Gender differences in computerised and conventional educational tests

Abstract Research has demonstrated girls to outperform boys on conventional literacy tests. The present studies concern gender differences on computerised educational tests. Seventy-one children were tested using LASS Secondary and a set of seven conventional measures. No significant gender differences were found on any of the LASS Secondary modules, although females did outperform males on a conventional spelling test. A further 126 pupils were tested on computerised and paper versions of the LASS Secondary reading, spelling and reasoning modules. No gender differences were found on the computerised versions, but there were significant differences on the paper versions of the reading and spelling modules favouring females. In a third study, 45 children were administered computerised and paper versions of the LASS Junior reading and spelling modules. There were no significant differences on the computerised modules, but girls performed significantly higher than boys on the paper version of the spelling module. It is possible that computerised assessment does not detect the established gender effect due to differences between males and females in motivation, computer experience and competitiveness. Further large-scale studies are necessary to confirm these findings.     

Recognizing, assessing, and intervening with problems of professional competence.

Working collaboratively, psychologist educators and trainers at the doctoral, internship, and postdoctoral levels; credentialers; practitioners; and students offer 8 proposals for psychologists to consider in recognizing, assessing, and intervening with problems of professional competence in students and practicing professionals. In the proposals, the authors address the following topics: definitions and categories; preparing the system; self-assessment; remediation; diversity; communication across various levels of the system; confidentiality; and ethical, regulatory, and legal underpinnings. They also propose future directions for the assessment of problems in professional competence in both students and practicing psychologists. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Spatial and temporal scaling of nitrous oxide emissions from the field to the regional scale in Scotland

Nitrous oxide (N₂O) is a powerful greenhouse gas. As the UK government is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, it is important to know not only how much of these gases are released but also where and when. Targeted measurements of emissions in relation to crop growth cycles, soil wetness and fertiliser applications were used to derive annual emission rates for specific combinations of soil type, land management and fertiliser practices. These annual emission rates were then spatially scaled to derive regional figures through the development of a Geographic Information System (GIS) based model framework. Digital soil and land use maps at a scale of 1:25000 for two test areas of approximately 200000 ha each (Lothians and the Ayrshire Basin) were overlain with a climate map within the GIS, deriving unique combinations of soil wetness and land use. The calculated annual emission rates (kg N ha^–1 yr^–1) were then applied to these and multiplied by the total area of each soil/land use type to derive annual emission losses for each area. The annual emission of nitrous oxide from the Lothians was determined as approximately 381000 kg N yr^–1, while the emissions from the Ayrshire Basin were predicted to be 794000 kg N yr^–1. This indicates the increased emissions associated with both the wetter soils of Ayrshire and the greater extent of grazed pasture systems in this area. Due to the detailed scale of the input data, localised areas with large emissions were identified. Abatement strategies would be concentrated on areas of high emissions that include a change to crops with lower emission potential, reducing fertiliser and manure inputs, reducing grazing intensity and improving soil drainage.Supplementary material to this paper is available in electronic form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1024422604493     

Computational complexity of determining resource loops inre-entrant flow lines

This paper presents a comparison study of the computational complexity of the general job shop protocol and the more structured flow line protocol in a flexible manufacturing system. It is shown that the representative problem of finding resource invariants is NP-complete in the case of the job shop, while in the flow line case it admits a closed form solution. The importance of correctly selecting part flow and job routing protocols in flexible manufacturing systems to reduce complexity is thereby conclusively demonstrated     

The effects of expressive writing following first myocardial infarction: A randomized controlled trial.

Objective: To assess the effects of expressive writing on health care utilization, clinical variables and subjective quality of life following first myocardial infarction (MI). Methods: One-hundred and seventy-nine first MI patients were randomized to Intervention (N = 88) or Control (N = 91) groups. The intervention group wrote about their thoughts and feelings in relation to having had an MI. Controls wrote in a neutral way about daily activities. The main outcome measures were health care utilization, physical status and subjective quality of life (QOL), assessed after one, two, and five months. Results: One-hundred and fifty-six (87%) completed the study. Five months post-intervention, the intervention group had significantly fewer recorded medical appointments compared to controls. The number of prescribed medicines decreased over time within the intervention group but increased within the control group. The intervention group attended significantly more rehabilitation sessions, reported fewer cardiac related symptoms and had lower diastolic blood pressure five months post-intervention. There was no significant group by time interaction on reported physical health. The group by time interaction on reported mental health approached significance, those in the intervention group reporting greater improvement. Conclusion: Expressive writing may be a beneficial strategy which could be incorporated into rehabilitation interventions to help individuals adjust after first MI. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Between-cue associations influence searching for a hidden goal in an environment with a distinctive shape.

