bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Invasive crayfish as vectors of mercury in freshwater food webs of the Pacific Northwest
Authors: Johnson Branden L. , Willacker James J. , Eagles-Smith Collin A. , Pearl Christopher A. , Adams Michael J. 
Published: August 2014

Abstract

Invasive species are important drivers of environmental change in aquatic ecosystems and can alter habitat characteristics, community composition, and ecosystem energetics. Such changes have important implications for many ecosystem processes, including the bioaccumulation and biomagnification of contaminants through food webs. Mercury concentrations were measured in 2 nonnative and 1 native crayfish species from western Oregon (USA). Nonnative red swamp crayfish had mercury concentrations similar to those in native signal crayfish (0.29 ± 0.05 µg/g dry wt and 0.36 ± 0.06 µg/g dry wt, respectively), whereas the nonnative ringed crayfish had lower mercury concentrations (0.10 ± 0.02 µg/g dry wt) than either of the other species. The mean energy content of muscle was similar between the native signal crayfish and nonnative ringed crayfish but was significantly higher in the nonnative red swamp crayfish. Across species, mercury concentrations were negatively correlated with energy density. Such energetic differences could exacerbate changes in mercury transfer through trophic pathways of food webs, especially via alterations to the growth dynamics of consumers. Thus, it is important to consider the role of energy content in determining effective mercury exposure even when mercury concentrations on a per-unit mass basis do not differ between species. Environ Toxicol Chem 2014;33:2639–2645. Published 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of SETAC. This article is a US Government work and as such, is in the public domain in the United States of America.
REPORT ON THE STUDY OF ADAPTABILITY RATINGS OF CADETS IN THE CLASS OF 1949 AT THE U. S. COAST GUARD ACADEMY
Authors: French J. W. 
Published: August 2014

ABSTRACT AND RECOMMENDATIONSFrom this study and the one on the class of 1947 it is very clear that the instructors and cadets at the Coast Guard Academy have in mind a very consistent and measurable trait when they make their ratings on adaptability. The same can be said for ratings in the Department of Physical Education. Both these traits are unrelated to academic grades, and they have little relation to each other. Suggestions are given for combining the measures of each of these two traits. It is also clear that the entrance tests analyzed in these studies fail to measure or predict these traits. The traits are so clear and present prediction so absent, that the development of suitable prediction tests promises to be difficult but worth‐while.This study confirms the conclusions of other studies that the academic entrance tests used by the Academy do an excellent job in predicting the specific course grades which they are supposed to predict.
REPORT ON A FACTOR ANALYSIS OF ENTRANCE TESTS AND GRADES FOR THE CLASS OF 1949 AT THE U. S. COAST GUARD ACADEMY
Authors: French John W. 
Published: August 2014

ABSTRACTFactor analysis of entrance test scores sad grades for the Class of 1949 has identified a number of factors or psychological fractions responsible for a large part of the variations in test scores and grades within the cadet group. The factors which are important in predicting academic success at the Coast Guard Academy are mathematics ability, verbal ability, reading, and spatial ability, in that order. There is also some factor which greatly affects course grades, but which is not measured at all by the entrance tests use in this study. This factor is indicated because the cadets tend to get similar grades in every subject. This could be a result of a factor of interest or of effort or it could be something in the grading system itself. The admissions procedure already tends to give weight to the factors in nearly their correct order of importance. An attempt to measure the last factor mentioned would be an important further step. Another step would be to compare the entrance test scores of those who graduated with those who failed. The use of cutting scores might be found appropriate.
IMAGE FACTOR ANALYSIS1,2
Authors: Jo̎reskog K. G. 
Published: August 2014

ABSTRACTA factorial study is usually concerned with two kinds of inference: psychometrical and statistical. Psychometrical inference is the generalization of results to some universe of tests representing the psychological domain under study. Statistical inference is the generalization to some population of examinees. The image factor analytic model is designed for both types of inference and is related to Guttman's image theory. A maximum likelihood solution is developed for this model. The number of factors question is discussed. The method is illustrated using Harman's 13 psychological tests.
INDUSTRIAL THERAPY1
Authors: Gerjuoy Herbert , Fessenden Bruce , Goril Robert B. , Price Leighton A. 
Published: August 2014

