scholarly journals Measuring High School Curricular Intensity over Three Decades

2019 ◽  
Vol 93 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-90
Author(s):  
Megan Austin

This article presents a new measure of curricular intensity that is objective, parsimonious, clearly defined, replicable, and comparable over time for use by researchers interested in examining trends, causes, and outcomes of high school course taking. After proposing a reduced-form version of Adelman’s curricular intensity index comprised of number of courses completed in English and core science, highest math course completed, and whether students took at least one Advanced Placement course, I test the measure in four National Center for Education Statistics high school longitudinal studies using confirmatory factor analysis. I examine the methodological implications of the measure by conducting multigroup tests for invariance across cohorts to understand how curricular intensity changes over time and comparing the measure’s predictive validity to that of alternative measures of course taking. I then examine substantive implications of the measure through analysis of trends and inequalities in curricular intensity. The four course-taking variables combined create a strong measure of curricular intensity across cohorts that performs as well as or better than Adelman’s index in explaining variance in postsecondary outcomes and predicting postsecondary success. The measure accounts for shifts over time in the relative contribution of each course-taking variable to overall curricular intensity, facilitating more accurate comparisons across cohorts or data sets. I provide practical guidance for using the measure in other data sets, including state- and district-level data, to analyze overall trends and gaps in curricular intensity and its role in postsecondary success, and I discuss some potential uses of the measure for future research and policy.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Beam ◽  
Patrizia Pezzoli ◽  
Jane Mendle ◽  
S. Alexandra Burt ◽  
Michael C. Neale ◽  
...  

Conventional longitudinal behavioral genetic models estimate the relative contribution of genetic and environmental factors to stability and change of traits and behaviors. Longitudinal models rarely explain the processes that generate observed differences between genetically and socially related individuals. We propose that exchanges between people and their environments (i.e., phenotype-environment effects) can explain the emergence of observed differences over time. Such models, however, require violation of the independence assumption of standard behavioral genetic models, that is, uncorrelated genetic and environmental factors (Beam & Turkheimer, 2013; de Kort, Dolan, & Boomsma, 2012; Dolan, De Kort, Van Beijsterveldt, Bartels, & Boomsma, 2014). We review how specification of phenotype-environment effects contributes to understanding observed changes in genetic variability over time and longitudinal correlations among nonshared environmental factors. We then provide an example using 30 days of positive and negative affect scores from an all-female sample of twins. Results demonstrate that the phenotype-environment effects explain how heritability estimates fluctuate as well as how nonshared environmental factors persist over time. We discuss possible mechanisms underlying change in gene-environment correlation over time, the advantages and challenges of including gene-environment correlation in longitudinal twin models, and recommendations for future research.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanouil Konstantinidis ◽  
Jason L. Harman ◽  
Cleotilde Gonzalez

An important aspect of making good decisions is the ability to adapt to changes in the values of available options. Research suggests that we are poor at changing behavior and adapting our choices successfully. This work contributes to clarifying the role of memory on learning and successful adaptation to changing decision environments. We test the effects of the direction of change and the type of feedback using a decisions from experience binary choice task, where individuals learn the outcomes and their associated probabilities from feedback received after selecting between available choice options. The results revealed a robust effect of the direction of change: risk that becomes more rewarding over time is harder to detect than risk that becomes less rewarding over time; and even with full information about the outcomes of choice options people showed sub-optimal adaptation to change. We rely on three distinct computational models to interpret the role of memory on learning and adaptation. The distributions of individual model parameters were analyzed in relation to participants' ability to successfully adapt to the changing conditions of the various decision environments. Consistent across the three models and two distinct data sets (our experimental data and other researchers' data), results revealed the value of recency as an individual memory component for choice adaptation. Individuals relying more on recent experiences were more successful at adapting to change, regardless of the direction of change. We explain the value and limitations of these findings as well as opportunities for future research.


