Who are New England's future college students? What is the shape of the region's future educated workforce? The answers to these questions may be found in part in the region's high schools where each year, 150,000 or so graduating seniors decide whether and where to go to college. It's a group most states do not consult often enough as they forge…

There is growing evidence that a functional polymorphism in the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR) moderates the impact of negative life events (e.g., childhood abuse) on the development of depression. However, it is unclear whether the gene x environment interaction predicts suicide attempts specifically. In addition, previous studies have not…

This study focuses on an issue of recent policy significance--the need to aid teachers in successfully identifying why children struggle to acquire literacy. This study (a) asked K-1 teachers to nominate students that they believed to be at risk for literacy difficulties and to provide reasons for their concern, (b) examined how these reasons…

Mothers of children with intellectual disability were assessed at two time points, 2 years apart (n = 75 at Time 1, n = 56 at Time 2). Data were gathered on maternal distress, mental health, expressed emotion, and the child's internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. Consistent with previous research with families of children who have…

Aggression in a proportion of people with intellectual disabilities is often assumed to be due to social-cognitive deficits. We reported on two studies in which we compared the emotion recognition and perspective-taking abilities of 43 frequently aggressive individuals and 46 nonaggressive peers. No difference was found between the groups' ability…

This study examined the extent that pulmonary function is related to perceived health status and global quality of life in adults suffering from cystic fibrosis, and the extent that self-efficacy modifies these relationships. Our sample comprised 86 adults (48% female; mean age, 29 years; age range, 18-54 years) with cystic fibrosis, recruited…

Objective: To investigate the relative effect that diabetes has on self-rated health, satisfaction with various specific domains of life, and satisfaction with quality of life operationalized as happiness, satisfaction with life as a whole, and satisfaction with overall quality of life. Design: Mixed methods--mailed survey and chart review. Study…

In 1967, the "Harvard Educational Review" published an article entitled "The American Negro College" by Christopher Jencks and David Riesman. The article dealt a stinging blow to Black colleges--labeling them "academic disaster areas." Using a historical methodology, I show the strategic ways in which Black college leaders and the United Negro…

The study investigates measurement properties of the reading assessment tasks used in the IEA 1991 Reading Literacy (RL) study and the Progress in International Readings Study (PIRLS) 2001 study. The analysis is based on data from the Swedish PIRLS study, comprising 16,676 students in grades 3 and 4. As an extension to the basic design, not only…

This paper focuses on the benefits and utilisation of humour in digital game-based learning. Through the activity theory framework, we emphasise the role of humour as a mediating tool which helps resolve contradictions within the activity system from conjoining educational objectives within the computer game. We then discuss the role of humour…

Positive psychotherapy (PPT) contrasts with standard interventions for depression by increasing positive emotion, engagement, and meaning rather than directly targeting depressive symptoms. The authors have tested the effects of these interventions in a variety of settings. In informal student and clinical settings, people not uncommonly reported…

A veteran teacher with over 35 years experience, the author reflects on the events of September 11, 2001, and how the events of that day demonstrated that teachers fulfill many shifting roles in their students' lives. Here, he shares his own feelings of profound sadness for all the victims on that day, and discusses how the roles of teachers often…

A socio-constructivist account of learning and emotions stresses the situatedness of every learning activity and points to the close interactions between cognitive, conative and affective factors in students' learning and problem solving. Emotions are perceived as being constituted by the dynamic interplay of cognitive, physiological, and…

Objective: Adolescents constitute a high-risk population for traumatic physical injury, yet few longitudinal investigations have assessed the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms over time in representative samples. Method: Between July 2002 and August 2003,108 randomly selected injured adolescent patients ages 12 to 18 and…

A few weeks before the fifth anniversary of the Columbine High School shootings on April 20, 1999, Principal Frank DeAngelis reflects on how his school has changed over the past five years. Much like the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks against the United States, "Columbine" carries a chilling meaning that resonates across the…