Assertion, action, and context

A common objection to both contextualism and relativism about knowledge ascriptions is that they threaten knowledge norms of assertion and action. Consequently, if there is good reason to accept knowledge norms of assertion or action, there is good reason to reject both contextualism and relativism. In this paper we argue that neither contextualism nor relativism threaten knowledge norms of assertion or action

Analysing qualitative data from virtual worlds: using images and text mining

There is an increasing interest within both organisational and social contexts in virtual worlds and virtual reality platforms. Virtual worlds are highly graphical systems in which avatars interact with each other, and almost every event and conversation is logged and recorded. This presents new challenges for qualitative researchers in information systems. This paper addresses the challenges of analyzing the huge amounts of qualitative data that can be obtained from virtual worlds (both images and text). It addresses how images might be used in qualitative studies of virtual worlds, and proposes a new way to analyze textual data using a qualitative software tool called Leximancer. This paper illustrates these methods using a study of a social movement in a virtual world

Chaotic worlds: an analysis of World of Warcraft

Virtual worlds provide new forms of collaboration and social interaction. The World of Warcraft (WoW) is one such virtual world. It is the most popular example of what is called a Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG). In this paper, we analyze players’ outcomes with WoW using chaos theory. Our paper suggests that players are highly sensitive to initial conditions which are impacted by style of play and the social structure of groups

Reading Instruction for Students with Emotional Disturbance: A Mixed-Methods Investigation.

Although there is a substantial body of observation research investigating the manner in which reading instruction is provided to students with learning disabilities, there is little research in this area involving students with and at risk for emotional disturbance. The purpose of this investigation was to contribute to the limited corpus of observation studies investigating school-based practice in reading for this student population. In this investigation, 11 teachers from two states were systematically observed while providing reading instruction over the course of the 2017-2018 school year. Participating students were also observed over the course of the year and completed two standardized reading assessments at the beginning and end of this investigation. Teachers were also interviewed to identify contextual factors that promote or impede the provision of high quality reading instruction to this student population. Study findings suggest that teachers are in need of additional training, support, and resources to maximize instructional time. Students in this sample tended to make no or minimal progress in reading and were frequently observed displaying low levels of academic engagement across settings. Implications for school practice and areas for future research are discussed

Can Ratings of Item Location Enhance Statistical Item Parameter Estimation? Extending the Feasibility of Unfolding IRT Models

Research and development of modern psychometric methods such as item response theory have drastically changed the way we understand and carry out the measurement of psychological constructs. Despite this, there has been relatively little adoption by psychological researchers to incorporate these methods into their research. While multiple explanations are surely valid, one oft stated reason is the large sample size requirements of these methods. The sample size requirements of item response theory are needed so that effective estimation of item parameters can be carried out. In an attempt to make these modern measurement methods more accessible and feasible to psychological researchers, this study investigated the extent to which subject matter experts and trained novices could effectively rate the location parameter of items to use as starting parameters in the item parameter estimation process. Rather than starting with random values, as is the default approach, starting with more accurate item locations was hypothesized to result in just as accurate item parameters that do not require typical sample sizes for these models. A pseudo-simulation process was carried out to estimate parameter recovery at various sample sizes when using SME and trainee ratings of item locations as starting parameters. Results suggest that while SMEs and trainees were not able to perfectly align item location parameters with statistical estimations, person estimates derived when using these as starting parameters yielded quite similar results to the parameters from the default MML procedure. Similar results were uncovered across sample sizes. Additionally, as sample size decreased from 500 to 200, recovery results became less stable indicating that even with SME and trainee estimates of item location used as starting parameters, sample size issues still remained when estimating item parameters

Reading Viewed as the Result of Writing

In its typical circumstances, the process of silent reading is essentially an individual endeavor. It is individual, however, only in the sense that a single person, functioning alone, attempts to decode, or reconstruct, meaning from written language. While this view is in itself an accurate one, it is not altogether adequate. A much fuller, and certainly a more realistic, perspective becomes possible when reading is seen as the inevitable result of writing

