Discusses detailed classification systems, sophisticated alphabetical indexing systems and reasons for the abandonment of complex indexing systems. The suggested structure for indexing the Internet or other large electronic collections of documents is based on that of book indexes: specific headings with coined modifications. (Author/AEF)

This paper responds to criticisms concerning the applicability of the 1992 American Association on Mental Retardation definition of mental retardation to preschool children. Criticisms focusing on the elimination of classification levels, limited relevance of adaptive behavior areas, and difficulties delineating kinds and intensities of supports…

Presents a five-step method to develop the critical numeracy knowledge of numerically intimidated students. Examines the method in detail, discussing Piagetian diagnostic tools and how to adapt the Structure of the Observed Learning Outcome (SOLO) taxonomy to teach critical numeracy. (CMK)

Proposes and tests a community college classification system based on curricular characteristics and their association with institutional characteristics. Seeks readily available data correlates to represent percentage of a college's course offerings that are in the liberal arts. A simple two-category classification system using total enrollment…

Describes the visualization of a navigation classification scheme in an information retrieval (IR) system. Highlights include Charles Cutter's rules for creating a dictionary catalog; user needs; an example of undergraduate research using this scheme; and user interaction with the IR system. (Contains 64 references.) (Author/LRW)

This article discusses how the broadening of the federal definition of giftedness will possibly increase the number of students identified as gifted. Far from dumbing down the definition, this article argues the new definition will allow many minority children to be identified and served as gifted students. (Contains 8 references.) (CR)

A replication study compared 86 petition students who received course substitutions for the college foreign language (FL) requirement with 40 nonpetition students who fulfilled the requirement by passing FL courses. Findings indicate more than half of all the students did not meet criteria for learning disability classification. (Contains…

Examines trends in second language (L2) communication strategy (CS) research. A comprehensive review is included of the relevant literature from the last two decades, with particular reference to the different ways in which CSs have been defined and to the corresponding influences on the organization of strategy taxonomies. (92 references)…

Identifies cognitive strategies used during the categorization of qualitative data and investigates how various factors may be related to the testimonial validity of the categories. Essay writers ranked sets of categories in terms of overall quality and rated them while thinking aloud. Think-aloud protocols for the "best" and…

Three studies examined the ability of 8- and 9-year-olds and young adults to use sample monotonicity and diversity information according to the similarity-coverage model of category-based induction. Found that children's difficulty with this information was independent of category level, and may be based on preferences for other strategies…

Used the Child Behavior Checklists to develop a classification system to categorize behavior problems of foster children and initiated its validation with 91 foster children in The Netherlands. Identified four groups: normal, aggressive- delinquent-social problems, attention-social problems, and withdrawn-social problems. Found that these taxa…

A study compared 143 girls (ages 6-14) with Rett syndrome with 85 girls with severe mental retardation on the Developmental Behavior Checklist. Girls with Rett syndrome presented more "autistic relating" and fewer antisocial behaviors. When compared to children with autism, they did not present with classic autistic behavioral features.…

A study examined the validity of the Gilliam Autism Rating Scale (GARS) with 119 children (ages 3-10) with strict DSM-IV (Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV) diagnoses of autism. The GARS consistently underestimated the likelihood that children would be classified as having autism. Limitations of ratings scales and of the GARS…

Describes the development of a software system, SIMPR (Structured Information Management: Processing and Retrieval), that will process documents by indexing them and classifying their subjects. Topics discussed include information storage and retrieval, file inversion techniques, modelling the user, natural language searching, automatic indexing,…

A study of 220 communication strategies used by 12 Chinese English-as-a-Foreign-Language learners indicated that the frequency, type, and effectiveness of strategies employed by learners varied according to their proficiency level and the language distance between the learners' native and second languages. (28 references) (Author/CB)