Early Intervention Practices for Children With Autism: Descriptions From Community Providers

Across the country, states are reporting increases in the number of children with autism enrolled in the education system. Although a few specific treatment methods have been established as efficacious for some children with autism in controlled settings, research examining the translation of these treatments into early intervention programs has been minimal. The current study examined provider self-reports of the use of interventions in community settings through focus groups. Providers report the use of both evidence-based and non-evidence-based techniques and indicate that they often combine and modify these techniques based on child, personal, and external factors. Few providers had a clear understanding of evidence-based practice, and all providers reported concerns about adequate training. Implications for early intervention research are discussed.     

Building Equitable Literate Futures: Home and school computer-mediated literacy practices and disadvantage

This article examines the complex connections between literacy practices, the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and disadvantage. It reports the findings of a year-long study which investigated the ways in which four families use ICTs to engage with formal and informal literacy learning in home and school settings. The research set out to explore what it is about computer-mediated literacy practices at home and at school in disadvantaged communities that makes a difference in school success. The findings demonstrate that the 'socialisation' of the technology--its appropriation into existing family norms, values and lifestyles--varied from family to family. Having access to ICTs at home was not sufficient for the young people and their families to overcome the so-called 'digital divide'. The article concludes that old inequalities have not disappeared, but are playing out in new ways in the context of the networked society.     

A Model of Rater Behavior in Essay Grading Based on Signal Detection Theory

An approach to essay grading based on signal detection theory (SDT) is presented. SDT offers a basis for understanding rater behavior with respect to the scoring of construct responses, in that it provides a theory of psychological processes underlying the raters' behavior. The approach also provides measures of the precision of the raters and the accuracy of classifications. An application of latent class SDT to essay grading is detailed, and similarities to and differences from item response theory (IRT) are noted. The validity and utility of classifications obtained from the SDT model and scores obtained from IRT models are compared. Validity coefficients were found to be about equal in magnitude across SDT and IRT models. Results from a simulation study of a 5-class SDT model with eight raters are also presented.     

Children’s Extracurricular Activities

Why do children learn in different ways: some are good students who show interest and zeal, while others are lazy and have to be taught against their will? Why do schools have over- and underachievers? Of course, there are a multitude of reasons. But almost 50 years ago it was shown using large data sets that families with high socioeconomic status are more likely to have children who are good students. Of course, there are many examples of successful students from poor families. However, they tend to be the exception to the rule. The certainty of success in school increases with rising socioeconomic status.     

Parental reactions to children's negative emotions: longitudinal relations to quality of children's social functioning

Relations between self-reported parental reactions to children's negative emotions (PNRs) and children's socially appropriate/problem behavior and negative emotionality were examined longitudinally. Evidence was consistent with the conclusion that relations between children's externalizing (but not internalizing) emotion and parental punitive reactions to children's negative emotions are bidirectional. Reports of PNRs generally were correlated with low quality of social functioning. In structural models, mother-reported problem behavior at ages 10-12 was at least marginally predicted from mother-reported problem behavior, children's regulation, and parental punitive or distress reactions. Moreover, parental distress and punitive reactions at ages 6-8 predicted reports of children's regulation at ages 8-10, and regulation predicted parental punitive reactions at ages 10-12. Father reports of problem behavior at ages 10-12 were predicted by earlier problem behavior and parental distress or punitive reactions; some of the relations between regulation and parental reactions were similar to those in the models for mother-reported problem behavior. Parental perceptions of their reactions were substantially correlated over 6 years. Some nonsupportive reactions declined in the early to mid-school years, but all increased into late childhood/early adolescence.     

On the Nature and Role of English in Asia

The present paper is divided into eight sections:introduction,the global diffusion of English,perceptions of the new varieties,the issue of intelligibility,features that cause unintelligibility,need for a broader pragmatics,and pedagogical impli- cations,and conclusion,followed by the references.Not surprisingly,the global spread of English has generated varying perspec- tives on the nature and functions of its acculturated varieties.Broadly speaking,the debate has divided scholars into two camps holding diametrically opposing views on the multiple versions of English.On the one hand,some scholars view variations as symp- toms of linguistic degeneration and deterioration;on the other hand,some scholars legitimize them as inevitable manifestations ne- cessitated by the demands of the new cultural contexts.The normative view of the former camp stems,at least partly,from the problems the new forms of English pose in terms of international intelligibility.It is in this context that the paper examines the traditional,one-sided,native speaker-centred idea of intelligibility and the recent two-sided view of intelligibility that places the onus on both the native speaker and the non-native speaker.The argument of the latter camp is based on the premise that the new varieties require a broader pragmatic framework,because universal pragmatics is inadequate to describe them satisfactorily. Thus,the camp advocates a need for a language specific pragmatics,and a comparative pragmatics,in addition to the traditional universal pragmatics.Logically,the debate on phonological,lexical,grammatical,and discourse structure variations,and their le- gitimacy has prompted English language teaching specialists to have a fresh look at the goals and objectives of teaching English in the countries of the outer and expanding circles,and accordingly prioritize the teaching of national and regional varieties over that of the so-called native varieties.Thus,the paradigms of independence and centrality of the new varieties are replacing the paradigms of their dependence and marginality.     

Log-Linear Analysis: An Introduction for Researchers in Counseling

This article serves as an introduction to log-linear analysis, a technique used in the analysis of qualitative data arranged in multidimensional contingency tables. The steps involved in log-linear analysis are presented in the context of an investigation of a personality characteristic of a group of counselor trainees. The references cited and supplemental readings allow interested readers to pursue the topic further.     

Method evaluation of an enzymatic method for serum creatinine

Selecting the correct method for routine analysis by ‘method evaluation’ is an important component of quality assurance. It is a step-wise procedure that evaluates various analytical parameters like accuracy, precision etc of the given method. Finally reference intervals are established for selected population. We evaluated an enzymatic method for serum creatinine. The results show that it is an acceptable method based on the above mentioned criteria.