Special

Australian parents who have a child with a disability and who attends a state school in Queensland. The types of disability of the children were broadly in accordance with accepted prevalence figures, except for a greater number reported as having autistic spectrum disorder and fewer students with a learning difficulty/attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The children were in a range of classes, from special schools to schools where there was in-class help from a special teacher or teacher aide. Many of the parents favoured inclusion, some would if additional resources were provided, and a small group of parents favoured special placement. There were a limited number of negative attitudes to inclusion reported by the parents, and though some parents thought that some need existed for in-service education about inclusion, this was not a widespread view.

This study investigates the nature of concerns and attitudes held by preservice teachers regarding inclusive education and their degree of comfort on interaction with people with disabilities. Pre-service training may be the optimal time to address educators' concerns and alter any negative attitudes about inclusive education. This paper reports the perceptions of pre-service teachers prior to their involvement in units of work focusing specifically on inclusive education in universities located in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Results indicate significant differences exist between the students in the eastern countries of Singapore and Hong Kong, and those in the western countries of Canada and Australia. Participants in the Western countries tended to have more positive sentiments and attitudes towards students with disabilities, and more concerns than their Eastern counterparts. The study also suggests that in most instances pre-service teachers have more positive attitudes towards people with disabilities and inclusion, and more confidence in implementing inclusive practice when they have had additional training and / or experience with people with disabilities.

This article provides a description of how a beginning special education teacher in an inclusion classroom used pre-assessment, self-assessment, and on-going assessment to implement the principles of differentiated instruction to become more responsive to her students' needs in a systematic way. This article describes a case study of one beginning teacher's use of differentiated instruction. First, a discussion of the usefulness of differentiated instruction in increasing the likelihood of success for children with disabilities is provided. Next, qualitative data supported the implementation of the differentiated instruction process to help the teacher realize how she could positively impact students' learning using categories of content, product, process, and learning environments. Finally, recommendations are provided for how to engage teachers to implement differentiated instruction as a data-based iterative process of using evidence-based practices to meet the needs of all children in an inclusion classroom.

V arious models for funding special education services have been described in the literature. This paper aims at moving the debate concerning special education funding reform beyond the descriptive level by reviewing studies that investigated the impact of various models for funding special education. Systematic searches were conducted of ERIC and PsycINFO to identify studies that investigated the impact, implications, or outcome of one or more special education funding models. Ten studies were identified covering five major funding models. The results showed that the funding reforms investigated in these studies each had associated benefits, but also potential detriments. However, these studies mainly involved indirect outcome measures, often failed to fully assess impact on academic achievement or cost-effectiveness. Results highlight the need for additional research on the impact of special education funding reform.

We propose an inclusion model for students with ASD referred to regular schools. The modified model based on Dunkin and Biddle (1974), consists of five interdependent elements: 1. Presage variables related to the included student; 2. Teaching context ...

The purpose of this study was to develop an instrument to measure perceived teacher efficacy to teach in inclusive classrooms. An 18-item scale was developed on a sample of 607 pre-service teachers selected from four countries (Canada, Australia, Hong Kong and India). Factor analysis of responses from the sample revealed three factors: efficacy in using inclusive instruction, efficacy in collaboration and efficacy in dealing with disruptive behaviours. The alpha coefficient for the total scale was 0.89. Alpha coefficients for the three factors ranged from 0.85 to 0.93. Reliability analysis for the total scale as well as factors for each country suggested that the scale provides a reliable measure of pre-service teacher perceptions of self-efficacy for inclusion across different countries.

The aim of this paper is to give survey of previous experiences of early intervention system worldwide and in the Republic of Macedonia. The experiences show that good early intervention systems function in many countries; others, started much later in realization of this process. But there are some countries where the organization of services for early intervention is in initial stage. The Republic of Macedonia possesses modest experiences considering the way of organization of early intervention of children with disabilities. In the context, we locate the problem in lack of established mechanisms for coordination between relevant institutions, based on legislation. The condition in the Republic of Macedonia points out to the necessity to animate all considered sides in organizing the process of early intervention, which will enable creating a model based on positive worldwide experiences, modified in Macedonian context, as a prerequisite for successful social integration.

