Fourth generation evaluation revisited: Testing a revised pause model

This research provides data which investigates the feasibility of using fourth generation evaluation during the process of instruction. A semester length course entitled "Multicultural Communications", (PUR 5406/4934) was designed and used in this study, in response to the need for the communications profession to produce well-trained culturally sensitive practitioners for the work force and the market place. A revised pause model consisting of three one-on-one indepth interviews conducted outside of the class, three reflections periods during the class and a self-reflective essay prepared one week before the end of the course was analyzed. Narrative and graphic summaries of participant responses produced significant results. The revised pause model was found to be an effective evaluation method for use in multicultural education under certain conditions as perceived by the participants in the study. participant self-perceived behavior change and knowledge acquisition was identified through use of the revised pause model. Study results suggest that by using the revised pause model of evaluation, instructors teaching multicultural education in schools of journalism and mass communication is yet another way of enhancing their ability to become both the researcher and the research subject. In addition, the introduction of a qualitative model has been found to be a more useful way of generating participant involvement and introspection. Finally, the instructional design of the course used in the study provides communication educators with a practical way of preparing their students be effective communicators in a multicultural world.

Social and cultural influences in the formation of identity: A cross-national/cultural study

This multi-site, multi-ethnic/cultural study examined the effects of variation between ethnic/cultural groups and the effects of institutional variation within ethnic/cultural groups on identity formation. The participants were 892 late adolescent college students from six sites in 5 countries (Brazil, China, Costa Rica, US, and Sweden) representing different linguistic and ethnic/cultural traditions living in the context of varied social conditions. As hypothesized, there were significant differences in the proportion of identity statuses between sites in the Personal domain, $\chi\sp2$(20, N = 858) = 164.78, $p<.001,$ the Interpersonal domain, $\chi\sp2$(20, N = 858) = 145.69, $p<.001,$ and the World View domain, $\chi\sp2$(20, N = 858) = 120.89, $p<.001,$ but the distribution of the differences was more complex than expected. In addition, there were significant differences in Identity Satisfaction among sites, F(15, 2325) = 12.65, $p<.001.$ Further univariate analyses revealed that differences among sites were found on Identity Satisfaction in the personal, interpersonal and world view domain. The direction of the differences, however, were more complex than hypothesized.^ The second hypothesis was confirmed but only with the world view identity status and not for each of the six sites. Stepwise discriminant analyses showed that Identity status in the world view domain was predicted by Institutional Support in Nebraska, gender and Institutional Change in Brazil, and Institutional Access in China. Lastly and as hypothesized, some Institutional Attributes significantly predicted Overall Identity Satisfaction in all sites as revealed by multivariate regression analyses, except in Sweden, F (5, 79) =.660, p =.65. These findings extend the literature on identity formation not only by having investigated how culture influences the process of identity formation with samples representing different ethnic/cultural and linguistically different populations but also by empirically testing the role that social processes play in identity formation at the cross-cultural level. ^

An autoregressive conditional filtering process to remove intraday seasonal volatility and its application to testing the noisy rational expectations model

We develop a new autoregressive conditional process to capture both the changes and the persistency of the intraday seasonal (U-shape) pattern of volatility in essay 1. Unlike other procedures, this approach allows for the intraday volatility pattern to change over time without the filtering process injecting a spurious pattern of noise into the filtered series. We show that prior deterministic filtering procedures are special cases of the autoregressive conditional filtering process presented here. Lagrange multiplier tests prove that the stochastic seasonal variance component is statistically significant. Specification tests using the correlogram and cross-spectral analyses prove the reliability of the autoregressive conditional filtering process. In essay 2 we develop a new methodology to decompose return variance in order to examine the informativeness embedded in the return series. The variance is decomposed into the information arrival component and the noise factor component. This decomposition methodology differs from previous studies in that both the informational variance and the noise variance are time-varying. Furthermore, the covariance of the informational component and the noisy component is no longer restricted to be zero. The resultant measure of price informativeness is defined as the informational variance divided by the total variance of the returns. The noisy rational expectations model predicts that uninformed traders react to price changes more than informed traders, since uninformed traders cannot distinguish between price changes caused by information arrivals and price changes caused by noise. This hypothesis is tested in essay 3 using intraday data with the intraday seasonal volatility component removed, as based on the procedure in the first essay. The resultant seasonally adjusted variance series is decomposed into components caused by unexpected information arrivals and by noise in order to examine informativeness.

