Social and Behavioral Sciences | Open Access Articles

Fire Department Accreditation: A New Way Of Evaluating Efficiency And Effectiveness Of Fire Departments, Gary West, Dennis Wolf

MTAS Publications: Full Publications

Accreditation is a way to measure the effectiveness and efficiency of a fire department by determining community risks and fire safety needs, accurately evaluating the organization’s performance, and providing a method for continuous improvement.

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Exploring The Efficacy Of Pre-Equating A Large Scale Criterion-Referenced Assessment With Respect To Measurement Equivalence, Christopher Stephen Domaleski

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

This investigation examined the practice of relying on field test item calibrations in advance of the operational administration of a large scale assessment for purposes of equating and scaling. Often termed “pre-equating,” the effectiveness of this method is explored for a statewide, high-stakes assessment in grades three, five, and seven for the content areas of language arts, mathematics, and social studies. Pre-equated scaling was based on item calibrations using the Rasch model from an off-grade field test event in which students tested were one grade higher than the target population. These calibrations were compared to those obtained from post-equating, which …

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Using Learning Outcomes Assessment In Honors As A Defense Against Proposed Standardized Testing, Steffen Wilson

Steffen Wilson

Learning outcomes assessment (LOA) is the self-assessment of self-created learning goals for students at the class, department, college, and university level. In higher education, LOA is being imposed upon us by our accrediting bodies (Eaton, Fryshman, Hope, Scanlon, & Crow, 2005; Lingenfelter & Lenth, 2005; Nichols, 1991, 1995; Wergin, 2005). This is difficult for us because LOA is not a part of the university culture, and there are very few people on most campuses skilled in the implementation of LOA. There is also very little in the way of release time and other resources that are being provided to implement …

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Comparing Electronic-Keypad Responses To Paper-And-Pencil Questionnaires In Group Assessments Of Alcohol Consumption And Related Attitudes, Joseph W. Labrie, Mitch Earleywine, Toby Lamb, Kristin Shelesky

Heads Up!

Electronic versions of questionnaires have the potential to improve research and interventions in the addictions. Administering questionnaires electronically to groups, however, has proven difficult without a multitude of computers, but gathering data electronically from a group could make for easy assessment and quick feedback. Using a sample of 107 college students, we examined the validity of wireless keypad survey responses by comparing them to traditional paper-and-pencil questionnaires. The two formats led to almost identical responses that did not differ significantly from each other (all effect sizes less than g =.15) and high correlations between formats. The wireless, handheld keypad procedure …

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Student Learning Assessment In The Social Sciences: Establishing A National Baseline For Criminal Justice Programs, Jennifer N. Jenkins

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on student learning outcomes assessment in criminal justice programs in American colleges and universities. Particularly, this research sought to establish a baseline understanding about how criminal justice programs are measuring student achievement toward learning outcomes. The baseline does not include what students should be learning or how that learning should be assessed; it includes only what is actually happening in criminal justice programs in terms of how student learning is being assessed. The baseline data were then compared to the results from two studies that focused on student learning assessment in political science departments and public relations …

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Crossing Boundaries: Collaborating To Assess Information Literacy [Aac&U Conference], Carolyn Sanford, Jackie Lauer-Glebov, David Lopatto, Jo Beld

Staff and Faculty Work

Carolyn Sanford, Jackie Lauer-Glebov, David Lopatto and Jo Beld presentation at the AAC&U Conference, March 2006

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The Program Development Process: Developing Optimal Youth Development Environments Through The Camp Experience, M. Deborah Bialeschki, Margery M. Scanlin, Michelle Alberti Gambone, Cynthia L. Sipe

Research in Outdoor Education

Many camp professionals find themselves continually challenged to document the value of the camp experience for youth. Funders want to hold camps accountable to their goals, boards want to see evidence that camp programs result in benefits in line with the organization's mission, and directors themselves want to know if they achieved the desired outcomes as well the most effective "best practices". The American Camp Association (ACA) teamed with Youth Development Strategies, Inc. (YDSI) in a project to look at how campers assessed their camp experiences on outcomes that contribute to positive youth development. The purpose of this study was …

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An Assessment Of The Trade Relationship Between Australia And South Africa, Mokhtar Metwally, Ann Hodgkinson, Andre Jordaan

