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In these days of ubiquitous tweeting, language teachers must consider whether microblogging is an activity that will bring benefits to the learning experience. Recent research (Junco et al., 2010; Messner, 2009, among others) indicates that Twitter is becoming increasingly popular in classrooms, but few studies (see for example, Borau et al., 2009; Junco et al., 2010) have empirically examined the linguistic, attitudinal or content-based outcomes of such implementation. This paper discusses the role of Twitter in an intermediate French class (4th or 5th semester of French at the University level), in which students tweeted weekly with each other and with native French speakers. The goal for using Twitter was to build community among learners in the U.S. and in France and to provide opportunities for creative language practice outside of class time. Data suggest that participants quickly formed a collaborative community in which they were able to learn, share and reflect. Attitudinal data and discourse analysis findings are presented to discuss the use of this medium in language learning. (Contains 4 figures and 4 tables.)

Electrical engineering (EE) is one of the largest engineering disciplines. Computer engineering (CpE) has a similar curriculum, but different demographics and student outcomes. Using a dataset from universities in the U.S. that includes over 70,000 students who majored in engineering, this paper describes the outcomes for students matriculating in and migrating into EE and CpE so as to inform the decision making of faculty, department heads, and deans. Although men consistently outnumber women in EE and CpE, the rates of matriculation and six-year graduation vary by race and gender. EE is the most popular choice for Asian and Black students (males and females) at matriculation, but while Asians graduate at high rates, Blacks (particularly males) are not retained. Retention is higher in EE than in CpE despite the similarity of the curricula. Graduation rates are lower than expected for women of all races in CpE and for Hispanic women in EE. By the third semester, some students of all races and genders have left their matriculation major, but others have migrated in from other majors, compensating for some of this loss. CpE students are more likely than EE students to switch to another major. Trajectories of EE and CpE students are racialized and distinct. CpE loses more students and attracts fewer students than EE. These findings illustrate the importance of disaggregating by engineering major as well as race and gender to improve recruitment and retention overall. (Contains 3 figures and 1 table.)

Background: Standard case criteria are proposed for combined use of the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised and Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule to diagnose autism and to define the broader category of autism spectrum disorders. Method: Single and combined Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised and Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule algorithms were compared to best estimate diagnoses in four samples: U.S. (n = 960) and Canadian (n = 232) participants 3 years and older, U.S. participants younger than 36 months (n = 270), and U.S. participants older than 36 months with profound mental retardation (n = 67). Results: Sensitivities and specificities of 80% and higher were obtained when strict criteria for an autism diagnosis using both instruments were applied in the U.S. samples, and 75% or greater in the Canadian sample. Single-instrument criteria resulted in significant loss of specificity. Specificity was poor in the sample with profound mental retardation. Lower sensitivity and specificity were also obtained when proposed criteria for broader spectrum disorders were applied. Conclusions: The Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised and Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule make independent, additive contributions to the judgment of clinicians that result in a more consistent and rigorous application of diagnostic criteria. (Contains 3 tables.)

This longitudinal study evaluated after-school program (ASP) participation and the development of academic performance (school grades, reading achievement) and teacher-rated motivational attributes (expectancy of success, effectance motivation) over a school year. Participants were 599 boys and girls (6.3 to 10.6 years) from an urban, disadvantaged city in the United States. An ecological analysis of after-school arrangements identified 4 patterns of care: ASP care, parent care, combined parent-self/sibling care, and combined other-adult/self-sibling care. Aspects of academic performance and motivational attributes were significantly higher (p is less than .05) at the end of the school year for children in ASP care compared with those in the 3 alternative patterns of care. Differences were marked for children rated as highly engaged in ASP activities.

This study involves a two-year longitudinal investigation of adolescent participation in unstructured youth recreation centres and the development of antisocial behaviour. Participants were 1163 adolescents who represented 92% of all eighth-grade students in the town of Orebro, Sweden, during the fall of 1999. Antisocial young people and those with poor relations to parents or school were likely to become involved in the centres. After controlling for these selection influences, the frequency of youth centre participation was associated with a significant increase in antisocial behaviour over time for boys and girls. Youth centres that aggregated many antisocial peers together were particularly likely to promote the antisocial behaviour of new attendees. The findings are consistent with prior theory and research on youth development and out-of-school activities. Activities that lack structure and skill-building aims appear to attract high-risk adolescents and the resulting social environment is conducive to the development of antisocial behaviour. (Contains 3 tables, 2 figures and 1 footnote.)