It frequently is suggested that parents underutilize assistive technology (AT) for their young children with disabilities despite wide spread recommended practices for providing optimal AT interventions (ie, devices and services). However, neither parent perspectives of AT ...

Attachment is of key importance in childhood development. The quality of attachment relationship between the child and parent/primary caregiver may have an effect on the child and future relationships and social success . When a child fails to bond with a caring adult, attachment becomes disordered and children may not be able to bond appropriately or at all with other people. This inability to relate and connect with others may disrupt or arrest not only children's social development, but also their overall development. The purpose of this review is to synthesize information and research on characteristics, diagnosis, and interventions currently in practice in working with young children with Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD). A discussion will highlight the themes found during this review and conclude with implications for intervention and practice.

The effectiveness of a social skills training group for adolescents with Asperger syndrome and high-functioning autism (AS/HFA) was evaluated. Parents of six groups of adolescents (n = 46, 61% male, mean age 14.6) completed questionnaires immediately before and after the 12-week group. Parents and adolescents were surveyed regarding their experience with the group. Significant pre-to post-treatment gains were found on measures of both social competence and problem behaviors associated with AS/HFA. Effect sizes ranged from .34 to .72. Adolescents reported more perceived skill improvements than did parents. Parent-reported improvement suggests that social skills learned in group sessions generalize to settings outside the treatment group. Larger, controlled studies of social skills training groups would be valuable.

The purpose of this study was to develop an instrument to measure perceived teacher efficacy to teach in inclusive classrooms. An 18-item scale was developed on a sample of 607 pre-service teachers selected from four countries (Canada, Australia, Hong Kong and India). Factor analysis of responses from the sample revealed three factors: efficacy in using inclusive instruction, efficacy in collaboration and efficacy in dealing with disruptive behaviours. The alpha coefficient for the total scale was 0.89. Alpha coefficients for the three factors ranged from 0.85 to 0.93. Reliability analysis for the total scale as well as factors for each country suggested that the scale provides a reliable measure of pre-service teacher perceptions of self-efficacy for inclusion across different countries.

The effectiveness of a social skills training group for adolescents with Asperger syndrome and high-functioning autism (AS/HFA) was evaluated. Parents of six groups of adolescents (n = 46, 61% male, mean age 14.6) completed questionnaires immediately before and after the 12-week group. Parents and adolescents were surveyed regarding their experience with the group. Significant pre- to post-treatment gains were found on measures of both social competence and problem behaviors associated with AS/HFA. Effect sizes ranged from .34 to .72. Adolescents reported more perceived skill improvements than did parents. Parent-reported improvement suggests that social skills learned in group sessions generalize to settings outside the treatment group. Larger, controlled studies of social skills training groups would be valuable.

The most prominent and artistic art is Painting. If an artist is willing to create a painting, then it requires that cooperation of some of the main essential basics, medium or elements of painting , which can be followed to create a excellent painting.

Australian parents who have a child with a disability and who attends a state school in Queensland. The types of disability of the children were broadly in accordance with accepted prevalence figures, except for a greater number reported as having autistic spectrum disorder and fewer students with a learning difficulty/attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The children were in a range of classes, from special schools to schools where there was in-class help from a special teacher or teacher aide. Many of the parents favoured inclusion, some would if additional resources were provided, and a small group of parents favoured special placement. There were a limited number of negative attitudes to inclusion reported by the parents, and though some parents thought that some need existed for in-service education about inclusion, this was not a widespread view.

Abstract: The National Center for Accessible Media has developed a technology and protocol for inserting extended, enhanced descriptions of visually based concepts into artificially paused digital video. These" eDescriptions" describe material not fully ...

