussed. The three interconnected components of the LME model—(1) a model for individual and mean response profiles, (2) a model to characterize the covariation among the time-specific residuals, and (3) a set of models that summarize the extent that individual coefficients vary—are discussed in the context of the set of activities comprising an analysis. Finally, they demonstrate how to estimate the linear mixed effects model within an open-source environment (R). The digital module contains sample R code, diagnostic quiz questions, hands-on activities in R, curated resources, and a glossary.     

Using football cultures as a vehicle to improve mental health in men: the case of the Redcar and cleveland boot room

This paper sets out to appraise (from the perspective of members) the impact of a localized, football-based mental health intervention. Commissioned in late 2015, the ‘Redcar and Cleveland Boot Room (BR)’ was implemented in response to mass redundancy in the local area, coupled with regional suicide rates in men that exceed the national average. Interactive discussions with BR members revealed that: (a) the language of football and shared identity were important for initiating and sustaining engagement in the BR; (b) peer-support and mentoring combined with member-led activities were active ingredients of the BR and (c) that the BR was an effective vehicle for building mental health resilience. This evaluation adds to the evidence base on the value of football as a context to engage adult males in community-based interventions targeting mental health resilience.     

Gender on the box: Self-reflexivity as a starting point

This self-reflexive activity acts as an introduction to how we talk about and express gender identity, as well as the assumptions we may have about gender identity norms and expression. The activity illuminates student’s subconscious behaviors and understandings of gender, pushing them to sit self-reflexively with their own understandings of gender as an identity, expression, binary, and potential locus of shame/freedom.

Courses: Introduction to Women and Gender Studies, Intercultural Communication, Media Studies, Gender and Communication, Performance Studies

Objectives: Designed to introduce students to their own understandings and embodiment of gender, this activity asks students to be honest about their preconceived notions regarding gender that they bring with them into the classroom. The activity utilizes predesigned components that test students’ subconscious knowledge of the gender binary. This is a one-time activity that can be conducted in one 50- or 75-minute class period.     

Responding to a fiscal crisis: a data‐driven approach

The Division of Planning and Institutional Improvement (PAII) at Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis provides for the campus data for academic planning and management, assessment and evaluation services, and progress reports on mission‐critical goals. To respond to a forecast fiscal crisis and support long‐range planning for the Division, staff undertook a survey of deans and other key campus stakeholders to determine which of its services were best‐known and considered most useful for unit‐level planning and decision‐making, especially as these units faced the same projections of severe fiscal constraints. Findings indicated greater awareness and use of PAII data among deans than among other academic leaders and provided important insights into the kinds of data needed most for decision‐making. These outcomes will guide the Division’s future strategies for educating deans and other stakeholders on underused, but potentially useful, services and for selecting new services to offer.     

Pathways from parental stimulation of children’s curiosity to high school science course accomplishments and science career interest and skill

Curiosity is fundamental to scientific inquiry and pursuance. Parents are important in encouraging children’s involvement in science. This longitudinal study examined pathways from parental stimulation of children’s curiosity per se to their science acquisition (SA). A latent variable of SA was indicated by the inter-related variables of high school science course accomplishments, career interest, and skill. A conceptual model investigated parental stimulation of children’s curiosity as related to SA via science intrinsic motivation and science achievement. The Fullerton Longitudinal Study provided data spanning school entry through high school (N?=?118). Parental stimulation of curiosity at age 8 years comprised exposing children to new experiences, promoting curiosity, encouraging asking questions, and taking children to a museum. Intrinsic motivation was measured at ages 9, 10, and 13 years, and achievement at ages 9, 10, and 11 years. Structural equation modelling was used for analyses. Controlling for socio-economic status, parental stimulation of curiosity bore positive and significant relations to science intrinsic motivation and achievement, which in turn related to SA. Gender neither related to stimulation of curiosity nor contributed to the model. Findings highlight the importance of parental stimulation of children’s curiosity in facilitating trajectories into science, and relevance to science education is discussed.     

Pathways to Undergraduate Research Experiences: a Multi-Institutional Study

The positive impact of undergraduate research experiences on students’ post-secondary success is well-documented. However, these conclusions are drawn from undergraduate students who already participate; very little research has explored the pathways by which students enter these experiences. Using data from a multi-institutional survey, we examined students’ reasons for participating and differences across institutions and demographic groups. Overall, students cited social and experiential reasons as key motivators for participation and a perceived lack of research readiness as a key barrier. Differences were also found across academic year. Implications from this study address issues of access, preparation, and institutional policies around undergraduate research.     

Patchwork Quilt or Seamless Day? Parent, Teacher and Child Care Staff Views on Early Childhood Education Programs for Kindergarten-Age Children in Canada

In Canada, child care for kindergartners typically combines part-day school and child care. Exploratory research examined parents', teachers', and child care staff views on coordination between these programs. Community-based research surveyed these three groups. There was general agreement, and some key differences, among the groups in priorities for programs for kindergarten-age children. Social and language skills were generally considered most important; reading and writing least. Parents were particularly enthusiastic about a coordinated, school-based program. Teachers and child care staff were somewhat less enthusiastic about the model, with teachers' reactions the least positive. Teachers' views on the advisability of an integrated program were varied—some thought it would be of benefit to children, others disagreed. All three groups felt that a coordinated program would benefit by being school-based. Direct experience with integrated programs seemed to produce strong opinions about the value of program integration, with those teachers who had on-site child care programs giving the integrated programs the highest and the lowest ratings. Arguments are made for small-scale demonstration programs to expand provision of child care services using kindergarten as a foundation—and for rigorous evaluation of program impacts and outcomes.     

“A man's mouth is his castle”: The midcentury fluoridation controversy and the visceral public

This essay forwards a theory of “visceral publics” through a case study of a bitter public health controversy in a small midcentury New England town. Proponents of fluoridation claimed that it yielded significant positive health outcomes, while opponents charged that the measure was politically suspect and physically dangerous. In this essay, I analyze the controversy as it took shape in letters to the editor and argue that the root of opposition to fluoridation was not in political ideology, as scholars have often claimed, but in a perceived threat to the body's boundaries, which created intense feelings. Although visceral publics are most clearly observable in controversies over the boundaries of the human body, the essay concludes by showing how the concept may be applied to controversies over the boundaries of the national body as well.