2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 411-432
Author(s):  
Antonio G. Chessa

Abstract The occurrence of relaunches of consumer goods at the barcode (GTIN) level is a well-known phenomenon in transaction data of consumer purchases. GTINs of disappearing and reintroduced items have to be linked in order to capture possible price changes. This article presents a method that groups GTINs into strata (‘products’) by balancing two measures: an explained variance (R squared) measure for the ‘homogeneity’ of GTINs within products, while the second expresses the degree to which products can be ‘matched’ over time with respect to a comparison period. The resulting product ‘match adjusted R squared’ (MARS) combines explained variance in product prices with product match over time, so that different stratification schemes can be ranked according to the combined measure. MARS has been applied to a broad range of product types. Individual GTINs are suitable as products for food and beverages, but not for product types with higher rates of churn, such as clothing, pharmacy products and electronics. In these cases, products are defined as combinations of characteristics, so that GTINs with the same characteristics are grouped into the same product. Future research focuses on further developments of MARS, such as attribute selection when data sets contain large numbers of variables.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Christopher R. Beam ◽  
Patrizia Pezzoli ◽  
Jane Mendle ◽  
S. Alexandra Burt ◽  
Michael C. Neale ◽  
...  

Abstract Conventional longitudinal behavioral genetic models estimate the relative contribution of genetic and environmental factors to stability and change of traits and behaviors. Longitudinal models rarely explain the processes that generate observed differences between genetically and socially related individuals. We propose that exchanges between individuals and their environments (i.e., phenotype–environment effects) can explain the emergence of observed differences over time. Phenotype–environment models, however, would require violation of the independence assumption of standard behavioral genetic models; that is, uncorrelated genetic and environmental factors. We review how specification of phenotype–environment effects contributes to understanding observed changes in genetic variability over time and longitudinal correlations among nonshared environmental factors. We then provide an example using 30 days of positive and negative affect scores from an all-female sample of twins. Results demonstrate that the phenotype–environment effects explain how heritability estimates fluctuate as well as how nonshared environmental factors persist over time. We discuss possible mechanisms underlying change in gene–environment correlation over time, the advantages and challenges of including gene–environment correlation in longitudinal twin models, and recommendations for future research.


Author(s):  
Jason C. Chow ◽  
Ashlee L. Sjogren ◽  
Hongyang Zhao

Purpose The purposes of this meta-review are to (a) articulate the importance of transparency and reproducibility in meta-analysis, (b) assess the transparency and reproducibility of meta-analyses published in journals of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), and (c) discuss the implications of our findings and recommendations for future research. Method We conducted a meta-review of all meta-analyses published in ASHA journals through December 31, 2020. Our systematic review yielded 47 meta-analyses for inclusion in this review. We coded all eligible reports on the core elements of transparency and reproducibility in meta-analysis. Results Our findings suggest that though reporting tendencies have improved over time, much work is needed to promote transparency and reproducibility in meta-analytic work. Key areas for future accountability include preregistering study protocol, using Preferred Reporting in Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis checklists, providing full data sets, and publishing analytic codes. Conclusions The state of reporting in meta-analysis is improving over time. We conclude with a discussion of specific areas that need further attention, and recommendations for researchers to consider when conducting future meta-analyses. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.14888481


2019 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-83
Author(s):  
Kim Quaile Hill

ABSTRACTA growing body of research investigates the factors that enhance the research productivity and creativity of political scientists. This work provides a foundation for future research, but it has not addressed some of the most promising causal hypotheses in the general scientific literature on this topic. This article explicates the latter hypotheses, a typology of scientific career paths that distinguishes how scientific careers vary over time with respect to creative ambitions and achievements, and a research agenda based on the preceding components for investigation of the publication success of political scientists.


2021 ◽  
pp. 194016122110252
Author(s):  
Sebastián Valenzuela ◽  
Daniel Halpern ◽  
Felipe Araneda

Despite widespread concern, research on the consequences of misinformation on people's attitudes is surprisingly scant. To fill in this gap, the current study examines the long-term relationship between misinformation and trust in the news media. Based on the reinforcing spirals model, we analyzed data from a three-wave panel survey collected in Chile between 2017 and 2019. We found a weak, over-time relationship between misinformation and media skepticism. Specifically, initial beliefs on factually dubious information were negatively correlated with subsequent levels of trust in the news media. Lower trust in the media, in turn, was related over time to higher levels of misinformation. However, we found no evidence of a reverse, parallel process where media trust shielded users against misinformation, further reinforcing trust in the news media. The lack of evidence of a downward spiral suggests that the corrosive effects of misinformation on attitudes toward the news media are less serious than originally suggested. We close with a discussion of directions for future research.


