Coping with textbook controversies: From policy development to implementation

This article focuses on how schools can cope with today’s increasing number of textbook controversies. Educators should understand the concerns generated by textbook controversies, the importance of sound and useful policies in dealing with them, how effective policies are developed, and the responsibilities of superintendents, principals, teachers, librarians, and publishers in addressing controversies and implementing policies.     

Using Exploratory Bifactor Analysis to Understand the Latent Structure of Multidimensional Psychological Measures: An Example Featuring the WISC-V

Exploratory bifactor analysis (EBFA) represents a methodological advancement for implementing a bifactor model in exploratory factor analysis (EFA). However, little is known about how to properly employ the procedure. The current rotation criteria available for EBFA make it more likely to “get stuck” in local minima, contributing to possible group factor collapse, than more traditional EFA rotations. Thus, getting a proper solution is a more complex and involved process than typical EFA and may require a sensitivity analysis. This article examines EBFA through a sensitivity analysis and subsequent simulation of parameters thought to contribute to group factor collapse. Results support the use of sensitivity analysis, as the problematic variable was shown to greatly increase the likelihood of factor collapse. The hypothesis that estimation start values contribute to factor collapse was not supported. Accompanying R syntax for all analyses are provided to facilitate reproducibility.     

An SEM Approach for the Evaluation of Intervention Effects Using Pre-Post-Post Designs

A directly applicable latent variable modeling procedure for classical item analysis is outlined. The method allows one to point and interval estimate item difficulty, item correlations, and item-total correlations for composites consisting of categorical items. The approach is readily employed in empirical research and as a by-product permits examining the latent structure of tentative versions of multiple-component measuring instruments. The discussed procedure is straightforwardly utilized with the increasingly popular latent variable modeling software Mplus, and is illustrated on a numerical example.     

A Survey of “One-Day-A-Week” Jewish Education in Philadelphia,Pa.

In light of recent developments in the Modern Orthodox community's approach to homosexuality, this article presents a classroom discussion on homosexuality that took place at a Modern Orthodox high school. An examination of the discussion's heteroglossia, or multiplicity of languages existing in tension, along with attention to the discussion's turn-taking structures, reveals the teacher's high degree of control over what students could express. This controlling pedagogy consistently suppresses expressions of empathy in favor of legalistic assertions. This article questions whether the specific issue of homosexuality demands a different approach.     

Why ‘the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau’ is a myth

The often-used phrase ‘the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau’ implies a flat-surfaced Tibet rose as a coherent entity, and that uplift was driven entirely by the collision and northward movement of India. Here, we argue that these are misconceptions derived in large part from simplistic geodynamic and climate modeling, as well as proxy misinterpretation. The growth of Tibet was a complex process involving mostly Mesozoic collisions of several Gondwanan terranes with Asia, thickening the crust and generating complex relief before the arrival of India. In this review, Earth system modeling, paleoaltimetry proxies and fossil finds contribute to a new synthetic view of the topographic evolution of Tibet. A notable feature overlooked in previous models of plateau formation was the persistence through much of the Cenozoic of a wide east–west orientated deep central valley, and the formation of a plateau occurred only in the late Neogene through compression and internal sedimentation.     

An application of the knowledge management maturity model: the case of credit unions

The purpose of this study is to investigate the level of knowledge management (KM) maturity of credit unions. The application of a maturity model to 15 credit unions in North America revealed that an overall level of KM maturity is at an early stage of development, but there are signs of future improvement. Credit unions operate in a highly competitive, knowledge-intensive financial industry and experience various pressures to increase their efficiency, which they can achieve through the implementation of KM solutions. Despite the absence of official KM strategies, KM projects were introduced locally in order to fill particular knowledge gaps. The availability of IT infrastructure and the implementation of KM-related technologies alone are insufficient to ensure universal success of organizational KM activities. Credit union managers periodically access and use academic research in their decision making. At the same time, they prefer accessing scholarly knowledge in translated form from books, practitioner magazines, and consultants. It was concluded that organizations competing in the knowledge-intensive sector have an inner need for KM solutions.     

Retest effects in matrix test performance: Differential impact of predictors at different hierarchy levels in an educational setting

If tests of cognitive ability are repeatedly taken, test scores rise. Such retest effects have been observed for a long time and for a variety of tasks. This study investigates retest effects on figural matrix items in an educational context. A short term effect is assumed for the direct retest administration in the same test session, and a long term effect is assumed for a retest interval of six months. Using multilevel modeling, we analyze if the magnitude of these effects is not only influenced by individual variation, but also by the cluster structure of students grouped within classrooms. We also investigate if the use of identical versus parallel tests has an impact on the size of the retest effects. Our main results show a negligible short term retest effect, but a large long term retest effect. Using parallel tests does not contribute to understanding individual differences in retest effects. The variation in retest effects is larger between classrooms than between students. Reasoning ability, as measured with a different test, and school grades significantly influences retest effects at the individual level, but at the classroom level, only reasoning ability is a significant predictor.     

An optimum non-circular chainwheel design for a bicycle drive system

A new and systematic approach for the analysis and simulation of a non-circular chainwheel in a bicycle drive system is presented. The proposed leg-bicycle model is based on a five-bar linkage and explicit expressions for the kinematics and kinetics are derived. The generated shape of the chainwheel is smoothed to an ellipse, for practical reasons. The performance of this elliptical chainwheel is assessed by comparing the joint moments, leg angular accelerations, crank angular velocities, crank angular accelerations and output forces with those of a conventional circular chainwheel. The results suggest combining the elliptical and circular chainwheels into a single unit, in order to accommodate a wide range of pedalling speeds. At low speeds, the elliptical chainwheel is engaged, but as the speed increases, a switch over to the circular chainwheel is recommended.     

Use of the MSJCC: A content analysis of ACA journals

Using quantitative content analysis, we examined the prevalence and use of the Multicultural Social Justice Counseling Competencies (MSJCC) in 21 ACA journals between June 2015 and July 2021. We found that only 7.62% of the articles (n = 2860) referenced the MSJCC. Implications for counselor educators are discussed.     

Contradictions in mathematical modeling with digital technologies

Education and Information Technologies - This article presents an analysis of contradictions expressed by pre-service mathematics teachers when performing two modeling tasks using their own...