An exploratory analysis of the latent structure of process data via action sequence autoencoders

Computer simulations have become a popular tool for assessing complex skills such as problem-solving. Log files of computer-based items record the human–computer interactive processes for each respondent in full. The response processes are very diverse, noisy, and of non-standard formats. Few generic methods have been developed to exploit the information contained in process data. In this paper we propose a method to extract latent variables from process data. The method utilizes a sequence-to-sequence autoencoder to compress response processes into standard numerical vectors. It does not require prior knowledge of the specific items and human–computer interaction patterns. The proposed method is applied to both simulated and real process data to demonstrate that the resulting latent variables extract useful information from the response processes.     

《太平经》语词释读献疑

《太平经》是中国道教的一部经籍,因文本的艰深晦涩,有些语词的训释各注本仍存在一定的分歧,有些词语的意义不为人所熟知,今择取数例略作阐发。     

New Zealand = bicultural? Implicit and explicit associations between ethnicity and nationhood in the New Zealand context

Four studies examined explicit and implicit perceptions of ethnicity and nationhood in New Zealand (NZ). NZ Europeans/Pakeha (the majority group) endorsed a bicultural perspective and explicitly rated both their own ingroup and Maori (the indigenous peoples of NZ) as contributing equally to NZ national identity and culture (Study 1). Contrary to the divergence between explicit and implicit ethnic-national associations observed in the USA, implicit associations in NZ were generally consistent with explicitly stated values. Pakeha and Maori, but not Asian New Zealanders, were both strongly implicitly associated with the national category ‘NZ’ (Studies 1–3), although this general tendency was qualified by weak levels of ingroup favoritism from all three ethnic groups (Study 2). Finally, the small tendency for Pakeha to implicitly associate their ingroup more strongly with NZ was erased by using moderately well-known Pakeha and Maori rugby players as targets (Study 4). These findings contrast with the American = White implicit associations described by Devos and Banaji ( 2005 ), and provide insight into the ways in which socio-cultural realities foster convergence or divergence between explicit and implicit beliefs about equality and the function of ethnicity in nationhood. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

正常大学生唇读语音识别编码方式的实验研究

本研究探讨了编码方式和音素可见性对正常大学生唇读语音识别的影响.结果表明:编码方式和音素可见性共同交互作用于语音识别的过程,在正确率和反应时上都表现显著.编码方式、音素可见性在识别的效果上分别表现出不同的特点.     

古巴的单一经济及其依附性后果

早在殖民地时期,古巴就形成了以蔗糖为中心的单一经济结构,蔗糖业成为国家的经济命脉.单一经济成为古巴的比较优势,虽然在一定时期内推动了古巴的经济发展与社会繁荣,但也造成古巴经济、政治、外交等方面全方位对外依附.卡斯特罗革命后的古巴试图打破单一经济结构,却以失败而告终,单一经济发展模式的延续使得古巴对外依附的状况没有根本性改变,这对古巴现代化进程产生了深远的消极影响.如何打破单一经济结构,实现经济的多元化发展,是包括古巴在内的诸多发展中国家现代化面临的现实任务.     

从明初庐山佛教信仰嬗变看国家宗教政策取向

宗教与政治有着密切的现实关联。明初扶持正统宗教与镇压白莲教等民间秘密宗教的政策使庐山传统佛教信仰中心——东林寺由修复走向没落。而帝王在庐山的神灵塑造活动使天池寺骤然兴起,地方信仰在此基础上得到重构。明中后期,庐山天池寺的国家祭祀活动逐渐泛化为普遍的民间信仰,天池寺成为新的地方佛教信仰中心。这一个案说明明初宗教依附于政治,神权从属于皇权的政教关系得到进一步深化。在国家强化宗教控制的过程中,庐山佛教信仰中心的空间转换与信仰重构使地方信仰成功纳入新兴王朝规制之中,国家由此实现了对宗教及地方社会的有力控制。     

Comparing score tests and other local dependence diagnostics for the graded response model

Score tests for identifying locally dependent item pairs have been proposed for binary item response models. In this article, both the bifactor and the threshold shift score tests are generalized to the graded response model. For the bifactor test, the generalization is straightforward; it adds one secondary dimension associated only with one pair of items. For the threshold shift test, however, multiple generalizations are possible: in particular, conditional, uniform, and linear shift tests are discussed in this article. Simulation studies show that all of the score tests have accurate Type I error rates given large enough samples, although their small‐sample behaviour is not as good as that of Pearson's Χ² and M₂ as proposed in other studies for the purpose of local dependence (LD) detection. All score tests have the highest power to detect the LD which is consistent with their parametric form, and in this case they are uniformly more powerful than Χ² and M₂; even wrongly specified score tests are more powerful than Χ² and M₂ in most conditions. An example using empirical data is provided for illustration.     

Religiosity and Ethical Ideology of Physicians: A Cross-Cultural Study

In this study of ethical ideology and religiosity, 1,255 physicians from Canada, China, Ireland, India, Japan and Thailand participated. Forsyth’s (1980) Ethical Position Questionnaire and Rohrbaugh and Jessor’s (J Pers 43:136–155, 1975) Religiosity Measure were used as the survey instruments. The results demonstrated that physicians from India, Thailand and China reported significantly higher rates of idealism than physicians from Canada and Japan. India, Thailand and China also scored significantly higher than Ireland. Physicians from Japan and India reported significantly higher rates of relativism than physicians from Canada, Ireland, Thailand and China. Physicians from China also reported higher rates of relativism than physicians from Canada, Ireland and Thailand. Overall, religiosity was positively associated with idealism and negatively associated with relativism. This study is the first to explore the differences between ethical ideology and religiosity among physicians in an international setting as well as the relationship between these two constructs. Both religiosity and ethical ideology are extremely generalized, and the extent to which they may impact the actual professional behaviour of physicians is unknown. This paper sets up a point of departure for future research that could investigate the extent to which physicians actually employ their religious and/or ethical orientation to solve ambiguous medical decisions.