Assessing Model Fit: Caveats and Recommendations for Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling

Despite the limitations of overgeneralizing cutoff values for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA; e.g., Marsh, Hau, & Wen, 2004), they are still often employed as golden rules for assessing factorial validity in sport and exercise psychology. The purpose of this study was to investigate the appropriateness of using the CFA approach with these cutoff values for typical multidimensional measures. Furthermore, we ought to examine how a model could be respecified to achieve acceptable fit and explored whether exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) provides a more appropriate assessment of model fit. Six multidimensional measures commonly used in sport and exercise psychology research were examined using CFA and ESEM. Despite demonstrating good validity in previous research, all eight failed to meet the cutoff values proposed by Hu and Bentler. ESEM improved model fit in all measures. In conclusion, we suggest that model misfit in this study demonstrates the problem with interpreting cutoff values rigidly. Furthermore, we recommend ESEM as a preferred approach to examining model fit in multidimensional measures.     

The analysis of athletic performance: some practical and philosophical considerations

This article presents a hypothetical dialogue between a notational analyst (NA) recently schooled in the positivistic assessment of athletic performance, an ‘old-school’ traditional coach (TC) who favours subjective analysis, and a pragmatic educator (PE). The conversation opens with NA and TC debating the respective value of quantitative and qualitative methods of performance analysis. Having considered their arguments from a-distance, PE offers a philosophically underpinned point of view that helps to practically reconcile NA's and TC's opposing positions. While primarily focusing on practical issues relating to the analysis of athletic performance, PE contends that ‘quantitative’ and ‘qualitative’ approaches can be legitimately used in combination. Such a stance would appear in-line with a pragmatic philosophical perspective, which by focusing on practical issues embraces pluralistic methods. It is hoped that this dialogue will facilitate further philosophical and practical debate to generate knowledge that could enrich coaches' understanding by presenting an approach to performance analysis that is more realistic for practitioners.     

Civilising recalcitrant boys' bodies: pursuing social fitness through the anti-obesity offensive

Obesity discourse provides a commonly recycled rationale for multiple, ostensibly well-intended, interventions. Formal educational settings sometimes operate as sites for these biopedagogies which putatively promote ‘good health’ among young people as they transition to ‘responsible’ adulthood. Yet, regulation and control, or the pursuit of social fitness, may be more pressing concerns. Drawing from an ethnography of a ‘Health and Youth’ college initiative in Northeast England, directed at recalcitrant boys who risked school exclusion, this article considers how the war on obesity provided a rationale for middle-class efforts to instil civility. Despite educators' best intentions, the initiative also provided a stage and props for cruder forms of bullying among the boys. This article critiques (un)civilised fat oppression in this setting as part of a larger interrogation of the state sponsored anti-obesity offensive. Connections are made with literature on the civilising process, obesity discourse, boys' bodies, health and education.     

Validity of the X-factor computation methods and relationship between the X-factor parameters and clubhead velocity in skilled golfers

The purpose of this study was to assess the validity of the X-factor computation methods and to examine whether direct relationships exist between the X-factor parameters and the clubhead velocity in a group of skilled male golfers (n = 18, handicap = ? 0.6 ± 2.1). Five driver trials were captured from each golfer using an optical motion capture system (250 Hz). Two plane-based methods (conventional vs. functional swing plane-based) and one Cardan rotation-based method (relative orientation) were used to compute select X-factor (end of pelvis rotation, top of backswing, ball impact (BI), and maximum), X-factor stretch (stretch and maximum stretch), and X-factor velocity (BI and maximum) parameters. The maximum clubhead velocity was extracted and normalized to golfer's body height to eliminate the effect of body size. A one-way repeated MANOVA revealed that the computation methods generated significantly different X-factor parameter values (p < 0.001). The conventional method provided substantially larger X-factor values than the other methods in the untwisting phase and the meaningfulness of select X-factor parameters generated by this method was deemed questionable. The correlation analysis revealed that the X-factor parameters were not directly related to the maximum clubhead velocity (both unnormalized and normalized).     

