What is 'Airbag Moderation' and how does it build upon the concept of 'Moderation'?
Speaker(s):
Bio: I specialise in the Psychology of Education via a programme of research that concentrates on early child development and Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC). This research aims to improve our understanding of the complex interactions between parents, preschools, and early interventions as they shape children's development and educational progress. The ultimate goal is to improve the life chances of children by informing the provision of high quality ECEC and the design of effective early interventions. Novel contributions to knowledge are made through the use of longitudinal, experimental, and mixed method investigations that purposefully cut across academic disciplines (Education, Psychology, Health). This work is supported by the development of new statistical methods for the purpose of overcoming methodological barriers that impede our understanding of early child development and ECEC.
Abstract:
The airbag in your car, your immune system, the provision of free meals in schools -- these systems (and many others) seem different at first glance yet actually operate in the same manner. However, until recently there was no term for this common functioning and, unsurprisingly, therefore no way to empirically test for their existence using statistical methods. Instead, researchers both conceived of, and tested, only part of these systems (via 'Moderation') with the consequence that this has introduced a sizeable gap in knowledge into many fields of research.
This webinar introduces a term that describes these systems, 'Airbag Moderation', encourages attendees to reflect upon the presence of these effects in their own professional field and/or area of research, and describes statistical options that exist to help empirically test for thier presence. Examples are considered from the fields of Psychology, Sociology, Education, and Biology.