An Empirical Examination of the Impact of Item Parameters on IRT Information Functions in Mixed Format Tests

IRT, also referred as modern test theory , offers many advantages over CTT-based methods in test development. Specifically, an IRT information function has the capability to build a test that has the desired precision of measurement for any defined proficiency scale when a sufficient number of test items are available. This feature is extremely useful when the information is used for decision making, for instance, whether an examinee attain certain mastery level. Computerized adaptive testing (CAT) is one of the many examples using IRT information functions in test construction. The purposes of this study were as follows: (1) to examine the consequences of improving the test quality through the addition of more discriminating items with different item formats; (2) to examine the effect of having a test where its difficulty does not align with the ability level of the intended population; (3) to investigate the change in decision consistency and decision accuracy; and (4) to understand changes in expected information when test quality is either improved or degraded, using both empirical and simulated data. Main findings from the study were as follows: (1) increasing the discriminating power of any types of items generally increased the level of information; however, sometimes it could bring adverse effect to the extreme ends of the ability continuum; (2) it was important to have more items that were targeted at the population of interest, otherwise, no matter how good the quality of the items may be, they were of less value in test development when they were not targeted to the distribution of candidate ability or at the cutscores; (3) decision consistency (DC), Kappa statistic, and decision accuracy (DA) increased with better quality items; (4) DC and Kappa were negatively affected when difficulty of the test did not match with the ability of the intended population; however, the effect was less severe if the test was easier than needed; (5) tests with more better quality items lowered false positive (FP) and false negative (FN) rate at the cutscores; (6) when test difficulty did not match with the ability of the target examinees, in general, both FP and FN rates increased; (7) polytomous items tended to yield more information than dichotomously scored items, regardless of the discriminating parameter and difficulty of the item; and (8) the more score categories an item had, the more information it could provide. Findings from this thesis should help testing agencies and practitioners to have better understanding of the item parameters on item and test information functions. This understanding is crucial for the improvement of the item bank quality and ultimately on how to build better tests that could provide more accurate proficiency classifications. However, at the same time, item writers should be conscientious about the fact that the item information function is merely a statistical tool for building a good test, other criteria should also be considered, for example, content balancing and content validity

Reexamining brand loyalty and brand awareness with social media marketing: A collectivist country perspective

Purpose: This study seeks to advance the literature by examining the mediating role of brand loyalty and the moderating impact of brand awareness in the relationships between social media marketing and collectivist Chinese behavior in the hospitality service context. This exploration is grounded in brand commitment and expectancy disconfirmation theories. Methods:Empirical testing was conducted on survey data gathered from 150 collectivist Chinese customers in Hong Kong, utilizing partial least squares structural equation modeling. Results:Brand loyalty plays a partial mediating role in the relationships between social media marketing and purchase intention as well as word-of-mouth. Additionally, brand awareness exerts a negative moderating influence on social media marketing-brand loyalty link. Implications:Recommendations are provided for front-line staff tasked with addressing communication challenges by effectively managing the hotel’s social media account. They are strongly advised to steer clear of creating face-threatening situations and to demonstrate respect for the loyalty of Chinese collectivist customers. Furthermore, a negative brand awareness effect emerges when collectivist Chinese customers compare hotel brands with online travel agents

The development of universal retirement policy in Hong Kong : a study of political and administrative dynamics

published_or_final_versionPolitics and Public AdministrationMasterMaster of Public Administratio

Cross-disciplinary collaboration through WuZhiQiao Project to foster cultural exchange and community engagement

In 2013, students of the Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong (THEi), with the support of WuZhiQiao (WZQ) Charitable Foundation, formed a core team of 11 students to organize and participate in social service projects to help the underprivileged in the Chinese mainland. WuZhiQiao (WZQ) projects, the first cross-region social service engagement by THEi students, bring together students from Hong Kong and the Mainland. WZQ Charitable Foundation aims to help the Chinese traditional village in building Pedestrian Bridge and organizing community projects. Since there are Chinese villages facing flooding during rainy seasons, the local villagers will be trapped inside the village without the chance to go outside or wade outside the village. There are hundreds of such villages and they highly need our help. Each project mainly involves two or three institutes from Hong Kong and the Mainland, and they organize the whole volunteer project including planning, investigation, design, promotion and operation. Through involvement in different states or provinces, WZQ projects provide good chance of communication and interaction between Hong Kong teams and the Mainland teams and advocate intercultural social services. The projects can foster the cultural exchange between Hong Kong and the Mainland. Moreover, the majority of WZQ project members are coming from the fields of engineering, architecture and health care. We can practice our learning from lectures through the project implementation. Different parties are involved in the engineering projects including clients, consultants, contractors, surveyors, engineers and workers. Engineering students can gain good understanding of the holistic picture of a real-life engineering project. We visited the location village for investigation to learn more about the local culture, geometry and the people’s needs and discussed with the Mainland Team through online chatting tools in order to propose the optimal pedestrian building design and other community projects. Having spent over six months in planning and preparation, THEi students will implement a bridge-building and community project in Chongqing in January 2015. Through engagement in this service-learning project, not only the undergraduates of THEi can benefit through personal development but the life quality of the disadvantaged can also be improved

Psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the fatigue scale-adolescent

© 2015 Ho et al. Background: The availability of a valid and reliable instrument that accurately assesses the level of fatigue among adolescent cancer survivors is crucial before any appropriate interventions to reduce their fatigue can be appropriately planned and evaluated. The study aimed to test the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Fatigue Scale for Adolescents. In particular, confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to examine its factorial structure. Methods: A cross-sectional study was employed. Adolescents (13- to 18-year-olds) who had survived cancer and attended medical follow-up at the outpatient clinic in Hong Kong were invited to participate. The internal consistency, content validity and construct validity and test-retest reliability of the Chinese version of the Fatigue Scale for Adolescents were assessed. Results: The content validity index was 0.92. There was a strong positive correlation between adolescents' levels of fatigue and depressive symptoms (r=0.53) and a strong negative correlation between adolescents' levels of fatigue and quality of life (r=-0.58). The mean levels of fatigue of the survivors group was significantly lower than that of those still receiving treatment in hospital, but significantly higher than that of their healthy counterparts. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that there were 4 factors underlying the Chinese version of the Cancer Module. Conclusions: The findings of the study add further evidence that the Chinese version of the Fatigue Scale for Adolescents (12-item) can be used as a reliable and valid tool in assessing cancer-related fatigue among Hong Kong Chinese adolescents who have survived cancer.published_or_final_versio

AC and AG Dinucleotide Repeats in the PAX6 P1 Promoter are Associated with High Myopia

Purpose: The PAX6 gene, located at the reported myopia locus MYP7 on chromosome 11p13, was postulated to be associated with myopia development. This study investigated the association of PAX6 with high myopia in 379 high myopia patients and 349 controls. Methods: High myopia patients had refractive errors of –6.00 diopters or greater and axial length longer than 26 mm. Control subjects had refractive errors less than –1.00 diopter and axial length shorter than 24 mm. The P1 promoter, all coding sequences, and adjacent splice-site regions of the PAX6 gene were screened in all study subjects by polymerase chain reaction and direct sequencing. PAX6 P1 promoter-luciferase constructs with variable AC and AG repeat lengths were prepared and transfected into human ARPE-19 cells prior to assaying for their transcriptional activities. Results: No sequence alterations in the coding or splicing regions showed an association with high myopia. Two dinucleotide repeats, (AC)m and (AG)n, in the P1 promoter region were found to be highly polymorphic and significantly associated with high myopia. Higher repeat numbers were observed in high myopia patients for both (AC)m (empirical p = 0.013) and (AG)n (empirical p = 0.012) dinucleotide polymorphisms, with a 1.327-fold increased risk associated with the (AG)n repeat (empirical p = 0.016; 95% confidence interval: 1.059–1.663). Luciferase-reporter analysis showed elevated transcription activity with increasing individual (AC)m and (AG)n and combined (AC)m(AG)n repeat lengths. Conclusions: Our results revealed an association between high myopia and AC and AG dinucleotide repeat lengths in the PAX6 P1 promoter, indicating the involvement of PAX6 in the pathogenesis of high myopia

Detection of microalbuminuria in non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) patients without overt proteinuria by a semiquantitative albumin-creatinine urine strips

AbstractMicroalbuminuria is the hallmark of the reversible stage of incipient diabetic nephropathy. A cost- effective and convenient bedside screening test is essential to detect this phase. We used Clinitek 50® which is a semiquantitative strip test to check spot urine sample from 81 patients with albustix one plus or less. The incidence of Clinitek 50® microalbuminuria was 17%, 18.2% and 75% in 47, 22 and 12 patients with albustix negative, trace or one plus respectively. Nineteen and 13 of the 21 Clinitek 50® positive patients were checked for spot urine DCA 2000® and two 12-hour urine collection for immunoassay respectively. Around 60% of these samples fell into the microalbuminuria range and 40% into the overt albuminuria range by either technique. There was no false positive of Clinitek 50®. The lowest range of microalbuminuria detected by Clinitek 50® was 27 μg/minute (38 mg/day). We concluded that Clinitek 50® is a useful screening test as it is nonexpensive, easily operated and has a sensitivity close to the lower range of microalbuminuria