Developing a pedagogical-technical framework to improve creative writing

There are many evidences of motivational and educational benefits from the use of learning software. However, there is a lack of study with regards to the teaching of creative writing. This paper aims to bridge the following gaps: first, the need for a proper framework for scaffolding creative writing through learning software; second, the lack of technical scaffolding in creative writing learning software; third, the need for customizable learning software that requires little programming knowledge; and fourth, personalized learning. To develop our initial framework, Merrill??s First Principles of Instruction is used as pedagogical scaffold and story setting, characters and story structure as component-based technical scaffolds. These were tested in a low-fidelity prototype. User testing indicates an increase in creativity, improvement in story development, clarity of ideas and language skills. We also derive two design principles, i.e. identity and interactivity. Based on these findings, a high-fidelity prototype, named Storyworld, is developed. T-test analyses on results indicate significant improvement in overall creative writing skills, as well as grammar, structure and creativity. The prototype utilizes component-based design in the technical scaffolds, which is encapsulated in a tidy framework that can be personalized for individual learning needs. Our most important contribution is a proper framework combining technical scaffolds and pedagogical scaffolds that not only makes learning more effective and motivating for students, but is also cost-effective in redesigning and personalizing lessons and systems.     

The social competence of highly gifted math and science adolescents

Involving 740 highly gifted math and science students from two different countries, Korea and the United States, this study examined how these gifted adolescents perceived their interpersonal ability and peer relationships and whether there were differences between these two groups by demographic variables. Based on the survey data, results showed that our gifted students perceived their interpersonal ability and peer relationships at levels comparable to or higher than those of their non-gifted counterparts. They were satisfied and confident with their peer relationships and did not identify negative effects of being gifted when forming and maintaining friendships. Differences were found between Korean and American students by gender in their profiles of interpersonal ability and peer relationships. Positive self-portrayal of social competence found for our sample disputed previous studies suggesting that highly gifted students tend to struggle with social relationships. Given that each group of students had different educational, linguistic, and cultural backgrounds, the results should also be interpreted with caution.     

Evaluation of children’s after-school programs in Taiwan: FAHP approach

The need of after-school programs has become urgent for school-age children in many industrialized countries due to social structure changes. This research develops a hierarchical framework to evaluate after-school programs from two distinct aspects??service quality from parents?? perspectives and marketing strategy from operators?? perspectives??each aspect respectively associated with five mutually independent criteria. Two different questionnaire surveys are conducted respectively to parents and providers in Hsinchu, Taiwan based on pairwise comparison on Saaty??s nine-point scale. Fuzzy analytic hierarchy process is then employed to calculate the relative importance of the criteria under each aspect. The results show that the top three concerns from parents?? perspectives are communication and attentiveness, teacher qualification and counseling, and fee and location, whereas the top three concerns from operators?? perspectives are promotion, price, and product. Our findings reveal a consistency between the concerns of parents and of operators, but the important rankings from the two perspectives are not exactly the same, implying that the parents and the operators do have somewhat different viewpoints in evaluating the after-school programs.     

An Open Government Maturity Model for social media-based public engagement

Social media has opened up unprecedented new possibilities of engaging the public in government work. In response to the Open Government Directive, U.S. federal agencies developed their open government plan and launched numerous social media-based public engagement initiatives. However, we find that many of these initiatives do not deliver the intended outcomes due to various organizational, technological, and financial challenges. We propose an Open Government Maturity Model based on our field studies with U.S. federal healthcare administration agencies. This model is specifically developed to assess and guide open government initiatives which focus on transparent, interactive, participatory, collaborative public engagement that are largely enabled by emerging technologies such as social media. The model consists of five maturity levels: initial conditions (Level 1), data transparency (Level 2), open participation (Level 3), open collaboration (Level 4), and ubiquitous engagement (Level 5). We argue that there is a logical sequence for increasing social media-based public engagement and agencies should focus on achieving one maturity level at a time. The Open Government Maturity Model helps government agencies implement their open government initiatives effectively by building organizational and technological capabilities in an orderly manner. We discuss challenges and best practices for each maturity level and conclude by presenting recommendations.