Do girls and boys perceive themselves as equally engaged in school? The results of an international study from 12 countries

This study examined gender differences in student engagement and academic performance in school. Participants included 3420 students (7th, 8th, and 9th graders) from Austria, Canada, China, Cyprus, Estonia, Greece, Malta, Portugal, Romania, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The results indicated that, compared to boys, girls reported higher levels of engagement in school and were rated higher by their teachers in academic performance. Student engagement accounted for gender differences in academic performance, but gender did not moderate the associations among student engagement, academic performance, or contextual supports. Analysis of multiple-group structural equation modeling revealed that perceptions of teacher support and parent support, but not peer support, were related indirectly to academic performance through student engagement. This partial mediation model was invariant across gender. The findings from this study enhance the understanding about the contextual and personal factors associated with girls' and boys' academic performance around the world.     

I act,therefore I am: Athletic identity and the health action process approach predict sport participation among individuals with acquired physical disabilities

ObjectiveThe study had two objectives 1) to test the fit of the Health Action Process Approach (HAPA) model for sport participation among individuals with acquired physical disabilities and 2) to estimate the extent to which athletic identity predicts intentions to engage in sport within the context of HAPA.DesignProspective cohort of 82 women and 19 men with acquired permanent disabilities (M_age = 44.0; M_{years post-injury} = 16.2; %_{in sport} = 61.7%).MethodAll HAPA indicators and athletic identity were assessed at baseline and sport participation was assessed using the Leisure Time Physical Activity Questionnaire for People with Spinal Cord Injury two weeks later. Structural equation modelling was used to test the HAPA model.ResultsThe HAPA constructs explained 15% of the variance in sport participation and 18% of the variance when athletic identity was added to the model. Instrumental (β = .21), affective (β = .15), and negative outcome expectancies (β = ?.20) were significant predictors of intentions to participate in sport, as was athletic identity (β = .25). Intentions to participate in sport significantly predicted planning (β = .54) yet there was no direct relationship between planning and sport participation (β = ?.008; p > .05). When the relationship between planning and maintenance self-efficacy was reversed, planning had a significant indirect effect on sport participation through maintenance self-efficacy (β = .33).ConclusionThe HAPA model is a good predictive model for sport participation among those with acquired physical disabilities; furthermore, athletic identity accounts for additional variance in sport participation. These constructs can be valuable components of sport promotion programs for this population.     

Examining the effects of grade retention on student reading performance: A longitudinal study

Grade retention is an intervention that has received increasing scrutiny as policies, practices, and results of research diverge. This longitudinal study examines the reading growth trajectories of students (n = 147) from first- through eighth-grade. Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) analytic procedures provide unique insights regarding the relative reading growth curves among retained students, similarly achieving but promoted students, and a random sample of students. The results revealed that retained students did not experience a benefit in their growth rate (relative to either the preceding year, or to similarly performing but promoted students), and made less progress compared to the randomly selected group of students. While consistent with the extant empirical evidence failing to support the effectiveness of grade retention, these findings warrant careful consideration given both the longitudinal design and the analytic procedures.     

A note on ROC analysis and non-parametric estimate of sensitivity

In the signal detection paradigm, the non-parametric index of sensitivity A′, as first introduced by Pollack and Norman (1964), is a popular alternative to the more traditional d′ measure of sensitivity. Smith (1995) clarified a confusion about the interpretation of A′ in relation to the area beneath proper receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, and provided a formula (which he called A′′) for this commonly held interpretation. However, he made an error in his calculations. Here, we rectify this error by providing the correct formula (which we call A) and compare the discrepancy that would have resulted. The corresponding measure for bias b is also provided. Since all such calculations apply to “proper” ROC curves with non-decreasing slopes, we also prove, as a separate result, the slope-monotonicity of ROC curves generated by likelihood-ratio criterion.This revised article was published online in August 2005 with the PDF paginated correctly.     

Hope and the Academic Trajectory of College Students

Previous longitudinal studies of student hope have established a connection between how people think about the future and their college achievement. This study examined the role of hope in predicting the achievement and retention of college students while controlling for educational history and two other psychological constructs, academic self-efficacy and engagement. Hope, self-efficacy, engagement were all correlated with both the number of semesters enrolled and cumulative grade point averages (GPAs) for the first 4 years of college. Hope was the only factor that had unique effects when examining predictors simultaneously and controlling for academic history. Hope uniquely predicted the number of enrolled semesters, whether students returned for the 2nd semester of college, whether students graduated in 4 years, and students’ GPAs across 4 years of college. Results therefore indicate that hope was the most robust predictor of academic achievement in college after controlling for educational history. These findings point to a need to help students develop the capacity to initiate and sustain movement toward goals in the pursuit of higher academic achievement.     