Shelf sand ridges are common features on many modern continental shelves buthave not been widely cited as analogs for ancient sand bodies Modern shelf sand ridges are elongate coastal to shelf sandbodies that are larger than subaqueous dunes with lengths of the order of 10 km and heights that are more than 20 of the water depth These ridges are also longer lived than smaller bedforms persisting for thousands to tens of thousands of years Progress in understanding these features has gone from early studies of their morphology and surficial sediment characteristics to recent investigations of current and wave dynamics and establishment of their internal stratigraphy

Synopsis: Synopsis: Synopsis: Synopsis: The SPEAR (Seismic PErformance Assessment and Rehabilitation) research Project is specifically targeted at existing under-designed structures and, in its framework, the core of the experimental activity is the series of full-scale pseudodynamic tests on a torsionally unbalanced three-storey RC structure, carried out at the ELSA Laboratory of the Joint Research Centre. As one of the main goals of the project is to pursue a better understanding of the potential of seismic rehabilitation methods, the experimental activity of the SPEAR project has foreseen pseudo-dynamic tests both on the 'as-built' and the FRP-retrofitted full-scale structure. In the paper, the strategy of the retrofitting intervention, consisting in the application of glass fiber wrapping, is described and the performance of the specimen in the two different configurations during the PsD tests is described. Through the experimental data, the effectiveness of the retrofitting strategy is thus assessed.

Tectonic stress is one of the fundamental data sets in Earth sciences comparable with topography, gravity, heat flow and others. The importance of stress observations for both academic research (e.g. geodynamics, plate tectonics) and applied sciences (e.g. hydrocarbon production, civil engineering) proves the necessity of a project like the World Stress Map for compiling and making available stress data on a global scale. The World Stress Map project offers not only free access to this global database via the Internet, but also continues in its effort to expand and improve the database, to develop new quality criteria, and to initiate topical research projects. In this paper we present (a) the new release of the World Stress Map, (b) expanded quality ranking schemes for borehole breakouts and geological indicators, (c) new stress indicators (drilling-induced fractures, borehole slotter data) and their quality ranking schemes, and (d) examples for the application of tectonic stress data.

The paper highlights 300M steel as an engineering material that is commonly used in special applications where fracture toughness, ductility, and ultra-high strength in the 2000-2070MPa range is required such as aircraft landing gear, airframe parts, undercarriage components, gears, shafts, and bolts. Stress corrosion cracking (SCC) is recapitulated as the drawback of the steel in its service applications. The aim of the paper is to call attention to the SCC problem and highlight the pros and cons of the existing alleviation methods for better appreciation of the way forward. The overview indicates interminable positive research inputs in alleviating SCC of the steel in its service applications by; use of coatings, heat and surface-treatments, inducement of surface compressive stresses, design techniques, and cathodic protection. It is however seen that SCC alleviation of the steel has not yet reached ideal level due to some impracticability and cost implications in using the SCC control methods in many cases, and no better alternative material has been found for the steel. Only few research inputs on the numerous environmental types that the steel can be in service contact with are found in the literatures for its SCC alleviation. Improving practicability and versatility of the existing SCC alleviation methods and optimization of SCC-susceptibility test information of the steel from much larger number of the environmental types and their various levels of combinations are deemed needful towards ideal SCC alleviation of the steel

Policy and legislation pertaining to special needs education in South Africa has been undergoing transformation since the democratic government came into power in 1994. The various policy documents that have emerged have stressed the principles of human rights, social justice, quality education for all, the right to a basic education; equality of opportunity, and redress of past educational inequalities. The most important development has been the emerging paradigm shift from the notion of learners with special needs to the concept of barriers to learning and participation, and the recommendation for a community based inclusive education agenda. This paper will firstly, examine this paradigm shift in special needs education in South Africa, and secondly, it will provide insight into a collaborative action research project in the province of KwaZulu-Natal that draws on emerging policy and aims at developing inclusive education practices within a cluster of schools in a rural district.

This study investigates the nature of concerns and attitudes held by pre-service teachers regarding inclusive education and their degree of comfort on interaction with people with disabilities. Pre-service training may be the optimal time to address educators' concerns and alter any ...

The Danube, with its mouths at the Black Sea, has been economically and strategically one of the most important rivers in Europe; consequently, its delta has been studied since the Nineteenth Century. Although many morphological and sedimentological aspects of the Danube delta are well understood, its late Quaternary evolution remains ambiguous. This uncertainty reflects in part the complexity of the sea-level variations and water-chemistry changes related to the periodic isolation of the Black Sea during eustatic lowstands, but also a lack of accurate age control of the deltaic deposits. On the basis of a review of existing radiocarbon dates, we propose that the development of the delta at the open coast started approximately 6,000-5,500 14 C years ago, much later than the 9,000 14 C years BP previously suggested.

