Testing Inequality Constrained Hypotheses in SEM Models     

Rens van de Schoot  Herbert Hoijtink  Maja Deković 《Structural equation modeling》2013,20(3):443-463

Researchers often have expectations that can be expressed in the form of inequality constraints among the parameters of a structural equation model. It is currently not possible to test these so-called informative hypotheses in structural equation modeling software. We offer a solution to this problem using Mplus. The hypotheses are evaluated using plug-in p values with a calibrated alpha level. The method is introduced and its utility is illustrated by means of an example.  相似文献   

Modeling Ability Differentiation in the Second-Order Factor Model     

Dylan Molenaar  Conor V. Dolan  Han L.J. van der Maas 《Structural equation modeling》2013,20(4):578-594

In this article we present factor models to test for ability differentiation. Ability differentiation predicts that the size of IQ subtest correlations decreases as a function of the general intelligence factor. In the Schmid–Leiman decomposition of the second-order factor model, we model differentiation by introducing heteroscedastic residuals, nonlinear factor loadings, and a skew-normal second-order factor distribution. Using marginal maximum likelihood, we fit this model to Spanish standardization data of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (3rd ed.) to test the differentiation hypothesis.  相似文献   

Dutch Dyslexia in Adulthood: Core Features and Variety     

Judith Bekebrede  Aryan van der Leij  Anna Plakas  David Share  Eleni Morfidi 《Scientific Studies of Reading》2013,17(2):183-210

This study aimed to explore how alphabetic readers learn to read Chinese. First-year Chinese beginning learners who are skilled English readers were tested for their sensitivity to the visual-orthographic structures of Chinese characters. The study also explored the effect of the frequency of the characters in their curriculum on performance of a lexical decision and naming task. The students' linguistic knowledge about the characters was also tested. Results showed that the beginning learners were sensitive to the structural complexity of characters, they accepted simple characters more quickly and more accurately than compound characters, and they responded faster and more accurately to high-frequency than to low-frequency characters. Sensitivity to the structural composition of the character was also revealed: The learners rejected noncharacters containing illegal radical forms faster and more accurately than those containing legal radical forms in illegal positions, which in turn were rejected faster and more accurately than those containing legal radical forms in legal positions. A significant frequency effect was also found in the naming task, though the effect of structural complexity was not significant. These results suggest that perceptual learning plays an important role in early nonalphabetic learning by alphabetic readers. Both cross-writing system differences and second-language status may have an impact on such learning.  相似文献   

Modeling the Growth of Word-Decoding Skills: Evidence From Dutch     

Ludo Verhoeven  Jan van Leeuwe 《Scientific Studies of Reading》2013,17(3):205-223

This study investigated the growth of word-decoding skills throughout the elementary school years for a representative sample of 2,819 Dutch children. Children's decoding abilities for (a) regular consonant-vowel-consonant words, (b) complex monosyllabic words with consonant clusters in prevocalic and postvocalic position, and (c) polysyllabic words were assessed on two occasions in each school year (Grades 1–6). The growth of word-decoding skills was found to be largely a matter of increased speed. Growth curve analyses showed a gradual curvilinear model to be superior to a step-model for all word-decoding skills. Furthermore, the three measures of word decoding define a common factor and show strong longitudinal stability. Some unique variance for the three word-decoding skills also emerged suggesting that the development of fully proficient word-decoding skills requires the learning of orthographic complexities.  相似文献   

The Role of Linguistic Diversity in the Prediction of Early Reading Comprehension: A Quantile Regression Approach     

Liza J. van den Bosch  Eliane Segers  Ludo Verhoeven 《Scientific Studies of Reading》2013,17(3):203-219

ABSTRACT

Using classical and quantile regression analyses, we investigated whether predictor variables for early reading comprehension differed depending on language background and ability level in a mixed group of 161 monolingual (L1) and bilingual (L2) children in second grade (6–8 years). Although L2 readers scored lower on oral language skills and reading comprehension, the prediction of reading comprehension was similar for L1 and L2 readers. Classical regression identified decoding, vocabulary, and morphosyntactic knowledge as unique predictors with no interaction with language background. Quantile regression demonstrated that the prediction of reading comprehension differed across ability levels; decoding and morphosyntactic knowledge were consistently unique predictors, but vocabulary was uniquely related only for poor comprehenders and working memory only for good comprehenders. In both types of analysis, language background did not explain unique variance, indicating that individual differences in the predictor variables explained the L1–L2 performance gap in early reading comprehension across the ability range.  相似文献   

Improving the CBT Development Process Through Knowledge Sharing: An Empirical Study     

Jan-Willem van Aalst  Charles van der Mast 《Interactive Learning Environments》2013,21(1):71-86

In this paper, techniques from the research field of knowledge management are used to improve the maturity of the Computer Based Training (CBT) development process at an IT-oriented organization involved in producing courseware. The project team is facilitated with a knowledge-sharing solution that enables them to unambiguously define their project process, and link templates and best practices to the activities in that process. In addition, a virtual discussion room is provided for them to share new insights. Results from measurement experiments indicate more positive project experiences with projects that used the knowledge-sharing solution.  相似文献   

An International Orientation on Institutional Strategies and Governmental Policies for the Use of ICT in Higher Education     

Marijk van der Wende  Eric Beerkens 《Interactive Learning Environments》2013,21(2-3):283-321

