Browsing by Subject "assessment"
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Item Challenging the status quo in mathematics: Teaching for understanding(The Conversation, 2017-06-21) Rakes, ChristopherItem ERM Ideas & Innovations: Operationalizing a Consortial E-Resources Assessment and Reporting Plan(2021-03-10) Lowe, Randall A.; Owusu, Erica; Li, Deborah K.; LibraryThe authors detail the operationalization of a library consortium’s electronic resources assessment and reporting plan, including the implementation of procedures to collect and archive usage data, as well as the development of a sustainable annual reporting process. Despite finding that implementing a practical e-resources assessment plan for a consortium is possible even with limited available human resources, significant challenges related to data collection continue to limit the ability of library consortia to undertake more holistic assessments of the overall value of their procured e-resources.Item ERM Ideas & Innovations: The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Use of Library-Licensed Electronic Resources: Using Data to Challenge Core Assumptions and Leveraging Disruption to Initiate Meaningful Strategic Change(2022-09-26) Lowe, Randall A.Academic libraries are engaged in the process of assessing the impacts the COVID-19 health pandemic has had on the use of the electronic resources their institutions provide. Trends related to e-resource use prior to and during the pandemic at a small academic library and within its consortium are discussed. The results of this assessment dispel the assumptions behind a hypothesis that licensed online resources would see greater use in supporting instruction and research as institutions pivoted to online-only course delivery in the early months of the pandemic. Some potential underlying factors that may be leveraged to inform strategic collection development, information literacy, and service changes are explored.Item An exploration of U.S. adults’ information processing skills and political efficacy(SAGE Journals, 2019-06-04) Saal, Leah Katherine; Yamashita, Takashi; Shaw, Donita M.; Perry, Kristen H.In our current era of fake news and (dis)information, understanding the association between information processing skills and political efficacy in the U.S. is a significant inquiry for adult and continuing education. Data from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) was used to explore relationships between U.S. participants’ information processing skills and political efficacy. We further analyzed whether the relationship varied across levels of civic engagement, formal educational attainment, immigrant status, or the range of books in the home. The results illustrate that higher levels of literacy, numeracy, and PS-TRE are associated with higher political efficacy for U.S. participants. Our research is framed in both cognitive and critical lenses, and we provide implications for practice in adult and continuing education settings.Item False-positives and Clinical Heterogeneity among Youth at Clinical High-risk for Psychosis: Clinical and Ethical Implications for Assessment and Treatment(Journal of Ethics in Mental Health, 2018-06-15) Millman, Zachary B.Early detection and prevention of psychosis among those showing early, attenuated manifestations has become an international initiative. Multiple ethical and clinical challenges, however, complicate these efforts. We discuss contextual considerations in the identification of psychosis-risk, the complicating role of comorbidities in clinical decision-making, and limitations to the extant psychosocial intervention literature. Factors such as clients’ life experiences, cultural background, and co-occurring psychopathology may all influence whether putative attenuated psychotic signs are considered risk factors for psychosis. Once a high-risk label is ascribed, these and other considerations influence the degree to which available interventions are appropriate for presenting concerns. We suggest that brief screening instruments may promote more accurate identification of psychosis-risk; we also contend that a modular, needs-based treatment model may begin to address the ethical and clinical concerns associated with providing early intervention to people identified as at-risk, even if psychosis is not the ultimate clinical outcome.Item Intercultural Competence and its Assessment: A Critical Contextualization(2017-01-01) Hernandez-Moreno, Beatriz; Field, Thomas; Modern Languages, Linguistics & Intercultural Communication; Intercultural CommunicationAs globalization shifts towards an increasingly more interconnected conception of the world, many nations, cultures and people find themselves in intercultural situations with an unprecedented regularity. When these intercultural encounters take place, an individual needs to apply what has come to be called "intercultural competence" in order to act and communicate "effectively and appropriately." Both public and private institutions, as well as scholars, have taken an interest in this new concept, and assessment tools to measure the degree that an individual may attain in such competence are now being used in a wide array of contexts. Assessing a concept whose meaning and implications are still being debated makes the task challenging, yet different fields are navigating these mostly-uncharted waters in search of the key that will enable intercultural competence to be taught, developed and assessed successfully in different situations. A critical mind, however, must ask some uncomfortable questions. What do labels like "effective," "appropriate" or "successful" imply when applied to intercultural exchanges and how do they impact our modern conception of intercultural competence? Which philosophical currents and ideas inform the requirements for an individual to qualify as interculturally competent, and how do these ideas fit into the current globalized era we live in? Is it possible to frame the contextualization of intercultural competence and its assessment by determining the gaps, flaws and limitations that its practical application possesses, and what does this mean for its future theoretical, conceptual and practical development? None of these questions has an easy answer. This paper hopes to shed some light on what lies behind intercultural competence and its assessment, at a philosophical, historical and practical level. After all, although the concept seems to be widely considered acceptable, positive and worth of encouragement, what is often overlooked is the fact that it was created within a specific system and born of a specific philosophy of mind, and thus fulfils a specific purpose in the delicate, imbalanced dynamics that exist between cultures and nations nowadays.Item Quality Guided Variable Bit Rate Texture Compression(2016-01-01) Griffin, Wesley N; Olano, Thomas M; Computer Science and Electrical Engineering; Computer ScienceThe primary goal of computer graphics is to create images by rendering a scene under two constraints: quality, producing the image with as few artifacts as possible, and time, producing the image as fast as possible. Technology advances have both helped to satisfy these constraints, with Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) advances reducing image rendering times, and to exacerbate these constraints, with new HD and virtual reality displays increasing rendering resolutions. To meet both constraints, rendering uses texture mapping which maps 2D textures onto scene objects. Over time, the count and resolution of textures has increased, resulting in dramatic growth of data storage requirements. Compression can help to reduce these storage requirements. I present a rigorous texture compression evaluation methodology using final rendered images. My method can account for masking effects introduced by the texture mapping process while leveraging the perceptual-rigor of current Image Quality Assessment metrics. Building on this evaluation methodology, I present a demonstration of guided texture compression optimization that minimizes the bitrate of compressed textures while maximizing the quality of final rendered images. Guided texture compression will help with the scalability problem for optimizing texture compression in real-world scenarios.Item Use of Data to Inform Instruction in an Urban School System and the Impact on Standardized Assessments(2017-07-15) Hargest, Jessica; Woods, Rebecca; Waynant, Louise; At-Risk and Diverse Learners; Masters of EducationData are increasingly used by teachers and schools to inform instruction. Inconsistency in its use likely affects the clinical utility of data collection and applications for improving teaching and learning outcomes. This study sought to determine whether Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) scores for students in grades three to eight differed significantly among schools with varied levels of data use. Data usage was rated based on a qualitative School Effectiveness Review process which reviewed 20 schools in a large urban district. The study found no statistically significant relationship between the level of data use and PARCC scores for the schools. Hence, the null hypotheses, that the mean PARCC scores would not differ significantly among schools with varied levels of data use and that the correlation between PARCC scores and the schools’ levels of data use would be insignificant, both were retained. Despite these findings, the review of literature and current demands for accountability in education indicate further studies of how data collection and application to teaching and learning can most effectively benefit students are warranted.