Introduction: This thesis investigates the experiences of young people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and who are questioning their sexuality (LGBTQ) on the Internet. Specifically, the project explores how LGBTQ young people use the Internet, how they communicate online, the impact that the Internet has on their life and how they stay safe online. Despite the Internet being an ever-growing aspect of people’s lives and the potential opportunities that it presents for marginalised groups such as LGBTQ young people, there have been a relatively small number of qualitative studies in the area. Methodology: As there has been limited research regarding LGBTQ young people’s use of the Internet, a systematic review of qualitative studies exploring the experiences and views of cyberbullying by children and adolescents in the general population was conducted using Framework Synthesis. Subsequently, an empirical study was completed which involved conducting a secondary analysis, using Framework Analysis methodology, of data collected from focus groups with LGBTQ young people regarding their Internet use. In total, five focus groups were held with forty-one LGBTQ young people recruited across four European countries. Results: A total of eighteen studies were included in the qualitative synthesis exploring children and adolescents’ cyberbullying experiences. Although there was some variation in the quality of the studies, there was clear support for four main themes: Online vs. Traditional Bullying Environment, Risk Factors, Victim’s Experience and Preventative Measures. These themes highlighted both the potential causative factors of cyberbullying as well as how the victim experiences different aspects of the incident such as their initial understanding of the event to the long-term impact of cyberbullying. A number of preventative measures were also suggested, including the need for adults to increase their understanding of technology and cyberbullying in order to enable them to be a viable source of help. Within the empirical study, four main themes emerged from the data: Digital World as Part of Daily Life, In Control of Their Online World, Seeking Connection and Navigating Risk. The latter three main themes also consisted of a number of subthemes. The results indicate that participants have embraced the Internet into their everyday lives and that the LGBTQ population reaps specific benefits as the Internet allows them to overcome or compensate for barriers faced within their offline lives. Participants also reported the need to navigate many risks online, however interestingly they appeared confident in doing so and discussed the variety of ways in which they achieve this. Discussion: The results of the qualitative synthesis provided tentative support for two different theoretical models of cyberbullying, indicating that both an individual process model and an ecological system model are mutually useful ways of understanding this phenomenon. Clinical implications spanned both individual and systemic measures that could be taken to reduce the likelihood of cyberbullying occurring. However, it is also clear that further research, in particular qualitative research, is required to continue to develop our understanding of this topic as a whole. The findings from the empirical project suggest that LGBTQ young people must balance the opportunities provided by the Internet whilst also managing the risks that it poses. The importance of retaining the empowerment for young people on the Internet was clear, especially for young LGBTQ people who may use the Internet as an alternative way of meeting their needs and engaging in developmental tasks such as sexual identity development. However, there is also a need to ensure that these young people are safe online and therefore interventions such as parental education and the development of age appropriate resources are required to promote both empowerment and safety for this population.

Thesis (M.M. (ICT Policy and Regulation))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Graduate School of Public and Development Management, 2014. / The research aimed to investigate the supply and demand side factors that enables or hinders the effectiveness of rural connectivity provided through public access points such as the Thusong Service Centres (TSCs). The lack of broadband and terrestrial infrastructure is often cited as the main reason why rural people are not able to participate in the information society. The status of the Mopani District rural connectivity indicates that the digital divide is not always due to the lack of infrastructure, but due to the etic approach towards the deployment of connectivity and the failure to locate rural connectivity within the broader community development goals. The failure to understand the user requirements contributes to the misconception that Very Small Apparatus Terminals (VSAT) satellite technology is an inadequate solution which must be replaced by fixed broadband. On the other hand, the failure of the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) blueprint indicates the poor level of e-government readiness within the public service sector. The status of the Mopani TSCs also shows that there is a lack of accountability, cooperation and collaboration across the three spheres of government and that there is a misuse of public funds in cases where connectivity resources are duplicated and not optimally used. The separation of the public service connectivity from the public connectivity creates the digital inequality in the targeted communities. The separation has resulted in connectivity being available to some and not to all, because accessibility is based on personal relationships. In other cases there is constructed denied access due to local politics. 16 years later since the establishment of the Universal Service and Access Agency of South Africa (USAASA), the South African Community Informatics (CI) sector is struggling to achieve outputs that produce the desired impact in the targeted communities.

