Satisfaction and closeness in same- and cross-national college roommate relationships: What similarity matters?

Living with a cross-national roommate provides unique opportunities for college students to engage in cross-cultural learning and to form meaningful intercultural relationships. However, little is known about the challenges faced by college students in building a successful cross-national roommate relationship. Based on the similarity hypothesis, this study examined whether or not perceived dissimilarities in living habits or attitudes toward college life accounted for discrepancies between same- and cross-national roommate pairs’ closeness and satisfaction with their roommate relationships. Structural equation modelling with survey data from 479 students (66.4 % female; 13.6 % international students; 17 % with a cross-national roommate) living in on-campus residence halls in a large university in the US showed that college students experiencing cross-national roommate relationships perceived more dissimilarities in living habits and attitudes toward college life than those living with same-nationals, which in turn related to lower levels of roommate satisfaction and/or roommate closeness. However, when perceived dissimilarities along with other variables (including gender, roommate’s study participation status, and roommate assignment method) were controlled, they reported no less satisfaction and even higher levels of closeness than those living with same-national roommates. Findings suggest that the benefits of cross-national affiliations in college residence halls are more likely to occur if educators and staff can help students prepare for and manage perceptions of differences, especially in living habits.     

运动成绩观测中广义信度的理论与方法

介绍了体育测量中的一种新的广义信度理论以及它在实践中的应用,并对古典测量理论与广义信度理论作了比较,重点研究了一组受试者在操作一系列测试中被一组观测者评价所得资料,并对算出的各种广义信度系数进行检验。文中使用的实例是由3名教师对10名学生在4次测试中的运动成绩作出评分。我们讨论了上述三种因子进行充分交叉的观测设计中能应用的各种广义信度系数的公式。最后还简要地讨论了把测试嵌套入受试者之内两种观测设计特例。     

基于管理问题信息抽取的主题识别研究

为了实现对管理领域中主题的准确识别,在从管理活动描述文本中抽取管理问题特定信息的基础上.通过系统考察从文本表示、特征降维到聚类分析的方法技术特点,并提出类特征概化这一新的概念和实现方法.完成了对所研究问题的解决方案设计.实证分析结果与问卷结果和访谈结论所进行的综合分析和判断结果相比较,初步验证了本研究方法对于主题识别的有效性和可行性.     

Generalizability of the AAHPERD Health Related Skinfold Test

Abstract

Generalizability theory was utilized to investigate the amount of variation associated with various facets in the assessment of skinfolds as suggested by the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) Health Related Physical Fitness Test. The facets utilized were testers, instruments, and repeated trials. Results indicate that the variation associated with the tester, instrument, and trial facets was small. Components of variance and G coefficients indicate that skinfold measures vary little depending upon the tester, instrument, or trial used. Suggestions are made for accurate assessment of the skinfolds recommended in the AAHPERD Health Related Physical Fitness Test.     

Validity and Generalizability of Social Dance Performance Ratings

Abstract

The purpose of three related studies was to develop a social dance instrument that had logical validity and generalizable performance ratings. Three social dance experts critiqued the instrument and concluded the items described the characteristics of good social dance performance. Twelve couples from a social dance class were videotaped for 5 min while performing the fox trot. Their performances were evaluated by a different set of coders in each of the three generalizability (G-) studies conducted (Subjects × Coders × Days ANOVA design). Dance performances were held constant across coding occasions so the day facet represents degree of consistency in coding, not stability of subjects' performances. Decision (D-) studies were also conducted for various measurement conditions. Results of the G-studies indicated that coders with several years of experience teaching and evaluating dance had less systematic coder bias and less systematic coder bias for a subset of dancers than coders who had little or no experience evaluating movement of any form. The performance ratings given by novice coders could be generalized for any randomly selected coder evaluating on any given day (G = .79). It was concluded the social dance test was valid and coders could be trained to obtain generalizable performance ratings.     

Efficacy of Skinfold Training Clinics: A Comparison between Clinic Trained and Experienced Testers

Abstract

In an attempt to differentiate more adequately between the terms motor ability and athletic participation in their relationship to some measurable aspects of personality, a group of 167 Pomona College junior and senior male students were classified both as to level of motor ability and participation in athletics and were administered the CPI. Utilizing a total test response derived from the sum of ranks of median scores, low and middle motor ability groups ranked higher in the main effects and within the nonathlete and intramural participation groups, but athletic participation did not appear to have any effect upon the measures studied. The pattern of results suggested an expectation hypothesis wherein higher ratings in the personality inventory might be achieved by groups of subjects who participated at a level which would be “expected” in relation to their motor ability.     

Determining the Minimum Reliability Standard Based on a Decision Criterion

The .70 and .80 reliability standards, proposed by Jum Nunnally, are widely employed across a spectrum of research domains. Nonetheless, due to their arbitrary nature, both standards fail to satisfy the needs of researchers. This paper presents a set of formulas that can be used to compute minimum reliability standards as a function of a decision criterion (margin of error). An example based on a study of preliteracy is considered, for which a two-facet generalizability theory design was employed to estimate a g-coefficient. The minimum reliability standard was used to determine whether the decision criterion was satisfied by the observed reliability coefficient.     

Learning analytics application to examine validity and generalizability of game-based assessment for spatial reasoning

Game-based assessment (GBA), a specific application of games for learning, has been recognized as an alternative form of assessment. While there is a substantive body of literature that supports the educational benefits of GBA, limited work investigates the validity and generalizability of such systems. In this paper, we describe applications of learning analytics methods to provide evidence for psychometric qualities of a digital GBA called Shadowspect, particularly to what extent Shadowspect is a robust assessment tool for middle school students' spatial reasoning skills. Our findings indicate that Shadowspect is a valid assessment for spatial reasoning skills, and it has comparable precision for both male and female students. In addition, students' enjoyment of the game is positively related to their overall competency as measured by the game regardless of the level of their existing spatial reasoning skills.

Practitioner notes

What is already known about this topic:

• Digital games can be a powerful context to support and assess student learning.
• Games as assessments need to meet certain psychometric qualities such as validity and generalizability.
• Learning analytics provide useful ways to establish assessment models for educational games, as well as to investigate their psychometric qualities.

What this paper adds:

• How a digital game can be coupled with learning analytics practices to assess spatial reasoning skills.
• How to evaluate psychometric qualities of game-based assessment using learning analytics techniques.
• Investigation of validity and generalizability of game-based assessment for spatial reasoning skills and the interplay of the game-based assessment with enjoyment.

Implications for practice and/or policy:

• Game-based assessments that incorporate learning analytics can be used as an alternative to pencil-and-paper tests to measure cognitive skills such as spatial reasoning.
• More training and assessment of spatial reasoning embedded in games can motivate students who might not be on the STEM tracks, thus broadening participation in STEM.
• Game-based learning and assessment researchers should consider possible factors that affect how certain populations of students enjoy educational games, so it does not further marginalize specific student populations.