Simultaneous Two-Way Clustering of Multiple Correspondence Analysis

A 2-way clustering approach to multiple correspondence analysis is proposed to account for cluster-level heterogeneity of both respondents and variable categories in multivariate categorical data. Specifically, in the proposed method, multiple correspondence analysis is combined with k-means in a unified framework in which k-means is applied twice to partition the object scores of respondents and the weights of variable categories. In this way, joint clusters that relate a subgroup of respondents exclusively to a subset of variable categories are obtained. The proposed method provides a low-dimensional map of displaying variable category points and the centroids of joint clusters simultaneously. In addition, it offers joint-cluster memberships of variable categories as well as respondents. A Monte Carlo study is conducted to assess the parameter recovery capability of the proposed method based on synthetic data. An empirical application concerning Korean consumers' preferences toward various underwear brands and attributes is presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method as compared with 2 relevant extant approaches.     

Measuring Spiritual Fitness: Atheist Military Personnel,Veterans, and Civilians

This study investigated the impact of transcendent item phrasing (i.e., phrasing which assumes the respondent believes in certain sacred or supernatural concepts) on the validity of the U.S. Army’s Comprehensive Soldier Fitness (CSF) program’s spiritual fitness scale when administered to atheist military personnel, veterans, and civilians. Results indicated that the inclusion of transcendent phrasing led to reduced concurrent validity for the spiritual fitness scale when administered to atheist military personnel and veterans, reduced concurrent and predictive validity when administered to atheists’ but not Christians’ spiritual fitness. Notably, the removal of transcendent phrasing actually led to increased concurrent validity for Christian respondents. Taken together, these findings suggest the Revised scale, which is composed of items that do not rely on transcendent phrasing, produces better psychometric outcomes for both atheist and Christian respondents. Implications for the CSF program and the measurement of spiritual fitness are addressed.     

Coarsening behaviour of gamma prime precipitates and concurrent transitions in the interface width in Ni-14 at.% Al-7 at.% Cr

Coupling atom probe tomography and transmission electron microscopy, the temporal evolution of γ′ precipitate morphology and size distribution and compositional width of the γ/γ′ interface, have been tracked in a model Ni-14Al-7Cr (at.%) alloy, during isothermal annealing at 800?°C subsequent to rapid quenching. During the initial annealing period, coalescence-dominated growth and coarsening of γ′ precipitates are accompanied by a gradual decrease in the interface width, eventually leading to classical LSW coarsening with a constant interface width at extended annealing time periods.     

Adaptive memory: determining the proximate mechanisms responsible for the memorial advantages of survival processing

J. S. Nairne, S. R. Thompson, and J. N. S. Pandeirada (2007) suggested that our memory systems may have evolved to help us remember fitness-relevant information and showed that retention of words rated for their relevance to survival is superior to that of words encoded under other deep processing conditions. The authors present 4 experiments that uncover the proximate mechanisms likely responsible. The authors obtained a recall advantage for survival processing compared with conditions that promoted only item-specific processing or only relational processing. This effect was eliminated when control conditions encouraged both item-specific and relational processing. Data from separate measures of item-specific and relational processing generally were consistent with the view that the memorial advantage for survival processing results from the encoding of both types of processing. Although the present study suggests the proximate mechanisms for the effect, the authors argue that survival processing may be fundamentally different from other memory phenomena for which item-specific and relational processing differences have been implicated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).     

Gender Stereotypes Depicted by Western and Korean Advertising Models in Korean Adolescent Girls�� Magazines

Using content analysis based on Goffman??s (1979) typology, the authors examined gender role stereotypes in Korean fashion magazines targeting adolescent girls. Korean women were more stereotypically portrayed than any other group as smiling, pouting, and with a childlike or cute expression. On the other hand, Western women were more stereotypically portrayed than any other group in the categories of licensed withdrawal and body display. In some categories, male models were more female-stereotypically portrayed than female models of a particular race. Implications of the findings, future research suggestions, and limitations of the current study are discussed.     

