Associations between teacher-rated behavioral problems and reading difficulties? Interactions over time and halo effects

Associations between reading difficulties and problem behaviours in the classroom have been discussed controversially since the 1970s. The present paper investigates the influence of reading performance on teacher ratings of behavioural problems while taking into account behavioural autocorrelations and teacher halo effects. Teachers rated reading (in the middle of the school year) and behaviour (at the beginning and end of the school year) for a sample of 171 first-grade students. In addition, the students’ reading performance was objectively assessed via a standardised test at the end of first grade. The results showed that the effect of reading problems on classroom behaviour is heavily affected by autocorrelational and halo effects. After controlling for the interaction between teachers’ ratings of reading and behaviour, objectively measured reading performance had only a marginal direct effect on behaviour (as rated by teachers). Therefore, we argue that findings from the literature on the co-morbidity of behaviour and reading may be affected by similar (halo) effects, causing the effect of reading difficulties on classroom behaviour to be overestimated. Co-morbidities reported in the study should be closely examined with respect to their ‘methodological composition’ in the future.     

A statistical comparison between inductive and traditional laboratories in college physical science

An inductive approach to the physical science laboratory yields better performance on a test for critical thinking in the physical sciences than does the traditional approach.     

Measuring the unmeasurable: a country's non-R&D expenditure on product and service innovation

Knowledge about non-R&D innovation expenditure, such as patenting and licensing, design, trial production, tooling-up, manpower training, market research and investment in fixed assets, is extremely sparse and questions about the latter were very poorly answered in the recent Community Innovation Survey (CIS). Using information regarding the quality of replies, we reach a tentative national estimate of 1992 innovation expenditure for all manufacturing and service industries in the Netherlands. Expenditure on product-related R&D represents about one quarter of total product (and service) innovation expenditure. Roughly half of the latter consists of investment in fixed assets, the latter being more important in services than in manufacturing.     

Equity in higher education and graduate labour market outcomes in Australia

The rate of higher education participation in Australia has increased over the past decade for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds. This study contributes to the knowledge on the outcomes of disadvantaged individuals who complete higher education by looking at the labour market outcomes of university graduates from equity groups. The number of Indigenous graduates and graduates with disabilities was found to be very low, suggesting that more needs to be done to improve higher education completion for these two groups. The labour market outcomes for other equity groups are mixed, with those from low socio-economic status backgrounds and regional and remote Australia performing well in the labour market, while graduates from non-English-speaking backgrounds and female graduates in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields experience substantial disadvantage in the labour market. The findings suggest that selection processes prior to the graduates’ entry into the labour market are important.     

Non-reduced optimal observers for time-varying linear systems

A method is presented for constructing a nonreduced observer for a finite dimensional linear system. The systems considered are nth order, time-invariant or time-varying forced linear systems which are assumed to be bounded and uniformly completely state reconstructible. The observer dynamics are derived from an optimal estimation formulation which is related to the concept of observability. The cost functional used in this formulation includes a parameter which determines the relative weighting of the system output and the estimate of the initial system state. The result is a practical method of estimating the state of a linear system from noiseless measurements of the input and output. The results are also of theoretical significance in that a direct connection between reconstructibility and the existence of observers is established.     

Sporting supererogation and why it matters

A commonly accepted feature of commonsense morality is that there are some acts that are supererogatory or beyond the call of duty. Recently, philosophers have begun to ask whether something like supererogation might exist in other normative domains such as epistemology and esthetics. In this paper, I will argue that there is good reason to think that sporting supererogation exists. I will then argue that recognizing the existence of sporting supererogation is important because it highlights the value of sport as a mutual pursuit of excellence and reinforces the value of sportsmanship.