Item Response Theory with Estimation of the Latent Population Distribution Using Spline-Based Densities

The purpose of this paper is to introduce a new method for fitting item response theory models with the latent population distribution estimated from the data using splines. A spline-based density estimation system provides a flexible alternative to existing procedures that use a normal distribution, or a different functional form, for the population distribution. A simulation study shows that the new procedure is feasible in practice, and that when the latent distribution is not well approximated as normal, two-parameter logistic (2PL) item parameter estimates and expected a posteriori scores (EAPs) can be improved over what they would be with the normal model. An example with real data compares the new method and the extant empirical histogram approach.     

重新审视21世纪初期我国城市健康问题

随着我国城市化进程的加快,出现很多新的健康问题,突出表现在:生育率进一步下降;新、老空巢现象交错;城市边缘人群社会医学问题日趋彰显;文化冲突进一步加剧;城市公共安全问题突出。我们必须对上述问题予以足够重视,并开展针对性研究。     

健康的现代诠释:基于农村流动人口的研究

现代语境里的健康不仅指涉生理与心理健康,社会与文化健康亦为不可或缺的维度,以农村流动人口为研究对象,结合健康这一研究主体,既对健康予以现代诠释,又对农村流动人口给以高度人文关注,力使他们在健康的现代话语中逐步向新市民转型。     

刺激-反应相容性的度量与运用

为了度量刺激－反应相容性的程度、预测汉字标准键盘编码输入法的易学性,根据Ｓ－Ｒ相容性中群体模板的定义,提出了相容性系数的概念及其计算方法,总结出运用相容性系数的值预测汉字标准键盘编码输入法易学性的方法。并通过实验室实验和实际测量对上述结果进行了验证     

The older American Jewish population: Findings from the Pew study

ABSTRACT

The 2013 Pew Research Center survey of American Jews provided an opportunity to examine trends in identity and identification among older American Jews. By comparing findings from this survey to findings from similar surveys in 1990 and 2000/2001 we were able to examine patterns of continuing integration into the American religious mainstream and away from more traditional religious and ethnic ways of expressing their Jewish identity.     

Poland: Crises in Christian-Jewish Identity

Fifty years after the Holocaust, Jews in various parts of Poland who were raised as Christians are discovering their Jewish identity. Upon disclosing it, they may undergo personal crises. They are required to revise their sense of identity. Support groups conducted by the writer in the United States served as a model for similar groups in Warsaw, Poland. This paper explains the dimensions of this work, provides clinical examples from accounts of the participants, and discusses the problem of Jewish identity from various vantage points.     

Grey Matter: Ambiguities and Complexities of Ethics in Research

Ethical dilemmas are often not discussed in the dissemination of educational research. While the ethical guidelines for research seem clear at first glance, a closer look at the intimate nature of qualitative research reveals that there are many ambiguities or ‘grey’ areas where researchers must rely on their personal value systems. This article discusses the challenges faced by an experienced educator, although novice researcher, in considering the ethical parameters of her own research with adolescents with hearing loss. In particular, the grey ethical areas identified by the researcher include: (a) vulnerable population; (b) researcher role confusion; (c) consent; (d) privacy, confidentiality, and anonymity; as well as (e) the nature of risk. Based on the author’s own reflections on beginning the research process, the article presents possible pitfalls and ways of overcoming the possibility of becoming immobilized by the ethical enigmas of research.     

Psychometric examination and normative data for the narcissistic personality inventory 29 item version

The Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) is commonly used in empirical studies of narcissism. Few population-based studies have been published. Our aim was to do a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of the NPI 29 item version with a four-factor structure, in two population-based samples and in a patient sample, and present normative population-based data. The NPI-29 was filled in by 324 respondents from the Norwegian population, 231 from the Swedish population and 167 Norwegian psychiatric patients. The four-factor structure of the NPI-29 with Leadership/Power, Exhibitionism/Self-admiration, Superiority/Arrogance and Uniqueness/Entitlement was reproduced in these samples. The CFA models showed good fit indices in all samples. Mean scores on the NPI-29 and four subscales hardly differed between the samples. For the NPI-29 total score and factors, few significant differences were observed. CFA of the samples supported the factor structure of the NPI-29 formerly identified by principal component analysis of the Swedish population sample.     

《中国人群死亡及其危险因素：流行水平、趋势和分布》的研究思路

回顾了该研究的思路,指出进行这样的研究,关键是建立一个有代表性的监测系统,针对同一监测人群,开展综合监测,发展规范的现场工作程序,确保获得高质量数据。建立标准的、动态的人口库、出生、死亡和危险因素个案库,是完成这项研究的前提,世界卫生组织专家称这是中国人在流行病学监测中的天才创新。