A Comparison of Normal Forgetting, Psychopathology, and Information-Processing Models of Reported Amnesia for Recent Sexual Trauma

PubMed Central

Mechanic, Mindy B.; Resick, Patricia A.; Griffin, Michael G.

2010-01-01

This study assessed memories for sexual trauma in a nontreatment-seeking sample of recent rape victims and considered competing explanations for failed recall. Participants were 92 female rape victims assessed within 2 weeks of the rape; 62 were also assessed 3 months postassault. Memory deficits for parts of the rape were common 2 weeks postassault (37%) but improved over the 3-month window studied (16% still partially amnesic). Hypotheses evaluated competing models of explanation that may account for reported recall deficits. Results are most consistent with information-processing models of traumatic memory. PMID:9874908

Factors affecting summer distributions of Bering Sea forage fish species: Assessing competing hypotheses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parker-Stetter, Sandra; Urmy, Samuel; Horne, John; Eisner, Lisa; Farley, Edward

2016-12-01

Hypotheses on the factors affecting forage fish species distributions are often proposed but rarely evaluated using a comprehensive suite of indices. Using 24 predictor indices, we compared competing hypotheses and calculated average models for the distributions of capelin, age-0 Pacific cod, and age-0 pollock in the eastern Bering Sea from 2006 to 2010. Distribution was described using a two stage modeling approach: probability of occurrence ("presence") and density when fish were present. Both local (varying by location and year) and annual (uniform in space but varying by year) indices were evaluated, the latter accounting for the possibility that distributions were random but that overall presence or densities changed with annual conditions. One regional index, distance to the location of preflexion larvae earlier in the year, was evaluated for age-0 pollock. Capelin distributions were best predicted by local indices such as bottom depth, temperature, and salinity. Annual climate (May sea surface temperature (SST), sea ice extent anomaly) and wind (June wind speed cubed) indices were often important for age-0 Pacific cod in addition to local indices (temperature and depth). Surface, midwater, and water column age-0 pollock distributions were best described by a combination of local (depth, temperature, salinity, zooplankton) and annual (May SST, sea ice anomaly, June wind speed cubed) indices. Our results corroborated some of those in previous distribution studies, but suggested that presence and density may also be influenced by other factors. Even though there were common environmental factors that influenced all species' distributions, it is not possible to generalize conditions for forage fish as a group.

Developing research competencies through a project-based tissue-engineering module in the biomedical engineering undergraduate curriculum.

PubMed

Wallen, M; Pandit, A

2009-05-01

In addressing the task of developing an undergraduate module in the field of tissue engineering, the greatest challenge lies in managing to capture what is a growing and rapidly changing field. Acknowledging the call for the development of greater critical thinking and interpersonal skills among the next generation of engineers as well as encouraging students to engage actively with the dynamic nature of research in the field, the module was developed to include both project-based and cooperative-learning experiences. These learning activities include developing hypotheses for the application of newly introduced laboratory procedures, a collaborative mock grant submission, and debates on ethical issues in which students are assigned roles as various stakeholders. Feedback from module evaluations has indicated that, while students find the expectations challenging, they are able to gain an advanced insight into a dynamic field. More importantly, students develop research competencies by engaging in activities that require them to link current research directions with their own development of hypotheses for future tissue-engineering applications.

READING and FEELING: the effects of a literature-based intervention designed to increase emotional competence in second and third graders

PubMed Central

Kumschick, Irina R.; Beck, Luna; Eid, Michael; Witte, Georg; Klann-Delius, Gisela; Heuser, Isabella; Steinlein, Rüdiger; Menninghaus, Winfried

2014-01-01

Emotional competence has an important influence on development in school. We hypothesized that reading and discussing children’s books with emotional content increases children’s emotional competence. To examine this assumption, we developed a literature-based intervention, named READING and FEELING, and tested it on 104 second and third graders in their after-school care center. Children who attended the same care center but did not participate in the emotion-centered literary program formed the control group (n = 104). Our goal was to promote emotional competence and to evaluate the effectiveness of the READING and FEELING program. Emotional competence variables were measured prior to the intervention and 9 weeks later, at the end of the program. Results revealed significant improvements in the emotional vocabulary, explicit emotional knowledge, and recognition of masked feelings. Regarding the treatment effect for detecting masked feelings, we found that boys benefited significantly more than girls. These findings underscore the assumption that children’s literature is an appropriate vehicle to support the development of emotional competence in middle childhood. PMID:25566129

EFL Teachers' Perception of the Concept of Communicative Competence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nazari, Ahmad

2007-01-01

This study briefly reviews Chomsky's and Hymes' ideas on competence and links them to Dubin's notions of autonomous and ideological communicative competence. Based on interviews with high school EFL teachers, the study hypothesizes that some of these teachers have an indistinct view about communicative competence that moves between autonomous and…

Trading Equality for Health? Evaluating the Trade-off and Institutional Hypotheses on Health Inequalities in the Global South.

PubMed

Sosnaud, Benjamin; Beckfield, Jason

2017-09-01

It has been suggested that as medicine advances and mortality declines, socioeconomic disparities in health outcomes will grow. Yet, most research on this topic uses data from affluent Western democracies, where mortality is declining in small increments. We argue that the Global South represents the ideal setting to study this issue in a context of rapid mortality decline. We evaluate two competing hypotheses: (1) there is a trade-off between population health and health inequality such that reductions in under-five mortality are linked to higher levels of social inequality in health; and (2) institutional interventions that improve under-five mortality, like the expansion of educational systems and public health expenditure, are associated with reductions in inequalities. We test these hypotheses using data on 1,369,050 births in 34 low-income countries in the Demographic and Health Surveys from 1995 to 2012. The results show little evidence of a health-for-equality trade-off and instead support the institutional hypothesis.

Intergroup perception as a compromise between in-group bias and fair-mindedness.

PubMed

Singh, Ramadhar; Sharmini; Choo, Ivy

2004-08-01

Previously, perceived competence of and attraction toward targets categorized by race showed in-group bias and no bias, respectively. Consequently, previous investigators regarded intergroup perception as a compromise between the norms of in-group bias and fair-mindedness. An alternative hypothesis for such findings is that attraction is not as relevant a dimension for intergroup discrimination as is competence. To test contrasting predictions of these hypotheses, the present authors asked participants from the majority and minority groups in Singapore (ns = 320) to evaluate either competence of or attraction toward one of the five targets. Consistent with the hypothesis that intergroup perception is a compromise, both dimensions yielded a uniform but weak in-group bias. The participants' equating of the in-group with one out-group further illustrated fair-mindedness. The authors discussed implications of the findings.

A Self-Assessment of Cultural Competence in Military Mental Health Providers

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-01-31

attitudes about the mental health system, and are more concerned about therapist cultural competence (Banks, 2001). Asian Americans (Herrick & Brown...competence expertise and therapists with extensive clinical experience and training in working with ethnic minorities. There was poor overall agreement...American client reporting seeing spirits. A culturally competent therapist might approach this piece of information by hypothesizing that the client

Recovery-promoting professional competencies: perspectives of mental health consumers, consumer-providers and providers.

PubMed

Russinova, Zlatka; Rogers, E Sally; Ellison, Marsha Langer; Lyass, Asya

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to empirically validate a set of conceptually derived recovery-promoting competencies from the perspectives of mental health consumers, consumer-providers and providers. A national sample of 603 consumers, 153 consumer-providers and 239 providers completed an anonymous survey via the Internet. The survey evaluated respondents' perceptions about a set of 37 competencies hypothesized to enhance clients' hope and empowerment and inquired about interactions with providers that enhanced clients' recovery process. We used descriptive statistics and ranking to establish the relevance of each competency and generalized linear models and post-hoc tests to examine differences in the consumers', consumer-providers' and providers' assessments of these competencies. Analyses confirmed the recovery relevance of several competencies and their relative importance within each group of study participants. They also revealed that while most competencies tended to have universal significance, others depended more strongly on the client's preferences. Finally, differences in the perceptions of consumers, consumer-providers and providers about the recovery relevance of these competencies were established. The study highlighted the crucial role practitioners play in enhancing recovery from serious mental illnesses through specific strategies and attitudes that acknowledge clients' personhood and foster their hopefulness, empowerment and illness management. It informed the development of a new instrument measuring providers' recovery-promoting competence and provides guidelines for sharpening the recovery focus of a wide range of mental health and rehabilitation services.

Deciphering Chinese Strategic Deception: The Middle Kingdom’s First Aircraft Carrier

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-06-01

data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed , and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this...89 C. THEORY OF ANALYSIS OF COMPETITIVE HYPOTHESES ............90 Step 1: Identifying Competing...Hypotheses .................................................91 Step 2: Listing of Consistent and Inconsistent Evidence and Arguments for Hypotheses

Compte rendu d'une experience pedagogique. L'Enseignement de la competence de communication en langues secondes. (An Account of a Pedagogical Experiment. The Teaching of Communicative Competence in Second Languages). Acts of the Colloguium of the Swiss Interuniversity Commission for Applied Linguistics. CILA Bulletin.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brunet, J.; Jammot, M. T.

Three methodological "hypotheses" elaborated by the "Centre interuniversitaire de recherche pour le recyclage des maitres d'italien" are presented here. These hypotheses came from three teams of teachers working from different perspectives on sets of lessons for beginners of all ages. Each team's operative assumptions, type of text, guiding…

Set-base dynamical parameter estimation and model invalidation for biochemical reaction networks.

PubMed

Rumschinski, Philipp; Borchers, Steffen; Bosio, Sandro; Weismantel, Robert; Findeisen, Rolf

2010-05-25

Mathematical modeling and analysis have become, for the study of biological and cellular processes, an important complement to experimental research. However, the structural and quantitative knowledge available for such processes is frequently limited, and measurements are often subject to inherent and possibly large uncertainties. This results in competing model hypotheses, whose kinetic parameters may not be experimentally determinable. Discriminating among these alternatives and estimating their kinetic parameters is crucial to improve the understanding of the considered process, and to benefit from the analytical tools at hand. In this work we present a set-based framework that allows to discriminate between competing model hypotheses and to provide guaranteed outer estimates on the model parameters that are consistent with the (possibly sparse and uncertain) experimental measurements. This is obtained by means of exact proofs of model invalidity that exploit the polynomial/rational structure of biochemical reaction networks, and by making use of an efficient strategy to balance solution accuracy and computational effort. The practicability of our approach is illustrated with two case studies. The first study shows that our approach allows to conclusively rule out wrong model hypotheses. The second study focuses on parameter estimation, and shows that the proposed method allows to evaluate the global influence of measurement sparsity, uncertainty, and prior knowledge on the parameter estimates. This can help in designing further experiments leading to improved parameter estimates.

Set-base dynamical parameter estimation and model invalidation for biochemical reaction networks

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Mathematical modeling and analysis have become, for the study of biological and cellular processes, an important complement to experimental research. However, the structural and quantitative knowledge available for such processes is frequently limited, and measurements are often subject to inherent and possibly large uncertainties. This results in competing model hypotheses, whose kinetic parameters may not be experimentally determinable. Discriminating among these alternatives and estimating their kinetic parameters is crucial to improve the understanding of the considered process, and to benefit from the analytical tools at hand. Results In this work we present a set-based framework that allows to discriminate between competing model hypotheses and to provide guaranteed outer estimates on the model parameters that are consistent with the (possibly sparse and uncertain) experimental measurements. This is obtained by means of exact proofs of model invalidity that exploit the polynomial/rational structure of biochemical reaction networks, and by making use of an efficient strategy to balance solution accuracy and computational effort. Conclusions The practicability of our approach is illustrated with two case studies. The first study shows that our approach allows to conclusively rule out wrong model hypotheses. The second study focuses on parameter estimation, and shows that the proposed method allows to evaluate the global influence of measurement sparsity, uncertainty, and prior knowledge on the parameter estimates. This can help in designing further experiments leading to improved parameter estimates. PMID:20500862

Autonomy, Competence, and Intrinsic Motivation in Science Education: A Self- Determination Theory Perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Painter, Jason

The purpose of this study was to examine a proposed motivational model of science achievement based on self-determination theory. The study relied on U.S. eighth-grade science data from the 2007 Third International Mathematics and Science Study to examine a structural model that hypothesized how perceived autonomy support, perceived competence in science, intrinsic motivation, and science achievement related to each other. Mother's education and student gender were used as controls. Findings showed that the hypothesized model provided a good fit to the data. The strongest direct effect on science achievement was students' perceived competence in science. Student intrinsic motivation was shown to have a surprisingly negative effect on science achievement. Autonomy support had positive direct effects on students' perceived competence in science and intrinsic motivation and had indirect positive effects to science achievement. Results and implications for science education are discussed.

What motivates people to participate more in community-based coalitions?

PubMed

Wells, Rebecca; Ward, Ann J; Feinberg, Mark; Alexander, Jeffrey A

2008-09-01

The purpose of this study was to identify potential opportunities for improving member participation in community-based coalitions. We hypothesized that opportunities for influence and process competence would each foster higher levels of individual member participation. We tested these hypotheses in a sample of 818 members within 79 youth-oriented coalitions. Opportunities for influence were measured as members' perceptions of an inclusive board leadership style and members' reported committee roles. Coalition process competence was measured through member perceptions of strategic board directedness and meeting effectiveness. Members reported three types of participation within meetings as well as how much time they devoted to coalition business beyond meetings. Generalized linear models accommodated clustering of individuals within coalitions. Opportunities for influence were associated with individuals' participation both within and beyond meetings. Coalition process competence was not associated with participation. These results suggest that leadership inclusivity rather than process competence may best facilitate member participation.

Studying biodiversity: is a new paradigm really needed?

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nichols, James D.; Cooch, Evan G.; Nichols, Jonathan M.; Sauer, John R.

2012-01-01

Authors in this journal have recommended a new approach to the conduct of biodiversity science. This data-driven approach requires the organization of large amounts of ecological data, analysis of these data to discover complex patterns, and subsequent development of hypotheses corresponding to detected patterns. This proposed new approach has been contrasted with more-traditional knowledge-based approaches in which investigators deduce consequences of competing hypotheses to be confronted with actual data, providing a basis for discriminating among the hypotheses. We note that one approach is directed at hypothesis generation, whereas the other is also focused on discriminating among competing hypotheses. Here, we argue for the importance of using existing knowledge to the separate issues of (a) hypothesis selection and generation and (b) hypothesis discrimination and testing. In times of limited conservation funding, the relative efficiency of different approaches to learning should be an important consideration in decisions about how to study biodiversity.

Competent Children at Risk: Their Parents and Families. 2. Markers of Competent Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kokes, Ronald F.; And Others

Hypotheses presented in an initial report of this study were tested and, in general, all were supported. Maternal diagnosis, chronicity, and age of onset with regard to the child and to parent/child interaction were significantly associated with child competence. However, effects of these factors were not consistent across age of child or child…

Supporting anticipation in driving through attentional and interpretational in-vehicle displays.

PubMed

Stahl, Patrick; Donmez, Birsen; Jamieson, Greg A

2016-06-01

This paper evaluates two different types of in-vehicle interfaces to support anticipation in driving: one aids attention allocation and the other aids interpretation of traffic in addition to attention allocation. Anticipation is a competency that has been shown to facilitate safety and eco-driving through the efficient positioning of a vehicle for probable, upcoming changes in traffic. This competency has been shown to improve with driving experience. In an earlier simulator study, we showed that compared to novice drivers, experienced drivers exhibited a greater number of timely actions to avoid upcoming traffic conflicts. In this study, we seek to facilitate anticipation in general and for novice drivers in particular, who appear to lack the competency. We hypothesize that anticipation depends on two major steps and that it can be supported by aiding each: (1) conscious perception of relevant cues, and (2) effective processing of these cues to create a situational assessment as a basis for anticipation of future developments. We conducted a simulator experiment with 24 experienced and 24 novice drivers to evaluate two interfaces that were designed to aid the two hypothesized steps of anticipation. The attentional interface was designed to direct attention toward the most relevant cue. The interpretational interface represented several cues, and in addition to directing attention also aimed to aid sense-making of these cues. The results confirmed our hypothesis that novice drivers' anticipation performance, as measured through timely actions to avoid upcoming traffic conflicts, would be improved with either interface type. However, results contradicted our expectation that novice drivers would obtain larger improvements with the interpretational interface. Experienced drivers performed better than novice drivers to begin with and did not show any statistically significant improvements with either interface. Both interfaces improved anticipation performance for novice drivers. Future research should evaluate the effectiveness of these interfaces in a wider variety of driving conditions, such as when the driver is multitasking. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Designing for competence: spaces that enhance collaboration readiness in healthcare.

PubMed

Lamb, Gerri; Shraiky, James

2013-09-01

Many universities in the United States are investing in classrooms and campuses designed to increase collaboration and teamwork among the health professions. To date, we know little about whether these learning spaces are having the intended impact on student performance. Recent advances in the identification of interprofessional teamwork competencies provide a much-needed step toward a defined outcome metric. Rigorous study of the relationship between design and student competence in collaboration also requires clear specification of design concepts and development of testable frameworks. Such theory-based evaluation is crucial for design to become an integral part of interprofessional education strategies and initiatives. Current classroom and campus designs were analyzed for common themes and features in collaborative spaces as a starting place for specification of design concepts and model development. Four major themes were identified: flexibility, visual transparency/proximity, technology and environmental infrastructure. Potential models linking this preliminary set of design concepts to student competencies are proposed and used to generate hypotheses for future study of the impact of collaborative design spaces on student outcomes.

Comparing Real-time Versus Delayed Video Assessments for Evaluating ACGME Sub-competency Milestones in Simulated Patient Care Environments

PubMed Central

Stiegler, Marjorie; Hobbs, Gene; Martinelli, Susan M; Zvara, David; Arora, Harendra; Chen, Fei

2018-01-01

Background Simulation is an effective method for creating objective summative assessments of resident trainees. Real-time assessment (RTA) in simulated patient care environments is logistically challenging, especially when evaluating a large group of residents in multiple simulation scenarios. To date, there is very little data comparing RTA with delayed (hours, days, or weeks later) video-based assessment (DA) for simulation-based assessments of Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) sub-competency milestones. We hypothesized that sub-competency milestone evaluation scores obtained from DA, via audio-video recordings, are equivalent to the scores obtained from RTA. Methods Forty-one anesthesiology residents were evaluated in three separate simulated scenarios, representing different ACGME sub-competency milestones. All scenarios had one faculty member perform RTA and two additional faculty members perform DA. Subsequently, the scores generated by RTA were compared with the average scores generated by DA. Variance component analysis was conducted to assess the amount of variation in scores attributable to residents and raters. Results Paired t-tests showed no significant difference in scores between RTA and averaged DA for all cases. Cases 1, 2, and 3 showed an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of 0.67, 0.85, and 0.50 for agreement between RTA scores and averaged DA scores, respectively. Analysis of variance of the scores assigned by the three raters showed a small proportion of variance attributable to raters (4% to 15%). Conclusions The results demonstrate that video-based delayed assessment is as reliable as real-time assessment, as both assessment methods yielded comparable scores. Based on a department’s needs or logistical constraints, our findings support the use of either real-time or delayed video evaluation for assessing milestones in a simulated patient care environment. PMID:29736352

Low Academic Competence in First Grade as a Risk Factor for Depressive Cognitions and Symptoms in Middle School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Herman, Keith C.; Lambert, Sharon F.; Reinke, Wendy M.; Ialongo, Nicholas S.

2008-01-01

The present study investigated the role of low academic competence in the emergence of depressive cognitions and symptoms. Structural equation modeling was conducted on a longitudinal sample of African American boys (n = 253) and girls (n = 221). Results supported the hypothesized path models from academic competence in 1st grade to depressive…

Gender Differences in the Relationship between Oral Communicative Competence and Peer Rejection: An Explorative Study in Early Childhood Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van der Wilt, Femke; van Kruistum, Claudia; van der Veen, Chiel; van Oers, Bert

2016-01-01

This study investigated gender differences in the relationship between oral communicative competence and peer rejection in early childhood education. It was hypothesized that children with poorer oral communicative competence would be rejected by their peers more frequently and that the strength of this relationship would differ for boys and…

The ethno-racial segmentation jobs: The impacts of the occupational stereotypes on hiring decisions.

PubMed

Ndobo, André; Faure, Alice; Boisselier, Jeanne; Giannaki, Stella

2017-10-12

This paper considers both the division of the labor market and the occupational stereotyping as explanatory mechanisms of discrimination in hiring decisions. It hypothesized that recruiters would favor candidates applying for a position that is stereotypically identified with their ethnic category. We solicited 146 recruiters in order to evaluate the hireability of either a native-born or an immigrant candidate, either competent or not competent, for either a prestigious or a low-skill occupation, and to justify their decision in writing. As predicted, both the hireability ratings and the narrative comments produced by recruiters showed that native-born applicants were preferred for prestigious jobs while immigrants tended to be selected more often for low-skill positions.The discussion addresses various issues related to decision-making in recruitment settings.

Evaluating hypotheses of basal animal phylogeny using complete sequences of large and small subunit rRNA.

PubMed

Medina, M; Collins, A G; Silberman, J D; Sogin, M L

2001-08-14

We studied the evolutionary relationships among basal metazoan lineages by using complete large subunit (LSU) and small subunit (SSU) ribosomal RNA sequences for 23 taxa. After identifying competing hypotheses, we performed maximum likelihood searches for trees conforming to each hypothesis. Kishino-Hasegawa tests were used to determine whether the data (LSU, SSU, and combined) reject any of the competing hypotheses. We also conducted unconstrained tree searches, compared the resulting topologies, and calculated bootstrap indices. Shimodaira-Hasegawa tests were applied to determine whether the data reject any of the topologies resulting from the constrained and unconstrained tree searches. LSU, SSU, and the combined data strongly contradict two assertions pertaining to sponge phylogeny. Hexactinellid sponges are not likely to be the basal lineage of a monophyletic Porifera or the sister group to all other animals. Instead, Hexactinellida and Demospongia form a well-supported clade of siliceous sponges, Silicea. It remains unclear, on the basis of these data alone, whether the calcarean sponges are more closely related to Silicea or to nonsponge animals. The SSU and combined data reject the hypothesis that Bilateria is more closely related to Ctenophora than it is to Cnidaria, whereas LSU data alone do not refute either hypothesis. LSU and SSU data agree in supporting the monophyly of Bilateria, Cnidaria, Ctenophora, and Metazoa. LSU sequence data reveal phylogenetic structure in a data set with limited taxon sampling. Continued accumulation of LSU sequences should increase our understanding of animal phylogeny.

Evaluating hypotheses of basal animal phylogeny using complete sequences of large and small subunit rRNA

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Medina, Monica; Collins, Allen G.; Silberman, Jeffrey

2001-06-21

We studied the evolutionary relationships among basal metazoan lineages by using complete large subunit (LSU) and small subunit (SSU) ribosomal RNA sequences for 23 taxa. After identifying competing hypotheses, we performed maximum likelihood searches for trees conforming to each hypothesis. Kishino-Hasegawa tests were used to determine whether the data (LSU, SSU, and combined) reject any of the competing hypotheses. We also conducted unconstrained tree searches, compared the resulting topologies, and calculated bootstrap indices. Shimodaira-Hasegawa tests were applied to determine whether the data reject any of the topologies resulting from the constrained and unconstrained tree searches. LSU, SSU, and the combinedmore » data strongly contradict two assertions pertaining to sponge phylogeny. Hexactinellid sponges are not likely to be the basal lineage of amonophyletic Porifera or the sister group to all other animals. Instead, Hexactinellida and Demospongia form a well-supported clade of siliceous sponges, Silicea. It remains unclear, on the basis of these data alone, whether the calcarean sponges are more closely related to Silicea or to nonsponge animals. The SSU and combined data reject the hypothesis that Bilateria is more closely related to Ctenophora than it is to Cnidaria, whereas LSU data alone do not refute either hypothesis. LSU and SSU data agree in supporting the monophyly of Bilateria, Cnidaria, Ctenophora, and Metazoa. LSU sequence data reveal phylogenetic structure in a data set with limited taxon sampling. Continued accumulation of LSU sequences should increase our understanding of animal phylogeny.« less

Validity and reliability of a pictorial instrument for assessing perceived motor competence in Portuguese children.

PubMed

Lopes, V P; Barnett, L M; Saraiva, L; Gonçalves, C; Bowe, S J; Abbott, G; Rodrigues, L P

2016-09-01

It is important to assess young children's perceived Fundamental Movement Skill (FMS) competence in order to examine the role of perceived FMS competence in motivation toward physical activity. Children's perceptions of motor competence may vary according to the culture/country of origin; therefore, it is also important to measure perceptions in different cultural contexts. The purpose was to assess the face validity, internal consistency, test-retest reliability and construct validity of the 12 FMS items in the Pictorial Scale for Perceived Movement Skill Competence for Young Children (PMSC) in a Portuguese sample. Two hundred one Portuguese children (girls, n = 112), 5 to 10 years of age (7.6 ± 1.4), participated. All children completed the PMSC once. Ordinal alpha assessed internal consistency. A random subsamples (n = 47) were reassessed one week later to determine test-retest reliability with Bland-Altman method. Children were asked questions after the second administration to determine face validity. Construct validity was assessed on the whole sample with a Bayesian Structural Equation Modelling (BSEM) approach. The hypothesized theoretical model used the 12 items and two hypothesized factors: object control and locomotor skills. The majority of children correctly identified the skills and could understand most of the pictures. Test-retest reliability analysis was good, with an agreement ration between 0.99 and 1.02. Ordinal alpha values ranged from acceptable (object control 0.73, locomotor 0.68) to good (all FMS 0.81). The hypothesized BSEM model had an adequate fit. The PMSC can be used to investigate perceptions of children's FMS competence. This instrument can also be satisfactorily used among Portuguese children. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Comparisons of Social Competence in Young Children with and without Hearing Loss: A Dynamic Systems Framework

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoffman, Michael F.; Quittner, Alexandra L.; Cejas, Ivette

2015-01-01

This study compared levels of social competence and language development in 74 young children with hearing loss and 38 hearing peers aged 2.5-5.3 years. This study was the first to examine the relationship between oral language and social competence using a dynamic systems framework in children with and without hearing loss. We hypothesized that,…

Increasing School Success Through Partnership-Based Family Competency Training

PubMed Central

Spoth, Richard; Randall, G. Kevin; Shin, Chungyeol

2008-01-01

An expanding body of research suggests an important role for parent or family competency training in children’s social-emotional learning and related school success. This article summarizes a test of a longitudinal model examining partnership-based family competency training effects on academic success in a general population. Specifically, it examines indirect effects of the Iowa Strengthening Families Program (ISFP) on school engagement in 8th grade and academic success in the 12th grade, through direct ISFP effects on intervention-targeted outcomes—parenting competencies and student substance-related risk—in 6th grade. Twenty-two rural schools were randomly assigned to either ISFP or a minimal-contact control group; data were collected from 445 families. Following examination of the equivalence of the measurement model across group and time, a structural equation modeling approach was used to test the hypothesized model and corresponding hypothesized structural paths. Significant effects of the ISFP were found on proximal intervention outcomes, intermediate school engagement, and the academic success of high school seniors. PMID:20376279

Cultural group selection is plausible, but the predictions of its hypotheses should be tested with real-world data.

PubMed

Turchin, Peter; Currie, Thomas E

2016-01-01

The evidence compiled in the target article demonstrates that the assumptions of cultural group selection (CGS) theory are often met, and it is therefore a useful framework for generating plausible hypotheses. However, more can be said about how we can test the predictions of CGS hypotheses against competing explanations using historical, archaeological, and anthropological data.

Adaptive inference for distinguishing credible from incredible patterns in nature

USGS Publications Warehouse

Holling, Crawford S.; Allen, Craig R.

2002-01-01

Strong inference is a powerful and rapid tool that can be used to identify and explain patterns in molecular biology, cell biology, and physiology. It is effective where causes are single and separable and where discrimination between pairwise alternative hypotheses can be determined experimentally by a simple yes or no answer. But causes in ecological systems are multiple and overlapping and are not entirely separable. Frequently, competing hypotheses cannot be distinguished by a single unambiguous test, but only by a suite of tests of different kinds, that produce a body of evidence to support one line of argument and not others. We call this process "adaptive inference". Instead of pitting each member of a pair of hypotheses against each other, adaptive inference relies on the exuberant invention of multiple, competing hypotheses, after which carefully structured comparative data are used to explore the logical consequences of each. Herein we present an example that demonstrates the attributes of adaptive inference that have developed out of a 30-year study of the resilience of ecosystems.

Palliative and end-of-life educational practices in US pulmonary and critical care training programs.

PubMed

Richman, Paul S; Saft, Howard L; Messina, Catherine R; Berman, Andrew R; Selecky, Paul A; Mularski, Richard A; Ray, Daniel E; Ford, Dee W

2016-02-01

To describe educational features in palliative and end-of-life care (PEOLC) in pulmonary/critical care fellowships and identify the features associated with perceptions of trainee competence in PEOLC. A survey of educational features in 102 training programs and the perceived skill and comfort level of trainees in 6 PEOLC domains: communication, symptom control, ethical/legal, community/institutional resources, specific syndromes, and ventilator withdrawal. We evaluated associations between perceived trainee competence/comfort in PEOLC and training program features, using regression analyses. Fifty-five percent of program directors (PDs) reported faculty with training in PEOLC; 30% had a written PEOLC curriculum. Neither feature was associated with trainee competence/comfort. Program directors and trainees rated bedside PEOLC teaching highly. Only 20% offered PEOLC rotations; most trainees judged these valuable. Most PDs and trainees reported that didactic teaching was insufficient in communication, although sufficient teaching of this was associated with perceived trainee competence in communication. Perceived trainee competence in managing institutional resources was rated poorly. Program directors reporting significant barriers to PEOLC education also judged trainees less competent in PEOLC. Time constraint was the greatest barrier. This survey of PEOLC education in US pulmonary/critical care fellowships identified associations between certain program features and perceived trainee skill in PEOLC. These results generate hypotheses for further study. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Probabilistic peak detection for first-order chromatographic data.

PubMed

Lopatka, M; Vivó-Truyols, G; Sjerps, M J

2014-03-19

We present a novel algorithm for probabilistic peak detection in first-order chromatographic data. Unlike conventional methods that deliver a binary answer pertaining to the expected presence or absence of a chromatographic peak, our method calculates the probability of a point being affected by such a peak. The algorithm makes use of chromatographic information (i.e. the expected width of a single peak and the standard deviation of baseline noise). As prior information of the existence of a peak in a chromatographic run, we make use of the statistical overlap theory. We formulate an exhaustive set of mutually exclusive hypotheses concerning presence or absence of different peak configurations. These models are evaluated by fitting a segment of chromatographic data by least-squares. The evaluation of these competing hypotheses can be performed as a Bayesian inferential task. We outline the potential advantages of adopting this approach for peak detection and provide several examples of both improved performance and increased flexibility afforded by our approach. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Social-Emotional Competencies among Teachers: An Examination of Interrelationships

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hen, Meirav; Goroshit, Marina

2016-01-01

Teachers' social-emotional competence is crucial for promoting a positive learning environment to the students. However, the research on teachers' social-emotional abilities is very limited. This study examined the relationship between emotional abilities and self-efficacies and empathy among teachers, hypothesizing that teachers' self-efficacy…

Integrating ecosystem studies: A Bayesian comparison of hypotheses

USGS Publications Warehouse

Adkison, Milo D.; Ballachey, Brenda E.; Bodkin, James L.; Holland-Bartels, Leslie E.; Funk, F.; Quinn, T.J.; Heifetz, J.; Ianelli, J.N.; Powers, J.E.; Schweigert, J.F.; Sullivan, P.J.; Zhang, C.-I.

1998-01-01

Ecosystem studies are difficult to interpret because of the complexity and number of pathways that may affect a phenomenon of interest. It is not possible to study all aspects of a problem; thus subjective judgment is required to weigh what has been observed in the context of components that were not studied but may have been important. This subjective judgment is usually a poorly documented and ad hoc addendum to a statistical analysis of the data. We present a Bayesian methodology for documenting, quantifying, and incorporating these necessary subjective elements into an ecosystem study. The end product of this methodology is the probability of each of the competing hypotheses. As an example, this method is applied to an ecosystem study designed to discriminate among competing hypotheses for a low abundance of sea otters at a previously oiled site in Prince William Sound, Alaska.

The Mentoring Competency Assessment: validation of a new instrument to evaluate skills of research mentors.

PubMed

Fleming, Michael; House, Stephanie; Hanson, Vansa Shewakramani; Yu, Lan; Garbutt, Jane; McGee, Richard; Kroenke, Kurt; Abedin, Zainab; Rubio, Doris M

2013-07-01

To determine the psychometric properties of the Mentoring Competency Assessment (MCA), a 26-item skills inventory that enables research mentors and mentees to evaluate six competencies of mentors: maintaining effective communication, aligning expectations, assessing understanding, addressing diversity, fostering independence, and promoting professional development. In 2010, investigators administered the MCA to 283 mentor-mentee pairs from 16 universities participating in a trial of a mentoring curriculum for clinical and translational research mentors. The authors analyzed baseline MCA data to describe the instrument's psychometric properties. Coefficient alpha scores for the MCA showed reliability (internal consistency). The hypothesized model with its six latent constructs (competencies) resulted in an acceptable fit to the data. For the instrument completed by mentors, chi-square = 663.20; df = 284; P < .001; root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.069 (90% CI, 0.062-0.076); comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.85; and Tucker-Lewis index (TLI) = 0.83. For the instrument completed by mentees, chi-square = 840.62; df = 284; P < .001; RMSEA = 0.080 (90% CI, 0.063-0.077); CFI = 0.87; and TLI = 0.85. The correlations among the six competencies were high: 0.49-0.87 for mentors, 0.58-0.92 for mentees. All parameter estimates for the individual items were significant; standardized factor loadings ranged from 0.32 to 0.81 for mentors and 0.56 to 0.86 for mentees. The findings demonstrate that the MCA has reliability and validity. In addition, this study provides preliminary norms derived from a national sample of mentors and mentees.

Unethical and inept? The influence of moral information on perceptions of competence.

PubMed

Stellar, Jennifer E; Willer, Robb

2018-02-01

While moral character heavily influences global evaluations of others (Goodwin, Piazza, & Rozin, 2014), its causal effect on perceptions of others' competence (i.e., one's knowledge, skills, and abilities) is less clear. We found that people readily use information about another's morality when judging their competence, despite holding folk intuitions that these domains are independent. Across 6 studies (n = 1,567), including 2 preregistered experiments, participants judged targets who committed hypothetical transgressions (Studies 1 and 3), cheated on lab tasks (Study 2), acted selfishly in economic games (Study 4), and received low morality ratings from coworkers (Study 5 and 6) as less competent than control or moral targets. These findings were specific to morality and were not the result of incidentally manipulating impressions of warmth (Study 4), nor were they fully explained by a general halo effect (Studies 2 and 3). We hypothesized that immoral targets are seen as less competent because their immoral actions led them to be viewed as low in social intelligence. Studies 4 and 5 supported this prediction, demonstrating that social intelligence was a more reliable mediator than perceptions of self-control or general intelligence. An experimental test of this mediation argument found that presenting targets as highly socially intelligent eliminated the negative effect of immoral information on judgments of competence (Study 6). These results suggest that information about a person's moral character readily influences perceptions of their competence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Need Support, Need Satisfaction, Intrinsic Motivation, and Physical Activity Participation among Middle School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhang, Tao; Solmon, Melinda A.; Kosma, Maria; Carson, Russell L.; Gu, Xiangli

2011-01-01

Using self-determination theory as a framework, the purpose of this study was to test a structural model of hypothesized relationships among perceived need support from physical education teachers (autonomy support, competence support, and relatedness support), psychological need satisfaction (autonomy, competence, and relatedness), intrinsic…

From Linguistic Competence to Communicative Competence.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rivers, Wilga M.

It is hypothesized that free, spontaneous interaction cannot be easily attained in language courses which are rigid and mechanical. For this reason, the author urges the development of instructional materials which facilitate a smooth and natural transition from "skill-getting" to "skill-using." Discussion of Jerome Bruner's theory of language…

Manual praxis in stone tool manufacture: implications for language evolution.

PubMed

Ruck, Lana

2014-12-01

Alternative functions of the left-hemisphere dominant Broca's region have induced hypotheses regarding the evolutionary parallels between manual praxis and language in humans. Many recent studies on Broca's area reveal several assumptions about the cognitive mechanisms that underlie both functions, including: (1) an accurate, finely controlled body schema, (2) increasing syntactical abilities, particularly for goal-oriented actions, and (3) bilaterality and fronto-parietal connectivity. Although these characteristics are supported by experimental paradigms, many researchers have failed to acknowledge a major line of evidence for the evolutionary development of these traits: stone tools. The neuroscience of stone tool manufacture is a viable proxy for understanding evolutionary aspects of manual praxis and language, and may provide key information for evaluating competing hypotheses on the co-evolution of these cognitive domains in our species. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

SOCIAL COMPETENCE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL VULNERABILITY: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF FLOURISHING.

PubMed

Uysal, Recep

2015-10-01

This study examined whether flourishing mediated the social competence and psychological vulnerability. Participants were 259 university students (147 women, 112 men; M age = 21.3 yr., SD = 1.7) who completed the Turkish versions of the Perceived Social Competence Scale, the Flourishing Scale, and the Psychological Vulnerability Scale. Mediation models were tested using the bootstrapping method to examine indirect effects. Consistent with the hypotheses, the results indicated a positive relationship between social competence and flourishing, and a negative relationship between social competence and psychological vulnerability. Results of the bootstrapping method revealed that flourishing significantly mediated the relationship between social competence and psychological vulnerability. The significance and limitations of the results were discussed.

Work and Supervisor Satisfaction as a Function of Subordinate Perceptions of Communication Competence of Self and Supervisor.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Anthony F.; Hellweg, Susan A.

A study investigated relationships between subordinate perceptions of the communication competence of self and supervisor, and subordinate perceptions of supervisor and work satisfaction. The hypotheses were the following: (1) subordinates' satisfaction with their supervisors will vary as a function of their perceptions of their supervisors'…

Organizational Culture and Organizational Effectiveness: A Meta-Analytic Investigation of the Competing Values Framework's Theoretical Suppositions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hartnell, Chad A.; Ou, Amy Yi; Kinicki, Angelo

2011-01-01

We apply Quinn and Rohrbaugh's (1983) competing values framework (CVF) as an organizing taxonomy to meta-analytically test hypotheses about the relationship between 3 culture types and 3 major indices of organizational effectiveness (employee attitudes, operational performance [i.e., innovation and product and service quality], and financial…

Associations among Empathy, Social Competence, & Reactive/Proactive Aggression Subtypes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mayberry, Megan L.; Espelage, Dorothy L.

2007-01-01

Differences between proactive and reactive aggression subtypes on self-reported measures of empathy, social competence, and expectation for reward were examined among 433 middle school students (65.4% White, 33.9% Black). As hypothesized, males scored higher on proactive and reactive aggression scales and lower on empathy measures than females.…

An Assessment of Business Competencies Needed by Business Education Students for Entrepreneurial Development in Nigeria

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Binuomote, M. O.; Okoli, B. E.

2015-01-01

The paper examined the business competencies required by business education students for entrepreneurial development in Nigeria. To achieve the objective, two research questions and two hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. Survey design was adopted for the study. The population comprised 6002 business education students. Six hundred…

Contribution of Self-Compassion to Competence and Mental Health in Social Work Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ying, Yu-Wen

2009-01-01

This study examined the potential contribution of self-compassion to perceived competence and mental health in master's of social work students (N=65). It was hypothesized that the components of self-compassion (i.e., mindfulness, common humanity, self-kindness, overidentification, isolation, and self-judgment) would impact perceived competence…

The Relationship between Language and Social Competence: How Language Impairment Affects Social Growth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCabe, Paul C.; Meller, Paul J.

2004-01-01

Given the research that suggests the social use of language is the latest developing aspect of language, it was hypothesized that children with speech/language impairment (SLI) are particularly susceptible to social interaction difficulties, resulting in diminished social competence. This hypothesis was explored with SLI and non-language-impaired…

Inhibition or Compensation? A Multidimensional Comparison of Reading Processes in Dutch and English

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stevenson, Marie; Schoonen, Rob; de Glopper, Kees

2007-01-01

This study examined two competing hypotheses about second language reading processes: the inhibition hypothesis and the compensation hypothesis. Although the ideas expressed in these hypotheses have been reiterated in the literature, previous to this study, they had seldom been investigated systematically. The inhibition hypothesis states that in…

"Trust the researchers": flying in the face of evidence.

PubMed

Noble, John H

2017-01-01

There are always rival hypotheses to explain away the one that is posited as the most likely to be true. Context and Occam's razor - the principle that among competing hypotheses, the one with the fewest assumptions should be selected - ultimately point to which hypothesis is the most likely to be true.

Predicting Future Antisocial Personality Disorder in Males from a Clinical Assessment in Childhood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lahey, Benjamin B.; Loeber, Rolf; Burke, Jeffrey D.; Applegate, Brooks

2005-01-01

It is essential to identify childhood predictors of adult antisocial personality disorder (APD) to target early prevention. It has variously been hypothesized that APD is predicted by childhood conduct disorder (CD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or both disorders. To test these competing hypotheses, the authors used data from a…

Motor Competence and its Effect on Positive Developmental Trajectories of Health.

PubMed

Robinson, Leah E; Stodden, David F; Barnett, Lisa M; Lopes, Vitor P; Logan, Samuel W; Rodrigues, Luis Paulo; D'Hondt, Eva

2015-09-01

In 2008, Stodden and colleagues took a unique developmental approach toward addressing the potential role of motor competence in promoting positive or negative trajectories of physical activity, health-related fitness, and weight status. The conceptual model proposed synergistic relationships among physical activity, motor competence, perceived motor competence, health-related physical fitness, and obesity with associations hypothesized to strengthen over time. At the time the model was proposed, limited evidence was available to support or refute the model hypotheses. Over the past 6 years, the number of investigations exploring these relationships has increased significantly. Thus, it is an appropriate time to examine published data that directly or indirectly relate to specific pathways noted in the conceptual model. Evidence indicates that motor competence is positively associated with perceived competence and multiple aspects of health (i.e., physical activity, cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular strength, muscular endurance, and a healthy weight status). However, questions related to the increased strength of associations across time and antecedent/consequent mechanisms remain. An individual's physical and psychological development is a complex and multifaceted process that synergistically evolves across time. Understanding the most salient factors that influence health and well-being and how relationships among these factors change across time is a critical need for future research in this area. This knowledge could aid in addressing the declining levels of physical activity and fitness along with the increasing rates of obesity across childhood and adolescence.

Mental health assessment: Inference, explanation, and coherence.

PubMed

Thagard, Paul; Larocque, Laurette

2018-06-01

Mental health professionals such as psychiatrists and psychotherapists assess their patients by identifying disorders that explain their symptoms. This assessment requires an inference to the best explanation that compares different disorders with respect to how well they explain the available evidence. Such comparisons are captured by the theory of explanatory coherence that states 7 principles for evaluating competing hypotheses in the light of evidence. The computational model ECHO shows how explanatory coherence can be efficiently computed. We show the applicability of explanatory coherence to mental health assessment by modelling a case of psychiatric interviewing and a case of psychotherapeutic evaluation. We argue that this approach is more plausible than Bayesian inference and hermeneutic interpretation. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Methylphenidate-Related Improvements in Math Performance Cannot Be Explained by Better Cognitive Functioning or Higher Academic Motivation: Evidence From a Randomized Controlled Trial.

PubMed

Kortekaas-Rijlaarsdam, Anne Fleur; Luman, Marjolein; Sonuga-Barke, Edmund; Bet, Pierre; Oosterlaan, Jaap

2017-06-01

This study investigated whether improvements in working memory, reaction time, lapses of attention, interference control, academic motivation, and perceived competence mediated effects of methylphenidate on math performance. Sixty-three children (ADHD diagnosis; methylphenidate treatment; age 8-13; IQ > 70) were randomly allocated to a 7-day methylphenidate or placebo treatment in this double-blind placebo-controlled crossover study and compared with 67 controls. Data were collected at schools and analyzed using mixed-model analysis. Methylphenidate was hypothesized to improve all measures; all measures were evaluated as potential mediators of methylphenidate-related math improvements. Controls mostly outperformed the ADHD group. Methylphenidate did not affect measures of cognitive functioning ( p = .082-.641) or academic motivation ( p = .199-.865). Methylphenidate improved parent ratings of their child's self-perceived competence ( p < .01), which mediated methylphenidate efficacy on math productivity. These results question the necessity of improvements in specific cognitive and motivational deficits associated with ADHD for medication-related academic improvement. They also stimulate further study of perceived competence as a mediator.

The Mentoring Competency Assessment: Validation of a New Instrument to Evaluate Skills of Research Mentors

PubMed Central

Fleming, Michael; House, Stephanie; Shewakramani, Vansa; Yu, Lan; Garbutt, Jane; McGee, Richard; Kroenke, Kurt; Abedin, Zainab; Rubio, Doris M.

2013-01-01

Purpose To determine the psychometric properties of the Mentoring Competency Assessment (MCA), a 26-item skills inventory that enables research mentors and mentees to evaluate six competencies of mentors: maintaining effective communication, aligning expectations, assessing understanding, addressing diversity, and fostering independence promoting professional development. Method In 2010, investigators administered the MCA to 283 mentor–mentee pairs from 16 universities participating in a trial of a mentoring curriculum for clinical and translational research mentors. The authors analyzed baseline MCA data to describe the instrument’s psychometric properties. Results Coefficient alpha scores for the MCA showed reliability (internal consistency). The hypothesized model with its six latent constructs (competencies) resulted in an acceptable fit to the data. For the instrument completed by mentors, chi-square = 663.20; df = 284; P < .001; root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.069 (90% CI, 0.062–0.076); confirmatory fit index (CFI) = 0.85; and Tucker-Lewis index (TLI) = 0.83. For the instrument completed by mentees, chi-square = 840.62; df = 284; P < .001; RMSEA = 0.080 (90% CI, 0.063–0.077); CFI = 0.87; and TLI = 0.85. The correlations among the six competencies were high: 0.49–0.87 for mentors, 0.58–0.92 for mentees. All parameter estimates for the individual items were significant; standardized factor loadings ranged from 0.32–0.81 for mentors and 0.56–0.86 for mentees. Conclusions The findings demonstrate that the MCA has reliability and validity. In addition, this study provides preliminary norms derived from a national sample of mentors and mentees. PMID:23702534

Quantifying intrinsic and extrinsic control of single-cell fates in cancer and stem/progenitor cell pedigrees with competing risks analysis

PubMed Central

Cornwell, J. A.; Hallett, R. M.; der Mauer, S. Auf; Motazedian, A.; Schroeder, T.; Draper, J. S.; Harvey, R. P.; Nordon, R. E.

2016-01-01

The molecular control of cell fate and behaviour is a central theme in biology. Inherent heterogeneity within cell populations requires that control of cell fate is studied at the single-cell level. Time-lapse imaging and single-cell tracking are powerful technologies for acquiring cell lifetime data, allowing quantification of how cell-intrinsic and extrinsic factors control single-cell fates over time. However, cell lifetime data contain complex features. Competing cell fates, censoring, and the possible inter-dependence of competing fates, currently present challenges to modelling cell lifetime data. Thus far such features are largely ignored, resulting in loss of data and introducing a source of bias. Here we show that competing risks and concordance statistics, previously applied to clinical data and the study of genetic influences on life events in twins, respectively, can be used to quantify intrinsic and extrinsic control of single-cell fates. Using these statistics we demonstrate that 1) breast cancer cell fate after chemotherapy is dependent on p53 genotype; 2) granulocyte macrophage progenitors and their differentiated progeny have concordant fates; and 3) cytokines promote self-renewal of cardiac mesenchymal stem cells by symmetric divisions. Therefore, competing risks and concordance statistics provide a robust and unbiased approach for evaluating hypotheses at the single-cell level. PMID:27250534

A comparison of regression methods for model selection in individual-based landscape genetic analysis.

PubMed

Shirk, Andrew J; Landguth, Erin L; Cushman, Samuel A

2018-01-01

Anthropogenic migration barriers fragment many populations and limit the ability of species to respond to climate-induced biome shifts. Conservation actions designed to conserve habitat connectivity and mitigate barriers are needed to unite fragmented populations into larger, more viable metapopulations, and to allow species to track their climate envelope over time. Landscape genetic analysis provides an empirical means to infer landscape factors influencing gene flow and thereby inform such conservation actions. However, there are currently many methods available for model selection in landscape genetics, and considerable uncertainty as to which provide the greatest accuracy in identifying the true landscape model influencing gene flow among competing alternative hypotheses. In this study, we used population genetic simulations to evaluate the performance of seven regression-based model selection methods on a broad array of landscapes that varied by the number and type of variables contributing to resistance, the magnitude and cohesion of resistance, as well as the functional relationship between variables and resistance. We also assessed the effect of transformations designed to linearize the relationship between genetic and landscape distances. We found that linear mixed effects models had the highest accuracy in every way we evaluated model performance; however, other methods also performed well in many circumstances, particularly when landscape resistance was high and the correlation among competing hypotheses was limited. Our results provide guidance for which regression-based model selection methods provide the most accurate inferences in landscape genetic analysis and thereby best inform connectivity conservation actions. Published 2017. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

English Language Proficiency and Teacher Judgments of the Academic and Interpersonal Competence of English Language Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Freberg, Miranda E.

2014-01-01

The purpose of the study was to investigate how English language proficiency is related to teacher judgments of students' academic and interpersonal competence. It was hypothesized that English Language Learner (ELL) students would generally be perceived as having weaker academic and interpersonal skills than their non-ELL counterparts regardless…

The Acquisition of "ser" and "estar" by Adult Learners of Spanish: A Preliminary Investigation of Transitional Stages of Competence.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

VanPatten, Bill

1985-01-01

Reports on several stages of development in the acquisition of the Spanish copulas "ser" and "estar" by adult learners of Spanish and how the data relate to current hypotheses about second language acquisition. Postulates three stages of competence in the use of "ser" and "estar." (SED)

Autonomy, Competence, and Intrinsic Motivation in Science Education: A Self- Determination Theory Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Painter, Jason

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine a proposed motivational model of science achievement based on self-determination theory. The study relied on U.S. eighth-grade science data from the 2007 Third International Mathematics and Science Study to examine a structural model that hypothesized how perceived autonomy support, perceived competence in…

Learned Helplessness and Depression in a Clinical Population: A Test of Two Behavioral Hypotheses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

And Others; Price, Kenneth P.

1978-01-01

This study was undertaken to extend the learned helplessness phenomenon to a clinical population and to test the competing hypotheses of Seligman and Lewinsohn. 96 male hospitalized psychiatric and medical patients were randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions. Results replicate the learned helplessness phenomenon in a group of…

Validation of a measure of the Satter eating competence model with low-income females

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background The purpose of this study was to evaluate the construct validity of a version of the ecSatter Inventory (ecSI), a measure of eating competence (EC), as adapted for use in a low-income (LI) population. Methods Females (n = 507), aged 18 to 45 years, living in households with a history of participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program completed a web-based survey that included the ecSI for LI (ecSI/LI) and valid measures of cognitive and affective eating behavior, food preference and practice, and food preparation. Results Most correlations and differences between eating competent and non-eating competent categories and among EC tertiles were compatible with hypothesized relationships. ecSI/LI scores were positively related with self-reported physical activity, food acceptance, fruit and vegetable intake, and food planning/resource management. ecSI/LI scores were negatively associated with body mass index, dissatisfaction with body weight, tendency to overeat in response to external or emotional stimuli, and indices of psychosocial attributes related to disordered eating. Conclusions The ecSI/LI is a valid measure of EC for low-income females and provides a tool for researchers and educators to assess intervention outcomes and further explore the EC construct. PMID:21473765

Validation of a measure of the Satter eating competence model with low-income females.

PubMed

Krall, Jodi S; Lohse, Barbara

2011-04-07

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the construct validity of a version of the ecSatter Inventory (ecSI), a measure of eating competence (EC), as adapted for use in a low-income (LI) population. Females (n=507), aged 18 to 45 years, living in households with a history of participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program completed a web-based survey that included the ecSI for LI (ecSI/LI) and valid measures of cognitive and affective eating behavior, food preference and practice, and food preparation. Most correlations and differences between eating competent and non-eating competent categories and among EC tertiles were compatible with hypothesized relationships. ecSI/LI scores were positively related with self-reported physical activity, food acceptance, fruit and vegetable intake, and food planning/resource management. ecSI/LI scores were negatively associated with body mass index, dissatisfaction with body weight, tendency to overeat in response to external or emotional stimuli, and indices of psychosocial attributes related to disordered eating. The ecSI/LI is a valid measure of EC for low-income females and provides a tool for researchers and educators to assess intervention outcomes and further explore the EC construct. © 2011 Krall and Lohse; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Relationships between Health-Related Fitness Knowledge, Perceived Competence, Self- Determination, and Physical Activity Behaviors of High School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haslem, Liz; Wilkinson, Carol; Prusak, Keven A.; Christensen, William F.; Pennington, Todd

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was (a) to test a hypothesized model of motivation within the context of conceptual physical education (CPE), and (b) to explore the strength and directionality of perceived competence for physical activity as a possible mediator for health-related fitness knowledge (HRFK) and physical activity behaviors. High school…

The Effect of Teachers Trained in a Fundamental Movement Skills Programme on Children's Self-Perceptions and Motor Competence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Breslin, Gavin; Murphy, Marie; McKee, David; Delaney, Brian; Dempster, Martin

2012-01-01

Perceived and actual motor competence are hypothesized to have potential links to children and young people's physical activity (PA) levels with a potential consequential link to long-term health. In this cross-sectional study, Harter's (1985, "Manual for the Self-perception Profile for Children." Denver, CO: University of Denver)…

Unexpected Learning Competencies of Grades 5 and 6 Pupils in Public Elementary Schools: A Philippine Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Felipe, Abraham I.

