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There is very little known about how sibling characteristics may influence the social functioning of a child with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The current study utilized data from the Simons Simplex Collection (SSC; n=1355 children with ASD and 1351 siblings) to investigate this relationship. Phenotypic measures included (a) the "Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised" (ADI-R), the "Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule" (ADOS), and the "Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales-II" (VABS-II) for the probands with ASD and (b) the "Social Communication Questionnaire" (SCQ), the "Social Responsiveness Scale" (SRS), the "Child Behavior Checklist" (CBCL), and the VABS-II for siblings. Sibling data were first analyzed collectively, then analyzed by "older" and "younger" groups, relative to the age of the proband with ASD. Significant correlations were observed between probands' and siblings' VABS-II socialization domain scores; additional associations were noted between (a) probands' VABS-II socialization domain scores and siblings' CBCL internalizing subscale scores when only younger siblings were analyzed, and (b) probands' ADOS Reciprocal Social Interaction (RSI) domain scores and the sibling SCQ scores when only older siblings were analyzed. These findings suggest that typically developing children may have a small yet meaningful influence on the prosocial development of their siblings with ASD. Limitations and future directions are discussed. (Contains 4 tables.)

In this article, we respond to criticisms posed by McMillan (2011) of our recent paper, "Viewing Community as Responsibility as well as a Resource: Deconstructing the Theoretical Roots of Psychological Sense of Community." We clarify that the focus of our article was to explore the macro theoretical frameworks and second-order assumptions that have guided the measurement and study of the psychological sense of community (PSOC) construct to date. We then correct McMillan's mischaracterization of our work as a normative theory by clarifying that our thesis was not that PSOC is a value--but rather that (a) people have values and belief systems, and (b) these belief systems may interact with aspects of a community context to evoke a sense of responsibility for a community to which one belongs. We conclude by reviewing key areas of shared agreement concerning responsibility aspects of PSOC that may serve as a foundation for guiding future research. (Contains 1 footnote.)

This methodological brief introduces the readers to the propensity score matching method, which can be used for enhancing the validity of causal inferences in research situations involving nonexperimental design or observational research, or in situations where the benefits of an experimental design are not fully realized because of reasons beyond the researcher's control (e.g., attrition of participants). This brief discusses the rationale of propensity score matching, the major implementation steps and considerations, and illustrates the procedures with a data example. Some limitations and implementation challenges are also discussed. (Contains 1 note and 6 tables.)

The field of scholarship surrounding the construct of psychological sense of community (PSOC) has been dominated by first-order learning processes attending to issues of measurement and prediction of the four-dimensional framework proposed by McMillan and Chavis (1976). This article seeks to contribute to the conceptual development of PSOC by clarifying the second-order assumptions of PSOC as it is represented in prevailing conception and measurement. We introduce human needs theory as a macro framework for representing the definition and study of PSOC to date. Second, we illuminate the limitations of a purely needs theory perspective of PSOC and propose the value of exploring alternative theoretically grounded perspectives. Third, we offer an alternative theoretical base for PSOC--a sense of community as responsibility--and highlight how this alternative theoretical lens can suggest new models for understanding the dynamic between PSOC, psychological well-being, and community engagement. (Contains 1 table and 4 figures.)

This paper provides new evidence on the disparity between student evaluation of teaching (SET) ratings when evaluations are conducted online versus in-class. Using a multiple regression analysis, we show that after controlling for many of the class and student characteristics not under the direct control of the instructor, average SET ratings from evaluations conducted online are significantly lower than average SET ratings conducted in-class. Further, we demonstrate the importance of controlling for the factors not under the instructor's control when using SET ratings to evaluate faculty performance in the classroom. We do not suggest that moving to online evaluation is overly problematic, only that it is difficult to compare evaluations done online with evaluations done in-class. While we do not suppose that one method is "more accurate" than another, we do believe that institutions would benefit from either moving all evaluations online or by continuing to do all evaluations in-class. (Contains 5 tables.)

Students often exhibit overconfident grade expectations and tend to overestimate the actual course grade at the completion of a course. Current theories of student motivation suggest such overconfidence may lead students to study less than if they had accurate grade perceptions. The authors report the findings of a survey of students enrolled in economics and quantitative courses at a large public university. They analyze the difference between a student's expected and actual grade and how teacher pedagogies can influence student overconfidence. They find male students and those with lower GPAs exhibit greater overconfidence. Students in lower division classes have a greater tendency to be overconfident than do those in upper division classes. The findings also indicate that grading practices influence overconfidence. (Contains 4 tables and 5 notes.)

