Book of the Month: Film in China

Jay Leyda's Dianying: An Account of Films and the Film Audience in China (Cambridge: MIT Press, 1972 -- $12.50)     

Enhancing Self-Efficacy and Learning Performance

The effect of a communication designed to enhance the self-efficacy beliefs of introductory psychology students was examined. The author assigned students (N = 123) into above average, average, and below average performance categories. All students were invited to send the author an e-mail to receive a bonus point. Of the students who responded (n = 76), half were sent an e-mail message designed to enhance their efficacy beliefs, while the other half received a neutral note. As predicted, self-efficacy beliefs were significantly related to exam scores and significantly affected by the efficacy-enhancing communication.     

A Framework for Evaluation and Use of Automated Scoring

A framework for evaluation and use of automated scoring of constructed‐response tasks is provided that entails both evaluation of automated scoring as well as guidelines for implementation and maintenance in the context of constantly evolving technologies. Consideration of validity issues and challenges associated with automated scoring are discussed within the framework. The fit between the scoring capability and the assessment purpose, the agreement between human and automated scores, the consideration of associations with independent measures, the generalizability of automated scores as implemented in operational practice across different tasks and test forms, and the impact and consequences for the population and subgroups are proffered as integral evidence supporting use of automated scoring. Specific evaluation guidelines are provided for using automated scoring to complement human scoring for tests used for high‐stakes purposes. These guidelines are intended to be generalizable to new automated scoring systems and as existing systems change over time.     

A new three-dimensional heat flux-temperature integral relationship for half-space transient diffusion

This paper derives a new integral relationship between heat flux and temperature in a transient, three-dimensional heat conducting Cartesian half space (x>0, y∈(−∞,∞), z∈(−∞,∞)). A unified mathematical treatment has been developed based on operational and transform methods; and singular integral equation regularization. Regularization is accomplished based on a series of observations involving the diffusive nature of the operator. This newly developed relationship provides the local heat flux perpendicular to the front surface at any location within the half space. This expression suggests that an embedded plane of temperature sensors parallel to the surface can be used to acquire the local, in-depth heat flux in the x-direction. The relationship does not require a priori knowledge of the surface boundary condition which has analytically been removed in the process. The ill-posed nature of diffusion is highlighted owing to the appearance of the heating/cooling rate (°C/s) in the integrand of the new relationship. Integral relationships of this type are highly useful for experimental investigations since the in-depth heat flux can be extracted from well-established temperature transducers.     

Sustainable learning and education: A curriculum for the future

International Review of Education - This article introduces sustainable learning and education (SLE), an emerging philosophy of learning and teaching founded on principles of sustainability. SLE is...