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This paper examines the trade relationship between Australia and South Africa to assess if it is justifiable to establish a FTA between these two countries. The paper uses the cointegration analysis to examine the long-term trade relationship between these two countries. The results suggest that Australian-South African trade has unique features which indicate that its growth is not just a reflection of overall world trade. The paper also uses a simultaneous equations model to test if there are significant feedback effects in Australian trade with South Africa. The results suggest that intensification of the trade relationship would be beneficial to …

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Development Of Robust Guidelines And Assessment Procedures For Metal Contaminated Sediments, David Strom, Stuart L. Simpson, Dianne F. Jolley

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

Assessment of contaminated sediments and development of remediation strategies is becoming an important priority for regulators and industries worldwide. Although sediment quality assessment frameworks exist, poor scientific procedures and a limited understanding of species sensitivity to common contaminants hinders most assessment programs. Globally, sediment quality guidelines (SQGs) for metals vary over several orders of magnitude and are not based on clear cause-effect relationships. Although equilibrium partitioning approaches to developing SQGs have been attempted, the cause-effect relationships are weak due to the many other modifying factors that influence metal bioavailability and toxicity. The inherent lack of defensible SQGs for metals currently …

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The Chronic Heart-Failure Assistance By Telephone (Chat) Study: Assessment Of Telephone Support For Vulnerable Patients With Chronic Disease, Julie Yallop, Bianca Chan, Leon Piterman, Andrew Tonkin, Andrew Forbes, Patricia M. Davidson, Robyn Clark, Elizabeth Halcomb, Andrea Nangle, Simon Stewart, Joanne Croucher, Henry Krum

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Aim: To determine whether telephone support using an evidence-based protocol for chronic heart failure (CHF) management will improve patient outcomes and will reduce hospital readmission rates in patients without access to hospital-based management programs. Methods: The rationale and protocol for a cluster-design randomised controlled trial (RCT) of a semi-automated telephone intervention for the management of CHF, the Chronic Heart-failure Assistance by Telephone (CHAT) Study is described. Care is coordinated by trained cardiac nurses located in Heartline, the national call center of the National Heart Foundation of Australia in partnership with patients' general practitioners (GPs). Conclusions: The CHAT Study model represents …

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The 'New' Middle Class In India: A Re-Assessment, Timothy J. Scrase

Faculty of Arts - Papers (Archive)

[extract] This paper seeks to go some way towards unravelling the impact of neo-liberal policies on classbased cultures in India. Specifically, it focuses on the experiences and worldviews of the middle classes, the class group or fraction said to have expanded greatly in recent times and to have been the main beneficiaries of the neo-liberal reforms of the Indian economy instigated in the early 1990s. In this paper, we explore two dimensions of these changes: work and discourses of efficiency; and the impact of these reforms on gender and class relations.

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Predicting Treatment Response During The Acute Phase Of Hospitalization, Mary A. Peterson, William Michael

Faculty Publications - Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) Program

No abstract provided.

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The Relationship Among Wellness, Severity Of Disturbance, And Social Desirability Of Entering Master's-Level Counseling Students, Heather Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A wellness paradigm may hold promise for unifying and strengthening the identity of the counseling profession. The construct of wellness may also hold implications for assessment of entering master's-level counseling students, as a tool for continuous evaluation of students, or for overall program evaluation. In this study, the only counseling-based wellness assessment measure, the Five Factor Wellness Evaluation of Lifestyle, was tested for its relationship to two other constructs: psychological disturbance and social desirability. In order to test the research hypotheses, a total of nine programs (in five states) and 204 entering master's-level counseling students completed instrumentation packets comprised of …

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The Sleep Problems Inventory: A Measure For The Assessment Of Sleep Problems In Adults With Intellectual Disabilities, Dennis R. Dixon

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Sleep problems can have a broad impact across the day-to-day functioning of an individual. Persons with intellectual disabilities are at a particular risk for developing sleep problems, with prevalence estimates much higher than is found in the general population. Nonetheless, the assessment of sleep problems in persons with intellectual disabilities has been widely overlooked. The Sleep Problems Inventory (SLEEPY) was created to measure various factors related to sleep problems in persons with intellectual disabilities. The present study represents the first steps in establishing the reliability and validity of the SLEEPY in adults with intellectual disabilities.

