A study of the relationships between oral comprehension and silent reading comprehension

The purpose of this study is to compare the relationship between the comprehension levels of a student\u27s silent reading level to their oral comprehension level when a passage is read to them. It will also address the theory that reading is a visual symbol system superimposed on auditory language. Theorists state that reading is a symbol system twice removed from the realities which they represent. This statement implies a developmental progression as described by Myklebust. That is, the child first integrates nonverbal experience directly. Next he acquires auditory, then later a visual verbal system which represents both the experience and the auditory symbol. By working on improving reading we are assuming a higher level of oral comprehension. The individuals who will participate in this study are 20 special education students from this researcher\u27s middle school. The 15 males and 5 females, ranging in age from 14 years 3 months to 10 years 4 months have been selected as a convenience group (N=20) from three self-contained special education classes ranging from grades fifth through eighth. Ten of these students, ranging from fifth to seventh grade, have been students of this researcher\u27s class since September, 2003 will be identified as a treatment group. The participants were selected because they are readily available to this examiner. The population of interest is all special education classes in this examiner\u27s school. Generalization of results will be to this population. Data obtained from the Stanford Diagnostic Reading Test, Fourth Edition, (SDRT 4) as well as the Jerry John\u27s Basic Reading Inventory, (JJBRI) were utilized in both the pre and post reading testing. The participants were from both this examiner\u27s class and two self-contained classes. Using the students\u27 levels of reading the five components of a balanced reading program were implemented in this researcher\u27s classroom throughout the week\u27s lessons. The five basic components which are: (1) Read aloud, (2) Shared reading, (3) Guided reading and writing, (4) Paired/cooperative Reading and Writing, and (5) Independent Reading and Writing, were used by this researcher to strengthen as well as maintain reading comprehension skills of the students. Five generalized competencies, which are also necessary for a student to acquire self-confidence and motivation in learning reading were taught. The five competencies are: (1) fluency, (2) word knowledge, (3) flexible strategy use, (4) motivation, and (5) continued reading. The post reading assessments were given at the end of March, 2004 to the eighteen remaining students who were left following transfers. The reading prompt was identical to the prompt given to the study group in September 2003. Results showed minimal improvement in reading ability

Postal Surveys (Version 2.0)

Postal surveys are an important data collection mode in social science survey research. One key task when implementing postal surveys is to motivate the potential respondents to participate. This is done by means of the cover letter, the design of the questionnaire, and repeated contacts. Methodological aspects of the implementation of postal surveys are discussed against the background of theories that explain target persons’ willingness to participate

Rating-Scale Labeling in Online Surveys: An Experimental Comparison of Verbal and Numeric Rating Scales with Respect to Measurement Quality and Respondents' Cognitive Processes

Unlike other data collection modes, the effect of labeling rating scales on reliability and validity, as relevant aspects of measurement quality, has seldom been addressed in online surveys. In this study, verbal and numeric rating scales were compared in split-ballot online survey experiments. In the first experiment, respondents’ cognitive processes were observed by means of eye tracking, that is, determining the respondent’s fixations in different areas of the screen. In the remaining experiments, data for reliability and validity analysis were collected from a German adult sample. The results show that respondents needed more fixations and more time to endorse a category when a rating scale had numeric labels. Cross-sectional reliability was lower and some hypotheses with respect to the criterion validity could not be supported when numeric rating scales were used. In conclusion, theoretical considerations and the empirical results contradict the current broad usage of numeric scales in online surveys

Saving the Upper Chesapeake Bay Oyster Fishery

This article examines the evolution of the laws and practices governing the oyster fishery in Maryland’s portion of the Chesapeake Bay. Specifically, this note focuses on poaching and the mismanagement of the resource. Currently, the Bay’s oyster beds in Maryland are treated as a common resource, open to all license holders to exploit at their will. This has led to overfishing and an unsustainable depletion of the oyster fishery to the detriment of Maryland’s oystermen and the shellfish market overall. To alleviate the problem, this note recommends that Maryland concentrate its courts that adjudicate natural resource violations and create a semi-private leasehold system to better ensure the health of the Bay and the continued productivity of the fishery. These solutions will increase the expertise of the bench dealing with oyster related violations and simultaneously introduce incentives for oystermen to sustainably manage Maryland’s oyster resources

