Today's adolescents write to communicate--via text messaging, instant messaging, and social networking posts. They are skilled at manipulating their out-of-school digital language to communicate with an intended audience and to capture individual voice. Because the writing is informal, teens have the ability to break rules, and they can do so…

The evidence from early intervention studies of autism has emphasised the need for early diagnosis. Insight into the early presentation of autism is crucial for early recognition, and routine screening can optimise the possibility for early diagnosis. General population screening was conducted for 2.5-year-old children at child health centres in…

This study seeks to extend previous research on family stress, parenting, and child adjustment to families with adopted Chinese children. In doing so, we also seek to strengthen inferences regarding the experiential underpinnings of previously obtained relationships among these variables by determining if they also occur in families where parents…

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common mental health disorders of childhood. The symptoms of ADHD (inattention, impulsive behavior, and hyperactivity) begin in childhood and often persist into adulthood. These symptoms frequently lead to functional impairment in academic, family, and social settings. The causes…

This practical resource shows educators how to use the Internet to help students communicate electronically, reaching beyond the borders of traditional classroom walls. The authors--a lifelong professional developer and a dedicated facilitator of improved K-12 education through her work with graduate students in school leadership--provide the…

Student failure is a prominent issue in many comprehensive secondary schools nationwide. Researchers studying error, reliability, and performance in organizations have developed and employed a method known as critical incident technique (CIT) for investigating failure. Adopting an action research model, this study involved gathering and analyzing…

The present study was undertaken to investigate the correlation between EFL students strategic listening and their listening comprehension skills. Eighty secondary school students participated in this study. Participants' strategic listening was measured by a Strategic Listening Interview (SLI), a Strategic Listening Questionnaire (SLQ) and a…

Should counselors with interpersonal trauma histories work with similarly traumatized clients? How does the work affect them? Current research is inconsistent. This study examines 101 sexual assault and domestic violence counselors' recalled motivations for trauma work, their reported subjective personal changes, and their secondary and vicarious…

Agreement between the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) and two brief scales completed by parents was 93.1% for the Checklist for Autism Spectrum Disorder (CASD) and 89.7% for the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) in a sample of adolescents with suspected autism spectrum disorders. Our study is consistent with others showing that brief…

Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is characterized by temper tantrums, impulsivity, mood fluctuations, difficulty with change in routine, skinpicking, stubbornness and aggression. Many studies on behavior in PWS are limited by sample size, age range, a lack of genetically confirmed diagnosis of PWS and inconsistent assessment of behavior. The aim of…

Since Topping published his literature review on peer assessment in 1998, the number of studies on this subject has doubled, if not tripled. However, along with this expansion, the diversity of peer assessment applications increased equally fast. Based on recent literature, this contribution focuses specifically on the diversity that has come to…

Organization of electronic resources workflow is critical in the increasingly complicated and complex world of library management. A simple organizational tool that can be readily applied to electronic resources management (ERM) is the use of checklists. Based on the principles discussed in The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right, the…

While social impairment, difficulties with communication, and restricted repetitive behaviors are central features of Autism Spectrum Disorders, physical clumsiness is a commonly co-occurring feature. In a sample of 398 twin pairs (aged 8-17 years) from the Italian Twin Registry we investigated the nature of the co-variation between a psychometric…

Although reliability is essential to validity, most research on violence risk assessment tools has paid little attention to strategies for improving rater agreement. The authors evaluated the degree to which perceived subjectivity in scoring guidelines for items from two measures--the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) and the Historical,…

This study investigated raters' personality traits in relation to scores they assigned to offenders using the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R). A total of 22 participants, including graduate students and faculty members in clinical psychology programs, completed a PCL-R training session, independently scored four criminal offenders using the…