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…

Researchers have become increasingly interested in better understanding the survey data collection process in interviewer-administered surveys. However, tools for analysing paradata capturing information about field processes, also called call record data, are still not yet fully explored. This paper introduces sequence analysis as a simple tool…

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.…

A cross-national comparison was conducted between U.K. and U.S. higher education students on the Test Anxiety Measure for College Students (TAM-C). The TAM-C was administer to 1,776 U.K. and U.S. higher education students online. The results of tests of measurement invariance found the TAM-C invariant across country and gender. In addition,…

Survey data are usually of mixed type (quantitative, multistate categorical, and/or binary variables). Multidimensional scaling (MDS) is one of the most extended methodologies to visualize the profile structure of the data. Since the past 60s, MDS methods have been introduced in the literature, initially in publications in the psychometrics area.…

This paper reflects on an attempt to introduce smartphones into a blended learning context and highlights several methodological considerations relevant to the collection of mobile data. While mixed methods are now common, using this approach for investigating the challenges of mobile data collection is not as common. This study employed a mixed…

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…

Emotion regulation is a central feature in human emotional development. However, measures based on children's observable emotion regulation behaviors are largely absent. An inventory of children's emotion regulation strategies was developed from current measures and four focus group discussions with experts in child behavior and emotion. From…

Universities are organizational structures with individual activity mixes or strategies that lead to different performance levels by mission. Evaluation techniques based on performance indicators or rankings risk rewarding just a specific type of university and undermining university diversification: they usually introduce homogenizing pressures…

This study examines university strategies from the content perspective. Since the early 1980s, the pressure to adopt strategic management in universities and other higher education institutions has increased because of issues including reduced public funding, pressures and possibilities for internationalization, developments in teaching…

Identity formation is a key developmental task in adolescence. Although many adolescents in modern societies face issues of identity, there are substantial individual differences in identity exploration and commitment. Little is known about the origins of these individual differences. The current study investigated the genetic and environmental…