Design of Rating Scales in Questionnaires (Version 2.0)

Rating scales are among the most important and most frequently used instruments in social science data collection. There is an extensive body of methodological research on the design of rating scales and on their (psycho-)metric properties. In this contribution, the authors address individual aspects of questionnaire construction with regard to rating scales. A brief overview of the current state of research is given, a number of accounts of practical experiences are presented, and - to the extent that this is possible - recommendations for the design of rating scales are given

Uncovering the Relationship between Perceptions of Psychological Safety, Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy, and Entrepreneurial Bricolage Behaviors

While a significant amount of research has identified individual founder traits and perceptions that significantly affect startup trajectory, relatively little work has investigated the interactions between these variables. Specifically, while prior research has shown that psychological safety, entrepreneurial self-efficacy, and entrepreneurial bricolage skills are correlated with firm performance, the linkages between these variables is unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between these variables leveraging data from 71 startup founders. Results suggest that team psychological safety and entrepreneurial self-efficacy can individually predict entrepreneurial bricolage, with the combination of the two yielding a stronger predictive relationship. Finally, findings suggest that psychological safety, entrepreneurial self-efficacy, and entrepreneurial bricolage are not correlated with firm performance, contradicting prior findings

Question Wording (Version 2.0)

This contribution provides an overview of the basic rules that should be observed when formulating survey questions. The structure of the chapter is oriented towards the cognitive response process that respondents undergo when answering survey questions. This process involves a total of four tasks: understanding the question text, retrieving information from memory, forming a judgment, and formulating a response in the format provided. Using practical examples, the authors demonstrate how questions can be formulated in such a way that it makes it easier for respondents to handle these four tasks

An unintended order : the centrality of character and circumstance in the twelfth-century Gilbertine communities

"July 2010.""A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School University of Missouri In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts."Thesis supervisor: Dr. Lois L. Huneycutt.This thesis examines questions related to the emergence of the Gilbertine Order in twelfth-century England. While scholars have noted the importance of circumstantial necessity in the order's early history, I believe that their studies fail to fully account for the origin and early development of these distinctive monastic communities. While local necessity undoubtedly played a key role in the formation of the order's early character, I believe that the peculiar personality the order's founder, Gilbert of Sempringham, played an equally important role. The Vita Sancti Gilberti provides the most detailed description of Gilbert's life. However, as a piece of hagiography, the Vita is permeated with numerous hagiographical topoi that need to be identified and discarded. It is then possible to examine the more unusual aspects of Gilbert's life in the context of other, more traditional sources. In addition to the Vita, I rely heavily upon a variety of twelfth-century documents, as well as previous scholars' interpretations of the Gilbertine Institutes and a variety of secondary source material. In the end, I conclude that Gilbert's distinctive and at times contradictory personality was largely responsible, not only for the foundation of his peculiar order, but also for the evolution of the early Gilbertine communities.Includes bibliographical references (pages 112-114)

Reasons for refusals, their collection in surveys and interviewer impact

"Refusals are a significant source of non-response in surveys. During field periods of some surveys reasons for refusals are collected in call record data (as part of para-data). This article presents a study employing a content analysis of open-ended comments on reasons for refusals collected by interviewers in a survey of the German population (ALLBUS). We analysed the reasons for refusals contained in these comments, as well as to what extent these comments include information about factors relevant to participation in surveys. Additionally, we analysed the impact of interviewer characteristics – gender, age, education and experience – on data collection using various multilevel multinomial models. The results show that interviewer comments provide typical reasons for refusals, as well as specific information about target persons, their environment and the survey process. Interviewers' age and education influenced the collection of reasons for refusals. At the same time interviewer variances (obtained through multinomial multilevel models) were very high, showing that interviewers prefer to report certain reasons for refusals. The highest interviewer level variances were obtained for providing no comments at all. To improve data quality and reduce high interviewer impact, we suggest using improved standardised instruments to collect reasons for refusals. Codings based on a categorisation scheme which we developed for our content analysis show high reliability (kappa = .81). Thus, this scheme can be used as a basis for developing such standardised instruments." (author's abstract