Higher education aims to instill in students the need for and the practice of lifelong learning. Given its importance, there are surprisingly few instruments to assess this outcome. Two recently developed instruments purport to measure various facets of this outcome in college students. We used the Lifelong Learning Scale (LLS) and the Autonomous Learner Scale (ALS) with engineering students (n = 356) at a large, public university in the western U.S. Analysis of variance was used to assess for differences between subgroups of students. The results from the LLS revealed that Asians self-reported as weaker lifelong learners in comparison to Whites. The results from the ALS showed Asian students self-reporting significantly weaker scores on "independence of learning" and "study habits" in comparison to Whites and Hispanics. Finally, male students held a higher self-belief in "independence of learning" compared with female students. Perhaps most important was the lack of any significant changes in either the LLS or the ALS with the year of study in the engineering curriculum. Inter-instrument comparisons showed good correlations between the factors of each instrument, indicating that the two are largely measuring similar facets of lifelong learning. Given the brevity of these two instruments, we recommend using both together to provide a deeper examination of students' lifelong learning habits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Urban policy transfer between the US and UK has long been of interest to researchers and practitioners. Given the recent wider context of reduced direct funding and the absence of a coherent regeneration policy, this paper considers the introduction of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) to the UK as a method of stimulating spatially targeted economic development initiatives. The paper explores whether TIF could be considered a form of policy transfer, and in doing so uncovers whether the transfer of TIF could – (a) be successful and unsuccessful under certain circumstances; (b) require the actions of certain stakeholders; and (c) be enabled via prescribed frameworks and negotiation. The results are evidenced using qualitative approaches and find that TIF is more of a modified policy ‘idea’ rather than transfer. Further discussion argues that TIF can be successful, if it considers flexible but local elements and has the capacity to balance stakeholders for development brokerage. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objectives: To examine the prevalence and patterns of nonmedical use of prescription opioid analgesics and stimulants among student pharmacists. Design: Descriptive, nonexperimental, cross-sectional study. Setting: Private urban college of pharmacy in the United States in fall 2006. Participants: 1,538 PharmD students. Intervention: Online survey. Main outcome measures: Lifetime and past-year nonmedical prescription opiold and stimulant use. Results: Response rate for the survey was 62%. Lifetime prevalence of opioid misuse was 8%, and 5% of students had misused in the past year. Lifetime prevalence of stimulant misuse was 7%, and 5% had misused in the past year. Whites and fraternity or sorority members were more likely than their peers to have ever misused opioids. Past-year opioid misuse was more likely among whites, men, and low academic achievers compared with their peers. Lifetime stimulant misuse was more likely among students who were white, older, and fraternity or sorority members, while past-year misuse was more likely among whites and low academic achievers. Common motives for opioid misuse were to have fun, to relax, and to deal with chronic pain. Stimulants were used to improve concentration and academic performance. Friends were the most common source of prescription opioids and stimulants. Nonmedical prescription use was associated with greater likelihood of alcohol and other illicit substance use. Conclusion: The prevalence of prescription medication misuse among student pharmacists was lower than (opioids) or comparable with (stimulants) reported rates in college populations. Subgroups of students demonstrated higher rates of nonmedical use, including whites, students involved with fraternities or sororities, and low academic achievers. That friends were the primary source of misused medications indicates that diversion of prescription-only controlled substances likely occurs among student pharmacists. Nonmedical prescription medication use should be considered in the context of other substance use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on homelessness in Nebraska. Homelessness as a visible social and economic problem has plagued the United States since the 1980's. During this time period research on urban homelessness has proliferated dramatically. Comparatively, little research on rural and agricultural region homelessness has been undertaken. A number of factors have contributed to the changes in the rural economies. Food producers and processors have faced intensively competitive markets in conditions of inelastic or falling demand. Farm productivity has steadily increased over the past 50 years generating accumulations of surpluses and depressing farm markets. Increases in worldwide agricultural production and lower domestic price supports further contributed to the lowering of farm incomes, creating economic conditions in which agribusinesses succeeded while family farms struggled. The result has been a general decline in farm employment and a trend towards fewer, larger and more efficient farms.