Sample records for context empirical study
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The Effects of Social Context on Youth Outcomes: Studying Neighborhoods and Schools Simultaneously
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Brazil, Noli
2016-01-01
Background/Context: A long line of research has empirically examined the effects of social context on child and adolescent well-being. Scholars have paid particular attention to two specific levels of social context: the school and neighborhood. Although youths occupy these social contexts simultaneously, empirical research on schools and…
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Empirical Scientific Research and Legal Studies Research--A Missing Link
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Landry, Robert J., III
2016-01-01
This article begins with an overview of what is meant by empirical scientific research in the context of legal studies. With that backdrop, the argument is presented that without engaging in normative, theoretical, and doctrinal research in tandem with empirical scientific research, the role of legal studies scholarship in making meaningful…
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[Impact of small-area context on health: proposing a conceptual model].
Voigtländer, S; Mielck, A; Razum, O
2012-11-01
Recent empirical studies stress the impact of features related to the small-area context on individual health. However, so far there exists no standard explanatory model that integrates the different kinds of such features and that conceptualises their relation to individual characteristics of social inequality. A review of theoretical publications on the relationship between social position and health as well as existing conceptual models for the impact of features related to the small-area context on health was undertaken. In the present article we propose a conceptual model for the health impact of the small-area context. This model conceptualises the location of residence as one dimension of social inequality that affects health through the resources as well as stressors which are inherent in the small-area context. The proposed conceptual model offers an orientation for future empirical studies and can serve as a basis for further discussions concerning the health relevance of the small-area context. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.
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What can Written-Words Tell us About Lexical Retrieval in Speech Production?
Navarrete, Eduardo; Mahon, Bradford Z.; Lorenzoni, Anna; Peressotti, Francesca
2016-01-01
In recent decades, researchers have exploited semantic context effects in picture naming tasks in order to investigate the mechanisms involved in the retrieval of words from the mental lexicon. In the blocked naming paradigm, participants name target pictures that are either blocked or not blocked by semantic category. In the continuous naming task, participants name a sequence of target pictures that are drawn from multiple semantic categories. Semantic context effects in both tasks are a highly reliable phenomenon. The empirical evidence is, however, sparse and inconsistent when the target stimuli are printed-words instead of pictures. In the first part of the present study we review the empirical evidence regarding semantic context effects with written-word stimuli in the blocked and continuous naming tasks. In the second part, we empirically test whether semantic context effects are transferred from picture naming trials to word reading trials, and from word reading trials to picture naming trials. The results indicate a transfer of semantic context effects from picture naming to subsequently read within-category words. There is no transfer of semantic effects from target words that were read to subsequently named within-category pictures. These results replicate previous findings (Navarrete et al., 2010) and are contrary to predictions from a recent theoretical analysis by Belke (2013). The empirical evidence reported in the literature together with the present results, are discussed in relation to current accounts of semantic context effects in speech production. PMID:26779090
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Empirical Performance of Covariates in Education Observational Studies
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Wong, Vivian C.; Valentine, Jeffrey C.; Miller-Bains, Kate
2017-01-01
This article summarizes results from 12 empirical evaluations of observational methods in education contexts. We look at the performance of three common covariate-types in observational studies where the outcome is a standardized reading or math test. They are: pretest measures, local geographic matching, and rich covariate sets with a strong…
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Infant Expressions in an Approach/Withdrawal Framework
Sullivan, Margaret Wolan
2014-01-01
Since the introduction of empirical methods for studying facial expression, the interpretation of infant facial expressions has generated much debate. The premise of this paper is that action tendencies of approach and withdrawal constitute a core organizational feature of emotion in humans, promoting coherence of behavior, facial signaling and physiological responses. The approach/withdrawal framework can provide a taxonomy of contexts and the neurobehavioral framework for the systematic, empirical study of individual differences in expression, physiology, and behavior within individuals as well as across contexts over time. By adopting this framework in developmental work on basic emotion processes, it may be possible to better understand the behavioral principles governing facial displays, and how individual differences in them are related to physiology and behavior, function in context. PMID:25412273
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Garrison, John P.; And Others
The capability of 14 interpersonal dimensions to predict dyadic communication contexts was investigated in this study. Friend, acquaintance, co-worker, and family contexts were examined. The interpersonal valence construct, based on a coactive or mutual-causal paradigm, encompasses traditional source-valence components (credibility, power,…
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Empirical research on international environmental migration: a systematic review.
Obokata, Reiko; Veronis, Luisa; McLeman, Robert
2014-01-01
This paper presents the findings of a systematic review of scholarly publications that report empirical findings from studies of environmentally-related international migration. There exists a small, but growing accumulation of empirical studies that consider environmentally-linked migration that spans international borders. These studies provide useful evidence for scholars and policymakers in understanding how environmental factors interact with political, economic and social factors to influence migration behavior and outcomes that are specific to international movements of people, in highlighting promising future research directions, and in raising important considerations for international policymaking. Our review identifies countries of migrant origin and destination that have so far been the subject of empirical research, the environmental factors believed to have influenced these migrations, the interactions of environmental and non-environmental factors as well as the role of context in influencing migration behavior, and the types of methods used by researchers. In reporting our findings, we identify the strengths and challenges associated with the main empirical approaches, highlight significant gaps and future opportunities for empirical work, and contribute to advancing understanding of environmental influences on international migration more generally. Specifically, we propose an exploratory framework to take into account the role of context in shaping environmental migration across borders, including the dynamic and complex interactions between environmental and non-environmental factors at a range of scales.
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College Education and Attitudes toward Democracy in China: An Empirical Study
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Wang, Gang; Wu, Liyun; Han, Rongbin
2015-01-01
The modernization theory contends that there is a link between education and democracy. Yet few empirical studies have been done to investigate the role of higher education on promoting democratic values in the Chinese context. Using China General Social Survey 2006, this paper generates several findings which are not completely consistent with…
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A Theoretical Perspective of Learning in the Pacific Context: A Sociocultural Perspective
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Phan, Huy P.
2010-01-01
This theoretical article discusses the importance of learning approaches in sociocultural contexts. Our discussion synthesizes previous empirical research studies, taking into consideration the importance of individuals' cultural background and environmental settings. Research studies by Marton and Saljo (1976) and others (Biggs, 1987; Watkins…
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The Journey from Rhetoric to Reality: Participatory Evaluation in a Development Context
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Chouinard, Jill Anne; Cousins, J. Bradley
2015-01-01
In this paper, we focus on participatory evaluation in the context of international development and specifically on the emerging empirical knowledge base. In a prior review and critique of research on participatory evaluation (Cousins and Chouinard 2012), we examined 121 studies, with only 21 (17%) situated in development contexts. However, the…
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Empirical ethics, context-sensitivity, and contextualism.
Musschenga, Albert W
2005-10-01
In medical ethics, business ethics, and some branches of political philosophy (multi-culturalism, issues of just allocation, and equitable distribution) the literature increasingly combines insights from ethics and the social sciences. Some authors in medical ethics even speak of a new phase in the history of ethics, hailing "empirical ethics" as a logical next step in the development of practical ethics after the turn to "applied ethics." The name empirical ethics is ill-chosen because of its associations with "descriptive ethics." Unlike descriptive ethics, however, empirical ethics aims to be both descriptive and normative. The first question on which I focus is what kind of empirical research is used by empirical ethics and for which purposes. I argue that the ultimate aim of all empirical ethics is to improve the context-sensitivity of ethics. The second question is whether empirical ethics is essentially connected with specific positions in meta-ethics. I show that in some kinds of meta-ethical theories, which I categorize as broad contextualist theories, there is an intrinsic need for connecting normative ethics with empirical social research. But context-sensitivity is a goal that can be aimed for from any meta-ethical position.
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Reichard, Joshua D.
2014-01-01
This article comprises an empirical case study of student religiosity in the context of urban school choice. The purpose of this study was to compare student religiosity in a racially diverse religious private school to determine whether religious faith is a unifying factor across racial categories. Insofar as school choice has been called…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Kordaki, Maria
2011-01-01
This study presents an experiment aimed at the design of short learning courses in the context of LAMS, using a number of specific context-free collaboration design patterns implemented within LAMS. In fact, 25 Prospective Computer Engineers (PCEs) participated in this experiment. The analysis of the data shows that PCEs fully used these context…
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Effects of a Context Shift and Multiple Context Extinction on Reactivity to Alcohol Cues
MacKillop, James; Lisman, Stephen A.
2008-01-01
Cue exposure treatment (CET) attempts to reduce the influence of conditioned substance cues on addictive behavior via prolonged cue exposure with response prevention (i.e., extinction), but has received only modest empirical support in clinical trials. This may be because extinction learning appears to be context dependent and a change in context may result in a return of conditioned responding (i.e., renewal), although this has received only limited empirical examination. The current study used a four-session laboratory analogue of CET to examine whether a change in context following three sessions of alcohol cue exposure with response prevention would result in renewal of conditioned responding. In addition, this study examined whether conducting extinction in multiple contexts would attenuate renewal of conditioned responding. In a one-way between-subjects design, 73 heavy drinkers (71% male) were randomized to three conditions: 1) single context extinction (extinction to alcohol cues in the same context for three sessions followed by a context shift at the fourth session); 2) multiple context extinction (extinction to alcohol cues in different contexts each day for all four sessions); and 3) pseudo-extinction control condition (exposure to neutral cues in the same context for three sessions followed by exposure to alcohol cues at the fourth session). The results revealed the predicted cue reactivity and extinction effects, but the hypotheses that a context shift would generate renewed cue reactivity and that multiple contexts would enhance extinction were not supported. Methodological aspects of the study and the need for parametric data on the context dependency of extinction to alcohol cues are discussed. PMID:18729687
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Timmermans, Anneke C.; Thomas, Sally M.
2015-01-01
In many countries, policy makers struggle with the development of value-added indicators of school performance for educational accountability purposes and in particular with the choice whether school context measured in the form of student composition variables should be included. This study investigates differences between 7 empirical studies…
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Similarity Attraction in Learning Contexts: An Empirical Study
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Varela, Otmar E.; Cater, John James, III; Michel, Norbert
2011-01-01
This study tests a process model of learning in which trainer and trainee traits are simultaneously considered as endogenous variables of learning outcomes. The article builds on a social view of training and similarity-attraction paradigms. In this context, the authors hypothesize that trainer-trainee similarity in personality (agreeableness)…
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Researching Language and Literacy in Social Context.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Graddol, David, Ed.; And Others
A collection of readings addresses issues in empirical investigation of language and literacy in a social context, and provide models useful to researchers undertaking small-scale studies. They include: "Introducing Ethnography" (Martyn Hammersley); "The Relations between Researcher and Researched: Ethics, Advocacy and…
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Empirically-derived Knowledge on Adolescent Assent to Pediatric Biomedical Research
Brody, Janet L.; Annett, Robert D.; Turner, Charles; Dalen, Jeanne; Yoon, Yesel
2013-01-01
Background There has been a recent growth in empirical research on assent with pediatric populations, due in part, to the demand for increased participation of this population in biomedical research. Despite methodological limitations, studies of adolescent capacities to assent have advanced and identified a number of salient psychological and social variables that are key to understanding assent. Methods The authors review a subsection of the empirical literature on adolescent assent focusing primarily on asthma and cancer therapeutic research; adolescent competencies to assent to these studies; perceptions of protocol risk and benefit; the affects of various social context variables on adolescent research participation decision making; and the inter-relatedness of these psychological and social factors. Results Contemporary studies of assent, using multivariate methods and updated approaches to statistical modeling, have revealed the importance of studying the intercorrelation between adolescents’ psychological capacities and their ability to employ these capacities in family and medical decision-making contexts. Understanding these dynamic relationships will enable researchers and ethicists to develop assent procedures that respect the authority of parents, while at the same time accord adolescents appropriate decision-making autonomy. Conclusions Reviews of empirical literature on the assent process reveal that adolescents possess varying capacities for biomedical research participation decision making depending on their maturity and the social context in which the decision is made. The relationship between adolescents and physician-investigators can be used to attenuate concerns about research protocols and clarify risk and benefit information so adolescents, in concert with their families, can make the most informed and ethical decisions. Future assent researchers will be better able to navigate the complicated interplay of contextual and developmental factors and develop the empirical bases for research enrollment protocols that will support increased involvement of adolescents in biomedical research. PMID:23914304
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Shih, Jeffrey C.; Ing, Marsha; Tarr, James E.
2013-01-01
One method to investigate classroom quality is for a person to observe what is happening in the classroom. However, this method raises practical and technical concerns such as how many observations to collect, when to collect these observations and who should collect these observations. The purpose of this study is to provide empirical evidence to…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Leeder, Chris; Shah, Chirag
2016-01-01
Introduction: While group work that takes place in education contexts has been studied by researchers, student collaborative research behaviour has received less attention. This empirical case study examined the strategies that students use and the obstacles they encounter while working in collaborative information seeking contexts on an in-class…
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Situationally Embodied Curriculum: Relating Formalisms and Contexts
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Barab, Sasha; Zuiker, Steve; Warren, Scott; Hickey, Dan; Ingram-Goble, Adam; Kwon, Eun-Ju; Kouper, Inna; Herring, Susan C.
2007-01-01
This study describes an example of design-based research in which we make theoretical improvements in our understanding, in part based on empirical work, and use these to revise our curriculum and, simultaneously, our evolving theory of the relations between contexts and disciplinary formalisms. Prior to this study, we completed a first cycle of…
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Hawthorne, Sandra; Boissière, Manuel; Felker, Mary Elizabeth; Atmadja, Stibniati
2016-01-01
Participation of local communities in the Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) of forest changes has been promoted as a strategy that lowers the cost of MRV and increases their engagement with REDD+. This systematic review of literature assessed the claims of participatory MRV (PMRV) in achieving REDD+ outcomes. We identified 29 PMRV publications that consisted of 20 peer-reviewed and 9 non peer-reviewed publications, with 14 publications being empirically based studies. The evidence supporting PMRV claims was categorized into empirical finding, citation or assumption. Our analysis of the empirical studies showed that PMRV projects were conducted in 17 countries in three tropical continents and across various forest and land tenure types. Most of these projects tested the feasibility of participatory measurement or monitoring, which limited the participation of local communities to data gathering. PMRV claims of providing accurate local biomass measurements and lowering MRV cost were well-supported with empirical evidence. Claims that PMRV supports REDD+ social outcomes that affect local communities directly, such as increased environmental awareness and equity in benefit sharing, were supported with less empirical evidence than REDD+ technical outcomes. This may be due to the difficulties in measuring social outcomes and the slow progress in the development and implementation of REDD+ components outside of experimental research contexts. Although lessons from other monitoring contexts have been used to support PMRV claims, they are only applicable when the enabling conditions can be replicated in REDD+ contexts. There is a need for more empirical evidence to support PMRV claims on achieving REDD+ social outcomes, which may be addressed with more opportunities and rigorous methods for assessing REDD+ social outcomes. Integrating future PMRV studies into local REDD+ implementations may help create those opportunities, while increasing the participation of local communities as local REDD+ stakeholders. Further development and testing of participatory reporting framework are required to integrate PMRV data with the national database. Publication of empirical PMRV studies is encouraged to guide when, where and how PMRV should be implemented. PMID:27812110
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Jackson, Duncan J. R.; Cooper-Thomas, Helena D.; van Gelderen, Marco; Davis, Jane
2010-01-01
Competencies represent an important and popular topic in human resource development. Despite this popularity, a divide exists between practitioner approaches to developmental competency measures and the empirical scrutiny of such approaches. However, the scarce empirical studies on competency measures have begun to bridge this gap. In the present…
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An Empirical Examination of Individual and System Characteristics on Enhancing E-Learning Acceptance
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Lee, Yi-Hsuan; Hsiao, Chan; Purnomo, Sutrisno Hadi
2014-01-01
Due to the continued prevalence of e-learning underutilization in Indonesia's higher education context, this study empirically examines individual and system characteristics believed to influence students' acceptance of e-learning systems. The proposed research model is developed to examine the influence of five characteristics of the Technology…
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Gathering Empirical Evidence Concerning Links between Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Creativity
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Musta'amal, Aede Hatib; Norman, Eddie; Hodgson, Tony
2009-01-01
Discussion is often reported concerning potential links between computer-aided designing and creativity, but there is a lack of systematic enquiry to gather empirical evidence concerning such links. This paper reports an indication of findings from other research studies carried out in contexts beyond general education that have sought evidence…
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Test-Taking Engagement in PIAAC. OECD Education Working Papers, No. 133
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Goldhammer, Frank; Martens, Thomas; Christoph, Gabriela; Lüdtke, Oliver
2016-01-01
In this study, we investigated how empirical indicators of test-taking engagement can be defined, empirically validated, and used to describe group differences in the context of the Programme of International Assessment of Adult Competences (PIAAC). The approach was to distinguish between disengaged and engaged response behavior by means of…
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An empirically based model for knowledge management in health care organizations.
Sibbald, Shannon L; Wathen, C Nadine; Kothari, Anita
2016-01-01
Knowledge management (KM) encompasses strategies, processes, and practices that allow an organization to capture, share, store, access, and use knowledge. Ideal KM combines different sources of knowledge to support innovation and improve performance. Despite the importance of KM in health care organizations (HCOs), there has been very little empirical research to describe KM in this context. This study explores KM in HCOs, focusing on the status of current intraorganizational KM. The intention is to provide insight for future studies and model development for effective KM implementation in HCOs. A qualitative methods approach was used to create an empirically based model of KM in HCOs. Methods included (a) qualitative interviews (n = 24) with senior leadership to identify types of knowledge important in these roles plus current information-seeking behaviors/needs and (b) in-depth case study with leaders in new executive positions (n = 2). The data were collected from 10 HCOs. Our empirically based model for KM was assessed for face and content validity. The findings highlight the paucity of formal KM in our sample HCOs. Organizational culture, leadership, and resources are instrumental in supporting KM processes. An executive's knowledge needs are extensive, but knowledge assets are often limited or difficult to acquire as much of the available information is not in a usable format. We propose an empirically based model for KM to highlight the importance of context (internal and external), and knowledge seeking, synthesis, sharing, and organization. Participants who reviewed the model supported its basic components and processes, and potential for incorporating KM into organizational processes. Our results articulate ways to improve KM, increase organizational learning, and support evidence-informed decision-making. This research has implications for how to better integrate evidence and knowledge into organizations while considering context and the role of organizational processes.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Sword-Daniels, V. L.; Rossetto, T.; Wilson, T. M.; Sargeant, S.
2015-05-01
The essential services that support urban living are complex and interdependent, and their disruption in disasters directly affects society. Yet there are few empirical studies to inform our understanding of the vulnerabilities and resilience of complex infrastructure systems in disasters. This research takes a systems thinking approach to explore the dynamic behaviour of a network of essential services, in the presence and absence of volcanic ashfall hazards in Montserrat, West Indies. Adopting a case study methodology and qualitative methods to gather empirical data, we centre the study on the healthcare system and its interconnected network of essential services. We identify different types of relationship between sectors and develop a new interdependence classification system for analysis. Relationships are further categorised by hazard conditions, for use in extensive risk contexts. During heightened volcanic activity, relationships between systems transform in both number and type: connections increase across the network by 41%, and adapt to increase cooperation and information sharing. Interconnections add capacities to the network, increasing the resilience of prioritised sectors. This in-depth and context-specific approach provides a new methodology for studying the dynamics of infrastructure interdependence in an extensive risk context, and can be adapted for use in other hazard contexts.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Sword-Daniels, V. L.; Rossetto, T.; Wilson, T. M.; Sargeant, S.
2015-02-01
The essential services that support urban living are complex and interdependent, and their disruption in disasters directly affects society. Yet there are few empirical studies to inform our understanding of the vulnerabilities and resilience of complex infrastructure systems in disasters. This research takes a systems thinking approach to explore the dynamic behaviour of a network of essential services, in the presence and absence of volcanic ashfall hazards in Montserrat, West Indies. Adopting a case study methodology and qualitative methods to gather empirical data we centre the study on the healthcare system and its interconnected network of essential services. We identify different types of relationship between sectors and develop a new interdependence classification system for analysis. Relationships are further categorised by hazard condition, for use in extensive risk contexts. During heightened volcanic activity, relationships between systems transform in both number and type: connections increase across the network by 41%, and adapt to increase cooperation and information sharing. Interconnections add capacities to the network, increasing the resilience of prioritised sectors. This in-depth and context-specific approach provides a new methodology for studying the dynamics of infrastructure interdependence in an extensive risk context, and can be adapted for use in other hazard contexts.
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Fostering Effective Leadership in Foreign Contexts through Study of Cultural Values
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Schenck, Andrew D.
2016-01-01
While leadership styles have been extensively examined, cultural biases implicit within research methodologies often preclude application of results in foreign contexts. To more holistically comprehend the impact of culture on leadership, belief systems were empirically correlated to both transactional and transformational tendencies in public…
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An Empirical Study on the Role of Context Factors in Employees' Commitment to Change
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Soumyaja, Devi; Kamlanabhan, T. J.; Bhattacharyya, Sanghamitra
2011-01-01
The study attempts to address the gap of exploring the possible antecedents of employees' commitment to change and its three dimensions. The role of context factors--participation in decision making, quality of communication, trust in management and history of change--are tested on overall commitment to change and also on its three…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Avraamidou, Lucy
2016-01-01
Grounded in theoretical and empirical underpinnings related to identity work and figured worlds, this case study explores the nature of two preservice elementary teachers' identities for science teaching and the experiences that impacted their development through time and across contexts. The participants in this study portray a range of…
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Ethical Conflicts Experienced by Iranian EFL Teachers in the Classroom Context
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alimorad, Zahra
2014-01-01
Recently, EFL teachers' ethical conflicts in the situated classroom context have got paramount importance. This paper presents findings from an empirical study of ethical conflicts Iranian EFL teachers encounter while engaged in classroom assessment. Critical incidents generated by 49 practicing teachers revealed that a majority of reported…
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Community Social Context and Individualistic Attitudes toward Marriage
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Barber, Jennifer S.
2004-01-01
I develop a theoretical framework explaining how community social context affects attitude formation via nonfamily institutions and related behaviors. Empirical tests of the framework use data from a study of the Chitwan Valley in rural Nepal. The analyses focus on attitudes toward seven aspects of marriage: child marriage, arranged marriage,…
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Care of the Self in a Context of Accountability
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Gunzenhauser, Michael G.
2008-01-01
Background/Context: This article is a part of a larger philosophical and empirical project by the author and collaborators to understand the ways in which high-stakes accountability policy fosters normalizing educational practices and concomitant resistance by educators and students. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study: In this…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Hou, Jinqin; Natsuaki, Misaki N.; Zhang, Jianxin; Guo, Fei; Huang, Zheng; Wang, Mianbo; Chen, Zhiyan
2013-01-01
Theoretical and empirical research has shown that adolescent romantic relationships are associated with a wide range of developmental outcomes, including adverse consequences. The present study used a hierarchical linear model to examine the moderating effect of classroom romantic context on the association between adolescent romantic…
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Reasoning on the Basis of Fantasy Content: Two Studies with High-Functioning Autistic Adolescents
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Morsanyi, Kinga; Handley, Simon J.
2012-01-01
Reasoning about problems with empirically false content can be hard, as the inferences that people draw are heavily influenced by their background knowledge. However, presenting empirically false premises in a fantasy context helps children and adolescents to disregard their beliefs, and to reason on the basis of the premises. The aim of the…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Zhang, Jingjing; Skryabin, Maxim; Song, Xiongwei
2016-01-01
This study attempts to make inferences about the mechanisms that drive network change over time. It adopts simulation investigation for empirical network analysis to examine the patterns and evolution of relationships formed in the context of a massive open online course (MOOC) discussion forum. Four network effects--"homophily,"…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Hill, Nicole R.
2009-01-01
In higher education, occupational satisfaction is influenced by the environment as well as by the dispositional variables explored for occupational satisfaction in general. Within the context of counselor education, there are no empirical studies that explore the occupational satisfaction of counselor educators. This article provides an overview…
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Empirical Study on Learners' Self-Efficacy in ESL/EFL Context
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Shi, Lihong
2016-01-01
With the popularity of learner-oriented approach in language teaching, research on learners is gaining more and more importance. This paper attempts to review the empirical researches on self-efficacy in the ESL/EFL settings during the past 10 years with the purpose of depicting the extent to which the self-efficacy research in ESL/EFL has…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Liu, Ye
2017-01-01
This article explores the changing dynamics between gender, cultural capital and the state in the context of higher education expansion in contemporary China. With a particular focus on the one-child generation and women's opportunities and aspirations, I draw upon empirical evidence from a first-hand survey study and in-depth semi-structured…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Walgrave, Stefaan; Verhulst, Joris
2009-01-01
This study tackles the question to what extent the composition of protest events is determined by the stance of governments. Established contextual theories do not formulate propositions on how context affects individual protesters. The article engages in empirically testing whether the macro-context affects the internal diversity of the crowds…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Sakai, Winfried
2011-01-01
Turkish migrants are the largest national group in Germany. Nevertheless, neither in music psychology research nor in intercultural research can empirical data on the music preferences of Turkish-German primary schoolchildren in the migrational context be found. This study thus examined the music preference responses of children with Turkish…
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Willingness to Communicate in English: A Microsystem Model in the Iranian EFL Classroom Context
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Khajavy, Gholam Hassan; Ghonsooly, Behzad; Fatemi, Azar Hosseini; Choi, Charles W.
2016-01-01
This study examined willingness to communicate (WTC) in English among Iranian EFL learners in the classroom context. For this purpose, a second language willingness to communicate (L2WTC) model based on WTC theory (MacIntyre, Clément, Dörnyei, and Noels, 1998) and empirical studies was proposed and tested using structural equation modeling (SEM).…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Forster, Greg
2006-01-01
This report collects the results of all available studies using valid empirical methods to compare segregation in public and private schools, both in general and in the context of school voucher programs. Examining the widespread claims that private schools have high segregation levels and vouchers will lead to greater segregation, this report…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Findik Coskuncay, Duygu; Ozkan, Sevgi
2013-01-01
Through the rapid expansion of information technologies, Learning Management Systems have become one of the most important innovations for delivering education. However, successful implementation and management of these systems are primarily based on the instructors' adoption. In this context, this study aims to understand behavioral intentions…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Asuga, Gladys Nyanchama; Scevak, Jill; Eacott, Scott
2016-01-01
Over the past two decades, there have been calls by scholars for a more concerted effort to develop empirically grounded research studies on educational leadership management and administration in an indigenous context rather than hegemonic western contexts. This paper presents a review of contemporary literature on educational leadership from…
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Growing and Growing: Promoting Functional Thinking with Geometric Growing Patterns
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Markworth, Kimberly A.
2010-01-01
Design research methodology is used in this study to develop an empirically-substantiated instruction theory about students' development of functional thinking in the context of geometric growing patterns. The two research questions are: (1) How does students' functional thinking develop in the context of geometric growing patterns? (2) What are…
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Context as Mediator: Teaching Residents' Opportunity and Learning in High-Need Urban Schools
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Kolman, Joni S.; Roegman, Rachel; Goodwin, A. Lin
2016-01-01
This article presents findings from an exploratory empirical study of teaching residents' opportunities and learning within the overlapping contexts of English as a Second Language (ESL)/special education classrooms and high-need urban schools. Utilizing documentation from the first year of a teacher residency program, our findings illustrate the…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Coughlin, Kevin B.
2013-01-01
This study is intended to provide researchers with empirically derived guidelines for conducting factor analytic studies in research contexts that include dichotomous and continuous levels of measurement. This study is based on the hypotheses that ordinary least squares (OLS) factor analysis will yield more accurate parameter estimates than…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Lin, Chi-Syan; Ma, Jung-Tsan; Kuo, Karen Yi-Chwen; Chou, Chien-Tzu Candace
2015-01-01
The goal of the study is to explore the opportunities and challenges associated with Project-Based Learning strategy in a global context on the aspects of both fostering learning community of practices and nurturing the 21st century skills. For collecting empirical data, the study implements and administers an online international project-based…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Akkary, Rima Karami
2014-01-01
This study provides empirical data about the role and work context of the school principal in the Lebanon. The study applied grounded theory methods in collecting and analysing the data. The data were collected through a series of open-ended interviews with 53 secondary school principals, and focus group interviews with 8 principals from public as…
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Advancing Empirical Scholarship to Further Develop Evaluation Theory and Practice
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Christie, Christina A.
2011-01-01
Good theory development is grounded in empirical inquiry. In the context of educational evaluation, the development of empirically grounded theory has important benefits for the field and the practitioner. In particular, a shift to empirically derived theory will assist in advancing more systematic and contextually relevant evaluation practice, as…
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Stochastic Estimation of Cost Frontier: Evidence from Bangladesh
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Mamun, Shamsul Arifeen Khan
2012-01-01
In the literature of higher education cost function study, enough knowledge is created in the area of economy scale in the context of developed countries but the knowledge of input demand is lacking. On the other hand, empirical knowledge in the context of developing countries is very meagre. The paper fills up the knowledge gap, estimating a…
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The Rock Band Context as Discursive Governance in Music Education in Swedish Schools
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Lindgren, Monica; Ericsson, Claes
2010-01-01
In this article, based on the results of a larger research project funded by the Swedish Research Council (Ericsson and Lindgren 2010), the authors discuss and problematize the rock band context in music education in Swedish compulsory schools in relation to governance and knowledge formation. The empirical material on which the study is based…
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Promoting Collaboration in a Project-Based E-Learning Context
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Papanikolaou, Kyparisia; Boubouka, Maria
2011-01-01
In this paper we investigate the value of collaboration scripts for promoting metacognitive knowledge in a project-based e-learning context. In an empirical study, 82 students worked individually and in groups on a project using the e-learning environment MyProject, in which the life cycle of a project is inherent. Students followed a particular…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Engle, Randi A.; Lam, Diane P.; Meyer, Xenia S.; Nix, Sarah E.
2012-01-01
When contexts are framed expansively, students are positioned as actively contributing to larger conversations that extend across time, places, and people. A set of recent studies provides empirical evidence that the expansive framing of contexts can foster transfer. In this article, we present five potentially complementary explanations for how…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Kulik, Anastasia; Neyaskina, Yuliya; Frizen, Marina; Shiryaeva, Olga; Surikova, Yana
2016-01-01
This article presents the results of a detailed empirical research, aimed at studying the quality of life in the context of extreme climatic, geographical and specific sociocultural living conditions. Our research is based on the methodological approach including social, economical, ecological and psychological characteristics and reflecting…
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An Empirical Study of the Process of Crafting and Using Definitions
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Little, Angela Jean
2013-01-01
In this dissertation I analyze the process of crafting definitions whose purpose is classification. The context I examine is undergraduate upper-division physical science majors defining and naming sub-categories of a physical phenomenon in the context of a design task over an extended period of time. The goal of the design task is one of…
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Unexpected Allies: Advancing Literacy in a "Science-English" Cross-Curricular Context
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
McClune, Billy; Alexander, Joy; Jarman, Ruth
2012-01-01
Critical reading of science-based media reports is an authentic context in which to explore the mutual interests of teachers of science and English, who want to use science in the media to promote their subject discipline while encouraging cross-curricular learning. This empirical study focused on 90 teachers of science and English to explore…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Böhm, Stephan; Constantine, Georges Philip
2015-01-01
The mobility of both the device and the learner will determine how mobile learning takes place. Mobile learning offers new educational opportunities that allow for autonomous, personalized and context aware learning. This paper focuses on contextualized features for mobile language learning apps. Context-awareness is seen as a particularly…
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Institutionalization of Planned Organizational Change,
1978-09-01
organizational change in the context of labor- management relations. One of their basic arguments is that the company and management have conflicting...planned organizational interventions. From the modest number of empirical studies on planned organizational change in a union- management context...new forms of work organization have emphasized the need to increase our understanding of oraganizational change processes. This paper has elaborated
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Researching Literacy in Context: Using Video Analysis to Explore School Literacies
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Blikstad-Balas, Marte; Sørvik, Gard Ove
2015-01-01
This article addresses how methodological approaches relying on video can be included in literacy research to capture changing literacies. In addition to arguing why literacy is best studied in context, we provide empirical examples of how small, head-mounted video cameras have been used in two different research projects that share a common aim:…
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An Empirical Analysis of Chinese College Learners' Obstacles to MOOC Learning in an English Context
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Liu, Liangxing
2017-01-01
This article reports a study applying an exploratory factor analysis to discovering the underlying factor structure of Chinese college students' obstacles to learning MOOC in an English context. Seven obstacle factors are identified: 1. academic and language skills; 2. internet skills; 3. course instruction/management; 4. learning motivations; 5.…
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Evolution of sex: Using experimental genomics to select among competing theories.
Sharp, Nathaniel P; Otto, Sarah P
2016-08-01
Few topics have intrigued biologists as much as the evolution of sex. Understanding why sex persists despite its costs requires not just rigorous theoretical study, but also empirical data on related fundamental issues, including the nature of genetic variance for fitness, patterns of genetic interactions, and the dynamics of adaptation. The increasing feasibility of examining genomes in an experimental context is now shedding new light on these problems. Using this approach, McDonald et al. recently demonstrated that sex uncouples beneficial and deleterious mutations, allowing selection to proceed more effectively with sex than without. Here we discuss the insights provided by this study, along with other recent empirical work, in the context of the major theoretical models for the evolution of sex. © 2016 WILEY Periodicals, Inc.
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Salloch, Sabine; Schildmann, Jan; Vollmann, Jochen
2012-04-13
The methodology of medical ethics during the last few decades has shifted from a predominant use of normative-philosophical analyses to an increasing involvement of empirical methods. The articles which have been published in the course of this so-called 'empirical turn' can be divided into conceptual accounts of empirical-normative collaboration and studies which use socio-empirical methods to investigate ethically relevant issues in concrete social contexts. A considered reference to normative research questions can be expected from good quality empirical research in medical ethics. However, a significant proportion of empirical studies currently published in medical ethics lacks such linkage between the empirical research and the normative analysis. In the first part of this paper, we will outline two typical shortcomings of empirical studies in medical ethics with regard to a link between normative questions and empirical data: (1) The complete lack of normative analysis, and (2) cryptonormativity and a missing account with regard to the relationship between 'is' and 'ought' statements. Subsequently, two selected concepts of empirical-normative collaboration will be presented and how these concepts may contribute to improve the linkage between normative and empirical aspects of empirical research in medical ethics will be demonstrated. Based on our analysis, as well as our own practical experience with empirical research in medical ethics, we conclude with a sketch of concrete suggestions for the conduct of empirical research in medical ethics. High quality empirical research in medical ethics is in need of a considered reference to normative analysis. In this paper, we demonstrate how conceptual approaches of empirical-normative collaboration can enhance empirical research in medical ethics with regard to the link between empirical research and normative analysis.
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2012-01-01
Background The methodology of medical ethics during the last few decades has shifted from a predominant use of normative-philosophical analyses to an increasing involvement of empirical methods. The articles which have been published in the course of this so-called 'empirical turn' can be divided into conceptual accounts of empirical-normative collaboration and studies which use socio-empirical methods to investigate ethically relevant issues in concrete social contexts. Discussion A considered reference to normative research questions can be expected from good quality empirical research in medical ethics. However, a significant proportion of empirical studies currently published in medical ethics lacks such linkage between the empirical research and the normative analysis. In the first part of this paper, we will outline two typical shortcomings of empirical studies in medical ethics with regard to a link between normative questions and empirical data: (1) The complete lack of normative analysis, and (2) cryptonormativity and a missing account with regard to the relationship between 'is' and 'ought' statements. Subsequently, two selected concepts of empirical-normative collaboration will be presented and how these concepts may contribute to improve the linkage between normative and empirical aspects of empirical research in medical ethics will be demonstrated. Based on our analysis, as well as our own practical experience with empirical research in medical ethics, we conclude with a sketch of concrete suggestions for the conduct of empirical research in medical ethics. Summary High quality empirical research in medical ethics is in need of a considered reference to normative analysis. In this paper, we demonstrate how conceptual approaches of empirical-normative collaboration can enhance empirical research in medical ethics with regard to the link between empirical research and normative analysis. PMID:22500496
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Ruist, Joakim
2016-11-01
This study investigates the effects of the macroeconomic context on attitudes to immigration. Earlier studies do in some cases not provide significant empirical support for the existence of important such effects. In this article it is argued that this lack of consistent evidence is mainly due to the cross-national setup of these studies being vulnerable to estimation bias caused by country-specific factors. The present study instead analyzes attitude variation within countries over time. The results provide firm empirical support in favor of macroeconomic variation importantly affecting attitudes to immigration. As an illustration, the estimates indicate that the number of individuals in the average European country in 2012 who were against all immigration from poorer countries outside Europe was 40% higher than it would have been if macroeconomic conditions in that year had been as good as they were in 2006. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Mission Operations Planning with Preferences: An Empirical Study
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Bresina, John L.; Khatib, Lina; McGann, Conor
2006-01-01
This paper presents an empirical study of some nonexhaustive approaches to optimizing preferences within the context of constraint-based, mixed-initiative planning for mission operations. This work is motivated by the experience of deploying and operating the MAPGEN (Mixed-initiative Activity Plan GENerator) system for the Mars Exploration Rover Mission. Responsiveness to the user is one of the important requirements for MAPGEN, hence, the additional computation time needed to optimize preferences must be kept within reasonabble bounds. This was the primary motivation for studying non-exhaustive optimization approaches. The specific goals of rhe empirical study are to assess the impact on solution quality of two greedy heuristics used in MAPGEN and to assess the improvement gained by applying a linear programming optimization technique to the final solution.
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Olson, Curtis A.; Shershneva, Marianna B.; Brownstein, Michelle Horowitz
2011-01-01
Introduction: No educational method or combination of methods will facilitate implementation of clinical practice guidelines in all clinical contexts. To develop an empirical basis for aligning methods to contexts, we need to move beyond "Does it work?" to also ask "What works for whom and under what conditions?" This study employed Success Case…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Boehnke, Klaus
2001-01-01
Puts intrafamilial value transmission into a societal context, using data from a study of university student-parents triads to show why a unified research approach is necessary. All conservation values were more important to the parents than the offspring, while the reverse was found for self-transcendence versus self-enhancement values. (SM)
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Bailenson, Jeremy N.; Yee, Nick; Blascovich, Jim; Beall, Andrew C.; Lundblad, Nicole; Jin, Michael
2008-01-01
This article illustrates the utility of using virtual environments to transform social interaction via behavior and context, with the goal of improving learning in digital environments. We first describe the technology and theories behind virtual environments and then report data from 4 empirical studies. In Experiment 1, we demonstrated that…
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Provoost, Veerle
2015-03-01
This paper aims to provide a description of how authors publishing in medical ethics journals have made use of empirical research data in papers on the topic of gamete or embryo donation by means of references to studies conducted by others (secondary use). Rather than making a direct contribution to the theoretical methodological literature about the role empirical research data could play or should play in ethics studies, the focus is on the particular uses of these data and the problems that can be encountered with this use. In the selection of papers examined, apart from being used to describe the context, empirical evidence was mainly used to recount problems that needed solving. Few of the authors looked critically at the quality of the studies they quoted, and several instances were found of empirical data being used poorly or inappropriately. This study provides some initial baseline evidence that shows empirical data, in the form of references to studies, are sometimes being used in inappropriate ways. This suggests that medical ethicists should be more concerned about the quality of the empirical data selected, the appropriateness of the choice for a particular type of data (from a particular type of study) and the correct integration of this evidence in sound argumentation. Given that empirical data can be misused also when merely cited instead of reported, it may be worthwhile to explore good practice requirements for this type of use of empirical data in medical ethics.
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The influence of contextual diversity on word learning.
Johns, Brendan T; Dye, Melody; Jones, Michael N
2016-08-01
In a series of analyses over mega datasets, Jones, Johns, and Recchia (Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology, 66(2), 115-124, 2012) and Johns et al. (Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 132:2, EL74-EL80, 2012) found that a measure of contextual diversity that takes into account the semantic variability of a word's contexts provided a better fit to both visual and spoken word recognition data than traditional measures, such as word frequency or raw context counts. This measure was empirically validated with an artificial language experiment (Jones et al.). The present study extends the empirical results with a unique natural language learning paradigm, which allows for an examination of the semantic representations that are acquired as semantic diversity is varied. Subjects were incidentally exposed to novel words as they rated short selections from articles, books, and newspapers. When novel words were encountered across distinct discourse contexts, subjects were both faster and more accurate at recognizing them than when they were seen in redundant contexts. However, learning across redundant contexts promoted the development of more stable semantic representations. These findings are predicted by a distributional learning model trained on the same materials as our subjects.
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Transformational leadership in sport: current status and future directions.
Arthur, Calum A; Bastardoz, Nicolas; Eklund, Robert
2017-08-01
Borrowed from organizational psychology, the concept of transformational leadership has now been applied to a sport context for a decade. Our review covers and critically discusses empirical articles published on this growing topic. However, because the majority of studies used cross-sectional designs and single-source questionnaires to tap what has been a fuzzy construct, current theoretical and methodological issues impede understanding of whether transformational leadership matters for sport outcomes. To make a difference to applied practice and policy, the transformational leadership construct requires a refined definition and stronger empirical tests allowing for robust causal inference. We highlight avenues for advancing research on transformational leadership in the sport context. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Theoretical models of parental HIV disclosure: a critical review.
