Education Commons^™

Childhood Depression, Kelly Brey Love, Susan M. Swearer Napolitano

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

It has only been within the past two decades that the majority ofclinicians and researchers reached agreement that children can experience a depressive disorder. Initially, researchers believed children’s lack of psychosexual development prohibited development of depression in childhood.

There has also been disagreement regarding which symptomatology comprises childhood depression, and how it differs from depression in adults. Many clinicians and researchers shared the belief that depression in children was “masked” by other symptoms (e.g., aggression, enuresis, anxiety, among others). More recent research has identified and emphasized the similarities between depressive symptoms experienced by adults and children. Cohort data suggest that …

Bullying, Amanda B. Siebecker, Susan M. Swearer Napolitano

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Defines bullying: Bullying may be the most prevalent type of aggression experienced by school-aged youth. Bullying has been defined as any form of aggression in which one student or group of students repeatedly harasses a target (i.e., victim) verbally or physically. The three key components or characteristics of bullying behaviors are (1) the behavior is intended to harm, (2) the behavior occurs repeatedly over time, and (3) there is an imbalance of power.

Discusses prevalence, impact, gender differences, development, and ecological perspectives.

Concludes:Bullying is a complex phenomenon, which is adversely affecting the majority of school-aged youth. There are long-term psychological …

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (Cbt), Rhonda Turner, Susan M. Swearer Napolitano

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a form of psychotherapy that focuses on the role of cognition in the expression of emotions and behaviors. CBT assumes that maladaptive feelings and behaviors develop through cognitive processes which evolve from interactions with others and experiences in the environment. The goal of therapy is to identify the maladaptive cognitive process and to learn new ways of perceiving and thinking about events. These new ways of thinking will lead to more positive behavioral and emotional responses.

CBT has rapidly increased in popularity over the last forty years. It enjoys strong empirical support, and the body …

Safe Schools Policies: Necessary But Not Sufficient For Creating Positive School Environments For Lgbtq Students [Commentary], Susan M. Swearer Napolitano

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

In this issue of Social Policy Report, authors Russell, Kosciw, Horn, and Saewyc review the research on LGBTQ youth and illuminate a fundamental challenge facing researchers, educators, students, families, and policymakers. They write that “homophobia and LGBTQ prejudice are daily experiences” and that the challenge facing educators is to “design supportive school climates that promote the positive development of LGBTQ and all students.” There exists in this country and in many countries around the world a huge gulf between acceptance of LGBTQ individuals and creating supportive school and work environments for all individuals. The reality is that in many …

It's Not The Bicycle, It's The Ride: Eight Ncpea Living Legends Respond, Theodore Creighton, Marilyn Grady, Louis Wildman, Robert Beach, Rosemary Papa, Martha Mccarthy, Charles Achilles, Texas A&M University

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

My 2009 Living Legend presentation highlighted the fact that the National Council of Professors of Educational Administration (NCPEA) is currently experiencing "lightening speed" issues that Ilced to be addressed sooner rather than later in the scheme of things, Using the metaphor in the title, I suggested that we really can't wait until the "bicycle is finished," but we need to get on and "build the bicycle as we go," Further, I borrowed a phrase from Roger Martin (2007) who in discussing the innovative Amtrak Acela Railcar stated, "The salient issue is the ride, not the railcar" (p.83). I used another …

The Learning Child: Keys To Enhancing Learning. Hef595 Participant's Guide, Janet S. Hanna, Eileen M. Krumbach, Sarah Effken Purcell, Debra E. Schroeder, Mary K. Warner, Tonia Renee Durden

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

The goal of this program is to provide information about ways to create a responsive, stimulating, affirming, and developmentally appropriate environment for young children (birth–3 years).

Orostiff: Face-Referenced Measurement Of Perioral Stiffness In Health And Disease, Shin-Ying Chu, Steven M. Barlow, Douglas Kieweg, Jaehoon Lee

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

A new device and automated measurement technology known as OroSTIFF is described to characterize non-participatory perioral stiffness in healthy adults for eventual application to patients with orofacial movement disorders associated with neuromotor disease, traumatic injury, or congenital clefts of the upper lip. Previous studies of perioral biomechanics required head stabilization for extended periods of time during measurement which precluded sampling patients with involuntary body/head movements (dyskinesias), or pediatric subjects. The OroSTIFF device is face-referenced and avoids the complications associated with head-restraint. Supporting data of non-participatory perioral tissue stiffness using OroSTIFF are included from 10 male and 10 female healthy subjects. …

Lip Movement Exaggerations During Infant Directed Speech, Jordan R. Green, Ignatius S. B. Nip, Erin M. Wilson, Antje Mefferd, Yana Yunusova

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Purpose: Although a growing body of literature has indentified the positive effects of visual speech on speech and language learning, oral movements of infant directed speech have rarely been studied. This investigation used 3-dimensional motion capture technology to describe how mothers modify their lip movements when talking to their infants.
Method: Lip movements were recorded from twenty-five mothers as they spoke to their infants and other adults. Lip shapes were analyzed for differences across speaking conditions. The maximum fundamental frequency, duration, acoustic intensity, and first and second formant frequency of each vowel were also measured.
Results: Lip movements were significantly …

Vowel Recognition From Continuous Articulatory Movements For Speaker-Dependent Applications, Jun Wang, Jordan R. Green, Ashok Samal, Tom D. Carrell

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

A novel approach was developed to recognize vowels from continuous tongue and lip movements. Vowels were classified based on movement patterns (rather than on derived articulatory features, e.g., lip opening) using a machine learning approach. Recognition accuracy on a single-speaker dataset was 94.02% with a very short latency. Recognition accuracy was better for high vowels than for low vowels. This finding parallels previous empirical findings on tongue movements during vowels. The recognition algorithm was then used to drive an articulation-to-acoustics synthesizer. The synthesizer recognizes vowels from continuous input stream of tongue and lip movements and plays the corresponding sound samples …