Microcrystalline‐silicon thin films by physical vapor deposition for wide‐area low‐temperature polysilicon production

A sputtered microcrystalline‐silicon thin film deposited on unannealed Corning Code 1737 glass has been shown to transform to polycrystalline material after excimer‐laser annealing at low energy densities, and below the full‐melt threshold. The homogeneous large‐grain polysilicon films obtained show promise for high‐yield manufacturing of large‐area LTPS displays. The material properties of the films will be presented and the properties of devices fabricated in the films will be discussed.     

Perceived social support by children with characteristics of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

Examined students' perceptions of social support behaviors exhibited by significant adults and peers at school. A total of 29 teachers and 94 boys, in Grades 3–6, and their parents participated in the study. Approximately half of the boys displayed significant levels of behaviors characteristic of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The remaining boys did not display characteristics of ADHD. Information on students' academic performance, social skills, self-concept, and problem behaviors was assessed via rating scales completed by the students and their respective parents and teachers. Brief questionnaires were also used to collect perceptions of social support from the teachers and parents. The data indicated that children with characteristics of ADHD perceived lower frequencies of overall social support. Both the ADHD characteristics group and comparison group perceived the importance of social support similarly; social support was moderately and significantly correlated with self-concept and student-reported positive social skill behaviors; and students' perceptions of social support were moderately related to parents' and teachers' perceptions of the frequency of social support they make available. These results are discussed and their implications for future research and practice are outlined. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

What Type of Support Do They Need? Investigating Student Adjustment as Related to Emotional, Informational, Appraisal, and Instrumental Support.

The present study asked: What types of support (emotional, informational, appraisal, and instrumental) do students perceive from the sources of support (parents, teachers, classmates, and close friends)? and Are types of social support more related to students' social, behavioral, and academic outcomes? Gender differences in perceptions of support were also investigated. Data were collected from 263 5th-8th graders using the Child and Adolescent Social Support Scale, the Social Skills Rating System, and the Behavior Assessment System for Children. Although early adolescent boys and girls perceive similar levels of all types of support from their parents and teachers, girls perceive more support of most types from classmates and friends. Emotional and informational support were the most highly reported type of support from parents, informational support was most highly reported from teachers, and emotional and instrumental support scores were highest from classmates and close friends. Supportive behaviors from parents contributed to students' adjustment. Emotional support perceived from teachers was a significant and sole individual predictor of students' social skills and academic competence. Supportive behaviors from teachers also predicted students' school maladjustment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Critical levels of perceived social support associated with student adjustment.

Investigated the relationships among perceived social support and academic, behavioral, and social indicators for 1,711 students in Grades 3 through 12. Data were collected with the Child and Adolescent Social Support Scale, the Social Skills Rating System, the Student Self-Concept Scale, and the Behavior Assessment System for Children. Results show significant, positive relationships among perceived social support and a variety of positive indicators (e.g., social skills, self-concept, and adaptive skills). In addition, significant, negative relationships among perceived social support and a variety of problematic behavioral indicators (e.g., internalizing and externalizing behaviors) were found. Students with low perceived support obtained significantly higher scores on problematic behavior indicators and significantly lower scores on positive behavior indicators than students with average or high perceived support. Only student-rated social skills and self-concept were significantly higher for the high vs the average level of perceived support. These results are followed by a discussion of the importance of varying levels (low, average, high) of perceived social support in students' lives. Implications of the findings of this study for school psychologists are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social support as a buffer in the relationship between socioeconomic status and academic performance.

The present study was an investigation of the potential moderating effect of social support on academic performance for students living in poverty. Data were collected in one urban middle school from 164 primarily Hispanic students using the Child and Adolescent Social Support Scale (CASSS; Malecki, Demaray, & Elliott, 2000) and students' course grade point averages (GPA). Regarding socioeconomic status (SES), students were classified as lower-SES if they received free or reduced-cost lunches or higher-SES if they did not receive free or reduced-cost lunches. First, for students with higher SES, correlational analyses revealed no significant associations between social support and academic performance as measured by GPA. Alternatively, for students of lower SES, significant, moderate associations were found between GPA scores and social support scores. Second, as predicted, regression analyses provided evidence that social support may moderate the relationship between poverty and academic performance. Implications for school psychologists and suggestions for future research are provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender differences in the relationship between perceived social support and student adjustment during early adolescence.

The current study is an investigation of early adolescents' perceptions of social support from parents, teachers, classmates, and close friends, and how that support is related to measures of students' adjustment on a range of behavioral indices. Data were collected on a sample of 246 students in Grades 6 through 8 using the Child and Adolescent Social Support Scale (CASSS), and the Parent Rating Scale of the Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC-PRS). Analyses using the social support subscale scores (Parent, Teacher, Classmate, and Close Friend) replicated past research in finding gender differences on mean levels of perceived social support, with girls perceiving higher levels of classmate and close friend support than boys. In addition, girls reported significantly more support from close friends than any other source, whereas boys reported significantly less support from classmates than any other source. Finally, results demonstrated gender differences in the relationship between social support and several indices of student adjustment, and provided evidence for the importance of considering gender differences in planning future research related to social support. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Teachers' judgments of students' academic functioning: A comparison of actual and predicted performances.

The relationship between teachers' judgments of students' academic achievement and students' performances on an achievement test was investigated. The study included 12 teachers and 47 1st–4th graders students randomly selected from Wisconsin public schools. Teachers filled out the Academic Competence Scale from the Social Skills Rating System—Teacher version and 1 questionnaire for each student, which required teachers to predict how students would do on each item of the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement, Brief form (K-TEA). Students were then administered the K-TEA by a qualified examiner. Teachers' judgments of students' academic achievement on the Academic Competence Scale were correlated moderately highly with students' actual K-TEA scores. Furthermore, mean percent agreement between teachers' item predictions and students' actual performances on the K-TEA was moderately high. Lastly, there was partial support for the prediction that teachers were better predictors of higher achieving than lower achieving students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)