2021 ◽  
pp. 088626052110283
Author(s):  
Cara Herbitter ◽  
Alyssa L. Norris ◽  
Kimberly M. Nelson ◽  
Lindsay M. Orchowski

Previous research indicates that teen dating violence (TDV) is more common among sexual minority than heterosexual adolescents, with approximately half of female sexual minority adolescents (SMA) endorsing TDV victimization in the last year. In samples of adolescents without regard to sexual orientation, exposure to violent pornography is associated with TDV, but this relationship has not been assessed in female SMA. The current study sample consisted of 10th-grade high school students aged 14–17 who identified as cisgender females ( N = 1,276). Data were collected from a baseline survey prior to the delivery of a sexual assault prevention intervention. Female SMA had 2.54 times the odds (95%CI [1.75, 3.69]) of being exposed to violent pornography and 2.53 times the odds (95%CI [1.72, 3.70)]) of TDV exposure compared to heterosexual girls. Exposure to violent pornography was not associated with involvement in TDV among female SMA, controlling for episodic heavy drinking ( aOR = 2.25, 95%CI [0.88,6.22]). Given the relatively higher rates of violent pornography and TDV exposure among female SMA compared to heterosexual girls, it is critical that sex education curricula address these experiences and meet the needs of adolescents of all sexual orientations. Future research can assess how these TDV interventions might be tailored for female SMA. Although we did not find that exposure to violent pornography was associated with TDV among female SMA, these investigations should be replicated with larger data sets, given that the association between exposure to violent pornography and engagement in TDV was in the expected direction.


Author(s):  
Leonardo B. Furstenau ◽  
Bruna Rabaioli ◽  
Michele Kremer Sott ◽  
Danielli Cossul ◽  
Mariluza Sott Bender ◽  
...  

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all aspects of society. Researchers worldwide have been working to provide new solutions to and better understanding of this coronavirus. In this research, our goal was to perform a Bibliometric Network Analysis (BNA) to investigate the strategic themes, thematic evolution structure and trends of coronavirus during the first eight months of COVID-19 in the Web of Science (WoS) database in 2020. To do this, 14,802 articles were analyzed, with the support of the SciMAT software. This analysis highlights 24 themes, of which 11 of the more important ones were discussed in-depth. The thematic evolution structure shows how the themes are evolving over time, and the most developed and future trends of coronavirus with focus on COVID-19 were visually depicted. The results of the strategic diagram highlight ‘CHLOROQUINE’, ‘ANXIETY’, ‘PREGNANCY’ and ‘ACUTE-RESPIRATORY-SYNDROME’, among others, as the clusters with the highest number of associated citations. The thematic evolution. structure presented two thematic areas: “Damage prevention and containment of COVID-19” and “Comorbidities and diseases caused by COVID-19”, which provides new perspectives and futures trends of the field. These results will form the basis for future research and guide decision-making in coronavirus focused on COVID-19 research and treatments.


2021 ◽  
pp. 088626052110063
Author(s):  
Ann L. Coker ◽  
Heather M. Bush ◽  
Zhengyan Huang ◽  
Candace J. Brancato ◽  
Emily R. Clear ◽  
...  

Bystander interventions are recognized as “promising” programming to reduce sexual violence. Gaps in current evaluations include limited follow-up post-training (beyond 24 months) and knowledge of additional bystander training during follow-up. In this prospective cohort study, nested in a cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT), three cohorts of high school (HS) seniors were recruited (Fall 2013-2015) and followed through Spring 2018 ( n = 1,831). Training was based on their school cluster RCT assignment and receipt of additional Green Dot (GD) training after HS. Training was hypothesized to be associated with lower scores indicating less acceptance of violence or sexism. Sixty percent reported GD training after HS (68.7% of 986 in intervention and 50% of 845 in control conditions). No significant differences ( p < .05) were observed by GD training for four of the five violence acceptance or sexism attitudinal measures at recruitment or final surveys. For “ambivalent sexism” alone was there a significant reduction in scale scores over time in the intervention versus control condition. Additional GD training after the RCT significantly reduced neither violence acceptance nor sexism scores over time. GD training does not appear to have a consistent longer-term impact on reducing violence acceptance and sexism.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document