ABSTRACTThis Research Bulletin is based upon a chapter from Administration of activity therapies, edited by G. O'Morrow (Springfield, Ohio: Charles C. Thomas, 1965, in press). The purpose of this chapter is to encourage organization of hospital industrial therapy programs to meet the highest professional standards. Modern techniques of selection, classification, and evaluation of staff and patients are emphasized.
IMPLICIT PERSONALITY THEORY: IS IT ILLUSORY?
Authors: Jackson Douglas N. , Chan David W. , Stricker Lawrence J. 
Published: August 2014

ABSTRACTSeveral studies have found a substantial association between subjects' judgments about the co‐occurrence of personality items and the items' actual co‐occurrence, lending support to the validity of implicit personality theory. This work has recently been called into question by an investigation of Mirels that reported a nonsignificant relationship between judged probabilities of coendorsement of items pairs and the pairs' empirical coendorsement probabilities (actually calculated conditional probabilities) derived from self‐report responses. Using Mirels' data as well as our own, we found an appreciable and highly significant association between the judgments and empirical coendorsement, when the latter was measured by correlational‐type indexes instead of conditional probability. This outcome indicates that the divergent results in the Mirels investigation were due to its use of the conditional probability index as a measure of empirical coendorsement and adds to the body of evidence pointing to the validity of implicit personality theory.
INDEXES OF SOCIAL STRATIFICATION: WHAT DO THEY MEASURE?
Authors: Stricker Lawrence J. 
Published: August 2014

ABSTRACTThis study is concerned with the ability of standard indexes of socioeconomic status and similar devices to measure major dimensions of social stratification for whites and blacks. Factor analyses of survey data for samples of both races uncovered five matching factors and two others unique to a single sample, all of which seem to represent important components of stratification. Most of the indexes were relevant to three matching factors, and some of these measures consistently loaded them in both samples. However, several of the pertinent indexes only loaded white versions of these factors, and some failed to load any. Few, if any, indexes were relevant to or loaded the remaining factors. Additionally, some indexes were not pertinent to and did not load any factor. In contrast to the indexes, other variables loaded all but one of the factors. The main conclusions are that (a) the coverage of the indexes is restricted; (b) the devices are not uniformly applicable to blacks; and (c) the complexity of this domain requires separate measures of each factor, achievable by combining standard indexes and new variables.
MATERNAL TEACHING STRATEGIES IN CHICANO AND ANGLO‐AMERICAN FAMILIES: THE INFLUENCE OF CULTURE AND EDUCATION ON MATERNAL BEHAVIOR
Authors: Laosa Luis M. 
Published: August 2014

ABSTRACTThe study examined (a) whether differences exist between Chicano and Anglo‐American families in the strategies that mothers use to teach their own children and (b) whether such differences, if they exist, are likely to persist or disappear as a result of effective social change toward increased educational and occupational equality in the society where the two groups coexist. Eighty‐three Chicano and Anglo‐American mothers were observed in their homes teaching cognitive‐perceptual tasks to their own five‐year‐old children. Significant differences in maternal teaching strategies were found between the two cultural groups. Results also showed that these differences appear to be the result of differences in the average level of formal education attained by the mothers in the two cultural populations. These results suggest that the observed differences in maternal teaching strategies may disappear as women in the two cultural groups attain similar levels of formal education.
ANALYSIS OF THE SUBSCALE STRUCTURE OF TEST BATTERIES: A CONFIRMATORY STUDY OF THE INTERRELATIONSHIPS OF CGP AND N.J. BASIC SKILLS SUBSCORES
Authors: Grandy Jerilee 
Published: August 2014