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Selecting Leadership: An Analysis Of Predictors In Assessing Leadership Potential, Andrea L. Zavakos

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

The purpose of this study was to identify predictors of leadership using a newly developed assessment for leadership selection within the healthcare industry by comparing assessment scores to supervisor rankings of the subjects. The study population consisted of 195 employees of 11 different hospitals. Each of the participants completed the Healthcare Leadership Inventory (HLI) assessment; their immediate supervisors completed performance ratings for them. None of the instruments were designed by the researcher. The dependent variable of the study was the supervisor-provided factor of Promotion Potential. Stepwise multiple regression was the main analytical approach. The analysis yielded two predictors of leadership …

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Monitoring The Relationship Between The Public And Public Lands: Application To Wilderness Stewardship In The U.S., Alan E. Watson, William T. Borrie

Society and Conservation Faculty Publications

Stakeholders in wilderness, and other public lands, have varying opinions on how well the land management agencies reflect their values and respond to their needs in management, and they therefore vary in their level of commitment and attachment to these places and the activities that occur there. Establishing baseline measures and monitoring indicators of the relationship between the public and wilderness lands can provide efficient evaluations of many management activities. Examples include protection of traditional relationships for indigenous people, and the enhancement and protection of relationships between the resource and both local and distant populations of stakeholders.

Most social science …

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High-Stakes Testing: Can Rapid Assessment Reduce The Pressure?, Stuart S. Yeh

Stuart S Yeh

This article presents findings about the implementation of a system for rapidly assessing student progress in math and reading in grades K–12—a system that potentially could reduce pressure on teachers resulting from high-stakes testing and the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act. Interviews with 49 teachers and administrators in one Texas school district suggest that the assessments allowed teachers to individualize and target instruction; provide more tutoring; reduce drill and practice; and improve student readiness for, and spend more time on, critical thinking activities, resulting in a more balanced curriculum. Teachers reported that the assessments provided a common …

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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Fire Department Accreditation: A New Way Of Evaluating Efficiency And Effectiveness Of Fire Departments, Gary West, Dennis Wolf

MTAS Publications: Full Publications

Exploring The Efficacy Of Pre-Equating A Large Scale Criterion-Referenced Assessment With Respect To Measurement Equivalence, Christopher Stephen Domaleski

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

Using Learning Outcomes Assessment In Honors As A Defense Against Proposed Standardized Testing, Steffen Wilson

Steffen Wilson

Comparing Electronic-Keypad Responses To Paper-And-Pencil Questionnaires In Group Assessments Of Alcohol Consumption And Related Attitudes, Joseph W. Labrie, Mitch Earleywine, Toby Lamb, Kristin Shelesky

Heads Up!

Student Learning Assessment In The Social Sciences: Establishing A National Baseline For Criminal Justice Programs, Jennifer N. Jenkins

Theses and Dissertations

Crossing Boundaries: Collaborating To Assess Information Literacy [Aac&U Conference], Carolyn Sanford, Jackie Lauer-Glebov, David Lopatto, Jo Beld

Staff and Faculty Work

The Program Development Process: Developing Optimal Youth Development Environments Through The Camp Experience, M. Deborah Bialeschki, Margery M. Scanlin, Michelle Alberti Gambone, Cynthia L. Sipe

Research in Outdoor Education

An Assessment Of The Trade Relationship Between Australia And South Africa, Mokhtar Metwally, Ann Hodgkinson, Andre Jordaan

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Development Of Robust Guidelines And Assessment Procedures For Metal Contaminated Sediments, David Strom, Stuart L. Simpson, Dianne F. Jolley

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

The 'New' Middle Class In India: A Re-Assessment, Timothy J. Scrase

Faculty of Arts - Papers (Archive)

Predicting Treatment Response During The Acute Phase Of Hospitalization, Mary A. Peterson, William Michael

Faculty Publications - Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) Program

The Relationship Among Wellness, Severity Of Disturbance, And Social Desirability Of Entering Master's-Level Counseling Students, Heather Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Sleep Problems Inventory: A Measure For The Assessment Of Sleep Problems In Adults With Intellectual Disabilities, Dennis R. Dixon

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Selecting Leadership: An Analysis Of Predictors In Assessing Leadership Potential, Andrea L. Zavakos

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

Monitoring The Relationship Between The Public And Public Lands: Application To Wilderness Stewardship In The U.S., Alan E. Watson, William T. Borrie

Society and Conservation Faculty Publications

High-Stakes Testing: Can Rapid Assessment Reduce The Pressure?, Stuart S. Yeh

Stuart S Yeh