A Behaviourally Anchored Rating Scales Approach to Institutional Self-assessment in Higher Education

Institutional self-assessment is considered to be a crucial quality assurance mechanism in higher education. However, the criteria employed in self-assessments tend to ignore the overall organisational effectiveness of the institution. This paper describes a study which employed the effectiveness criteria contained in the Competing Values Model of Organisational Effectiveness (Quinn & Rohrbaugh, 1981, 1983) to produce a set of organisational effectiveness self-rating scales for Hong Kong higher educational institutions. The scales were developed using the behaviourally anchored rating scales (BARS) procedure. The study produced scales which address the organisational effectiveness of an institution and appear to be a useful addition to the array of quality assurance mechanisms in higher education. The paper highlights the qualitative benefits of the scale development procedure and resulting scales and notes that the procedure could be employed, and the qualitative benefits enjoyed, in other higher educational systems.     

Effectiveness of Valid Mean Substitution in Treating Missing Data in Attitude Assessment

This study investigates the use of the valid mean substitution (VMS) procedure in replacing missing data in attitude assessment. Using four scales from an actual field data set, the effectiveness of VMS was compared with the multiple regression replacement procedure. The study was designed such that data were missing completely at random under two research conditions: percentage of missing items in each scale (10, 30 and 50%); percentage of missing values in each item (10, 30 and 50%). The results indicated that both procedures are similarly effective in estimating the means and standard deviations of the scales. However, VMS is superior in estimating parameters.     

Assessing coping in children and adolescents: Research and practice

Although standardized and psychometrically-sound instruments for assessing children's coping are essential to both clinical practice and theory development, there have been few systematic efforts to design such measures. This review of assessment instruments compatible with the Lazarus and Folkman (1984) formulation of coping reveals a limited number of instruments but great diversity in the types of techniques employed to assess the coping of children and adolescents. Types of measures critiqued include projective techniques, interviews, questionnaires, and behavioral observation scales. A comprehensive assessment procedure is proposed and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

TEACHERS’ ATTITUDES TO EDUCATIONAL CONTROVERSIES

This study is based on the expressed attitudes of practising teachers; it is claimed that this procedure may be more valid than the usual one of testing the attitudes of students or teachers on advanced courses. ‘Educational controversies’ refers to teachers’ attitudes to streaming, 11 plus selection and corporal punishment; scores on these scales were correlated with scores on the Oliver ‘Survey of Opinions’ scales and the ‘Study of Values’ scales. Suggested interpretations of the matrix of relationships are offered. A small group of teachers on a full‐time in‐service course completed the ‘educational controversies’ scales at the start and completion of their course: the scores changed to what is interpreted as a more ‘progressive’ pattern.     

Modeling and robust LQ regulator designing for refining process

This paper presents a synthetic design procedure for a robust LQ regulator for refining process, including modeling and robust optimal system designing. The paper discusses three major topics: mathematical modeling of the process with large uncertainty, determination of a synthetic performance index for optimizing the process, and design of the robust optimal system with robust guaranteed stability. This research result is a part of preliminary results of the real refining process optimal control system implemented in the Minfeng Paper Mill, Zhejiang Province. Simulation test results showed that the proposed modeling and control algorithm are efficient and practicable. Project supported by the NSFC(69874036) and Zhejiang Province Natural Science Key Foundation of China (ZD9905)     

Restrictive Stochastic Item Selection Methods in Cognitive Diagnostic Computerized Adaptive Testing

This paper proposes two new item selection methods for cognitive diagnostic computerized adaptive testing: the restrictive progressive method and the restrictive threshold method. They are built upon the posterior weighted Kullback‐Leibler (KL) information index but include additional stochastic components either in the item selection index or in the item selection procedure. Simulation studies show that both methods are successful at simultaneously suppressing overexposed items and increasing the usage of underexposed items. Compared to item selection based upon (1) pure KL information and (2) the Sympson‐Hetter method, the two new methods strike a better balance between item exposure control and measurement accuracy. The two new methods are also compared with Barrada et al.'s (2008) progressive method and proportional method.     

