Normalized Similarity Index: An adjusted index to prioritize article citations

One of the main applications of citation is to find articles that are relevant to a particular article. However, not all citations are equally relevant to the target article. This paper presents an approach to identify the most relevant citation(s). To this end, the Normalized Similarity Index (NSI) is proposed to quantify the similarity between the source and target of a citation base on the co-citations and references shared by them. To validate the method, NSI was calculated for five citation networks and was compared with the peer review grades for the relevancy between the source and the target articles. The results showed a significant correlation between the NSI ranks and those of peer review. Also, combined linkage (CL) and weighted direct citation (WDC) were calculated from the same data. According to the results of comparison between the NSI with other similarity measures, in most cases, NSI did better than others at reproducing the peer rankings. Our principal conclusion is that the NSI can be used to prioritize the citations of given highly cited article, and represent knowledge flow from the target article.     

Marketing methods for electronic resources in medical libraries: a study on the application of the analytical hierarchy process

Objective:Paired with the high cost of providing access to electronic resources in medical libraries, the inefficient use of these resources highlights the need for more efforts to promote these resources than ever before. In this study, electronic resource marketing methods were prioritized and the best strategies were determined using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP).Methods:Using an analytical survey of officials of medical libraries, the most common methods for marketing electronic resources in libraries were determined and divided into categories of strategies. Five important criteria for marketing strategies were also selected. Using the analytical hierarchy process, pairwise comparisons were performed between the alternatives (i.e., strategies), which were evaluated against the selected criteria. Data analysis was performed using Expert Choice 11 software.Results:A total of 44 electronic resource marketing methods were identified and categorized into 4 strategies. On average, 43.9% of these methods were used by the surveyed libraries. The analytical hierarchy process showed that simplicity was the most important criterion and that communication networks were the best electronic resource marketing strategy. Home/off-campus access, group training, library search stations, and marketing by individual librarians were the most preferred methods of marketing electronic resources.Conclusion:With the availability of a variety of different methods for marketing electronic resources, medical libraries must select strategies based on important criteria depending on the characteristics of the library, librarians, and users. Thus, the analytical hierarchy process can be an effective and practical solution to decision-making by mathematically prioritizing the selection of the best strategies from a set of alternatives based on differentially weighted criteria.     

Towards a personality understanding of information technology students and their IT learning in UAE university

This research investigates the personality characteristics of Information Technology students (CIT) in UAE University (UAEU) and how such features impact their IT learning. To achieve this objective, this research attempts to explain the impact of the Big-5 factors on learning using survey research. Results from 179 respondents suggested that agreeableness, extraversion, openness, and conscientiousness respectively were the most important strategies adopted by CIT students. However, neuroticism scored the lowest. Such results could be attributed to personal as well as to cultural reasons as highlighted in this research. The research highlights theoretical as well as professional contributions and implications. Some of challenges in this research could be addressed by designing programs aiming at enhancing student’s learning ability from the perspective of their personal traits.     

Relationship between parenting styles and academic performance of adolescents: mediating role of self-efficacy

The literature supports the importance of parenting styles that are necessary to fulfill the developmental needs of the children and eventually improve their quality of life. Baumrind’s typology of parenting styles was used. There are many studies that examined the relationship of parenting styles (authoritative, authoritarian and permissive parenting styles) and academic performance, but there is lack of measurement of the relationship with respect to Pakistan. Current study analyzed the relationship of parenting styles and academic performance along with self-efficacy as mediating variable. Sample of the study consists of 313 university students from four academic departments. Measures included the parenting styles and self-efficacy. GPA was taken as a measure of academic performance of adolescents. Self-reported questionnaire was used to take the response from students. With the help of structural equation modeling, structural model was tested. Results of the study indicate that parenting styles individually have no significant relationship with the academic performance. In addition to this, self-efficacy only mediates the relationship of authoritative parenting style and academic performance. It can be concluded that self-efficacy in individuals is an important attribute necessary for the psychological development of the adolescents. Self-efficacy enhances the individual’s confidence to progress. There is a need to conduct more research on the relationship of parenting styles and academic performance in Pakistan. Implications for parents, teachers, are discussed.     