Qiao, Shan; Li, Xiaoming; Stanton, Bonita
2013-01-01
This study critically examined three major theoretical models related to parental HIV disclosure (i.e., the Four-Phase Model [FPM], the Disclosure Decision Making Model [DDMM], and the Disclosure Process Model [DPM]), and the existing studies that could provide empirical support to these models or their components. For each model, we briefly reviewed its theoretical background, described its components and/or mechanisms, and discussed its strengths and limitations. The existing empirical studies supported most theoretical components in these models. However, hypotheses related to the mechanisms proposed in the models have not yet tested due to a lack of empirical evidence. This study also synthesized alternative theoretical perspectives and new issues in disclosure research and clinical practice that may challenge the existing models. The current study underscores the importance of including components related to social and cultural contexts in theoretical frameworks, and calls for more adequately designed empirical studies in order to test and refine existing theories and to develop new ones.
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Kwon, Kyong-Ah; Bingham, Gary; Lewsader, Joellen; Jeon, Hyun-Joo; Elicker, James
2013-01-01
Background: Little empirical research examines relations among the quality of both mothers' and fathers' social emotional and linguistic support of toddlers across multiple parent-child interaction contexts. Objective: The current study investigated the influence of parent gender (mother vs. father) and activity setting (structured task vs. free…
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The community health clinics as a learning context for student nurses.
Makupu, M B; Botes, A
2000-09-01
The purpose of the research study was to describe guidelines to improve the community health clinics as a learning context conductive to learning. The objectives of the study commenced by getting the perception of student nurses from a nursing college in Gauteng; community sisters from ten community health clinics in the Southern Metropolitan Local Council and college tutors from a college in Gauteng. The research design and method used, consisting of a qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual approach and the design was divided into two phases. Phase one consisted of a field/empirical study and phase two of conceptualization. In all the samples follow-up focus group interviews were conducted to confirm the findings. To ensure trustworthiness, Lincoln and Guba's model (1985) was implemented and data analysis was according to Tesch's model (1990 in Creswell 1994:155) based on a qualitative approach. The conceptual framework discussed, indicating a body of knowledge, was based on the study and empirical findings from phase one to give clear meaning and understanding regarding the research study.
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Dollerup, Cay; And Others
This report, the third of seven, part of an interdisciplinary project on the context of reading and reading research that explores similarities and dissimilarities in the response to literature in readers from different cultures, describes the empirical selection procedure used in order to identify the three tales which were to be used in future…
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Meat in context. On the relation between perceptions and contexts.
Korzen, Sara; Lassen, Jesper
2010-04-01
Studies of the public perception of specific food qualities often report conflicting findings, and it is well known that actual market behaviour frequently deviates from the perceptions of food quality expressed in interviews or surveys. Rather than treating these kinds of disparity as the result of data being self-contradictory, this paper, which builds on sociological theories and an empirical study, suggests that the concept of context can contribute to a better understanding of the threatened paradoxes. First, the paper introduces and discusses context as a theoretical and methodological approach in studies of public perceptions of food quality. Second, a case study of the importance of different contexts for Danish public perceptions of meat quality is reported. The study involved a series of focus-group interviews with Danes. Its results demonstrate that public concerns about meat quality vary, depending on whether they relate to meat in an everyday context or production context. It is concluded that the deployment of context as a methodological and interpretive frame improves our understanding of disparities in the reporting of public perceptions of food qualities. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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The role of ecology in speciation by sexual selection: a systematic empirical review.
Scordato, Elizabeth S C; Symes, Laurel B; Mendelson, Tamra C; Safran, Rebecca J
2014-01-01
Theoretical and empirical research indicates that sexual selection interacts with the ecological context in which mate choice occurs, suggesting that sexual and natural selection act together during the evolution of premating reproductive isolation. However, the relative importance of natural and sexual selection to speciation remains poorly understood. Here, we applied a recent conceptual framework for examining interactions between mate choice divergence and ecological context to a review of the empirical literature on speciation by sexual selection. This framework defines two types of interactions between mate choice and ecology: internal interactions, wherein natural and sexual selection jointly influence divergence in sexual signal traits and preferences, and external interactions, wherein sexual selection alone acts on traits and preferences but ecological context shapes the transmission efficacy of sexual signals. The objectives of this synthesis were 3-fold: to summarize the traits, ecological factors, taxa, and geographic contexts involved in studies of mate choice divergence; to analyze patterns of association between these variables; and to identify the most common types of interactions between mate choice and ecological factors. Our analysis revealed that certain traits are consistently associated with certain ecological factors. Moreover, among studies that examined a divergent sexually selected trait and an ecological factor, internal interactions were more common than external interactions. Trait-preference associations may thus frequently be subject to both sexual and natural selection in cases of divergent mate choice. Our results highlight the importance of interactions between sexual selection and ecology in mate choice divergence and suggest areas for future research. © The American Genetic Association. 2014. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.
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A place-based model of local activity spaces: individual place exposure and characteristics
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Hasanzadeh, Kamyar; Laatikainen, Tiina; Kyttä, Marketta
2018-01-01
Researchers for long have hypothesized relationships between mobility, urban context, and health. Despite the ample amount of discussions, the empirical findings corroborating such associations remain to be marginal in the literature. It is growingly believed that the weakness of the observed associations can be largely explained by the common misspecification of the geographical context. Researchers coming from different fields have developed a wide range of methods for estimating the extents of these geographical contexts. In this article, we argue that no single approach yet has sufficiently been capable of capturing the complexity of human mobility patterns. Subsequently, we discuss that reaching a better understanding of individual activity spaces can be possible through a spatially sensitive estimation of place exposure. Following this discussion, we take an integrative person and place-based approach to create an individualized residential exposure model (IREM) to estimate the local activity spaces (LAS) of the individuals. This model is created using data collected through public participation GIS. Following a brief comparison of IREM with other commonly used LAS models, the article continues by presenting an empirical study of aging citizens in Helsinki area to demonstrate the usability of the proposed framework. In this study, we identify the main dimensions of LASs and seek their associations with socio-demographic characteristics of individuals and their location in the region. The promising results from comparisons and the interesting findings from the empirical part suggest both a methodological and conceptual improvement in capturing the complexity of local activity spaces.
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Reported Influence of Evaluation Data on Decision Makers' Actions: An Empirical Examination
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Christie, Christina A.
2007-01-01
Using a set of scenarios derived from actual evaluation studies, this simulation study examines the reported influence of evaluation information on decision makers' potential actions. Each scenario described a context where one of three types of evaluation information (large-scale study data, case study data, or anecdotal accounts) is presented…
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An introduction to genetic quality in the context of sexual selection.
Pitcher, Trevor E; Mays, Herman L
2008-09-01
This special issue of Genetica brings together empirical researchers and theoreticians to present the latest on the evolutionary ecology of genetic quality in the context of sexual selection. The work comes from different fields of study including behavioral ecology, quantitative genetics and molecular genetics on a diversity of organisms using different approaches from comparative studies, mathematical modeling, field studies and laboratory experiments. The papers presented in this special issue primarily focus on genetic quality in relation to (1) sources of genetic variation, (2) polyandry, (3) new theoretical developments and (4) comprehensive reviews.
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Trocki, Karen F; Drabble, Laurie; Midanik, Lorraine
2005-01-01
Extensive use of specific social contexts (bars and parties, for instance) by homosexuals and bisexuals is thought to be a factor in the higher rates of drinking among these groups. However, much of the empirical evidence behind these assumptions has been based on studies with methodological or sampling shortcomings. This article examines the epidemiological patterns of alcohol contexts in relation to sexual identity, using a large, national, probability population survey. We used the 2000 National Alcohol Survey for these analyses. The prevalence of spending leisure time in each of two social contexts (bars and parties) that are associated with heavier drinking is examined by sexual orientation (heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual and self-identified heterosexuals with same sex partners). In addition, we compare levels of drinking within these contexts by sexual orientation within these groups. Exclusively heterosexual women spent less time in these two contexts relative to all other groups of women. Gay men spent considerably more time in bars compared with the other groups of men. Heterosexual women who reported same sex partners drink more at bars, and bisexual women drink more alcohol at both bars and parties than exclusively heterosexual women. For men, there were no significant differences for average consumption in any of these contexts. Entry of background and demographic variables into logistic regression analyses did little to modify these associations. There is empirical evidence that some groups of homosexual and bisexual women and men spend more time than heterosexual individuals in heavier drinking contexts. The frequency of being in these two social contexts does not appear to be associated with heavier drinking within these contexts for men, but it may be related to heavier drinking in those places among some groups of women.
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Economic models of the family and the relationship between economic status and health.
Tipper, Adam
2010-05-01
Empirical evidence strongly suggests that there is a positive relationship between economic status and health, and that married persons are healthier than their single counterparts. There are, however, a number of economic explanations for why economic status is related to health in the family context that are often overlooked in empirical studies. This paper provides a comparative introduction to three main economic approaches to the family in order to understand further why married persons are often observed to be healthier than single persons. The models discussed are the unitary model, the collective labour supply model, and the institutional economics approach. In discussing the different approaches to health formation in a family context, issues pertaining to gender, intra-household inequality, and resource transfers are also explored to highlight the advantages of considering various economic perspectives. Each of these models, it is suggested, provides an alternative view of the mechanisms for relating economic status to health, and may thus affect the interpretation of empirical results. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Family Relationships and Perfectionism in Middle-School Students
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
DiPrima, Amy J.; Ashby, Jeffrey S.; Gnilka, Philip B.; Noble, Christina L.
2011-01-01
Several authors have suggested that perfectionism develops in the context of a person's family of origin. However, there are few empirical studies that address the relationship between family variables and perfectionism. This study examined the relationship between family variables and multidimensional perfectionism among a sample of 253…
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Sense of Place in Environmental Education
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Kudryavtsev, Alex; Stedman, Richard C.; Krasny, Marianne E.
2012-01-01
Although environmental education research has embraced the idea of sense of place, it has rarely taken into account environmental psychology-based sense of place literature whose theory and empirical studies can enhance related studies in the education context. This article contributes to research on sense of place in environmental education from…
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An Empirical Study on Students' Ability to Comprehend Design Patterns
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Chatzigeorgiou, Alexander; Tsantalis, Nikolaos; Deligiannis, Ignatios
2008-01-01
Design patterns have become a widely acknowledged software engineering practice and therefore have been incorporated in the curricula of most computer science departments. This paper presents an observational study on students' ability to understand and apply design patterns. Within the context of a postgraduate software engineering course,…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Du, Jianxia; Xu, Jianzhong; Fan, Xitao
2015-01-01
The present study examines empirical models of students' management of the learning environment in the context of online collaborative groupwork. Such environment management is an important component of students' overall self-regulated learning strategy for effective learning. Student- and group-level predictors for study environment management in…
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Gene function prediction with gene interaction networks: a context graph kernel approach.
Li, Xin; Chen, Hsinchun; Li, Jiexun; Zhang, Zhu
2010-01-01
Predicting gene functions is a challenge for biologists in the postgenomic era. Interactions among genes and their products compose networks that can be used to infer gene functions. Most previous studies adopt a linkage assumption, i.e., they assume that gene interactions indicate functional similarities between connected genes. In this study, we propose to use a gene's context graph, i.e., the gene interaction network associated with the focal gene, to infer its functions. In a kernel-based machine-learning framework, we design a context graph kernel to capture the information in context graphs. Our experimental study on a testbed of p53-related genes demonstrates the advantage of using indirect gene interactions and shows the empirical superiority of the proposed approach over linkage-assumption-based methods, such as the algorithm to minimize inconsistent connected genes and diffusion kernels.
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Jaeger, Sara R; Marshall, David W; Dawson, John
2009-04-01
To date there have been few large-scale studies empirically examining context factors and the relationships between food choice and meal occasion. This study was conducted online and used 24-h dietary recall to capture the foods eaten by a sample of 25 to 49-year-old Spanish people (n=831), as well as some of the situational and social contexts of those meal occasions. Canonical correspondence analysis of the 3086 recorded eating occasions was used to map food and contexts and reveal associations between food categories and the meal occasions in which they were consumed. The study confirmed, quantitatively, knowledge in the extant literature, for example, that foods eaten vary by time of day and that meal occasion vary by level of formality. The canonical analysis also mapped general associations between specific types of food and certain contexts, for example between categories 'sandwich' and 'sweets and chocolate' and working on the computer. The scope for uncovering specific associations between a focal food category and the contextual characteristics of meals that it is consumed in was demonstrated in the case of fruit. In this sample of 25 to 49-year-old Spanish people, the majority (66%) of eating occasions involving fruit were categorised as main meals, of which fruit was not the main component. The times of day when fruit was most often eaten was around 3p.m. and from around 7p.m. and later. Fruit was also eaten more often during the week than during weekends. Overall, the findings from this study demonstrate the value of research that empirically seeks to understand the role of context effects on food choice. The use of canonical correspondence analysis was new to meals research, as was the collection of dietary recall data online. In addition to its methodological contributions, this study also offers a detailed picture of dietary patterns in the sample.
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Beyer, Heiko; Liebe, Ulf
2015-01-01
Empirical research on discrimination is faced with crucial problems stemming from the specific character of its object of study. In democratic societies the communication of prejudices and other forms of discriminatory behavior is considered socially undesirable and depends on situational factors such as whether a situation is considered private or whether a discriminatory consensus can be assumed. Regular surveys thus can only offer a blurred picture of the phenomenon. But also survey experiments intended to decrease the social desirability bias (SDB) so far failed in systematically implementing situational variables. This paper introduces three experimental approaches to improve the study of discrimination and other topics of social (un-)desirability. First, we argue in favor of cognitive context framing in surveys in order to operationalize the salience of situational norms. Second, factorial surveys offer a way to take situational contexts and substitute behavior into account. And third, choice experiments - a rather new method in sociology - offer a more valid method of measuring behavioral characteristics compared to simple items in surveys. All three approaches - which may be combined - are easy to implement in large-scale surveys. Results of empirical studies demonstrate the fruitfulness of each of these approaches. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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The stigma of childhood mental disorders: a conceptual framework.
Mukolo, Abraham; Heflinger, Craig Anne; Wallston, Kenneth A
2010-02-01
To describe the state of the literature on stigma associated with children's mental disorders and highlight gaps in empirical work. We reviewed child mental illness stigma articles in (English only) peer-reviewed journals available through Medline and PsychInfo. We augmented these with adult-oriented stigma articles that focus on theory and measurement. A total of 145 articles in PsychInfo and 77 articles in MEDLINE met search criteria. The review process involved identifying and appraising literature convergence on the definition of critical dimensions of stigma, antecedents, and outcomes reported in empirical studies. We found concurrence on three dimensions of stigma (negative stereotypes, devaluation, and discrimination), two contexts of stigma (self, general public), and two targets of stigma (self/individual, family). Theory and empirics on institutional and self-stigma in child populations were sparse. Literature reports few theoretic frameworks and conceptualizations of child mental illness stigma. One model of help seeking (the FINIS) explicitly acknowledges the role of stigma in children's access and use of mental health services. Compared with adults, children are subject to unique stigmatizing contexts that have not been adequately studied. The field needs conceptual frameworks that get closer to stigma experiences that are causally linked to how parents/caregivers cope with children's emotional and behavioral problems, such as seeking professional help. To further research in child mental illness, we suggest an approach to adapting current theoretical frameworks and operationalizing stigma, highlighting three dimensions of stigma, three contexts of stigma (including institutions), and three targets of stigma (self/child, family, and services).
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Gillard, Steve; Holley, Jess; Gibson, Sarah; Larsen, John; Lucock, Mike; Oborn, Eivor; Rinaldi, Miles; Stamou, Elina
2015-11-01
A wide variety of peer worker roles is being introduced into mental health services internationally. Empirical insight into whether conditions supporting role introduction are common across organisational contexts is lacking. A qualitative, comparative case study compared the introduction of peer workers employed in the statutory sector, voluntary sector and in organisational partnerships. We found good practice across contexts in structural issues including recruitment and training, but differences in expectations of the peer worker role in different organisational cultures. Issues of professionalism and practice boundaries were important everywhere but could be understood very differently, sometimes eroding the distinctiveness of the role.
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Hall, Kara L; Vogel, Amanda L; Huang, Grace C; Serrano, Katrina J; Rice, Elise L; Tsakraklides, Sophia P; Fiore, Stephen M
2018-01-01
Collaborations among researchers and across disciplinary, organizational, and cultural boundaries are vital to address increasingly complex challenges and opportunities in science and society. In addition, unprecedented technological advances create new opportunities to capitalize on a broader range of expertise and information in scientific collaborations. Yet rapid increases in the demand for scientific collaborations have outpaced changes in the factors needed to support teams in science, such as institutional structures and policies, scientific culture, and funding opportunities. The Science of Team Science (SciTS) field arose with the goal of empirically addressing questions from funding agencies, administrators, and scientists regarding the value of team science (TS) and strategies for successfully leading, engaging in, facilitating, and supporting science teams. Closely related fields have rich histories studying teams, groups, organizations, and management and have built a body of evidence for effective teaming in contexts such as industry and the military. Yet few studies had focused on science teams. Unique contextual factors within the scientific enterprise create an imperative to study these teams in context, and provide opportunities to advance understanding of other complex forms of collaboration. This review summarizes the empirical findings from the SciTS literature, which center around five key themes: the value of TS, team composition and its influence on TS performance, formation of science teams, team processes central to effective team functioning, and institutional influences on TS. Cross-cutting issues are discussed in the context of new research opportunities to further advance SciTS evidence and better inform policies and practices for effective TS. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).
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Empirical research on empathy in medicine-A critical review.
Pedersen, Reidar
2009-09-01
There is a growing amount of empirical research on empathy in medicine. This critical review assesses methodological limitations in this body of research that have not received adequate attention. Scientific publications presenting empirical research on medical students' or physicians' empathy were systematically searched for. 206 publications were identified and critically reviewed. Multiple empirical approaches have been used. However, there are some remarkable tendencies given the complexity of the study object: empathy is often not defined. Qualitative approaches are rarely used and the predominant quantitative instruments have a relatively narrow or peripheral scope. For example, the concrete experiences, feelings, and interpretations of the physician and the patient, and empathy in clinical practice, are often neglected. Furthermore, possible influences of medical training and working conditions on empathy have not been adequately explored. The empirical studies of empathy in medicine tend to separate empathy from main parts of clinical perception, judgment, and communication. Thus, important aspects and influences of empathy have been relatively neglected. Future studies should include transparent concepts, more than one method and perspective, qualitative approaches, the physician's and the patient's concrete experiences and interpretations, and the context in which empathy is developed and practiced.
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Gray, Sarah A. O.; Carter, Alice S.; Briggs-Gowan, Margaret J.; Hill, Carri; Danis, Barbara; Keenan, Kate; Wakschlag, Lauren S.
2012-01-01
Sex differences in disruptive behavior and sensitivity to social context are documented, but the intersection between them is rarely examined empirically. This report focuses on sex differences in observed disruptive behavior across interactional contexts and diagnostic status. Preschoolers (n = 327) were classified as nondisruptive (51%),…
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Modelling Parsing Constraints with High-Dimensional Context Space.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Burgess, Curt; Lund, Kevin
1997-01-01
Presents a model of high-dimensional context space, the Hyperspace Analogue to Language (HAL), with a series of simulations modelling human empirical results. Proposes that HAL's context space can be used to provide a basic categorization of semantic and grammatical concepts; model certain aspects of morphological ambiguity in verbs; and provide…
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Unique Relations of Age and Delinquency with Cognitive Control
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Iselin, Anne-Marie R.; DeCoster, Jamie
2012-01-01
Context processing has significant empirical support as an explanation of age- and psychopathology-related deficiencies in cognitive control. We examined whether context processing generalizes to younger individuals who are in trouble with the law. We tested whether age and delinquency might have unique relations to context processing skills in…
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Çağlayan Mercan, Fatih
2012-06-01
This study examines the epistemic beliefs about justification employed by physics undergraduate and graduate students and faculty in the context of solving a standard classical physics problem and a frontier physics problem. Data were collected by a think-aloud problem solving session followed by a semi-structured interview conducted with 50 participants, 10 participants at freshmen, seniors, masters, PhD, and faculty levels. Seven modes of justification were identified and used for exploring the relationships between each justification mode and problem context, and expertise level. The data showed that justification modes were not mutually exclusive and many respondents combined different modes in their responses in both problem contexts. Success on solving the standard classical physics problem was not related to any of the justification modes and was independent of expertise level. The strength of the association across the problem contexts for the authoritative, rational, and empirical justification modes fell in the medium range and for the modeling justification mode fell in the large range of practical significance. Expertise level was not related with the empirical and religious justification modes. The strength of the association between the expertise level and the authoritative, rational, experiential, and relativistic justification modes fell in the medium range, and the modeling justification mode fell in the large range of practical significance. The results provide support for the importance of context for the epistemic beliefs about justification and are discussed in terms of the implications for teaching and learning science.
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Abele, Stephan
2018-01-01
This article deals with a theory-based investigation of the diagnostic problem-solving process in professional contexts. To begin with, a theory of the diagnostic problem-solving process was developed drawing on findings from different professional contexts. The theory distinguishes between four sub-processes of the diagnostic problem-solving…
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High Performance Work System, HRD Climate and Organisational Performance: An Empirical Study
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Muduli, Ashutosh
2015-01-01
Purpose: This paper aims to study the relationship between high-performance work system (HPWS) and organizational performance and to examine the role of human resource development (HRD) Climate in mediating the relationship between HPWS and the organizational performance in the context of the power sector of India. Design/methodology/approach: The…
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Does the New Digital Generation of Learners Exist? A Qualitative Study
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Sanchez, Jaime; Salinas, Alvaro; Contreras, David; Meyer, Eduardo
2011-01-01
This paper seeks to contribute to the discussion on the current generation of students and their relationship to technology, providing qualitative, empirical information obtained in the Chilean context. The study analyses and discusses the ideas regarding the emergence of a new generation of learners, or digital natives, as characterised by…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Lundh, Anna
2010-01-01
Introduction: The concept of information needs is significant within the field of Information Needs Seeking and Use. "How" information needs can be studied empirically is however something that has been called into question. The main aim of this paper is to explore the methodological consequences of discursively oriented theories when…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Cherrington, Sue; Thornton, Kate
2015-01-01
Professional learning communities are receiving increasing attention within the schooling sector but empirical research into their development and use within early childhood education contexts is rare. This paper reports initial findings of an exploratory study into the development of professional learning communities in New Zealand's early…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Di Fabio, Annamaria; Palazzeschi, Letizia
2012-01-01
The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of personality traits and emotional intelligence in relation to organizational justice. The Organizational Justice Scale, the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised Short Form, and the Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory were administered to 384 Italian nurses. The emotional intelligence…
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Technology Mapping: An Approach for Developing Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Angeli, Charoula; Valanides, Nicos
2013-01-01
Technology mapping[TM] is proposed as an approach for developing technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK). The study discusses in detail instructional design guidelines in relation to the enactment of TM, and reports on empirical findings from a study with 72 pre-service primary teachers within the context of teaching them how to teach…
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Towards an Indigenist, Gaian Pedagogy of Food: Deimperializing Foodscapes in the Classroom
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Ma Rhea, Zane
2018-01-01
This study takes food as its scape to propose an Indigenist, Gaian pedagogy and asks what food studies might reveal ecopedagogically for approaches to teaching about Indigenous matters in the context of environmental education and its research. Drawing on empirical research about food and Indigenous-settler relations in Australia, and through…
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Whose Problem Is It? Gender Differences in Faculty Thinking about Campus Service
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
O'Meara, KerryAnn
2016-01-01
Background/Context: Empirical evidence suggests women faculty spend more time in campus service than men, which perpetuates inequality between men and women because research is valued more than service in academic reward systems, especially at research universities. Purpose/Focus of Study: In this study I apply insights from research on gender…
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The Family Context of Care in HIV/AIDS: A Study of Mumbai, India
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
D'Cruz, Premilla
2004-01-01
Though the continuum of care model has been adopted in HIV/AIDS intervention, there is little empirical work documenting the experiences of caregiving families. Addressing this gap, a study on family caregiving and care receiving was undertaken in Mumbai, India. In-depth interviews were conducted with seven seropositive caregivers, seven…
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A Review of Research on Student Teachers' Professional Identity
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Izadinia, Mahsa
2013-01-01
This article presents a review of 29 empirical studies to identify the main foci of research on student teachers' identity, the methodologies used and their major findings. The reviewed studies were found to investigate four broad factors: the contribution of: (1) reflective activities, (2) learning communities, (3) context and (4) (prior)…
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Globalisation and Chinese Knowledge Diaspora: An Australian Case Study
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Yang, Rui; Qiu, Fang-fang
2010-01-01
In a context of intensified globalisation, knowledge diaspora as "trans-national human capital" have become increasingly valuable to society. With an awareness of a need for more empirical studies especially in Australia, this article concentrates on a group of academics who were working at a major university in Australia and came…
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Context Matters: Increasing Understanding with Interactive Clicker Case Studies
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Lundeberg, Mary A.; Kang, Hosun; Wolter, Bjorn; delMas, Robert; Armstrong, Norris; Borsari, Bruno; Boury, Nancy; Brickman, Peggy; Hannam, Kristi; Heinz, Cheryl; Horvath, Thomas; Knabb, Maureen; Platt, Terry; Rice, Nancy; Rogers, Bill; Sharp, Joan; Ribbens, Eric; Maier, Kimberly S.; Deschryver, Mike; Hagley, Rodney; Goulet, Tamar; Herreid, Clyde F.
2011-01-01
Although interactive technology is presumed to increase student understanding in large classes, no previous research studies have empirically explored the effects of Clicker Cases on students' performance. A Clicker Case is a story (e.g., a problem someone is facing) that uses clickers (student response systems) to engage students in understanding…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Whipple, Natasha; Bernier, Annie; Mageau, Genevieve A.
2011-01-01
Although security of attachment is conceptualised as a balance between infants' attachment and exploratory behaviours, parental behaviours pertaining to infant exploration have received relatively little empirical attention. Drawing from self-determination theory, this study seeks to improve the prediction of infant attachment by assessing…
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An Empirical Study of State University Students' Perceived Service Quality
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Sumaedi, Sik; Bakti, Gede Mahatma Yuda; Metasari, Nur
2012-01-01
Purpose: This paper aims to identify: university students' perceived service quality dimensions; the dimensions contributing most towards overall students' perceived service quality; and whether there is a difference in perceived quality level of each dimension based on students' year of study and gender in the context of undergraduate students of…
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Expectations versus Reality: The Case of Liberal Studies in Hong Kong's New Senior Secondary Reforms
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Fung, Dennis
2016-01-01
This article reports the findings of a five-year longitudinal study investigating the introduction of Liberal Studies in the context of Hong Kong's new senior secondary educational reforms. The aim of this empirical research, which adopted diachronic analysis to allow comparisons over time, was to compare teachers' and students' perceptions of the…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Crompton, Helen
2015-01-01
Mobile technologies are quickly becoming tools found in the educational environment. The researchers in this study use a form of mobile learning to support students in learning about angle concepts. Design-based research is used in this study to develop an empirically-substantiated local instruction theory about students' develop of angle and…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Chong, Jocelyn S.
2009-01-01
The literature on higher education assessment provides a historical context for this study and describes best practices and their challenges. While research studies have examined institutional efforts on a case-by-case basis, little quantitatively empirical research has been conducted concerning the extent to which institutions have built capacity…
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Demystifying Virtual Communities of Practice: A Case Study of IBM
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Kok, Ayse
2010-01-01
The purpose of this proposed research study is to empirically explore the nature of virtual communities of practice (CoP) in a global organisation within the context of its International Corporate Volunteer (ICV) Program. This study investigates whether and how the use of virtual CoP evolves and becomes embedded within this organization. Following…
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Parenting: Does Research Support Biblical Principles: A Review of the Literature.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Ganahl, Andrea Drew
This critical review examines 16 empirical studies applicable to 4 areas of parenting: (1) Nurturance; (2) Parenting Style; (3) Parents as role-models; and (4) Parenting in regard to individual differences in children. The studies were examined in the context of how each one supported Biblical principles. Each study was critiqued in terms of…
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Improving quality and diffusing best practices: the case of schizophrenia.
Donohue, Julie M.; Domino, Marisa E.; Normand, Sharon-Lise T.
2009-01-01
The slow diffusion of empirically supported treatments and the rapid diffusion of treatments lacking empirical support play a significant role in the quality gap in the care of people with severe mental illnesses. Further, the rapid diffusion of treatments of low cost-effectiveness limits the system's ability to provide the full gamut of high-value treatments available to treat this vulnerable population. Using the case of schizophrenia as an illustrative case study, we review the context in which these paradoxical patterns of diffusion have occurred and propose policy solutions. PMID:19414878
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Determinants of Children's Health. Final Report.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Grossman, Michael; And Others
The purpose of this research is to investigate empirically the determinants of children's health with particular reference to home and local environmental variables such as family income, parents' schooling, preventive medical care, and health manpower availability. Wherever possible, children's health is studied in the context of the…
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Comparing online and offline self-disclosure: a systematic review.
Nguyen, Melanie; Bin, Yu Sun; Campbell, Andrew
2012-02-01
Disclosure of personal information is believed to be more frequent in online compared to offline communication. However, this assumption is both theoretically and empirically contested. This systematic review examined existing research comparing online and offline self-disclosure to ascertain the evidence for current theories of online communication. Studies that compared online and offline disclosures in dyadic interactions were included for review. Contrary to expectations, disclosure was not consistently found to be greater in online contexts. Factors such as the relationship between the communicators, the specific mode of communication, and the context of the interaction appear to moderate the degree of disclosure. In relation to the theories of online communication, there is support for each theory. It is argued that the overlapping predictions of each theory and the current state of empirical research highlights a need for an overarching theory of communication that can account for disclosure in both online and offline interactions.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Tham, H. A.
This thesis is a study of deinstitutionalisation seeking to understand the evolvement of deinstitutionalisation process via the lens of sensemaking. It does so by conducting an in-depth qualitative, case study-based empirical study of the processual nature of deinstitutionalisation and the significance of organisational sensemaking during the deinstitutionalisation process. An interdisciplinary approach is adopted drawing insights from various literatures including institutional theory, sensemaking and social psychology. The need for greater understanding of the deinstitutionalisation phenomenon, especially its process is acknowledged after relevant literatures are reviewed. The potential of using microanalysis in examining the deinstitutionalisation process is demonstrated. The sensemaking perspective is thus used to facilitate this processual research. Findings have important implications for the theoretical development of institutional changes, sensemaking and especially deinstitutionalisation. First of all, the model and evidence sheds some light on the nature and development of the deinstitutionalisation process. Secondly, the analytic capacity of the institutional theory especially its descriptive and predictive contents are tested in the context of evolving institutions. The relative strengths of regulative, cognitive and normative influences in non-conventional cultural and institutional contexts extend our knowledge of institutional change and effects. Using sensemaking perspective, the findings also demonstrate the role and power of resistance during institutional processes and explain the possibility of multiple paces and outcomes within a single deinstitutionalisation process. As for sensemaking, crisis sensemaking will be examined in a new context: disaster-struck but not life-threatening. In practical terms, this study is carried out in an organisational context therefore it has relevant managerial implications.
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Harding, David J.
2012-01-01
The literature on neighborhood effects on schooling theorizes that neighborhood cultural context is an important mechanism generating such effects. However, explanations that rely on subcultural theories, such as oppositional culture, have met with considerable criticism on empirical grounds, and no alternative account of the cultural context of disadvantaged neighborhoods has been developed in the education literature. This study develops a new account of the cultural context of schooling decisions in disadvantaged neighborhoods based on the concept of cultural heterogeneity, defined as the presence of a wide array of competing and conflicting cultural models. It applies this concept to neighborhood effects on college enrollment. Using survey data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, this study shows that disadvantaged neighborhoods exhibit greater heterogeneity in college goals and that adolescents in more heterogeneous neighborhoods are less likely to act in concert with the college goals that they articulate. PMID:22879683
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VanLeeuwen, Crystal; Torondel, Belen
2018-01-01
Management of menstruation in contexts of humanitarian emergencies can be challenging. A lack of empirical research about effective interventions which improve menstrual hygiene management (MHM) among female populations in humanitarian emergencies and a lack of clarity about which sectors within a humanitarian response should deliver MHM interventions can both be attributable to the lack of clear guidance on design and delivery of culturally appropriate MHM intervention in settings of humanitarian emergencies. The objective of this review was to collate, summarize, and appraise existing peer-reviewed and gray literature that describes the current scenario of MHM in emergency contexts in order to describe the breadth and depth of current policies, guidelines, empirical research, and humanitarian aid activities addressing populations' menstrual needs. A structured-search strategy was conducted for peer-reviewed and gray literature to identify studies, published reports, guidelines, and policy papers related to menstrual response in emergency humanitarian contexts. Of the 51 articles included in the review, 16 were peer-reviewed papers and 35 were gray literature. Most of the literature agreed that hardware interventions should focus on the supply of adequate material (not only absorbent material but also other supportive material) and adequate sanitation facilities, with access to water and private space for washing, changing, drying, and disposing menstrual materials. Software interventions should focus on education in the usage of materials to manage menstruation hygienically and education about the female body's biological processes. There was clear agreement that the needs of the target population should be assessed before designing any intervention. Although there is insight about which factors should be included in an effective menstrual hygiene intervention, there is insufficient empirical evidence to establish which interventions are most effective in humanitarian emergencies and which sectors should be responsible for the coordination and implementation of such. Increased monitoring and evaluation studies of interventions should be completed and publicly shared, in order to feed evidence-based guidelines in the humanitarian sector.
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VanLeeuwen, Crystal; Torondel, Belen
2018-01-01
Management of menstruation in contexts of humanitarian emergencies can be challenging. A lack of empirical research about effective interventions which improve menstrual hygiene management (MHM) among female populations in humanitarian emergencies and a lack of clarity about which sectors within a humanitarian response should deliver MHM interventions can both be attributable to the lack of clear guidance on design and delivery of culturally appropriate MHM intervention in settings of humanitarian emergencies. The objective of this review was to collate, summarize, and appraise existing peer-reviewed and gray literature that describes the current scenario of MHM in emergency contexts in order to describe the breadth and depth of current policies, guidelines, empirical research, and humanitarian aid activities addressing populations’ menstrual needs. A structured-search strategy was conducted for peer-reviewed and gray literature to identify studies, published reports, guidelines, and policy papers related to menstrual response in emergency humanitarian contexts. Of the 51 articles included in the review, 16 were peer-reviewed papers and 35 were gray literature. Most of the literature agreed that hardware interventions should focus on the supply of adequate material (not only absorbent material but also other supportive material) and adequate sanitation facilities, with access to water and private space for washing, changing, drying, and disposing menstrual materials. Software interventions should focus on education in the usage of materials to manage menstruation hygienically and education about the female body’s biological processes. There was clear agreement that the needs of the target population should be assessed before designing any intervention. Although there is insight about which factors should be included in an effective menstrual hygiene intervention, there is insufficient empirical evidence to establish which interventions are most effective in humanitarian emergencies and which sectors should be responsible for the coordination and implementation of such. Increased monitoring and evaluation studies of interventions should be completed and publicly shared, in order to feed evidence-based guidelines in the humanitarian sector. PMID:29692636
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Comparing end-of-life practices in different policy contexts: a scoping review.
Boivin, Antoine; Marcoux, Isabelle; Garnon, Geneviève; Lehoux, Pascale; Mays, Nicholas; Prémont, Marie-Claude; Chao, Yi-Sheng; van Leeuwen, Evert; Pineault, Raynald
2015-04-01
End-of-life policy reforms are being debated in many countries. Research evidence is used to support different assumptions about the effects of public policies on end-of-life practices. It is however unclear whether reliable international practice comparisons can be conducted between different policy contexts. Our aim was to assess the feasibility of comparing similar end-of-life practices in different policy contexts. This is a scoping review of empirical studies on medical end-of-life practices. We developed a descriptive classification of end-of-life practices that distinguishes practices according to their legal status. We focused on the intentional use of lethal drugs by physicians because of international variations in the legal status of this practice. Bibliographic database searches were supplemented by expert consultation and hand searching of reference lists. The sensitivity of the search strategy was tested using a set of 77 articles meeting our inclusion criteria. Two researchers extracted end-of-life practice definitions, study methods and available comparisons across policy contexts. Canadian decision-makers were involved to increase the policy relevance of the review. In sum, 329 empirical studies on the intentional use of lethal drugs by doctors were identified, including studies from 19 countries. The bibliographic search captured 98.7% of studies initially identified as meeting the inclusion criteria. Studies on the intentional use of lethal drugs were conducted in jurisdictions with permissive (62%) and restrictive policies (43%). The most common study objectives related to the frequency of end-of-life practices, determinants of practices, and doctors' adherence to regulatory standards. Large variations in definitions and research methods were noted across studies. The use of a descriptive classification was useful to translate end-of-life practice definitions across countries. A few studies compared end-of-life practice in countries with different policies, using consistent research methods. We identified no comprehensive review of end-of-life practices across different policy contexts. It is feasible to compare end-of-life practices in different policy contexts. A systematic review of international evidence is needed to inform public deliberations on end-of-life policies and practice. © The Author(s) 2015 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Harding, David J.
2011-01-01
The literature on neighborhood effects on schooling theorizes that neighborhood cultural context is an important mechanism generating such effects. However, explanations that rely on subcultural theories, such as oppositional culture, have met with considerable criticism on empirical grounds, and no alternative account of the cultural context of…
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Cultural Accommodation of Substance Abuse Treatment for Latino Adolescents
Burrow-Sanchez, Jason; Martinez, Charles; Hops, Hyman; Wrona, Megan
2011-01-01
Collaborating with community stakeholders is an often suggested step when integrating cultural variables into psychological treatments for members of ethnic minority groups. However, there is a dearth of literature describing how to accomplish this process within the context of substance abuse treatment studies. This paper describes a qualitative study conducted through a series of focus groups with stakeholders in the Latino community. Data from focus groups were used by researchers to guide the integration of cultural variables into an empirically-supported substance abuse treatment for Latino adolescents currently being evaluated for efficacy. A model for culturally accommodating empirically-supported treatments for ethnic minority participants is also described. PMID:21888499
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Linking customisation of ERP systems to support effort: an empirical study
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Koch, Stefan; Mitteregger, Kurt
2016-01-01
The amount of customisation to an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system has always been a major concern in the context of the implementation. This article focuses on the phase of maintenance and presents an empirical study about the relationship between the amount of customising and the resulting support effort. We establish a structural equation modelling model that explains support effort using customisation effort, organisational characteristics and scope of implementation. The findings using data from an ERP provider show that there is a statistically significant effect: with an increasing amount of customisation, the quantity of telephone calls to support increases, as well as the duration of each call.
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Predicting Digital Informal Learning: An Empirical Study among Chinese University Students
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
He, Tao; Zhu, Chang; Questier, Frederik
2018-01-01
Although the adoption of digital technology has gained considerable attention in higher education, currently research mainly focuses on implementation in formal learning contexts. Investigating what factors influence students' digital informal learning is still unclear and limited. To understand better university students' digital informal…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Jarvela, Sanna; Jarvenoja, Hanna
2011-01-01
Background/Context: Most of the earlier empirical findings deal with motivation regulation in individual learning situations. This study identifies higher education students' socially constructed motivation regulation in collaborative learning and stresses that regulation of motivation is crucial in socially self-regulated learning because…
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Understanding Science: Studies of Communication and Information.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Griffith, Belver C.
1989-01-01
Sets bibliometrics in the context of the sociology of science by tracing the influences of Robert Merton, Thomas Kuhn, and D. J. Price. Explores the discovery of strong empirical relationships among measured communication and information that capture important features of social process and cognitive change in science. (SR)
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Khorshidi, Hassan Rasouli
2013-01-01
This research study empirically investigated the impact of study abroad context on L2 learners' pragmatic development compared with study at home group in Iran. For the study abroad group the participants were selected from the Iranian students who registered in a six-month program in language institutes in India (Mysore) and for the study at home…
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Distinguishing perceived competence and self-efficacy: an example from exercise.
Rodgers, Wendy M; Markland, David; Selzler, Anne-Marie; Murray, Terra C; Wilson, Philip M
2014-12-01
This article examined the conceptual and statistical distinction between perceived competence and self-efficacy. Although they are frequently used interchangeably, it is possible that distinguishing them might assist researchers in better understanding their roles in developing enduring adaptive behavior patterns. Perceived competence is conceived in the theoretical framework of self-determination theory and self-efficacy is conceived in the theoretical framework of social-cognitive theory. The purpose of this study was to empirically distinguish perceived competence from self-efficacy for exercise. Two studies evaluated the independence of perceived competence and self-efficacy in the context of exercise. Using 2 extant instruments with validity and reliability evidence in exercise contexts, the distinctiveness of the 2 constructs was assessed in 2 separate samples (n = 357 middle-aged sedentary adults; n = 247 undergraduate students). Confirmatory factor analysis supported the conceptual and empirical distinction of the 2 constructs. This study supports the conceptual and statistical distinction of perceived competence from perceived self-efficacy. Applications of these results provide a rationale for more precise future theorizing regarding their respective roles in supporting initiation and maintenance of health behaviors.