Assessing Teachers’ Attitudes Towards Students with Mental Health Disorders in 16 Postsecondary Institutions in Quebec

The number of students with mental health disorders (MHDs) in postsecondary institutions is increasing. Teachers’ attitudes are among the main factors that influence these students’ academic success. Unfortunately, their attitudes are little studied, in part because of lack of validated scales. Therefore, this article has two purposes: (1) analyse the construct validity of new scales assessing teachers’ attitudes, as well as existing scales without an established construct validity; and (2) report the correlations between the variables assessed in these scales, with a special focus on two variables: (a) teachers’ negative attitudes; and (b) the measures offered to students by teachers. The participants are 232 teachers from 16 French and English CEGEPS in Quebec, Canada. The questionnaire includes three scales created by the research team and three scales from the Mental Illness Awareness Survey. Correlational and factor analyses were conducted. The scales present good construct validity. Four variables were associated with the two variables of interest: confidence in one’s ability to convince a student to seek help; familiarity with MHDs; knowledge and understanding of MHDs; favourable perception of the accommodations offered by adapted and psychosocial services. Based on these results, strategies are proposed to improve teachers’ attitudes.     

二维RAKE接收机中一种约束最小二乘信道矢量估计算法

针对移动通信中目标方位变化比信道衰落变化慢的特点，首先利用子空间分解法估计出目标信号的导向矢量，并用估计出的导向矢量构造一个约束条件，然后用业务信号在约束最小二乘准则下估计信道失量，本用带投影的迭代最小二乘(ILSP)算法求解约束最小二乘问题，导频用于ILSP算法的初始化，通过ILSP算法的迭代过程，可以逐步提高信道矢量估计和符号检测的精度．仿真结果表明：与传统二维RAKE接收机相比，本提出的算法使系统的性能得到了有效改善．     

An Analysis of Sex-related Differential Item Functioning in Attitude Assessment

This study analyzes and classifies items that display sex-related Differential Item Functioning (DIF) in attitude assessment. It applies the Educational Testing Services (ETS) procedure that is used for classifying DIF items in testing to classify sex-related DIF items in attitude scales. A total of 982 items that measure attitudes from 23 real data sets were used in the analysis. Results showed that sex DIF is common in attitude scales: more than 27% of items showed DIF related to sex, 15% of the items exhibited moderate to large DIF, and the magnitudes of DIF against males and females were not equal.     

Measuring Longitudinal Gains in Student Learning: A Comparison of Rasch Scoring and Summative Scoring Approaches

This study pioneers a Rasch scoring approach and compares it to a conventional summative approach for measuring longitudinal gains in student learning. In this methodological note, our proposed methodology is demonstrated using an example of rating scales in a student survey as part of a higher education outcome assessment. Such assessments have become increasingly important worldwide for purposes of institutional accreditation and accountability to stakeholders. Data were collected from a longitudinal study by tracking self-reported learning outcomes of individual students in the same cohort who completed the student learning experience questionnaire (SLEQ) in their first and final years. Rasch model was employed for item calibration and latent trait estimation, together with a scaling procedure of concurrent calibration incorporating a randomly equivalent group design and a single group design to measure the gains in self-reported learning outcomes as yielded by repeated measures. The extent to which Rasch scoring compared to the conventional summative scoring method in its sensitivity to change was quantified by a statistical index namely relative performance (RP). Findings indicated greater ability to capture learning outcomes gains from Rasch scoring over the conventional summative scoring method, with RP values ranging from 3 to 17% in the cognitive, social, and value domains of the SLEQ. The Rasch scoring approach and the scaling procedure presented in the study can be readily generalised to studies using rating scales to measure change in student learning in the higher education context. The methodological innovations and contributions of this study are discussed.     

Slicing the attitude pie: A new approach to attitude measurement

A new approach to attitude measurement is presented that provides a comprehensive index of favorability and salience, the primary attributes relevant to the study of any attitudinal issue. The new technique effectively separates “indifferent” research subjects from those who are “neutral” toward attitudinal issues. Methodological advantages and theoretical applications of the new technique are discussed in relation to research in interpersonal communication, persuasion and attitude change, and mass communication. Reliability and validity of “attitude pie” were tested vis‐à‐vis semantic differential and Likert‐type scales using a variant of the multitrait‐multimethod (MTMM) procedure. A large reliability and validity study involving 10 attitude traits, four methods, and more than 100 subjects at three points in time over a two‐month period was undertaken. Reliability for “positivity” and “salience” of the new technique compared favorably with standard scales. Validity of the new technique was acceptable on the evaluative dimension for individuals and groups. Validity of the salience dimension was demonstrated for grouped data.     