Product-producing art activities (PPAA) produce visual products, disregarding developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) and the creative learning experience. Infant programs in Northeast TN were examined to determine if as PPAA levels increased DAP levels decreased, which was unfounded: t (2) = 1.80, n.s. In fact, significant differences were found between programs with high PPAA levels and DAP as indicated by scores on the Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale (Harms, Cryer, & Clifford, 1990) sub-scales: Furnishings and Displays, t (2) = 7.59, p < .05; Listening and Talking, t (2) = 6.71, p < .05; and Learning Activities, t (2) = 7.29, p < .05. Caregivers' main reason for including PPAA was: positive sensory experience; main reason for exclusion: infant/teacher relationship is more important.

This is a descriptive phenomenological study of a 3rd grade classroom in East Tennessee that was transformed in late spring 2009 to be consistent with principles incorporated in the 21st Century Model for Teaching and Learning and Educational Change (Evanshen, 2010). The objectives of this study were 1)to document the current physical and learning environment and 2)interview the participant regarding a classroom transformation in relation to teaching and learning. Methods of data collection included: interview questions related to the classroom environment pretransformation and posttransformation, observation field notes, and photographs of the current environment. In addition, archival photographs of the pretransformation environment were used in analysis of data. Data were gathered and systematically analyzed and then compared to recommended best teaching practices for early childhood. Based on findings, one can conclude that a classroom environment based on principles of the 21st Century Model for Teaching and Learning and Educational Change (Evanshen, 2010) enhances teacher attitude in relation to role of the environment in the teaching and learning process.

Ten subjects ranging from 9 to 16 years in age wi.th IQ's ranging from 23 to 62 were randomly selected as contingent or noncontingent subjects for two experiments. Five subjects received contingent access to two electronic games for performance within a specified learning session, while five subjects received noncontingent access to the games. These experiments were designed to determine the effect on performance, attending, and compliance skills in the classroom, when contingent access to the electronic games was based on performance. The development of fine motor skills and/or eye-hand coordination skills as a result of game usage was examined. The generalization of any effect to the remainder of the classroom day was also evaluated. The experimental design for these experiments was a single subject multiple baseline design for data on performance with the additional collection of attending and compliance data in a multiple baseline fashion. Probes were utilized to assess generalization effects. A change in performance related to experimental manipulation was noted in three of five of the contingent subjects, while support for subsequent change in attending and compliance was demonstrated by fewer subjects (one subject in regard to attending; three subjects in regard to compliance) . No changes in performance, attending, or compliance related to experimental manipulation were demonstrated by subjects receiving noncontingent access to the games. Nine of ten subjects (contingent and noncontingent) demonstrated gains in age equivalencies on the Upper Limb Coordination subtest of the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency in excess of the duration of the experiment. In addition, six of ten subjects demonstrated gains on the Fine Motor Composite of this test.

This study examined 180 matched pretest/posttest surveys of kindergarten teachers' perceptions of the transition children experienced upon kindergarten entry. Investigations of changes in the percentages of children perceived as not being ready for kindergarten and percentages of children who were rated as having had a very successful, moderately successful, or difficult transition from the pretest to the posttest were conducted. Additionally, changes in teachers' developmentally appropriate beliefs and practices from the beginning of the school year (pretest) to the end of the school year (posttest) were explored. Further analyses were conducted to find differences and associations between teacher and classroom demographics and changes from pretest to posttest. Teachers' developmentally appropriate beliefs were statistically significantly higher at the beginning of the school year (pretest) as compared to the end of the school year (posttest). Conversely, teachers' developmentally appropriate practices were statistically significantly higher at the end of the school year (posttest) when compared to the beginning of the school year (pretest). Even with the increase in teachers' developmentally appropriate practices at the end of the year, consistent with previous research, teacher's beliefs were found to be more developmentally appropriate than their reported practices. Study findings indicated that teachers reported a significantly higher percentage of children as having had a difficult transition at the beginning of the school year when compared to the end. At the beginning of the year, teachers rated 21.9% of children as having had a difficult transition, compared to 17.4% of children at the end of the school year. Some teachers reported 100% of the children in their class had a difficult transition at both the beginning and end of the school year. Overall, just under 60% of children were perceived as having some problems with kindergarten entry. Findings also indicated that teachers reported a significantly higher percentage of children were not ready for kindergarten entry at the beginning of the school year than at the end of the school year. Teachers perceived 27% of children were not ready for kindergarten at the beginning of the school year, with 22.4% of children rated as not ready at the end of the school year. Again, some teachers perceived 100% of their children as not being ready at both the beginning and end of the school year. Limitations, implications, and suggestions for future research were discussed.