In Experiment 1 rats had to escape from a kite-shaped pool by swimming to a submerged escape platform in a right-angled corner. The two walls creating this corner were white and the two walls creating the opposite, incorrect, right-angled corner were black. The rats were then trained in a square pool with two white walls forming one corner and two black walls forming the opposite corner. The platform was in the white corner for a consistent group and the black corner for an inconsistent group. A test in an entirely white kite revealed a stronger preference for the correct than the incorrect corner in the consistent but not the inconsistent group. This outcome is attributed to the formation of associations between geometric cues, provided by the shape of the pool, and the color of the walls. The results were replicated in a second experiment in which the walls of the test pool were the same color as the incorrect corner during initial training. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Enhanced nitrate removal efficiency in wetland microcosms using an episediment layer for denitrification

Microbial denitrification is the principal removal mechanism for nitrogen in treatment wetlands. For this study, flow-through wetland microcosms were designed to testwhether variations in the macroporous structure of the denitrification zone affected overall nitrate removal. In a sediment-only treatment, carbon as cattail (Typha latifolia) litter was mixed throughout a porous sediment matrix. A second treatment contained a distinct layer of loosely aggregated litter pieces placed atop the sediment matrix to form an episediment zone. Results showed that across nine conditions (NO3- influent = 7, 36, 65 mg N L(-1) and t(res) = 2.2, 2.9, 4.4, 7.7 d; n = 48) average denitrification was 33% greater (p < 0.0001) in the episediment treatment than in the sediment-only treatment. Both sediment-only and episediment treatments followed apparent reaction kinetics close to first order, with k(epi) = 0.21 d(-1) for the episediment treatment and k(sed) = 0.12 d(-1) for the sediment-only treatment. Analysis of vertical nitrate profile data using diffusive and turbulent mixing models indicated that denitrification occurred in a partially mixed episediment layer, as well as in an underlying sediment layer. Approximately 40% of the nitrate removal that occurred in the episediment treatment was estimated to occur in the episediments themselves. We conclude that enhancementof an episediment layer can increase denitrification in treatment wetlands which receive nitrate in overlying water.     

A new method to isolate large numbers of rabbit osteoclasts and osteoclast-like cells: application to the characterization of serum response element binding proteins during osteoclast differentiation

We have developed a new method that allows the purification of large numbers of both authentic osteoclasts (OCs) and in vitro differentiated osteoclast-like cells (OCLs) from rabbits. We characterized the OCLs in terms of the expression of different phenotypic markers of OC differentiation and their ability to resorb bone. The method provides a system for performing biochemical and molecular studies of OC differentiation and function in a single species. We used this system to characterize the effect of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25(OH)2D3) on the expression of proteins that bind to the serum response element (SRE) of the c-fos promoter. We found that OCLs and OCs displayed similar SRE-binding activities, including the serum response factor (SRF). This pattern is established in a time-dependent and cell-specific manner in response to long-term treatment of rabbit bone marrow by 1,25(OH)2D3. Thus, 1,25(OH)2D3 can modulate SRF and/or SRF-related protein. This finding may contribute to understanding the role of c-Fos in the regulation of OC differentiation.     

Placental proteins and steroid hormones in the soluble fraction of human syncytiotrophoblast plasma membrane

Placental protein 5 (PP5), pregnancy-specific glycoprotein (SP1), pregnancy-associated alpha 2-glycoprotein (SP3) and chorionic gonadotrophin could not be demonstrated in appreciable molar quantities in the soluble fraction from microvillous plasma membrane preparations isolated from the syncytiotrophoblast of full-term human placentae. However, progesterone, total oestriol and placental lactogen may have some association with this membrane.     

Sex and ethnic differences in the use of power.

Hypothesized that women and Chicanos would make less internal and more external attributions for their own successful performance than would Anglo males. 40 Chicano male, 40 Chicano female, 40 Anglo male, and 40 Anglo female undergraduates participated as managers in an industrial simulation study. Ss were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 experimental conditions: designated powers vs unspecified powers, and supervision of male or female workers. Following the managerial task, Ss completed a questionnaire assessing their own performance and that of their workers. All Anglos devalued their workers as a function of controlling power and attributed workers' performance to external factors. All Ss tended to use their power to persuade workers. Males attempted to influence workers to a greater degree than did females. The predicted sex differences in terms of attribution were evident only among Anglos. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)