A brief account of statistical tests for single-case research with persons with developmental disabilities

Education and rehabilitation research with persons with developmental disabilities is often based on single-case designs (with small numbers of ordinal data points collected at irregular intervals) and relies upon graphic display and visual inspection of the data. This paper (a) provides a brief account of some statistical tests, which may serve to supplement the visual inspection process and (b) underlines some of their strengths and limitations to help education and rehabilitation personnel make a reasonable choice among them.     

Multiple microswitches for persons with multiple disabilities: a basic procedure to examine the persons' choice behavior

This study examined a basic choice-analysis procedure to clarify choice between two responses and related stimuli by five persons with multiple disabilities ages 17.1 to 50.2 yr. The procedure was based on reversing the links between responses and stimuli to assess whether the stimuli accounted for differences in response levels. When this was not the case, the procedure added extra stimuli for the less preferred response to judge whether such an increase would compensate for the apparent disadvantage of that response, e.g., its higher physical cost. Analysis showed that the choice of three of the five participants seemed motivated by the stimuli following the responses. The choice of the other two persons seemed related to a preference for one of the responses which was partially or largely modified when extra stimuli were added.     

Capital,Psychological Resources and High Achievement: a Biographical Analysis of the Accomplishment of High Achievers

This work examines the role of capital and psychological resources in the achievements of high achievers. It investigates the integrative role of psychological resources and capital in the achievement process. In the study, we chose four Indian high achievers: two first-generation achievers and two non-first-generation achievers - JRD Tata, Dhirubhai Ambani, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar and Srinivasa Ramanujan. The written biographies were analysed. The biographical analysis shows that while capital plays a major role in the success of non-first-generation achievers, psychological resources are more important in first-generation achievers. The results indicate that psychological resources are important in channelizing capital for achievement. It was also found useful for the generation and maintenance of various forms of capital. Though hard work and inborn talent cannot be ignored, the role of capital and psychological resources must not be underestimated in the process of attaining high achievement.     

Rethinking Sikh Nationalism in the Twenty-First Century

This article seeks to draw attention to some of the core issues which beset the study of Sikh nationalism as a coherent phenomenon in an increasingly globalized and socially fragmented world. First, it highlights the importance of revisiting the debate about the community's religious boundaries, arguing that in contrast to the new conventional wisdom informed by poststructuralism, Sikh identity has exhibited a remarkable degree of continuity from the establishment of the Khalsa in comparison with other South Asian religio-political communities. The second key issue highlighted is the role of the Sikh diaspora in the development of Sikh nationalism and statehood. It critically examines the extent to which diaspora may be regarded as an instrument of ‘long-distance’ nationalism. Third, it argues that the existing literature on Sikh nationalism is remarkably community-centric and needs to engage with theories of nationalism. Finally, while acknowledging the cleavages which fragment the Sikh nation, it concludes that Sikh nationalism has been remarkably cohesive.