Measuring change in academic self-concept resulting from curricular and instructional innovations

The paper begins with a discussion of the psychometric and psychological problems involved in attempts to measure changes in human characteristics. The Rasch psychometric model is proposed as a model which has the potential of alleviating or eliminating many of the problems. The model is applied to a set of responses to an academic self-concept instrument administered to seventh-, eighth-, and ninth-grade students. Items that failed to conform adequately to the model at every grade level were eliminated from the scale. The resulting scale was found to possess several properties which permitted its use in the measurement of school-induced change in academic self-concept.Received his Ph.D. in education from the University of Chicago. Current interests include instructional psychology, achievement testing, and affective scaling.     

Making drugs available at affordable prices: how universities' technology transfer offices can help developing countries

Legal context: In recent years, the prices at which medicines are soldin, and to, developing countries has become a hot politicalsubject affecting the international pharmaceutical industry.Specific legislative measures have followed the political debate,including (1) the EU Regulation 816/2006 on ‘compulsorylicensing of patents relating to the manufacture of pharmaceuticalproducts for export to countries with public health problems’and (2) the The Doha Declaration adopted by the Fourth MinisterialConference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 2001, andthe subsequent Decisions by the WTO General Council to implementthe Declaration in August 2003 and to amend the TRIPs (Trade-RelatedAspects of Intellectual Property Rights) Agreement in December2005. Universities are increasingly considering whether to includeterms in their licence agreements with pharmaceutical companiesthat address this issue. Key points and practical significance: Universities may wish to consider whether it is part of theirmission to negotiate special terms in licence agreements tobenefit the developing world. Where universities decide that,in principle, they wish to include ‘humanitarian-licensing’clauses in their licence agreements, they need to find a formof words that is likely to achieve their objectives and be acceptableto pharmaceutical industry licensees. This article considerssome of the options and suggests some specimen wording.     

Organizations,Policies, and the Roots of Public Value Failure: The Case of For‐Profit Higher Education

While public value theory has emerged to offer important insights into the evaluation of social enterprises, little is known about the origins of public value failure and even less about the role that organizations and public policy play in creating public value failure. Accordingly, this analysis explores the origins of public value failure using examples from for‐profit higher education. A selection of organization and public policy concepts are integrated into a public value mapping framework to develop a theoretical basis for public value “failure drivers.” In addition to advancing public value theory, an understanding of the origins of public value failure and the role of failure drivers has important implications for the design of public value–maximizing strategies and institutions.     

The differential predictive validity of the Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory: the role of gender

Most criminogenic risk assessments are developed and empirically validated on samples of boys or samples comprised of mostly boys, and subsequently applied to girls. Using a sample of male (n = 1,267) and female (n = 453) probationers, the purpose of the current study was to examine the potentially differential performance of the Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI) and the instrument’s eight domains for female juvenile offenders. Findings revealed gender differences in the predictive validity of the YLS/CMI in which girls scored significantly higher on the risk assessment, but recidivated at significantly lower rates than boys two years following the administration of the assessment. The predictive validity of the instrument was impacted by these gender differences in which the YLS/CMI total score was a better predictor of recidivism for boys (area under the curve (AUC) = .623) than girls (AUC = .565). The only subscales that significantly predicted recidivism for girls were the family (AUC = .607) and personality (AUC = .572) domains, whereas all of the subscales significantly predicted recidivism for boys. Directions for future research as well as gender-responsive assessment, programming, and policy implications are discussed.     

Intuitive Practice by Municipal Controllers

The restrictions placed by New Public Management on the work of municipal controllers raise questions regarding if and when these public controllers can make effective use of their intuition. A study has been carried out to answer these questions. Intuition in this study is defined as a ‘non-conscious process involving holistic associations that are produced rapidly, which result in affectively charged judgments’. While experience deals with known facts, intuition focuses on new ones. The study was carried out in the form of a simulation in which municipal controllers were asked to analyse the financial situation of a fictional municipality. Afterwards the participants were presented with four factors and were instructed to indicate which factor had been decisive in the financial process. Two factors required extensive experience as a municipal controller, while one factor required the use of intuition. The initial expectation was that experienced controllers would make more use of their intuition. Another supposition was that the use of intuition would increase with increasing time pressure. The research has shown that good use of intuition does indeed require experience. Thus, experienced public controllers make more and better use of their intuition than their less experienced colleagues. In addition, the use of intuition increases with the decrease in time available for analysis, but experience plays a crucial role in this respect. Further, the study reaches the conclusion that intuition and rational analysis do not so much exclude as complement each other. A good use of intuition requires considerable experience in rational analysis. Finally, the results of the study demonstrate that the use of intuition does not lead to worse decisions than those made using rational analysis.     

The Panama invasion and the laws of war

This article considers the conduct of armed parties in the invasion of Panama on 20 December 1989 by United States forces, in relation to the standards established by the international laws of war and the Geneva Conventions of 1949. The article confines itself to the conduct of US and Panamanian armed forces from the commencement of hostilities, and does not consider arguments for or against the invasion itself. The authors, on behalf of the US‐based Americas Watch, a human rights monitoring organization, visited Panama in January 1990, and collected information contained in the article. The article concludes that US forces failed in their Geneva Convention obligations with respect to the detentions of Panamanian POWs and civilians. It also concludes that US forces failed to exercise precautions to minimize collateral civilian casualties in the attack on the Panamanian military headquarters. It finds that Panamanian forces put non‐combatant civilians at risk by dressing in civilian clothes and firing from civilian‐occupied structures. It estimates the number of Panamanian civilian dead at approximately 300. The article further considers protection of human rights under the new Endara government, and the plight of refugees left homeless by the invasion.     

Seasonal Variation of Carcass Decomposition and Gravesoil Chemistry in a Cold (Dfa) Climate

It is well known that temperature significantly affects corpse decomposition. Yet relatively few taphonomy studies investigate the effects of seasonality on decomposition. Here, we propose the use of the Köppen‐Geiger climate classification system and describe the decomposition of swine (Sus scrofa domesticus) carcasses during the summer and winter near Lincoln, Nebraska, USA. Decomposition was scored, and gravesoil chemistry (total carbon, total nitrogen, ninhydrin‐reactive nitrogen, ammonium, nitrate, and soil pH) was assessed. Gross carcass decomposition in summer was three to seven times greater than in winter. Initial significant changes in gravesoil chemistry occurred following approximately 320 accumulated degree days, regardless of season. Furthermore, significant (p < 0.05) correlations were observed between ammonium and pH (positive correlation) and between nitrate and pH (negative correlation). We hope that future decomposition studies employ the Köppen‐Geiger climate classification system to understand the seasonality of corpse decomposition, to validate taphonomic methods, and to facilitate cross‐climate comparisons of carcass decomposition.