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Suh, Eunkook M
2007-12-01
The self becomes context sensitive in service of the need to belong. When it comes to achieving personal happiness, an identity system that derives its worth and meaning excessively from its social context puts itself in a significantly disadvantageous position. This article integrates empirical findings and ideas from the self, subjective well-being, and cross-cultural literature and tries to offer insights to why East Asian cultural members report surprisingly low levels of happiness. The various cognitive, motivational, behavioral, and affective characteristics of the overly relation-oriented self are discussed as potential explanations. Implications for the study of self and culture are offered.
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Bracketed morality revisited: how do athletes behave in two contexts?
Kavussanu, Maria; Boardley, Ian D; Sagar, Sam S; Ring, Christopher
2013-10-01
The concept of bracketed morality has received empirical support in several sport studies (e.g., Bredemeier & Shields, 1986a, 1986b). However, these studies have focused on moral reasoning. In this research, we examined bracketed morality with respect to moral behavior in sport and university contexts, in two studies. Male and female participants (Study 1: N = 331; Study 2: N = 372) completed questionnaires assessing prosocial and antisocial behavior toward teammates and opponents in sport and toward other students at university. Study 2 participants also completed measures of moral disengagement and goal orientation in both contexts. In most cases, behavior in sport was highly correlated with behavior at university. In addition, participants reported higher prosocial behavior toward teammates and higher antisocial behavior toward opponents in sport than toward other students at university. The effects of context on antisocial behavior were partially mediated by moral disengagement and ego orientation. Our findings extend the bracketed morality concept to prosocial and antisocial behavior.
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Cheng, Shu-Huei; King, Jean A.
2017-01-01
Researchers have conducted numerous empirical studies on evaluation capacity (EC) and evaluation capacity building (ECB) in Western cultural settings. However, little is known about these practices in non-Western contexts. To that end, this study identified the major dimensions of EC and feasible ECB approaches in Taiwanese elementary and junior…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Goering, Christian Z.; Baker, Kimberly F.
2010-01-01
In this empirical study which used a mixed-method approach, researchers sought to understand how participation in dramatic oral reading interventions affects both reading fluency and comprehension. The study also investigated how that participation is ultimately limited or promoted by the social context of high schools. Qualitative data are…
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Playing and Learning: An iPad Game Development & Implementation Case Study
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Jenson, Jennifer; de Castell, Suzanne; Muehrer, Rachel; McLaughlin-Jenkins, Erin
2016-01-01
There is a great deal of enthusiasm for the use of games in formal educational contexts; however, there is a notable and problematic lack of studies that make use of replicable study designs to empirically link games to learning (Young, et al., 2012). This paper documents the iterative design and development of an educationally focused game,…
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The colonial context of Filipino American immigrants' psychological experiences.
David, E J R; Nadal, Kevin L
2013-07-01
Because of the long colonial history of Filipinos and the highly Americanized climate of postcolonial Philippines, many scholars from various disciplines have speculated that colonialism and its legacies may play major roles in Filipino emigration to the United States. However, there are no known empirical studies in psychology that specifically investigate whether colonialism and its effects have influenced the psychological experiences of Filipino American immigrants prior to their arrival in the United States. Further, there is no existing empirical study that specifically investigates the extent to which colonialism and its legacies continue to influence Filipino American immigrants' mental health. Thus, using interviews (N = 6) and surveys (N = 219) with Filipino American immigrants, two studies found that colonialism and its consequences are important factors to consider when conceptualizing the psychological experiences of Filipino American immigrants. Specifically, the findings suggest that (a) Filipino American immigrants experienced ethnic and cultural denigration in the Philippines prior to their U.S. arrival, (b) ethnic and cultural denigration in the Philippines and in the United States may lead to the development of colonial mentality (CM), and (c) that CM may have negative mental health consequences among Filipino American immigrants. The two studies' findings suggest that the Filipino American immigration experience cannot be completely captured by the voluntary immigrant narrative, as they provide empirical support to the notion that the Filipino American immigration experience needs to be understood in the context of colonialism and its most insidious psychological legacy- CM. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.
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Future Orientation, School Contexts, and Problem Behaviors: A Multilevel Study
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Chen, Pan; Vazsonyi, Alexander T.
2013-01-01
The association between future orientation and problem behaviors has received extensive empirical attention; however, previous work has not considered school contextual influences on this link. Using a sample of N = 9,163 9th to 12th graders (51.0% females) from N = 85 high schools of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, the…
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Internet Parenting Styles and the Impact on Internet Use of Primary School Children
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Valcke, M.; Bonte, S.; De Wever, B.; Rots, I.
2010-01-01
Next to available data about actual Internet use of young children at home, most research especially focuses on the threats and opportunities about active Internet usage. Limited empirical research focuses on the role and impact of parents in this context. In the present study, Internet parenting styles are defined and operationalized to study the…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Dongman, Cai; Wenzhong, Zhu
2016-01-01
Accommodating to the development of globalization, China witnesses a mounting demand for international business talents who are proficient in both foreign languages and business knowledge and adept at international cooperation and competition in business context. In order to meet this need, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, taking advantage…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Basir, Siti Arni; Davies, John; Douglas, Jacqueline; Douglas, Alexander
2017-01-01
This study investigates the influence of the elements of academic culture on quality management system ISO 9001 maintenance within Malaysian universities. There is a dearth of empirical studies on maintaining ISO 9001, particularly in the higher education context. From the literature review, academic culture was classified according to four…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Wallin, Dawn C.
2012-01-01
This paper conceptualizes queue theory (Tallerico & Blount, 2004) to discuss a mixed-methods study that determined the career patterns of senior educational administrators in public school divisions in Manitoba, Canada, compared by position, context and sex. Findings indicate that queue theory has merit for describing the career paths of…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Kultti, Anne
2015-01-01
This study focuses on the nature of children's participation in an Australian early childhood context in which their second language is used. The aim is to create knowledge of toddlers' modes and trajectories of participation. Empirical data documenting the participation of two toddlers were gathered through video observations of everyday…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Vannestal, Maria Estling; Lindquist, Hans
2007-01-01
Corpora have been used for pedagogical purposes for more than two decades but empirical studies are relatively rare, particularly in the context of grammar teaching. The present study focuses on students' attitudes towards grammar and how these attitudes are affected by the introduction of concordancing. The principal aims of the project were to…
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Self-Image and Physical Education--A Phenomenological Study
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Perrin-Wallqvist, Renee; Carlsson, Eva Segolsson
2011-01-01
In this study our aim was to investigate (a) how the awareness of one's self-image reveals itself as a phenomenon, and (b) if self-image is influenced by physical education in a social context with teachers and pupils. Six pupils, aged 15 and 16 years, attending compulsory school were interviewed with the use of an empirical phenomenological…
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To Rest Assured: A Study of Artistic Development
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Edstrom, Ann-Mari
2008-01-01
This article concerns artistic development within the context of a Master of Fine Arts program in visual arts in Sweden, and presents an empirical study based on repeated interviews with a group of art students. The aim is to contribute to our present understanding of artistic development by focusing on changes in the relation between the student…
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Empirical Bayes estimation of proportions with application to cowbird parasitism rates
Link, W.A.; Hahn, D.C.
1996-01-01
Bayesian models provide a structure for studying collections of parameters such as are considered in the investigation of communities, ecosystems, and landscapes. This structure allows for improved estimation of individual parameters, by considering them in the context of a group of related parameters. Individual estimates are differentially adjusted toward an overall mean, with the magnitude of their adjustment based on their precision. Consequently, Bayesian estimation allows for a more credible identification of extreme values in a collection of estimates. Bayesian models regard individual parameters as values sampled from a specified probability distribution, called a prior. The requirement that the prior be known is often regarded as an unattractive feature of Bayesian analysis and may be the reason why Bayesian analyses are not frequently applied in ecological studies. Empirical Bayes methods provide an alternative approach that incorporates the structural advantages of Bayesian models while requiring a less stringent specification of prior knowledge. Rather than requiring that the prior distribution be known, empirical Bayes methods require only that it be in a certain family of distributions, indexed by hyperparameters that can be estimated from the available data. This structure is of interest per se, in addition to its value in allowing for improved estimation of individual parameters; for example, hypotheses regarding the existence of distinct subgroups in a collection of parameters can be considered under the empirical Bayes framework by allowing the hyperparameters to vary among subgroups. Though empirical Bayes methods have been applied in a variety of contexts, they have received little attention in the ecological literature. We describe the empirical Bayes approach in application to estimation of proportions, using data obtained in a community-wide study of cowbird parasitism rates for illustration. Since observed proportions based on small sample sizes are heavily adjusted toward the mean, extreme values among empirical Bayes estimates identify those species for which there is the greatest evidence of extreme parasitism rates. Applying a subgroup analysis to our data on cowbird parasitism rates, we conclude that parasitism rates for Neotropical Migrants as a group are no greater than those of Resident/Short-distance Migrant species in this forest community. Our data and analyses demonstrate that the parasitism rates for certain Neotropical Migrant species are remarkably low (Wood Thrush and Rose-breasted Grosbeak) while those for others are remarkably high (Ovenbird and Red-eyed Vireo).
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Szijarto, Barbara; Milley, Peter; Svensson, Kate; Cousins, J Bradley
2018-02-01
Social innovation (SI) is billed as a new way to address complex social problems. Interest in SI has intensified rapidly in the last decade, making it an important area of practice for evaluators, but a difficult one to navigate. Learning from developments in SI and evaluation approaches applied in SI contexts is challenging because of 'fuzzy' concepts and silos of activity and knowledge within SI communities. This study presents findings from a systematic review and integration of 41 empirical studies on evaluation in SI contexts. We identify two isolated conversations: one about 'social enterprises' (SEs) and the other about non-SE 'social innovations'. These conversations diverge in key areas, including engagement with evaluation scholarship, and in the reported purposes, approaches and use of evaluation. We identified striking differences with respect to degree of interest in collaborative approaches and facilitation of evaluation use. The findings speak to trends and debates in our field, for example how evaluation might reconcile divergent information needs in multilevel, cross-sectoral collaborations and respond to fluidity and change in innovative settings. Implications for practitioners and commissioners of evaluation include how evaluation is used in different contexts and the voice of evaluators (and the evaluation profession) in these conversations. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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A Comparison of Chinese and American College Students' Perceptions of Professors' Behaviors
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Stork, Elizabeth; Hartley, Nell T.
2011-01-01
This empirical study reports on similarities and differences in the perceptions that Chinese and American students hold about classroom behavior of professors. At issue is identifying behaviors deemed as acceptable as opposed to being offensive. Cultural dimensions and educational philosophical worldviews are offered for context. The underlying…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Carrick, Laurie Ann
2010-01-01
Empirical evidence has identified emotional intelligence competencies as part of the transformational leadership style. The development of emotional intelligence competencies has been reviewed in the context of a leadership development learning intervention encompassing the model of assessment, challenge and support. The exploratory study…
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Recognition-Based Physical Response to Facilitate EFL Learning
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Hwang, Wu-Yuin; Shih, Timothy K.; Yeh, Shih-Ching; Chou, Ke-Chien; Ma, Zhao-Heng; Sommool, Worapot
2014-01-01
This study, based on total physical response and cognitive psychology, proposed a Kinesthetic English Learning System (KELS), which utilized Microsoft's Kinect technology to build kinesthetic interaction with life-related contexts in English. A subject test with 39 tenth-grade students was conducted following empirical research method in order to…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Pavicic, Jurica; Alfirevic, Niksa; Mihanovic, Zoran
2009-01-01
In this paper, market orientation in Croatian higher education (HE) is discussed within the context of stakeholder-oriented management. Drawing on existing studies, the "classical" empirical model, describing the market orientation of generic nonprofit organisations, has been adapted to the contingencies of the Croatian HE sector.…
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The Benefits of Volunteering for Psychology Students
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Bromnick, Rachel; Horowitz, Ava; Shepherd, Daniel
2012-01-01
Within the current economic climate students are seen as needing more than a degree to succeed in securing graduate employment. One way that students chose to enhance their employability is through engaging in voluntary work. In this empirical study, undergraduate psychology students' reasons for volunteering are explored within the context of…
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Neighborhood Poverty. Policy Implications in Studying Neighborhoods. Volume II.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne, Ed.; Duncan, Greg J., Ed.; Aber, J. Lawrence, Ed.
Volume 2 of the "Neighborhood Poverty" series incorporates empirical data on neighborhood poverty into discussions of policy and program development. The chapters are: (1) "Ecological Perspectives on the Neighborhood Context of Urban Poverty: Past and Present" (Robert J. Sampson and Jeffrey D. Morenoff); (2) "The Influence of Neighborhoods on…
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School Socioeconomic Context and Teacher Job Satisfaction in Japanese Compulsory Education
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Matsuoka, Ryoji
2015-01-01
Sociologists in education have pointed out disparities associated with socioeconomic status (SES) in the Japanese compulsory education system that was once regarded as egalitarian. In addition to disparities between individual students, prior studies have empirically shown SES-based disparities among schools on important indicators such as…
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Native Reactions to Non-Native Speech: A Review of Empirical Research.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Eisenstein, Miriam
1983-01-01
Recent research on native speakers' reactions to nonnative speech that views listeners, speakers, and language from a variety of perspectives using both objective and subjective research paradigms is reviewed. Studies of error gravity, relative intelligibility of language samples, the role of accent, speakers' characteristics, and context in which…
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How Elementary School Students' Motivation Is Connected to Self-Regulation
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Jarvela, Sanna; Jarvenoja, Hanna; Malmberg, Jonna
2012-01-01
Empirical research reveals that students face difficulties engaging in learning and achieving their goals in a variety of learning contexts. To study effectively, students need to regulate their learning process. In spite of increased understanding of cognitive aspects of self-regulation, motivational aspects of regulation have not yet been…
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Developing Learner Autonomy for Oral Language on the Base of Emergent Metacognition
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Fu, Jing-yuan
2007-01-01
This paper conducted on an empirical study among 466 first-year semester diploma students of Wenzhou University, contemplates some metacognitive strategies for facilitating learners' self-autonomy for oral language learning. Oral language appropriateness and procuration within the context of globality and lifelong learning are essential to the…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Coburn, Cynthia E.; Toure, Judith; Yamashita, Mika
2009-01-01
Background/Context: Calls for evidence-based decision making have become increasingly prominent on the educational landscape. School district central offices increasingly experience these demands. Yet there are few empirical studies of evidence use at the district level. Furthermore, research on evidence use among policy makers in noneducation…
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Chemistry Vocabulary Attainment among Higher Secondary Students
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Gafoor, K. Abdul; Greeshma, K.
2014-01-01
In the context of growing empirical evidence to lack of clear understanding of the language of the science content, undesirable student outcomes including difficulty in learning science and a lack of interest with their science content area, and chemistry being particularly loaded with specialized terminology of its own, this study analyzed the…
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Report on Outcomes of Empirical Studies
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Morch, Anders; Nygard, Kathrine; Andersen, Renate; Mushtaq, Shazia; Nedic, Damir; Olsen, Espen; Hauge, Trond Eiliv; Vedoy, Gunn; Norenes, Svein Olav; Moen, Anne; Nes, Sturle; Olsen, Dorothy S.; Ludvigsen, Sten; Toiviainen, Hanna; Lallimo, Jiri; Toikka, Seppo; Paavola, Sami; Pohjola, Pasi; Hakkarainen, Kai
2009-01-01
This deliverable has been produced in the context of the Knowledge-Practice Laboratory (KP-Lab) project. KP-Lab focuses on innovative practices of working with knowledge in higher education, teacher training, and workplaces. Participants of WP10 are University of Helsinki, University of Oslo and Poyry Forest Industry representing both researchers…
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Measuring Self-Perceptions of Oral Narrative Competencies and Anxiety in the EFL Context
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Faber, Gunter
2012-01-01
Introduction: Due to a considerable lack in empirical efforts and appropriate instruments, and theoretically rooted in a cognitive-motivational perspective on academic personality development, the present study analyzes a questionnaire for measuring EFL learners' self-perceptions of oral narrative competencies and perceived anxiety concerning oral…
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Information Sharing in the Field of Design Research
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Pilerot, Ola
2015-01-01
Introduction: This paper reports on an extensive research project which aimed at exploring information sharing activities in a scholarly context. The paper presents and synthesises findings from a literature review and three qualitative case studies. The empirical setting is a geographically distributed Nordic network of design scholars. Method:…
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The evidence for Allee effects
Andrew M. Kramer; Brian Dennis; Andrew M. Liebhold; John M. Drake
2009-01-01
Allee effects are an important dynamic phenomenon believed to be manifested in several population processes, notably extinction and invasion. Though widely cited in these contexts, the evidence for their strength and prevalence has not been critically evaluated. We review results from 91 studies on Allee effects in natural animal populations. We focus on empirical...
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Toward a Critical Pedagogy of Idiomaticity
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Liontas, John I.
2008-01-01
This article deals with current notions of idiomaticity. It argues that lack of adequate empirical study and scholarship has prompted some authors to apply research findings from first language (L1) to second language (L2) contexts without scrutinizing more closely the factors affecting L2 idiom understanding. As a result, certain propositions…
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Learning Analytics to Understand Cultural Impacts on Technology Enhanced Learning
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Mittelmeier, Jenna; Tempelaar, Dirk; Rienties, Bart; Nguyen, Quan
2016-01-01
In this empirical study, we investigate the role of national cultural dimensions as distal antecedents of the use intensity of e-tutorials, which constitute the digital component within a blended learning course. Profiting from the context of a dispositional learning analytics application, we investigate cognitive processing strategies and…
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Weblogs in Higher Education: Why Do Students (Not) Blog?
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Andergassen, Monika; Behringer, Reinhold; Finlay, Janet; Gorra, Andrea; Moore, David
2009-01-01
Positive impacts on learning through blogging, such as active knowledge construction and reflective writing, have been reported. However, not many students use weblogs in informal contexts, even when appropriate facilities are offered by their universities. While motivations for blogging have been subject to empirical studies, little research has…
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Higher Education Institutions: Satisfaction and Loyalty among International Students
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Paswan, Audhesh K.; Ganesh, Gopala
2009-01-01
This study empirically investigates the relationship between satisfaction with educational service augmenters and consumer loyalty within the context of the international student market. An enhanced state of consumer satisfaction, also labeled as delight, is captured by focusing on service augmenters that fall outside the domain of the core…
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Academic Capitalism in the Pasteur's Quadrant
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Mendoza, Pilar
2009-01-01
Based on previous empirical studies, in this work the author presents an analysis of the role of context in academic capitalism. In particular, she argues that the literature on academic capitalism fails to properly acknowledge disciplinary and institutional differences, which results in an oversimplification of the effects of industry-academia…
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An Advance toward Instructional Management: Prescriptive Knowledge Base of Learner Control.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Chung, Jaesam
This paper discusses learner control as one of the main issues in instructional management and the importance of effectiveness and efficiency in the context of instructional/learning systems, and develops instructional prescriptions for learner control in a smorgasbord fashion. Strategies from both empirical and theoretical studies related to…
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Shifting the Focus of Validity for Test Use
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Moss, Pamela A.
2016-01-01
The conventional focus of validity in educational measurement has been on intended interpretations and uses of test scores. Empirical studies of test use by teachers, administrators and policy-makers show that actual interpretations and uses of test scores in context are invariably shaped by local users' questions, which frequently require…
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(Critical) Language Awareness in Business Communication
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Weninger, Csilla; Kan, Katy Hoi-Yi
2013-01-01
In the last 20 years, critical approaches to language and literacy education have established themselves as an academic field, with an abundance of empirical studies applying Critical Literacy principles in classes and curricula at schools and universities. Noticeably absent from the contexts of implementation are courses in Business English and…
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Spaces for Learning: Development and Validation of the School Physical and Campus Environment Survey
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Zandvliet, David; Broekhuizen, Avril
2017-01-01
The study of learning environments involves describing educational contexts and identifying empirical relationships among subject matter (curriculum), teaching practices and other environmental variables. In recent years, this has become a growing field of academic inquiry within elementary, secondary and post-secondary research. Investigations of…
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Managing Team Learning in a Spanish Commercial Bank
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Doving, Erik; Martin-Rubio, Irene
2013-01-01
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyze how team management affects team-learning activities. Design/methodology/approach: The authors empirically study 68 teams as they operate in the natural business context of a major Spanish bank. Quantitative research utilizing multiple regression analyses is used to test hypotheses. Findings: The…
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Many empirical studies have shown that forest-breeding songbirds suffer greater rates of nest predation and nest parasitism in smaller forest patches and in fragmented landscapes. To compare the performance of different metrics of spatial habitat configuration resulting from defo...
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Flipped Classroom Experiences: Student Preferences and Flip Strategy in a Higher Education Context
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
McNally, Brenton; Chipperfield, Janine; Dorsett, Pat; Del Fabbro, Letitia; Frommolt, Valda; Goetz, Sandra; Lewohl, Joanne; Molineux, Matthew; Pearson, Andrew; Reddan, Gregory; Roiko, Anne; Rung, Andrea
2017-01-01
Despite the popularity of the flipped classroom, its effectiveness in achieving greater engagement and learning outcomes is currently lacking substantial empirical evidence. This study surveyed 563 undergraduate and postgraduate students (61% female) participating in flipped teaching environments and ten convenors of the flipped courses in which…
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Educational Leadership and Context: A Rendering of an Inseparable Relationship
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Clarke, Simon; O'Donoghue, Tom
2017-01-01
The amount of empirical research on leadership of educational organisations, and especially of schools, which has stressed the importance of being sensitive to context, is not great. This paper seeks to highlight the challenge presented by this situation. First, context is defined. Second, attention is drawn to what can be learned in the area of…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Overman, Michelle; Vermunt, Jan D.; Meijer, Paulien C.; Bulte, Astrid M. W.; Brekelmans, Mieke
2014-01-01
Context-based curriculum reforms in chemistry education are thought to bring greater diversity to the ways in which chemistry teachers organize their teaching. First and foremost, students are expected to perceive this diversity. However, empirical research on how students perceive their teacher's teaching in context-based chemistry classrooms,…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Cegarra-Navarro, Juan G.; Dewhurst, Frank W.
2006-01-01
Purpose: The environment provided by an organisation to facilitate learning and create knowledge has been defined as the shared organisational context. The value to an organisation of knowledge created by the shared organisational context is called intellectual capital, of which one key component is relational capital. The purpose of this paper is…
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[The Philosophical Relevance of the Study of Schizophrenia. Methodological and Conceptual Issues].
López-Silva, Pablo
2014-01-01
The study of mental illness involves profound methodological and philosophical debates. This article explores the disciplinary complementarity, particularly, between philosophy of mind, phenomenology, and empirical studies in psychiatry and psychopathology in the context of the understanding of schizophrenia. After clarifying the possible role of these disciplines, it is explored the way in which a certain symptom of schizophrenia (thought insertion) challenges the current phenomenological approach to the relationship between consciousness and self-awareness. Finally, it is concluded that philosophy of mind, phenomenology, and empirical studies in psychiatry and psychopathology should, necessarily, regulate their progress jointly in order to reach plausible conclusions about what we call 'schizophrenia'. Crown Copyright © 2014. Publicado por Elsevier España. All rights reserved.
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Electricity and Empire in 1920s Palestine under British Rule.
Shamir, Ronen
2016-12-01
This article examines some techno-political aspects of the early years of electrification in British-ruled 1920s Palestine. It emphasizes the importance of local technical, topographical and hydrological forms of knowledge for understanding the dynamics of electrification. Situating the analysis in a general colonial context of electrification, the study shows that British colonial rulers lagged behind both German firms and local entrepreneurs in understanding the specific conditions pertaining to electrification in Palestine. Subsequently, the study shows that the British had limited control of the actual electrification process and its declared/professed developmental purposes, thereby complicating assumptions about electrification as a tool of the Empire/tool of empire. Finding some similarities between the cases of electrifying Palestine and India, the article's findings may shed further light on the importance of micro-politics of knowledge for understanding the trajectory of electrification in the colonies.
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Using Paperclips to Explain Empirical Formulas to Students
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Nassiff, Peter; Czerwinski, Wendy A.
2014-01-01
Early in their chemistry education, students learn to do empirical formula calculations by rote without an understanding of the historical context behind them or the reason why their calculations work. In these activities, students use paperclip "atoms", construct a series of simple compounds representing real molecules, and discover,…
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The Influence of Tardy Classmates on Students' Socio-Emotional Outcomes
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Gottfried, Michael A.
2014-01-01
Background/Context: Researchers, policymakers, and practitioners undoubtedly concur that missing school deteriorates student outcomes. And yet, in evaluating the deleterious effects of missing in-school time, empirical research has almost exclusively focused on absences, and the scant amount of empirical literature on tardiness has focused on…
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García Palacios, Mariana; Shabel, Paula; Horn, Axel; Castorina, José Antonio
2018-06-01
Though context has yet to receive an unequivocal definition, it is a concept that frequently appears in research in children's knowledge and its construction. This article examines the scope and meaning of context in genetic psychology and social anthropology in order to better understand the relationship between children's construction of knowledge and the context in which it occurs. Meta-theoretical, theoretical and methodological complexities arise when the concept is analyzed in the two disciplines, and these will also be addressed herein. The fields of anthropology and constructive psychology are both affected by the relationship between the building of knowledge and the social practices surrounding this process. Finally, based on these empirical examinations, the article explores how research methodologies could incorporate the notion of context in research focused on the construction of knowledge.
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Chilenski, Sarah M; Olson, Jonathan R; Schulte, Jill A; Perkins, Daniel F; Spoth, Richard
2015-02-01
Prior theoretical and empirical research suggests that multiple aspects of an organization's context are likely related to a number of factors, from their interest and ability to adopt new programming, to client outcomes. A limited amount of the prior research has taken a more community-wide perspective by examining factors that associate with community readiness for change, leaving how these findings generalize to community organizations that conduct prevention or positive youth development programs unknown. Thus for the current study, we examined how the organizational context of the Cooperative Extension System (CES) associates with current attitudes and practices regarding prevention and evidence-based programming. Attitudes and practices have been found in the empirical literature to be key indicators of an organization's readiness to adopt prevention and evidence-based programming. Based on multi-level mixed models, results indicate that organizational management practices distinct from program delivery may affect an organization's readiness to adopt and implement new prevention and evidence-based youth programs, thereby limiting the potential public health impact of evidence-based programs. Openness to change, openness of leadership, and communication were the strongest predictors identified within this study. An organization's morale was also found to be a strong predictor of an organization's readiness. The findings of the current study are discussed in terms of implications for prevention and intervention.
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Chilenski, Sarah M.; Olson, Jonathan R.; Schulte, Jill A.; Perkins, Daniel F.; Spoth, Richard
2015-01-01
Prior theoretical and empirical research suggests that multiple aspects of an organization’s context are likely related to a number of factors, from their interest and ability to adopt new programming, to client outcomes. A limited amount of the prior research has taken a more community-wide perspective by examining factors that associate with community readiness for change, leaving how these findings generalize to community organizations that conduct prevention or positive youth development programs unknown. Thus for the current study, we examined how the organizational context of the Cooperative Extension System (CES) associates with current attitudes and practices regarding prevention and evidence-based programming. Attitudes and practices have been found in the empirical literature to be key indicators of an organization’s readiness to adopt prevention and evidence-based programming. Based on multi-level mixed models, results indicate that organizational management practices distinct from program delivery may affect an organization’s readiness to adopt and implement new prevention and evidence-based youth programs, thereby limiting the potential public health impact of evidence-based programs. Openness to change, openness of leadership, and communication were the strongest predictors identified within this study. An organization’s morale was also found to be a strong predictor of an organization’s readiness. The findings of the current study are discussed in terms of implications for prevention and intervention. PMID:25463014
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Video Captions Benefit Everyone.
Gernsbacher, Morton Ann
2015-10-01
Video captions, also known as same-language subtitles, benefit everyone who watches videos (children, adolescents, college students, and adults). More than 100 empirical studies document that captioning a video improves comprehension of, attention to, and memory for the video. Captions are particularly beneficial for persons watching videos in their non-native language, for children and adults learning to read, and for persons who are D/deaf or hard of hearing. However, despite U.S. laws, which require captioning in most workplace and educational contexts, many video audiences and video creators are naïve about the legal mandate to caption, much less the empirical benefit of captions.
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Baker, Phillip; Hawkes, Corinna; Wingrove, Kate; Demaio, Alessandro Rhyl; Parkhurst, Justin; Thow, Anne Marie; Walls, Helen
2018-01-01
Generating country-level political commitment will be critical to driving forward action throughout the United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition (2016-2025). In this review of the empirical nutrition policy literature, we ask: what factors generate, sustain and constrain political commitment for nutrition, how and under what circumstances? Our aim is to inform strategic 'commitment-building' actions. We adopted a framework synthesis method and realist review protocol. An initial framework was derived from relevant theory and then populated with empirical evidence to test and modify it. Five steps were undertaken: initial theoretical framework development; search for relevant empirical literature; study selection and quality appraisal; data extraction, analysis and synthesis and framework modification. 75 studies were included. We identified 18 factors that drive commitment, organised into five categories: actors; institutions; political and societal contexts; knowledge, evidence and framing; and, capacities and resources. Irrespective of country-context, effective nutrition actor networks, strong leadership, civil society mobilisation, supportive political administrations, societal change and focusing events, cohesive and resonant framing, and robust data systems and available evidence were commitment drivers. Low-income and middle-income country studies also frequently reported international actors, empowered institutions, vertical coordination and capacities and resources. In upper-middle-income and high-income country studies, private sector interference frequently undermined commitment. Political commitment is not something that simply exists or emerges accidentally; it can be created and strengthened over time through strategic action. Successfully generating commitment will likely require a core set of actions with some context-dependent adaptations. Ultimately, it will necessitate strategic actions by cohesive, resourced and strongly led nutrition actor networks that are responsive to the multifactorial, multilevel and dynamic political systems in which they operate and attempt to influence. Accelerating the formation and effectiveness of such networks over the Nutrition Decade should be a core task for all actors involved.
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Baker, Phillip; Hawkes, Corinna; Wingrove, Kate; Parkhurst, Justin; Thow, Anne Marie; Walls, Helen
2018-01-01
Introduction Generating country-level political commitment will be critical to driving forward action throughout the United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition (2016–2025). In this review of the empirical nutrition policy literature, we ask: what factors generate, sustain and constrain political commitment for nutrition, how and under what circumstances? Our aim is to inform strategic ‘commitment-building’ actions. Method We adopted a framework synthesis method and realist review protocol. An initial framework was derived from relevant theory and then populated with empirical evidence to test and modify it. Five steps were undertaken: initial theoretical framework development; search for relevant empirical literature; study selection and quality appraisal; data extraction, analysis and synthesis and framework modification. Results 75 studies were included. We identified 18 factors that drive commitment, organised into five categories: actors; institutions; political and societal contexts; knowledge, evidence and framing; and, capacities and resources. Irrespective of country-context, effective nutrition actor networks, strong leadership, civil society mobilisation, supportive political administrations, societal change and focusing events, cohesive and resonant framing, and robust data systems and available evidence were commitment drivers. Low-income and middle-income country studies also frequently reported international actors, empowered institutions, vertical coordination and capacities and resources. In upper-middle-income and high-income country studies, private sector interference frequently undermined commitment. Conclusion Political commitment is not something that simply exists or emerges accidentally; it can be created and strengthened over time through strategic action. Successfully generating commitment will likely require a core set of actions with some context-dependent adaptations. Ultimately, it will necessitate strategic actions by cohesive, resourced and strongly led nutrition actor networks that are responsive to the multifactorial, multilevel and dynamic political systems in which they operate and attempt to influence. Accelerating the formation and effectiveness of such networks over the Nutrition Decade should be a core task for all actors involved. PMID:29527338
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Trajan's Rome: The Man, the City, the Empire. A Unit of Study for Grades 6-9.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Anderson, Stephen S.; Flanders, Claudia; Landers, David
The integration of the study of art and history in a broad context of social, cultural, and political meaning cultivates a students' creative, aesthetic, critical and art historical sensibilities. This unit of study explores the time of the Roman Emperor Trajan, the decades from A.D. 98 to 180, a period considered to be the height of civilization.…
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Understanding context in knowledge translation: a concept analysis study protocol.
Squires, Janet E; Graham, Ian D; Hutchinson, Alison M; Linklater, Stefanie; Brehaut, Jamie C; Curran, Janet; Ivers, Noah; Lavis, John N; Michie, Susan; Sales, Anne E; Fiander, Michelle; Fenton, Shannon; Noseworthy, Thomas; Vine, Jocelyn; Grimshaw, Jeremy M
2015-05-01
To conduct a concept analysis of clinical practice contexts (work environments) that facilitate or militate against the uptake of research evidence by healthcare professionals in clinical practice. This will involve developing a clear definition of context by describing its features, domains and defining characteristics. The context where clinical care is delivered influences that care. While research shows that context is important to knowledge translation (implementation), we lack conceptual clarity on what is context, which contextual factors probably modify the effect of knowledge translation interventions (and hence should be considered when designing interventions) and which contextual factors themselves could be targeted as part of a knowledge translation intervention (context modification). Concept analysis. The Walker and Avant concept analysis method, comprised of eight systematic steps, will be used: (1) concept selection; (2) determination of aims; (3) identification of uses of context; (4) determination of defining attributes of context; (5) identification/construction of a model case of context; (6) identification/construction of additional cases of context; (7) identification/construction of antecedents and consequences of context; and (8) definition of empirical referents of context. This study is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (January 2014). This study will result in a much needed framework of context for knowledge translation, which identifies specific elements that, if assessed and used to tailor knowledge translation activities, will result in increased research use by nurses and other healthcare professionals in clinical practice, ultimately leading to better patient care. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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Mesman, Judi
2018-03-22
This introduction to the special issue on video observations of sensitive caregiving in different cultural communities provides a general theoretical and methodological framework for the seven empirical studies that are at the heart of this special issue. It highlights the cross-cultural potential of the sensitivity construct, the importance of research on sensitivity "off the beaten track," the advantages and potential challenges of the use of video in diverse cultural contexts, and the benefits of forming research teams that include local scholars. The paper concludes with an overview of the seven empirical studies of sensitivity in this special issue with video observations from Brazil, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Peru, South Africa, and Yemen.
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Electrophysiological effects of semantic context in picture and word naming.
Janssen, Niels; Carreiras, Manuel; Barber, Horacio A
2011-08-01
Recent language production studies have started to use electrophysiological measures to investigate the time course of word selection processes. An important contribution with respect to this issue comes from studies that have relied on an effect of semantic context in the semantic blocking task. Here we used this task to further establish the empirical pattern associated with the effect of semantic context, and whether the effect arises during output processing. Electrophysiological and reaction time measures were co-registered while participants overtly named picture and word stimuli in the semantic blocking task. The results revealed inhibitory reaction time effects of semantic context for both words and pictures, and a corresponding electrophysiological effect that could not be interpreted in terms of output processes. These data suggest that the electrophysiological effect of semantic context in the semantic blocking task does not reflect output processes, and therefore undermine an interpretation of this effect in terms of word selection. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Dobson, John L.
2013-01-01
Although a great deal of empirical evidence has indicated that retrieval practice is an effective means of promoting learning and memory, very few studies have investigated the strategy in the context of an actual class. The primary purpose of this study was to determine if a series of very brief retrieval quizzes could significantly improve the…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Pratt, Travis C.; Turner, Michael G.; Piquero, Alex R.
2004-01-01
Several empirical studies have attempted to estimate the effect of low self-control on criminal and "analogous" behaviors. Most of these studies have shown that low self-control is an important feature of the cause(s) of crime. Although research is beginning to emerge that targets more specifically the "roots" of self-control via parental…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Tucker, Paula A.
2013-01-01
In the last decades, learner autonomy has received a bevy of attention in education literature in the context of leadership dimensions and student-centered learning. The construct of learning disabilities has also experienced significant growth in empirical studies from the primary, secondary, and postsecondary educational arenas. However, there…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Chen, Ji-Kang; Wei, Hsi-Sheng
2011-01-01
The majority of research on the outcome of school violence has been conducted in Western countries. Empirical studies on how school violence impacts student psychological well-being in a Chinese cultural context are relatively limited. The aim of this study was to address this gap by exploring how student maltreatment by teachers, student…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Peng, Jian-E.
2011-01-01
Drawing on an ecological perspective, this paper reports on an investigation into the changes in one first-year college student's beliefs about English teaching and learning since his enrollment. These changes in beliefs are part of the empirical findings of a multiple-case study conducted in the Chinese EFL context. Semi-structured interviews,…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Liu, Ying Chieh; Huang, Yu-An; Lin, Chad
2012-01-01
E-learning development for enterprises is still in its infancy in that scholars are still working on identifying the critical success factors for e-learning in organizational contexts. This study presents a framework considering how organizational factors affect the quality and service of e-learning systems and how these factors influence…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Shurer, Kathryn Brooke Ashley
2016-01-01
More U.S. college students study abroad in the U.K. than any other destination in the world (Institute for International Education, 2015). Unfortunately, there is a significant gap in empirical knowledge about their experiences. This is likely due to a common assumption that students within culturally similar contexts should enjoy easier…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Chui, Wing Hong; Leung, Elliot W. Y.
2014-01-01
Despite the wealth of theoretical literature on globalization and global citizenship, empirical studies on the topic are lacking, especially in the context of pedagogical needs in relation to global citizenship education. In order to address this gap, a study was conducted in Hong Kong to investigate the attitudes of university students towards…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Steward, Margaret S.; And Others
1979-01-01
Adolescent women's perception of their identity in relation to family members spanning three generation was related to their sex-role orientation. Significantly more constructs empirically differentiated family by generation than by sex. There was no relationship between family constellation and sex-role orientation. (Author/CP)
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Exploring a Framework for Consequential Validity for Performance-Based Assessments
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Kim, Su Jung
2017-01-01
This study explores a new comprehensive framework for understanding elements of validity, specifically for performance assessments that are administered within specific and dynamic contexts. The adoption of edTPA is a good empirical case for examining the concept of consequential validity because this assessment has been implemented at the state…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Chao, Tzu-Chia
2016-01-01
In the context of globalisation, intercultural teaching has been suggested as an objective in English as lingua franca (ELF) education, which has challenged English teachers in acquiring the intercultural communicative competence (ICC) in English language teaching (ELT). However, empirical research exploring the intercultural capabilities and…
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A Descriptive, Multiyear Examination of Positive Behavior Support
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Dunlap, Glen; Carr, Edward G.; Horner, Robert H.; Koegel, Robert L.; Sailor, Wayne; Clarke, Shelley; Koegel, Lynn Kern; Albin, Richard W.; Vaughn, Bobbie J.; McLaughlin, Darlene Magito; James, Kim Mullen; Todd, Anne W.; Newton, J. Stephen; Lucyshyn, Joseph; Griggs, Peter; Bohanon, Hank; Choi, Jeong Hoon; Vismara, Laurie; Minjarez, Mendy Boettcher; Buschbacher, Pamelazita; Fox, Lise
2010-01-01
A major goal of positive behavior support (PBS) is to produce broad-based, long-term improvements in adaptive behavior; however, the empirical base, at present, is mainly composed of relatively short-term studies carried out in circumscribed contexts. Therefore, a need exists for reliable data that can inform the field regarding the comprehensive…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Smith, Emilie Phillips; Witherspoon, Dawn P.; Osgood, D. Wayne
2017-01-01
Positive youth development (PYD) deserves more empirical attention, particularly among children of diverse racial-ethnic backgrounds. Given the need among families for monitoring and supervision during out-of-school time, community-based afterschool is a potentially promotive ecological setting. This study explores the quality of afterschool…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Jawas, Umiati
2017-01-01
Empirical studies have shown that although leadership shares similar practices across East and West, some practices have inherently distinguished socio cultural characteristics. Understanding these characteristics is important in Asian contexts since socio-cultures are a major power in determining the success or failure of a change process. This…
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Contextualized Workforce Skills and ESL Learner Identity
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Vafai, Maliheh Mansuripur
2016-01-01
This article reports on an empirical case study centering on adult ESL learners' motivational patterns for learning English and its relevance to their career goals. It looks at past patterns of immigrant insertion within the socioeconomic context of the US and explores current trends in adult ESL curriculum development focused on the task of…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Mcalister, Simon; Ravenscroft, Andrew; Scanlon, Eileen
2004-01-01
Empirical studies and theory suggest that educational dialogue can be used to support learners in the development of reasoning, critical thinking and argumentation. This paper presents an educational design for synchronous online peer discussion that guides student dialogue in ways that lead to improved argumentation and collaborative knowledge…
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Predictors of Verb-Mediated Anticipatory Eye Movements in the Visual World
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Hintz, Florian; Meyer, Antje S.; Huettig, Falk
2017-01-01
Many studies have demonstrated that listeners use information extracted from verbs to guide anticipatory eye movements to objects in the visual context that satisfy the selection restrictions of the verb. An important question is what underlies such verb-mediated anticipatory eye gaze. Based on empirical and theoretical suggestions, we…
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Urban Green Space and Its Impact on Human Health
Michelle Kondo; Jaime Fluehr; Thomas McKeon; Charles Branas
2018-01-01
Background: Over half of the world's population now lives in urban areas, and this proportion is expected to increase. While there have been numerous reviews of empirical studies on the link between nature and human health, very few have focused on the urban context, and most have examined almost exclusively cross-sectional research. This...
