The main goal of learning analytics and early detection systems is to extract knowledge from student data to understand students' trends of activities towards success and risk and design intervention methods to improve learning performance and experience. However, many factors contribute to the challenge of designing and building effective…

This dissertation consists of three chapters exploring the role that information plays in strategic situations. The first two chapters are devoted to modeling a decision maker's reasoning (knowledge, beliefs, and unawareness) about those of other decision makers in strategic environments. The third chapter, in turn, studies how information and…

Increasing enrollment in undergraduate and graduate economics courses that focus on the natural world (natural resource, environmental, energy, and mineral economics) is important for preparing a work force capable of addressing complex environmental issues. This is especially challenging for smaller universities that want to offer diverse…

This study examined the importance of identity and cultural fit within the university on Latina/o undergraduates' academic persistence decisions. The psychosociocultural model (Gloria & Rodriguez, 2000) provided a framework for the study in which 128 Latino/a students' generational level in the United States, cultural congruity, perceptions of…

Millions of adults in the United States lack the necessary literacy skills for most living wage jobs. For students from adult learning classes, we used a lexical decision task to measure their knowledge of words and we used a decision-making model (Ratcliff's, 1978, diffusion model) to abstract the mechanisms underlying their performance from…

Making decisions over multivariate time series is an important topic which has gained significant interest in the past decade. A time series is a sequence of data points which are measured and ordered over uniform time intervals. A multivariate time series is a set of multiple, related time series in a particular domain in which domain experts…

The present study investigated a new model for characterizing the way individuals make career decisions (career decision-making profiles [CDMP]). Using data from 285 students in a preacademic program, the present study assessed the association of the CDMP's dimensions with the Emotional and Personality-related Career decision-making Difficulties…

Aggressive and weapons carrying behaviors are indicative of youth violence. The theory of planned behavior is used in the current analysis to improve our understanding of violence-related behaviors. We examine the influence of perceived behavioral control (self-control and decision making) as a part of the overall framework for understanding the…

Often, the classification of words does not go beyond "difficult" (i.e., infrequent, late-learned, nonimageable, etc.) or "easy" (i.e., frequent, early-learned, imageable, etc.) words. In the present study, we used a latent cluster analysis to divide 703 Dutch words with scores for eight word properties into seven clusters of words. Each cluster…

In this paper, the authors propose one model for an institution-specific analysis which they then apply to the study of their home institution, Mount Holyoke College. The paper advances their understanding of the determinants of study abroad in two important ways. First, it shows that going beyond descriptive statistics and simple correlations and…

This comparison of two approaches to the development of computerized supports for decision making--expert systems and multivariate models--focuses on computerized systems that assist professionals with tasks related to diagnosis or classification in human services. Validation of both expert systems and statistical models is emphasized. (39…

Information utilization was examined among 90 social service decision makers. Results indicated that propensity to use a particular type of information is relatively independent of the propensity to use a particular source from which the information is obtained. (Author/LMO)

Complex decision-making environments often demand that a range of alternative strategies be identified and compared for their shared value in achieving desired ends. Simple parametric statistical procedures such as analysis of variance and discriminant function analysis can be used in such situations to compare (using selected criteria) the value…

The study investigated the importance of 1,286 college applicants' attitudes about competitor institutions in determining enrollment decisions. Demographic and ability factors that may affect attitudes were controlled. Findings indicated that attitudes toward competing institutions have a significant, positive relationship to enrollment decisions.…

This paper defines, develops, and displays a mathematical modeling formulation for exploring decisions available to the higher educational administrator in evaluating discrete educational program budgets (instructional, service, and administrative) for possible future funding alternatives. Complex budget reduction strategies can be…