Review of Learning About Learning Disabilities, Third Edition.

This article reviews the book, "Learning about Learning Disabilities, Third Edition" (see record 2004-21912-000), edited by Bernice Wong. This book is comprised of a selection of chapters authored by well-known authors in the field of learning disabilities. The book was developed for use with advanced undergraduate and graduate students with the intent to provide current information soundly based in research in the field. The chapters in the book are organized into three thematic sections. The first section deals with conceptual, historical, and research aspects of learning disabilities. The second section comprises chapters on reading comprehension, writing, math, social competence, strategy instruction, working with adolescents, issues in service delivery, and developing communities of practice. The third section focuses on a life span approach to learning disabilities. This book does what it purports to do. This is a well put together selection of readings. It may not be appropriate for advanced undergraduate students with no previous background knowledge or experience with learning disabilities due to the level of the book. The information provided in each chapter is current and soundly based in research. In addition to the research presented, the majority of the chapters also include practical implications of the research to teaching settings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Teaching children with learning and behavior problems.

Reviews the book, Teaching children with learning and behavior problems by Donald D. Hammill, Nettie R. Bartel, and Gary Owen Bunch (1984). This book was published in 1975 and re-edited in 1978 and 1982 as a practical reference book for classroom teachers. The 1984 "Canadian Edition" by Hammill, Bartel, and Bunch essentially consists of the 1982 text with an introductory chapter by Bunch and with additions and deletions aimed at providing a Canadian orientation. The authors seem deliberately to have kept the book's Canadian features separate from the basic text. Not only are there two prefaces and two introductory chapters: all textual additions are referenced in a separate bibliography and separate subject and author indexes. This referencing system is especially irritating because it is not always possible to guess from context whether a citation will appear in the "standard" or the Canadian listing. Finally, a useful list is given of Canadian sources for tests and materials. The overall effect of this format is to emphasize the book's discontinuities and to remind the reader that the preexisting text has not undergone a major revision or re-integration. This text begins with a general statement on special education needs and continues with chapters on reading, spelling, handwriting, composition, mathematics, language, behaviour problems, and perceptual-motor training. The traditional subject-area chapters are its strongest feature and include excellent scope-and-sequence charts, useful information on identification, and practical remedial suggestions. this ill-assorted book offers a stimulating Canadian-focused introduction to a worthwhile but rather time-worn text that does not cover Canadian issues in any meaningful way. A better book might have resulted from an updating for the international market rather than from this attempt at Canadianization. Our need for material that addresses the specifically Canadian aspects of special education is as great as ever. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Cognitive aging: A primer.

Reviews the book, Cognitive aging: A primer edited by Denise C. Park and Norbert Schwarz (see record 2000-07430-000). The objective of this edited book is to present a comprehensive overview of what is known about normal cognitive functioning in older adults. The book's 14 short chapters, all written by well-known experts in cognitive aging, are divided into four sections on basic mechanisms, attention and memory, language and speech, and applications. This book was intended as a textbook for teaching advanced undergraduate and beginning undergraduate students. Overall, this objective is reached by most contributions. While creatively updating knowledge in cognitive aging, it does a great job of identifying limitations and theoretical challenges and of pinpointing many exciting research questions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Classroom Management in Elementary Mainstreaming Classrooms.

The goals of this research were (a) to determine if teachers who were trained in the Utah State University Classroom Management Program changed their use of specific skills more than did comparable control teachers and (b) to determine if students in experimental classrooms made greater changes in ontask and deviant behavior than did comparable students in control classrooms. The study employed a control group design with pre- and postobservations of teacher and student behavior. A total of 39 elementary school teachers in mainstreaming classrooms were randomly assigned to two groups. Experimental teachers were trained in the classroom management program, whereas the control teachers were trained in a similar program of the same duration that covered different teaching skills. The student sample consisted of 322 students selected from participating classrooms and included subsamples of handicapped and minority students. Analysis of covariance of 16 teacher behaviors found that experimental teachers were superior to control teachers in nine behaviors. Experimental students obtained significantly more favorable posttreatment means than did control students for on-task, mildly deviant, and seriously deviant behavior. Most comparisons between handicapped and racial student subgroups were not significant. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The science game: An introduction to research in the behavioral and social sciences, seventh edition.