This article provides an international comparative overview of institutional strategies, collaboration patterns and governmental policies related to the use of ICT in higher education. It has been produced as part of an international comparative study on the use of ICT in higher education. A study commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and published as: “The Use of Information and Communication Technology in Higher Education: An International Orientation on Trends and Issues”, B. Collis and M. van der Wende (Eds). University of Twente, CHEPS, 1999. It covers the following range of countries: Belgium, Finland, the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States of America. Additionally some main initiatives at the European level have been taken into account. On the basis of this international comparison, the following main conclusions were drawn. Due in part to the fact that in many cases institutional strategies for ICT are still lacking, interesting experimentation does not generally lead to successful dissemination and adoption on a wider scale. In many cases, the push for a substantial use of ICT in distance learning programs has come from new educati onal markets, life-long learning and international education in particular. The response of higher education to these markets is leading in many countries to a convergence of distance and traditional (on-campus) education. Inter-institutional and inter-sectoral collaboration between universities and companies are characteristics of many successful ICT initiatives, although they do not generally continue into sustainable implementation in the individual institutions. Governments facilitate the use of ICT through the establishment of infrastructure, networks and inter-institutional and public–private partnerships, and try to create the right regulatory environment. Further deregulation will enable institutions to respond to new market demands and will inspire the necessary organizational change in higher education institutions.  相似文献   

A teacher competence development programme for supporting students’ reflection skills     

Agaath M. Dekker-Groen  Marieke F. van der Schaaf  Karel M. Stokking 《Teachers and Teaching》2013,19(2):150-171

The Teachers of Promise study has followed the work histories of 57 primary and secondary teachers who had been identified at the beginning of their third year of teaching as having the potential to make a significant contribution to the profession. Using data from surveys and interviews, this paper reports on what sustained or inhibited their initial commitment to and enthusiasm for ‘making a difference’, six years later, both in the classroom and in broader school leadership roles. Satisfaction with their day-to-day experiences in their schools was a particularly strong driver of teachers’ career decisions over time. Thirty-four teachers responded to survey items that were used to identify three different groups of teachers: a group of 10 primary school teachers with the highest levels of job satisfaction who were ‘fulfilling their promise’; a group of 21 primary and secondary teachers who were ‘persevering and coping’; and three teachers who were ‘detached and disengaged’. The group with the highest levels of job satisfaction taught in primary schools where they felt respected and valued, and supported to develop their teaching and leadership expertise. School leadership practices and school cultures in the other two groups diminished teachers’ overall job satisfaction and contribution to collective knowledge building in their schools. Almost all of the teachers had retained their commitment to students, to their current schools and to teaching as a career, including those with lower levels of satisfaction. Although these teachers reported ‘collegial’ relationships with their peers, individualistic school cultures, most often in secondary schools, impacted on their opportunities to learn with and from their colleagues. Few secondary school teachers felt appreciated, and included in school decision-making or had found it possible to combine high standards of classroom teaching with management responsibilities. The study indicates that while most promising teachers were still satisfied with teaching after nine years, relatively few were in schools where they were able to make the impact that had been predicted for them early in their careers.  相似文献   

Gaps and Plugs: TNO, and the Problems of Getting Knowledge out of Laboratories     

Arjan van Rooij 《Minerva》2013,51(1):25-48

This article aims to clarify and improve thinking on normative government laboratories: partly publically funded laboratories that work to improve the functioning of society, particularly through boosting innovation. This article focuses on a case study of TNO, a large Dutch laboratory, and an exemplary case of this type of laboratory. This article argues that TNO is perceived as a plug to fill a gap between knowledge production and use, in a belief that there is a direct and causal link between laboratory knowledge production and use. As a plug to fill a gap, however, TNO, and laboratories like it, can never perform satisfactorily, making an enduring cycle of negative performance evaluations and major reorganizations inevitable. This article suggests that a network model of innovation might provide a way out of the impasse.  相似文献   

Knowledge integration in the shadow of tacit spillovers: Empirical evidence from U.S. R&D labs     

Roberto Venturini  Marco Ceccagnoli  Nicolas van Zeebroeck 《Research Policy》2019,48(1):180-205

Integrating knowledge across a firm's value chain (e.g. between R&D, marketing and manufacturing functions), which we denote “Knowledge Integration” (KI), has been consistently found to be a strong predictor of product innovation performance in the management literature. Such cross-functional integration does not occur by chance, but by design, as a result of managerial practices and organizational arrangements. The significant heterogeneity characterizing the diffusion of cross-functional integration across firms is suggestive of the well-known tension between internal and external diffusion of knowledge. In this paper, we argue that the hidden cost of KI is to expose firms to a higher risk of knowledge leakages and provide the first systematic empirical evidence of this apparent tension between internal and external knowledge flows. Based on data from the CMU Survey (one of the rare datasets offering observables on both sides of the tension for a representative set of R&D active firms in the US), we investigate the impact of knowledge spillovers to competitors on internal cross-functional knowledge integration involving the R&D function among manufacturing firms. We find that the intensity of (tacit) R&D knowledge spillovers at the industry-level has a negative and significant impact on the likelihood that firms adopt or achieve KI. Our results therefore suggest that firms may trade their optimal innovative performance against superior appropriability of their rents.  相似文献