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Variation in Discourse Strategies in a Multilingual Context
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Bai, B. Lakshmi
2010-01-01
This paper is an attempt to study empirically a sample of spoken narratives of Hindi, Telugu and Dakkhini speakers in the multilingual setting of Hyderabad. After a brief account of multilingualism and variation within a language as commonly occurring phenomena, the paper examines the spoken narratives of the three languages mentioned above with a…
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An Ecological Understanding of Kinship Foster Care in the United States
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Hong, Jun Sung; Algood, Carl L.; Chiu, Yu-Ling; Lee, Stephanie Ai-Ping
2011-01-01
We review empirical studies on kinship foster care in the United States. We conceptualize kinship foster care within the context of Urie Bronfenbrenner's (1994) most recent ecological systems theory. Because there are multiple levels of influences on the developmental outcomes of children placed in kinship foster home, understanding the…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Przybylski, Robert; Chen, Xuejun; Hu, Liwen
2018-01-01
This conceptual paper using published empirical articles investigated the leadership challenges and roles performed by superintendents in the countries of China and the United States (U.S.). Additionally, a comprehensive search on the educational contexts for both countries was undertaken. The findings assisted in determining similarities and…
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Many empirical studies have shown that forest-breeding songbirds, and neotropical migrants in particular, are found in lower abundance in small patches of forest in the Eastern United States compared to similar, but larger patches in the same region. A common hypothesis for the ...
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Towards a Trans-Disciplinary Methodology for a Game-Based Intervention Development Process
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Arnab, Sylvester; Clarke, Samantha
2017-01-01
The application of game-based learning adds play into educational and instructional contexts. Even though there is a lack of standard methodologies or formulaic frameworks to better inform game-based intervention development, there exist scientific and empirical studies that can serve as benchmarks for establishing scientific validity in terms of…
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Researching Language and Neoliberalism
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Shin, Hyunjung; Park, Joseph Sung-Yul
2016-01-01
This special issue aims to develop a research agenda that brings language to the centre of our inquiry and critique of neoliberalism. Based on empirical case studies from across diverse contexts in Europe, North America, and East Asia, contributors to this special issue address two issues: (1) What can be said about the nature of neoliberalism…
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Teacher Diversity Awareness in the Context of Changing Demographics
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Acquah, Emmanuel O.; Tandon, Madhavi; Lempinen, Sonia
2016-01-01
This study examined awareness of and knowledge of how to address increasing linguistic and cultural diversity among 89 teachers in an ethnically and racially diverse school located in Southwest Finland. The empirical evidence suggests that in a school with many years of experience with a diverse student population the levels of awareness and…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Garneli, Varvara; Chorianopoulos, Konstantinos
2018-01-01
Various aspects of computational thinking (CT) could be supported by educational contexts such as simulations and video-games construction. In this field study, potential differences in student motivation and learning were empirically examined through students' code. For this purpose, we performed a teaching intervention that took place over five…
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Students' Understanding of the Concept of Interface in a Situated Context
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Boustedt, Jonas
2009-01-01
The current paper describes an empirical study with the aim of producing insights about how students experience programming and software engineering. The research aims to investigate the students' world, and hence, we have chosen a phenomenographic approach. Our questions focus on the students' experiences of concepts related to a realistic…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
El Alfy, Shahira; Gómez, Jorge Marx; Ivanov, Danail
2017-01-01
This paper explores the association between technology readiness, (a meta-construct consisting of optimism, innovativeness, discomfort, and insecurity), attitude, and behavioral intention towards e-learning technologies adoption within an education institution context. The empirical study data is collected at two private universities located in…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Besnard, Therese; Verlaan, Pierrette; Davidson, Marilyne; Vitaro, Frank; Poulin, Francois; Capuano, France
2013-01-01
Empirical evidence suggests that children's disruptive behaviour (CDB) and quality of parenting influence one another bidirectionally. However, few studies have considered the separate contribution of the mother--child and father--child relationships to disruptive behaviours within a longitudinal context. Against this background, the reciprocal…
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Coping, Regulation, and Development during Childhood and Adolescence
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Compas, Bruce E.
2009-01-01
This chapter identifies four challenges to the study of the development of coping and regulation and outlines specific theoretical and empirical strategies for addressing them. The challenges are (1) to integrate work on coping and processes of emotion regulation, (2) to use the integration of research on neuro-biology and context to inform the…
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Worlds Apart? English in German Youth Cultures and in Educational Settings
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Grau, Maike
2009-01-01
This paper focuses on German teenagers and their contact with English in two different contexts: in free-time activities typically involving the mass media, and in institutionalised language learning settings at school. It draws on an empirical study carried out in German secondary schools. Its mixed methods approach combines a questionnaire study…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Jang, Hyungshim; Kim, Eun Joo; Reeve, Johnmarshall
2012-01-01
This study provides the first longitudinally designed, classroom-based empirical test of self-determination theory's motivation mediation model. Measures of perceived autonomy support, motivation (autonomy need satisfaction), engagement, and achievement were collected from 500 (257 females, 243 males) 8th-grade students in Korea in a 3-wave…
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Effects of Leadership Style on Team Learning
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Bucic, Tania; Robinson, Linda; Ramburuth, Prem
2010-01-01
Purpose: This paper seeks to explore the effect of leadership style of a team leader on team-member learning in organizations, to conceptually extend an initial model of leadership and to empirically examine the new model of ambidextrous leadership in a team context. Design/methodology/approach: Qualitative research utilizing the case study method…
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The Development of a School-Based Measure of Child Mental Health
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Deighton, Jessica; Tymms, Peter; Vostanis, Panos; Belsky, Jay; Fonagy, Peter; Brown, Anna; Martin, Amelia; Patalay, Praveetha; Wolpert, Miranda
2013-01-01
Early detection of child mental health problems in schools is critical for implementing strategies for prevention and intervention. The development of an effective measure of mental health and well-being for this context must be both empirically sound and practically feasible. This study reports the initial validation of a brief self-report…
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Society and Social Justice: Problems of Political Education in West Germany.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
George, Siegfried
1981-01-01
Discusses social justice in West Germany within the context of the experience of Nazism, the economic disaster after World War II, and the successful development of the economy and welfare state since 1949. Refers to various textbooks and recent empirical studies on the political attitudes of students in West Germany. (Author/KC)
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Haywood, Chris; Mac an Ghaill, Mairtin
2012-01-01
Research on masculinity has become an important area of gender and education that includes a wide range of empirical concerns and theoretical approaches. This article identifies a number of studies that are asking questions about the conceptual usefulness of masculinity within educational contexts. The first section explores how educational…
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Differentiation of Illusory and True Halo in Writing Scores
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Lai, Emily R.; Wolfe, Edward W.; Vickers, Daisy
2015-01-01
This report summarizes an empirical study that addresses two related topics within the context of writing assessment--illusory halo and how much unique information is provided by multiple analytic scores. Specifically, we address the issue of whether unique information is provided by analytic scores assigned to student writing, beyond what is…
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What Does the Student Psychological Contract Mean? Evidence from a UK Business School
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Koskina, Aikaterini
2013-01-01
Much has been written about psychological contracts in organisational contexts but very little in educational settings, especially within higher education. Using an exploratory single case study this article provides qualitative empirical evidence about the ways in which the psychological contract is perceived by a group of postgraduate students…
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Factors Associated with Involvement in Marriage Preparation Programs
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Duncan, Stephen F.; Holman, Thomas B.; Yang, Chongming
2007-01-01
Little is known empirically about the characteristics of couples who do and do not participate in marriage preparation. This study assessed the individual, couple, family, and sociocultural context variables that distinguish couples who become involved in marriage preparation from those who do not, using a sample of 7,331 couples. The results…
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A Longitudinal Study on the Impact of CLIL on Affective Factors
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Lasagabaster, David; Doiz, Aintzane
2017-01-01
Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) programmes are burgeoning in European school contexts due to the widespread belief that they help to significantly improve foreign language learning while content learning is not negatively affected. However, some of its purported benefits still need to be empirically confirmed. Thus, while this…
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Self-Efficacy in Second/Foreign Language Learning Contexts
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Raoofi, Saeid; Tan, Bee Hoon; Chan, Swee Heng
2012-01-01
This study reviews the empirical literature of self-efficacy, a central component of social cognitive theory, in the area of second language learning by focusing on two research questions: first, to what extent, has self-efficacy, as a predicting variable, been explored in the field of second language learning? Second, what factors affect…
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Project: Family and Community Studies (FACS). Final Report.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Southwest Educational Development Lab., Austin, TX.
The parenting and education functions of families, in the context of their homes and communities, are explored. The literature on parent education is reviewed, and a preliminary survey of a number of ongoing parent education programs is conducted. The tasks undertaken were designed to provide a solid theoretical and empirical foundation for…
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Professional Teacher Learning in Virtual Environments
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Pachler, Norbert; Daly, Caroline
2006-01-01
This article is based on qualitative empirical research into the ways in which teachers view their experiences as learners in the context of an online tutor group who are studying for the mixed-mode Master of Teaching degree at the Institute of Education, University of London. Data collected from a stratified sample of teacher participants is…
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Principals' Leadership Behaviors in Gang-Impacted High Schools and Their Effects on Pupil Climate.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Schwartz, Audrey J.
Although viable leadership models for schools with differing social contexts are in great demand, empirical studies of high school principals have not produced consistent results. This paper summarizes part of a larger project designed to identify leadership behaviors of principals in "gang-impacted" and other secondary schools. The…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Mayo, Cris
2017-01-01
This article addresses complications to how different disciplines define, study, and theorize sexuality, gender, gender identity, and other intersecting categories of subjectivity, like age, race, class, ethnicity, and so on. Categories that seem to get stabilized in empirical work are destabilized in theoretical and narrative research. These…
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The Challenge of Writing Remediation: Can Composition Research Inform Higher Education Policy?
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Relles, Stefani R.; Tierney, William G.
2013-01-01
Background/Context: This article presents a review of research relevant to postsecondary writing remediation. The purpose of the review is to assess empirical support for policy aimed at improving the degree completion rates of students who arrive at tertiary settings underprepared to write. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study: Our…
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The Use of Corpus Examples for Language Comprehension and Production
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Frankenberg-Garcia, Ana
2014-01-01
One of the many new features of English language learners' dictionaries derived from the technological developments that have taken place over recent decades is the presence of corpus-based examples to illustrate the use of words in context. However, empirical studies have generally not been able to produce conclusive evidence about their…
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The Civic Effects of Schools: Theory and Empirics
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Bischoff, Kendra
2016-01-01
In concert with policy trends, theory and research on the ways in which school context affects student outcomes have focused almost exclusively on academic achievement in recent years. Given the fundamental role that schools should play in civic education, and the potential for schools to affect civic equality, more empirical and theoretical…
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Representation and processing of mass and count nouns: a review
Fieder, Nora; Nickels, Lyndsey; Biedermann, Britta
2014-01-01
Comprehension and/or production of noun phrases and sentences requires the selection of lexical-syntactic attributes of nouns. These lexical-syntactic attributes include grammatical gender (masculine/feminine/neuter), number (singular/plural) and countability (mass/count). While there has been considerable discussion regarding gender and number, relatively little attention has focused on countability. Therefore, this article reviews empirical evidence for lexical-syntactic specification of nouns for countability. This includes evidence from studies of language production and comprehension with normal speakers and case studies which assess impairments of mass/count nouns in people with acquired brain damage. Current theories of language processing are reviewed and found to be lacking specification regarding countability. Subsequently, the theoretical implications of the empirical studies are discussed in the context of frameworks derived from these accounts of language production (Levelt, 1989; Levelt et al., 1999) and comprehension (Taler and Jarema, 2006). The review concludes that there is empirical support for specification of nouns for countability at a lexical-syntactic level. PMID:24966849
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[The BASYS observation system for the analysis of aggressive behavior in classroom-settings].
Wettstein, Alexander
2012-01-01
Educational or therapeutic measures of aggressive student behavior are often based on the judgments of teachers. However, empirical studies show that the objectivity of these judgments is generally low. In order to assess aggressive behavior in classroom settings, we developed a context-sensitive observational system. The observation system exists in a version for teachers in action as well as a version for the uninvolved observer. The teacher version allows categorizing aggressive behavior while teaching. The aim is to differentiate the perception and the judgments of teachers, so that the judgments can serve as trustable diagnostic information. The version for an independent observer, in addition, contains categories to collect information about the context in which aggressions take place. The behavior observation system was tested in four field-studies in regular and special classes. The empirical results show that, after training, teachers were able to make objective observations, and that aggressive behavior depends to a large extent on situational factors. The system allows identification of problematic people-environment relationships and the derivation of intervention measures.
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Color psychology: effects of perceiving color on psychological functioning in humans.
Elliot, Andrew J; Maier, Markus A
2014-01-01
Color is a ubiquitous perceptual stimulus that is often considered in terms of aesthetics. Here we review theoretical and empirical work that looks beyond color aesthetics to the link between color and psychological functioning in humans. We begin by setting a historical context for research in this area, particularly highlighting methodological issues that hampered earlier empirical work. We proceed to overview theoretical and methodological advances during the past decade and conduct a review of emerging empirical findings. Our empirical review focuses especially on color in achievement and affiliation/attraction contexts, but it also covers work on consumer behavior as well as food and beverage evaluation and consumption. The review clearly shows that color can carry important meaning and can have an important impact on people's affect, cognition, and behavior. The literature remains at a nascent stage of development, however, and we note that considerable work on boundary conditions, moderators, and real-world generalizability is needed before strong conceptual statements and recommendations for application are warranted. We provide suggestions for future research and conclude by emphasizing the broad promise of research in this area.
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From Discovery to Justification: Outline of an Ideal Research Program in Empirical Psychology
Witte, Erich H.; Zenker, Frank
2017-01-01
The gold standard for an empirical science is the replicability of its research results. But the estimated average replicability rate of key-effects that top-tier psychology journals report falls between 36 and 39% (objective vs. subjective rate; Open Science Collaboration, 2015). So the standard mode of applying null-hypothesis significance testing (NHST) fails to adequately separate stable from random effects. Therefore, NHST does not fully convince as a statistical inference strategy. We argue that the replicability crisis is “home-made” because more sophisticated strategies can deliver results the successful replication of which is sufficiently probable. Thus, we can overcome the replicability crisis by integrating empirical results into genuine research programs. Instead of continuing to narrowly evaluate only the stability of data against random fluctuations (discovery context), such programs evaluate rival hypotheses against stable data (justification context). PMID:29163256
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Schoenfeld, Alan H.
2018-01-01
In this Research Commentary, the author explores what is meant by "teaching for understanding" and delves into these questions: How does teaching for understanding interact with the backgrounds of the students who experience it or the attributes of the contexts in which they learn? Which empirical findings are context dependent, and…
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Composition-Effects of Context-based Learning Opportunities on Students' Understanding of Energy
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Podschuweit, Sören; Bernholt, Sascha
2017-05-01
Context-based learning has become a widespread approach in science education. While positive motivational effects of such approaches have been well established empirically, clear results regarding cognitive aspects of students' learning are still missing. In this article, we argue that this circumstance might be mainly rooted in the definition of context itself. Based on this argument, we shift from the issue of if contexts are cognitively beneficial to focus on the question of which composition of contexts is, at least by tendency, more effective than another. Based on theories of conceptual change, we therefore conducted a small-scale intervention study comparing two groups of students learning in different sets of contexts focusing on the same scientific concept—the cross-cutting concept of energy. Results suggest that learning in a more heterogeneous set of contexts eases transfer to new contexts in comparison to learning in a more homogeneous set of contexts. However, a more abstract understanding of the energy concept does not seem to be fostered by either of these approaches. Theoretical as well as practical implications of these finding are discussed.
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How Much Do Hospitals Cost Shift? A Review of the Evidence
Frakt, Austin B
2011-01-01
Context: Hospital cost shifting—charging private payers more in response to shortfalls in public payments—has long been part of the debate over health care policy. Despite the abundance of theoretical and empirical literature on the subject, it has not been critically reviewed and interpreted since Morrisey did so nearly fifteen years ago. Much has changed since then, in both empirical technique and the health care landscape. This article examines the theoretical and empirical literature on cost shifting since 1996, synthesizes the predominant findings, suggests their implications for the future of health care costs, and puts them in the current policy context. Methods: The relevant literature was identified by database search. Papers describing policies were considered first, since policy shapes the health care market in which cost shifting may or may not occur. Theoretical works were examined second, as theory provides hypotheses and structure for empirical work. The empirical literature was analyzed last in the context of the policy environment and in light of theoretical implications for appropriate econometric specification. Findings: Most of the analyses and commentary based on descriptive, industrywide hospital payment-to-cost margins by payer provide a false impression that cost shifting is a large and pervasive phenomenon. More careful theoretical and empirical examinations suggest that cost shifting can and has occurred, but usually at a relatively low rate. Margin changes also are strongly influenced by the evolution of hospital and health plan market structures and changes in underlying costs. Conclusions: Policymakers should view with a degree of skepticism most hospital and insurance industry claims of inevitable, large-scale cost shifting. Although some cost shifting may result from changes in public payment policy, it is just one of many possible effects. Moreover, changes in the balance of market power between hospitals and health care plans also significantly affect private prices. Since they may increase hospitals’ market power, provisions of the new health reform law that may encourage greater provider integration and consolidation should be implemented with caution. PMID:21418314
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Wilman, E; Megone, C; Oliver, S; Duley, L; Gyte, G; Wright, J M
2015-11-04
Conducting clinical trials with pre-term or sick infants is important if care for this population is to be underpinned by sound evidence. Yet approaching parents at this difficult time raises challenges for the obtaining of valid informed consent to such research. This study asked: what light does the empirical literature cast on an ethically defensible approach to the obtaining of informed consent in perinatal clinical trials? A systematic search identified 49 studies. Analysis began by applying philosophical frameworks which were then refined in light of the concepts emerging from empirical studies to present a coherent picture of a broad literature. Between them, studies addressed the attitudes of both parents and clinicians concerning consent in neonatal trials; the validity of the consent process in the neonatal research context; and different possible methods of obtaining consent. Despite a variety of opinions among parents and clinicians there is a strongly and widely held view that it is important that parents do give or decline consent for neonatal participation in trials. However, none of the range of existing consent processes reviewed by the research is satisfactory. A significant gap is evaluation of the widespread practice of emergency 'assent', in which parents assent or refuse their baby's participation as best they can during the emergency and later give full consent to ongoing participation and follow-up. Emergency assent has not been evaluated for its acceptability, how such a process would deal with bad outcomes such as neonatal death between assent and consent, or the extent to which late parental refusal might bias results. This review of a large number of empirical papers, while not making fundamental changes, has refined and developed the conceptual framework from philosophy for examining informed consent in this context.
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Ahearne, Michael; Bhattacharya, C B; Gruen, Thomas
2005-05-01
This article presents an empirical test of organizational identification in the context of customer-company (C-C) relationships. It investigates whether customers identify with companies and what the antecedents and consequences of such identification are. The model posits that perceived company characteristics, construed external image, and the perception of the company's boundary-spanning agent lead to C-C identification. In turn, such identification is expected to impact both in-role behavior (i.e., product utilization) as well as extra-role behavior (i.e., citizenship). The model was tested in a consultative selling context of pharmaceutical sales reps calling on physicians. Results from the empirical test indicated that customers do indeed identify with organizations and that C-C identification positively impacts both product utilization behavior and extra-role behavior even when the effect of brand perception is accounted for. Second, the study found that the organization's characteristics as well as the salesperson's characteristics contributed to the development of C-C identification.
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Ben-Shachar, Rotem; Koelle, Katia
2018-06-15
An extensive body of theory addresses the topic of pathogen virulence evolution, yet few studies have empirically demonstrated the presence of fitness trade-offs that would select for intermediate virulence. Here we show the presence of transmission-clearance trade-offs in dengue virus using viremia measurements. By fitting a within-host model to these data, we further find that the interaction between dengue and the host immune response can account for the observed trade-offs. Finally, we consider dengue virulence evolution when selection acts on the virus's production rate. By combining within-host model simulations with empirical findings on how host viral load affects human-to-mosquito transmission success, we show that the virus's transmission potential is maximized at production rates associated with intermediate virulence and that the optimal production rate critically depends on dengue's epidemiological context. These results indicate that long-term changes in dengue's global distribution impact the invasion and spread of virulent dengue virus genotypes.
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Beausang, Judith; Farrell, Ann; Walsh, Kerryann
2012-01-01
Background: Young people whose parents are separated or divorced form a significant and increasing proportion of young people who attend school. To date, empirical research with young people whose parents are separated or divorced has tended to focus on either their household context, or their school context, rather than on both contexts together.…
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
de Vente, Joris; Reed, Mark; Stringer, Lindsay; Valente, Sandra; Newig, Jens
2014-05-01
It is widely accepted that the design of participatory processes in environmental management needs to be adapted to local contexts. Yet, it is not clear which elements of process design are universal, making it difficult to design processes that deliver beneficial outcomes across different contexts. We used empirical evidence to analyse the extent to which context and process design can enable or impede stakeholder participation and facilitate beneficial environmental and social outcomes in a range of decision-making contexts where stakeholders are engaged in environmental management. To explore the role of national-scale context on the outcomes of participatory processes, we interviewed facilitators from a process that was replicated across 13 dryland study sites around the world, which focussed on selecting Sustainable Land Management (SLM) options in close collaboration with stakeholders. To explore the role of process design and local context, we interviewed participants and facilitators in 11 case studies in Spain and Portugal in which different process designs were used. Interview data were analysed using a combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches to characterise relationships between process design, context and process outcomes. The similarity of outcomes across the 13 international study sites suggested that the national socio-cultural context in which a participatory process is conducted has little impact on its outcomes. However, analysis of cases from Spain and Portugal showed that some aspects of local context may affect outcomes. Having said this, factors associated with process design and participant selection played a more significant role in influencing outcomes in both countries. Processes that led to more beneficial outcomes for the environment and/or participants were likely to include: the legitimate representation of stakeholders; professional facilitation including structured methods for eliciting and aggregating information and balancing power dynamics between participants; and the provision of information and decision-making power to all participants. Participatory processes initiated or facilitated by government bodies led to significantly less trust, information gain, learning, and flexible solutions. However, in these processes, decisions were more acceptable to and likely to be implemented by governments and by those who had to apply them on the ground. These findings provide a solid empirical basis for best practice in the design of participatory processes in SLM in a number of contexts internationally, which if followed, increase the likelihood of providing beneficial environmental and social outcomes for those involved.
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Adolescent Egocentrism in a Learning Context
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Bester, G.
2013-01-01
Imaginary audience, personal fable, and over-estimation of responsibilities are typical characteristics of egocentric behaviour during adolescence. The aim of the research was to establish how these egocentric characteristics manifest themselves in a learning context. An empirical investigation was carried out involving 316 learners from Grade 8…
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Podsakoff, Nathan P; Whiting, Steven W; Welsh, David T; Mai, Ke Michael
2013-09-01
Despite the increased attention paid to biases attributable to common method variance (CMV) over the past 50 years, researchers have only recently begun to systematically examine the effect of specific sources of CMV in previously published empirical studies. Our study contributes to this research by examining the extent to which common rater, item, and measurement context characteristics bias the relationships between organizational citizenship behaviors and performance evaluations using a mixed-effects analytic technique. Results from 173 correlations reported in 81 empirical studies (N = 31,146) indicate that even after controlling for study-level factors, common rater and anchor point number similarity substantially biased the focal correlations. Indeed, these sources of CMV (a) led to estimates that were between 60% and 96% larger when comparing measures obtained from a common rater, versus different raters; (b) led to 39% larger estimates when a common source rated the scales using the same number, versus a different number, of anchor points; and (c) when taken together with other study-level predictors, accounted for over half of the between-study variance in the focal correlations. We discuss the implications for researchers and practitioners and provide recommendations for future research. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved
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Steady-state visual evoked potentials as a research tool in social affective neuroscience
Wieser, Matthias J.; Miskovic, Vladimir; Keil, Andreas
2017-01-01
Like many other primates, humans place a high premium on social information transmission and processing. One important aspect of this information concerns the emotional state of other individuals, conveyed by distinct visual cues such as facial expressions, overt actions, or by cues extracted from the situational context. A rich body of theoretical and empirical work has demonstrated that these socio-emotional cues are processed by the human visual system in a prioritized fashion, in the service of optimizing social behavior. Furthermore, socio-emotional perception is highly dependent on situational contexts and previous experience. Here, we review current issues in this area of research and discuss the utility of the steady-state visual evoked potential (ssVEP) technique for addressing key empirical questions. Methodological advantages and caveats are discussed with particular regard to quantifying time-varying competition among multiple perceptual objects, trial-by-trial analysis of visual cortical activation, functional connectivity, and the control of low-level stimulus features. Studies on facial expression and emotional scene processing are summarized, with an emphasis on viewing faces and other social cues in emotional contexts, or when competing with each other. Further, because the ssVEP technique can be readily accommodated to studying the viewing of complex scenes with multiple elements, it enables researchers to advance theoretical models of socio-emotional perception, based on complex, quasi-naturalistic viewing situations. PMID:27699794
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Grudniewicz, Agnes; Gray, Carolyn Steele; Wodchis, Walter P.; Carswell, Peter; Baker, G. Ross
2017-01-01
Introduction: The variable success of integrated care initiatives has led experts to recommend tailoring design and implementation to the organizational context. Yet, organizational contexts are rarely described, understood, or measured with sufficient depth and breadth in empirical studies or in practice. We thus lack knowledge of when and specifically how organizational contexts matter. To facilitate the accumulation of evidence, we developed a research toolkit for conducting case studies using standardized measures of the (inter-)organizational context for integrating care. Theory and Methods: We used a multi-method approach to develop the research toolkit: (1) development and validation of the Context and Capabilities for Integrating Care (CCIC) Framework, (2) identification, assessment, and selection of survey instruments, (3) development of document review methods, (4) development of interview guide resources, and (5) pilot testing of the document review guidelines, consolidated survey, and interview guide. Results: The toolkit provides a framework and measurement tools that examine 18 organizational and inter-organizational factors that affect the implementation and success of integrated care initiatives. Discussion and Conclusion: The toolkit can be used to characterize and compare organizational contexts across cases and enable comparison of results across studies. This information can enhance our understanding of the influence of organizational contexts, support the transfer of best practices, and help explain why some integrated care initiatives succeed and some fail. PMID:28970750
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Ozturk, Halit; Kaufmann, Katrin
2009-01-01
Europe as an "immigration continent" is going to become an "integration continent". Within this context continuing education has acquired an increasing meaning. Based on the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) study data from 2001-04 the authors examine a broad spectrum of possible factors which may influence participation in…
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Katherine A. Zeller; Kevin McGarigal; Paul Beier; Samuel A. Cushman; T. Winston Vickers; Walter M. Boyce
2014-01-01
Estimating landscape resistance to animal movement is the foundation for connectivity modeling, and resource selection functions based on point data are commonly used to empirically estimate resistance. In this study, we used GPS data points acquired at 5-min intervals from radiocollared pumas in southern California to model context-dependent point selection...
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Dori, Yehudit Judy; Sasson, Irit
2013-01-01
This paper presents Part I of a two-part study. This first part reviews the literature of transfer of learning as one of the major goals of instruction. Transfer refers to students' ability to apply knowledge and skills in new learning contexts. The literature suggests partially or non-overlapping definitions, and empirical studies on transfer…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
DiCicco, Marzia Cozzolino
2016-01-01
This article addresses the present gap in empirical research on the possibilities and challenges of global citizenship education in U.S. public schools by presenting findings from a five-year, ethnographic case study. The setting for this study is Olympus High School, a small, suburban public high school in Pennsylvania. Beginning in the 2009-2010…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Brunk-Chavez, Beth; Pigg, Stacey; Moore, Jessie; Rosinski, Paula; Grabill, Jeffrey T.
2018-01-01
To speak to diverse audiences about how people learn to write and how writing works inside and outside the academy, we must conduct research across geographical, institutional, and cultural contexts as well as research that enables comparison when appropriate. Large-scale empirical research is useful for both of these moves; however, we must…
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Graduate Employability: A Review of Conceptual and Empirical Themes
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Tomlinson, Michael
2012-01-01
The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of some of the dominant empirical and conceptual themes in the area of graduate employment and employability over the past decade. The paper considers the wider context of higher education (HE) and labour market change, and the policy thinking towards graduate employability. It draws upon various…
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Young People's Engagement with Digital Literacies in Marginal Contexts in a Globalised World
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Snydera, Ilana; Prinsloo, Mastin
2007-01-01
Claims about the complex ways in which young people's lives are entangled with digital technologies abound, yet insufficient theoretically informed empirical research has been conducted to examine how they use them and with what impact. This special issue of Language and Education presents theoretical and empirical understandings of young people's…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Burley, Stephanie
2012-01-01
This paper addresses the roles of Irish Catholic female religious institutes for teachers in the context of the recent debates about education and empire. Nineteenth century colonial South Australia provides an opportunity to examine such institutes, for example the Irish Dominicans from Cabra Dublin, the Irish Mercy Institute from Baggot Street,…
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Criminal psychological profiling of serial arson crimes.
Kocsis, Richard N; Cooksey, Ray W
2002-12-01
The practice of criminal psychological profiling is frequently cited as being applicable to serial arson crimes. Despite this claim, there does not appear to be any empirical research that examines serial arson offence behaviors in the context of profiling. This study seeks to develop an empirical model of serial arsonist behaviors that can be systematically associated with probable offender characteristics. Analysis has produced a model of offence behaviors that identify four discrete behavior patterns, all of which share a constellation of common nondiscriminatory behaviors. The inherent behavioral themes of each of these patterns are explored with discussion of their broader implications for our understanding of serial arson and directions for future research.
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Revisiting the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis in a tourism development context.
de Vita, Glauco; Katircioglu, Salih; Altinay, Levent; Fethi, Sami; Mercan, Mehmet
2015-11-01
This study investigates empirically an extended version of the Environmental Kuznets Curve model that controls for tourism development. We find that international tourist arrivals into Turkey alongside income, squared income and energy consumption, cointegrate with CO2 emissions. Tourist arrivals, growth, and energy consumption exert a positive and significant impact on CO2 emissions in the long-run. Our results provide empirical support to EKC hypothesis showing that at exponential levels of growth, CO2 emissions decline. The findings suggest that despite the environmental degradation stemming from tourism development, policies aimed at environmental protection should not be pursued at the expense of tourism-led growth.
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Video Captions Benefit Everyone
Gernsbacher, Morton Ann
2016-01-01
Video captions, also known as same-language subtitles, benefit everyone who watches videos (children, adolescents, college students, and adults). More than 100 empirical studies document that captioning a video improves comprehension of, attention to, and memory for the video. Captions are particularly beneficial for persons watching videos in their non-native language, for children and adults learning to read, and for persons who are D/deaf or hard of hearing. However, despite U.S. laws, which require captioning in most workplace and educational contexts, many video audiences and video creators are naïve about the legal mandate to caption, much less the empirical benefit of captions. PMID:28066803
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The curriculum of studies in the Roman empire and the cultural role of physicians'.
Marasco, Gabriele
2010-01-01
Several testimonies from both pagan and Christian sources, though generally neglected, allow us to reconstruct the medical curriculum in the Greek part of the Roman Empire, in particular Alexandria. This curriculum turns out to be remarkably comprehensive, as can be explained by the particular roles of physicians in classical society. In this paper we will clarify the part played by several physicians in the cultural context of their time, even outside their professional domain, as well as the relations between the sciences and the humanities, which were entirely complementary in those days, even from a practical point of view.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Mercan, Fatih C.
This study examines epistemological beliefs of physics undergraduate and graduate students and faculty in the context of solving a well-structured and an ill-structured problem. The data collection consisted of a think aloud problem solving session followed by a semi-structured interview conducted with 50 participants, 10 participants at freshmen, seniors, masters, PhD, and faculty levels. The data analysis involved (a) identification of the range of beliefs about knowledge in the context of the well-structured and the ill-structured problem solving, (b) construction of a framework that unites the individual beliefs identified in each problem context under the same conceptual base, and (c) comparisons of the problem contexts and expertise level groups using the framework. The results of the comparison of the contexts of the well-structured and the ill-structured problem showed that (a) authoritative beliefs about knowledge were expressed in the well-structured problem context, (b) relativistic and religious beliefs about knowledge were expressed in the ill-structured problem context, and (c) rational, empirical, modeling beliefs about knowledge were expressed in both problem contexts. The results of the comparison of the expertise level groups showed that (a) undergraduates expressed authoritative beliefs about knowledge more than graduate students and faculty did not express authoritative beliefs, (b) faculty expressed modeling beliefs about knowledge more than graduate students and undergraduates did not express modeling beliefs, and (c) there were no differences in rational, empirical, experiential, relativistic, and religious beliefs about knowledge among the expertise level groups. As the expertise level increased the number of participants who expressed authoritative beliefs about knowledge decreased and the number of participants who expressed modeling based beliefs about knowledge increased. The results of this study implied that existing developmental and cognitive models of personal epistemology can explain personal epistemology in physics to a limited extent, however, these models cannot adequately account for the variation of epistemological beliefs across problem contexts. Modeling beliefs about knowledge emerged as a part of personal epistemology and an indicator of epistemological sophistication, which do not develop until extensive experience in the field. Based on these findings, the researcher recommended providing opportunities for practicing model construction for students.
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Reasoning in Young Children: Fantasy and Information Retrieval.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Markovits, Henry; And Others
1996-01-01
A model of conditional reasoning predicted that children under 12 would respond correctly to questions of uncertain logical form if premises and context enabled them to access counterexamples from memory, and that children's performance with uncertain logical forms would decrease when empirically true premises are presented in a fantasy context.…
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"Selective Cosmopolitans": Tutors' and Students' Experience of Offshore Higher Education in Dubai
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Kadiwal, Laila; Rind, Irfan A.
2013-01-01
As the offshore mobility of higher education has increased in recent times, the question of how it interacts with the recipient cultures has become ever more significant. Using ethnographic methods, this empirical study examined the adaptation of the UK teacher education model--the Postgraduate Certificate in Education--to the context of Dubai.…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Arvaja, Maarit
2015-01-01
This article reports on a qualitative study on the dialogical approach to learning in the context of higher education. The aim was to shed light on the "I"-Position and multivoicedness in students' identity building and to provide empirical substantiation for these theoretical constructs, focusing especially on the connection between…
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Putting Discourse to Work: Information Practices and the Professional Project of Nurses
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Johannisson, Jenny; Sundin, Olof
2007-01-01
This article contributes to discourse-oriented, information-seeking research by showing how discourses, from a neopragmatist perspective, can be explored as tools that people employ when they actively engage in information practices in varied social contexts. A study of nurses and the nursing profession in Sweden is used as an empirical example of…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Shulha, Lyn M.; Whitmore, Elizabeth; Cousins, J. Bradley; Gilbert, Nathalie; al Hudib, Hind
2016-01-01
This article introduces a set of evidence-based principles to guide evaluation practice in contexts where evaluation knowledge is collaboratively produced by evaluators and stakeholders. The data from this study evolved in four phases: two pilot phases exploring the desirability of developing a set of principles; an online questionnaire survey…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Truong, Thang Dinh; Hallinger, Philip
2017-01-01
The need for empirical research on leadership in educational organizations across more diverse national settings frames the purpose of the current study of principal leadership in Vietnam. To date, the international literature on school leadership in Vietnam is virtually a blank slate. This research aimed at describing how Vietnamese school…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Wood, Margaret; Su, Feng
2017-01-01
In the context of the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), we examine academics' perspectives on the discourse of "teaching excellence" based on an empirical study with 16 participants from five post-1992 universities. The article reports the findings on academics' views of the term and concept of "teaching excellence",…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Trinter, Christine P.; Moon, Tonya R.; Brighton, Catherine M.
2015-01-01
The purpose of this qualitative study was to provide empirical evidence of the extent to which the types of tasks recommended by Sheffield for eliciting characteristics of mathematical promise allowed for the manifestation of these characteristics in primary-grade students within a problem-based learning (PBL) context. Data included student work…
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Writing-to-Learn Strategies in Secondary School Cell Biology: A Mixed Method Study
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Hohenshell, Liesl M.; Hand, Brian
2006-01-01
Writing-to-learn techniques can enhance learning, yet a need remains for more empirical research on the quality of learning that results from engaging in particular writing tasks with description of the instructional support for writing situated in context. This report builds on past research linking inquiry, social negotiation, and writing…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Fenollar, Pedro; Roman, Sergio; Cuestas, Pedro J.
2007-01-01
Background: The prediction and explanation of academic performance and the investigation of the factors relating to the academic success and persistence of students are topics of utmost importance in higher education. Aims: The main aim of the present study is to develop and test a conceptual framework in a university context, where the effects of…
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The Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) in Canada: A Research Agenda
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Arnott, Stephanie; Brogden, Lace Marie; Faez, Farahnaz; Péguret, Muriel; Piccardo, Enrica; Rehner, Katherine; Taylor, Shelley K.; Wernicke, Meike
2017-01-01
This article proposes a research agenda for future inquiry into the use of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) in the plurilingual Canadian context. Drawing on data collected from a research forum hosted by the Canadian Association of Second Language Teachers in 2014, as well as a detailed analysis of Canadian empirical studies and…
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Review Article: Spanish-English and Portuguese-English Interlanguage Phonology
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Eckman, Fred R.
2011-01-01
This review article evaluates the intersection of the content of two recent anthologies in second language (L2) phonology. One of the books lays out both the methodological context and theoretical underpinnings of the field, whereas the other volume reports 11 empirical studies on the L2 acquisition of several aspects of pronunciation by adult…
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The Empirical Spectator and Gallery Education
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Fulkova, Marie; Straker, Alison; Jaros, Milan
2004-01-01
This paper examines the onto-epistemic status and understanding of contemporary material culture and of visual art, particularly in the context of gallery education. It does so through a case study of the response of 15 year-old school students in the Czech Republic and in England to a recent photographic exhibition, I.N.R.I., created by artists…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Posselt, Julie Renee; Reyes, Kimberly A.; Slay, Kelly E.; Kamimura, Aurora; Porter, Kamaria B.
2017-01-01
Background/Context: Education scholars have examined how state policy and informal practice can widen or reproduce racial and gender inequalities in graduate education. Just one empirical study, which focused on psychology programs, has identified organizational practice that supports recruitment and retention of graduate students of color. Focus…
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Turning Collegial Governance on Its Head: Symbolic Violence, Hegemony and the Academic Board
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Rowlands, Julie
2015-01-01
This article draws on Bourdieu's theorisation of domination and Gramsci's notions of hegemony within the context of a larger empirical study of Australian university academic governance, and of academic boards (also known as academic senates or faculty senates) in particular. Reporting data that suggest a continued but radically altered form of…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Jackson, John; Jones, Martyn; Steele, Wendy; Coiacetto, Eddo
2017-01-01
Work placements (including internships) are common in urban and regional planning education but the relevant literature has largely overlooked their assessment and academic standards. To address this gap, the paper presents a study of this topic undertaken within the Australian context. The research involved systematically scoping the status of…
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Growing up and Growing Older: Feminism as a Context for Women's Lives
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Zucker, Alyssa N.; Stewart, Abigail J.
2007-01-01
Social science research shows that contemporary women endorse feminist goals at rates similar to women in the 1970s. However, generations may differ in some aspects of their relationship to feminism. This study of 333 university alumnae examined expressions of feminism across three generations. We provide the first empirical evidence to support…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Papanastasiou, Natalie
2017-01-01
This article presents one of the few qualitative studies to empirically examine the collaboration between private sponsors and principals in the context of England's academy schools policy. It uses the concept of boundary-work to illuminate the multiple dynamics involved in the collaboration between principals and business sponsors. By analysing…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Yeh, C. Rosa; Tao, Yu-Hui
2013-01-01
To address four issues observed from the latest Personal Response System (PRS) review by Kay and LeSage (2009), this paper investigates, through a systematic research, how the derived benefits and challenges of PRS affect the satisfaction and continuance intention of college students in Taiwan. The empirical study samples representative college…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Kali, Yael; Goodyear, Peter; Markauskaite, Lina
2011-01-01
If research and development in the field of learning design is to have a serious and sustained impact on education, then technological innovation needs to be accompanied--and probably guided--by good empirical studies of the design practices and design thinking of those who develop these innovations. This article synthesises two related lines of…
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An Empirical Study on Context Awareness Integrated Mobile Assisted Instruction and the Factors
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Zheng, Qiujin; Chen, Ting; Kong, Deyi
2017-01-01
Education is now an indicator of national modernization that countries in the world intend to promote the national quality and cultivate talents for national development through education. Especially, when human societies get into the 21st century, global societies, politics, economy, and culture are facing major changes. With the development of…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Gere, Bryan O.; Burnett, Royce D.; Flowers, Carl R.; Akaaboune, Ouadie
2017-01-01
Background: State-federal (VR) program efficiency is the focus of empirical research because of increases in the magnitude and types of program requests, possibly funding cuts and class for models to more appropriately measure and evaluate performance. Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the impact socioeconomic diversity has on…
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Language Change in the Wake of Empire: Syriac in Its Greco-Roman Context
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Butts, Aaron Michael
2013-01-01
Greek-Aramaic bilingualism was wide-spread throughout Late Antique Syria and Mesopotamia. Among the various Aramaic dialects, Syriac underwent a particularly intense and prolonged period of contact with Greek. This contact led to changes in both languages. The present study provides a new analysis of contact-induced changes in Syriac due to Greek,…
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School Choice with Education Vouchers: An Empirical Case Study from Hong Kong
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Lee, Amelia N. Y.; Bagley, Carl
2016-01-01
This paper seeks to question what impact education vouchers have on the process of school choice. The context examined in the paper is the Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme ("Voucher Scheme") introduced in 2007 in Hong Kong. Using a Straussian grounded theory method, data collected from 40 parent interviews are coded, analysed and…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Awofala, Adeneye O. A.; Arigbabu, Abayomi A.; Fatade, Alfred O.; Awofala, Awoyemi A.
