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Advancing Social-Communication and Play (ASAP) is a classroom-based intervention targeting the social-communication and play development of preschool-age children with autism spectrum disorder. We used a multimethod approach to measuring intervention fidelity, including adherence, exposure, treatment differentiation, and quality of treatment delivery. Overall, teachers in the ASAP classrooms increased their adherence to the ASAP intervention compared with business-as-usual teachers. Teacher characteristics did not affect the ability to implement ASAP with fidelity. There were no group differences in coded video instructional quality scores. Differences in child engagement between the ASAP and business-as-usual groups were not mediated by fidelity adherence scores, contrary to our hypothesis. Finally, end-of-year summary of treatment delivery ratings did not align with adherence scores. Continued research regarding fidelity of school-based interventions should focus on distinguishing active ingredients from general instructional practices and learning from teachers about the child-level factors they consider when implementing an intervention.

Educational approaches in structural engineering have focused on classical methods for solving problems with manual calculations through assignments, quizzes, and exams. The use of computational software to apply the learned knowledge has been ignored for decades. This paper describes an educational approach to tackle the lack of applicable practical exercises in the structural engineering class "CE 506-Prestressed Concrete" at a university in the western United States during the spring of 2017. The class was designed to provide students with the theoretical concepts of prestressed concrete and the ability to interpret applicable design codes. In their project, students continued to build this knowledge by designing a prestressed bridge superstructure according to a unique state design manual. Students prepared a literature review of their selected state in the U.S.A. and used commercial software to perform an analysis and design of their bridge. Additionally, students were asked to backcheck their design using theoretical methods through manual calculations. By the end of the class, students presented their projects in a head-to-head presentation format, to contrast the differences between their designs in a competitive style. This paper summarizes the class structure, the outcome of the design project, and recommendations for future applications of computer technology in structural engineering education.

Joint attention, or the shared focus of attention between objects or events and a social partner, is a crucial milestone in the development of social communication and a notable area of deficit in children with autism spectrum disorder. While valid parent-report screening measures of social communication are available, the majority of these measures are designed to assess a wide range of behaviors. Targeted assessment of joint attention and related skills is primarily limited to semi-structured, examiner-led interactions, which are time-consuming and laborious to score. The Pictorial Infant Communication Scale is an efficient parent-report measure of joint attention that can be used as a complement to structured assessments in fully characterizing early social communication development. This study examined the psychometric properties of the Pictorial Infant Communication Scale. Results revealed a high degree of internal consistency and strong intercorrelations between subscales. Additionally, confirmatory factor analysis supported a three-factor model of joint attention. Furthermore, significant correlations between the Pictorial Infant Communication Scale and direct clinical measures of child joint attention, language skills, and autism spectrum disorder symptom severity were suggestive of concurrent validity. Findings suggest that the Pictorial Infant Communication Scale is a promising tool for measuring joint attention skills in preschool-aged children with autism spectrum disorder.

Momentary time sampling, partial-interval recording, and event coding are observational coding methods commonly used to examine the social and challenging behaviors of children at risk for or with developmental delays or disabilities. Yet there is limited research comparing the accuracy of and relationship between these three coding methods. By coding the low-frequency social behaviors of 100 preschool-aged children with autism spectrum disorder, the current study examines the associations among the three methodologies. Results indicated a strong relationship among all three coding methodologies. The findings provide information to researchers and practitioners considering the benefits and drawbacks of each coding methodology.

This study examines child and family characteristics thought to affect the dosage and type of common in-school and private services (i.e., speech language therapy (SLT), occupational therapy (OT) and applied behavior analysis (ABA)) received by children with ASD. Participants included 137 families and their preschool-aged children with ASD from four states: Colorado, Florida, Minnesota, and North Carolina. Our results indicated child and family characteristics did impact the type and dosage of services used. In the school setting, Hispanic children received a smaller dose of SLT and OT than White children. Children with greater cognitive impairments received more SLT and those with more severe symptoms of autism received a larger dosage of OT. In the private setting, higher levels of caregiver stress were related to increase usage of OT. Caregivers with a higher socioeconomic status were more likely to enroll their children in OT and ABA. Implications for practice and policy are discussed, including the need to better understand and remediate differences in service provision across socioeconomic and minority status. (Contains 5 tables and 1 figure.)

Throughout the world, today's students are being characterized as digital natives, the "net generation." This twenty-first-century student cohort is adept at multi-tasking and at using a variety of tools and resources including electronic search engines, blogs, wikis, visual images, videos, gaming platforms, and social networking. Current estimates suggest that teenagers spend an average of 30 hours a week online or in networking activities. They co-create knowledge, learn through active participation, exhibit a growing distaste for traditional transmission of information educational systems, and are anxious to communicate with their global peers. (Contains 7 notes.)

The authors' experiments with long-distance arts collaboration in a multiform environment began in July 2002. They consider a multiform environment to be an interactive environment where different audiences experience a shared event from different and mutually exclusive frames of reference. The Dynamic Media Project team members had extensive experience as performers, directors, and playwrights, but none of them had experience creating a multiform project. They expected to learn many things during their experiments with multiform, but they sought to answer one primary question: could they maintain story clarity and message for their audiences in a live, long-distance, multiform environment? In this article, the authors describe how the Bradley University-University of Central Florida Dynamic Media Project team used Internet2 to stage "Antigone" from multiple sites. A sidebar lists the technology used in the Dynamic Media Project. (Contains 5 figures, 4 tables and 2 endnotes.)

