scholarly journals The order of questions on a test affects how well students believe they performed

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Gregory Franco
Keyword(s):  
Precise Estimate ◽  
Alternative Mechanism ◽  
New Information ◽  
Question Order ◽  
The Face ◽  
Opposite Order ◽  
Initial Impressions ◽  
Research Assistants

<p>We know that students are more optimistic about their performance after they take a test that progresses from the easiest to hardest questions than after taking one that progresses in the opposite order¹. In fact, these “Easy-Hard” students are more optimistic than “Hard-Easy” students even when the two groups perform equally. The literature explains this question order bias as a result of students’ failing to sufficiently adjust, in the face of new information, their extreme initial impressions about the test. In the first two of six studies, we investigated the possibility that a biased memory for individual questions on the test is an alternative mechanism driving the question order bias. The pattern of results was inconsistent with this mechanism, but fit with the established impression-based mechanism. In the next four studies, we addressed the role that the number of test questions plays in determining the size of the question order bias, discovered that warning students is only a partially effective method for reducing the bias, and established a more precise estimate of the bias’ size. Taken together, this work provides evidence that the question order bias is a robust phenomenon, likely driven by insufficient adjustment from extreme initial impressions.  ¹ Although the research in this thesis is my own, I conducted it in a lab and supervised a team comprised of research assistants and honours students. I also received advice and direction from my supervisors. Therefore, I often use the word “we” in this thesis to reflect these facts.</p>

scholarly journals The order of questions on a test affects how well students believe they performed

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Gregory Franco
Keyword(s):  
Precise Estimate ◽  
Alternative Mechanism ◽  
New Information ◽  
Question Order ◽  
The Face ◽  
Opposite Order ◽  
Initial Impressions ◽  
Research Assistants

<p>We know that students are more optimistic about their performance after they take a test that progresses from the easiest to hardest questions than after taking one that progresses in the opposite order¹. In fact, these “Easy-Hard” students are more optimistic than “Hard-Easy” students even when the two groups perform equally. The literature explains this question order bias as a result of students’ failing to sufficiently adjust, in the face of new information, their extreme initial impressions about the test. In the first two of six studies, we investigated the possibility that a biased memory for individual questions on the test is an alternative mechanism driving the question order bias. The pattern of results was inconsistent with this mechanism, but fit with the established impression-based mechanism. In the next four studies, we addressed the role that the number of test questions plays in determining the size of the question order bias, discovered that warning students is only a partially effective method for reducing the bias, and established a more precise estimate of the bias’ size. Taken together, this work provides evidence that the question order bias is a robust phenomenon, likely driven by insufficient adjustment from extreme initial impressions.  ¹ Although the research in this thesis is my own, I conducted it in a lab and supervised a team comprised of research assistants and honours students. I also received advice and direction from my supervisors. Therefore, I often use the word “we” in this thesis to reflect these facts.</p>

scholarly journals Seasonal records of benthic macroinvertebrates in a stream on the eastern edge of the Iguaçu National Park, Brazil

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jhenifer Santos ◽  
Luciano Wolff ◽  
Lucíola Baldan ◽  
Ana Guimarães
Keyword(s):  
Benthic Macroinvertebrates ◽  
National Park ◽  
Anthropogenic Impacts ◽  
Natural Heritage ◽  
Precipitation Temperature ◽  
Brazilian Government ◽  
Urban Impacts ◽  
New Information ◽  
The Face ◽  
Eastern Edge