2013-01-01
Introduction: The stability of the achievement goal orientation across different contexts has been a source of further research since the new millennium. Through theoretically-driven and empirically-based analyses, this study investigated the psychometric properties of the Elliot and McGregor 2x2 framework for achievement goal questionnaire within…
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Language and Culture Exchange in Foreign Language Learning: An Experiment and Recommendations
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Lockley, Thomas; Yoshida, Chiharu
2016-01-01
This study attempts to build on the little work that has been done so far on empirically and systematically researching what language and culture exchange (LCE) in the classroom between students of different foreign languages means to those students. It describes the context and method used to build such an exchange and after reviewing relevant…
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Minimalism context-aware displays.
Cai, Yang
2004-12-01
Despite the rapid development of cyber technologies, today we still have very limited attention and communication bandwidth to process the increasing information flow. The goal of the study is to develop a context-aware filter to match the information load with particular needs and capacities. The functions include bandwidth-resolution trade-off and user context modeling. From the empirical lab studies, it is found that the resolution of images can be reduced in order of magnitude if the viewer knows that he/she is looking for particular features. The adaptive display queue is optimized with real-time operational conditions and user's inquiry history. Instead of measuring operator's behavior directly, ubiquitous computing models are developed to anticipate user's behavior from the operational environment data. A case study of the video stream monitoring for transit security is discussed in the paper. In addition, the author addresses the future direction of coherent human-machine vision systems.
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Understanding hind limb lameness signs in horses using simple rigid body mechanics.
Starke, S D; May, S A; Pfau, T
2015-09-18
Hind limb lameness detection in horses relies on the identification of movement asymmetry which can be based on multiple pelvic landmarks. This study explains the poorly understood relationship between hind limb lameness pointers, related to the tubera coxae and sacrum, based on experimental data in context of a simple rigid body model. Vertical displacement of tubera coxae and sacrum was quantified experimentally in 107 horses with varying lameness degrees. A geometrical rigid-body model of pelvis movement during lameness was created in Matlab. Several asymmetry measures were calculated and contrasted. Results showed that model predictions for tubera coxae asymmetry during lameness matched experimental observations closely. Asymmetry for sacrum and comparative tubera coxae movement showed a strong association both empirically (R(2)≥ 0.92) and theoretically. We did not find empirical or theoretical evidence for a systematic, pronounced adaptation in the pelvic rotation pattern with increasing lameness. The model showed that the overall range of movement between tubera coxae does not allow the appreciation of asymmetry changes beyond mild lameness. When evaluating movement relative to the stride cycle we did find empirical evidence for asymmetry being slightly more visible when comparing tubera coxae amplitudes rather than sacrum amplitudes, although variation exists for mild lameness. In conclusion, the rigidity of the equine pelvis results in tightly linked movement trajectories of different pelvic landmarks. The model allows the explanation of empirical observations in the context of the underlying mechanics, helping the identification of potentially limited assessment choices when evaluating gait. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Ferraro, Paul J; Hanauer, Merlin M
2014-03-18
To develop effective environmental policies, we must understand the mechanisms through which the policies affect social and environmental outcomes. Unfortunately, empirical evidence about these mechanisms is limited, and little guidance for quantifying them exists. We develop an approach to quantifying the mechanisms through which protected areas affect poverty. We focus on three mechanisms: changes in tourism and recreational services; changes in infrastructure in the form of road networks, health clinics, and schools; and changes in regulating and provisioning ecosystem services and foregone production activities that arise from land-use restrictions. The contributions of ecotourism and other ecosystem services to poverty alleviation in the context of a real environmental program have not yet been empirically estimated. Nearly two-thirds of the poverty reduction associated with the establishment of Costa Rican protected areas is causally attributable to opportunities afforded by tourism. Although protected areas reduced deforestation and increased regrowth, these land cover changes neither reduced nor exacerbated poverty, on average. Protected areas did not, on average, affect our measures of infrastructure and thus did not contribute to poverty reduction through this mechanism. We attribute the remaining poverty reduction to unobserved dimensions of our mechanisms or to other mechanisms. Our study empirically estimates previously unidentified contributions of ecotourism and other ecosystem services to poverty alleviation in the context of a real environmental program. We demonstrate that, with existing data and appropriate empirical methods, conservation scientists and policymakers can begin to elucidate the mechanisms through which ecosystem conservation programs affect human welfare.
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Ferraro, Paul J.; Hanauer, Merlin M.
2014-01-01
To develop effective environmental policies, we must understand the mechanisms through which the policies affect social and environmental outcomes. Unfortunately, empirical evidence about these mechanisms is limited, and little guidance for quantifying them exists. We develop an approach to quantifying the mechanisms through which protected areas affect poverty. We focus on three mechanisms: changes in tourism and recreational services; changes in infrastructure in the form of road networks, health clinics, and schools; and changes in regulating and provisioning ecosystem services and foregone production activities that arise from land-use restrictions. The contributions of ecotourism and other ecosystem services to poverty alleviation in the context of a real environmental program have not yet been empirically estimated. Nearly two-thirds of the poverty reduction associated with the establishment of Costa Rican protected areas is causally attributable to opportunities afforded by tourism. Although protected areas reduced deforestation and increased regrowth, these land cover changes neither reduced nor exacerbated poverty, on average. Protected areas did not, on average, affect our measures of infrastructure and thus did not contribute to poverty reduction through this mechanism. We attribute the remaining poverty reduction to unobserved dimensions of our mechanisms or to other mechanisms. Our study empirically estimates previously unidentified contributions of ecotourism and other ecosystem services to poverty alleviation in the context of a real environmental program. We demonstrate that, with existing data and appropriate empirical methods, conservation scientists and policymakers can begin to elucidate the mechanisms through which ecosystem conservation programs affect human welfare. PMID:24567397
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Barwich, Ann-Sophie
2018-06-01
Empirical success is a central criterion for scientific decision-making. Yet its understanding in philosophical studies of science deserves renewed attention: Should philosophers think differently about the advancement of science when they deal with the uncertainty of outcome in ongoing research in comparison with historical episodes? This paper argues that normative appeals to empirical success in the evaluation of competing scientific explanations can result in unreliable conclusions, especially when we are looking at the changeability of direction in unsettled investigations. The challenges we encounter arise from the inherent dynamics of disciplinary and experimental objectives in research practice. In this paper we discuss how these dynamics inform the evaluation of empirical success by analyzing three of its requirements: data accommodation, instrumental reliability, and predictive power. We conclude that the assessment of empirical success in developing inquiry is set against the background of a model's interactive success and prospective value in an experimental context. Our argument is exemplified by the analysis of an apparent controversy surrounding the model of a quantum nose in research on olfaction. Notably, the public narrative of this controversy rests on a distorted perspective on measures of empirical success. Copyright © 2018 The Author. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.
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Filipiak, Katarzyna; Klein, Daniel; Roy, Anuradha
2017-01-01
The problem of testing the separability of a covariance matrix against an unstructured variance-covariance matrix is studied in the context of multivariate repeated measures data using Rao's score test (RST). The RST statistic is developed with the first component of the separable structure as a first-order autoregressive (AR(1)) correlation matrix or an unstructured (UN) covariance matrix under the assumption of multivariate normality. It is shown that the distribution of the RST statistic under the null hypothesis of any separability does not depend on the true values of the mean or the unstructured components of the separable structure. A significant advantage of the RST is that it can be performed for small samples, even smaller than the dimension of the data, where the likelihood ratio test (LRT) cannot be used, and it outperforms the standard LRT in a number of contexts. Monte Carlo simulations are then used to study the comparative behavior of the null distribution of the RST statistic, as well as that of the LRT statistic, in terms of sample size considerations, and for the estimation of the empirical percentiles. Our findings are compared with existing results where the first component of the separable structure is a compound symmetry (CS) correlation matrix. It is also shown by simulations that the empirical null distribution of the RST statistic converges faster than the empirical null distribution of the LRT statistic to the limiting χ 2 distribution. The tests are implemented on a real dataset from medical studies. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.
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Successful intelligence: finding a balance.
Sternberg
1999-11-01
Human intelligence has long been on the borderline between a scientific and a quasi-scientific field within the scope of psychological science. This is partially because its study and measurement have been particularly susceptible to socio-political agendas, but also because empirical tests of theories of intelligence have too often ranged from inadequate to nonexistent. In this article it is argued that two extremes have prevailed in the study of intelligence. At one extreme are general-ability (g) theorists, who have collected large amounts of data to test the theory of general intelligence, but often using restricted ranges of participants, materials or situational contexts. They also show a tendency to limit their methods of data analysis (e.g. to exploratory factor analysis). At another extreme are theorists arguing for new, multiple intelligences, whose theories have been subjected to few or no empirical tests. I argue that a middle ground is needed that recognizes the multifarious nature of intelligence and of people's conceptions of it, but that also is subjected to rigorous empirical tests.
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The myth of meritocracy and African American health.
Kwate, Naa Oyo A; Meyer, Ilan H
2010-10-01
Recent theoretical and empirical studies of the social determinants of health inequities have shown that economic deprivation, multiple levels of racism, and neighborhood context limit African American health chances and that African Americans' poor health status is predicated on unequal opportunity to achieve the American Dream. President Obama's election has been touted as a demonstration of American meritocracy-the belief that all may obtain the American Dream-and has instilled hope in African Americans. However, we argue that in the context of racism and other barriers to success, meritocratic ideology may act as a negative health determinant for African Americans.
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Quantitative genetic versions of Hamilton's rule with empirical applications
McGlothlin, Joel W.; Wolf, Jason B.; Brodie, Edmund D.; Moore, Allen J.
2014-01-01
Hamilton's theory of inclusive fitness revolutionized our understanding of the evolution of social interactions. Surprisingly, an incorporation of Hamilton's perspective into the quantitative genetic theory of phenotypic evolution has been slow, despite the popularity of quantitative genetics in evolutionary studies. Here, we discuss several versions of Hamilton's rule for social evolution from a quantitative genetic perspective, emphasizing its utility in empirical applications. Although evolutionary quantitative genetics offers methods to measure each of the critical parameters of Hamilton's rule, empirical work has lagged behind theory. In particular, we lack studies of selection on altruistic traits in the wild. Fitness costs and benefits of altruism can be estimated using a simple extension of phenotypic selection analysis that incorporates the traits of social interactants. We also discuss the importance of considering the genetic influence of the social environment, or indirect genetic effects (IGEs), in the context of Hamilton's rule. Research in social evolution has generated an extensive body of empirical work focusing—with good reason—almost solely on relatedness. We argue that quantifying the roles of social and non-social components of selection and IGEs, in addition to relatedness, is now timely and should provide unique additional insights into social evolution. PMID:24686930
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Malchiodi, Alessandro
2013-01-01
This dissertation comprises three essays that empirically examine the educational outcomes of for-profit college students, military enlistees and immigrant youth. All of these are groups of "non-average" students that, in different contexts, pose challenges to the traditional provision of education. Therefore, their outcomes need to be…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Malchiodi, Alessandro
2014-01-01
This dissertation comprises three essays that empirically examine the educational outcomes of for-profit college students, military enlistees and immigrant youth. All of these are groups of "non-average" students that, in different contexts, pose challenges to the traditional provision of education. Therefore, their outcomes need to be…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Afolabi, Olusegun Emmanuel
2014-01-01
There is mounting evidence that involvement paradigm is a major strategy that supports positive learning outcomes and is critically vital for educating learners with special educational needs (SENs). To illuminate the parental involvement concept and potential in a concrete context, this paper explains 1) the empirical literature that explains the…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Byerlee, Derek; Eicher, Carl K.
Employment problems in Africa were examined with special emphasis on rural employment and migration within the context of overall economic development. A framework was provided for analyzing rural employment in development; that framework was used to analyze empirical information from Africa; and theoretical issues were raised in analyzing rural…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Tu, Howard S.; Forret, Monica L.; Sullivan, Sherry E.
2006-01-01
Purpose: The aim of this paper is to conduct an exploratory empirical examination to determine if factors (e.g. demographic, human capital, motivational, and organizational) associated with career success in Western countries are also related to the career outcomes of Chinese managers. Design/methodology/approach: Survey data were obtained from…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Mady, Callie; Muhling, Stefanie
2017-01-01
With the view to responding to a call for information on instructional supports for students with special education needs (SSEN) in French as a second language (FSL) education, this article reviews the empirical literature from three Canadian contexts: core French, intensive French and French immersion. More specifically, we developed this…
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The science of quality improvement implementation: developing capacity to make a difference.
Alexander, Jeffrey A; Hearld, Larry R
2011-12-01
Quality improvement (QI) holds promise to improve quality of care; however, organizations often struggle with its implementation. It has been recommended that practitioners, managers, and researchers attempt to increase systematic understanding of the structure, practices, and context of organizations that facilitate or impede the implementation of QI innovations. To critically review the empirical research on QI implementation in health care organizations. A literature review of 107 studies that examined the implementation of QI innovations in health care organizations. Studies were classified into 4 groups based on the types of predictors that were assumed to affect implementation (content of QI innovation, organizational processes, internal context, and external context). Internal context and organizational processes were the most frequently studied categories. External context and organizational process categories exhibited the highest rate of positive effects on QI implementation. The review revealed several important gaps in the QI implementation literature. Studies often lacked clear conceptual frameworks to guide the research, which may hinder efforts to compare relationships across studies. Studies also tended to adopt designs that were narrowly focused on independent effects of predictors and did not include holistic frameworks to capture interactions among the many factors involved in implementation. Other design limitations included the use of cross-sectional designs, single-source data collection, and potential selection bias among study participants.
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Zablah, Alex R; Carlson, Brad D; Donavan, D Todd; Maxham, James G; Brown, Tom J
2016-05-01
Due to its practical importance, the relationship between customer satisfaction and frontline employee (FLE) job satisfaction has received significant attention in the literature. Numerous studies to date confirm that the constructs are related and rely on this empirical finding to infer support for the "inside-out" effect of FLE job satisfaction on customer satisfaction. In doing so, prior studies ignore the possibility that-as suggested by the Service Profit Chain's satisfaction mirror-a portion of the observed empirical effect may be due to the "outside-in" impact of customer satisfaction on FLE job satisfaction. Consequently, both the magnitude and direction of the causal relationship between the constructs remain unclear. To address this oversight, this study builds on multisource data, including longitudinal satisfaction data provided by 49,242 customers and 1,470 FLEs from across 209 retail stores, to examine the association between FLE job satisfaction and customer satisfaction in a context where service relationships are the norm. Consistent with predictions rooted in social exchange theory, the results reveal that (a) customer satisfaction and FLE job satisfaction are reciprocally related; (b) the outside-in effect of customer satisfaction on FLE job satisfaction is predominant (i.e., larger in magnitude than the inside-out effect); and (c) customer engagement determines the extent of this outside-in predominance. Contrary to common wisdom, the study's findings suggest that, in relational contexts, incentivizing FLEs to satisfy customers may prove to be more effective for enhancing FLE and customer outcomes than direct investments in FLE job satisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).
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Patton, Desmond Upton; Hong, Jun Sung; Patel, Sadiq; Kral, Michael J
2017-01-01
School bullying and victimization are serious social problems in schools. Most empirical studies on bullying and peer victimization are quantitative and examine the prevalence of bullying, associated risk and protective factors, and negative outcomes. Conversely, there is limited qualitative research on the experiences of children and adolescents related to school bullying and victimization. We review qualitative research on school bullying and victimization published between 2004 and 2014. Twenty-four empirical research studies using qualitative methods were reviewed. We organize the findings from these studies into (1) emic, (2) context specific, (3) iterative, (4) power relations, and (5) naturalistic inquiry. We find that qualitative researchers have focused on elaborating on and explicating the experiences of bully perpetrators, victims, and bystanders in their own words. Directions for research and practice are also discussed. © The Author(s) 2015.
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The Predictive Validity of Savry Ratings for Assessing Youth Offenders in Singapore
Chu, Chi Meng; Goh, Mui Leng; Chong, Dominic
2015-01-01
Empirical support for the usage of the SAVRY has been reported in studies conducted in many Western contexts, but not in a Singaporean context. This study compared the predictive validity of the SAVRY ratings for violent and general recidivism against the Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI) ratings within the Singaporean context. Using a sample of 165 male young offenders (Mfollow-up = 4.54 years), results showed that the SAVRY Total Score and Summary Risk Rating, as well as YLS/CMI Total Score and Overall Risk Rating, predicted violent and general recidivism. SAVRY Protective Total Score was only significantly predictive of desistance from general recidivism, and did not show incremental predictive validity for violent and general recidivism over the SAVRY Total Score. Overall, the results suggest that the SAVRY is suited (to varying degrees) for assessing the risk of violent and general recidivism in young offenders within the Singaporean context, but might not be better than the YLS/CMI. PMID:27231403
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Rethinking our approach to gender and disasters: Needs, responsibilities, and solutions.
Montano, Samantha; Savitt, Amanda
2016-01-01
To explore how the existing literature has discussed the vulnerability and needs of women in a disaster context. It will consider the literature's suggestions of how to minimize vulnerability and address the needs of women, including who involved in emergency management should be responsible for such efforts. Empirical journal articles and book chapters from disaster literature were collected that focused on "women" or "gender," and their results and recommendations were analyzed. This review found existing empirical research on women during disasters focuses on their vulnerabilities more than their needs. Second, when researchers do suggest solutions, they tend not to be comprehensive or supported by empirical evidence. Finally, it is not clear from existing research who is responsible for addressing these needs and implementing solutions. Future research should study the intersection of gender and disasters in terms of needs and solutions including who is responsible for implementing solutions.
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Blijlevens, Janneke; Gemser, Gerda; Mugge, Ruth
2012-01-01
Earlier findings have suggested that esthetic appraisal of product appearances is influenced by perceived typicality. However, prior empirical research on typicality and esthetic appraisal of product appearances has not explicitly taken context effects into account. In this paper, we investigate how a specific context influences perceived typicality and thus the esthetic appraisal of product appearances by manipulating the degree of typicality of a product's appearance and its context. The findings of two studies demonstrate that the perceived typicality of a product appearance and consequently its esthetic appraisal vary depending on the typicality of the context in which the product is presented. Specifically, contrast effects occur for product appearances that are perceived as typical. Typical product appearances are perceived as more typical and are more esthetically appealing when presented in an atypical context compared to when presented in a typical context. No differences in perceived typicality and esthetic appraisal were found for product appearances that are perceived as atypical. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Influence of Context on Item Parameters in Forced-Choice Personality Assessments
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Lin, Yin; Brown, Anna
2017-01-01
A fundamental assumption in computerized adaptive testing is that item parameters are invariant with respect to context--items surrounding the administered item. This assumption, however, may not hold in forced-choice (FC) assessments, where explicit comparisons are made between items included in the same block. We empirically examined the…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Bowen, Merle L.; Tillman, Ayesha S.
2015-01-01
Considerable empirical research, along with a growing body of conceptual and theoretical literature, exists on the role of culture and context in evaluation. Less scholarship has examined culturally responsive surveys in the context of international evaluation. In this article, the authors present lessons learned from the development,…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Zbiek, Rose Mary; Conner, Annamarie
2006-01-01
Views of mathematical modeling in empirical, expository, and curricular references typically capture a relationship between real-world phenomena and mathematical ideas from the perspective that competence in mathematical modeling is a clear goal of the mathematics curriculum. However, we work within a curricular context in which mathematical…
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Beauty in the Context of Particular Lives
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Rautio, Pauliina
2010-01-01
This paper is based on empirical research by the author into the everyday lives of people living in a small village. Everyday life is approached as a subjective process in time and space, experienced by particular people in a particular environmental and social context. The data of this research has been collected through correspondence in which…
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Understanding Skill in EVA Mass Handling. Volume 2; Empirical Investigation
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Riccio, Gary; McDonald, Vernon; Peters, Brian; Layne, Charles; Bloomberg, Jacob
1997-01-01
In this report we describe the details of our empirical protocol effort investigating skill in extravehicular mass handling using NASA's principal mass handling simulator, the precision air bearing floor. Contents of this report include a description of the necessary modifications to the mass handling simulator; choice of task, and the description of an operationally relevant protocol. Our independent variables are presented in the context of the specific operational issues they were designed to simulate. The explanation of our dependent variables focuses on the specific data processing procedures used to transform data from common laboratory instruments into measures that are relevant to a special class of nested control systems (discussed in Volume 1): manual interactions between an individual and the substantial environment. The data reduction is explained in the context of the theoretical foundation described in Volume 1. Finally as a preface to the presentation of the empirical data in Volume 3 of this report series, a set of detailed hypotheses is presented.
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
McKnight, Lucinda
2015-01-01
While the issue of boys' dominance of the curriculum has a long history, the article examines this phenomenon in a contemporary context, through an empirical study with female teachers designing English curriculum around girls' media in a coeducational secondary school in Victoria, Australia. In this space, teachers, and the researcher, produce…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Goldberg, Melissa C.; Allman, Melissa J.; Hagopian, Louis P.; Triggs, Mandy M.; Frank-Crawford, Michelle A.; Mostofsky, Stewart H.; Denckla, Martha B.; DeLeon, Iser G.
2017-01-01
One of the key diagnostic criteria for autism spectrum disorder includes impairments in social interactions. This study compared the extent to which boys with high-functioning autism and typically developing boys "value" engaging in activities with a parent or alone. Two different assessments that can empirically determine the relative…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Gyamfi, Stephen Adu
2017-01-01
Despite the popularity of Web 2.0 technologies and their educational benefits in the 21st century classroom environment, their use for teaching and learning purposes is still very limited. This study extended the technology acceptance model (TAM) to empirically examine factors that determine Ghanaian geography student teachers' acceptance of Web…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Liou, Hsien-Chin
2012-01-01
Various language learning projects using "Second Life" (SL) have been documented; still, their specific learning potentials, particularly in English as a foreign language (EFL) context, remain to be explored. The current study aims to add one piece of empirical evidence on how SL can be infused into a computer-assisted language learning…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Waheed, M.; Kaur, K.; Kumar, S.
2016-01-01
Quality knowledge has an impact on online students learning outcomes and loyalty. A framework that delineates the perceived eLearning knowledge quality (KQ) and its relationship with learning outcomes and loyalty is currently absent. Grounded in the KQ and information system success framework--this study presents the indicators of perceived…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Krepf, Matthias; Plöger, Wilfried; Scholl, Daniel; Seifert, Andreas
2018-01-01
In the current debate on pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), the term is used to refer to the context-specific knowledge that teachers activate when reflecting on practice. Against the background of this debate, we conducted an empirical study and sought to answer the question of which knowledge experts and novices activated in assessing a…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Bachi, Keren
2013-01-01
Equine-facilitated prison programs have become more prevalent and operate in correctional facilities in 13 states throughout the United States. However, there is a deficit of empirical knowledge to guide them. This article reviews 19 studies of prison-based animal programs and centers on patterns in the literature. It reveals how previous studies…
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Assessment Talk in Design: The Multiple Purposes of Assessment in HE
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Harman, Kerry; McDowell, Liz
2011-01-01
This paper is based on an empirical study of assessment practices currently being undertaken in a post-1992 university in the UK. Our broad interest is in examining assessment practices in context in order to explore why lecturers assess in the ways that they do. The Assessment Environments and Cultures project aims to illuminate some of the…
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The Technologisation of Childhood? Young Children and Technology in the Home
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Plowman, Lydia; McPake, Joanna; Stephen, Christine
2010-01-01
We describe an 18-month empirical investigation of three- and four-year-old children's uses of technology at home, based on a survey of 346 families and 24 case studies. The findings are reported in the context of social commentators' anxieties about the ways in which childhood is being transformed by technology. Although we report evidence of…
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A Praxeological Perspective for the Design and Implementation of a Digital Role-Play Game
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Sanchez, Eric; Monod-Ansaldi, Réjane; Vincent, Caroline; Safadi-Katouzian, Sina
2017-01-01
This paper draws on an empirical work dedicated to discussing a theoretical model for design-based research. The context of our study is a research project for the design, the implementation and the analysis of Insectophagia, a digital role-play game implemented in secondary schools. The model presented in this paper aims at conceptualizing…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Kärner, Tobias; Sembill, Detlef; Aßmann, Christian; Friederichs, Edgar; Carstensen, Claus H.
2017-01-01
The investigation of learning processes by assessing students' experience along with objective characteristics within a classroom context has a long tradition in empirical learning process research (e.g. Sembill, 1984 et passim; Wild & Krapp, 1996). However, most of the existing studies confine themselves to psychological variables that seem…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Jang, Hyesuk
2014-01-01
This study aims to evaluate a multidimensional latent trait model to determine how well the model works in various empirical contexts. Contrary to the assumption of these latent trait models that the traits are normally distributed, situations in which the latent trait is not shaped with a normal distribution may occur (Sass et al, 2008; Woods…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Panagiotakopoulos, Antonios
2011-01-01
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore small firm owners' perceptions of the impact of employee training on small firm competitiveness in the context of Greece. Design/methodology/approach: The research adopts a qualitative orientation. Empirical data were collected from 43 owners of small and micro-firms operating in various sectors of…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Bey, Anis; Jermann, Patrick; Dillenbourg, Pierre
2018-01-01
Computer-graders have been in regular use in the context of MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses). The automatic grading of programs presents an opportunity to assess and provide tailored feedback to large classes, while featuring at the same time a number of benefits like: immediate feedback, unlimited submissions, as well as low cost of feedback.…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Gaudino, James L.; Harris, Allen C.
To extend the resistance-to-persuasion literature into a context relevant to public relations, a study examined the reactions of 147 Michigan State University students after viewing edited versions of President Ronald Reagan's televised address of February 26, 1986. Reagan's address, concerning his request for public support of an increase in…
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The Nature and Meaning of Body Concepts in Everyday Language and Theoretical Discourse
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Pollio, Howard R.; Finn, Mike; Custer, Morgun
2016-01-01
Within phenomenological philosophy four topics, (1) Body, (2) Time, (3) Others and the Social Order and (4) World serve as the major contexts in which human perception, action and reflection take place. At present only three of these domains have been studied from an empirical perspective, leaving Body as the one domain requiring further analysis.…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Tarhini, Ali; Hassouna, Mohammad; Abbasi, Muhammad Sharif; Orozco, Jorge
2015-01-01
Simpler is better. There are a lot of "needs" in e-Learning, and there's often a limit to the time, talent, and money that can be thrown at them individually. Contemporary pedagogy in technology and engineering disciplines, within the higher education context, champion instructional designs that emphasize peer instruction and rich…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Lee, Min Kyung; Baker, Sara; Whitebread, David
2018-01-01
Background: Research on the relationships between parental factors and children's executive function (EF) has been conducted mainly in Western cultures. Aim: This study provides the first empirical test, in a non-Western context, of how maternal EF and parenting behaviours relate to child EF. Sample South Korean mothers and their preschool…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Plough, India C.; Briggs, Sarah L.; Van Bonn, Sarah
2010-01-01
The study reported here examined the evaluation criteria used to assess the proficiency and effectiveness of the language produced in an oral performance test of English conducted in an American university context. Empirical methods were used to analyze qualitatively and quantitatively transcriptions of the Oral English Tests (OET) of 44…
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Utilizing the Catalysts and Tensions within Our Research to Guide New Questions
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Hutson, Garrett
2011-01-01
A session that has a theme of outcomes of experiential programs in varied contexts is both exciting and pressing. The three studies in Session IV all addressed relevant issues to experiential programming and all the authors were faced with the empirical challenge of demonstrating how and/or if their programs achieve what they say they are going to…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Hunter, Shona
2006-01-01
This article uses empirical material from a qualitative study of adult and community learning (ACL) to explore issues around leading for equality and diversity in educational organisations. What the author is interested in is the way that the commitment to a "community" context in ACL opens up (or keeps open) certain possibilities for "diverse"…
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Pens on the Prize: Linking School and Community through Contest-Inspired Literacy
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Jocson, Korina; Burnside, Sherdren; Collins, Mualimu
2006-01-01
This article looks closely at one instantiation of a poetry-centered practice as supported by June Jordan's Poetry for the People, specifically in the context of an inaugural poetry contest. It builds on an earlier empirical study, which investigated the partnership between Poetry for the People and one East Bay Area high school and the rich…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Stormshak, Elizabeth A.; Comeau, Colleen A.; Shepard, Stephanie A.
2004-01-01
This study investigated the quality of sibling relationships and sibling deviancy in a sample of children at-risk for substance use and antisocial behavior. Based on a history of empirical and theoretical models suggesting strong associations between children's development in the context of relationships and the emergence of delinquency and drug…
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Simulated Sustainable Societies: Students' Reflections on Creating Future Cities in Computer Games
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Nilsson, Elisabet M.; Jakobsson, Anders
2011-01-01
The empirical study, in this article, involved 42 students (ages 14-15), who used the urban simulation computer game SimCity 4 to create models of sustainable future cities. The aim was to explore in what ways the simulated "real" worlds provided by this game could be a potential facilitator for science learning contexts. The topic investigated is…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Terriquez, Veronica
2011-01-01
Scholars have long argued that civic organizations play a vital role in developing members' civic capacity. Yet few empirical studies examine how and the extent to which civic skills transfer across distinct and separate civic contexts. Focusing on Latino immigrant members of a Los Angeles janitors' labor union, this article fills a void by…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Jena, Ananta Kumar
2012-01-01
This paper studied the empirical pattern to observe the overall attitude of pre service teachers' of different training colleges towards environmental education and practice. Environmental education is a continuous lifelong process, starts at the preschool level and continues up to adulthood via all levels of education. In this context, to know…
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Teaching Poor Ethnic Minority Students: A Critical Realist Interpretation of Disempowerment
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Stylianou, Areti; Scott, David
2018-01-01
This article aims to supplement the literature on the role of school context with regards to the disempowerment of teachers in their work with poor ethnic minority students. We use a critical realist framework to analyse the empirical data collected for an in-depth school case study and we suggest the existence of real, interrelated, emergent and…
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Finding the Balance between Process and Product through Perceptual Lesson Planning
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Uhrmacher, P. Bruce; Conrad, Bradley M.; Moroye, Christy M.
2013-01-01
Background/Context: Lesson planning is one of the most common activities required of teachers; however, since the late 1970s and early 1980s, it has not been a major focus of study, either conceptually or empirically. Although there are recent articles on the topic, much of the current work is specific to examining a particular teaching method or…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Asunka, Stephen
2017-01-01
As many important issues pertaining to blended learning within the Sub-Saharan African context remain unexplored, this study implemented a blended learning approach in a graduate level course at a private university in Ghana, with the objective of exploring adult learners' attitudes, experiences and behaviors towards this learning approach, as…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Abdallah, Mahmoud Mohammad Sayed
2013-01-01
This paper reports on a design study conducted within the Egyptian context of pre-service EFL teacher education, which implemented a Community of Practice (CoP) design facilitated by Facebook, to integrate some new forms of online writing. Based on some preliminary empirical results triangulated with literature review, a preliminary design…
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Bonanno, George A; Colak, Deniz M; Keltner, Dacher; Shiota, Michelle N; Papa, Anthony; Noll, Jennie G; Putnam, Frank W; Trickett, Penelope K
2007-11-01
Positive emotions promote adjustment to aversive life events. However, evolutionary theory and empirical research on trauma disclosure suggest that in the context of stigmatized events, expressing positive emotions might incur social costs. To test this thesis, the authors coded genuine (Duchenne) smiling and laughter and also non-Duchenne smiling from videotapes of late-adolescent and young adult women, approximately half with documented histories of childhood sexual abuse (CSA), as they described the most distressing event of their lives. Consistent with previous studies, genuine positive emotional expression was generally associated with better social adjustment two years later. However, as anticipated, CSA survivors who expressed positive emotion in the context of describing a past CSA experience had poorer long-term social adjustment, whereas CSA survivors who expressed positive emotion while describing a nonabuse experience had improved social adjustment. These findings suggest that the benefits of positive emotional expression may often be context specific.
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Weitlauf, Julie C; Ruzek, Josef I; Westrup, Darrah A; Lee, Tina; Keller, Jennifer
2007-06-01
A growing body of empirical literature has systematically documented the reactions to research participation among participants in traumafocused research. To date, the available data has generally presented an optimistic picture regarding participants' ability to tolerate and even find benefit from their participation. However, this literature has been largely limited to cross-sectional designs. No extant literature has yet examined the perceptions of participants with psychiatric illness who are participating in randomized clinical trials (RCTs) designed to evaluate the efficacy or effectiveness of novel trauma treatments. The authors posit that negative experiences of, or poor reactions to, the research experience in the context of a trauma-focused RCT may elevate the risk of participation. Indeed, negative reactions may threaten to undermine the potential therapeutic gains of participants and promoting early drop out from the trial. Empirically assessing reactions to research participation at the pilot-study phase of a clinical trial can both provide investigators and IRB members alike with empirical evidence of some likely risks of participation. In turn, this information can be used to help shape the design and recruitment methodology of the full-scale trial. Using data from the pilot study of the Women's Self-Defense Project as a case illustration, we provide readers with concrete suggestions for empirically assessing participants' perceptions of risk involved in their participation in behaviorally oriented clinical trials.
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Hogle, Linda
2015-01-01
For some time now, bioethicists have paid close attention to issues associated with ‘enhancement’; specifically, the appropriate use and regulation of substances and artefacts understood by some to improve the functioning of human bodies beyond that associated with ‘normal’ function. Medical humanities scholars (aside from philosophers and lawyers) and social scientists have not been frequent participants in debates around enhancement, but could shine a bright light on the range of dilemmas and opportunities techniques of enhancement are purported to introduce. In this paper, we argue that empirical research into the notion and practice of enhancement is necessary and timely. Such work could fruitfully engage with—and further develop—existing conceptual repertoires within the medical humanities and social sciences in ways that would afford benefit to scholars in those disciplines. We maintain that empirical engagements could also provide important resources to bioethicists seeking to regulate new enhancements in ways that are sensitive to societal context and cultural difference. To this end, we outline an empirical agenda for the medical humanities and social sciences around enhancement, emphasising especially how science and technology studies could bring benefits to—and be benefitted by—research in this area. We also use the example of (pharmaceutical) cognitive enhancement to show how empirical studies of actual and likely enhancement practices can nuance resonant bioethical debates. PMID:26260624
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The effect of normative context variability on recognition memory.
Steyvers, Mark; Malmberg, Kenneth J
2003-09-01
According to some theories of recognition memory (e.g., S. Dennis & M. S. Humphreys, 2001), the number of different contexts in which words appear determines how memorable individual occurrences of words will be: A word that occurs in a small number of different contexts should be better recognized than a word that appears in a larger number of different contexts. To empirically test this prediction, a normative measure is developed, referred to here as context variability, that estimates the number of different contexts in which words appear in everyday life. These findings confirm the prediction that words low in context variability are better recognized (on average) than words that are high in context variability. (c) 2003 APA, all rights reserved
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Kim, Tae-Goun
2009-10-01
This article develops a dynamic model of efficient use of exhaustible marine sand resources in the context of marine mining externalities. The classical Hotelling extraction model is applied to sand mining in Ongjin, Korea and extended to include the estimated marginal external costs that mining imposes on marine fisheries. The socially efficient sand extraction plan is compared with the extraction paths suggested by scientific research. If marginal environmental costs are correctly estimated, the developed efficient extraction plan considering the resource rent may increase the social welfare and reduce the conflicts among the marine sand resource users. The empirical results are interpreted with an emphasis on guidelines for coastal resource management policy.
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Hoffman, Steven J; Sossin, Lorne
2012-04-01
Adjudicative tribunals are an integral part of health system governance, yet their real-world impact remains largely unknown. Most assessments focus on internal accountability and use anecdotal methodologies; few, studies if any, empirically evaluate their external impact and use these data to test effectiveness, track performance, inform service improvements and ultimately strengthen health systems. Given that such assessments would yield important benefits and have been conducted successfully in similar settings (e.g. specialist courts), their absence is likely attributable to complexity in the health system, methodological difficulties and the legal environment within which tribunals operate. We suggest practical steps for potential evaluators to conduct empirical impact evaluations along with an evaluation matrix template featuring possible target outcomes and corresponding surrogate endpoints, performance indicators and empirical methodologies. Several system-level strategies for supporting such assessments have also been suggested for academics, health system institutions, health planners and research funders. Action is necessary to ensure that policymakers do not continue operating without evidence but can rather pursue data-driven strategies that are more likely to achieve their health system goals in a cost-effective way.
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Household Energy Consumption: Community Context and the Fuelwood Transition*
Link, Cynthia F.; Axinn, William G.; Ghimire, Dirgha J.
2012-01-01
We examine the influence of community context on change over time in households’ use of non-wood fuels. Our theoretical framework builds on sociological concepts in order to study energy consumption at the micro-level. The framework emphasizes the importance of nonfamily organizations and services in the local community as determinants of the transition from use of fuelwood to use of alternative fuels. We use multilevel longitudinal data on household fuel choice and community context from rural Nepal to provide empirical tests of our theoretical model. Results reveal that increased exposure to nonfamily organizations in the local community increases the use of alternative fuels. The findings illustrate key features of human impacts on the local environment and motivate greater incorporation of social organization into research on environmental change. PMID:23017795
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Context shapes social judgments of positive emotion suppression and expression.
Kalokerinos, Elise K; Greenaway, Katharine H; Casey, James P
2017-02-01
It is generally considered socially undesirable to suppress the expression of positive emotion. However, previous research has not considered the role that social context plays in governing appropriate emotion regulation. We investigated a context in which it may be more appropriate to suppress than express positive emotion, hypothesizing that positive emotion expressions would be considered inappropriate when the valence of the expressed emotion (i.e., positive) did not match the valence of the context (i.e., negative). Six experiments (N = 1,621) supported this hypothesis: when there was a positive emotion-context mismatch, participants rated targets who suppressed positive emotion as more appropriate, and evaluated them more positively than targets who expressed positive emotion. This effect occurred even when participants were explicitly made aware that suppressing targets were experiencing mismatched emotion for the context (e.g., feeling positive in a negative context), suggesting that appropriate emotional expression is key to these effects. These studies are among the first to provide empirical evidence that social costs to suppression are not inevitable, but instead are dependent on context. Expressive suppression can be a socially useful emotion regulation strategy in situations that call for it. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Joosten, Annette V.; Bundy, Anita C.; Einfeld, Stewart L.
2012-01-01
Background: Children are motivated to engage in stereotypic and repetitive behaviours for a number of reasons. Their motivation seems to change according to context, but little empirical evidence supports that observation. Interventions designed to reduce the behaviours may be improved by an increased understanding of the interaction between…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Burrell, Jennifer O.
2012-01-01
Nearly 20 years of empirical work has demonstrated that cultural-asset focused learning environments can improve the academic performance of African-American students. One example is communal learning context, which shifts students' motivational primacy from the individual to the social group. Considering the critical role of efficacy beliefs in…
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Dialogic Education as an Approach to Multiculturalism for Social Cohesion in Namibia
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Bialostocka, Olga
2017-01-01
The paper explores approaches to cultural diversity and its relation to the concept of social cohesion in the context of a multicultural school community. It uses insights from an empirical research on multicultural education conducted in Namibia as context for a discussion on tools in educational practice that would support diversity while…
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An Econometric Examination of the Behavioral Perspective Model in the Context of Norwegian Retailing
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Sigurdsson, Valdimar; Kahamseh, Saeed; Gunnarsson, Didrik; Larsen, Nils Magne; Foxall, Gordon R.
2013-01-01
The behavioral perspective model's (BPM; Foxall, 1990) retailing literature is built on extensive empirical research and techniques that were originally refined in choice experiments in behavioral economics and behavior analysis, and then tested mostly on British consumer panel data. We test the BPM in the context of Norwegian retailing. This…
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The 2 × 2 Standpoints Model of Achievement Goals
Korn, Rachel M.; Elliot, Andrew J.
2016-01-01
In the present research, we proposed and tested a 2 × 2 standpoints model of achievement goals grounded in the development-demonstration and approach-avoidance distinctions. Three empirical studies are presented. Study 1 provided evidence supporting the structure and psychometric properties of a newly developed measure of the goals of the 2 × 2 standpoints model. Study 2 documented the predictive utility of these goal constructs for intrinsic motivation: development-approach and development-avoidance goals were positive predictors, and demonstration-avoidance goals were a negative predictor of intrinsic motivation. Study 3 documented the predictive utility of these goal constructs for performance attainment: Demonstration-approach goals were a positive predictor and demonstration-avoidance goals were a negative predictor of exam performance. The conceptual and empirical contributions of the present research were discussed within the broader context of existing achievement goal theory and research. PMID:27242641
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Al-Chokhachy, Robert K.; Black, Tom A.; Thomas, Cameron; Luce, Charlie H.; Rieman, Bruce; Cissel, Richard; Carlson, Anne; Hendrickson, Shane; Archer, Eric K.; Kershner, Jeffrey L.
