Testing for phosphatidylethanol (PEth) is a relatively new tool for detecting and grossly quantifying a person's use of alcohol in a variety of security, medical, and legal environments. The basic chemistry of PEth is explained with a particular focus on factors that make it highly suitable as a biomarker for alcohol use in such situations. This article meets the need for a literature review that synthesizes PEth laboratory findings and suggests updated guidelines for interpretation. Several ethanol biomarkers have been used for detection or monitoring alcohol use but have significant limitations. Based on this review, the authors propose three guidelines for evaluating PEth values: Light or no Consumption (<20 ng/mL), Significant Consumption (20-199 ng/mL), and Heavy Consumption (>200 ng/mL). These guidelines are important in employment and security environments, but also have applicability in such diverse activities as alcohol treatment programs, organ transplant decisions, and monitoring impaired medical professionals.

Aims: To assess the effectiveness of iPad use on the attention span of a child with Smith Magenis Syndrome (n = 1), compared to attention span while working on the same tasks manually. Methods: An AB design with a baseline and an intervention phase was used. Three manual tasks were chosen for the baseline, which matched the participant’s intellectual age by the Early Intervention Method: a jigsaw puzzle (six pieces), a shape sorter, and matching pictures. These same tasks were performed on an iPad during the intervention phase. Six baseline and nine intervention phase films were included in the analysis. The 15 films were independently scored twice by two observers: once to observe the types of distractions that occurred (such as standing up from the chair, calling the teacher, or turning around on the chair), and a second time to measure the effective working time. Results: iPad use led to a 45% decrease in the number of total distractions. The effective working time improved by 8% and showed a more consistent range compared to working on tasksbmanually. While task enjoyment was not directly measured, the observers and teachers agreed that working on the iPad appeared to be more enjoyable. Conclusions: In this single case study the participant showed that in his case iPad use can be effective in decreasing his distractions and therefore can improve his attention span. Enjoyment was higher while working with the iPad than performing tasks manually. This technology could therefore create more learning engagement for the participant, which could positively impact his behavior. Further research into iPad implementation for children with intellectual disabilities, poor fine motor skills, and/or attention deficits is needed.

In clinical and most forensic evaluations, “diagnosis” connotes the expectation of a DSM‐5 or ICD‐10 formally labeled mental condition. When the task is to evaluate the security risk a person's psychological makeup presents to an institution, such a molar diagnosis can blind the clinician and elevate the risk to a security agency. When “diagnosis” connotes achieving an understanding of a person's behavior that has raised security concerns, then a different conceptualization of the diagnostic process is required. Unlike the clinical situation, the evaluation is not being performed to benefit the person but for the purpose of assessing risk to an agency. The differences this introduces involve every aspect of the evaluation and changes the type of diagnosis expected. Not appreciating these differences can cause the clinician to fail in the task of assessing psychological tendencies that affect national security.