The Andean Fold and Thrust belt between 36° and 39°S can be divided in two sectors. The Eastern Sector corresponds to the Agrio Fold and Thrust Belt (FTB) characterized by a major exhumation during the Late Cretaceous, and minor deformation during the late Eocene and Late Miocene. The Western Sector corresponds to the main cordillera and is characterized by a complex evolution that involves periods of out-of-sequence thrusting with respect to the previously deformed outer sector, and pulses of relaxation of the compressive structure. Cretaceous uplift constituted an orogenic wedge that extended to the inner sectors of the Agrio FTB. Eocene compression was mainly concentrated within the Western Sector but may have reactivated the pre-existing structures of the Agrio FTB, such as the Cordillera del Viento. Late Miocene minor compressional deformation occurred in the retro-arc area and extended into the foreland area. This deformation event produced the closure of a short-lived intra-a...

This article presents the results acquired from the assessment of the visual perception in students with special educational needs. The research cov­ered in total 85 students, out of which 20 with vis­ual impairment, 45 with mild mental retardation and 20 with cerebral palsy. To assess the visual perception we have used the MVPT-R (Motor-free visual perception test-revised). The research data shows that the students have statistically lower visual perceptive age than their chronological age indicates.

Наташа ЧИЧЕВСКА-ЈОВАНОВА Универзитет "Св. Кирил и Методиј" Филозофски факултет Институт за дефектологија Крсте Мисирков б.б., 8 развивање и негување на истата, а с¡ со цел да се посвети поголемо внимание на овој сегмент, без кој не може да се замисли успешната инклузија на учениците со посебни образовни потреби. and nurturing an inclusive culture. Successful inclusion of pupils with special needs in the mainstream school system cannot be conceived without an inclusive culture.

Professionals agree that book characters can be excellent role models for young children. Therefore, analyzing children's literature portraying impairments provides valuable information for educators, parents, siblings, extended family members and librarians. In this study, forty-six picture books are analyzed in order to determine the relationships between the characters with and without physical and sensory impairments. The role of each character and the type of their relationship are analyzed in every occasion in which characters with and without physical and sensory impairments are involved in each story. The data analysis indicates eleven different relationship categories showing positive, neutral or negative portrayals. The results of the study imply that story characters change over time through their interactions in characters with impairments. The present study concludes that children's literature contains significant promise with respect to helping children develop friendships by learning about and accepting individual differences. Interpretations of the findings were discussed and implications for practice were presented.

This study investigates the nature of concerns and attitudes held by preservice teachers regarding inclusive education and their degree of comfort on interaction with people with disabilities. Pre-service training may be the optimal time to address educators' concerns and alter any negative attitudes about inclusive education. This paper reports the perceptions of pre-service teachers prior to their involvement in units of work focusing specifically on inclusive education in universities located in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Results indicate significant differences exist between the students in the eastern countries of Singapore and Hong Kong, and those in the western countries of Canada and Australia. Participants in the Western countries tended to have more positive sentiments and attitudes towards students with disabilities, and more concerns than their Eastern counterparts. The study also suggests that in most instances pre-service teachers have more positive attitudes towards people with disabilities and inclusion, and more confidence in implementing inclusive practice when they have had additional training and / or experience with people with disabilities.

The hallmark of inclusive education is the teachers' willingness to accept students with special needs. Their attitudes and knowledge about inclusive education are important as these are indicators of such willingness. The purpose of this study was to examine teachers' attitudes and their ...

