Linguistic analysis of extended examination answers: Differences between on‐screen and paper‐based,high‐ and low‐scoring answers

This small‐scale pilot study aimed to establish how the mode of response in an examination affects candidates' performances on items that require an extended answer. The sample comprised 46 17‐year‐old students from two classes (one in a state secondary school and one in a state sixth‐form college), who sat a mock A‐level English Literature examination. The analysis compared writing produced on screen and on paper to try to uncover any systematic differences between the two modes of delivery. The study considered the linguistic features of the texts produced in each mode, the marks achieved and the views of the participants regarding the use of computers in essay‐based examinations. The study found that the response mode had a small effect on the length of essay produced, in that students using a computer wrote more, and on the type of language used, in that students writing on paper used denser but less varied language. There was very little effect on the marks achieved. Participants expressed a variety of concerns about computer‐based examinations, such as noisy keyboards, assessment of spelling, and unfairness towards those who are less comfortable with the technology.     

How the dialectical imperative shapes network news content: The case of CNN vs. the entertainment networks

This essay compares an all news network's (the Cable News Network) response to a news story's dialectical imperative with that of the entertainment networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC). Using the 1988 nominating convention coverage as subject matter, the author applies narrative principles to interpret a content analysis of those telecasts. The results indicate significant distinctions in narrative structure as the entertainment networks aired a “talent‐based” production whereas CNN produced an “event‐based” interpretation of the two conventions.     

Macroscopic linguistic features of the Chinese writing of deaf individuals

Deaf individuals usually face more challenges in reading and writing, because they are often deprived of adequate spoken input from their infancy. Research on the language features of deaf individuals’ writing is abundant. However, their language structures have as yet been unexplored. In order to address this subject, this article uses the holistic approach of complex network theory. This study builds three syntactic dependency networks, the intent being to capture the macroscopic linguistic features in writing of deaf individuals. Three networks are constructed: one is created from a treebank of texts produced by deaf individuals, and the other two are created from two treebanks of spoken and written language samples produced by hearing people. A dependency‐based theory of syntax is used. The results indicate that the language system of individuals with deafness is structurally similar to that of hearing people, especially to that of their spoken language, but individuals with deafness tend to have lower language proficiency in both syntactic and lexical aspects. The rigid use of function words and less diversity of vocabulary might be part of the reason for the observed differences.     

一种基于双网络模型的图像识别新方法

针对基于复杂网络图像识别方法建模复杂度过高问题,提出一种基于双网络模型的灰度图像识别新方法。首先将像素点作为复杂网络节点,基于灰度乘积构建图像的结构平衡网络模型以及基于欧氏距离构建复杂网络模型,然后分别计算两种网络模型的拓扑特征参量,形成最终的图像特征识别参量。相比现有基于复杂网络的图像识别方法,该方法在理论上能够降低图像建模复杂度,提高图像识别速度。使用 YALE 人脸数据库进行仿真对比实验,结果表明,该方法的图像识别速度为传统复杂网络方法的 35%,正确率提高了 4%。     

Reviewing the differences in size,composition and structure between the personal networks of high‐ and low‐performing students

An interesting aspect in the current literature about learning networks is the shift of focus from the understanding of the “whole network” of a course to the examination of the “personal networks” of individual students. This line of research is relatively new, based on small‐scale studies and diverse analysis techniques, which demands for more empirical research in order to contextualize the findings and to meta‐analyze the research methods. The main objective of this paper is to review two research questions posed by a previous British Journal of Educational Technology contribution by Shane Dawson in order to know whether the differences in personal network composition impact on the performance of students. The two questions were defined by Dawson as follows: (1) Are there significant differences in personal network composition between high‐ and low‐performing students? and (2) Do high‐performing students have larger personal networks than their low‐performing peers? In addition, the “clustered graphs” method used in this study allows the inclusion of the structural analysis of personal networks. In doing so, a new research question is addressed: (3) Are there significant differences in personal network structure between high‐ and low‐performing students? This paper tries to answer these questions in the context of two undergraduate, inter‐university and fully online courses, and two different technology‐enhanced learning environments (a virtual learning environment and a personal learning environment) where interactions took place indirectly through shared resources. The results show that the network behaviors of high‐ and low‐performing students' are strongly correlated, and that high‐performing students developed larger personal networks than low performers.     

Creating a ‘world class’ programme: reciprocity and constraint in networked global collaboration

The article reflects on the construction of a common Master’s programme across four universities located on four continents, in order to explore the role of networks in international educational collaboration. The study draws on the documented processes of the principal members of the programme team. It is presented as a case study of the development of the programme that uses ideas drawn from actor‐network theory to draw attention to the conjunction of human and non‐human actors that shaped the resulting web‐based courses. Constraints arising from major institutional and systemic obstacles were addressed through the effects of the actor‐network. The reciprocity of action and de‐centring of individual activity made possible through the collaboration enabled the human actors to sustain a level of innovation within their own institutions that would not have been possible through them acting alone.     