基于MATLAB的智能楼宇模糊温度控制系统设计

在简要介绍模糊控制系统的基本原理,以及模糊控制器设计的原则和步骤的基础上,结合智能家居温度控制系统实例,采用MATLAB的模糊逻辑工具箱和SIMULINK,设计了一个智能家居模糊温度控制系统,仿真结果表明,该系统具有较常规的控制系统更优良的性能,可以更好地满足用户的需求.     

A Comparison of Developmental Scales Based on Thurstone Methods and Item Response Theory

A developmental scale for the North Carolina End-of-Grade Mathematics Tests was created using a subset of identical test forms administered to adjacent grade levels. Thurstone scaling and item response theory (IRT) techniques were employed to analyze the changes in grade distributions across these linked forms.Three variations of Thurstone scaling were examined, one based on Thurstone's 1925 procedure and two based on Thurstone's 1938 procedure. The IRT scaling was implemented using both B i M ain and M ultilog .All methods indicated that average mathematics performance improved from Grade 3 to Grade 8, with similar results for the two IRT analyses and one version of Thurstone's 1938 method.The standard deviations of the IRT scales did not show a consistent pattern across grades, whereas those produced by Thurstone's 1925 procedure generally decreased; one version of the 1938 method exhibited slightly increasing variation with increasing grade level, while the other version displayed inconsistent trends.     

4-6年级小学生心理健康状况的调查分析

本采用MHT对449名小学生的心理健康状况进行了调查，通过统计分析发现：（1）全体学生在八个分量表的平均分上有显性差异。（2）总量表和分量表（恐怖倾向量表除外）的平均分均无显性性别差异（3）总量表的平均分随年级升高而增高，四年级学生和六年级学生存在显性差异。     

Emotional Determinants of Infant-Mother Attachment

The present study examined the assumption that emotion-related characteristics of mothers and infants contribute to the development of infant-mother attachment in the first year of life. Mothers' emotion and personality characteristics were assessed with expressive-behavior ratings and self-report scales. Infant characteristics were measured by emotion and temperament questionnaires (mother report) and objective coding of facial expressions of emotions. Attachment classifications were determined by means of the Strange Situation procedure, and a continuous-variable index of attachment security was derived by a discriminant function procedure. Mothers' emotion experiences, expressive behaviors, and personality traits were significant predictors of the level of security of the infant-mother attachment. Infants' expressive and temperamental characteristics as rated by their mothers were also significant predictors of attachment security.     

Using the Distractor Categories of Multiple-Choice Items to Improve IRT Linking

Simulation and real data studies are used to investigate the value of modeling multiple-choice distractors on item response theory linking. Using the characteristic curve linking procedure for Bock's (1972) nominal response model presented by Kim and Hanson (2002) , all-category linking (i.e., a linking based on all category characteristic curves of the linking items) is compared against correct-only (CO) linking (i.e., linking based on the correct category characteristic curves only) using a common-item nonequivalent groups design. The CO linking is shown to represent an approximation to what occurs when using a traditional correct/incorrect item response model for linking. Results suggest that the number of linking items needed to achieve an equivalent level of linking precision declines substantially when incorporating the distractor categories.     

“My Questionnaire is Too Long!” The assessments of motivational-affective constructs with three-item and single-item measures

Because testing time in educational research is typically scarce, the use of long scales to assess motivational-affective constructs can be problematic. The goal of the present study was to scrutinize the psychometric properties of short scales (with three items) and single-item measures for two core motivational-affective constructs (i.e., academic anxiety and academic self-concept) by conducting systematic comparisons with corresponding long scales across school subjects and within different subject domains (i.e., mathematics, German, French). Statistical analyses were based on representative data from 3879 ninth-grade students. All short forms possessed satisfactory levels of reliability (range: .75–.89) and substantial correlations with the long scales (range: .88–.97); correlational patterns with educational student characteristics (e.g., achievement, school satisfaction, gender, academic track, and socioeconomic status) were comparable to those obtained with the corresponding long scales (all average differences in correlations below .07). The correlational patterns between all single-item measures and the external criteria were similar to those obtained with the corresponding long scales (all average differences in correlations below .08), yet the single-item measures demonstrated low to modest score reliabilities (estimated with the model-based omega coefficient; range: .22–.72) and correlations with full scales (range: .50–.88). When long scales are not applicable, short forms and perhaps even single-item measures may represent psychometrically sound alternatives for assessing academic anxiety and academic self-concept for educational research purposes.