The purpose of this paper is to study identification and estimation of causal effects in experiments with multiple sources of noncompliance. This research design arises in many applications in education when access to oversubscribed programs is partially determined by randomization. Eligible households decide whether or not to comply with the…

This report proposes an empirical Bayes approach to the problem of equating scores on test forms taken by very small numbers of test takers. The equated score is estimated separately at each score point, making it unnecessary to model either the score distribution or the equating transformation. Prior information comes from equatings of other…

The precession rate of the Earth-Moon system by the gravitational influence of the Sun is derived. Attention is focussed on a physically transparent but complete presentation accessible to first- or second-year physics students. Both a shortcut and a full analysis are given, which allows the inclusion of this material as an example of the physics…

Background: In line with the increase of using value-added assessment information to evaluate learning gain made by learners in different parts of the world, the Education Bureau in Hong Kong has recently introduced a system that provides value-added information of secondary school students. However, not many teachers have a clear knowledge and…

Scale score measures are ubiquitous in the psychological literature and can be used as both dependent and independent variables in data analysis. Poor reliability of scale score measures leads to inflated standard errors and/or biased estimates, particularly in multivariate analysis. Reliability estimation is usually an integral step to assess…

Test administrators often face the challenge of detecting differential item functioning (DIF) with samples of size smaller than that recommended by experts. A Bayesian approach can incorporate, in the form of a prior distribution, existing information on the inference problem at hand, which yields more stable estimation, especially for small…

The outcomes which cannot be generalized are specific for a sample but are unable to be reflected to the rest of the population. The parameters that are reached at the end of the statistics that are scarce in sample arise doubts in the aspect of generalization. In these cases, parameter estimation may not be very stable and outlier values can…

A set-up comprising a magnetic disc, a solenoid and a mechanical balance was used to teach first-year physics students Newton's third law with the help of a free body diagram. The image of a floating magnet immobilized by the solenoid's repulsive force should help dispel a common misconception of students as regards the first law: that stationary…

Several recent studies (e.g., Haggard, Aschersleben, Gehrke, & Prinz, 2002; Haggard & Clark, 2003; Haggard, Clark, & Kalogeras, 2002) have demonstrated a "Temporal Binding" effect in which the interval between an intentional action and its consequent outcome is subjectively shorter compared to equivalent intervals that do not…

Perceptual integration of the sound directly emanating from the source with reflections needs both temporal storage and correlation computation of acoustic details. We examined whether the temporal storage is frequency dependent and associated with speech unmasking. In Experiment 1, a break in correlation (BIC) between interaurally correlated…

The acquisition of volitional control depends, in part, on developing the ability to countermand a planned action. Many tasks have been used to tap the efficiency of this process, but few studies have investigated how it may be modulated by participants' motivation. Multiple mechanisms may be involved in the deliberate exercise of caution when…

In experimental designs with nested structures, entire groups (such as schools) are often assigned to treatment conditions. Key aspects of the design in these cluster-randomized experiments involve knowledge of the intraclass correlation structure, the effect size, and the sample sizes necessary to achieve adequate power to detect the treatment…

Two-hundred-and-twelve college students read a vignette about a 21-year-old male described as a college student or a retail management trainee drinking at a bar alone or with friends. Participants provided estimates of the number of drinks that indicate heavy drinking in this situation. Participants also provided estimates of the number of…

Concepts in probability can be more readily understood if students are first exposed to probability via experiment. Performing probability experiments encourages students to develop understandings of probability grounded in real events, as opposed to merely computing answers based on formulae.

Bayesian multidimensional scaling (MDS) has attracted a great deal of attention because: (1) it provides a better fit than do classical MDS and ALSCAL; (2) it provides estimation errors of the distances; and (3) the Bayesian dimension selection criterion, MDSIC, provides a direct indication of optimal dimensionality. However, Bayesian MDS is not…