2006-01-01

The present study tested the assumption of a positive and linear relation between years of schooling and school learning in the Philippine setting. It replicated a 1976 study that had cast doubt on this assumption in the Philippine public educational system. It tested three competing hypotheses for that finding: common sense, the 1976 arrested…

Mediational and Deviance Theories of Late High School Failure: Process Roles of Structural Strains, Academic Competence, and General versus Specific Problem Behavior

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Newcomb, Michael D.; Abbott, Robert D.; Catalano, Richard F.; Hawkins, J. David; Battin-Pearson, Sara; Hill, Karl

2002-01-01

Understanding and preventing high school failure is a national priority. Structural strain and general deviance theories attempt to explain late high school failure. The authors tested the hypotheses that general (vs. specific) deviance and academic competence mediate the relationships between structural strain factors (gender, ethnicity, and…

Assessment of Knowledge and Competences in Agricultural Engineering Acquired by the Senior Secondary School Students for Farm Mechanisation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ndem, Joseph; Ogba, Ernest; Egbe, Benjamin

2015-01-01

This study was designed to assess the agricultural engineering knowledge and competencies acquired by the senior secondary students for farm mechanization in technical colleges in Ebonyi state of Nigeria. A survey research design was adopted for the study. Three research questions and two null hypotheses guided the study. The population of the…

The motivating role of positive feedback in sport and physical education: evidence for a motivational model.

PubMed

Mouratidis, Athanasios; Vansteenkiste, Maarten; Lens, Willy; Sideridis, Georgios

2008-04-01

Based on self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000), an experimental study with middle school students participating in a physical education task and a correlational study with highly talented sport students investigated the motivating role of positive competence feedback on participants' well-being, performance, and intention to participate. In Study 1, structural equation modeling favored the hypothesized motivational model, in which, after controlling for pretask perceived competence and competence valuation, feedback positively predicted competence satisfaction, which in turn predicted higher levels of vitality and greater intentions to participate, through the mediation of autonomous motivation. No effects on performance were found. Study 2 further showed that autonomous motivation mediated the relation between competence satisfaction and well-being, whereas a motivation mediated the negative relation between competence satisfaction and ill-being and rated performance. The discussion focuses on the motivational role of competence feedback in sports and physical education settings.

The Promise of Performance. (Competency)-Based Education: An Analytical Review of Literature and Experience. Final Report. SPON;BBB08936

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Joyce, Bruce R.

This analysis, a review of literature and experience on performance-based education, is divided into nine chapters: chapter one, "The Short Form: Best-Guess Working Hypotheses for Competency-Based Education" (a summary of the frame of reference for this study and the recommendations for performance-based education which resulted from the effort);…

Counselling Implications of Teachers' Digital Competencies in the Use of Social Networking Sites (SNSs) in the Teaching-Learning Process in Calabar, Nigeria

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eyo, Mfon

2016-01-01

The study investigated teachers' digital competencies in the use of Social Networking Sites (SNSs) in the teaching-learning process. It had five research questions and two hypotheses. Adopting a survey design, it used a sample of 250 teachers from 10 out of 16 secondary schools in Calabar Municipal Local Government. A researcher-developed…

Development and validation of the simulation-based learning evaluation scale.

PubMed

Hung, Chang-Chiao; Liu, Hsiu-Chen; Lin, Chun-Chih; Lee, Bih-O

2016-05-01

The instruments that evaluate a student's perception of receiving simulated training are English versions and have not been tested for reliability or validity. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a Chinese version Simulation-Based Learning Evaluation Scale (SBLES). Four stages were conducted to develop and validate the SBLES. First, specific desired competencies were identified according to the National League for Nursing and Taiwan Nursing Accreditation Council core competencies. Next, the initial item pool was comprised of 50 items related to simulation that were drawn from the literature of core competencies. Content validity was established by use of an expert panel. Finally, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were conducted for construct validity, and Cronbach's coefficient alpha determined the scale's internal consistency reliability. Two hundred and fifty students who had experienced simulation-based learning were invited to participate in this study. Two hundred and twenty-five students completed and returned questionnaires (response rate=90%). Six items were deleted from the initial item pool and one was added after an expert panel review. Exploratory factor analysis with varimax rotation revealed 37 items remaining in five factors which accounted for 67% of the variance. The construct validity of SBLES was substantiated in a confirmatory factor analysis that revealed a good fit of the hypothesized factor structure. The findings tally with the criterion of convergent and discriminant validity. The range of internal consistency for five subscales was .90 to .93. Items were rated on a 5-point scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The results of this study indicate that the SBLES is valid and reliable. The authors recommend that the scale could be applied in the nursing school to evaluate the effectiveness of simulation-based learning curricula. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Factors related to northern goshawk landscape use in the western Great Lakes region

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bruggeman, Jason E.; Andersen, David E.; Woodford, James E.

2014-01-01

Northern Goshawks (Accipiter gentilis) are a species of special conservation concern in the western Great Lakes bioregion and elsewhere in North America, and exhibit landscape-scale spatial use patterns. However, little information exists about Northern Goshawk habitat relations at broad spatial extents, as most existing published information comes from a few locations of relatively small spatial extent and, in some cases, short durations. We used an information-theoretic approach to evaluate competing hypotheses regarding factors (forest canopy cover, successional stage, and heights of the canopy top and base) related to odds of Northern Goshawk landscape use throughout the western Great Lakes bioregion based on an occupancy survey completed in 2008 (Bruggeman et al. 2011). We also combined these data with historical data of Northern Goshawk nest locations in the bioregion from 1979–2006 to evaluate the same competing hypotheses to elucidate long-term trends in use. The odds of Northern Goshawk use in 2008, and from 1979–2008, were positively correlated with average percent canopy cover. In the best-approximating models developed using 1979–2008 data, the odds of landscape use were positively correlated with the percentages of the landscape having canopy heights between 10 m and 25 m, and 25 m and 50 m, and the amount of variability in canopy base height. Also, the odds of landscape use were negatively correlated with the average height at the canopy base. Our results suggest multiple habitat factors were related to Northern Goshawk landscape-scale habitat use, similar to habitat use described at smaller spatial scales in the western Great Lakes bioregion and in western North America and Europe.

Multiple model analysis with discriminatory data collection (MMA-DDC): A new method for improving measurement selection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kikuchi, C.; Ferre, P. A.; Vrugt, J. A.

2011-12-01

Hydrologic models are developed, tested, and refined based on the ability of those models to explain available hydrologic data. The optimization of model performance based upon mismatch between model outputs and real world observations has been extensively studied. However, identification of plausible models is sensitive not only to the models themselves - including model structure and model parameters - but also to the location, timing, type, and number of observations used in model calibration. Therefore, careful selection of hydrologic observations has the potential to significantly improve the performance of hydrologic models. In this research, we seek to reduce prediction uncertainty through optimization of the data collection process. A new tool - multiple model analysis with discriminatory data collection (MMA-DDC) - was developed to address this challenge. In this approach, multiple hydrologic models are developed and treated as competing hypotheses. Potential new data are then evaluated on their ability to discriminate between competing hypotheses. MMA-DDC is well-suited for use in recursive mode, in which new observations are continuously used in the optimization of subsequent observations. This new approach was applied to a synthetic solute transport experiment, in which ranges of parameter values constitute the multiple hydrologic models, and model predictions are calculated using likelihood-weighted model averaging. MMA-DDC was used to determine the optimal location, timing, number, and type of new observations. From comparison with an exhaustive search of all possible observation sequences, we find that MMA-DDC consistently selects observations which lead to the highest reduction in model prediction uncertainty. We conclude that using MMA-DDC to evaluate potential observations may significantly improve the performance of hydrologic models while reducing the cost associated with collecting new data.

Predictors of self-perceived cultural competence among children's mental health providers.

PubMed

Keyser, Victoria; Gamst, Glenn; Meyers, Lawrence S; Der-Karabetian, Aghop; Morrow, Gloria

2014-07-01

Based on empirical research and predictions from the Multicultural Assessment-Intervention Process model, the racial attitudes, ethnic identity, and acculturation of a national sample of 371 child mental health service providers were assessed as possible predictors of practitioner self-perceived cultural competence. It was hypothesized that ethnic identity and racial attitudes would each directly affect self-perceived cultural competence and that acculturation and racial attitudes would mediate the effect of ethnic identity. The results indicated that ethnic identity exerted a direct effect on self-perceived cultural competence and that this effect was partially mediated by respondents' racial attitudes; however, acculturation had no significant role as a mediator. The results are discussed within the context of the Multicultural Assessment-Intervention Process model and implications for providing culturally competent services to children.

Motivational Mechanisms in the Relation between Job Characteristics and Employee Functioning.

PubMed

Olafsen, Anja H; Halvari, Hallgeir

2017-08-07

This study investigates the job demands-resources (JD-R) model in relation to work motivation in a self-determination theory (SDT) perspective, with the purpose of developing a model where social-contextual factors are seen in relation to psychological needs in order to explain autonomous work motivation and, in turn, self-reported work performance and somatic symptom burden. SEM-analyses of cross-sectional survey data including 405 waiters/waitresses in Norway were conducted to evaluate the hypothesized model. Results indicate that different job resources have different relations to psychological need satisfaction, and that certain types of job demands (i.e., job challenges) actually may enhance satisfaction of specific psychological needs. In particular, task autonomy had a positive relation to autonomy satisfaction (p < .001) and to competence satisfaction (p < .05), positive feedback had a positive relation to autonomy-, competence-, and relatedness satisfaction (p < .001), and workload had a positive relation to competence satisfaction (p < .001). Furthermore, psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness positively related to autonomous work motivation and, in turn, positively to work performance and negatively to somatic symptom burden (p < .001). Indirect relations were also detected between the job characteristics and autonomous work motivation and between the basic needs and work performance (p < .05). Hence, when explaining autonomous work motivation and work outcomes, it is important to distinguish between different job demands and job resources, as well as among the three psychological needs.

Reliable assessment of laparoscopic performance in the operating room using videotape analysis.

PubMed

Chang, Lily; Hogle, Nancy J; Moore, Brianna B; Graham, Mark J; Sinanan, Mika N; Bailey, Robert; Fowler, Dennis L

2007-06-01

The Global Operative Assessment of Laparoscopic Skills (GOALS) is a valid assessment tool for objectively evaluating the technical performance of laparoscopic skills in surgery residents. We hypothesized that GOALS would reliably differentiate between an experienced (expert) and an inexperienced (novice) laparoscopic surgeon (construct validity) based on a blinded videotape review of a laparoscopic cholecystectomy procedure. Ten board-certified surgeons actively engaged in the practice and teaching of laparoscopy reviewed and evaluated the videotaped operative performance of one novice and one expert laparoscopic surgeon using GOALS. Each reviewer recorded a score for both the expert and the novice videotape reviews in each of the 5 domains in GOALS (depth perception, bimanual dexterity, efficiency, tissue handling, and overall competence). The scores for the expert and the novice were compared and statistically analyzed using single-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA). The expert scored significantly higher than the novice did in the domains of depth perception (p = .005), bimanual dexterity (p = .001), efficiency (p = .001), and overall competence ( p = .001). Interrater reliability for the reviewers of the novice tape was Cronbach alpha = .93 and the expert tape was Cronbach alpha = .87. There was no difference between the two for tissue handling. The Global Operative Assessment of Laparoscopic Skills is a valid, objective assessment tool for evaluating technical surgical performance when used to blindly evaluate an intraoperative videotape recording of a laparoscopic procedure.

Predicting dental attendance from dental hygienists' autonomy support and patients' autonomous motivation: A randomised clinical trial.

PubMed

Halvari, Anne E Münster; Halvari, Hallgeir; Williams, Geoffrey C; Deci, Edward L

2017-02-01

To test the hypothesis that a Self-Determination Theory (SDT) intervention designed to promote oral health care competence in an autonomy-supportive way would predict change in caries competence relative to standard care. Further, to test the SDT process path-model hypotheses with: (1) the intervention and individual differences in relative autonomous locus of causality (RALOC) predicting increases in caries competence, which in turn would positively predict dental attendance; (2) RALOC negatively predicting dental anxiety, which would negatively predict dental attendance; (3) RALOC and caries disease referred to the dentist after an autonomy-supportive clinical exam directly positively predicting dental attendance; and (4) the intervention moderating the link between RALOC and dental attendance. A randomised two-group experiment was conducted at a dental clinic with 138 patients (M age  = 23.31 yr., SD = 3.5), with pre- and post-measures in a period of 5.5 months. The experimental model was supported. The SDT path model fit the data well and supported the hypotheses explaining 63% of the variance in dental attendance. Patients personality (RALOC) and hygienists promoting oral health care competence in an autonomy-supportive way, performance of autonomy-supportive clinical exams and reductions of anxiety for dental treatment have important practical implications for patients' dental attendance.

The greenhouse and antigreenhouse effects on Titan

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mckay, Christopher P.; Pollack, James B.; Courtin, Regis

1991-01-01

The parallels between the atmospheric thermal structure of the Saturnian satellite Titan and the hypothesized terrestrial greenhouse effect can serve as bases for the evaluation of competing greenhouse theories. Attention is presently drawn to the similarity between the roles of H2 and CH4 on Titan and CO2 and H2O on earth. Titan also has an antigreenhouse effect due to a high-altitude haze layer which absorbs at solar wavelengths, while remaining transparent in the thermal IR; if this haze layer were removed, the antigreenhouse effect would be greatly reduced, exacerbating the greenhouse effect and raising surface temperature by over 20 K.

Reasoning process characteristics in the diagnostic skills of beginner, competent, and expert dentists.

PubMed

Crespo, Kathleen E; Torres, José E; Recio, María E

2004-12-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate qualitative differences in the diagnostic reasoning process at different developmental stages of expertise. A qualitative design was used to study cognitive processes that characterize the diagnosis of oral disease at the stages of beginner (five junior students who had passed the NBDE I), competent (five GPR first-year residents), and expert dentists (five general dentists with ten or more years of experience). Individually, each participant was asked to determine the diagnosis of an oral condition based on a written clinical case, using the think aloud technique and retrospective reports. A subsequent interview was conducted to obtain the participants' diagnostic process model and pathophysiology of the case. The analysis of the verbal protocols indicated that experts referred to the patient's sociomedical context more frequently, demonstrated better organization of ideas, could determine key clinical findings, and had an ability to plan for the search of pertinent information. Fewer diagnostic hypotheses were formulated by participants who used forward reasoning, independent of the stage of development. Beginners requested additional diagnostic aids (radiographs, laboratory tests) more frequently than the competent/expert dentists. Experts recalled typical experiences with patients, while competent/beginner dentists recalled information from didactic courses. Experts evidenced cognitive diagnostic schemas that integrate pathophysiology of disease, while competent and beginner participants had not achieved this integration. We conclude that expert performance is a combination of a knowledge base, reasoning skills, and an accumulation of experiences with patients that is qualitatively different from that of competent and beginner dentists. It is important for dental education to emphasize the teaching of cognitive processes and to incorporate a wide variety of clinical experiences in addition to the teaching of disciplinary content.

Links between local language competence and peer relations among Swiss and immigrant children: the mediating role of social behavior.

PubMed

von Grünigen, Renate; Kochenderfer-Ladd, Becky; Perren, Sonja; Alsaker, Françoise D

2012-04-01

The primary aim of this investigation was to evaluate a model in which children's social behaviors, including prosocial behavior, setting limits, and social withdrawal, were hypothesized to mediate the links between local language competence (LLC) and peer acceptance and victimization. Longitudinal data were collected via teacher and peer reports on 541 (286 boys and 255 girls) immigrant and Swiss native 5-to-6 year-old kindergarteners. Results showed the immigrant children were less fluent in the local language compared to native Swiss classmates. Moreover, results from structural equation models, with bootstrap tests of indirect effects, indicated that social behaviors mediated the link between LLC and the quality of children's peer relationships. Implications of these findings for school professionals are discussed, such as the need to help immigrant children make a smoother transition to their host communities by providing additional language and social supports while children acculturate and acclimate to their new surroundings and peer group. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Impact of Competing Values and Choices on Democratic Support in Hong Kong.

PubMed

Lam, Wai-Man

2013-08-01

This paper examines the reasons for the relatively low democratic support (DS) in Hong Kong in the context of competing values and choices based on the previous Asian Barometer Surveys. In so doing, it establishes a three-factor theoretical model that includes survey attitudinal statements related to authoritarianism (AU), nationalism (NA) and economic evaluations (EC) on DS. Using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), the analysis shows that the hypothesized model is a very good fit. The Hong Kong people's relatively low DS, in terms of their unconditional support for democracy and the degree of democracy they want for Hong Kong, can be well explained by the three factors in combination. The factors have various extent of impact on DS, with AU being the strongest, followed by EC, and then NA. The paper contributes by illustrating the usefulness of CFA in political values research, unraveling the comparative importance of the values and choices in affecting DS, and establishing a model for further testing.

Citizen science identifies the effects of nitrogen dioxide and other environmental drivers on tar spot of sycamore.

PubMed

Gosling, Laura; Ashmore, Mike; Sparks, Tim; Bell, Nigel

2016-07-01

Elevated sulphur dioxide (SO2) concentrations were the major cause of the absence of symptoms of tar spot (Rhytisma acerinum) of sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus), in urban areas in the 1970s. The subsequent large decline in SO2 concentrations has not always been accompanied by increased tar spot symptoms, for reasons that have remained unresolved. We used a large citizen science survey, providing over 1000 records across England, to test two competing hypotheses proposed in earlier studies. We were able to demonstrate the validity of both hypotheses; tar spot symptoms were reduced where there were fewer fallen leaves as a source of inoculum, and elevated nitrogen dioxide concentrations reduced tar spot symptoms above a threshold concentration of about 20 μg m(-3). Symptom severity was also lower at sites with higher temperature and lower rainfall. Our findings demonstrate the power of citizen science to resolve competing hypotheses about the impacts of air pollution and other environmental drivers. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

The dynamics of radical right-wing populist party preferences and perceived group threat: A comparative panel analysis of three competing hypotheses in the Netherlands and Germany.

PubMed

Berning, Carl C; Schlueter, Elmar

2016-01-01

Existing cross-sectional research considers citizens' preferences for radical right-wing populist (RRP) parties to be centrally driven by their perception that immigrants threaten the well-being of the national ingroup. However, longitudinal evidence for this relationship is largely missing. To remedy this gap in the literature, we developed three competing hypotheses to investigate: (a) whether perceived group threat is temporally prior to RRP party preferences, (b) whether RRP party preferences are temporally prior to perceived group threat, or (c) whether the relation between perceived group threat and RRP party preferences is bidirectional. Based on multiwave panel data from the Netherlands for the years 2008-2013 and from Germany spanning the period 1994-2002, we examined the merits of these hypotheses using autoregressive cross-lagged structural equation models. The results show that perceptions of threatened group interests precipitate rather than follow citizens' preferences for RRP parties. These findings help to clarify our knowledge of the dynamic structure underlying RRP party preferences. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Rural neighborhoods and child aggression.

PubMed

Bowen, Natasha K; Wretman, Christopher J

2014-12-01

Structural equation modeling with latent variables was used to evaluate the direct and mediated effects of a neighborhood risk factor (negative teen behaviors) on the parent-report aggressive behavior of 213 students in grades 3 through 5 attending a school in a low-income, rural community. Contagion and social control hypotheses were examined as well as hypotheses about whether the neighborhood served as a microsystem or exosystem for rural pre-adolescents. Analyses took into account the clustering of students and ordinal nature of the data. Findings suggest that rural neighborhoods may operate as both a microsystem and exosystem for children, with direct contagion effects on their aggressive behaviors as well as indirect social control effects through parenting practices. Direct effects on aggression were also found for parenting practices and child reports of friends' negative behaviors. Pre-adolescence may be a transitional stage, when influences of the neighborhood on child behavior begin to compete with influences of caregivers. Findings can inform the timing and targets of violence prevention in rural communities.

Fourier power, subjective distance, and object categories all provide plausible models of BOLD responses in scene-selective visual areas

PubMed Central

Lescroart, Mark D.; Stansbury, Dustin E.; Gallant, Jack L.

2015-01-01

Perception of natural visual scenes activates several functional areas in the human brain, including the Parahippocampal Place Area (PPA), Retrosplenial Complex (RSC), and the Occipital Place Area (OPA). It is currently unclear what specific scene-related features are represented in these areas. Previous studies have suggested that PPA, RSC, and/or OPA might represent at least three qualitatively different classes of features: (1) 2D features related to Fourier power; (2) 3D spatial features such as the distance to objects in a scene; or (3) abstract features such as the categories of objects in a scene. To determine which of these hypotheses best describes the visual representation in scene-selective areas, we applied voxel-wise modeling (VM) to BOLD fMRI responses elicited by a set of 1386 images of natural scenes. VM provides an efficient method for testing competing hypotheses by comparing predictions of brain activity based on encoding models that instantiate each hypothesis. Here we evaluated three different encoding models that instantiate each of the three hypotheses listed above. We used linear regression to fit each encoding model to the fMRI data recorded from each voxel, and we evaluated each fit model by estimating the amount of variance it predicted in a withheld portion of the data set. We found that voxel-wise models based on Fourier power or the subjective distance to objects in each scene predicted much of the variance predicted by a model based on object categories. Furthermore, the response variance explained by these three models is largely shared, and the individual models explain little unique variance in responses. Based on an evaluation of previous studies and the data we present here, we conclude that there is currently no good basis to favor any one of the three alternative hypotheses about visual representation in scene-selective areas. We offer suggestions for further studies that may help resolve this issue. PMID:26594164

Family cumulative risk and at-risk kindergarteners' social competence: the mediating role of parent representations of the attachment relationship.

PubMed

Sparks, Lauren A; Trentacosta, Christopher J; Owusu, Erika; McLear, Caitlin; Smith-Darden, Joanne

2018-08-01

Secure attachment relationships have been linked to social competence in at-risk children. In the current study, we examined the role of parent secure base scripts in predicting at-risk kindergarteners' social competence. Parent representations of secure attachment were hypothesized to mediate the relationship between lower family cumulative risk and children's social competence. Participants included 106 kindergarteners and their primary caregivers recruited from three urban charter schools serving low-income families as a part of a longitudinal study. Lower levels of cumulative risk predicted greater secure attachment representations in parents, and scores on the secure base script assessment predicted children's social competence. An indirect relationship between lower cumulative risk and kindergarteners' social competence via parent secure base script scores was also supported. Parent script-based representations of the attachment relationship appear to be an important link between lower levels of cumulative risk and low-income kindergarteners' social competence. Implications of these findings for future interventions are discussed.

Affective and Cognitive Orientations in Intergroup Perception

PubMed Central

Wolf, Lukas J.; von Hecker, Ulrich; Maio, Gregory R.

2017-01-01

Three studies examined the role of need for affect (NFA) and need for cognition (NFC) in intergroup perception. We hypothesized that NFA predicts a preference for stereotypically warm groups over stereotypically cold groups, whereas NFC predicts a preference for stereotypically competent groups over stereotypically incompetent groups. Study 1 supported these hypotheses for attitudes toward stereotypically ambivalent groups, which are stereotyped as high on one of the trait dimensions (e.g., high warmth) and low on the other (e.g., low competence), but not for stereotypically univalent groups, which are seen as high or low on both dimensions. Studies 2 and 3 replicated this pattern for stereotypically ambivalent groups, and yielded provocative evidence regarding several putative mechanisms underlying these associations. Together, these findings help integrate and extend past evidence on attitude-relevant individual differences with research on intergroup perception. PMID:28903673

Students' daily emotions in the classroom: intra-individual variability and appraisal correlates.

PubMed

Ahmed, Wondimu; van der Werf, Greetje; Minnaert, Alexander; Kuyper, Hans

2010-12-01

Recent literature on emotions in education has shown that competence- and value-related beliefs are important sources of students' emotions; nevertheless, the role of these antecedents in students' daily functioning in the classroom is not yet well-known. More importantly, to date we know little about intra-individual variability in students' daily emotions. The objectives of the study were (1) to examine within-student variability in emotional experiences and (2) to investigate how competence and value appraisals are associated with emotions. It was hypothesized that emotions would show substantial within-student variability and that there would be within-person associations between competence and value appraisals and the emotions. (s) The sample consisted of 120 grade 7 students (52%, girls) in 5 randomly selected classrooms in a secondary school. A diary method was used to acquire daily process variables of emotions and appraisals. Daily emotions and daily appraisals were assessed using items adapted from existing measures. Multi-level modelling was used to test the hypotheses. As predicted, the within-person variability in emotional states accounted for between 41% (for pride) and 70% (for anxiety) of total variability in the emotional states. Also as hypothesized, the appraisals were generally associated with the emotions. The within-student variability in emotions and appraisals clearly demonstrates the adaptability of students with respect to situational affordances and constraints in their everyday classroom experiences. The significant covariations between the appraisals and emotions suggest that within-student variability in emotions is systematic.

Cultural competence education for practicing physicians: lessons in cultural humility, nonjudgmental behaviors, and health beliefs elicitation.

PubMed

Kutob, Randa M; Bormanis, John; Crago, Marjorie; Harris, John M; Senf, Janet; Shisslak, Catherine M

2013-01-01

Although numerous studies have examined cultural competence training, debate still exists about efficacious approaches to this training. Furthermore, little focus has been placed on training and evaluating practicing physicians. A skills-based course on culturally competent diabetes care was developed and subsequently tested in a controlled trial of primary physicians caring for patients enrolled in one state's Medicaid program. We hypothesized that physicians completing the course would show higher levels of self-reported cultural competence as measured by a Cultural Competence Assessment Tool (CCAT) than those in the control group. Differences in CCAT subscale scores were also compared. Ninety physicians completed the study, with 41 in the control and 49 in the intervention group. Most were female (66%), with an average age of 44, and 12 years in practice. There were no significant differences on total CCAT score (212.7 ± 26.7 for control versus 217.2 ± 28.6 for intervention, p = .444) or subscales measuring cultural knowledge. There were significant positive differences on the subscales measuring physicians' nonjudgmental attitudes/behaviors (subscale score 2.38 ± 0.46 for control versus 2.69 ± 0.52 for intervention, p = .004) and future likelihood of eliciting patients' beliefs about diabetes and treatment preferences (3.11 ± 0.53 for control versus 3.37 ± 0.45 for intervention, p = .014). There was, however, a significant negative difference on the subscale measuring cultural self-awareness (3.48 ± 0.36 for control versus 3.26 ± 0.48 for intervention, p = .018). A predominantly skills-based approach to training physicians did not change aggregate measures of cultural competence, but did affect key attitudes and behaviors, which may better reflect the goals of cultural competence training. Copyright © 2013 The Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions, the Society for Academic Continuing Medical Education, and the Council on CME, Association for Hospital Medical Education.

Use of a television crime-drama series to promote legal understanding in mentally ill, incompetent defendants: a pilot study.

PubMed

Montgomery, John; Brooks, Martin H

2005-03-01

Videotaped material is used for educational purposes in many areas of medicine. In forensic facilities, programs designed to restore competency to stand trial (CST) in incompetent, mentally ill defendants have utilized videotaped courtroom proceedings as learning tools. This pilot study reviewed the progress of incompetent defendants (N = 15) who participated in a program that utilized videotaped segments of the television crime-drama "Law & Order", among other techniques, to promote CST in individuals deemed unfit to stand trial. The authors hypothesized that participation in at least one cycle of the Competency Restoration Group (CRG)'s curriculum would be associated with improvement in the areas of understanding, reasoning and appreciation. In order to assess whether the group was beneficial to the patient's treatment goal of competency restoration, patients were screened using the MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool-Criminal Adjudication (MacCAT-CA) prior to starting the group and after completing a cycle of the group's curriculum. The Wilcoxon signed ranks test was employed to analyze the results from the pre- and post-group MacCAT-CA testing. The tests yielded significant (p < 0.005) post-test differences in the hypothesized direction for each of the three subsections: Understanding, Reasoning, and Appreciation as well as a significant post test improvement in the total MacCAT-CA scores. These results suggest that a didactic program, using a popular crime drama series, can be effective in facilitating learning in competency restoration programs. Limitations of this study include its lack of a control group and small population.

Tracing Changes in Families Who Participated in the Home-Start Parenting Program: Parental Sense of Competence as Mechanism of Change

PubMed Central

Asscher, Jessica J.; Hermanns, Jo; Reitz, Ellen; Prinzie, Peter; van den Akker, Alithe L.

2010-01-01

The present study aimed to (1) determine the long-term effectiveness of Home-Start, a preventive parenting program, and (2) test the hypothesis that changes in maternal sense of competence mediate the program’s effects. Participants were 124 mothers (n = 66 intervention, n = 58 comparison). Four assessments took place during a 1-year period. Latent growth modeling showed that Home-Start enhanced growth in maternal sense of competence and supportive parenting, and led to a decrease in the use of inept discipline. Results of mediational and cross-lagged analyses were consistent with the hypothesized model: Participation in Home-Start was related to the changes in maternal sense of competence, which in turn predicted changes in parenting. The results affirm the importance of directly targeting parental sense of competence in the context of prevention work with parents. PMID:20101464

Implementation of a framework for multi-species, multi-objective adaptive management in Delaware Bay

USGS Publications Warehouse

McGowan, Conor P.; Smith, David R.; Nichols, James D.; Lyons, James E.; Sweka, John A.; Kalasz, Kevin; Niles, Lawrence J.; Wong, Richard; Brust, Jeffrey; Davis, Michelle C.; Spear, Braddock

2015-01-01

Decision analytic approaches have been widely recommended as well suited to solving disputed and ecologically complex natural resource management problems with multiple objectives and high uncertainty. However, the difference between theory and practice is substantial, as there are very few actual resource management programs that represent formal applications of decision analysis. We applied the process of structured decision making to Atlantic horseshoe crab harvest decisions in the Delaware Bay region to develop a multispecies adaptive management (AM) plan, which is currently being implemented. Horseshoe crab harvest has been a controversial management issue since the late 1990s. A largely unregulated horseshoe crab harvest caused a decline in crab spawning abundance. That decline coincided with a major decline in migratory shorebird populations that consume horseshoe crab eggs on the sandy beaches of Delaware Bay during spring migration. Our approach incorporated multiple stakeholders, including fishery and shorebird conservation advocates, to account for diverse management objectives and varied opinions on ecosystem function. Through consensus building, we devised an objective statement and quantitative objective function to evaluate alternative crab harvest policies. We developed a set of competing ecological models accounting for the leading hypotheses on the interaction between shorebirds and horseshoe crabs. The models were initially weighted based on stakeholder confidence in these hypotheses, but weights will be adjusted based on monitoring and Bayesian model weight updating. These models were used together to predict the effects of management actions on the crab and shorebird populations. Finally, we used a dynamic optimization routine to identify the state dependent optimal harvest policy for horseshoe crabs, given the possible actions, the stated objectives and our competing hypotheses about system function. The AM plan was reviewed, accepted and implemented by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission in 2012 and 2013. While disagreements among stakeholders persist, structured decision making enabled unprecedented progress towards a transparent and consensus driven management plan for crabs and shorebirds in Delaware Bay.

Evaluation of psychology practitioner competence in clinical supervision.

PubMed

Gonsalvez, Craig J; Crowe, Trevor P

2014-01-01

There is a growing consensus favouring the development, advancement, and implementation of a competency-based approach for psychology training and supervision. There is wide recognition that skills, attitude-values, and relationship competencies are as critical to a psychologist's competence as are knowledge capabilities, and that these key competencies are best measured during placements, leaving the clinical supervisor in an unparalleled position of advantage to provide formative and summative evaluations on the supervisee's progression towards competence. Paradoxically, a compelling body of literature from across disciplines indicates that supervisor ratings of broad domains of competence are systematically compromised by biases, including leniency error and halo effect. The current paper highlights key issues affecting summative competency evaluations by supervisors: what competencies should be evaluated, who should conduct the evaluation, how (tools) and when evaluations should be conducted, and process variables that affect evaluation. The article concludes by providing research recommendations to underpin and promote future progress and by offering practice recommendations to facilitate a more credible and meaningful evaluation of competence and competencies.

Poisson's ratio over two centuries: challenging hypotheses

PubMed Central

Greaves, G. Neville

2013-01-01

This article explores Poisson's ratio, starting with the controversy concerning its magnitude and uniqueness in the context of the molecular and continuum hypotheses competing in the development of elasticity theory in the nineteenth century, moving on to its place in the development of materials science and engineering in the twentieth century, and concluding with its recent re-emergence as a universal metric for the mechanical performance of materials on any length scale. During these episodes France lost its scientific pre-eminence as paradigms switched from mathematical to observational, and accurate experiments became the prerequisite for scientific advance. The emergence of the engineering of metals followed, and subsequently the invention of composites—both somewhat separated from the discovery of quantum mechanics and crystallography, and illustrating the bifurcation of technology and science. Nowadays disciplines are reconnecting in the face of new scientific demands. During the past two centuries, though, the shape versus volume concept embedded in Poisson's ratio has remained invariant, but its application has exploded from its origins in describing the elastic response of solids and liquids, into areas such as materials with negative Poisson's ratio, brittleness, glass formation, and a re-evaluation of traditional materials. Moreover, the two contentious hypotheses have been reconciled in their complementarity within the hierarchical structure of materials and through computational modelling. PMID:24687094

Organizational culture and organizational effectiveness: a meta-analytic investigation of the competing values framework's theoretical suppositions.

PubMed

Hartnell, Chad A; Ou, Amy Yi; Kinicki, Angelo

2011-07-01

We apply Quinn and Rohrbaugh's (1983) competing values framework (CVF) as an organizing taxonomy to meta-analytically test hypotheses about the relationship between 3 culture types and 3 major indices of organizational effectiveness (employee attitudes, operational performance [i.e., innovation and product and service quality], and financial performance). The paper also tests theoretical suppositions undergirding the CVF by investigating the framework's nomological validity and proposed internal structure (i.e., interrelationships among culture types). Results based on data from 84 empirical studies with 94 independent samples indicate that clan, adhocracy, and market cultures are differentially and positively associated with the effectiveness criteria, though not always as hypothesized. The findings provide mixed support for the CVF's nomological validity and fail to support aspects of the CVF's proposed internal structure. We propose an alternative theoretical approach to the CVF and delineate directions for future research.

Suppression of competing speech through entrainment of cortical oscillations

PubMed Central

D'Zmura, Michael; Srinivasan, Ramesh

2013-01-01

People are highly skilled at attending to one speaker in the presence of competitors, but the neural mechanisms supporting this remain unclear. Recent studies have argued that the auditory system enhances the gain of a speech stream relative to competitors by entraining (or “phase-locking”) to the rhythmic structure in its acoustic envelope, thus ensuring that syllables arrive during periods of high neuronal excitability. We hypothesized that such a mechanism could also suppress a competing speech stream by ensuring that syllables arrive during periods of low neuronal excitability. To test this, we analyzed high-density EEG recorded from human adults while they attended to one of two competing, naturalistic speech streams. By calculating the cross-correlation between the EEG channels and the speech envelopes, we found evidence of entrainment to the attended speech's acoustic envelope as well as weaker yet significant entrainment to the unattended speech's envelope. An independent component analysis (ICA) decomposition of the data revealed sources in the posterior temporal cortices that displayed robust correlations to both the attended and unattended envelopes. Critically, in these components the signs of the correlations when attended were opposite those when unattended, consistent with the hypothesized entrainment-based suppressive mechanism. PMID:23515789

Choice Inconsistencies among the Elderly: Evidence from Plan Choice in the Medicare Part D Program: Comment.

PubMed

Ketcham, Jonathan D; Kuminoff, Nicolai V; Powers, Christopher A

2016-12-01

Consumers' enrollment decisions in Medicare Part D can be explained by Abaluck and Gruber’s (2011) model of utility maximization with psychological biases or by a neoclassical version of their model that precludes such biases. We evaluate these competing hypotheses by applying nonparametric tests of utility maximization and model validation tests to administrative data. We find that 79 percent of enrollment decisions from 2006 to 2010 satisfied basic axioms of consumer theory under the assumption of full information. The validation tests provide evidence against widespread psychological biases. In particular, we find that precluding psychological biases improves the structural model's out-of-sample predictions for consumer behavior.

[The correlation between motivation, emotions land learning].

PubMed

Holm, Ellen; Jørsboe, Hanne Blæhr; Holm, Kirsten; Sørensen, Jette Led

2017-07-03

This article explores the importance of emotions as conditional for motivation in medical education. The main principles in self-determination theory and in control-value theory are outlined, and practical consequences which may be drawn from these theories are discussed. Based on the literature we hypothesize that human need for autonomy and competence may be violated by strict regulations and detailed plans for medical education, and that constructive feedback may modify these potential negative effects and support feelings of competence and autonomy.

Community/public health nursing faculty's knowledge, skills and attitudes of the Quad Council Competencies for Public Health Nurses.

PubMed

Joyce, Barbara L; Harmon, Monica; Johnson, Regina Gina H; Hicks, Vicki; Brown-Schott, Nancy; Pilling, Lucille; Brownrigg, Vicki

2018-05-02

A multisite collaborative team of community/public health nursing (C/PHN) faculty surveyed baccalaureate nursing faculty to explore their knowledge, skills, attitudes, and application of the Quad Council Competencies for Public Health Nurses (QCC-PHN). (1) Evaluate the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of the 2011 QCC-PHN by academic C/PHN faculty; (2) Evaluate the application of 2011 QCC-PHN by C/PHN faculty in the clinical practicum for undergraduate baccalaureate C/PHN students; and (3) Determine if a significant difference existed in the knowledge for each domain. A mixed methods descriptive research design was used to answer three specific hypotheses related to the study objectives. A convenience sample of 143 faculty teaching C/PHN in baccalaureate schools of nursing completed an online survey. ANOVA was used to determine the difference between knowledge, skills, attitudes, and application of nursing faculty regarding the QCC-PHN based on years of nursing experience, C/PHN experience, and nursing specialty preparation. Participants' qualitative comments for each domain were analyzed for themes. C/PHN nursing faculty are described and differences in knowledge, skills, and attitudes delineated. A statistically significant difference was found in skills based on years of experience in C/PHN and in the application of the competencies based on nursing specialty preparation. Variations in knowledge of the QCC-PHN are identified. Ten recommendations are proposed for key skill sets and necessary preparation for faculty to effectively teach C/PHN in baccalaureate schools of nursing. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Alcohol Use among College Students: Some Competing Hypotheses.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Igra, Amnon; Moos, Rudolf H.

1979-01-01

Proximity of dormitory peers, involvement in informal social activities, and lack of commitment to religious and academic values were independently related to drinking and drinking onset. Formal involvement in college activities and psychological stress had no independent effect. (CP)

Juvenile offenders: competence to stand trial.

PubMed

Soulier, Matthew

2012-12-01

This article details the legal background and assists the reader in the preparation and practical conduct of evaluations regarding juvenile adjudicative competency. The material is presented to be useful as a guide to direct questions of competency and covers aspects of evaluation that include: legal standard for competency to stand trial, developmental immaturity, current practice in juvenile competency to stand trial, forensic evaluation of juvenile competency to stand trial, organizing the evaluation, collateral sources of information, psychiatric evaluation of juvenile adjudicative competency, assessment of mental disorder and intellectual disability, assessment of developmental status, assessment of functional abilities for adjudicative competence, and reaching the forensic opinion. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Reproductive competence: a recurrent logic module in eukaryotic development

PubMed Central

Noble, Luke M.; Andrianopoulos, Alex

2013-01-01

Developmental competence is the ability to differentiate in response to an appropriate stimulus, as first elaborated by Waddington in relation to organs and tissues. Competence thresholds operate at all levels of biological systems from the molecular (e.g. the cell cycle) to the ontological (e.g. metamorphosis and reproduction). Reproductive competence, an organismal process, is well studied in mammals (sexual maturity) and plants (vegetative phase change), though far less than later stages of terminal differentiation. The phenomenon has also been documented in multiple species of multicellular fungi, mostly in early, disparate literature, providing a clear example of physiological differentiation in the absence of morphological change. This review brings together data on reproductive competence in Ascomycete fungi, particularly the model filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans, contrasting mechanisms within Unikonts and plants. We posit reproductive competence is an elementary logic module necessary for coordinated development of multicellular organisms or functional units. This includes unitary multicellular life as well as colonial species both unicellular and multicellular (e.g. social insects such as ants). We discuss adaptive hypotheses for developmental and reproductive competence systems and suggest experimental work to address the evolutionary origins, generality and genetic basis of competence in the fungal kingdom. PMID:23864594

Developing a Tool for Measuring the Decision-Making Competence of Older Adults

PubMed Central

Finucane, Melissa L.; Gullion, Christina M.

2010-01-01

The authors evaluated the reliability and validity of a tool for measuring older adults’ decision-making competence (DMC). Two-hundred-five younger adults (25-45 years), 208 young-older adults (65-74 years), and 198 old-older adults (75-97 years) made judgments and decisions related to health, finance, and nutrition. Reliable indices of comprehension, dimension weighting, and cognitive reflection were developed. Unlike previous research, the authors were able to compare old-older with young-older adults’ performance. As hypothesized, old-older adults performed more poorly than young-older adults; both groups of older adults performed more poorly than younger adults. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that a large amount of variance in decision performance across age groups (including mean trends) could be accounted for by social variables, health measures, basic cognitive skills, attitudinal measures, and numeracy. Structural equation modeling revealed significant pathways from three exogenous latent factors (crystallized intelligence, other cognitive abilities, and age) to the endogenous DMC latent factor. Further research is needed to validate the meaning of performance on these tasks for real-life decision making. PMID:20545413

Cultural competence and social relationships: a social network analysis.

PubMed

Dauvrin, M; Lorant, V

2017-06-01

This study investigated the role of social relationships in the sharing of cultural competence by testing two hypotheses: cultural competence is a socially shared behaviour; and central healthcare professionals are more culturally competent than non-central healthcare professionals. Sustaining cultural competence in healthcare services relies on the assumption that being culturally competent is a socially shared behaviour among health professionals. This assumption has never been tested. Organizational aspects surrounding cultural competence are poorly considered. This therefore leads to a heterogeneous implementation of cultural competence - especially in continental Europe. We carried out a social network analysis in 24 Belgian inpatient and outpatient health services. All healthcare professionals (ego) were requested to fill in a questionnaire (Survey on social relationships of health care professionals) on their level of cultural competence and to identify their professional relationships (alter). We fitted regression models to assess whether (1) at the dyadic level, ego cultural competence was associated with alter cultural competence, and (2) health professionals of greater centrality had greater cultural competence. At the dyadic level, no significant associations were found between ego cultural competence and alter cultural competence, with the exception of subjective exposure to intercultural situations. No significant associations were found between centrality and cultural competence, except for subjective exposure to intercultural situations. Being culturally competent is not a shared behaviour among health professionals. The most central healthcare professionals are not more culturally competent than less central health professionals. Culturally competent health care is not yet a norm in health services. Health care and training authorities should either make cultural competent health care a licensing criteria or reward culturally competent health care. © 2016 The Authors International Nursing Review published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Council of Nurses.

A quantitative systems physiology model of renal function and blood pressure regulation: Model description.

PubMed

Hallow, K M; Gebremichael, Y

2017-06-01

Renal function plays a central role in cardiovascular, kidney, and multiple other diseases, and many existing and novel therapies act through renal mechanisms. Even with decades of accumulated knowledge of renal physiology, pathophysiology, and pharmacology, the dynamics of renal function remain difficult to understand and predict, often resulting in unexpected or counterintuitive therapy responses. Quantitative systems pharmacology modeling of renal function integrates this accumulated knowledge into a quantitative framework, allowing evaluation of competing hypotheses, identification of knowledge gaps, and generation of new experimentally testable hypotheses. Here we present a model of renal physiology and control mechanisms involved in maintaining sodium and water homeostasis. This model represents the core renal physiological processes involved in many research questions in drug development. The model runs in R and the code is made available. In a companion article, we present a case study using the model to explore mechanisms and pharmacology of salt-sensitive hypertension. © 2017 The Authors CPT: Pharmacometrics & Systems Pharmacology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics.

An Electronic Competency-Based Evaluation Tool for Assessing Humanitarian Competencies in a Simulated Exercise.

PubMed

Evans, Andrea B; Hulme, Jennifer M; Nugus, Peter; Cranmer, Hilarie H; Coutu, Melanie; Johnson, Kirsten

2017-06-01

The evaluation tool was first derived from the formerly Consortium of British Humanitarian Agencies' (CBHA; United Kingdom), now "Start Network's," Core Humanitarian Competency Framework and formatted in an electronic data capture tool that allowed for offline evaluation. During a 3-day humanitarian simulation event, participants in teams of eight to 10 were evaluated individually at multiple injects by trained evaluators. Participants were assessed on five competencies and a global rating scale. Participants evaluated both themselves and their team members using the same tool at the end of the simulation exercise (SimEx). All participants (63) were evaluated. A total of 1,008 individual evaluations were completed. There were 90 (9.0%) missing evaluations. All 63 participants also evaluated themselves and each of their teammates using the same tool. Self-evaluation scores were significantly lower than peer-evaluations, which were significantly lower than evaluators' assessments. Participants with a medical degree, and those with humanitarian work experience of one month or more, scored significantly higher on all competencies assessed by evaluators compared to other participants. Participants with prior humanitarian experience scored higher on competencies regarding operating safely and working effectively as a team member. This study presents a novel electronic evaluation tool to assess individual performance in five of six globally recognized humanitarian competency domains in a 3-day humanitarian SimEx. The evaluation tool provides a standardized approach to the assessment of humanitarian competencies that cannot be evaluated through knowledge-based testing in a classroom setting. When combined with testing knowledge-based competencies, this presents an approach to a comprehensive competency-based assessment that provides an objective measurement of competency with respect to the competencies listed in the Framework. There is an opportunity to advance the use of this tool in future humanitarian training exercises and potentially in real time, in the field. This could impact the efficiency and effectiveness of humanitarian operations. Evans AB , Hulme JM , Nugus P , Cranmer HH , Coutu M , Johnson K . An electronic competency-based evaluation tool for assessing humanitarian competencies in a simulated exercise. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2017;32(3):253-260.

Evaluation of competence-based teaching in higher education: From theory to practice.

PubMed

Bergsmann, Evelyn; Schultes, Marie-Therese; Winter, Petra; Schober, Barbara; Spiel, Christiane

2015-10-01

Competence-based teaching in higher education institutions and its evaluation have become a prevalent topic especially in the European Union. However, evaluation instruments are often limited, for example to single student competencies or specific elements of the teaching process. The present paper provides a more comprehensive evaluation concept that contributes to sustainable improvement of competence-based teaching in higher education institutions. The evaluation concept considers competence research developments as well as the participatory evaluation approach. The evaluation concept consists of three stages. The first stage evaluates whether the competencies students are supposed to acquire within the curriculum (ideal situation) are well defined. The second stage evaluates the teaching process and the competencies students have actually acquired (real situation). The third stage evaluates concrete aspects of the teaching process. Additionally, an implementation strategy is introduced to support the transfer from the theoretical evaluation concept to practice. The evaluation concept and its implementation strategy are designed for internal evaluations in higher education and primarily address higher education institutions that have already developed and conducted a competence-based curriculum. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comparisons of Social Competence in Young Children With and Without Hearing Loss: A Dynamic Systems Framework

PubMed Central

Hoffman, Michael F.; Quittner, Alexandra L.; Cejas, Ivette

2015-01-01

This study compared levels of social competence and language development in 74 young children with hearing loss and 38 hearing peers aged 2.5–5.3 years. This study was the first to examine the relationship between oral language and social competence using a dynamic systems framework in children with and without hearing loss. We hypothesized that, due to deficits in oral language, children who were deaf would display lower levels of social competence than their hearing peers. Furthermore, language age would predict social competence scores. Social competence was measured with a general and deaf-specific measure. Results showed that children with hearing loss performed significantly worse than hearing peers on the general measure but better than the norms on the deaf-specific measure. Controlling for maternal education and income, regression analyses indicated that hearing status and language age predicted social competence in both groups. Among children with hearing loss, correlations were also found between age at diagnosis, age at amplification, and two of the general social competence measures. Results supported our hypothesis that deficits in language would have cascading negative effects on the development of social competence in young deaf children. Development of early intervention programs that target both language and social skills are needed for this population. PMID:25583707

Bovine oocyte meiotic inhibition before in vitro maturation and its value to in vitro embryo production: does it improve developmental competence?

PubMed

Bilodeau-Goeseels, S

2012-08-01

The efficiency of bovine in vitro embryo production has remained low despite extensive effort to understand the effects of culture conditions, media composition and supplementation. As bovine oocytes resume meiosis spontaneously when cultured, it was hypothesized that preventing meiosis in vitro before in vitro maturation (IVM) and in vitro fertilization (IVF) would allow more oocytes to acquire developmental competence. This article reviews some of the factors involved in meiotic arrest as well as the effects of meiotic inhibition before IVM on bovine oocytes developmental competence following IVF. Follicular components and cAMP-elevating agents can delay or inhibit meiosis in various proportions of oocytes; however, few studies have examined their effects on development following IVM and IVF because they are not practical (follicular components) or have a transient effect on meiosis (cAMP-elevating agents). Protein synthesis or phosphorylation inhibition prevented meiosis in high percentages of oocytes; however, these non-specific inhibitions led to lower developmental competence compared with non-arrested oocytes. Maturation promoting factor (MPF) inhibition with specific inhibitors has been examined in several studies. Despite faster maturation following removal from inhibition and some structural damage to the oocytes, MPF inhibition generally led to blastocyst rates similar to control, non-arrested oocytes. Future work will involve evaluating the effects on arrested oocytes of molecules that can improve developmental competence in non-arrested oocytes. It is also anticipated that new IVM systems that take into consideration new knowledge of the mechanisms involved in the control of meiosis will be developed. Moreover, global gene expression analysis studies will also provide clues to the culture conditions required for optimal expression of developmental competence. © Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada 2011. Reproduced with the permission of the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

Low Academic Competence in First Grade as a Risk Factor for Depressive Cognitions and Symptoms in Middle School

PubMed Central

Herman, Keith C.; Lambert, Sharon F.; Reinke, Wendy M.; Ialongo, Nicholas S.

2013-01-01

The present study investigated the role of low academic competence in the emergence of depressive cognitions and symptoms. Structural equation modeling was conducted on a longitudinal sample of African American boys (n = 253) and girls (n = 221). Results supported the hypothesized path models from academic competence in 1st grade to depressive symptoms in 7th grade, controlling for a host of correlated constructs (conduct problems, inattention, social problems). Perceived control in 6th grade mediated the effect of academic competence on depressive symptoms. Although the models fit the data well for both boys and girls, the path coefficients were notably larger for girls; in particular, multiple-group analysis revealed a statistically stronger effect of low academic competence on perceptions of control for girls. The study and findings fit well with counseling psychologists’ commitment to prevention activities and to culture-specific research. Implications for designing interventions and prevention strategies for children with early academic problems are discussed. PMID:26279587

Mimicry Is Presidential: Linguistic Style Matching in Presidential Debates and Improved Polling Numbers.

PubMed

Romero, Daniel M; Swaab, Roderick I; Uzzi, Brian; Galinsky, Adam D

2015-10-01

The current research used the contexts of U.S. presidential debates and negotiations to examine whether matching the linguistic style of an opponent in a two-party exchange affects the reactions of third-party observers. Building off communication accommodation theory (CAT), interaction alignment theory (IAT), and processing fluency, we propose that language style matching (LSM) will improve subsequent third-party evaluations because matching an opponent's linguistic style reflects greater perspective taking and will make one's arguments easier to process. In contrast, research on status inferences predicts that LSM will negatively impact third-party evaluations because LSM implies followership. We conduct two studies to test these competing hypotheses. Study 1 analyzed transcripts of U.S. presidential debates between 1976 and 2012 and found that candidates who matched their opponent's linguistic style increased their standing in the polls. Study 2 demonstrated a causal relationship between LSM and third-party observer evaluations using negotiation transcripts. © 2015 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

Interaction with a high-versus low-competence influence source in inductive reasoning.

PubMed

Butera, Fabrizio; Caverni, Jean-Paul; Rossi, Sandrine

2005-04-01

Literature on inductive reasoning shows that when testing hypotheses, people are biased toward the use of confirmatory strategies (P. C. Wason, 1960). In the present article, the authors presented 2 studies showing how people use confirmation and disconfirmation strategies during actual interaction in problem solving. Study 1 showed that participants were able to learn to use disconfirmation when confronted with a low-competence, nonthreatening partner. When the partner was high in competence (thereby threatening the participant's competence), participants used confirmation, even when the partner used disconfirmation. In Study 2, the authors aimed at generalizing the aforementioned results by exploring the hypothesis that disconfirmation stems from the possibility of diverging from norms. Participants who were confronted with the violation of a conversational norm used a high proportion of disconfirmation, whatever the source of influence. When there was no violation but there was a low-competence partner, the proportion of disconfirmation was high; when there was no violation but there was a high-competence partner, the proportion of disconfirmation was low. The authors discussed the interpersonal functions of confirmation and disconfirmation.

Deletion analysis of Streptococcus pneumoniae late competence genes distinguishes virulence determinants that are dependent or independent of competence induction.

