A Two-Stage Approach to Synthesizing Covariance Matrices in Meta-Analytic Structural Equation Modeling

A great obstacle for wider use of structural equation modeling (SEM) has been the difficulty in handling categorical variables. Two data sets with known structure between 2 related binary outcomes and 4 independent binary variables were generated. Four SEM strategies and resulting apparent validity were tested: robust maximum likelihood (ML), tetrachoric correlation matrix input followed by SEM ML analysis, SEM ML estimation for the sum of squares and cross-products (SSCP) matrix input obtained by the log-linear model that treated all variables as dependent, and asymptotic distribution-free (ADF) SEM estimation. SEM based on the SSCP matrix obtained by the log-linear model and SEM using robust ML estimation correctly identified the structural relation between the variables. SEM using ADF added an extra parameter. SEM based on tetrachoric correlation input did not specify the data generating process correctly. Apparent validity was similar for all models presented. Data transformation used in log-linear modeling can serve as an input for SEM.     

Emotion discourse, social cognition, and social skills in children with and without developmental delays

This study examined parent-child emotion discourse, children's independent social information processing, and social skills outcomes in 146 families of 8-year-olds with and without developmental delays. Children's emergent social-cognitive understanding (internal state understanding, perspective taking, and causal reasoning and problem solving) was coded in the context of parent-child conversations about emotion, and children were interviewed separately to assess social problem solving. Mothers, fathers, and teachers reported on children's social skills. The proposed strengths-based model partially accounted for social skills differences between typically developing children and children with delays. A multigroup analysis of the model linking emotion discourse to social skills through children's prosocial problem solving suggested that processes operated similarly for the two groups. Implications for ecologically focused prevention and intervention are discussed.     

说“兵符”

我们都熟悉信陵君“窃符救赵”的故事,其中之符,就是兵符。在我国古代社会,凡调发军队,命官遣使,颁发政令,皆授之以符或节,以为凭据。《周礼·地官·大司徒》记载：“若国有大故,则致万民于王门,令无节者不行于天下。”颜师古说：“节以毛为之,上下相重,取象竹节,因以为名,命将者,持之为信。”古代通信极不发达,封建帝王为了能直接掌控军队,便发明了兵符制度。“虎符”是最早的兵符,出现在春秋战国时期,是古代帝王授予臣僚兵权和调动军队所用的凭证。     

郭洞：钱塘上游的静谧山村

浙江,所谓东南形胜,风雅钱塘,大抵指的是下游一带,那如昆曲般的绮丽华美,直可从《武林旧事》、《陶庵梦忆》一类的笔记中慢慢找寻;而“奇山异水,天下独绝”的中游地区,则像是性灵的诗词,最宜在杂花生树的暮春三月浅斟低唱;唯有上游一带,因地处偏远,支流纵横,山川复杂,犹如众多飘逸的传奇,细说不尽。单说婺江上游,有一武阳川,夹岸多山,不高不低,众山间有一小平原,说是平原,其实也不过是稍为平整的丘陵而已,稻米、茶叶、桑蚕、金针、苎麻、灰鹅,     

1, 2, 3, 4: Infusing Quantitative Literacy into Introductory Biology

Biology of the twenty-first century is an increasingly quantitative science. Undergraduate biology education therefore needs to provide opportunities for students to develop fluency in the tools and language of quantitative disciplines. Quantitative literacy (QL) is important for future scientists as well as for citizens, who need to interpret numeric information and data-based claims regarding nearly every aspect of daily life. To address the need for QL in biology education, we incorporated quantitative concepts throughout a semester-long introductory biology course at a large research university. Early in the course, we assessed the quantitative skills that students bring to the introductory biology classroom and found that students had difficulties in performing simple calculations, representing data graphically, and articulating data-driven arguments. In response to students'' learning needs, we infused the course with quantitative concepts aligned with the existing course content and learning objectives. The effectiveness of this approach is demonstrated by significant improvement in the quality of students'' graphical representations of biological data. Infusing QL in introductory biology presents challenges. Our study, however, supports the conclusion that it is feasible in the context of an existing course, consistent with the goals of college biology education, and promotes students'' development of important quantitative skills.