Uncovering the root cause of ethnic difference in ability testing:differential test functioning, test familiarity and trait optimism as explanations of ethnic group differences

The present research represents a coherent approach to understanding the root causes of ethnic group differences in ability test performance. Two studies were conducted, each of which was designed to address a key knowledge gap in the ethnic bias literature. In Study 1, both the LR Method of Differential Item Functioning (DIF) detection and Mixture Latent Variable Modelling were used to investigate the degree to which Differential Test Functioning (DTF) could explain ethnic group test performance differences in a large, previously unpublished dataset. Though mean test score differences were observed between a number of ethnic groups, neither technique was able to identify ethnic DTF. This calls into question the practical application of DTF to understanding these group differences. Study 2 investigated whether a number of non-cognitive factors might explain ethnic group test performance differences on a variety of ability tests. Two factors – test familiarity and trait optimism – were able to explain a large proportion of ethnic group test score differences. Furthermore, test familiarity was found to mediate the relationship between socio-economic factors – particularly participant educational level and familial social status – and test performance, suggesting that test familiarity develops over time through the mechanism of exposure to ability testing in other contexts. These findings represent a substantial contribution to the field’s understanding of two key issues surrounding ethnic test performance differences. The author calls for a new line of research into these performance facilitating and debilitating factors, before recommendations are offered for practitioners to ensure fairer deployment of ability testing in high-stakes selection processes.

Causal attributions for success or failure by passing and failing students in College Algebra

Success in mathematics has been identified as a predictor of baccalaureate degree completion. Within the coursework of college mathematics, College Algebra has been identified as a high-risk course due to its low success rates. ^ Research in the field of attribution theory and academic achievement suggests a relationship between a student's attributional style and achievement. Theorists and researchers contend that attributions influence individual reactions to success and failure. They also report that individuals use attributions to explain and justify their performance. Studies in mathematics education identify attribution theory as the theoretical orientation most suited to explain academic performance in mathematics. This study focused on the relationship among a high risk course, low success rates, and attribution by examining the difference in the attributions passing and failing students gave for their performance in College Algebra. ^ The methods for the study included a pilot administration of the Causal Dimension Scale (CDSII) which was used to conduct reliability and principal component analyses. Then, students (n = 410) self-reported their performance on an in-class test and attributed their performance along the dimensions of locus of causality, stability, personal controllability, and external controllability. They also provided open-ended attribution statements to explain the cause of their performance. The quantitative data compared the passing and failing groups and their attributions for performance on a test using One-Way ANOVA and Pearson chi square procedures. The open-ended attribution statements were coded in relation to ability, effort, task difficulty, and luck and compared using a Pearson chi square procedure. ^ The results of the quantitative data comparing passing and failing groups and their attributions along the dimensions measured by the CDSII indicated statistical significance in locus of causality, stability, and personal controllability. The results comparing the open-ended attribution statements indicated statistical significance in the categories of effort and task difficulty. ^

The effects of American Sign Language on general self-efficacy and anxiety among mothers in a residential rehabilitation facility for drug addiction and substance abuse

Globally, approximately 208 million people aged 15 and older used illicit drugs at least once in the last 12 months; 2 billion consumed alcohol and tobacco consumption affected 25% (World Drug Report, 2008). In the United States, 20.1 million (8.0%) people aged 12 and older were illicit drug users, 129 million (51.6%) abused alcohol and 70.9 million (28.4%) used tobacco (SAMHSA/OAS, 2008).Usually considered a problem specific to men (Lynch, 2002), 5.2% of pregnant women aged 15 to 44 are also illicit drug and substance abusers (SAMHSA/OAS, 2007). During pregnancy, illicit drugs and substance abuse (ID/SA) can significantly affect a woman and her infant contributing to developmental and communication delays for the infant and influencing parenting abilities (Budden, 1996; March of Dimes, 2006b; Rossetti, 2000). Feelings of guilt and shame and stressful experiences influence approaches to parenting (Ashley, Marsden, & Brady, 2003; Brazelton, & Greenspan, 2000; Ehrmin, 2000; Johnson, & Rosen, 1990; Kelley, 1998; Rossetti, 2000; Velez et al., 2004; Zickler, 1999). Parenthood is an expanded role that can be a trying time for those lacking a sense of self-efficacy and creates a high vulnerability to stress (Bandura, 1994). Residential treatment programs for ID/SA mothers and their children provide an excellent opportunity for effective interventions (Finkelstein, 1994; Social Care Institute for Excellence, 2005). This experimental study evaluated whether teaching American Sign Language (ASL) to mothers living with their infants/children at an ID/SA residential treatment program increased the mothers’ self-efficacy and decreased their anxiety. Quantitative data were collected using the General Self-Efficacy Scale and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory showing there was both a significant increase in self efficacy and decrease in anxiety for the mothers. This research adds to the knowledge base concerning ID/SA mothers’ caring for their infants/children. By providing a simple low cost program, easily incorporated into existing rehabilitation curricula, the study helps educators and healthcare providers better understand the needs of the ID/SA mothers. This study supports Bandura’s theory that parents who are secure in their efficacy can navigate through the various phases of their child’s development and are less vulnerable to stress (Bandura, 1994).