PubMed

Zhu, Luchang; Lin, Jingjun; Kuang, Zhizhou; Vidal, Jorge E; Lau, Gee W

2015-07-01

The competence regulon of Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) is crucial for genetic transformation. During competence development, the alternative sigma factor ComX is activated, which in turn, initiates transcription of 80 'late' competence genes. Interestingly, only 16 late genes are essential for genetic transformation. We hypothesized that these late genes that are dispensable for competence are beneficial to pneumococcal fitness during infection. These late genes were systematically deleted, and the resulting mutants were examined for their fitness during mouse models of bacteremia and acute pneumonia. Among these, 14 late genes were important for fitness in mice. Significantly, deletion of some late genes attenuated pneumococcal fitness to the same level in both wild-type and ComX-null genetic backgrounds, suggesting that the constitutive baseline expression of these genes was important for bacterial fitness. In contrast, some mutants were attenuated only in the wild-type genetic background but not in the ComX-null background, suggesting that specific expression of these genes during competence state contributed to pneumococcal fitness. Increased virulence during competence state was partially caused by the induction of allolytic enzymes that enhanced pneumolysin release. These results distinguish the role of basal expression versus competence induction in virulence functions encoded by ComX-regulated late competence genes. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Personal characteristics of residents may predict competency improvement.

PubMed

Park, EunMi; Ha, Patrick K; Eisele, David W; Francis, Howard W; Kim, Young J

2016-08-01

We hypothesized that personal characteristics of residents may affect how well competency is attained in a surgical residency. To this end, we examined two concepts of global trait emotional intelligence and learner autonomy profile and their factor relationship with competency outcomes in a residency program in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery. A cohort study prospectively gathered competency change scores for 1 year and retrospectively analyzed the factor associations. We measured two personal characteristics using the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-Short Form and Learner Autonomy Profile-Short Form between 2013 and 2014 in a tertiary otolaryngology-head and neck residency program. We prospectively examined faculty-rated resident competency scores monitored in the same time period and correlated the personal attributes with cumulative competency improvement scores. Statistical analyses included factor correlations and univariate regression. With a response rate of 64% (N = 16/25), we identified two statically significant predictors of competency improvement outcome attained by the end of the year. Regression analyses showed that emotionality factor of global trait emotional intelligence (P = .04) and learner autonomy profile (P < .01) were significant predictors for the higher improvement of aggregate competency outcome. Personal factors of individual residents can affect their improvement of overall competency. Practicing competency-based education should, therefore, include assessing individual resident factors as well as teaching clinical knowledge and technical skills. NA Laryngoscope, 126:1746-1752, 2016. © 2015 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.

Students' perceived importance of diversity exposure and training in dental education.

PubMed

Novak, Karen F; Whitehead, Albert W; Close, John M; Kaplan, Alan L

2004-03-01

Intercultural competence is an important component of the doctor-patient relationship in the multicultural climate evolving in the United States. We hypothesized that 1) exposure to racial and ethnic diversity in the student body, faculty, staff, and patient population in dental school and 2) a dental school curriculum that includes presentations on issues concerning racial and ethnic diversity will contribute to students' feeling more competent and confident to enter the multicultural work environment that is rapidly developing in the United States. A Likert-type scale questionnaire was administered to 627 fourth-year dental students enrolled in seven dental schools representing geographically diverse regions of the United States. Of these, 376 questionnaires were returned for a response rate of 60 percent. Results indicated that both the perception of diversity in the school environment and the presentation of diversity-specific content in the curriculum had moderately positive and significant correlations with the students' perception of their competency or ability to serve and work with diverse populations. The respective Pearson correlation coefficients for diversity in the school environment and diversity curriculum were .497 (p<.001) and .459 (p<.001). These results support the hypotheses that diversity exposure and training in the dental school environment are important for dental students entering a multicultural workplace.

Aggregate Interview Method of ranking orthopedic applicants predicts future performance.

PubMed

Geissler, Jacqueline; VanHeest, Ann; Tatman, Penny; Gioe, Terence

2013-07-01

This article evaluates and describes a process of ranking orthopedic applicants using what the authors term the Aggregate Interview Method. The authors hypothesized that higher-ranking applicants using this method at their institution would perform better than those ranked lower using multiple measures of resident performance. A retrospective review of 115 orthopedic residents was performed at the authors' institution. Residents were grouped into 3 categories by matching rank numbers: 1-5, 6-14, and 15 or higher. Each rank group was compared with resident performance as measured by faculty evaluations, the Orthopaedic In-Training Examination (OITE), and American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery (ABOS) test results. Residents ranked 1-5 scored significantly better on patient care, behavior, and overall competence by faculty evaluation (P<.05). Residents ranked 1-5 scored higher on the OITE compared with those ranked 6-14 during postgraduate years 2 and 3 (P⩽.5). Graduates who had been ranked 1-5 had a 100% pass rate on the ABOS part 1 examination on the first attempt. The most favorably ranked residents performed at or above the level of other residents in the program; they did not score inferiorly on any measure. These results support the authors' method of ranking residents. The rigorous Aggregate Interview Method for ranking applicants consistently identified orthopedic resident candidates who scored highly on the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education resident core competencies as measured by faculty evaluations, performed above the national average on the OITE, and passed the ABOS part 1 examination at rates exceeding the national average. Copyright 2013, SLACK Incorporated.

Social Competence in Infants and Toddlers with Special Health Care Needs: The Roles of Parental Knowledge, Expectations, Attunement, and Attitudes toward Child Independence

PubMed Central

Zand, Debra; Pierce, Katherine; Thomson, Nicole; Baig, M. Waseem; Teodorescu, Cristiana; Nibras, Sohail; Maxim, Rolanda

2014-01-01

Little research has empirically addressed the relationships among parental knowledge of child development, parental attunement, parental expectations, and child independence in predicting the social competence of infants and toddlers with special health care needs. We used baseline data from the Strengthening Families Project, a prevention intervention study that tested Bavolek’s Nurturing Program for Parents and Their Children with Health Challenges to explore the roles of these variables in predicting social competence in infants and toddlers with special health care needs. Bivariate relationships among the study variables were explored and used to develop and test a model for predicting social competence among these children. Study findings pointed to a combination of indirect and direct influences of parent variables in predicting social competence. Results indicated that parents who encouraged healthy behaviors for developing a sense of power/independence were more likely to have children with social competence developing on schedule. Elements related to parental expectations, however, did not have the hypothesized relationships to social competence. The present study provides preliminary data to support the development of knowledge based interventions. Within medical settings, such interventions may indeed maximize benefit while minimizing cost. PMID:27417463

Metacognitive and multimedia support of experiments in inquiry learning for science teacher preparation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bruckermann, Till; Aschermann, Ellen; Bresges, André; Schlüter, Kirsten

2017-04-01

Promoting preservice science teachers' experimentation competency is required to provide a basis for meaningful learning through experiments in schools. However, preservice teachers show difficulties when experimenting. Previous research revealed that cognitive scaffolding promotes experimentation competency by structuring the learning process, while metacognitive and multimedia support enhance reflection. However, these support measures have not yet been tested in combination. Therefore, we decided to use cognitive scaffolding to support students' experimental achievements and supplement it by metacognitive and multimedia scaffolds in the experimental groups. Our research question is to what extent supplementing cognitive support by metacognitive and multimedia scaffolding further promotes experimentation competency. The intervention has been applied in a two-factorial design to a two-month experimental course for 63 biology teacher students in their first bachelor year. Pre-post-test measured experimentation competency in a performance assessment. Preservice teachers worked in groups of four. Therefore, measurement took place at group level (N = 16). Independent observers rated preservice teachers' group performance qualitatively on a theory-based system of categories. Afterwards, experimentation competency levels led to quantitative frequency analysis. The results reveal differing gains in experimentation competency but contrary to our hypotheses. Implications of combining scaffolding measures on promoting experimentation competency are discussed.

The development and validation of the Perceived Health Competence Scale.

PubMed

Smith, M S; Wallston, K A; Smith, C A

1995-03-01

A sense of competence or self-efficacy is associated with many positive outcomes, particularly in the area of health behavior. A measure of a sense of competence in the domain of health behavior has not been developed. Most measures are either general measures of a general sense of self-efficacy or are very specific to a particular health behavior. The Perceived Health Competence Scale (PHCS), a domain-specific measure of the degree to which an individual feels capable of effectively managing his or her health outcomes, was developed to provide a measure of perceived competence at an intermediate level of specificity. Five studies using three different types of samples (students, adults and persons with a chronic illness) provide evidence for the reliability and validity of the PHCS. The eight items of the PHCS combine both outcome and behavioral expectancies. Results from the five studies indicate that the scale has good internal consistency and test-retest reliability. The construct validity of the scale is demonstrated through the support obtained for substantive hypotheses regarding the correlates of perceived health competence, such as health behavior intentions, general sense of competence and health locus of control.

Social and economic ideologies differentially predict prejudice across the political spectrum, but social issues are most divisive.

PubMed

Crawford, Jarret T; Brandt, Mark J; Inbar, Yoel; Chambers, John R; Motyl, Matt

2017-03-01

Liberals and conservatives both express prejudice toward ideologically dissimilar others (Brandt et al., 2014). Previous work on ideological prejudice did not take advantage of evidence showing that ideology is multidimensional, with social and economic ideologies representing related but separable belief systems. In 5 studies (total N = 4912), we test 3 competing hypotheses of a multidimensional account of ideological prejudice. The dimension-specific symmetry hypothesis predicts that social and economic ideologies differentially predict prejudice against targets who are perceived to vary on the social and economic political dimensions, respectively. The social primacy hypothesis predicts that such ideological worldview conflict is experienced more strongly along the social than economic dimension. The social-specific asymmetry hypothesis predicts that social conservatives will be more prejudiced than social liberals, with no specific hypotheses for the economic dimension. Using multiple target groups, multiple prejudice measures (e.g., global evaluations, behavior), and multiple social and economic ideology measures (self-placement, issue positions), we found relatively consistent support for the dimension-specific symmetry and social primacy hypotheses, and no support for the social-specific asymmetry hypothesis. These results suggest that worldview conflict and negative intergroup attitudes and behaviors are dimension-specific, but that the social dimension appears to inspire more political conflict than the economic dimension. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Structural equation modeling for observational studies

USGS Publications Warehouse

Grace, J.B.

2008-01-01

Structural equation modeling (SEM) represents a framework for developing and evaluating complex hypotheses about systems. This method of data analysis differs from conventional univariate and multivariate approaches familiar to most biologists in several ways. First, SEMs are multiequational and capable of representing a wide array of complex hypotheses about how system components interrelate. Second, models are typically developed based on theoretical knowledge and designed to represent competing hypotheses about the processes responsible for data structure. Third, SEM is conceptually based on the analysis of covariance relations. Most commonly, solutions are obtained using maximum-likelihood solution procedures, although a variety of solution procedures are used, including Bayesian estimation. Numerous extensions give SEM a very high degree of flexibility in dealing with nonnormal data, categorical responses, latent variables, hierarchical structure, multigroup comparisons, nonlinearities, and other complicating factors. Structural equation modeling allows researchers to address a variety of questions about systems, such as how different processes work in concert, how the influences of perturbations cascade through systems, and about the relative importance of different influences. I present 2 example applications of SEM, one involving interactions among lynx (Lynx pardinus), mongooses (Herpestes ichneumon), and rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus), and the second involving anuran species richness. Many wildlife ecologists may find SEM useful for understanding how populations function within their environments. Along with the capability of the methodology comes a need for care in the proper application of SEM.

Evaluator competencies in the context of diversity training: The practitioners' point of view.

PubMed

Froncek, Benjamin; Mazziotta, Agostino; Piper, Verena; Rohmann, Anette

2018-04-01

Evaluator competencies have been discussed since the beginnings of program evaluation literature. More recently, the Essential Competencies for Program Evaluators (Ghere et al., 2006; Stevahn, King, Ghere & Minnema, 2005a) have proven to be a useful taxonomy for learning and improving evaluation practice. Evaluation is critical to diversity training activities, and diversity training providers face the challenge of conducting evaluations of their training programs. We explored what competencies are viewed as instrumental to conducting useful evaluations in this specific field of evaluation practice. In an online survey, N = 172 diversity training providers were interviewed via an open answer format about their perceptions of evaluator competencies, with n = 95 diversity training providers contributing statements. The Essential Competencies for Program Evaluators were used to conduct a deductive qualitative content analysis of the statements. While systematic inquiry, reflective practice, and interpersonal competence were well represented, situational analysis and project management were not. Implications are discussed for evaluation capacity building among diversity training providers and for negotiating evaluation projects with evaluation professionals. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Toward a Definition of Learning Disability.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Campbell, Paul B.

The paper summarizes several approaches to the identification of learning disability and then discusses the nature of learning disability in the context of competing hypotheses as possible explanations of insufficient or unsatisfactory achievement. Because learning disability may only be inferred as a cause of unsatisfactory learning, the…

42 CFR 483.154 - Nurse aide competency evaluation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 42 Public Health 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Nurse aide competency evaluation. 483.154 Section... Requirements That Must Be Met by States and State Agencies: Nurse Aide Training and Competency Evaluation, and Paid Feeding Assistants § 483.154 Nurse aide competency evaluation. (a) Notification to Individual. The...

42 CFR 483.154 - Nurse aide competency evaluation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... Requirements That Must Be Met by States and State Agencies: Nurse Aide Training and Competency Evaluation, and Paid Feeding Assistants § 483.154 Nurse aide competency evaluation. (a) Notification to Individual. The... 42 Public Health 5 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Nurse aide competency evaluation. 483.154 Section...

42 CFR 483.154 - Nurse aide competency evaluation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... Requirements That Must Be Met by States and State Agencies: Nurse Aide Training and Competency Evaluation, and Paid Feeding Assistants § 483.154 Nurse aide competency evaluation. (a) Notification to Individual. The... 42 Public Health 5 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Nurse aide competency evaluation. 483.154 Section...

42 CFR 483.154 - Nurse aide competency evaluation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... Requirements That Must Be Met by States and State Agencies: Nurse Aide Training and Competency Evaluation, and Paid Feeding Assistants § 483.154 Nurse aide competency evaluation. (a) Notification to Individual. The... 42 Public Health 5 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Nurse aide competency evaluation. 483.154 Section...

42 CFR 483.154 - Nurse aide competency evaluation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... Requirements That Must Be Met by States and State Agencies: Nurse Aide Training and Competency Evaluation, and Paid Feeding Assistants § 483.154 Nurse aide competency evaluation. (a) Notification to Individual. The... 42 Public Health 5 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Nurse aide competency evaluation. 483.154 Section...

Combined evaluations of competency to stand trial and mental state at the time of the offense: An overlooked methodological consideration?

PubMed

Kois, Lauren; Wellbeloved-Stone, James M; Chauhan, Preeti; Warren, Janet I

2017-06-01

Combined evaluations of competency to stand trial (CST; competency) and mental state at the time of the offense (MSO; sanity) frequently co-occur. However, most research examines the 2 as discrete constructs without considering 4 potential combined evaluation outcomes: competent-sane, incompetent-sane, competent-insane, and incompetent-insane. External validity can be improved if research more closely mirrored practice. It may be incorrect to assume incompetent defendants are similar across CST-only and combined evaluations, and insane defendants are similar across MSO-only and combined evaluations. Using a sample of 2,751 combined evaluations, we examined demographic, clinical, offense, evaluation, and psycholegal characteristics associated with evaluators' combined evaluation opinions. Multinomial regression analyses revealed older defendants were more likely to be opined incompetent-insane. Defendants with psychotic disorders were more often opined insane, regardless of competency status. Affective diagnoses predicted competent-insane opinions. Developmental disorders were closely related to incompetence, regardless of sanity status. Defendants with organic disorders tended to have global psycholegal impairment, in that they were more often opined incompetent-insane, incompetent-sane, or competent-insane, relative to competent-sane. Prior hospitalization predicted competent-insane relative to competent-sane opinions. Defendants not under the influence of a substance during the offense or with no prior convictions were more likely to be opined insane, regardless of competency status. We interpret these findings in light of psycholegal theory and provide recommendations for research and practice. Collectively, results suggest incorporation of combined evaluations into CST and MSO research is an important methodological consideration not to be overlooked. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Merriam's turkey nest survival and factors affecting nest predation by mammals

Treesearch

Chad P. Lehman; Mark A. Rumble; Lester D. Flake; Daniel J. Thompson

2008-01-01

Nest success is an important parameter affecting population fluctuations of wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo). Factors influencing mammalian predation on turkey nests are complicated and not well understood. Therefore, we assessed nest hazard risk by testing competing hypotheses of Merriam's turkey (M. g. merriami) nest...

Reward, Distraction, and the Overjustification Effect

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Timothy W.; Pittman, Thane S.

1978-01-01

This study tests two differing hypotheses: the competing response hypothesis, which states that both reward and non-reward distractions produce decreases in interest which weaken over repeated trials, and the attribution/overjustification hypothesis, which maintains that rewards produce a decrease in interest that does not weaken over trials.…

Need for Closure and Political Orientation among German University Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kemmelmeier, Markus

1997-01-01

Tests competing hypotheses about the relationship between general political orientation and differences in cognitive functioning. Finds that a direct relationship between right-wing orientation and closed cognitive constructs best fits the data. Notes that these findings contradict other recent studies that support a curvilinear relationship…

Warmth Trumps Competence in Evaluations of Both Ingroup and Outgroup.

PubMed

Hack, Tay; Goodwin, Stephanie A; Fiske, Susan T

2013-09-01

Research from a number of social psychological traditions suggests that social perceivers should be more concerned with evaluating others' intentions (i.e., warmth) relative to evaluating others' ability to act on those intentions (i.e., competence). The present research examined whether warmth evaluations have cognitive primacy over competence evaluations in a direct reaction-time comparison and whether the effect is moderated by ingroup versus outgroup membership. Participants evaluated as quickly as possible whether warmth versus competence traits described photographs of racial ingroup versus outgroup members expressing neutral emotions. Responses supported the hypothesis that evaluations of warmth take precedence over evaluations of competence; participants were faster to evaluate others on warmth-related traits compared to competence-related traits. Moreover, this primacy effect was not moderated by racial group membership. The data from this research speak to the robustness of the primacy of warmth in social evaluation.

Warmth Trumps Competence in Evaluations of Both Ingroup and Outgroup

PubMed Central

Goodwin, Stephanie A.; Fiske, Susan T.

2015-01-01

Research from a number of social psychological traditions suggests that social perceivers should be more concerned with evaluating others’ intentions (i.e., warmth) relative to evaluating others’ ability to act on those intentions (i.e., competence). The present research examined whether warmth evaluations have cognitive primacy over competence evaluations in a direct reaction-time comparison and whether the effect is moderated by ingroup versus outgroup membership. Participants evaluated as quickly as possible whether warmth versus competence traits described photographs of racial ingroup versus outgroup members expressing neutral emotions. Responses supported the hypothesis that evaluations of warmth take precedence over evaluations of competence; participants were faster to evaluate others on warmth-related traits compared to competence-related traits. Moreover, this primacy effect was not moderated by racial group membership. The data from this research speak to the robustness of the primacy of warmth in social evaluation. PMID:26161263

Technology and Reflection: Mood and Memory Mechanisms for Well-Being.

PubMed

Konrad, Artie; Tucker, Simon; Crane, John; Whittaker, Steve

We report a psychologically motivated intervention to explore Technology Mediated Reflection (TMR), the process of systematically reviewing rich digital records of past personal experiences. Although TMR benefits well-being, and is increasingly being deployed, we know little about how one's mood when using TMR influences these benefits. We use theories of memory and emotion-regulation to motivate hypotheses about the relationship between reflection, mood, and well-being when using technology. We test these hypotheses in a large-scale month long real world deployment using a web-based application, MoodAdaptor. MoodAdaptor prompted participants to reflect on positive or negative memories depending on current mood. We evaluated how mood and memory interact during written reflection and measured effects on well-being. We analyzed qualitative and quantitative data from 128 participants who generated 11157 mood evaluations, 5051 logfiles, 256 surveys, and 20 interviews. TMR regulated emotion; when participants reflected on memories with valences opposite to their current mood, their mood became more neutral. However this did not impact overall well-being. Our findings also clarify underlying TMR mechanisms. Moods and memories competed with each other; when positive moods prevailed over negative memories, people demonstrated classic mechanisms shown in prior work to influence well-being. When negative moods prevailed over positive memories, memories became negatively tainted. Our results have implications for new well-being interventions and technologies that capitalize on the interconnectedness of memory and emotion.

Models of hemispheric specialization in facial emotion perception--a reevaluation.

PubMed

Najt, Pablo; Bayer, Ulrike; Hausmann, Markus

2013-02-01

A considerable amount of research on functional cerebral asymmetries (FCAs) for facial emotion perception has shown conflicting support for three competing models: (i) the Right Hemisphere Hypothesis, (ii) the Valence-Specific Hypothesis, and (iii) the Approach/Withdrawal model. However, the majority of studies evaluating the Right Hemisphere or the Valence-Specific Hypotheses are rather limited by the small number of emotional expressions used. In addition, it is difficult to evaluate the Approach/Withdrawal Hypothesis due to insufficient data on anger and FCAs. The aim of the present study was (a) to review visual half field (VHF) studies of hemispheric specialization in facial emotion perception and (b) to reevaluate empirical evidence with respect to all three partly conflicting hypotheses. Results from the present study revealed a left visual field (LVF)/right hemisphere advantage for the perception of angry, fearful, and sad facial expressions and a right visual field (RVF)/left hemisphere advantage for the perception of happy expressions. Thus, FCAs for the perception of specific facial emotions do not fully support the Right Hemisphere Hypothesis, the Valence-Specific Hypothesis, or the Approach/Withdrawal model. A systematic literature review, together with the results of the present study, indicate a consistent LVF/right hemisphere advantage only for a subset of negative emotions including anger, fear and sadness, rather suggesting a "negative (only) valence model." PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Development and implementation of a competency-based clinical evaluation tool for midwifery education.

PubMed

Woeber, Kate

2018-07-01

The learning goals and evaluation strategies of competency-based midwifery programs must be explicit and well-defined. In the US, didactic learning is evaluated through a standardized certification examination, but standardized clinical competence evaluation is lacking. The Midwifery Competency Assessment Tool (MCAT) has been adapted from the International Confederation of Midwives' (ICM) "Essential Competencies" and from the American College of Nurse-Midwives' (ACNM) "Core Competencies", with student self-evaluation based on Benner's Novice-to-Expert theory. The MCAT allows for the measurement and monitoring of competence development in all domains of full-scope practice over the course of the midwifery program. Strengths of the MCAT are that it provides clear learning goals and performance evaluations for students, ensures and communicates content mapping across a curriculum, and highlights strengths and gaps in clinical opportunities at individual clinical sites and for entire programs. Challenges of the MCAT lie in balancing the number of competency items to be measured with the tedium of form completion, in ensuring the accuracy of student self-evaluation, and in determining "adequate" competence achievement when particular clinical opportunities are limited. Use of the MCAT with competency-based clinical education may facilitate a more standardized approach to clinical evaluation, as well as a more strategic approach to clinical site development and use. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cultural Competence for Evaluators: A Guide for Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Prevention Practitioners Working with Ethnic/Racial Communities. OSAP Cultural Competence Series 1.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Orlandi, Mario A., Ed.; And Others

As an introduction to a series on the array of issues in the implementation and evaluation of substance abuse prevention programs, this volume attempts to integrate two types of competence for alcohol and other drug abuse prevention program practitioners: program evaluation competence and cultural competence. The chapters in this document provide…

Can Arousal Modulate Response Inhibition?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weinbach, Noam; Kalanthroff, Eyal; Avnit, Amir; Henik, Avishai

2015-01-01

The goal of the present study was to examine if and how arousal can modulate response inhibition. Two competing hypotheses can be drawn from previous literature. One holds that alerting cues that elevate arousal should result in an impulsive response and therefore impair response inhibition. The other suggests that alerting enhances processing of…

Don't Leave Teaching to Chance: Learning Objectives for Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Supervision

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rojas, Alicia; Arbuckle, Melissa; Cabaniss, Deborah

2010-01-01

Objective: The way in which the competencies for psychodynamic psychotherapy specified by the Psychiatry Residency Review Committee of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education translate into the day-to-day work of individual supervision remains unstudied and unspecified. The authors hypothesized that despite the existence of…

The Effects of Attention Problems on Depression: Developmental, Academic, and Cognitive Pathways

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Herman, Keith C.; Ostrander, Rick

2007-01-01

The present study investigated developmental pathways between inattention and depression, particularly the roles of school maladjustment and child cognitions. Additionally, a measure of conduct problems was included in all analyses to test competing theories about the emergence of depressive symptoms. Results supported the hypothesized path models…

Using Mediated Learning Experiences To Enhance Children's Thinking.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seng, SeokHoon

This paper focuses on the relationship between adult-child interactions and the developing cognitive competence of young children as rated by the Mediated Learning Experience (MLE) Scale. The scale was devised to reflect 10 criteria of adult-child interaction hypothesized to comprise an MLE and therefore to enhance children's cognitive…

Neighborhoods and Schools as Competing and Reinforcing Contexts for Educational Attainment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Owens, Ann

2010-01-01

Scholars hypothesize that both neighborhood and school contexts influence educational attainment, but few have considered both contexts simultaneously. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, the author analyzes how school and neighborhood contexts are jointly related to high school and college graduation. She finds…

Neighborhood Residential Segregation and Physical Health among Hispanic Americans: Good, Bad, or Benign?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Min-Ah; Ferraro, Kenneth F.

2007-01-01

Although considerable evidence shows that residential segregation is deleterious to the health of African Americans, findings regarding segregation and health for Hispanic Americans are inconsistent. Competing hypotheses regarding the effects of neighborhood segregation on health are tested with data from Puerto Rican and Mexican American…

Bicultural Self-Efficacy among College Students: Initial Scale Development and Mental Health Correlates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

David, E. J. R.; Okazaki, Sumie; Saw, Anne

2009-01-01

Theory and empirical research suggest that perceived self-efficacy, or one's perceived ability to perform personally significant tasks, is related to individuals' psychological well-being and mental health. Thus, the authors hypothesized that bicultural individuals' perceived ability to function competently in 2 cultures, or perceived bicultural…

Does reproduction compromise defense in woody plants?

Treesearch

Daniel A. Herms; William J. Mattson

1991-01-01

A general principle of adaptive allocation was proposed by Cody (1966) who hypothesized that 1) all living organisms have finite resources to partition among growth and competing physiological processes such as reproduction and defense; and 2) natural selection results in the evolution of unique resource allocation patterns that maximize fitness in different...

Perceived Density, Social Interaction and Morale in New South Wales Rural Communities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Argent, Neil

2008-01-01

This paper explores the relationships between population density, social interaction patterns, and morale in rural communities. It tests two apparently competing hypotheses concerning rural population density, social interaction patterns and overall levels of morale: one, that low (and rapidly declining) rural densities lead to feelings of…

Attachment and Culture: Security in the United States and Japan.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rothman, Fred; Weisz, John; Pott, Martha; Morelli, Gilda; Miyake, Kazuo

2000-01-01

Highlights evidence of cultural variations in child attachment, noting how western values and meanings permeate attachment theory. Comparisons of the United States and Japan emphasize the cultural relativity of three core hypotheses of attachment theory related to: caregiver sensitivity, child social competence, and a secure base for exploring the…

Psychological Aspects of Female College Athletes.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilcoxon, Barbara R.

The purpose of this study was to determine and compare the psychological aspects (femininity, masculinity, and androgyny), attitudes, self-esteem, and social competence exhibited by female college athletes participating in elected individual and team sports. For the purpose of this research the following hypotheses were tested: The social costs of…

Daydreaming Style Moderates the Relation between Working Memory and Mind Wandering: Integrating Two Hypotheses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marcusson-Clavertz, David; Cardeña, Etzel; Terhune, Devin Blair

2016-01-01

Mind wandering--mentation unrelated to one's current activity and surroundings--is a ubiquitous phenomenon, but seemingly competing ideas have been proposed regarding its relation to executive cognitive processes. The control-failure hypothesis postulates that executive processes prevent mind wandering, whereas the global availability hypothesis…

Predictive Relation between Early Numerical Competencies and Mathematics Achievement in First Grade Portuguese Children.

PubMed

Marcelino, Lilia; de Sousa, Óscar; Lopes, António

2017-01-01

Early numerical competencies (ENC) (counting, number relations, and basic arithmetic operations) have a central position in the initial learning of mathematics, and their assessment is useful for predicting later mathematics achievement. Using a regression model, this study aims to analyze the correlational and predictive evidence between ENC and mathematics achievement in first grade Portuguese children ( n = 123). The children's ENC were examined at the point of school entry. Three criterion groups (low, moderate, and high ENC) were formed based on the results of the early numerical brief screener and mathematics achievement measured at the end of first grade. The following hypotheses were tested: children who started first grade with low numerical competencies remained low mathematics achievement at the end of first grade; and children who started with high numerical competencies, finished the first grade with high mathematics achievement. The results showed that ENC contributed to a significant amount of explained variance in mathematics achievement at the end of the first grade. Children with low numerical competencies performed lower than children with moderate and high numerical competencies. Findings suggest that ENC are meaningful for predicting first-grade mathematics difficulties.

Predictive Relation between Early Numerical Competencies and Mathematics Achievement in First Grade Portuguese Children

PubMed Central

Marcelino, Lilia; de Sousa, Óscar; Lopes, António

2017-01-01

Early numerical competencies (ENC) (counting, number relations, and basic arithmetic operations) have a central position in the initial learning of mathematics, and their assessment is useful for predicting later mathematics achievement. Using a regression model, this study aims to analyze the correlational and predictive evidence between ENC and mathematics achievement in first grade Portuguese children (n = 123). The children’s ENC were examined at the point of school entry. Three criterion groups (low, moderate, and high ENC) were formed based on the results of the early numerical brief screener and mathematics achievement measured at the end of first grade. The following hypotheses were tested: children who started first grade with low numerical competencies remained low mathematics achievement at the end of first grade; and children who started with high numerical competencies, finished the first grade with high mathematics achievement. The results showed that ENC contributed to a significant amount of explained variance in mathematics achievement at the end of the first grade. Children with low numerical competencies performed lower than children with moderate and high numerical competencies. Findings suggest that ENC are meaningful for predicting first-grade mathematics difficulties. PMID:28713308

Evaluer la competence de communication (Evaluating Communicative Competence).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hediard, Marie

1988-01-01

The structure of a course designed to teach oral communicative competence is outlined, and the approach to evaluation is discussed. Evaluation includes both a criterion test and a specific oral task that students must accomplish. (MSE)

Performing well in an evaluative situation: the roles of perceived competence and task-irrelevant interfering thoughts.

PubMed

Van Yperen, Nico W

2007-12-01

This research expands on previous research by arguing and demonstrating that high perceived competence buffers the detrimental effects of an evaluative situation. In Study 1 (n=75, 38.7% male), the situation (evaluative vs. non-evaluative) and perceived competence (high vs. low) were manipulated, whereas in Study 2 (n=42, 33.3% male), perceived competence relied on naturally occurring differences in perceived competence. The results of Study 1 indicate that people may underachieve in an evaluative situation. More importantly, in Study 2 it was demonstrated that such an evaluative situation had only a negative effect on test performance among individuals low in perceived competence. The occurrence of task-irrelevant interfering thoughts during task completion accounted for this inimical effect of an evaluative situation on test performance among these individuals.

Developmental cascades: Externalizing, internalizing, and academic competence from middle childhood to early adolescence

PubMed Central

Moilanen, Kristin L.; Shaw, Daniel S.; Maxwell, Kari L.

2011-01-01

The current study was initiated to increase understanding of developmental cascades in childhood in a sample of at-risk boys (N = 291; 52% White). Mothers, teachers, and boys reported on boys’ externalizing problems, internalizing difficulties, and academic competence. Consistent with hypotheses regarding school-related transitions, high levels of externalizing problems were associated with both low levels of academic competence and high levels of internalizing problems during the early school-age period, and with elevations in internalizing problems during the transition to adolescence. Low levels of academic competence were associated with high levels of internalizing problems in middle childhood, and with high levels of externalizing problems during the transition from elementary school to middle school. Shared risk factors played a minimal role in these developmental cascades. Results suggest that there are cascading effects of externalizing problems and academic competence in childhood and early adolescence, and that some cascading effects are more likely to occur during periods of school-related transitions. Implications of developmental cascade effects for research and intervention are discussed. PMID:20576184

Culturally Competent Practice: A Mixed Methods Study Among Students, Academics and Alumni of Clinical Psychology Master’s Programs in the Netherlands

PubMed Central

Geerlings, Lennie R. C.; Thompson, Claire L.; Kraaij, Vivian; Keijsers, Ger P. J.

2018-01-01

This is the first research into preparation for multicultural clinical psychology practice in Europe. It applies the theory of multicultural counselling competency (MCC) to a case study in the Netherlands. It was hypothesized that cross-cultural practice experience, identification as a cultural minority, and satisfaction with cultural training was associated with MCC. The Multicultural Awareness Knowledge and Skills Survey was completed by 106 participants (22 students, 10 academics, 74 alumni) from clinical psychology masters’ programs. MANOVA detected a main effect of cross-cultural experience on MCC for all groups and universities. The data were enriched with exploratory qualitative data from 14 interviews (5 students, 5 academics, 4 alumni). Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis revealed three themes: limitations of clinical psychology, strategies for culturally competent practice, and strategies for cultural competency development. These outcomes suggest that cultural competency continues to require attention in master’s programs. The paper makes recommendations for further research enquiry related to training clinical psychologists to practice in Europe’s multicultural societies. PMID:29899800

Evaluator Training Needs and Competencies: A Gap Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Galport, Nicole; Azzam, Tarek

2017-01-01

The systematic identification of evaluator competency training needs is crucial for the development of evaluators and the establishment of evaluation as a profession. Insight into essential competencies could help align training programs with field-specific needs, therefore clarifying expectations between evaluators, educators, and employers. This…

Deletion analysis of Streptococcus pneumoniae late competence genes distinguishes virulence determinants that are dependent or independent of competence induction

PubMed Central

Zhu, Luchang; Lin, Jingjun; Kuang, Zhizhou; Vidal, Jorge E.; Lau, Gee W.

2015-01-01

Summary The competence regulon of Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) is crucial for genetic transformation. During competence development, the alternative sigma factor ComX is activated, which in turn, initiates transcription of 80 “late” competence genes. Interestingly, only 16 late genes are essential for genetic transformation. We hypothesized that these late genes that are dispensable for competence are beneficial to pneumococcal fitness during infection. These late genes were systematically deleted, and the resulting mutants were examined for their fitness during mouse models of bacteremia and acute pneumonia. Among these, 14 late genes were important for fitness in mice. Significantly, deletion of some late genes attenuated pneumococcal fitness to the same level in both wild-type and ComX-null genetic backgrounds, suggesting that the constitutive baseline expression of these genes was important for bacterial fitness. In contrast, some mutants were attenuated only in the wild-type genetic background but not in the ComX-null background, suggesting that specific expression of these genes during competence state contributed to pneumococcal fitness. Increased virulence during competence state was partially caused by the induction of allolytic enzymes that enhanced pneumolysin release. These results distinguish the role of basal expression versus competence induction in virulence functions encoded by ComX-regulated late competence genes. Graphical abstract During genetic transformation of pneumococcus, the alternative sigma factor ComX regulates expression of 14 late competence genes important for virulence. The constitutive baseline expression of some of these genes is important for bacteremia and acute pneumonia infections. In contrast, elevated expression of DprA, CbpD, CibAB, and Cinbox are dependent on competence development, enhancing the release of pneumolysin. These results distinguish the role of basal expression versus competence induction in virulence determinants regulated by ComX. PMID:25846124

Using innovative instructional technology to meet training needs in public health: a design process.

PubMed

Millery, Mari; Hall, Michelle; Eisman, Joanna; Murrman, Marita

2014-03-01

Technology and distance learning can potentially enhance the efficient and effective delivery of continuing education to the public health workforce. Public Health Training Centers collaborate with instructional technology designers to develop innovative, competency-based online learning experiences that meet pressing training needs and promote best practices. We describe one Public Health Training Center's online learning module design process, which consists of five steps: (1) identify training needs and priority competencies; (2) define learning objectives and identify educational challenges; (3) pose hypotheses and explore innovative, technology-based solutions; (4) develop and deploy the educational experience; and (5) evaluate feedback and outcomes to inform continued cycles of revision and improvement. Examples illustrate the model's application. These steps are discussed within the context of design practices in the fields of education, engineering, and public health. They incorporate key strategies from across these fields, including principles of programmatic design familiar to public health professionals, such as backward design. The instructional technology design process we describe provides a structure for the creativity, collaboration, and systematic strategies needed to develop online learning products that address critical training needs for the public health workforce.

Recent interview-based measures of competency to stand trial: a critical review augmented with research data.

PubMed

Rogers, R; Grandjean, N; Tillbrook, C E; Vitacco, M J; Sewell, K W

2001-01-01

Forensic experts are frequently asked to conduct competency-to-stand trial evaluations and address the substantive prongs propounded in Dusky v. United States (1960). In understanding its application to competency evaluations, alternative conceptualizations of Dusky are critically examined. With Dusky providing the conceptual framework, three interview-based competency measures are reviewed: the Georgia Court Competency Test (GCCT), the MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool-Criminal Adjudication (Mac-CAT-CA), and the Evaluation of Competency to Stand Trial-Revised (ECST-R). This review has a twin focus on reliability of each measure and its correspondence to Dusky prongs. The current review is augmented by new factor analytic data on the MacCAT-CA and ECST-R. The article concludes with specific recommendations for competency evaluations. Copyright 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Assessment of Anatomical Knowledge and Core Trauma Competency Vascular Skills.

PubMed

Granite, Guinevere; Pugh, Kristy; Chen, Hegang; Longinaker, Nyaradzo; Garofalo, Evan; Shackelford, Stacy; Shalin, Valerie; Puche, Adam; Pasley, Jason; Sarani, Babak; Henry, Sharon; Bowyer, Mark; Mackenzie, Colin

2018-03-01

Surgical residents express confidence in performing specific vascular exposures before training, but such self-reported confidence did not correlate with co-located evaluator ratings. This study reports residents' self-confidence evaluated before and after Advanced Surgical Skills for Exposure in Trauma (ASSET) cadaver-based training, and 12-18 mo later. We hypothesize that residents will better judge their own skill after ASSET than before when compared with evaluator ratings. Forty PGY2-7 surgical residents performed four procedures: axillary artery (AA), brachial artery (BA), femoral artery exposure and control (FA), and lower extremity fasciotomy (FAS) at the three evaluations. Using 5-point Likert scales, surgeons self-assessed their confidence in anatomical understanding and procedure performance after each procedure and evaluators rated each surgeon accordingly. For all the three evaluations, residents consistently rated their anatomical understanding (p < 0.04) and surgical performance (p < 0.03) higher than evaluators for both FA and FAS. Residents rated their anatomical understanding and surgical performance higher (p < 0.005) than evaluators for BA after training and up to 18 mo later. Only for third AA evaluation were there no rating differences. Residents overrate their anatomical understanding and performance abilities for BA, FA, and FAS even after performing the procedures and being debriefed three times in 18 mo.

When the “I” Looks at the “Me”: Autobiographical Memory, Visual Perspective, and the Self

PubMed Central

Sutin, Angelina R.; Robins, Richard W.

2009-01-01

This article presents a theoretical model of the self processes involved in autobiographical memories and proposes competing hypotheses for the role of visual perspective in autobiographical memory retrieval. Autobiographical memories can be retrieved from either the 1st person perspective, in which individuals see the event through their own eyes, or from the 3rd person perspective, in which individuals see themselves and the event from the perspective of an external observer. A growing body of research suggests that the visual perspective from which a memory is retrieved has important implications for a person's thoughts, feelings, and goals, and is integrally related to a host of self-evaluative processes. We review the relevant research literature, present our theoretical model, and outline directions for future research. PMID:18848783

When the "I" looks at the "Me": autobiographical memory, visual perspective, and the self.

PubMed

Sutin, Angelina R; Robins, Richard W

2008-12-01

This article presents a theoretical model of the self processes involved in autobiographical memories and proposes competing hypotheses for the role of visual perspective in autobiographical memory retrieval. Autobiographical memories can be retrieved from either the 1st person perspective, in which individuals see the event through their own eyes, or from the 3rd person perspective, in which individuals see themselves and the event from the perspective of an external observer. A growing body of research suggests that the visual perspective from which a memory is retrieved has important implications for a person's thoughts, feelings, and goals, and is integrally related to a host of self-evaluative processes. We review the relevant research literature, present our theoretical model, and outline directions for future research.

The race to the nociceptor: mechanical versus temperature effects in thermal pain of dental neurons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Min; Liu, Fusheng; Liu, Shaobao; Ji, Changchun; Li, Ang; Lu, Tian Jian; Xu, Feng

2017-04-01

The sensing of hot and cold stimuli by dental neurons differs in several fundamental ways. These sensations have been characterized quantitatively through the measured time course of neural discharge signals that result from hot or cold stimuli applied to the teeth of animal models. Although various hypotheses have been proposed to explain the underlying mechanism, the ability to test competing hypotheses against experimental recorded data using biophysical models has been hindered by limitations in our understanding of the specific ion channels involved in nociception of dental neurons. Here we apply recent advances in established biophysical models to test the competing hypotheses. We show that a sharp shooting pain sensation experienced shortly following cold stimulation cannot be attributed to the activation of thermosensitive ion channels, thereby falsifying the so-called neuronal hypothesis, which states that rapidly transduced sensations of coldness are related to thermosensitive ion channels. Our results support a central role of mechanosensitive ion channels and the associated hydrodynamic hypothesis. In addition to the hydrodynamic hypothesis, we also demonstrate that the long time delay of dental neuron responses after hot stimulation could be attributed to the neuronal hypothesis—that a relatively long time is required for the temperature around nociceptors to reach some threshold. The results are useful as a model of how multiphysical phenomena can be combined to provide mechanistic insight into different mechanisms underlying pain sensations.

Competency-Based Evaluation in Higher Education--Design and Use of Competence Rubrics by University Educators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Velasco-Martínez, Leticia-Concepción; Tójar-Hurtado, Juan-Carlos

2018-01-01

Competency-based learning requires making changes in the higher education model in response to current socio-educational demands. Rubrics are an innovative educational tool for competence evaluation, for both students and educators. Ever since arriving at the university systems, the application of rubrics in evaluation programs has grown…

A multi-level assessment of a program to teach medical students to teach.

PubMed

Blatt, Benjamin; Greenberg, Larrie

2007-02-01

Few longitudinal programs exist to teach senior students (MS4s) to be teachers, nor have there been any reports of comprehensive program evaluation in this area. The primary objectives of this study were to describe our ongoing faculty development effort and to develop a multi-level program evaluation, using Dixon's model. The TALKS (Teaching and Learning Communication Skills) program is a senior elective and open to all MS4s. We evaluated our program through assessment of its participants at three levels: level 1, opinion; level 2, competence; and level 3, performance; but not level 4, patient outcomes. The authors used a retrospective, pre-post questionnaire to assess MS4 attitudes about their educational experiences, a traditional instrument to assess their teaching, an interaction analysis technique using Bloom's taxonomy to assess MS4s' feedback skills, and a SP exam to assess MS4 communication skills. The authors hypothesized that MS4s participating in TALKS would view medical education more positively and informatively, would demonstrate important principles in giving feedback, would be assessed as excellent teachers, and would perform better than controls in an SP exam emphasizing communication skills. Results revealed that MS4s' ratings as teachers were very good to excellent, with the highest scores on the items "knowledgeable, supportive of me, and answering questions clearly." (Level 1, Opinion) MS4s' perceptions of their knowledge, attitudes and skills increased significantly from the pre to the post-questionnaire. (Level 2, Competence) MS4 feedback skills to MS2s revealed they did more talking than ideal, often at the lowest levels of Bloom's taxonomy. (Level 3, Performance) MS4s demonstrated better communication skills than controls on an evaluation by professional SPs. (Level 3, Performance).

Competence evaluation processes for nursing students abroad: Findings from an international case study.

PubMed

Tommasini, Cristina; Dobrowolska, Beata; Zarzycka, Danuta; Bacatum, Claudia; Bruun, Anne Marie Gran; Korsath, Dag; Roel, Siv; Jansen, Mette Bro; Milling, Tine; Deschamps, Anne; Mantzoukas, Stefanos; Mantzouka, Christine; Palese, Alvisa

2017-04-01

Assessing clinical competence in nursing students abroad is a challenge, and requires both methods and instruments capable of capturing the multidimensional nature of the clinical competences acquired. The aim of the study was to compare the clinical competence assessment processes and instruments adopted for nursing students during their clinical placement abroad. A case study design was adopted in 2015. A purposeful sample of eight nursing programmes located in seven countries (Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Norway, Poland, Portugal and Italy) were approached. Tools as instruments for evaluating competences developed in clinical training by international nursing students, and written procedures aimed at guiding the evaluation process, were scrutinised through a content analysis method. All clinical competence evaluation procedures and instruments used in the nursing programmes involved were provided in English. A final evaluation of the competences was expected by all nursing programmes at the end of the clinical placement, while only four provided an intermediate evaluation. Great variability emerged in the tools, with between five and 88 items included. Through content analysis, 196 items emerged, classified into 12 different core competence categories, the majority were categorised as 'Technical skills' (=60), 'Self-learning and critical thinking' (=27) and 'Nursing care process' (=25) competences. Little emphasis was given in the tools to competences involving 'Self-adaptation', 'Inter-professional skills', 'Clinical documentation', 'Managing nursing care', 'Patient communication', and 'Theory and practice integration'. Institutions signing Bilateral Agreements should agree upon the competences expected from students during their clinical education abroad. The tools used in the process, as well as the role expected by the student, should also be agreed upon. Intercultural competences should be further addressed in the process of evaluation, in addition to adaptation to different settings. There is also a need to establish those competences achievable or not in the host country, aiming at increasing transparency in learning expectations and evaluation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Psychometric Properties of a 36-Item Version of the “Stress Management Competency Indicator Tool”

PubMed Central

Toderi, Stefano; Sarchielli, Guido

2016-01-01

The development of supervisors’ behaviours has been proposed as an innovative approach for the reduction of employees’ work stress. The UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) developed the “Stress Management Competency Indicator Tool” (SMCIT), designed to be used within a learning and development intervention. However, its psychometric properties have never been evaluated, and the length of the questionnaire (66 items) limits its practical applicability. We developed a brief 36-item version of the questionnaire, assessed its psychometric properties and studied the relationship with the employees’ psychosocial work environment. 353 employees filled in the brief SMCIT and the “Stress Management Indicator Tool”. The latter is a self-report questionnaire developed by the UK HSE, measuring workers’ perceptions of seven dimensions of the psychosocial work environment that if not properly managed can lead to harm. Data were analysed with structural equation modelling and multiple regressions. The results confirmed the factorial structure of the brief SMCIT questionnaire and mainly supported the convergent validity and internal consistency of the scales. Furthermore, with few exceptions, the relations hypothesized between supervisors’ competencies and the psychosocial work environment were confirmed, supporting the criterion validity of the revised questionnaire and the UK HSE framework. We conclude that the brief 36-item version of the SMCIT represents an important step toward the development of interventions directed at supervisors and we discuss the practical implications for work stress prevention. PMID:27827940

Evaluation of the organizational cultural competence of a community health center: a multimethod approach.

PubMed

Cherner, Rebecca; Olavarria, Marcela; Young, Marta; Aubry, Tim; Marchant, Christina

2014-09-01

Cultural competence is an important component of client-centered care in health promotion and community health services, especially considering the changing demographics of North America. Although a number of tools for evaluating cultural competence have been developed, few studies have reported on the results of organizational cultural competence evaluations in health care or social services settings. This article aims to fill this gap by providing a description of a cultural competence evaluation of a community health center serving a diverse population. Data collection included reviewing documents, and surveying staff, management, and the Board of Directors. The organization fully met 28 of 53 standards of cultural competence, partially met 21 standards, and did not meet 2 standards, and 2 standards could not be assessed due to missing information. The advantages and lessons learned from this organizational cultural competence evaluation are discussed. © 2014 Society for Public Health Education.

Reliability of adherence and competence assessment in cognitive behavioral therapy: influence of clinical experience.

PubMed

Weck, Florian; Hilling, Christine; Schermelleh-Engel, Karin; Rudari, Visar; Stangier, Ulrich

2011-04-01

The use of highly experienced expert judges was suggested for the assessment of therapists' adherence and competence. However, such an approach implies high costs. It can be questioned whether only experts are able to evaluate therapists' adherence and competence reliably. To test this, 4 judges evaluated therapist adherence and competence in 30 randomly selected videotapes of cognitive therapy sessions for depression. In that, 2 judges exhibited high clinical experience (experts), whereas 2 judges did not (novices). We could demonstrate that novices evaluated an aggregated adherence and competence measure with high reliability. However, several adherence and competence aspects were not assessed with satisfactory reliability by novices. Although adherence ratings of experts and novices showed high concordance, the concordance of competence ratings was only moderate. Results revealed that therapists' adherence could be evaluated satisfactorily by trained novices with some restrictions, but not their competence.

Financial resources, parent psychological functioning, parent co-caregiving, and early adolescent competence in rural two-parent African-American families.

PubMed

Brody, G H; Stoneman, Z; Flor, D; McCrary, C; Hastings, L; Conyers, O

1994-04-01

We proposed a family process model that links family financial resources to academic competence and socioemotional adjustment during early adolescence. The sample included 90 9-12-year old African-American youths and their married parents who lived in the rural South. The theoretical constructs in the model were measured via a multimethod, multi-informant design. Rural African-American community members participated in the development of the self-report instruments and observational research methods. The results largely supported the hypotheses. Lack of family financial resources led to greater depression and less optimism in mothers and fathers, which in turn were linked with co-caregiving support and conflict. The associations among the co-caregiving processes and youth academic and socioemotional competence were mediated by the development of youth self-regulations. Disruptions in parental co-caregiving interfered with the development of self-regulation. This interference negatively influenced youths' academic competence and socioemotional adjustment.

Children's understanding of idioms and theory of mind development.

PubMed

Caillies, Stéphanie; Le Sourn-Bissaoui, Sandrine

2008-09-01

The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis according to which theory of mind competence was a prerequisite to ambiguous idioms understanding. We hypothesized that the child needs to understand that the literal interpretation could be a false world representation, a false belief, and that the speaker's intention is to mean something else, to correctly process idiomatic expressions. Two kinds of ambiguous idioms were of interest: decomposable and nondecomposable expressions (Titone & Connine, 1999). An experiment was designed to assess the figurative developmental changes that occur with theory of mind competence. Five-, 6- and 7-year-old children performed five theory of mind tasks (an appearance-reality task, three false-belief tasks and a second-order false-belief task) and listened to decomposable and nondecomposable idiomatic expressions inserted in context, before performing a multiple choice task. Results indicated that only nondecomposable idiomatic expression was predicted from the theory of mind scores, and particularly from the second-order competences. Results are discussed with respect to theory of mind and verbal competences.

Longitudinal examination of maternal psychological control and adolescents' self-competence as predictors of bulimic symptoms among boys and girls.

PubMed

Salafia, Elizabeth H Blodgett; Gondoli, Dawn M; Corning, Alexandra F; Bucchianeri, Michaela M; Godinez, Nicole M

2009-07-01

Because bulimia nervosa is a problem among adolescents, it remains essential to examine its precursors. The specific etiologic chain investigated in this study is such that maternal psychological control first leads to adolescents' lowered self-competence, which in turn predicts bulimic symptoms. Self-report data were collected from 58 boys and 73 girls during sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. Participants reported on maternal psychological control, self-competence, and bulimic symptoms. Using structural equation modeling, we tested our hypothesized longitudinal indirect effects model separately for boys and girls. Results indeed indicated that high maternal psychological control in sixth grade led to lowered adolescents' self-competence in seventh grade, which in turn predicted increased bulimic symptoms in eighth grade for both boys and girls. This study uncovers one particular process wherein a psychologically controlling parenting style affects adolescents' development of bulimic symptoms, a finding that may be useful to researchers and clinicians.

The time course of the competition between grouping organizations.

PubMed

Rashal, Einat; Yeshurun, Yaffa; Kimchi, Ruth

2017-03-01

Previous research on the competition between grouping organizations focused mainly on their relative strength as measured by subjective reports of the final percept. Considerably less is known about the underlying representations of the competing organizations. We hypothesized that when more than 1 organization is possible, multiple representations are constructed for the alternative organizations. We tested this hypothesis using the primed-matching paradigm. Our primes depicted either a single grouping principle (grouping into columns or rows by brightness similarity, connectedness, or proximity) or 2 grouping principles (brightness similarity and connectedness, or brightness similarity and proximity) that led to competing organizations (e.g., grouping into columns by brightness similarity and into rows by connectedness, or vice versa). The time course of representation construction was examined by varying prime duration. Significant priming effects of similar magnitude were found for the individual grouping organizations. These effects were modified when 2 competing organizations were present in the prime, indicating that both organizations were represented and competed for dominancy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Influence of homogeneity of student characteristics in a group-based social competence intervention.

