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ObjectiveThis study aimed to help six participants with intellectual disability combined with sensory and motor impairments to make verbal requests through the use of a technology system involving cardboard chips and a smartphone.MethodThe participants were divided into two groups of three based on whether they did or did not have visual skills. Each group was exposed to the intervention with the technology system according to a non-concurrent multiple baseline across participants design. During the 20 min intervention sessions, the participants were provided with a smartphone and nine cardboard chips each of which had a picture or object (i.e., a mini object replica or raised object contour) and several radio frequency identification tags attached to it. To make a request, the participants were to bring a cardboard chip in contact with the smartphone. This read the tags attached to the cardboard and verbalized the request related to that cardboard.ResultsDuring the baseline (without cardboard chips and smartphone), the participants’ mean frequency of independent requests (all non-verbal requests) varied between zero and near 1.5 per session. During the intervention (with cardboard chips and smartphone), the participants’ mean frequency of independent requests (all verbal requests) varied between over 4.5 and about 10 per session.ConclusionThe results suggest that the system might be useful to help participants like the ones included in this study to make verbal requests with simple responses.

This qualitative study examined classroom Teachers verbal abuse by reviewing a sample of the decisions of the discipline committee of the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT). Data were collected from the Canadian Legal Information Institute (CANLII) online database, which provided a record of all the OCT discipline committee decisions, with supplementary data from Professionally Speaking, the magazine of the OCT, as well as the OCT’s website. Data revealed that verbal abuse is present in Ontario classrooms, and measured responses and related methods of dealing with teacher misconduct are derisory at best and slowly evolving. Investigated cases of verbal abuse in the classroom were reviewed and illuminated the progress that has been made in dealing with Teacher verbal abuse in schools, while providing suggestions for improvement. Male Teachers are often offenders and the impact on all stakeholders is both life-changing and serious. In sum, any delay in effectively dealing with complaints and disciplinary matters is unacceptable as it stands and must be fixed to protect students from abuse.

Abstract Despite the fact that natural enemies can synergistically contribute to herbivore pest suppression, sometimes predators engage in intraguild predation (IGP) that might dampen trophic cascades. DNA-based gut-content analysis has become common in assessing trophic connections and biocontrol potential by predators in field systems. Here, we developed a molecular technique that can be used to unravel predation among two ladybirds, Coccinella septempunctata and Hippodamia variegata, and their shared prey, Aphis gossypii. Both ladybirds may provide effective control of the pest. Therefore, understanding their likelihood to engage in IGP is crucial for conservation biological control. Ladybird specimens were collected in melon crop. DNA extraction, primer design and evaluation were conducted. Detectability of prey DNA did not differ significantly between the two ladybirds. H. variegata exhibited higher predation on A. gossypii than C. septempunctata (90.6% vs. 70.9%) and data correction based on DNA detectability confirmed this ranking. IGP was similar among the two species, although corrected data might suggest a stronger predation by C. septempunctata. Intriguingly, IGP by C. septempunctata was lower than predicted by laboratory bioassays, possibly due to the high complexity that arises under field conditions. Implications of our results for biological control and perspectives for ecological network analysis are discussed.

Abstract Understanding the traits that might be linked with biological invasions represents a great challenge for preventing non-target effects on local biodiversity. In predatory insects, the ability to exploit habitats for oviposition and the physiological response to prey availability differs between species. Those species that respond more readily to environmental changes may confer to their offspring a competitive advantage over other species. Here, we tested the hypothesis that the invasive Harmonia axyridis (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) makes better use of information from a plant-prey (Vicia faba - Aphis fabae) system compared to the native Oenopia conglobata. Y-tube olfactometer bioassays revealed that both species used olfactory cues from the system, but H. axyridis exhibited a more complete response. This species was also attracted by plants previously infested by aphids, indicating the capacity to exploit volatile synomones induced in plants by aphid attack. Oocyte resorption was investigated when different olfactory stimuli were provided under prey shortage and the readiness of new oogenesis was measured when prey was available again. H. axyridis exhibited higher plasticity in oogenesis related to the presence/absence of plant-aphid volatiles. Our results support the hypothesis that H. axyridis is more reactive than O. conglobata to olfactory cues from the plant-prey system.

