scholarly journals Measuring public knowledge on nuclear weapons in the post-Cold War: dimensionality and measurement invariance across eight European countries

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabrício M. Fialho
Keyword(s):  
Measurement Invariance ◽  
Nuclear Weapons ◽  
Measurement Model ◽  
Basic Knowledge ◽  
Factual Knowledge ◽  
General Factor ◽  
Post Cold War ◽  
Working Definition ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Analytic Models

AbstractResearch on public opinion and international security has extensively examined attitudes toward nuclear weapons, but the diffusion of basic knowledge about nuclear weapons among the everyday citizens has nevertheless been mostly missed. This study proposes a working definition and advances a measurement model of knowledge on nuclear weapons in the general public. It analyzes data from two novel surveys conducted in 2018 (N = 6559) and 2019 (N = 6227) where respondents from Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom answered a web survey on attitudes and factual knowledge on nuclear weapons. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analytic models are used to examine the dimensionality and to assess the measurement invariance of a scale of knowledge about nuclear weapons. A bifactor measurement model, where a strong general factor represents the construct of interest and specific factors account for the presence of testlets due to questionnaire design, is established and validated. Configural, metric, and scalar invariance are established across the eight samples. The findings indicate that knowledge about nuclear weapons in the general, non-expert public can be reliably measured cross-nationally.

scholarly journals Identifying Student Teachers’ Inquiry-Related Questions in Biology Lessons

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 87
Author(s):  
Matti Hiltunen ◽  
Sirpa Kärkkäinen ◽  
Tuula Keinonen
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Student Teachers ◽  
Secondary School Student ◽  
Basic Knowledge ◽  
Factual Knowledge ◽  
Primary School Student ◽  
Video And Audio ◽  
Higher Order Questioning

Prior research has shown that both teacher-led and recitation questions dominate in classrooms; teachers ask closed-ended questions more than open-ended questions. Even though classroom questioning has been studied in many previous studies there has been very limited research addressing the questioning of student teachers during inquiry-based biology lessons focusing on the inquiry stages: introduction, examination, and conclusion. In this study, a total of 21 lessons by 12 student teachers in primary and secondary schools were video- and audio-recorded. The recorded discussions were transcribed and the qualities of the questions were analyzed using content analysis, and the questions of student teachers were categorized into 10 different question categories. The findings revealed that primary school student teachers asked mainly for factual knowledge, concepts, and basic knowledge of species in all inquiry stages. Secondary school student teachers also asked mainly for concepts and basic knowledge of species. They also asked students to generate ideas and explain their answers, especially in the examination and conclusion stages. The present study indicates that student teachers’ questioning needs to be developed more towards higher-order questioning such as analyzing, synthetizing, and evaluating to scaffold students in inquiries and develop future teachers’ questioning skills in teacher education.

Nuclear Guarantees and Nonproliferation

1971 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 836-844 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph I. Coffey
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Nuclear Weapons ◽  
The United States ◽  
Atomic Weapons ◽  
The United Kingdom

On March 5, 1970, the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) went into effect, having been ratified by 47 states including the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The treaty legally bars these three nuclear powers from transferring atomic weapons to nonnuclear states and formally pledges those nonnuclear states signing the treaty to refrain from developing such weapons or acquiring them from other powers. It thus caps a long effort by the United States to inhibit—so long as it could not preclude—the spread of nuclear weapons and to avoid the potential instabilities associated with that spread.

Continuity and Change in British Thinking about Nuclear Weapons

1994 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 228-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart Croft
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Nuclear Weapons ◽  
Security Policy ◽  
Policy Debate ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Post Cold War ◽  
Continuity And Change ◽  
Mind Set ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Constant Argument

For almost fifty years there has been constant argument between those who have supported the development and possession of nuclear weapons by Britain and those opposed to those policies. This article argues that there has been a continuity in the arguments made by policy-makers and their critics, both operating within an unchanging series of linked assumptions forming a paradigm or mind-set. This article sets out the character of the assumptions of the orthodox and alternative thinkers, as they are termed in the article, examining their coherence and differences, particularly during the cold war. It concludes by attempting to draw out some implications for the British security policy debate in the post-cold war period.

