Self-reported ability assessment in rock climbing

Level of ability within rock climbing is generally expressed in terms of a "best ascent", rated using various grading systems within the sport. The most common method of obtaining this information is via self-report. The aim of this study was to examine the validity of self-reported climbing grades. Twenty-nine competitive rock climbers (17 males, 12 females) were first asked to report their current (defined as within the last 12 months) best on-sight lead ascent grade (Aus/NZ). The participants then climbed a specifically designed indoor route, under on-sight conditions (one attempt, no route practice or preview), to obtain an assessed grade. The route increased in difficulty, and was such that the distance achieved by the climber corresponded to a particular grade. The mean (±standard deviation) self-reported and assessed grade was 22.6?±?3.4 and 22.0?±?3.0 (Aus/NZ) respectively. Despite slight over- and underestimations in males and females respectively, there was no statistically significant difference between self-reported and assessed on-sight climbing grades. The results of this study suggest that self-reported climbing grades provide a valid and accurate reflection of climbing ability.     

斯巴里德·佐安尼奥帝斯（希腊） 年龄越大,就越出色

希腊选手斯巴里德.佐安尼奥帝斯将要征战他本人的第四次奥运会。他在上海金山举行的第14届国际泳联世锦赛公开水域男子10公里的比赛中打败了令人生畏的德国选手托马斯.鲁尔兹（Thomas Lurz）,以1：54.24.7的成绩获得冠军,比鲁尔兹快2.5秒。     

Tensions in Community Health Improvement Initiatives: Communication and Collaboration in a Managed Care Environment

Between the years 1993 and 2000, the W. K. Kellogg Foundation sponsored the Comprehensive Community Health Models (CCHMs) Initiative in three Michigan counties. CCHMs was comprised of three closely related community initiatives carried out in the midst of a failed national health care reform effort and the continued penetration of managed care arrangements into many health care systems. This experimental initiative set out to test the hypothesis that traditional healthcare system animosities and exclusionary practices could be overcome by stakeholder participation in an ongoing, structured, collaborative dialogue about improving access to health services. In the process of collecting data through surveys, interviews, content analysis, and observation, we were struck by the occurrence of several overarching tensions that we perceive to exist in our data. The present article elucidates five such tensions and suggests how third parties such as communication researchers, evaluators, and practitioners can facilitate community health improvement initiatives and better their own data interpretation by acknowledging and understanding these tensions.     

The Triple Jump Exercise in Inquiry‐based Learning: a case study showing directions for further research

The Triple Jump is a versatile but under‐studied instrument, used both for developing and assessing problem‐based learning (PBL). This paper evaluates its assessment of inquiry‐based learning (IBL) in a graduate course, along with a Group Assessment Task. Students' performance on the Triple Jump was not related to satisfaction with their small‐group discussion prior to completing a self‐directed learning task. Analysis of the self‐directed learning task in terms of academic or pragmatic focus showed consistent differences between two markers — suggesting the need for more research into inter‐rater reliability and other characteristics of the Triple Jump exercise. Some simple strategies are recommended to make this instrument cost‐effective for assessing large classes.     

The Priority of Separable Perception in Stimulus Classifications of Children with Mental Retardation

Children (mean CA = 12 years) with mental retardation and adults without mental retardation classified tetrads of stimuli that could be grouped according to identities on separate dimensions or according to overall similarity. When color, size, and line orientation were varied (Experiment 1), both groups used separate dimensions for classification. When hue, saturation, and brightness varied (Experiment 2), both groups used overall similarity for classification. Test-retest correlations showed that the predominant classifications were reliable across 1-week testing intervals. Results support Garner's distinction between separable and integral stimulus structure but do not support an integral-to-separable shift in perceptual development. Comparisons of the tetrad task used in the present study and triads used in previous work are discussed as well as implications of the present data for developmental theories of perceptual classification and processing in children with mental retardation.     

Validity and participation: implications for school comparison of Australia’s National Assessment Program

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) in Australia is a series of literacy and numeracy tests that are used for purposes of school comparison. This paper argues that a key question for this use lies in whether or not this is a reasonable, or valid, use of the test data. Using Kane’s argumentative approach to validity, this paper argues that the comparisons of the quality of student achievement made available on the My School Website have low validity due to the lack of regard to rates of participation in schools. In bringing together the literature that addresses the ‘new governance’ of education through testing and an approach to validity that addresses the technical aspects of test score interpretation, with the ethics of how test scores are used and applied, this study identifies validity as an important consideration in comparative analyses of student achievement data. The identification of the need to consider participation in such comparisons through the application of the argumentative approach to validity highlights the contribution of this article not only to the testing field but also to critical policy literature.     

Learning English from signed English: an impossible task?

A sample of elementary school- and high school-age deaf students in special education programs in the Australian state of Queensland using Australasian Signed English (ASE) took the Test of Syntactic Abilities (Quigley, Steinkamp, Power, & Jones, 1978) and wrote a story in response to a wordless picture sequence. Several analyses of the students' test scores and of the written language of their stories were undertaken. It was found that classroom use of ASE was of benefit to these students in developing English and telling a story in writing, but that there were complex aspects of syntax that required special teaching. The implications for the use of Signed English systems and the teaching of English to deaf students who use Signed English communication are examined.