Hacking agency: Apps,autism, and neurodiversity

This essay examines the complex relationship between agency and technology. I compare autism apps developed by Samsung and Toca Boca and show that while app marketing retains a human-centered notion of agency, user–app interactions distribute agency through a constellation of human and nonhuman actors. The divergence between marketing and use, as well as critiques about agency and technology within disability studies, motivates my argument for hacking agency. Whether in computer or knowledge networks, hacking is a critical process that exploits information silos for particular ends. In this essay, I seek to broaden notions of rhetorical capacity and challenge narrow approaches to intentionality so as to facilitate the attribution of agency across the neurological spectrum.     

节点被删除后的复杂网络子集团数量研究

现实当中的许多复杂网络都无法避免地受到来自自然灾害或人为的攻击,从而导致网络破碎成很多大大小小的子集团.计算随机网络和BA无标度网络在随机删除节点与蓄意删除节点两种情况下产生的除最大连通图外其他子集团数量的情况.在产生的子集团中,结果发现它们特点是当节点删除比例f从0增大到1过程中,子集团的数量先增大后减小.包含节点数量较小的子集团数量占子集团总数量的大多数.子集团尺寸与相应数量在尺寸较小时近似成幂律关系.随机与蓄意删除节点时,随机网络与BA无标度网络产生子集团数量的最大值存在差异.     

用于复杂网络节点重要度评估的离心率算法改进研究

复杂网络中的节点重要度评估一直备受关注。鉴于离心率中心性只考虑节点最大最短路径存在一定局限性,通过计算处理节点的平均最短路径,考虑离心率数值与平均最短路径的差值,提出改进后的新方法。在具有代表性的APAR网络上进行计算实现,并与其它节点重要性评估方法进行对比,发现该方法较离心率中心性方法,对于节点的粗略划分更加精细、有效|在SI模型的模拟对照中,发现该方法在最终第10个单位时间时,准确性相较于离心率中心性提升了15%。     

Use of systemic networks in the development of a questionnaire

The paper discusses the use of systemic networks as a basis for the construction of a questionnaire. The subject of the questionnaire was teachers' views of the philosophy of science. It is argued that systemic networks have potential value in questionnaire construction in such problematic areas, offering help in dealing with both construct and face validity.

The networks used, and the questionnaire based on them, were derived from an analysis of various philosophical positions. The analysis identified distinctions depicting the main philosophical differences, which were then represented in a network. The main systems described are inductivism, hypothetico‐deductivism (e.g., Popper, Lakatos), contextualism (e.g., Kuhn) and relativism (e.g., Feyerabend). Major distinctions turn on the issues of the unity of scientific method, criteria of demarcation, patterns of scientific change and the status of scientific knowledge.     

What price presentation? The effects of typographic variables on essay grades

The marks awarded to 130 second‐year undergraduate word‐processed essays were assessed in relation to their use of different typographic features. By and large most of these features had little effect on the essay grades. However, essays printed in 12‐point type gained significantly higher marks (mean = 56.8) than essays printed in 10‐point type (mean = 52.7), and essays using a combination of popular features (Times Roman, 12‐point, double‐spaced unjustified text, and a line‐space to denote new paragraphs) gained significantly higher marks (mean = 59.6) than those using other combinations (mean = 55.8).     

Structural characteristics of the online social networks of maltreated youth and offline sexual risk behavior

Maltreated youth are at risk for exposure to online sexual content and high-risk sexual behavior, yet characteristics of their online social networks have not been examined as a potential source of vulnerability. The aims of the current study were: 1) to test indicators of size (number of friends) and fragmentation (number of connections between friends) of maltreated young adults’ online networks as predictors of intentional and unintentional exposure to sexual content and offline high-risk sexual behavior and 2) to test maltreatment as a moderator of these associations. Participants were selected from a longitudinal study on the effects of child maltreatment (n = 152; Mean age 21.84 years). Data downloaded from Facebook were used to calculate network variables of size (number of friends), density (connections between friends), average degree (average number of connections for each friend), and percent isolates (those not connected to others in the network). Self-reports of intentional and unintentional exposure to online sexual content and offline high-risk sexual behavior were the outcome variables. Multiple-group path modeling showed that only for the maltreated group having a higher percent of isolates in the network predicted intentional exposure to online sexual content and offline high-risk sexual behavior. An implication of this finding is that the composition of the Facebook network may be used as a risk indicator for individuals with child-welfare documented maltreatment experiences.     