Reviews the book, The science game: An introduction to research in the behavioral and social sciences, seventh edition by Neil McKinnon Agnew and Sandra W. Pyke (2007). In 1969, Neil Agnew and Sandra Pyke published the first edition of The Science Game, a 182-page survey of the major components of what they call the game of "sciencing," a game, they claim, that "like all other games of consequence, is a mixture of art, enterprise, and invention held loosely together by man-made rules." Using the same quirky but engaging style as in the original, in the seventh and latest edition, Agnew and Pyke dedicate a full 471 pages to the task, tackling a host of topics bearing on the activities of science, ranging from the strengths and weaknesses of humans' cognitive capacity for problem solving to debates in the philosophy of science regarding the nature of knowledge. Although this most recent edition elaborates on many of the same themes presented in earlier versions, it is much grander in scope and includes a number of new features, including the introduction of a central theme and memory aid throughout the book (i.e., a puzzle-solving theme), the inclusion of statements of chapter goals, and chapter-end summaries and self-test quizzes. The Science Game provides a fairly comprehensive set of "sound bites" pertaining to the techniques, procedures, and conventions adopted by social science researchers and is accessible to either students encountering these topics for the first time or more advanced students in need of a refresher. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of A primer of drug action.

Reviews the book, A primer of drug action (4th ed.) by Robert M. Julien (see record 1985-97568-000). This volume, which is the fourth edition of this text to appear in the last decade, provides an excellent introduction to drugs that affect the central nervous system. The author begins with basic pharmacology--how drugs are absorbed, distributed, metabolized, and eliminated--and then discusses specific pharmacological agents by grouping them into five major categories. This book can be understood easily by those with no background in the biological sciences. Students who are deficient in such knowledge can pick up what they need to know from the appendices, which are as thoughtfully prepared as the remainder of the text. Another nice feature of this book is that its content is not overly Americanized and thus it is unlikely to alienate Canadian students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Behavioral and emotional disorders in adolescents: Nature, assessment and treatments.

Reviews the book, Behavioral and emotional disorders in adolescents: Nature, assessment and treatment by David A. Wolfe and Eric J. Mash (see record 2005-16249-000). The primary goal of this edited volume is to capture the current state of knowledge about the important behavioural and emotional adjustment problems and disorders of adolescence. Through 20 chapters by foremost experts, the reader is apprised of the unique features of these disorders in adolescents in comparison with children and adults, and of the importance of developmental issues and a developmental perspective. Any thought that adolescent disorders are adequately addressed by upward extension of knowledge of child disorders and downward extension of knowledge of adult disorders is compellingly dispelled. The unique compilation of empirical findings specifically for adolescents is a boon to those pursuing research, teaching or evidence- based practice with this age group. This book will be mandatory reading for any mental health professional, including academics, graduate students, and clinicians working with or teaching about troubled adolescents. As a text, it is excellent for a graduate course on the subject, and an essential reference source for those teaching abnormal development at the undergraduate level or providing clinical service to adolescents and their families. The book will be a classic in the field and a mandatory starting point for any professional interested in a detailed overview of the state of the art in Western societies, including researchers interested in an overview of areas outside their own specific expertise. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sources of group and individual differences in emerging fraction skills.

Results from a 2-year longitudinal study of 181 children from 4th through 5th grade are reported. Levels of growth in children's computation, word problem, and estimation skills by means of common fractions were predicted by working memory, attentive classroom behavior, conceptual knowledge about fractions, and simple arithmetic fluency. Comparisons of 55 participants identified as having mathematical difficulties to those without mathematical difficulties revealed that group differences in emerging fraction skills were consistently mediated by attentive classroom behavior and conceptual knowledge about fractions. Neither working memory nor arithmetic fluency mediated group differences in growth in fraction skills. It was also found that the development of basic fraction skills and conceptual knowledge are bidirectional in that conceptual knowledge exerted strong influences on all 3 types of basic fraction skills, and basic fraction skills exerted a more modest influence on subsequent conceptual knowledge. Results are discussed with reference to how the identification of potentially malleable student characteristics that contribute to the difficulties that some students have with fractions informs interventions. Also, results will contribute to a future theoretical account concerning how domain-general and domain-specific factors influence the development of basic fraction skills. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Personnel management: Canadian second edition.

