An Analysis of Peer Review Response Types in Threaded Discussions of an Online Graduate Class

Abstract

The effectiveness of a peer review process for online graduate students is predicated on a balance between social- and task-directed communications. The defining criteria of learning communities are presented to illustrate the operational meaning of social and the criteria for Critical Thinking used to illustrate the operational meaning of task response types. The social responses were further categorized as an opinion/evaluative or anecdotal/reflective comment and task responses subcategorized as either a content or style comment. The hypothesis that a significant difference would be found between the social and task responses was accepted as was the second hypothesis that there would be a significant difference between the content and style responses.     

Hemoglobin, growth, and attention of infants in southern Ethiopia

Male and female infants from rural Ethiopia were tested to investigate relations among hemoglobin (Hb), anthropometry, and attention. A longitudinal design was used to examine differences in attention performance from 6 (M = 24.9 weeks, n = 89) to 9 months of age (M = 40.6 weeks, n = 85), differences hypothesized to be related to changes in iron status and growth delays. Stunting (length‐for‐age z scores < ?2.0) and attention performance, t(30) = ?2.42, p = .022, worsened over time. Growth and Hb predicted attention at 9 months, R² = .15, p < .05, but not at 6. The study contributes to the knowledge base concerning the relations among Hb, early growth, and attention.     

Two-parameter characterization of low cycle, hysteretic fatigue data

The aim of this research is to characterize the development of fatigue damage by means of stress-strain hysteresis. Experiments were conducted on 14 specimens made of cold-finished unannealed AISI 1018 steel. Results demonstrate that the mechanical hysteresis loop areas, when plotted as a function of the number of loading cycles, show significant variations and demonstrate the three principal stages concerning the progress of the fatigue failure--initial accommodation, accretion of damage and terminal failure. These three stages of fatigue are marked by the transitions at cycles N2 and N3. Experimental results show that although fatigue life Nf ranges from 2644 cycles to 108 992 cycles, the ratios of N2/Nf and N3/Nf tend to be stable： N2/Nf=I 0.7%, N3/Nf=91.3%.     

Exploration of the DSM-5’s Autism Spectrum Disorder Severity Level Specifier and Prediction of Autism Severity

ABSTRACT

With the publication of DSM-5, clinical assessment of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has begun to follow a new dimensional framework which includes new severity specifiers. Little research has explored these severity ratings in comparison to other previously established severity indicators (e.g. ADOS-2 calibrated severity score). The current study compared parent and teacher ratings using the BASC-2 for 43 children and adolescents diagnosed with DSM-5 ASD, to contribute novel information to the BASC literature and to explore the new DSM-5 severity ratings. Linear regression analyses were conducted to determine the extent to which the DSM-5 Social Communication and Restrictive/Repetitive Behavior Severity Ratings (clinician-rated) predicted autism severity based on ADOS-2 calibrated severity scores. Furthermore, linear regressions were conducted to explore whether teacher ratings on the BASC-2 enhance parent ratings. Implications of these preliminary results for the assessment of children and adolescents with ASD are suggested.     

The Fiscal Impacts of College Attainment

This study quantifies one part of the return to U.S. public investment in college education, namely, the fiscal benefits associated with greater college attainment. College graduates pay much more taxes than those not going to college. Government expenditures are also much less for college graduates than for those without a college education. Indeed, over an average lifetime, total government spending per college degree is negative. That is, direct savings in post-college government expenditures (conservatively, about 85,000 per four-year-equivalent degree over an average lifetime) are greater than government expenditures on higher education (generously, about85,000 per four-year-equivalent degree over an average lifetime) are greater than government expenditures on higher education (generously, about 74,500 per degree). Plus, the direct extra tax revenues from college graduates alone (roughly $471,000 per degree over a lifetime) are more than six times the gross government cost per college degree. The average real fiscal internal rate of return on government investment in college students is conservatively estimated to be 10.3%.     

Table of Contents

ARTICLES Using the Academic Skills Inventory to Assess the Biology Major Kyle Seifert, Carol A. Hurney, Clifton J. Wigtil, Donna L. Sundre Expanding Professional Development Opportunities to Enhance the Assessment Process Elizabeth A. Jones Sustaining Assessment: A Post‐Epidemiological Approach Using The Program Evaluation Standards Rick D. Axelson, Arend Flick Clarification of Assessment and Evaluation Gloria K. Goldman, Lori E. Zakel Horizontal Assessment W. James Bradley COLUMN From the States Peter T. Ewell FEATURE Resources Susan Kahn     

On sums of powers of integers

For non-negative integers k, n, let P _k (n) denote the sum {fx27-1}. We show by two different means that if k ≥ 3 and odd, then n ²(n+1)² iss a factor of the polynomial P _k (n); and if k ≥ 2 and even, then n (n+1) (2n+1) is a factor of the polynomial P _k (n). We also derive a relatively unknown result first obtained by Johann Faulhaber in the 17th century. Shailesh Shirali has been at Rishi Valley School, Andhra Pradesh (Krishnamurti Foundation India) since the 1980’s. He has a deep interest in teaching and writing about mathematics at the high school/post school levels, with particular emphasis on problem solving and on historical aspects of the subject. He has been involved in the Mathematics Olympiad movement at the national and international level for the past two decades. He is the author of several expository books and articles aimed at interested high school students.     

