Disciplinary practices and protocols in schools have been a notable concern over the past 30 years. The traditional punitive punishment-based tactics have not proven to be effective in changing student behavior. Positive Behavior Intervention Supports (PBIS) is a proactive alternative that puts whole school systems in a place wherein students and teachers share in the responsibility of building a culture and climate of behaviors that produce positive outcomes. Research based on the implementation of PBIS in schools has concluded that problem behaviors decrease, students and staff feel safe, and attendance improves. There is a body of research that concludes that implementing such changes is effective in reducing office discipline referrals in major disciplinary actions and in creating a positive school climate. The current study examined the effectiveness of changing from reactive, punitive, zero-tolerance practices to proactive positive behavioral interventions. The research focused on the effects of PBIS on the percentage and number of office discipline referrals (ODRs) for African-American and special education students after the first year’s implementation of PBIS in a school district of approximately 6,000 students. The results indicate that ODRs decreased during the implementation of PBIS.

No / Whilst sustainable livelihoods thinking is potentially valuable in advancing our understanding of the complexity and socially embedded nature of people's lives, sustainable livelihoods frameworks and principles are too eager to codify this complexity and to produce toolboxes and techniques to change the internal management of development interventions. Drawing on research in Tanzania, this paper offers an analysis of two interventions that apply aspects of sustainable livelihoods approaches (SLA). Whilst both interventions demonstrate much good practice, both are fundamentally limited in their potential for sustainable impact. This paper demonstrates the importance of the external context within which an intervention exists and explores some of the limitations faced by development agencies in trying to manage sustainability.

To continue to meet the benchmarks for success across all subgroup populations as defined by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), educators need to look continuously upon the latest research regarding best educational practice. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects 3% - 7% of the school-age population. NCLB mandates that educators demonstrate student success across all subgroups. This includes children identified with ADHD who may be receiving services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) or Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act. Given these charges, this meta-analysis examined 18 studies to determine how three intervening variables such as behavior intervention, medication, and a combination of behavior intervention and medication, effected the functioning of students diagnosed with ADHD under the DSM III or DSM IV definition. Effect sizes were calculated for each qualified, independent sample. Effect sizes were calculated for combinations of the 9 outcome variables with each of the 3 interventions of behavior intervention, medication, or a combination of behavior intervention and medication. The outcome variables were: (a) academics, (b) aggression, (c) attention, (d) externalizing behaviors, (e) hyperactivity/impulsivity, (f) inattention, (g) internalizing behaviors, (h) social skills, and (i) social problems. Twenty-four effect sizes were calculated where data were available and homogeneity tests indicated. Although sample homogeneity presented technical issues for some outcome and intervening variable combinations, effect size calculations were appropriate. Behavior interventions had a range of effects on social skills (ES = .81), academics (ES = .22), and aggression (ES = .37) outcomes. The combination of behavior interventions and medication had a range of effects on inattention (ES = 1.67) and social skills (ES = .90) outcomes. The findings in this meta-analysis are intended to be used as a guide for educational discussions that link research to policy at the local educational agency level or that link research to individualized education programs at the student level. / Ed. D.

The purpose of this study is to identify critical elements that impact the transition of students who return from an alternative program back into their high school. In order to address the purpose of this study the following research questions have been investigated: a. What are the critical elements that are reported as having impacted students' success or failure in making the transition from an alternative program back into high school? b. What types of intervention strategies occur when students return to high school from alternative programs? c. How are students returning from alternative programs achieving in terms of their grades, attendance and behavior? In this study students and parents, along with administrators, counselors and teachers, share their understandings about the value of interactions and interventions. Their descriptions will help explain why some students achieve success and why some experience failure when they return to high school from an alternative setting. / Ed. D.

No / This report, by Helge Hoel and Sabir I Giga of the University of Manchester Business School, with contributions from Brian Faragher, can be accessed here. The research has resulted in the successful completion of the first academic anti-bullying intervention study, comparing the effectiveness of interventions across different organisational contexts and involving the implementation of a complex design in order to apply scientific rigour. Phase 1 established for the first time the apparent scale of bullying at work, and the sectors in which it appears to be most prevalent. Research evidence obtained from this work was input to phase 2 which was completed in 2006 and was designed to Establish a risk assessment tool kit for assessing the risk of bullying in organisations Identify the interventions most likely to be effective in given situations Although the study was unable to establish beyond doubt the efficacy of a particular intervention, there is evidence to suggest that theoretically sound, well planned and aptly delivered interventions can make a difference, particularly when sufficient time is allocated and the proportion of staff being trained is significant enough to have an impact upon behaviour. A conference to launch the findings of this research took place in November 2006. It attracted substantial media attention. The application of these tools in organisations where bullying does occur had the capability to substantially improve morale and staff retention, and to reduce risk of claims for compensation or at employment tribunals.