Approximately 1.8% of students in the public school system have an intellectual disability or Autism Spectrum Disorder. These disabilities cause impairment in multiple domains of functioning. If these students also have challenging behaviors, such as noncompliance, aggression, and stereotypies, these behaviors have been found to cause impairment over and beyond those of the core symptoms associated with the disability. Challenging behaviors in youth with developmental disabilities do not typically subside on their own and need intervention. Thankfully, there are evidence-based behavioral interventions for individuals with developmental disabilities to reduce challenging behaviors and increase more functional behaviors including Applied Behavioral Analysis, Functional Behavioral Analysis, and School-Wide Positive Behavioral Support and Interventions (SWPBIS). There has been much research and positive effects found on the effectiveness of behavioral interventions for individuals with developmental disabilities, and there have been numerous meta-analyses conducted to synthesize these results. However, there have been only a few meta-analyses examining the effectiveness of school-based behavioral interventions for youth with developmental disabilities. A gap in the literature exists in understanding the effectiveness of behavioral interventions in schools from a SWPBIS perspective for youth with developmental disabilities. There also is a need to examine a wider range of dates and to examine the use of parametric statistical metrics. The current study addressed these issues by conducting a meta-analysis of single-case design studies over approximately the past 20 years to add to the current understanding of the effect of school-based behavioral interventions on behavioral outcomes of youth with developmental disabilities. Additionally, moderator analyses were conducted on numerous participant, intervention, and study characteristics that have been deemed important in the literature. The effect size of behavioral interventions on youths’ behavioral outcomes was determined through the use of a parametric statistical method, hierarchical linear modeling. The effect size was found to be large for a single case design synthesis of 3.31 and there were two moderating effects located, one being the type of classroom a participant was educated in and the other the type of specific outcome studied. The current study is important for decision makers in schools in terms of deciding on the specifics of behavioral interventions for youth with an intellectual disability. Additionally, the results of the study may be pertinent to other practitioners who work with youth is schools and their caregivers so that they can utilize school-based interventions to help increase the presentation of appropriate behaviors and reduction of challenging behaviors.

The Teaching Tools for Young Children with Challenging Behavior (TTYC) presents a useful tool to disseminate evidence-based practices into the classroom setting for teachers to create lasting behavioral changes in young children. This study aims to further examine the use of TTYC by classroom teachers for students ages 4-6 years old with and without disabilities who had difficulty engaging in classroom routines or activities. A multiple-baseline across participants design was employed to demonstrate the outcomes of the TTYC in increasing appropriate classroom behavior and reducing problem behavior of the target children. The results indicated that the teachers’ fidelity of implementing the behavior intervention plans designed using the TTYC was relatively high with the exception of a few sessions. The teachers’ implementation of the plans resulted in increased appropriate classroom behavior and decreased problem behavior for all three child participants. The data indicated an association between implementation fidelity and changes in child behavior. When the teachers had difficulty implementing the steps for implementing intervention strategies, the children’s problem behavior increased, resulting in decreases in appropriate classroom behavior. Keywords: problem behavior, young children, teaching tools for young children, manualized behavioral intervention, classroom behavior

The Caught Being Good Game (CBGG) is a classroom management intervention used in schools. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of point visibility on appropriate behavior, to examine the degree to which points earned by the opposing team affected the other team’s behavior, to examine both teacher and student preference for the intervention, the effect of student and teacher choice on appropriate behavior, and to systematically replicate previous research showing the effectiveness of the CBGG relative to business as usual. Consistent with previous research, CBGG increased on-task behavior compared to business as usual. Modest and temporary differentiation was observed between salient and hidden points, with hidden resulting in slightly better outcomes. A unit-price analysis further supported that on-task behavior was higher during the hidden points condition. The teacher and students reported preference for the CBGG, and we expect to see higher levels of on-task behavior during the student-choice condition.

<p>In Lembang, a farming community on western Java, family-sized, plug-flow, polyethylene biogas systems fed with cow dung, are being used as an integrated solution to issues related to energy, agriculture and waste management. Through simple, on-farm research and observation, a number of key problems have been addressed and improvements made to the design. Due to the large supply of cow dung in the area, and the potential to spread the benefits of the technology beyond the homes of dairy farmers, the feasibility of developing a communal, polyethylene biogas system for several households, has been investigated. Experiments on small model-digesters were combined with observations of full-scale biogas systems in use. Measurement equipment and techniques were constructed and developed, in order to measure biogas production and other relevant process parameters. Results indicate that a communal system can be an appropriate choice, but only under a certain set of circumstances.</p>