Reviews the book, Personnel management: Canadian second edition by Gary Dessler and John F. Duffy (1984). This book is directed at readers who have an interest in the practical aspects of personnel management. In the preface to the book, the authors state that the book "provides students in Human Resource Management and Personnel Management with a complete, comprehensive review of essential personnel management concepts and techniques in a highly readable and understandable form" (p. xiii). In the concluding chapter, they add that "throughout this book we have emphasised the nuts and bolts of personnel management by focusing mainly on the concepts and techniques all managers need to carry out their personnel related tasks" (p. 512). For the most part, the book appears to live up to the authors' claims. It is, in fact, very readable and is organized in such a way as to maximize learning. Each chapter begins with a list of the things students should know or be able to do after reading the chapter, as well as an overview of the material to be covered. The authors make frequent use of examples to illustrate major points, and the cases and exercises included at the end of each chapter will be helpful in allowing students to get some experience at the kind of activities involved in personnel management (e.g., constructing application forms, conducting interviews, dealing with motivation problems). Personnel Management probably comes about as close as a textbook can to providing both the background information and "hands-on experience" that are required of individuals aspiring to careers in the field of personnel management. Moreover, in this Canadian edition, Professor Duffy has revised Professor Dessler's earlier text to make it more relevant to the issues facing personnel managers in Canada. Although most of the issues dealt with in the book are relevant to personnel management in both Canada and the U.S., the reference to Canadian cases, research, and legal issues will probably be a refreshing change to many students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of A textbook of social psychology.

Reviews the book, A textbook of social psychology (5th ed.) by J. E. Alcock, D. W. Carment, and S. W. Sadava (2001). The authors have produced here, for the most part, an example of the social psychology textbook that has dominated the North American academic landscape for more than a generation, which is a social psychology largely under the influence of naive empiricism, generally nonhistorical and nonideological in its approach, and otherwise (and amazingly) undisturbed by over 30 years of debate on the crisis in social psychology or more recent postmodernist and critical approaches based on history, language and discourse, politics, feminism, social/historical constructionism, and notions of community. Indeed, what is most striking about the book is what is missing in it. There is no serious discussion of feminist psychology or feminism. Nor is there any mention of postmodernist influences, critical psychology, symbolic interactionism, community psychology, the analysis of discourse, intersubjectivity, Vygotsky's socio-cultural-historical approach, and so on. But this omission says more about the book's adherence to the mainstream than about its neglect of Canadian psychology; there can be no doubt that much of Canadian psychology is a direct importation from the American mainstream. Alcock, Carment, and Sadava give us a standard North American textbook in social psychology with a Canadian flavour. It provides significant content reflecting what many Canadian social psychologists research, and it offers Canadian examples throughout to illuminate its formal content. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of School violence: Fears versus facts.

Reviews the book, School violence: Fears versus facts by Dewey G. Cornell (see record 2006-07405-000). This book provides a unique focus on common misperceptions regarding school violence. One of the most notable misperceptions is that school violence is on the rise. This is just one of the misperceptions that Cornell's book addresses. Each chapter of the book begins with a case example and fundamental question about school violence, followed by the presentation of research to answer the question. The book concludes with recommendations for what our schools need to prevent violence. These recommendations follow directly from the content of the book and include specific suggestions about eliminating ineffective programs in favor of empirically based efforts, amending legislation that has led to the adoption of ineffective zero tolerance policies, avoiding sensational news coverage of school violence, and making universal prevention a public health mission. The reviewer notes the importance of making data-based decisions about how to prevent and respond to school violence. In order to do this, it is critical to have knowledge of the facts, and to also be aware of common misperceptions about school violence. This book provides educators, graduate students, and parents with that information. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Women and men: Interdisciplinary readings on gender.

