Wandering is a difficult-to-manage behavior problem for individuals with cognitive impairments that can jeopardize safety if an individual enters a hazardous area or becomes lost. This study investigated the effects of a cloth barrier on entry into an unsafe area. The cloth barrier reduced entry into the restricted area and had high treatment…

Representations are used extensively in mathematics and translation ability is highly correlated with success in mathematics education. The authors investigate the translation ability of university students as far as the concept of function is concerned. The research focuses on the relationship between success in, solving direct translation tasks…

This paper presents and discusses the evaluation of a module on the care for older people in the community, designed through an analysis of educational needs in the local nurse population. The module was problem-based and students were assessed through practice portfolios. Although the evaluation indicated that it was addressing currently relevant…

Gestures are a common, integral part of communication. Here, we investigate the roles of gesture and speech in explanations, both for communicators and recipients. Communicators explained how to assemble a simple object, using either speech with gestures or gestures alone. Gestures used for explaining included pointing and exhibiting to indicate…

This paper reports the analysis of the resolution of a paper-and-pencil problem, by eight undergraduate students majoring in engineering (six) and physics (two) at the Pontifcia Universidade Catlica do Rio Grande do Sul, in Porto Alegre, Brazil. The problem concerns kinetics of a rigid body, and the analysis was done in the light of Johnson-Lairds…

Many studies have revealed an important relationship between psychosocial trauma and antisocial personality disorder. A multidimensional model is presented which describes the psychopathological route from trauma to antisocial development. A case report is also included that can illustrate the etiological process from trauma to severe antisocial…

Theories of insight problems are often tested by formulating hypotheses about the particular difficulties of individual insight problems. Such evaluations often implicitly assume that there is a single difficulty. We argue that the quantitatively small effects of many studies arise because the difficulty of many insight problems is determined by…

When text passages include seductive details (i.e., interesting, tangentially related adjuncts that are irrelevant to the lesson), students perform worse on recall (Garner, Gillingham, & White, 1989) and problem-solving tests (Harp & Mayer, 1997, 1998) than students reading the same material without seductive details. To determine whether…

Many teachers feel unprepared to deal with disruptive behavior and believe this substantially interferes with their teaching and their ability to successfully include children with disabilities (Schumm & Vaughn, 1995). In addition to the stress of dealing with never-ending piles of paperwork, working with challenging students may be one of the…

Bullying in schools is now regarded as an important social problem which schools need to address. However, recent evaluations of existing anti-bullying programs have not indicated a high level of success in the reduction of bullying. This article seeks to critically examine the theoretical perspectives that have been adopted in explaining the…

In order to create an environment that encourages resiliency, care givers must first understand some of the specific attributes that make up the resilient child. While not intended as an exhaustive list, one could say that a resilient child will have an accurate self-awareness, possess effective problem-solving skills, be able to communicate well,…

While the scientific method is a logical, orderly way to solve a problem or answer a question, it is not a magical formula that is too complicated for nonscientists to comprehend (Keeton and Gould 1986). The scientific method may include a variety of steps, processes, and definitions. It should not be seen as a single series of steps, with no…

This paper presents a rationale for doing philosophy with children. It suggests a rationale that differs from more usual arguments supporting philosophy with children--for such reasons as that it will enhance problem solving-skills or will help pupils' thinking to be more logical. These worthy objectives are not denied but only considered somewhat…

Advocacy is often seen as an ideal role for nurses to undertake, especially when working with people who have a learning disability. However, advocacy is not without its risks and dilemmas for learning disability nurses. The present paper attempts to examine why people with learning disabilities may be viewed as vulnerable and why advocacy may be…

Evaluations can influence perceptions about social problems, the selection of social policies, and adapting policy implementation. In this paper, exemplars of influential evaluations are described. These evaluations and the qualities which characterize them give us evidence to consider as we develop a clearer picture of what evaluation should look…