A classroom exercise for undergraduate and beginning graduate students that takes about one class period is proposed and discussed. It is an easy, interesting exercise that demonstrates important aspects of sampling techniques (sample amount, particle size, and the representativeness of the sample in relation to the bulk material). The exercise…

When people speak of "the Law of Gravity" they are generally referring to what is more specifically known as "Newton's Law of Gravitation." This law states that the gravitational force (that is, the mutual attraction) between any two physical bodies is directly proportional to the product of their individual masses and inversely proportional to…

Professional psychologists are often confronted with the task of making binary decisions about individuals, such as predictions about future behavior or employee selection. Test users familiar with linear models and Bayes's theorem are likely to assume that the accuracy of decisions is consistently improved by combination of outcomes across valid…

In this note, it is shown through an example that the assumption of the independence of Bernoulli trials in the geometric experiment may unexpectedly not be satisfied. The example can serve as a suitable and useful classroom activity for students in introductory probability courses.

Actuarial risk assessments yield valid numerical information about violence risk, but research suggests that forensic clinicians prefer to communicate risk using nonnumerical information (i.e., verbal terms such as high risk). In an experimental questionnaire study, 60 forensic clinicians disagreed on the interpretation of nonnumerical terms, and…

In response to the increasing cost of college, colleges and universities are leveraging financial aid and academic support services to implement access and success programs intended to help financially disadvantaged students afford and persist through a baccalaureate degree program. This research is a study of the efficacy of one such program at a…

The aim of this article is to compare the schooling levels of individuals with the demands of the Brazilian labour market. The results demonstrate the high probability of compatibility between occupation and schooling levels. But high propensities for under-education were identified associated with the skin colour and position in the family. The…

Objectives: Public Law (P.L.) 110-351, the "Fostering Connections to Success Act," calls for state child welfare agencies to partner with Medicaid and pediatric experts to provide planning and oversight regarding the provision of health and mental health services, including medication, to children in state custody. Recent reports, media cases, and…

The effect of childhood trauma, psychiatric diagnoses, and mental health services on school dropout among U.S.-born and immigrant youth is examined using data from the Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Surveys, a nationally representative probability sample of African Americans, Afro-Caribbeans, Asians, Latinos, and non-Latino Whites,…

Since 1997 Uganda has seen a large increase in school enrolment. Despite this increased enrolment, universal education has remained elusive. Many children enrol in school, but not at the recommended age, and they drop out before completing school. This article focuses on one of these problems--delayed school entry. What household factors are…

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to develop a realist evaluation paradigm in social work evidence-based practice. Method: Wraparound (at Gateway-Longview Inc., New York) used a reliable outcome measure and an electronic database to systematically collect and analyze data on the interventions, the client demographics and circumstances, and…

Letter-name identification has been widely used as part of early screening to identify children who might be at risk for future word reading difficulty. The goal of the present study was to examine whether a reduced set of letters could have similar diagnostic accuracy rather than a full set (i.e., 26 letters) when used as a screen. First, we…

A well-designed experiment is the best method for establishing efficacy of any intervention, be it medical, behavioral, or educational in nature. This paper reviews the steps necessary in conducting a comparative experiment in an educational setting, and illustrates how these steps might be fulfilled within the context of a large-scale randomized…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine whether children exposed to 2 languages would benefit from the phonotactic probability cues of a single language in the same way as monolingual peers and to determine whether crosslinguistic influence would be present in a fast-mapping task. Method: Two groups of typically developing children…

This study examines the differential effects on student subgroups of using the ACT® College Readiness Assessment Composite (ACTC) score and high school grade point average (HSGPA) for making admission decisions. The subgroup characteristics investigated include race/ethnicity, gender, and income. For each student subgroup, we examine the effect of…