IMMANUEL KANT'S ACCOUNT OF COGNITIVE EXPERIENCE AND HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION

In this essay Gregory Bynum seeks to show that Immanuel Kant's thought, which was conceived in an eighteenth‐century context of new, and newly widespread, pressures for nationally institutionalized human rights–based regimes (the American and French revolutions being the most prominent examples), can help us think in new and appreciative ways about how to approach human rights education more effectively in our own time. Kant's discussion of moral experience features prominently in Bynum's analysis, which emphasizes the following: Kant's conception of a Categorical Imperative to treat humanity as an end in itself; his conscious avoidance of, and his discussion of the necessity of avoiding, the limitations of empiricist and rationalist extremes of thought; and his discussion of moral experience in interrelated individual, community, and global aspects. Bynum demonstrates the usefulness of Kant's approach by using it as a lens through which to appreciatively examine a Japanese‐born university professor's account of her ultimately successful effort to teach American students about U.S.‐instigated human rights violations abroad.     

Shyness and Trajectories of Functional Network Connectivity Over Early Adolescence

High shyness during early adolescence is associated with impaired peer relationships and risk for psychiatric disorders. Little is known, however, about the relation between shyness and trajectories of brain development over early adolescence. The current study longitudinally examined trajectories of resting‐state functional connectivity (rs‐fc) within four brain networks in 147 adolescents. Subjects underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging at three different time points, at average ages 10.5 (range = 7.8–13.0), 11.7 (range = 9.3–14.1), and 12.9 years (range = 10.1–15.2). Multilevel linear modeling indicated that high shyness was associated with a less steep negative slope of default mode network (DMN) rs‐fc over early adolescence relative to low shyness. Less steep decreases in DMN rs‐fc may relate to increased self‐focus in adolescents with high shyness.     

Nothing Human

In this essay C. C. Wharram argues that Terence's concept of translation as a form of “contamination” anticipates recent developments in philosophy, ecology, and translation studies. Placing these divergent fields of inquiry into dialogue enables us read Terence's well‐known statement “I am a human being — I deem nothing human alien to me” as a recognition of the significance of the “nothing human” for contemporary humanism. By recasting Terence's human/foreign pairing through Freud's concept of the uncanny, Wharram draws a parallel between a “nothing human” that is radically interior to the human subject and an exterior agency of “nothing human” described by actor‐network theory and object‐oriented ontology. Only through an “alien phenomenology” (a concept borrowed from Ian Bogost) dependent on metaphors and translations that are necessarily approximate (or “contaminated”) can we begin to approach this “nothing human.”     

Validating human and automated scoring of essays against “True” scores

ABSTRACT

In the current study, two pools of 250 essays, all written as a response to the same prompt, were rated by two groups of raters (14 or 15 raters per group), thereby providing an approximation to the essay’s true score. An automated essay scoring (AES) system was trained on the datasets and then scored the essays using a cross-validation scheme. By eliminating one, two, or three raters at a time, and by calculating an estimate of the true scores using the remaining raters, an independent criterion against which to judge the validity of the human raters and that of the AES system, as well as the interrater reliability was produced. The results of the study indicated that the automated scores correlate with human scores to the same degree as human raters correlate with each other. However, the findings regarding the validity of the ratings support a claim that the reliability and validity of AES diverge: although the AES scoring is, naturally, more consistent than the human ratings, it is less valid.     

Linking assessment to undergraduate student capabilities through portfolio examination

Portfolios are an established method of assessment, although concerns do exist around their validity for capabilities such as reflection and self‐direction. This article describes an e‐portfolio which closely aligns learning and reflection to graduate capabilities, incorporating features that address concerns about portfolios. Students are required to complete assessments linked to graduate capabilities. In Year 3, a portfolio review occurs (205–248 students per year), focusing on students' grades and feedback from assessments and a reflective essay is submitted. In the essay, students reflect on their progress, identify areas of weakness and detail plans for improvement. Progress in each capability is summatively graded against specific criteria and feedback is provided. Students progressively accumulate evidence of learning linked to the graduate capabilities. The provision of sufficient structure prevents evasion of areas of weakness. Importantly, the equal weighting given to all graduate capabilities emphasises that competence in all areas is required. The requirement for a degree of self‐direction and reflection in all assessments promotes regular review of progress. This e‐portfolio explicitly links graduate outcomes with assessment in order to drive learning. Further research is required to evaluate acceptability to students, as well as the efficacy of portfolios in developing reflective practice and self‐directed learning.     

Study on Fault Diagnosis of Rotating Machinery with Hybrid Neural Networks

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