scholarly journals A Comparative Evaluation of Kernel Equating and Test Characteristic Curve Equating

2017 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. De Ayala ◽  
Bradley Smith ◽  
Rebecca Norman Dvorak
Keyword(s):  
Characteristic Curve ◽  
Monte Carlo Study ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Test Reliability ◽  
Test Equating ◽  
Form Discrimination ◽  
Test Characteristic ◽  
Kernel Equating ◽  
True Scores ◽  
Better Than

This study compares the kernel equating (KE) and test characteristic curve (TCC) equating methods using the nonequivalent anchor test equating design. In this Monte Carlo study, four independent variables were examined: sample size, test length, average form discrimination, anchor test reliability, and the percentage of anchor items. For each condition, there were 100 replications. To assess the performance of TCC equating and KE, the differences between the examinee parametric true scores and the equated estimated expected true scores were examined. The equated scores were based on the average across replications for each condition. Generally speaking, both KE and TCC equating produced accurate results, although KE tended to perform better than TCC on the parametric true score scale across conditions. Past research and the current study’s results seem to indicate that KE should be strongly considered for most equating situations, particularly in light of its flexibility.

scholarly journals Sensorimotor priors in nonstationary environments

2013 ◽  
Vol 109 (5) ◽  
pp. 1259-1267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Devika Narain ◽  
Robert J. van Beers ◽  
Jeroen B. J. Smeets ◽  
Eli Brenner
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Variables ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Systematic Change ◽  
Recent Experience ◽  
Environmental Variance ◽  
Adaptive Models ◽  
Priori Information ◽  
Human Nervous System ◽  
Better Than

In the course of its interaction with the world, the human nervous system must constantly estimate various variables in the surrounding environment. Past research indicates that environmental variables may be represented as probabilistic distributions of a priori information (priors). Priors for environmental variables that do not change much over time have been widely studied. Little is known, however, about how priors develop in environments with nonstationary statistics. We examine whether humans change their reliance on the prior based on recent changes in environmental variance. Through experimentation, we obtain an online estimate of the human sensorimotor prior (prediction) and then compare it to similar online predictions made by various nonadaptive and adaptive models. Simulations show that models that rapidly adapt to nonstationary components in the environments predict the stimuli better than models that do not take the changing statistics of the environment into consideration. We found that adaptive models best predict participants' responses in most cases. However, we find no support for the idea that this is a consequence of increased reliance on recent experience just after the occurrence of a systematic change in the environment.

Interpretation of the Standard Error of Measurement when True Scores and Error Scores on Mental Tests are Not Independent

1966 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 611-617 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald W. Zimmerman ◽  
Richard H. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Standard Deviation ◽  
Standard Error ◽  
Test Score ◽  
Test Reliability ◽  
True Score ◽  
Observed Score ◽  
Standard Error Of Measurement ◽  
True Scores ◽  
Modified Equation ◽  
Error Of Measurement

It is shown that for the case of non-independence of true scores and error scores interpretation of the standard error of measurement is modified in two ways. First, the standard deviation of the distribution of error scores is given by a modified equation. Second, the confidence interval for true score varies with the individual's observed score. It is shown that the equation, so=√[(N−O/a]+[so2(roō−roo)/roō]̄, where N is the number of items, O is the individual's observed score, a is the number of choices per item, so2 is observed variance, roo is test reliability as empirically determined, and roō is reliability for the case where only non-independent error is present, provides a more accurate interpretation of the test score of an individual.

scholarly journals Can myocardial work indices contribute to the exploration of patients with cardiac amyloidosis?

Open Heart ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. e001346
Author(s):  
Aénora Roger-Rollé ◽  
Eve Cariou ◽  
Khailène Rguez ◽  
Pauline Fournier ◽  
Yoan Lavie-Badie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cardiac Amyloidosis ◽  
Characteristic Curve ◽  
Global Longitudinal Strain ◽  
Left Ventricular ◽  
Peak Oxygen Consumption ◽  
Left Ventricular Ejection ◽  
Ventricular Ejection Fraction ◽  
Echocardiographic Parameters ◽  
Global Work ◽  
Better Than