(1) Intraguild predation (IGP) can occur among aphidophagous predators thus reducing their effectiveness in controlling crop pests. Among ladybirds, Coccinella septempunctata L. and Hippodamia variegata Goeze are the most effective predators upon Aphis gossypii Glov., which is an economically important pest of melon. Understanding their likelihood to engage in reciprocal predation is a key point for conservation of biological control. Here, we aim to investigate, under laboratory conditions, the level of IGP between the two above mentioned aphidophagous species. (2) Fourth-instars of the two species were isolated in petri dishes with combinations of different stages of the heterospecific ladybird and different densities of A. gossypii. The occurrence of IGP events was recorded after six hours. (3) C. septempunctata predated H. variegata at a higher rate than vice versa (70% vs. 43% overall). Higher density of the aphid or older juvenile stage of the IG-prey (22% of fourth instars vs. 74% of eggs and second instars) reduces the likelihood of predation. (4) To our knowledge, IGP between C. septempunctata and H. variegata was investigated for the first time. Results represent a baseline, necessary to predict the likelihood of IGP occurrence in the field.

Intraguild predation (IGP) and cannibalism occur in the field and could affect the dominance structure of guilds of coccinellid species. The exotic biological control agent Harmonia axyridis (Pallas) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) is now well established in most areas of Northern and Central Italy, but it is unclear what effect this species could have on native dominant and non-dominant coccinellids with which it co-occurs. In order to predict the trophic interactions in coccinellid guilds and the likely effect of H. axyridis, the incidence of IGP and cannibalism among the following six species were evaluated under laboratory conditions: H. axyridis, three native dominant species, Adalia bipunctata (L.), Oenopia conglobata (L.) and Coccinella septempunctata L. and two native non-dominant species, Platynaspis luteorubra (Goeze) and Scymnus apetzi (Mulsant). Unfed and fed fourth instar larvae of the above species were paired in an experimental arena and the incidence of predation recorded over a period of 24 h. In absence of aphids, the survival probabilities (SP) of A. bipunctata and O. conglobata were lowest when paired with either C. septempunctata or H. axyridis (< 0.20 SP after 24 h). The SP of C. septempunctata was similar if paired with either a conspecific larva or H. axyridis (< 0.34 SP after 24 h) and that of H. axyridis was reduced similarly if paired with either a conspecific larva or C. septempunctata (> 0.71 SP after 24 h). The SP of P. luteorubra was lower when paired with A. bipunctata and C. septempunctata (< 0.07 SP after 24 h) than with other species and that of S. apetzi was greatly reduced when paired with all the dominant and exotic species (< 0.27 SP after 24h). In presence of aphids no predatory events occurred in most combinations. H. axyridis acted as a strong predator of native dominant and non-dominant coccinellids when the aphids are scarce. We did not find any evidence, however, that the incidence of IGP among exotic and native species is higher than either IGP or cannibalism in native species. The likelihood of IGP occurring in the field is discussed.

What follows is writing that some students choose to produce for a holistic education class that was offered at the graduate level. The pieces are reflective and were written after 2 three hour classes where we discussed learner centered democratic approaches to schooling, unschooling, alternative schooling, holistic education and many other topics that were initiated by those who were present. The paper argues that, even if its changing how we interact and engage with the young people that we meet in our own lives and context we can make a difference by acting in holistic learner centered democratic ways. By transforming ourselves and how we act we necessarily transform the world because we are a part of the world. Awareness is the first step to action.

Using autobiographical research this paper reminds us that schooling and education are not the same things and that mainstream schooling is an undemocratic institution that dumbs us down. The paper also makes the point that we need to slow down and rethink why it is that we are pressuring and hurrying our children to do things in school and in life earlier and earlier, and we need to understand the damage that this is doing to them. Ultimately, the paper insists that we need to reclaim our democratic rights as children, parents, teachers, principals and citizens.

As Holt suggests, we need to create gates so that those who want to escape the walled garden can more easily do so. To this end, creating an alternative school is one such gate. Not surprisingly, many believe that doing so entails a lot more obstacles than it actually does. Some believe that you would need many credentials, for example a PhD, or a Masters in education, or you would need to be or have been a principal in a public school or at the very least a certified teacher. The truth is that none of this is a prerequisite for starting your own school and that anyone with the will to do it can. Of course there are challenges, yet these are not insurmountable. We hope that those who are thinking about starting a school will use this piece as a resource and as an inspiration to start their own school and to continue to put up gates for those willing to escape.

