Action protocol for the use of robotics in students with Autism Spectrum Disoders: A systematic-review

Education and Information Technologies - During the last two decades, the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) has opened new paths in the intervention of people with Autism...     

A Strategy for Optimizing Item-Pool Management

Item-pool management requires a balancing act between the input of new items into the pool and the output of tests assembled from it. A strategy for optimizing item-pool management is presented that is based on the idea of a periodic update of an optimal blueprint for the item pool to tune item production to test assembly. A simulation study with scenarios involving different levels of quality of the initial item pool, item writing, and management for a previous item pool from the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) showed that good item-pool management had about the same main effects on the item-writing costs and the number of feasible tests as good item writing, but the two factors showed strong interaction effects.     

Pre-service teachers’ perceptions of social media data privacy policies

Matters of data privacy related to social media are increasingly relevant for educators as happenings such as the 2018 Cambridge Analytica scandal have attracted public attention. Many educators use social media for professional purposes, including with their students and should, therefore, be knowledgeable regarding data privacy issues that impact education. This research explores this issue from an interpretive paradigm based on a mixed-methods approach derived from survey data from an international sample of 148 pre-service teachers who were studying education courses at three universities. Data suggest that pre-service teachers see both educational and distracting potential in social media, but lack knowledge regarding relevant policies and regulations, which reflects trends in the broader population. Attitudes toward educational social media use were not correlated with awareness of data privacy policies. However, comfort with companies’ use of personal and student data and faith in governments’ capacity to regulate social media companies were correlated. We discuss our findings in relation to the use of social media and related data privacy considerations and the need for data literacy training in teacher education programs. We include recommendations in light of the findings.     

A Counselor Education Program for Intern Physicians

In recent years it has been estimated that from 30 percent to 50 percent of the medical complaints brought to the family or general practice physician are functional in nature and may be psychosocial in origin (Harmon, Masuda & Holmes 1970). While chemotherapy may be appropriate for the patient with acute situational anxiety and psychiatric consultation may be appropriate for the severely neurotic or psychotic patient, the family practice physician has few remedies for the patient with chronic aches and pains, housewife syndrome, middle-age depression, businessman's fatigue, and a host of other quasimedical complaints.