Comparisons of two statistical approaches to study growth curves: The multilevel model and the latent curve analysis

This article compares two statistical approaches for modeling growth across time. The two statistical approaches are the multilevel model (MLM) and latent curve analysis (LCA), which have been proposed to depict change or growth adequately. These two approaches were compared in terms of the estimation of growth profiles represented by the parameters of initial status and the rate of growth. A longitudinal data set obtained from a school‐based substance‐use prevention trial for adolescents was used to illustrate the similarities and differences between the two approaches. The results indicated that the two approaches yielded very compatible results. The parameter estimates associated with regression weights are the same, whereas those associated with variances and covariances are similar. The MLM approach is easier for model specification and is more efficient computationally in yielding results. The LCA approach, however, has the advantage of providing model evaluation, that is, an overall test of goodness of fit, and is more flexible in modeling and hypothesis testing as demonstrated in this study.     

The impact of SSCI and SCI on Taiwan’s academy: an outcry for fair play

The increasing importance of the competition in global university ranking has resulted in a paradigm shift in academic governance in East Asia. Many governments have introduced different strategies for benchmarking their leading universities to facilitate global competitiveness and international visibility. A major trend in the changing university governance is the emergence of a regulatory evaluation scheme for faculty research productivity, reflected by the striking features of the recent changing academic profile of publication norms and forms that go beyond the territories of nation-states in the East and West. With the expansion of the Taiwanese higher education system in the last two decades, the maintenance of quality to meet the requirements for international competitiveness has become a key concern for policy makers. Since 2005, the Ministry of Education has introduced a series of university governance policies to enhance academic excellence in universities and established a formal university evaluation policy to improve the competitiveness and international visibility of Taiwanese universities. In so doing, the government has legalized a clear link between evaluation results and public funding allocation. Research performance is assessed in terms of the number of articles published in journals indexed by the Science Citation Index (SCI), the Social Science Citation Index (SSCI), and the Arts and Humanities Citation Index and in terms of citation rates and associated factors. Therefore, evaluation has taken on a highly quantitative dimension. Despite the efforts of concerned parties to encourage academic excellence, the abovementioned quantitative evaluation indicators have resulted in bitter complaints from the humanities and social sciences, whose research accomplishments are devalued and ignored by the current quantitative indicators. In this paper, the authors describe the recent petition for collective action initiated by university faculty to protest the privileging of SSCI and SCI publications as critical indicators for academic performance regardless of faculty discipline and specialization. The article concludes its argument with a group petition calling for more diverse and reliable indicators in recognizing the research of different natures and disciplines while creating culturally responsive evaluation criteria for social sciences and humanities in the Taiwanese academe. The article not only sheds light on academic evaluation literature, especially on the uncertain paradox of globalization and market economy, but also proposes alternatives to the evaluation system for humanities and social sciences in higher education.     

基于知识价值链管理的企业核心竞争力研究

企业核心竞争力已从原有的物的形态转向无形的知识形态,知识价值链管理成为提高企业核心竞争力的有效手段.文章阐述了核心竞争力和知识价值链的内涵,并在分析核心竞争力和知识价值链关系的基础上,提出了利用知识价值链管理提升企业核心竞争力的措施.     

可视化在实验教学中的应用初探

针对传统的工程流体力学实验教学模式存在的弊端,提出了可视化这一实验教学的新模式,并进一步阐述了其具体内容和应用,确认了这种实验教学模式的科学性、实用性。     

对足球锋线运动员能力的剖析

本文运用心理学方法和运动训练学原理，结合比赛实践，从两个方面对足球锋线运动员的能力进行了理论剖析：物质性（身体素质）和意识性（心智特征），从而逐步去认识足球运动的本质规律，为丰富我国的足球理论水平提供参考。     

四大媒体特征论

报纸、广播、电视、网络等四大媒体有着各自的传播特质和文化意蕴。报纸是“读”文化的象征媒介；广播是“听”文化的典型媒介；电视是“看”文化的代表媒介；网络是“新视听”文化的先锋媒介。每一种新媒介的出现都是对已有媒介的整合和延伸。大众传媒的每一次革新，都伴随着人类思维的变化和社会文化的发展。     

Beyond critical thinking skills: Investigating the relationship between critical thinking skills and dispositions through different online instructional strategies

The purpose of this study was to investigate (1) the relationship between critical thinking skills (CTS) and critical thinking dispositions (CTD), and (2) the effectiveness of different levels of instructional strategy (asynchronous online discussions (AODs), CTS instruction via AODs, and CTS instruction with CTD cultivation via AODs) in improving students' CTS and CTD. A pretest and posttest quasi-experimental design was employed to achieve this purpose. The participants in this study were 220 students enrolled in a general education course at a large university in Taiwan. The findings of this study were as follows: (1) the overall relationship between CTS and CTD was positive. However, further analysis of the relationship between the different levels of CTS and CTD showed that only the students with high CTS and medium CTD showed a significant correlation; (2) the enhancement in CTS reinforced CTD, but the improvement in CTD did not increase the level of CTS. In addition, it is recommended that to improve the CTS and CTD of all students (including the students with a high level of CTS), the instructional strategy, CTS instruction with CTD cultivation, be employed.     

DNA combing on low-pressure oxygen plasma modified polysilsesquioxane substrates for single-molecule studies

Molecular combing and flow-induced stretching are the most commonly used methods to immobilize and stretch DNA molecules. While both approaches require functionalization steps for the substrate surface and the molecules, conventionally the former does not take advantage of, as the latter, the versatility of microfluidics regarding robustness, buffer exchange capability, and molecule manipulation using external forces for single molecule studies. Here, we demonstrate a simple one-step combing process involving only low-pressure oxygen (O₂) plasma modified polysilsesquioxane (PSQ) polymer layer to facilitate both room temperature microfluidic device bonding and immobilization of stretched single DNA molecules without molecular functionalization step. Atomic force microscopy and Kelvin probe force microscopy experiments revealed a significant increase in surface roughness and surface potential on low-pressure O₂ plasma treated PSQ, in contrast to that with high-pressure O₂ plasma treatment, which are proposed to be responsible for enabling effective DNA immobilization. We further demonstrate the use of our platform to observe DNA-RNA polymerase complexes and cancer drug cisplatin induced DNA condensation using wide-field fluorescence imaging.     

债权人代位权制度在诉讼中的局限

创设代位权制度是为了排除债务人、次债务人给债权人带来的不利后果。该制度虽然突破了合同相对性,赋予债权人越过债务人直接向次债务人主张债权之权利,但该制度在诉讼中依然存在局限,主要表现为代位权集合性权利属性仍需要凸显、各方权利需要再平衡、适用程序复杂繁琐等。明确代位权集合权利性质,扩展代位权适用范围;采取有力措施,平衡各方利益;简化诉讼程序,方便当事人等,是完善该制度在诉讼中局限的必要措施。这些措施可以充分发挥代位权制度维护债权人权利、保障交易安全之功能。     

DEVELOPING A TEST FOR ASSESSING ELEMENTARY STUDENTS’ COMPREHENSION OF SCIENCE TEXTS

This study reports on the process of developing a test to assess students’ reading comprehension of scientific materials and on the statistical results of the verification study. A combination of classic test theory and item response theory approaches was used to analyze the assessment data from a verification study. Data analysis indicates the test has satisfactory validity and reliability. The Reading Comprehension of Science Test (RCST) components have a wide range of difficulty, which suggests that the RCST is appropriate for a relatively large percentage of students. Based on the accepted relationships among science, language, and literacy, integrated literacy–science instructions are highly recommended.