Effects Of Background Variables Research Articles

大學生在效益論和正義思維兩難情境中客觀立場與置身其中的比較

<p>本研究的目的在於檢視「效益論與正義思維兩難情境量表」之心理計量特徵,瞭解台灣的大學生在該量表上之表現情形,並探討個人在不同情境下,處在不同的立場觀點所做的道德判斷之差異組型,以及探究重要的背景變項與效益和正義取向的關聯性。根據 230 位受試者的實徵資料發現,台灣的大學生在分量表 1 較傾向於效益論的取向,而在分量表 2 和 3 則較傾向於正義思維的判斷;15 題兩難情境中,有 13 題在客觀立場和置身其中兩個不同觀點所做出的效益判斷得分的平均數和百分比有顯著差異。性別、教育水準、支持的黨派、宗教信仰以及工作經驗等是影響受試者的表現之重要背景變項。</p> <p> </p><p>This study evaluated the psychometric characteristics of a utilitarianism versus justice scale and assessed the moral reasoning of students faced with utilitarianism versus justice dilemmas based on daily life scenarios. The consistency of their moral judgments made from objective and situated standpoints was also evaluated. The effect of background variables on their utilitarianism versus justice scale scores was explored. Empirical data from 230 participants revealed that the college students were generally more utilitarianism oriented on the first subscale and more justice oriented on the second and third subscales. Among the 15 items, 13 items differed significantly with respect to the means and proportions of the moral judgment scores the students assigned from objective and situated standpoints. Sex, education level, partisan orientation, religious beliefs, and working experience were significantly correlated with the utilitarianism versus justice scale scores.</p> <p> </p>

The meaningfulness of two curriculum-based national tests of English as a foreign language

This paper addresses the aspect of the meaningfulness of a national assessment in English as a foreign language, applying the fairness framework proposed by Kunnan (2018). We compared students’ performance on two receptive language skills of listening and reading on two subsequent national evaluations in Finland, taken by students at the end of compulsory basic education and at the end of general upper secondary education, respectively. The research questions focus on (1) the relationship between students’ performance on the two tests and their gender, language of schooling and parents’ educational level, and (2) the relationship between the students’ receptive language proficiency at the end of basic education and general upper secondary education. The data were analysed using linear regression and quantile regression analyses. The effect of background variables on the proficiency was stronger for low-performing students than for high-performing students. Moreover, students’ proficiency on the receptive skills at the end of basic education well predicted that at the end of general upper secondary education across several points in the score distribution. The findings also indicated persistent challenges with respect to educational equality and equity that requires ongoing attention by policy-makers and test designers.

The Effects of Background Variables and Learning Engagement of Adult Learners on Their Capacity for Self-Directed Learning

The Effects of Background Variables and Learning Engagement of Adult Learners on Their Capacity for Self-Directed Learning

Interactive Effect of Background Variables and Workload Parameters on the Quality of Life among Nurses Working in Highly Complex Hospital Units: A Cross-sectional Study

Interactive Effect of Background Variables and Workload Parameters on the Quality of Life among Nurses Working in Highly Complex Hospital Units: A Cross-sectional Study

Öğrenci Özelliklerinin Cinsiyete Dayalı Değişen Madde Fonksiyonuna Etkisi

Arastirmada, sosyoekonomik duzey ve okuma becerisinin cinsiyete dayali DMF’nin ortaya cikmasina etkisi amaclanmistir. Bu kapsamda PISA 2015 fen uygulamasinda yer alan maddelerin ele alinan dokuz ulkede cinsiyete gore degisen madde fonksiyonu (DMF) gosterip gostermediginin belirlenmistir. Arastirma kapsaminda bilgisayar tabanli uygulamada yer alan bir fen madde kumesi ele alinmistir. Arastirmaya dahil edilen ulkeler bilgisayar tabanli uygulamaya katilan ulkeler arasinda basari siralamalarina gore secilmistir. Analizlerde coklu gostergeler coklu nedenler modeli (MIMIC) yontemi kullanilmistir. MIMIC ile DMF analizleri belirli gruplarda maddelerin ortuk ozelligi esit sekilde olcup olcmedigini belirlemek amaciyla, tam ve sinirlandirilmis modellerin uyumlarinin karsilastirilmasini icerir. Analizler iki asamada gerceklestirilmistir. Ilk asamada maddelerin cinsiyet gruplari arasinda DMF gosterip gostermedigi incelenmistir. Daha sonra sosyoekonomik duzey ve okuma becerisi degiskenleri sirasiyla modele eklenerek soz konusu degiskenlerin cinsiyetten kaynakli DMF’ye etkisi incelenmistir. Arastirmanin bulgularina gore secilen ulkelerin tamaminda cinsiyetle iliskili DMF’li maddeler yer almakta ve DMF’li madde sayilari 2 ile 6 arasinda degismektedir. Ulkelerin dordunde modele eklenen degiskenler cinsiyete iliskin DMF’li madde sayisini manidar sekilde etkilememistir. Ancak diger dort ulkede soz konusu degiskenlerin modele eklenmesi DMF’li madde sayisini azaltmistir. Cinsiyete dayali DMF’li madde sayisini azaltan degiskenler her bir ulke kapsaminda ayri ayri tartisilmistir.