Energy-efficient self -organization of wireless acoustic sensor networks for ground target tracking

With the developments in computing and communication technologies, wireless sensor networks have become popular in wide range of application areas such as health, military, environment and habitant monitoring. Moreover, wireless acoustic sensor networks have been widely used for target tracking applications due to their passive nature, reliability and low cost. Traditionally, acoustic sensor arrays built in linear, circular or other regular shapes are used for tracking acoustic sources. The maintaining of relative geometry of the acoustic sensors in the array is vital for accurate target tracking, which greatly reduces the flexibility of the sensor network. To overcome this limitation, we propose using only a single acoustic sensor at each sensor node. This design greatly improves the flexibility of the sensor network and makes it possible to deploy the sensor network in remote or hostile regions through air-drop or other stealth approaches. Acoustic arrays are capable of performing the target localization or generating the bearing estimations on their own. However, with only a single acoustic sensor, the sensor nodes will not be able to generate such measurements. Thus, self-organization of sensor nodes into virtual arrays to perform the target localization is essential. We developed an energy-efficient and distributed self-organization algorithm for target tracking using wireless acoustic sensor networks. The major error sources of the localization process were studied, and an energy-aware node selection criterion was developed to minimize the target localization errors. Using this node selection criterion, the self-organization algorithm selects a near-optimal localization sensor group to minimize the target tracking errors. In addition, a message passing protocol was developed to implement the self-organization algorithm in a distributed manner. In order to achieve extended sensor network lifetime, energy conservation was incorporated into the self-organization algorithm by incorporating a sleep-wakeup management mechanism with a novel cross layer adaptive wakeup probability adjustment scheme. The simulation results confirm that the developed self-organization algorithm provides satisfactory target tracking performance. Moreover, the energy saving analysis confirms the effectiveness of the cross layer power management scheme in achieving extended sensor network lifetime without degrading the target tracking performance.

A self -testing approach for autonomic software

As researchers and practitioners move towards a vision of software systems that configure, optimize, protect, and heal themselves, they must also consider the implications of such self-management activities on software reliability. Autonomic computing (AC) describes a new generation of software systems that are characterized by dynamically adaptive self-management features. During dynamic adaptation, autonomic systems modify their own structure and/or behavior in response to environmental changes. Adaptation can result in new system configurations and capabilities, which need to be validated at runtime to prevent costly system failures. However, although the pioneers of AC recognize that validating autonomic systems is critical to the success of the paradigm, the architectural blueprint for AC does not provide a workflow or supporting design models for runtime testing. ^ This dissertation presents a novel approach for seamlessly integrating runtime testing into autonomic software. The approach introduces an implicit self-test feature into autonomic software by tailoring the existing self-management infrastructure to runtime testing. Autonomic self-testing facilitates activities such as test execution, code coverage analysis, timed test performance, and post-test evaluation. In addition, the approach is supported by automated testing tools, and a detailed design methodology. A case study that incorporates self-testing into three autonomic applications is also presented. The findings of the study reveal that autonomic self-testing provides a flexible approach for building safe, reliable autonomic software, while limiting the development and performance overhead through software reuse. ^

The effects on students' self-efficacy beliefs regarding their comprehension of American literature when aesthetic reading and reader response strategy are implemented