BackgroundCardiac amyloidosis (CA) is a life-threatening restrictive cardiomyopathy. Identifying patients with a poor prognosis is essential to ensure appropriate care. The aim of this study was to compare myocardial work (MW) indices with standard echocardiographic parameters in predicting mortality among patients with CA.MethodsClinical, biological and transthoracic echocardiographic parameters were retrospectively compared among 118 patients with CA. Global work index (GWI) was calculated as the area of left ventricular pressure–strain loop. Global work efficiency (GWE) was defined as percentage ratio of constructive work to sum of constructive and wasted works. Sixty-one (52%) patients performed a cardiopulmonary exercise.ResultsGWI, GWE, global longitudinal strain (GLS), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and myocardial contraction fraction (MCF) were correlated with N-terminal prohormone brain natriuretic peptide (R=−0.518, R=−0.383, R=−0.553, R=−0.382 and R=−0.336, respectively; p<0.001). GWI and GLS were correlated with peak oxygen consumption (R=0.359 and R=0.313, respectively; p<0.05). Twenty-eight (24%) patients died during a median follow-up of 11 (4–19) months. The best cut-off values to predict all-cause mortality for GWI, GWE, GLS, LVEF and MCF were 937 mm Hg/%, 89%, 10%, 52% and 15%, respectively. The area under the receiver operator characteristic curve of GWE, GLS, GWI, LVEF and MCF were 0.689, 0.631, 0.626, 0.511 and 0.504, respectively.ConclusionIn CA population, MW indices are well correlated with known prognosis markers and are better than LVEF and MCF in predicting mortality. However, MW does not perform better than GLS.

Prevention is Better than Cure

2011 ◽  
pp. 1341-1363
Author(s):  
Martin Dick ◽  
Judithe Sheard ◽  
Maurie Hasen
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Student Cheating ◽  
Aspect Model ◽  
Better Than

This chapter adopts a four aspect model to address cheating and plagiarism in universities – education, prevention, detection and consequence. The research focussed on the two aspects of education and prevention as the authors feel that this area has not been considered in detail by the research. Building on past research, a series of eight focus groups (72 students) were conducted with students from information technology degrees at an Australian university. The students were asked to comment and discuss the phenomenon of cheating from their perspective. The chapter presents in detail the responses of the students as analysed by the researchers and then builds a set of guidelines for educators to use in the areas of education and prevention in relation to student cheating.

The Effect of Structure on the Memory for Procedural Text

2020 ◽  
pp. 003329412094291
Author(s):  
John F. Geiger ◽  
Sarah S. Downen
Keyword(s):  
Past Research ◽  
Narrative Text ◽  
The Other ◽  
Narrative Texts ◽  
Moderate Amount ◽  
Single Reading ◽  
Simple Machines ◽  
Procedural Text ◽  
Effect Of Structure ◽  
Better Than

The present study examined how the structure of procedural texts affected recall of those texts. Past research has found that procedural text is comprehended best when readers expend a moderate amount of effort in processing it; the amount of effort may depend on the structure of the procedural text. Sixty-three participants read six procedural texts describing how to construct simple machines. One group of participants read texts that contained a diagram of the object, whereas the other group read texts with no diagram. Two types of texts were presented: Narrative and list-like procedural texts. Results showed that rereading increased recall of the list-like text, but had little effect for the narrative text. The elaboration hypothesis explains the recall differences after a single reading, but it is still unclear why the list-like texts were recalled better than the narrative texts after a second reading.

scholarly journals Identifying patients who access musculoskeletal physical therapy: a retrospective cohort analysis

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason A Sharpe ◽  
Brook I Martin ◽  
Julie M Fritz ◽  
Michael G Newman ◽  
John Magel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Therapy ◽  
Retrospective Cohort ◽  
Physical Therapist ◽  
Characteristic Curve ◽  
Cohort Analysis ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Urgent Care ◽  
Medical Provider ◽  
Primary Analysis ◽  
Musculoskeletal Conditions

Abstract Background Musculoskeletal conditions are common and cause high levels of disability and costs. Physical therapy is recommended for many musculoskeletal conditions. Past research suggests that referral rates appear to have increased over time, but the rate of accessing a physical therapist appears unchanged. Objective Our retrospective cohort study describes the rate of physical therapy use after referral for a variety of musculoskeletal diagnoses while comparing users and non-users of physical therapy services after referral. Methods The study sample included patients in the University of Utah Health system who received care from a medical provider for a musculoskeletal condition. We included a comprehensive set of variables available in the electronic data warehouse possibly associated with attending physical therapy. Our primary analysis compared differences in patient factors between physical therapy users and non-users using Poisson regression. Results 15 877 (16%) patients had a referral to physical therapy, and 3812 (24%) of these patients accessed physical therapy after referral. Most of the factors included in the model were associated with physical therapy use except for sex and number of comorbidities. The receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.63 suggesting poor predictability of the model but it is likely related to the heterogeneity of the sample. Conclusions We found that obesity, ethnicity, public insurance and urgent care referrals were associated with poor adherence to physical therapy referral. However, the limited predictive power of our model suggests a need for a deeper examination into factors that influence patients access to a physical therapist.

scholarly journals Comparisons of QPFs Derived from Single- and Multicore Convection-Allowing Ensembles