What is Working,What is Not,and What We Need to Know: a Meta-Analytic Review of Business Ethics Instruction

Requirements for business ethics education and organizational ethics trainings mark an important step in encouraging ethical behavior among business students and professionals. However, the lack of specificity in these guidelines as to how, what, and where business ethics should be taught has led to stark differences in approaches and content. The present effort uses meta-analytic procedures to examine the effectiveness of current approaches across organizational ethics trainings and business school courses. to provide practical suggestions for business ethics interventions and research. Thus, the primary questions driving this research are as follows: (1) what course characteristics moderate the effectiveness of ethics instruction?, and (2) have ethics education and training efforts improved? Findings suggest that professional, focused, and workshop-based training programs are especially effective for improving business ethics. However, results also reveal considerable problems with many of the criteria used to evaluate the effectiveness of business ethics interventions. Practical suggestions for course design and evaluation in business ethics efforts are discussed along with future research needs.     

Traditional God Images and Attitudes Towards Voluntary Euthanasia

I use data from the General Social Survey (N = 8905) to evaluate whether imagining God in traditional ways is associated with attitudes towards voluntary euthanasia. Bivariate analysis reveals that individuals who imagine God as a father, a master, and a king have negative attitudes towards voluntary euthanasia. The associations between imagining God as a father and as a master and attitudes towards voluntary euthanasia hold after controlling for religious affiliation, frequency of religious attendance, views of the Bible, and other sociodemographic characteristics that predict attitudes towards voluntary euthanasia; however, the association between imagining God as a king do not. I also find that while there is no association between imagining God as a judge on voluntary euthanasia attitudes at the bivariate level, there is a significant and positive association with having favorable voluntary euthanasia attitudes in the full model, revealing a suppression effect. These findings highlight the importance of evaluating if different, distinct beliefs about the same religious object have differential associations with social attitudes and behaviors.     

Decision noise may mask criterion shifts: Reply to Balakrishnan and MacDonald (2008)

J. D. Balakrishnan and J. A. MacDonald (2008) argue that RTbased measures of signal detection processes provide evidence against signal detection theory’s notion of a flexible decision criterion. They argue that this evidence is immune to the alternative explanation proposed by S. T. Mueller and C. T. Weidemann (2008), that decision noise may mask criterion shifts. We show that noise in response times can produce the same effects as are produced by noise in confidence ratings. Given these results, the evidence is not sufficient to categorically reject the notion of a flexible response policy implemented through shifts in a decision criterion. nt]mis|This research was supported in part by a postdoctoral fellowship to C.T.W. from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).     

Hinge versus twist: the effects of 'reference surfaces' and discontinuities on stereoscopic slant perception

Stereoscopic slant perception around a vertical axis (horizontal slant) is often found to be strongly attenuated relative to geometric prediction. Stereo slant is much greater, however, when an adjacent surface, stereoscopically in the frontal plane, is added. This slant enhancement is often attributed to the presence of a 'reference surface' or to a spatial change in the disparity gradient (introducing second and higher derivatives of disparity). Gillam, Chambers, and Russo (1988 Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance 14 163-175) questioned the role of these factors in that placement of the frontal-plane surface in a direction collinear with the slant axis (twist configuration) sharply reduced latency for perceiving slant whereas placing the same surface in a direction orthogonal to the slant axis (hinge configuration) had little effect. We here confirm these findings for slant magnitude, showing a striking advantage for twist over hinge configurations. We also examined contrast slant measured on the frontal-plane surface in the hinge and twist configurations. Under conditions where test and inducer surfaces have centres at the same depth for twist and hinge, we found that twist configurations produced strong negative slant contrast, while hinge configurations produced significant positive contrast or slant assimilation. We conclude that stereo slant and contrast effects for neighbouring surfaces can only be understood from the patterns and gradients of step disparities present. It is not adequate to consider the second surface merely as a reference slant for the first or as having its effect via a spatial change in the disparity gradient.