High-stakes testing and accountability have infiltrated the education system in the United States; the top priority for all teachers must be student progress on standardized tests. This has resulted in the predominance of reading for test-taking, (efferent reading), in the English, language arts, and reading classrooms. Authentic uses of print activities, like aesthetic reading, that encourage students to engage individually with a text, have been pushed aside. ^ During a 3-week time period, regular level, English 3/American literature students in a Title I magnet high school, participated in this quasi-experimental study (N = 62). It measured the effects of an intervention of reading American literature texts aesthetically and writing aesthetically-evoked reader responses on students' self-efficacy beliefs regarding their comprehension of American literature. One trained teacher and the researcher participated in the study: student participants were pre- and post- tested using the Confidence in Reading American Literature Survey which examined their self-efficacy beliefs regarding their comprehension of American literature. Several statistical analyses were performed. The results of the linear regression analyses partially supported a positive relationship between aesthetically-evoked reader responses and students' self-efficacy beliefs regarding their comprehension of American literature. Additionally, the results of the 2 (sex) x 2 (treatment) ANCOVAs conducted to test group differences in self-efficacy beliefs regarding the comprehension of American literature between treatment and control groups indicated a main effect for treatment (but not sex; nor was there a significant sex x treatment interaction), suggesting the treatment was partially effective in increasing students' self-efficacy beliefs. Seven of the twelve ANCOVAs indicated a statistically significant increase in the treatment group's adjusted group mean self-efficacy belief scores as a result of being exposed to the intervention. In six of these seven analyses, increases in self-efficacy beliefs occurred in tasks that required three or more higher-order levels of thinking/learning. The results are discussed in terms of theoretical, empirical and practical significance. Future research is recommended to extend the intervention beyond the narrow confines of a Title I magnet school to settings where the intervention could be tested longitudinally, e. g., honors and gifted students, elementary and middle schools.^

Energy-Efficient Self-Organization of Wireless Acoustic Sensor Networks for Ground Target Tracking

With the developments in computing and communication technologies, wireless sensor networks have become popular in wide range of application areas such as health, military, environment and habitant monitoring. Moreover, wireless acoustic sensor networks have been widely used for target tracking applications due to their passive nature, reliability and low cost. Traditionally, acoustic sensor arrays built in linear, circular or other regular shapes are used for tracking acoustic sources. The maintaining of relative geometry of the acoustic sensors in the array is vital for accurate target tracking, which greatly reduces the flexibility of the sensor network. To overcome this limitation, we propose using only a single acoustic sensor at each sensor node. This design greatly improves the flexibility of the sensor network and makes it possible to deploy the sensor network in remote or hostile regions through air-drop or other stealth approaches. Acoustic arrays are capable of performing the target localization or generating the bearing estimations on their own. However, with only a single acoustic sensor, the sensor nodes will not be able to generate such measurements. Thus, self-organization of sensor nodes into virtual arrays to perform the target localization is essential. We developed an energy-efficient and distributed self-organization algorithm for target tracking using wireless acoustic sensor networks. The major error sources of the localization process were studied, and an energy-aware node selection criterion was developed to minimize the target localization errors. Using this node selection criterion, the self-organization algorithm selects a near-optimal localization sensor group to minimize the target tracking errors. In addition, a message passing protocol was developed to implement the self-organization algorithm in a distributed manner. In order to achieve extended sensor network lifetime, energy conservation was incorporated into the self-organization algorithm by incorporating a sleep-wakeup management mechanism with a novel cross layer adaptive wakeup probability adjustment scheme. The simulation results confirm that the developed self-organization algorithm provides satisfactory target tracking performance. Moreover, the energy saving analysis confirms the effectiveness of the cross layer power management scheme in achieving extended sensor network lifetime without degrading the target tracking performance.

The Effects of American Sign Language on General Self- Efficacy and Anxiety Among Mothers in a Residential Rehabilitation Facility for Drug Addiction and Substance Abuse

Globally, approximately 208 million people aged 15 and older used illicit drugs at least once in the last 12 months; 2 billion consumed alcohol and tobacco consumption affected 25% (World Drug Report, 2008). In the United States, 20.1 million (8.0%) people aged 12 and older were illicit drug users, 129 million (51.6%) abused alcohol and 70.9 million (28.4%) used tobacco (SAMHSA/OAS, 2008).Usually considered a problem specific to men (Lynch, 2002), 5.2% of pregnant women aged 15 to 44 are also illicit drug and substance abusers (SAMHSA/OAS, 2007). During pregnancy, illicit drugs and substance abuse (ID/SA) can significantly affect a woman and her infant contributing to developmental and communication delays for the infant and influencing parenting abilities (Budden, 1996; March of Dimes, 2006b; Rossetti, 2000). Feelings of guilt and shame and stressful experiences influence approaches to parenting (Ashley, Marsden, & Brady, 2003; Brazelton, & Greenspan, 2000; Ehrmin, 2000; Johnson, & Rosen, 1990; Kelley, 1998; Rossetti, 2000; Velez et al., 2004; Zickler, 1999). Parenthood is an expanded role that can be a trying time for those lacking a sense of self-efficacy and creates a high vulnerability to stress (Bandura, 1994). Residential treatment programs for ID/SA mothers and their children provide an excellent opportunity for effective interventions (Finkelstein, 1994; Social Care Institute for Excellence, 2005). This experimental study evaluated whether teaching American Sign Language (ASL) to mothers living with their infants/children at an ID/SA residential treatment program increased the mothers’ self-efficacy and decreased their anxiety. Quantitative data were collected using the General Self-Efficacy Scale and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory showing there was both a significant increase in self efficacy and decrease in anxiety for the mothers. This research adds to the knowledge base concerning ID/SA mothers’ caring for their infants/children. By providing a simple low cost program, easily incorporated into existing rehabilitation curricula, the study helps educators and healthcare providers better understand the needs of the ID/SA mothers. This study supports Bandura’s theory that parents who are secure in their efficacy can navigate through the various phases of their child’s development and are less vulnerable to stress (Bandura, 1994).

