In the e-learning context, social network analysis (SNA) can be used to build understanding around the ways students participate and interact in online forums. This study contributes to the growing body of research that uses statistical methods to test hypotheses about structures in social networks. Specifically, we show how statistical analysis…

In this paper we study a new model of mobile learning for the Unified State Exam ("USE") preparation in Russian Federation. "USE"--is the test school graduates need to pass in order to obtain Russian matura. In recent years the efforts teachers put for preparation of their students to the "USE" diminish how well the…

How should a wide variety of educational activities be sequenced to maximize student learning? Although some experimental studies have addressed this question, educational data mining methods may be able to evaluate a wider range of possibilities and better handle many simultaneous sequencing constraints. We introduce Sequencing Constraint…

Data-mined models often achieve good predictive power, but sometimes at the cost of interpretability. We investigate here if selecting features to increase a model's construct validity and interpretability also can improve the model's ability to predict the desired constructs. We do this by taking existing models and reducing the feature set to…

When validating assessment models built with data mining, generalization is typically tested at the student-level, where models are tested on new students. This approach, though, may fail to find cases where model performance suffers if other aspects of those cases relevant to prediction are not well represented. We explore this here by testing if…

This paper introduced the features of scaffolding to the development of instructional interaction in online foreign language learning, and testified their effects on learners' perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, sense of community, and continuance intention by the integration of the Technology-Acceptance Model and the Organizational…

Several aspects of interview research heretofore receiving little attention are discussed. A brief description of the different types of interview formats and levels of analysis is presented. Following a discussion of the problem of analyzing protocol data, some suggestions are offered about analysis procedures that derive from constructionist…

This paper examines the biophilia hypothesis put forth by E. O. Wilson, which asserts the existence of a fundamental, genetically-based human need and propensity to affiliate with other living organisms and lifelike processes. It reviews research by Wilson and others that supports the biophilia hypothesis, and examines some of the issues and…

The power of the t, expected normal scores, Mann-Whitney U, Tukey, a modified Mann-Whitney U, and an adaptive procedure were investigated when sampling from population models empirically developed from test score distributions. The models used were selected members of the beta family. This investigation was unique in that not only did the means of…

In this research we describe and discuss a path analysis of an hypothesized model of environmental behavior. In formulating the model, we used variables that had previously been empirically linked to environmental behavior (e.g., knowledge of issues, attitudes) but also included others that had not been assessed in the context of a model…

This paper assesses the relative merits of numerical and textual approaches to the study of international events. While enjoying a much longer history, numerical approaches have certain representational drawbacks that do not apply to textual approaches. Textual models provide a more adequate descriptive foundation for the study of international…

This article presents a didactic discussion on the role of asymptotically independent test statistics and separable hypotheses as they pertain to issues of specification error, power, and model misspecification in the covariance structure modeling framework. A small population study supports the major findings. (SLD)

Building upon earlier confirmatory factor analytic research that validated a second-order, three-factor structure of the Beck Depression Inventory for Canadian and Swedish nonclinical adolescents, this study tested the factorial structure of the Swedish version of the instrument separately for 559 males and 537 females, and tested its measurement…

When evaluating the utility of a psychological test for clinical decision making, both the psychometric properties of the test (i.e., the reliability and validity of the instrument) and the ambiguity of the language by which test results are interpreted or communicated need to be considered. Although each has been studied independently, to date…

A new method for evaluating model fit that is easy to use and interpret is presented. The new method, which uses a binomial test of the number of hypotheses (paths) in a model that are supported by the data, has heuristic value when considering problems associated with other goodness-of-fit measures. An application of the binomial test as a…