Inclusive education is a worldwide reform strategy intended to include students with different abilities in mainstream regular schools. Evidence from previous research shows that success in implementing effective inclusive teaching practices in the school is contingent on teachers' positive attitudes towards inclusive education. This study was conducted in the context of primary education in Bangladesh aiming to examine variables influencing teachers' attitudes towards inclusion of students with disabilities in regular classrooms. Data for the study was collected from 738 teachers working in 293 government primary schools in Bangladesh. The results indicated that perceived school support for inclusive teaching practices and a range of demographic variables including previous success in teaching students with disabilities and contact with a student with a disability were associated with more positive attitudes of the teachers towards the inclusive education. The results are discussed with possible implications for educators, policy-makers and international organisations working on the implementation of inclusive education. bs_bs_banner

Professionals agree that book characters can be excellent role models for young children. Therefore, analyzing children's literature portraying impairments provides valuable information for educators, parents, siblings, extended family members and librarians. In this study, forty-six picture books are analyzed in order to determine the relationships between the characters with and without physical and sensory impairments. The role of each character and the type of their relationship are analyzed in every occasion in which characters with and without physical and sensory impairments are involved in each story. The data analysis indicates eleven different relationship categories showing positive, neutral or negative portrayals. The results of the study imply that story characters change over time through their interactions in characters with impairments. The present study concludes that children's literature contains significant promise with respect to helping children develop friendships by learning about and accepting individual differences. Interpretations of the findings were discussed and implications for practice were presented.

Analogue models of polyphase deformation involving crustal differences in strength, thickness and density give insights into lateral and vertical strain propagation during Late Cretaceous shortening and Early Tertiary left-lateral shearing related to the early development of the North America-Caribbean plate boundary in southern Mexico. Analogue models reproduce a two-phase deformation characterized by a first stage of compression orthogonal to the plate boundary, simulating deformation induced by the Laramide orogeny, followed by a later stage of left-lateral transpression associated with the transfer of the Chortis block from the North American to the Caribbean plate during the early stage of development of the new plate boundary in Early Tertiary times. Based on detailed structural observations in the Guerrero -Morelos platform and the western part of the Mixteco terrane of southern Mexico, we document that a transpressive regime affected continental red bed sequences of Early Paleocene to Late Eocene, and rotated and refolded Laramide structures during this second phase. Our model ends before the transtensional regime that affected the region, which is marked by a volcanic episode of Late Eocene -Oligocene. This change in the deformation regime records the passage of the NW tip of the Chortis block (North America -Cocos-Caribbean triple junction), when subduction replaced transform faulting along the southern Mexico margin. The models focus on the structures formed around the flanks of a thicker/more rigid crustal block that simulates the rock assemblages of the Palaeozoic orogens of southern Mexico (Mixteco -Oaxaca -Juarez block, MOJB). The comparison of the mechanism of deformation of three different analogue models with the natural prototype explains most of the structures observed around the MOJB. Counterclockwise vertical-axis rotations of pre-existing structures in the western flank of the MOJB observed in the Guerrero -Morelos platform are consistent with the modelled structures. Vertical movements of the modelled MOJB induced by the transpressive regime can explain the Papalutla thrust and the basement upheaval and gravitational sliding of the cover in the Tentzo Ranges observed at the western and northern margins of the MOJB, respectively. The growth and propagation of thrusting controlled by the geometry of the block along the eastern margin also correlates with the Vista Hermosa fault. The propagation of strain to the north increases with higher contrast in strength of the thick block with respect to the adjacent modelled crust. Analogue modelling failed to reproduce all the structural details of southern Mexico and, specifically, the structures observed inside the MOJB. The latter, however, are controlled by pre-existing discontinuities, which are not simulated in the model. As a whole, the results demonstrate that crustal heterogeneity in a developing left-lateral plate boundary zone produces a stronger vertical coupling between ductile and brittle crust and a widening of the deformation zone along the margin of the North America plate in southern Mexico.

The purpose of this study was to develop an instrument to measure perceived teacher efficacy to teach in inclusive classrooms. An 18-item scale was developed on a sample of 607 pre-service teachers selected from four countries (Canada, Australia, Hong Kong and India). Factor analysis of responses from the sample revealed three factors: efficacy in using inclusive instruction, efficacy in collaboration and efficacy in dealing with disruptive behaviours. The alpha coefficient for the total scale was 0.89. Alpha coefficients for the three factors ranged from 0.85 to 0.93. Reliability analysis for the total scale as well as factors for each country suggested that the scale provides a reliable measure of pre-service teacher perceptions of self-efficacy for inclusion across different countries.