Children's performance estimation in mathematics and science tests over a school year: A pilot study

The metacognitve ability to accurately estimate ones performance in a test, is assumed to be of central importance for initializing task-oriented effort. In addition activating adequate problem-solving strategies, and engaging in efficient error detection and correction. Although school children's' ability to estimate their own performance has been widely investigated, this was mostly done under highly-controlled, experimental set-ups including only one single test occasion. Method: The aim of this study was to investigate this metacognitive ability in the context of real achievement tests in mathematics. Developed and applied by a teacher of a 5th grade class over the course of a school year these tests allowed the exploration of the variability of performance estimation accuracy as a function of test difficulty. Results: Mean performance estimations were generally close to actual performance with somewhat less variability compared to test performance. When grouping the children into three achievement levels, results revealed higher accuracy of performance estimations in the high achievers compared to the low and average achievers. In order to explore the generalization of these findings, analyses were also conducted for the same children's tests in their science classes revealing a very similar pattern of results compared to the domain of mathematics. Discussion and Conclusion: By and large, the present study, in a natural environment, confirmed previous laboratory findings but also offered additional insights into the generalisation and the test dependency of students' performances estimations.

Copula calibration

We propose notions of calibration for probabilistic forecasts of general multivariate quantities. Probabilistic copula calibration is a natural analogue of probabilistic calibration in the univariate setting. It can be assessed empirically by checking for the uniformity of the copula probability integral transform (CopPIT), which is invariant under coordinate permutations and coordinatewise strictly monotone transformations of the predictive distribution and the outcome. The CopPIT histogram can be interpreted as a generalization and variant of the multivariate rank histogram, which has been used to check the calibration of ensemble forecasts. Climatological copula calibration is an analogue of marginal calibration in the univariate setting. Methods and tools are illustrated in a simulation study and applied to compare raw numerical model and statistically postprocessed ensemble forecasts of bivariate wind vectors.

El Capítulo de Inversiones en el Acuerdo de Asociación Transpacífico:¿Una Posibilidad de Cambio y Convergencia?

Spanish Abstract: El presente trabajo analiza los posibles efectos que generaría en la regulación internacional de la inversión extranjera, el acuerdo de un capítulo de inversiones en el Acuerdo de Asociación Transpacífico (TPP), actualmente en negociaciones, sobre la base de la información disponible a la fecha. El artículo aborda cuatro aspectos que presentan especial importancia dada la divergencia de intereses entre algunos de los Estados negociadores: el ámbito de protección de la inversión extranjera; las normas sobre transparencia de los regímenes de inversión y sus disputas; la irrupción de entidades estatales como inversionistas extranjeros; y la solución de controversias a través del arbitraje inversionista-Estado. El autor concluye que en comparación a la actual fragmentación regulatoria de la que dan cuenta los acuerdos internacionales de inversión suscritos por los países negociadores del TPP, la incorporación de un capítulo de inversiones en ese Acuerdo es una oportunidad para avanzar en la convergencia de la regulación sobre inversión extranjera, tanto en materia de estándares sustantivos de protección de la inversión como en la mejora del arbitraje inversionista-Estado como mecanismo de solución de controversias.

The Chilean Experience in South-South Trade and Investment Agreements

This paper analyzes the main features of Chilean trade and investment treaties, examining if there is a Chilean pattern in the regulation of trade and investment flows or if it is influenced by agreements signed by Chile with developed countries. The article also examines if there are differences between the treaties signed by Chile and other “Southern” developing countries and those negotiated with “Northern” developed economies, and if sustainable development concerns are part of the negotiations of trade and investment agreements by Chile.

Rational invariants on the space of all structures of algebras on a two-dimensional vector space

Rational invariants on the space of all structures of algebras on a two-dimensional vector space

Coeficientes de presión intersticial en el aparato de corte simple = Pore pressure coefficients for simple shear test

