Equality of opportunity and complex equality: The special place of schooling

This paper is an engagement with Equality by John Baker, Kathleen Lynch, Judy Walsh and Sara Cantillon. It identifies a dilemma for educational egalitarians, which arises within their theory of equality, arguing that sometimes there may be a conflict between advancing equality of opportunity and providing equality of respect and recognition, and equality of love care and solidarity. It argues that the latter values may have more weight in deciding what to do than traditional educational egalitarians have usually thought.     

Measuring organisational climate and employee engagement: Evidence for a 7 Ps model of work practices and outcomes

This study presents evidence supporting the psychometric properties of the Voice Climate Survey: an employee opinion survey that measures work practices and outcomes. The tool is tested across 13,729 employees from 1,279 business units representing approximately 1,000 organisations. Exploratory factor analyses, confirmatory factor analyses and internal reliability analyses support 31 lower‐order work practices and outcomes that aggregate into seven higher‐order work systems broadly covering practices and outcomes such as organisational direction, ethics, resources, involvement, recognition, development, teamwork, wellness, work/life balance, change management, customer satisfaction, job satisfaction, organisational commitment and employees' intention to stay. External validation of the tool is demonstrated by linking scores from the employee survey with independent manager reports of turnover, absenteeism, productivity, health and safety, goal attainment, financial performance, change management, innovation and customer satisfaction.     

Item difficulty parameter estimation using the idea of the graded response model and computerized adaptive testing

Abstract:  In test operations using IRT (item response theory), items are included in a test before being used to rate subjects and the response data is used to estimate their item parameters. However, this method of test operation may lead to item content leakage and an adequate test operation can become difficult. To address this problem, Ozaki and Toyoda (2005, 2006 ) developed item difficulty parameter estimation methods that use paired comparison data from the perspective of the difficulty of items as judged by raters familiar with the field. In the present paper, an improved method of item difficulty parameter estimation is developed. In this new method, an item for which the difficulty parameter is to be estimated is compared with multiple items simultaneously, from the perspective of their difficulty. This is not a one-to-one comparison but a one-to-many comparison. In the comparisons, raters are informed that items selected from an item pool are ordered according to difficulty. The order will provide insight to improve the accuracy of judgment.     

Marginally perceptible outcome feedback, motor learning and implicit processes

Participants struck 500 golf balls to a concealed target. Outcome feedback was presented at the subjective or objective threshold of awareness of each participant or at a supraliminal threshold. Participants who received fully perceptible (supraliminal) feedback learned to strike the ball onto the target, as did participants who received feedback that was only marginally perceptible (subjective threshold). Participants who received feedback that was not perceptible (objective threshold) showed no learning. Upon transfer to a condition in which the target was unconcealed, performance increased in both the subjective and the objective threshold condition, but decreased in the supraliminal condition. In all three conditions, participants reported minimal declarative knowledge of their movements, suggesting that deliberate hypothesis testing about how best to move in order to perform the motor task successfully was disrupted by the impoverished disposition of the visual outcome feedback. It was concluded that sub-optimally perceptible visual feedback evokes implicit processes.     

Freirean Philosophy and Pedagogy in the Adult Education Context: The Case of Older Adults’ Learning

Central tenets of Freirean philosophy and pedagogy are explored and applied to the emerging field of older adults’ learning (educational gerontology), a sub-field of adult education. I argue that many of Freire’s concepts and principles have direct applicability to the tasks of adult educators working alongside marginalized older adults. In particular, Freire’s ideas fit comfortably within a critical educational gerontology approach as they challenge prevailing orthodoxies and provide a robust analytical framework from which radical adult educators can work effectively in promoting social transformation.

Self-estimates of intelligence: culture and gender difference in self and other estimates of both general (g) and multiple intelligences

This review paper examines two related areas of research: studies dating back over 50 years on lay theories of the nature and measurement of intelligence, and more recent research on sex and culture differences on self-estimated intelligence. The latter focus is on the nearly 20 published papers on estimated intelligence. Studies have shown consistent sex differences with males rating themselves higher than females. There are also consistent generational effects with adult participants believing around a half standard deviation difference in intelligence with their grandparents being least intelligent and children most. Self-estimated and psychometric intelligence only correlates weakly. Studies looking at self and other estimates of multiple intelligence indicated that participants seemed to believe that intelligence was male normative in that it was specifically those types of intelligence (mathematical and spatial) that most differentiated between the sexes that were themselves more predictive of general overall intelligence. Implications of these findings for intelligence testing are considered.     

基因检测与治疗中若干问题的伦理学思考

随着基因组学的发展,临床医学中出现了基因检测与基因治疗的新方法,伴随着基因技术的临床应用出现了一些伦理、法律和社会新问题,迫使人们从理论和观念层次加以考察并探讨解决问题的可能性途径,对基因检测和基因治疗中出现或可能出现的伦理学问题进行了初步探讨,结合国际人类基因组计划的有关规范,探索了解决问题的可能性途径。     

The Value of Knowledge/Rationality or the Knowledge/Rationality of Value?: Implications for Education

This paper reviews and augments important work in philosophy of education on intrinsic aims for education, of knowledge, of knowledge of values, and of rationality. A contemporary conception of knowledge as ``rationality's `data-base' is proposed and an in-depth section on the intrinsic value of rationality is incorporated.     

A Systemic Approach to Fetal Loss Following Genetic Testing

Advances in genetic technology challenge couples to make complex life and death decisions about their fetus that have far-reaching practical and emotional consequences. When genetic defects lead to fetal loss, whether by miscarriage, elective interruption, or still birth, it can be a devastating experience with ripple effects on couple and family development. This paper presents a systemic approach to coping and adaptation to fetal loss in the wake of genetic testing. Clinical vignettes illustrate common experiences and present interventions designed to help the individual grieving partners as well as the marriage. thereby strengthening the family fabric at a vulnerable transitional stage.     

群体水平领域分数及其估计方法

对人才的需求已经引起各国政府和国际组织对教育的高度重视,纷纷在国家和地区层面进行大规模的教育评估。在大尺度教育评估中,如何向政府、管理者和公众报告学生表现是不可避免的重要问题。报告学生表现有多种方式,领域分数作为管理者和公众最容易理解和接受的分数报告工具之一,在近些年受到研究者和实践者的关注,因此也成为了大型教育评价项目的必然选择。文中将介绍群体领域分数的起源和定义,并重点介绍群体领域分数的估计方法和相关研究,最后对未来开展进一步研究进行展望。