Children at Risk: Effects of a Four-Year Head Start Transition Program on Special Education Identification

Children in Head Start are at risk for school learning or behavioral problems. While Head Start has decreased special education placement, there has been little systematic data until recently on identification of children in disability categories following preschool. In this study, two cohorts of 6,162 children across 30 sites were followed through third grade. Approximately half of these children were provided transition assistance from kindergarten through third grade. This included school transition and curricular modifications, parent involvement activities, health screening or referrals, and family social services, all similar to those received in Head Start. They were compared to a similar group of Head Start children who did not receive such services beyond the Head Start experience. Special education eligibility was determined from school records in the spring of third grade. Only 0.89% of children in the transition group were identified in the mental retardation category compared to 1.26% in the non-transition group. In the category of emotional disturbance, these same figures were 1.21% and 1.65% respectively. Both differences were statistically significant, but an opposite effect was found in the category of speech or language impairment. Findings are discussed in relation to differences in disability categories and implications for early identification.     

Proposition 187 reexamined: Attitudes toward immigration among California voters

The purposes of this study were to examine socio-demographic predictors of attitudes toward immigration in a community-based sample (N = 494) from the Los Angeles area; and to explore the relationship between attitudes toward immigration and the providing of educational and health services to the children of undocumented immigrants. Not providing services to the children of undocumented immigrants was a key element of California's Proposition 187. Attitudes toward immigration were measured with the Attitudes Toward Immigration Scale (ATIS). The providing of services was measured through the participants' evaluations of a school scenario and a health care scenario. Results indicated that participants who were middle-aged or older, less educated, identified as Republican, and were third generation or greater were more likely to hold negative attitudes toward immigration. Furthermore, participants holding negative attitudes toward immigration were less likely to provide education and health care services to the children of undocumented immigrants.     

Near-Death Studies and Modern Physics

The fields of near-death studies and modern physics face common dilemmas: namely, how to account for the corroborative nature of many near-death experiences or of the anthropic disposition of the universe without allowing for some otherworldly existence and/or some guiding intelligence. Extreme efforts in both fields to explain various phenomena by contemporary scientific methods and theories have been largely unsuccessful. This paper exposes some of the principal problem areas and suggests a greater collaboration between the two fields. Specific illustrations are given where collaborative effort might be fruitful. The paper also suggests a broader perspective in performing the research, one that places greater emphasis on an otherworldly thrust in future research.     

The Two-Point Threshold: Not a Measure of Tactile Spatial Resolution

The two-point threshold, or compass test, has long been used as a measure of tactile spatial resolution; however, since it was first developed, there have been problems associated with its use. Some of these problems include setting an appropriate criterion for responding "two," extreme variability both within and between subjects, and the ability of subjects to discriminate two points from one at separations well below the two-point threshold. Recent neurophysiological results have clarified some of the neural mechanisms responsible for spatial resolution and demonstrated the inadequacy of the two-point threshold as a measure of spatial mechanisms. Several new methods may overcome these problems and provide a valid measure of spatial resolution and a reflection of neural mechanisms.     

Five personality factors and sex: preliminary findings

This study assessed the relationships between the Big Five personality domains, attitudes to sex, and three specific sexual behaviours. Respondents were 123 undergraduate students (51 males; 72 females). Men were found to score significantly higher than women on measures of sexual curiosity and sexual excitement, while women were higher on sexual satisfaction. Neuroticism (N) and Extraversion (E) appeared to be the most important predictors of attitudes to sex, although Conscientiousness (C) and Openness to experience (O) were also implicated. N, C, and Agreeableness (A) were implicated in sexual behaviours. Some suggestions for future research are made.     

The time course of task switching: A speed—accuracy trade-off analysis

On each trial of this study, participants either switched between or repeated two simple, two-choice tasks involving either letter or digit classifications. Speed-accuracy trade-off (SAT) curves were obtained using the responsesignal method of eliciting speeded responses at various response time lags after the presentation of the stimulus for the second task. The key finding from separate analyses of the three SAT-curve parameters (intercept, rate, and asymp tote) was that the location of the intercept of the SAT function (i.e., the point at which responding rises above chance) was shifted upward for both short and long response-stimulus intervals under task-switch conditions but only when the responses associated with each of the letter-digit stimulus components were incompatible.