Barriers and facilitators to asthma self-management in adolescents:a systematic review of qualitative and quantitative studies

BACKGROUND: Many adolescents have poor asthma control and impaired quality of life despite the availability of modern pharmacotherapy. Research suggests that poor adherence to treatment and limited engagement in self-management could be contributing factors. OBJECTIVE: To conduct a systematic review of the barriers and facilitators to self-management of asthma reported by adolescents using a narrative synthesis approach to integrate the findings. DESIGN: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and PsycINFO were searched for all types of study design. Full papers were retrieved for study abstracts that included data from participants aged 12-18 years referring to barriers or facilitators of asthma self-management behaviors. RESULTS: Sixteen studies (5 quantitative and 11 qualitative) underwent data extraction, quality appraisal, and thematic analysis. Six key themes were generated that encompassed barriers and/or facilitators to self-management of asthma in adolescents: Knowledge, Lifestyle, Beliefs and Attitudes, Relationships, Intrapersonal Characteristics, and Communication. CONCLUSIONS: There is a pressing need to prepare adolescents for self-management, using age-appropriate strategies that draw on the evidence we have synthesized. Current clinical practice should focus on ensuring adolescents have the correct knowledge, beliefs, and positive attitude to self-manage their illness. This needs to be delivered in a supportive environment that facilitates two-way communication, fosters adolescents' self-efficacy to manage their disease, and considers the wider social influences that impinge on self-management. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2016; 9999:XX-XX. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The Effects on Students' Self-Efficacy Beliefs Regarding Their Comprehension of American Literature When Aesthetic Reading and Reader Response Strategy are Implemented

High-stakes testing and accountability have infiltrated the education system in the United States; the top priority for all teachers must be student progress on standardized tests. This has resulted in the predominance of reading for test-taking, (efferent reading), in the English, language arts, and reading classrooms. Authentic uses of print activities, like aesthetic reading, that encourage students to engage individually with a text, have been pushed aside. During a 3-week time period, regular level, English 3/American literature students in a Title I magnet high school, participated in this quasi-experimental study (N = 62). It measured the effects of an intervention of reading American literature texts aesthetically and writing aesthetically-evoked reader responses on students’ self-efficacy beliefs regarding their comprehension of American literature. One trained teacher and the researcher participated in the study: student participants were pre- and post- tested using the Confidence in Reading American Literature Survey which examined their self-efficacy beliefs regarding their comprehension of American literature. Several statistical analyses were performed. The results of the linear regression analyses partially supported a positive relationship between aesthetically-evoked reader responses and students’ self-efficacy beliefs regarding their comprehension of American literature. Additionally, the results of the 2 (sex) x 2 (treatment) ANCOVAs conducted to test group differences in self-efficacy beliefs regarding the comprehension of American literature between treatment and control groups indicated a main effect for treatment (but not sex; nor was there a significant sex x treatment interaction), suggesting the treatment was partially effective in increasing students’ self-efficacy beliefs. Seven of the twelve ANCOVAs indicated a statistically significant increase in the treatment group’s adjusted group mean self-efficacy belief scores as a result of being exposed to the intervention. In six of these seven analyses, increases in self-efficacy beliefs occurred in tasks that required three or more higher-order levels of thinking/learning. The results are discussed in terms of theoretical, empirical and practical significance. Future research is recommended to extend the intervention beyond the narrow confines of a Title I magnet school to settings where the intervention could be tested longitudinally, e. g., honors and gifted students, elementary and middle schools.