Methods of identifying high velocity growth in youth soccer players

Soccer has been played as a competitive sport for more than 100 years. Recently, however, physical preparation has become increasingly important for elite players. Now more than ever, many young players are being encouraged to train intensely from an early age in order to prepare them in the best possible way to cope with the demands of the game and to increase their chances of becoming a successful professional soccer player. Yet adolescence is a stage of development characterised by unprecedented physiological changes in the musculoskeletal, cardiorespiratory and reproductive systems of the body. This has raised concerns that perhaps the specific practice of increasingly early soccer involvement and a greater training volume could put youth elite soccer players at risk of injury, in particular overuse injuries and strength disorders, especially during the adolescence growth spurt. The primary aim of this study was to establish a method of identifying soccer players going through high velocity growth (HVG) based on their physical and functional data, and to assess the effect to which this period of rapid growth has on muscle function and performance. Twenty-four male youth soccer players from Rangers Football Club’s U-14’s, U-15’s and U-17’s Youth Academy squads (Glasgow, Scotland, UK) were tested at three separate stages throughout the course of a year. Height, seated height, weight, body mass index, skinfold thickness (4-sites) and growth rates were collected as well as functional data on speed, agility, power, strength, flexibility and isokinetic concentric and eccentric muscle strength. Players going through the adolescence growth spurt were identified as having a growth rate two standard deviations outwith the average for their chronological age group. The results revealed that at the time of the study six out of the twenty-four players were going through a period of adolescent growth. The physical data showed that these players were smaller, weighed less and had a lower percentage body fat and body mass index compared to those players not going through HVG. There was no difference when comparing seated to standing height ratios and there was no evidence of a ‘fattening up’ period prior to HVG. The functional data showed that HVG players tended to be slower over 10 and 20m, have poorer agility, flexibility, power and strength compared with their peers. These results proved not to be statistically significant and it seems that the most accurate method of identifying players going through the adolescent growth spurt is with the use of retrospective physical data and calculating growth rates over a period of time. The results of this study do provide normative data for coaches, trainers and clinicians working with youth soccer players. In conclusion, youth soccer players especially from the age of 13-16, are continually growing and maturing and during this phase muscle function and performance are compromised. Players going through the adolescent growth spurt may be more susceptible to injuries as immature musculoskeletal system is less able to cope with repetitive biomechanical stress involved in youth soccer training and this is demonstrated in the poorer results shown in the HVG group functional tests. The adolescent growth spurt varies considerably in timing, tempo and duration and so trainers and coaches should be aware of the individual characteristics of the adolescent growth spurt. It is therefore essential in a professional sporting environment to continually carry out physical and functional testing on youth players in order to identify those who are going through the adolescent growth spurt and ensure they are closely monitored

The Responsible Inclusion of Students Receiving Special Education Services for Emotional Disturbance: Unraveling the Practice to Research Gap.

The majority of students receiving special education services for emotional disturbance (ED) receive a significant amount of instruction in general education classrooms, which emphasizes curriculums based on college and career readiness standards. In turn, those teachers who provide instruction to students with ED in inclusive settings are responsible for using evidence-based practices (EBPs) for those teaching situations in which they exist to meet free appropriate public education (FAPE) mandates. However, the identification of EBPs is a necessary pre-condition to eventual school adoption and teacher use of such practices. In this investigation, we completed a synthesis of syntheses to (a) determine the degree to which academic intervention research has focused on students with ED in general education classrooms and (b) identify practices that are effective at improving the academic performance of students with ED in these settings. Overall, few studies were identified. Of those studies identified, half did not disaggregate outcomes for students with ED. A quality indicator coding based on the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) design standards revealed that no studies with disaggregated outcomes permitted causal inferences. Implications for school practice and areas for future research are discussed

Inferential Aspects of the Cloze Task

The central assumption underlying the cloze procedure is that context can be used inferentially to predict deleted words (or other graphic units). The importance of this assumption suggests that an adequate understanding of the cloze task is impossible without an analytical knowledge of the role inference must play. The present discussion embodies a stepwise analysis of this role, from the point at which the context is read to the point at which the reader is able to distinguish acceptable responses