Finding ways to productively manage conflict in a manner that protects parent-school relationships has become an issue of growing concern in special education. Special education mediation has been promoted as a valuable process, in part, because of its promise for resolving such conflicts in a way that prevents the escalation of adversarial relationships and fosters norms of collaboration among parents and schools. However, despite the growing interest in the impact of mediation on the continuing relationship between parents and schools, empirically, we know very little about the nature of its impact. This study begins to address this gap by qualitatively exploring how parents of special needs students perceive their participation in special education mediation to have affected their ongoing relationship with the school. The findings suggest that mediation has the ability to affect both the interpersonal relationship between parents and school personnel and parents' overall sense of efficacy in their ability to manage their relationship with the school. However, parents' stories indicate that this impact can be either positive or negative. Their stories also indicate that perceived follow-through on the mediation agreement has a significant influence on whether parent-school relationships are perceived to improve or deteriorate further after mediation. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Academic dishonesty is an issue of concern for teachers, students, and institutions of higher education. Because students and faculty do not interact directly in web-based classes, it is often perceived that cheating will be more abundant in these classes. Using data from a survey administered to students who had an online course during the 2001 fall semester, we find evidence that academic dishonesty in online classes is no more pervasive than in traditional classrooms.

We develop and empirically implement a model of university student retention using opportunity cost, financial aid, academic and social integration, and students' background explanatory variables. For one year, we tracked students from Weber State University (WSU) and Oregon State University (OSU) to learn whether they remained enrolled for 0, 1, 2, or 3 quarters. We use negative binomial and Poisson distributions to empirically model the observed enrollment decisions. We make four interesting empirical findings. First, opportunity costs influence retention, but the effects differ by university. At WSU, an undergraduate, commuter university, we find students substitute wage labor for enrollment. At OSU, a Research I university, the effect is non-linear, but on average, higher wages encourage retention. Second, we find no evidence that efforts to increase academic integration through increased advising and mentoring are effective. Third, the effects of financial aid differ by university and are sometimes negative. At OSU, work-study financial aid encourages retention, while grants do not. At WSU, grants support retention, but VA assistance does not. Finally, we find that students' future intentions for re-enrollment are a major determinant of re-enrollment at WSU, but not OSU. This may reflect the ancillary role that WSU plays in many of its students' career and academic plans.

Contends that picture story books meet the goals of social studies, promote social inquiry, and are compatible with social studies curriculum standards. Describes the use of picture story books in the classroom. Includes an annotated bibliography, and discussion of the bibliography, that is meant to encourage social consciousness in students five- to twelve-years-old. (CMK)

Examines two questions about the racial gap in achievement-test scores: (1) how much can be attributed to social class differences? and (2) how much has the gap changed in 30 years? Finds that black-white differences are large and are decreasing over time, but that blacks remain under represented in the high scores. (DSK)

Uses evidence from seven surveys of the U.S. 12th-grade population and the National Assessment of Educational Progress to show that gender differences in mean and variance in academic achievement are small from 1960 to 1994 but that differences in extreme scores are often substantial. (SLD)

Background: Cortical atrophy in Alzheimer's disease (AD) is typically thought to commence in the medial temporal lobe. However, growing evidence suggests that this may not be true for all patients. Here, we explored atrophy patterns in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and AD and whether atrophy patterns are associated with specific clinical and neuropathological outcomes. Methods: 1124 AD and MCI patients were selected from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative. Baseline 3T magnetic resonance imaging scans were processed for all patients who were then subtyped based on regions of predominant atrophy. Baseline cognitive performance and rates of cognitive decline over one year were compared between atrophy subtypes. Regional tau pathology was also evaluated with [18F] AV1451 positron emission tomography. Results: The following atrophy subtypes were identified: medial‐temporal dominant, frontal‐dominant, parietal‐dominant, diffuse, and occipital‐dominant. Baseline cognitive performance and tau were indicated to differ between subtypes. Conclusion: Initial cortical atrophy in AD and MCI may be highly heterogeneous. Additionally, since atrophy subtypes showed unique cognitive performances and tau distributions, they may respond differently to treatment. This study provides grounds for an increased research focus on cortical atrophy in regions outside the medial temporal lobe, especially the parietal lobe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the minimum duration of electroencephalography (EEG) data necessary to differentiate EEG features of Lewy body dementia (LBD), that is, dementia with Lewy bodies and Parkinson disease dementia, from non-LBD patients, that is, Alzheimer disease and Parkinson disease.Methods: We performed quantitative EEG analysis for 16 LBD and 14 non-LBD patients. After artifact removal, a fast Fourier transform was performed on 90, 60, and thirty 2-second epochs to derive dominant frequency; dominant frequency variability; and dominant frequency prevalence.Results: In LBD patients, there were no significant differences in EEG features derived from 90, 60, and thirty 2-second epochs (all P>0.05). There were no significant differences in EEG features derived from 3 different groups of thirty 2-second epochs (all P>0.05). When analyzing EEG features derived from ninety 2-second epochs, we found that LBD had significantly reduced dominant frequency, reduced dominant frequency variability, and reduced dominant frequency prevalence alpha compared with the non-LBD group (all P<0.05). These same differences were observed between the LBD and non-LBD groups when analyzing thirty 2-second epochs.Conclusions: There were no differences in EEG features derived from 1 minute versus 3 minutes of EEG data, and both durations of EEG data equally differentiated LBD from non-LBD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]