Students get a fun challenge from puzzling over an old, seemingly magical distance measurement technique. (Contains 5 figures.)

The present series of studies sought to develop and conceptually validate a taxonomy of reasons that give rise to academic amotivation and to investigate its social antecedents and academic consequences. In Study 1 (N = 351), an exploratory factor analysis offered preliminary support for an academic amotivation taxonomy comprising four dimensions:…

It is believed by some that most tests are multidimensional, meaning that they measure more than one underlying construct. The primary objective of this study is to illustrate how variations in the secondary ability distribution affect the statistical detection of dimensionality and to demonstrate the difference between substantive and statistical…

In their book, IQ and the Wealth of Nations, Lynn and Vanhanen ([Lynn, R. and Vanhanen, T. (2002). IQ and the wealth of nations. Westport, CT: Praeger.]) proposed the hypothesis that "the intelligence of the populations has been a major factor responsible for the national differences in economic growth and for the gap in per capita income between…

The Psychological well being Inventory (PWBI) is a multidimensional instrument that has enjoyed widespread use in a variety of research initiatives, from small-scale studies to national surveys. Recent empirical investigation of the measure has raised questions about its validity. This study examines the factorial validity of the Environmental…

The WHOQOL-BREF is one of the cross-cultural and widely used measures for assessing health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Previous studies of the HRQOL using the WHOQOL-BREF mainly focused on adult; however, there has been less work carried out on assessing the HRQOL on early adolescence. The goal of this study was to examine the applicability…

Portfolios have been used in a variety of ways for assessing student work. In education, generally, and more specifically in second language education, portfolios have been associated with alternative assessment (Darling-Hammond, 1994; Hamayan, 1995; Shohamy, 1996; Wolf, Bixby, Glenn, & Gardener, 1991). This article defines "alternative…

Results of longitudinal studies suggest that the stability of preferences varies across individuals, although it is unclear what variables account for these differences. We extended this work by conducting periodic assessments of preference for leisure activities over 3 to 6 months with 10 adults with developmental disabilities. Although previous…

J. E. Helms's (1995b) White racial identity theory is said to resemble a pseudoscience in certain respects because its empirical support is based on the White Racial Identity Attitude Scale (J. E. Helms & R. T. Carter, 1990) in spite of consistent evidence that the instrument does not measure the constructs that the theory proposes.

OBJECTIVE: There is a developing literature on the use of movies for educating psychiatric residents. This may be the first report of the use of film as the basis of a psychiatric resident acculturation course. METHOD: The author describes an American culture course for PGY-1 psychiatric residents and presents satisfaction and construct validity…

Although the primary use of the speaking section of the Test of English as a Foreign Language™ Internet-based test (TOEFL® iBT Speaking test) is to inform admissions decisions at English medium universities, it may also be useful as an initial screening measure for international teaching assistants (ITAs). This study provides criterion-related…

Virtual schooling has the potential to offer K-12 students increased access to educational opportunities not available locally, but comparatively high dropout rates continue to be a problem, especially for the underserved students most in need of these opportunities. Creating and using prediction models to identify at-risk virtual learners, long a…

Enrollment forecasting is the central component of effective budget and program planning. The integrated enrollment forecast model is developed to achieve a better understanding of the variables affecting student enrollment and, ultimately, to perform accurate forecasts. The transfer function model of the autoregressive integrated moving average…

The purpose of the study is to examine the differential validity and prediction of the SAT using a nationally representative sample of first-year college students admitted with the revised version of the SAT. The findings demonstrate that there are similar patterns of differential validity and prediction by gender, race/ethnicity, and best…

The Community Organization Sense of Community Scale (COSOC) is a frequently used or cited measure of the construct in community psychology and other disciplines, despite a lack of confirmation of its underlying 4-factor framework. Two studies were conducted to test the hypothesized structure of the COSOC, the potential effects of method bias on…