Keenan A. Pituch

The influence of system characteristics on e-learning use

The benefits of an e-learning system will not be maximized unless learners use the system. This study proposed and tested alternative models that seek to explain student intention to use an e-learning system when the system is used as a supplementary learning tool within a traditional class or a stand-alone distance education method. The models integrated determinants from the well-established technology acceptance model as well as system and participant characteristics cited in the research literature. Following a demonstration and use phase of the e-learning system, data were collected from 259 college students. Structural equation modeling provided better support for a model that hypothesized stronger effects of system characteristics on e-learning system use. Implications for both researchers and practitioners are discussed.

A Comparison of Single Sample and Bootstrap Methods to Assess Mediation in Cluster Randomized Trials

A Monte Carlo study examined the statistical performance of single sample and bootstrap methods that can be used to test and form confidence interval estimates of indirect effects in two cluster randomized experimental designs. The designs were similar in that they featured random assignment of clusters to one of two treatment conditions and included a single intervening variable and outcome, but they differed in whether the mediator was measured at the participant or site level. A bias-corrected bootstrap had the best statistical performance for each design and was closely followed by the empirical-Mtest, either of which is recommended for testing and estimating indirect effects in multilevel designs. In addition, consistent with previous research, the commonly used z test had relatively poor performance.

The Performance of Methods to Test Upper-Level Mediation in the Presence of Nonnormal Data.

A Monte Carlo study compared the statistical performance of standard and robust multilevel mediation analysis methods to test indirect effects for a cluster randomized experimental design under various departures from normality. The performance of these methods was examined for an upper-level mediation process, where the indirect effect is a fixed effect and a group-implemented treatment is hypothesized to impact a person-level outcome via a person-level mediator. Two methods—the bias-corrected parametric percentile bootstrap and the empirical-M test—had the best overall performance. Methods designed for nonnormal score distributions exhibited elevated Type I error rates and poorer confidence interval coverage under some conditions. Although preliminary, the findings suggest that new mediation analysis methods may provide for robust tests of indirect effects.

A Comparison of Methods to Test for Mediation in Multisite Experiments.

A Monte Carlo study extended the research of MacKinnon, Lockwood, Hoffman, West, and Sheets (2002) for single-level designs by examining the statistical performance of four methods to test for mediation in a multilevel experimental design. The design studied was a two-group experiment that was replicated across several sites, included a single intervening variable and outcome, and assumed that the effects of the treatment and mediator were constant across sites. The findings provide new evidence of the benefits of and further support for using the asymmetric confidence limits approach to test for mediation. In addition, the authors provide further support for using confidence intervals to assess if treatment effects are completely mediated, as using traditional hypothesis testing may lead to erroneous conclusions.

Men's Restrictive Emotionality: An Investigation of Associations With Other Emotion-Related Constructs, Anxiety, and Underlying Dimensions

Using Kennedy-Moore and Watson’s cognitive-evaluative model of emotional expression and nonexpression, in the current study the authors investigated the relationship between men’s restrictive emotionality and other emotion-related constructs. Among the emotion-related variables represented by the above model, negative attitudes toward emotional expression were found to be most closely associated with men’s restrictive emotionality. In addition, results of multiple regression analyses suggest that men’s difficulty identifying feelings might account for the relationship between restrictive emotionality and trait anxiety. Further, a factor analysis of various emotion-related measures revealed a three-factor solution in which men’s restrictive emotionality formed part of a high-order factor named Difficulty With Emotional Communication. Implications of the findings and directions for future masculinity research are discussed.

The Incidence of “Causal” Statements in Teaching-and-Learning Research Journals

The authors examined the methodologies of articles in teaching-and-learning research journals, published in 1994 and in 2004, and classified them as either intervention (based on researcher-manipulated variables) or nonintervention. Consistent with the findings of Hsieh et al., intervention research articles declined from 45% in 1994 to 33% in 2004. For nonintervention articles, the authors recorded the incidence of “causal” statements (e.g., if teachers/schools/parents did X, then student/child outcome Y would likely result). Nonintervention research articles containing causal statements increased from 34% in 1994 to 43% in 2004. It appears that at the same time intervention studies are becoming less prevalent in the teaching-and-learning research literature, researchers are more inclined to include causal statements in nonintervention studies.

Assessing Behavioral Flexibility in Individuals With Developmental Disabilities

Researchers associate an insistence on sameness or lack of behavioral flexibility With autism and Asperger syndrome, but feW studies have sought to identify specific situations in Which individuals insist on sameness. Along these lines, We developed the Behavioral Flexibility Rating Scale (BFRS) and conducted an Internet survey of parents of individuals With autism, Asperger syndrome, and DoWn syndrome. A total of 726 respondents submitted usable returns during the 3-month survey period. Parent report indicated that individuals With Asperger syndrome shoWed the most problems in relation to the insistence on sameness as measured by the BFRS, folloWed by individuals With autism and DoWn syndrome, respectively. When diagnosis Was controlled, there Were no gender or age differences. This preliminary investigation suggests that the BFRS may be useful in identifying specific situations associated With an insistence on sameness. Identifying specific situations in Which individuals insist on sameness or shoW a lack of behavioral flexibility may be useful in planning interventions focused on promoting greater behavioral flexibility.

A preliminary examination of the "Real Men. Real Depression" campaign.

This study reports on a preliminary evaluation of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)-sponsored “Real Men. Real Depression” (RMRD) campaign. Two- hundred-nine men with a range of help-seeking attitudes and gender-role conflict (GRC) reviewed the RMRD brochure, a similar brochure excluding

The SeniorWISE study: improving everyday memory in older adults.

We tested whether at-risk older adults receiving memory training showed better memory self-efficacy, metamemory, memory performance, and function in instrumental activities of daily living than participants receiving a health promotion training comparison condition. We followed participants for 26 months. The sample was mostly female (79%) and Caucasian (71%), with 17% Hispanics and 12% African Americans; average age was 75 years, and average education was 13 years. The memory training group made greater gains on global cognition and had fewer memory complaints, but both groups generally maintained their performance on the other cognitive measures and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) throughout the 24-month study period. Black and Hispanic participants made greater gains than Whites did on some memory performance measures but not on memory self-efficacy. The unexpected finding that minority elders made the largest gains merits further study. This study contributed to the knowledge base of geropsychiatric nursing by providing evidence for an effective psychosocial intervention that could be delivered by advanced practice nurses.

Multivariate Hierarchical Linear Modeling in Randomized Field Experiments

The hierarchical linear model (HLM) is now commonly accepted as a useful modeling approach for multilevel data resulting from randomized field experiments. When multiple outcomes of interest exist, a multivariate extension of the conventional univariate HLM offers advantages over the usual application of separate HLM analyses for each of the outcomes. In this article, the authors review these advantages, discuss the device that allows the univariate HLM procedure to model multiple outcomes, and present a series of multivariate models that would be useful in addressing typical questions in field experiments. In addition to the multivariate multilevel versions of basic analysis of variance (ANOVA) or analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) designs, the authors present more complex models that allow the testing of moderation and mediation of the treatment effect. The various analyses are illustrated with computer generated data for a hypothetical scenario.