Framing the Problem: effects of wording on children's statistical inferences

ABSTRACT A total of 96 children aged 11 to 12 years were given statistical inference problems (base‐rate and law of large numbers) designed to test the effects of wording on their answers. The wording of the problems was manipulated to make the information on base‐rates and on the law of large numbers either more salient or less salient. The latter condition was established by adding extraneous information to base‐rates, or, in the case of the law of large numbers, making the context unfamiliar or focusing choice on a particular person rather than on the group. A significant main effect of wording was found across all problems in favour of the salient condition. The results indicated that the children had a high level of statistical intuition and that they knew when to reason statistically and when not to.     

Does training make a difference to quality in family child care?

The purpose of this study was to determine which family child care providers seek training, which providers drop out of training, and the effects of training on the quality of care offered by providers. One-hundred thirty family child care providers in three communities who enrolled in Family-to-Family training participated in the study. A comparison group consisted of 112 regulated providers in those same communities who were not involved in the training program under investigation. Each provider was observed for 3 hrs, was interviewed, and completed questionnaires. Providers in training were observed prior to training and 6 months afterwards. Results revealed that providers who sought training were very similar to typical regulated providers. Providers who dropped out of training were less experienced and used fewer business and safety practices than providers who completed it. Training increased global quality in two out of three sites, but did not affect process quality. Of 95 providers, 18 made observable (as opposed to statistically significant) improvements in quality following training, and 9 decreased in quality. These data are interpreted with respect to family child care training policies and practices.     

External knowledge sourcing in biotechnology through acquisition versus alliance: A KBV approach

Knowledge sourcing is important for firms, especially in fast-paced industries. However, few studies explore the effects of knowledge-based predictors on the comparative choice of employing acquisitions versus alliances for sourcing external knowledge. This study extends the limited existing research on this topic. It simultaneously examines the effects of knowledge domain attributes, seeker and source experience-based knowledge, and dyad knowledge similarity and digestibility on whether a firm chooses an acquisition or alliance when sourcing external knowledge. Data is comprised of 209 research-driven acquisitions and alliances of biotechnology firms based in North America. Our findings reveal that external knowledge sourcing through acquisition is more likely when the knowledge domain is more complex and valuable. Acquisition is also preferred when the seeker has greater acquisition experience and when the source has accumulated a moderate level of alliance experience. Alliance, in contrast, is the chosen mode for accessing external knowledge when the knowledge is high in specificity and when the seeker has prior alliance experience. In addition, increasing similarity and digestibility of the dyad's knowledge bases strengthen the relationship between knowledge value and the probability of acquisition versus alliance. These results extend understanding of how firms decide to augment their knowledge resources in a knowledge-intensive industry. They also demonstrate that a multilevel KBV approach emphasizing knowledge characteristics uncovers important predictors of strategy and structure in research-driven organizations.     

On the number of terms used in automatic query expansion

This paper investigates the number of expansion terms to use in automatic query expansion by examining the behavior of eight retrieval systems participating in the NRRC Reliable Information Access Workshop. The results demonstrate that current systems are able to obtain nearly all of the benefit of using a fixed number of expansion terms per topic, but significant additional improvement is possible if systems were able to accurately select the best number of expansion terms on a per topic basis. When optimizing average effectiveness as measured by mean average precision, using a fixed number of terms increases the score a large amount for a small number of topics but has little effect for most topics. The analysis further suggests that when a topic is helped by automatic feedback, the increase is from a set of terms that reinforce each other rather than from the system finding a single excellent term.     

Supporting Veteran Transitions to the Academic Setting: VA on Campus

In this case study, we assessed academic functioning, service satisfaction, and needs of student veterans at a community college who had accessed the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Student Veteran Health Program (SVHP) (n = 36). The SVHP provides outreach and behavioral health services directly on a large community college campus to overcome common barriers to engagement in mental health care (e.g., distance from a VA medical center). Academic difficulties that were most commonly reported were in the areas of retention of information, meeting deadlines, and cooperation with other students. Overall, the majority of student veterans who received services in the SVHP were satisfied (76.5%). Services targeting attention and concentration and utilization of educational benefits were highlighted as important by student veterans. This case study of VA services delivered within the community college setting provides important insights into how to design VA services to target the needs of student veterans. Specific recommendations for supporting student veterans on a community college campus are discussed.     

Read the Book,See the Movie,Part Three

Connellys’ Classroom Cutaway

Read the Book, See the Movie, Part Three     

Out in the cold: sliding sports and the Amateur Sports Act of 1978

For decades American athletes in less-popular – or ‘minor’– sports suffered from a lack of institutional and practical support from their sports' governing bodies. The AAU, in particular, failed to provide the funds necessary for athletes in the sliding sports of luge and bobsled to obtain proper training and opportunities to compete. By the early 1970s, the American Olympic effort was in chaos as athletes from the Eastern Bloc, taking advantage of their nations' determination to field the best possible teams, began to excel at both the summer and winter Olympic Games. In response, Congress authorized a presidential commission to study the situation and make recommendations about how best to improve amateur sports in the United States. The result of the commission's work, the Amateur Sports Act of 1978, reorganized governance of amateur sports to the benefit, particularly, of athletes in sports such as luge and bobsled.