Equating of Augmented Subscores

Recently, there has been an increasing level of interest in subscores for their potential diagnostic value. Haberman (2008b) suggested reporting an augmented subscore that is a linear combination of a subscore and the total score. Sinharay and Haberman (2008) and Sinharay (2010) showed that augmented subscores often lead to more accurate diagnostic information than subscores. In order to report augmented subscores operationally, they should be comparable across the different forms of a test. One way to achieve comparability is to equate them. We suggest several methods for equating augmented subscores. Results from several operational and simulated data sets show that the error in the equating of augmented subscores appears to be small in most practical situations.     

A Comparison of Item Fit Statistics for Mixed IRT Models

In this study we examined procedures for assessing model-data fit of item response theory (IRT) models for mixed format data. The model fit indices used in this study include PARSCALE's G² , Orlando and Thissen's S − X² and S − G² , and Stone's χ²* and G²* . To investigate the relative performance of the fit statistics at the item level, we conducted two simulation studies: Type I error and power studies. We evaluated the performance of the item fit indices for various conditions of test length, sample size, and IRT models. Among the competing measures, the summed score-based indices S − X² and S − G² were found to be the sensible and efficient choice for assessing model fit for mixed format data. These indices performed well, particularly with short tests. The pseudo-observed score indices, χ²* and G²* , showed inflated Type I error rates in some simulation conditions. Consistent with the findings of current literature, the PARSCALE's G² index was rarely useful, although it provided reasonable results for long tests.     

Exploring pre-service student-teachers' commitment to community engagement in the second year of training

This preliminary study examines the utility of the Community Engagement Commitment Scale and reports on factors that predict student-teachers' commitment to community engagement in their second year of study at a South African university. Independent variables included Dalbert's personal belief in a just world, an adaptation of Rusbult et al.'s original predictors of Commitment level (Satisfaction, Quality of alternatives, Investment size) and a new factor, Meaningfulness. The latter factor is based theoretically on the work of Lieberman and Heine, Proulx and Vohs and was included to study the extent to which identity-expression could be related to Commitment level. We administered the Community Engagement Commitment Scale on a non-random sample of 414 student-teachers in their second year of study, who all participated in compulsory community engagement project. The results support a four-factor model of Commitment with Meaningfulness, Quality of alternatives and Investment as predictors of Commitment level. Surprisingly, all the Satisfaction items loaded with the Commitment level items on one factor. Together, Meaningfulness, Quality of alternatives and Investment accounted for approximately two-thirds of the variance in Commitment level. Significant (p?Meaningfulness and Commitment level. The results of the study suggest the importance of studying meaningfulness as an additional predictor of Commitment level in community engagement contexts.     

Pendulum Phenomena and the Assessment of Scientific Inquiry Capabilities

Phenomena associated with the pendulum present numerous opportunities for assessing higher order human capabilities related to scientific inquiry and the discovery of natural law. This paper illustrates how systematic assessment of scientific inquiry capabilities, using pendulum phenomena, can provide a useful tool for classroom teachers and program planners. Structured inquiry, a technique of teacher-facilitated student inquiry involving direct interaction between students and natural phenomena, is presented as a way to establish student competence in applying scientific inquiry capabilities (e.g., conceptualizing variation due to error). This approach to assessment can heighten student curiosity and provide a concrete referent for complementary cultural, historical, and scientific instruction. The role of assessment in constructively shaping science education programs is considered.     

单形的径向平均体

In this paper, it is proved that the radial pth mean body RpK（p 〉 0） is homothetic to the difference body DK when K is a simplex, Furthermore, the equality Rp（Rq） = Rq（Rp） is established when p 〉 0 and q 〉 0. It is also proved the Brunn-Minkowski inequality of radial pth mean body of simplex and uniqueness property.     

Precise asymptotics in the law of the logarithm for random fields in Hilbert space

Consider the positive d-dimensional lattice d (d≥2) with partial ordering ≤, let {XK; K ∈ d } be i.i.d. random vari- ables taking values in a real separable Hilbert space (H, ||·||) with mean zero and covariance operator ∑, and set partial sums SN =∑K≤NXK, K , N ∈ d . Under some moment conditions, we obtain the precise asymptotics of a kind of weighted infinite series for partial sums SN as ε 0 by using the truncation and approximation methods. The results are related to the convergence rates of the law of the logarithm in Hilbert space, and they also extend the results of (Gut and Spǎtaru, 2003).     