The effects of cross -age peer tutoring on writing and reading comprehension skills and attitudes and self -perceptions as writers of third and fourth grade students

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of cross-age peer writing response groups on the writing and reading achievement of third and fourth grade students. Students' attitudes about writing and their perceptions of themselves as writers were also measured at the end of the study. ^ One hundred and twenty-two third and fourth grade students enrolled in a public school in a middle-class, multi-cultural neighborhood participated in the study. Four existing classes of students were randomly assigned to either the experimental condition (EC) or the control condition (CC). Both groups were pretested and posttested for writing and reading achievement. The intervention, cross-age peer writing groups, met for eleven weeks. ^ Three hypotheses were examined in this study: (a) writing improvement score, (b) reading comprehension improvement score, and (c) students' attitudes toward writing and their perception of themselves as writers based on the five scales measured on the Writer Self-Perception Scale. ^ ANOVAs were done on the pretests and posttests for writing and the Stanford Achievement Test reading comprehension subtest scores for the year of the study and the previous year. ANOVAs were also done for the five areas of the Writer Self-Perception Scale. Cross-tabulations were also used to compare improvement level verses treatment group, and grade level. ^ Analysis of the data revealed that there was no evidence that the tutoring (EC) groups made more progress than the non-tutoring (CC) groups in writing and reading. There was evidence of growth in writing, especially by the fourth graders. Most importantly, the fourth grade tutors, the experimental group, had the most positive feelings about writing and themselves as writers. ^

Deprofessionalization of curriculum decision -making

The purpose of this study was to analyze the evolution of Florida state level policy efforts and to assess the responding educational policy development and implementation at the local school district level. The focus of this study was the secondary language arts curriculum in Miami-Dade County Public Schools. ^ Data was collected using document analysis as a source of meaning making out of the language sets proffered by agencies at each level. A matrix was created based on Klein's levels of curriculum decision-making and Functional Process Theory categories of policy formation. The matrix allowed the researcher to code and classify specific information in terms accountability/high-stakes testing; authority; outside influences; and operational/structural organization. ^ Federal policy documents provided a background and impetus for much of what originated at the State level. The State then produced policy directives which were accepted by the District and specific policy directives and guidelines for practice. No evidence was found indicating the involvement of any other agencies in the development, transmission or implementation of the State level initiated policies. ^ After analyzing the evolutionary process, it became clear that state policy directives were never challenged or discussed. Rather, they were accepted as standards to be met and as such, school districts complied. Policy implementation is shown to be a top-down phenomenon. No evidence was found indicating a dialogue between state and local systems, rather the state, as the source of authority, issued specifically worded policy directives and the district complied. Finally, this study recognizes that outside influences play an important role in shaping the education reform policy in the state of Florida. The federal government, through NCLB and other initiatives created a climate which led almost naturally to the creation of the Florida A+ Plan. Similarly, the concern of the business community, always interested in the production of competent workers, continued to support efforts at raising the minimum skill level of Florida high school graduates. ^ Suggestions are made for future research including the examination of local school sites in order to assess the overall nature of the school experience rather than rely upon performance indicators mandated by state policy. ^

An investigation of parents' and children's beliefs of early literacy acquisition from a cross -cultural perspective

It has been reported that the cultural-historical experiences of ethnic group members can play a role in the literacy beliefs of those members. Socioeconomic conditions can also influence the belief system of the groups' constituents. This study investigated parents' and children's beliefs pertaining to early literacy acquisition as related to the ethnicity and socioeconomic status (SES) of the participants. The objectives were to determine (a) the differential patterns regarding emergent literacy and traditional skills approaches as they interact with ethnicity and SES and (b) the correspondence between parents and children's beliefs about literacy acquisition. ^ The study was conducted with 152 parents (38 low-income Hispanic, 38 middle-income Hispanic, 38 low-income African-American, and 38 middle-income African-American) and 36 of their 3-, 4-, or 5-year-old children (18 male and 18 female). ^ The parents were asked to check those items with which they agreed on a survey that consisted of an equal number of items from the traditional skills-based and emergent literacy orientations. These responses were used to determine the differences and interaction by ethnicity and SES. The children responded to open-ended questions related to the instruction of reading and writing skills. The parents' responses and children's answers were compared to ascertain the matching parent-child dyads by ethnicity and SES. ^ An item analysis was conducted to strengthen the internal reliability consistency coefficient of the traditional skills-based and emergent literacy scales as measured by the Cronbach Alpha. ^ A two-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) revealed a significant difference in traditional skill-based beliefs for the low-income African-American and Hispanic parents. There were no significant findings for the parents' traditional skill based or emergent literacy beliefs based on ethnicity, for the interaction between ethnicity and SES, or for the relationship between parents' and children's literacy beliefs by ethnicity and SES. ^ It can be concluded that low-income African-American and Hispanic parents believe in the traditional skills approach, indicating that these parents find it necessary for children to have sufficient school readiness skills prior to learning to read or write. In addition, the parent and child dyads had a strong tendency toward emergent literacy beliefs. ^