Background Iguaçu National Park (INP) is known worldwide due to Iguaçu Waterfalls, being considered a World Natural Heritage by UNESCO. The INP is one of the last large forested extensions of inland Brazil that provides protection to the Atlantic Forest, one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots. However, its Natural Heritage status has been threatened by the construction and operation of the Baixo Iguaçu dam, agricultural and urban impacts on its boundaries and the increasing interest of the Brazilian government in re-opening of the “Colono road”, an old illegal road that crossed the interior of the park. Indeed, since benthic macroinvertebrates have been widely used for the environmental assessment of streams, records and abundance of their taxa under different seasonal periods may provide an additional dataset for biomonitoring of hydrographic systems in the face of current anthropogenic impacts on the INP boundaries and other similar streams on forest edges. New information In this study, we improved the sampling design of benthic macroinvertebrates and provided seasonal records covering distinct precipitation/temperature periods between 2016 and 2017 of a stream on the eastern edge of the Iguaçu National Park, Brazil. The records total 2,840 individuals distributed in 88 different taxa. The most abundant taxa were the Diptera subfamilies, Chironominae (n = 1,487) and Tanypodinae (n = 256), besides the Heterelmis genus (n = 152, Elmidae; Coleoptera). Diptera was the richest order in number of families (n = 8), while Leptophlebiidae (Ephemeroptera) was the richest taxonomic family in number of genera (n = 11). Aegla (Crustacea) and the Insecta genera, Heterelmis, Hexacylloepus, Noelmis, Phylloicus and Thraulodes, were recorded through all samplings. Twenty-five genera of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Trichoptera (EPT) and Odonata were recorded during intermediate precipitation/temperature periods. Twenty-one of them were recorded in May 2016, with five genera standing out in abundance (Hydrosmilodon, Anacroneuria, Argia, Coryphaeschna, Americabaetis) and four (Needhamella, Tikuna, Simothraulopsis, Neocordulia) in December 2016. Four general taxa were exclusive of the lower precipitation/temperature period (August 2016), standing out in abundance were the Oxystigma (Odonata) and Corydalus (Megaloptera) genera. In March 2017 (higher precipitation/temperature period), four exclusive taxa were recorded, amongst them, the Chimarra (Trichoptera) genus. Furthermore, seasonal records demonstrated higher occurrences and abundance of macroinvertebrates during the intermediate and lower precipitation/temperature periods, besides a varied taxa composition throughout the year, with the presence of both sensitive and tolerant groups to environmental impacts. Our findings suggest that the number and composition of the local-stream macrobenthic fauna were influenced by the seasonal climatic regime. These changes should be considered in the limnological monitoring developed on the hydrographic systems of INP eastern edges to improve the assessment of environmental quality under different local seasonal conditions.

Electronic Highways in Southeast Asia

2011 ◽  
pp. 57-80
Author(s):  
Loong Wong
Keyword(s):  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Social Economic ◽  
Public Confidence ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
New Information ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Face ◽  
Crony Capitalism ◽  
Information And Communication

New information and communication technologies (ICTs), it is argued is transformative, and governments all over the world have sought to incorporate it into their development desideratum. It is clear that ICTs have transformed social, economic, and political practices and this certainly is true for Southeast Asia. In the context of Southeast Asia, it is particularly salient for it provided avenues for new political movements and expressions in the face of predominantly authoritarian regimes. Via the new ICTs, people were able to communicate freely and oppositional forces could be readily mobilized. This assertion of political rights threatened the status quo and the ruling political elites’ hold on power. This was compounded by a crisis in public confidence as Southeast Asian economies found themselves caught in the maelstrom of a financial crisis precipitated by the loss of investment confidence and crony capitalism. As the crisis intensified and spread, its political fallout became clear. Governments have to accommodate and make way for social, economic, and political changes. In this chapter, the author seeks to examine

2014–2015: a view from Greece

2015 ◽  
Vol 61 ◽  
pp. 6-11
Author(s):  
Catherine Morgan
Keyword(s):  
Financial Crisis ◽  
Heritage Management ◽  
Public Communication ◽  
Press Coverage ◽  
Archaeological Research ◽  
New Information ◽  
Research Programmes ◽  
The Face ◽  
Slow Progress

In a year when financial crisis and EU turmoil have gripped Greece and dominated international press coverage, one might be forgiven for assuming that there would be slow progress in archaeological research and heritage management. It has certainly been a tumultuous year, and heartfelt thanks are due to colleagues, especially those in the Archaeological Service, who have gone the extra mile to deliver their own work and to help others in the face of mounting pressures. In 2014 alone, the Central Archaeological Council dealt with 1,477 cases in 42 sittings, and its 2015 target is set to exceed this. Yet as I take stock of what has been achieved in publication, fieldwork, study and public communication, I am struck by the wealth of new information available and in many forms. Individual finds, continuing research programmes and a number of landmark conferences and exhibitions have contributed to real and significant advances in knowledge. There is much to report, and even more to see on the ground for readers inspired (as we hope) to spend time in Greece.