After four years of failed attempts, lawmakers in the State of Florida sanctioned charter schools in 1996. This paper traces the political origins of the charter school movement in Florida and the USA as a whole. Examining legislation and reforms at the federal level, as well as state legislative proceedings, this paper identifies key political precedents. Nationally, the privatisation initiatives of the federal government created a climate conducive to charter school programmes. In Florida, a dual educational emphasis on local operational autonomy and accountability to the state appeared in the early 1990s, which paved the way for charter school legislation. By 1996, new federal charter school programmes solidified bipartisan support in Florida for this particular brand of school choice. (Contains 39 notes.)

Date Presented 03/23/24 Caregivers of clients with chronic illness are vital to the individual's plan of care, but who is caring for them? This research examined caregivers' lived experiences and discovered themes of hopelessness, shared emotions, and sources of hope. Primary Author and Speaker: Cynthia Sears Additional Authors and Speakers: Emily Bishop, Shelby Blanton, Abigail Boyd, Kassie Chandley [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Date Presented 03/22/24 Community mobility has been deemed to be essential for the overall well-being and quality of life of the older adult population. This qualitative study was conducted to explore the community mobility experiences and perceptions among older adults. Primary Author and Speaker: Megan Edwards Collins Additional Authors and Speakers: Davina Jones Contributing Authors: Connor Boyd, Keshira Cobb, Lazaria Goodman, Jasmine Pankey, Lundan Winchester [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provides a brief history of the Florida Law Related Education Association (Tallahassee). Details its services and programs, focusing especially on strategies for involving attorneys in law-related education. (JDH)

Metam potassium (metam-K) is a commonly used pre-plant fumigant in Florida plasticulture production. Two field studies on the dose-response of metam-K were conducted at the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center, Wimauma, FL, using two different application techniques for the control of purple nutsedge. In the first field study, multiple metam-K rates of 0, 130, 195, 260, 325, 390, 455, 520 kg ha−1 were applied with a minicoulter and were compared to the few commonly used herbicides such as 0.2 kg ha−1 sulfentrazone, 1 kg ha−1 s-metolachlor, 0.4 kg ha−1 fomesafen and 0.6 kg ha−1 oxyflurofen sprayed on the bed top. Percent purple nutsedge control was measured in all plots. The second field study evaluated five different metam-K rates (130, 260, 390, 520, 650 kg ha−1) in four different water volumes (54, 108, 162, and 216 m3 ha−1) when applied through drip irrigation within the bed. Herbicides reduced purple nutsedge density by 8–92% 6 weeks after fumigation compared to the nontreated control. Metam-K rates >455 kg ha−1 were needed to maximize purple nutsedge control. Water volumes had no significant effect on purple nutsedge and Fusarium oxysporum fsp lycopersici (FOL) control when metam-K was drip injected. Metam-K rates required to achieve 90% control of purple nutsedge at 9 weeks after fumigation were 612 and 766 kg ha−1 respectively in fall and spring 2018. All rates of metam-K were effective against FOL inoculum placed at bed center and 16 cm away from bed center, however, they were less effective on FOL inoculum placed at bed edges. EC 90 values for FOL at the bed edges were 500 kg ha−1 in spring 2018. Optimal metam-K rates for purple nutsedge control were 10–30% higher than label rates when using an minicoulter and 57–96% higher than label rates when drip applied. • Metam-K rate required to optimize nutsedge control when injected was variable. • 390 kg ha−1 metam-K applied via minicoulter provided 44–73% nutsedge suppression. • One hour of drip irrigation maximized lateral fumigant distribution. • Fusarium inoculum in the bed center was controlled with 130 kg ha−1 metam-K. • 500 kg ha−1 metam-K was needed to control fusarium inoculum on the bed edge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metam potassium (metam-K) is one of the commonly used soil fumigants in Florida strawberry production. It is typically injected into the drip irrigation system at the end of the season for control of weeds, nematodes, soil-borne pathogens and to terminate the crops. Field trials were conducted to determine the optimal application rate of metam-K for adequate strawberry crop termination, weed control and control of Macrophomina phaseolina inoculum. Our results indicate that 65 kg active ingredient per treated hectare killed strawberry plants, actively growing purple nutsedge and Carolina geranium, tubers (yellow nutsedge) and seeds of Carolina geranium, black medic, goosegrass, and Florida pusley, as well as controlled M. phaseolina inoculum at bed center. Control of pests located at the bed edge is better at maximum registered label rate (~400 kg ha ha−1) which indicates improved lateral movement of metam-K at higher application rates. Seeds of goosegrass and Florida pusley were more susceptible to metam-K than black medic and Carolina geranium. This may be attributed to the difference in their seed coat thickness. This research confirms that metam-K can be used at season end for crop termination and the optimal application rate varies with pests and their location within the raised bed. Crop termination with metam-K could be an integral part of an integrated pest management. • Metam-K is a broad-spectrum pesticide that has potential to control plant pathogens, nematodes and weeds. • A lower rate of metam-K (~65 kg ha-1) was adequate for termination of a strawberry crop and established weeds near the bed center. • Efficacy of metam-K was dependent upon the location of the pest in raised soil beds. • Using metam-K at the maximum registered label rate (~400 kg ha-1¬¬¬) enhanced fumigant efficacy on the bed edges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]