Effects of professional group membership,intervention type,and diagnostic label on treatment acceptability

Differences in ratings of treatment acceptability among groups of individuals who are often involved in the recommendation, selection, implementation, and evaluation of behavioral interventions in educational settings were examined. Teachers, school psychologists, and school social workers were presented with a vignette of a 3rd grade student exhibiting a pattern of disruptive problem behavior. The vignette was held constant but diagnostic labels (LD, BD, ADD) and interventions (verbal praise and token economy program versus time out from reinforcement program and verbal praise) for the child in the vignette were varied. After examining the vignette, participants rated the acceptability of the interventions. There was a significant interaction for professional group membership by intervention type on ratings of treatment acceptability. No significant effects of diagnostic label occurred. Implications of the present study and future research directions are discussed. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The self-concept and aggressive behavior among elementary school children from two socioeconomic areas and two grade levels

An investigation was conducted to examine the relationship between a child's self-concept and the tendency to behave aggressively. Boys and girls (N=229) in eight classrooms (two third grades and two sixth grades from two different socioeconomic areas within the Provo, Utah, School District) were administered the Piers-Harris Children's Self-concept Scale and the Children's Action Tendency Scale. Correlation coefficients were computed, and analysis of variance tests were used to determine the nature of variable relationships. No overall correlational pattern was found among self-concept and aggression scores. The analysis of variance results revealed a significantly larger mean aggressiveness score among children with low self-concepts when compared to children with medium and high self-concepts. Girls, while less aggressive than boys, became more aggressive with age, while boys' aggressiveness scores declined. Implications of the results were discussed in terms of methods of behavior change utilized by school personnel.     

Ratings of perceived exertion of ACSM exercise guidelines in individuals varying in aerobic fitness

The physiological responses of high (HF) and low fit (LF) individuals at given perceived exercise intensities were compared to ranges provided by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). Participants were 7 LFand 8 HF men between the ages of 22 and 26 years. All participants performed a maximum oxygen uptake and lactate threshold test and two 15-min experimental runs in which they exercised at a constant perceived exercise intensity (RPE 13 and 17). The LF group exhibited significantly greater maximum oxygen uptake reserve ( % VO2R, p < .05) and velocity of lactate threshold (p < .01) values than HF at RPE 13 and 17. Both groups had significantly greater % VO2R and maximum heart rate values at RPE 13 in comparison with the ACSM ranges, using the highest value for the given range (p < or = .001).     

The S‐Machine: An Alternative Approach to Teaching Assembler Programming

The demand for assembler language programmers has dropped dramatically over the past 20 years with the advent of structured programming languages and the accessibility of hardware features from high‐level languages. Nevertheless, a course in assembler language programming is often the first, and sometimes the only, introduction a student has to a machine's hardware. For this reason alone, assembler language programming courses should not be removed from a curriculum; instead, they should be kept and taught in conjunction with modern software engineering practices. This article describes an alternative approach to teaching assembler language programming. Whereas the students are still introduced to a machine and its assembler language, they are required to write several low‐level library routines they used in introductory courses (such as ACM CS1 and CS2). Furthermore, the S‐Machine's support software allows students to study the internals of an assembler, a librarian, and a linker.     

Heart rates of elementary physical education students during the dancing classrooms program

We examined how different types of dance activities, along with their duration, influenced heart rate responses among fifth-grade physical education students (N = 96) who participated in the Dancing Classrooms program. Results indicated that the overall Dancing Classrooms program elicits a moderate cardiovascular heart rate response (M = 124.4 bpm), in which 47% of class time was spent above a 60% maximal heart rate threshold. The swing dance in particular (M = 143.4 bpm) stimulated a much higher heart rate level than all other dances in the program, with a mean heart rate change of 52.6 bpm. Girls (127.3 bpm) achieved marginally higher heart rates (p = .059) than boys (121.1 bpm).     

A Preliminary Examination of Burnout Among Counselor Trainees Treating Clients With Recent Suicidal Ideation and Borderline Traits

Treating suicidal clients with borderline traits can be conducive to burnout. Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) may assuage this burnout in counselors. As part of a DBT treatment outcome study, 6 counselors in training collected their own salivary cortisol samples and completed self‐report measures of burnout and well‐being for 1 year. Findings indicate a significant interaction for cortisol levels by treatment condition, such that DBT counselors experienced less physiological stress over time relative to a control group of counselors. There were no group differences in self‐reported burnout or well‐being. DBT may have a salutary effect on trainees' physiological stress levels over time.     

Problem-based learning supported by semantic techniques

Problem-based learning has been applied over the last three decades to a diverse range of learning environments. In this educational approach, different problems are posed to the learners so that they can develop different solutions while learning about the problem domain. When applied to conceptual modelling, and particularly to Qualitative Reasoning, the solutions to problems are models that represent the behaviour of a dynamic system. The learner's task then is to bridge the gap between their initial model, as their first attempt to represent the system, and the target models that provide solutions to that problem. We propose the use of semantic technologies and resources to help in bridging that gap by providing links to terminology and formal definitions, and matching techniques to allow learners to benefit from existing models.     

Small Sample Properties of Bayesian Multivariate Autoregressive Time Series Models

The aim of this study was to compare the small sample (N = 1, 3, 5, 10, 15) performance of a Bayesian multivariate vector autoregressive (BVAR-SEM) time series model relative to frequentist power and parameter estimation bias. A multivariate autoregressive model was developed based on correlated autoregressive time series vectors of varying lengths (T = 25, 50, 75, 100, 125) using Statistical Analysis System (SAS) version 9.2. Autoregressive components for the 5 series vectors included coefficients of .80, .70, .65, .50 and .40. Error variance components included values of .20, .20, .10, .15, and .15, with cross-lagged coefficients of .10, .10, .15, .10, and .10. A Monte Carlo study revealed that in comparison to frequentist methods, the Bayesian approach provided increased sensitivity for hypothesis testing and detecting Type I error.     

Using SAS® PROC CALIS for path analysis: An introduction

This article presents a straightforward approach for using PROC CALIS programs that will perform path analyses using observed variables. The step‐by‐step approach should help the beginner understand concepts in path analysis and how to use the SAS^® System's PROC CALIS procedure. The approach begins with the development of a program figure, a figure that graphically illustrates the researcher's theoretical model and identifies the parameters to be estimated in the model. A set of 14 rules guide this task. The article illustrates how to convert the program figure into a PROC CALIS program that will estimate parameters in the diagrammed model and how to review the output of PROC CALIS (e.g., residuals, chi‐square test, fit indices) to assess the fit of the model to the data.