Reviews the book, Women and men: Interdisciplinary readings on gender edited by Greta Hofmann Nemiroff (1987). This is a book of readings that could be used in either Women's Studies or Psychology classes that focus on sex roles. The book is divided into four major sections: 1) The epistemology of gender; 2) Life's conditions, stages, and choices; 3) Communication; and 4) Power. The second section is the largest and has five subsections (the early years, the body, fertility, relationships, and work). The articles are in general very well written and in addition to a bibliography most articles include a section listing suggested further readings. These suggestions should prove useful to students or teachers who wish to pursue a topic in more detail. The book has three major strengths. The first strength is the amount and centrality of Canadian content. The second strength is in the articles by and about men. The third strength is the presence of the section, The Epistemology of Gender. The weakness of the book is in what is not included. This is probably an inevitable problem with books of readings, as Nemiroff acknowledges in her introduction. In using the book as a text, the instructor should be aware of important topics and points of view that are omitted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Experimental techniques in human neuropsychology.

Reviews the book, Experimental techniques in human neuropsychology by H. J. Hannay (1986). With the growth of the field of neuropsychology during the last few decades, research related to the varied aspects of human neuropsychology has progressed with insufficient attention to the quality of the methods employed. Certainly, the need for this type of book is unquestionable. This edited volume is designed to present a variety of procedures and current technologies at a level which can be beneficial to both the novice and the expert researcher in various areas of neuropsychology. It is, for the most part, successful in explaining techniques in sufficient detail for the new researcher while also presenting recent advances of interest to the more experienced researcher. The volume contains chapters approximately equally divided between behavioral and physiological measures, written by authors who have established reputations in the research areas which they discuss. Although this book addressed a broad range of experimental topics in neuropsychology, it should provide particular appeal to those interested in methods of investigating cerebral dominance and asymmetry. The research populations discussed represent a diverse mix of neurologically impaired adult groups, with a brief mention of child populations in two chapters. The strength of this book lies on the questions raised about the status of current neuropsychological research techniques. The chapters are well written and are structured in a clearly organized manner that provides ready assessment of the advantages and disadvantages of each technique. Researchers in almost every area of neuropsychology should find this book a valuable aid in designing studies by avoiding the pitfalls which have beset other projects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Tests and assessment.

Reviews the book Tests and Assessment (1985) by Jacqueline Schakel. From its broad title, this book might be classified as a general textbook on assessment for anyone who is learning about testing procedures. Indeed, in the preface, the authors present their book as a text for undergraduate courses on testing in general psychology, and for graduate courses in counseling, vocational, educational, and industrial psychology as well as for "students in counselor education, guidance and counseling, educational administration and other disciplines." Although the book does have some useful general sections on tests and assessment, it is clear that the real audience for this book is less extensive than the authors state. The examples used, tests reviewed, and issues discussed are chiefly for students in personnel and guidance or vocational psychology. If you are such a student or teach assessment courses to students in these programs, read on. Parts of this book may interest you. If you are a school psychologist or teacher of school psychology, you will find this text limited. The overall organization of the book could have been improved by reviewing the theories of person-environment interaction (upon which the authors claim to base their treatment of assessment) before their discussion of specific assessment tools and integrating a discussion of this theoretical basis throughout the book. In summary, this book does not offer the broad treatment of assessment issues and the focus on the kinds of assessment required in schools which are necessary to school psychologists. It provides some useful reviews of tests for guidance and vocational decision making, some concise explanations of assessment concepts, and a well-written section on some specific testing controversies that may be useful to students in the counseling field. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Innovation up close: How school improvement works.