Busy families of Nova Scotia and similar populations find it challenging to make healthy nutrition and exercise choices due to time constraints (Chircop et al, under review; Jabs et al, 2007; Devine et al, 2006). Smartphone application technology can provide health behavior change interventions in a mobile and fast format (Breton, Bernard, Fuemmeler, Lorien & Abroms, 2011). Using focus groups, this research addressed parent’s perceptions on how smartphone application technology can support nutrition and physical activity habits within their family and what, if any, barriers exist in adopting this form of health behavior intervention. Findings revealed this population believes smartphone health applications can improve family nutrition and physical activity as long as barriers are minimized and requirements for adoption are met. Diffusion of Innovations theory was used to understand the adoption rate within the target population. Thoughts on future work efforts for related health behaviour interventions is discussed.

There is minimal research into behavioural interventions for typically developing preschoolers (2-5 years of age) with sleep problems. Often these children are not considered as a distinct developmental group and are incorporated into sleep intervention studies for infants or school-aged children. Yet preschoolers do differ in their language, social and cognitive abilities. The present study examines an intervention tailored to the developmental abilities of four preschool children with sleep problems. It utilised positive reinforcement in order to create a less restrictive intervention than those based on extinction alone. This was combined with a range of other behavioural strategies such as parental presence, standard and graduated extinction to reduce a variety of sleep problems. Problems targeted included bedtime refusal, co-sleeping, night waking and a possible diagnosis of sleep terrors. Behavioural interventions effectively reduced sleep problems in all four participants. Parental report demonstrated acceptance of strategies implemented and satisfaction in intervention outcomes.

Children living in risk environments can experience traumatic events that could affect their future life. Providing these children with the necessary strategies to cope with adversity and to develop in an optimal way is needed in order to avoid trauma or being damaged for the rest of their lives. Because of this reason, a systematic literature review was performed with the aim to examine how resilience is defined and implemented in studies focusing on young children at risk. The search was done through five electronic databases and conducted during the spring semester of 2016. During the research process, inclusion and exclusion criteria were taken into account and different search words were used for each database. According to the inclusion/exclusion criteria a title/abstract screening was performed. Thereafter, for the articles which were not excluded a full text review screening was conducted, which led to the inclusion of 14 articles in total. Articles were analysed using a data extraction tool (protocol). All the articles were about resilience, aimed at children between 0 and 12 years old. Eight out of the fourteen were studies that evaluated the resilience degree in young children, while seven were aimed at developing resilience with specially designed intervention programmes. A range of definitions of the term resilience were found, showing that resilience can be understood as a process or as ability. On this basis, studies focused on resilience were found to be mainly of two kinds: related to observation or intervention, using different methodologies and tools to measure or develop resilience in children. The outcomes found were in line with previous research, showing the great importance of supportive relationships, developing within a certain environment and having a positive self-perception as facts that can influence the development of resilience.

Class of 2010 Abstract / OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether the use of electronic-prescriptions reduces the amount of interventions being performed by pharmacists in a retail community setting. METHODS: Investigators directly observed local community pharmacist for a period of 3 weeks, during the working hours of 9am to 6pm. Information recorded with each intervention was the type of prescription, drug in question, reasons for intervention, final outcome, and time spent performing intervention. RESULTS: After 3 weeks of direct observation a total of 21 interventions were performed on electronic-prescriptions versus 154 interventions on other types of prescriptions (handwritten, faxed, verbal). The percentage of prescriptions that needed interventions was 11.7% of electronic-prescriptions versus 10.3% of all other types (p = 0.565). CONCLUSIONS: In this limited study, the rate of interventions appears to be similar between electronic-prescriptions and other types of prescriptions as a whole.

Tears to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) represent a serious sport injury that can be physically and psychologically debilitating for athletes. Recovery from ACL surgery is a six to nine month process, though the first four months of rehabilitation represents the key time of recovery. Thus, psychological interventions should occur during these first four months, but then examine athletes' psychological and physical functioning over the longer term. Past research has supported the efficacy of goal setting and imagery in helping athletes during their ACL recovery, and MSC has been shown to help athletes regulate emotions and improve their sport performance. MSC-based interventions, however, have not been examined in relation to injured athletes' psychological functioning and physical recovery. Thus, I examined the relative effects of three psychological interventions (i.e., GS, IM, and MSC) on athletes' post-ACL responses. Overall, I found no significant differences in the effects of GS, IM, or MSC on athletes' athletic identity, confidence in returning to sport, reinjury anxiety, stress related to sport injury, perceptions of ability to cope with injury, and subjective knee functioning. Although non-significant, athletes in the GS group showed slightly larger rates of change in their reinjury anxiety and cognitive appraisal compared to athletes in the IM and MSC groups, while athletes in the IM group showed slightly greater rates of change in subjective knee functioning compared to athletes in the GS and MSC groups. However, these results did not support the original hypotheses that athletes in the MSC group would demonstrate significantly greater outcomes compared to the GS and IM groups.