Prompt-aided instruction of mirror-image discriminations: Abrupt prompt removal,time delay,and self-evaluation

This study compared three types of prompt-elimination procedures for helping children respond to left-right mirror-image stimuli. Three populations participated: normally developing preschoolers, students with mild mental retardation, and students with moderate mental retardation. All subjects were first trained to discriminate the stimuli in the presence of multiple pictorial prompts. These prompts required the subjects to discriminate the compounds on the basis of orientation. Then the prompts were eliminated, abruptly, with a time-delay procedure, or with a procedure requiring subjects to use the prompts to self-evaluate the accuracy of their responses. The results showed the following. First, most subjects rapidly discriminated the compound stimuli. Second, about 50% of the subjects of each population discriminated the task stimuli even when the prompts were abruptly removed. Time delay was highly effective with the normally developing preschoolers and students with mild mental retardation, but not with students with moderate mental retardation. The self-evaluation procedure was effective with all three populations.     

Cut-free tableau calculi for some propositional normal modal logics

We give sound and complete tableau and sequent calculi for the prepositional normal modal logics S4.04, K4B and G ⁰(these logics are the smallest normal modal logics containing K and the schemata A A, A A and A ( A); A A and AA; A A and ((A A) A) A resp.) with the following properties: the calculi for S4.04 and G ⁰are cut-free and have the interpolation property, the calculus for K4B contains a restricted version of the cut-rule, the so-called analytical cut-rule.In addition we show that G ⁰is not compact (and therefore not canonical), and we proof with the tableau-method that G ⁰is characterised by the class of all finite, (transitive) trees of degenerate or simple clusters of worlds; therefore G ⁰is decidable and also characterised by the class of all frames for G ⁰.Research supported by Fonds zur Förderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung, project number P8495-PHY.Presented by W. Rautenberg     

Agoraphobia and Locus of Control

This study investigated whether external locus of control, as measured with the Rotter Internal-External Locus of Control Scale, is a specific feature of agoraphobia or whether it characterizes neurosis in general. Forty agoraphobic patients, 81 nonagoraphobic neurotic controls, and 49 normal controls completed the Dutch version of the Rotter Internal-External Locus of Control Scale. Agoraphobic patients were found to have a more external orientation as compared to the normal controls, but as a group, they could not be identified as being different from neurotic controls.This study was supported in part by a grant from the Dutch Organization for Fundamental Research (ZWO/Psychon 560-268-001).     

公务员正常高值血压的流行现状及危险因素分析

对吉林省516名公务员的血压及心血管疾病危险因素进行描述性分析,用二分类Logistic回归法筛选危险因素。公务员正常高值血压现患率为34．9％。正常高值血压人群体重指数、腰围、空腹血糖、总胆固醇、低密度脂蛋白胆固醇、甘油三酯、血清肌酐、血尿酸、心一踝血管指数水平以及代谢综合征患病率均高于正常血压组低于高血压组,高密度...     

On local influence analysis of full information item factor models

The full information item factor (FIIF) model is very useful for analyzing relations of dichotomous variables. In this article, we present a feasible procedure to assess local influence of minor perturbations for identifying influence aspects of the FIIF model. The development is based on a Q-displacement function which is closely related with the Monte Carlo EM algorithm in the ML estimation. In the E-step of this algorithm, the conditional expectations are approximated by sample means of observations simulated by the Gibbs sampler from the appropriate conditional distributions. It turns out that these observations can be utilized for computing the building blocks of the proposed diagnostic measures. The diagnoses are based on the conformal normal curvature that can be computed easily. A number of interesting perturbation schemes are considered. The methodology is illustrated with two real examples.The research is fully supported by a grant (CUHK 4356/00H) from the Research Grant Council of the Hong Kong Special Administration Region. The authors are thankful to the Editor, Associate Editor, anonymous reviewers, and W.Y. Poon for valuable comments for improving the paper, and to ICPSR and the relevant founding agency for allowing us to use of their data. The assistance of Michael Leung and Esther Tam is gratefully acknowledged.     

Estimating the parameters of the latent population distribution

Under consideration is a test battery of binary items. The responses ofn individuals are assumed to follow a Rasch model. It is further assumed that the latent individual parameters are distributed within a given population in accordance with a normal distribution. Methods are then considered for estimating the mean and variance of this latent population distribution. Also considered are methods for checking whether a normal population distribution fits the data. The developed methods are applied to data from an achievement test and from an attitude test.     

高师学生教学态度研究

对503名高师学生的教学态度进行问卷施测,结果显示:当前高师学生的教学态度是较积极、进步的,倾向人文取向的;性别、学科以及中学教学经验对高师学生教学态度有显著的影响,但当前的高师教育并未能有效促进学生养成积极的教学态度.     

执行意向影响事件性前瞻记忆的加工机制

本研究旨在探究不同执行意向编码形式对前瞻记忆加工机制的影响是否存在差异。结果显示在低认知负荷下,混合编码效果最好,仅执行意向编码次之,标准编码效果最差,而在高认知负荷下三种编码效果无差异。眼动指标显示在低认知负荷下混合编码的注视点数量最多,总注视时间最长;在混合编码条件下进行中任务和前瞻记忆任务的总注视时间均长于仅执行意向编码和标准编码。结果说明,执行意向编码容易受认知负荷的影响;在低认知负荷下混合编码的被试对任务刺激进行更多的监控和加工,而仅执行意向编码促进前瞻记忆任务的自动化加工。     

MCMC estimation and some model-fit analysis of multidimensional IRT models

A Bayesian procedure to estimate the three-parameter normal ogive model and a generalization of the procedure to a model with multidimensional ability parameters are presented. The procedure is a generalization of a procedure by Albert (1992) for estimating the two-parameter normal ogive model. The procedure supports analyzing data from multiple populations and incomplete designs. It is shown that restrictions can be imposed on the factor matrix for testing specific hypotheses about the ability structure. The technique is illustrated using simulated and real data. The authors would like to thank Norman Verhelst for his valuable comments and ACT, CITO group and SweSAT for the use of their data.