ABSTRACTThis analysis exemplifies a method for investigating the construct validity of the subscales of one or more test batteries. In this study, the structures of the Comparative Guidance and Placement Test (CGP) and New Jersey Basic Skills test were examined to see if the subscales designed to measure the same skills were doing so, and to see if the nontraditional subscales (Mosaic Comparisons, Year 2000, and Letter Groups) were measuring something different from the traditional subscales (Reading, Sentences, and Mathematics).The methodology employed was a confirmatory factor analysis. Data from 822 students who had taken both batteries were used to test a hypothesized four‐factor model (Reading, Sentences, Mathematics, and Mosaic Comparisons); this model was found to fit the data. It was concluded that Mosaic Comparisons, Year 2000, and Letter Groups each measure something uniquely different from Reading, Sentences, and Mathematics.Although technically complex, this methodology is easily and inexpensively applied to this type of problem. It can be particularly useful in criterion‐referenced test development for testing whether a priori subscales are actually measuring different skills.
A SUMMARY OF THE RESULTS OF THE GRADUATE MANAGEMENT ADMISSION COUNCIL (GMAC) VALIDITY STUDY SERVICE FOR 1979–1980
Authors: Powers Donald E. , Moss Pamela A. 
Published: August 2014

ABSTRACTThe GMAC Validity Study Service was created to enable graduate schools of management to investigate the adequacy of the devices and procedures they use for selection purposes and to facilitate the accumulation and summary of data from many individual graduate management schools. Participating schools are required to provide information on three standard predictors (GMAT‐V, GMAT‐Q, and undergraduate grade point average) and one standard criterion (first year average in management school). In addition, each school may specify optional subgroupings, predictors, and criteria relevant to its admissions process. In the 1979–80 academic year, 38 schools participated in the Validity Study Service. This report provides (a) a descriptive summary of the validity of GMAT scores and undergraduate grade point average as predictors of first year grade point average in management school, (b) a categorization of optional variables designated by individual schools along with the correlational analyses for the most frequently specified variables, and (c) a comparison of the results of the 1979–80 Validity Study Service with the results from previous years.
INTERPRETING LEAST SQUARES WITHOUT SAMPLING ASSUMPTIONS
Authors: Beaton Albert E. 
Published: August 2014

ABSTRACTLeast squares fitting is perhaps the most commonly used tool of statisticians. Under sampling assumptions, statistical inference makes possible the estimation of population parameters and their confidence intervals and also the testing of hypotheses. In this paper the properties of least squares fitting is examined without sampling assumptions. It is shown that some of the output (e.g. standard errors, t, F, and p statistics) from standard regression programs can be interpreted as (approximate) measures of goodness‐of‐fit of a model to the observed data. The interpretation is also applicable in weighted least squares situations such as robust regression.
INTERNAL CONSTRUCT VALIDITY OF THE CAREER SKILLS ASSESSMENT PROGRAM
Authors: Rock Donald A. 
Published: August 2014

ABSTRACTThe primary purpose of this study was to provide evidence for or against the construct validity of the Career Skills Assessment Program (CSAP) instrument. A secondary purpose was to present a systematic procedure for carrying out internal construct validity studies in any testing instrument. Construct validation using confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the CSAP instrument reliably measured what it purported to measure, and five of its six subscales provided sufficiently unique information to make it a useful tool for program and/or individual diagnosis.
UNBIASED ESTIMATORS OF ABILITY PARAMETERS, OF THEIR VARIANCE, AND OF THEIR PARALLEL‐FORMS RELIABILITY
Authors: Lord Frederic M. 
Published: August 2014

ABSTRACTGiven known item parameters, unbiased estimators are derived 1) for an examinee's ability parameter θ and for his proportion‐correct true score ζ, 2) for s2θ the variance of θ across examinees in the group tested, also for s2ζ, and 3) for the parallel‐forms reliability of the observed test score, the maximum likelihood estimator, .
PSYCHOMETRIC CHARACTERISTICS OF CHICANO AND NON‐HISPANIC WHITE CHILDREN'S PERFORMANCE ON THE PRESCHOOL INVENTORY
Authors: Laosa Luis M. 
Published: August 2014