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 1955-1964
Author(s):  
Adam J. Clark
Keyword(s):  
Operating Characteristic ◽  
Characteristic Curve ◽  
Skill Score ◽  
Ensemble Forecast ◽  
Grid Spacing ◽  
Forecast System ◽  
Relative Operating Characteristic ◽  
Core System ◽  
Testing And Evaluation ◽  
Better Than

Abstract This study compares ensemble precipitation forecasts from 10-member, 3-km grid-spacing, CONUS domain single- and multicore ensembles that were a part of the 2016 Community Leveraged Unified Ensemble (CLUE) that was run for the 2016 NOAA Hazardous Weather Testbed Spring Forecasting Experiment. The main results are that a 10-member ARW ensemble was significantly more skillful than a 10-member NMMB ensemble, and a 10-member MIX ensemble (5 ARW and 5 NMMB members) performed about the same as the 10-member ARW ensemble. Skill was measured by area under the relative operating characteristic curve (AUC) and fractions skill score (FSS). Rank histograms in the ARW ensemble were flatter than the NMMB ensemble indicating that the envelope of ensemble members better encompassed observations (i.e., better reliability) in the ARW. Rank histograms in the MIX ensemble were similar to the ARW ensemble. In the context of NOAA’s plans for a Unified Forecast System featuring a CAM ensemble with a single core, the results are positive and indicate that it should be possible to develop a single-core system that performs as well as or better than the current operational CAM ensemble, which is known as the High-Resolution Ensemble Forecast System (HREF). However, as new modeling applications are developed and incremental changes that move HREF toward a single-core system are made possible, more thorough testing and evaluation should be conducted.

scholarly journals Are Body Composition Parameters Better than Conventional Anthropometric Measures in Predicting Pediatric Hypertension?

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (16) ◽  
pp. 5771
Author(s):  
Chih-Yu Hsu ◽  
Rong-Ho Lin ◽  
Yu-Ching Lin ◽  
Jau-Yuan Chen ◽  
Wen-Cheng Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Composition ◽  
Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve ◽  
Operating Characteristic ◽  
Characteristic Curve ◽  
Fat Free Mass ◽  
Z Score ◽  
Pediatric Hypertension ◽  
Anthropometric Measures ◽  
Operating Characteristic Curve ◽  
Better Than

Body composition (BC) parameters are associated with cardiometabolic diseases in children; however, the importance of BC parameters for predicting pediatric hypertension is inconclusive. This cross-sectional study aimed to compare the difference in predictive values of BC parameters and conventional anthropometric measures for pediatric hypertension in school-aged children. A total of 340 children (177 girls and 163 boys) with a mean age of 8.8 ± 1.7 years and mean body mass index (BMI) z-score of 0.50 ± 1.24 were enrolled (102 hypertensive children and 238 normotensive children). Significantly higher values of anthropometric measures (BMI, BMI z-score, BMI percentile, waist-to-height ratio) and BC parameters (body-fat percentage, muscle weight, fat mass, fat-free mass) were observed among the hypertensive subgroup compared to their normotensive counterparts. A prediction model combining fat mass ≥ 3.65 kg and fat-free mass ≥ 34.65 kg (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve = 0.688; sensitivity = 66.7%; specificity = 89.9%) performed better than BMI alone (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve = 0.649; sensitivity = 55.9%; specificity = 73.9%) in predicting hypertension. In conclusion, BC parameters are better than anthropometric measures in predicting pediatric hypertension. BC measuring is a reasonable approach for risk stratification in pediatric hypertension.

scholarly journals Asset Growth and Profitability of PLCs in SAARC Economies

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-46
Author(s):  
Khawaja Khalid Mehmood
Keyword(s):  
South Asian ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Regional Cooperation ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Sri Lankan ◽  
Business World ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Thomson Reuters ◽  
Asset Growth ◽  
Better Than

Purpose: Past research concerning companies' asset growth and profitability comparisons within and across SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) economies is extremely limited and the purpose of this research is to fill that gap. Design/methodology/approach: This research accessed data (2009 to 2013) from Thomson Reuters Data stream, drawn comparisons for years 2009-13, and used Tukey's HSD test for analyses. Findings: Findings reveal that profitability of Pakistani, Indian, and Bangladeshi companies was overall better in 2010 and 2011 pointing towards these countries' successful exit from crisis. These years marked higher asset growth as well among Indian, Bangladeshi, and Sri Lankan companies. Importantly, countries' cross comparisons reveal that profitability of Bangladeshi companies was better than others in all years, however, Sri Lankan companies also had higher profitability than Indian ones during 2011-13 and had higher asset growth compared to Pakistani companies in 2012 and 2013. Overall, Pakistani companies had lowest asset growth. Implications/Originality/Value: The study updates information concerning SAARC economies’ corporate and business world and demonstrates that asset growth and profitability trends could be inspired from international events and an economy's condition. Future studies could be industry specific; include other SAARC countries using a different criterion; and use different ratios for analysis.

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