English tests : graded multiple choice : A1. 'Test de Inglés : respuesta de múltiple elección : A1'.

Se trata de una serie de libros de test de respuesta de múltiple elección sobre el idioma inglés. La serie abarca los seis niveles del Marco Común Europeo, de A1 a C2, con un libro dedicado a cada nivel. Cada libro se compone de doce test de 30 minutos, cada uno de los cuales puede ser fácilmente realizado y corregido. Pero no son sólo pruebas para determinar los conocimientos de un estudiante en gramática y vocabulario, también están diseñados para ser utilizados como herramientas de enseñanza valiosas por derecho propio, permitiendo a profesores y estudiantes revisar las estructuras más comunes y las dificultades del lenguaje inglés, así como controlar su progreso a medida que avanzan.

English tests : graded multiple choice : A2. 'Test de Inglés : respuesta de múltiple elección : A2'.

Se trata de una serie de libros de test de respuesta de múltiple elección sobre el idioma inglés. La serie abarca los seis niveles del Marco Común Europeo, de A1 a C2, con un libro dedicado a cada nivel. Cada libro se compone de doce test de 30 minutos, cada uno de los cuales puede ser fácilmente realizado y corregido. Pero no son sólo pruebas para determinar los conocimientos de un estudiante en gramática y vocabulario, también están diseñados para ser utilizados como herramientas de enseñanza valiosas por derecho propio, permitiendo a profesores y estudiantes revisar las estructuras más comunes y las dificultades del lenguaje inglés, así como controlar su progreso a medida que avanzan.

English tests : graded multiple choice : B1. 'Test de Inglés : respuesta de múltiple elección : B1'.

Se trata de una serie de libros de test de respuesta de múltiple elección sobre el idioma inglés. La serie abarca los seis niveles del Marco Común Europeo, de A1 a C2, con un libro dedicado a cada nivel. Cada libro se compone de doce test de 30 minutos, cada uno de los cuales puede ser fácilmente realizado y corregido. Pero no son sólo pruebas para determinar los conocimientos de un estudiante en gramática y vocabulario, también están diseñados para ser utilizados como herramientas de enseñanza valiosas por derecho propio, permitiendo a profesores y estudiantes revisar las estructuras más comunes y las dificultades del lenguaje inglés, así como controlar su progreso a medida que avanzan.

English tests : graded multiple choice : C2. 'Test de Inglés : respuesta de múltiple elección : C2'.

Se trata de una serie de libros de test de respuesta de múltiple elección sobre el idioma inglés. La serie abarca los seis niveles del Marco Común Europeo, de A1 a C2, con un libro dedicado a cada nivel. Cada libro se compone de doce test de 30 minutos, cada uno de los cuales puede ser fácilmente realizado y corregido. Pero no son sólo pruebas para determinar los conocimientos de un estudiante en gramática y vocabulario, también están diseñados para ser utilizados como herramientas de enseñanza valiosas por derecho propio, permitiendo a profesores y estudiantes revisar las estructuras más comunes y las dificultades del lenguaje inglés, así como controlar su progreso a medida que avanzan.

A test of a stochastic theory of choice,

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Does client size affect cleaner fish choice of client? An empirical test using client fish models

To determine whether the choice of client fishes in the cleaner fish Labroides dimidiatus was influenced by client size, cleaner fish were given a choice of equal amount of food spread on large and small client redfin butterflyfish Chaetodon trifasciatus models. All large models received bites from cleaners compared to 27% for small models. Seventy-nine per cent of cleaners took their first bite from the large fish model. The results suggest that client size may affect cleaner fish choice.

Multiple-choice versus short-response items: Differences in omit behavior

The overall rate of omission of items for 28,331 17 year old Australian students on a high stakes test of achievement in the common elements or cognitive skills of the senior school curriculum is reported for a subtest in multiple choice format and a subtest in short response format. For the former, the omit rates were minuscule and there was no significant difference by gender or by type of school attended. For the latter, where an item can be 'worth' up to five times that of a single multiple choice item, the omit rates were between 10 and 20 times that for multiple choice and the difference between male and female omit rate was significant as was the difference between students from government and non-government schools. For both formats, females from single sex schools omitted significantly fewer items than did females from co-educational schools. Some possible explanations of omit behaviour are alluded to.

A virtual test assessment tool for second year signal processing students

The development and use of a virtual assessment tool for a signal processing unit is described. It allows students to take a test from anywhere using a web browser to connect to the university server that hosts the test. While student responses are of the multiple choice type, they have to work out problems to arrive at the answer to be entered. CGI programming is used to verify student identification information and record their scores as well as provide immediate feedback after the test is complete. The tool has been used at QUT for the past 3 years and student feedback is discussed. The virtual assessment tool is an efficient alternative to marking written assignment reports that can often take more hours than actual lecture hall contact from a lecturer or tutor. It is especially attractive for very large classes that are now the norm at many universities in the first two years.

A question of agency : applying Sen’s theory of human capability to the concept of secondary school student career ‘choice’

In this paper, we seek to operationalize Amartya Sen's concept of human capability to guide a scholarly investigation of student career choice capability. We begin by outlining factors affecting youth labour markets in Australia; a prosperous country that is affected by a ‘two-speed’ national economy. We then examine recent government initiatives that have been designed to combat youth unemployment and cyclical disadvantage by enhancing the aspirations and career knowledge of secondary school students. We argue that these policy measures are based on four assumptions: first, that career choice capability is a problem of individual agency; second, that the dissemination of career information can empower students to act as ‘consumers’ in an unequal job market; third, that agency is simply a question of will; and finally, that school education and career advice – as a means to freedom in the space of career development – is of equal quality, distribution and value to an increasingly diverse range of upper secondary school students. The paper concludes by outlining a conceptual framework capable of informing an empirical research project that aims to test these assumptions by measuring and comparing differences between groups in the range of freedom to achieve and, therefore, to choose.

