The recent popularity of models that capture the dynamic coevolution of both network structure and behavior has driven the need for summary indices to assess the adequacy of these models to reproduce dynamic properties of scientific or practical importance. Whereas there are several existing indices for assessing the ability of the model to…

The "Selene: A Lunar Construction GaME" instructional video game is a robust research environment (institutional review board approved) for investigating learning, affect, and the CyGaMEs Metaphorics approach to instructional video game design, embedded assessment, and informatics analysis and reporting. CyGaMEs applies analogical…

In this paper we present a new global evaluation methodology for constructing composite indicators. Given the limitations in the construction of wellbeing indicators that include a gender perspective, this paper proposes separate measures for men and women, using new linear programming models to improve the traditional Data Envelopment Analysis…

In response to the comment by Vuoksimaa and Kaprio (2010) on our previous article on sex differences in left-handedness (Papadatou-Pastou, Martin, Munafo, and Jones, 2008), we carried out an additional meta-analysis to explore whether the widely observed tendency for rates of left-handedness to be greater among male than female individuals is also…

Members in the prevention and treatment fields continue to examine how to most effectively assess and label high volume alcohol consumption. Terms such as "binge" drinking have resulted in considerable controversy and debate. Conventionally the criteria for assessing high-risk drinking includes: five or more drinks for men and four or more drinks…

Professors seem to be more aware of different student learning styles than ever before and are utilizing various teaching techniques in order to appeal to different students in their classes. Unfortunately, presenting materials is only one side of the coin, while the other side--assessment--has not received the same amount of attention. After all,…

Across the world, university teachers are increasingly being required to engage with diversity in the classes they teach. Using the data from a large Economics 1 class at a South African university, this attempts to understand the effects of diversity on chances of success and how assessment can impact on this. By demonstrating how theory can be…

During conversation, women tend to nod their heads more frequently and more vigorously than men. An individual speaking with a woman tends to nod his or her head more than when speaking with a man. Is this due to social expectation or due to coupled motion dynamics between the speakers? We present a novel methodology that allows us to randomly…

"Contextual value added" (CVA) scores have been used as a means of monitoring school performance in England since 2007. This article explains how these scores are calculated using biographical pupil data (including ethnicity, gender and Free School Meal status) in order to judge the impact of a school on pupils' attainment. This article…

This document was prepared by the authors to support their report "Job Requirements and Lifelong Learning for Older Workers." This document contains the following sections: (1) Definition of variables; (2) Descriptive statistics; and (3) Additional figures. (Contains 3 tables and 2 figures.) [Funding for this document was provided…

Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) is a frequently used multivariate analysis technique in statistics. Jennrich and Sampson (1966) solved a significant EFA factor loading matrix rotation problem by deriving the direct Quartimin rotation. Jennrich was also the first to develop standard errors for rotated solutions, although these have still not made…

Proformative evaluation--first introduced in Scriven's (2006) "The great enigma: An evaluation design puzzle"--"is motivated, like formative evaluation, by the intention to improve something that is still developing, but unlike formative, the improvement is only possible by taking action, hence proactive instead of reactive, hence both, hence…

Latent class analysis (LCA) provides a means of identifying a mixture of subgroups in a population measured by multiple categorical indicators. Latent transition analysis (LTA) is a type of LCA that facilitates addressing research questions concerning stage-sequential change over time in longitudinal data. Both approaches have been used with…

Building on the work of an earlier article ["The Word Writing CAFE: Assessing Student Writing for Complexity, Accuracy, and Fluency," Dorothy J. Leal, "Reading Teacher," 59 (4) Dec 2005 (EJ738016)], these authors investigated the use of a simple assessment tool with a different audience to yield similar useful results. (Contains 3 figures and 4…

The article presents a psychometric description of 11 statements related to use of physical violence. The items were tested in a normal sample (N=1700, age: 15-16) from urban and rural areas in Western Norway. The internal reliability was @a=0.86, and the factor analysis resulted in two factors. Boys had higher mean scores than girls.…