PubMed

Stichter, Janine P; Herzog, Melissa J; Malugen, Emily; Schoemann, Alexander M

2018-06-18

Although some literature reviews cited mixed results for group-based social competence interventions in schools, existing descriptions of intervention efficacy often lack attention on important factors that may moderate differential response. Some studies suggest that individual characteristics such as diagnosis (i.e., specific deficit clusters) or behavioral profiles may be important social outcome moderators. Given the interactive nature of group-based interventions, understanding how individual characteristics combine to influence outcomes for the group as a whole is an important next step. By using a multisite cluster randomized control trial (n = 274), the current study explores the impact that varying student characteristics have on outcomes of the Social Competence Intervention for Adolescents (SCI-A; Stichter, Herzog, Owens, & Malugen, 2016; Stichter et al., 2010) compared to outcomes of business-as-usual (BAU) practices. Researchers hypothesized that (a) SCI-A would be more effective than BAU in improving ratings of students' social functioning when students within groups were more similar to each other on relevant diagnostic and behavioral indicators, and (b) that within SCI-A only, more versus less homogenous groups would demonstrate greater social outcome gains. Results offer some support for these hypotheses: SCI-A was more effective in improving social communication and motivation when groups were diagnostically similar (ds > 0.55). Considering changes in social awareness and communication, SCI-A was more effective when groups were heterogeneous on socially competent behavior (ds > 1.32) and less effective when groups were heterogeneous on antisocial behavior (ds > 1.00). The authors discuss the implications and importance of research exploring factors such as group composition that may moderate intervention response in applied settings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Computer Usage and the Validity of Self-Assessed Computer Competence among First-Year Business Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ballantine, Joan A.; McCourt Larres, Patricia; Oyelere, Peter

2007-01-01

This study evaluates the reliability of self-assessment as a measure of computer competence. This evaluation is carried out in response to recent research which has employed self-reported ratings as the sole indicator of students' computer competence. To evaluate the reliability of self-assessed computer competence, the scores achieved by students…

Assessing curriculum effectiveness: a survey of Uniformed Services University medical school graduates.

PubMed

Picho, Katherine; Gilliland, William R; Artino, Anthony R; DeZee, Kent J; Dong, Ting; McManigle, John E; Cruess, David F; Durning, Steven J

2015-04-01

This study assessed alumni perceptions of their preparedness for clinical practice using the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) competencies. We hypothesized that our alumni's perception of preparedness would be highest for military-unique practice and professionalism and lowest for system-based practice and practice-based learning and improvement. 1,189 alumni who graduated from the Uniformed Services University (USU) between 1980 and 2001 completed a survey modeled to assess the ACGME competencies on a 5-point, Likert-type scale. Specifically, self-reports of competencies related to patient care, communication and interpersonal skills, medical knowledge, professionalism, systems-based practice, practice-based learning and improvement, and military-unique practice were evaluated. Consistent with our expectations as the nation's military medical school, our graduates were most confident in their preparedness for military-unique practice, which included items assessing military leadership (M = 4.30, SD = 0.65). USU graduates also indicated being well prepared for the challenges of residency education in the domain of professionalism (M = 4.02, SD = 0.72). Self-reports were also high for competencies related to patient care (M = 3.86, SD = 0.68), communication and interpersonal skills (M = 3.88, SD = 0.66), and medical knowledge (M = 3.78, SD = 0.73). Consistent with expectations, systems-based practice (M = 3.50, SD = 0.70) and practice-based learning and improvement (M = 3.57, SD = 0.62) were the lowest rated competencies, although self-reported preparedness was still quite high. Our findings suggest that, from the perspective of our graduates, USU is providing both an effective military-unique curriculum and is preparing trainees for residency training. Further, these results support the notion that graduates are prepared to lead and to practice medicine in austere environments. Compared to other competencies that were assessed, self-ratings for systems-based practice and practice-based learning and improvement were the lowest, which suggests the need to continue to improve USU education in these areas. Reprint & Copyright © 2015 Association of Military Surgeons of the U.S.

Co-Occurrence of Linguistic and Behavioural Difficulties in Early Childhood: A Developmental Psychopathology Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carpenter, Johanna L.; Drabick, Deborah A. G.

2011-01-01

Three hypotheses have been posited as competing explanations for the comorbidity or co-occurrence of language difficulties and behavioural problems among children: (1) language difficulties confer risk for behaviour problems, (2) behaviour problems confer risk for language difficulties, and (3) shared risk factors account for their co-occurrence.…

The effect of resource history on the functioning of soil microbial communities is maintained across time

Treesearch

A. Keiser; M. Strickland; N. Fierer; M. Bradford

2011-01-01

Historical resource conditions appear to influence microbial community function. With time, historical influences might diminish as populations respond to the contemporary environment. Alternatively, they may persist given factors such as contrasting genetic potentials for adaptation to a new environment. Using experimental microcosms, we test competing hypotheses that...

Long-Term Outcomes of Cognitive-Behavioral Treatments for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder among Female Rape Survivors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Resick, Patricia A.; Williams, Lauren F.; Suvak, Michael K.; Monson, Candice M.; Gradus, Jaimie L.

2012-01-01

Objective: We conducted a long-term follow-up (LTFU) assessment of participants from a randomized controlled trial comparing cognitive processing therapy (CPT) with prolonged exposure (PE) for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Competing hypotheses for positive outcomes (i.e., additional therapy, medication) were examined. Method:…

Caregiving and Developmental Factors Differentiating Young At-Risk Urban Children Showing Resilient Versus Stress-Affected Outcomes: A Replication and Extension.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wyman, Peter A.; And Others

1999-01-01

Tested hypotheses from an organizational-developmental model for childhood resilience among 7- to 9-year olds. Found that caregiving factors and early development differentiated children with resilient and stress-affected adaptations. Variables reflecting emotionally responsive, competent parenting were direct, proximal predictors of resilience…

Liberation and Economic Marginalization: A Reformulation and Test of (Formerly?) Competing Models

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hunnicutt, Gwen; Broidy, Lisa M.

2004-01-01

This study reconceptualizes and tests liberation and economic marginality hypotheses as complementary explanations for female offending patterns. Both explanations are relevant in explaining female crime, but need to be reframed as interacting forces not opposing theories. It is suggested that economic marginality is in part a consequence of…

Geographic Distributions of Idh-1 Alleles in a Cricket are Linked to Differential Enzyme Kinetic Performance Across Thermal Environments

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Geographic clines within species are often interpreted as evidence of adaptation to varying environmental conditions. However, clines can also result from genetic drift, and these competing hypotheses must therefore be tested empirically. The striped ground cricket, Allonemobius socius, is widely-di...

Connecting the Demographic Dots: Geographic Mobility and Birth Intentions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Myers, Scott M.

2010-01-01

Having a child is a major determinant of geographic mobility. Little is known, however, about the opposite process--whether geographic mobility is a determinant of fertility. Drawing on social and human capital theories and research on fertility and migration to develop competing hypotheses, the author examines the effects of mobility on changes…

Racial Threat and White Opposition to Bilingual Education in Texas

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hempel, Lynn M.; Dowling, Julie A.; Boardman, Jason D.; Ellison, Christopher G.

2013-01-01

This study examines local contextual conditions that influence opposition to bilingual education among non-Hispanic Whites, net of individual-level characteristics. Data from the Texas Poll (N = 615) are used in conjunction with U.S. Census data to test five competing hypotheses using binomial and multinomial logistic regression models. Our…

The Influence of Self-Determination in Physical Education on Leisure-Time Physical Activity Behavior

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shen, Bo; McCaughtry, Nate; Martin, Jeffrey

2007-01-01

Using a multitheory approach, this study was designed to investigate the influence of urban adolescents' perceived autonomy and competence in physical education on their physical activity intentions and behaviors during leisure time. A transcontextual model was hypothesized and tested. Urban adolescents (N = 653, ages 11-15 years) completed…

Using Innate Visual Biases to Guide Face Learning in Natural Scenes: A Computational Investigation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Balas, Benjamin

2010-01-01

Newborn infants appear to possess an innate bias that guides preferential orienting to and tracking of human faces. There is, however, no clear agreement as to the underlying mechanism supporting such a preference. In particular, two competing theories (known as the "structural" and "sensory" hypotheses) conjecture fundamentally different biasing…

Environmental Moderators of Genetic Influence on Verbal and Nonverbal Abilities in Early Childhood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Asbury, Kathryn; Wachs, Theodore D.; Plomin, Robert

2005-01-01

The study of genotype-environment interaction (G x E) has been dominated by two competing hypotheses, one that heritability is greater in high-risk environments (diathesis-stress) and the other that heritability is greater in permissive environments. The current study examined relationships between verbal and nonverbal abilities and 10 measured…

Isolated and Integrated Form-Focused Instruction from Learners' Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ansarin, Ali Akbar; Arasteh Abbas Abad, Behnam; Banan Khojasteh, Mohammad Reza

2015-01-01

In place of categorical hypotheses for rejection or acceptance of isolated or integrated form-focused instruction (FFI) in (quasi) experimental studies, this survey was intended to gauge the complementary versus competing nature of isolated and integrated FFI from learners' perspective. The impetus behind this study was the overwhelming lack of…

Do ICT Competences Support Educational Attainment at University?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

De Wit, Kurt; Heerwegh, Dirk; Verhoeven, Jef C.

2012-01-01

Taking into account that universities assume students will have at least some basic knowledge of the use of computers and the Internet, we hypothesize that the command of ICT skills by freshmen could have an influence on their educational attainment. To test this hypothesis an online questionnaire was used, which was answered by a representative…

Judgments about Forces in Described Interactions between Objects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

White, Peter A.

2011-01-01

In 4 experiments, participants made judgments about forces exerted and resistances put up by objects involved in described interactions. Two competing hypotheses were tested: (1) that judgments are derived from the same knowledge base that is thought to be the source of perceptual impressions of forces that occur with visual stimuli, and (2) that…

Intimate Homicide between Asians and Non-Asians: The Impact of Community Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wu, Bohsiu

2009-01-01

This study tests two competing hypotheses regarding the social structural dynamics of intimate homicide: backlash versus collective efficacy. This study also examines the role of race in how social factors specified in each hypothesis affect intimate homicide. Data are from the California Vital Statistics and Homicide Data, 1990-1999. Results from…

DOES FOLIAGE ON THE SAME BRANCH COMPETE FOR THE SAME WATER? EXPERIMENTS ON DOUGLAS-FIR TREES

EPA Science Inventory

It has been hypothesized that as trees age and increase in size, the resistance along the water transport path increases and potentially limits the ultimate size a tree can reach. Architecturally, branches on young and old trees differ in their conductivity properties and could ...

The Impact of Sector on School Organizations: Institutional and Market Logics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davies, Scott; Quirke, Linda

2007-01-01

Drawing on new institutional and market theories, this article derives three hypotheses for the effects of markets on educational organizations: They (1) weaken formal structures, (2) reverse tendencies toward isomorphism, and (3) force schools to recouple and compete via performance indicators. These ideas are investigated with data on private…

Unnecessary Roughness? School Sports, Peer Networks, and Male Adolescent Violence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kreager, Derek A.

2007-01-01

This article examines the extent to which participation in high school interscholastic sports contributes to male violence. Deriving competing hypotheses from social control, social learning, and masculinity theories, I use data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to test if (1) type of sport and (2) peer athletic…

Amnesic H.M.'s performance on the language competence test: parallel deficits in memory and sentence production.

PubMed

MacKay, Donald G; James, Lori E; Hadley, Christopher B

2008-04-01

To test conflicting hypotheses regarding amnesic H.M.'s language abilities, this study examined H.M.'s sentence production on the Language Competence Test (Wiig & Secord, 1988). The task for H.M. and 8 education-, age-, and IQ-matched controls was to describe pictures using a single grammatical sentence containing prespecified target words. The results indicated selective deficits in H.M.'s picture descriptions: H.M. produced fewer single grammatical sentences, included fewer target words, and described the pictures less completely and accurately than did the controls. However, H.M.'s deficits diminished with repeated processing of unfamiliar stimuli and disappeared for familiar stimuli-effects that help explain why other researchers have concluded that H.M.'s language production is intact. Besides resolving the conflicting hypotheses, present results replicated other well-controlled sentence production results and indicated that H.M.'s language and memory exhibit parallel deficits and sparing. Present results comport in detail with binding theory but pose problems for current systems theories of H.M.'s condition.

A subjective utilitarian theory of moral judgment.

PubMed

Cohen, Dale J; Ahn, Minwoo

2016-10-01

Current theories hypothesize that moral judgments are difficult because rational and emotional decision processes compete. We present a fundamentally different theory of moral judgment: the Subjective Utilitarian Theory of moral judgment. The Subjective Utilitarian Theory posits that people try to identify and save the competing item with the greatest "personal value." Moral judgments become difficult only when the competing items have similar personal values. In Experiment 1, we estimate the personal values of 104 items. In Experiments 2-5, we show that the distributional overlaps of the estimated personal values account for over 90% of the variance in reaction times (RTs) and response choices in a moral judgment task. Our model fundamentally restructures our understanding of moral judgments from a competition between decision processes to a competition between similarly valued items. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

An exploratory study of posttraumatic growth in children following a natural disaster.

PubMed

Cryder, Cheryl H; Kilmer, Ryan P; Tedeschi, Richard G; Calhoun, Lawrence G

2006-01-01

This study extends L. G. Calhoun and R. G. Tedeschi's (1998) model of posttraumatic growth (PTG), positive change resulting from the struggle with trauma, to children by exploring the construct among youngsters who experienced Hurricane Floyd and the subsequent flooding. Despite burgeoning interest in PTG, few studies have examined the phenomenon among non-adults. This first systematic study of PTG in children explores hypothesized linkages among PTG and social support, competency beliefs, and ruminative thinking. Results suggest that competency beliefs relate to PTG and that a supportive social environment and ruminative thinking are associated with positive competency beliefs. Contrary to expectations, social support did not relate to rumination. Findings testify to the merit of studying the PTG process in children. Clinical implications and future directions are considered. 2006 APA, all rights reserved

Taxonomy for Assessing Evaluation Competencies in Extension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rodgers, Michelle S.; Hillaker, Barbara D.; Haas, Bruce E.; Peters, Cheryl

2012-01-01

Evaluation of public service programming is becoming increasingly important with current funding realities. The taxonomy of evaluation competencies compiled by Ghere et al. (2006) provided the starting place for Taxonomy for Assessing Evaluation Competencies in Extension. The Michigan State University Extension case study described here presents a…

Penalties for success: reactions to women who succeed at male gender-typed tasks.

PubMed

Heilman, Madeline E; Wallen, Aaron S; Fuchs, Daniella; Tamkins, Melinda M

2004-06-01

A total of 242 subjects participated in 3 experimental studies investigating reactions to a woman's success in a male gender-typed job. Results strongly supported the authors' hypotheses, indicating that (a) when women are acknowledged to have been successful, they are less liked and more personally derogated than equivalently successful men (Studies 1 and 2); (b) these negative reactions occur only when the success is in an arena that is distinctly male in character (Study 2); and (c) being disliked can have career-affecting outcomes, both for overall evaluation and for recommendations concerning organizational reward allocation (Study 3). These results were taken to support the idea that gender stereotypes can prompt bias in evaluative judgments of women even when these women have proved themselves to be successful and demonstrated their competence. The distinction between prescriptive and descriptive aspects of gender stereotypes is considered, as well as the implications of prescriptive gender norms for women in work settings. (c) 2004 APA

Prospective thinking and decision making in primary school age children.

PubMed

Lombardi, Elisabetta; Di Dio, Cinzia; Castelli, Ilaria; Massaro, Davide; Marchetti, Antonella

2017-06-01

In this study, we seek to widen our understanding of the developmental processes underlying bargaining behaviour in children addressing the concept of prospective thinking. We argue that the emergence of the capacity to think prospectively about future outcomes or behaviours in response to current actions is a required precedent to strategic decision making. To test this idea, we compared 6, 8 and 10 years old children's performance on three tasks: the ultimatum game assessing fairness/inequality aversion, the marshmallow task, an intertemporal choice task evaluating the ability to delay gratification, and the dictator game assessing altruism. The children's socio-demographic and cognitive variables were also evaluated. We hypothesized that development of strategic thinking in the ultimatum game is related to an increased ability to delay gratification - given that both tasks require looking at prospective benefits - and, crucially, not to altruism, which benefits from immediate selfless reward. Our results confirmed our hypothesis suggesting that increased strategic planning with age would also stem from the development of competencies like prospective thinking.

Evaluation of the Program Effectiveness of Research Competence Development in Prospective Elementary School Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Khan, Natalya N.; Kolumbayeva, Sholpan Zh.; Karsybayeva, Raissa K.; Nabuova, Roza A.; Kurmanbekova, Manshuk B.; Syzdykbayeva, Aigul Dzh.

2016-01-01

To develop research competence in prospective teachers, a system of methods for diagnostics and formation of this competence in prospective elementary school teachers in the training process is designed. To diagnose the research competence, a series of techniques were used that allow subtle evaluation of each competence research component:…

Assessment and self-assessment of the pharmacists' competencies using the global competency framework (GbCF) in Serbia.

PubMed

Stojkov, Svetlana; Tadić, Ivana; Crnjanski, Tatjana; Krajnović, Dušanka

2016-09-01

Pharmacists' competence represents a dynamic framework of knowledge, skills and abilities to carry out tasks, and it reflects on improving the quality of life and on patients’ health. One of the documents for the Evaluation and Competency Development of Pharmacists is the Global Competency Framework (GbCF). The aim of this study was to implement the GBCF document into Serbian pharmacies, to perform assessment and self assessment of the competencies. The assessment and self-assessment of pharmacists’ competencies were performed during the period 2012−13 year in eight community pharmacy chains, in seven cities in Serbia. For assessment and self-assessment of pharmacists competencies the GbCF model was applied, which was adjusted to pharmaceutical practice and legislation in Serbia. External assessment was conducted by teams of pharmacists using the structured observation of the work of pharmacists during regular working hours. Evaluated pharmacists filled out the questionnaire about demographic indicators about the pharmacist and the pharmacy where they work. A total of 123 pharmacists were evaluated. Pharmacists’ Professional Competency Cluster (KK1) had the lowest score (average value 2.98), while the cluster Management and Organizational Competency (KK2) had the highest score (average value 3.15). The competence Recognition of the Diagnosis and Patient Counseling (K8), which belonged to the cluster KK1, had the lowest score (average value for assessment and self-assessment were 2.09, and 2.34, respectively) among the all evaluated competencies. GbCF might be considered as an instrument for the competencies' evaluation/selfevaluation and their improvement, accordingly.

12 CFR 614.4267 - Professional association membership; competency.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Professional association membership; competency...; competency. (a) Membership in appraisal organizations. A State certified appraiser or a State licensed...) Competency. All staff and fee evaluators, including appraisers, performing evaluations in connection with...

Planning, Executing, and Evaluating Competency-Based Instruction. Microcomputer Applications for Vocational Teachers: A Competency-Based Approach--Book C.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roth, Gene; Tesolowski, Dennis

This handbook is the third in a series of five competency-based resource guides on microcomputer applications for vocational teachers. The 13 units of instruction in this handbook are concerned with the content of the 14 competencies included in the category, "Planning, Executing, and Evaluating Competency-Based Instruction." Units are designed to…

Phycoerythrin evolution and diversification of spectral phenotype in marine Synechococcus and related picocyanobacteria.

PubMed

Everroad, R Craig; Wood, A Michelle

2012-09-01

In marine Synechococcus there is evidence for the adaptive evolution of spectrally distinct forms of the major light harvesting pigment phycoerythrin (PE). Recent research has suggested that these spectral forms of PE have a different evolutionary history than the core genome. However, a lack of explicit statistical testing of alternative hypotheses or for selection on these genes has made it difficult to evaluate the evolutionary relationships between spectral forms of PE or the role horizontal gene transfer (HGT) may have had in the adaptive phenotypic evolution of the pigment system in marine Synechococcus. In this work, PE phylogenies of picocyanobacteria with known spectral phenotypes, including newly co-isolated strains of marine Synechococcus from the Gulf of Mexico, were constructed to explore the diversification of spectral phenotype and PE evolution in this group more completely. For the first time, statistical evaluation of competing evolutionary hypotheses and tests for positive selection on the PE locus in picocyanobacteria were performed. Genes for PEs associated with specific PE spectral phenotypes formed strongly supported monophyletic clades within the PE tree with positive directional selection driving evolution towards higher phycourobilin (PUB) content. The presence of the PUB-lacking phenotype in PE-containing marine picocyanobacteria from cyanobacterial lineages identified as Cyanobium is best explained by HGT into this group from marine Synechococcus. Taken together, these data provide strong examples of adaptive evolution of a single phenotypic trait in bacteria via mutation, positive directional selection and horizontal gene transfer. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Evaluating Community Health Advisor (CHA) Core Competencies: The CHA Core Competency Retrospective Pretest/Posttest (CCCRP).

PubMed

Story, Lachel; To, Yen M

2016-05-01

Health care and academic systems are increasingly collaborating with community health advisors (CHAs) to provide culturally relevant health interventions that promote sustained community transformation. Little attention has been placed on CHA training evaluation, including core competency attainment. This study identified common CHA core competencies, generated a theoretically based measure of those competencies, and explored psychometric properties of that measure. A concept synthesis revealed five CHA core competencies (leadership, translation, guidance, advocacy, and caring). The CHA Core Competency Retrospective Pretest/Posttest (CCCRP) resulted from that synthesis, which was administered using multiple approaches to individuals who previously received CHA training (N= 142). Exploratory factor analyses revealed a two-factor structure underlying the posttraining data, and Cronbach's alpha indicated high internal consistency. This study suggested some CHA core competencies might be more interrelated than previously thought, and two major competencies exist rather than five and supported the CCCRP's use to evaluate core competency attainment resulting from training. © The Author(s) 2014.

Evaluating competency to stand trial with evidence-based practice.

PubMed

Rogers, Richard; Johansson-Love, Jill

2009-01-01

Evaluations for competency to stand trial are distinguished from other areas of forensic consultation by their long history of standardized assessment beginning in the 1970s. As part of a special issue of the Journal on evidence-based forensic practice, this article examines three published competency measures: the MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool-Criminal Adjudication (MacCAT-CA), the Evaluation of Competency to Stand Trial-Revised (ECST-R), and the Competence Assessment for Standing Trial for Defendants with Mental Retardation (CAST-MR). Using the Daubert guidelines as a framework, we examined each competency measure regarding its relevance to the Dusky standard and its error and classification rates. The article acknowledges the past polarization of forensic practitioners on acceptance versus rejection of competency measures. It argues that no valuable information, be it clinical acumen or standardized data, should be systematically ignored. Consistent with the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Practice Guideline, it recommends the integration of competency interview findings with other sources of data in rendering evidence-based competency determinations.

Stereotype Deduction About Bisexual Women.

PubMed

Zivony, Alon; Saguy, Tamar

Bisexuals are an invisible sexual minority. However, at the same time, bisexuals are stereotypically associated with confusion and promiscuity. Stereotype learning theories suggest that individuals who are unfamiliar with a social group are less likely to have stereotypical beliefs about its members. In contrast, it has been recently hypothesized that stereotypes about bisexuality are not necessarily learned but rather deduced based on common conceptualizations of sexuality. Because stereotypes are suppressed only if they are recognized as offensive, lack of knowledge regarding bisexual stereotypes should actually enhance their adoption. To assess the strength of the two competing accounts, we examined the relationship between explicit knowledge of bisexual stereotypes and stereotypical evaluation of bisexual individuals. Heterosexual participants (N = 261) read a description of two characters on a date and evaluated one of them. Bisexual women were evaluated as more confused and promiscuous relative to nonbisexual women. Moreover, the stereotypical evaluations of bisexual women were inversely related to knowledge about these stereotypes. The findings support the notion that bisexual stereotypes are not learned but rather deduced from shared assumptions about sexuality. Consequently, public invisibility not only exists alongside bisexual stereotypes but might also exacerbate their uninhibited adoption.

Fear of falling and falls self-efficacy and their relationship to higher-level competence among community-dwelling senior men and women in Japan.

PubMed

Katsumata, Yuriko; Arai, Asuna; Tomimori, Masashi; Ishida, Kozo; Lee, Romeo B; Tamashiro, Hiko

2011-07-01

This cross-sectional study examined the relationships of fear of falling and falls self-efficacy with higher-level competence among community-dwelling senior citizens in Japan. Of the 822 registered senior citizens, 731 (89%) community dwellers were requested to participate in the survey using a mailed self-accomplished questionnaire. Data from 648 respondents with duly accomplished questionnaires were analyzed using R(2) , the coefficient of determination, based on a multivariate regression analysis. Fear of falling, low falls self-efficacy and higher-level functional disability were observed among respondents. Of the hypothesized relationships examined by sex, fear of falling was significantly associated with disability among male respondents and low falls self-efficacy among both sexes. Several confounding variables were strongly associated with competence. While the data underscore the strategic importance of promoting higher-level competence among the senior citizens, there is much to suggest that their competence is likely to be maintained if their fear of falling and falls self-efficacy were modified. Programs must also consider a wide array of intervening factors. © 2011 Japan Geriatrics Society.

The role of physical content in piagetian spatial tasks: Sex differences in spatial knowledge?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Golbeck, Susan L.

Sex-related differences on Piagetian horizontality (water level) and verticality (plumb line) tasks were examined in 64 college students. It was hypothesized that females' difficulties on these Euclidean spatial problems are due not to differences in underlying spatial competence, but rather to differences in knowledge of task specific information about the physical properties of water levels and plumb lines. This was tested by presenting subjects with the standard water level and plumb line problems and also modified problems not requiring knowledge of physical principles (i.e., drawing straight up and down or straight across lines inside tipped rectangles). While males were expected to outperform females on the standard tasks, no sex differences were expected on the modified tasks. Results of an ANOVA on scores for horizontality and verticality each showed main effects for sex and task version but failed to reveal the hypothesized interaction. However, performance on the Euclidean spatial tasks was also considered in terms of overall success versus failure. While males were more successful than females in the standard format, males and females were equally successful in the modified, nonphysical, format. Hence, college aged males and females generally do not differ in spatial competence although they may be differentially influenced by task content. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for theory and practice. It is emphasized that science educators must be especially aware of such task influences for females so that performance deficits are not mistaken for competence deficits.

Combining Computational Modeling and Neuroimaging to Examine Multiple Category Learning Systems in the Brain

PubMed Central

Nomura, Emi M.; Reber, Paul J.

2012-01-01

Considerable evidence has argued in favor of multiple neural systems supporting human category learning, one based on conscious rule inference and one based on implicit information integration. However, there have been few attempts to study potential system interactions during category learning. The PINNACLE (Parallel Interactive Neural Networks Active in Category Learning) model incorporates multiple categorization systems that compete to provide categorization judgments about visual stimuli. Incorporating competing systems requires inclusion of cognitive mechanisms associated with resolving this competition and creates a potential credit assignment problem in handling feedback. The hypothesized mechanisms make predictions about internal mental states that are not always reflected in choice behavior, but may be reflected in neural activity. Two prior functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies of category learning were re-analyzed using PINNACLE to identify neural correlates of internal cognitive states on each trial. These analyses identified additional brain regions supporting the two types of category learning, regions particularly active when the systems are hypothesized to be in maximal competition, and found evidence of covert learning activity in the “off system” (the category learning system not currently driving behavior). These results suggest that PINNACLE provides a plausible framework for how competing multiple category learning systems are organized in the brain and shows how computational modeling approaches and fMRI can be used synergistically to gain access to cognitive processes that support complex decision-making machinery. PMID:24962771

HyQue: evaluating hypotheses using Semantic Web technologies.

PubMed

Callahan, Alison; Dumontier, Michel; Shah, Nigam H

2011-05-17

Key to the success of e-Science is the ability to computationally evaluate expert-composed hypotheses for validity against experimental data. Researchers face the challenge of collecting, evaluating and integrating large amounts of diverse information to compose and evaluate a hypothesis. Confronted with rapidly accumulating data, researchers currently do not have the software tools to undertake the required information integration tasks. We present HyQue, a Semantic Web tool for querying scientific knowledge bases with the purpose of evaluating user submitted hypotheses. HyQue features a knowledge model to accommodate diverse hypotheses structured as events and represented using Semantic Web languages (RDF/OWL). Hypothesis validity is evaluated against experimental and literature-sourced evidence through a combination of SPARQL queries and evaluation rules. Inference over OWL ontologies (for type specifications, subclass assertions and parthood relations) and retrieval of facts stored as Bio2RDF linked data provide support for a given hypothesis. We evaluate hypotheses of varying levels of detail about the genetic network controlling galactose metabolism in Saccharomyces cerevisiae to demonstrate the feasibility of deploying such semantic computing tools over a growing body of structured knowledge in Bio2RDF. HyQue is a query-based hypothesis evaluation system that can currently evaluate hypotheses about the galactose metabolism in S. cerevisiae. Hypotheses as well as the supporting or refuting data are represented in RDF and directly linked to one another allowing scientists to browse from data to hypothesis and vice versa. HyQue hypotheses and data are available at http://semanticscience.org/projects/hyque.

Allometry, sexual size dimorphism, and niche partitioning in the Mediterranean gecko (Hemidactylus turcicus)

Treesearch

James B. Johnson; Lance D. McBrayer; Daniel Saenz

2005-01-01

Hemidactylus tucrius is a small gekkonid lizard native to the Middle East and Asia that is known to exhibit sexual dimorphism in head size. Several potential explanations exist for the evolution and maintenance of sexual dimorphism in lizards. We tested 2 of these competing hypotheses concerning diet partitioning and differential growth. We found no...

Lexical Retrieval Constrained by Sound Structure: The Role of the Left Inferior Frontal Gyrus

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sharp, David J.; Scott, Sophie K.; Cutler, Anne; Wise, Richard J. S.

2005-01-01

Positron emission tomography was used to investigate two competing hypotheses about the role of the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) in word generation. One proposes a domain-specific organization, with neural activation dependent on the type of information being processed, i.e., surface sound structure or semantic. The other proposes a…

An Expanded Framework for Biomolecular Visualization in the Classroom: Learning Goals and Competencies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dries, Daniel R.; Dean, Diane M.; Listenberger, Laura L.; Novak, Walter R. P.; Franzen, Margaret A.; Craig, Paul A.

2017-01-01

A thorough understanding of the molecular biosciences requires the ability to visualize and manipulate molecules in order to interpret results or to generate hypotheses. While many instructors in biochemistry and molecular biology use visual representations, few indicate that they explicitly teach visual literacy. One reason is the need for a list…

Comparative Analysis of Teacher Trainee Students' eLearning Technology (ELT) Readiness towards Promoting Global Curriculum Best Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ogwu, Edna N.

2016-01-01

This study compares teacher trainee students (TTSs), electronic learning technology (ELT) readiness, competence as well as their constraints to ELT readiness using 373 University education students' from Botswana and Nigeria that are randomly selected. Data was descriptively analysed based on the research objectives and hypotheses using mean…

Socioenvironmental Risk and Adjustment in Latino Youth: The Mediating Effects of Family Processes and Social Competence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Prelow, Hazel M.; Loukas, Alexandra; Jordan-Green, Lisa

2007-01-01

The direct and mediated effects of socioenvironmental risk on internalizing and externalizing problems among Latino youth aged 10-14 were examined using prospective analyses. Participants in this study were 464 Latino mother and child dyads surveyed as part of the "Welfare, Children & Families: A Three City Study." It was hypothesized that…

Associations among Selected Motor Skills and Health-Related Fitness: Indirect Evidence for Seefeldt's Proficiency Barrier in Young Adults?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stodden, David F.; True, Larissa K.; Langendorfer, Stephen J.; Gao, Zan

2013-01-01

Purpose: This exploratory study examined the notion of Seefeldt's (1980) hypothesized motor skill "proficiency barrier" related to composite levels of health-related physical fitness (HRF) in young adults. Method: A motor skill competence (MSC) index composed of maximum throwing and kicking speed and jumping distance in 187 young adults…

Inference Processing in Adolescents with Asperger Syndrome: Relationship with Theory of Mind Abilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Le Sourn-Bissaoui, Sandrine; Caillies, Stephanie; Gierski, Fabien; Motte, Jacques

2009-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of theory of mind competence in inference processing in adolescents with Asperger syndrome (AS). We sought to pinpoint the level at which AS individuals experience difficulty drawing inferences and identify the factors that account for their inference-drawing problems. We hypothesized that this…

Parental and Peer Support as Predictors of Depression and Self-Esteem among College Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Li, Susan Tinsley; Albert, Arielle Berman; Dwelle, Deborah G.

2014-01-01

We investigated the relationship between parent support and peer support as predictors of depression and self-esteem in college students. Several competing models of parental and peer influence were compared including a mediational model in which peer support was hypothesized to mediate the effects of parental support on adjustment. The results…

Network Characteristics, Perceived Social Support, and Psychological Adjustment in Mothers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Benson, Paul R.

2012-01-01

This study examined the characteristics of the support networks of 106 mothers of children with ASD and their relationship to perceived social support, depressed mood, and subjective well-being. Using structural equation modeling, two competing sets of hypotheses were assessed: (1) that network characteristics would impact psychological adjustment…

Rural Economic Development Consequences of the Population Turnaround in Northern Lower Michigan.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

West, Patrick C.; And Others

Consequences of population turnaround for rural economic development are examined in a 9-county region of Northern Lower Michigan. Data from census reports and 374 usable responses to a questionnaire mailed to a random sample of property owners drawn from 1982 county tax assessment rolls were used to test competing hypotheses about rural…

Anthropogenic fire history and red oak forests in south-central Ontario

Treesearch

Daniel C. Dey; Richard P. Guyette

2000-01-01

The regeneration and dominance of northern red oak (Quercus rubra L.) has been associated with fire throughout eastern North America. Red oak in central Ontario grows near the northern edge of its distribution in mixed hardwood - coniferous forests under mesic conditions where it competes with more shade-tolerant species. We hypothesized that the...

The Development of Analogy Making in Children: Cognitive Load and Executive Functions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thibaut, Jean-Pierre; French, Robert; Vezneva, Milena

2010-01-01

The aim of the current study was to investigate the performance of 6-, 8-, and 14-year-olds on an analogy-making task involving analogies in which there are competing perceptual and relational matches. We hypothesized that the selection of the common relational structure requires the inhibition of other salient features, in particular, perceptual…

Cheap Talk and Credibility: The Consequences of Confidence and Accuracy on Advisor Credibility and Persuasiveness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sah, Sunita; Moore, Don A.; MacCoun, Robert J.

2013-01-01

Is it possible to increase one's influence simply by behaving more confidently? Prior research presents two competing hypotheses: (1) the confidence heuristic holds that more confidence increases credibility, and (2) the calibration hypothesis asserts that overconfidence will backfire when others find out. Study 1 reveals that, consistent with the…

Specific Reading Comprehension Disability: Major Problem, Myth, or Misnomer?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spencer, Mercedes; Quinn, Jamie M.; Wagner, Richard K.

2014-01-01

The goal of the present study was to test three competing hypotheses about the nature of comprehension problems of students who are poor in reading comprehension. Participants in the study were first, second, and third graders, totaling nine cohorts and over 425,000 participants in all. The pattern of results was consistent across all cohorts:…

Family Structure and Child Mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa: Cross-National Effects of Polygyny

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Omariba, D. Walter Rasugu; Boyle, Michael H.

2007-01-01

This study applies multilevel logistic regression to Demographic and Health Survey data from 22 sub-Saharan African countries to examine whether the relationship between child mortality and family structure, with a specific emphasis on polygyny, varies cross-nationally and over time. Hypotheses were developed on the basis of competing theories on…

Curriculum and Aspirations as Elements of Transition Patterns between Schooling and Work.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Campbell, Paul B.

A study focused on determination of the tenability of competing hypotheses about the effect of curriculum pathway in high school upon occupational aspirations. Data were provided by a sample of respondents in the National Longitudinal Survey of Labor Market Experience--New Youth Cohort (NLS Youth), supplemented by their high school transcripts.…

Home Care and Health Reform: Changes in Home Care Utilization in One Canadian Province, 1990-2000

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Penning, Margaret J.; Brackley, Moyra E.; Allan, Diane E.

2006-01-01

Purpose: This study examines population-based trends in home care service utilization, alone and in conjunction with hospitalizations, during a period of health reform in Canada. It focuses on the extent to which observed trends suggest enhanced community-based care relative to three competing hypotheses: cost-cutting, medicalization, and…

Remembering versus Knowing during Face Recognition in Unilateral Temporal Lobe Epilepsy Patients with or without Hippocampal Sclerosis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bengner, Thomas; Malina, Thomas

2008-01-01

Recognition memory involves knowing an item was learned (familiarity) and remembering contextual details about the prior learning episode (recollection). We tested three competing hypotheses about the role of the hippocampus in recollection and familiarity. It mediates either recollection or familiarity, or serves both processes. We further tested…

Childrearing and Child Development Correlates of Maternal Locus of Control.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schaefer, Earl S.; And Others

A longitudinal study tested the hypotheses that in relation to parents with an external locus of control, parents with an internal locus of control: would have a higher level of mother-infant interaction, would have more self-directing and less conforming values for children, and would have children who showed more academic competence. The initial…

The Effectiveness of the Comprehension Hypothesis: A Review on the Current Research on Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ponniah, Joseph

2011-01-01

The Comprehension Hypothesis (CH) is the most powerful hypothesis in the field of Second Language Acquisition despite the presence of the rivals the skill-building hypothesis, the output hypothesis, and the interaction hypothesis. The competing hypotheses state that consciously learned linguistic knowledge is a necessary step for the development…

Granulosa cells from bovine follicles activate different signal transduction pathways dependent on follicle health status and ability to convert androstenedione to estrogen

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Since steroidogenesis is a critical component in the development of competent preovulatory follicles we hypothesized that granulosa cells from follicles of cows treated with normal levels of progesterone (CIDR) or with melengestrol acetate (MGA), which results in the development of persistent follic...

Levels of Organization in the Structure of Awareness of Sport.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kahn, William; Laird, James D.

The relationship between athletic awareness and amount of exposure to sports is examined. Levels of organization theory assumes that a single situation can be experienced at different levels and that a given level cannot be mastered until competence has been achieved at the preceding lower level. For this study, it was hypothesized that basketball…

High-Stakes, Minimum-Competency Exams: How Competent Are They for Evaluating Teacher Competence?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goodman, Gay; Arbona, Consuelo; Dominguez de Rameriz, Romilia

2008-01-01

Increasingly, teacher educators recommend authentic, performance-related measures for evaluating teacher candidates. Nevertheless, more states are requiring teachers to pass high-stakes, minimum-competency exams. This study examined the relation between teacher candidate scores on authentic measures and their scores on certification exams required…

Evaluer les competences de communication en milieu scolaire (Evaluating Communicative Competence in the School Environment).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mothe, Jean-Claude

1981-01-01

Discusses the various aspects of tests based on the concepts of communicative competence and formative evaluation where the objective of the evaluation is to verify whether the learner is capable of using the language in actual communication. Takes most of the examples discussed from the text "Methode Orange 2." (MES)

Mothers’ Academic Gender Stereotypes and Education-Related Beliefs About Sons and Daughters in African American Families

PubMed Central

Wood, Dana; Kurtz-Costes, Beth; Okeke-Adeyanju, Ndidi; Rowley, Stephanie J.

2010-01-01

The role of African American mothers’ academic gender stereotype endorsement in shaping achievement-related expectations for and perceptions of their own children was examined. Mothers (N = 334) of 7th and 8th graders completed measures of expectations for their children’s future educational attainment, perceptions of their children’s academic competence, and academic gender stereotypes. Consistent with hypotheses, mothers held less favorable expectations for sons and perceived sons to be less academically competent than daughters. In addition, mothers reported stereotypes favoring girls over boys in academic domains; stereotype endorsement, in turn, was related to mothers’ educational expectations for and beliefs about the academic competence of their own children, even with youths’ actual achievement controlled. Negative stereotypes about the academic abilities of African American boys may create a negative feedback loop, thereby contributing to the maintenance of the gender gap in African Americans’ educational outcomes. PMID:20648228

Mothers' Academic Gender Stereotypes and Education-Related Beliefs About Sons and Daughters in African American Families.

PubMed

Wood, Dana; Kurtz-Costes, Beth; Okeke-Adeyanju, Ndidi; Rowley, Stephanie J

2009-05-01

The role of African American mothers' academic gender stereotype endorsement in shaping achievement-related expectations for and perceptions of their own children was examined. Mothers (N = 334) of 7th and 8th graders completed measures of expectations for their children's future educational attainment, perceptions of their children's academic competence, and academic gender stereotypes. Consistent with hypotheses, mothers held less favorable expectations for sons and perceived sons to be less academically competent than daughters. In addition, mothers reported stereotypes favoring girls over boys in academic domains; stereotype endorsement, in turn, was related to mothers' educational expectations for and beliefs about the academic competence of their own children, even with youths' actual achievement controlled. Negative stereotypes about the academic abilities of African American boys may create a negative feedback loop, thereby contributing to the maintenance of the gender gap in African Americans' educational outcomes.

The epistemological function of Hill's criteria.

PubMed

Bird, Alexander

2011-10-01

This article outlines an epistemological framework for understanding how Hill's criteria may aid us in establishing a causal hypothesis (A causes B) in an observational study. We consider Hill's criteria in turn with respect to their ability or otherwise to exclude alternative hypotheses (B causes A; there is a common cause of A and B; there is no causal connection between A and B). We may classify Hill's criteria according to which of the alternative hypotheses they are able to exclude, and also on the basis of whether they relate to (a) evidence from within observational study or (b) evidence independent of that study. It is noted that no criterion is able to exclude the common cause hypothesis in a systematic way. Observational studies are typically weaker than experimental studies, since the latter can systematically exclude competing hypotheses, whereas observational studies lack a systematic way of ruling out the common cause hypothesis. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

42 CFR 483.158 - FFP for nurse aide training and competency evaluation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 42 Public Health 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false FFP for nurse aide training and competency... CARE FACILITIES Requirements That Must Be Met by States and State Agencies: Nurse Aide Training and Competency Evaluation, and Paid Feeding Assistants § 483.158 FFP for nurse aide training and competency...

Evaluations of refraction competencies of ophthalmic technicians in Mozambique.

PubMed

Shah, Kajal; Naidoo, Kovin; Chagunda, Margarida; Loughman, James

2016-01-01

Ophthalmic technicians (OT) work at health facilities in Mozambique and are trained to provide primary and secondary eye care services including basic refraction. This study was designed to assess OT competence and confidence in refraction, and investigate whether an upskilling programme is effective in developing their competence and confidence at refraction. Thirty-one trainee OTs and 16 qualified OTs were recruited to the study. A background questionnaire was administered to determine the demographic profile of the OTs. A confidence levels questionnaire explored their self-reported skills. Clinical competencies were assessed in relation to knowledge (theory exam) and clinical skills (patient exams). 11 OTs were upskilled and the clinical evaluations carried out post training. Initial evaluations demonstrated that confidence and competence levels varied depending on the OTs training (location and duration), and their location of work (clinical load, availability of equipment and other eye care personnel). The qualified OTs were more competent than trainee OTs in most of the evaluations. Post upskilling results demonstrated significant positive impact on confidence and competence levels. These evaluations identified factors affecting the refraction competencies of the OTs and demonstrated that upskilling is effective in improving confidence and competence levels for refraction. They demonstrate the need for a refraction competency framework. The overarching aim of this research was to inform the development of a nationwide programme of OT mentoring, upskilling and leading to the establishment of clinical competency standards for the new OT curricula, relevant to the professional demands. Copyright © 2014 Spanish General Council of Optometry. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Relation between spiritual intelligence and clinical competency of nurses in Iran

PubMed Central

Karimi-Moonaghi, Hossein; Gazerani, Akram; Vaghee, Saeed; Gholami, Hassan; Salehmoghaddam, Amir Reza; Gharibnavaz, Raheleh

2015-01-01

Background: Clinical competency is one of the most important requirements in nursing profession, based on which nurses are assessed. To obtain an effective and improved form of clinical competency, several factors are observed and monitored by the health educational systems. Among these observed factors, spiritual intelligence is considered as one of the most significant factors in nurses’ success and efficacy. In this study, it is aimed to determine the spiritual intelligence status and its relationship with clinical competency. Materials and Methods: The descriptive–correlational research was carried out on 250 nurses in Mashhad educational hospitals, selected by multi-stage sampling. Demographic, clinical competency, and spiritual intelligence questionnaires were used for data collection and 212 questionnaires were analyzed. Results: About 53.3% of nurses obtained above average scores in spiritual intelligence. Clinical competency was evaluated by both self-evaluation and head nurse evaluation methods. Most nurses (53.8%) were having good level of clinical competency based on self-evaluation, 48.2% were at average level based on head nurse evaluation, and 53.3% were at average level based on overall score. A significant correlation was found between spiritual intelligence and clinical competency. Conclusions: In this study, the positive significant correlation between nurses’ spiritual intelligence and their clinical competency is investigated. Because of the positive effects of spiritual intelligence on nurses’ clinical competency and quality of care, it is recommended to develop nurses’ spiritual intelligence during their education and by way of continuous medical education. PMID:26793250

Competency champions in the clinical competency committee: a successful strategy to implement milestone evaluations and competency coaching.

PubMed

Ketteler, Erika R; Auyang, Edward D; Beard, Kathy E; McBride, Erica L; McKee, Rohini; Russell, John C; Szoka, Nova L; Nelson, M Timothy

2014-01-01

To create a clinical competency committee (CCC) that (1) centers on the competency-based milestones, (2) is simple to implement, (3) creates competency expertise, and (4) guides remediation and coaching of residents who are not progressing in milestone performance evaluations. We created a CCC that meets monthly and at each meeting reviews a resident class for milestone performance, a competency (by a faculty competency champion), a resident rotation service, and any other resident or issue of concern. University surgical residency program. The CCC members include the program director, associate program directors, director of surgical curriculum, competency champions, departmental chair, 2 at-large faculty members, and the administrative chief residents. Seven residents were placed on remediation (later renamed as coaching) during the academic year after falling behind on milestone progression in one or more competencies. An additional 4 residents voluntarily placed themselves on remediation for medical knowledge after receiving in-training examination scores that the residents (not the CCC membership) considered substandard. All but 2 of the remediated/coached residents successfully completed all area milestone performance but some chose to stay on the medical knowledge competency strategy. Monthly meetings of the CCC make milestone evaluation less burdensome. In addition, the expectations of the residents are clearer and more tangible. "Competency champions" who are familiar with the milestones allow effective coaching strategies and documentation of clear performance improvements in competencies for successful completion of residency training. Residents who do not reach appropriate milestone performance can then be placed in remediation for more formal performance evaluation. The function of our CCC has also allowed us opportunity to evaluate the required rotations to ensure that they offer experiences that help residents achieve competency performance necessary to be safe and effective surgeons upon completion of training. © 2013 Published by Association of Program Directors in Surgery on behalf of Association of Program Directors in Surgery.

HyQue: evaluating hypotheses using Semantic Web technologies

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Key to the success of e-Science is the ability to computationally evaluate expert-composed hypotheses for validity against experimental data. Researchers face the challenge of collecting, evaluating and integrating large amounts of diverse information to compose and evaluate a hypothesis. Confronted with rapidly accumulating data, researchers currently do not have the software tools to undertake the required information integration tasks. Results We present HyQue, a Semantic Web tool for querying scientific knowledge bases with the purpose of evaluating user submitted hypotheses. HyQue features a knowledge model to accommodate diverse hypotheses structured as events and represented using Semantic Web languages (RDF/OWL). Hypothesis validity is evaluated against experimental and literature-sourced evidence through a combination of SPARQL queries and evaluation rules. Inference over OWL ontologies (for type specifications, subclass assertions and parthood relations) and retrieval of facts stored as Bio2RDF linked data provide support for a given hypothesis. We evaluate hypotheses of varying levels of detail about the genetic network controlling galactose metabolism in Saccharomyces cerevisiae to demonstrate the feasibility of deploying such semantic computing tools over a growing body of structured knowledge in Bio2RDF. Conclusions HyQue is a query-based hypothesis evaluation system that can currently evaluate hypotheses about the galactose metabolism in S. cerevisiae. Hypotheses as well as the supporting or refuting data are represented in RDF and directly linked to one another allowing scientists to browse from data to hypothesis and vice versa. HyQue hypotheses and data are available at http://semanticscience.org/projects/hyque. PMID:21624158

Procedural training and assessment of competency utilizing simulation.

PubMed

Sawyer, Taylor; Gray, Megan M

2016-11-01

This review examines the current environment of neonatal procedural learning, describes an updated model of skills training, defines the role of simulation in assessing competency, and discusses potential future directions for simulation-based competency assessment. In order to maximize impact, simulation-based procedural training programs should follow a standardized and evidence-based approach to designing and evaluating educational activities. Simulation can be used to facilitate the evaluation of competency, but must incorporate validated assessment tools to ensure quality and consistency. True competency evaluation cannot be accomplished with simulation alone: competency assessment must also include evaluations of procedural skill during actual clinical care. Future work in this area is needed to measure and track clinically meaningful patient outcomes resulting from simulation-based training, examine the use of simulation to assist physicians undergoing re-entry to practice, and to examine the use of procedural skills simulation as part of a maintenance of competency and life-long learning. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Competency to stand trial evaluations in a multicultural population: Associations between psychiatric, demographic, and legal factors.

PubMed

Paradis, Cheryl M; Owen, Elizabeth; Solomon, Linda Z; Lane, Benjamin; Gulrajani, Chinmoy; Fullar, Michael; Perry, Alan; Rai, Sasha; Lavy, Tamar; McCullough, Gene

2016-01-01

Data were examined from an archival sample of Competency to Stand Trial (CST) reports of 200 consecutive New York City pre-trial defendants evaluated over a five-month period. Approximately a fourth of defendants in the present study were immigrants; many required the assistance of interpreters. The examiners conducting the CST evaluation diagnosed approximately half of the defendants with a primary diagnosis of a psychotic disorder and deemed over half not competent. Examiners reached the same conclusion about competency in 96% of cases, about the presence of a psychotic disorder in 91% of cases, and affective disorder in 85% of cases. No significant differences between psychologists and psychiatrists were found for rates of competency/incompetency opinions. Compared to those deemed competent, defendants deemed not competent had significantly higher rates of prior psychiatric hospitalization and diagnosis of psychotic illness at the time of the CST evaluation but lower rates of reported substance abuse. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A prospective longitudinal study testing relationships between meaningful activities, basic psychological needs fulfillment, and meaning in life.

PubMed

Eakman, Aaron M

2014-01-01

The current study used a prospective longitudinal design to determine whether change in meaningful activity over an 11-month period could help explain change in meaning in life in a sample of 174 undergraduate and graduate students. The Engagement in Meaningful Activities Survey, Basic Psychological Needs Scales (i.e., autonomy, competence, relatedness), and the Meaning in Life Questionnaire were used as indicators of the constructs of meaningful activity, basic psychological needs fulfillment, and meaning and purpose in life. The findings were in support of the study hypotheses and indicated that change in meaningful activity explained both change in basic psychological needs fulfillment (i.e., autonomy, competence, relatedness) and change in meaning in life. Further, this study reports findings consistent with results from cross-sectional studies in support of the hypothesis that change in meaningful activity may influence change in meaning in life through two pathways: a direct path of influence from meaningful activity to meaning in life and an indirect path through change in basic psychological needs fulfillment. The current study contributes to a growing literature implicating subjective evaluations of day-to-day action (or meaningful activity) as a fruitful means for exploring relationships between occupation and well-being. Copyright 2014, SLACK Incorporated.

An overview of “The Active by Choice Today” (ACT) trial for increasing physical activity✩

PubMed Central

Wilson, Dawn K.; Kitzman-Ulrich, Heather; Williams, Joel E.; Saunders, Ruth; Griffin, Sarah; Pate, Russell; Van Horn, M. Lee; Evans, Alexandra; Hutto, Brent; Addy, Cheryl L.; Mixon, Gary; Sisson, Susan B.

2008-01-01

Background: Although school-based behavioral interventions for increasing physical activity (PA) in children and adolescents have been conducted, little evidence suggests that these curriculum-based approaches lead to increases in overall activity outside of program days. The overall goal of the “Active by Choice Today” (ACT) trial is to expand the body of knowledge concerning the factors that influence long-term increases in PA in underserved adolescents (low socioeconmic status, minorities) during their middle school years. Design and setting: An overview of the ACT study design, theoretical framework, process evaluation, and primary hypotheses is presented. The trial involves twenty-four middle schools (1560 6th graders) in South Carolina that are randomly assigned to one of two after-school programs (motivational and life skills intervention, or general health education). Intervention: The intervention integrates constructs from Self-Determination and Social Cognitive Theories to enhance intrinsic motivation and behavioral skills for PA. The intervention targets skill development for PA outside of program days and the after-school program social environment (autonomy, choice, participation, belongingness, fun, enjoyment, support) is designed to positively impact cognitive mediators (self-efficacy, perceived competence), and motivational orientation (intrinsic motivation, commitment, positive self-concept). Main hypotheses/outcomes: It is hypothesized that the 17-week motivational and life skills intervention will lead to greater increases in moderate-to-vigorous PA (based on 7-day accelerometry estimates) at post-intervention as compared to the general health education program. Conclusions: Implications of this innovative school-based trial are discussed. PMID:17716952

Self-perceived competency of infection control nurses based on Benner's framework: a nationwide survey in Korea.