Self-organization and social science

Abstract Complexity science and its methodological applications have increased in popularity in social science during the last two decades. One key concept within complexity science is that of self-organization. Self-organization is used to refer to the emergence of stable patterns through autonomous and self-reinforcing dynamics at the micro-level. In spite of its potential relevance for the study of social dynamics, the articulation and use of the concept of self-organization has been kept within the boundaries of complexity science and links to and from mainstream social science are scarce. These links can be difficult to establish, even for researchers working in social complexity with a background in social science, because of the theoretical and conceptual diversity and fragmentation in traditional social science. This article is meant to serve as a first step in the process of overcoming this lack of cross-fertilization between complexity and mainstream social science. A systematic review of the concept of self-organization and a critical discussion of similar notions in mainstream social science is presented, in an effort to help practitioners within subareas of complexity science to identify literature from traditional social science that could potentially inform their research.

Avoiding Overfitting in Inverse Modeling of Chloride Migration in Concrete

Inverse analysis for reactive transport of chlorides through concrete in the presence of electric field is presented. The model is solved using MATLAB’s built-in solvers “pdepe.m” and “ode15s.m”. The results from the model are compared with experimental measurements from accelerated migration test and a function representing the lack of fit is formed. This function is optimised with respect to varying amount of key parameters defining the model. Levenberg-Marquardt trust-region optimisation approach is employed. The paper presents a method by which the degree of inter-dependency between parameters and sensitivity (significance) of each parameter towards model predictions can be studied on models with or without clearly defined governing equations. Eigen value analysis of the Hessian matrix was employed to investigate and avoid over-parametrisation in inverse analysis. We investigated simultaneous fitting of parameters for diffusivity, chloride binding as defined by Freundlich isotherm (thermodynamic) and binding rate (kinetic parameter). Fitting of more than 2 parameters, simultaneously, demonstrates a high degree of parameter inter-dependency. This finding is significant as mathematical models for representing chloride transport rely on several parameters for each mode of transport (i.e., diffusivity, binding, etc.), which combined may lead to unreliable simultaneous estimation of parameters.

Modeling Hospital Readmissions in Dalarna County, Sweden

Unplanned hospital readmissions increase health and medical care costs and indicate lower the lower quality of the healthcare services. Hence, predicting patients at risk to be readmitted is of interest. Using administrative data of patients being treated in the medical centers and hospitals in the Dalarna County, Sweden, during 2008 – 2016 two risk prediction models of hospital readmission are built. The first model relies on the logistic regression (LR) approach, predicts correctly 2,648 out of 3,392 observed readmission in the test dataset, reaching a c-statistics of 0.69. The second model is built using random forests (RF) algorithm; correctly predicts 2,183 readmission (out of 3,366) and 13,198 non-readmission events (out of 18,982). The discriminating ability of the best performing RF model (c-statistic 0.60) is comparable to that of the logistic model. Although the discriminating ability of both LR and RF risk prediction models is relatively modest, still these models are capable to identify patients running high risk of hospital readmission. These patients can then be targeted with specific interventions, in order to prevent the readmission, improve patients’ quality of life and reduce health and medical care costs.

Response process and test-retest reliability of the Context Assessment for Community Health tool in Vietnam

BACKGROUND: The recently developed Context Assessment for Community Health (COACH) tool aims to measure aspects of the local healthcare context perceived to influence knowledge translation in low- and middle-income countries. The tool measures eight dimensions (organizational resources, community engagement, monitoring services for action, sources of knowledge, commitment to work, work culture, leadership, and informal payment) through 49 items. OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to explore the understanding and stability of the COACH tool among health providers in Vietnam. DESIGNS: To investigate the response process, think-aloud interviews were undertaken with five community health workers, six nurses and midwives, and five physicians. Identified problems were classified according to Conrad and Blair's taxonomy and grouped according to an estimation of the magnitude of the problem's effect on the response data. Further, the stability of the tool was examined using a test-retest survey among 77 respondents. The reliability was analyzed for items (intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and percent agreement) and dimensions (ICC and Bland-Altman plots). RESULTS: In general, the think-aloud interviews revealed that the COACH tool was perceived as clear, well organized, and easy to answer. Most items were understood as intended. However, seven prominent problems in the items were identified and the content of three dimensions was perceived to be of a sensitive nature. In the test-retest survey, two-thirds of the items and seven of eight dimensions were found to have an ICC agreement ranging from moderate to substantial (0.5-0.7), demonstrating that the instrument has an acceptable level of stability. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides evidence that the Vietnamese translation of the COACH tool is generally perceived to be clear and easy to understand and has acceptable stability. There is, however, a need to rephrase and add generic examples to clarify some items and to further review items with low ICC.

Transformative Political Spaces? Asambleas Populares, Identity, Alliances and Belonging in Buenos Aires

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-08