Construct validity of the Nepalese school leaving english reading test

There has been a steady interest in investigating the validity of language tests in the last decades. Despite numerous studies on construct validity in language testing, there are not many studies examining the construct validity of a reading test. This paper reports on a study that explored the construct validity of the English reading test in the Nepalese school leaving examination. Eight students were asked to take the test and think-aloud, followed by retrospective interviews. Additionally, seven experts were asked to make judgments regarding the skills tested by the test. The findings provide grounded insights into students’ response behaviors prompted by the reading tasks, and indicate some threats to the construct validity of the test. Additionally, the study reports a low level of agreement among the experts, and a big gap between the skills used by the students and the skills that the experts thought were being examined by the test.     

Altered antioxidant enzyme profile in wound healing

The effects of the alcoholic extract of the flowers ofIxora coccinea were studied on some of the antioxidant enzymes in dead space wounds created in rats. Increases in the tensile strength of the wound and in the level of lysyl oxidase, the crucial enzyme for collagen maturation, were observed indicating a definite prohealing action. In addition, a highly significant increase in the levels of catalase, glutathione peroxidase and glutathione reductase was observed in the drug-treated group. Thus, the gain in tensile strength may be attributed not only to the better cross-linking but also to the antioxidant properties of the drug.     

Inclusion of children living with disability in early childhood development and education: construction of a stakeholder-informed framework

School-level data shows that a large number of Children living with Disability (ClwD) are not accessing Early Childhood Development and Education (ECDE) services in Nepal (Department of Education, 2020). This research explores the factors affecting the inclusion of ClwD in ECDE programs aiming at informing policy, plans and strategies about existing barriers to early intervention and education services for ClwD. Through interviews, focus group discussions with key stakeholders and document reviews, the research identified the interconnection of several organisational and contextual factors created multiple barriers to successful inclusion. Organisational factors were: policy, attitudes, teacher efficacy, resources, coordination, communication processes and parental engagement. Contextual factors were: spirituality, caste, ethnicity, language, economic status, and geographic location. The very interactive nature of organisational and contextual factors resulted in the development of an inclusive education framework to inform future policies.     

A model linking sources of stress to approach and avoidance coping styles of Turkish basketball referees

Abstract

Purpose of this study was to externally validate and test a conceptual transient model involving six paths that linked sources of acute stress to avoidance and approach coping styles among Turkish basketball referees. The sample consisted of 125 Turkish basketball referees ranging in age from 18 to 36 years (mean = 25.58. σ = 3.69). The path analysis tested the relationships simultaneously from stressors, in consecutive order, distractions, subpar performance and verbal abuse, to coping styles, first both avoidance-cognitive and approach-cognitive, and then approach-behaviour. Results indicated that the model achieved a good fit and that all paths tested simultaneously were significant. The distractions stressor was positively related to subpar performance, which, in turn, was positively related to verbal abuse. Verbal abuse was negatively associated with an avoidance-cognitive coping style and positively related to the approach-cognitive coping style. The results also supported a crossover effect of both avoidance-cognitive and approach-cognitive on approach-behaviour. One implication of this study is that coping should be studied in naturally occurring stages, a process-oriented approach. Another implication is that approach and avoidance coping styles, each sub-divided into cognitive and behavioural categories, provide a meaningful framework which provides sports officials a coherent structure for learning and improving ways to cope with acute stress experienced during the contest.