3D Cinema and Headache: The First Evidential Relation and Analysis of Involved Factors.

A possible link between 3D movies and headache (HA) has never been a target of specific and systematic investigations. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between 3D cinema and HA and to evaluate possible risk factors of developing HA during or after watching a 3D movie. This was a prospective, non-randomized, observational study. Six thousand specifically designed questionnaires were distributed to consecutive cinema visitors. Relative HA risks for 2D- vs. 3D-movie visitors and the effects of background variables were analyzed. The questionnaire was filled and returned by 1293 persons. The mean age of responders was 33.0 ± 11.3 years. Individuals who viewed 3D movies reported HA during or after the movie 1.61 times more often than 2D-movie viewers (11.1% in 3D vs. 7.2% in 2D movies, p = 0.017). The risk was higher in women: 2.65 times for 2D (p = 0.019) and 1.85 times for 3D movies (p = 0.06), and decreased with age by 4.6% with each year for 2D (p = 0.0035) and by 3.2% for 3D movies (p = 0.0098). Among 3D-movie visitors, those with previous HAs were 4.17 times more prone to get a cinema-induced HA (p = 0.02). The risk was the highest for persons with migraine (OR = 3.37, p = 0.001). For the first time, it was evidentially shown that 3D movies can provoke HA. Persons at risk are mostly younger women and/or migraineurs. Based on our results, for those belonging to the aforementioned risk groups, it can be mainly recommended to choose passive 3D technology and to view movies from the farthest possible distance.

Effects of human resource outsourcing on service innovation in public sectors

To deal with a lot of public services, first-level human resources are largely required in governmental institutes. The changes of industries and employment structure have the government, in consideration of budgets and downsizing, apply Human Resource Outsourcing and introduce temporary employees to reduce labor personnel costs and labor flexibility and to solve the demands for temporary and non-core businesses for achieving the innovation of administrative services and organizational reform as well as enhance organizational competitiveness. Acquiring expected and stable temporary employees with favorable work performance is a dilemma for personnel units. By distributing and collecting questionnaires on-site, 230 copies of questionnaires were distributed to the superiors and public servants in various sectors of Kaohsiung City Government. A total of 169 valid copies were retrieved, with the retrieval rate of 73%. The empirical results show partially positive effects of Human Resource Outsourcing on Service Concept, Customer Interface, and Delivery System in Service Innovation, significantly positive effects of Human Resource Outsourcing on Technology Option in Service Innovation, and remarkable moderating effects of background variables on the correlations between Human Resource Outsourcing and Service Innovation.

Parental Patterns of Cooperation in Parent-Child Interactions: The Relationship Between Nonverbal and Verbal Communication

This study expands the existing research into forms of parent–child cooperation by simultaneously assessing verbal/nonverbal channels of communication and their congruent/incongruent interrelatedness. The study aims to explain parental patterns of cooperation and to analyze the effect of a wide range of social and situational factors, including parents' gender, child's gender, socioeconomic status, and task difficulty. Parent–child interactions (n = 160) in structured joint game sequences were filmed in their homes and analyzed using a mixed multivariant design. The results highlight the importance of integrative congruence/incongruence patterns and the significant effects of background variables in parental inducing/inhibiting-cooperation patterns. The proposed model expands the theoretical and methodological framework of parental cooperation.

Moderating Effect of Background Variables in the Causal Relationship between Basic Psychological Needs and Exercise Adherence in Athletes with Physical Disabilities

Moderating Effect of Background Variables in the Causal Relationship between Basic Psychological Needs and Exercise Adherence in Athletes with Physical Disabilities

Noncognitive correlates of education

Native-born Estonian men ( N = 1495), 18–23 years old, participated in a study on relationships between the level of education and noncognitive characteristics of mind (so-called Characteristic Adaptations: attitudes, values, self-concept, etc.). In addition to Characteristic Adaptations, the model included parents' level of education, personality dimensions, cognitive ability, and word meaning structure variables that may mediate the relationships between the level of education and Characteristic Adaptations. It was found that, after the effect of background variables on the dependent variables was taken into account, the level of education was still related to noncognitive constructs in the model (collectivism, coping style, aggression, attitudes towards alcohol and narcotics, and self-esteem). A higher level of education was related to adaptive noncognitive characteristics of mind.