Othermotherwork: testimonio and the refusal of historical trauma

Abstract

This paper is an ofrenda (offering), a testimonio (testimony) of the healing power of reconstituting severed relationships and reconstructing agentic creation stories in the pathology of soul-wounds where pictures and cuentos serve to mend genealogical traumas. This paper is a refusal of neglecting traumas, it is othermotherwork as an invitation of kin towards the healing soul-wounds by engaging my ageing father (apá), who has been battling a debilitating disease for over 30 years. In choosing to erase his memory and refusing well-being, I engage my apá by remembering and restoring cuentos (stories) retrieved from pictures in my abuela’s archival orange box. I retell the cuentos as told by my apá of his mother, father, great-grandmother and great-grandfather, while he offers an unexpected remedy for both our soul-wounds. In this exchange of ancestral herstories, it is an important move towards an Indigenous Else, transits beyond borders and separation, towards the restorative act of forging unity, love and compassion amongst my father, my ancestors and myself.     

Antibacterial potency of methanol extracts of lower plants

Antibacterial potency of methanol extracts of three green lower plants, Pneumatopteris afra, Platycerium bifurcatum and Nephrolepsis bisserata was determined using agar dilution method on clinical strains of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella spp. and Salmomelia typhi. Antibacterial activities were observed at concentrations of 12.5, 25.0, 50.0 and 100.0 μg/ml. Their minimum inhibitory concentrations ranged from 12.5~100 μg/ml. Extracts of P. afra and P. bifurcatum were most active. Antibacterial activities observed with N. bisserata were less pronounced with no detectable activity at extract con-centrations of 12.5 and 25.0 μg/ml. E. coli, together with S. aureus appeared to be the most susceptible of the test bacteria while Klebsiella spp. was least sensitive. The significance of our findings is discussed.     

Maarif: transformation of a concept in the Ottoman Empire at the beginning of the nineteenth century

During the Ottoman period, ‘science (ilim, pl. ulûm)’, ‘knowledge (marifet, pl. maarif)’ and ‘technique (fen, pl. fünûn)’ emerged as three important concepts of knowledge. Maarif, which came into prominence with Selim III, began to undergo a semantic transformation together with the concepts of ulûm and fünûn and by the time of Mahmud II it had become an overarching concept representing the knowledge dimension of the new era. This article discusses the semantic transformation of maarif, focusing on the period between 1789 and 1839. This study applies the history of concepts approach developed by Reinhart Koselleck, whereby a synchronic analysis of the concept of maarif is undertaken alongside an examination of its diachronic dimension. This reveals an ambiguous and multi-dimensional structure and helps us to account for its evolution as an umbrella term.     

Study of the behaviour of the dielectric constant in Cu,Fe：BaTiO3

In this work we study the behaviour of the dielectric constant of BaTiO3 single crystals doped with Cu and Fe for different ion percentages, particularly, the influence of these hetemvalent substitutions on the ferroelectric-paraelectric phase transition whose temperature is found at Tc=120℃ for pure samples. The dielectric constant e in terms of temperature shows that the Curie temperature decreases when the quantity of impurities increases and presents a broadening and flattering of the maximum oft（T） within higher values, with the transition becoming more and more diffuse. It is interesting to have a material with very high permittivity （high-k） because of its capacity to store an important quantity of electric charges. The t anisotropy and the Curie-Weiss law are also verified with a good ratio between the slopes ofε^-l（T） from both sides of the transition, leading to a Curie constant： C= 13 × 10^4 K for BaTiO3：1.6%Fe in the polar phase. BaTiO3 is a displacive ferroelectric going through a first-order phase transition. The substitutions have an effect on the dynamics of the perovskite lattice. They induce charges transfer to Ti and a diminution of elastic forces in BaTiO3. Then we discuss the transition but on the nature of the material. fact that the maximum of permittivity does not depend on the phase     

An Experimental Evaluation of Four Elementary School Math Curricula

Abstract

This article examines the effectiveness of four elementary school math curricula: (a) Investigations in Number, Data, and Space; (b) Math Expressions; (c) Saxon Math; and (d) Scott Foresman–Addison Wesley Mathematics (SFAW). These curricula are distinct from one another and represent many of the diverse approaches used to teach elementary school math in the United States. The results are based on 39 schools that were randomly assigned to use the various curricula at the first-grade level. The results show that average spring first-grade math achievement of Math Expressions and Saxon students was 0.30 SD higher than Investigations students and 0.24 SD higher than SFAW students. These effect sizes mean that an average-performing student's percentile rank in math would be 9 to 12 points higher if the school used Math Expressions or Saxon, instead of Investigations or SFAW. We also conducted correlational analyses that examine whether curriculum-group differences in math instructional time and content coverage account for the differences in curriculum effects and found that a portion of the relative effects is due to differences in content coverage.     

Teaching the Bible in a Time of Emphasis upon Democratic Ideals

Since 1953 there have been three symposia and also various articles on the topic “Religion and the Public Schools” which have appeared in this Journal.

But the subject is still warmly and broadly controversial.

The present symposium of nine articles is presented to assist in the definition of terms and also to furnish data on what is actually being done.

We believe this symposium is a constructive contribution to the subject and we are indebted to the authors for their cooperation.

—The Editorial Committee