Influence of visible work activity on drivers’ speed choice at roadworks

Vehicle traffic through roadwork sites creates a hazardous work environment, with speed limit noncompliance a major contributor to the high risk and high severity of roadwork crashes. This paper examines responses to an online survey to better understand the factors underlying drivers’ work zone speed choices. Drivers’ stated speed choice was compared between two photographs of the same work zone section – one with workers and machinery present and another with no visible activity. Drivers also provided comments on any aspect of roadwork safety they thought was important. A paired t-test of stated speed choice revealed that significantly lower mean speeds were nominated when workers and machinery were clearly present and active (41.7 vs 53.5 km/h, p<0.01). Participants expressed concern about roadwork signage and reduced speed limits being left in place when there was no apparent work activity. Driver perceptions, and thus compliance, may be improved through technological and operational changes.

Non-market use and non-use values for preserving ecosystem services over time : a choice experiment application to coral reef ecosystems in New Caledonia

Non-use values (i.e. economic values assigned by individuals to ecosystem goods and services unrelated to current or future uses) provide one of the most compelling incentives for the preservation of ecosystems and biodiversity. Assessing the non-use values of non-users is relatively straightforward using stated preference methods, but the standard approaches for estimating non-use values of users (stated decomposition) have substantial shortcomings which undermine the robustness of their results. In this paper, we propose a pragmatic interpretation of non-use values to derive estimates that capture their main dimensions, based on the identification of a willingness to pay for ecosystem protection beyond one's expected life. We empirically test our approach using a choice experiment conducted on coral reef ecosystem protection in two coastal areas in New Caledonia with different institutional, cultural, environmental and socio-economic contexts. We compute individual willingness to pay estimates, and derive individual non-use value estimates using our interpretation. We find that, a minima, estimates of non-use values may comprise between 25 and 40% of the mean willingness to pay for ecosystem preservation, less than has been found in most studies.

Cooperative choice and its framing effect under threshold uncertainty in a provision point mechanism

This paper explores how threshold uncertainty affects cooperative behaviors in the provision of public goods and the prevention of public bads. The following facts motivate our study. First, environmental (resource) problems are either framed as public bads prevention or public goods provision. Second, the occurrence of these problems is characterized by thresholds that are interchangeably represented as "nonconvexity," "bifurcation," "bi-stability," or "catastrophes." Third, the threshold location is mostly unknown. We employ a provision point mechanism with threshold uncertainty and analyze the responses of cooperative behaviors to uncertainty and to the framing for each type of social preferences categorized by a value orientation test. We find that aggregate framing effects are negligible, although the response to the frame is the opposite depending on the type of social preferences. "Cooperative" subjects become more cooperative in negative frames than in positive frames, whereas "individualistic" subjects are less cooperative in negative frames than in positive ones. This finding implies that the insignificance of aggregate framing effects arises from behavioral asymmetry. We also find that the percentage of cooperative choices non-monotonically varies with the degree of threshold uncertainty, irrespective of framing and value orientation. Specifically, the degree of cooperation is highest at intermediate levels of threshold uncertainty and decreases as the uncertainty becomes sufficiently large.

Design of laterally loaded piles in clays based on cone penetration test data: a reliability-based approach

The behaviour of laterally loaded piles is considerably influenced by the uncertainties in soil properties. Hence probabilistic models for assessment of allowable lateral load are necessary. Cone penetration test (CPT) data are often used to determine soil strength parameters, whereby the allowable lateral load of the pile is computed. In the present study, the maximum lateral displacement and moment of the pile are obtained based on the coefficient of subgrade reaction approach, considering the nonlinear soil behaviour in undrained clay. The coefficient of subgrade reaction is related to the undrained shear strength of soil, which can be obtained from CPT data. The soil medium is modelled as a one-dimensional random field along the depth, and it is described by the standard deviation and scale of fluctuation of the undrained shear strength of soil. Inherent soil variability, measurement uncertainty and transformation uncertainty are taken into consideration. The statistics of maximum lateral deflection and moment are obtained using the first-order, second-moment technique. Hasofer-Lind reliability indices for component and system failure criteria, based on the allowable lateral displacement and moment capacity of the pile section, are evaluated. The geotechnical database from the Konaseema site in India is used as a case example. It is shown that the reliability-based design approach for pile foundations, considering the spatial variability of soil, permits a rational choice of allowable lateral loads.

Significance of a short-term test drive for prospective plug-in electric vehicle consumers: An exploratory study

The test drive is a well-known step in car buying. In the emerging plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) market, however, the influence of a pre-purchase test drive on a consumer's inclination to purchase is unknown. Policy makers and industry participants both are eager to understand what factors motivate vehicle consumers at the point-of-sale. A number of researchers have used choice models to shed light on consumer perceptions of PEVs, and others have investigated consumer change in disposition toward a PEV over the course of a trial, wherein test driving a PEV may take place over a number of consecutive days, weeks or months. However, there is little written on the impact of a short-term test drive - a typical experience at dealerships or public "ride-and-drive" events. The impact of a typical test drive, often measured in minutes of driving, is not well understood. This paper first presents a synthesis of the literature on the effect of PEV test drives as they relate to consumer disposition toward PEVs. An analysis of data obtained from an Australian case study whereby attitudinal and stated preference data were collected pre- and post- test drive at public "ride-and-drive" event held Brisbane, Queensland in March 2014 using a custom-designed iPad application. Motorists' perceptions and choice preferences around PEVs were captured, revealing the relative importance of their experience behind the wheel. Using the Australian context as a case-study, this paper presents an exploratory study of consumers' stated preferences toward PEVs both before and after a short test drive.