Properties of the maximal correlation function

Sarmanov introduces the idea of maximal correlation function and applies it to his investigation of stationary Markov processes (1,2,3). We demonstrate some additional properties of the maximal correlation function as a measure of the dependence structure of stationary processes and present some applications of the maximal correlation function in generalizing applications of the usual correlation function to, for example, equivalent rectangular bandwidth and quadratic mean ergodicity.     

Epistemic Beliefs in Science—A Systematic Integration of Evidence From Multiple Studies

Educational Psychology Review - Recent research has integrated developmental and dimensional perspectives on epistemic beliefs by implementing an approach in which profiles of learners’...     

Evaluation of the Feasibility and Perceived Value of Integrating Learn the Signs. Act Early. Developmental Monitoring Resources in Early Head Start

Early Childhood Education Journal - Many children with developmental disabilities are not identified before age 3 years of age, preventing them from being able to fully benefit from early...     

The influence of question type,text availability,answer confidence and language background on student comprehension of an expository text

Reading is an essential activity for learning at university, but lecturers are not always experienced in setting appropriate questions to test understanding of texts. In other words, their assessments may not be ‘constructively aligned’ with the learning outcomes they hope their students to exhibit. In examination conditions, questions may be set with insufficient time for re-reading available texts, thus drawing more on students' powers of recall than on deeper learning and comprehension. Previous research has been undertaken on reading comprehension generally, but no research has yet explored the interaction of factors such as text availability (re-reading of texts), text layout, question type and respondents' language background. This study explores the correctness of 50 participants' responses to a set reading task based on an expository text, and participants' confidence in giving those answers, in relation to four factors: the effects of question type; text availability; text layout; and language background. The main findings are that non-native speakers of English have more difficulty and less confidence in answering implicit questions and that reviewing the text has a significant effect on response correctness for implicit questions. The form of text layout did not show a significant effect, however. Our results have implications for lecturers who set readings and questions for comprehension and others who use reading comprehension as part of their ‘hidden curriculum’. Further research in this area is required to determine more precisely the effects of language background.     

Effects of Exercise on the Basal Concentration of ATP in Muscle Tissue

Abstract

The problem involved the determination of the base concentration of ATP in muscle tissue of white rats. These animals had been forced to exercise (train) by swimming.

The method used to analyze for ATP involved bioluminescene and spectrophotometry. The luciferin-luciferase system served as the bioluminescence source. The Fisher's t test for significance was computed from the data collected. The peak height, obtained from the reaction of ATP and the luciferase system which was recorded, indicated the amount of ATP present.

The results obtained were not significant at the .05 level. Based on the findings of this study it was concluded that there was not a significant change in the base concentration of ATP in the experimental rats as compared to the control rats, and that there was a definite trend of an increased basal concentration of ATP in the exercised animals.     

Integrating multi‐tiered measurement outcomes for special education eligibility with sequential decision‐making methodology

Changes to federal guidelines for the identification of children with disabilities have supported the use of multi‐tiered models of service delivery. This study investigated the impact of measurement methodology as used across numerous tiers in determining special education eligibility. Four studies were completed using a sample of inner‐city children (N = 150) who were administered a reading screener twice and a reading measure adapted from the state high‐stakes reading test. A sub‐sample of children identified as At‐Risk were administered a comprehensive reading assessment and compared with a randomly selected control group, who were also administered a comprehensive reading assessment (n = 14). A model was developed to estimate the likelihood of special education eligibility based on both theoretical and empirical measurement parameters. Depending on the measurement assumptions of the multi‐tiered model, special education eligibility outcomes varied from a low of 0.2% to as high as 11%, depending on the type of measure used, decision‐making criteria used at each tier, and the number of tiers in the model. This study highlights the importance of measurement specification, explicit decision‐making criteria, and empirical investigation to fully understand outcomes associated with the implementation of multi‐tiered models. Implications for special education eligibility policy and practical implications for implementing comprehensive measurement practice in multi‐tiered systems at the school level are discussed. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Educational policy and the courts: The case of Washington,D. C.

Since 1954, the courts have assumed a great deal of leadership in setting educational policy. In each instance, citizen dissatisfaction with the educational process has led to court suits, often resulting in massive or disruptive changes. However, the blame cannot and should not be leveled on the courts. The problems and solutions have clearly rested with boards of education, local and state legislative bodies, and executives. Their failure to respond affirmatively to various issues is clearly the problem.The District of Columbia presents a marvelous example of governmental inaction and what can result. This paper provides a brief judicial history of education in the District and what the implications have been. The reader must keep in mind that although the District is a city, its government, especially the Board of Education, functions as though on a state level. Thus, court decrees concerning education in Washington, D. C. may give other states the incentive to improve the education of all students, regardless of ethnic or economic background.[/p]Julius Hobson, Jr. is a Member of the District of Columbia Board of Education Washington, D. C.     

Examining the impacts of the structures writing intervention for teaching fourth-grade students to write informational text

Reading and Writing - Expository writing may be especially difficult for elementary grade students due to lack of background knowledge and unfamiliar text structures. A text structure writing...