ABSTRACTTwo studies are reported that independently examined the psychometric characteristics of children's performance on the Preschool Inventory. The sample in study I consisted of 100 Chicano children tested longitudinally at ages 3½ and 4 years. The sample in study II consisted of 200 Chicano and non‐Hispanic White children matched on mothers' schooling level in a cross‐sectional design involving two age levels‐prekindergarten‐age children and children enrolled in kindergarten. Comparisons were made by ethnic group, sex, and age level with regard to item characteristics, internal‐consistency reliabilities, test‐retest stability, standard errors of measurement, validity, and performance level. Comparisons also were made between the psychometric characteristics of the Chicano children's performance on the Preschool Inventory and the psychometric characteristics reported by other investigators for the same instrument administered to children of other ethnic, socioeconomic, and sociolinguistic backgrounds. The results provide impressive evidence of the Preschool Inventory's psychometric strengths and demonstrate that the examined psychometric characteristics of the Preschool Inventory are as exemplary when the test is administered to Chicano children as they are exemplary when it is administered to children of other ethnic backgrounds. Certain limitations of the Preschool Inventory are identified. Recommendations are made regarding possible avenues for future test development efforts.
ARE WE CORRECTING FOR GUESSING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION?
Authors: Wainer Howard 
Published: August 2014

ABSTRACTTraditional corrections for guessing tend to penalize the testee. Various arguments from a substantive and statistical point of view are proposed that would tend to alter the direction of most guessing corrections. A statistical procedure that takes an intermediate stance is discussed and its consequences for testing in general, and computerized adaptive testing in particular, are examined.
A GENERAL BAYESIAN MODEL FOR TESTLETS: THEORY AND APPLICATIONS
Authors: Wang Xiaohui , Bradlow Eric T. , Wainer Howard 
Published: August 2014

ABSTRACTThis paper extends earlier work (Bradlow, Wainer, & Wang, 1999; Wainer, Bradlow, & Du, 2000) on the modeling of testlet‐based response data to include the situation in which a test is composed, partially or completely, of polytomously scored items and/or testlets. A modified version of commonly employed item response models, embedded within a fully Bayesian framework, is proposed, and inferences under the model are obtained using Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) techniques. Its use is demonstrated within a designed series of simulations and by analyzing operational data from the North Carolina Test of Computer Skills and Educational Testing Service's Test of Spoken English (TSE). Our empirical findings suggest that the North Carolina Test of Computer Skills exhibits significant testlet effects, indicating significant dependence of item scores obtained from common stimuli, whereas the TSE exam does not.
THE RECENTERING OF SAT® SCALES AND ITS EFFECTS ON SCORE DISTRIBUTIONS AND SCORE INTERPRETATIONS
Authors: Dorans Neil J. 
Published: August 2014

ABSTRACTThe history of SAT® score scales is summarized, and the need for realigning SAT score scales is demonstrated. The process employed to produce the conversions that take scores from the original SAT scales to recentered scales in which reference group scores are centered near the midpoint of the score‐reporting range is laid out. For the purposes of this paper, SAT verbal and SAT mathematical scores were placed on recentered scales, which have reporting ranges of 920 to 980, means of 950, and standard deviations of 11. (The 920‐to‐980 scale is used in this article to highlight the distinction between it and the old 200‐to‐800 scale. In actuality, recentered scores were reported on a 200‐to‐800 scale.) Recentering was accomplished via a linear transformation of normally distributed scores that were obtained from a continuized, smoothed frequency distribution of original SAT scores that were originally on augmented two‐digit scales, i.e., discrete scores rounded to either 0 or 5 in the third decimal place. These discrete scores were obtained for all students in the 1990 Reference Group using 35 different editions of the SAT taken between October 1988 and June 1990. The performance of this 1990 Reference Group on the original and recentered scales is described. The effects of recentering on scores of individuals and the 1990 Reference Group are also examined. Finally, recentering did not occur solely on the basis of its technical merit. Issues associated with converting recentering from a possibility into a reality are discussed.
INFLUENCE OF IRRELEVANT SPEECH ON STANDARDIZED TEST PERFORMANCE
Authors: Powers Donald E. , Albertson Wendy , Florek Thomas , Johnson Kathy , Malak John , Nemceff Bill , Porzuc Mark , Silvester Donna , Wang Minhwei , Weston Richard , Winner Edward , Zelazny Aleksander 
Published: August 2014

