Dial-in access to CD-ROM databases: beyond the local area network.

Although it has meant additional work, CDLink has enhanced the productivity and effectiveness of the library's public services program. CDLink enables the library to offer dial-in access to databases, either in CD-ROM or other MS-DOS formats. The VAX MS-DOS connection is a cost-effective way to combine the benefits of remote access and multiple simultaneous use. From the user's perspective, CDLink provides free, twenty-four-hour remote access to databases in a friendly, menu-driven environment. For the library staff, the CDLink service represents the achievement of a long-awaited goal.     

The Triple Jump Exercise in Inquiry‐based Learning: a case study showing directions for further research

The Triple Jump is a versatile but under‐studied instrument, used both for developing and assessing problem‐based learning (PBL). This paper evaluates its assessment of inquiry‐based learning (IBL) in a graduate course, along with a Group Assessment Task. Students' performance on the Triple Jump was not related to satisfaction with their small‐group discussion prior to completing a self‐directed learning task. Analysis of the self‐directed learning task in terms of academic or pragmatic focus showed consistent differences between two markers — suggesting the need for more research into inter‐rater reliability and other characteristics of the Triple Jump exercise. Some simple strategies are recommended to make this instrument cost‐effective for assessing large classes.     

The Priority of Separable Perception in Stimulus Classifications of Children with Mental Retardation

Children (mean CA = 12 years) with mental retardation and adults without mental retardation classified tetrads of stimuli that could be grouped according to identities on separate dimensions or according to overall similarity. When color, size, and line orientation were varied (Experiment 1), both groups used separate dimensions for classification. When hue, saturation, and brightness varied (Experiment 2), both groups used overall similarity for classification. Test-retest correlations showed that the predominant classifications were reliable across 1-week testing intervals. Results support Garner's distinction between separable and integral stimulus structure but do not support an integral-to-separable shift in perceptual development. Comparisons of the tetrad task used in the present study and triads used in previous work are discussed as well as implications of the present data for developmental theories of perceptual classification and processing in children with mental retardation.     

Learning English from signed English: an impossible task?

A sample of elementary school- and high school-age deaf students in special education programs in the Australian state of Queensland using Australasian Signed English (ASE) took the Test of Syntactic Abilities (Quigley, Steinkamp, Power, & Jones, 1978) and wrote a story in response to a wordless picture sequence. Several analyses of the students' test scores and of the written language of their stories were undertaken. It was found that classroom use of ASE was of benefit to these students in developing English and telling a story in writing, but that there were complex aspects of syntax that required special teaching. The implications for the use of Signed English systems and the teaching of English to deaf students who use Signed English communication are examined.     

Characteristics,Academic and Post-university Outcomes of Students with a Disability at the University of Newcastle

A cohort of 108 students with a disability, and a matched sample of students without a disability, were surveyed over a three-year period at the University of Newcastle. The purpose of the study was to examine the characteristics and academic outcomes for students with a disability because this group of students is significantly under-represented at Australian universities. Significant differences were found between some personal characteristics, academic performance, and outcomes following discontinuance or completion of study. The results are discussed within the context of disability legislation and policy in Australia.     

LD and delinquency: rethinking the "link"

Longitudinal data from a 7-year prospective study was examined to investigate whether the presence of learning disabilities (LD) increases a youth's risk of becoming a juvenile delinquent. The sample included 515 students enrolled in the fifth grade in the fall of 1985, 51 (9.9%) of whom were youth with LD. Self-report data on delinquent activity were collected in the spring of 1993. Official court records were obtained for the years 1985 through 1992. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were performed using a block of three demographic variables (gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status) as predictors in the first step and including LD status in a second step. Seven separate analyses were performed, using different measures of delinquency as criterion variables. In no case did LD status account for a significant portion of unique variance in the delinquency variables when the demographic variables were controlled for. The results of this study did not confirm the presence of a direct relationship between LD and delinquency and suggest that the finding of a direct relationship in other studies may have been due to confounding of the LD status with age, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status.     

Mandatory notification training for suspected child abuse and neglect in South Australian schools

OBJECTIVE: The present study provides the first empirical investigation of the South Australian Education Department Mandated Notification Training program. This program, which has been available since 1989, was developed to prepare educators and other mandated reporters to fulfill their reporting obligations for suspected child abuse and neglect. The main objective of the present study was to investigate whether Mandated Notification Training achieved its stated aims. METHOD: A three-sample independent groups design was used. A survey was responded to by 41 teachers and school personnel who had recently completed training, 31 people who had not completed training, and 73 people who had completed training some years previously. RESULTS: The training program increased participants' confidence in their ability to recognize the indicators of abuse, their awareness of their reporting responsibilities, their knowledge of what constitutes reasonable grounds for reporting, and of how to respond appropriately to a child's disclosure of abuse. Training also increased participants' acceptance of the incidence and seriousness of child abuse. CONCLUSIONS: The South Australian Education Department Mandated Notification Training is successful in achieving its stated aims. For some teachers, there is clearly a mismatch between the level of evidence required by law for reporting to occur and the level teachers expect to satisfy their own personal need for confidence in initiating the serious step of a child abuse report. This mismatch remains after training and probably contributes to the significant occurrence of nonreporting or discretionary reporting reported in the literature.     

Economic Deprivation and Early Childhood Development

We consider 3 questions regarding the effects of economic deprivation on child development. First, how are developmental outcomes in childhood affected by poverty and such poverty correlates as single parenthood, ethnicity, and maternal education? Second, what are the developmental consequences of the duration and timing of family economic deprivation? And, third, what is the comparative influence of economic deprivation at the family and neighborhood level? We investigate these issues with longitudinal data from the Infant Health and Development Program. We find that family income and poverty status are powerful correlates of the cognitive development and behavior of children, even after accounting for other differences—in particular family structure and maternal schooling—between low- and high-income families. While the duration of poverty matters, its timing in early childhood does not. Age-5 IQs are found to be higher in neighborhoods with greater concentrations of affluent neighbors, while the prevalence of low-income neighbors appears to increase the incidence of externalizing behavior problems.