This paper presents the results of a function-based study initiated by a general education teacher to reduce a general education student's out-of-seat behavior. Procedures included direct observation, data collection, functional behavior assessment using a Functional Assessment Protocol (FAP; Schroeder, n.d.), hypothesis development, and creating…

This study aims to be a contribution to a theoretical model that explains the effectiveness of the learning and decision-making processes by means of a feedback and mental models perspective. With appropriate mental models, managers should be able to improve their capacity to deal with dynamically complex contexts, in order to achieve long-term…

College students seem especially adept at procrastination. Large percents report that it causes lower quality papers and projects, lower exam scores and, to a lesser extent, late or missing assignments. Using survey data collected from a broad cross-section of students and faculty we argue that procrastination can be modeled as a logical, albeit…

Genre analysis, the investigation of typified communicative actions arising in recurrent situations, has been developed to study information use and interchange online, in businesses and in other organizations. As such, it holds out promise for the investigation of similarly typified communicative actions and situations in CSCL contexts. This…

Changes in the family structure can be very disruptive to adolescents who live in those families. This article examines the impact of the number of family transitions on delinquent and drug-using behavior. Specifically, the effect of family transitions is hypothesized to be mediated by problems within the family, school, and peer settings. A…

This paper describes the confirmatory factor analysis, validity, and reliability data collection stage of the development of a scale to measure mainstream teachers' self-efficacy beliefs for teaching ELL (English Language Learner) students. Data were collected from 708 K through 12 teachers and pre-service teachers with varying degrees of…

An illustration of a test for independence was provided with a mixed set of variables. The matrix consisted of 10 tests of interest and four random deviates in which the relationship between sets was demonstrated to be minimal. The result was discussed for a situation in which factoring methods might be considered. (Author)

A longstanding belief has been that a distribution can be assumed symmetric if the mean and median are coincidental. Coincidence of mean and median is a necessary but not sufficient condition for symmetry. Two counter examples proving this point are provided. Plotting of the data and third moment computation are recommended alternatives.…

There are a variety of statistical problems which involve the use of the non-central t-distribution. The development of tables for the non-central t-distribution has been hindered by the number of parameters involved. Several approaches to this task have been made in the literature, characterized by either focusing attention on the subset of…

The kappa coefficient and the chi square statistic are used as indices of agreement between two judges' ratings of a set of stimuli on a nominal scale. In this article, the logic of these indices is extended to weighted multi-way cases. (Author/JKS)

It is shown that the rank-biserial correlation coefficient is a linear function of the U-statistic (Mann and Whitney), so that a test of group mean difference is equivalent to a test of zero correlation for the rank-biserial coefficient. (RC)

Exact conditional tests of independence in cross-classification tables are formulated based on chi square and other statistics with stronger operational interpretations, such as some nominal and ordinal measures of association. Guidelines for table dimensions and sample sizes for which the tests are economically implemented on a computer are…

Presents two experiments concerning confirmatory bias in the way counselors collect data to test their hypotheses. Counselors were asked either to develop their own clinical hypothesis or were given a hypothesis to test. Confirmatory bias in hypothesis testing was not supported in either experiment. (JAC)

An exact probability test for use with certain Likert-type scales is presented. The procedure assumes equally-spaced points, independence of subjects' responses, and that each point has an equal likelihood of response for each subject. Tables for critical values are presented. (Author/JKS)

A procedure is specified for testing the significance of predicted trends in k independent correlations. An example is also provided for illustrative purposes. (Author)