In this paper I hope to empower students by exposing the myth that a high school diploma is a necessary first step to getting into a post secondary institution. In what follows, I will be sharing a brief history of open universities, give an example of an open university in a specific context and celebrate its policies, and continue to challenge some more myths about the importance of a high school diploma for success in post secondary schooling . .

In this paper I would like to share an episode that happened in one of my graduate classes where we expanded the definition of teacher and therefore received a wider response to the question of who is your most important and authentic Teacher. It was interesting for me to note that only one person picked a school teacher and that of the 17 most important and authentic teachers among this groups lives 14 out of the 17 were family members.

This paper is theoretically grounded in an educational movement known as unschooling. Unschooling is a learner centered democratic approach to education. Jerry Mintz (2004) defines learner-centered education as "an approach that is based on the interest of the student rather than curriculum driven, where someone else has the idea of what you ought to be learning," and he defines democratic education as "education where students are actually empowered to make decisions about their own education and if they are in a school their own school." This paper is about apprenticeship programs and how schooling and paper certificates have become more important in determining if someone can do a particular job than them actually doing it.

The laboulbenialean fungi occur throughout the world and are closely associated with a range of arthropods, including many coleopteran hosts. Throughout the summer of 2004, coccinellids were collected from a Bluegrass savanna woodland ecosystem, dominated by blue ash Fraxinus quadrangulata and Chinkapin Oak Quercus muehlenbergii, and the adults were examined for the presence of Hesperomyces virescens using binocular and scanning electron microscopy. Over 80% of adult Harmonia axyridis, a species previously reported as having a persistent association with the fungus, were infected. No significant differences were observed in incidence on male and female hosts, however, the distribution of fungus differed between sexes. Female H. axyridis had a greater percentage of infection on their elytron compared to other parts of their body whilst male infection was concentrated around their elytra, legs and abdomen. Although infection rates were significantly lower, we report, for the first time, the presence of this fungus on the hosts Cycloneda munda, Brachiacantha quadripunctata and Psyllobora vigintimaculata. This is the first study documenting the incidence of this insect-associated fungus with these native coccinellids of North America. In the samples collected from the Bluegrass savanna, two species (Coleomegilla maculata and Hyperaspis signata) were not infected by this fungus.

Chilocorus kuwanae Silvestri is an effective predator of Unaspis euonymi (Comstock), a scale insect harmful to spindle trees (Euonymus europeus L. and E. japonicus Thumb). The feeding behaviour was studied on wild adults, collected from spindle trees in the Botanic Garden of Perugia University, and fed on overwintering U. euonymi females. The insects were exposed to gradually changing constant temperatures (13°-->10°-->8°-->6°-->4°-->2°-->13°-->15°C) for a ten day period at each temperature. C. kuwanae adults preyed on the scale also at low temperatures. The number of scales eaten decreased with decreasing temperatures from the initial 13°C to 4°C, and at 2°C the trophic activity of C. kuwanae adults almost stopped although they made brief walks in the petri dishes. At all tested temperatures the ladybirds made holes in or lifted the scale cover and preyed on the female. Sometimes they lifted the scale cover , but did not prey on these U. euonymi females which were destined to die from cold. As the temperature dropped from 13°C to 4°C, the number of females eaten by ladybird males and females did not differ statistically. When the temperature was raised to 13°C and 15°C, the ladybirds resumed feeding. Large differences were recorded between sexes, with females showing a much higher feeding activity than males. Scale cover lifting was most frequent at the beginning of the experiment and then decreased with diminishing temperatures, although no significant difference was recorded among temperatures within the range from 10°C to 4°C. The threshold for trophic activity can be taken as 2°C since we noted that a few (12%) individuals on one day showed predatory activity. At 13°C and 15°C lifting activity rose again but remained at a lower level than at the initial exposure to 13°C. There was no significant difference in activity at 13 and 15°C upon raising the temperature. As for total number of U. euonymi damaged by C. kuwanae the trend in damage revealed the same pattern as for number of scales eaten. At the final exposure to 15°C, 60% of C. kuwanae females laid eggs. Our data demonstrate that C. kuwanae can reduce U. euonymi populations in a submediterranean environment even in winter when the range of temperatures is similar to that tested in this experiment.

