Bayesian Methods for Analyzing Structural Equation Models With Covariates,Interaction, and Quadratic Latent Variables

The analysis of interaction among latent variables has received much attention. This article introduces a Bayesian approach to analyze a general structural equation model that accommodates the general nonlinear terms of latent variables and covariates. This approach produces a Bayesian estimate that has the same statistical optimal properties as a maximum likelihood estimate. Other advantages over the traditional approaches are discussed. More important, we demonstrate through examples how to use the freely available software WinBUGS to obtain Bayesian results for estimation and model comparison. Simulation studies are conducted to assess the empirical performances of the approach for situations with various sample sizes and prior inputs.     

Manufacture and Date of a Goryeo dynasty Sutra Box with Mother-of-pearl Inlaid Decoration at the Rijksmuseum,Amsterdam

Currently, about ten Goryeo dynasty (918–1392 CE) sutra boxes are preserved in museums in Korea, Japan, the United States, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. This article is the result of an examination of a sutra box in the collection of the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (hereafter ‘Rijksmuseum sutra box’), which was first introduced to a European audience in the Transactions and Proceedings of the Japanese Society, in 1913–1914. The Rijksmuseum sutra box differs from other Goryeo sutra boxes. With its altered structure and modified motifs, this box bears significant value, not only for the research of thirteenth-century Goryeo mother-of-pearl art, but also for the study of cross-cultural adaptations in East Asian lacquer art. This article investigates the date of manufacture of the sutra box by analysing the manufacturing techniques and its various original and modified parts. For this, an X-ray radiograph was carried out for the first time. As a result, discoveries have been made regarding the structure and decoration of the lower part, which has been modified and is different from Goryeo mother-of-pearl sutra boxes. Finally, this paper reconsiders conservation and repair of Goryeo sutra boxes, as illuminated by an understanding of the original and repaired parts of this box.     

The information gulag: Rethinking openness in times of national danger

The founding fathers of the United States recognized that freely available information and an educated citizenry were essential to the functioning of a representative democracy. But almost as soon as the ink dried on the Constitution, political forces moved, and have continued to move, to restrict the flow of information from the government to the public, as well as among members of the public. This article examines whether information availability has become a victim of the war on terrorism – whether the nation has entered a time in which legal and policy initiatives are creating information gulags – secreting government information and restricting communications among members of the public, including the academic community. This article explores how policy is shaping the information relationship among the government, the public, academia, and the media and whether new models may be appropriate and more beneficial to society. In doing so, we examine in depth not only public access to government information but also the emerging and vital issue of government restrictions on scholarly exchange, as most recently presented by the legal dispute between the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) and the Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC), Department of Treasury, and subsequently the litigation brought by the Association of American University Presses (AAUP).     

Applications of augmented reality-based natural interactive learning in magnetic field instruction

Educators must address several challenges inherent to the instruction of scientific disciplines such as physics -- expensive or insufficient laboratory equipment, equipment error, difficulty in simulating certain experimental conditions. Augmented reality (AR) can be a promising approach to address these challenges. In this paper, we discuss the design and implementation of an AR and motion-sensing learning technology that teaches magnetic fields in a junior high school physics course. The purpose of this study is to explore the effects of using natural interaction on students’ physics learning and deep understanding compared to traditional learning tools. The 38 eighth graders who participated in this study were assigned to either an experimental group or a control group. Analysis of the results shows that the AR-based motion-sensing software can improve students’ learning attitude and learning outcome. This study provides a case for the application of AR technology in secondary physics education.     

