Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is a significant public health concern arising from prenatal alcohol exposure. This study examines the clinical utility of Wechsler intelligence tests in assessing cognition in 108 children with confirmed prenatal alcohol exposure. Data were analysed using multidimensional scaling and Guttman's Structural…

In this paper, we develop a mixed stochastic approximation expectation-maximization (MSAEM) algorithm coupled with a Gibbs sampler to compute the marginalized maximum a posteriori estimate (MMAPE) of a confirmatory multidimensional four-parameter normal ogive (M4PNO) model. The proposed MSAEM algorithm not only has the computational advantages of…

In this paper, we develop a mixed stochastic approximation expectation-maximization (MSAEM) algorithm coupled with a Gibbs sampler to compute the marginalized maximum a posteriori estimate (MMAPE) of a confirmatory multidimensional four-parameter normal ogive (M4PNO) model. The proposed MSAEM algorithm not only has the computational advantages of…

For the measurement of social status, many studies rely on a one-dimensional operationalization, even though the theoretical background that is typically referred to -- Bourdieu's theory of capital (1986) -- suggests doing otherwise. A multi-dimensional empirical representation of social status is challenging because the indicators that are…

The Grit--short scale measures consistency and perseverance for long-term goals. In the present study, we translated and adapted the Grit--short scale into Hindi (Grit-SH) and examined its within-network and between-network construct validity among Indian adolescents. The participants were 534 senior secondary school students aged 14 - 18 years…

This dissertation presents two essays on econometric methods for program evaluation and policy choice. In Chapter 1, I develop a statistically optimal way of using data to make policy decisions when the performance of counterfactual policies is only partially identified. Specifically, I consider a class of statistical decision problems in which…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate undergraduate industrial design students' perception of sustainable design concepts and how their conceptualization evolves as a function of their attendance to a specific sustainable design studio (SDS) course. Design/methodology/approach: Two groups of students participated in the study.…

This research aimed to explore the upper-secondary school chemistry teachers' and students' conceptual structures of atomic structure by using multidimensional scaling. Atomic structure is considered to be one of the most difficult concepts in upper-secondary school chemistry course so that the conceptual structure regarding atomic structure held…