The research on pre-diapause feeding of C. septempunctata L. adults was carried out from 1998 to 2002 in the Tiber Valley, in the Botanical Garden of Perugia University, and in the Sibillini Mountains National Park (Central Italy). The species reproduces in spring feeding mostly on aphids infesting Graminaceae. In the second half of June, newly emerged adults have various migratory behaviours. Some of them remain in the valley while some leave the cereals and fly to other crops, where they feed both on 15 aphid species (e.g., Aphis gossypii Glov. on melon, Aphis fabae Scop. on sugarbeet), and also on pollens of wild plants such as Carduus nutans L., and fungi spores. However, most of the adults migrate to mountain pastures to find different food sources. During this migration, strong south-western storms often force the ladybirds to shelter in urban habitats. When the sunny weather returns again, due to the mistral (north-western wind), the adults continue the flight in swarms to mountain areas. In 1999, on Mt. Vettore (2478 m) we witnessed a "shower" of ladybirds, some of which hid in the turf. When reaching high altitude locations still covered with snow (Lake Pilato, 1940 m, on Mt. Vettore), the adults, exhausted by the long flight, usually remain motionless on the snow. Due to the warming of the sun they sink to a depth of 5-6 cm, so that they remain trapped in the frozen snow during the night. At this site C. septempunctata was found together with Vibidia duodecimguttata (Poda) and Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say). We investigated the gut content of adults from this location. After aggregation, the hungry adults disperse to flowering plants at lower elevations where they feed on 8 aphid species (e.g. broom aphid) and pollens of several plants (e.g., Laserpitium garganicum Tem., Centaurea rupestris L., Cachrys ferulacea L. The first mating was observed on broom. At "Pian Grande" location, adults were found in crop fields (lentil, mustard) and wild pastures (cornflower, gentian) mating and feeding on aphids, pollens, nectar and fungal spores. Haymaking forces ladybirds to move towards higher locations in search of food. Echinops ritro L., Eryngium amethystinum L., Carlina acaulis L., Cirsium eriophorum (L.), Galium verum L. and Euphorbia cyparissias L. were major food sources at 1800 m altitude. Gut content of C. septempunctata adults showed that pre-diapause diet consisted of aphids, pollen of Compositae and Umbelliferae, and spores of fungi (e.g., Alternaria spp., Cladosporium spp.). There was no statistical difference between the number of adults containing remains of aphids, fungal spores, and pollens. We found four significant correlations between the different food sources observed. In August some adults stopped feeding and in diapause condition sheltered under stones and among leaves or seed capsules of plants where they had fed. Others migrated to nearby woods and aggregated between juniper needles.

The aim of this study was to clarify the diet of Ceratomegilla notata (Laicharting), a common species in different mountain habitats of the Palearctic region. In Italy it is found only in alpine ecosystems between 800-1700 m. In these areas, up to 1200 m, various crops (e.g., maize, potatoes) are present. The high meadows are cut for hay. From 2002 to 2003 investigations on the foraging behaviour of this ladybird were carried out in mountain habitats (six near Villabassa, in Bolzano province, and six near Soraga, in Trento province) and in the "Paradisia" Botanic Garden (Gran Paradiso National Park). C. notata adults and larvae were found on the flowering plants, especially those infested by aphids. The study of their diet was done taking random D-Vac samples of 20 adults and 20 larvae/habitat every 15 days, between July and September. The influence of the haymaking on C. notata populations was also evaluated.In agricultural fields the ladybirds prey on Rhopalosiphum maidis (Fitch), R. padi (L.) on maize and on Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris) and Therioaphis luteola (Born.) on Trifolium pratense L. In the natural pastures, adults and larvae feed on Cavariella theobaldi G. & B. found on Heracleum sphondylium (Umbelliferae), Sitobion avenae L. on Avena sativa L., Megoura viciae (B.) and A. pisum on Vicia cracca L., Uroleucon jaceae (L.) on Cirsium arvense Scop., U. cichorii (Koch) on Hypochaeris radicata L. and Macrosiphum weberi Born. on Scabiosa sp. A study of the gut contents revealed the presence of aphids, Umbelliferae pollens and spores of fungi (e.g., Alternaria spp., Helminthosporium spp., Puccinia spp.). Statistically significant associations between different food sources were more frequent for adults than for larvae in both 2002 and 2003. Thrips are an important prey of this ladybird in the absence of aphids. C. notata is an important aphidophagous species in Alpine habitats.

