EFFECTS OF HIGH-PREFERENCE SINGLE-DIGIT MATHEMATICS PROBLEM COMPLETION ON MULTIPLE-DIGIT MATHEMATICS PROBLEM PERFORMANCE

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a sequence of three single-digit (1 digit × 1 digit) multiplication problems on the latency to initiate multiple-digit (3 digit × 3 digit) multiplication problems for 2 students in an alternative education school. Data showed that (a) during the preference assessment, both students selected the single-digit problems in a majority of the sessions, and (b) intervention resulted in a decrease in latency between problems for both students. Results are discussed in relation to using high-preference sequences to promote behavioral momentum in academic content areas.     

Government, the Press, and the People's Right To Know

Even the most ardent defenders of a legal right to freedom of the press are likely to regard this right as having limitations; but how precisely the right should be limited is a matter of considerable disagreement. This issue is at least partly moral in character: it concerns the moral acceptability of laws which regulate or protect the activities of members of the press. I propose here to address this moral issue, and to do so within the broader framework of considering whether establishing a legal right to freedom of the press—regardless of how it might be limited—is justifiable on moral grounds. In pursuing this investigation, I will devote special attention to familiar claims about the relation between press rights on the one hand, and "the people's right to know" on the other.     

The Effects of Response Repetitions on Sight Word Acquisition for Students with Mild Disabilities

Single response learning trials, defined in terms of the three-term contingency model, were compared with repeated response learning trials. The purpose of Study 1 was to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of single and repeated response learning trials on sight word remediation. In Study 1, one single response learning trial having one response opportunity per word was compared to one repeated response learning trial having five response opportunities. In Study 2, three single response trials were compared to three repeated response trials. In both studies, the training conditions were compared using an alternating treatments design. Measuring the cumulative number of sight words mastered showed the training conditions equally effective. However, measuring (a) the mean duration of training sessions, (b) the cumulative frequency of words mastered per session duration, (c) the mean number of training sessions per word required for mastery, and (d) the training time per mastered word showed that the single response condition was more efficient. Discussion focuses on the need to include training data when determining best practices for teaching.     

The detection of malingered mental illness

Clinical approaches to the detection of malingering are examined from the perspectives of both the general practitioner and forensic examiner. Specific strategies for identifying malingering patients is presented with particular attention to psychoses and post-traumatic stress disorders.     

Effects of high and low dosages of methylphenidate in children with strong and sensitive nervous systems

This investigation was undertaken to explore the possible causes and consequences of the finding that attention- and learning-disordered children with sensitive (weak) nervous systems were titrated at higher dosages of methylphenidate than those with strong nervous systems. Pretreatment parent and teacher ratings of hyperkineticassociated behavior were no different for children typed as having strong or sensitive nervous systems or for those subsequently prescribed higher or lower dosages by a child psychiatrist “blind” to their type as well as condition (drug or placebo). However, those titrated at lower dosages, regardless of whether strong or sensitive, were rated as more improved than those given higher dosages. Pretreatment reaction time (RT) data suggested that sensitive types prescribed low dosages had less of a problem sustaining attention, and placebo RT data suggested that strong types titrated at low dosages had more of a problem sustaining attention. A contrast of placebo and drug RTs showed that strong types titrated at lower dosages improved more than strong types given higher dosages, whereas sensitive types given higher dosages improved more than sensitive types given lower dosages. The latter finding is thought to add support to the theory of Gray (1964), who suggested that, paradoxically, the weak nervous system needs a more intense stimulus than the strong to reach the concentration threshold.