Teacher perceptions of ADHD causality implication for educational leaders

Students who exhibit behaviors commonly associated with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are at risk for academic struggles and impaired relationships, often needing targeted interventions to be successful. While research supports the need for using interventions to improve classroom performance for students impacted by ADHD, it does not show if there is a relationship between the interventions a teacher uses or believes are effective and a teacher's perception of ADHD causality. Therefore, this study examined if there was a relationship. The data showed when a teacher feels something in the student's body is causing symptoms of ADHD, they are more willing to provide school-based supports. The data also showed when a teacher feels the child has more of a choice in their behaviors, the teacher is less likely to provide school-based supports. The data also showed that as the teacher's perception of a biological cause increased, they assumed more responsibility in providing interventions for the student. In addition, as the teacher's perception of an environmental cause increased, they placed increased responsibility on the child's family for interventions. Administrators can best support students impacted by ADHD by being proactive in advocating for stronger family and community partnerships and ensuring school-based interventions are being used with fidelity.Includes bibliographical references

The Merit of Inclusion: A Policy Review Examining the Convergence of Special Education and Inclusions Policies with Compensatory Medicaid Policies in the Wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) formally recognized the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak as a global pandemic. This global issue compelled governments to announce careful virus containing policies in order to prevent further spread and control of the disease. Although it has been proven that measures like social isolation could aid in scaling the spread of illness, the resulting extended school closures that occurred in response to an increased number of COVID-19 outbreaks posed significant challenges for all students, but especially those students with special needs. The unpredictable nature of COVID-19 at the outset of the pandemic presented didactic stakeholders with several hurdles stemming from uncertainty concerning how to guarantee student safety and account for continuing modifications to instructional delivery and, most importantly for this study, services to special needs students

Comparison of Non-Contact and Contact Thermometers in Evaluating the Body Temperatures of Healthy Horses

The Richard J. and Martha D. Denman Undergraduate Research Forum, Third Place in Insects and Other Animal SciencesMonitoring a horse's body temperature is essential for assessing its health and detecting early signs of illness. Body temperature in horses is commonly measured using a digital rectal thermometer (DRT). Although accurate, this method presents safety concerns for both horses and handlers. Non-contact infrared thermometers (NCIT) were widely used during the COVID-19 pandemic as a rapid and non-invasive way of measuring temperatures. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness and reliability of an NCIT in comparison with a DRT. The body temperature of ten adult Quarter Horses housed at The Ohio State University Equine Facility was measured weekly over five consecutive weeks (n=50). For each horse, body temperature was measured with a DRT and a NCIT in four different locations (under the tail, heart girth, forehead, and throat latch) at two distances from the body (3.8 and 7.6 cm). Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated using PROC CORR (SAS v. 9.4). The mean rectal temperature was 3.4 ± 17.3°C. In this study, the NCIT was not able to measure the body temperature at the horse’s forehead or throat latch at either distance. Mean differences recorded between the rectal body temperature and the NCIT under the tail 3.8 and 7.6 cm from the body were ± 1.0°C and ± 1.1°C, respectively. Mean differences recorded between the rectal body temperature and the NCIT at the heart girth were ± 2.1°C and ± 2.3°C, respectively. A weak, negative correlation was observed between the rectal temperatures and the temperatures recorded with the NCIT held under the horse’s tail (r = -0.22 and -0.21 at 3.8 and 7.6 cm from the body). However, temperatures recorded with the NCIT at the horse’s heart girth demonstrated a moderately positive correlation with rectal temperatures (p = 0.47 and 0.37 at 3.8 and 7.6 cm from the horse’s body). While NCIT are less invasive and potentially safer for the horses and handlers, they may not be as accurate as rectal thermometers for detecting body temperature.No embargoAcademic Major: Animal Science

The separate effects of shoe mass and cushioning on the energetic cost of barefoot vs. shod running

