Examines student solution strategies to a problem that appeared previously in this journal. (YDS)

Presents the Shopping Spree problem to teach students the concept of estimation. (Author/NB)

Presents responses to the Average Days of Spring problem that appeared in the March 2002 issue of this journal. (Author/NB)

Explored suicidal behavior in 291 adolescents using runaway shelters in St. Louis. Found 30 percent of runaways reported having attempted suicide in past. Suicide attempters had significantly more behavioral and mental health problems, and reported having more family members and more friends with problems, than nonattempters. Substance use,…

Federal and state efforts to enhance equal education opportunities through narrowly framed special programs have become problematic, as core curriculum instruction is slighted and children are classified in highly dubious ways. This article discusses problems and needed reforms of both the "second system" and regular education. Includes 20…

Examines in detail the political and ethical dilemmas encountered when results of the Barrow Alcohol Study generated considerable reaction in the scientific community, popular press, and local population. Argues difficulties might have been avoided with better insight into community belief regarding the nature of the problem and better community…

Describes the case of Casey Jesson, a hyperactive child ordered by the state of Hew Hampshire to ingest Ritalin or forego a public education. Despite adverse side effects and the perils of drug dependency, there is greater parental and educator acceptance of Ritalin than ever before. Scientologists are sparking an anti-Ritalin campaign. Includes…

Describes a classroom demonstration that illustrates the error of using an inappropriate test to conclude that a specific ability does not exist within a subject or a population. Shows ways to expand the lesson to cover the issue of null conclusions. Points out social and methodological implications of the demonstration. (Author/LS)

Examines the problem resolution phase of a retrospective conversion project of monographic records at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst (UMass). The kinds of problems encountered are categorized and discussed. Suggestions for developing editing guidelines are offered, and the guidelines developed for standardization of problem resolution at…

Sketches some events in the life and career of Lowry Nelson, a rural sociologist, and relates these events to the development of rural sociology and the Rural Sociological Society. Asserts that the dream of using science to ameliorate social problems during the early development of rural sociology is still present today. (KS)

Summarizes findings from "The Troubled Journey: A Portrait of 6th-12th Grade Youth," a study of society's role in youth development. Highlights missing supports, destructive influences, at-risk behaviors, and promising strategies (e.g., reduce deficits/increase assets, strengthen youth-oriented institutions, involve youth in caring for others,…

The Toughlove network, which currently includes over 500 parent support groups, is comprised of parents and teen offspring on the verge of suspension. Parents and children attend separate meetings; parents learn limit-setting and supportive behavior; and troubled teens learn to make some difficult changes and accept responsibility for their…

The 1940 school discipline list, a "national teacher survey" of the top seven offenses has been extensively cited by outspoken school critics. The list, along with its 1990 counterpart, has been traced to T. Cullen Davis, a wealthy Texas businessman-turned evangelical Christian/education lobbyist. The conflation of school discipline with social…

Explored adolescent seat belt use and psychosocial risk factors in urban minority population (n=541). Found seat belt use reported by 49 percent of respondents. Those reporting no or intermittent seat belt use were significantly more likely than seat belt users to feel down, have decreased home support, have problems with school and the law, and…

This paper argues that behavior analysis is not technological to a fault, but rather has a faulty technology by being incomplete. The paper examines reinforcers and punishers that result from the outcomes of either (1) striving for better experimental control, or (2) inventing theories to explain why current control is imperfect. (JDD)