The Effect of Missing Data Handling Methods and its Volume on Detecting Differential Item Functioning of Test Items

The study aimed at investigating the effect of different methods for handling missing data and its volume on detecting differential item functioning (DIF) for items of test according to the gender variable using the generalized Mantel Haenszel test (GMH). To achieve the aims of the study, the responses of Jordanian eighth grade students to the items of the Mathematics test in the International Study (TIMSS, 2015) were obtained. The sample of the study consisted of 2261 students, who responded to four test booklets (1, 7, 9, 13). Several methods were used for handling missing data (missing data as nominal, corrected item mean substitution, expectation- maximization algorithm, multiple imputation, and chained equations), GMH was also used to detect DIF depending on the gender variable after each treatment method. The effect of the volume of missing data (5%, 10%) on the percentages of questions that showed DIF was also shown. The results indicated that there were no statistically significant differences at (α = 0.05) between the ratios of items that showed DIF across different missing data processing methods. In contrast, the five methods agreed on the existence of a statistically significant relationship at (α= 0.05) between the presence of DIF in favor of females in the field of algebra and in favor of males in the field of numbers. As for the volume of missing data, the findings revealed that there were no differences in the percentage of questions that showed DIF in favor of males or females due to the volume of missing data of 5% or 10%

Extending the Constitution to Refugee-Parolees

This comment examines the Constitutional rights of Indochinese refugee-parolees. The author begins by discussing the gap in rights between permanent residents and parolees. Permanent residents have entered the county and therefore receive certain rights. Parolees have not entered the country according to the Supreme Court\u27s decision in Leng May Ma v. Barber and therefore do not receive the same rights. The author argues that the gap between the rights of permanent residents and refugee-parolees must be narrowed. The author also argues that Leng May Ma is inapplicable to refugee-parolees who are not temporary visitors as a parolee is. The author also supports the argument with a description of the Congressional reaction to Leng May Ma and the Presidential rejection of Leng May Ma . The author calls on Congress or the courts to increase the current constitutional protections granted to Indochinese refugee-parolees

Aphidophagous Coccinellids in Alfalfa, Small Grains, and Maize in Eastern South Dakota

In a 13-year study of aphidophagous coccinellids associated with alfalfa (Medicago sativa), maize (Zea mays), and small grain crops in eastern South Dakota, the following species were consistently associated with the crops: Hippodamia convergens, H. tredecimpunctata tibialis, H. parenthesis, Coleomegilla maculata lengi, Coccinella transversoguttata richardsoni, Cycloneda munda, and Adalia bipunctata. All species except A. bipunctata were associated with each of the three crops, while A. bipunctata occurred only in maize. Relative abundances of each species varied among crops and among years. Although only seven species were associated with the crops, additional species were captured on sticky traps stationed adjacent to sampled fields. The species diversity of immature coccinellids did not differ among crops but did differ among years. The diversity of adults differed among crops and years. The site from which samples were taken had no influence on the diversity of immatures or adults. Species relative abundances in alfalfa and small grains were more similar to each other than they were to relative abundances in maize

Food Plant and Distribution of \u3ci\u3eMeligethes Saevus\u3c/i\u3e (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae)

Meligethes saevus (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) is here reported to be a spe- cialist on its food plant Onosmodium molle (Boraginaceae). The geographic distributions of these taxa are discussed. This is the first report of M. saevus from Wisconsin

[Review of] Michael Soh. Son of a Mother

Three-quarters of this short novel chronicle eldest son Leng\u27 s thoughts, conversations, and actions in endeavoring to fulfill his dying father\u27s charge: Ah Leng, you\u27re grown up now and I expect you to nurture your character, be a man responsible for bringing up a family of your own. Offspring are very essential to carry down the ancestral line, you know. Of course in so bringing up your own family you must not forget your own parents for they are the ones who brought you up

Commercial conflict and regulation in the discourse of trade in seventeenth-century England

This article seeks to re-examine the intellectual context of commercial policy and regulation in seventeenth-century England. It questions a common assumption about so-called ‘mercantilist’ writers: that they saw trade as in some way finite and therefore won by one nation at the expense of another. Instead, it proposes that the often belligerent attitude of the ‘mercantilists’ towards trade was rooted in an understanding of the nature of international commerce as both communication and competition. Although writers acknowledged the mutual aspect of trade, they did not see this exchange as automatically equal, but saw it as possible for one party to exploit the other. This situation demanded state action to protect national trading interests in the disputed area of commerce, and thus this ‘discourse of trade’ was linked to political and juridical discourses about international relations. The article shows how this understanding of trade influenced debates about commercial governance in the critical middle decades of the seventeenth century, culminating in the attempt to create a national monopoly through the navigation acts, ‘securing sovereignty’ over the nation's trade. The second half of this article examines this in more detail with reference to the ideas of a prominent defender of the 1651 Navigation Act: Benjamin Worsley

H&H Committee Early March Meeting Details Transcription

E-Mail transcript of the March 1st Minute

Taxonomic review of Rhyacobates Esaki, 1923, with descriptions of three new species (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Gerridae)

Leng, Zhaoqi, Tran, Anh Duc (2023): Taxonomic review of Rhyacobates Esaki, 1923, with descriptions of three new species (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Gerridae). European Journal of Taxonomy 893 (1): 1-73, DOI: https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2023.893.2285, URL: https://europeanjournaloftaxonomy.eu/index.php/ejt/article/download/2285/986

The involvement of actin, calcium channels and exocytosis proteins in somato-dendritic oxytocin and vasopressin release

Hypothalamic magnocellular neurons release vasopressin and oxytocin not only from their axon terminals into the blood, but also from their somata and dendrites into the extracellular space of the brain, and this can be regulated independently. Differential release of neurotransmitters from different compartments of a single neuron requires subtle regulatory mechanisms. Somato-dendritic, but not axon terminal release can be modulated by changes in intracellular calcium concentration [(Ca(2+))] by release of calcium from intracellular stores, resulting in priming of dendritic pools for activity-dependent release. This review focuses on our current understanding of the mechanisms of priming and the roles of actin remodeling, voltage-operated calcium channels (VOCCs) and SNARE proteins in the regulation somato-dendritic and axon terminal peptide release

Insects

Cychrus lecontei, Dej., Independence. Nomaretus cavicollis, Lec., Iowa, (Leng & Beutenmuller.) Carabus limbatus, Say, Iowa City. Elaphrus clairvillei, Kirby, Iowa City. Nebria pallipes, Say, Independence. Clivina impressifrons, Lec., Iowa City. Bembidium postremum, Say, Iowa {Reinecke). Evarthrus sodalis, Lec., Iowa City. Amara remotestriata, Doj., Iowa (Hamilton). Diplochila obtusa, Lec., Iowa City. Platynus picticornis, Newm., Iowa (Reinecke). --placidus, Say, Iowa City. Perigona pallipennis, Lec., Iowa (Horn). Galerita atripes, Lec., Iowa City. Callida punctata, Lec., Iowa City. Pinacodera limbata, Dej., Iowa City. Helluomorpha bicolor, Harr., Iowa City. Chlaenius diffinis, Chaud, Iowa City. --brevilabris, Lec., Iowa City (Horn). Harpalus testaceus, Lec., Iowa City (Bailey)