AIDS, FRAIDS, and Quarantine: Student Responses to Pro-Quarantine Initiatives in California

In the literature on AIDS, only a few empirical social reactivist studies of heterosexuals have been done, probably due to the preoccupation with explaining the incidence of AIDS among high-risk groups. The following study of 563 students enrolled in a large Southern California university adds to the heterosexual student literature by operationalizing an important research variable, FRAIDS, and by embarking on explanatory analysis of attitude and self-reported behavior. FRAIDS, which we will define as the fear of getting AIDS from casual contact sources, may be helpful in explaining both high-risk sexual behavior among heterosexuals and pro-quarantine sentiment. However, only the subsets of the FRAIDS variable (FRAIDS-dry and FRAIDS-wet) proved explanatory. FRAIDS-dry (fear of HIV infection from dry sources) proved significant in explaining sexual activity, while FRAIDS-wet (fear of HIV infection from wet casual contact sources) was found significant in explaining pro-quarantine sentiment. The converse was not true. Using homophobia as a control variable, homophobia was found to overshadow FRAIDS-wet for males but FRAIDS-wet rivaled homophobia in predicting pro-quarantine sentiment for females. Growing quarantine sentiment was noted among the students, as the survey took place during two different time periods (Fall of 1986 ( N = 375) and Spring of 1988 ( N = 188)), essentially before and after the actual vote in November 1986 on a pro-quarantine initiative (Proposition 64) that appeared on the California ballot. This apparent increase in pro-quarantine sentiment among students (and voters) highlights the need for attention to homophobia as well as detailed discussion of the fear of wet casual contact in AIDS education.     

Factor analysis of responses to the WISC-R for gifted children

Several researchers have focused on the question of whether the traditional two-factor interpretation of WISC--R scores proposed by Wechsler (1974) is appropriate in selecting students to be admitted to gifted programs. Some researchers have suggested that the two-factor solution (Verbal and Performance) of Karnes and K. E. Brown provides the appropriate model, while others have proposed an alternative model based on exploratory research with gifted and average students. The current study expands exploratory findings of S. W. Brown with Rood in 1982 and Yakimowski in 1987, using confirmatory factor analytical procedures. The confirmatory factor analyses for selected groups of gifted (n = 158) and average (n = 195) students (M = 9.6 yr.) indicate that the alternative three-factor solution model may be a better system for interpreting the pattern of WISC--R subtest scores of gifted students than the conventional Verbal and Performance solution.     

Predicting item exposure parameters in computerized adaptive testing

The purpose of this study is to find a formula that describes the relationship between item exposure parameters and item parameters in computerized adaptive tests by using genetic programming (GP) – a biologically inspired artificial intelligence technique. Based on the formula, item exposure parameters for new parallel item pools can be predicted without conducting additional iterative simulations. Results show that an interesting formula between item exposure parameters and item parameters in a pool can be found by using GP. The item exposure parameters predicted based on the found formula were close to those observed from the Sympson and Hetter (1985) procedure and performed well in controlling item exposure rates. Similar results were observed for the Stocking and Lewis (1998) multinomial model for item selection and the Sympson and Hetter procedure with content balancing. The proposed GP approach has provided a knowledge‐based solution for finding item exposure parameters.     

Effects of input device and motion type on a cursor-positioning task

Many studies have investigated the performance of using nonkey-board input devices under static situations, but few have considered the effects of motion type on manipulating these input devices. In this study comparison of 12 mens' performance using four input devices (three trackballs: currently used, trackman wheel, and erectly held trackballs, as well as a touch screen) under five motion types of static, heave, roll, pitch, and random movements was conducted. The input device and motion type significantly affected movement speed and accuracy, and their interaction significantly affected the movement speed. The touch screen was the fastest but the least accurate input device. The erectly held trackball was the slowest, whereas the error rate of the currently used trackball was the lowest. Impairments of the random motion on movement time and error rate were larger than those of other motion types. Considering objective and subjective evaluations, the trackman wheel and currently used trackball were more efficient in operation than the erectly held trackball and touch screen under the motion environments.