Methodological concerns: the feeling-of-knowing task affects resolution

In traditional feeling-of-knowing procedures, participants make judgments on unrecalled items only (e.g. Hart 1965). However, many researchers elicit feeling-of-knowing judgments (FOKs) on all items. When FOKs are made on all items, participants may use recall as a basis for judgments, leading to higher magnitude judgments for recalled items, but causing a relative floor effect for judgments for unrecalled items. We suspected that resolution (relative accuracy) would be better when FOKs are made on all items than when they are made on unrecalled items only. We examined the issue by comparing across studies, reanalyzing data from another experiment, and by conducting an original experiment. In the literature review, we included 83 conditions across 52 studies. We found that feeling-of-knowing judgments made on all items showed higher resolution than feeling-of-knowing judgments made on unrecalled items. This was replicated in the reanalysis of existing data of a single study that used both methods. In the original experiment, we collected feeling-of-knowing judgments for general-information questions. The experiment confirmed that resolution for predicting recognition was higher when feeling-of-knowing judgments were made on all items than when they were made only on unrecalled items. We discuss both methodological and theoretical implications of these data.     

Effects of conceptual assignments and conceptual change discussions on students' misconceptions and achievement regarding force and motion

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of conceptual assignments and conceptual change discussions on students' achievement and misconceptions about force and motion. The study was conducted with 6 physics teachers and their 18 classes, consisting of 396 high school physics students. The teachers administered the Force Misconception and Force Achievement Tests to their physics classes as a pretest. The results obtained were used to match the 18 classes statistically. Students assigned to the conceptual assignment protocol completed five conceptual assignments about force and motion. Students assigned to the discussion method participated in conceptual change discussions. At the end of the 8‐week treatment period, the same tests were administered to all students as a posttest. The data were analyzed by using multivariate analysis of covariance, followed by protected univariate F test and step‐down analysis. The statistical results showed that the conceptual change discussion was an effective means of reducing the number of misconceptions students held about force and motion. The conceptual change discussion was also found significantly effective in improving students' achievement in force and motion. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 39: 1001–1015, 2002     

High school textbooks in turkey from teachers’ and students’ perspectives: The case of history textbooks

This study investigates how teachers and students assess the textbooks they use in history courses at the high school level in Turkey. Through a survey questionnaire, teachers and students were asked their perceptions of the textbooks. Then a sub-sample of the teachers and students were interviewed to collect more in-depth data on their assessment of the textbooks. The results indicated that the textbooks assist the teacher in instructional planning and in preparing exams, and help the students deal with the content. However, both teachers and students point to problems in textbooks in terms of their physical aspects, content presentation and organization, language, teaching and learning aids, and their impact on students. The textbooks focus mostly on transmission of knowledge, and they are found ineffective in leading students to read the information with interest and develop an understanding of the content area. They are found ineffective in developing students’ thinking skills and positive attitudes toward the subject.     

Role of jasmonic acid in improving tolerance of rapeseed (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Brassica napus</Emphasis> L.) to Cd toxicity

The well-known detrimental effects of cadmium (Cd) on plants are chloroplast destruction, photosynthetic pigment inhibition, imbalance of essential plant nutrients, and membrane damage. Jasmonic acid (JA) is an alleviator against different stresses such as salinity and drought. However, the functional attributes of JA in plants such as the interactive effects of JA application and Cd on rapeseed in response to heavy metal stress remain unclear. JA at 50 μmol/L was observed in literature to have senescence effects in plants. In the present study, 25 μmol/L JA is observed to be a “stress ameliorating molecule” by improving the tolerance of rapeseed plants to Cd toxicity. JA reduces the Cd uptake in the leaves, thereby reducing membrane damage and malondialdehyde content and increasing the essential nutrient uptake. Furthermore, JA shields the chloroplast against the damaging effects of Cd, thereby increasing gas exchange and photosynthetic pigments. Moreover, JA modulates the antioxidant enzyme activity to strengthen the internal defense system. Our results demonstrate the function of JA in alleviating Cd toxicity and its underlying mechanism. Moreover, JA attenuates the damage of Cd to plants. This study enriches our knowledge regarding the use of and protection provided by JA in Cd stress.     

Promoting Conceptual Understanding with Explicit Epistemic Intervention in Metacognitive Instruction: Interaction Between the Treatment and Epistemic Cognition

Research in Science Education - This study investigated the effect of the metacognitive instruction in which students’ epistemic cognitions were explicitly addressed, on tenth-grade...