The Test of Gross Motor Development—Third Edition: A Bifactor Model, Dimensionality, and Measurement Invariance

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Sedigheh Salami ◽  
Paulo Felipe Ribeiro Bandeira ◽  
Cristiano Mauro Assis Gomes ◽  
Parvaneh Shamsipour Dehkordi
Keyword(s):  
Measurement Invariance ◽  
Motor Development ◽  
Goodness Of Fit ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Bifactor Model ◽  
General Factor ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Gross Motor ◽  
Measurement Models ◽  
Gross Motor Development

Aim: To examine the latent structure of the Test of Gross Motor Development—Third Edition (TGMD-3) with a bifactor modeling approach. In addition, the study examines the dimensionality and model-based reliability of general and specific contributions of the test’s subscales and measurement invariance of the TGMD-3. Methods: A convenience sample of (N = 496; Mage = 7.23 ± 2.03 years; 53.8% female) typically developed children participated in this study. Three alternative measurement models were tested: (a) a unidimensional model, (b) a correlated two-factor model, and (c) a bifactor model. Results: The totality of results, including item loadings, goodness-of-fit indexes, and reliability estimates, all supported the bifactor model and strong evidence of a general factor, namely gross motor competence. Additionally, the reliability of subscale scores was poor, and it is thus contended that scoring, reporting, and interpreting of the subscales scores are probably not justifiable. Conclusions: This study shows the advantages of using bifactor approach to examine the TGMD-3 factor structure and suggests that the two traditionally hypothesized factors are better understood as “grouping” factors rather than as representative of latent constructs. In addition, our findings demonstrate that the bifactor model appears invariant for sex.

The Reticence of India

2021 ◽  
pp. 119-141
Author(s):  
Manjari Chatterjee Miller
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Cold War ◽  
Nuclear Weapons ◽  
Nation Building ◽  
The United States ◽  
Post Cold War ◽  
Material Growth ◽  
The World ◽  
Military Development ◽  
Rising Power

Like China, the world began to see India as a rising power in the post–Cold War world. While today many would argue China has pulled away from India, in the 1990s, the two countries were comparable in terms of their economic and military development. In the post-Cold War world, thanks to domestic reforms, India’s economic growth took off at unprecedented rates. It continued to invest in its military, and also became a nuclear weapons state. But, as this chapter shows through two of its relationships, with the United States and with ASEAN, India remained peculiarly reticent on the world stage. And the narratives that accompanied its material growth remained entrenched in older ideas and inward facing ideas about nation-building.

scholarly journals Roger Mellor Makins, G. C. B., G. C. M. G., D. L., the 1st Baron Sherfield. 3 February 1904–9 November 1996

1998 ◽  
Vol 44 ◽  
pp. 267-278
Author(s):  
Lord Selborne
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Nuclear Weapons ◽  
Atomic Energy ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Policy Issues ◽  
The Public ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Foreign Office ◽  
British Embassy ◽  
The University

In the course of a long and highly distinguished life, Lord Sherfield served in the Foreign Office, becoming Ambassador in Washington, was Joint Permanent Secretary of the Treasury, Chairman of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, Chancellor of the University of Reading, and held many other posts in the public and private sectors. In 1945, when Minister at the British Embassy in Washington, he took responsibility for advising on policy issues related to the nuclear weapons programme. Thereafter he was to remain an enthusiastic and most effective contributor to the advancement of science and technology.

