Copy-number variants (CNVs) are associated with susceptibility to autism spectrum disorder (ASD). To detect the presence of CNVs, we conducted an array-comparative genomic hybridization (array-CGH) analysis in 133 children with "essential" ASD phenotype. Genetic analyses documented that 12 children had causative CNVs (C-CNVs), 29…

Gymnastics judges and former gymnasts have been shown to be quite accurate in detecting errors and accurately judging performance. Purpose: The purpose of the current study was to examine if this superior judging performance is reflected in judges' gaze behavior. Method: Thirty-five judges were asked to judge 21 gymnasts who performed a skill on…

Purpose: Mean articulatory rate (MAR) is an alternative approach to measure articulation rate and is defined as the mean of 5 rate measures in minimally 10 to maximally 20 consecutive syllables in perceptually fluent speech without pauses. This study examined the validity of this approach. Method: Reading and spontaneous speech samples were…

The high-probability (high-p) instructional sequence involves the delivery of a series of high-probability instructions immediately before delivery of a low-probability or target instruction. It has been shown to be efficacious for treating noncompliance among children and individuals with intellectual disabilities. Previous research (Esch &…

Measurement invariance is a necessary precondition for meaningful cross-country comparisons, and three levels have been differentiated: configural, metric, and scalar. Unfortunately, establishing the most stringent form, that is, scalar measurement invariance, across groups is difficult. Recently, Muthén and Asparouhov proposed testing for…

The introductory article of the GSE special issue 'PISA for scandalization, PISA for projection: the use of international large-scale assessments in education policy making' contextualises the four articles of the special issue in the broader context of comparative policy studies in education. It reflects in particular on the question of why…

This article provides an overview of national bibliographic databases that include data on research output within social sciences and humanities (SSH) in Europe. We focus on the comprehensiveness of the database content. Compared to the data from commercial databases such as Web of Science and Scopus, data from national bibliographic databases…

This article explores the ontological politics of research in the field of community studies. Focusing on a migrant community in London, UK, it shows how the community is (re)assembled in different ways through the different research practices of academics and practitioners. Guided by a framework based on material semiotics, this article compares…

Higher education is of considerable importance to policymakers across Europe. Indeed, it is viewed as a key mechanism for achieving a range of economic, social and political goals. Nevertheless, despite this prominence within policy, we have no clear understanding of the extent to which conceptualisations of 'the student' are shared across the…

Whether action representation in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is deficient remains controversial, as previous studies of action observation or imitation report conflicting results. Here we investigated the characteristics of action representation in adolescents with ASD through motor imagery (MI) using a hand rotation and an…

In typical differential item functioning (DIF) assessments, an item's DIF status is not influenced by its status in previous test administrations. An item that has shown DIF at multiple administrations may be treated the same way as an item that has shown DIF in only the most recent administration. Therefore, much useful information about the…

Both the statistical and interpretational shortcomings of the three-parameter logistic (3PL) model in accommodating guessing effects on multiple-choice items are well documented. We consider the use of a residual heteroscedasticity (RH) model as an alternative, and compare its performance to the 3PL with real test data sets and through simulation…

Person reliability parameters (PRPs) model temporary changes in individuals' attribute level perceptions when responding to self-report items (higher levels of PRPs represent less fluctuation). PRPs could be useful in measuring careless responding and traitedness. However, it is unclear how well current procedures for estimating PRPs can recover…

Background: Nutritious and attractive school meals can improve health equality and public health. Current official guidelines and recommendations on food and nutrient composition of school meals in 3 Nordic countries; Sweden, Finland, and Iceland, are described and compared with actual practice, ie, availability of foods and nutrients in served…

Researchers are often interested in establishing equivalence of population variances. Traditional difference-based procedures are appropriate to answer questions about differences in some statistic (e.g., variances, etc.). However, if a researcher is interested in evaluating the equivalence of population variances, it is more appropriate to use a…