Is it appropriate and useful for evaluators to use findings to make recommendations? If so, under what circumstances? How specific should they be? This article presents a decision-making framework for the appropriateness of recommendations in varying contexts. On the basis of reviews of evaluation theory, selected evaluation reports, and feedback…

In order to re-use small learning objects their correct technical and semantic context must be preserved. The paper discusses this problem based on the experience of re-engineering a large corpus of pre-existing texts into learning objects of fine granularity.

In naming artifacts, do young children infer and reason about the intended functions of the objects? Participants between the ages of 2 and 4 years were shown two kinds of objects derived from familiar categories. One kind was damaged so as to undermine its usual function. The other kind was also dysfunctional, but made so by adding features that…

Criminologists have long recognized that retaliatory violence diffuses outward from discrete conflicts, often in contagion-like fashion. No understanding of the source of this spread is possible without first documenting the modalities that fuel it. Retaliation has variation, and it is important to catalog that variation if the concept of crime as…

In this study two complementary models, which were based on the strengths of existing models, were developed to analyze students' critical thinking skills. One model was used to categorize the types of critical thinking displayed by students; the other was used to evaluate the quality of the critical thinking. The models were refined and tested…

Relational similarity connects superficially dissimilar objects and events. In 2 experiments, the ability to recognize and respond to similar relations was studied in children ages 3 to 5 with 2 comparison tasks. Children interpreted illustrated pictures that shared perceptual or relational aspects and then made 2 comparison choices and…

Three experiments directly compared infants' categorization in variations of the visual familiarization task. In each experiment, 4- or 6-month-old infants were familiarized with a collection of dogs or cats and then their response to novel dogs and cats was assessed. In Experiment 1, 4-month-old infants responded to the exclusive distinction of…

The aims in this article are to connect the conceptual structure of clinical psychological science to what the author believes to be the omnipresent principles of evolution, use the evolutionary model to create a deductively derived clinical theory and taxonomy, link the theory and taxonomy to comprehensive and integrated approaches to assessment,…

Much of the contemporary bereavement literature on the continuing bond to the deceased (CB) has emphasized its adaptiveness and given limited attention to when it may be maladaptive. The attachment literature on disorganized-unresolved attachment classification in relation to loss, or "unresolved loss," is informative in identifying CB expressions…

Among the harshest critiques ever received during my doctoral coursework came from a professor who was noticeably perturbed that I had researched and written a paper on an artwork without considering the title in the interpretation and analysis of the work. The professor insisted that the title is necessary to understand the piece. As a diligent…

This study investigated how the speech act of refusal is realized in Egyptian Arabic by intermediate and advanced American learners of Arabic as a foreign language. It also compared the performance of the learners to that of native speakers of Egyptian Arabic and native speakers of American English. The study aimed to investigate the relationship…

Given the need to compete for sponsored research funding, do university faculty believe they retain the freedom to research what is of most interest to them? The higher education literature frequently asserts that faculty research agendas are being subjugated to the demands of sponsors. An alternate perspective, from the science studies…

The INTASC Principles, when used as the basis for developing appropriate measurement instruments to assess teacher dispositions, provide a viable approach to the diagnosis and remediation of skill-related affective performance in teacher candidates and also to meeting NCATE requirements for Standard 1. In this symposium, the development and use of…

Discriminant analysis was used to determine whether classifications could be made between students enrolled in e-learning and in face-to-face university courses (N = 353) based on their scores from separate instruments measuring sense of community and motivation. Study results provide evidence that the predictors were able to distinguish between…

Although prejudice exists during childhood, it is unclear how attitudes toward peers of lower or higher academic ability and from one's own or a different racial group interact. This study qualifies previous research by showing that prejudice varies according to whether children are asked to evaluate peers based on academic ability, racial…