2016-01-01
Unpaved forest roads remain a pervasive disturbance on public lands and mitigating sediment from road networks remains a priority for management agencies. Restoring roaded landscapes is becoming increasingly important for many native coldwater fishes that disproportionately rely on public lands for persistence. However, effectively targeting restoration opportunities requires a comprehensive understanding of the effects of roads across different ecosystems. Here, we combine a review and a field study to evaluate the status of knowledge supporting the conceptual framework linking unpaved forest roads with streambed sediment. Through our review, we specifically focused on those studies linking measures of the density of forest roads or sediment delivery with empirical streambed sediment measures. Our field study provides an example of a targeted effort of linking spatially explicit estimates of sediment production with measures of streambed sediment. Surprisingly, our review uncovered few studies (n = 8) that empirically tested the conceptual framework linking unpaved forest roads and streambed sediment, and the results varied considerably. Field results generally supported the conceptual model that unpaved forest roads can control streambed sediment quality, but demonstrated high-spatial variability in the effects of forest roads on streambed sediment and the need to address hotspots of sediment sources. The importance of context in the effects of forest roads is apparent in both our review and field data, suggesting the need for in situ studies to avoid misdirected restoration actions.
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Lindström, Lisbeth
2016-01-01
In this article, we contribute to theory by integrating literature on citizenship and entrepreneurship, based on which we develop a framework for how personal development is achieved for young people in the context of open leisure activities. The empirical material in this study consists of survey data collected in Swedish open leisure centers. A…
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Fun in the College Classroom: Examining Its Nature and Relationship with Student Engagement
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Tews, Michael J.; Jackson, Kathy; Ramsay, Crystal; Michel, John W.
2015-01-01
Despite the popular belief that fun has a positive impact in learning contexts, empirical research on fun in the classroom has been limited. To extend research in this area, the goal of this study was to develop and validate a new scale to assess fun in the classroom and examine its relationship with student engagement. The multi-stage scale…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Miao, Zhenzhen; Reynolds, David; Harris, Alma; Jones, Michelle
2015-01-01
This article presents initial findings from an empirical study of the effectiveness of mathematics teaching (EMT). The article explores the teaching of mathematics in two very different contexts: England and China. Within each country, the target cohort of pupils were those aged 9-10 and overall, 19 teachers, 10 from England and nine from China,…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Omel'chenko, E. L.
2015-01-01
The article looks at the experience of studying young people in today's Russia and the way the experience correlates with Western traditions of research. The analysis that is proposed is oriented toward understanding the analytical and empirical potential of the concept of solidarity applicable to the current agenda. [This article was translated…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Kafka, S.; Hunter, J. A.; Hayhurst, J.; Boyes, M.; Thomson, R. L.; Clarke, H.; Grocott, A. M.; Stringer, M.; O'Brien, K. S.
2012-01-01
Empirical evidence shows that educational experiences in the context of the outdoors lead to elevated self-esteem. Although elevated self-esteem is widely assumed to promote beneficial outcomes, recent evidence suggests that elevated self-esteem may also facilitate a variety of negative outcomes (i.e., increased prejudice, aggression, drug and…
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Increasing Racial Isolation and Test Score Gaps in Mathematics: A 30-Year Perspective
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Berends, Mark; Penaloza, Roberto V.
2010-01-01
Background/Context: Although there has been progress in closing the test score gaps among student groups over past decades, that progress has stalled. Many researchers have speculated why the test score gaps closed between the early 1970s and the early 1990s, but only a few have been able to empirically study how changes in school factors and…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Mukala, Patrick; Cerone, Antonio; Turini, Franco
2017-01-01
Free\\Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) environments are increasingly dubbed as learning environments where practical software engineering skills can be acquired. Numerous studies have extensively investigated how knowledge is acquired in these environments through a collaborative learning model that define a learning process. Such a learning…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Halicioglu, Mustafa Bulent
2010-01-01
It is widely accepted that online learning is a self-directed learning environment and the participants need to have self-direction in learning. However, there is lack of empirical studies focusing on the relationship between online learning and self-directed learning and examining the relationship between self-directedness of learners and…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Kearns, Hugh; Gardiner, Maria
2007-01-01
Despite the high "guru-factor" in time management, few claims have been subjected to empirical investigation. This study tests the claims that people who manage their time well perceive themselves to be more effective and feel less stressed. University staff and students were utilized to investigate the relationship between time management related…
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Attachment and Chronic Pain in Children and Adolescents
Donnelly, Theresa J.; Jaaniste, Tiina
2016-01-01
Although attachment theory is not new, its theoretical implications for the pediatric chronic pain context have not been thoroughly considered, and the empirical implications and potential clinical applications are worth exploring. The attachment framework broadly focuses on interactions between a child’s developing self-regulatory systems and their caregiver’s responses. These interactions are believed to create a template for how individuals will relate to others in the future, and may help account for normative and pathological patterns of emotions and behavior throughout life. This review outlines relevant aspects of the attachment framework to the pediatric chronic pain context. The theoretical and empirical literature is reviewed regarding the potential role of attachment-based constructs such as vulnerability and maintaining factors of pediatric chronic pain. The nature and targets of attachment-based pediatric interventions are considered, with particular focus on relevance for the pediatric chronic pain context. The potential role of attachment style in the transition from acute to chronic pain is considered, with further research directions outlined. PMID:27792141
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Meier, Brian P; D'Agostino, Paul R; Elliot, Andrew J; Maier, Markus A; Wilkowski, Benjamin M
2012-01-01
A basic premise of the recently proffered color-in-context model is that the influence of color on psychological functioning varies as a function of the psychological context in which color is perceived. Some research has examined the appetitive and aversive implications of viewing the color red in romance- and achievement-relevant contexts, respectively, but in all existing empirical work approach and avoidance behavior has been studied in separate tasks and separate experiments. Research is needed to directly test whether red influences the same behavior differently depending entirely on psychological context. The present experiment was designed to put this premise to direct test in romance- and achievement-relevant contexts within the same experimental paradigm involving walking behavior. Our results revealed that exposure to red (but not blue) indeed has differential implications for walking behavior as a function of the context in which the color is perceived. Red increased the speed with which participants walked to an ostensible interview about dating (a romance-relevant context), but decreased the speed with which they walked to an ostensible interview about intelligence (an achievement-relevant context). These results are the first direct evidence that the influence of red on psychological functioning in humans varies by psychological context. Our findings contribute to both the literature on color psychology and the broader, emerging literature on the influence of context on basic psychological processes.
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Holman, Daniel; Lynch, Rebecca; Reeves, Aaron
2017-03-01
In recent years, health behaviour interventions have received a great deal of attention in both research and policy as a means of encouraging people to lead healthier lives. The emphasis of such interventions has varied over time, in terms of level of intervention (e.g. individual vs community) and drawing on different disciplinary perspectives. Recently, a number of critiques have focused on how health behaviour interventions sometimes sideline issues of social context, framing health as a matter of individual choice and, by implication, a personal responsibility. Part of this criticism is that health behaviour interventions often do not draw on alternative social science understandings of the structured and contextual aspects of behaviour and health. Yet to our knowledge, no study has attempted to empirically assess the extent to which, and in what ways, the health behaviour intervention field has paid attention to social context. In this article, we undertake this task using bibliometric techniques in order to map out the health behaviour intervention field. We find that the number of health behaviour interventions has grown rapidly in recent years, especially since around 2006, and that references to social science disciplines and concepts that foreground issues of social context are rare and, relatively speaking, constitute less of the field post 2006. More quantifiable concepts are used most, and those more close to the complexities of social context are mentioned least. The document co-citation analysis suggests that pre 2006, documents referring to social context were relatively diffuse in the network of key citations, but post 2006 this influence had largely diminished. The journal co-citation analysis shows less disciplinary overlap post 2006. At present, health behaviour interventions are continuing to focus on individualised approaches drawn from behavioural psychology and behavioural economics. Our findings lend empirical support to a number of recent papers that suggest more interdisciplinary collaboration is needed to advance the field.
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Families in the context of macroeconomic crises: A systematic review.
Fonseca, Gabriela; Cunha, Diana; Crespo, Carla; Relvas, Ana Paula
2016-09-01
The present study is a systematic review of empirical literature from the last 35 years on families' responses to economic distress in the context of macroeconomic crises. Thirty-nine studies published between 1983 and 2015 in 12 countries were identified, resulting in 3 main findings. First, economic distress was associated with negative changes in family dynamics, specifically couple relationships and parenting. Second, protective factors were found to buffer the adverse effects of economic distress on family and individual outcomes. Third, the results suggest that individual responses to macroeconomic crises may be moderated by sex. Implications for future research encompass using validated assessment instruments, including participants beyond 2-parent families with adolescent children and conducting both longitudinal and qualitative studies that focus on the processes and meanings of adaptation within this risk context. Conclusions highlighted the need to assist families dealing with macroeconomic crises' demands, encouraging the development and validation of macrosystemic intervention programs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).
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Expert knowledge as a foundation for the management of secretive species and their habitat
Drew, C. Ashton; Collazo, Jaime
2012-01-01
In this chapter, we share lessons learned during the elicitation and application of expert knowledge in the form of a belief network model for the habitat of a waterbird, the King Rail (Rallus elegans). A belief network is a statistical framework used to graphically represent and evaluate hypothesized cause and effect relationships among variables. Our model was a pilot project to explore the value of such a model as a tool to help the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) conserve species that lack sufficient empirical data to guide management decisions. Many factors limit the availability of empirical data that can support landscape-scale conservation planning. Globally, most species simply have not yet been subject to empirical study (Wilson 2000). Even for well-studied species, data are often restricted to specific geographic extents, to particular seasons, or to specific segments of a species’ life history. The USFWS mandates that the agency’s conservation actions (1) be coordinated across regional landscapes, (2) be founded on the best available science (with testable assumptions), and (3) support adaptive management through monitoring and assessment of action outcomes. Given limits on the available data, the concept of “best available science” in the context of conservation planning generally includes a mix of empirical data and expert knowledge (Sullivan et al. 2006).
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Energy risk in the arbitrage pricing model: an empirical and theoretical study
DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Bremer, M.A.
1986-01-01
This dissertation empirically explores the Arbitrage Pricing Theory in the context of energy risk for securities over the 1960s, 1970s, and early 1980s. Starting from a general multifactor pricing model, the paper develops a two factor model based on a market-like factor and an energy factor. This model is then tested on portfolios of securities grouped according to industrial classification using several econometric techniques designed to overcome some of the more serious estimation problems common to these models. The paper concludes that energy risk is priced in the 1970s and possibly even in the 1960s. Energy risk is found tomore » be priced in the sense that investors who hold assets subjected to energy risk are paid for this risk. The classic version of the Capital Asset Pricing Model which posits the market as the single priced factor is rejected in favor of the Arbitrage Pricing Theory or multi-beta versions of the Capital Asset Pricing Model. The study introduces some original econometric methodology to carry out empirical tests.« less
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Udden, Julia; Ingvar, Martin; Hagoort, Peter; Petersson, Karl M.
2012-01-01
A recent hypothesis in empirical brain research on language is that the fundamental difference between animal and human communication systems is captured by the distinction between finite-state and more complex phrase-structure grammars, such as context-free and context-sensitive grammars. However, the relevance of this distinction for the study…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Nguyen, Ha Thi Thu
2016-01-01
Interactive approaches to literary texts in second/foreign language education have enjoyed wide theoretical and empirical support. However, the teaching of literary texts in traditional English as a foreign language contexts still remains information-oriented, with a focus on the transmission and replication of an objectified interpretation of a…
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Topic Maps: Adopting User-Centred Indexing Technologies in Course Management Systems
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Venkatesh, Vivek; Shaw, Steven; Dicks, Dennis; Lowerison, Gretchen; Zhang, Dai; Sanjakdar, Roukana
2007-01-01
This article provides an empirical evaluation of an indexing technology, topic maps (ISO 13250), in the context of an academic task in a higher education context. Topic maps are a form of indexing that define and display the interrelationships between various topics in a given domain, as well as anchor these topics to specific resources that help…
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Lindberg, Elisabeth; Ekebergh, Margaretha; Persson, Eva; Hörberg, Ulrica
2015-01-01
The aim of the present study is to explore interpersonal dimensions of the presence of older patients at team meetings. The theoretical foundation of the study is grounded in caring science and lifeworld phenomenology. The results from two empirical studies, that indicated the need for a more in-depth examination of the interpersonal relationships when an older patient is present at a team meeting, were further explicated by philosophical examination in the light of Heidegger and Merleau-Ponty's philosophy. The empirical studies were performed in a hospital ward for older people, where the traditional rounds had been replaced by a team meeting, to which the patients were invited. The analysis of the general structure and philosophical examination followed the principles of reflective lifeworld research. The philosophical examination is presented in four meaning structures: mood as a force in existence; to exist in a world with others; loneliness in the presence of others; and the lived body as extending. In conclusion, professionals must consider patients’ existential issues in the way they are expressed by the patients. Existence extends beyond the present situation. Accordingly, the team meeting must be seen in a larger context, including the patients’ life as a whole, as well as the ontological and epistemological foundations on which healthcare is based. PMID:25700700
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The use of administrative sanctions to prevent environmental damage in impact assessment follow-ups.
Garcia, Luiz Carlos; Fonseca, Alberto
2018-08-01
Scholars have long been highlighting the value of administrative sanctions in improving environmental policy enforcement. However, few studies have evaluated how such sanctions are implemented, particularly in the context of environmental impact assessments (EIA) and their respective follow-up programs. The main objective of this article was to evaluate how administrative sanctions have been used in EIA follow-ups, using the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais as the empirical context. More specifically it tried to understand what have been the main triggers, frequency, nature and financial values of the sanctions issued to noncompliant mining projects operating under the conditions of environmental licenses. First, through literature reviews, the study characterized the institutional and regulatory framework in which administrative sanctions are applied. Content analyzes of 29 infraction processes further revealed that lump sum fines are the preferred option of administrative sanction in EIA follow-ups. The analysis also revealed that the fines could be perceived as disproportionally small if one considers the size and financial power of non-compliant companies. The great majority of the fines were paid by developers: a fact that contradicts previous empirical findings and anecdotal evidence in Brazil. Overall, the study suggests that the impact of administrative sanctions in corporate behavior, while unclear, is likely small. The study concludes by discussing practical and academic implications. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Mathematics lecturing in the digital age
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Trenholm, Sven; Alcock, Lara; Robinson, Carol L.
2012-09-01
In this article, we consider the transformation of tertiary mathematics lecture practice. We undertake a focused examination of the related research with two goals in mind. First, we document this research, reviewing the findings of key studies and noting that reflective pieces on individual practice as well as surveys are more prevalent than empirical studies. Second, we investigate issues related to the transformation of lecture practice by the emergence of e-lectures. We discuss the latter in terms of claims about the efficiencies offered by new technologies and contrast these with possible disadvantages in terms of student engagement in a learning community. Overall findings indicate that while survey results appear to trumpet the value of e-lecture provision, empirical study results appear to call that value into question. Two explanatory theoretical frameworks are presented. Issues concerning the instructional context (e.g. the nature of mathematical thinking), inherent complexities and recommendations for implementation are discussed.
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Anderson, Emily E.; Hoskins, Kent
2013-01-01
Research suggests that individual breast cancer risk assessment may improve adherence to recommended screening and prevention guidelines, thereby decreasing morbidity and mortality. Further research on the use of risk assessment models in underserved minority populations is critical to informing national public health efforts to eliminate breast cancer disparities. However, implementing individual breast cancer risk assessment in underserved patient populations raises particular ethical issues that require further examination. After reviewing these issues, we will discuss how empirical bioethics research can be integrated with health disparities research to inform the translation of research findings. Our in-progress National Cancer Institute (NCI) funded study, How Do Underserved Minority Women Think About Breast Cancer?, conducted in the context of a larger study on individual breast cancer risk assessment, is presented as a model. PMID:23124498
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Introduction to the special issue on ''relations between gambling and alcohol use''.
Stewart, Sherry H; Kushner, Matt G
2005-01-01
It has long been recognized that gambling is an activity that is often combined with alcohol intake. Not only do the behaviors of drinking and gambling frequently co-occur, alcohol use disorders and pathological gambling are also commonly co-morbid conditions in both clinical and non-clinical samples. This article introduces a special issue of the Journal of Gambling Studies focusing on cutting edge findings on the relations between gambling and alcohol use behaviors and their associated disorders. We set the stage for the following series of six novel empirical papers and integrative commentary by reviewing the theoretical pathways through which alcohol use and gambling disorders may be linked. We conclude by describing some of the novel contributions of each of the empirical studies from within the context of these theoretical models.
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Podlesnik, Christopher A; Kelley, Michael E; Jimenez-Gomez, Corina; Bouton, Mark E
2017-07-01
Behavioral treatment gains established in one setting do not always maintain in other settings. The present review examines the relevance of basic and translational research to understanding failures to maintain treatment gains across settings. Specifically, studies of the renewal effect examine how transitioning away from a treatment setting could evoke a return of undesirable behavior, rather than newly trained appropriate behavior. Studies of renewal typically arrange three phases, with a response trained and reinforced under a particular set of contextual stimuli in the first phase. Next, that response is extinguished, often under a different set of contextual stimuli. Finally, that response returns despite extinction remaining in effect upon returning to the original training context or transitioning to a novel context. Thus, removing the extinction context is sufficient to produce a recurrence of the response. The findings suggest treatment effects can become specific to the context in which the treatment was delivered. This literature offers promising methods for systematically assessing the factors contributing to treatment maintenance and improving generalization of treatment gains across contexts. Therefore, the present review suggests basic and translational research on renewal provides an empirical literature to bring greater conceptual systematization to understanding generalization and maintenance of behavioral treatment. © 2017 Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.
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The Gaussian copula model for the joint deficit index for droughts
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Van de Vyver, H.; Van den Bergh, J.
2018-06-01
The characterization of droughts and their impacts is very dependent on the time scale that is involved. In order to obtain an overall drought assessment, the cumulative effects of water deficits over different times need to be examined together. For example, the recently developed joint deficit index (JDI) is based on multivariate probabilities of precipitation over various time scales from 1- to 12-months, and was constructed from empirical copulas. In this paper, we examine the Gaussian copula model for the JDI. We model the covariance across the temporal scales with a two-parameter function that is commonly used in the specific context of spatial statistics or geostatistics. The validity of the covariance models is demonstrated with long-term precipitation series. Bootstrap experiments indicate that the Gaussian copula model has advantages over the empirical copula method in the context of drought severity assessment: (i) it is able to quantify droughts outside the range of the empirical copula, (ii) provides adequate drought quantification, and (iii) provides a better understanding of the uncertainty in the estimation.
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Cooperation evolution in random multiplicative environments
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Yaari, G.; Solomon, S.
2010-02-01
Most real life systems have a random component: the multitude of endogenous and exogenous factors influencing them result in stochastic fluctuations of the parameters determining their dynamics. These empirical systems are in many cases subject to noise of multiplicative nature. The special properties of multiplicative noise as opposed to additive noise have been noticed for a long while. Even though apparently and formally the difference between free additive vs. multiplicative random walks consists in just a move from normal to log-normal distributions, in practice the implications are much more far reaching. While in an additive context the emergence and survival of cooperation requires special conditions (especially some level of reward, punishment, reciprocity), we find that in the multiplicative random context the emergence of cooperation is much more natural and effective. We study the various implications of this observation and its applications in various contexts.
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Empirical Investigation of Electricity Self-Generation in a Lubricated Sliding–Rolling Contact
DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Ščepanskis, Mihails; Gould, Benjamin; Greco, Aaron
The paper reports the empirical observations of voltage generation in a lubricated tribocontact with different oils altering load, sliding and temperature. The investigation is done in the context of research of the root cause of white etching cracks (WEC) failure in bearings. Tested oils of different additive packages found completely different electrical behavior. The oil, which is known to produce WECs in laboratory tests, demonstrated non-zero voltage generation
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Cashmore, Matthew; Bond, Alan; Cobb, Dick
2007-09-01
It has long been suggested that environmental assessment has the potential to contribute to sustainable development through mechanisms above and beyond informing design and consent decisions, and while theories have been proposed to explain how this might occur, few have been subjected to rigorous empirical validation. This research advances the theoretical debate by building a rich empirical understanding of environmental assessment’s practical outcomes, from which its potential to contribute to sustainable development can be gauged. Three case study environmental assessment processes in England were investigated using a combination of data generated from content analysis, in-depth interviews, and a questionnaire survey. Four categories of outcomes are delineated based on the research data: learning outcomes; governance outcomes; attitudinal and value changes; and developmental outcomes. The data provide a robust critique of mainstream theory, with its focus on design and consent decisions. The article concludes with an examination of the consequences of the context-specific nature of environmental assessment practices in terms of developing theory and focusing future research.
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Responsible research and innovation: A manifesto for empirical ethics?
Williams, Clare
2015-01-01
In 2013 the Nuffield Council on Bioethics launched their report Novel Neurotechnologies: Intervening in the Brain. The report, which adopts the European Commission’s notion of Responsible Research and Innovation, puts forward a set of priorities to guide ethical research into, and the development of, new therapeutic neurotechnologies. In this paper, we critically engage with these priorities. We argue that the Nuffield Council’s priorities, and the Responsible Research and Innovation initiative as a whole, are laudable and should guide research and innovation in all areas of healthcare. However, we argue that operationalising Responsible Research and Innovation requires an in-depth understanding of the research and clinical contexts. Providing such an understanding is an important task for empirical ethics. Drawing on examples from sociology, science and technology studies, and related disciplines, we propose four avenues of social science research which can provide such an understanding. We suggest that these avenues can provide a manifesto for empirical ethics. PMID:26089743
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Kitajima, Tomoe
2012-01-01
This study--a philosophical exploration, partly in an autoethnographical account-provides an empirical demonstration that one's personal project has a strong and positive impact on the dissertation process both for endurance to complete the process and for quality of the product. The concept of project is often explained as one's pursuit…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Coghill, David; Sonuga-Barke, Edmund J. S.
2012-01-01
The question of whether child and adolescent mental disorders are best classified using dimensional or categorical approaches is a contentious one that has equally profound implications for clinical practice and scientific enquiry. Here, we explore this issue in the context of the forth coming publication of the DSM-5 and ICD-11 approaches to…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Puhan, Gautam
2010-01-01
This study used real data to construct testing conditions for comparing results of chained linear, Tucker, and Levine-observed score equatings. The comparisons were made under conditions where the new- and old-form samples were similar in ability and when they differed in ability. The length of the anchor test was also varied to enable examination…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Lee, Roderick L.
2008-01-01
User-centered design methodologies have gained increasing attention as a way to support the goals of small groups in a variety of use contexts. A central tenet of user-centered design is the direct participation of actual or potential users in the design process. As user participation becomes more prevalent, it becomes increasingly important to…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Nagashima, Julie Takako
2016-01-01
This dissertation examines a pedagogy called Soka education that was founded in early 20th century Japan. Specifically, this dissertation offers an empirical and conceptual study that examines the application of Soka education in present day. After examining the historical and political context of Soka education, I explicate on Ikeda's (1928- )…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Farini, Federico
2014-01-01
This article aims to offer both a theoretical contribution and examples of practices of trust building in peace education; the article presents an empirical analysis of videotaped interactions in the context of peace education activities in international groups of adolescents. The analysis regards two international summer camps promoted by the…
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Pfenninger, Simone E.
2017-01-01
The main goal of this paper is to analyze how the age factor behaves as an alleged individual difference (ID) variable in SLA by focusing on the influence that the learning context exerts on the dynamics of age of onset (AO). The results of several long-term classroom studies on age effects will be presented, in which I have empirically analyzed…
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Laudan, Larry; Laudan, Rachel
2016-10-01
A basic premise of hyphenated history-and-philosophy-of-science is that theories of scientific change have to be based on empirical evidence derived from carefully constructed historical case studies. This paper analyses one such systematic attempt to test philosophical claims, describing its historical context, rationale, execution, and limited impact. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Vik, Kari; Rohde, Rolf
2014-01-01
This paper provides an overview of basic Marte Meo video interaction guidance concepts and describes the therapeutic performance of the method applied in the context of early mother-infant interaction and postnatal depression. Weight is put upon the importance of the therapeutic relationship. Further Marte Meo therapy is understood in the light of Daniel Stern's theory of 'schemas of being with' and accompanied by clinical vignettes from therapy sessions. The empirical basis for the paper is a study of postnatal depression, mother-infant interaction and video guidance, carried out in Southern Norway. The study examined Marte Meo from a phenomenological perspective. Marte Meo was offered to mothers with either postnatal depression or depressive symptoms. In in-depth interviews the participants reported that the Marte Meo method, 'from the outside looking in', increased their reflections about their infants and their own mental states as well as their sensitive interaction with their newborn. Their mothering was improved and they reported feeling less depressed. We argue that Marte Meo methodology can guide new mothers with depressive symptoms, and contribute to the creation of new schemas of being together.
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Basit, Ameer A
2017-11-17
In the social context of job engagement, the role of trust in supervisor in predicting engagement of employees has received attention in research. Very limited research, however, has investigated the mechanisms mediating this dynamic relationship. To address this important gap in knowledge, the aim of this study was to examine psychological safety and felt obligation as two psychological mechanisms mediating the effect of trust in supervisor on job engagement. Drawing from job engagement and social exchange theories, the mediating roles of psychological safety and felt obligation in the trust-engagement relationship were empirically investigated in the Malaysian context. Using self-report questionnaires, data were collected from 337 nurses employed in a public hospital located near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Results fully supported the proposed serial multiple mediator model. Trust in supervisor was indirectly related to job engagement via psychological safety followed by felt obligation. This study provides empirical evidence that trust in supervisor makes employees feel psychologically safe to employ and express their selves in their job roles. This satisfaction of the psychological safety need is interpreted by employees as an important socioemotional benefit that, in turn, makes them feel obligated to pay back to their organization through their enhanced level of job engagement. Implications for theory and practice were discussed.
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Anxiety sensitivity risk reduction in smokers: A randomized control trial examining effects on panic
Schmidt, Norman B.; Raines, Amanda M.; Allan, Nicholas P.; Zvolensky, Michael J.
2016-01-01
Empirical evidence has identified several risk factors for panic psychopathology, including smoking and anxiety sensitivity (AS; the fear of anxiety-related sensations). Smokers with elevated AS are therefore a particularly vulnerable population for panic. Yet, there is little knowledge about how to reduce risk of panic among high AS smokers. The present study prospectively evaluated panic outcomes within the context of a controlled randomized risk reduction program for smokers. Participants (N = 526) included current smokers who all received a state-of-the-art smoking cessation intervention with approximately half randomized to the AS reduction intervention termed Panic-smoking Program (PSP). The primary hypotheses focus on examining the effects of a PSP on panic symptoms in the context of this vulnerable population. Consistent with prediction, there was a significant effect of treatment condition on AS, such that individuals in the PSP condition, compared to those in the control condition, demonstrated greater decreases in AS throughout treatment and the follow-up period. In addition, PSP treatment resulted in lower rates of panic-related symptomatology. Moreover, mediation analyses indicated that reductions in AS resulted in lower panic symptoms. The present study provides the first empirical evidence that brief, targeted psychoeducational interventions can mitigate panic risk among smokers. PMID:26752327
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Schmidt, Norman B; Raines, Amanda M; Allan, Nicholas P; Zvolensky, Michael J
2016-02-01
Empirical evidence has identified several risk factors for panic psychopathology, including smoking and anxiety sensitivity (AS; the fear of anxiety-related sensations). Smokers with elevated AS are therefore a particularly vulnerable population for panic. Yet, there is little knowledge about how to reduce risk of panic among high AS smokers. The present study prospectively evaluated panic outcomes within the context of a controlled randomized risk reduction program for smokers. Participants (N = 526) included current smokers who all received a state-of-the-art smoking cessation intervention with approximately half randomized to the AS reduction intervention termed Panic-smoking Program (PSP). The primary hypotheses focus on examining the effects of a PSP on panic symptoms in the context of this vulnerable population. Consistent with prediction, there was a significant effect of treatment condition on AS, such that individuals in the PSP condition, compared to those in the control condition, demonstrated greater decreases in AS throughout treatment and the follow-up period. In addition, PSP treatment resulted in lower rates of panic-related symptomatology. Moreover, mediation analyses indicated that reductions in AS resulted in lower panic symptoms. The present study provides the first empirical evidence that brief, targeted psychoeducational interventions can mitigate panic risk among smokers. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Berdej, Samantha M; Armitage, Derek R
2016-01-01
This study empirically investigates the influence of bridging organizations on governance outcomes for marine conservation in Indonesia. Conservation challenges require ways of governing that are collaborative and adaptive across boundaries, and where conservation actions are better coordinated, information flows improved, and knowledge better integrated and mobilized. We combine quantitative social network analysis and qualitative data to analyze bridging organizations and their networks, and to understand their contributions and constraints in two case studies in Bali, Indonesia. The analysis shows 1) bridging organizations help to navigate the 'messiness' inherent in conservation settings by compensating for sparse linkages, 2) the particular structure and function of bridging organizations influence governing processes (i.e., collaboration, knowledge sharing) and subsequent conservation outcomes, 3) 'bridging' is accomplished using different strategies and platforms for collaboration and social learning, and 4) bridging organizations enhance flexibility to adjust to changing marine conservation contexts and needs. Understanding the organizations that occupy bridging positions, and how they utilize their positionality in a governance network is emerging as an important determinant of successful conservation outcomes. Our findings contribute to a relatively new body of literature on bridging organizations in marine conservation contexts, and add needed empirical investigation into their value to governance and conservation in Coral Triangle nations and beyond.
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Berdej, Samantha M.; Armitage, Derek R.
2016-01-01
This study empirically investigates the influence of bridging organizations on governance outcomes for marine conservation in Indonesia. Conservation challenges require ways of governing that are collaborative and adaptive across boundaries, and where conservation actions are better coordinated, information flows improved, and knowledge better integrated and mobilized. We combine quantitative social network analysis and qualitative data to analyze bridging organizations and their networks, and to understand their contributions and constraints in two case studies in Bali, Indonesia. The analysis shows 1) bridging organizations help to navigate the ‘messiness’ inherent in conservation settings by compensating for sparse linkages, 2) the particular structure and function of bridging organizations influence governing processes (i.e., collaboration, knowledge sharing) and subsequent conservation outcomes, 3) ‘bridging’ is accomplished using different strategies and platforms for collaboration and social learning, and 4) bridging organizations enhance flexibility to adjust to changing marine conservation contexts and needs. Understanding the organizations that occupy bridging positions, and how they utilize their positionality in a governance network is emerging as an important determinant of successful conservation outcomes. Our findings contribute to a relatively new body of literature on bridging organizations in marine conservation contexts, and add needed empirical investigation into their value to governance and conservation in Coral Triangle nations and beyond. PMID:26794003
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Millar, Ross; Mannion, Russell; Freeman, Tim; Davies, Huw TO
2013-01-01
Context Recurring problems with patient safety have led to a growing interest in helping hospitals’ governing bodies provide more effective oversight of the quality and safety of their services. National directives and initiatives emphasize the importance of action by boards, but the empirical basis for informing effective hospital board oversight has yet to receive full and careful review. Methods This article presents a narrative review of empirical research to inform the debate about hospital boards’ oversight of quality and patient safety. A systematic and comprehensive search identified 122 papers for detailed review. Much of the empirical work appeared in the last ten years, is from the United States, and employs cross-sectional survey methods. Findings Recent empirical studies linking board composition and processes with patient outcomes have found clear differences between high- and low-performing hospitals, highlighting the importance of strong and committed leadership that prioritizes quality and safety and sets clear and measurable goals for improvement. Effective oversight is also associated with well-informed and skilled board members. External factors (such as regulatory regimes and the publication of performance data) might also have a role in influencing boards, but detailed empirical work on these is scant. Conclusions Health policy debates recognize the important role of hospital boards in overseeing patient quality and safety, and a growing body of empirical research has sought to elucidate that role. This review finds a number of areas of guidance that have some empirical support, but it also exposes the relatively inchoate nature of the field. Greater theoretical and methodological development is required if we are to secure more evidence-informed governance systems and practices that can contribute to safer care. PMID:24320168
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Retamar, Pilar; Portillo, María M.; López-Prieto, María Dolores; Rodríguez-López, Fernando; de Cueto, Marina; García, María V.; Gómez, María J.; del Arco, Alfonso; Muñoz, Angel; Sánchez-Porto, Antonio; Torres-Tortosa, Manuel; Martín-Aspas, Andrés; Arroyo, Ascensión; García-Figueras, Carolina; Acosta, Federico; Corzo, Juan E.; León-Ruiz, Laura; Escobar-Lara, Trinidad
2012-01-01
The impact of the adequacy of empirical therapy on outcome for patients with bloodstream infections (BSI) is key for determining whether adequate empirical coverage should be prioritized over other, more conservative approaches. Recent systematic reviews outlined the need for new studies in the field, using improved methodologies. We assessed the impact of inadequate empirical treatment on the mortality of patients with BSI in the present-day context, incorporating recent methodological recommendations. A prospective multicenter cohort including all BSI episodes in adult patients was performed in 15 hospitals in Andalucía, Spain, over a 2-month period in 2006 to 2007. The main outcome variables were 14- and 30-day mortality. Adjusted analyses were performed by multivariate analysis and propensity score-based matching. Eight hundred one episodes were included. Inadequate empirical therapy was administered in 199 (24.8%) episodes; mortality at days 14 and 30 was 18.55% and 22.6%, respectively. After controlling for age, Charlson index, Pitt score, neutropenia, source, etiology, and presentation with severe sepsis or shock, inadequate empirical treatment was associated with increased mortality at days 14 and 30 (odds ratios [ORs], 2.12 and 1.56; 95% confidence intervals [95% CI], 1.34 to 3.34 and 1.01 to 2.40, respectively). The adjusted ORs after a propensity score-based matched analysis were 3.03 and 1.70 (95% CI, 1.60 to 5.74 and 0.98 to 2.98, respectively). In conclusion, inadequate empirical therapy is independently associated with increased mortality in patients with BSI. Programs to improve the quality of empirical therapy in patients with suspicion of BSI and optimization of definitive therapy should be implemented. PMID:22005999
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Spirituality as an ethical challenge in Indian palliative care: A systematic review.
Gielen, Joris; Bhatnagar, Sushma; Chaturvedi, Santosh K
2016-10-01
Spiritual care is recognized as an essential component of palliative care (PC). However, patients' experience of spirituality is heavily context dependent. In addition, Western definitions and findings regarding spirituality may not be applicable to patients of non-Western origin, such as Indian PC patients. Given the particular sociocultural, religious, and economic conditions in which PC programs in India operate, we decided to undertake a systematic review of the literature on spirituality among Indian PC patients. We intended to assess how spirituality has been interpreted and operationalized in studies of this population, to determine which dimensions of spirituality are important for patients, and to analyze its ethical implications. In January of 2015, we searched five databases (ATLA, CINAHL, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and PubMed) using a combination of controlled and noncontrolled vocabulary. A content analysis of all selected reports was undertaken to assess the interpretation and dimensions of spirituality. Data extraction from empirical studies was done using a data-extraction sheet. A total of 39 empirical studies (12 qualitative, 21 quantitative, and 6 mixed-methods) and 18 others (10 reviews, 4 opinion articles, and 4 case studies) were retrieved. To date, no systematic review on spirituality in Indian PC has been published. Spirituality was the main focus of only six empirical studies. The content analysis revealed three dimensions of spirituality: (1) the relational dimension, (2) the existential dimension, and (3) the values dimension. Religion is prominent in all these dimensions. Patients' experiences of spirituality are determined by the specifically Indian context, which leads to particular ethical issues. Since spiritual well-being greatly impacts quality of life, and because of the substantial presence of people of Indian origin living outside the subcontinent, the findings of our review have international relevance. Moreover, our review illustrates that spirituality can be an ethical challenge and that more ethical reflection on provision of spiritual care is needed.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Boutillier, J.; Ehrhardt, L.; De Mezzo, S.; Deck, C.; Magnan, P.; Naz, P.; Willinger, R.
2018-03-01
With the increasing use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), the need for better mitigation, either for building integrity or for personal security, increases in importance. Before focusing on the interaction of the shock wave with a target and the potential associated damage, knowledge must be acquired regarding the nature of the blast threat, i.e., the pressure-time history. This requirement motivates gaining further insight into the triple point (TP) path, in order to know precisely which regime the target will encounter (simple reflection or Mach reflection). Within this context, the purpose of this study is to evaluate three existing TP path empirical models, which in turn are used in other empirical models for the determination of the pressure profile. These three TP models are the empirical function of Kinney, the Unified Facilities Criteria (UFC) curves, and the model of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). As discrepancies are observed between these models, new experimental data were obtained to test their reliability and a new promising formulation is proposed for scaled heights of burst ranging from 24.6-172.9 cm/kg^{1/3}.
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Is science metaphysically neutral?
Fry, Iris
2012-09-01
This paper challenges the claim that science is metaphysically neutral upheld by contenders of the separation of peacefully co-existent science and religion and by evolutionary theists. True, naturalistic metaphysical claims can neither be refuted nor proved and are thus distinct from empirical hypotheses. However, metaphysical assumptions not only regulate the theoretical and empirical study of nature, but are increasingly supported by the growing empirical body of science. This historically evolving interaction has contributed to the development of a naturalistic worldview that renounces the necessity of a transcendent god and of purposeful design. The thesis presented here differs not only from the claims of the "separatists" and of evolutionary theists. In pointing to the metaphysical aspects of science, I also criticize the failure of some evolutionary naturalists to distinguish between empirical and metaphysical contentions. Most important, based on the examination of science suggested here, creationists' false accusation that science is only a naturalistic dogma is refuted. Finally, the difficulties involved in the position endorsed here for the public support of evolution are acknowledged, taking into account the high religious profile of the American society and the social and political context in the US and in other countries. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Counting, accounting, and accountability: Helen Verran's relational empiricism.
Kenney, Martha
2015-10-01
Helen Verran uses the term 'relational empiricism' to describe situated empirical inquiry that is attentive to the relations that constitute its objects of study, including the investigator's own practices. Relational empiricism draws on and reconfigures Science and Technology Studies' traditional concerns with reflexivity and relationality, casting empirical inquiry as an important and non-innocent world-making practice. Through a reading of Verran's postcolonial projects in Nigeria and Australia, this article develops a concept of empirical and political 'accountability' to complement her relational empiricism. In Science and an African Logic, Verran provides accounts of the relations that materialize her empirical objects. These accounts work to decompose her original objects, generating new objects that are more promising for the specific postcolonial contexts of her work. The process of decomposition is part of remaining accountable for her research methods and accountable to the worlds she is working in and writing about. This is a practice of narrating relations and learning to tell better technoscientific stories. What counts as better, however, is not given, but is always contextual and at stake. In this way, Verran acts not as participant-observer, but as participant-storyteller, telling stories to facilitate epistemic flourishing within and as part of a historically located community of practice. The understanding of accountability that emerges from this discussion is designed as a contribution, both practical and evocative, to the theoretical toolkit of Science and Technology Studies scholars who are interested in thinking concretely about how we can be more accountable to the worlds we study.
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Giesler, Jürgen M; Weis, Joachim
2008-11-01
Concepts of patient competence (PC) are being increasingly used, but seldom clearly defined in the context of shared medical treatment decision making and coping with cancer. The meaning of such concepts should therefore be clarified, and measures developed that permit the assessment of different facets of this patient characteristic. Consequently, this study attempted to contribute to the definition and measurement of PC. Employing literature reviews and qualitative interviews, we developed a working definition of PC in the context of cancer from which we designed a self-rating measure of this patient characteristic that was then tested for validity and reliability in a sample of N=536 patients with cancer. Using factor analyses, we developed five problem- and three emotion-focused subscales that measure distinct facets of PC with satisfactory reliability. Additional analyses provide preliminary evidence of the instruments' validity. This study represents an essential first step in developing a reliable self-rating measure of PC in the context of cancer. Although further refinement of this measure is clearly required, it provides a preliminary methodological basis for empirically investigating the determinants and potential health effects of PC. (c) 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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Parents' Motives for Home Education: The Influence of Methodological Design and Social Context
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Spiegler, Thomas
2010-01-01
Parents' motives for home education are one of the most researched topics within home education research. The focus of this article is on the question of the degree to which the results regarding these motives are influenced and shaped by the applied methods and the social context. The empirical basis is a meta-analysis of twelve research…
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Two roles of the context in Pavlovian fear conditioning.
Urcelay, Gonzalo P; Miller, Ralph R
2010-04-01
At both empirical and theoretical levels, multiple functional roles of contextual information upon memory performance have been proposed without a clear dissociation of these roles. Some theories have assumed that contexts are functionally similar to cues, whereas other views emphasize the retrieval facilitating properties of contextual information. In Experiment 1, we observed that one critical parameter, the spacing of trials, could determine whether the context would function as a conditioned stimulus or as a retrieval cue for memories trained in different phases. Experiments 2 and 3 doubly dissociated these functions by selectively disrupting one role but not the other, and vice versa. Overall, these observations identify one determinant of different functions of contextual information and pose a major challenge to theories of learning that assume exclusively one or the other function of the context. Moreover, these data emphasize the importance of parametric variations on behavioral control, which has critical implications for studies designed to understand the role of the hippocampus in processing of contextual attributes.
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Developing and validating an instrument for measuring mobile computing self-efficacy.