Bromo-oxidation reaction in enzyme-entrapped alginate hollow microfibers

In this article, the authors present the fabrication of an enzyme-entrapped alginate hollow fiber using a microfluidic device. Further use of enzyme-entrapped alginate hollow fibers as a biocatalytic microchemical reactor for chemical synthesis is also deliberated in this article. To ensure that there is no enzyme leaching from the fiber, fiber surfaces were coated with chitosan. To confine the mobility of reactants and products within the porous hollow fibers the entire fibers were embedded into a transparent polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) matrix which also works as a support matrix. A vanadium-containing bromoperoxidase enzyme isolated from Corallina confusa was used as a model enzyme to demonstrate the use of these alginate hollow-fiber reactors in bromo-oxidation of phenol red to bromophenol blue at different dye flow rates. Stability of the entrapped enzyme at different temperatures and the effect of the chitosan coating on the reaction conversion were also studied. It was observed that molecules as big as 27 kDa can be retained in the matrix after coating with chitosan while molecules with molecular-weight of around 378 Da can still diffuse in and out of the matrix. The kinetic conversion rate in this microfluidic bioreactor was more than 41-fold faster when compared with the standard test-tube procedure.     

Preservice teachers’ self‐efficacy in managing students with symptoms of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder: The roles of diagnostic label and students’ gender

The present study investigated preservice teachers’ self‐efficacy in classroom management involving students with symptoms of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). A total of 137 Chinese preservice teachers were randomly presented with one of four vignettes involving a student character with ADHD symptoms, with manipulations including the character’s gender and diagnostic label of ADHD. Upon reading the vignette, participants responded to questions concerning their self‐efficacy in inclusive classroom management involving the character. Findings based on analysis of covariance indicated an interaction effect of the vignette character’s gender and label on teachers’ self‐efficacy. Specifically, teachers perceived greater self‐efficacy in a classroom involving a girl with an ADHD label than in a classroom involving a girl with no label or a boy with a label. Findings enriched the literature concerning the roles of gender and label in preservice teachers’ self‐efficacy toward inclusive classroom management.     

Aerodynamic effects on the accuracy of an end-over-end kick of an American football

The effects of initial conditions on the flight of an American football kicked in an end-over-end manner were investigated using a dynamic simulation employing the quaternion method. The effects of initial tilt and spin about the longitudinal axis of the ball were considered. For the most accurate kick, our simulations show that the ball should be vertical leaving the kicker’s foot, and have no angular velocity about the longitudinal axis of the ball. A case study was performed for which experimental data were available, showing the trends of the flight of the ball captured in our simulations in actual game situations.     

Correction to: The State of Current Reading Intervention Research for English Learners in Grades K–2: a Best-Evidence Synthesis

Educational Psychology Review -     

Does culture influence how consumers process negative celebrity information? Impact of culture in evaluation of negative celebrity information

This study investigates the relationship between cultural orientation (individualistic or collectivistic culture) and consumers' attribution styles (dispositional and situational attributions) as well as the consequences of attribution styles on brand evaluation and purchase intention. The study also examines how people perceive different types of negative celebrity information (self-oriented and other-oriented negative information) and how their identification with a celebrity endorser affects their response to negative information. The findings suggest that culture influences how consumers – having been exposed to negative celebrity information – make attributions. Dispositional attributions lead to more negative brand evaluation as well as to negative purchase intention. Other-oriented negative information leads to, among Korean consumers, more negative brand evaluation. Finally, the study found that consumers highly identified with a celebrity endorser are less likely to be influenced by negative celebrity information.     

Nutrition and Physical Activity Practices in Childcare Centers Versus Family Childcare Homes

Obesity rates among preschool-aged children have doubled in the past 10 years, and 60 % of these children spend the majority of their day in childcare facilities. Few studies have examined the quality of nutrition and physical activity practices in childcare centers as compared to family childcare homes. The purpose of this study is to determine if a pattern of differences exist in these two settings. As part of a CDC-funded study to reduce the obesity epidemic in young children, directors of 1,140 childcare facilities (842 out-of-home and 298 in-home) in one large county completed a survey that detailed their practices related to child nutrition and physical activity. Results showed that compared with out-of-home facilities, in-home facilities were more likely to report excellent indoor physical activity (87.2 vs. 85.5 %, p = 0.059), less likely to report excellent outdoor physical activity (92.8 vs. 96.5 %, p = 0.018), more likely to serve fruit (80.3 vs. 51.2 %), and less likely to serve 1 % milk (45.2 vs. 55 %). This study’s present findings revealed that ample opportunity exists to significantly improve the health of young children in both in-home and out-of-home facilities.