Education policy and national income distribution: New evidence from recent cross -country data

In the mid 19th century, Horace Mann insisted that a broad provision of public schooling should take precedence over the liberal education of an elite group. In that regard, his generation constructed a state sponsored common schooling enterprise to educate the masses. More than 100 years later, the institution of public schooling fails to maintain an image fully representative of the ideals of equity and inclusion. Critical theory in educational thought associates the dominant practice of functional schooling with maintenance of the status quo, an unequal distribution of financial, political, and social resources. This study examined the empirical basis for the association of public schooling with the status quo using the most recent and comparable cross-country income inequality data. Multiple regression analysis evaluated the possible relationship between national income inequality change over the period 1985-2005 and variables representative of national measures of education supply in the prior decade. The estimated model of income inequality development attempted to quantify the relationship between education supply factors and subsequent income inequality developments by controlling for economic, demographic, and exogenous factors. The sample included all nations with comparable income inequality data over the measurement period, N = 56. Does public school supply affect national income distribution? The estimated model suggested that an increase in the average years of schooling among the population age 15 years or older, measured over the period 1975-1985, provided a mechanism that resulted in a more equal distribution of income over the period 1985-2005 among low and lower-middle income nations. The model also suggested that income inequality increased less or decreased more in smaller economies and when the percentage of the population age < 15 years grew more slowly over the period 1985-2000. In contrast, this study identified no significant relationship between school supply changes measured over prior periods and income inequality development over the period 1985-2005 among upper-middle and high income nations.

Large-Scale Testing to Study the Effects of Critical Parameters on the Aerodynamic Behavior of Long Span Bridges

Long-span bridges are flexible and therefore are sensitive to wind induced effects. One way to improve the stability of long span bridges against flutter is to use cross-sections that involve twin side-by-side decks. However, this can amplify responses due to vortex induced oscillations. Wind tunnel testing is a well-established practice to evaluate the stability of bridges against wind loads. In order to study the response of the prototype in laboratory, dynamic similarity requirements should be satisfied. One of the parameters that is normally violated in wind tunnel testing is Reynolds number. In this dissertation, the effects of Reynolds number on the aerodynamics of a double deck bridge were evaluated by measuring fluctuating forces on a motionless sectional model of a bridge at different wind speeds representing different Reynolds regimes. Also, the efficacy of vortex mitigation devices was evaluated at different Reynolds number regimes. One other parameter that is frequently ignored in wind tunnel studies is the correct simulation of turbulence characteristics. Due to the difficulties in simulating flow with large turbulence length scale on a sectional model, wind tunnel tests are often performed in smooth flow as a conservative approach. The validity of simplifying assumptions in calculation of buffeting loads, as the direct impact of turbulence, needs to be verified for twin deck bridges. The effects of turbulence characteristics were investigated by testing sectional models of a twin deck bridge under two different turbulent flow conditions. Not only the flow properties play an important role on the aerodynamic response of the bridge, but also the geometry of the cross section shape is expected to have significant effects. In this dissertation, the effects of deck details, such as width of the gap between the twin decks, and traffic barriers on the aerodynamic characteristics of a twin deck bridge were investigated, particularly on the vortex shedding forces with the aim of clarifying how these shape details can alter the wind induced responses. Finally, a summary of the issues that are involved in designing a dynamic test rig for high Reynolds number tests is given, using the studied cross section as an example.