Wang, Yi-Shun; Wang, Hsiu-Yuan
2008-08-01
IT-related self-efficacy has been found to have a critical influence on system use. However, traditional measures of computer self-efficacy and Internet-related self-efficacy are perceived to be inapplicable in the context of mobile computing and commerce because they are targeted primarily at either desktop computer or wire-based technology contexts. Based on previous research, this study develops and validates a multidimensional instrument for measuring mobile computing self-efficacy (MCSE). This empirically validated instrument will be useful to researchers in developing and testing the theories of mobile user behavior, and to practitioners in assessing the mobile computing self-efficacy of users and promoting the use of mobile commerce systems.
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Contextual Influences on Early Drinking: Characteristics of Drinking and Non-Drinking Days
Jackson, Kristina M.; Merrill, Jennifer E.; Barnett, Nancy P.; Colby, Suzanne M.; Abar, Caitlin C.; Rogers, Michelle L.; Hayes, Kerri L.
2016-01-01
Research characterizing the adolescent drinking context is limited, often relies on samples of current drinkers reporting on recent/last or typical drinking experiences, and provides little information about the context of very early use. The present study uses repeated monthly assessments to describe the context of drinking days and matched non-drinking days to determine the unique risk associated with different drinking-related characteristics. Additionally, we used latent class analysis to empirically identify key configurations of drinking-related characteristics and both family- and non-family-related environmental characteristics (social context, physical location, source of alcohol). Data included 688 days (344 drinking days, 344 non-drinking days) from 164 middle-school students enrolled in a prospective study on drinking initiation and progression (62% female; 26% non-White, 11% Hispanic). Results supported four patterns: (1) heavier drinking occurring in a peer context, lighter drinking occurring in (2) a family context or (3) a peer context, and (4) drinking alcohol obtained at home without permission. Latent classes varied as a function of gender, age, peer norms, and parenting behaviors as well as alcohol type and perceived alcohol availability. Findings indicated that highly endorsed contexts were not necessarily the riskiest ones, and simply targeting an oft-reported source of alcohol, physical location, or social context may not be an effective strategy for reducing underage drinking. Additionally, although greater monitoring and anticipated parent reaction to drinking are typically protective against adolescent drinking, we found they were associated with parent-sanctioned drinking, suggesting the role of parenting practices must be considered in the context of drinking pattern. PMID:27269292
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Essers, Geurt; van Dulmen, Sandra; van Weel, Chris; van der Vleuten, Cees; Kramer, Anneke
2011-12-13
Communication is a key competence for health care professionals. Analysis of registrar and GP communication performance in daily practice, however, suggests a suboptimal application of communication skills. The influence of context factors could reveal why communication performance levels, on average, do not appear adequate. The context of daily practice may require different skills or specific ways of handling these skills, whereas communication skills are mostly treated as generic. So far no empirical analysis of the context has been made. Our aim was to identify context factors that could be related to GP communication. A purposive sample of real-life videotaped GP consultations was analyzed (N = 17). As a frame of reference we chose the MAAS-Global, a widely used assessment instrument for medical communication. By inductive reasoning, we analyzed the GP behaviour in the consultation leading to poor item scores on the MAAS-Global. In these cases we looked for the presence of an intervening context factor, and how this might explain the actual GP communication behaviour. We reached saturation after having viewed 17 consultations. We identified 19 context factors that could potentially explain the deviation from generic recommendations on communication skills. These context factors can be categorized into doctor-related, patient-related, and consultation-related factors. Several context factors seem to influence doctor-patient communication, requiring the GP to apply communication skills differently from recommendations on communication. From this study we conclude that there is a need to explicitly account for context factors in the assessment of GP (and GP registrar) communication performance. The next step is to validate our findings.
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Hassan, Robert
2010-06-01
This essay is a response to Judy Wajcman's essay 'Life in the fast lane? Towards a sociology of technology and time' (2008: 59-77). In that article Wajcman argued that recent developments in the sociology of temporal change had been marked by a tendency in social theory towards a form of 'science fiction'--a sociological theorizing, she maintains, that bears no real relation to actual, empirically provable developments in the field and should therefore be viewed as not contributing to 'a richer analysis of the relationship between technology and time' (2008: 61). This reply argues that as Wajcman suggests in her essay, there is indeed an 'urgent need for increased dialogue to connect social theory with detailed empirical studies' (2008: 59) but that the most fruitful way to proceed would not be through a constraining of 'science fiction' social theorizing but, rather, through its expansion--and more, that 'science fiction' should take the lead in the process. This essay suggests that the connection between social theory and empirical studies would be strengthened by a wider understanding of the function of knowledge and research in the context of what is termed 'true originality' and 'routine originality'. The former is the domain of social theory and the latter resides within traditional sociological disciplines. It is argued that both need each other to advance our understanding of society, especially in the context of the fast-changing processes of technological development. The example of 'technological determinism' is discussed as illustrative of how 'routine originality' can harden into dogma without the application of 'true originality' to continually question (sometimes through ideas that may appear to border on 'science fiction') comfortable assumptions that may have become 'routine' and shorn of their initial 'originality'.
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Making Sense of Clinical Practice: Order Set Design Strategies in CPOE
Novak, Laurie L.
2007-01-01
A case study was conducted during the customization phase of a commercial CPOE system at a multi-hospital, academic health system. The study focused on the development of order sets. Three distinct approaches to order set development were observed: Empirical, Local Consensus and Departmental. The three approaches are first described and then examined using the framework of sensemaking. Different approaches to sensemaking in the context of order set development reflect variations in sources of knowledge related to the standardization of care. PMID:18693900
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Designs of Empirical Evaluations of Nonexperimental Methods in Field Settings.
Wong, Vivian C; Steiner, Peter M
2018-01-01
Over the last three decades, a research design has emerged to evaluate the performance of nonexperimental (NE) designs and design features in field settings. It is called the within-study comparison (WSC) approach or the design replication study. In the traditional WSC design, treatment effects from a randomized experiment are compared to those produced by an NE approach that shares the same target population. The nonexperiment may be a quasi-experimental design, such as a regression-discontinuity or an interrupted time-series design, or an observational study approach that includes matching methods, standard regression adjustments, and difference-in-differences methods. The goals of the WSC are to determine whether the nonexperiment can replicate results from a randomized experiment (which provides the causal benchmark estimate), and the contexts and conditions under which these methods work in practice. This article presents a coherent theory of the design and implementation of WSCs for evaluating NE methods. It introduces and identifies the multiple purposes of WSCs, required design components, common threats to validity, design variants, and causal estimands of interest in WSCs. It highlights two general approaches for empirical evaluations of methods in field settings, WSC designs with independent and dependent benchmark and NE arms. This article highlights advantages and disadvantages for each approach, and conditions and contexts under which each approach is optimal for addressing methodological questions.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Anderson, Brilé; Böhmelt, Tobias; Ward, Hugh
2017-11-01
This article studies how public opinion is associated with the introduction of renewable energy policies in Europe. While research increasingly seeks to model the link between public opinion and environmental policies, the empirical evidence is largely based on a single case: the US. This limits the generalizability of findings and we argue accordingly for a systematic, quantitative study of how public opinion drives environmental policies in another context. Theoretically, we combine arguments behind the political survival of democratic leaders with electoral success and environmental politics. Ultimately, we suggest that office-seeking leaders introduce policies that seem favorable to the domestic audience; if the public prefers environmental protection, the government introduces such policies in turn. The main contribution of this research is the cross-country empirical analysis, where we combine data on the public’s environmental attitudes and renewable energy policy outputs in a European context between 1974 and 2015. We show that as public opinion shifts towards prioritizing the environment, there is a significant and positive effect on the rate of renewable energy policy outputs by governments in Europe. To our knowledge, this is the first systematic, quantitative study of public opinion and environmental policies across a large set of countries, and we demonstrate that the mechanisms behind the introduction of renewable energy policies follow major trends across European states.
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Ewuoso, Cornelius
2017-09-29
Empirical studies have now established that many patients make clinical decisions based on models other than Anglo American model of truth-telling and patient autonomy. Some scholars also add that current medical ethics frameworks and recent proposals for enhancing communication in health professional-patient relationship have not adequately accommodated these models. In certain clinical contexts where health professional and patients are motivated by significant cultural and religious values, these current frameworks cannot prevent communication breakdown, which can, in turn, jeopardize patient care, cause undue distress to a patient in certain clinical contexts or negatively impact his/her relationship with the community. These empirical studies have now recommended that additional frameworks developed around other models of truth-telling; and which take very seriously significant value-differences which sometimes exist between health professional and patients, as well as patient's cultural/religious values or relational capacities, must be developed. This paper contributes towards the development of one. Specifically, this study proposes a framework for truth-telling developed around African model of truth-telling by drawing insights from the communitarian concept of ootọ́ amongst the Yoruba people of south west Nigeria. I am optimistic that if this model is incorporated into current medical ethics codes and curricula, it will significantly enhance health professional-patient communication. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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The sociocultural context of emotion socialization in African American families.
Labella, Madelyn H
2018-02-01
The current paper systematically reviews empirical research on parental emotion socialization in African American families, addressing gaps in a literature that has historically focused on White middle class samples. Of the 1210 studies screened, 329 were inspected, 280 were excluded, and 49 were included. Studies addressed emotion-related beliefs and attitudes, emotion expressiveness, discussion of emotion, and responses to children's emotion. Mixed findings are interpreted in light of sociocultural factors. An emerging body of research suggests that the celebration and restriction of children's emotions coexist closely in African American families, perhaps reflecting the joint influence of traditional Afro-cultural values and the historical context of slavery and discrimination. Methodological issues are identified and future directions for research and practice are discussed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Meier, Brian P.; D’Agostino, Paul R.; Elliot, Andrew J.; Maier, Markus A.; Wilkowski, Benjamin M.
2012-01-01
Background A basic premise of the recently proffered color-in-context model is that the influence of color on psychological functioning varies as a function of the psychological context in which color is perceived. Some research has examined the appetitive and aversive implications of viewing the color red in romance- and achievement-relevant contexts, respectively, but in all existing empirical work approach and avoidance behavior has been studied in separate tasks and separate experiments. Research is needed to directly test whether red influences the same behavior differently depending entirely on psychological context. Methodology/Principal Findings The present experiment was designed to put this premise to direct test in romance- and achievement-relevant contexts within the same experimental paradigm involving walking behavior. Our results revealed that exposure to red (but not blue) indeed has differential implications for walking behavior as a function of the context in which the color is perceived. Red increased the speed with which participants walked to an ostensible interview about dating (a romance-relevant context), but decreased the speed with which they walked to an ostensible interview about intelligence (an achievement-relevant context). Conclusions/Significance These results are the first direct evidence that the influence of red on psychological functioning in humans varies by psychological context. Our findings contribute to both the literature on color psychology and the broader, emerging literature on the influence of context on basic psychological processes. PMID:22808136
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Novins, Douglas K; Green, Amy E; Legha, Rupinder K; Aarons, Gregory A
2013-10-01
Although there has been a dramatic increase in the number of evidence-based practices (EBPs) to improve child and adolescent mental health, the poor uptake of these EBPs has led to investigations of factors related to their successful dissemination and implementation. The purpose of this systematic review was to identify key findings from empirical studies examining the dissemination and implementation of EBPs for child and adolescent mental health. Of 14,247 citations initially identified, 73 articles drawn from 44 studies met inclusion criteria. The articles were classified by implementation phase (exploration, preparation, implementation, and sustainment) and specific implementation factors examined. These factors were divided into outer (i.e., system level) and inner (i.e., organizational level) contexts. Few studies used true experimental designs; most were observational. Of the many inner context factors that were examined in these studies (e.g., provider characteristics, organizational resources, leadership), fidelity monitoring and supervision had the strongest empirical evidence. Albeit the focus of fewer studies, implementation interventions focused on improving organizational climate and culture were associated with better intervention sustainment as well as child and adolescent outcomes. Outer contextual factors such as training and use of specific technologies to support intervention use were also important in facilitating the implementation process. The further development and testing of dissemination and implementation strategies is needed to more efficiently move EBPs into usual care. Copyright © 2013 American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Investigating change in a nursing context.
Sheehan, J
1990-07-01
This paper focuses on 'why', 'what' and 'how' issues as they relate to the investigation of change in a nursing context. The why issues revolve around the need for change, and evolutionary and revolutionary change are discussed. Next the what issues are discussed and some variables involved in the change process are identified, and the role of change agents is outlined. Change strategies such as the power-coercive, the rational-empirical and the normative-re-education are discussed. Finally, the potential of action research in the context of bringing about change is advanced.
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Wäscher, Sebastian; Salloch, Sabine; Ritter, Peter; Vollmann, Jochen; Schildmann, Jan
2017-05-01
This article describes a process of developing, implementing and evaluating a clinical ethics support service intervention with the goal of building up a context-sensitive structure of minimal clinical-ethics in an oncology department without prior clinical ethics structure. Scholars from different disciplines have called for an improvement in the evaluation of clinical ethics support services (CESS) for different reasons over several decades. However, while a lot has been said about the concepts and methodological challenges of evaluating CESS up to the present time, relatively few empirical studies have been carried out. The aim of this article is twofold. On the one hand, it describes a process of development, modifying and evaluating a CESS intervention as part of the ETHICO research project, using the approach of qualitative-formative evaluation. On the other hand, it provides a methodological analysis which specifies the contribution of qualitative empirical methods to the (formative) evaluation of CESS. We conclude with a consideration of the strengths and limitations of qualitative evaluation research with regards to the evaluation and development of context sensitive CESS. We further discuss our own approach in contrast to rather traditional consult or committee models. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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Montiglio, Pierre-Olivier; Ferrari, Caterina; Réale, Denis
2013-01-01
Several personality traits are mainly expressed in a social context, and others, which are not restricted to a social context, can be affected by the social interactions with conspecifics. In this paper, we focus on the recently proposed hypothesis that social niche specialization (i.e. individuals in a population occupy different social roles) can explain the maintenance of individual differences in personality. We first present ecological and social niche specialization hypotheses. In particular, we show how niche specialization can be quantified and highlight the link between personality differences and social niche specialization. We then review some ecological factors (e.g. competition and environmental heterogeneity) and the social mechanisms (e.g. frequency-dependent, state-dependent and social awareness) that may be associated with the evolution of social niche specialization and personality differences. Finally, we present a conceptual model and methods to quantify the contribution of ecological factors and social mechanisms to the dynamics between personality and social roles. In doing so, we suggest a series of research objectives to help empirical advances in this research area. Throughout this paper, we highlight empirical studies of social niche specialization in mammals, where available. PMID:23569291
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Coupling Post-Event and Prospective Analyses for El Niño-related Risk Reduction in Peru
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
French, Adam; Keating, Adriana; Mechler, Reinhard; Szoenyi, Michael; Cisneros, Abel; Chuquisengo, Orlando; Etienne, Emilie; Ferradas, Pedro
2017-04-01
Analyses in the wake of natural disasters play an important role in identifying how ex ante risk reduction and ex post hazard response activities have both succeeded and fallen short in specific contexts, thereby contributing to recommendations for improving such measures in the future. Event analyses have particular relevance in settings where disasters are likely to reoccur, and especially where recurrence intervals are short. This paper applies the Post Event Review Capability (PERC) methodology to the context of frequently reoccurring El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events in the country of Peru, where over the last several decades ENSO impacts have generated high levels of damage and economic loss. Rather than analyzing the impacts of a single event, this study builds upon the existing PERC methodology by combining empirical event analysis with a critical examination of risk reduction and adaptation measures implemented both prior to and following several ENSO events in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Additionally, the paper explores linking the empirical findings regarding the uptake and outcomes of particular risk reduction and adaptation strategies to a prospective, scenario-based approach for projecting risk several decades into the future.
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How rational should bioethics be? The value of empirical approaches.
Alvarez, A A
2001-10-01
Rational justification of claims with empirical content calls for empirical and not only normative philosophical investigation. Empirical approaches to bioethics are epistemically valuable, i.e., such methods may be necessary in providing and verifying basic knowledge about cultural values and norms. Our assumptions in moral reasoning can be verified or corrected using these methods. Moral arguments can be initiated or adjudicated by data drawn from empirical investigation. One may argue that individualistic informed consent, for example, is not compatible with the Asian communitarian orientation. But this normative claim uses an empirical assumption that may be contrary to the fact that some Asians do value and argue for informed consent. Is it necessary and factual to neatly characterize some cultures as individualistic and some as communitarian? Empirical investigation can provide a reasonable way to inform such generalizations. In a multi-cultural context, such as in the Philippines, there is a need to investigate the nature of the local ethos before making any appeal to authenticity. Otherwise we may succumb to the same ethical imperialism we are trying hard to resist. Normative claims that involve empirical premises cannot be reasonable verified or evaluated without utilizing empirical methods along with philosophical reflection. The integration of empirical methods to the standard normative approach to moral reasoning should be reasonably guided by the epistemic demands of claims arising from cross-cultural discourse in bioethics.
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Conceptualisations of infinity by primary pre-service teachers
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Date-Huxtable, Elizabeth; Cavanagh, Michael; Coady, Carmel; Easey, Michael
2018-05-01
As part of the Opening Real Science: Authentic Mathematics and Science Education for Australia project, an online mathematics learning module embedding conceptual thinking about infinity in science-based contexts, was designed and trialled with a cohort of 22 pre-service teachers during 1 week of intensive study. This research addressed the question: "How do pre-service teachers conceptualise infinity mathematically?" Participants argued the existence of infinity in a summative reflective task, using mathematical and empirical arguments that were coded according to five themes: definition, examples, application, philosophy and teaching; and 17 codes. Participants' reflections were differentiated as to whether infinity was referred to as an abstract (A) or a real (R) concept or whether both (B) codes were used. Principal component analysis of the reflections, using frequency of codings, revealed that A and R codes occurred at different frequencies in three groups of reflections. Distinct methods of argument were associated with each group of reflections: mathematical numerical examples and empirical measurement comparisons characterised arguments for infinity as an abstract concept, geometric and empirical dynamic examples and belief statements characterised arguments for infinity as a real concept and empirical measurement and mathematical examples and belief statements characterised arguments for infinity as both an abstract and a real concept. An implication of the results is that connections between mathematical and empirical applications of infinity may assist pre-service teachers to contrast finite with infinite models of the world.
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Empirical Performance of Cross-Validation With Oracle Methods in a Genomics Context.
Martinez, Josue G; Carroll, Raymond J; Müller, Samuel; Sampson, Joshua N; Chatterjee, Nilanjan
2011-11-01
When employing model selection methods with oracle properties such as the smoothly clipped absolute deviation (SCAD) and the Adaptive Lasso, it is typical to estimate the smoothing parameter by m-fold cross-validation, for example, m = 10. In problems where the true regression function is sparse and the signals large, such cross-validation typically works well. However, in regression modeling of genomic studies involving Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNP), the true regression functions, while thought to be sparse, do not have large signals. We demonstrate empirically that in such problems, the number of selected variables using SCAD and the Adaptive Lasso, with 10-fold cross-validation, is a random variable that has considerable and surprising variation. Similar remarks apply to non-oracle methods such as the Lasso. Our study strongly questions the suitability of performing only a single run of m-fold cross-validation with any oracle method, and not just the SCAD and Adaptive Lasso.
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Modeling Demic and Cultural Diffusion: An Introduction.
Fort, Joaquim; Crema, Enrico R; Madella, Marco
2015-07-01
Identifying the processes by which human cultures spread across different populations is one of the most topical objectives shared among different fields of study. Seminal works have analyzed a variety of data and attempted to determine whether empirically observed patterns are the result of demic and/or cultural diffusion. This special issue collects articles exploring several themes (from modes of cultural transmission to drivers of dispersal mechanisms) and contexts (from the Neolithic in Europe to the spread of computer programming languages), which offer new insights that will augment the theoretical and empirical basis for the study of demic and cultural diffusion. In this introduction we outline the state of art in the modeling of these processes, briefly discuss the pros and cons of two of the most commonly used frameworks (equation-based models and agent-based models), and summarize the significance of each article in this special issue.
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Leadership in transformation: a longitudinal study in a nursing organization.
Viitala, Riitta
2014-01-01
Not only does leadership produce changes, but those changes produce leadership in organisations. The purpose of this paper is to present a theoretical and empirical analysis of the transformation of leadership at two different historical points in a health care organisation. It leans on the perspective of social constructionism, drawing especially from the ideas of Berger and Luckmann (1966). The paper seeks to improve understanding of how leaders themselves construct leadership in relation to organisational change. The empirical material was gathered in a longitudinal case study in a nursing organisation in two different historical and situational points. It consists of written narratives produced by nurse leaders that are analysed by applying discourse analysis. The empirical study revealed that the constructions of leadership were dramatically different at the two different historical and situational points. Leadership showed up as a complex, fragile and changing phenomenon, which fluctuates along with the other organisational changes. The results signal the importance of agency in leadership and the central role of "significant others". The paper questions the traditional categorisation and labelling of leadership as well as the cross-sectional studies in understanding leadership transformation. Its originality relates to the longitudinal perspective on transformation of leadership in the context of a health care organisation.
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Grossmann, Igor
2017-03-01
Philosophers and psychological scientists have converged on the idea that wisdom involves certain aspects of thinking (e.g., intellectual humility, recognition of uncertainty and change), enabling application of knowledge to life challenges. Empirical evidence indicates that people's ability to think wisely varies dramatically across experiential contexts that they encounter over the life span. Moreover, wise thinking varies from one situation to another, with self-focused contexts inhibiting wise thinking. Experiments can show ways to buffer thinking against bias in cases in which self-interests are unavoidable. Specifically, an ego-decentering cognitive mind-set enables wise thinking about personally meaningful issues. It appears that experiential, situational, and cultural factors are even more powerful in shaping wisdom than previously imagined. Focus on such contextual factors sheds new light on the processes underlying wise thought and its development, helps to integrate different approaches to studying wisdom, and has implications for measurement and development of wisdom-enhancing interventions.
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Loizaga-Velder, Anja; Verres, Rolf
2014-01-01
This qualitative empirical study explores the ritual use of ayahuasca in the treatment of addictions. Ayahuasca is an Amazonian psychedelic plant compound created from an admixture of the vine Banisteriopsis caapi and the bush Psychotria viridis. The study included interviews with 13 therapists who apply ayahuasca professionally in the treatment of addictions (four indigenous healers and nine Western mental health professionals with university degrees), two expert researchers, and 14 individuals who had undergone ayahuasca-assisted therapy for addictions in diverse contexts in South America. The study provides empirically based hypotheses on therapeutic mechanisms of ayahuasca in substance dependence treatment. Findings indicate that ayahuasca can serve as a valuable therapeutic tool that, in carefully structured settings, can catalyze neurobiological and psychological processes that support recovery from substance dependencies and the prevention of relapse. Treatment outcomes, however, can be influenced by a number of variables that are explained in this study. In addition, issues related to ritual transfer and strategies for minimizing undesired side-effects are discussed.
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Pickersgill, Martyn; Hogle, Linda
2015-12-01
For some time now, bioethicists have paid close attention to issues associated with 'enhancement'; specifically, the appropriate use and regulation of substances and artefacts understood by some to improve the functioning of human bodies beyond that associated with 'normal' function. Medical humanities scholars (aside from philosophers and lawyers) and social scientists have not been frequent participants in debates around enhancement, but could shine a bright light on the range of dilemmas and opportunities techniques of enhancement are purported to introduce. In this paper, we argue that empirical research into the notion and practice of enhancement is necessary and timely. Such work could fruitfully engage with-and further develop-existing conceptual repertoires within the medical humanities and social sciences in ways that would afford benefit to scholars in those disciplines. We maintain that empirical engagements could also provide important resources to bioethicists seeking to regulate new enhancements in ways that are sensitive to societal context and cultural difference. To this end, we outline an empirical agenda for the medical humanities and social sciences around enhancement, emphasising especially how science and technology studies could bring benefits to-and be benefitted by-research in this area. We also use the example of (pharmaceutical) cognitive enhancement to show how empirical studies of actual and likely enhancement practices can nuance resonant bioethical debates. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/
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2014-04-01
into the empire under separate arrangements offering varying degrees of autonomy. The Great Compromise of 1867 was the first political arrangement...considered it treasonous that the Hungarians demanded equal share in the Empire and criticized the Great Compromise of 1867. As the Slavs began to demand...lands.8 Kann goes on to say, “Undoubtedly, a great shift to the forces of ethnic and, to some extent, even racial nationalism occurred during the
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Broman, Karolina; Bernholt, Sascha; Parchmann, Ilka
2015-05-01
Background:Context-based learning approaches are used to enhance students' interest in, and knowledge about, science. According to different empirical studies, students' interest is improved by applying these more non-conventional approaches, while effects on learning outcomes are less coherent. Hence, further insights are needed into the structure of context-based problems in comparison to traditional problems, and into students' problem-solving strategies. Therefore, a suitable framework is necessary, both for the analysis of tasks and strategies. Purpose:The aim of this paper is to explore traditional and context-based tasks as well as students' responses to exemplary tasks to identify a suitable framework for future design and analyses of context-based problems. The paper discusses different established frameworks and applies the Higher-Order Cognitive Skills/Lower-Order Cognitive Skills (HOCS/LOCS) taxonomy and the Model of Hierarchical Complexity in Chemistry (MHC-C) to analyse traditional tasks and students' responses. Sample:Upper secondary students (n=236) at the Natural Science Programme, i.e. possible future scientists, are investigated to explore learning outcomes when they solve chemistry tasks, both more conventional as well as context-based chemistry problems. Design and methods:A typical chemistry examination test has been analysed, first the test items in themselves (n=36), and thereafter 236 students' responses to one representative context-based problem. Content analysis using HOCS/LOCS and MHC-C frameworks has been applied to analyse both quantitative and qualitative data, allowing us to describe different problem-solving strategies. Results:The empirical results show that both frameworks are suitable to identify students' strategies, mainly focusing on recall of memorized facts when solving chemistry test items. Almost all test items were also assessing lower order thinking. The combination of frameworks with the chemistry syllabus has been found successful to analyse both the test items as well as students' responses in a systematic way. The framework can therefore be applied in the design of new tasks, the analysis and assessment of students' responses, and as a tool for teachers to scaffold students in their problem-solving process. Conclusions:This paper gives implications for practice and for future research to both develop new context-based problems in a structured way, as well as providing analytical tools for investigating students' higher order thinking in their responses to these tasks.
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Dwicaksono, Adenantera; Fox, Ashley M
2018-06-01
Policy Points: For more than 3 decades, international development agencies have advocated health system decentralization to improve health system performance in low- and middle-income countries. We found little rigorous evidence documenting the impact of decentralization processes on health system performance or outcomes in part due to challenges in measuring such far-reaching and multifaceted system-level changes. We propose a renewed research agenda that focuses on discrete definitions of decentralization and how institutional factors and mechanisms affect health system performance and outcomes within the general context of decentralized governance structures. Despite the widespread adoption of decentralization reforms as a means to improve public service delivery in developing countries since the 1980s, empirical evidence of the role of decentralization on health system improvement is still limited and inconclusive. This study reviewed studies published from 2000 to 2016 with adequate research designs to identify evidence on whether and how decentralization processes have impacted health systems. We conducted a systematic review of peer-reviewed journal articles from the public health and social science literature. We searched for articles within 9 databases using predefined search terms reflecting decentralization and health system constructs. Inclusion criteria were original research articles, low- and middle-income country settings, quantifiable outcome measures, and study designs that use comparisons or statistical adjustments. We excluded studies in high-income country settings and/or published in a non-English language. Sixteen studies met our prespecified inclusion and exclusion criteria and were grouped based on outcomes measured: health system inputs (n = 3), performance (n = 7), and health outcomes (n = 7). Numerous studies addressing conceptual issues related to decentralization but without any attempt at empirical estimation were excluded. Overall, we found mixed results regarding the effects of decentralization on health system indicators with seemingly beneficial effects on health system performance and health outcomes. Only 10 studies were considered to have relatively low risks of bias. This study reveals the limited empirical knowledge of the impact of decentralization on health system performance. Mixed empirical findings on the role of decentralization on health system performance and outcomes highlight the complexity of decentralization processes and their systemwide effects. Thus, we propose a renewed research agenda that focuses on discrete definitions of decentralization and how institutional factors and mechanisms affect health system performance and outcomes within the general context of decentralized governance structures. © 2018 Milbank Memorial Fund.
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Orthorexia nervosa: An integrative literature review of a lifestyle syndrome.
Håman, Linn; Barker-Ruchti, Natalie; Patriksson, Göran; Lindgren, Eva-Carin
2015-01-01
Bratman first proposed orthorexia nervosa in the late 1990s, defining it an obsession with eating healthy food to achieve, for instance, improved health. Today, in the Swedish media, excessive exercising plays a central role in relation to orthorexia. A few review articles on orthorexia have been conducted; however, these have not focused on aspects of food and eating, sport, exercise, or a societal perspective. The overall aim of this study was to provide an overview and synthesis of what philosophies of science approaches form the current academic framework of orthorexia. Key questions were: What aspects of food and eating are related to orthorexia? What role do exercise and sports play in relation to orthorexia? In what ways are orthorexia contextualized? Consequently, the concept of healthism was used to discuss and contextualize orthorexia. The method used was an integrative literature review; the material covered 19 empirical and theoretical articles published in peer-reviewed journals. This review demonstrates a multifaceted nature of orthorexia research; this field has been examined from four different philosophies of science approaches (i.e., empirical-atomistic, empirical-atomistic with elements of empirical-holistic, empirical-holistic, and rational-holistic) on individual, social, and societal levels. The majority of the articles followed an empirical-atomistic approach that focused on orthorexia as an individual issue, which was discussed using healthism. Our analysis indicates a need for (a) more empirical-holistic research that applies interpretive qualitative methods and uses a social perspective of health, e.g., healthism and (b) examining the role of sports and exercise in relation to orthorexia that takes the problematizing of "orthorexic behaviours" within the sports context into account.
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Orthorexia nervosa: An integrative literature review of a lifestyle syndrome
Håman, Linn; Barker-Ruchti, Natalie; Patriksson, Göran; Lindgren, Eva-Carin
2015-01-01
Bratman first proposed orthorexia nervosa in the late 1990s, defining it an obsession with eating healthy food to achieve, for instance, improved health. Today, in the Swedish media, excessive exercising plays a central role in relation to orthorexia. A few review articles on orthorexia have been conducted; however, these have not focused on aspects of food and eating, sport, exercise, or a societal perspective. The overall aim of this study was to provide an overview and synthesis of what philosophies of science approaches form the current academic framework of orthorexia. Key questions were: What aspects of food and eating are related to orthorexia? What role do exercise and sports play in relation to orthorexia? In what ways are orthorexia contextualized? Consequently, the concept of healthism was used to discuss and contextualize orthorexia. The method used was an integrative literature review; the material covered 19 empirical and theoretical articles published in peer-reviewed journals. This review demonstrates a multifaceted nature of orthorexia research; this field has been examined from four different philosophies of science approaches (i.e., empirical-atomistic, empirical-atomistic with elements of empirical-holistic, empirical-holistic, and rational-holistic) on individual, social, and societal levels. The majority of the articles followed an empirical-atomistic approach that focused on orthorexia as an individual issue, which was discussed using healthism. Our analysis indicates a need for (a) more empirical-holistic research that applies interpretive qualitative methods and uses a social perspective of health, e.g., healthism and (b) examining the role of sports and exercise in relation to orthorexia that takes the problematizing of “orthorexic behaviours” within the sports context into account. PMID:26282866
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Psychosocial functioning in the context of diagnosis: assessment and theoretical issues.
Ro, Eunyoe; Clark, Lee Anna
2009-09-01
Psychosocial functioning is an important focus of attention in the revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Researchers and clinicians are converging upon the opinion that psychometrically strong, comprehensive assessment of individuals' functioning is needed to characterize disorder fully. Also shared is the realization that existing theory and research in this domain have critical shortcomings. The authors urge that the field reexamine the empirical evidence and address theoretical issues to guide future development of the construct and its measurement. The authors first discuss several theoretical issues relevant to the conceptualization and assessment of functioning: (a) definitions of functioning, (b) the role of functioning in defining disorder, and (c) understanding functioning within environmental contexts. The authors then present data regarding empirical domains of psychosocial functioning and their interrelations. Self-reported data on multiple domains of psychosocial functioning were collected from 429 participants. Factor-analytic results (promax rotation) suggest a 4-factor structure of psychosocial functioning: Well-Being, Basic Functioning, Self-Mastery, and Interpersonal and Social Relationships. Finally, the authors propose an integration of theory and empirical findings, which they believe will better incorporate psychosocial functioning into future diagnostic systems. Copyright 2009 APA, all rights reserved.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Ladewski, Barbara G.
Despite considerable exploration of inquiry and reflection in the literatures of science education and teacher education/teacher professional development over the past century, few theoretical or analytical tools exist to characterize these processes within a naturalistic classroom context. In addition, little is known regarding possible developmental trajectories for inquiry or reflection---for teachers or students---as these processes develop within a classroom context over time. In the dissertation, I use a sociocultural lens to explore these issues with an eye to the ways in which teachers and students develop shared sense-making, rather than from the more traditional perspective of individual teacher activity or student learning. The study includes both theoretical and empirical components. Theoretically, I explore the elaborations of sociocultural theory needed to characterize teacher-student shared sense-making as it develops within a classroom context, and, in particular, the role of inquiry and reflection in that sense-making. I develop a sociocultural model of shared sense-making that attempts to represent the dialectic between the individual and the social, through an elaboration of existing sociocultural and psychological constructs, including Vygotsky's zone of proximal development and theory of mind. Using this model as an interpretive framework, I develop a case study that explores teacher-student shared sense-making within a middle-school science classroom across a year of scaffolded introduction to inquiry-based science instruction. The empirical study serves not only as a test case for the theoretical model, but also informs our understanding regarding possible developmental trajectories and important mechanisms supporting and constraining shared sense-making within inquiry-based science classrooms. Theoretical and empirical findings provide support for the idea that perspectival shifts---that is, shifts of point-of-view that alter relationships and proximities of elements within the interaction space---play an important role in shared sense-making. Findings further suggest that the mutually constitutive interaction of inquiry and reflection plays a key role in flexible shared sense-making. Finally, findings lend support to the idea of a dialectical relationship between human models of shared sense-making and human systems of shared sense-making; that is, the ways in which human minds are coordinated is a work in progress, shaping and shaped by human culture.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Scipio, Deana Aeolani
This dissertation examines learning within an out-of-school time (OST) Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) broadening participation program. The dissertation includes an introduction, three empirical chapters (written as individual articles), and a conclusion. The dissertation context is a chemical oceanography OST program for middle school students called Project COOL---Chemical Oceanography Outside the Lab. The program was a collaboration between middle school OST programming, a learning sciences research laboratory, and a chemical oceanography laboratory. Both labs were located at a research-based university in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Participants include 34 youth, 12 undergraduates, and five professional scientists. The dissertation data corpus includes six years of ethnographic field notes across three field sites, 400 hours of video and audio recordings, 40 hours of semi-structured interviews, and more than 100 participant generated artifacts. Analysis methods include comparative case analysis, cognitive mapping, semiotic cluster analysis, video interaction analysis, and discourse analysis. The first empirical article focuses on synthesizing productive programmatic features from four years of design-based research.. The second article is a comparative case study of three STEM mentors from non-dominant communities in the 2011 COOL OST Program. The third article is a comparative case study of undergraduates learning to be mentors in the 2014 COOL OST Program. Findings introduce Deep Hanging as a theory of learning in practice. Deep Hanging entails authentic tasks in rich contexts, providing access, capitalizing on opportunity, and building interpersonal relationships. Taken together, these three chapters illuminate the process of designing a rich OST learning environment and the kinds of learning in practice that occurred for adult learners learning to be mentors through their participation in the COOL OST program. In the conclusion, I offer a set of design principles for mentor learning gleaned from empirical findings from the last two empirical chapters on how mentors can productively support the science learning of youth. The findings from this dissertation offer implications for designers of learning environments seeking to leverage experts for mentoring while engaging youth in contemporary science practices in order to broaden participation for youth and adult participants from non-dominant communities in STEM disciplines.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Overman, Michelle; Vermunt, Jan D.; Meijer, Paulien C.; Bulte, Astrid M. W.; Brekelmans, Mieke
2014-07-01
Context-based curriculum reforms in chemistry education are thought to bring greater diversity to the ways in which chemistry teachers organize their teaching. First and foremost, students are expected to perceive this diversity. However, empirical research on how students perceive their teacher's teaching in context-based chemistry classrooms, and whether this teaching differs from traditional chemistry lessons, is scarce. This study aims to develop our understanding of what teaching looks like, according to students, in context-based chemistry classrooms compared with traditional chemistry classrooms. As such, it might also provide a better understanding of whether teachers implement and attain the intentions of curriculum developers. To study teacher behaviour we used three theoretical perspectives deemed to be important for student learning: a content perspective, a learning activities perspective, and an interpersonal perspective. Data were collected from 480 students in 24 secondary chemistry classes in the Netherlands. Our findings suggest that, according to the students, the changes in teaching in context-based chemistry classrooms imply a lessening of the emphasis on fundamental chemistry and the use of a teacher-centred approach, compared with traditional chemistry classrooms. However, teachers in context-based chemistry classrooms seem not to display more 'context-based' teaching behaviour, such as emphasizing the relation between chemistry, technology, and society and using a student-centred approach. Furthermore, students in context-based chemistry classrooms perceive their teachers as having less interpersonal control and showing less affiliation than teachers in traditional chemistry classrooms. Our findings should be interpreted in the context of former and daily experiences of both teachers and students. As only chemistry is reformed in the schools in which context-based chemistry is implemented, it is challenging for both students and teachers to deal with these reforms.
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A cross-national comparison of incident reporting systems implemented in German and Swiss hospitals.
Manser, Tanja; Imhof, Michael; Lessing, Constanze; Briner, Matthias
2017-06-01
This study aimed to empirically compare incident reporting systems (IRS) in two European countries and to explore the relationship of IRS characteristics with context factors such as hospital characteristics and characteristics of clinical risk management (CRM). We performed exploratory, secondary analyses of data on characteristics of IRS from nationwide surveys of CRM practices. The survey was originally sent to 2136 hospitals in Germany and Switzerland. Persons responsible for CRM in 622 hospitals completed the survey (response rate 29%). None. Differences between IRS in German and Swiss hospitals were assessed using Chi2, Fisher's Exact and Freeman-Halton-Tests, as appropriate. To explore interrelations between IRS characteristics and context factors (i.e. hospital and CRM characteristics) we computed Cramer's V. Comparing participating hospitals across countries, Swiss hospitals had implemented IRS earlier, more frequently and more often provided introductory IRS training systematically. German hospitals had more frequently systematically implemented standardized procedures for event analyses. IRS characteristics were significantly associated with hospital characteristics such as hospital type as well as with CRM characteristics such as existence of strategic CRM objectives and of a dedicated position for central CRM coordination. This study contributes to an improved understanding of differences in the way IRS are set up in two European countries and explores related context factors. This opens up new possibilities for empirically informed, strategic interventions to further improve dissemination of IRS and thus support hospitals in their efforts to move patient safety forward. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press in association with the International Society for Quality in Health Care. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com
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Te Brinke, Lysanne W; Deković, Maja; Stoltz, Sabine E M J; Cillessen, Antonius H N
2017-07-01
Over time, developmental theories and empirical studies have gradually started to adopt a bidirectional viewpoint. The area of intervention research is, however, lagging behind in this respect. This longitudinal study examined whether bidirectional associations between (changes in) parenting and (changes in) aggressive child behavior over time differed in three conditions: a child intervention condition, a child + parent intervention condition and a control condition. Participants were 267 children (74 % boys, 26 % girls) with elevated levels of aggression, their mothers and their teachers. Reactive aggression, proactive aggression and perceived parenting were measured at four measurement times from pretest to one-year after intervention termination. Results showed that associations between aggressive child behavior and perceived parenting are different in an intervention context, compared to a general developmental context. Aggressive behavior and perceived parenting were unrelated over time for children who did not receive an intervention. In an intervention context, however, decreases in aggressive child behavior were related to increases in perceived positive parenting and decreases in perceived overreactivity. These findings underscore the importance of addressing child-driven processes in interventions aimed at children, but also in interventions aimed at both children and their parents.
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Olowu, Dejo
2015-01-01
This article attempts to establish the key contribution by people of faith to the global HIV pandemic response, using Lesotho as a case study. Particular focus is paid to the work of selected religious organisations in Lesotho in this context, assessing their capacities to coordinate an effective HIV and AIDS action at the grassroots levels through education, health care, development, and social service activities. Empirical evaluations and findings regarding the level and quality of faith-based engagement in this field establish the basic premise of this article, namely, that faith-based organisations are contributing energy, expertise, and experience in order to achieve the commitment of the global commitment to advance universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, and support. Although the article is particularly focused on the Lesotho context, its tremendous implications for simulated studies and approaches across Sub-Saharan Africa are accentuated.
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Papadouris, Nicos; Constantinou, Costas P.
2014-01-01
We describe the implementation of a specially designed teaching innovation, embedded in the context of energy, for the promotion of specific aspects of the nature of science (NOS). We present empirical results from the implementation of the teaching and learning materials in three intact sixth-grade classes that involved a total of 64 students. We…
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Gender earnings and poverty reduction: post-Communist Uzbekistan.
Bhat, Bilal Ahmad Bhat
2011-01-01
Women get less of the material resources, social status, power and opportunities for self-actualization than men do who share their social location – be it a location based on class, race, occupation, ethnicity, religion, education, nationality, or any intersection of these factors. The process of feminization of poverty in Central Asia and Uzbekistan is intimately connected to the cultural and institutional limitations that put a ceiling on women’s involvement in economic activity. This article attempts to study and explore gender in the context of poverty reduction in Uzbekistan, the most populated state of Central Asia, to understand the ways and manner in which poverty and other forms of deprivation demand women’s participation in variety of contexts. The study is primarily an empirical one and is based on an extensive sociological investigation in the field.
