Assessing the language of 2 year-olds: From theory to practice

Early screening for language problems is a priority given the importance of language for success in school and interpersonal relationships. The paucity of reliable behavioral instruments for this age group prompted the development of a new touchscreen language screener for 2-year-olds that relies on language comprehension. Developmental literature guided selection of age-appropriate markers of language disorder risk that are culturally and dialectally neutral and could be reliably assessed. Items extend beyond products of linguistic knowledge (vocabulary and syntax) and tap the process by which children learn language, also known as fast mapping. After piloting an extensive set of items (139), two phases of testing with over 500 children aged 2; 0–2; 11 were conducted to choose the final 40-item set. Rasch analysis was used to select the best fitting and least redundant items. Norms were created based on 270 children. Sufficient test-retest reliability, Cronbach's alpha, and convergent validity with the MB-CDI and PPVT are reported. This quick behavioral measure of language capabilities could support research studies and facilitate the early detection of language problems.     

Student,classroom, and teacher factors associated with teachers’ attunement to bullies and victims

Teachers are instrumental in antibullying efforts given their position of authority in the classroom context, yet teachers can only be effective at reducing victimization and bullying in their classrooms if they are aware of who is involved. Consequently, teachers’ attunement to bullies and victims is a critical component of social dynamics management and antibullying practices. Given the importance of teacher attunement, there is a pressing need to identify relevant factors related to the degree to which teachers are attuned to bullies and victims. The major objective of the current investigation was to examine student- (gender, popularity status), classroom- (average bullying, norm salience of bullying, popularity hierarchy, class size), and teacher-level (gender, teaching experience) factors associated with teachers’ attunement to bullies and victims. Using a sample of students in 5th-grade classrooms, we analyzed the likelihood of teachers being attuned to 267 bullies (76.8% boys) nested in 112 classrooms and 343 victims (55.1% boys) nested in 120 classrooms using multilevel mixed-effects generalized linear models. Results indicated that teachers were more likely to be attuned to boy bullies and victims but less likely to be attuned to bullies and victims with higher popularity status. No classroom or teacher level factors related significantly to the likelihood of teachers’ attunement. Implications for social dynamics management and bullying intervention efforts are discussed.     

The Economics of Equal Value

Equal pay for work of equal value has come to be seen as the policy most likely to reduce the gender earnings gap. This paper explores the theoretical basis for widespread undervaluation of women's work and argues that institutionalised discrimination in the labour market also affects internal pay and grading structures. Recent recognition of the scope for discretion in pay determination undermines the “market forces” argument against equal value. The current wage structure reflects an outdated model of social and family organisation. Much poverty is now the result of women seeking economic independence in a market which rewards them as subordinate family members. However, the main obstacles to equal value lie in labour market institutions. The increasing fragmentation of pay bargaining and moves to performance-related pay will reduce rather than promote the relationship between pay and job content.     

A Multiple Objective Embedded Network Model for Human Resource Planning and an Implementation of the Tchebycheff Method

A multiple objective embedded network model is proposed to model a variety of human resource planning problems including executive succession planning, compensation planning, training program design, diversity management and human systems design. The Tchebycheff Method, an interactive multiple objective programming solution procedure developed by Steuer and Choo [32], is implemented using NETSIDE, a computer routine for solving network problems with side constraints developed by Kennington and Whisman [17]. This paper demonstrates how the network structure common to many types of human resource planning problems can be exploited to improve solution efficiency, and how our approach extends the use of network models in human resource planning by including multiple objectives and extranetwork constraints. An illustrative example demonstrating the modeling and solution approach is presented, and the potential applications of these approaches in two specific areas of human resource planning are discussed.