Deprofessionalization of curriculum decision-making

The purpose of this study was to analyze the evolution of Florida state level policy efforts and to assess the responding educational policy development and implementation at the local school district level. The focus of this study was the secondary language arts curriculum in Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Data was collected using document analysis as a source of meaning making out of the language sets proffered by agencies at each level. A matrix was created based on Klein's levels of curriculum decision-making and Functional Process Theory categories of policy formation. The matrix allowed the researcher to code and classify specific information in terms accountability/high-stakes testing; authority; outside influences; and operational/structural organization. Federal policy documents provided a background and impetus for much of what originated at the State level. The State then produced policy directives which were accepted by the District and specific policy directives and guidelines for practice. No evidence was found indicating the involvement of any other agencies in the development, transmission or implementation of the State level initiated policies. After analyzing the evolutionary process, it became clear that state policy directives were never challenged or discussed. Rather, they were accepted as standards to be met and as such, school districts complied. Policy implementation is shown to be a top-down phenomenon. No evidence was found indicating a dialogue between state and local systems, rather the state, as the source of authority, issued specifically worded policy directives and the district complied. Finally, this study recognizes that outside influences play an important role in shaping the education reform policy in the state of Florida. The federal government, through NCLB and other initiatives created a climate which led almost naturally to the creation of the Florida A+ Plan. Similarly, the concern of the business community, always interested in the production of competent workers, continued to support efforts at raising the minimum skill level of Florida high school graduates. Suggestions are made for future research including the examination of local school sites in order to assess the overall nature of the school experience rather than rely upon performance indicators mandated by state policy.

Stereotype Threat and the Standardized Testing Experiences of African American Children at an Urban Elementary School

Stereotype threat (Steele & Aronson, 1995) refers to the risk of confirming a negative stereotype about one’s group in a particular performance domain. The theory assumes that performance in the stereotyped domain is most negatively affected when individuals are more highly identified with the domain in question. As federal law has increased the importance of standardized testing at the elementary level, it can be reasonably hypothesized that the standardized test performance of African American children will be depressed when they are aware of negative societal stereotypes about the academic competence of African Americans. This sequential mixed-methods study investigated whether the standardized testing experiences of African American children in an urban elementary school are related to their level of stereotype awareness. The quantitative phase utilized data from 198 African American children at an urban elementary school. Both ex-post facto and experimental designs were employed. Experimental conditions were diagnostic and non-diagnostic testing experiences. The qualitative phase utilized data from a series of six focus group interviews conducted with a purposefully selected group of 4 African American children. The interview data were supplemented with data from 30 hours of classroom observations. Quantitative findings indicated that the stereotype threat condition evoked by diagnostic testing depresses the reading test performance of stereotype-aware African American children (F[1, 194] = 2.21, p < .01). This was particularly true of students who are most highly domain-identified with reading (F[1, 91] = 19.18, p < .01). Moreover, findings indicated that only stereotype-aware African American children who were highly domain-identified were more likely to experience anxiety in the diagnostic condition (F[1, 91] = 5.97, p < .025). Qualitative findings revealed 4 themes regarding how African American children perceive and experience the factors related to stereotype threat: (1) a narrow perception of education as strictly test preparation, (2) feelings of stress and anxiety related to the state test, (3) concern with what “others” think (racial salience), and (4) stereotypes. A new conceptual model for stereotype threat is presented, and future directions including implications for practice and policy are discussed.

An Autoregressive Conditional Filtering Process to remove Intraday Seasonal Volatility and its Application to Testing the Noisy Rational Expectations Model

We develop a new autoregressive conditional process to capture both the changes and the persistency of the intraday seasonal (U-shape) pattern of volatility in essay 1. Unlike other procedures, this approach allows for the intraday volatility pattern to change over time without the filtering process injecting a spurious pattern of noise into the filtered series. We show that prior deterministic filtering procedures are special cases of the autoregressive conditional filtering process presented here. Lagrange multiplier tests prove that the stochastic seasonal variance component is statistically significant. Specification tests using the correlogram and cross-spectral analyses prove the reliability of the autoregressive conditional filtering process. In essay 2 we develop a new methodology to decompose return variance in order to examine the informativeness embedded in the return series. The variance is decomposed into the information arrival component and the noise factor component. This decomposition methodology differs from previous studies in that both the informational variance and the noise variance are time-varying. Furthermore, the covariance of the informational component and the noisy component is no longer restricted to be zero. The resultant measure of price informativeness is defined as the informational variance divided by the total variance of the returns. The noisy rational expectations model predicts that uninformed traders react to price changes more than informed traders, since uninformed traders cannot distinguish between price changes caused by information arrivals and price changes caused by noise. This hypothesis is tested in essay 3 using intraday data with the intraday seasonal volatility component removed, as based on the procedure in the first essay. The resultant seasonally adjusted variance series is decomposed into components caused by unexpected information arrivals and by noise in order to examine informativeness.