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Conscious and unconscious context-specific cognitive control
Schouppe, Nathalie; de Ferrerre, Evelien; Van Opstal, Filip; Braem, Senne; Notebaert, Wim
2014-01-01
A key feature of the human cognitive system is its ability to deal with an ever-changing environment. One prototypical example is the observation that we adjust our information processing depending on the conflict-likelihood of a context (context-specific proportion congruency effect, CSPC, Crump etal., 2006). Recently, empirical studies started to question the role of consciousness in these strategic adaptation processes (for reviews, see Desender and Van den Bussche, 2012; Kunde etal., 2012). However, these studies have not yielded unequivocal results (e.g., Kunde, 2003; Heinemann etal., 2009; Van Gaal etal., 2010a; Desender etal., 2013; Reuss etal., 2014). In the present study, we aim at replicating the experiment of Heinemann etal. (2009) in which the proportion of congruent and incongruent trials between different contexts was varied in a masked priming task. Their results showed a reduction of the congruency effect for the context with more incongruent trials. However, this CSPC effect was only observed when the prime–target conflict was conscious, rather than unconscious, suggesting that context-specific control operates within the boundaries of awareness. Our replication attempt however contrasts these findings. In the first experiment we found no evidence for a CSPC effect in reaction times (RTs), neither in the conscious nor in the unconscious condition. The error rate analysis did show a CSPC effect, albeit not one modulated by consciousness. In the second experiment we found an overall CSPC effect in RTs, independent of consciousness. The error rates did not display a CSPC pattern. These mixed results seem to nuance the findings of Heinemann etal. (2009) and highlight the need for replication studies in psychology research. PMID:24926275
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2006-07-06
measurements are applied to metrically defined units and these are used to characterize and compare documents” ( Denzin & Lincoln , 1994, p. 464). Stacks...errors in data interpretation; incorrect sampling; generalization; and inter-coder reliability, calling its validity into question. Denzin and Lincoln ...a content analysis may be “unable to capture the context within which a written text has meaning” ( Denzin & Lincoln , 1994, p. 464). However, the
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Kiviniemi, Marc T; Ellis, Erin M; Hall, Marissa G; Moss, Jennifer L; Lillie, Sarah E; Brewer, Noel T; Klein, William M P
2018-01-01
Researchers have historically treated cognition and affect as separate constructs in motivating health behaviour. We present a framework and empirical evidence for complex relations between cognition and affect in predicting health behaviour. Main Outcome, Design and Results: First, affect and cognition can mediate each other's relation to health behaviour. Second, affect and cognition can moderate the other's impact. Third, context can change the interplay of affect and cognition. Fourth, affect and cognition may be indelibly fused in some psychological constructs (e.g. worry, anticipated regret and reactance). These four propositions in our framework are not mutually exclusive. Examination of the types of complex relations described here can benefit theory development, empirical testing of theories and intervention design. Doing so will advance the understanding of mechanisms involved in regulation of health behaviours and the effectiveness of interventions to change health behaviours.
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A child of the empire: British sociology and colonialism, 1940s-1960s.
Steinmetz, George
2013-01-01
British sociology was established as an academic discipline between 1945 and 1965, just as the British Empire was gearing up for a new phase of developmental colonialism backed by the social and other sciences. Many parts of the emerging sociological discipline became entangled with colonialism. Key themes and methods in sociology and the staff of sociology departments emerged from this colonial context. Historians have tended to place postwar British sociology in the context of expanding higher education and the welfare state, and have overlooked this colonial constellation. The article reconstructs this forgotten moment of disciplinary founding and explores three of the factors that promoted colonial sociology: the Colonial Social Science Research Council, the so-called Asquith universities, and the social research institutes in the colonies; and the involvement of sociologists from the London School of Economics in training colonial officials. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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EDUCATION, GENDER, AND MIGRATION IN THE CONTEXT OF SOCIAL CHANGE
Williams, Nathalie
2012-01-01
Although sociologists have identified education as likely determinant of migration, the ways in which education affects migration are unclear and empirical results are disparate. This paper addresses the relationship between educational attainment, enrolment, and migration, focusing on the role of gender and how it changes with evolving social contexts. Using empirical analyses based in Nepal, results indicate that educational attainment has positive effects and enrolment has negative effects on out-migration and including enrolment in the model increases the effect of attainment. In the case of women, with the changing role of gender, increased education and labor force participation, the affect of educational attainment changes drastically over time, from almost no effect, to a strong positive effect. Consideration of enrolment, and the role of gender in education, employment, and marriage may help to explain the disparate results in past research on education and migration. PMID:20645440
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Carter, Shelly L.; Walsh, Thomas J.; Kurtzberg, Joanne; Small, Trudy N.; Baden, Lindsey R.; Gersten, Iris D.; Mendizabal, Adam M.; Leather, Helen L.; Confer, Dennis L.; Maziarz, Richard T.; Stadtmauer, Edward A.; Bolaños-Meade, Javier; Brown, Janice; DiPersio, John F.; Boeckh, Michael; Marr, Kieren A.
2010-01-01
Invasive fungal infection (IFI) is a serious threat after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT). This multicenter, randomized, double-blind trial compared fluconazole (N = 295) versus voriconazole (N = 305) for the prevention of IFI in the context of a structured fungal screening program. Patients undergoing myeloablative allogeneic HCT were randomized before HCT to receive study drugs for 100 days, or for 180 days in higher-risk patients. Serum galactomannan was assayed twice weekly for 60 days, then at least weekly until day 100. Positive galactomannan or suggestive signs triggered mandatory evaluation for IFI. The primary endpoint was freedom from IFI or death (fungal-free survival; FFS) at 180 days. Despite trends to fewer IFIs (7.3% vs 11.2%; P = .12), Aspergillus infections (9 vs 17; P = .09), and less frequent empiric antifungal therapy (24.1% vs 30.2%, P = .11) with voriconazole, FFS rates (75% vs 78%; P = .49) at 180 days were similar with fluconazole and voriconazole, respectively. Relapse-free and overall survival and the incidence of severe adverse events were also similar. This study demonstrates that in the context of intensive monitoring and structured empiric antifungal therapy, 6-month FFS and overall survival did not differ in allogeneic HCT recipients given prophylactic fluconazole or voriconazole. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00075803. PMID:20826719
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Relating Teacher PCK and Teacher Practice Using Classroom Observation
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Barendsen, Erik; Henze, Ineke
2017-09-01
Science teachers' pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) has been researched in many studies, yet little empirical evidence has been found to determine how this knowledge actually informs teachers' actions in the classroom. To complement previous quantitative studies, there is a need for more qualitative studies to investigate the relationship between teacher knowledge (as formulated by the teacher) and classroom practice, especially in the context of an educational innovation. In this study we explored a possible way to investigate this relationship in an in-depth and systematic fashion. To this end, we conducted a case study with a chemistry teacher in the context of the implementation of a context-based science curriculum in The Netherlands. The teacher's PCK was captured using the Content Representation form by Loughran, Mulhall, and Berry. We used an observation table to monitor classroom interactions in such a way that the observations could be related to specific elements of teachers' PCK. Thus, we were able to give a detailed characterization of the correspondences and differences between the teacher's personal PCK and classroom practice. Such an elaborate description turned out to be a useful basis for discussing mechanisms explaining the relationship between teachers' knowledge and teachers' actions.
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The Information Architecture of E-Commerce: An Experimental Study on User Performance and Preference
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Wan Mohd, Wan Abdul Rahim; Md Noor, Nor Laila; Mehad, Shafie
Too often, designers of e-commerce web sites use models, concepts, guidelines, and designs that focus on the artifacts while ignoring the context in which the artifacts will be used. Furthermore, the link between culture and usability in web site IA phenomenon is still considered as uncharted area, as it lacks much theoretical consideration. In an effort toward addressing the aforementioned issues, our study provides a theoretical and empirical link between cultural and usability through the application of ‘Venustas' (Delight) drawn from the architectural field and Hofstede's cultural dimensions. We use Islamic culture as the case study and report on the experiment to investigate the effect of the IA designs based on the cultural dimensions on e-commerce web sites. The result provides partial empirical support to the theorized link between culture and usability based on the usability measurement on user performance and preference. In addition, practical web site IA cultural design prescriptions are also provided.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Guerra, Maricela
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) advocated by the National Research Council emphasize the connections among Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines. By design, NGSS is expected to replace the previous science education standards to enhance the quality of STEM education across the nation. To support this initiative, this investigation was conducted to fill a void in the research literature by developing an empirical indicator for the relationship of student performance across STEM subjects using a large-scale database from the Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). In particular, an innovative approach has been taken in this study to support the canonical correlation analysis of student plausible scores between physics and other STEM subjects at different grade levels and in a cross-country context. Results from this doctoral research revealed the need to strengthen the alignment between the intended, implemented, and attained curricula to support the integration of STEM disciplines in the United States.
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What is the danger of the anomaly zone for empirical phylogenetics?
Huang, Huateng; Knowles, L Lacey
2009-10-01
The increasing number of observations of gene trees with discordant topologies in phylogenetic studies has raised awareness about the problems of incongruence between species trees and gene trees. Moreover, theoretical treatments focusing on the impact of coalescent variance on phylogenetic study have also identified situations where the most probable gene trees are ones that do not match the underlying species tree (i.e., anomalous gene trees [AGTs]). However, although the theoretical proof of the existence of AGTs is alarming, the actual risk that AGTs pose to empirical phylogenetic study is far from clear. Establishing the conditions (i.e., the branch lengths in a species tree) for which AGTs are possible does not address the critical issue of how prevalent they might be. Furthermore, theoretical characterization of the species trees for which AGTs may pose a problem (i.e., the anomaly zone or the species histories for which AGTs are theoretically possible) is based on consideration of just one source of variance that contributes to species tree and gene tree discord-gene lineage coalescence. Yet, empirical data contain another important stochastic component-mutational variance. Estimated gene trees will differ from the underlying gene trees (i.e., the actual genealogy) because of the random process of mutation. Here, we take a simulation approach to investigate the prevalence of AGTs, among estimated gene trees, thereby characterizing the boundaries of the anomaly zone taking into account both coalescent and mutational variances. We also determine the frequency of realized AGTs, which is critical to putting the theoretical work on AGTs into a realistic biological context. Two salient results emerge from this investigation. First, our results show that mutational variance can indeed expand the parameter space (i.e., the relative branch lengths in a species tree) where AGTs might be observed in empirical data. By exploring the underlying cause for the expanded anomaly zone, we identify aspects of empirical data relevant to avoiding the problems that AGTs pose for species tree inference from multilocus data. Second, for the empirical species histories where AGTs are possible, unresolved trees-not AGTs-predominate the pool of estimated gene trees. This result suggests that the risk of AGTs, while they exist in theory, may rarely be realized in practice. By considering the biological realities of both mutational and coalescent variances, the study has refined, and redefined, what the actual challenges are for empirical phylogenetic study of recently diverged taxa that have speciated rapidly-AGTs themselves are unlikely to pose a significant danger to empirical phylogenetic study.
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Reflections on discrimination and health in India.
Srivatsan, R
2015-01-01
This is a speculative paper on the structure of caste-based discrimination in India. It sketches the field by a) proposing four empirical and historical examples of discrimination in different medical situations; b) suggesting an analytical framework composed of domain, register, temporality and intensity of discrimination; c) proposing that in the Indian historical context, discrimination masks itself, hiding its character behind the veneer of secular ideas; d) arguing that discrimination is not some unfortunate residue of backwardness in modern society that will go away, but is the force of social hierarchy transforming itself into a fully modern capitalist culture. The paper then arrives at the understanding that discrimination is pandemic across India. The conclusion suggests that in India today, we need proposals, hypotheses and arguments that help us establish the ethical framework for meaningful empirical research that sociological studies of medical ethics and the epidemiology of discrimination can pursue. Its method is that of logical and speculative argument based on experience, with examples of different forms of discrimination to clarify the point being made. No specific research was undertaken for this purpose since the paper is not empirically based.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Kiafar, Hamed; Babazadeh, Hosssien; Marti, Pau; Kisi, Ozgur; Landeras, Gorka; Karimi, Sepideh; Shiri, Jalal
2017-10-01
Evapotranspiration estimation is of crucial importance in arid and hyper-arid regions, which suffer from water shortage, increasing dryness and heat. A modeling study is reported here to cross-station assessment between hyper-arid and humid conditions. The derived equations estimate ET0 values based on temperature-, radiation-, and mass transfer-based configurations. Using data from two meteorological stations in a hyper-arid region of Iran and two meteorological stations in a humid region of Spain, different local and cross-station approaches are applied for developing and validating the derived equations. The comparison of the gene expression programming (GEP)-based-derived equations with corresponding empirical-semi empirical ET0 estimation equations reveals the superiority of new formulas in comparison with the corresponding empirical equations. Therefore, the derived models can be successfully applied in these hyper-arid and humid regions as well as similar climatic contexts especially in data-lack situations. The results also show that when relying on proper input configurations, cross-station might be a promising alternative for locally trained models for the stations with data scarcity.
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Yorulmaz, Orçun; Inozu, Mujgan; Gültepe, Bedirhan
2011-06-01
In addition to clinical observations exemplifying biased reasoning styles (e.g., overemphasis of thoughts) and particular ritualistic behaviors, it is also empirically supported that magical beliefs are also associated with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) symptoms and some cognitions. It should be noted, however, that most empirical studies have been carried out on the samples from Western cultures, even though these beliefs were culturally determined. Thus, more research is needed in order to understand their roles in the OCD symptoms in different cultural contexts. The present study aimed to examine the impact of magical beliefs in OCD symptoms, cognitions and thought control in a non-Western analogue sample from Turkey. The measures of paranormal beliefs, fusion of thoughts-actions, obsessive beliefs, strategies of thought control and OCD symptoms were administered to an undergraduate sample. Consistent with findings in the literature, the analyses of group comparisons, correlation and regression showed that even after controlling general negative affect, magical beliefs were still associated with OCD symptoms, some beliefs and control strategies, namely the symptoms of obsessional thoughts and checking, fusions of thoughts and actions in likelihood, faulty beliefs in perfectionism-certainty and punishment. Some methodological concerns such as cross-sectional nature, inclusion of only non-clinical sample were major restrictions of the present study. Evidence that magical thinking is a critical factor in the OCD is supported once more in a different cultural context. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Kluge, Annette; Gronau, Norbert
2018-01-01
To cope with the already large, and ever increasing, amount of information stored in organizational memory, "forgetting," as an important human memory process, might be transferred to the organizational context. Especially in intentionally planned change processes (e.g., change management), forgetting is an important precondition to impede the recall of obsolete routines and adapt to new strategic objectives accompanied by new organizational routines. We first comprehensively review the literature on the need for organizational forgetting and particularly on accidental vs. intentional forgetting. We discuss the current state of the art of theory and empirical evidence on forgetting from cognitive psychology in order to infer mechanisms applicable to the organizational context. In this respect, we emphasize retrieval theories and the relevance of retrieval cues important for forgetting. Subsequently, we transfer the empirical evidence that the elimination of retrieval cues leads to faster forgetting to the forgetting of organizational routines, as routines are part of organizational memory. We then propose a classification of cues (context, sensory, business process-related cues) that are relevant in the forgetting of routines, and discuss a meta-cue called the "situational strength" cue, which is relevant if cues of an old and a new routine are present simultaneously. Based on the classification as business process-related cues (information, team, task, object cues), we propose mechanisms to accelerate forgetting by eliminating specific cues based on the empirical and theoretical state of the art. We conclude that in intentional organizational change processes, the elimination of cues to accelerate forgetting should be used in change management practices.
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Kluge, Annette; Gronau, Norbert
2018-01-01
To cope with the already large, and ever increasing, amount of information stored in organizational memory, “forgetting,” as an important human memory process, might be transferred to the organizational context. Especially in intentionally planned change processes (e.g., change management), forgetting is an important precondition to impede the recall of obsolete routines and adapt to new strategic objectives accompanied by new organizational routines. We first comprehensively review the literature on the need for organizational forgetting and particularly on accidental vs. intentional forgetting. We discuss the current state of the art of theory and empirical evidence on forgetting from cognitive psychology in order to infer mechanisms applicable to the organizational context. In this respect, we emphasize retrieval theories and the relevance of retrieval cues important for forgetting. Subsequently, we transfer the empirical evidence that the elimination of retrieval cues leads to faster forgetting to the forgetting of organizational routines, as routines are part of organizational memory. We then propose a classification of cues (context, sensory, business process-related cues) that are relevant in the forgetting of routines, and discuss a meta-cue called the “situational strength” cue, which is relevant if cues of an old and a new routine are present simultaneously. Based on the classification as business process-related cues (information, team, task, object cues), we propose mechanisms to accelerate forgetting by eliminating specific cues based on the empirical and theoretical state of the art. We conclude that in intentional organizational change processes, the elimination of cues to accelerate forgetting should be used in change management practices. PMID:29449821
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Krieger, Janice L; Krok-Schoen, Jessica L; Dailey, Phokeng M; Palmer-Wackerly, Angela L; Schoenberg, Nancy; Paskett, Electra D; Dignan, Mark
2017-07-01
Distributed cognition occurs when cognitive and affective schemas are shared between two or more people during interpersonal discussion. Although extant research focuses on distributed cognition in decision making between health care providers and patients, studies show that caregivers are also highly influential in the treatment decisions of patients. However, there are little empirical data describing how and when families exert influence. The current article addresses this gap by examining decisional support in the context of cancer randomized clinical trial (RCT) decision making. Data are drawn from in-depth interviews with rural, Appalachian cancer patients ( N = 46). Analysis of transcript data yielded empirical support for four distinct models of health decision making. The implications of these findings for developing interventions to improve the quality of treatment decision making and overall well-being are discussed.
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Mandated Supervision: An Intervention for Disciplined Professionals
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Cobia, Debra C.; Pipes, Randolph B.
2002-01-01
Mandated supervision with disciplined mental health professionals is defined and discussed. In the absence of empirical support for supervision in this context, sources of theoretical support are provided. Risks, benefits, and implications for practice for supervisors are also discussed.
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Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Horwitz, Elaine K.; And Others
1986-01-01
Identifies foreign language anxiety as a conceptually distinct variable in foreign language learning and interprets it with the context of existing theoretical and empirical work on specific anxiety reactions. Discusses the effects of this anxiety on language learning and its pedagogical implications. (SED)
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Consistency of nature of science views across scientific and socio-scientific contexts
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Khishfe, Rola
2017-03-01
The purpose of the investigation was to investigate the consistency of NOS views among high school students across different scientific and socio-scientific contexts. A total of 261 high school students from eight different schools in Lebanon participated in the investigation. The schools were selected based on different geographical areas in Lebanon and the principals' consent to participate in the study. The investigation used a qualitative design to compare the responses of students across different contexts/topics. All the participants completed a five-item open-ended questionnaire, which includes five topics addressing scientific and socio-scientific contexts. The items of the questionnaire addressed the empirical, tentative, and subjective aspects of NOS. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were conducted to answer the research questions. Results showed that participants' views of the emphasised NOS aspects were mostly inconsistent. Plus, there was variance in participants' views of NOS between scientific and socio-scientific issues. Discussion of the results related to differential developmental progression, contextual factors, social constructivist perspective, different domains of knowledge, and students' individual differences.
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Millet, Kobe; Buehler, Florian
2018-01-01
Whereas direct relationships between 2D:4D and dominance related attitudes or behavior often turn out to be weak, some literature suggests that the relation between 2D:4D and dominance is context-specific. That is, especially in status-challenging situations 2D:4D may be related to dominant behavior and its correlates. Based on this perspective, we interpret inconsistencies in the literature on the relation between 2D:4D and risk taking, aggression and dominance related outcomes and investigate in our empirical study how attitudes in low 2D:4D men may change as a function of the status relevance of the context. We provide evidence for the idea that status relevance of the particular situation at hand influences the attitude towards performance-enhancing means for low 2D:4D men, but not for high 2D:4D men. We argue that 2D:4D may be related to any behavior that is functional to attain status in a specific context. Implications for (economic) decision making are discussed. PMID:29403365
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Khishfe, Rola
2013-11-01
The purpose of this study was to (a) investigate the effectiveness of explicit nature of science (NOS) instruction in the context of controversial socioscientific issues and (b) explore whether the transfer of acquired NOS understandings, which were explicitly taught in the context of one socioscientific context, into other similar contexts (familiar and unfamiliar) was possible. Participants were 10th grade students in two intact sections at one high school. The treatment involved teaching a six-week unit about genetic engineering. For one group (non-NOS group), there was no explicit instruction about NOS. For the other group (NOS group), explicit instruction about three NOS aspects (subjective, empirical, and tentative) was dispersed across the genetic engineering unit. A questionnaire including two open-ended scenarios, in conjunction with semi-structured interviews, was used to assess the change in participants' understandings of NOS and their ability to transfer their acquired understandings into similar contexts. The first scenario involved a familiar context about genetically modified food and the second one focused on an unfamiliar context about water fluoridation. Results showed no improvement in NOS understandings of participants in the non-NOS group in relation to the familiar and unfamiliar contexts. On the other hand, there was a general improvement in the NOS understandings of participants in the NOS group in relation to both the familiar and unfamiliar contexts. Implications about the transfer of participants' acquired NOS understandings on the basis of the distance between the context of learning and that of application are highlighted and discussed in link with the classroom learning environment.
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Using change-point models to estimate empirical critical loads for nitrogen in mountain ecosystems.
Roth, Tobias; Kohli, Lukas; Rihm, Beat; Meier, Reto; Achermann, Beat
2017-01-01
To protect ecosystems and their services, the critical load concept has been implemented under the framework of the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (UNECE) to develop effects-oriented air pollution abatement strategies. Critical loads are thresholds below which damaging effects on sensitive habitats do not occur according to current knowledge. Here we use change-point models applied in a Bayesian context to overcome some of the difficulties when estimating empirical critical loads for nitrogen (N) from empirical data. We tested the method using simulated data with varying sample sizes, varying effects of confounding variables, and with varying negative effects of N deposition on species richness. The method was applied to the national-scale plant species richness data from mountain hay meadows and (sub)alpine scrubs sites in Switzerland. Seven confounding factors (elevation, inclination, precipitation, calcareous content, aspect as well as indicator values for humidity and light) were selected based on earlier studies examining numerous environmental factors to explain Swiss vascular plant diversity. The estimated critical load confirmed the existing empirical critical load of 5-15 kg N ha -1 yr -1 for (sub)alpine scrubs, while for mountain hay meadows the estimated critical load was at the lower end of the current empirical critical load range. Based on these results, we suggest to narrow down the critical load range for mountain hay meadows to 10-15 kg N ha -1 yr -1 . Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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den Uyl, Roos M; Driessen, Peter P J
2015-11-01
Prominent strands of discussion in the literature on governance for sustainable development debate how change can be induced to enhance sustainability, and how to evaluate the interventions aimed at prompting such change. Strikingly, there are few contributions about how prominent ideas of inducing change deal with multiple governance criteria for pursuing sustainable development. Moreover, the way ideas about inducing change relate to criteria of governance for sustainable development is not yet studied in an empirical context. This paper therefore comparatively analyses how three prominent modes of sustainable development governance - adaptive management, transition management and payments for environmental services - relate to a set of five prominent criteria reported in the literature, namely: equity, democracy, legitimacy, the handling of scale issues and the handling of uncertainty issues. It finds that the academic debates on these three modes address these criteria with varying attention and rather fragmented, while in the empirical setting of the Dutch fen landscape several aspects relating to the studied criteria were present and substantially influenced the functioning of the three modes of sustainable development. Together, the analysis of the literature debate and the empirical data are able to show that a narrow evaluation perspective may fail to diagnose and capture relevant struggles and complexities coming along with governance for sustainable development relevant issues. The study shows that in order to advance our understanding of governance for sustainable development, it is indeed important to include multiple criteria in studying these modes. Moreover, the study shows the importance of including empirical experiences which manifest when different modes for sustainable development are applied in real-world settings. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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A unifying Bayesian account of contextual effects in value-based choice
Friston, Karl J.; Dolan, Raymond J.
2017-01-01
Empirical evidence suggests the incentive value of an option is affected by other options available during choice and by options presented in the past. These contextual effects are hard to reconcile with classical theories and have inspired accounts where contextual influences play a crucial role. However, each account only addresses one or the other of the empirical findings and a unifying perspective has been elusive. Here, we offer a unifying theory of context effects on incentive value attribution and choice based on normative Bayesian principles. This formulation assumes that incentive value corresponds to a precision-weighted prediction error, where predictions are based upon expectations about reward. We show that this scheme explains a wide range of contextual effects, such as those elicited by other options available during choice (or within-choice context effects). These include both conditions in which choice requires an integration of multiple attributes and conditions where a multi-attribute integration is not necessary. Moreover, the same scheme explains context effects elicited by options presented in the past or between-choice context effects. Our formulation encompasses a wide range of contextual influences (comprising both within- and between-choice effects) by calling on Bayesian principles, without invoking ad-hoc assumptions. This helps clarify the contextual nature of incentive value and choice behaviour and may offer insights into psychopathologies characterized by dysfunctional decision-making, such as addiction and pathological gambling. PMID:28981514
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Temsah, Gheda; Johnson, Kiersten; Evans, Thea; Adams, Diane K
2018-01-01
There is an urgent need for an improved empirical understanding of the relationship among biodiverse marine resources, human health and development outcomes. Coral reefs are often at this intersection for developing nations in the tropics-an ecosystem targeted for biodiversity conservation and one that provides sustenance and livelihoods for many coastal communities. To explore these relationships, we use the comparative development contexts of Haiti and the Dominican Republic on the island of Hispaniola. We combine child nutrition data from the Demographic Health Survey with coastal proximity and coral reef habitat diversity, and condition to empirically test human benefits of marine natural resources in differing development contexts. Our results indicate that coastal children have a reduced likelihood of severe stunting in Haiti but have increased likelihoods of stunting and reduced dietary diversity in the Dominican Republic. These contrasting results are likely due to the differential in developed infrastructure and market access. Our analyses did not demonstrate an association between more diverse and less degraded coral reefs and better childhood nutrition. The results highlight the complexities of modelling interactions between the health of humans and natural systems, and indicate the next steps needed to support integrated development programming.
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Temsah, Gheda; Johnson, Kiersten; Evans, Thea
2018-01-01
There is an urgent need for an improved empirical understanding of the relationship among biodiverse marine resources, human health and development outcomes. Coral reefs are often at this intersection for developing nations in the tropics—an ecosystem targeted for biodiversity conservation and one that provides sustenance and livelihoods for many coastal communities. To explore these relationships, we use the comparative development contexts of Haiti and the Dominican Republic on the island of Hispaniola. We combine child nutrition data from the Demographic Health Survey with coastal proximity and coral reef habitat diversity, and condition to empirically test human benefits of marine natural resources in differing development contexts. Our results indicate that coastal children have a reduced likelihood of severe stunting in Haiti but have increased likelihoods of stunting and reduced dietary diversity in the Dominican Republic. These contrasting results are likely due to the differential in developed infrastructure and market access. Our analyses did not demonstrate an association between more diverse and less degraded coral reefs and better childhood nutrition. The results highlight the complexities of modelling interactions between the health of humans and natural systems, and indicate the next steps needed to support integrated development programming. PMID:29795591
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Challenging the classical notion of time in cognition: a quantum perspective
Yearsley, James M.; Pothos, Emmanuel M.
2014-01-01
All mental representations change with time. A baseline intuition is that mental representations have specific values at different time points, which may be more or less accessible, depending on noise, forgetting processes, etc. We present a radical alternative, motivated by recent research using the mathematics from quantum theory for cognitive modelling. Such cognitive models raise the possibility that certain possibilities or events may be incompatible, so that perfect knowledge of one necessitates uncertainty for the others. In the context of time-dependence, in physics, this issue is explored with the so-called temporal Bell (TB) or Leggett–Garg inequalities. We consider in detail the theoretical and empirical challenges involved in exploring the TB inequalities in the context of cognitive systems. One interesting conclusion is that we believe the study of the TB inequalities to be empirically more constrained in psychology than in physics. Specifically, we show how the TB inequalities, as applied to cognitive systems, can be derived from two simple assumptions: cognitive realism and cognitive completeness. We discuss possible implications of putative violations of the TB inequalities for cognitive models and our understanding of time in cognition in general. Overall, this paper provides a surprising, novel direction in relation to how time should be conceptualized in cognition. PMID:24598421
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Challenging the classical notion of time in cognition: a quantum perspective.
Yearsley, James M; Pothos, Emmanuel M
2014-04-22
All mental representations change with time. A baseline intuition is that mental representations have specific values at different time points, which may be more or less accessible, depending on noise, forgetting processes, etc. We present a radical alternative, motivated by recent research using the mathematics from quantum theory for cognitive modelling. Such cognitive models raise the possibility that certain possibilities or events may be incompatible, so that perfect knowledge of one necessitates uncertainty for the others. In the context of time-dependence, in physics, this issue is explored with the so-called temporal Bell (TB) or Leggett-Garg inequalities. We consider in detail the theoretical and empirical challenges involved in exploring the TB inequalities in the context of cognitive systems. One interesting conclusion is that we believe the study of the TB inequalities to be empirically more constrained in psychology than in physics. Specifically, we show how the TB inequalities, as applied to cognitive systems, can be derived from two simple assumptions: cognitive realism and cognitive completeness. We discuss possible implications of putative violations of the TB inequalities for cognitive models and our understanding of time in cognition in general. Overall, this paper provides a surprising, novel direction in relation to how time should be conceptualized in cognition.
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Impact of Company Size on Manufacturing Improvement Practices: An empirical study
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Syan, C. S.; Ramoutar, K.
2014-07-01
There is a constant search for ways to achieve a competitive advantage through new manufacturing techniques. Best performing manufacturing companies tend to use world-class manufacturing (WCM) practices. Although the last few years have witnessed phenomenal growth in the use of WCM techniques, their effectiveness is not well understood specifically in the context of less developed countries. This paper presents an empirical study to investigate the impact of company size on improving manufacturing performance in manufacturing organizations based in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T). Empirical data were collected via a questionnaire survey which was send to 218 manufacturing firms in T&T. Five different company sizes and seven different industry sectors were studied. The analysis of survey data was performed with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software. The study signified facilitating and impeding factors towards improving manufacturing performance. Their relative impact/importance is dependent on varying company size and industry sectors. Findings indicate that T&T manufacturers are still practicing traditional approaches, when compared with world class manufacturers. In the majority of organizations, these practices were not 100% implemented even though they started the implementation process more than 5 years ago. The findings provided some insights in formulating more optimal operational strategies, and later develop action plans towards more effective implementation of WCM in T&T manufacturers.
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Expanding our Lens: Female Pathways to Antisocial Behavior in Adolescence and Adulthood
Javdani, Shabnam; Sadeh, Naomi; Verona, Edelyn
2012-01-01
Women and girls’ engagement in antisocial behavior represents a psychological issue of great concern given the radiating impact that women’s antisociality can have on individuals, families, and communities. Despite its importance and relevance for psychological science, this topic has received limited attention to date and no systematic review of risk factors exists. The present paper aims to systematically review the empirical literature informing risk factors relevant to women’s antisocial behavior, with a focus on adolescence and adulthood. Primary aims are to 1) review empirical literatures on risk factors for female antisocial behavior across multiple levels of influence (e.g., person-level characteristics, risky family factors, and gender-salient contexts) and fields of study (e.g., psychology, sociology); 2) evaluate the relevance of each factor for female antisocial behavior; and 3) incorporate an analysis of how gender at both the individual and ecological level shapes pathways to antisocial behavior in women and girls. We conclude that women’s antisocial behavior is best-understood as being influenced by person-level or individual vulnerabilities, risky family factors, and exposure to gender-salient interpersonal contexts, and underscore the importance of examining women’s antisocial behavior through an expanded lens that views gender as an individual level attribute as well as a social category that organizes the social context in ways that may promote engagement in antisocial behavior. Based on the present systematic review, an integrative pathway model is proposed toward the goal of synthesizing current knowledge and generating testable hypotheses for future research. PMID:22001339
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What works for whom in pharmacist-led smoking cessation support: realist review.
Greenhalgh, Trisha; Macfarlane, Fraser; Steed, Liz; Walton, Robert
2016-12-16
New models of primary care are needed to address funding and staffing pressures. We addressed the research question "what works for whom in what circumstances in relation to the role of community pharmacies in providing lifestyle interventions to support smoking cessation?" This is a realist review conducted according to RAMESES standards. We began with a sample of 103 papers included in a quantitative review of community pharmacy intervention trials identified through systematic searching of seven databases. We supplemented this with additional papers: studies that had been excluded from the quantitative review but which provided rigorous and relevant additional data for realist theorising; citation chaining (pursuing reference lists and Google Scholar forward tracking of key papers); the 'search similar citations' function on PubMed. After mapping what research questions had been addressed by these studies and how, we undertook a realist analysis to identify and refine candidate theories about context-mechanism-outcome configurations. Our final sample consisted of 66 papers describing 74 studies (12 systematic reviews, 6 narrative reviews, 18 RCTs, 1 process detail of a RCT, 1 cost-effectiveness study, 12 evaluations of training, 10 surveys, 8 qualitative studies, 2 case studies, 2 business models, 1 development of complex intervention). Most studies had been undertaken in the field of pharmacy practice (pharmacists studying what pharmacists do) and demonstrated the success of pharmacist training in improving confidence, knowledge and (in many but not all studies) patient outcomes. Whilst a few empirical studies had applied psychological theories to account for behaviour change in pharmacists or people attempting to quit, we found no studies that had either developed or tested specific theoretical models to explore how pharmacists' behaviour may be affected by organisational context. Because of the nature of the empirical data, only a provisional realist analysis was possible, consisting of five mechanisms (pharmacist identity, pharmacist capability, pharmacist motivation and clinician confidence and public trust). We offer hypotheses about how these mechanisms might play out differently in different contexts to account for the success, failure or partial success of pharmacy-based smoking cessation efforts. Smoking cessation support from community pharmacists and their staff has been extensively studied, but few policy-relevant conclusions are possible. We recommend that further research should avoid duplicating existing literature on individual behaviour change; seek to study the organisational and system context and how this may shape, enable and constrain pharmacists' extended role; and develop and test theory.
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Justice in the context of family balancing
Sharp, Richard R.
2013-01-01
Bioethics and feminist scholarship has explored various justice implications of non-medical sex selection and family balancing. However, prospective users’ viewpoints have been absent from the debate over the socially acceptable bounds of non-medical sex selection. This qualitative study provides a set of empirically-grounded perspectives on the moral values that underpin prospective users’ conceptualizations of justice in the context of a family balancing program in the United States. The results indicate that couples pursuing family balancing understand justice primarily in individualist and familial terms rather than in terms of social justice for women and girls or for children resulting from sex selection. Study participants indicated that an individual’s desire for gender balance in their family is ethically complex and may not be inherently sexist, immoral or socially consequential, particularly given the social context in which they live. Our findings suggest that the social conditions that contribute to prospective users’ desires for gender balance in their families may direct them away from recognizing or engaging broader social justice concerns relating to sexism and stratified reproduction. PMID:24371364
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Time Preferences, Mental Health and Treatment Utilization.
Eisenberg, Daniel; Druss, Benjamin G
2015-09-01
In all countries of the world, fewer than half of people with mental disorders receive treatment. This treatment gap is commonly attributed to factors such as consumers' limited knowledge, negative attitudes, and financial constraints. In the context of other health behaviors, such as diet and exercise, behavioral economists have emphasized time preferences and procrastination as additional barriers. These factors might also be relevant to mental health. We examine conceptually and empirically how lack of help-seeking for mental health conditions might be related to time preferences and procrastination. Our conceptual discussion explores how the interrelationships between time preferences and mental health treatment utilization could fit into basic microeconomic theory. The empirical analysis uses survey data of student populations from 12 colleges and universities in 2011 (the Healthy Minds Study, N=8,806). Using standard brief measures of discounting, procrastination, and mental health (depression and anxiety symptoms), we examine the conditional correlations between indicators of present-orientation (discount rate and procrastination) and mental health symptoms. The conceptual discussion reveals a number of potential relationships that would be useful to examine empirically. In the empirical analysis depression is significantly associated with procrastination and discounting. Treatment utilization is significantly associated with procrastination but not discounting. The empirical results are generally consistent with the idea that depression increases present orientation (reduces future orientation), as measured by discounting and procrastination. These analyses have notable limitations that will require further examination in future research: the measures are simple and brief, and the estimates may be biased from true causal effects because of omitted variables and reverse causality. There are several possibilities for future research, including: (i) observational, longitudinal studies with detailed data on mental health, time preferences, and help-seeking; (ii) experimental studies that examine immediate or short-term responses and connections between these variables; (iii) randomized trials of mental health therapies that include outcome measures of time preferences and procrastination; and, (iv) intervention studies that test strategies to influence help-seeking by addressing time preferences and present orientation.
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Segmenting hospitals for improved management strategy.
Malhotra, N K
1989-09-01
The author presents a conceptual framework for the a priori and clustering-based approaches to segmentation and evaluates them in the context of segmenting institutional health care markets. An empirical study is reported in which the hospital market is segmented on three state-of-being variables. The segmentation approach also takes into account important organizational decision-making variables. The sophisticated Thurstone Case V procedure is employed. Several marketing implications for hospitals, other health care organizations, hospital suppliers, and donor publics are identified.
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Fung, Helene H
2013-06-01
This article reviews the empirical studies that test socioemotional aging across cultures. The review focuses on comparisons between Western (mostly North Americans and Germans) and Eastern cultures (mostly Chinese) in areas including age-related personality, social relationships, and cognition. Based on the review, I argue that aging is a meaning-making process. Individuals from each cultural context internalize cultural values with age. These internalized cultural values become goals that guide adult development. When individuals from different cultures each pursue their own goals with age, cultural differences in socioemotional aging occur.
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Making 'Context' concrete: a dialogical approach to the society-health relation.
Cornish, Flora
2004-03-01
To understand the role of context in constituting health is recognized as a key challenge facing contemporary health psychology. However, few models or theories are available which pinpoint the processes linking individual health with community or societal contexts. This article draws on dialogical and sociocultural psychological theory, to make context concrete by proposing the concepts of 'mediating moments' and 'reflected mediating moments'. These concepts are further developed through their application to the empirical case of the constitution of condom use in sex-worker-client interactions in Calcutta. Interviews and group discussions with sex workers and other 'red light area' residents are interpreted to examine at what moments the societal phenomena of poverty and gender relations come to mediate condom use behaviour.
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The effect of contextual constraint on parafoveal processing in reading
Schotter, Elizabeth R.; Lee, Michelle; Reiderman, Michael; Rayner, Keith
2015-01-01
Semantic preview benefit in reading is an elusive and controversial effect because empirical studies do not always (but sometimes) find evidence for it. Its presence seems to depend on (at least) the language being read, visual properties of the text (e.g., initial letter capitalization), the type of relationship between preview and target, and as shown here, semantic constraint generated by the prior sentence context. Schotter (2013) reported semantic preview benefit for synonyms, but not semantic associates when the preview/target was embedded in a neutral sentence context. In Experiment 1, we embedded those same previews/targets into constrained sentence contexts and in Experiment 2 we replicated the effects reported by Schotter (2013; in neutral sentence contexts) and Experiment 1 (in constrained contexts) in a within-subjects design. In both experiments, we found an early (i.e., first-pass) apparent preview benefit for semantically associated previews in constrained contexts that went away in late measures (e.g., total time). These data suggest that sentence constraint (at least as manipulated in the current study) does not operate by making a single word form expected, but rather generates expectations about what kinds of words are likely to appear. Furthermore, these data are compatible with the assumption of the E-Z Reader model that early oculomotor decisions reflect “hedged bets” that a word will be identifiable and, when wrong, lead the system to identify the wrong word, triggering regressions. PMID:26257469
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Gender and family caregiving at the end-of-life in the context of old age: A systematic review.
Morgan, Tessa; Ann Williams, Lisa; Trussardi, Gabriella; Gott, Merryn
2016-07-01
As societies age and governments attempt to manage within constrained health budgets by moving care into community settings, women will be called upon to provide more palliative care in old age. However, little is known about gendered disparities for caregivers of people over the age of 65 years. To identify and synthesise the empirical literature between 1994 and 2014 that focusses on gender and family caregiving for people over the age of 65 years with a life-limiting illness. Systematic review of qualitative and quantitative studies conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Supplemental review using a novel feminist quality appraisal framework. Search of MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Sociological Abstracts and Gender Studies to find empirical studies on gender and family caregiving at end-of-life in the context of old age. Of 19 studies identified, 9 presented thorough gender analyses. Gender themes included why people care, how they care, and the consequences of providing care. Women caregivers experienced a greater degree of mental and physical strain than their male counterparts. This was linked to societal expectation that women should provide a greater degree of care at the end-of-life for family members. Palliative family caregiving for older adults is gendered. Gender affects why people care and the consequences of providing care. Palliative care literature needs to incorporate a greater gender focus for future research and policy makers need to be aware of the gendered ramifications of providing more palliative care in the community. © The Author(s) 2016.