An Analysis of the Characteristics of Chinese Female College Students’ English Conversation

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 395
Author(s):  
Daowei Liu ◽  
Yu Yin
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Second Language ◽  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Female Students ◽  
Female College Students ◽  
Female College ◽  
New Information ◽  
The Face

This article analyzed the characteristics of Chinese female college students’ English conversation from the perspective of second language acquisition by using some theories of sociolinguistics and discourse analysis. After analysis, it was found that female students used hedges and intensifiers extensively in second language conversations. Additionally, the participants consciously maintained the face of their peers and made the conversation take place in an atmosphere of equality and solidarity. Through the use of deixis, the conversation was well organized and carried out smoothly. The participants changed their roles, gave and took the floors, and offered new information to prolong the conversation. Although female language had many characteristics, it cannot be fully reflected in this sample conducted in a second language.

The Silver Lining

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arthur Lupia
Keyword(s):  
Types Of Knowledge ◽  
Difficult Time ◽  
New Information ◽  
The Face ◽  
Net Benefits ◽  
Time And Energy ◽  
Silver Lining ◽  
Effective Education

There are many things that people do not know about politics, policy, and government. In some cases, this ignorance prevents them from making competent choices. It prevents them from making decisions that they would have made had they known certain facts and sought to act consistently with certain values. Such circumstances are why effective education is so important. Educators of all kinds are this book’s protagonists. Educators seek to help people make better decisions—where better refers to the decisions that people would have made had they known certain facts and sought to act consistently with certain values. All educators, however, face important constraints. There are limits on their time and energy. Money can be scarce, as can the labor of coworkers or volunteers. Also limited are prospective learners’ motivation to pay attention to new information. If educators seek to develop effective and efficient informational strategies in the face of such constraints, what information should they provide? Standing between many educators and the educational successes to which they aspire are their perceptions of learning’s net benefits. Over the years, I have met educators, or aspiring educators, who energetically imagine the benefits of conveying their expertise to others. They have strong beliefs that teaching certain facts will improve important outcomes. Many, however, have a difficult time articulating the costs that their educational endeavors will impose. Over the same period, I have met many citizens who are asked to participate in these endeavors. They have a different perspective about these endeavors. For citizens, the costs of becoming informed (e.g., money paid for tuition, the struggle to reconcile new information with old beliefs, time spent away from other activities) are real and tangible—while learning’s benefits are often perceived as uncertain. Many citizens as a result tend to be less enthusiastic about learning than educators imagine (and want) them to be. A key to increasing socially beneficial types of knowledge and competence is to become more knowledgeable about these perceptions. Politics is but one aspect of life to which citizens can devote time and energy.

R—Relating

2019 ◽  
pp. 214-245
Author(s):  
Elaine Wittenberg ◽  
Joy V. Goldsmith ◽  
Sandra L. Ragan ◽  
Terri Ann Parnell
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Opportunity To Learn ◽  
Serious Illness ◽  
New Information ◽  
Family Perspectives ◽  
Family Acceptance ◽  
The Face ◽  
Complex Architecture ◽  
The Relationship

Relating is a chapter that unpacks the complex architecture of goals always at play for each of us. Because the true motives and goals of a patient are rarely fully understood or realized, the recommendation in this chapter is to attend to the relationship to facilitate the instrumental goals of palliative nursing. Throughout this chapter, authors examine the phenomenon of the patient/family acceptance of an illness status, as well as understanding patient/family perspectives on adjusting to new information. The authors examine the role of uncertainty and how it can impact goals of care discussions and, ultimately, decision-making. Relating to a patient/family creates the opportunity to learn about acceptability of a diagnosis/prognosis, fears associated with uncertainty, and the inevitable dissonance among personal goals in the face of serious illness. Multiple, conflicted, and unrealized goals are a reality that clinicians must navigate and that patients and families must face as they work together to acknowledge a changing life and identity.

