A Survey of the Experiences of Paraprofessionals With Roles, Training, and Communication When Working With Students With Autism

Paraprofessionals are critical members of instructional teams for students with autism; however, little is known about their job preparation and professional development needs. This study addressed the gap in the literature by surveying 325 paraprofessionals in public school settings in the United States and Guam who reported working with students with autism. Data were gathered on paraprofessionals’ (a) roles and responsibilities, (b) applied knowledge from different types of professional development, (c) perceived barriers to professional development, and (d) types and timing of communication with their supervising teachers. The results of this study have direct implications for individuals interested in developing a model of professional development that will meet the unique needs of paraprofessionals who work with students with autism.

Case History: Hydraulic Workover Unit Utilized to Recover Highly Corroded 30-Year Old Completion from a Live Gas Well in the United Arab Emirates

In the UAE, an Operator needed to perform a completion change out in a gas well, where the existing completion has been installed for over 30 years. Logging operations had revealed several leaks point in the production tubing due to corrosion. To rectify the situation, a Hydraulic Workover (HWO) Unit was proposed integrating a punch ram in the Blowout Preventer (BOP) Configuration to manage the bleed off of potential pressure trapped between the isolated sections of the completion at surface. This document describes how the highly corroded completion tubing with eleven retrievable plugs set in a live gas well was recovered. The HWO Unit was modified so that one of the cavities in the BOP stack was dressed with customized punch rams for five inch pipe, with the objective of allowing control of any potential leaks due to plug failure. The pressure relief operation could then be completed by means of punching the tubing in the controlled environment that a Stripping BOP Stack provides. This paper compiles the details of the BOP configuration and operating procedures to recover the completion by stripping out of the well and operating the punch rams with the snubbing unit. This includes the pre-job preparation required for a successful operation and the overall design with where to locate the collars and plugs for an accurate punch, and how to confirm that the plugs are holding the pressure to continue retrieving the next completion section. In the end, a safe operation was completed with zero incidents or down time allowing the intervention to continue to the next stage of recompleting the well and putting it back to production. The customer was able to get the well back to production with an alternative solution to what was initially considered, representing a significant cost and time saving.

Don’t count them out: PhD skills development and careers in industry

Purpose The purpose of this study is to identify what skills gained during PhD study are linked with preparation and differences between industry and academic positions. Design/methodology/approach Using student-level data from nearly 2,400 early career PhD alumni from 50 US PhD granting institutions, this study uses a generalized ordered logit model with partial proportional odds to test the main and conditional effects of 14 areas of skill development on perceptions of career preparation. Findings This study contributes empirical evidence to show that research skills and communicating with non-technical audiences are positively linked with job preparation. Practical implications The combination of sophisticated research and noncognitive skills promotes the idea of a well-rounded PhD – a highly skilled and versatile researcher that can interact in both academic and industry settings – as a goal of doctoral education. The knowledge gained from this study will assist scholars and graduate educators, including faculty advisors, program directors, graduate deans, graduate education professionals and career development professionals to reconceptualize professional preparation for work in industry. Social implications For-profit businesses, particularly start-up companies, are vital for economic development and many require PhD-level employees across research and management roles. Developing PhDs with the appropriate skills for industry will better align higher education and economic interests. Originality/value The wide scope of doctoral institutions allows for a quantitative approach not appropriate for single-institution case studies of doctoral career pathways research.