La actuación de cargas sobre un suelo saturado, produce, en función de la naturaleza de la solicitación, del tipo de suelo y de las condiciones de drenaje del terreno, un incremento de la presión sobre el agua de los intersticios. Se ha abordado el estudio de la generación de dicha presión intersticial a partir de muestras de suelo blando, normalmente consolidadas, procedentes del subsuelo del Puerto de Barcelona. Para ello se han utilizado los datos de una completa campaña experimental utilizando la máquina de ensayo de corte simple, y tras la adecuada interpretación del ensayo, se identifican los aspectos que se consideran clave para el proceso de generación de presión intersticial en el suelo, según las diferentes situaciones de carga actuante. Como conclusión, se plantea la generalización de la clásica ecuación que Skempton formuló hace casi 60 años y que permite interpretar la generación de presión intersticial para el aparato de ensayo triaxial. ncrease in pore pressure depending on the nature of the excitation, the type of soil and the drainage conditions of the ground are generated by loads acting on a saturated soil. It has approached the study of the generation of the pore pressure from usually consolidated soft soil samples from the basement of the Port of Barcelona. Data from an adequate experimental campaign using simple shear machine have been used, and the aspects that are considered key to the process of generation of pore pressure in the soil under different loading conditions acting have been identified. In conclusion, the generalization of Skempton's classical equation (formulated almost 60 years ago) and the interpretation of the pore pressure generation for triaxial test apparatus have been proposed.

A medical book collection for physician assistants

Selecting resources for physician assistants is challenging and can be overwhelming. Although several core lists exist for nursing, allied health, and medical libraries, judging the scope and level of these resources in relation to the information needs of the physician assistant is difficult. Medical texts can be highly specialized and very expensive, in essence, “overkill” for the needs of the physician assistant. This bibliography is meant to serve as a guide to appropriate medical texts for physician assistants. Titles were selected from the Brandon/Hill list, Doody's Electronic Journal, and various other reference resources. Resources were evaluated based on the subject and scope, audience, authorship, cost, and currency. The collection includes 195 titles from 33 specialty areas. Standard texts in each area are also included.

Attitudes towards disability in education through the SSCI (2000-2011): a topical and bibliometric analysis

Introduction. The purpose of this study is to describe and characterize the international sci-entific output relating to “attitudes towards disability in education”, using a battery of bibliometric indicators that make it possible to analyze and monitor international scientific activity. Method. This ex post facto retrospective study analyzed 925 papers published in the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) database during the period 2000-2011. Results. The number of publications increased steadily between 2006 and 2010. The results reported here include the most productive authors, the journals that deal with this topic, and the articles cited most often. An analysis of research types showed a tendency toward empiri-cal studies. A total of 18 categories were identified when considering article content, and the distribution of the research studies across stages of education was found to be uneven. Discussion and Conclusion. The results reveal a topic that is highly current in today’s scien-tific community, and offer us a view of the traits that have characterized research on "attitudes towards disability in education" for the last eleven years.

Líneas de investigación e innovación en la enseñanza de la Geografía, a partir de la revista Scripta Nova

El análisis de la producción científica relacionada con la enseñanza de la geografía permite conocer las principales líneas de investigación e innovación. En esta ocasión la fuente documental de referencia es Scripta Nova que destaca por su visibilidad, consolidada por su presencia en internet, siendo una de las precursoras en este medio de difusión. Los datos obtenidos procedentes de esta revista electrónica se han comparado con otras publicaciones impresas, aunque disponibles algunas de ellas también en la Red. Los resultados obtenidos sirven de referencia para el desarrollo futuro de la investigación e innovación, particularmente de aquellos que se incorporan a este campo de conocimiento.

ICT and technical efficiency of the manufacturing industries in Iran

This paper extends the existing evidence on the relationship between Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and productivity using data from the entire Iranian manufacturing sector (22 industries) over the period 1993?1999. Estimates of efficiency using panel data confirm the positive and significant impact of ICT investments on productivity. Our finding is consistent with the most recent literatures in the context of developed and a few middle-income developing countries. Human capital and increasing ICT capital are probably two determining factors in gaining the positive payoffs from ICT investments in Iran.

Achieving closure through knowledge management strategy

Case studies of knowledge management practices are often conducted in organizations where the aim is to manage knowledge for future operational improvements. What about knowledge management for organizations with limited life-spans that are preparing for closure? Such organizations are not common but can benefit from knowledge management strategy. This case study concerns the knowledge management strategy of an organization that is preparing for its final phase of operations. We facilitated two group workshops with senior managers to scope a strategy, following which the organization initiated a set of projects to implement the resulting actions. This paper reviews their implemented actions against those designed in the workshop to shed light on knowledge management in this uncommon situation.