Changes in Perceived Health and Depressive Symptoms: A Longitudinal Analysis with Older Korean Americans

The present study examined changes in the perceived health of older Korean Americans (n = 141) over a 2-year period: 2003 (T1) and 2005 (T2). A hierarchical regression model of changes in perceived health was estimated with the following array of predictors: (1) background variables (age, gender, marital status, education, and length of stay in the United States), (2) initial perceived health (T1), (3) physical and mental health conditions at T1 (chronic conditions, functional disability, and depressive symptoms), and (4) changes in physical and mental health conditions (T2 - T1). When the effects of background variables and baseline perceived health were controlled, baseline chronic conditions and changes in both chronic conditions and depressive symptoms were found to predict changes in perceived health. Older individuals who initially had more chronic conditions and those who had experienced an increasing number of chronic conditions and depressive symptoms over 2 years viewed their health more negatively at follow-up. Findings highlight the importance of interventions for disease management and mental health promotion to enhance subjective health among older Korean immigrants.

An “Unfolding” Latent Variable Model for Likert Attitude Data

Likert attitude data consist of responses to favorable and unfavorable statements about an entity, where responses fall into ordered categories ranging from disagreement to agreement. Social science and marketing researchers frequently use data of this type to measure attitudes toward an entity such as a policy or product. We focus on data on American and British attitudes toward their respective nations (“national pride”). We introduce a multidimensional unfolding model (MUM) to describe the relationship between the data and the attitudes underlying them. Unlike most existing models, the MUM allows the data to reflect not just attitudes, but also response style, which is defined as a consistent and content-independent pattern of response category selection such as a tendency to agree with all statements. The MUM can be used to model multiple attitudes, which allows researchers to expand their analysis of the data of interest to include all available Likert data so as to increase information on response style. For example, we include additional data on immigration attitudes to help distinguish the effects of response style and national pride on our data. The MUM can be used to fit linear models for the effects of background variables on attitudes. Resulting inferences about attitudes are adjusted for response style and should be less biased. Simulation results strongly suggest that, unlike Likert's popular scoring model, the MUM yields unbiased inferences even when there are unequal proportions of favorable and unfavorable statements.

Use of Antidepressants and Suicide Rate in Finland: An Ecological Study

The suicide rate has decreased in many countries, while the use of antidepressants has increased greatly. The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between use of antidepressants and suicide rate. Population-based suicide rates and reimbursed prescriptions of antidepressants between 1994 and 2001 in Finland were analyzed in the whole population, and separately by gender, age, and geographical region. There were significant differences in suicide rates between men and women (p < .0001), but there were no differences between different regions of the country. The decline in the suicide rate was significantly associated with use of antidepressants among men aged 15 to 44 (p < .0001), 45 to 64 (p = .0005), and 75 years and over (p = .001) and men in 3 regions (p < .001). The decline in the suicide rate was significantly associated with the use of antidepressants among 15- to 44-year-old women (p = .008) and women in 1 region (p = .013). Use of antidepressants had a significant association with the decrease in the suicide rate (risk ratio = 0.08, 95% CI 0.02 to 0.30, p < .001), despite the effect of background variables, their interaction, and the course of time. An increase in the use of antidepressants may decrease the suicide rate. Baseline suicide rate and access to health care may influence this association.

Perceived functions predict intensity of use and problems in young polysubstance users.

To model consumption patterns and problems associated with alcohol, cannabis, ecstasy, amphetamine and cocaine hydrochloride use in a non-treatment sample of young polysubstance users. A cross-sectional survey of 364 16-22-year-old (56.3% male) polysubstance users recruited and interviewed by peer interviewers. Structured questionnaires were used to gather identical datasets on the five target psychoactive substances, recording patterns of substance use; adverse consequences from use; negative effects; functions for substance use; and perceived peer use. Functions for substance use strongly predicted intensity of use in all five substances when peer use, age of first use and demographics were controlled, explaining an additional 11-19% of the variance in scores. Functions also explained an average of 22% of the variance in problem scores over and above the effects of background variables and current intensity of use. In particular, functions concerned with relief from negative mood states were strong predictors of problem scores in alcohol, cannabis and cocaine. The potential implications of using a functional approach to explaining and responding to substance use are considerable. This could help to enhance our understanding of how experimental substance use becomes regular and how regular use becomes problematic, and could thus inform prevention, education and intervention efforts.

