Sources of stress for Greek students with intellectual disabilities attending mainstream schools

Students with intellectual disabilities often experience school‐related stress. As a result, they are confronted with many difficulties in their daily school life. The goal of this study was to assess situations of school life that students attending Greek mainstream settings are likely to experience as stressful. Twenty students with mild intellectual disabilities were interviewed about their feelings and thoughts regarding possible stressful situations in school. Qualitative analysis of the interviews' data was conducted. As a result, five main sources of school‐related stress were mentioned: school achievement and classroom participation; peer interactions; student behaviour and risk of injury; parents' expectations; and teacher acceptance. The findings suggest that children with intellectual disabilities experience school‐related stress mainly to a normal degree. Concerning the stress factors that emerged as crucial, a basic conclusion can be drawn: mainstream schools should be changed into inclusive communities where student differences are fully respected, and wherein all children, with and without disabilities, are supported according to their individual abilities, potentials and needs.     

“Do Not Turn a Deaf Ear or a Blind Eye on Me,as I Am Your Son”: New Conceptions of Childhood and Parenthood in 18th- and 19th-Century Jewish Letter-Writing Manuals

This article focuses on the cultural functions of Hebrew letter-writing manuals published in German-speaking countries in the 18th and 19th centuries, aimed at young people. I argue that these books, which were used frequently as textbooks for studying Hebrew writing, conveyed modern ideological values and at the same time corresponded to the particular requirements of the traditional Jewish audience. They also bear witness to a marked shift in the conceptions of childhood and of education within the Jewish realm, as their emphasis on sons’ duties toward their fathers was gradually replaced by a growing sensitivity toward their young audience’s needs.     

“You too,Second Screeners?” Second Screeners’ Echo Chambers During the 2016 U.S. Elections Primaries

This article examines second screeners’ conversations during the 2016 U.S. election primaries. Over a 2-week period, we collected Twitter mentions of 3 top cable news shows (N = 49,568) posted while these shows were broadcast. Using social network analysis, we reconstructed the social network of second screeners (N = 27,811) and found that the network exhibits ideological homophily with few cross-camp interactions. Our findings strongly indicate the existence of echo chambers in the second screen realm, with more confined echo chambers identified in networks of Twitter followers in comparison to second screeners. The study provides one of the most comprehensive mappings of the second screening phenomenon during an election campaign to date.     

Easier Said Than Done: Rejoinder on Sijtsma and on Green and Yang

The main points of Sijtsma and Green and Yang in Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice (34, 4) are that reliability, internal consistency, and unidimensionality are distinct and that Cronbach's alpha may be problematic. Neither of these assertions are at odds with Davenport, Davison, Liou, and Love in the same issue. However, many authors in the testing community mention these terms not only together, but sometimes as if they are synonymous. Moreover, Cronbach's coefficient alpha is very popular as an index of reliability. Thus, articles discussing alpha are not only appropriate, but necessary. Our concerns are the same as formed the genesis of prior (2009) articles by these same authors, Sijtsma and Green and Yang. This rejoinder also makes comments about item parcels when tests are multidimensional and about factor analytic approaches to assessing reliability.