Browse by: "Q"

In this paper, we develop a likelihood approach for quantification of qualitative survey data on expectations and perceptions and we propose a new test for expectation consistency (unbiasedness). Our quantification scheme differs from existing methods primarily by using prior information (perhaps derived from economic theory or well established empirical relations) on the underlying process driving the variable of interest. To investigate the properties of our novel quantification scheme and to analyze the size and power properties of the new expectation consistency test, we perform Monte Carlo simulation studies. Overall, the simulation results are very encouraging and show that efficiency gains from including prior information can be substantial relative to existing quantification schemes. Finally, we provide an empirical illustration...

This paper presents a new methodology for the quantification of qualitative survey data. Traditional conversion methods, such as the probability approach of Carlson and Parkin (1975) or the time-varying parameters model of Seitz (1988), require very restrictive assumptions concerning the expectations formation process of survey respondents. Above all, the unbiasedness of expectations, which is a necessary condition for rationality, is imposed. Our approach avoids this assumptions. The novelty lies in the way the boundaries inside of which survey respondents expect the variable under consideration to remain unchanged are determined. Instead of deriving these boundaries from the statistical properties of the reference time-series (which necessitates the unbiasedness assumption), we directly queried them from survey respondents by a special question in the Ifo World Economic Survey. The new methodology is then applied to expectations about the future development of inflation obtained from the Ifo World Economic Survey.

This paper analyses a higher education policy issued in China in 2002: the Quality Assessment of Undergraduate Education Policy. The policy was designed with four main objectives: improvement, compliance, information and accountability. However, it has not completely fulfilled its objectives, especially regarding improvement and accountability, and it has had some unexpected consequences. Reflections on the quality assessment policy show that both inevitable and contingent factors have led to low efficiency. The authors identify the main reasons for this and propose ways to improve the policy based on the principles of the incremental and rational models of policy making and reform.

The procedures commonly employed for quality assurance in higher education are designed as if the endeavour were a technical process, whereas it may be more useful to view it as a political process. For example, quality assurance requires making choices among competing conceptions of quality, and in so doing privileges some interests over others. Moreover, some stakeholders tend to be given a greater voice than others in the design and implementation of quality assurance. The author concludes that rather than denying the political nature of quality assurance, it would be better to accept Morley’s claim that quality assurance is “a socially constructed domain of power”, and design procedures for it in a way that is appropriate for a political process. It is suggested that employing the “responsive model” of evaluation could make quality assurance more effective in improving educational quality. In the responsive model, evaluation is deemed to be a collaborative process that starts with the claims, concerns and issues put forth by all stakeholders.

Medical education is not exempt from the increasing societal expectations of accountability and this is evidenced by an increasing number of litigation cases by students who are dissatisfied with their assessment. The time and monetary costs of student appeals makes it imperative that medical schools adopt robust quality assured assessment processes. The success of these processes depends on the ability of faculty to determine the necessary changes required and manage the change process. Openness to change is critical; therefore, identifying the processes that facilitate staff openness constitutes an important step in better understanding how higher education institutions can ensure that staff members are willing to support and engage in change initiatives. This paper examines the contribution of the three attributes of the change model (content, process and context) in relation to staff openness to the quality assurance processes of assessment changes that were implemented at the University of Tasmania’s School of Medicine.

Estudantes de origem imigrante devem frequentemente transpor, a uma só vez, múltiplas barreiras para obterem êxito na escola. Na maioria dos países da OCDE, o baixo rendimento entre estudantes imigrantes é fortemente relacionado a uma desvantagem social na escola, tal como se observa na proporção de estudantes cujas mães possuem baixo nível de escolaridade. A concentração, em uma escola, de estudantes imigrantes ou daqueles que não falam o idioma das avaliações não está tão fortemente relacionada ao baixo rendimento.

The OECD Competition Committee held a roundtable on Quantification of Harm to Competition by National Courts and Competition Agencies in February 2011. This document includes an executive summary, an aide-memoire of that discussion as well as the documents from the meeting: a background note prepared for the OECD Secretariat, written submissions by Chile, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, the Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States, the European Union, Indonesia, the Russian Federation and BIAC; as well as additional contributions.

Em média, dentre os países da OCDE, cerca de 4% dos estudantes possuem alto desempenho em leitura, matemática e ciências (multitalentosos). Austrália, Finlândia, Hong-Kong (China), Japão, Nova Zelândia, Xangai (China) e Cingapura possuem proporções desses estudantes maiores do que qualquer outro país ou economia.

Os países com forte desempenho em educação ou que foram bem-sucedidos em reformas educacionais têm algumas características em comum: acreditam no potencial de seus estudantes, demonstram forte vontade política e contam com tomadores de decisão capazes de empreender esforços conjuntos para a melhoria da educação. Os países/economias que melhoraram seu desempenho em Leitura ao longo dos anos conseguiram isso com a redução do percentual de estudantes de baixo desempenho, com o aumento da proporção de estudantes nas faixas de alto desempenho, e/ou com a diminuição do impacto das condições socioeconômicas do estudante sobre o desempenho.