PubMed

Kim, Kyung Mi; Choi, Jeong Sil

2015-05-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the competency level of Korean infection control nurses (ICNs) by comparing the self-perceived competency level based on Benner's framework and the core competency proposed by the Certification Board of Infection Control. Study subjects included 90 ICNs working in Korean hospitals with more than 300 beds. A questionnaire was used to measure self-perceived competency level and core competency level. Using descriptive analysis, the core competency level of ICNs was found to differ significantly according to self-perceived competency level, and core competency level showed a significant increase with the increase of self-perceived competency level. Self-perceived competency level could be useful in classifying the competency level of nursing specialties. These results illustrate the competency levels of Korean ICNs and could serve as a reference to evaluate and expand the application of competency measurement not only for ICNs but also other groups of nurse specialists. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Predicting Romantic Interest at Zero Acquaintance: Evidence of Sex Differences in Trait Perception but Not in Predictors of Interest

PubMed Central

Olderbak, Sally G.; Malter, Frederic; Wolf, Pedro Sofio Abril; Jones, Daniel N.; Figueredo, Aurelio José

2016-01-01

We evaluated five competing hypotheses about what predicts romantic interest. Through a half-block quasi-experimental design, a large sample of young adults (i.e., responders; n = 335) viewed videos of opposite-sex persons (i.e., targets) talking about themselves and responders rated the targets’ traits and their romantic interest in the target. We tested whether similarity, dissimilarity, or overall trait levels on mate value, physical attractiveness, life history strategy, and the Big-Five personality factors predicted romantic interest at zero acquaintance, and whether sex acted as a moderator. We tested the responders’ individual perception of the targets’ traits, in addition to the targets’ own self-reported trait levels and a consensus rating of the targets made by the responders. We used polynomial regression with response surface analysis within multilevel modeling to test support for each of the hypotheses. Results suggest a large sex difference in trait perception; when women rated men, they agreed in their perception more often than when men rated women. However, as a predictor of romantic interest, there were no sex differences. Only the responders’ perception of the targets’ physical attractiveness predicted romantic interest; specifically, responders’ who rated the targets’ physical attractiveness as higher than themselves reported more romantic interest. PMID:28736483

Allocating monitoring effort in the face of unknown unknowns

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wintle, B.A.; Runge, M.C.; Bekessy, S.A.

2010-01-01

There is a growing view that to make efficient use of resources, ecological monitoring should be hypothesis-driven and targeted to address specific management questions. 'Targeted' monitoring has been contrasted with other approaches in which a range of quantities are monitored in case they exhibit an alarming trend or provide ad hoc ecological insights. The second form of monitoring, described as surveillance, has been criticized because it does not usually aim to discern between competing hypotheses, and its benefits are harder to identify a priori. The alternative view is that the existence of surveillance data may enable rapid corroboration of emerging hypotheses or help to detect important 'unknown unknowns' that, if undetected, could lead to catastrophic outcomes or missed opportunities. We derive a model to evaluate and compare the efficiency of investments in surveillance and targeted monitoring. We find that a decision to invest in surveillance monitoring may be defensible if: (1) the surveillance design is more likely to discover or corroborate previously unknown phenomena than a targeted design and (2) the expected benefits (or avoided costs) arising from discovery are substantially higher than those arising from a well-planned targeted design. Our examination highlights the importance of being explicit about the objectives, costs and expected benefits of monitoring in a decision analytic framework. ?? 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd/CNRS.

Evaluating theories of bird song learning: implications for future directions.

PubMed

Margoliash, D

2002-12-01

Studies of birdsong learning have stimulated extensive hypotheses at all levels of behavioral and physiological organization. This hypothesis building is valuable for the field and is consistent with the remarkable range of issues that can be rigorously addressed in this system. The traditional instructional (template) theory of song learning has been challenged on multiple fronts, especially at a behavioral level by evidence consistent with selectional hypotheses. In this review I highlight the caveats associated with these theories to better define the limits of our knowledge and identify important experiments for the future. The sites and representational forms of the various conceptual entities posited by the template theory are unknown. The distinction between instruction and selection in vocal learning is not well established at a mechanistic level. There is as yet insufficient neurophysiological data to choose between competing mechanisms of error-driven learning and reinforcement learning. Both may obtain for vocal learning. The possible role of sleep in acoustic or procedural memory consolidation, while supported by some physiological observations, does not yet have support in the behavioral literature. The remarkable expansion of knowledge in the past 20 years and the recent development of new technologies for physiological and behavioral experiments should permit direct tests of these theories in the coming decade.

An Examination of Cultural Competence Training in US Medical Education Guided by the Tool for Assessing Cultural Competence Training

PubMed Central

Jernigan, Valarie Blue Bird; Hearod, Jordan B.; Tran, Kim; Norris, Keith C.; Buchwald, Dedra

2015-01-01

In the United States, medical students must demonstrate a standard level of “cultural competence,” upon graduation. Cultural competence is most often defined as a set of congruent behaviors, attitudes, and policies that come together in a system, organization, or among professionals that enables effective work in cross-cultural situations. The Association of American Medical Colleges developed the Tool for Assessing Cultural Competence Training (TACCT) to assist schools in developing and evaluating cultural competence curricula to meet these requirements. This review uses the TACCT as a guideline to describe and assess pedagogical approaches to cultural competence training in US medical education and identify content gaps and opportunities for curriculum improvement. A total of 18 programs are assessed. Findings support previous research that cultural competence training can improve the knowledge, attitudes, and skills of medical trainees. However, wide variation in the conceptualization, implementation, and evaluation of cultural competence training programs exists, leading to differences in training quality and outcomes. More research is needed to establish optimal approaches to implementing and evaluating cultural competence training that incorporate cultural humility, the social determinants of health, and broader structural competency within the medical system. PMID:27818848

An Examination of Cultural Competence Training in US Medical Education Guided by the Tool for Assessing Cultural Competence Training.

PubMed

Jernigan, Valarie Blue Bird; Hearod, Jordan B; Tran, Kim; Norris, Keith C; Buchwald, Dedra

2016-01-01

In the United States, medical students must demonstrate a standard level of "cultural competence," upon graduation. Cultural competence is most often defined as a set of congruent behaviors, attitudes, and policies that come together in a system, organization, or among professionals that enables effective work in cross-cultural situations. The Association of American Medical Colleges developed the Tool for Assessing Cultural Competence Training (TACCT) to assist schools in developing and evaluating cultural competence curricula to meet these requirements. This review uses the TACCT as a guideline to describe and assess pedagogical approaches to cultural competence training in US medical education and identify content gaps and opportunities for curriculum improvement. A total of 18 programs are assessed. Findings support previous research that cultural competence training can improve the knowledge, attitudes, and skills of medical trainees. However, wide variation in the conceptualization, implementation, and evaluation of cultural competence training programs exists, leading to differences in training quality and outcomes. More research is needed to establish optimal approaches to implementing and evaluating cultural competence training that incorporate cultural humility, the social determinants of health, and broader structural competency within the medical system.

Facilitating Evaluations of Innovative, Competence-Based Assessments: Creating Understanding and Involving Multiple Stakeholders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gulikers, Judith T. M.; Baartman, Liesbeth K. J.; Biemans, Harm J. A.

2010-01-01

Schools are held more responsible for evaluating, quality assuring and improving their student assessments. Teachers' lack of understanding of new, competence-based assessments as well as the lack of key stakeholders' involvement, hamper effective and efficient self-evaluations by teachers of innovative, competence-based assessments (CBAs). While…

Performance Evaluation of the Educational Leader (PEEL): Another Breakthrough in Competency Based Educational Administration.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Metzger, Christa; Lynch, Steven B.

1974-01-01

This paper describes the Performance Evaluation of the Education Leader (PEEL) program, initiated from a study to define the competent school administrator and to develop an instrument to measure administrative competence objectively and accurately. The resulting PEEL materials include the following: (a) "Guidelines for Evaluation: The School…

Competence Beliefs and Perceived Ability Evaluations: How Do They Contribute to Intrinsic Motivation and Achievement?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Freiberger, Verena; Steinmayr, Ricarda; Spinath, Birgit

2012-01-01

To study the role of students' competence beliefs and their perceived teachers' ability evaluations for intrinsic motivation and achievement in math, 459 second graders from 27 German classrooms were examined. Students provided self-reports on their intrinsic motivation, competence beliefs and perceived teachers' ability evaluations in math.…

A Method for Evaluating Competency in Assessment and Management of Suicide Risk

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hung, Erick K.; Binder, Renee L.; Fordwood, Samantha R.; Hall, Stephen E.; Cramer, Robert J.; McNiel, Dale E.

2012-01-01

Objective: Although health professionals increasingly are expected to be able to assess and manage patients' risk for suicide, few methods are available to evaluate this competency. This report describes development of a competency-assessment instrument for suicide risk-assessment (CAI-S), and evaluates its use in an objective structured clinical…

Development and Evaluation of Nutrition Education Competencies and a Competency-Based Resource Guide for Preschool-Aged Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scherr, Rachel E.; Reed, Heather; Briggs, Marilyn; Zidenberg-Cherr, Sheri

2011-01-01

Purpose/Objectives: The purpose of this research was to develop and evaluate nutrition education competencies and a competency-based resource guide, Connecting the Dots...Healthy Foods, Healthy Choices, Healthy Kids (CTD), for preschool-aged children in California. Methods: Nutrition education experts and California Department of Education staff…

78 FR 46995 - National Institute on Aging; Notice of Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-08-02

... personnel qualifications and performance, and the competence of individual investigators, the disclosure of... evaluate personal qualifications and performance, and competence of individual investigators. Place... evaluate personal qualifications and performance, and competence of individual investigators. Place...

Evaluer les competences communicatives (Evaluating Communicative Competence).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Denis, Jackie; Van Thienen, Karine

1996-01-01

Two language teachers participating in an international seminar to develop methods for assessing second language communicative competence describe the experience, their reflections on its content, and an experiment in French writing instruction undertaken in Dutch-speaking Belgium. (MSE)

Does operative experience during residency correlate with reported competency of recent general surgery graduates?

PubMed Central

Safavi, Arash; Lai, Sarah; Butterworth, Sonia; Hameed, Morad; Schiller, Dan; Skarsgard, Erik

2012-01-01

Background Identification of attributes of residency training that predict competency would improve surgical education. We hypothesized that case experience during residency would correlate with self-reported competency of recent graduates. Methods Aggregate case log data of residents enrolled in 2 general surgery programs were collected over a 12-month period and stratified into Surgical Council on Resident Education (SCORE) categories. We surveyed recent (< 5 yr) residency graduates on procedural competency. Resident case volumes were correlated with survey responses by SCORE category. Results In all, 75 residents performed 11 715 operations, which were distributed by SCORE category as follows: essential-common (EC) 9935 (84.8%), essential-uncommon (EU) 889 (7.6%) and complex 891 (7.6%). Alimentary tract procedures were the most commonly performed EC (2386, 24%) and EU (504, 56.7%) procedures. The least common EC procedure was plastic surgery (4, 0.04%), and the least common EU procedure was abdomen–spleen (1, 0.1%). The questionnaire response rate was 45%. For EC procedures, self-reported competency was highest in skin and soft tissue, thoracic and head and neck (each 100%) and lowest in vascular–venous (54%), whereas for EU procedures it was highest in abdomen–general (100%) and lowest in vascular–arterial (62%). The correlation between case volume and self-reported competency was poor (R = 0.2 for EC procedures). Conclusion Self-reported competency correlates poorly with operative case experience during residency. Other curriculum factors, including specific rotations and timing, balance between inpatient and outpatient surgical experience and competition for cases, may contribute to procedural competency acquisition during residency. PMID:22854144

No Evidence of Suicide Increase Following Terrorist Attacks in the United States: An Interrupted Time-Series Analysis of September 11 and Oklahoma City

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pridemore, William Alex; Trahan, Adam; Chamlin, Mitchell B.

2009-01-01

There is substantial evidence of detrimental psychological sequelae following disasters, including terrorist attacks. The effect of these events on extreme responses such as suicide, however, is unclear. We tested competing hypotheses about such effects by employing autoregressive integrated moving average techniques to model the impact of…

The lepidoptera as predictable communities of herbivores: a test of niche assembly using the moth communities of Morgan-Monroe State Forest

Treesearch

Keith S. Summerville; Michael R. Saunders; Jamie L. Lane

2013-01-01

The response of forest insect communities to disturbances such as timber harvest likely will depend on the underlying ecological assembly rules that affect community structure. Two competing hypotheses are niche assembly, which seeks to demonstrate significant species-environment correlations, and dispersal-assembly, which seeks to demonstrate spatial autocorrelation...

The Developmental Course of Community Service across the Transition to Adulthood in a National U.S. Sample

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wray-Lake, Laura; Schulenberg, John; Keyes, Katherine M.; Shubert, Jennifer

2017-01-01

Despite the importance of community service for the well-being of individuals and communities, relatively little is known about the developmental course of community service during the transition to adulthood (TTA). This study tested competing hypotheses about change in community service across the TTA by estimating latent growth models from Ages…

Collateral Benefits of the Family Check-Up on Early Childhood School Readiness: Indirect Effects of Parents' Positive Behavior Support

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lunkenheimer, Erika S.; Dishion, Thomas J.; Shaw, Daniel S.; Connell, Arin M.; Gardner, Frances; Wilson, Melvin N.; Skuban, Emily M.

2008-01-01

The authors examined the longitudinal effects of the Family Check-Up (FCU) on parents' positive behavior support and children's school readiness competencies in early childhood. It was hypothesized that the FCU would promote language skills and inhibitory control in children at risk for behavior problems as an indirect outcome associated with…

The Effects of Majoring in Political Science on Political Efficacy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dominguez, Casey B. K.; Smith, Keith W.; Williams, J. Michael

2017-01-01

This study tests, and finds support, for the hypotheses that a student who majors in political science will have stronger feelings of political competence and will be more willing to engage in hypothetical political actions than two peer groups: (a) those who major in other fields and (b) those who show an interest in politics but have not studied…

Phylogenetic Reconstruction as a Broadly Applicable Teaching Tool in the Biology Classroom: The Value of Data in Estimating Likely Answers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Julius, Matthew L.; Schoenfuss, Heiko L.

2006-01-01

This laboratory exercise introduces students to a fundamental tool in evolutionary biology--phylogenetic inference. Students are required to create a data set via observation and through mining preexisting data sets. These student data sets are then used to develop and compare competing hypotheses of vertebrate phylogeny. The exercise uses readily…

Longitudinal associations between resilience and quality of life in eating disorders.

PubMed

Calvete, Esther; Las Hayas, Carlota; Gómez Del Barrio, Andrés

2018-01-01

This study examined the longitudinal reciprocal associations between resilience factors, quality of life (QoL) domains, and symptoms of eating disorders (EDs). Hypotheses included predictive paths from resilience factors of "acceptance of self and life" and "personal competence" to increased QoL and predictive paths from previous levels of QoL to resilience. A total of 184 patients with EDs (mean age = 29.55, SD = 9.17, 94.8% women) completed measures of resilience, QoL, and EDs symptoms over three waves spaced six month apart. Hypotheses were tested by path analysis. Resilience factors predicted improvements in psychological health and social relationship domains of QoL and a reduction of ED symptoms over time. In addition, psychological health increased acceptance of self and life consistently over time, whereas physical health increased the competence component of resilience. The relationships between resilience factors and QoL are reciprocal, with several mediational paths. A spiral of recursive influences between resilience factors and QoL can take place in people with EDs. This possibility offers new perspectives to understanding the process of recovery in patients with ED. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Individual and Social Predictors of Prosocial Behavior among Chinese Adolescents in Hong Kong

PubMed Central

Lai, Frank H. Y.; Siu, Andrew M. H.; Shek, Daniel T. L.

2015-01-01

Based on the human ecological model, this study hypothesized that individual competence in empathy, prosocial moral reasoning, and social influence from parents, peers, and school are the key determinants of prosocial behavior among Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong. We recruited a sample of high school students who engaged in volunteering activities regularly (N = 580). They completed a self-administrated questionnaire designed to measure prosocial behavior and its hypothesized predictors using a number of standardized instruments. The results of multiple regression show that social influence factors, including peer, school, and parent influence, are strong predictors of helping intention and prosocial behavior, while individual competence factors like empathy and prosocial moral reasoning are not. Male participants had higher empathy scores and helping intention than females, perceived their parents as more helpful, and their schools as more supportive of prosocial behavior. However, the significant predictors of prosocial behavior and helping intention were similar across gender. The findings indicate that social influence is strongly linked to prosocial behavior. This implies that socialization and social support for prosocial norms and behavior can exert a powerful influence on the behavior of young people in a Chinese population. PMID:26029684

Individual and Social Predictors of Prosocial Behavior among Chinese Adolescents in Hong Kong.

PubMed

Lai, Frank H Y; Siu, Andrew M H; Shek, Daniel T L

2015-01-01

Based on the human ecological model, this study hypothesized that individual competence in empathy, prosocial moral reasoning, and social influence from parents, peers, and school are the key determinants of prosocial behavior among Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong. We recruited a sample of high school students who engaged in volunteering activities regularly (N = 580). They completed a self-administrated questionnaire designed to measure prosocial behavior and its hypothesized predictors using a number of standardized instruments. The results of multiple regression show that social influence factors, including peer, school, and parent influence, are strong predictors of helping intention and prosocial behavior, while individual competence factors like empathy and prosocial moral reasoning are not. Male participants had higher empathy scores and helping intention than females, perceived their parents as more helpful, and their schools as more supportive of prosocial behavior. However, the significant predictors of prosocial behavior and helping intention were similar across gender. The findings indicate that social influence is strongly linked to prosocial behavior. This implies that socialization and social support for prosocial norms and behavior can exert a powerful influence on the behavior of young people in a Chinese population.

Return Migration as Failure or Success?: The Determinants of Return Migration Intentions Among Moroccan Migrants in Europe.

PubMed

de Haas, Hein; Fokkema, Tineke; Fihri, Mohamed Fassi

Different migration theories generate competing hypotheses with regard to determinants of return migration. While neoclassical migration theory associates migration to the failure to integrate at the destination, the new economics of labour migration sees return migration as the logical stage after migrants have earned sufficient assets and knowledge and to invest in their origin countries. The projected return is then likely to be postponed for sustained or indefinite periods if integration is unsuccessful. So, from an indication or result of integration failure return is rather seen as a measure of success. Drawing on recent survey data ( N  = 2,832), this article tests these hypotheses by examining the main determinants of return intention among Moroccan migrants across Europe. The results indicate that structural integration through labour market participation, education and the maintenance of economic and social ties with receiving countries do not significantly affect return intentions. At the same time, investments and social ties to Morocco are positively related, and socio-cultural integration in receiving countries is negatively related to return migration intentions. The mixed results corroborate the idea that there is no uniform process of (return) migration and that competing theories might therefore be partly complementary.

How to talk about protein‐level false discovery rates in shotgun proteomics

PubMed Central

The, Matthew; Tasnim, Ayesha

2016-01-01

A frequently sought output from a shotgun proteomics experiment is a list of proteins that we believe to have been present in the analyzed sample before proteolytic digestion. The standard technique to control for errors in such lists is to enforce a preset threshold for the false discovery rate (FDR). Many consider protein‐level FDRs a difficult and vague concept, as the measurement entities, spectra, are manifestations of peptides and not proteins. Here, we argue that this confusion is unnecessary and provide a framework on how to think about protein‐level FDRs, starting from its basic principle: the null hypothesis. Specifically, we point out that two competing null hypotheses are used concurrently in today's protein inference methods, which has gone unnoticed by many. Using simulations of a shotgun proteomics experiment, we show how confusing one null hypothesis for the other can lead to serious discrepancies in the FDR. Furthermore, we demonstrate how the same simulations can be used to verify FDR estimates of protein inference methods. In particular, we show that, for a simple protein inference method, decoy models can be used to accurately estimate protein‐level FDRs for both competing null hypotheses. PMID:27503675

Evolutionary origins of leadership and followership.

PubMed

Van Vugt, Mark

2006-01-01

Drawing upon evolutionary logic, leadership is reconceptualized in terms of the outcome of strategic interactions among individuals who are following different, yet complementary, decision rules to solve recurrent coordination problems. This article uses the vast psychological literature on leadership as a database to test several evolutionary hypotheses about the origins of leadership and followership in humans. As expected, leadership correlates with initiative taking, trait measures of intelligence, specific task competencies, and several indicators of generosity. The review finds no link between leadership and dominance. The evolutionary analysis accounts for reliable age, health, and sex differences in leadership emergence. In general, evolutionary theory provides a useful, integrative framework for studying leader-follower relationships and generates various novel research hypotheses.

The role of probability arguments in the history of science.

PubMed

Weinert, Friedel

2010-03-01

The paper examines Wesley Salmon's claim that the primary role of plausibility arguments in the history of science is to impose constraints on the prior probability of hypotheses (in the language of Bayesian confirmation theory). A detailed look at Copernicanism and Darwinism and, more briefly, Rutherford's discovery of the atomic nucleus reveals a further and arguably more important role of plausibility arguments. It resides in the consideration of likelihoods, which state how likely a given hypothesis makes a given piece of evidence. In each case the likelihoods raise the probability of one of the competing hypotheses and diminish the credibility of its rival, and this may happen either on the basis of 'old' or 'new' evidence.

The Economic Effect of Competition in the Air Transportation Industry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hubbard, H. B.

1972-01-01

The air transportation industry has been described as a highly-competitive, regulated oligopoly or as a price-regulated cartel with blocked entry, resulting in excessive service and low load factors. The current structure of the industry has been strongly influenced by the hypotheses that increased levels of competition are desirable per se, and that more competing carriers can be economically supported in larger markets, in longer haul markets, with lower unit costs, and with higher fare levels. An elementary application of competition/game theory casts doubt on the validity of these hypotheses, but rather emphasizes the critical importance of the short-term non-variable costs in determining economic levels of competition.

The Socioemotional Costs and Benefits of Social-Evaluative Concerns: Do Girls Care Too Much?

PubMed Central

Rudolph, Karen D.; Conley, Colleen S.

2011-01-01

This research investigated the hypothesis that girls’ heightened concerns about social evaluation contribute to sex differences in depression and interpersonal competence during early adolescence. A short-term longitudinal study was conducted with 474 adolescents to examine the consequences of heightened social-evaluative concerns. Adolescents reported on their levels of social-evaluative concerns and depressive symptoms. Teachers provided ratings of adolescents’ competence with peers (displays of prosocial and aggressive behavior). As anticipated, girls demonstrated higher levels of social-evaluative concerns, depressive symptoms, and interpersonal competence than did boys. Moreover, path analysis confirmed that heightened social-evaluative concerns were associated both concurrently and over time with higher levels of depression, as well as with higher levels of interpersonal competence. Notably, social-evaluative concerns accounted fully for the sex difference in depression and partially for the sex difference in interpersonal competence. These findings highlight the need to consider both the socioemotional costs and benefits of sex-linked relational orientations. PMID:15660675

Pairing Increases Activation of V1aR, but not OTR, in Auditory Regions of Zebra Finches: The Importance of Signal Modality in Nonapeptide-Social Behavior Relationships.

PubMed

Tomaszycki, Michelle L; Atchley, Derek

2017-10-01

Social relationships are complex, involving the production and comprehension of signals, individual recognition, and close coordination of behavior between two or more individuals. The nonapeptides oxytocin and vasopressin are widely believed to regulate social relationships. These findings come largely from prairie voles, in which nonapeptide receptors in olfactory neural circuits drive pair bonding. This research is assumed to apply to all species. Previous reviews have offered two competing hypotheses. The work of Sarah Newman has implicated a common neural network across species, the Social Behavior Network. In contrast, others have suggested that there are signal modality-specific networks that regulate social behavior. Our research focuses on evaluating these two competing hypotheses in the zebra finch, a species that relies heavily on vocal/auditory signals for communication, specifically the neural circuits underlying singing in males and song perception in females. We have demonstrated that the quality of vocal interactions is highly important for the formation of long-term monogamous bonds in zebra finches. Qualitative evidence at first suggests that nonapeptide receptor distributions are very different between monogamous rodents (olfactory species) and monogamous birds (vocal/auditory species). However, we have demonstrated that social bonding behaviors are not only correlated with activation of nonapeptide receptors in vocal and auditory circuits, but also involve regions of the common Social Behavior Network. Here, we show increased Vasopressin 1a receptor, but not oxytocin receptor, activation in two auditory regions following formation of a pair bond. To our knowledge, this is the first study to suggest a role of nonapeptides in the auditory circuit in pair bonding. Thus, we highlight converging mechanisms of social relationships and also point to the importance of studying multiple species to understand mechanisms of behavior. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology. All rights reserved. For permissions please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Evaluation of spatial models to predict vulnerability of forest birds to brood parasitism by cowbirds

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gustafson, E.J.; Knutson, M.G.; Niemi, G.J.; Friberg, M.

2002-01-01

We constructed alternative spatial models at two scales to predict Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) parasitism rates from land cover maps. The local-scale models tested competing hypotheses about the relationship between cowbird parasitism and distance of host nests from a forest edge (forest-nonforest boundary). The landscape models tested competing hypotheses about how landscape features (e.g., forests, agricultural fields) interact to determine rates of cowbird parasitism. The models incorporate spatial neighborhoods with a radius of 2.5 km in their formulation, reflecting the scale of the majority of cowbird commuting activity. Field data on parasitism by cowbirds (parasitism rate and number of cowbird eggs per nest) were collected at 28 sites in the Driftless Area Ecoregion of Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa and were compared to the predictions of the alternative models. At the local scale, there was a significant positive relationship between cowbird parasitism and mean distance of nest sites from the forest edge. At the landscape scale, the best fitting models were the forest-dependent and forest-fragmentation-dependent models, in which more heavily forested and less fragmented landscapes had higher parasitism rates. However, much of the explanatory power of these models results from the inclusion of the local-scale relationship in these models. We found lower rates of cowbird parasitism than did most Midwestern studies, and we identified landscape patterns of cowbird parasitism that are opposite to those reported in several other studies of Midwestern songbirds. We caution that cowbird parasitism patterns can be unpredictable, depending upon ecoregional location and the spatial extent, and that our models should be tested in other ecoregions before they are applied there. Our study confirms that cowbird biology has a strong spatial component, and that improved spatial models applied at multiple spatial scales will be required to predict the effects of landscape and forest management on cowbird parasitism of forest birds.

76 FR 57062 - National Institute on Aging; Notice of Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-09-15

... personnel qualifications and performance, and the competence of individual investigators, the disclosure of... review and evaluate personal qualifications and performance, and competence of individual investigators... and evaluate personal qualifications and performance, and competence of individual investigators...

Competency to stand trial among female inpatients.

PubMed

Kois, Lauren; Pearson, Jessica; Chauhan, Preeti; Goni, Margaret; Saraydarian, Lisa

2013-08-01

Competency to stand trial evaluations are conducted by forensic mental health professionals to opine whether defendants possess the mental abilities to understand, appreciate, and reason in regard to their court proceedings. The majority of research on competency to stand trial evaluations has focused on males, with research on female defendants being relatively underexplored. Even less is known of diverse female samples referred for competency evaluation. In the current study, we sought to examine whether characteristics associated with competency among predominantly male samples translate to a racially, ethnically, and culturally diverse group of female defendants (N = 288, 85% non-White). Chi-square analyses revealed significant relationships between findings of incompetence and defendants' diagnosis of a psychotic disorder, active psychotic symptoms, medication noncompliance, nonparticipation in the evaluation, and nonfelony charges. Logistic regression analysis indicated that defendants who experienced active psychotic symptoms, did not participate in their evaluations, and were not compliant with their medication were most likely to be found incompetent. Notably, neither minority status nor age was a significant characteristic in predicting incompetence. These findings in particular differ from much of the literature and highlight the need to examine competency within a cross-cultural framework, as characteristics associated with competency opinions do not necessarily translate across demographic groups.

42 CFR 483.151 - State review and approval of nurse aide training and competency evaluation programs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 42 Public Health 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false State review and approval of nurse aide training... Agencies: Nurse Aide Training and Competency Evaluation, and Paid Feeding Assistants § 483.151 State review and approval of nurse aide training and competency evaluation programs. (a) State review and...

42 CFR 483.152 - Requirements for approval of a nurse aide training and competency evaluation program.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 42 Public Health 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Requirements for approval of a nurse aide training... Agencies: Nurse Aide Training and Competency Evaluation, and Paid Feeding Assistants § 483.152 Requirements for approval of a nurse aide training and competency evaluation program. (a) For a nurse aide training...

42 CFR 483.151 - State review and approval of nurse aide training and competency evaluation programs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... Agencies: Nurse Aide Training and Competency Evaluation, and Paid Feeding Assistants § 483.151 State review and approval of nurse aide training and competency evaluation programs. (a) State review and... 42 Public Health 5 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false State review and approval of nurse aide training...

42 CFR 483.151 - State review and approval of nurse aide training and competency evaluation programs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... Agencies: Nurse Aide Training and Competency Evaluation, and Paid Feeding Assistants § 483.151 State review and approval of nurse aide training and competency evaluation programs. (a) State review and... 42 Public Health 5 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false State review and approval of nurse aide training...

42 CFR 483.151 - State review and approval of nurse aide training and competency evaluation programs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... Agencies: Nurse Aide Training and Competency Evaluation, and Paid Feeding Assistants § 483.151 State review and approval of nurse aide training and competency evaluation programs. (a) State review and... 42 Public Health 5 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false State review and approval of nurse aide training...

42 CFR 483.151 - State review and approval of nurse aide training and competency evaluation programs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... Agencies: Nurse Aide Training and Competency Evaluation, and Paid Feeding Assistants § 483.151 State review and approval of nurse aide training and competency evaluation programs. (a) State review and... 42 Public Health 5 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false State review and approval of nurse aide training...

Determination of Evaluative Devices for Adequate Assessment of Levels of Competence in Certain Physical Education Activities. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilson, Ruth M.

This investigation sought to study separately evaluative devices for assessing levels of performance and knowledge competency in basketball, swimming, and gymnastics. Subjects were women students at the University of Washington, 1968-69. For assessment of basketball competence, indications are that: (1) evaluation, by one individual, of films of…

Development and Validation of Evaluation Indicators for Teaching Competency in STEAM Education in Korea

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Bang-Hee; Kim, Jinsoo

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study is to develop and validate the evaluation indicators of teaching competency in STEAM education. The teaching competencies in STEAM education were drawn up utilizing both behavioral event interview (BEI) and a literature review. The initial evaluation indicators were then reviewed by 15 experts and two pilot tests were…

Identification and evaluation of competencies of public health nutritionists.

PubMed Central

Sims, L S

1979-01-01

The Delphi Technique was used to elicit a number of essential competencies expected of the "entry-level" public health nutritionist from members of Graduate Faculties of Programs in Public Health Nutrition. Questionnaires composed of "competency statements" were constructed from these responses and sent to practitioners in public health nutrition. The questionnaire requested evaluation of the "necessity" of each competency. Responses served as the basis for "factor analysis" procedures, employed to obtain clusters of competency functions expected of the nutritionist. From the 109 competency items originally identified, 17 competency scales were derived from the factor analysis. A ranking from both faculties and practitioners revealed that both groups highly rated competencies to communicate, to counsel and deal with clients/patients, and to interpret scientific data in "lay language." Less important in the ranking were competencies which dealt with administrative abilities, program planning, legislative activism, and consumer advocacy. These findings have cimplications for the practitioner in public health nutrition as well as for academic groups who must plan and evaluate curricula in public health nutrition and in other fields of public health. PMID:507240

Tracing the footsteps of Sherlock Holmes: cognitive representations of hypothesis testing.

PubMed

Van Wallendael, L R; Hastie, R

1990-05-01

A well-documented phenomenon in opinion-revision literature is subjects' failure to revise probability estimates for an exhaustive set of mutually exclusive hypotheses in a complementary manner. However, prior research has not addressed the question of whether such behavior simply represents a misunderstanding of mathematical rules, or whether it is a consequence of a cognitive representation of hypotheses that is at odds with the Bayesian notion of a set relationship. Two alternatives to the Bayesian representation, a belief system (Shafer, 1976) and a system of independent hypotheses, were proposed, and three experiments were conducted to examine cognitive representations of hypothesis sets in the testing of multiple competing hypotheses. Subjects were given brief murder mysteries to solve and allowed to request various types of information about the suspects; after having received each new piece of information, subjects rated each suspect's probability of being the murderer. Presence and timing of suspect eliminations were varied in the first two experiments; the final experiment involved the varying of percentages of clues that referred to more than one suspect (for example, all of the female suspects). The noncomplementarity of opinion revisions remained a strong phenomenon in all conditions. Information-search data refuted the idea that subjects represented hypotheses as a Bayesian set; further study of the independent hypotheses theory and Shaferian belief functions as descriptive models is encouraged.

Organizational cultural competence in community health and social service organizations: how to conduct a self-assessment.

PubMed

Olavarria, Marcela; Beaulac, Julie; Bélanger, Alexandre; Young, Marta; Aubry, Tim

2009-01-01

In an effort to address the significant socio-cultural changes in the population demographics of the United States (US) and Canada, organizations are increasingly seeking ways of improving their level of cultural competence. Evaluating organizational cultural competence is essential to address the needs of ethnic and cultural minorities. Yet, research related to organizational cultural competence is relatively new. The purpose of this paper is to review the extant literature with a specific focus on: (1) identifying the key standards that define culturally competent community health and social service organizations; and (2) outlining the core elements for evaluating cultural competence in a health and social service organization. Furthermore, issues related to choosing self-assessment tools and conducting an evaluation will be explored.

Current and desired competency levels of secondary agricultural teachers in Pennsylvania

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elbert, Chanda Dehron

The purpose of this study was to identify the competencies needed by secondary agricultural teachers in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Specifically, this study identified competencies needed to help make teachers more effective while working with special needs students. The objectives of the study were to: (1) determine, verify, and evaluate competencies needed by secondary teachers of agriculture to work with handicapped students enrolled in agricultural and vocational education programs; (2) determine, verify, and evaluate competencies needed by secondary teachers of agriculture to work with economically disadvantaged students enrolled in agricultural and vocational education programs; (3) determine, verify, and evaluate competencies needed by secondary teachers of agriculture to work with academically challenged students enrolled in agricultural and vocational programs; and (4) evaluate the self-perceived competency levels of secondary agricultural education teachers and their desired competency levels. A 50% simple random sample of secondary agricultural teachers from the Directory for Agricultural Education in Pennsylvania, 1999--2000 was used. The design for the study was a descriptive study. The data collection instrument used was divided into five different areas: personal characteristics, professional role and development, instructional role, knowledge statements, and student leadership and organization. Subjects were asked to rate their present and desired levels of competency in the categories using a Likert-type scale. The competency scale was as follows: 1 = not competent; 2 = slightly competent, 3 = competent; 4 = very competent; 5 = extremely competent. There were 153 questionnaires mailed to the secondary agricultural education teachers. A total of 96 teachers responded to the questionnaire. Frequencies and distributions were used to describe demographic variables. T-test and analysis of variance were used to determine relationships between nominal variables. A paired t-test was used to conduct an analysis of each competency area identified. Repeated measures were used to compare differences among categories. The data suggested that all teachers rated their desired level of competencies higher than their current competency levels. It was recommended that teachers be given the opportunity to attend additional professional development programs which will increase their knowledge base while working with special needs students.

Group virtue: the importance of morality (vs. competence and sociability) in the positive evaluation of in-groups.

PubMed

Leach, Colin Wayne; Ellemers, Naomi; Barreto, Manuela

2007-08-01

Although previous research has focused on competence and sociability as the characteristics most important to positive group evaluation, the authors suggest that morality is more important. Studies with preexisting and experimentally created in-groups showed that a set of positive traits constituted distinct factors of morality, competence, and sociability. When asked directly, Study 1 participants reported that their in-group's morality was more important than its competence or sociability. An unobtrusive factor analytic method also showed morality to be a more important explanation of positive in-group evaluation than competence or sociability. Experimental manipulations of morality and competence (Study 4) and morality and sociability (Study 5) showed that only in-group morality affected aspects of the group-level self-concept related to positive evaluation (i.e., pride in, or distancing from, the in-group). Consistent with this finding, identification with experimentally created (Study 2b) and preexisting (Studies 4 and 5) in-groups predicted the ascription of morality, but not competence or sociability, to the in-group.

Persuasive Effects of Point of View, Protagonist Competence, and Similarity in a Health Narrative About Type 2 Diabetes.

PubMed

Chen, Meng; Bell, Robert A; Taylor, Laramie D

2017-08-01

We examined the persuasive effects of three narrative features in a message about type 2 diabetes: narrative point of view (first- vs. third-person perspective), protagonist competence (positive role model who prevents diabetes vs. negative role model who develops diabetes), and protagonist-reader similarity (demographically similar vs. dissimilar). We posited that a first-person point of view would elevate people's identification levels more than a third-person point of view, especially when the protagonist was depicted as a positive role model. We also expected a similar protagonist to foster greater levels of identification than a dissimilar one. In addition, the positive effect of a competent role model on identification was expected to be enhanced under the condition of reader-protagonist similarity. Finally, we hypothesized that the effects of identification on persuasion would be mediated by self-referencing. Participants 30 years of age or younger (N = 489) were randomly assigned to read a story about a person with a family history of type 2 diabetes that was altered with regard to the experimental factors. Thereafter they completed a questionnaire incorporating measures of study variables. Greater levels of identification were found to foster self-referencing, leading to persuasion. Identification was strongest with a first-person point of view and when the narrator was a positive role model. The effect of identification on persuasion was mediated by self-referencing. Contrary to expectations, protagonist-reader demographic similarity did not affect identification or self-referencing. There was no support for the two moderation hypotheses.

The effect of alternative work arrangements on women's well-being: a demand-control model.

PubMed

Kelloway, E K; Gottlieb, B H

1998-01-01

The growth of women's participation in the labor force and evidence of the conflict they experience between job and family demands have spurred many employers to introduce alternative work arrangements such as flextime, job sharing, and telecommuting. Drawing on data gained from a sample of women (N = 998) in two large Canadian organizations, this study evaluates two mediational models of the impact of alternative work arrangements on women's stress and family role competence. Specifically, it tests and finds support for the hypotheses that (a) work arrangements involving scheduling flexibility (telecommuting and flextime) promote these aspects of women's well-being by increasing their perceived control over their time, and (b) arrangements involving reduced hours of employment (part-time employment and job sharing) promote well-being by reducing perceived job overload. Discussion of these findings centers on their implications for employed women, their employers, and future research.

Psychometric properties of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale: overall and across demographic groups living within the United States.

PubMed

Sinclair, Samuel J; Blais, Mark A; Gansler, David A; Sandberg, Elisabeth; Bistis, Kimberly; LoCicero, Alice

2010-03-01

The purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to evaluate the scaling assumptions and component structure of and present normative data for the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) using a sample of US adults (N = 503), both overall and across demographic subgroups and (b) to provide new data regarding the relationship between the two RSES subcomponents of self-competence (SC) and self-liking (SL), and other demographic and clinical variables. As hypothesized, all psychometric tests supported the underlying structure of the RSES. Overall RSES scores varied significantly across age, racial and ethnic, education, employment status, income, and marital status groups. Furthermore, differences between SC and SL were also found across groups differing in gender, age, employment status, and marital status groups. The implications and limitations of this study are discussed, with an emphasis on clinical relevance.

The Authoritative Parenting Index: predicting health risk behaviors among children and adolescents.

PubMed

Jackson, C; Henriksen, L; Foshee, V A

1998-06-01

Public health research demonstrates increasing interest in mobilizing parental influence to prevent health risk behaviors among children and adolescents. This research focuses on authoritative parenting, which previous studies suggest can prevent health risk behaviors among youth. To evaluate the reliability and validity of a new survey measure of authoritative parenting, data from studies of (1) substance use in a sample of 1,236 fourth- and sixth-grade students; (2) weapon carrying and interpersonal violence in a sample of 1,490 ninth- and tenth-grade students, and (3) anger, alienation, and conflict resolution in a sample of 224 seventh- and eighth-grade students were analyzed. The Authoritative Parenting Index had a factor structure consistent with a theoretical model of the construct; had acceptable reliability; showed grade, sex, and ethnic differences consistent with other studies; and identified parenting types that varied as hypothesized with multiple indicators of social competence and health risk behaviors among children and adolescents.

RPD-based Hypothesis Reasoning for Cyber Situation Awareness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yen, John; McNeese, Michael; Mullen, Tracy; Hall, David; Fan, Xiaocong; Liu, Peng

Intelligence workers such as analysts, commanders, and soldiers often need a hypothesis reasoning framework to gain improved situation awareness of the highly dynamic cyber space. The development of such a framework requires the integration of interdisciplinary techniques, including supports for distributed cognition (human-in-the-loop hypothesis generation), supports for team collaboration (identification of information for hypothesis evaluation), and supports for resource-constrained information collection (hypotheses competing for information collection resources). We here describe a cognitively-inspired framework that is built upon Klein’s recognition-primed decision model and integrates the three components of Endsley’s situation awareness model. The framework naturally connects the logic world of tools for cyber situation awareness with the mental world of human analysts, enabling the perception, comprehension, and prediction of cyber situations for better prevention, survival, and response to cyber attacks by adapting missions at the operational, tactical, and strategic levels.

Multidisciplinary hydrologic investigations at Yucca Mountain, Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dudley, William W.

1990-01-01

Future climatic conditions and tectonic processes have the potential to cause significant changes of the hydrologic system in the southern Great Basin, where a nuclear-waste repository is proposed for construction above the water table at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Geothermal anomalies in the vicinity of Yucca Mountain probably result from the local and regional transport of heat by ground-water flow. Regionally and locally irregular patterns of hydraulic potential, local marsh and pond deposits, and calcite veins in faults and fractures probably are related principally to climatically imposed hydrologic conditions within the geologic and topographic framework. However, tectonic effects on the hydrologic system have also been proposed as the causes of these features, and existing data limitations preclude a full evaluation of these competing hypotheses. A broad program that integrates many disciplines of earth science is required in order to understand the relation of hydrology to past, present and future climates and tectonism.

Lactofen induces isoflavone accumulation and glyceollin elicitation competency in soybean.

PubMed

Landini, Serena; Graham, Madge Y; Graham, Terrence L

2003-03-01

Lactofen, the active ingredient of the soybean disease resistance-inducing herbicide, Cobra, induces large accumulations of isoflavone conjugates and aglycones in soybean tissues. The predominant isoflavones induced in cotyledon tissues are daidzein (and its conjugates) and formononetin and glycitein aglycones. The latter two isoflavones are usually present only at very low levels in soybean seedling tissues. In leaves, the predominant lactofen-induced isoflavones are daidzein and formononetin aglycones and the malonyl-glucosyl conjugate of genistein. Isoflavone induction also occurs in cells distal to the point of treatment, but is only weakly systemic. Lactofen also induces elicitation competency, the capacity of soybean cells to accumulate the pterocarpan phytoalexin glyceollin in response to glucan elicitors from the cell wall of the pathogen Phytophthora sojae. Comparison of the activity of a series of diphenyl ether herbicides demonstrated that while all diphenyl ethers tested induced some degree of elicitation competency, only certain ones induced isoflavone accumulation in the absence of glucan elicitor. As a group the diphenyl ethers are thought to inhibit protoporhyrinogen oxidase, eventually leading to singlet oxygen generation. Another singlet oxygen generator, rose bengal, also induced elicitation competency, but little isoflavone accumulation. It is hypothesized that diphenyl ether-induced activated oxygen species mimic some aspects of hypersensitive cell death, which leads to elicitation competency in infected tissues.

Pattern of brain activation during social cognitive tasks is related to social competence in siblings discordant for schizophrenia.

PubMed

Villarreal, Mirta F; Drucaroff, Lucas J; Goldschmidt, Micaela G; de Achával, Delfina; Costanzo, Elsa Y; Castro, Mariana N; Ladrón-de-Guevara, M Soledad; Busatto Filho, Geraldo; Nemeroff, Charles B; Guinjoan, Salvador M

2014-09-01

Measures of social competence are closely related to actual community functioning in patients with schizophrenia. However, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying competence in schizophrenia are not fully understood. We hypothesized that social deficits in schizophrenia are explained, at least in part, by abnormally lateralized patterns of brain activation in response to tasks engaging social cognition, as compared to healthy individuals. We predicted such patterns would be partly heritable, and therefore affected in patients' nonpsychotic siblings as well. We used a functional magnetic resonance image paradigm to characterize brain activation induced by theory of mind tasks, and two tests of social competence, the Test of Adaptive Behavior in Schizophrenia (TABS), and the Social Skills Performance Assessment (SSPA) in siblings discordant for schizophrenia and comparable healthy controls (n = 14 per group). Healthy individuals showed the strongest correlation between social competence and activation of right hemisphere structures involved in social cognitive processing, whereas in patients, the correlation pattern was lateralized to left hemisphere areas. Unaffected siblings of patients exhibited a pattern intermediate between the other groups. These results support the hypothesis that schizophrenia may be characterized by an abnormal functioning of nondominant hemisphere structures involved in the processing of socially salient information. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Challenges Facing Evidence-Based Prevention: Incorporating an Abductive Theory of Method.

PubMed

Mason, W Alex; Cogua-Lopez, Jasney; Fleming, Charles B; Scheier, Lawrence M

2018-06-01

Current systems used to determine whether prevention programs are "evidence-based" rely on the logic of deductive reasoning. This reliance has fostered implementation of strategies with explicitly stated evaluation criteria used to gauge program validity and suitability for dissemination. Frequently, investigators resort to the randomized controlled trial (RCT) combined with null hypothesis significance testing (NHST) as a means to rule out competing hypotheses and determine whether an intervention works. The RCT design has achieved success across numerous disciplines but is not without limitations. We outline several issues that question allegiance to the RCT, NHST, and the hypothetico-deductive method of scientific inquiry. We also discuss three challenges to the status of program evaluation including reproducibility, generalizability, and credibility of findings. As an alternative, we posit that extending current program evaluation criteria with principles drawn from an abductive theory of method (ATOM) can strengthen our ability to address these challenges and advance studies of drug prevention. Abductive reasoning involves working from observed phenomena to the generation of alternative explanations for the phenomena and comparing the alternatives to select the best possible explanation. We conclude that an ATOM can help increase the influence and impact of evidence-based prevention for population benefit.

Teaching Competencies for Community Preceptors.

PubMed

Brink, Darin; Simpson, Deb; Crouse, Byron; Morzinski, Jeffrey; Bower, Douglas; Westra, Ruth

2018-05-01

Although community physicians provide one-fourth of the outpatient training received in medical school, usually there is no formal training of the preceptor. Currently there is no agreed-upon list of teaching competencies for community physician-preceptors. Using a modified Delphi process, the authors aimed to identify core teaching competencies for community preceptors for use in training and evaluation. A medical educator and three faculty members with expertise in faculty development created a list of teaching competencies organized in five domains. These competencies were finalized through a multiround modified Delphi technique with key stakeholder groups including (1) nonphysician medical educators, (2) academic physicians involved in faculty development, (3) community physicians who regularly precept medical students, (4) family medicine residents, (5) third-year medical students in a 9-month-long longitudinal clerkship. Proposed competencies were retained if 70% of the participants ranked it as "very or extremely important." In the first round, 24 competencies were evaluated by 40 physician preceptors participating in a rural faculty development conference. These were refined, and four additional competencies were added by the cohort. Subsequent rounds utilized a survey approach with broader audiences resulting in a final list of 21 competencies in five domains. Five competency domains with 21 teaching competencies can now be used to guide community preceptors' training and evaluation.

Using the self-determination theory to understand Chinese adolescent leisure-time physical activity.

PubMed

Wang, Lijuan

2017-05-01

This study applies the self-determination theory (SDT) to test the hypothesized relationships among perceived autonomy support from parents, physical education (PE) teachers, and peers, the fulfilment of psychological needs (i.e., autonomy, competence, and relatedness), autonomous motivation, and leisure-time physical activity of Chinese adolescents. There are 255 grade six to eight student participants from four middle schools around Shanghai, China included in this study. An accelerometer was used to measure the moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). The participants completed the questionnaires regarding SDT variables. The structural equation modelling was applied to examine the hypothesized relationships among the study variables. The model of hypothesized relationships demonstrated a good fit with the data [X 2  = 20.84, df = 9, P = .01; CFI = 0.98; IFI = 0.98; SRMR = 0.04; RMSEA = 0.05]. The findings revealed that autonomy support from parents, PE teachers, and peers foster social conditions in which the three basic psychological needs can be met. In turn, autonomy, competence, and relatedness are positively associated with autonomous motivation for MVPA. The autonomous motivation positively relates to the MVPA time of adolescents. The three psychological needs partially mediate the influence of autonomy support from parents (β = 0.18, P < .01; Bootstrap 95% CI = 0.06-0.33) and teachers (β = 0.17, P < .01; Bootstrap 95% CI = 0.03-0.26) in the autonomous motivation. In conclusion, these findings support the applicability of SDT in understanding and promoting physical activity of Chinese adolescents.

Social Difficulties As Risk and Maintaining Factors in Anorexia Nervosa: A Mixed-Method Investigation.

PubMed

Cardi, Valentina; Mallorqui-Bague, Núria; Albano, Gaia; Monteleone, Alessio Maria; Fernandez-Aranda, Fernando; Treasure, Janet

2018-01-01

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a serious psychiatric disorder characterized by severe restriction of energy intake and dangerously low body weight. Other domains of functioning are affected, including social functioning. Although difficulties within this domain have started to be acknowledged by the literature, some important gaps remain to be filled. Do social difficulties predate the onset of the illness? What difficulties in particular are relevant for the development and maintenance of the illness? The aim of this study is to combine the use of quantitative and qualitative methods to answer these questions. Ninety participants with lifetime AN (88 women and 2 men) completed an online survey assessing memories of involuntary submissiveness within the family, fear of negative evaluation from others, perceived lack of social competence, feelings of social belonging, eating disorder symptoms, and work and social adjustment. Participants also answered three open questions regarding their experience of social relationships before and after the illness onset. The findings provided support for the hypothesized relationships between the study variables. Involuntary submissiveness and fear of negative evaluation predicted eating disorder symptoms and these associations were partially mediated by perceived lack of social competence. Two-thirds of the sample recalled early social difficulties before illness onset and recognized that these had played a role in the development of the illness. A larger proportion of participants stated that the eating disorder had affected their social relationships in a negative way. This study sheds some light on patients' perspective on the predisposing and maintaining role that social difficulties play in AN and identifies key psychological variables that could be targeted in treatment.

Assessing medical professionalism: A systematic review of instruments and their measurement properties.

PubMed

Li, Honghe; Ding, Ning; Zhang, Yuanyuan; Liu, Yang; Wen, Deliang

2017-01-01

Over the last three decades, various instruments were developed and employed to assess medical professionalism, but their measurement properties have yet to be fully evaluated. This study aimed to systematically evaluate these instruments' measurement properties and the methodological quality of their related studies within a universally acceptable standardized framework and then provide corresponding recommendations. A systematic search of the electronic databases PubMed, Web of Science, and PsycINFO was conducted to collect studies published from 1990-2015. After screening titles, abstracts, and full texts for eligibility, the articles included in this study were classified according to their respective instrument's usage. A two-phase assessment was conducted: 1) methodological quality was assessed by following the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health status Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) checklist; and 2) the quality of measurement properties was assessed according to Terwee's criteria. Results were integrated using best-evidence synthesis to look for recommendable instruments. After screening 2,959 records, 74 instruments from 80 existing studies were included. The overall methodological quality of these studies was unsatisfactory, with reasons including but not limited to unknown missing data, inadequate sample sizes, and vague hypotheses. Content validity, cross-cultural validity, and criterion validity were either unreported or negative ratings in most studies. Based on best-evidence synthesis, three instruments were recommended: Hisar's instrument for nursing students, Nurse Practitioners' Roles and Competencies Scale, and Perceived Faculty Competency Inventory. Although instruments measuring medical professionalism are diverse, only a limited number of studies were methodologically sound. Future studies should give priority to systematically improving the performance of existing instruments and to longitudinal studies.

76 FR 27336 - National Institute on Aging; Notice of Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-11

... personnel qualifications and performance, and the competence of individual investigators, the disclosure of... review and evaluate personal qualifications and performance, and competence of individual investigators.... to 1:15 p.m. Agenda: To review and evaluate personal qualifications and performance, and competence...

77 FR 19675 - National Institute on Aging; Notice of Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-04-02

... personnel qualifications and performance, and the competence of individual investigators, the disclosure of... review and evaluate personal qualifications and performance, and competence of individual investigators.... to 6 p.m. Agenda: To review and evaluate personal qualifications and performance, and competence of...

"Liking" and "wanting" linked to Reward Deficiency Syndrome (RDS): hypothesizing differential responsivity in brain reward circuitry.

PubMed

Blum, Kenneth; Gardner, Eliot; Oscar-Berman, Marlene; Gold, Mark

2012-01-01

In an attempt to resolve controversy regarding the causal contributions of mesolimbic dopamine (DA) systems to reward, we evaluate the three main competing explanatory categories: "liking,"learning," and "wanting" [1]. That is, DA may mediate (a) the hedonic impact of reward (liking), (b) learned predictions about rewarding effects (learning), or (c) the pursuit of rewards by attributing incentive salience to reward-related stimuli (wanting). We evaluate these hypotheses, especially as they relate to the Reward Deficiency Syndrome (RDS), and we find that the incentive salience or "wanting" hypothesis of DA function is supported by a majority of the evidence. Neuroimaging studies have shown that drugs of abuse, palatable foods, and anticipated behaviors such as sex and gaming affect brain regions involving reward circuitry, and may not be unidirectional. Drugs of abuse enhance DA signaling and sensitize mesolimbic mechanisms that evolved to attribute incentive salience to rewards. Addictive drugs have in common that they are voluntarily selfadministered, they enhance (directly or indirectly) dopaminergic synaptic function in the nucleus accumbens (NAC), and they stimulate the functioning of brain reward circuitry (producing the "high" that drug users seek). Although originally believed simply to encode the set point of hedonic tone, these circuits now are believed to be functionally more complex, also encoding attention, reward expectancy, disconfirmation of reward expectancy, and incentive motivation. Elevated stress levels, together with polymorphisms of dopaminergic genes and other neurotransmitter genetic variants, may have a cumulative effect on vulnerability to addiction. The RDS model of etiology holds very well for a variety of chemical and behavioral addictions.

The curvilinear relationship between work pressure and momentary task performance: the role of state and trait core self-evaluations.