ABSTRACTThe aims of this study were to (1) estimate the likely degree of any such distraction as well as its impact on test performance and (2) evaluate the prospects of reducing the distraction to a level that is acceptable to test takers.Study participants were volunteers (N = 171) who had previously taken the Graduate Management Admission Test® (GMAT®), the Graduate Record Examinations® (GRE®) General Test, or the Test of English as a Foreign Language™ (TOEFL®). They were invited to retake a different form of the same test under either distracting conditions or standard, distraction‐free conditions. To reduce distraction, some participants used either headsets or headsets plus masking noise.Attempts to reduce distraction to an acceptable level were largely unsuccessful. The impact on actual test performance, however, was slight in the GMAT sample and negligible in both the GRE and TOEFL samples.The conclusion was that intermingling examinees with others who are taking a speaking test remains a concern, primarily because of strong negative perceptions by test takers. More effective means need to be devised to reduce or control distraction.
SELECTING SUCCESSFUL GRADUATE STUDENTS: IN‐DEPTH INTERVIEWS WITH GRE® USERS
Authors: Walpole MaryBeth , Burton Nancy W. , Kanyi Kamau , Jackenthal Altamese 
Published: August 2014

ABSTRACTThis study analyzed interviews with over 100 graduate school staff and faculty in 26 disciplines and 20 institutions who use the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE®). The interviews covered admissions and admissions‐related topics, such as recruitment, retention, and measurement of student success in graduate school. Interviewees consider the GRE General Test to be a useful common standard for students with widely differing backgrounds. In contrast, GRE Subject Tests, although considered to be strong evidence of discipline‐specific knowledge, are being used less in a competitive environment. Graduate programs want more information about the language skills – particularly writing and speaking skills – and personal qualities of applicants, and better information about international students.
ADAPTIVE TESTING WITHOUT IRT IN THE PRESENCE OF MULTIDIMENSIONALITY
Authors: Yan Duanli , Lewis Charles , Stocking Martha 
Published: August 2014

ABSTRACTIt is unrealistic to suppose that standard item response theory (IRT) models will be appropriate for all of the new and currently considered computer‐based tests. In addition to developing new models, we also need to give some attention to the possibility of constructing and analyzing new tests without the aid of strong models. Computerized adaptive testing currently relies heavily on IRT. Alternative, empirically based, nonparametric adaptive testing algorithms exist, but their properties are little known. This paper introduces a nonparametric, tree‐based algorithm for adaptive testing and shows that it may be superior to conventional, IRT‐based adaptive testing in cases where the IRT assumptions are not satisfied. In particular, it shows that the tree‐based approach clearly outperformed (one‐dimensional) IRT when the pool was strongly two‐dimensional.
ELECTRONIC SOURCES AS INPUT TO GRE® READING COMPREHENSION ITEM DEVELOPMENT: SOURCEFINDER PROTOTYPE EVALUATION
Authors: Passonneau Rebecca , Hemat Lisa , Plante Jan , Sheehan Kathleen M. 
Published: August 2014

ABSTRACTThis evaluation study compares the performance of a prototype tool called SourceFinder against the performance of highly trained human test developers. SourceFinder — a specialized search engine developed to locate source material for Graduate Record Examinations (GRE®) reading comprehension passages — employs a variety of shallow linguistic features to model the search criteria employed by expert test developers, to automate the source selection process, and to reduce source‐processing time. The current evaluation provides detailed information about the aspects of source variation that are not well modeled by the current prototype. Approaches for enhancing performance in identified areas are discussed. The present study also provides a more explicit description of the source selection task, and a rich data set for developing a less subjective, more explicit definition of the types of documents preferred by test developers.