Este artigo, depois de uma breve descrição do conceito de "inclusão escolar" e do "comportamento prossocial", visa oferecer importantes pontos de reflexão sobre o valor pedagógico e formativo dessas dimensões. Através de um excursus desde os anos de 1960 até hoje, o artigo se propõe a expor os benefícios da inclusão escolar, destacando como em classes "heterogêneas", especialmente naquelas em que há a presença de alunos com deficiência, é possível melhorar as competências relacionais entre os colegas de classe. Em particular, faz-se referência ao estudo recente realizado em Roma, na Itália, e na cidade de Uberlândia, no Estado de Minas Gerais, no Brasil (Lombardi, 2011). Entre os adolescentes brasileiros da cidade de Uberlândia, o grupo experimental registra valores significativos (P 0.008), ou seja, esse resultado confirmaria a hipótese de que os alunos que tiveram colegas com deficiência em classe se percebem mais prossociais e, especialmente, com maior frequência, em comportamentos de ajuda.

The physical educational games and the traditional psycho-pedagogical methodologies are deeply based on the manipulation of objects. The opportunity derived by some low-cost technologies could join the physical world with the digital tools creating Augmented Reality Environments based on the concepts of Internet of Things (IoT). This connection has all the capacities to enhance the traditional educational games played in the schools or at home with the digital tools in order to create more exiting learning activities and more appropriate for the new digital natives. In this field, the RFID/NFC technology seems to be a natural candidate due to its natural predisposition to be heavily connected to real objects and send the signal to the digital devices. In this paper, we describe how the RFID/NFC technology could be used to connect digital and physical didactic materials in this hybrid approach. We present three different applications and prototypes: a) Block-Magic, it is an educational games based on well-known Logic Blocks material in the framework of an European project (I); b) Walden PECS Communicator (II) a platform based on Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) a worldwide methodology to enhance communication skills in autistic persons; c) WandBot (III, IV), a learning environment that combines toy robots, RFID-technology and serious games for scientific dissemination in science centres

This paper uses narrative and storying to retell how two girls ages 5 and 7 continue to make use of an iPod touch to expand their literacy and numeracy. The paper explores the stopwatch and alarm features within the clock application, as well as the weather application, and the Internet browsing capability of the iPod touch. It also explores some of the challenges and inequities inherent in using this type of technology. The paper concludes with the author’s belief that it is important to allow learners freedom to explore and freely play with the technology and that emergent, self-directed, and self-organized learning is a natural and gentle approach to lifelong learning.Becoming literate and numerate is infinitely complicated, yet very simple. It is infinitely complicated because there are so many variables within and without the individual who is learning these skills that understanding the process fully is nearly impossible. Yet, it is simple because so many successfully become literate and numerate so naturally. Relating to this point Schuerwegen (2011) writes, Ergo, when a child grows up in a reading, writing, counting environment, especially an electronically driven society such as ours, he will one day find the need to pick up all these skills, at least as much as he needs them. (p. 22)

A series of fluorescent carbazole‐coumarins exhibiting good photoluminescence quantum yields and thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) properties have been designed and synthetized using computer‐aided density functional theory calculations. The TADF characteristics of the carbazole‐coumarins were systematically explored both in solution and in the solid state, utilizing poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) as a matrix. The study revealed that the introduction of carbazole units onto the coumarin benzene ring led to compounds with thermally induced reverse intersystem crossing and delayed fluorescence. The study further demonstrated the potential utility of these compounds in practical applications by incorporating them into a Cmr‐PMMA‐based sensor for molecular oxygen detection. The resulting sensor exhibited promising performance, highlighting the adaptability and efficacy of the synthesized TADF‐carbazole‐coumarin compounds for reversible molecular oxygen sensing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]