PubMed

Hofmans, Joeri; Debusscher, Jonas; Dóci, Edina; Spanouli, Andromachi; De Fruyt, Filip

2015-01-01

Whereas several studies have demonstrated that core self-evaluations (CSE)-or one's appraisals about one's own self-worth, capabilities, and competences-relate to job outcomes, less is known about the mechanisms underlying these relationships. In the present study, we address this issue by examining the role of within- and between-person variation in CSE in the relationship between work pressure and task performance. We hypothesized that (a) work pressure relates to task performance in a curvilinear way, (b) state CSE mediates the curvilinear relationship between work pressure and task performance, and (c) the relationship between work pressure and state CSE is moderated by trait CSE. Our hypotheses were tested via a 10-day daily diary study with 55 employees in which trait CSE was measured at baseline, while work pressure, task performance, and state CSE were assessed on a daily basis. Bayesian multilevel path analysis showed that work pressure affects task performance via state CSE, with state CSE increasing as long as the employee feels that (s)he is able to handle the work pressure, while it decreases when the level of work pressure exceeds the employees' coping abilities. Moreover, we found that for people low on trait CSE, the depleting effect of work pressure via state CSE happens for low levels of work pressure, while for people high in trait CSE the depleting effect is located at high levels of work pressure. Together, our findings suggest that the impact of work pressure on task performance is driven by a complex interplay of between- and within-person differences in CSE.

76 FR 50486 - National Human Genome Research Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-08-15

... performance, and the competence of individual investigators, the disclosure of which would constitute a... 7 p.m. Agenda: To review and evaluate personal qualifications and performance, and competence of... evaluate personal qualifications and performance, and competence of individual investigators. Place...

Evaluating Physician Competency: What Difference Does It Make?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brockway, Barbara Stephens

1978-01-01

A system for evaluating clinical competency of residents was designed to test expert opinions as well as the skills of the practitioner. Four measures of clinical competency were included: data collection completeness; problem identification accuracy; interview skills; and patient and physician assessment. (Author/MH)

Organizational Culture and the Deployment of Agile Methods: The Competing Values Model View

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iivari, Juhani; Iivari, Netta

A number of researchers have identified organizational culture as a factor that potentially affects the deployment of agile systems development methods. Inspired by the study of Iivari and Huisman (2007), which focused on the deployment of traditional systems development methods, the present paper proposes a number of hypotheses about the influence of organizational culture on the deployment of agile methods.

Co-Educational Tutorial Classes and Their Significance on Gendered Test Scores of Wollo University Students: A Before-After Analyses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gidey, Mu'uz

2015-01-01

This action research is carried out in a practical class room setting to devise an innovative way of administering tutorial classes to improve students' learning competence with particular reference to gendered test scores. A before-after test score analyses of mean and standard deviations along with t-statistical tests of hypotheses of second…

Translational Control in Bone Marrow Failure

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-05-01

HCLS1 associated protein X-1 (HAX1), cause hereditary forms of neutropenia . Previously, competing hypotheses have posited that mutant forms of...derived induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) model of ELANE-associated neutropenia . During the second year of this project, in order to facilitate...pathology. 3 2. KEY WORDS neutropenia bone marrow failure neutrophil elastase ELANE HAX1 alternate translation induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC

The Influence of a Psychology of Women Course on Sex-Role Concept, Assertiveness, and Attitudes towards Women.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Connell, Agnes N.

Recent research on the effects of women's studies courses has indicated that there are two general approaches to teaching: a concern for competence or mastery and a concern for personal change and advocacy. It was hypothesized that students taking a psychology of women course would become more androgynous and masculine in sex-role concept, more…

The application of flow competence evaluations to the assessment of flood-flow velocities and stresses

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Komar, Paul D.

1987-01-01

The concept of flow competence is generally employed to evaluate the velocities, discharges, and bottom stresses of river floods inferred from the size of the largest sediment particles transported. Flow competence has become an important tool for evaluating the hydraulics of exceptional floods on Earth, including those which eroded the Channeled Scabland of eastern Washington, and has potential for similar evaluations of the floods which carved the outflow channels on Mars. For the most part, flow-competence evaluations were empirical, based on data compiled from a variety of sources including major terrestrial floods caused by natural processes or dam failures. Such flow-competence relationships would appear to provide a straight-forward assessment of flood-flow stresses and velocities based on the maximum size of gravel and boulders transported. However, a re-examination of the data base and comparisons with measurements of selective entrainment and transport of gravel in rivers open to question such evaluations. Analyses of the forces acting on the grain during entrainment by pivoting, rolling, or sliding, an approach which focuses more on the physical processes than the purely empirical relationships can be demonstrated. These derived equations require further testing by flume and field measurements before being applied to flow-competence evaluations. Such tests are now underway.

Cultural competence in mental health care: a review of model evaluations

PubMed Central

Bhui, Kamaldeep; Warfa, Nasir; Edonya, Patricia; McKenzie, Kwame; Bhugra, Dinesh

2007-01-01

Background Cultural competency is now a core requirement for mental health professionals working with culturally diverse patient groups. Cultural competency training may improve the quality of mental health care for ethnic groups. Methods A systematic review that included evaluated models of professional education or service delivery. Results Of 109 potential papers, only 9 included an evaluation of the model to improve the cultural competency practice and service delivery. All 9 studies were located in North America. Cultural competency included modification of clinical practice and organizational performance. Few studies published their teaching and learning methods. Only three studies used quantitative outcomes. One of these showed a change in attitudes and skills of staff following training. The cultural consultation model showed evidence of significant satisfaction by clinicians using the service. No studies investigated service user experiences and outcomes. Conclusion There is limited evidence on the effectiveness of cultural competency training and service delivery. Further work is required to evaluate improvement in service users' experiences and outcomes. PMID:17266765

Masonry. Student Material. Competency Based Education Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Long, Diana

This curriculum for masonry is organized into 12 modules. Each module is comprised of two to nine competency statements. A student competency sheet provided for each competency is organized into this format: module and competency number and name, performance guide (for some competencies), learning activities, and an evaluation. Where appropriate,…

Teaching and clinical educator competency: bringing two worlds together.

PubMed

Robinson, Cathy P

2009-01-01

More sessional clinical educators are being employed in educational institutions today than ever before. Also identified in the literature are issues affecting sessional clinical educators' ability to develop and maintain educator competency. Using the definition of educator competency by the National League for Nursing (NLN 2005a), explored in this paper are ways of increasing sessional clinical educator competency, such as orientation and mentorship programs to support student learning in clinical environments. Approaches in the form of theoretical models designed to evaluate clinical educator competency are examined. A new Sessional Clinical Educator Competency (SCEC) Framework is offered to provide direction for implementing strategies to develop and evaluate sessional clinical educator competency. Suggested is that the SCEC framework could be useful for educational administrators and sessional clinical educators to assess clinical educator competency.

Reinforcing Cultural Competency Concepts During Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experiences

PubMed Central

Caligiuri, Frank J

2010-01-01

Objectives To incorporate cultural competency concepts into various introductory pharmacy practice experiences (IPPE) at the University of Missouri - Kansas City, School of Pharmacy. Design A 6-week series, titled “Becoming a Culturally Competent Provider” was developed to provide IPPE students with the opportunity to apply theory regarding cultural competency in a clinical context. Assessment Pre- and post-intervention attitude survey instruments were administered to 25 students in the spring semester of 2009. Several activities within the series were associated with reflection exercises. Student presentations were evaluated and formal feedback was provided by faculty members. A course evaluation was administered to evaluate the series and determine areas of improvement. Conclusion A special series on cultural competency resulted in positive changes in students' attitudes, highlighting the importance of reinforcing cultural competency concepts during IPPEs. PMID:21088735

Constructing a competency-based bariatric surgery fellowship training curriculum.

PubMed

McBride, Corrigan L; Rosenthal, Raul J; Brethauer, Stacy; DeMaria, Eric; Kelly, John J; Morton, John M; Lo Menzo, Emanuele; Moore, Rachel; Pomp, Alfons; Nguyen, Ninh T

2017-03-01

Bariatric fellowship training after general surgery has historically been time based and competence was determined at completion based on a minimum number of cases during the fellowship. Graduate medical education is moving toward competency-based medical education where learners are evaluated during the course of their training and competence assessment occurs throughout. The Executive Council of the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) at the direction of the American Board of Surgery wanted to transition the bariatric surgery fellowship curriculum from its traditional format to a competency-based curriculum using competency-based medical education principles. The ASMBS Education and Training Committee established a task force of 9 members to create a new curriculum and all of the necessary evaluation tools to support the curriculum, and initiate a pilot program. A competency-based curriculum consisting of 6 modules with cognitive and technical milestones, and the innovative evaluation tools needed to evaluate the learners, was created. A pilot program consisting of 10 programs and 19 fellows has been undertaken for the 2016-2017 academic year. The Education Committee of the ASMBS is leading the charge in curriculum development for competency-based medical education for bariatric fellowship. Copyright © 2017 American Society for Bariatric Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Web course on medication administration strengthens nursing students' competence prior to graduation.

PubMed

Mettiäinen, Sari; Luojus, Katja; Salminen, Satu; Koivula, Meeri

2014-08-01

Nursing students' competence has been found inadequate in mastering of pharmacotherapy regulations and prescriptions, pharmacology, medical calculations, fractional and decimal numbers, and mathematics on the whole. The study investigated the efficacy of an additional medication administration web course in increasing nursing students' self-evaluated competence on medication administration. Finnish nursing students self-evaluated their medication administration competence before and after the web-based medication course. Design was quasi-experimental. 244 students answered the questionnaire before and 192 after the web course. An online self-evaluation questionnaire was developed to measure students' competence on basic pharmacotherapy, intravenous medication and infusion, blood transfusion and epidural medication. The data was analysed with SPSS 18.0 software using descriptive analyses and comparing sum variables with Man-Whitney U-test. The medication administration web course, which took 8 h on average, significantly improved self-evaluated competence of nursing students in all the fields. Prior to the education most defects were found in matters concerning compatibility and adverse effects of pharmaceuticals and solutions and in epidural medication competency. The education strengthened all these competencies. It is necessary to revise medication administration before graduation and web-based learning can be used in it. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Inconsistent Responding in a Criminal Forensic Setting: An Evaluation of the VRIN-r and TRIN-r Scales of the MMPI-2-RF.

PubMed

Gu, Wen; Reddy, Hima B; Green, Debbie; Belfi, Brian; Einzig, Shanah

2017-01-01

Criminal forensic evaluations are complicated by the risk that examinees will respond in an unreliable manner. Unreliable responding could occur due to lack of personal investment in the evaluation, severe mental illness, and low cognitive abilities. In this study, 31% of Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF; Ben-Porath & Tellegen, 2008/2011) profiles were invalid due to random or fixed-responding (T score ≥ 80 on the VRIN-r or TRIN-r scales) in a sample of pretrial criminal defendants evaluated in the context of treatment for competency restoration. Hierarchical regression models showed that symptom exaggeration variables, as measured by inconsistently reported psychiatric symptoms, contributed over and above education and intellectual functioning in their prediction of both random responding and fixed responding. Psychopathology variables, as measured by mood disturbance, better predicted fixed responding after controlling for estimates of cognitive abilities, but did not improve the prediction for random responding. These findings suggest that random responding and fixed responding are not only affected by education and intellectual functioning, but also by intentional exaggeration and aspects of psychopathology. Measures of intellectual functioning and effort and response style should be considered for administration in conjunction with self-report personality measures to rule out rival hypotheses of invalid profiles.

Work Habits Are Valid Components of Evaluations of Anesthesia Residents Based on Faculty Anesthesiologists' Daily Written Comments About Residents.

PubMed

Dexter, Franklin; Masursky, Danielle; Szeluga, Debra; Hindman, Bradley J

2016-05-01

In our department, faculty anesthesiologists routinely evaluate the resident physicians with whom they worked in an operative setting the day before, providing numerical scores to questions. The faculty can also enter a written comment if so desired. Because residents' work habits are important to anesthesiology program directors, and work habits can improve with feedback, we hypothesized that faculty comments would include the theme of the anesthesia resident's work habits. We analyzed all 6692 faculty comments from January 1, 2011, to June 30, 2015. We quantified use of the theme of Dannefer et al.'s work habit scale, specifically the words and phrases in the scale, and synonyms to the words. Approximately half (50.7% [lower 99.99% confidence limit, 48.4%]) of faculty comments contained the theme of work habits. Multiple sensitivity analyses were performed excluding individual faculty, residents, and words. The lower confidence limits for comments containing the theme were each >42.7%. Although faculty anesthesiologists completed (numerical) questions based on the American College of Graduate Medical Education competencies to evaluate residents, an important percentage of written comments included the theme of work habits. The implication is that the theme has validity as one component of the routine evaluation of anesthesia residents.

Exhaustion Experiences in Junior Athletes: The Importance of Motivation and Self-Control Competencies.

PubMed

Jordalen, Gro; Lemyre, Pierre-Nicolas; Durand-Bush, Natalie

2016-01-01

Quality of motivation, self-control competencies, as well as past performance experience influence sport participation outcomes in developing athletes. Studies have shown that junior athletes high in self-determined motivation are less prone to experience burnout, while self-control competencies help developing athletes to be conscious and deliberate in their self-regulatory efforts toward elite sport performances and avoid negative sport participation outcomes. Combining the self-determination theory framework and psychosocial theories of self-regulation, the aim of this cross-sectional study was to examine how various types of motivation and self-control competencies together are associated with the development of burnout symptoms in junior athletes. High-level Norwegian winter-sport athletes from elite sport academies ( N = 199; female n = 72; 16-20 years of age) consented to participate. Associations between six types of motivational regulation, self-control, and indices of exhaustion were investigated. We hypothesized that athletes' self-control competencies are important to operate successfully, and influenced by different types of motivation, they are expected to help athletes avoid negative sport participation outcomes such as emotional and physical exhaustion. Structural equation modeling analyses were conducted to analyze these relationships, and results revealed some multifaceted associations. When identifying antecedents of sport participation exhaustion and burnout, there is a need to go beyond the unique framework of motivation theories, and explore what cognitive competencies ensure fulfillment of motivation desires. In the current study, differences in junior athletes' quality of motivation influenced self-control competencies when predicting exhaustion. Interestingly, young athletes driven by self-determined (intrinsic, integrated, and identified), and controlled (introjected and amotivation) regulations in association with self-control offered the strongest negative and positive associations with exhaustion, respectively. Findings clearly indicate that motivation and self-control competencies are meaningfully interrelated when assessing burnout propensity in young developing athletes.

Evaluating Program Effectiveness or, If the Program is Competency-Based, How Come the Evaluation Is Costing So Much?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scriven, Michael

The concern with competency-based education is not whether it is any different from the more traditional approaches but whether it is worth the considerable effort it involves. There are several aspects of a competency-based program to be considered in its evaluation. The first is whether or not there is a justifiable need for the specified…

Adjudicative Competence

PubMed Central

Dawes, Sharron E.; Palmer, Barton W.; Jeste, Dilip V.

2008-01-01

Purpose of review Although the basic standards of adjudicative competence were specified by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1960, there remain a number of complex conceptual and practical issues in interpreting and applying these standards. In this report we provide a brief overview regarding the general concept of adjudicative competence and its assessment, as well as some highlights of recent empirical studies on this topic. Findings Most adjudicative competence assessments are conducted by psychiatrists or psychologists. There are no universal certification requirements, but some states are moving toward required certification of forensic expertise for those conducting such assessments. Recent data indicate inconsistencies in application of the existing standards even among forensic experts, but the recent publication of consensus guidelines may foster improvements in this arena. There are also ongoing efforts to develop and validate structured instruments to aid competency evaluations. Telemedicine-based competency interviews may facilitate evaluation by those with specific expertise for evaluation of complex cases. There is also interest in empirical development of educational methods to enhance adjudicative competence. Summary Adjudicative competence may be difficult to measure accurately, but the assessments and tools available are advancing. More research is needed on methods of enhancing decisional capacity among those with impaired competence. PMID:18650693

Tools to investigate how interprofessional education activities link to competencies.

PubMed

West, Courtney; Veronin, Michael; Landry, Karen; Kurz, Terri; Watzak, Bree; Quiram, Barbara; Graham, Lori

2015-01-01

Integrating interprofessional education (IPE) activities and curricular components in health professions education has been emphasized recently by the inclusion of accreditation standards across disciplines. The Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) established IPE competencies in 2009, but evaluating how activities link to competencies has not been investigated in depth. The purpose of this project is to investigate how well two IPE activities align with IPEC competencies. To evaluate how our IPE activities met IPEC competencies, we developed a checklist and an observation instrument. A brief description of each is included as well as the outcomes. We analyzed Disaster Day, a simulation exercise that includes participants from Nursing, Medicine, and Pharmacy, and Interprofessional Healthcare Ethics (IPHCE), a course that introduced medical, nursing, and pharmacy students to ethical issues using didactic sessions and case discussions. While both activities appeared to facilitate the development of IPE competencies, Disaster Day aligned more with IPEC competencies than the IPHCE course and appears to be a more comprehensive way of addressing IPEC competencies. However, offering one IPE activity or curricular element is not sufficient. Having several IPE options available, utilizing the tools we developed to map the IPE curriculum and evaluating competency coverage is recommended.

Suicide Risk Assessment Training for Psychology Doctoral Programs: Core Competencies and a Framework for Training

PubMed Central

Cramer, Robert J.; Johnson, Shara M.; McLaughlin, Jennifer; Rausch, Emilie M.; Conroy, Mary Alice

2014-01-01

Clinical and counseling psychology programs currently lack adequate evidence-based competency goals and training in suicide risk assessment. To begin to address this problem, this article proposes core competencies and an integrated training framework that can form the basis for training and research in this area. First, we evaluate the extent to which current training is effective in preparing trainees for suicide risk assessment. Within this discussion, sample and methodological issues are reviewed. Second, as an extension of these methodological training issues, we integrate empirically- and expert-derived suicide risk assessment competencies from several sources with the goal of streamlining core competencies for training purposes. Finally, a framework for suicide risk assessment training is outlined. The approach employs Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) methodology, an approach commonly utilized in medical competency training. The training modality also proposes the Suicide Competency Assessment Form (SCAF), a training tool evaluating self- and observer-ratings of trainee core competencies. The training framework and SCAF are ripe for empirical evaluation and potential training implementation. PMID:24672588

Suicide Risk Assessment Training for Psychology Doctoral Programs: Core Competencies and a Framework for Training.

PubMed

Cramer, Robert J; Johnson, Shara M; McLaughlin, Jennifer; Rausch, Emilie M; Conroy, Mary Alice

2013-02-01

Clinical and counseling psychology programs currently lack adequate evidence-based competency goals and training in suicide risk assessment. To begin to address this problem, this article proposes core competencies and an integrated training framework that can form the basis for training and research in this area. First, we evaluate the extent to which current training is effective in preparing trainees for suicide risk assessment. Within this discussion, sample and methodological issues are reviewed. Second, as an extension of these methodological training issues, we integrate empirically- and expert-derived suicide risk assessment competencies from several sources with the goal of streamlining core competencies for training purposes. Finally, a framework for suicide risk assessment training is outlined. The approach employs Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) methodology, an approach commonly utilized in medical competency training. The training modality also proposes the Suicide Competency Assessment Form (SCAF), a training tool evaluating self- and observer-ratings of trainee core competencies. The training framework and SCAF are ripe for empirical evaluation and potential training implementation.

Dental Assisting Competencies. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richards, Beverly; And Others

This document contains dental assisting competencies and competency-based performance objectives, learning activities, resources, and evaluation procedures for each competency that was adapted and developed by instructors of dental assisting to suit the needs and legal parameters of Pennsylvania. The competencies and associated elements are…

The relationship between negative life events and suicidal behavior: moderating role of basic psychological needs.

PubMed

Rowe, Catherine A; Walker, Kristin L; Britton, Peter C; Hirsch, Jameson K

2013-01-01

Individuals who experience negative life events may be at increased risk for suicidal behavior. Intrapersonal characteristics, such as basic psychological needs, however, may buffer this association. To assess the potential moderating role of overall basic psychological needs, and the separate components of autonomy, competence, and relatedness, on the association between negative life events and suicidal behavior. Our sample of 439 college students (311 females, 71%) completed the following self-report surveys: Life Events Scale, Basic Psychological Needs Scale, Beck Depression Inventory - II, and the Suicide Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised. In support of our hypotheses, negative life events were associated with greater levels of suicidal ideation and attempts, and satisfaction of basic psychological needs, including autonomy, relatedness, and competence, significantly moderated this relationship, over and above the effects of the covariates of age, sex, and depressive symptoms. Suicidal behavior associated with the experience of negative life events is not inevitable. Therapeutically bolstering competence, autonomy, and relatedness may be an important suicide prevention strategy for individuals experiencing life stressors.

Behavioral Competence as a Positive Youth Development Construct: A Conceptual Review

PubMed Central

Ma, Hing Keung

2012-01-01

Behavioral competence is delineated in terms of four parameters: (a) Moral and Social Knowledge, (b) Social Skills, (c) Positive Characters and Positive Attributes, and (d) Behavioral Decision Process and Action Taking. Since Ma's other papers in this special issue have already discussed the moral and social knowledge as well as the social skills associated in detail, this paper focuses on the last two parameters. It is hypothesized that the following twelve positive characters are highly related to behavioral competence: humanity, intelligence, courage, conscience, autonomy, respect, responsibility, naturalness, loyalty, humility, assertiveness, and perseverance. Large-scale empirical future studies should be conducted to substantiate the predictive validity of the complete set of these positive characters. The whole judgment and behavioral decision process is constructed based on the information processing approach. The direction of future studies should focus more on the complex input, central control, and output subprocesses and the interactions among these sub-processes. The understanding of the formation of behavior is crucial to whole-person education and positive youth development. PMID:22645434

The Short-Term Effect of Grade Retention on Peer Relations and Academic Performance of At-Risk First Graders

PubMed Central

Gleason, Katie A.; Kwok, Oi-man; Hughes, Jan N.

2010-01-01

Using latent variable structural equation modeling, we tested a theoretical model positing that grade retention has a positive effect on children’s teacher- and peer-rated academic competencies and on sociometric measures of peer acceptance. We also expected that the positive effect of grade retention on peer acceptance would be mediated by children’s ability to meet academic challenges in their classrooms. Participants were 350 (52.6% male) ethnically diverse and academically at-risk first graders attending 1 of 3 school districts in Texas. An individually administered test of academic achievement, teacher-report and peer-report measures of academic competence, and peer-report measures of peer acceptance were collected on children in first grade and 1 year later, at which time 63 children were repeating first grade and 287 were in second grade. The hypothesized model provided a good fit to the data. Children’s academic competencies, as perceived by peers and teachers, fully mediated the effect of retention on subsequent peer acceptance. PMID:20431696

School-related social support and subjective well-being in school among adolescents: The role of self-system factors.

PubMed

Tian, Lili; Zhao, Jie; Huebner, E Scott

2015-12-01

This 6-week longitudinal study aimed to examine a moderated mediation model that may explain the link between school-related social support (i.e., teacher support and classmate support) and optimal subjective well-being in school among adolescents (n = 1316). Analyses confirmed the hypothesized model that scholastic competence partially mediated the relations between school-related social support and subjective well-being in school, and social acceptance moderated the mediation process in the school-related social support--> subjective well-being in school path and in the scholastic competence--> subjective well-being in school path. The findings suggested that both social contextual factors (e.g., school-related social support) and self-system factors (e.g., scholastic competence and social acceptance) are crucial for adolescents' optimal subjective well-being in school. Limitations and practical applications of the study were discussed. Copyright © 2015 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Explaining elevated social anxiety among Asian Americans: emotional attunement and a cultural double bind.

PubMed

Lau, Anna S; Fung, Joey; Wang, Shu-Wen; Kang, Sun-Mee

2009-01-01

Previous research has documented elevated levels of social anxiety in Asian American college students when compared with their European American peers. The authors hypothesized that higher symptoms among Asians could be explained by cultural differences in attunement to the emotional states of others. Socialization within interdependent cultures may cultivate concerns about accurately perceiving other's emotional responses, yet at the same time, norms governing emotional control may limit competencies in emotion recognition. A sample of 264 Asian American and European American college students completed measures of social anxiety, attunement concerns (shame socialization and loss of face), and attunement competencies (self-reported sensitivity and performance on emotion recognition tasks). Results confirmed that ethnic differences in social anxiety symptoms were mediated by differences in attunement concerns and competencies in emotion recognition. Asian American college students may find themselves in a double bind that leads to social unease because of a cultural emphasis on sensitivity to others' emotions in the midst of barriers to developing this attunement skill set.

Stereotype content model across cultures: Towards universal similarities and some differences

PubMed Central

Cuddy, Amy J. C.; Fiske, Susan T.; Kwan, Virginia S. Y.; Glick, Peter; Demoulin, Stéphanie; Leyens, Jacques-Philippe; Bond, Michael Harris; Croizet, Jean-Claude; Ellemers, Naomi; Sleebos, Ed; Htun, Tin Tin; Kim, Hyun-Jeong; Maio, Greg; Perry, Judi; Petkova, Kristina; Todorov, Valery; Rodríguez-Bailón, Rosa; Morales, Elena; Moya, Miguel; Palacios, Marisol; Smith, Vanessa; Perez, Rolando; Vala, Jorge; Ziegler, Rene

2014-01-01

The stereotype content model (SCM) proposes potentially universal principles of societal stereotypes and their relation to social structure. Here, the SCM reveals theoretically grounded, cross-cultural, cross-groups similarities and one difference across 10 non-US nations. Seven European (individualist) and three East Asian (collectivist) nations (N = 1, 028) support three hypothesized cross-cultural similarities: (a) perceived warmth and competence reliably differentiate societal group stereotypes; (b) many out-groups receive ambivalent stereotypes (high on one dimension; low on the other); and (c) high status groups stereotypically are competent, whereas competitive groups stereotypically lack warmth. Data uncover one consequential cross-cultural difference: (d) the more collectivist cultures do not locate reference groups (in-groups and societal prototype groups) in the most positive cluster (high-competence/high-warmth), unlike individualist cultures. This demonstrates out-group derogation without obvious reference-group favouritism. The SCM can serve as a pancultural tool for predicting group stereotypes from structural relations with other groups in society, and comparing across societies. PMID:19178758

A core competency-based objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) can predict future resident performance.

PubMed

Wallenstein, Joshua; Heron, Sheryl; Santen, Sally; Shayne, Philip; Ander, Douglas

2010-10-01

This study evaluated the ability of an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) administered in the first month of residency to predict future resident performance in the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) core competencies. Eighteen Postgraduate Year 1 (PGY-1) residents completed a five-station OSCE in the first month of postgraduate training. Performance was graded in each of the ACGME core competencies. At the end of 18 months of training, faculty evaluations of resident performance in the emergency department (ED) were used to calculate a cumulative clinical evaluation score for each core competency. The correlations between OSCE scores and clinical evaluation scores at 18 months were assessed on an overall level and in each core competency. There was a statistically significant correlation between overall OSCE scores and overall clinical evaluation scores (R = 0.48, p < 0.05) and in the individual competencies of patient care (R = 0.49, p < 0.05), medical knowledge (R = 0.59, p < 0.05), and practice-based learning (R = 0.49, p < 0.05). No correlation was noted in the systems-based practice, interpersonal and communication skills, or professionalism competencies. An early-residency OSCE has the ability to predict future postgraduate performance on a global level and in specific core competencies. Used appropriately, such information can be a valuable tool for program directors in monitoring residents' progress and providing more tailored guidance. © 2010 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.

A Conversation on Multicultural Competence in Evaluation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trimble, Joseph; Trickett, Ed; Fisher, Celia; Goodyear, Leslie

2012-01-01

This contribution to the Ethics section is intended to foster discussion about the relationship between multicultural competence and ethics; a timely discussion especially in view of the release in 2011 of the American Evaluation Association's Public Statement on Cultural Competence (http://www.eval.org/ccstatement.asp). Over the course of 2011,…

The Devaluation of Women's Competence.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lott, Bernice

1985-01-01

Research on the evaluation of eminent academic women supports the hypothesis that typical responses (of men, primarily) to competent women include prejudice, stereotyped beliefs, and overt or subtle discrimination. A competent woman is most likely to be devalued when potential consequences exist for the evaluator and when the woman is unfamiliar.…

Competence in advanced older people nursing: development of 'nursing older people--competence evaluation tool'.

PubMed

Bing-Jonsson, Pia Cecilie; Bjørk, Ida Torunn; Hofoss, Dag; Kirkevold, Marit; Foss, Christina

2015-03-01

Community care is characterised by a move from institutionalised to home-based care, a large patient population with comorbidities including cognitive failure, and nurses who struggle to keep up with their many competence demands. No study has examined the competence of nurses based on present demands, and an instrument for this purpose is lacking. We conducted a Delphi study based in Norway to develop the substantial content of a new competence measurement instrument. We sought to reach consensus regarding which nursing staff competence is most relevant to meet the current needs of older patients. A total of 42 experts participated in three consecutive panel investigations. Snowball sampling was used. The experts were clinicians, leaders, teachers, researchers and relatives of older people who required nursing. In Round 1, all experts were interviewed individually. These data were analysed using meaning coding and categorisation. In Rounds 2 and 3, the data were collected using electronic questionnaires and analysed quantitatively with SPSS. The experts agreed that health promotion as well as disease prevention, treatment, palliative care, ethics and regulation, assessment and taking action, covering basic needs, communication and documentation, responsibility and activeness, cooperation, and attitudes towards older people were the most relevant categories of competence. The experts showed clear consensus regarding the most relevant and current competence for nurses of older people. Assuming that older people in need of health care have the same requirements across cultures, this study's findings could be used as a basis for international studies. Those who nurse older people require competence that is complex and comprehensive. One way to evaluate nursing competence is through evaluation tools such as the Nursing Older People--Competence Evaluation tool. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

An innovative approach to enhance dermatology competencies for advanced practice nurses: service–learning with a migrant farm worker health clinic.

PubMed

Downes, Elizabeth A; Connor, Ann; Howett, Maeve

2014-12-01

The purpose of this article is to describe a novel service–learning opportunity for graduate nursing students that promotes competency in dermatology. A hybrid service–learning course with online didactic content is described, along with tools for evaluation of dermatology competencies. Student evaluation of the course is discussed, and selected research articles are reviewed. Advanced practice nursing and medical education frequently does not adequately prepare primary care providers to be competent in the assessment and management of dermatologic conditions. Embedding dermatology content in a service–learning program can optimize the provision of care, strengthen competencies in dermatology and inter-professional care, and allow students to gain a deeper understanding of the population with which they work. The innovative service–learning program presented is a model for advanced practice nursing education. Tools for evaluating clinical competency and courses often need validation. Copyright 2014, SLACK Incorporated.

[Level of teaching competence at the Undergraduate Medical Internship of UNAM's Faculty of Medicine].

PubMed

Martínez-González, Adrián; Lifshitz-Guinzberg, Alberto; González-Quintanilla, Eduardo; Monterrosas-Rojas, Ana María; Flores-Hernández, Fernando; Gatica-Lara, Florina; Martínez-Franco, Adrián Israel; Sánchez-Mendiola, Melchor

2017-01-01

There is no systematic evaluation of teaching performance in the clinical area at UNAM Faculty of Medicine. The study purpose is to assess the teaching competence level in the Undergraduate Medical Internship (UMI). The paper describes the process of psychometric validity for the instrument designed to evaluate teaching competence in the UMI. This instrument was constructed from two previously developed instruments. The final version with 54 items in a Likert scale was studied with exploratory factorial analysis. Four dimensions were obtained: Solution of clinical problems, Psychopedagogy, Mentoring, and Evaluation. The instrument had a reliability of 0.994, with an explained variance of 77.75%. To evaluate the teaching competence level, we administered 844 questionnaires to a sample of students with a response rate of 89%. We obtained an overall global score of 89.4 ± 9.6 (mean ± SD). The dimension Solution of clinical problems was the one with a greater value, in contrast with the dimension of Evaluation, which had a lower score. The teachers of the UMI are considered educators with high level of teaching competence, according to the perceptions of the undergraduate internal doctors. The evaluation of teaching competence level is very important for institutions that look for the continuous professional development of its faculty.

A three-dimensional geometric morphometrics view of the cranial shape variation and population history in the New World.

PubMed

Galland, Manon; Friess, Martin

2016-09-10

Craniofacial variation in past and present Amerindians has been attributed to the effect of multiple founder events, or to one major migration followed by in situ differentiation and possibly recurrent contacts among Circum-Arctic groups. Our study aims to: (i) detect morphological differences that may indicate several migrations; (ii) test for the presence of genetic isolation; and (iii) test the correlation between shape data and competing settlement hypotheses by taking into account geography, chronology, climate effects, the presence of genetic isolation and recurrent gene flow. We analyzed a large sample of three-dimensional (3D) cranial surface scans (803 specimens) including past and modern groups from America and Australasia. Shape variation was investigated using geometric morphometrics. Differential external gene flow was evaluated by applying genetic concepts to morphometric data (Relethford-Blangero approach). Settlement hypotheses were tested using a matrix correlation approach (Mantel tests). Our results highlight the strong dichotomy between Circum-Arctic and continental Amerindians as well as the impact of climate adaptation, and possibly recurrent gene flow in the Circum-Arctic area. There is also evidence for the impact of genetic isolation on phenetic variation in Baja California. Several settlement hypotheses are correlated with our data. The three approaches used in this study highlight the importance of local processes especially in Baja California, and caution against the use of overly simplistic models when searching for the number of migration events. The results stress the complexity of the settlement of the Americas as well as the mosaic nature of the processes involved in this process. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 28:646-661, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Evaluating medico-legal decisional competency criteria.

PubMed

Whiting, Demian

2015-06-01

In this paper I get clearer on the considerations that ought to inform the evaluation and development of medico-legal competency criteria-where this is taken to be a question regarding the abilities that ought to be needed for a patient to be found competent in medico-legal contexts. In the "Decisional Competency in Medico-Legal Contexts" section I explore how the question regarding the abilities that ought to be needed for decisional competence is to be interpreted. I begin by considering an interpretation that takes the question to be asking about the abilities needed to satisfy an idealized view of competent decision-making, according to which decisional competency is a matter of possessing those abilities or attributes that are needed to engage in good or effective or, perhaps, substantially autonomous or rational decision-making. The view has some plausibility-it accords with the way decisional competency is understood in a number of everyday contexts-but fails as an interpretation of the question regarding the abilities that should be needed for decisional competence in medico-legal contexts. Nevertheless, consideration of why it is mistaken suggests a more accurate interpretation and points the way in which the question regarding the evaluation of medico-legal competency criteria is to be answered. Building on other scholarly work in the area, I outline in the "Primary and Secondary Requirements" section several requirements that decisional competence criteria ought to satisfy. Then, in the "Applying the Framework" section, I say something about the extent to which medico-legal competency criteria, as well as some models of decisional competency proposed in the academic literature, fulfil those requirements.

Where do we go from here? Interim analysis to forge ahead in violence prevention.

PubMed

Dicker, Rochelle A; Jaeger, Sebastian; Knudson, Mary M; Mackersie, Robert C; Morabito, Diane J; Antezana, Javier; Texada, Michael

2009-12-01

The severity and disparity of interpersonal violent injury is staggering. Fifty-three per 100,000 African Americans (AA) die of homicide yearly, 20 per 100,000 in Latinos, whereas the rate is 3 per 100,000 in Caucasians. With the ultimate goal of reducing injury recidivism, which now stands at 35% to 50%, we have designed and implemented a hospital-based, case-managed violence prevention program uniquely applicable to trauma centers. The Wraparound Project (WP) seizes the "teachable moment" after injury to implement culturally competent case management (CM) and shepherd clients through risk reduction resources with city and community partners. The purpose of this study was to perform a detailed intermediate evaluation of this multi-modal violence prevention program. We hypothesized that this evaluation would demonstrate feasibility and early programmatic efficacy. We looked to identify areas of programmatic weakness that, if corrected, could strengthen the project and enhance its effectiveness. We performed intermediate evaluation on the 18-month-old program. We selected the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-recommended instrument used for unintentional injury prevention programs and applied it to the WP. The four sequential stages in this methodology are formative, process, impact, and outcome. To test feasibility of WP, we used process evaluation. To evaluate intermediate goals of risk reduction and early efficacy, we used impact evaluation. Four hundred thirty-five people met screening criteria. The two case managers were able to make contact and screen 73% of gun shot victims, and 57% of stab wound victims. Of those not seen, 48% were in the hospital for 6 h/wk with the client. Forty-one percent of the time, they spent 3 hours to 6 hours. Seventeen of 18 people who required >6 hours had two to three needs. Attrition rate is only 4%. The table demonstrates percent success thus far in providing risk reduction resources. WP case managers served high-risk clients by developing trust, credibility, and a risk reduction plan. Cultural competency has been vital. Six of seven major needs were successfully addressed at least 50% of the time. The value of reporting these results has led WP to gain credibility with municipal stakeholders, who have now agreed to fund a third CM position. Intermediate evaluation provided a framework in our effort to achieve the ultimate goal of reducing recidivism through culturally competent CM and risk factor modification.

Innovate and Evaluate: Expanding the Research Base for Competency-Based Education. AEI Series on Competency-Based Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelly, Andrew P.; Columbus, Rooney

2016-01-01

Competency-based education (CBE) has garnered significant attention lately from reformers and policymakers. Put simply, CBE awards credit based on what students have learned rather than how much time they spend in class. Competency-based programs identify specific competencies, develop assessments to measure mastery of those competencies, and then…

Direct and Indirect Predictors of Social Competence in United States Army Junior Commissioned Officers

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-11-01

colleagues, Professors Eric Heggestad and Charlie Reeve, for making their graduate students available to us for data collection and test scoring...Purdue University, respectively, with little difficulty. We sincerely thank the I/O graduate students and consultants who served as data collectors and...scales in both Air Force enlistee and university undergraduate samples. Justification of Hypothesized Link between General Cognitive Ability and Social

A waveform detector that targets template–decorrelated signals and achieves its predicted performance, Part I: Demonstration with IMS data

DOE PAGES

Carmichael, Joshua Daniel

2016-01-01

Here, waveform correlation detectors used in seismic monitoring scan multichannel data to test two competing hypotheses: that data contain (1) a noisy, amplitude-scaled version of a template waveform, or, (2) only noise. In reality, seismic wavefields include signals triggered by non-target sources (background seismicity) and targets signals that are only partially correlated with the waveform template.

A Conceptual and Empirical Review of the Meaning, Measurement, Development, and Teaching of Intervention Competence in Clinical Psychology

PubMed Central

Barber, Jacques P.

2009-01-01

Through the course of this paper we discuss several fundamental issues related to the intervention competence of psychologists. Following definitional clarification and proposals for more strictly distinguishing competence from adherence, we interpret Dreyfus and Dreyfus’s (1986) five stage theory of competence development (from novice to expert) within a strictly clinical framework. Existing methods of competence assessment are then evaluated, and we argue for the use of new and multiple assessment modalities. Next, we utilize the previous sections as a foundation to propose methods for training and evaluating competent psychologists. Lastly, we discuss several potential impediments to large scale competence assessment and education, such as the heterogeneity of therapeutic orientations and what could be termed a lack of transparency in clinical training. PMID:18952334

Eavesdropping on altered cell-to-cell signaling in cancer by secretome profiling.

PubMed

Klinke, David J

2016-01-01

In the past decade, cumulative clinical experiences with molecular targeted therapies and immunotherapies for cancer have promoted a shift in our conceptual understanding of cancer. This view shifted from viewing solid tumors as a homogeneous mass of malignant cells to viewing tumors as heterogeneous structures that are dynamically shaped by intercellular interactions among the variety of stromal, immune, and malignant cells present within the tumor microenvironment. As in any dynamic system, identifying how cells communicate to maintain homeostasis and how this communication is altered during oncogenesis are key hurdles for developing therapies to restore normal tissue homeostasis. Here, I discuss tissues as dynamic systems, using the mammary gland as an example, and the evolutionary concepts applied to oncogenesis. Drawing from these concepts, I present 2 competing hypotheses for how intercellular communication might be altered during oncogenesis. As an initial test of these competing hypotheses, a recent secretome comparison between normal human mammary and HER2+ breast cancer cell lines suggested that the particular proteins secreted by the malignant cells reflect a convergent evolutionary path associated with oncogenesis in a specific anatomical niche, despite arising in different individuals. Overall, this study illustrates the emerging power of secretome proteomics to probe, in an unbiased way, how intercellular communication changes during oncogenesis.

Eavesdropping on altered cell-to-cell signaling in cancer by secretome profiling

PubMed Central

Klinke, David J

2016-01-01

In the past decade, cumulative clinical experiences with molecular targeted therapies and immunotherapies for cancer have promoted a shift in our conceptual understanding of cancer. This view shifted from viewing solid tumors as a homogeneous mass of malignant cells to viewing tumors as heterogeneous structures that are dynamically shaped by intercellular interactions among the variety of stromal, immune, and malignant cells present within the tumor microenvironment. As in any dynamic system, identifying how cells communicate to maintain homeostasis and how this communication is altered during oncogenesis are key hurdles for developing therapies to restore normal tissue homeostasis. Here, I discuss tissues as dynamic systems, using the mammary gland as an example, and the evolutionary concepts applied to oncogenesis. Drawing from these concepts, I present 2 competing hypotheses for how intercellular communication might be altered during oncogenesis. As an initial test of these competing hypotheses, a recent secretome comparison between normal human mammary and HER2+ breast cancer cell lines suggested that the particular proteins secreted by the malignant cells reflect a convergent evolutionary path associated with oncogenesis in a specific anatomical niche, despite arising in different individuals. Overall, this study illustrates the emerging power of secretome proteomics to probe, in an unbiased way, how intercellular communication changes during oncogenesis. PMID:27308541

How to talk about protein-level false discovery rates in shotgun proteomics.

PubMed

The, Matthew; Tasnim, Ayesha; Käll, Lukas

2016-09-01

A frequently sought output from a shotgun proteomics experiment is a list of proteins that we believe to have been present in the analyzed sample before proteolytic digestion. The standard technique to control for errors in such lists is to enforce a preset threshold for the false discovery rate (FDR). Many consider protein-level FDRs a difficult and vague concept, as the measurement entities, spectra, are manifestations of peptides and not proteins. Here, we argue that this confusion is unnecessary and provide a framework on how to think about protein-level FDRs, starting from its basic principle: the null hypothesis. Specifically, we point out that two competing null hypotheses are used concurrently in today's protein inference methods, which has gone unnoticed by many. Using simulations of a shotgun proteomics experiment, we show how confusing one null hypothesis for the other can lead to serious discrepancies in the FDR. Furthermore, we demonstrate how the same simulations can be used to verify FDR estimates of protein inference methods. In particular, we show that, for a simple protein inference method, decoy models can be used to accurately estimate protein-level FDRs for both competing null hypotheses. © 2016 The Authors. Proteomics Published by Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Development and Psychometric Evaluation of the Counseling Women Competencies Scale (CWCS)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ancis, Julie R.; Szymanski, Dawn M.; Ladany, Nicholas

2008-01-01

This article describes the development and psychometric evaluation of the Counseling Women Competencies Scale (CWCS). The CWCS is designed to assess clinicians' self-perceived competencies with regard to therapeutic practice with diverse female clients. Through an extensive review of the literature on counseling women and expert review by 32…

Evaluating the Impact of Two Globalization Projects on College Students' Cultural Competence and Cultural Intelligence (CQ)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lopes-Murphy, Solange A.

2013-01-01

Cultural competence and CQ involve awareness of cultural similarities and differences, knowledge of differences in cultural values, and intercultural encounters. To assess college students' cultural competence and cultural intelligence gains, this experimental study evaluated the impact of two globalization projects on these two constructs. The…

Objective evaluation of surgical competency for minimally invasive surgery with a collection of simple tests

PubMed Central

Gonzalez-Neira, Eliana Maria; Jimenez-Mendoza, Claudia Patricia; Rugeles-Quintero, Saul

2016-01-01

Objective: This study aims at determining if a collection of 16 motor tests on a physical simulator can objectively discriminate and evaluate practitioners' competency level, i.e. novice, resident, and expert. Methods: An experimental design with three study groups (novice, resident, and expert) was developed to test the evaluation power of each of the 16 simple tests. An ANOVA and a Student Newman-Keuls (SNK) test were used to analyze results of each test to determine which of them can discriminate participants' competency level. Results: Four of the 16 tests used discriminated all of the three competency levels and 15 discriminated at least two of the three groups (α= 0.05). Moreover, other two tests differentiate beginners' level from intermediate, and other seven tests differentiate intermediate level from expert. Conclusion: The competency level of a practitioner of minimally invasive surgery can be evaluated by a specific collection of basic tests in a physical surgical simulator. Reduction of the number of tests needed to discriminate the competency level of surgeons can be the aim of future research. PMID:27226664

Objective evaluation of surgical competency for minimally invasive surgery with a collection of simple tests.

PubMed

Gonzalez-Neira, Eliana Maria; Jimenez-Mendoza, Claudia Patricia; Suarez, Daniel R; Rugeles-Quintero, Saul

2016-03-30

This study aims at determining if a collection of 16 motor tests on a physical simulator can objectively discriminate and evaluate practitioners' competency level, i.e. novice, resident, and expert. An experimental design with three study groups (novice, resident, and expert) was developed to test the evaluation power of each of the 16 simple tests. An ANOVA and a Student Newman-Keuls (SNK) test were used to analyze results of each test to determine which of them can discriminate participants' competency level. Four of the 16 tests used discriminated all of the three competency levels and 15 discriminated at least two of the three groups (α= 0.05). Moreover, other two tests differentiate beginners' level from intermediate, and other seven tests differentiate intermediate level from expert. The competency level of a practitioner of minimally invasive surgery can be evaluated by a specific collection of basic tests in a physical surgical simulator. Reduction of the number of tests needed to discriminate the competency level of surgeons can be the aim of future research.

Effects of Animal-Assisted Activities with Guinea Pigs in the Primary School Classroom

PubMed Central

O’Haire, Marguerite E.; McKenzie, Samantha J.; McCune, Sandra; Slaughter, Virginia

2013-01-01

This study investigated the effects of a classroom-based animal-assisted activities (AAA) program with guinea pigs on the social functioning of primary school children. We hypothesized that participants in the experimental condition (n = 64), compared with a waitlist control group (n = 64), would demonstrate improvements in social functioning following the program. Parents and teachers used the Social Skills Rating System (SSRS) to evaluate the social skills and problem behaviors of 128 participating children (age range = 4.8 to 12.7 years) before and after an 8-week period. Teachers also rated academic competence at both time points. Children who participated in the AAA program demonstrated significantly greater improvements in social functioning than their control group peers, as defined by greater increases in social skills (teacher SSRS) and decreases in problem behaviors (parent and teacher SSRS). There were no significant differences between the groups in academic competence. AAA participants demonstrated significant increases in social skills and decreases in problem behaviors from pre- to post-program on the teacher version of the SSRS. Control group participants did not show significant changes on these measures. These findings suggest that an AAA program with guinea pigs may be a feasible addition to the primary school classroom in order to improve social functioning. Further component analysis will be necessary to determine whether the animal is the active ingredient in AAA programs of this nature. PMID:24265514

The effect of coachwhip presence on body size of North American racers suggests competition between these sympatric snakes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Steen, David A.; McClure, Christopher J.W.; Smith, Lora L.; Halstead, Brian J.; Dodd, C. Kenneth; Sutton, William B.; Lee, James R.; Baxley, Danna L.; Humphries, W. Jeffrey; Guyer, Craig

2013-01-01

When sympatric species compete, character divergence may help maintain coexistence. Snakes are often found in species-rich assemblages while exploiting similar resources; because snake body size is a relatively plastic trait that determines the range of prey sizes an individual may consume, divergence in body size between sympatric species may arise as a result of interspecific interactions. The North American racer, Coluber constrictor, and the larger coachwhip, Coluber flagellum, have a close taxonomic relationship and similar foraging strategies. Therefore, we hypothesized that C. constrictor would be smaller where they co-occur with C. flagellum, as compared to where C. flagellum is absent, throughout the southeastern extent of their range. To evaluate this hypothesis, we obtained data on body size for 2321 adult C. constrictor and 526 adult C. flagellum, along with habitat data and other potentially important factors influencing body size. Coluber constrictor was smaller than elsewhere when in peninsular Florida, in pine forests, on hydric soils and in the presence of the larger and potentially competing C. flagellum. Body size of C. flagellum did not vary by any measured habitat variables. The trends we documented are consistent with the hypothesis that C. constrictor body size is influenced by several variables, including co-occurrence with C. flagellum.

Juvenile Competency to Stand Trial.

PubMed

Stepanyan, Sofia T; Sidhu, Shawn S; Bath, Eraka

2016-01-01

Competency to stand trial is interpreted as a protected due process right for all defendants and is defined as a defendant's fundamental knowledge and understanding of the criminal charges being filed, roles and procedures within the courtroom, and a general ability to work with the defense counsel. Questions of competency are most often raised by the judge, defense, or the prosecution, and competency evaluations are most often completed by psychiatrists or psychologists with forensic training or work experience. Mental illness, intellectual disability, developmental disorders, and developmental immaturity are the 4 main factors considered in most juvenile competency evaluations. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Competency Based Education Curriculum for Data Processing.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

West Virginia State Vocational Curriculum Lab., Cedar Lakes.

This curriculum for data processing is organized into four learning modules. Each module is comprised of four to seven competencies. A student competency sheet provided for each competency is organized into this format: module and competency number and name, performance guide, learning activities, and an evaluation. Where appropriate, student…

Getting the Best Out of Your Competencies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Strebler, Marie; And Others

A study explored practical issues in the use of competencies in performance review and in assessment and measurement of competencies by eight leading British employers at different stages in their use of competencies. The practices of 5 organizations using competencies for performance review of their managers were evaluated through feedback from…

Job and Work Evaluation: A Literature Review.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heneman, Robert L.

2003-01-01

Describes advantages and disadvantages of work evaluation methods: ranking, market pricing, banding, classification, single-factor, competency, point-factor, and factor comparison. Compares work evaluation perspectives: traditional, realist, market advocate, strategist, organizational development, social reality, contingency theory, competency,…

White matter anisotropy in the ventral language pathway predicts sound-to-word learning success

PubMed Central

Wong, Francis C. K.; Chandrasekaran, Bharath; Garibaldi, Kyla; Wong, Patrick C. M.

2011-01-01

According to the dual stream model of auditory language processing, the dorsal stream is responsible for mapping sound to articulation while the ventral stream plays the role of mapping sound to meaning. Most researchers agree that the arcuate fasciculus (AF) is the neuroanatomical correlate of the dorsal steam, however, less is known about what constitutes the ventral one. Nevertheless two hypotheses exist, one suggests that the segment of the AF that terminates in middle temporal gyrus corresponds to the ventral stream and the other suggests that it is the extreme capsule that underlies this sound to meaning pathway. The goal of this study is to evaluate these two competing hypotheses. We trained participants with a sound-to-word learning paradigm in which they learned to use a foreign phonetic contrast for signaling word meaning. Using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), a brain imaging tool to investigate white matter connectivity in humans, we found that fractional anisotropy in the left parietal-temporal region positively correlated with the performance in sound-to-word learning. In addition, fiber tracking revealed a ventral pathway, composed of the extreme capsule and the inferior longitudinal fasciculus, that mediated auditory comprehension. Our findings provide converging evidence supporting the importance of the ventral steam, an extreme capsule system, in the frontal-temporal language network. Implications for current models of speech processing will also be discussed. PMID:21677162

The Independent Living Scales in civil competency evaluations: initial findings and prediction of competency adjudication.

PubMed

Quickel, Emalee J W; Demakis, George J

2013-06-01

We address a gap in the literature on civil competency by examining characteristics of those who undergo civil competency evaluations and how well Managing Money and Health and Safety subscales of the Independent Living Scales (ILS) predict legal competency adjudications. We were also interested whether these subscales are more accurate in making such predictions than the Mini-Mental State Examination and Trail-Making Test, Parts A and B, well-known measures of neuropsychological functioning. Actual legal competency decisions were obtained from public court records on 71 individuals with either mental retardation/borderline intellectual functioning (MR/BIF) or psychiatric, neurological, or combined psychiatric or neurological diagnoses. We found that those with neurological diagnoses performed significantly better on the Trail-Making Test, Part A, than the MR/BIF and combined neurological and psychiatric groups, and they demonstrated trends in the same direction for other measures. Both ILS subscales performed better than the cognitive measures, in terms of both hit rate and predictive value, in predicting ultimate judicial decision-making about competency. These findings are particularly relevant for clinicians who must decide what measures to include in an assessment battery in civil competency evaluations.

Surveys on the competencies of specialist occupational physicians and effective methods for acquisition of competencies in Japan.

PubMed

Mori, Koji; Nagata, Masako; Hiraoka, Mika; Kudo, Megumi; Nagata, Tomohisa; Kajiki, Shigeyuki

2015-01-01

The aim of this study was to study the necessary competencies for specialist occupational physicians in Japan and the effective training methods for acquiring them. A competency list (61 items) was developed for the questionnaires in the study by making use of existing competency lists from the Japan Society for Occupational Health (JSOH) as well as lists from the US and Europe. Certified senior occupational physicians (CSOPs) in the certification program of the JSOH completed a questionnaire on the necessary competencies. Examiners of the examination for certified occupational physicians (COPs) completed another questionnaire on effective training methods. All 61 competencies in the questionnaires were evaluated as "necessary". Some of the competencies in the list from the JSOH were evaluated lower than the items added from the American and European lists. When the respondents were categorized into a "practical group", the members of which mainly provided occupational health services, an "academic group", the members of which belonged to research or education institutes such as medical schools, and all others, the practical group evaluated some competencies significantly higher than the academic group, particularly those related to work accommodation. Among three options for training methods, the most effective methods were lectures and textbooks for 5 competency items, on-the-job training (OJT) for 30 items, and case-based learning (CBL) for 29 items. Some competencies should be added to the JSOH list. CBL should be introduced in training programs for specialist occupational physicians.