Reviews the book, Innovation up close: How school improvement works by A. Michael Huberman and Matthew B. Miles (1984). In this volume, Huberman and Miles address the matter of how to improve schools by means of 12 case studies of improvement efforts in elementary and secondary school districts in the United States. They provide a richly detailed, scholarly, yet highly practical account of what seems to transpire when educators and related professionals seek to improve schools. Among the psychologically relevant school improvement factors examined are the incentives and roles of administrators, teachers, students, and communities in the success and failure of a variety of innovative programs. The authors achieve what they set out to do: report about how school improvement seems to occur, based on empirical investigation, and relate their findings to prior work and fundamental concepts of school improvement. The book provides considerable substantive insights. This book is highly recommended because it is a superb blend of theory, practice, and research in the complex domain of the school. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Essentials of chemical dependency counseling.

Reviews the book, Essentials of chemical dependency counseling by Gary W. Lawson, Dan C. Ellis, and P. Clayton Rivers (1984). This text provides, as the authors indicate, a basic introduction to the field of chemical dependency counseling. It covers an exceptionally broad range of relevant issues, from promoting an analysis by readers of their motivations for entering the field, to providing an overview of basic counseling skills and group approaches to therapy, to considering job survival issues in a field that has a tremendously high turnover rate. It provides a balanced combination of practical information (and resources for additional information) and background rationales for the approaches proposed. Though a specific audience is not indicated by the authors, it appears well written at a level for undergraduate or beginning graduate students in rehabilitation-related fields. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

General education teachers' knowledge and self-reported use of classroom interventions for working with difficult-to-teach students: Implications for consultation, prereferral intervention and inclusive services.

Twenty 3rd- and 4th-grade teachers were interviewed about working with difficult-to-teach students (e.g, children with specific learning disabilities, mild mental handicaps, behavior disorders) in their classrooms. Using a referral case and a standardized vignette, teachers described problems, goals, interventions, data collection, and consultation practices employed across prereferral, prereferral Intervention, referral, and post-referral phases of service delivery. Most participants demonstrated only vague knowledge of classroom interventions. Few accommodations were made in general classrooms for mildly-handicapped children, particularly following the prereferral phase. Participants consulted primarily with other general educators and secondarily with special educators. Consultation with school psychologists was unusual. Discussion focuses on implications for consultation, prereferral intervention, and inclusive services. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Continuity & change in marriage & the family.

Reviews the book, Continuity & change in marriage & the family edited by Jean E. Veevers (1991). Dr. Veevers perceived a need for "competent empirical works specifically applicable to the task of describing and understanding Canadian family life." She has filled that need with Continuity & Change in Marriage & the Family, a collection of readings. The book is intended for students in sociology of marriage and family classes as a supplement to textbooks with a theoretical emphasis. Continuity & Change in Marriage & the Family offers the insights of Canadian (and other) scholars about, as Dr. Veevers states, "issues that are directly relevant to the study of marriage and the family in Canada." Because the articles illuminate the condition of families in all post-modern societies, the book has relevance outside Canada. The message of the book is that change, both social and familial, and the acceptance of a variety of family arrangements, has resulted in families that are created by those who live in them. Thus, students should know how to be creative in building and maintaining their personal relationships. It provides students with ideas to consider as they develop as family members. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Readings in social psychology: Classic and Canadian contributions.

Reviews the book, Readings in social psychology: Classic and Canadian contributions edited by Brian Earn and Shelagh Towson (1986). Earn and Towson argue that students should know that social psychology is an active discipline with significant contributions from their own nation, that there are areas of research of particular relevance to the Canadian context, and that they should be able to gain from incidental learning about their own society. The format of the book is rather conventional. Readings are grouped into content areas: social motives (aggression and altruism), social influence, attitudes, social interactions (attraction and loneliness), attribution and cognition, ethnic relations, prejudice, and applications (TV influence, social support, law). It includes contributions by many of the most prominent social psychologists in Canada, and several "classic" papers by U.S. social psychologists. As one who has long regretted the fact that we are compelled to teach social psychology with only foreign materials, the reviewer welcomes the publication of this book. The reviewer hopes that in the second edition the editors take more seriously the purpose of a book of readings, and set out to communicate to undergraduate students what social psychological research is all about. The reviewer also hopes that the publisher is able to produce a volume that looks more professional and is easier to read. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)