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Performances in psychological tests are frequently influenced by the socio-cultural level (SCL). Therefore, valid strategies to assess SCL must be used. Dimensions of SCL are presented (socio-economic status, cultural capital, and social capital) and available strategies for their assessment are described. Problems in the SCL evaluation and their effects in research and clinical fields are discussed, particularly in the case of children with learning and behavioral disabilities.

The development of co‐makership in the UK raises important legal considerations as to the nature of the relationship between the parties concerned. These problems are discussed in detail and include competition law problems, contractual problems, confidentiality, industrial property ownership rights, product liability, and termination of the agreement and the settlement of disputes. The conclusions are that co‐makership does not present any insuperable legal problems, nor are these problems novel or difficult.

The published literature on consumer health kiosks is assessed to determine the impact of this relatively ‘low‐tech’ technology and to provide a context and stepping‐stone for a Department of Health (DoH) funded study, which is evaluating the impact of more than 70 health kiosks located in all kinds of locations throughout the United kingdom. The existing literature indicates that kiosks are benefiting health information provision in some important ways. Data from some early pilot work on the DoH project illustrates the kinds of analyses that can be conducted and appears to confirm the popularity of the kiosks with the general public.

The design and development of a computer‐aided learning tool for the education of patients with diabetes and for the training and support of practice nurses providing diabetes care have been previously reported. diabCAL is a broad and comprehensive learning tool, which can be accessed as a modular course or a desktop quick‐reference. Evaluation is central to the design process and can be formative, informing design and development throughout the lifecycle, or summative, assessing the value of the finished product. diabCAL was subject to rigorous evaluation at various stages during development, including: verification of curriculum content and structure, evaluation of navigation and evaluation of system content. A final hybrid formative‐summative evaluation assessed usability and acceptability of the system. Evaluations were conducted by technical experts and users, and findings of the final evaluation study, conducted by patients, confirmed that diabCAL was acceptable to most users – that is, interesting and perceived to be useful – even to those with little previous computer experience.

The aim of the paper is to compare the computer administration method (touch‐screen) with the original paper‐and‐pen approach when measuring patients' perceptions of care quality.

The study group consisted of 199 patients who responded to touch‐screen and 219 who responded to paper‐and‐pen questionnaires, receiving care between January and March 2003 at two out‐patient clinics in one county in Sweden. The response rate was 75 per cent. A modified version of the quality from the patient's perspective questionnaire was used.

Two main findings emerged: first, both methods yielded almost identical results in quality of care ratings, and second, the touch‐screen method was perceived to be easier to use and to take less time to complete.

The paper shows that both methods are acceptable, but the touch‐screen method appears to be preferred by patients.

One of the several claims that Seligman makes for Rooke is that he should be accorded priority in the discovery of the correct, that is Ricardian, doctrine of rent:there seems little doubt that the doctrine of rent was developed practically simultaneously by Malthus, West, Torrens and Rooke in 1814, but so far as the priority of actual publication is concerned, the above list should be reversed. And in the interests of historical accuracy, Rooke and Torrens must hereafter be accorded the position which they deserve. (Seligman, 1903, p. 512)¹

Touch‐screen kiosks are located in a variety of locations to provide the public with ready access to health information. This paper examines, via a questionnaire, the characteristics of adult users of a surgery‐based kiosk. The Esk Medical Centre is in Musselburgh, near Edinburgh. Just under 200 questionnaires were returned and analysed. The research establishes characteristics of users and non‐users, how the kiosk fits in with other consumer information sources, what health outcomes result from using the kiosk, and reasons for non‐use. The main finding is that the respondents’ attitude and previous experience with information technology has an impact on whether the touch‐screen kiosk is used.

Emerging evidence indicates that adapted eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR) can be useful for people with intellectual disabilities in treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, the required adaptations are not described in enough detail across the literature, making it difficult for therapists to easily adapt EMDR for people with intellectual disabilities. This paper aims to address this by describing 14 clinical cases, along with outcome data for six people, and the views of five people with intellectual disabilities about EMDR.

A total of 14 people with mild or moderate intellectual disabilities and varied experiences of trauma were offered EMDR by one clinical psychologist in a UK NHS setting; nine people completed EMDR therapy, six people provided outcome data with pre-post measures and five people were asked two questions about EMDR therapy.

Adaptations are described. The outcome data indicate reductions in symptoms of PTSD following EMDR intervention. EMDR was liked and perceived as useful.

This paper provides details about adaptations that can be made to the standard EMDR protocol, reports the views of service users about EMDR and adds evidence that EMDR reduces symptoms of PTSD in people who have intellectual disabilities.

Struggling writers and students with disabilities tend to have difficulties with multiple aspects of the writing process. Therefore, in this chapter, we describe Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD; Harris, Graham, Mason, & Friedlander, 2008). SRSD is a writing intervention with extensive research demonstrating its effectiveness for improving the writing quality of struggling writers and students with disabilities when implemented by both teachers and researchers in a variety of educational settings. We also describe an ineffective writing practice, stand-alone grammar instruction. Although this type of grammar instruction is explicit, it is removed from an authentic writing context, and decades of research have demonstrated its negative effects on students’ writing quality. We close the chapter with recommendations for future research on SRSD as well as general suggestions for teachers who provide writing instruction to struggling writers and students with disabilities.