Finding benefits from acculturative stress among Asian Americans: Self-reflection moderating the mediating effects of ethnocultural empathy on positive outcomes.

PubMed

Wei, Meifen; Li, Chun-I; Wang, Cixin; Ko, Stacy Y

2016-11-01

This study examined a moderated mediation model to see whether self-reflection moderated (a) the association between acculturative stress and ethnocultural empathy and (b) the indirect effects of acculturative stress on 2 positive outcomes (i.e., bicultural competence and making positive sense of adversity) through ethnocultural empathy. A total of 330 Asian American college students from a West coast university participated in an online survey. Results from PROCESS supported hypotheses. First, self-reflection significantly moderated the effects of acculturative stress on ethnocultural empathy. Specifically, the effect of acculturative stress on ethnocultural empathy was significantly positive for those with lower self-reflection. Conversely, this effect was not significant for those with higher self-reflection, but ethnocultural empathy was consistently high across all levels of acculturative stress for those with higher self-reflection. Post hoc exploratory analyses examined the moderated mediation model using each of the 5 domains of acculturative stress as predictors; results supported the moderated mediation hypotheses for 2 domains, discrimination and cultural isolation. Second, self-reflection significantly moderated the indirect effects of acculturative stress on 2 positive outcomes through ethnocultural empathy. Results from conditional indirect effects suggested that the indirect effects of acculturative stress on 2 positive outcomes through ethnocultural empathy were significantly positive for those with lower self-reflection. Conversely, the indirect effects were not significant for those with higher self-reflection, but the 2 positive outcomes stayed high at all levels of acculturative stress. Post hoc analyses found that 5 of 6 components of bicultural competence used as outcome variables supported the moderation mediation hypotheses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Health education and competency scale: Development and testing.

PubMed

Hwang, Huei-Lih; Kuo, Mei-Ling; Tu, Chin-Tang

2018-02-01

To develop a tool for measuring competency in conducting health education and to evaluate its psychometric properties in a population of entry-level nurses. Until now, no generic instrument has been developed specifically for measuring competency in health education, which is an essential competency for nurses. Existing scales are either insufficient for psychometric evaluation or are designed specifically for senior nurses. To evaluate curricula and courses designed for entry-level nurses, educators require an instrument for measuring improvement in core competency from baseline to determine whether the minimum level of ability has been achieved. Item development for the survey instrument used for data collection in this study was based on the results of a literature review. The self-evaluated Health Education Competency Scale developed in this study was used to survey 457 nursing students at two nursing schools and 165 clinical nurses at a medical centre in south Taiwan in 2016. The participants were randomly divided into two equal groups. One group was analysed by exploratory factor analysis with varimax rotation, and one group was analysed by confirmatory factor analysis. Factor analysis yielded a four-factor (assessment, pedagogy, motivation and empowerment) solution (18 items) that accounted for 75.9% of the variance. The total scale and subscales had good reliabilities and construct validity coefficients. For measuring competency in entry-level nurses, the Health Education Competency Scale had a good data fit and sound psychometric properties. The proposed scale can be used to assess health education competency for college nursing students and practising nurses. Furthermore, it can provide educators with valuable insight into the minimum competencies required for entry-level nurses to deliver quality health care to clients and can guide them in the practice of client-based teaching. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Evaluation in a competency-based educational system.

PubMed

May, B J

1977-01-01

Competency-based curricula have been implemented at the Medical College of Georgia to prepare students to meet entry level competencies as physical therapists and physical therapist assistants. Criteria-referenced evaluations are used to determine if students have achieved the desired competencies. Performance is measured against the criteria and not other students. The process of developing the system currently in use at the Medical College of Georgia is delineated in some detail and some of the advantages of the system for physical therapy education are discussed.

Development and Evaluation of a Novel Survey Tool Assessing Inpatient Consult Service Performance.

PubMed

Miloslavsky, Eli M; Chang, Yuchiao

2017-12-01

Subspecialty consultation in inpatient medicine is increasing, and enhancing performance of consultation services may have a broad-reaching impact. Multisource feedback is an important tool in assessing competence and improving performance. A mechanism for primary team resident feedback on performance of consult services has not been described. We developed and evaluated an instrument designed to assess internal medicine (IM) subspecialty inpatient consult service performance. We hypothesized that the instrument would be feasible to administer and provide important information to fellowship directors. The instrument was administered in 2015 and 2016 at a single academic center. All IM residents were invited to evaluate 10 IM subspecialty consult services on 4 items and an overall satisfaction rating. The instrument allowed for free-text feedback to fellows. Program directors completed another survey assessing the impact of the consult service evaluation. A total of 113 residents responded (47 in 2015 and 66 in 2016, for a combined response rate of 35%). Each of the 4 items measured (communication, professionalism, teaching, and pushback) correlated significantly with the overall satisfaction rating in univariate and multivariate analyses. There were no differences in ratings across postgraduate year or year of administration. There was considerable variation in ratings among the services evaluated. The 7 program directors who provided feedback found the survey useful and made programmatic changes following evaluation implementation. A primary team resident evaluation of inpatient medicine subspecialty consult services is feasible, provides valuable information, and is associated with changes in consult service structure and curricula.

A Comparative Study of Competency-Based Courses Demonstrating a Potential Measure of Course Quality and Student Success

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krause, Jackie; Dias, Laura Portolese; Schedler, Chris

2015-01-01

While competency-based education is growing, standardized tools for evaluating the unique characteristics of course design in this domain are still under development. This preliminary research study evaluated the effectiveness of a rubric developed for assessing course design of competency-based courses in an undergraduate Information Technology…

Two Approaches for Analyzing Students' Competence of "Evaluation" in Group Discussions about Climate Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Feierabend, Timo; Stuckey, Marc; Nienaber, Sarah; Eilks, Ingo

2012-01-01

Up until now, very few models conceptualizing students' competence in evaluation, argumentation and discourse in the context of science education have been proposed. Most suggestions for analyzing this particular competence in students are normative and the empirical support for them remains weak. The problem becomes even more severe when such…

Perceived Growth versus Actual Growth in Executive Leadership Competencies: An Application of the Stair-Step Behaviorally Anchored Evaluation Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCormick, Michael J.; Dooley, Kim E.; Lindner, James R.; Cummins, Richard L.

2007-01-01

The purpose of this study was to describe student learning in executive leadership core competencies after being engaged in a two-semester leadership education sequence. The researchers used evaluative research techniques to compare perceived and actual growth in learning of executive leadership competencies. Data collection consisted of a…

Teacher Language Competence Description: Towards a New Framework of Evaluation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sokolova, Nataliya

2012-01-01

The article is centred around the concept of "language competence of a foreign language (FL) teacher" and the ways it can be evaluated. Though the definition of teacher language competence might sound obvious it has not yet been clearly structured and, therefore, no component has been thoroughly described. I use this fact as a starting…

Assessing and Interpreting Student Progress: Evaluating the Competency in the Preparation of Teachers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stolworthy, Reed L.

The purpose of this study was to determine the adequacy of the preparation provided by the teacher preparation program at Washburn University (Kansas) relative to the competency of assessing and interpreting student progress. Answers were sought to the following questions: (1) How does the student teacher evaluate his/her competence in regards to…

Hypotheses about the psychological benefits of horses.

PubMed

Kendall, Elizabeth; Maujean, Annick; Pepping, Christopher A; Wright, John J

2014-01-01

In the last few decades, therapeutic horse-riding has become recognized as a progressive form of therapy, particularly for people with disabilities. Although there is a substantial amount of literature that supports the physical benefit of therapeutic riding, only anecdotal evidence exists in relation to its psychological benefits. The purpose of this article is to develop hypotheses about the mechanisms by which therapeutic riding might have a beneficial psychological effect. These hypotheses can then be tested, leading to a more detailed knowledge base. PsychINFO, MEDLINE, PROQUEST, Scopus, Web of Science, and CINAHL. Data sources were searched for studies that (a) were related to the psychological effects of therapeutic horse-riding, (b) focused exclusively on therapeutic horse-riding, (c) described, explicitly or implicitly, the mechanism by which therapeutic riding had a beneficial psychological effect. Studies were limited to those published between 2008 and 2012. Data were extracted by two authors independently. Thirty articles met the inclusion criteria. Three potential hypotheses emerged from the literature, namely, (1) the psychological benefits of therapeutic riding are actually unrelated to the horse, (2) the horse provides a particularly positive context within which psychological gains are facilitated, and (3) the horse itself has specific therapeutic qualities that bring about unique changes not otherwise likely to occur. The challenge for researchers in this area is to design studies that adequately test these competing hypotheses. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The core competency movement in marriage and family therapy: key considerations from other disciplines.

PubMed

Miller, John K; Todahl, Jeff L; Platt, Jason J

2010-01-01

There is a growing movement to define competency within the field of marriage and family therapy (MFT), particularly with respect to the training of practitioners and the evaluation of clinical practice. Efforts to define competency, however, transcend the practice of MFT and much can be learned from the experiences of other disciplines. Professions such as education, law, and medicine have made strides toward addressing the complex issue of competency standards in their respective fields. This article describes some ways in which the issue of competency has been approached in other professions, as well as some common dilemmas posed by adopting a competency-based orientation, to shed light on the process of defining competency in MFT. Moreover, this article identifies some of the more useful conceptualizations, modes of pedagogy, and evaluative practices found in other professions.

A systematic approach to evaluating public health training: the obesity prevention in public health course.

PubMed

Mainor, Avia; Leeman, Jennifer; Sommers, Janice; Heiser, Claire; Gonzales, Cecilia; Farris, Rosanne P; Ammerman, Alice

2014-01-01

Public health practitioners require new knowledge and skills to address the multilevel factors contributing to obesity. This article presents the systematic approach the Center of Excellence for Training and Research Translation (Center TRT) used both to assess practitioners' competencies to lead public health obesity prevention initiatives and to evaluate its annual, competency-based obesity prevention course. In 2006, Center TRT identified priority public health competencies for obesity prevention and then planned 7 annual courses to address the priority competencies progressively over time. Each year, a longitudinal evaluation based on Kirkpatrick's training evaluation framework was administered to course participants (n = 243) to assess perceptions of the course (daily), changes in self-reported competency (immediately pre- and postcourse), and course impact on practice over time (at 6 months). Participants rated the course highly for quality and relevance. Although many participants reported low levels of confidence prior to the course, following the course, at least 70% reported feeling confident to perform almost all competencies. At 6-month follow-up, the majority of participants reported completing at least 1 activity identified during course action planning. We identified practitioners' high-priority competency needs and then designed 7 annual courses to progressively address those needs and new needs as they arose. This approach resulted in trainings valued by practitioners and effective in increasing their sense of competence to lead public health obesity prevention initiatives. The course's continuing impact was evidenced by participants' high level of completion of their action plans at 6-month follow-up. Competency-based training is important to develop a skilled public health workforce.

Assessing Technical Competence in Surgical Trainees: A Systematic Review.

PubMed

Szasz, Peter; Louridas, Marisa; Harris, Kenneth A; Aggarwal, Rajesh; Grantcharov, Teodor P

2015-06-01

To systematically examine the literature describing the methods by which technical competence is assessed in surgical trainees. The last decade has witnessed an evolution away from time-based surgical education. In response, governing bodies worldwide have implemented competency-based education paradigms. The definition of competence, however, remains elusive, and the impact of these education initiatives in terms of assessment methods remains unclear. A systematic review examining the methods by which technical competence is assessed was conducted by searching MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsychINFO, and the Cochrane database of systematic reviews. Abstracts of retrieved studies were reviewed and those meeting inclusion criteria were selected for full review. Data were retrieved in a systematic manner, the validity and reliability of the assessment methods was evaluated, and quality was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation classification. Of the 6814 studies identified, 85 studies involving 2369 surgical residents were included in this review. The methods used to assess technical competence were categorized into 5 groups; Likert scales (37), benchmarks (31), binary outcomes (11), novel tools (4), and surrogate outcomes (2). Their validity and reliability were mostly previously established. The overall Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation for randomized controlled trials was high and low for the observational studies. The definition of technical competence continues to be debated within the medical literature. The methods used to evaluate technical competence predominantly include instruments that were originally created to assess technical skill. Very few studies identify standard setting approaches that differentiate competent versus noncompetent performers; subsequently, this has been identified as an area with great research potential.

Developing a Competency-Based Curriculum for a Dental Hygiene Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DeWald, Janice P.; McCann, Ann L.

1999-01-01

Describes the three-step process used to develop a competency-based curriculum at the Caruth School of Dental Hygiene (Texas A&M University). The process involved development of a competency document (detailing three domains, nine major competencies, and 54 supporting competencies), an evaluation plan, and a curriculum inventory which defined…

Perceived Competence of Women Managers in Public Human Service Organizations: A Comparative View.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ezell, Hazel F.; And Others

1980-01-01

Responses of male and female managers were analyzed for differences existing in perceptions of self-competence and differences in their evaluations of the competence of women managers generally. Findings suggest female managers see themselves as competent but see female managers in general as being less competent. (Author/RC)

Applying self-determination theory to the blood donation context: The blood donor competence, autonomy, and relatedness enhancement (Blood Donor CARE) trial.

PubMed

France, Christopher R; France, Janis L; Carlson, Bruce W; Frye, Victoria; Duffy, Louisa; Kessler, Debra A; Rebosa, Mark; Shaz, Beth H

2017-02-01

The Blood Donor Competency, Autonomy, and Relatedness Enhancement (Blood Donor CARE) project was designed as a practical application of self-determination theory to encourage retention of first-time donors. Self-determination theory proposes that people are more likely to persist with behaviors that are internally-motivated, and that externally-motivated behavior can evolve and become internalized given the appropriate socio-environmental conditions. According to self-determination theory, motivation to engage in blood donation may become increasingly self-determined if the behavior satisfies fundamental human needs for competence (a sense of self-efficacy to achieve specific goals), autonomy (a sense of volitional control over one's behavior), and relatedness (a sense of connection to a larger group). The primary aim of this randomized controlled trial is to examine the effect of competence, autonomy, and/or relatedness interventions on donor retention. Using a full factorial design, first-time donors will be assigned to a control condition or one of seven intervention conditions. Donation competence, autonomy, and relatedness, along with additional constructs associated with return donation, will be assessed before and after the intervention using online surveys, and donation attempts will be tracked for one-year using blood center donor databases. We hypothesize that, compared to the control condition, the interventions will increase the likelihood of a subsequent donation attempt. We will also examine intervention-specific increases in competence, autonomy, and relatedness as potential mediators of enhanced donor retention. By promoting first-time donor competence, autonomy, and relatedness our goal is to enhance internal motivation for giving and in so doing increase the likelihood of future donation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Applying self-determination theory to the blood donation context: The blood donor competence, autonomy, and relatedness enhancement (Blood Donor CARE) trial

PubMed Central

France, Christopher R.; France, Janis L.; Carlson, Bruce W.; Frye, Victoria; Duffy, Louisa; Kessler, Debra A.; Rebosa, Mark; Shaz, Beth H.

2016-01-01

The Blood Donor Competency, Autonomy, and Relatedness Enhancement (Blood Donor CARE) project was designed as a practical application of self-determination theory to encourage retention of first-time donors. Self-determination theory proposes that people are more likely to persist with behaviors that are internally-motivated, and that externally-motivated behavior can evolve and become internalized given the appropriate socio-environmental conditions. According to self-determination theory, motivation to engage in blood donation may become increasingly self-determined if the behavior satisfies fundamental human needs for competence (a sense of self-efficacy to achieve specific goals), autonomy (a sense of volitional control over one’s behavior), and relatedness (a sense of connection to a larger group). The primary aim of this randomized controlled trial is to examine the effect of competence, autonomy, and/or relatedness interventions on donor retention. Using a full factorial design, first-time donors will be assigned to a control condition or one of seven intervention conditions. Donation competence, autonomy, and relatedness, along with additional constructs associated with return donation, will be assessed before and after the intervention using online surveys, and donation attempts will be tracked for one-year using blood center donor databases. We hypothesize that, compared to the control condition, the interventions will increase the likelihood of a subsequent donation attempt. We will also examine intervention-specific increases in competence, autonomy, and relatedness as potential mediators of enhanced donor retention. By promoting first-time donor competence, autonomy, and relatedness our goal is to enhance internal motivation for giving and in so doing increase the likelihood of future donation. PMID:27979752

Stereotype content model explains prejudice for an envied outgroup: Scale of anti-Asian American Stereotypes.

PubMed

Lin, Monica H; Kwan, Virginia S Y; Cheung, Anna; Fiske, Susan T

2005-01-01

The Stereotype Content Model hypothesizes anti-Asian American stereotypes differentiating two dimensions: (excessive) competence and (deficient) sociability. The Scale of Anti-Asian American Stereotypes (SAAAS) shows this envious mixed prejudice in six studies. Study 1 began with 131 racial attitude items. Studies 2 and 3 tested 684 respondents on a focused 25-item version. Studies 4 and 5 tested the final 25-item SAAAS on 222 respondents at three campuses; scores predicted outgroup friendships, cultural experiences, and (over)estimated campus presence. Study 6 showed that allegedly low sociability, rather than excessively high competence, drives rejection of Asian Americans, consistent with system justification theory. The SAAAS demonstrates mixed, envious anti-Asian American prejudice, contrasting with more-often-studied contemptuous racial prejudices (i.e., against Blacks).

Success in everyday physics: The role of personality and academic variables

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Norvilitis, Jill M.; Reid, Howard M.; Norvilitis, Bret M.

2002-05-01

Two studies examined students' intuitive physics ability and characteristics associated with physics competence. In Study 1, although many students did well on a physics quiz, more than 25% of students performed below levels predicted by chance. Better performance on the physics quiz was related to physics grades, highest level of math taken, and students' perceived scholastic competence, but was not related to a number of other hypothesized personality variables. Study 2 further explored personality and academic variables and also examined students' awareness of their own physics ability. Results indicate that the personality variables were again unrelated to ability, but narcissism may be related to subjects' estimates of knowledge. Also, academic variables and how important students think it is to understand the physical world are related to both measured and estimated physics proficiency.

Competing for the benefit of offspring eliminates the gender gap in competitiveness

PubMed Central

Cassar, Alessandra; Wordofa, Feven; Zhang, Y. Jane

2016-01-01

Recent advances have highlighted the evolutionary significance of female competition, with the sexes pursuing different competitive strategies and women reserving their most intense competitive behaviors for the benefit of offspring. Influential economic experiments using cash incentives, however, have found evidence suggesting that women have a lower desire to compete than men. We hypothesize that the estimated gender differences critically depend on how we elicit them, especially on the incentives used. We test this hypothesis through an experiment with adults in China (n = 358). Data show that, once the incentives are switched from monetary to child-benefitting, gender differences disappear. This result suggests that female competition can be just as intense as male competition given the right goals, indicating important implications for policies designed to promote gender equality. PMID:27114513

Competing for the benefit of offspring eliminates the gender gap in competitiveness.

PubMed

Cassar, Alessandra; Wordofa, Feven; Zhang, Y Jane

2016-05-10

Recent advances have highlighted the evolutionary significance of female competition, with the sexes pursuing different competitive strategies and women reserving their most intense competitive behaviors for the benefit of offspring. Influential economic experiments using cash incentives, however, have found evidence suggesting that women have a lower desire to compete than men. We hypothesize that the estimated gender differences critically depend on how we elicit them, especially on the incentives used. We test this hypothesis through an experiment with adults in China (n = 358). Data show that, once the incentives are switched from monetary to child-benefitting, gender differences disappear. This result suggests that female competition can be just as intense as male competition given the right goals, indicating important implications for policies designed to promote gender equality.

Intrinsic motivation towards sports in Singaporean students: the role of sport ability beliefs.

PubMed

Wang, C K John; Biddle, Stuart J H

2003-09-01

This study investigated determinants of active lifestyles in Singaporean university students. Using confirmatory factor analysis, a measure of lay beliefs concerning athletic ability was confirmed. Other results confirmed hypotheses that beliefs reflecting that athletic ability can be developed over time (incremental beliefs) predict an achievement task (self-referenced) orientation, while beliefs reflecting that athletic ability is relatively stable (entity beliefs) predict an ego (other-person, comparative) orientation. Goal orientations directly affect perceived competence which, in turn, influence intrinsic motivation to be physically active. A task orientation had a direct link to intrinsic motivation. Results suggest that intrinsic motivation towards sport and physical activity might be enhanced through interventions that focus on self-referenced and self-improvement notions of ability as well as perceived competence.

A framework for telepsychiatric training and e-health: Competency-based education, evaluation and implications.

PubMed

Hilty, Donald M; Crawford, Allison; Teshima, John; Chan, Steven; Sunderji, Nadiya; Yellowlees, Peter M; Kramer, Greg; O'neill, Patrick; Fore, Chris; Luo, John; Li, Su-Ting

2015-01-01

Telepsychiatry (TP; video; synchronous) is effective, well received and a standard way to practice. Best practices in TP education, but not its desired outcomes, have been published. This paper proposes competencies for trainees and clinicians, with TP situated within the broader landscape of e-mental health (e-MH) care. TP competencies are organized using the US Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education framework, with input from the CanMEDS framework. Teaching and assessment methods are aligned with target competencies, learning contexts, and evaluation options. Case examples help to apply concepts to clinical and institutional contexts. Competencies can be identified, measured and evaluated. Novice or advanced beginner, competent/proficient, and expert levels were outlined. Andragogical (i.e. pedagogical) methods are used in clinical care, seminar, and other educational contexts. Cross-sectional and longitudinal evaluation using quantitative and qualitative measures promotes skills development via iterative feedback from patients, trainees, and faculty staff. TP and e-MH care significantly overlap, such that institutional leaders may use a common approach for change management and an e-platform to prioritize resources. TP training and assessment methods need to be implemented and evaluated. Institutional approaches to patient care, education, faculty development, and funding also need to be studied.

Functional Significance of Conflicting Age and Wealth Cross-Categorization: The Dominant Role of Categories That Violate Stereotypical Expectations

PubMed Central

Song, Jingjing; Zuo, Bin

2016-01-01

The purpose of the current study was to identify the functional significance of conflicting stereotypes and to identify the dominant category in such conflicts. In the present research we examined the conflicting crossed categories of age and wealth with regard to warmth and competence perceptions. It was found (Pilot Study and Study 1) that the old-rich targets presented a conflicting stereotype group in the perception of warmth, whereas young-poor targets presented a conflicting stereotype group in the perception of competence. In addition, the old stereotype dominated the warmth evaluation of old-rich targets, whereas the poor stereotype dominated the competence evaluation of young-poor targets. In Study 2, participants provided warmth and competence evaluations after they learned about the targets' behaviors which demonstrated high or low warmth and high or low competence. The results suggest that for the warmth evaluation of the old-rich target the category that did not match the behavior (i.e., contradicted the stereotype expectation) was more salient and drove judgments. However, the effect of stereotype expectation violation was not found in the competence evaluation of the young-poor target. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for understanding factors that activate and inhibit stereotyped perceptions. PMID:27818640

ERIC Review Faculty Evaluation: A Response to Competing Values.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Redmon, Kent D.

1999-01-01

Reviews the literature on faculty evaluation to define how different purposes and competing values have produced two approaches. A procedural approach relies upon both self-evaluation and appraisals by peers, administrators, and students. The developmental approach rests upon teaching portfolios, dossiers, and self-evaluations. Contains 23…

Assessing medical professionalism: A systematic review of instruments and their measurement properties

PubMed Central

Li, Honghe; Liu, Yang; Wen, Deliang

2017-01-01

Background Over the last three decades, various instruments were developed and employed to assess medical professionalism, but their measurement properties have yet to be fully evaluated. This study aimed to systematically evaluate these instruments’ measurement properties and the methodological quality of their related studies within a universally acceptable standardized framework and then provide corresponding recommendations. Methods A systematic search of the electronic databases PubMed, Web of Science, and PsycINFO was conducted to collect studies published from 1990–2015. After screening titles, abstracts, and full texts for eligibility, the articles included in this study were classified according to their respective instrument’s usage. A two-phase assessment was conducted: 1) methodological quality was assessed by following the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health status Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) checklist; and 2) the quality of measurement properties was assessed according to Terwee’s criteria. Results were integrated using best-evidence synthesis to look for recommendable instruments. Results After screening 2,959 records, 74 instruments from 80 existing studies were included. The overall methodological quality of these studies was unsatisfactory, with reasons including but not limited to unknown missing data, inadequate sample sizes, and vague hypotheses. Content validity, cross-cultural validity, and criterion validity were either unreported or negative ratings in most studies. Based on best-evidence synthesis, three instruments were recommended: Hisar’s instrument for nursing students, Nurse Practitioners’ Roles and Competencies Scale, and Perceived Faculty Competency Inventory. Conclusion Although instruments measuring medical professionalism are diverse, only a limited number of studies were methodologically sound. Future studies should give priority to systematically improving the performance of existing instruments and to longitudinal studies. PMID:28498838

Bayesian Meta-Analysis of Cronbach's Coefficient Alpha to Evaluate Informative Hypotheses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Okada, Kensuke

2015-01-01

This paper proposes a new method to evaluate informative hypotheses for meta-analysis of Cronbach's coefficient alpha using a Bayesian approach. The coefficient alpha is one of the most widely used reliability indices. In meta-analyses of reliability, researchers typically form specific informative hypotheses beforehand, such as "alpha of…

Design of a Competency Evaluation Model for Clinical Nursing Practicum, Based on Standardized Language Systems: Psychometric Validation Study.

PubMed

Iglesias-Parra, Maria Rosa; García-Guerrero, Alfonso; García-Mayor, Silvia; Kaknani-Uttumchandani, Shakira; León-Campos, Álvaro; Morales-Asencio, José Miguel

2015-07-01

To develop an evaluation system of clinical competencies for the practicum of nursing students based on the Nursing Interventions Classification (NIC). Psychometric validation study: the first two phases addressed definition and content validation, and the third phase consisted of a cross-sectional study for analyzing reliability. The study population was undergraduate nursing students and clinical tutors. Through the Delphi technique, 26 competencies and 91 interventions were isolated. Cronbach's α was 0.96. Factor analysis yielded 18 factors that explained 68.82% of the variance. Overall inter-item correlation was 0.26, and total-item correlation ranged between 0.66 and 0.19. A competency system for the nursing practicum, structured on the NIC, is a reliable method for assessing and evaluating clinical competencies. Further evaluations in other contexts are needed. The availability of standardized language systems in the nursing discipline supposes an ideal framework to develop the nursing curricula. © 2015 Sigma Theta Tau International.

Competency to Proceed to Trial Evaluations and Rational Understanding.

PubMed

Ragatz, Laurie; Vitacco, Michael J; Tross, Rozanna

2015-12-01

In Dusky v. United States, the United States Supreme Court established "rational understanding" as a necessary component of a defendant's competency to stand trial. Yet, rational understanding has engendered misunderstanding, stemming from inconsistent court rulings and lack of systematic attention given to definitions of rationality. The purpose of this article is to assist with the conceptualization of rational understanding as it relates to competency to proceed to trial. This will be accomplished through a review of legal decisions and scholarly papers that provide various definitions of rationality. We discuss the suitability of standardized instruments of competency and how they may assist in providing a valid metric for evaluating rational abilities. We also provide discussion of how case law, in conjunction with psycholegal research, can be used to gain nuanced insight into operationalizations of rational understanding. By gaining a thorough understanding of rationality in competency to proceed to trial evaluations, clinicians may improve on the quality and foundation of their evaluations. © The Author(s) 2014.

Friends First? The Peer Network Origins of Adolescent Dating

PubMed Central

Kreager, Derek A.; Molloy, Lauren E.; Moody, James; Feinberg, Mark E.

2015-01-01

The proximity of dating partners in peer friendship networks has important implications for the diffusion of health-risk behaviors and adolescent social development. We derive two competing hypotheses for the friendship-romance association. The first predicts that daters are proximally positioned in friendship networks prior to dating and that opposite-gender friends are likely to transition to dating. The second predicts that dating typically crosses group boundaries and opposite-gender friends are unlikely to later date. We test these hypotheses with longitudinal friendship data for 626 9th grade PROSPER heterosexual dating couples. Results primarily support the second hypothesis: romantic partners are unlikely to be friends in the previous year or share the same cohesive subgroup, and opposite-gender friends are unlikely to transition into dating. PMID:27134511

Exceptional Outgroup Stereotypes and White Racial Inequality Attitudes toward Asian Americans

PubMed Central

Park, Jerry Z.; Martinez, Brandon C.; Cobb, Ryon; Park, Julie J.; Wong, Erica Ryu

2016-01-01

Stereotypes of outgroups help create social identificational boundaries for ingroups. When the ingroup is dominant, members employ individualist sentiments to justify their status. In this study, we build on advances in social psychological research that account for multiple outgroup stereotypes. We argue the Asian American model minority stereotype is analogous to the “cold but competent” position of perceptions toward Asians in Fiske’s stereotype content model. Asian Americans are perceived to be exceptional to other minority groups, and we hypothesize that perceived competence is associated with individualist sentiments directed at Blacks and Latinos. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Freshmen, we find support for our hypotheses but find that perceived coldness has no relationship to individualist sentiments. We discuss the implications and directions for further research. PMID:27478288

“Liking” and “Wanting” Linked to Reward Deficiency Syndrome (RDS): Hypothesizing Differential Responsivity in Brain Reward Circuitry

PubMed Central

Blum, Kenneth; Gardner, Eliot; Oscar-Berman, Marlene; Gold, Mark

2013-01-01

In an attempt to resolve controversy regarding the causal contributions of mesolimbic dopamine (DA) systems to reward, we evaluate the three main competing explanatory categories: “liking,” “learning,” and “wanting” [1]. That is, DA may mediate (a) the hedonic impact of reward (liking), (b) learned predictions about rewarding effects (learning), or (c) the pursuit of rewards by attributing incentive salience to reward-related stimuli (wanting). We evaluate these hypotheses, especially as they relate to the Reward Deficiency Syndrome (RDS), and we find that the incentive salience or “wanting” hypothesis of DA function is supported by a majority of the evidence. Neuroimaging studies have shown that drugs of abuse, palatable foods, and anticipated behaviors such as sex and gaming affect brain regions involving reward circuitry, and may not be unidirectional. Drugs of abuse enhance DA signaling and sensitize mesolimbic mechanisms that evolved to attribute incentive salience to rewards. Addictive drugs have in common that they are voluntarily self-administered, they enhance (directly or indirectly) dopaminergic synaptic function in the nucleus accumbens, and they stimulate the functioning of brain reward circuitry (producing the “high” that drug users seek). Although originally believed simply to encode the set point of hedonic tone, these circuits now are believed to be functionally more complex, also encoding attention, reward expectancy, disconfirmation of reward expectancy, and incentive motivation. Elevated stress levels, together with polymorphisms of dopaminergic genes and other neurotransmitter genetic variants, may have a cumulative effect on vulnerability to addiction. The RDS model of etiology holds very well for a variety of chemical and behavioral addictions. PMID:22236117

The Role of Central Metabolism in Prostate Cancer Progression

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-10-01

expression. Omega -3 and - 6 PUFAs compete as substrates for cyclooxygenase-2 and 15-lipoxygenase-1, both elevated in PCa; these enzymes convert -3 PUFAs to...5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6 . AUTHOR(S) 5d. PROJECT NUMBER Thomas P. Conrads, PhD conradstp@upmc.edu 5e. TASK NUMBER 5f. WORK UNIT...Approved for public release; distribution unlimited 13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 14. ABSTRACT We hypothesize that by enriching the diet with

An analysis of the concept of competence in individuals and social systems.

PubMed

Adler, P T

1982-01-01

This paper has attempted to present a unified conceptual model of positive mental health or competence from the perspective of individuals and from the perspective of social systems of varying degrees of complexity, such as families, organizations, and entire communities. It has provided a taxonomy of the elements of competence which allows the application of a common framework to the analysis of competence and to the planning and evaluation of competence building interventions at any level of social organization. Community Mental Health Centers can apply the model which has been presented in a number of different ways. At whatever level(s) the CMHCs' efforts are directed, the competence model presents a framework for analysis, intervention, and evaluation which enriches and expands upon more typical disorder-based formulations. By providing a framework which encompasses all levels of social organization, the model provides the conceptual tools for going beyond the individual and microsystem levels which have often constituted the boundaries of CMHC concern, and allows the CMHC to approach the organizational and community levels which must be encompassed by a competently comprehensive center. Application of the concept of competence to social organizations and to communities allows the CMHC to analyze and intervene at these levels. Finally, the concept of organizational competence separated into its various elements provides the CMHC with a tool for analyzing and evaluating its own environment and the competence of various aspects of its own functioning within that environment.

PDE Occupational Competency Assessment Project--1979. Final Report. Occupational Competency Evaluation Monograph, Number 10. Vocational Technical Education Research Report, Volume 17, Number 23.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Funk, Gerald W.

A project continued activity to improve the occupational competency assessment program for evaluating and certifying vocational education teachers. Development of new testing was continued by Temple University, The Pennsylvania State University, and University of Pittsburgh. Workshops for test developers were conducted to ensure standardization of…

Evaluating the Effects of Competency-Based Web Learning on Self-Directed Learning Aptitudes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chang, Chi-Cheng

2007-01-01

The main aim of the study is to evaluate the impact of the competency-based web learning material (CBWLM) on the self-directed learning aptitude (SDLA) of college students. Specifically, it seeks to investigate, statistically, the changes in SDLAs at different stages of competency-based web learning (CBWL) over an eight-week period. The sample of…

The Evaluation of Modelling Competences: Difficulties and Potentials for the Learning of the Sciences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lopes, J. Bernardino; Costa, Nilza

2007-01-01

Modelling is an inherent process for the construction and use of science concepts that mobilize diverse specific competences. The aims of this work are to put forward a means of evaluating modelling competences that is relevant for physics teaching and science education research and to identify the potentials and constraints in the development of…

Guidelines for the Statement and Assessment of Student Competencies. Teacher Education Forum Series. Vol. 1, No. 10.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bullock, Terry; And Others

This paper, prepared by the Division of Teacher Education Evaluation Team at Indiana University, presents a set of proposed student competencies and ways to assess them. It also contains the guidelines developed by the evaluation team to help teacher education projects and programs in developing competencies and measurement procedures, as well as…

Cognitive functioning and adjudicative competence: defendants referred for neuropsychological evaluation in a psychiatric inpatient setting.

PubMed

Arredondo, Beth C; Marcopulos, Bernice A; Brand, Jesse G; Campbell, Kristen T; Kent, Julie-Ann

2017-11-01

A paucity of peer-reviewed research exists regarding the relation between cognitive functioning and adjudicative competence, despite increasing awareness of cognitive deficits associated with serious mental illness. This retrospective study sought to add to and expand upon existing research by considering performance validity and court determinations of competence, when available. We compared demographic and cognitive variables of a group of defendants with presumed valid testing admitted to an inpatient psychiatric facility for evaluation of adjudicative competence and referred for neuropsychological evaluation (n = 45) and compared individuals determined by the evaluator and/or the court to be competent (n = 30) and incompetent (n = 15). Defendants who were incompetent were more likely to be diagnosed with a cognitive disorder, with a medium effect size. There was a difference in tests of immediate and delayed memory as measured by the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS), with medium to large effects, and high delayed memory scores were helpful in ruling out incompetence (Negative predictive power = 85.71%). These results provide support for the relationship between cognitive functioning and trial competence, particularly at high and low levels of performance.

Is gender a factor in perceived prison officer competence? Male prisoners' perceptions in an English dispersal prison.

PubMed

Boyd, Elizabeth; Grant, Tim

2005-01-01

The introduction of women officers into HM Prison Service raised questions regarding women's ability to perform what had traditionally been a male role. Existing research is inconclusive as to whether female prison officers are as competent as male prison officers, and whether there are gender differences in job performance. This study examined prisoners' perceptions of male and female prison officers' performance. The hypotheses were that overall competence and professionalism ratings would not differ for men and women officers, but that there would be differences in how men and women were perceived to perform their roles. Women were expected to be rated as more communicative, more empathic and less disciplining. The Prison Officer Competency Rating Scale (PORS) was designed for this study. Ratings on the PORS for male and female officers were given by 57 adult male prisoners. There was no significant difference in prisoners' ratings of overall competence of men and women officers. Of the PORS subscales, there were no gender differences in Discipline and Control, Communication or Empathy, but there was a significant difference in Professionalism, where prisoners rated women as more professional. The failure to find any differences between men and women in overall job competence, or on communication, empathy and discipline, as perceived by prisoners, suggests that men and women may be performing their jobs similarly in many respects. Women were rated as more professional, and items contributing to this scale related to respecting privacy and keeping calm in difficult situations, where there may be inherent gender biases.

Cognitive and personality factors in the delay of gratification of hemodialysis patients.

PubMed

Rosenbaum, M; Ben-Ari Smira, K

1986-08-01

On the basis of Mischel's (1984) social learning analysis of the process of delay of gratification in children and in line with Bandura's (1977) self-efficacy theory, we developed a model of delay of gratification in adults and tested it on dialysis patients who were continuously required to comply with a stringent regimen of fluid-intake to keep alive. We hypothesized that patients' self-evaluations of their past compliance and their efficacy expectations would be associated with their actual delay behavior. Underlying these process-regulating cognitions would be stable competencies, such as learned resourcefulness (i.e., one's self-control skills). Fifty-three dialysis patients self-evaluated their fluid intake compliance, their efficacy expectations, and their health beliefs. Resourcefulness was assessed by Rosenbaum's Self-Control Schedule. Actual fluid-intake compliance was reliably assessed by the mean body weight increase between dialyses during the 3-month period prior to the study and during two follow-up periods. The results supported the model. On the one hand, self-efficacy expectations were related to persistence with the fluid diet and on the other hand to subjects' self-evaluation of their past adherence behavior as well as to their resourcefulness. Although the path model suggested a causal pattern, the correlational nature of the study precluded any conclusions on cause-effect relationship.

Occupational therapy practitioners' perceptions of important competencies for handwriting evaluation and intervention in school-aged children.

PubMed

Giroux, Peter; Woodall, William; Weber, Mark; Bailey, Jessica

2012-02-01

The primary purpose of this study was to identify the practitioner competencies that occupational therapists perceive as important for handwriting evaluation and intervention in school-aged children. A secondary purpose was to compare the practitioner perceptions of those in school-based practice with those from other primary practice settings. A stratified random sample of 376 occupational therapists recruited from a national professional organization database participated by completing a survey instrument containing 80 competency items. A majority of the 80 practitioner competency items were perceived to be of high importance to the respondent groups. A significance difference in perception when comparing the school-based practitioners to all other practitioners was revealed in only 3-12 competency summary categories. Practitioner competency survey items were perceived to be of high importance to the participants. School-based practitioner perceptions of competency were, for the most part, mainly similar to those in other primary practice settings.

Questionnaire Evaluating Teaching Competencies in the University Environment. Evaluation of Teaching Competencies in the University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moreno-Murcia, Juan Antonio; Silveira Torregrosa, Yolanda; Belando Pedreño, Noelia

2015-01-01

The objective of this study was to design and validate a measuring instrument to evaluate the performance of university professors. The Evaluation of Teaching Performance (CEID [Centro de Estudios e Investigaciones Docentes (Center for Teaching Studies and Research)]) questionnaire was administered to 1297 university students. Various factor…

Rhizosphere Competence and Biocontrol Effect of Pseudomonas sp. RU47 Independent from Plant Species and Soil Type at the Field Scale.

PubMed

Schreiter, Susanne; Babin, Doreen; Smalla, Kornelia; Grosch, Rita

2018-01-01

Biocontrol inoculants often show inconsistency in their efficacy at field scale and the reason for this remains often unclear. A high rhizosphere competence of inoculant strains is assumed to be a key factor for successful biocontrol effects as the biocontrol strain has to compete with the indigenous microbial community in the rhizosphere. It is known that many factors, among them plant species and soil type shape the rhizosphere microbial community composition. However, microbial community composition in the rhizosphere can also be influenced by the presence of a pathogen. We hypothesized that plant species, soil type, and a pathogen affect the rhizosphere competence of a biocontrol strain and its biocontrol effect against a soil-borne pathogen. To test the hypothesis, we used an experimental plot system with three soil types (diluvial sand, alluvial loam, loess loam) kept under similar agricultural management at the same field site for 12 years. We investigate the rhizosphere competence of Pseudomonas sp. RU47 in two plant species (potato and lettuce) and its biocontrol effect against Rhizoctonia diseases. The colonization density of a rifampicin resistant mutant of RU47 in the rhizosphere of both crops was evaluated by plate counts. Bacterial community compositions were analyzed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of 16S rRNA gene fragments amplified from total community DNA. The inoculant RU47 was able to colonize the rhizosphere of both model crops in a sufficient density and to reduce disease severity of black scurf on potato and bottom rot on lettuce in all three soils. DGGE indicated that RU47 affected the bacterial community composition stronger in the rhizosphere of lettuce than in the potato rhizosphere. In contrast, the effect of the pathogen Rhizoctonia solani on the bacterial community was much stronger in the rhizosphere of potato than in the lettuce rhizosphere. A significant effect of RU47 on the Pseudomonas -specific gacA fingerprints of the rhizosphere was only observed in lettuce in alluvial soil. The soil type and plant species independent biocontrol effects of RU47 and its minor influence on the indigenous bacterial community composition might be important criteria for the registration and use of RU47 as biocontrol strain.

Rhizosphere Competence and Biocontrol Effect of Pseudomonas sp. RU47 Independent from Plant Species and Soil Type at the Field Scale

PubMed Central

Schreiter, Susanne; Babin, Doreen; Smalla, Kornelia; Grosch, Rita

2018-01-01

Biocontrol inoculants often show inconsistency in their efficacy at field scale and the reason for this remains often unclear. A high rhizosphere competence of inoculant strains is assumed to be a key factor for successful biocontrol effects as the biocontrol strain has to compete with the indigenous microbial community in the rhizosphere. It is known that many factors, among them plant species and soil type shape the rhizosphere microbial community composition. However, microbial community composition in the rhizosphere can also be influenced by the presence of a pathogen. We hypothesized that plant species, soil type, and a pathogen affect the rhizosphere competence of a biocontrol strain and its biocontrol effect against a soil-borne pathogen. To test the hypothesis, we used an experimental plot system with three soil types (diluvial sand, alluvial loam, loess loam) kept under similar agricultural management at the same field site for 12 years. We investigate the rhizosphere competence of Pseudomonas sp. RU47 in two plant species (potato and lettuce) and its biocontrol effect against Rhizoctonia diseases. The colonization density of a rifampicin resistant mutant of RU47 in the rhizosphere of both crops was evaluated by plate counts. Bacterial community compositions were analyzed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of 16S rRNA gene fragments amplified from total community DNA. The inoculant RU47 was able to colonize the rhizosphere of both model crops in a sufficient density and to reduce disease severity of black scurf on potato and bottom rot on lettuce in all three soils. DGGE indicated that RU47 affected the bacterial community composition stronger in the rhizosphere of lettuce than in the potato rhizosphere. In contrast, the effect of the pathogen Rhizoctonia solani on the bacterial community was much stronger in the rhizosphere of potato than in the lettuce rhizosphere. A significant effect of RU47 on the Pseudomonas-specific gacA fingerprints of the rhizosphere was only observed in lettuce in alluvial soil. The soil type and plant species independent biocontrol effects of RU47 and its minor influence on the indigenous bacterial community composition might be important criteria for the registration and use of RU47 as biocontrol strain. PMID:29449832

Assessment of Social Competence in an Evaluation-Interaction Analogue

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Steffen, John J.; Redden, Joan

1977-01-01

Discusses a study designed to explore behavior changes in subjects' performances as a function of evaluative feedback and examines the relations between judgements of physical attractiveness and social competence. (MH)

Teaching leadership in trauma resuscitation: Immediate feedback from a real-time, competency-based evaluation tool shows long-term improvement in resident performance.

PubMed

Gregg, Shea C; Heffernan, Daithi S; Connolly, Michael D; Stephen, Andrew H; Leuckel, Stephanie N; Harrington, David T; Machan, Jason T; Adams, Charles A; Cioffi, William G

2016-10-01

Limited data exist on how to develop resident leadership and communication skills during actual trauma resuscitations. An evaluation tool was developed to grade senior resident performance as the team leader during full-trauma-team activations. Thirty actions that demonstrated the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education core competencies were graded on a Likert scale of 1 (poor) to 5 (exceptional). These actions were grouped by their respective core competencies on 5 × 7-inch index cards. In Phase 1, baseline performance scores were obtained. In Phase 2, trauma-focused communication in-services were conducted early in the academic year, and immediate, personalized feedback sessions were performed after resuscitations based on the evaluation tool. In Phase 3, residents received only evaluation-based feedback following resuscitations. In Phase 1 (October 2009 to April 2010), 27 evaluations were performed on 10 residents. In Phase 2 (April 2010 to October 2010), 28 evaluations were performed on nine residents. In Phase 3 (October 2010 to January 2012), 44 evaluations were performed on 13 residents. Total scores improved significantly between Phases 1 and 2 (p = 0.003) and remained elevated throughout Phase 3. When analyzing performance by competency, significant improvement between Phases 1 and 2 (p < 0.05) was seen in all competencies (patient care, knowledge, system-based practice, practice-based learning) with the exception of "communication and professionalism" (p = 0.56). Statistically similar scores were observed between Phases 2 and 3 in all competencies with the exception of "medical knowledge," which showed ongoing significant improvement (p = 0.003). Directed resident feedback sessions utilizing data from a real-time, competency-based evaluation tool have allowed us to improve our residents' abilities to lead trauma resuscitations over a 30-month period. Given pressures to maximize clinical educational opportunities among work-hour constraints, such a model may help decrease the need for costly simulation-based training. Therapeutic study, level III.

Development and psychometric testing of the nursing student mentors' competence instrument (MCI): A cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Tuomikoski, Anna-Maria; Ruotsalainen, Heidi; Mikkonen, Kristina; Miettunen, Jouko; Kääriäinen, Maria

2018-06-05

Mentors require competence at a diverse array of skills to mentor students during clinical practice. According to the latest evidence, competence at mentoring includes: knowledge, skills and attributes of individual students' learning objectives, core elements of nursing, learning processes, a reciprocal and trustful relationship, feedback, evaluation, cooperation with stakeholders, and the mentor's personal qualities. The purpose of the study was to test psychometric properties of a mentor's competence instrument developed to self-evaluate mentors' competence at mentoring nursing students in clinical practice. A cross-sectional, descriptive, explorative study design was used. Data were collected from mentors at five university hospitals in Finland in 2016. A total of 576 mentors participated in this study. The instrument was developed through systematic review, experts' evaluations, and pilot versions of the instrument tested in previous studies. The construct validity and reliability of the instrument were tested using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with promax rotation and Cronbach's alpha. A 10-factor model showed that the instrument has acceptable construct validity. Cronbach's alpha values for the subscales observed ranged from 0.76 to 0.90. The instrument exhibited acceptable psychometric properties, thereby proving itself a valuable tool for evaluating mentors' competence at mentoring students. Further assessments of its reliability, validity and generality for measuring mentor's competence for mentoring students in different contexts and cultures are recommended. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Residency Programs' Evaluations of the Competencies: Data Provided to the ACGME About Types of Assessments Used by Programs

PubMed Central

Holt, Kathleen D.; Miller, Rebecca S.; Nasca, Thomas J.

2010-01-01

Background In 1999, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Outcome Project began to focus on resident performance in the 6 competencies of patient care, medical knowledge, professionalism, practice-based learning and improvement, interpersonal communication skills, and professionalism. Beginning in 2007, the ACGME began collecting information on how programs assess these competencies. This report provides information on the nature and extent of those assessments. Methods Using data collected by the ACGME for site visits, we use descriptive statistics and percentages to describe the number and type of methods and assessors accredited programs (n  =  4417) report using to assess the competencies. Observed differences among specialties, methodologies, and assessors are tested with analysis of variance procedures. Results Almost all (>97%) of programs report assessing all of the competencies and using multiple methods and multiple assessors. Similar assessment methods and evaluator types were consistently used across the 6 competencies. However, there were some differences in the use of patient and family as assessors: Primary care and ambulatory specialties used these to a greater extent than other specialties. Conclusion Residency programs are emphasizing the competencies in their evaluation of residents. Understanding the scope of evaluation methodologies that programs use in resident assessment is important for both the profession and the public, so that together we may monitor continuing improvement in US graduate medical education. PMID:22132294

Performance evaluation of nursing students following competency-based education.

PubMed

Fan, Jun-Yu; Wang, Yu Hsin; Chao, Li Fen; Jane, Sui-Whi; Hsu, Li-Ling

2015-01-01

Competency-based education is known to improve the match between educational performance and employment opportunities. This study examined the effects of competency-based education on the learning outcomes of undergraduate nursing students. The study used a quasi-experimental design. A convenience sample of 312 second-year undergraduate nursing students from northern and southern Taiwan participated in the study. The experimental group (n=163) received competency-based education and the control group received traditional instruction (n=149) in a medical-surgical nursing course. Outcome measures included students' scores on the Objective Structured Clinical Examination, Self-Evaluated Core Competencies Scale, Metacognitive Inventory for Nursing Students questionnaire, and academic performance. Students who received competency-based education had significantly higher academic performance in the medical-surgical nursing course and practicum than did the control group. Required core competencies and metacognitive abilities improved significantly in the competency-based education group as compared to the control group after adjusting for covariates. Competency-based education is worth implementing and may close the gap between education and the ever-changing work environment. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Competencies in Training at the Graduate Student Level: Example of a Pediatric Psychology Seminar Course

PubMed Central

Ievers-Landis, Carolyn E.; Hazen, Rebecca A.; Fehr, Karla K.

2015-01-01

The recently developed competencies in pediatric psychology from the Society of Pediatric Psychology (SPP) Task Force on Competencies and Best Training Practices in Pediatric Psychology provide a benchmark to evaluate training program practices and student progress toward training in level-specific competency goals. Graduate-level training presents a unique challenge for addressing the breadth of competencies required in pediatric psychology while maintaining development of broader clinical psychology training goals. We describe a recurring graduate-level pediatric psychology seminar course that addresses training in a number of the competency cluster areas. The structure of the seminar, examples of classroom topics that correspond with competency cluster areas as well as benchmarks used to evaluate each student’s development in the competency area are provided. Specific challenges in developing and maintaining the seminar in this format are identified, and possible solutions are offered. This training format could serve as a model for established pediatric psychology programs to expand their didactic training goals or for programs without formal pediatric psychology training to address competencies outside of clinical placements. PMID:26900536

Combining Theory-Driven Evaluation and Causal Loop Diagramming for Opening the 'Black Box' of an Intervention in the Health Sector: A Case of Performance-Based Financing in Western Uganda.

PubMed

Renmans, Dimitri; Holvoet, Nathalie; Criel, Bart

2017-09-03

Increased attention on "complexity" in health systems evaluation has resulted in many different methodological responses. Theory-driven evaluations and systems thinking are two such responses that aim for better understanding of the mechanisms underlying given outcomes. Here, we studied the implementation of a performance-based financing intervention by the Belgian Technical Cooperation in Western Uganda to illustrate a methodological strategy of combining these two approaches. We utilized a systems dynamics tool called causal loop diagramming (CLD) to generate hypotheses feeding into a theory-driven evaluation. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 health workers from two districts (Kasese and Kyenjojo) and with 16 key informants. After CLD, we identified three relevant hypotheses: "success to the successful", "growth and underinvestment", and "supervision conundrum". The first hypothesis leads to increasing improvements in performance, as better performance leads to more incentives, which in turn leads to better performance. The latter two hypotheses point to potential bottlenecks. Thus, the proposed methodological strategy was a useful tool for identifying hypotheses that can inform a theory-driven evaluation. The hypotheses are represented in a comprehensible way while highlighting the underlying assumptions, and are more easily falsifiable than hypotheses identified without using CLD.

Bayesian meta-analysis of Cronbach's coefficient alpha to evaluate informative hypotheses.

PubMed

Okada, Kensuke

2015-12-01

This paper proposes a new method to evaluate informative hypotheses for meta-analysis of Cronbach's coefficient alpha using a Bayesian approach. The coefficient alpha is one of the most widely used reliability indices. In meta-analyses of reliability, researchers typically form specific informative hypotheses beforehand, such as 'alpha of this test is greater than 0.8' or 'alpha of one form of a test is greater than the others.' The proposed method enables direct evaluation of these informative hypotheses. To this end, a Bayes factor is calculated to evaluate the informative hypothesis against its complement. It allows researchers to summarize the evidence provided by previous studies in favor of their informative hypothesis. The proposed approach can be seen as a natural extension of the Bayesian meta-analysis of coefficient alpha recently proposed in this journal (Brannick and Zhang, 2013). The proposed method is illustrated through two meta-analyses of real data that evaluate different kinds of informative hypotheses on superpopulation: one is that alpha of a particular test is above the criterion value, and the other is that alphas among different test versions have ordered relationships. Informative hypotheses are supported from the data in both cases, suggesting that the proposed approach is promising for application. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Exercisers' perceptions of their fitness instructor's interacting style, perceived competence, and autonomy as a function of self-determined regulation to exercise, enjoyment, affect, and exercise frequency.