Racial bias in the assessment of cognitive functioning of older adults

This study was undertaken to determine if the difference in assessed cognition between Black/African-American and White older adults was due differential item functioning (DIF) and/or differences in the effect of background variables. Participants were 15,257 adults aged 50 and older surveyed in the Study of Asset and Health Dynamics of the Oldest Old (AHEAD) and Health and Retirement Study (HRS). The cognitive measure was a modified telephone interview for cognitive status. The analytic strategy was a multiple group structural equation model grounded in item response theory. Results suggest that most (89%) of the group difference could be attributed to measurement or structural differences, the remainder being not significantly different from zero ( p =0.193). Most items displayed racial DIF, accounting for most of the group difference. After controlling for DIF, the group difference that remained could be attributed to heterogeneity in the effect of background variables. For example, low education was more deleterious for Black/African-Americans, and high income conferred an advantage only for Whites. These findings underscore the importance of efforts to generate culture-fair measurement devices. However, culture-fair assessments may attenuate, but not eliminate, group differences in assessed cognition due to the incommensurate action of background variables

Approaches to studying in distance education

Responses to the Approaches to Studying Inventory were obtained from 2,288 post-foundation students taking courses by distance learning at the Open University. A factor analysis of their subscale scores produced a solution that was commensurable with results of earlier research carried out with campus-based students. Indeed, their approaches to studying were more appropriate to the avowed aims of higher education, but this could be attributed to age differences between campus-based and distance-learning students. The approaches to studying of distance-learning students were affected by background variables such as gender, age, academic discipline and prior education, and they were more appropriate to the avowed aims of higher education than those of other students taking foundation courses by distance learning. Even when effects of background variables were taken into account, the distance-learning students' approaches to studying were related to pass rates and final grades. In particular, there was a strong negative association between reproducing orientation and academic outcome.

Status Maintenance and Change during Old Age

This article examines the process of status determination - the translation of background status characteristics into economic outcomes - as it changes over thte later stages of the life cycle. Because of the increased dependence of cohtorts on public transfers during old age, the extent to which old age reduces, heightens, or maintains thte importance of market-based sources of stratification reflects the redistributive impact of retirement income relative to market income. Using data from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Older Men, we compare the impact of status characteristics important during work careers - race, residence, education, occupation - on economic outcomes before and after the normal age of eligibility for retirement benefits. For family income and assets, adjusted for family size and inflation, the results show only modest change in the effects of background variables over time, across ages, or witht htours worked, and suggest more continuity than change in the determinants of income.

Status Maintenance and Change during Old Age

This article examines the process of status determination — the translation of background status characteristics into economic outcomes — as it changes over the later stages of the life cycle. Because of the increased dependence of cohorts on public transfers during old age, the extent to which old age reduces, heightens, or maintains the importance of market-based sources of stratification reflects the redistributive impact of retirement income relative to market income. Using data from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Older Men, we compare the impact of status characteristics important during work careers — race, residence, education, occupation — on economic outcomes before and after the normal age of eligibility for retirement benefits. For family income and assets, adjusted for family size and inflation, the results show only modest change in the effects of background variables over time, across ages, or with hours worked, and suggest more continuity than change in the determinants of income.

Analysis of the Effects of School Variables Using Multilevel Models

Summary Multilevel models allow data to be analysed which are hierarchical in nature; in particular, data which have been collected on pupils grouped into schools. Some of the associated variables may be measured at the pupil level, and others at the school level. The use of multilevel models produces estimates of variances between schools and pupils, as well as the effects of background variables in reducing or explaining these variances. One data set which has been analysed relates to the national surveys of mathematics carried out in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In this case the basic unit of analysis was a pupil's performance in a group of items within one of 12 sub‐categories of maths. Each pupil tackled two such item groups (or sub‐tests) and thus a three‐level model was required, with the levels representing sub‐tests, pupils and schools. A number of background variables at both pupil and school levels were also measured, and interesting results were obtained when a multilevel model was fit...

Sex-role attitudes: A comparison of sex-race groups

This study investigated the differences in the three dimensions of sex-role attitudes among four sex-race groups and also the ability of sex and race jointly to condition the effects of background characteristics on these attitudes. In a sample of 409 college students significant differences were found on all three dimensions of sex-role attitudes between the two sex groups, but not between the two racial groups, implying that gender is the most significant variable in eliciting differences in sex-role attitudes. Stepwise multiple regression analysis did not find a single common predictor to explain the variance in the wife role, the mother role, and the father role for the four sex-race group models. Some predictors were found in common in the four models explaining the variance in three dimensions of sex-role attitudes when the effects of sex and race were examined separately. However, the interaction of race and sex in conditioning the effect of background variables on the sex-role attitudes was quite different for each of the four sex-race subsamples.