One might intuit that running barefoot would exact a lower energetic cost than running in shoes since shoes add mass to the foot. Although this is true for typical weight running shoes, lightweight cushioned shoes and barefoot have been shown to have similar costs. Other studies have indicated that there is an energetic cost of cushioning in running. Thus, the cost of barefoot running may reflect the combined effects of a decrease due to lower mass and an increase due to greater muscle actions for cushioning. We hypothesized that running barefoot on a cushioned surface would minimize both the mass cost and the cushioning cost. PURPOSE: To quantify the separate effects of shoe mass and cushioning on the energetic cost of running. METHODS: 12 male experienced barefoot runners ran at 3.35 m/s with a mid-foot strike pattern. Subjects ran both barefoot and in ultra-light cushioned racing shoes (~150 g /shoe) on a treadmill with a rigid deck and barefoot on the same treadmill equipped with a cushioned belt made with foam slats. In additional trials, small lead weights were added to the feet/shoes (~150, ~300, ~450 g). We measured the subjects‟ rates of oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production to quantify energetic cost. RESULTS: The mass effect was similar for all footwear conditions: approximately 1% increase in oxygen consumption per 100 g of mass added to each foot. The energetic costs of running barefoot with and without the treadmill surface cushioning were not different (p=0.52). Contrary to our hypothesis, running in ultra-light cushioned racing shoes had the lowest energetic cost: 3.4% less than the weight-matched barefoot condition (p=.02). There was no significant difference between the energetic cost of running barefoot with no added mass and shod with the ~150 g running shoe. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that when mass is controlled for, cushioned shoes provide an energetic advantage over running barefoot

The conflict between data and perception in placement reform and acceleration of English coursework

Doctor of EducationDepartment of Educational LeadershipMajor Professor Not ListedThis work studied an institution’s experiences with acceleration and placement reform in English coursework as changes in these measures affected student persistence, completion, and subject mastery in English composition. Through assessing student learning outcomes after placement reform and acceleration, this study compared students’ success through institutional data with the perceptions of their success among faculty and counselors. Perceptions were gathered through a Likert-scale survey coupled with thematically coded open-ended questions that reveal an innate desire for increased agency in the implementation of new initiatives. For practitioners, this study provides further insight into placement reform and the acceleration of English in a real-world context with suggestions for increased engagement from faculty and staff when implementing new initiatives. Ultimately, this study found far reaching implications for practice that include consistently gauging the perception of faculty and counselors, transparently clarifying processes and data, establishing a best-practice assessment plan, and developing a shared understanding of student success

Frex: dependently-typed algebraic simplification

We present an extensible, mathematically-structured algebraic simplification library design. We structure the library using universal algebraic concepts: a free algebra -- fral -- and a free extension -- frex -- of an algebra by a set of variables. The library's dependently-typed API guarantees simplification modules, even user-defined ones, are terminating, sound, and complete with respect to a well-specified class of equations. Completeness offers intangible benefits in practice -- our main contribution is the novel design. Cleanly separating between the interface and implementation of simplification modules provides two new modularity axes. First, simplification modules share thousands of lines of infrastructure code dealing with term-representation, pretty-printing, certification, and macros/reflection. Second, new simplification modules can reuse existing ones. We demonstrate this design by developing simplification modules for monoid varieties: ordinary, commutative, and involutive. We implemented this design in the new Idris2 dependently-typed programming language, and in Agda

Frex: dependently typed algebraic simplification

Funding: Supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council grant EP/T007265/1 and an Industrial CASE Studentship, a Royal Society University Research Fellowship, a Facebook Research Award, an Alan Turing Institute seed-funding grant, and UK Advanced Research and Innovation Agency (ARIA) as part of the project Qbs4Safety: Core Representation Underlying Safeguarded AI.We present a new design for an algebraic simplification library structured around concepts from universal algebra: theories, models, homomorphisms, and universal properties of free algebras and free extensions of algebras. The library's dependently typed interface guarantees that both built-in and user-defined simplification modules are terminating, sound, and complete with respect to a well-specified class of equations. We have implemented the design in the Idris 2 and Agda dependently typed programming languages and shown that it supports modular extension to new theories, proof extraction and certification, goal extraction via reflection, and interactive development.Peer reviewe