We determine the possible masses and radii of the progenitors of white dwarfs in binaries from fits to detailed stellar evolution models and use these to reconstruct the mass-transfer phase in which the white dwarf was formed. We confirm the earlier finding that in the first phase of mass transfer in the binary evolution leading to a close pair of white dwarfs, the standard common-envelope form...

It is commonly believed that objects viewed in certain contexts may be more or less salient. Measurements of salience have usually relied on asking observers "How much does this object stand out against the background?". In this study, we measured the salience of objects by assessing the distraction they produce for subjects searching for a different, pre-specified target. Distraction was measu...

In this study the Mantel-Haenszel procedure, widely used in studies for identifying differential item functioning, is proposed as an alternative to the delta-plot method and applied in a test-equating context for flagging common items that behave differentially across cohorts of examinees. The Mantel-Haenszel procedure has the advantage of conditioning on ability when making comparisons of perf...

This introduction to the R package plink is a (slightly) modified version of Weeks (2010), published in the Journal of Statistical Software. The R package plink has been developed to facilitate the linking of mixed-format tests for multiple groups under a common item design using unidimensional and multidimensional IRT-based methods. This paper presents the capabilities of the package in the co...

Since the IEA's Third International Mathematics and Science Study, one of the major objectives of international surveys in education has been to report trends in achievement. The names of the two current IEA surveys reflect this growing interest: Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS). Similarly a central concer...

We’re already seeing reports broadly assessing online learning based on spurious definitions, research questions, methodology, and leaps to causal conclusions by equating “remote instruction” tacti...