A non-arbitrary method for the identification and scale setting of latent variables in general structural equation modeling is introduced. This particular technique provides identical model fit as traditional methods (e.g., the marker variable method), but it allows one to estimate the latent parameters in a nonarbitrary metric that reflects the…

Words and pictures with earlier learned labels are processed faster than words and pictures with later learned labels. This age-of-acquisition (AoA) effect has been extensively investigated in many different types of tasks. This article provides a review of these studies including picture naming, word naming, speeded word naming, word…

Part of the history of oil and gas development on Indian reservations concerns potential underpayment of royalties due to under-valuation of production by oil companies. This paper discusses a model used by the Shoshone and Arapaho tribes in a lawsuit against the Federal government, claiming the Government failed to collect adequate royalties.…

Educational theory should be the foundation for most practice and research, but this is not a one-way relationship. Good inductive research may help to develop theory instead of coming from it. The relationship of theory to research can be different in qualitative research than in quantitative research. Practice can and should also inform and be…

This study was designed to explore a model of communicative competence (Abbeduto & Nuccio, 1989) and identify whether its components could (a) predict pragmatic language difficulties for children with emotional or behavioral disorders (E/BD) and (b) describe the semantic, syntactic, and pragmatic language ability as well as the social skills of…

This paper seeks to reveal the differences among seven departments of sociology in Turkish universities based on studies carried out since 1985 by sociologists working in these departments. Since sociology and sociological education started in 1914, there have been many evaluations of sociology in Turkey. The present study differs from others in…

The purpose of this paper is to study the process used for selecting research areas and methodological approaches in distance education in India. Experts from the field of distance education in India were interviewed at length, with the aim of collecting qualitative data on opinions on process-issues for selecting areas for research, research…

Objective: To assess the reliability of a BMI-based Silhouette Matching Test (BMI-SMT). Methods: The perceptions of ideal and current body images of 215 ninth through twelfth graders' were assessed at 5 different schools within a mid-Atlantic state public school system. Results: Findings provided quantifiable data and discriminating measurements…

The numerous ways that postsecondary students benefit from experiential education across the academic disciplines have been well documented in the scholarly literature. One exception, however, is in the field of dance, where these effects have not been researched as extensively. Using a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods,…

The aim of this research is to examine how social learning is connected to the acquisition of knowledge and abilities. One hundred and nineteen "A" grade students (60 boys and 59 girls) attending public primary school participated. The collection of data was carried out according to: (1) the "Athina" Test (AT) and (2) teachers'…

Correlations and mean score differences between IQs derived from the Universal Nonverbal Intelligence Test (UNIT; Bracken & McCallum, 1998) and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition (WISC-III; Wechsler, 1991) were compared. Participants were Limited English Proficient (LEP) Mexican-American elementary school students, who…

Two experiments were performed regarding the effect of conscious control on handwriting fluency in healthy adults and ADHD children. First, 26 healthy students were asked to write a sentence under different conditions. The results indicate that automated handwriting movements are independent from visual feedback. Second, the writing performance of…

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 requires that public schools adopt research-supported programs and practices, with a strong recommendation for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) as the "gold standard" for scientific rigor in empirical research. Within that policy framework, this paper compares the relative utility of…

Using student process recording data, a one-year study of the changes in interviewing and relationship skills of two adjacent cohorts of MSW students (N = 43) found no significant change in skills between first- and second-year students. Additional findings include a statistically significant increase in first-year students' ability to focus on…

Numerous researchers have speculated on and attempted to quantify the impact of policies designed to increase school choice and competition between schools, and they have reached widely differing conclusions. In this article, we provide an overview of the research that focuses on the potential achievement effects of greater private sector…