Approaches and Methodologies for a Course on History and Epistemology of Physics: Analyzing the Experience of a Brazilian University

This paper is an analysis of inserting history and philosophy of science (HPS) in a physics undergraduate program at a Brazilian university. It is an examination of the approaches and methodologies adopted by professors of a History and Epistemology course. The course aims to have an explicit approach to HPS. The results suggest a concern of the Physics Institute regarding inserting these questions into physics teacher training programs. The study also uncovered that the professors who taught the subject had different visions of HPS.     

如何理解辩证法

辩证法不是什么自在的普遍规律，而是自在与自为统一关系中的客观法则，它不仅是关于认识的理论，同时也是一种本体论或存在论。哲学不可能回顾本体论问题，否定本体论就会在理论上陷入困境。     

Feel American,Watch American,Eat American? Remote Acculturation,TV, and Nutrition Among Adolescent–Mother Dyads in Jamaica

Globalization prompts remote acculturation toward U.S. culture in Jamaica; this study used a bioecological systems approach to examine its proximal impact on nutrition through U.S. cable TV consumption, and maternal influences in the home. Overall, 330 randomly selected adolescent–mother dyads from schools in Kingston, Jamaica (M_{adolescent_age} = 13.8 years, SD_{adolescent_age} = 1.8) completed questionnaires reporting American identity and behavioral preferences, daily time spent watching U.S.‐produced TV programs, and frequency of eating unhealthy foods. Actor–partner interdependence models revealed that girls’ American identity/behavior directly predicted their unhealthy eating, whereas girls’ mothers and boys’ American identity/behavior indirectly predicted unhealthy eating as mediated by their U.S. TV hours. Additionally, mothers’ American identity/behavior predicted daughters’ unhealthy eating as mediated by mothers’ U.S. TV hours. Remote acculturation theory may facilitate more targeted research and prevention/intervention.     

文化演变与西方知性德育的形成

以科尔伯格的认知发展道德教育理论和拉思斯等人的价值澄清理论为代表的现代知性德育 ,其形成既有现代社会所追求的科学、理性、技术、个人主义等现代文化的原因 ,也有西方所固有的文化传统方面的原因。本文旨在分析西方知性德育的两个最基本的文化传统 :古希腊理性主义文化传统和基督教文化传统。认为理性与信仰的失衡 ,即古希腊理性主义文化传统借助现代科技得以泛滥和基督教文化传统在科技的挤压下的式微所导致的西方文化传统的失衡 ,是其知性德育得以形成的最重要的文化传统方面的原因。     

A new decision to take for cost-sensitive Naïve Bayes classifiers

Practical classification problems often involve some kind of trade-off between the decisions a classifier may take. Indeed, it may be the case that decisions are not equally good or costly; therefore, it is important for the classifier to be able to predict the risk associated with each classification decision. Bayesian decision theory is a fundamental statistical approach to the problem of pattern classification. The objective is to quantify the trade-off between various classification decisions using probability and the costs that accompany such decisions. Within this framework, a loss function measures the rates of the costs and the risk in taking one decision over another.     

The role of word recognition,oral reading fluency and listening comprehension in the simple view of reading: a study in an intermediate depth orthography

Empirical research has provided evidence for the simple view of reading across a variety of orthographies, but the role of oral reading fluency in the model is unclear. Moreover, the relative weight of listening comprehension, oral reading fluency and word recognition in reading comprehension seems to vary across orthographies and schooling years. This study aims to examine the direct effects of these three variables on reading comprehension and to test for the existence of indirect effects of word recognition and listening comprehension on reading comprehension via oral reading fluency in European Portuguese, an orthography of intermediate depth. A sample of 264 students was assessed at the end of grades 2 and 4. Structural equation modeling analyses indicated that listening comprehension, word recognition and oral reading fluency predicted reading comprehension in both grade 2 and grade 4. Moreover, the three variables measured in grade 2 predicted later reading comprehension in grade 4. Listening comprehension was always the strongest predictor. Oral reading fluency mediated the relationship between word recognition and reading comprehension, but it was not a mediator variable in the relationship between listening comprehension and reading comprehension. These findings indicate that, similarly to what has been found for other orthographies, the simple view of reading is a valid framework to account for reading comprehension variability in European Portuguese and that interventions to increase reading comprehension levels should focus on word recognition, fluency, and, especially, listening comprehension.     

Meta‐Analytic Methodology and Inferences About the Efficacy of Formative Assessment

In a recent article published in EM:IP, Kingston and Nash report on the results of a meta‐analysis on the efficacy of formative assessment. They conclude that the average effect of formative assessment on student achievement is about .20 SD units. This would seem to dispel the myth that effects between .40 and .70 can be attributed to formative assessment. They also find that there is considerable variability in effect sizes across studies, and that only the content area in which the treatment is situated explains a significant proportion of study variability. However, there are issues in the meta‐analytic methodology employed by the authors that make their findings somewhat equivocal. This commentary focuses on four methodological concerns about the Kingston and Nash meta‐analysis: (1) the approach taken to select studies for inclusion, (2) the application of study inclusion criteria, (3) the extent to which the effect sizes being combined are biased, and (4) the relationship between effect size magnitude and characteristics of outcome measures. After examining these issues in the context of the Kingston and Nash review, it appears that considerable uncertainty remains about the effect that formative assessment practices have on student achievement.     

Why is it so difficult? Misconceptions about Eastern European education in transition

Eastern European educational systems today face many problems, frequently described in recent publications. This paper discusses several misconceptions both in Western and in Eastern countries, which render more difficult the change process. These concern the inherited situation, reforms underway, power relationships, decentralisation, the roles of tradition and Western assistance, curriculum, financial and statistical data and the relationship between education and society.

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Zusammenfassung Die osteuropäischen Bildungssysteme sehen sich heute vielen Problemen gegenüber, die häufig Thema von kürzlich erschienenen Publikationen sind. In diesem Artikel werden verschiedene sowohl im Westen als auch im Osten bestehende Mißverhältnisse angesprochen, durch die der Änderungsprozeß erschwert wird. Dazu gehören ererbte Zustände, im Gange befindliche Reformen, Machtverhältnisse, Dezentralisierung, die Rolle von Traditionen sowie von Hilfsleistungen aus dem Westen, das Curriculum, finanzielle und statistische Daten sowie die Beziehung zwischen Bildung und Gesellschaft.

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Résumé Les systèmes d'éducation de l'Europe orientale font face aujourd'hui à maints problèmes fréquemment présentés dans de récentes publications. Cet article traite de plusieurs méconceptions perçues à la fois dans les pays de l'Ouest que dans ceux de l'Est qui rendent plus difficile le processus de changement. Elles concernent la situation héritée, les réformes en cours, les relations de pouvoir, la décentralisation, les rôles de la tradition ainsi que de l'aide occidentale, le curriculum, les données financières et statistiques, et la relation entre l'éducation et la société.