Factor Structure and Measurement Invariance of the Irrational Beliefs Inventory for University Students in the United States and Iceland

2020 ◽  
pp. 003329412097177
Author(s):  
Gudmundur T. Heimisson ◽  
Robert F. Dedrick
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
University Students ◽  
Measurement Invariance ◽  
Irrational Beliefs ◽  
Measurement Model ◽  
The United States ◽  
Correlated Errors ◽  
Factor Measurement ◽  
Model Misfit ◽  
The U.S

We used multigroup confirmatory factor analysis to evaluate the five-factor measurement model underlying the 50-item Irrational Beliefs Inventory (IBI) in samples of university students in the United States ( n=827) and Iceland ( n=720). Global model fit was marginally acceptable in each sample. Further analyses identified several sources of model misfit that included weak factor loadings, several item pairs with correlated errors, and items with loadings on more than one factor. Cronbach’s alpha reliability estimates for the five factors were similar for the U.S. and Icelandic samples, and comparable to those reported by the developers of the IBI. Measurement invariance testing supported configural (same form) and metric invariance (equal loadings), but identified only 20 items that had invariant item intercepts across the U.S. and Icelandic groups. Given the finding of partial measurement invariance, we offer caution when using the IBI to make group comparisons for U.S. and Icelandic samples. Recommendations are proposed for ongoing psychometric evaluations of the IBI that would identify strengths of the IBI and items that, if revised or deleted, may improve the quality of the measure for research and clinical purposes.

Measurement Invariance of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fifth Edition 10-Subtest Primary Battery: Can Index Scores be Compared across Age, Sex, and Diagnostic Groups?

2020 ◽  
pp. 073428292095458
Author(s):  
Stefan C. Dombrowski ◽  
Marley W. Watkins ◽  
Ryan J. McGill ◽  
Gary L. Canivez ◽  
Calliope Holingue ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Measurement Invariance ◽  
Spatial Working Memory ◽  
Clinical Sample ◽  
Measurement Model ◽  
Intelligence Scale ◽  
First Order ◽  
Primary Battery ◽  
Visual Spatial ◽  
Scalar Invariance ◽  
Visual Spatial Working Memory

Measurement invariance of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fifth Edition (WISC-V) 10 subtest primary battery was evaluated across sex, age (6–8, 9–11, 12–14, and 15–16 year-olds), and three diagnostic (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, anxiety, and encephalopathy) groups within a large clinical sample ( N = 5359) referred to a children’s specialty hospital. Competing models were tested using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and a five-factor oblique model corresponding to the publisher’s hypothesized first-order measurement model (e.g., verbal comprehension, fluid reasoning, visual-spatial, working memory, and processing speed) was found to have the best model fit. Multigroup CFA was subsequently used to evaluate progressively more restrictive constraints on the measurement model. Results indicated that full metric invariance was attained across the three groups studied. Full scalar invariance was attained for sex and diagnostic groups. Partial scalar invariance was attained for age-group. The results of this study provide support for the first-order scoring structure of the five WISC-V factors in the 10 subtest primary battery with this large clinical sample.

scholarly journals Negative Problems Orientation Questionnaire for Chinese Adolescents: Bifactor Model and Measurement Invariance

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huiwen Xiao ◽  
Rongmao Lin ◽  
Qiaoling Wu ◽  
Saili Shen ◽  
Youwei Yan
Keyword(s):  
Measurement Invariance ◽  
Bifactor Model ◽  
Chinese Adolescents ◽  
General Factor ◽  
Problem Orientation ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Multiple Group ◽  
Gender And Age ◽  
Specific Factors ◽  
Negative Problem Orientation

The Negative Problem Orientation Questionnaire (NPOQ) is a widely used tool for assessing negative problem orientation (NPO). However, its construct and measurement invariance has not been adequately tested in adolescents. The present study explored the possible construct of the NPOQ and its measurement invariance in a sample of 754 Chinese adolescents (51.6% girls, all 12–18 years old). The results supported a bifactor model of the NPOQ that consists of a general factor NPO and three domain-specific factors including perceived threat, self-inefficacy, and negative outcome expectancy. A multiple-group CFA indicated that the bifactor model showed strict invariance across gender and age. The general and domain factors showed unique variance in indexes of worry, depression, anxiety, and stress, which supported well incremental validity of them. This study confirms for a bifactor conceptualization of the NPOQ and its measurement invariance across gender and age in Chinese adolescents. Additionally, it is recommended that the total score should be used to assess NPO in Chinese adolescents.

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