No abstract

The Parental Concerns Questionnaire (PCQ) was designed as a parent-interview screening instrument for young children with developmental concerns at risk for potentially severe behavior problems (SBDs). Parents of 262 young children (4 to 48 months) answered to the 15 dichotomous PCQ items interviewed by trained staff. Cluster analysis for items revealed three item clusters, which we labeled Developmental/Social (8 items), Biomedical (3 items), and Behavior Problems (3 items). This paper discussed primarily the Behavior Problems cluster, with items referring to self-injurious, aggressive, and destructive behaviors. Parents' concerns about behavior problems were high, with item-endorsements of the Behavior Problems cluster ranging from 41.8 % to 68.8 %. The Behavior Problems cluster was significantly correlated with all three subscales of the Behavior Problems Inventory (BPI-01), with select subscales of the Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC), and with the Repetitive Behavior Scale-Revised (RBS-R) providing some evidence for concurrent validity. Sensitivity and specificity data were computed for the three PCQ items as well as for the cluster score in comparison with the BPI-01, ABC, and RBS-R showing strong sensitivity. The PCQ Behavior Problems cluster is a useful screening checklist with high sensitivity for potential SBDs in young children at-risk for developmental delays.

This study examined three potential sources of variance in teacher ratings of the socioemotional skills of children: occasion, child, and teacher. The ratings were prepared using the Devereux Student Strengths Assessment. In total, 344 children were assessed in both the fall and spring of kindergarten and first grade, providing a total of 1,067 ratings across 106 teachers. We employed cross-classified random effects models to account for multiple occasions of measurement that were nested within both children and teachers, which allowed us to determine the amounts of variance attributable to occasion, children, and teachers. Overall, occasion accounted for the greatest proportion of variance (43%-50%) across a variety of socioemotional subscales, followed by child (36%-46%), and teacher (11%-16%). Findings suggest that caution is warranted when using these scales for high-stake decisions.

Children's school readiness, especially in the early school years, is a significant indicator for school success as it establishes a positive school trajectory. However, less is known about the generalizability of these findings to contexts outside the United States. The present study examined kindergarten teachers' perceptions of school readiness in China. We surveyed 101 third-year preschool teachers and 160 first-grade teachers in China, asking about their perceptions of school readiness. Results suggested that third-year preschool and first grade teachers in China viewed many of their students as not ready for school and also thought that the students had difficulties with academic and social-emotional skills. In addition, Chinese teachers placed a higher value on social-emotional skills versus academic skills. Our interpretation of the current findings also includes preliminary comparisons between our data set and one from 531 American kindergarten teachers using the same survey.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

Abstract. The 3 August 2014 Ludian, China, Ms  =  6.5 earthquake caused many large landslides. The biggest occurred at Hongshiyan near the epicenter, had a volume of 1.0  ×  107 m3 and dammed the Niulanjiang River, creating a large lake. Post-event field investigations yielded detailed data on the following aspects: rock structure of the landslide, the local lithology and geometry of the area around the landslide dam and composition and grain sizes of the debris avalanche. Based on these data, this work analyzes the geology and topography of the Hongshiyan area, and explores reasons for the occurrence of an unusually large landslide at this location. Our analysis suggests the following conditions are responsible for this catastrophic event. (1) Due to recent crustal deformation, intense incision on the river increased topographic relief with steep slopes and scarps. (2) Combined structures, including unloading fissures, high-angle joints and low-angle beds along the river, as well as an upper-strong and lower-weak interlayer structure on the slope, especially the existence of weak layers in the slope, are important factors that contribute to this large failure. (3) Hongshiyan lies near an active fault, where intense crustal deformation has resulted in rock fractures and weathering, and frequent earthquakes may progressively reduce the strength of the slope. (4) During the Ms  =  6.5 earthquake, the terrain and site conditions led to abnormally strong ground shaking. The combined impacts of these factors triggered a very large landslide during a moderate-sized earthquake.