Responsibility and Decision Making in the Era of Neural Networks

1996 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 267-295
Author(s):  
William Bechtel
Keyword(s):  
Intelligent Agents ◽  
Artificial Language ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Von Neumann ◽  
Human Thought ◽  
Alan Turing ◽  
New Information ◽  
Intelligent Behavior ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Frame Problem

Many of the mathematicians and scientists who guided the development of digital computers in the late 1940s, such as Alan Turing and John von Neumann, saw these new devices not just as tools for calculation but as devices that might employ the same principles as are exhibited in rational human thought. Thus, a subfield of what came to be calledcomputer scienceassumed the labelartificial intelligence(AI). The idea of building artificial systems which could exhibit intelligent behavior comparable to that of humans (which could, e.g., recognize objects, solve problems, formulate and implement plans, etc.) was a heady prospect, and the claims made on behalf of AI during the 1950s and 1960s were impossibly ambitious (e.g., having a computer capture the world chess championship within a decade). Despite some theoretical and applied successes within the field, serious problems soon became evident (of which the most notorious is the frame problem, which involves the difficulty in determining which information about the environment must be changed and which must be kept constant in the face of new information). Instead of fulfilling the goal of quickly producing artificial intelligent agents which could compete with or outperform human beings, by the 1970s and 1980s AI had settled into a pattern of slower but real progress in modeling or simulating aspects of human intelligence. (Examples of the advances made during this period were the development of higher-level structures for encoding information, such as frames or scripts, which were superior to simple prepositional encodings in supporting reasoning or the understanding of natural [as opposed to computer or other artificial] language texts, and the development of procedures for storing information about previously encountered cases and invoking these cases in solving new problems.)

scholarly journals Concerns About the Special Article on Hydroxychloroquine and Azithromycin in High Risk Outpatients with COVID-19 by Dr. Harvey Risch

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew P Fox ◽  
Lucy D'Agostino McGowan ◽  
Bryan D James ◽  
Justin Lessler ◽  
Shruti H Mehta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Risk ◽  
Effective Treatment ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
New Information ◽  
Open Debate ◽  
The Face ◽  
Risk Patients ◽  
The Many

Abstract In May, this journal published an opinion piece by one of the members of the Editorial Board, Dr. Harvey Risch, that reviewed several papers and argued that using hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) + azithromycin (AZ) early to treat symptomatic COVID-19 cases in high-risk patients should be broadly applied. As members of the journal's editorial board, we are strongly supportive of open debate in science, which is essential even on highly contentious issues. However, we must also be thorough in our examination of the facts and open to changing our minds when new information arises. In this commentary, we document several important errors in the manuscript by Dr. Risch, review the literature he presented and demonstrate why it is not of sufficient quality to support scale up of HCQ+AZ, and then discuss the literature that has been generated since his publication, which also does not support use of this therapy. Unfortunately, the current scientific evidence does not support HCQ+AZ as an effective treatment for COVID-19, if it ever did; and even suggests many risks. Continuing to push the view that it is an essential treatment in the face of this evidence is irresponsible and harmful to the many people already suffering from infection.

Climate change adaptation: integrating climate science into humanitarian work

2010 ◽  
Vol 92 (879) ◽  
pp. 693-712 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisette M. Braman ◽  
Pablo Suarez ◽  
Maarten K. van Aalst
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Science ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
Humanitarian Organizations ◽  
New Information ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Vulnerable People ◽  
The Face ◽  
Reduce Risk ◽  
Humanitarian Work

AbstractA changing climate means more work for humanitarian organizations. Vulnerable people served by the Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement are likely to experience new patterns of disasters. In the face of these rising dangers, science-based information about likely threats can be used to reduce risk and improve resource allocation. Examples such as the 2008 emergency appeal for flood preparedness in West Africa illustrate the benefits of turning early warnings into early actions at community, national, and regional levels, at timescales ranging from hours to decades ahead of a looming threat. By making better use of a wide range of new information, humanitarian organizations can enhance their work even in the face of the rising risks of climate change.

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