Describes content-validity theory and illustrates new and traditional approaches for conducting content-validity studies. Newer approaches are based on multidimensional scaling analysis of item-similarity ratings, while traditional approaches are based on ratings of item-objective congruence and relevance. (Author/SLD)

Examines the structure of medical informatics and the relationship between biomedicine and information science and information technology. Uses co-occurrence analysis of subject headings assigned to items indexed for MEDLINE as well as multidimensional scaling to show seven to eight broad multidisciplinary subject clusters. (Contains 28…

Despite several decades of activity, alcohol expectancy research has yet to merge measurement approaches with developing memory theory. This article offers an expectancy assessment approach built on a conceptualization of expectancy as an information processing network. The authors began with multidimensional scaling models of expectancy space,…

The emergence of theory-driven evaluation has drawn attention to the need for practical ways for evaluators to construct program theory to achieve the benefits of the approach. This article illustrates the use of concept mapping as a technique to explicate underlying program theory in the context of family support programs. In this example, 29…

With the individualisation and multiculturalisation of the world of education and training and the world of work, a new need has arisen to develop a more value-based and existentially oriented approach to guidance theory and vocational training courses. The pluralisation of ways of life and the late-modern confrontation with the authorities have…

Certain definitions introduce appropriate concepts, among which are the definitions of the counting functions of the primes and twin primes, along with definitions of the correlation coefficient in a bivariate sample space. It is argued conjecturally that the characteristic functions of the prime "p" and of the quantity "p"+2 are highly…

This paper begins by reviewing some of the different models of third-party observation of university teaching that can be found in the literature. Having analysed these, it argues that--if "peer" is taken to indicate equality of status--only one is genuinely a model of peer-observation. It proposes an alternative categorisation of third-party…

The Program of Systematic Evaluation (PSE), which began as an attempt to explore the instructional dimensions of multimedia, has evolved into the most comprehensive set of experimental multimedia studies exploring the varied dimensions of cognitive load theory as they relate to the design of effective and efficient visual learning environments for…

This article traces the roots of narrative research in the social sciences and education, then centers on "story constellations," a version of narrative inquiry that uncovers teachers' knowledge of school reform in context. A fluid form of investigation that unfolds in a three-dimensional inquiry space, story constellations consists of a flexible…

Applied multidimensional scaling to similarity data to produce a model of Attachment Q-Set (AQS) items as points in a 3-dimensional space. Represented criterion sorts, individual Q-sorts, and empirical correlates as vectors, interpreting each according to the vector's contributions from the three global dimensions. Tested the model's validity and…

Presents a multidimensional conception of fear of death and provides subscales for measuring suggested dimensions (fear of the dying process, of the dead, of being destroyed, for significant others, of the unknown, of conscious death, for body after death, and of premature death). Evidence for construct validity is provided. (Author/BEF)

This paper describes the problem-solving behaviors of 12 mathematicians as they completed four mathematical tasks. The emergent problem-solving framework draws on the large body of research, as grounded by and modified in response to our close observations of these mathematicians. The resulting "Multidimensional Problem-Solving Framework" has four…

Proposes a new technique for the evaluation of question difficulty. Suggests that question dispersion by multidimensional scaling models the question-response pattern required by test theory, but without the population density requirements of the traditional methods. Considers the effect on knowledge management functions, including library…

This article focuses on the development of intercultural maturity, which is frequently cited as a desired collegiate outcome. We position our work on intercultural maturity in the context of a holistic approach to human development using Kegan's (1994) model as a foundation and relating this outcome to other collegiate learning outcomes. We…

Braking to avoid a collision can be controlled by keeping the deceleration required to stop (i.e., ideal deceleration) in the "safe" region below maximum deceleration, but maximum deceleration is not optically specified and can vary as conditions change. When brake strength was manipulated between participants using a simulated braking task, the…