PubMed

Puente, Rogelio; Anshel, Mark H

2010-02-01

The primary purpose of the present investigation was to test the hypothesis, derived from Self-Determination Theory (SDT), that an individual's perceived competence and autonomy mediate the relationship between the exercisers' perception of their instructor's interaction style and the exercisers' motivation to exercise. A secondary purpose was to identify the affective and behavioral outcomes derived from self-determined regulation. It was hypothesized that SDT would significantly explain and predict exercise behavior. Participants consisted of 238 college students, 103 males and 135 females (M age = 20.4 years, SD = 2.16), who volunteered to participate in the study. They were asked to complete a battery of questionnaires measuring instructor's interacting style, self-regulation to exercise, perceived autonomy and competence, enjoyment, positive and negative affect, and exercise frequency. Using structural equation modeling with observed variables, the results showed that perceived competence and autonomy mediated the relationship between perceived instructor's interacting style and self-determined regulation. It was also found that self-determined regulation was significantly related to exercise enjoyment, positive affect, and exercise frequency. It was concluded that understanding the motivational factors and emotional and behavioral consequences of physical activity will partially explain an individual's motives to engage regularly in exercise.

Ironic Effects of Sexual Minority Group Membership: Are Lesbians Less Susceptible to Invoking Negative Female Stereotypes than Heterosexual Women?

PubMed

Niedlich, Claudia; Steffens, Melanie C; Krause, Jacqueline; Settke, Elisabeth; Ebert, Irena D

2015-07-01

The traditional stereotype of the typical woman has been described as "nice, but incompetent." However, such general gender stereotypes are applied to individual targets only under certain conditions: They are used to "fill in the blanks" (Heilman, 2012) if little personal information is provided about a target. "Typical lesbians" are regarded to have more typically masculine (agentic) characteristics such as task competence than the typical woman does. We thus hypothesized that if a woman displays behavior coinciding with the stereotype of the typical woman, it is more readily interpreted as stereotypically female if performed by a heterosexual woman than by a lesbian. Participants (N = 296) read a hypothetical job interview in which we manipulated the target's sexual orientation (between subjects). Findings demonstrated that a lesbian was judged as more competent than a heterosexual woman in the presence of behavior that may be interpreted as gender-stereotypical (Experiments 1 and 2). This difference in competence judgments was not found in the absence of gender-stereotypical behavior (Experiment 1). Judging the heterosexual woman as low in masculinity was related to a judgment of lower competence (Experiment 2). Our findings demonstrate that there are conditions under which lesbians, a group often stereotyped negatively, are less susceptible to invoking negative female stereotypes than heterosexual women are.

Students' Perceptions and Faculty Measured Competencies in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Malechwanzi, J. Muthiani; Lei, Hongde; Wang, Lu

2016-01-01

This study aims to investigate whether there is significant relationship between students' perceived faculty competencies and faculty evaluated competencies. The study identified four main dimensions for measuring faculty competencies namely: teaching, research, additional services and advising. This study adopted a mixed method design. The study…

Competences in Demand within the Spanish Agricultural Engineering Sector

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Perdigones, Alicia; Valera, Diego Luis; Moreda, Guillermo Pedro; García, Jose Luis

2014-01-01

The Rural Engineering Department (Technical University of Madrid) ran three competence surveys during the 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 academic years and evaluated: (1) the competences gained by agricultural engineer's degree and agricultural technical engineer's degree students (360 respondents); (2) the competences demanded by agricultural employers…

Developing Competency of Teachers in Basic Education Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yuayai, Rerngrit; Chansirisira, Pacharawit; Numnaphol, Kochaporn

2015-01-01

This study aims to develop competency of teachers in basic education schools. The research instruments included the semi-structured in-depth interview form, questionnaire, program developing competency, and evaluation competency form. The statistics used for data analysis were percentage, mean, and standard deviation. The research found that…

Featuring: It Works! Competency Based Instruction.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Elston, Teri

1979-01-01

Describes a competency based curriculum approach for ornamental horticulture. A horticulture cluster core consisting of 18 tasks was developed with competency sheets for each task. The competency sheet contains six columns: skills to be attained, task list, materials required, student activities, evaluation methods, and a recommended time period.…

Enhancing Environmental Educators' Evaluation Competencies: Insights from an Examination of the Effectiveness of the "My Environmental Education Evaluation Resource Assistant" (MEERA) Website

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zint, Michaela T.; Dowd, Patrick F.; Covitt, Beth A.

2011-01-01

To conduct evaluations that can benefit individual programs as well as the field as a whole, environmental educators must have the necessary evaluation competencies. This exploratory study was conducted to determine to what extent a self-directed learning resource entitled "My Environmental Education Evaluation Resource Assistant" (MEERA) can…

Genotypic and Phenotypic Diversity Does Not Affect Productivity and Drought Response in Competitive Stands of Trifolium repens.

PubMed

Huber, Heidrun; During, Heinjo J; Bruine de Bruin, Fabienne; Vermeulen, Peter J; Anten, Niels P R

2016-01-01

Clonal plants can form dense canopies in which plants of different genetic origin are competing for the uptake of essential resources. The competitive relationships among these clones are likely to be affected by extreme environmental conditions, such as prolonged drought spells, which are predicted to occur more frequently due to global climate change. This, in turn, may alter characteristics of the ecological system and its associated functioning. We hypothesized that the relative success of individual clones will depend on the size of the ramets as ramets with larger leaves and longer petioles (large ramets) were predicted to have a competitive advantage in terms of increased light interception over smaller-sized ramets. Under drier conditions the relative performances of genotypes were expected to change leading to a change in genotype ranking. We also hypothesized that increased genotypic and phenotypic diversity will increase stand performance and resistance to drought. These hypotheses and the mechanisms responsible for shifts in competitive relationships were investigated by subjecting genotypes of the important pasture legume Trifolium repens to competition with either genetically identical clones, genetically different but similarly sized clones, or genetically as well as morphologically different clones under well-watered and dry conditions. Competitive relationships were affected by ramet size with large genotypes outperforming small genotypes in diverse stands in terms of biomass production. However, large genotypes also produced relatively fewer ramets than small genotypes and could not benefit in terms of clonal reproduction from competing with smaller genotypes, indicating that evolutionary shifts in genotype composition will depend on whether ramet size or ramet number is under selection. In contrast to our hypotheses, diversity did not increase stand performance under different selection regimes and genotype ranking was hardly affected by soil moisture, indicating that increasing fluctuations in water availability result in few short-term effects on genotypic diversity in this stoloniferous grassland species. Communities dominated by stoloniferous herbs such as T. repens may be relatively resilient to environmental change and to low levels of genetic diversity.

Assessing Social Competence and Behavior Problems in a Sample of Italian Preschoolers Using the Social Competence and Behavior Evaluation Scale

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sette, Stefania; Baumgartner, Emma; MacKinnon, David P.

2015-01-01

Research Findings: The main goals of this study were to examine the factor validity of the Social Competence and Behavior Evaluation (SCBE-30) scale using exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis and to test factor invariance across gender in a sample of Italian preschool-age children (241 boys, 252 girls). The concurrent…

Approximated adjusted fractional Bayes factors: A general method for testing informative hypotheses.

PubMed

Gu, Xin; Mulder, Joris; Hoijtink, Herbert

2018-05-01

Informative hypotheses are increasingly being used in psychological sciences because they adequately capture researchers' theories and expectations. In the Bayesian framework, the evaluation of informative hypotheses often makes use of default Bayes factors such as the fractional Bayes factor. This paper approximates and adjusts the fractional Bayes factor such that it can be used to evaluate informative hypotheses in general statistical models. In the fractional Bayes factor a fraction parameter must be specified which controls the amount of information in the data used for specifying an implicit prior. The remaining fraction is used for testing the informative hypotheses. We discuss different choices of this parameter and present a scheme for setting it. Furthermore, a software package is described which computes the approximated adjusted fractional Bayes factor. Using this software package, psychological researchers can evaluate informative hypotheses by means of Bayes factors in an easy manner. Two empirical examples are used to illustrate the procedure. © 2017 The British Psychological Society.

Histamine is a modulator of metamorphic competence in Strongylocentrotus purpuratus (Echinodermata: Echinoidea)

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background A metamorphic life-history is present in the majority of animal phyla. This developmental mode is particularly prominent among marine invertebrates with a bentho-planktonic life cycle, where a pelagic larval form transforms into a benthic adult. Metamorphic competence (the stage at which a larva is capable to undergo the metamorphic transformation and settlement) is an important adaptation both ecologically and physiologically. The competence period maintains the larval state until suitable settlement sites are encountered, at which point the larvae settle in response to settlement cues. The mechanistic basis for metamorphosis (the morphogenetic transition from a larva to a juvenile including settlement), i.e. the molecular and cellular processes underlying metamorphosis in marine invertebrate species, is poorly understood. Histamine (HA), a neurotransmitter used for various physiological and developmental functions among animals, has a critical role in sea urchin fertilization and in the induction of metamorphosis. Here we test the premise that HA functions as a developmental modulator of metamorphic competence in the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus. Results Our results provide strong evidence that HA leads to the acquisition of metamorphic competence in S. purpuratus larvae. Pharmacological analysis of several HA receptor antagonists and an inhibitor of HA synthesis indicates a function of HA in metamorphic competence as well as programmed cell death (PCD) during arm retraction. Furthermore we identified an extensive network of histaminergic neurons in pre-metamorphic and metamorphically competent larvae. Analysis of this network throughout larval development indicates that the maturation of specific neuronal clusters correlates with the acquisition of metamorphic competence. Moreover, histamine receptor antagonist treatment leads to the induction of caspase mediated apoptosis in competent larvae. Conclusions We conclude that HA is a modulator of metamorphic competence in S. purpuratus development and hypothesize that HA may have played an important role in the evolution of settlement strategies in echinoids. Our findings provide novel insights into the evolution of HA signalling and its function in one of the most important and widespread life history transitions in the animal kingdom - metamorphosis. PMID:22541006

Competencies Used to Evaluate High School Coaches.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gratto, John

1983-01-01

Studies of how to evaluate high school coaches' effectiveness found that most respondents felt that principals, athletic directors, and coaches should jointly arrive at a method of evaluation. Coaching competencies rated most highly included prevention and care of athletic injuries, supervision, and consistent discipline. Other valued competencies…

The Perceived Efficacy and Goal Setting System (PEGS), part II: evaluation of test-retest reliability and differences between child and parental reports in the Swedish version.

PubMed

Vroland-Nordstrand, Kristina; Krumlinde-Sundholm, Lena

2012-11-01

to evaluate the test-retest reliability of children's perceptions of their own competence in performing daily tasks and of their choice of goals for intervention using the Swedish version of the perceived efficacy and goal setting system (PEGS). A second aim was to evaluate agreement between children's and parents' perceptions of the child's competence and choices of intervention goals. Forty-four children with disabilities and their parents completed the Swedish version of the PEGS. Thirty-six of the children completed a retest session allocated into one of two groups: (A) for evaluation of perceived competence and (B) for evaluation of choice of goals. Cohen's kappa, weighted kappa and absolute agreement were calculated. Test-retest reliability for children's perceived competence showed good agreement for the dichotomized scale of competent/non-competent performance; however, using the four-point scale the agreement varied. The children's own goals were relatively stable over time; 78% had an absolute agreement ranging from 50% to 100%. There was poor agreement between the children's and their parents' ratings. Goals identified by the children differed from those identified by their parents, with 48% of the children having no goals identical to those chosen by their parents. These results indicate that the Swedish version of the PEGS produces reliable outcomes comparable to the original version.

Improving Culturally Appropriate Care Using a Community-Based Participatory Research Approach: Evaluation of a Multicomponent Cultural Competency Training Program, Arkansas, 2015–2016

PubMed Central

Long, Christopher R.; Rowland, Brett; Moore, Sarah; Wilmoth, Ralph; Ayers, Britni

2017-01-01

Introduction The United States continues to become more racially and ethnically diverse, and racial/ethnic minority communities encounter sociocultural barriers to quality health care, including implicit racial/ethnic bias among health care providers. In response, health care organizations are developing and implementing cultural competency curricula. Using a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach, we developed and evaluated a cultural competency training program to improve the delivery of culturally appropriate care in Marshallese and Hispanic communities. Methods We used a mixed-methods evaluation approach based on the Kirkpatrick model of training evaluation. We collected quantitative evaluation data immediately after each training session (March 19, 2015–November 30, 2016) and qualitative data about implementation at 2 points: immediately after each session and 6 months after training. Individuals and organizational units provided qualitative data. Results We delivered 1,250 units of in-person training at 25 organizations. Participants reported high levels of changes in knowledge (91.2%), competence (86.6%), and performance (87.2%) as a result of the cultural competency training. Organizations reported making policy and environmental changes. Conclusion Initial outcomes demonstrate the value of developing and implementing cultural competency training programs using a CBPR approach. Additional research is needed to determine the effect on long-term patient outcomes. PMID:28771402

Rapid Web-Based Platform for Assessment of Orthopedic Surgery Patient Care Milestones: A 2-Year Validation.

PubMed

Gundle, Kenneth R; Mickelson, Dayne T; Cherones, Arien; Black, Jason; Hanel, Doug P

To determine the validity, feasibility, and responsiveness of a new web-based platform for rapid milestone-based evaluations of orthopedic surgery residents. Single academic medical center, including a trauma center and pediatrics tertiary hospital. Forty residents (PG1-5) in an orthopedic residency program and their faculty evaluators. Residents and faculty were trained and supported in the use of a novel trainee-initiated web-based evaluation system. Residents were encouraged to use the system to track progress on patient care subcompetencies. Two years of prospectively collected data were reviewed from residents at an academic program. The primary outcome was Spearman's rank correlation between postgraduate year (PGY) and competency level achieved as a measure of validity. Secondary outcomes assessed feasibility, resident self-evaluation versus faculty evaluation, the distributions among subcompetencies, and responsiveness over time. Between February 2014 and February 2016, 856 orthopedic surgery patient care subcompetency evaluations were completed (1.2 evaluations per day). Residents promptly requested feedback after a procedure (median = 0 days, interquartile range: 0-2), and faculty responded within 2 days in 51% (median = 2 days, interquartile range: 0-13). Primary outcome showed a correlation between PGY and competency level (r = 0.78, p < 0.001), with significant differences in competency among PGYs (p < 0.001 by Kruskal-Wallis rank sum test). Self-evaluations by residents substantially agreed with faculty-assigned competency level (weighted Cohen's κ = 0.72, p < 0.001). Resident classes beginning the study as PGY1, 2, and 3 separately demonstrated gains in competency over time (Spearman's rank correlation 0.39, 0.60, 0.59, respectively, each p < 0.001). There was significant variance in the number of evaluations submitted per subcompetency (median = 43, range: 6-113) and competency level assigned (p < 0.01). Rapid tracking of trainee competency with milestone-based evaluations in a learner-centered mobile platform demonstrated validity, feasibility, and responsiveness. Next Accreditation System-mandated data may be efficiently collected and used for trainee and program self-study. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Competing endogenous RNA and interactome bioinformatic analyses on human telomerase.

PubMed

Arancio, Walter; Pizzolanti, Giuseppe; Genovese, Swonild Ilenia; Baiamonte, Concetta; Giordano, Carla

2014-04-01

We present a classic interactome bioinformatic analysis and a study on competing endogenous (ce) RNAs for hTERT. The hTERT gene codes for the catalytic subunit and limiting component of the human telomerase complex. Human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) is essential for the integrity of telomeres. Telomere dysfunctions have been widely reported to be involved in aging, cancer, and cellular senescence. The hTERT gene network has been analyzed using the BioGRID interaction database (http://thebiogrid.org/) and related analysis tools such as Osprey (http://biodata.mshri.on.ca/osprey/servlet/Index) and GeneMANIA (http://genemania.org/). The network of interaction of hTERT transcripts has been further analyzed following the competing endogenous (ce) RNA hypotheses (messenger [m] RNAs cross-talk via micro [mi] RNAs) using the miRWalk database and tools (www.ma.uni-heidelberg.de/apps/zmf/mirwalk/). These analyses suggest a role for Akt, nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), heat shock protein 90 (HSP90), p70/p80 autoantigen, 14-3-3 proteins, and dynein in telomere functions. Roles for histone acetylation/deacetylation and proteoglycan metabolism are also proposed.

Surgeons' attitude toward a competency-based training and assessment program: results of a multicenter survey.

PubMed

Hopmans, Cornelis J; den Hoed, Pieter T; Wallenburg, Iris; van der Laan, Lijkckle; van der Harst, Erwin; van der Elst, Maarten; Mannaerts, Guido H H; Dawson, Imro; van Lanschot, Jan J B; Ijzermans, Jan N M

2013-01-01

Currently, most surgical training programs are focused on the development and evaluation of professional competencies. Also in the Netherlands, competency-based training and assessment programs were introduced to restructure postgraduate medical training. The current surgical residency program is based on the Canadian Medical Education Directives for Specialists (CanMEDS) competencies and uses assessment tools to evaluate residents' competence progression. In this study, we examined the attitude of surgical residents and attending surgeons toward a competency-based training and assessment program used to restructure general surgical training in the Netherlands in 2009. In 2011, all residents (n = 51) and attending surgeons (n = 108) in 1 training region, consisting of 7 hospitals, were surveyed. Participants were asked to rate the importance of the CanMEDS competencies and the suitability of the adopted assessment tools. Items were rated on a 5-point Likert scale and considered relevant when at least 80% of the respondents rated an item with a score of 4 or 5 (indicating a positive attitude). Reliability was evaluated by calculating the Cronbach's α, and the Mann-Whitney test was applied to assess differences between groups. The response rate was 88% (n = 140). The CanMEDS framework demonstrated good reliability (Cronbach's α = 0.87). However, the importance of the competencies 'Manager' (78%) and 'Health Advocate' (70%) was undervalued. The assessment tools failed to achieve an acceptable reliability (Cronbach's α = 0.55), and individual tools were predominantly considered unsuitable for assessment. Exceptions were the tools 'in-training evaluation report' (91%) and 'objective structured assessment of technical skill' (82%). No significant differences were found between the residents and the attending surgeons. This study has demonstrated that, 2 years after the reform of the general surgical residency program, residents and attending surgeons in a large training region in the Netherlands do not acknowledge the importance of all CanMEDS competencies and consider the assessment tools generally unsuitable for competence evaluation. Copyright © 2013 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Perceptions of athletic competence and fear of negative evaluation during physical education.

PubMed

Ridgers, Nicola D; Fazey, Della M A; Fairclough, Stuart J

2007-06-01

Physical education (PE) aims to enhance self-esteem, develop sporting interests and to encourage a physically active life-style. However, little is known about how a fear of negative evaluation (FNE), the socially evaluative aspect of social anxiety, affects children's attitudes to PE. The aim of the study was to investigate the relationships between perceived athletic competence and FNE within PE lessons, specifically looking at differences between boys and girls and primary and secondary schools. The participants were 192 children in three primary schools (N=85, mean age=9.5+/-1.1 years) and two secondary schools (N=107, mean age=14.5+/-0.8 years) from rural areas of North Wales and the Midlands region of England. The participants completed the Brief-FNE Scale and the Self-Perception Profile for Children immediately post-lesson on one occasion. Girls had higher FNE but lower perceptions of athletic competence than did boys. Older girls had higher FNE and lower perceived competence than the remaining three groups. Additionally, a significant and reverse but weak correlation was observed between girls' perceived athletic competence and FNE. The findings suggest that girls with a high FNE report lower perceptions of their athletic competence. Individuals who are high in FNE behave in ways to avoid the prospect of being evaluated negatively. However, they may seek feedback from significant others as a signal that unfavourable evaluations have been avoided. Therefore, positive, encouraging feedback used in child-centred learning strategies may foster feelings of competence in boys and girls and could reduce the girls' social anxiety.

Social impact evaluation : Some implications of the specific decisional context approach for anticipatory project assessment with special reference to available alternatives and to techniques of evaluating the social impacts of the anticipated effects of such alternatives

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mayo, L. H.

1972-01-01

The implications are explored of the specific decision context approach to anticipatory project assessment. More specifically, it is hypothesized that with respect to any given effect of a proposed project or action (mobility, job opportunities, air pollution, population distribution, etc.) such effect will likely differ in probability and/or magnitude from one decisional context to another; that the social desirability or undesirability of a given effect is a function (will differ with) each specific decisional context; that therefore the social impact of such effect will in all likelihood differ with each specific decisional context; and that the social significance of even the dame social impact of a given effect will vary from one decisional context to another when such social impact interacts with (competes with or reinforces) the social impacts of other effects. It also follows from this analysis that the respective roles of scientific method (demonstrable data) and adversarial system will not only differ with each specific decisional context but with each alternative course of action available to the decisional entity in each specific context.

Return to Beringia: parasites reveal cryptic biogeographic history of North American pikas.

PubMed

Galbreath, Kurt E; Hoberg, Eric P

2012-01-22

Traditional concepts of the Bering Land Bridge as a zone of predominantly eastward expansion from Eurasia and a staging area for subsequent colonization of lower latitudes in North America led to early inferences regarding biogeographic histories of North American faunas, many of which remain untested. Here we apply a host-parasite comparative phylogeographical (HPCP) approach to evaluate one such history, by testing competing biogeographic hypotheses for five lineages of host-specific parasites shared by the collared pika (Ochotona collaris) and American pika (Ochotona princeps) of North America. We determine whether the southern host species (O. princeps) was descended from a northern ancestor or vice versa. Three parasite phylogenies revealed patterns consistent with the hypothesis of a southern origin, which is corroborated by four additional parasite lineages restricted to O. princeps. This finding reverses the traditional narrative for the origins of North American pikas and highlights the role of dispersal from temperate North America into Beringia in structuring northern diversity considerably prior to the Holocene. By evaluating multiple parasite lineages simultaneously, the study demonstrates the power of HPCP for resolving complex biogeographic histories that are not revealed by characteristics of the host alone.

Competency Among Hard-To-Employ Youths. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Caplan, Nathan

This report consists of five chapters: the first evaluates a theory of youth unemployment which particulary pertains to youths who are skillful in "nonstandard" competencies--the theory of competing competencies. The second chapter illustrates such behavior through the use of a case history. The third chapter presents empirical support for the…

Physical Education Teachers' Cultural Competency

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harrison, Louis, Jr.; Carson, Russell L.; Burden, Joe, Jr.

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the common assumption that teachers of color (TOC) are more culturally competent than White teachers by assessing physical education teachers' cultural competency. A secondary purpose was to ascertain the possible differences in cultural competence levels of White teachers in diverse school settings versus…

The Implementation of Pharmacy Competence Teaching in Estonia

PubMed Central

Volmer, Daisy; Sepp, Kristiina; Veski, Peep; Raal, Ain

2017-01-01

Background: The PHAR-QA, “Quality Assurance in European Pharmacy Education and Training”, project has produced the European Pharmacy Competence Framework (EPCF). The aim of this study was to evaluate the existing pharmacy programme at the University of Tartu, using the EPCF. Methods: A qualitative assessment of the pharmacy programme by a convenience sample (n = 14) representing different pharmacy stakeholders in Estonia. EPCF competency levels were determined by using a five-point scale tool adopted from the Dutch competency standards framework. Mean scores of competency levels given by academia and other pharmacy stakeholders were compared. Results: Medical and social sciences, pharmaceutical technology, and pharmacy internship were more frequent subject areas contributing to EPCF competencies. In almost all domains, the competency level was seen higher by academia than by other pharmacy stakeholders. Despite on-board theoretical knowledge, the competency level at graduation could be insufficient for independent professional practice. Other pharmacy stakeholders would improve practical implementation of theoretical knowledge, especially to increase patient care competencies. Conclusions: The EPCF was utilized to evaluate professional competencies of entry-level pharmacists who have completed a traditional pharmacy curriculum. More efficient training methods and involvement of practicing specialists were suggested to reduce the gaps of the existing pharmacy programme. Applicability of competence teaching in Estonia requires more research and collaborative communication within the pharmacy sector. PMID:28970430

Signal enhancement, not active suppression, follows the contingent capture of visual attention.

PubMed

Livingstone, Ashley C; Christie, Gregory J; Wright, Richard D; McDonald, John J

2017-02-01

Irrelevant visual cues capture attention when they possess a task-relevant feature. Electrophysiologically, this contingent capture of attention is evidenced by the N2pc component of the visual event-related potential (ERP) and an enlarged ERP positivity over the occipital hemisphere contralateral to the cued location. The N2pc reflects an early stage of attentional selection, but presently it is unclear what the contralateral ERP positivity reflects. One hypothesis is that it reflects the perceptual enhancement of the cued search-array item; another hypothesis is that it is time-locked to the preceding cue display and reflects active suppression of the cue itself. Here, we varied the time interval between a cue display and a subsequent target display to evaluate these competing hypotheses. The results demonstrated that the contralateral ERP positivity is tightly time-locked to the appearance of the search display rather than the cue display, thereby supporting the perceptual enhancement hypothesis and disconfirming the cue-suppression hypothesis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Nicotine, cotinine, and β-nicotyrine inhibit NNK-induced DNA-strand break in the hepatic cell line HepaRG.

PubMed

Ordonez, Patricia; Sierra, Ana Belen; Camacho, Oscar M; Baxter, Andrew; Banerjee, Anisha; Waters, David; Minet, Emmanuel

2014-07-15

Recent in vitro work using purified enzymes demonstrated that nicotine and/or a nicotine metabolite could inhibit CYPs (CYP2A6, 2A13, 2E1) involved in the metabolism of the genotoxic tobacco nitrosamine NNK. This observation raises the possibility of nicotine interaction with the mechanism of NNK bioactivation. Therefore, we hypothesized that nicotine or a nicotine metabolite such as cotinine might contribute to the inhibition of NNK-induced DNA strand breaks by interfering with CYP enzymes. The effect of nicotine and cotinine on DNA strand breaks was evaluated using the COMET assay in CYP competent HepaRG cells incubated with bioactive CYP-dependent NNK and CYP-independent NNKOAc (4-(acetoxymethylnitrosoamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone). We report a dose-dependent reduction in DNA damage in hepatic-derived cell lines in the presence of nicotine and cotinine. Those results are discussed in the context of the in vitro model selected. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Statistical hypothesis testing and common misinterpretations: Should we abandon p-value in forensic science applications?

PubMed

Taroni, F; Biedermann, A; Bozza, S

2016-02-01

Many people regard the concept of hypothesis testing as fundamental to inferential statistics. Various schools of thought, in particular frequentist and Bayesian, have promoted radically different solutions for taking a decision about the plausibility of competing hypotheses. Comprehensive philosophical comparisons about their advantages and drawbacks are widely available and continue to span over large debates in the literature. More recently, controversial discussion was initiated by an editorial decision of a scientific journal [1] to refuse any paper submitted for publication containing null hypothesis testing procedures. Since the large majority of papers published in forensic journals propose the evaluation of statistical evidence based on the so called p-values, it is of interest to expose the discussion of this journal's decision within the forensic science community. This paper aims to provide forensic science researchers with a primer on the main concepts and their implications for making informed methodological choices. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Internal epithelia in Drosophila display rudimentary competence to form cytoplasmic networks of transgenic human vimentin.

PubMed

Gullmets, Josef; Torvaldson, Elin; Lindqvist, Julia; Imanishi, Susumu Y; Taimen, Pekka; Meinander, Annika; Eriksson, John E

2017-12-01

Cytoplasmic intermediate filaments (cIFs) are found in all eumetazoans, except arthropods. To investigate the compatibility of cIFs in arthropods, we expressed human vimentin (hVim), a cIF with filament-forming capacity in vertebrate cells and tissues, transgenically in Drosophila Transgenic hVim could be recovered from whole-fly lysates by using a standard procedure for intermediate filament (IF) extraction. When this procedure was used to test for the possible presence of IF-like proteins in flies, only lamins and tropomyosin were observed in IF-enriched extracts, thereby providing biochemical reinforcement to the paradigm that arthropods lack cIFs. In Drosophila , transgenic hVim was unable to form filament networks in S2 cells and mesenchymal tissues; however, cage-like vimentin structures could be observed around the nuclei in internal epithelia, which suggests that Drosophila retains selective competence for filament formation. Taken together, our results imply that although the filament network formation competence is partially lost in Drosophila , a rudimentary filament network formation ability remains in epithelial cells. As a result of the observed selective competence for cIF assembly in Drosophila , we hypothesize that internal epithelial cIFs were the last cIFs to disappear from arthropods.-Gullmets, J., Torvaldson, E., Lindqvist, J., Imanishi, S. Y., Taimen, P., Meinander, A., Eriksson, J. E. Internal epithelia in Drosophila display rudimentary competence to form cytoplasmic networks of transgenic human vimentin. © FASEB.

Development of Veteran-Centric Competency Domains for Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Residents.

PubMed

York, Janet; Sternke, Lisa Marie; Myrick, Donald Hugh; Lauerer, Joy; Hair, Carole

2016-11-01

The mental health needs of military service members, Veterans, and their families are a designated national priority; however, there has been little emphasis on the inclusion of Veteran-centric domains in competency-based nursing education for psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioners (PMHNPs). The current article describes the identification and application of Veteran-centric domains in an innovative pilot residency program for PMHNPs, funded by the Veterans Health Administration Office of Academic Affiliations. Fourteen Veteran-centric competency domains were developed from literature review, including knowledge, attitudes, and skill behaviors. Adoption and application of these domains in curricular components included the resident competency evaluation, baseline assessment of military experience, and evidence-based practice seminars and training. Methods of competency domain evaluation are presented, along with gaps related to the evaluation of competency skills. The delivery of mental health services reflecting these domains is consistent with the VA core values and goal of developing a positive service culture. [Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 54(11), 31-36.]. Copyright 2016, SLACK Incorporated.

Development and validation of a nursing professionalism evaluation model in a career ladder system.

PubMed

Kim, Yeon Hee; Jung, Young Sun; Min, Ja; Song, Eun Young; Ok, Jung Hui; Lim, Changwon; Kim, Kyunghee; Kim, Ji-Su

2017-01-01

The clinical ladder system categorizes the degree of nursing professionalism and rewards and is an important human resource tool for managing nursing. We developed a model to evaluate nursing professionalism, which determines the clinical ladder system levels, and verified its validity. Data were collected using a clinical competence tool developed in this study, and existing methods such as the nursing professionalism evaluation tool, peer reviews, and face-to-face interviews to evaluate promotions and verify the presented content in a medical institution. Reliability and convergent and discriminant validity of the clinical competence evaluation tool were verified using SmartPLS software. The validity of the model for evaluating overall nursing professionalism was also analyzed. Clinical competence was determined by five dimensions of nursing practice: scientific, technical, ethical, aesthetic, and existential. The structural model explained 66% of the variance. Clinical competence scales, peer reviews, and face-to-face interviews directly determined nursing professionalism levels. The evaluation system can be used for evaluating nurses' professionalism in actual medical institutions from a nursing practice perspective. A conceptual framework for establishing a human resources management system for nurses and a tool for evaluating nursing professionalism at medical institutions is provided.

Individualized education and competency development of Croatian community pharmacists using the general level framework.

PubMed

Meštrović, Arijana; Staničić, Zivka; Hadžiabdić, Maja Ortner; Mucalo, Iva; Bates, Ian; Duggan, Catherine; Carter, Sarah; Bruno, Andreia; Košiček, Miljenko

2012-03-12

To measure Croatian community pharmacists' progress in competency development using the General Level Framework (GLF) as an educational tool in a longitudinal study. Patient care competencies of 100 community pharmacists were evaluated twice, in 2009 and in 2010 in a prospective cohort study. During this 12-month period, tailored educational programs based on the GLF were organized and conducted, new services and standard operating procedures were implemented, and documentation of contributions to patient care in the pharmacist's portfolio became mandatory. Pharmacists' development of all GLF patient care competencies was significant with the greatest improvements seen in the following competencies: patient consultation, monitoring drug therapy, medicine information and patient education, and evaluation of outcomes. This study, which retested the effectiveness of an evidence-based competency framework, confirmed that GLF is a valid educational tool for pharmacist development.

Evaluation of Professional Role Competency during Psychiatry Residency

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grujich, Nikola N.; Razmy, Ajmal; Zaretsky, Ari; Styra, Rima G.; Sockalingam, Sanjeev

2012-01-01

Objective: The authors sought to determine psychiatry residents' perceptions on the current method of evaluating professional role competency and the use of multi-source feedback (MSF) as an assessment tool. Method: Authors disseminated a structured, anonymous survey to 128 University of Toronto psychiatry residents, evaluating the current mode of…

Participants' Evaluation of Consultation: Implications for Training in School Psychology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Klose, Laurie McGarry; Plotts, Cynthia; Lasser, Jon

2012-01-01

Evaluation of graduate students' consultation skills is essential to competent practice in school settings. Congruence of evaluation of the consultation experience has been shown as an important factor in the development of competent consultants in other, related disciplines. The current study analysed student consultant and teacher consultee…

Professional Competence of Prospective Teachers in Business and Economics Education: Evaluation of a Competence Model Using Structural Equation Modeling

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bouley, Franziska; Wuttke, Eveline; Schnick-Vollmer, Kathleen; Schmitz, Bernhard; Berger, Stefanie; Fritsch, Sabine; Seifried, Jürgen

2015-01-01

Teacher competence is crucial for quality of teaching and learner achievement. Competency models and competence measurement are prevalent in domains such as the natural sciences and lacking in others. We conducted our research in the field of business and economics education by focusing on the accounting domain because it is key to a deep…

Virtual and live social facilitation while exergaming: competitiveness moderates exercise intensity.

PubMed

Snyder, Amanda L; Anderson-Hanley, Cay; Arciero, Paul J

2012-04-01

Grounded in social facilitation theory, this study compared the impact on exercise intensity of a virtual versus a live competitor, when riding a virtual reality-enhanced stationary bike ("cybercycle"). It was hypothesized that competitiveness would moderate effects. Twenty-three female college students were exposed to three conditions on a cybercycle: solo training, virtual competitor, and live competitor. After training without a competitor (solo condition for familiarization with equipment), participants competed against a virtual avatar or live rider (random order of presentation). A repeated-measures analysis revealed a significant condition (virtual/live) by competitiveness (high/low) interaction for exercise intensity (watts). More competitive participants exhibited significantly greater exercise intensity when competing against a live versus virtual competitor. The implication is that live competitors can have an added social facilitation effect and influence exercise intensity, although competitiveness moderates this effect.

Expressions of positive emotion in women's college yearbook pictures and their relationship to personality and life outcomes across adulthood.

PubMed

Harker, L; Keltner, D

2001-01-01

To test hypotheses about positive emotion, the authors examined the relationship of positive emotional expression in women's college pictures to personality, observer ratings, and life outcomes. Consistent with the notion that positive emotions help build personal resources, positive emotional expression correlated with the self-reported personality traits of affiliation, competence, and low negative emotionality across adulthood and predicted changes in competence and negative emotionality. Observers rated women displaying more positive emotion more favorably on several personality dimensions and expected interactions with them to be more rewarding; thus, demonstrating the beneficial social consequences of positive emotions. Finally, positive emotional expression predicted favorable outcomes in marriage and personal well-being up to 30 years later. Controlling for physical attractiveness and social desirability had little impact on these findings.

Longitudinal Associations between Children’s Understanding of Emotions and Theory of Mind

PubMed Central

O’Brien, Marion; Weaver, Jennifer Miner; Nelson, Jackie A.; Calkins, Susan; Leerkes, Esther; Marcovitch, Stuart

2010-01-01

Theory of mind competence and knowledge of emotions were studied longitudinally in a sample of preschoolers aged 3 (n =263) and 4 (n =244) years. Children were assessed using standard measures of theory of mind and emotion knowledge. Three competing hypotheses were tested regarding the developmental associations between children’s theory of mind abilities and their knowledge of emotions. First, that an understanding of emotion develops early and informs children’s understanding of others’ thinking. Alternatively, having a basic theory of mind may help children learn about emotions. Thirdly, that the two domains are separate aspects of children’s social cognitive skills such that each area develops independently. Results of hierarchical regressions supported the first hypothesis that early emotion understanding predicts later theory of mind performance, and not the reverse. PMID:21895570

Is Nurses' Professional Competence Related to Their Personality and Emotional Intelligence? A Cross-Sectional Study.

PubMed

Heydari, Abbas; Kareshki, Hossein; Armat, Mohammad Reza

2016-01-01

Nurses' professional competence is a crucial factor in clinical practice. Systematic evaluation of nurses' competence and its related factors are essential for enhancing the quality of nursing care. This study aimed to assess the nurses' competence level and its possible relationship with their personality and emotional intelligence. Using a cross-sectional survey design, three instruments including Nurse Competence Scale, short form of Schutte Self Report Emotional Intelligence Test, and the short 10-item version of Big Five Factor Inventory, were administered simultaneously to a randomized stratified sample of 220 nurses working in hospitals affiliated to Mashhad University of Medical Sciences. Data analysis was performed using SPSS 11.5. Majority of nurses rated themselves as "good" and "very good", with the highest scores in "managing situations" and "work role" dimensions of nurse competence. A relatively similar pattern of scores was seen in competence dimensions, personality and emotional intelligence, among male and female nurses. Emotional intelligence and personality scores showed a significant relationship with nurses' competence, explaining almost 20% of variations in nurse competence scores. Iranian nurses evaluated their overall professional competence at similar level of the nurses in other countries. Knowledge about the nurses' competence level and its related factors, including personality and emotional intelligence, may help nurse managers in enhancing nurses' professional competence through appropriate task assignments and conducting in-service educational programs, thus improving the health status of patients.

Nursing Competency: Definition, Structure and Development

PubMed Central

Fukada, Mika

2018-01-01

Nursing competency includes core abilities that are required for fulfilling one’s role as a nurse. Therefore, it is important to clearly define nursing competency to establish a foundation for nursing education curriculum. However, while the concepts surrounding nursing competency are important for improving nursing quality, they are still not yet completely developed. Thus, challenges remain in establishing definitions and structures for nursing competency, competency levels necessary for nursing professionals, training methods and so on. In the present study, we reviewed the research on definitions and attributes of nursing competency in Japan as well as competency structure, its elements and evaluation. Furthermore, we investigated training methods to teach nursing competency. PMID:29599616

Nursing Competency: Definition, Structure and Development.

PubMed

Fukada, Mika

2018-03-01

Nursing competency includes core abilities that are required for fulfilling one's role as a nurse. Therefore, it is important to clearly define nursing competency to establish a foundation for nursing education curriculum. However, while the concepts surrounding nursing competency are important for improving nursing quality, they are still not yet completely developed. Thus, challenges remain in establishing definitions and structures for nursing competency, competency levels necessary for nursing professionals, training methods and so on. In the present study, we reviewed the research on definitions and attributes of nursing competency in Japan as well as competency structure, its elements and evaluation. Furthermore, we investigated training methods to teach nursing competency.

42 CFR 431.412 - Application procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... authorities that the State believes to be necessary to authorize the demonstration. (vii) The research... testing the hypotheses in the context of an evaluation, and, if a quantitative evaluation design is..., identification of research hypotheses related to the changes and an evaluation design for addressing the proposed...

42 CFR 431.412 - Application procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... authorities that the State believes to be necessary to authorize the demonstration. (vii) The research... testing the hypotheses in the context of an evaluation, and, if a quantitative evaluation design is..., identification of research hypotheses related to the changes and an evaluation design for addressing the proposed...

42 CFR 431.412 - Application procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... authorities that the State believes to be necessary to authorize the demonstration. (vii) The research... testing the hypotheses in the context of an evaluation, and, if a quantitative evaluation design is..., identification of research hypotheses related to the changes and an evaluation design for addressing the proposed...

[What and how to evaluate clinical-surgical competence. The resident and staff surgeon perspective].

PubMed

Cervantes-Sánchez, Carlos Roberto; Chávez-Vizcarra, Paola; Barragán-Ávila, María Cristina; Parra-Acosta, Haydee; Herrera-Mendoza, Renzo Eduardo

2016-01-01

Evaluation is a means for significant and rigorous improvement of the educational process. Therefore, competence evaluation should allow assessing the complex activity of medical care, as well as improving the training process. This is the case in the evaluation process of clinical-surgical competences. A cross-sectional study was designed to measure knowledge about the evaluation of clinical-surgical competences for the General Surgery residency program at the Faculty of Medicine, Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua (UACH). A 55-item questionnaire divided into six sections was used (perception, planning, practice, function, instruments and strategies, and overall evaluation), with a six level Likert scale, performing a descriptive, correlation and comparative analysis, with a significance level of 0.001. In both groups perception of evaluation was considered as a further qualification. As regards tools, the best known was the written examination. As regards function, evaluation was considered as a further administrative requirement. In the correlation analysis, evaluation was perceived as qualification and was significantly associated with measurement, assessment and accreditation. In the comparative analysis between residents and staff surgeons, a significant difference was found as regards the perception of the evaluation as a measurement of knowledge (Student t test: p=0.04). The results provide information about the concept we have about the evaluation of clinical-surgical competences, considering it as a measure of learning achievement for a socially required certification. There is confusion as regards the perception of evaluation, its function, goals and scopes as benefit for those evaluated. Copyright © 2015 Academia Mexicana de Cirugía A.C. Published by Masson Doyma México S.A. All rights reserved.

Portfolio as a tool to evaluate clinical competences of traumatology in medical students

PubMed Central

Santonja-Medina, Fernando; García-Sanz, M Paz; Martínez-Martínez, Francisco; Bó, David; García-Estañ, Joaquín

2016-01-01

This article investigates whether a reflexive portfolio is instrumental in determining the level of acquisition of clinical competences in traumatology, a subject in the 5th year of the degree of medicine. A total of 131 students used the portfolio during their clinical rotation of traumatology. The students’ portfolios were blind evaluated by four professors who annotated the existence (yes/no) of 23 learning outcomes. The reliability of the portfolio was moderate, according to the kappa index (0.48), but the evaluation scores between evaluators were very similar. Considering the mean percentage, 59.8% of the students obtained all the competences established and only 13 of the 23 learning outcomes (56.5%) were fulfilled by >50% of the students. Our study suggests that the portfolio may be an important tool to quantitatively analyze the acquisition of traumatology competences of medical students, thus allowing the implementation of methods to improve its teaching. PMID:26929675

Portfolio as a tool to evaluate clinical competences of traumatology in medical students.

PubMed

Santonja-Medina, Fernando; García-Sanz, M Paz; Martínez-Martínez, Francisco; Bó, David; García-Estañ, Joaquín

2016-01-01

This article investigates whether a reflexive portfolio is instrumental in determining the level of acquisition of clinical competences in traumatology, a subject in the 5th year of the degree of medicine. A total of 131 students used the portfolio during their clinical rotation of traumatology. The students' portfolios were blind evaluated by four professors who annotated the existence (yes/no) of 23 learning outcomes. The reliability of the portfolio was moderate, according to the kappa index (0.48), but the evaluation scores between evaluators were very similar. Considering the mean percentage, 59.8% of the students obtained all the competences established and only 13 of the 23 learning outcomes (56.5%) were fulfilled by >50% of the students. Our study suggests that the portfolio may be an important tool to quantitatively analyze the acquisition of traumatology competences of medical students, thus allowing the implementation of methods to improve its teaching.

Why Can't We Resolve Recruitment?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferreira, S. A.; Payne, M. R.; Hátún, H.; MacKenzie, B. R.; Butenschön, M.; Visser, A. W.

2016-02-01

During the last century, Johan Hjort's work has lead to signicant advances in explaining anomalous year-classes within sheries science. However, distinguishing between the competing mechanisms of year-class regulation (e.g., food conditions, predation, transport) has proved challenging. We use blue whiting (Micromesistius poutassou) in the North-east Atlantic Ocean as a case study, which, during the late 1990s and early 2000s, generated year-classes up to nearly an order of magnitude higher than those seen before or after. There presently exists no models that can quantify past variations in recruitment for this stock. Using modern stock-statistical and observational tools, we catalog a range of environmentally-driven hypotheses relevant for recruitment of blue whiting, including physical and biogeographic conditions, phenology, parental effects and predation. We have run the analyses to test some hypotheses and results will be presented at the session.

Nursing students' self-evaluation using a video recording of foley catheterization: effects on students' competence, communication skills, and learning motivation.

PubMed

Yoo, Moon Sook; Yoo, Il Young; Lee, Hyejung

2010-07-01

An opportunity for a student to evaluate his or her own performance enhances self-awareness and promotes self-directed learning. Using three outcome measures of competency of procedure, communication skills, and learning motivation, the effects of self-evaluation using a video recording of the student's Foley catheterization was investigated in this study. The students in the experimental group (n = 20) evaluated their Foley catheterization performance by reviewing the video recordings of their own performance, whereas students in the control group (n = 20) received written evaluation guidelines only. The results showed that the students in the experimental group had better scores on competency (p < 0.001), communication skills (p < 0.001), and learning motivation (p = 0.018) than the control group at the post-test, which was conducted 8 weeks after the pretest. Self-awareness of one's own performance developed by reviewing a videotape appears to increase the competency of clinical skills in nursing students. Copyright 2010, SLACK Incorporated.

Curriculum Mapping of the Master's Program in Pharmacy in Slovenia with the PHAR-QA Competency Framework.

PubMed

Gmeiner, Tanja; Horvat, Nejc; Kos, Mitja; Obreza, Aleš; Vovk, Tomaž; Grabnar, Iztok; Božič, Borut

2017-05-02

This article presents the results of mapping the Slovenian pharmacy curriculum to evaluate the adequacy of the recently developed and validated European Pharmacy Competences Framework (EPCF). The mapping was carried out and evaluated progressively by seven members of the teaching staff at the University of Ljubljana's Faculty of Pharmacy. Consensus was achieved by using a two-round modified Delphi technique to evaluate the coverage of competences in the current curriculum. The preliminary results of the curriculum mapping showed that all of the competences as defined by the EPCF are covered in Ljubljana's academic program. However, because most EPCF competences cover healthcare-oriented pharmacy practice, a lack of competences was observed for the drug development and production perspectives. Both of these perspectives are important because a pharmacist is (or should be) responsible for the entire process, from the development and production of medicines to pharmaceutical care in contact with patients. Nevertheless, Ljubljana's graduates are employed in both of these pharmaceutical professions in comparable proportions. The Delphi study revealed that the majority of differences in scoring arise from different perspectives on the pharmacy profession (e.g., community, hospital, industrial, etc.). Nevertheless, it can be concluded that curriculum mapping using the EPCF is very useful for evaluating and recognizing weak and strong points of the curriculum. However, the competences of the framework should address various fields of the pharmacist's profession in a more balanced way.

Curriculum Mapping of the Master’s Program in Pharmacy in Slovenia with the PHAR-QA Competency Framework

PubMed Central

Gmeiner, Tanja; Horvat, Nejc; Kos, Mitja; Obreza, Aleš; Vovk, Tomaž; Grabnar, Iztok; Božič, Borut

2017-01-01

This article presents the results of mapping the Slovenian pharmacy curriculum to evaluate the adequacy of the recently developed and validated European Pharmacy Competences Framework (EPCF). The mapping was carried out and evaluated progressively by seven members of the teaching staff at the University of Ljubljana’s Faculty of Pharmacy. Consensus was achieved by using a two-round modified Delphi technique to evaluate the coverage of competences in the current curriculum. The preliminary results of the curriculum mapping showed that all of the competences as defined by the EPCF are covered in Ljubljana’s academic program. However, because most EPCF competences cover healthcare-oriented pharmacy practice, a lack of competences was observed for the drug development and production perspectives. Both of these perspectives are important because a pharmacist is (or should be) responsible for the entire process, from the development and production of medicines to pharmaceutical care in contact with patients. Nevertheless, Ljubljana’s graduates are employed in both of these pharmaceutical professions in comparable proportions. The Delphi study revealed that the majority of differences in scoring arise from different perspectives on the pharmacy profession (e.g., community, hospital, industrial, etc.). Nevertheless, it can be concluded that curriculum mapping using the EPCF is very useful for evaluating and recognizing weak and strong points of the curriculum. However, the competences of the framework should address various fields of the pharmacist’s profession in a more balanced way. PMID:28970436

A comparison of international occupational therapy competencies: implications for Australian standards in the new millennium.

PubMed

Rodger, Sylvia; Clark, Michele; Banks, Rebecca; O'Brien, Mia; Martinez, Kay

2009-12-01

A timely evaluation of the Australian Competency Standards for Entry-Level Occupational Therapists (1994) was conducted. This thorough investigation comprised a literature review exploring the concept of competence and the applications of competency standards; systematic benchmarking of the Australian Occupational Therapy Competency Standards (OT AUSTRALIA, 1994) against other national and international competency standards and other affiliated documents, from occupational therapy and other cognate disciplines; and extensive nationwide consultation with the professional community. This paper explores and examines the similarities and disparities between occupational therapy competency standards documents available in English from Australia and other countries. An online search for national occupational therapy competency standards located 10 documents, including the Australian competencies. Four 'frameworks' were created to categorise the documents according to their conceptual underpinnings: Technical-Prescriptive, Enabling, Educational and Meta-Cognitive. Other characteristics that appeared to impact the design, content and implementation of competency standards, including definitions of key concepts, authorship, national and cultural priorities, scope of services, intended use and review mechanisms, were revealed. The proposed 'frameworks' and identification of influential characteristics provided a 'lens' through which to understand and evaluate competency standards. While consistent application of and attention to some of these characteristics appear to consolidate and affirm the authority of competency standards, it is suggested that the national context should be a critical determinant of the design and content of the final document. The Australian Occupational Therapy Competency Standards (OT AUSTRALIA, 1994) are critiqued accordingly, and preliminary recommendations for revision are proposed.

Evaluating Positive Social Competence in Preschool Populations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Joy, Jennifer M.

2016-01-01

Social competence is seen as a critical aspect of academic and social success; however, the construct is often minimized to a set of social skills or the absence of negative behaviors. The current study aims to broaden the understanding of social competence by incorporating the factors associated with the development of social competence and the…

An Examination of the Role of Listening in Judgments of Communication Competence in Co-Workers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haas, John W.; Arnold, Christa L.

1995-01-01

Shows that listening plays a central role in assessments of communication competence, accounting for approximately one-third of the characteristics perceivers use to evaluate communication competence in coworkers. Finds that organization members differ in their use of listening in judgments of communication competence in several kinds of…

Developing the Emotional Competence of Teachers and Pupils in School Contexts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Perez-Escoda, N.; Filella, G.; Alegre, A.; Bisquerra, R.

2012-01-01

Introduction: This paper describes the evaluation of two training programmes, one targeted at teachers and the other at pupils, the aim of both being to improve personal and social well-being through the development of emotional competence (emotional awareness, emotional regulation, emotional autonomy, social competence and life competencies).…

How to Measure Critical Health Competences: Development and Validation of the Critical Health Competence Test (CHC Test)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Steckelberg, Anke; Hulfenhaus, Christian; Kasper, Jurgen; Rost, Jurgen; Muhlhauser, Ingrid

2009-01-01

Consumers' autonomy regarding health increasingly requires competences to critically appraise health information. Critical health literacy refers to the concept of evidence-based medicine. Instruments to measure these competences in curriculum evaluation and surveys are lacking. We aimed to develop and validate an instrument to measure critical…

Taiwan HRD Practitioner Competencies: An Application of the ASTD WLP Competency Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Angela Shin-yih; Bian, Min-dau; Hom, Yi-ming

2005-01-01

This paper aims to identify Taiwan HRD practitioners' perceived competency levels, and to evaluate the importance of 52 workplace learning and performance (WLP) competencies. The conceptual framework is adapted from the American Society of Training and Development (ASTD) models for WLP conducted by Rothwell, Sanders and Soper (1999). The survey…

The Impact of a Developed Measurement and Evaluation Development Program on Pre-Service Physical Education Teachers' Perceptions Related to Measurement and Evaluation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arslan, Yunus; Erturan Ilker, Gokce; Demirhan, Giyasettin

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of the Measurement and Evaluation Development Program on pre-service physical education teachers' general perceptions and competency perceptions related to alternative assessment in physical education, and their competency perceptions related to educational measurement and evaluation. The…

Development and Testing of the Nurse Manager EBP Competency Scale.

PubMed

Shuman, Clayton J; Ploutz-Snyder, Robert J; Titler, Marita G

2018-02-01

The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate the validity and reliability of an instrument to measure nurse manager competencies regarding evidence-based practice (EBP). The Nurse Manager EBP Competency Scale consists of 16 items for respondents to indicate their perceived level of competency on a 0 to 3 Likert-type scale. Content validity was demonstrated through expert panel review and pilot testing. Principal axis factoring and Cronbach's alpha evaluated construct validity and internal consistency reliability, respectively. Eighty-three nurse managers completed the scale. Exploratory factor analysis resulted in a 16-item scale with two subscales, EBP Knowledge ( n = 6 items, α = .90) and EBP Activity ( n = 10 items, α = .94). Cronbach's alpha for the entire scale was .95. The Nurse Manager EBP Competency Scale is a brief measure of nurse manager EBP competency with evidence of validity and reliability. The scale can enhance our understanding in future studies regarding how nurse manager EBP competency affects implementation.

Reliability and Validity of the Turkish Version of the Moral Competence Scale for Public Health Nurses: A Methodological Study.

PubMed

Yildiz, Esra; Güdücü Tüfekci, Fatma

Moral competencies must be improved in nursing area practice. To evaluate the moral competence seems necessary for nurses. The aims of this study are to adapt and evaluate the psychometric properties of the moral competence questionnaire for public health nurses in Turkey. The moral competence scale was translated into Turkish by a skilled translator, after which it was back-translated into English by another translator. We then administered the Turkish version of the moral competence scale to 138 public health nurses working in family and public health centers in Erzurum, a city in eastern Turkey. We analyzed the data using factor analysis and Cronbach's α. Three factors were extracted, which together explained a total of 67.50% of the variance. The Cronbach's α values were .83, .91, .87, and .88 for factors 1, 2, and 3 and for the whole scale, respectively. The Turkish version of the moral competence scale for public health nurses is a valid and reliable assessment tool.

Assessing treatment integrity in cognitive-behavioral therapy: comparing session segments with entire sessions.

PubMed

Weck, Florian; Grikscheit, Florian; Höfling, Volkmar; Stangier, Ulrich

2014-07-01

The evaluation of treatment integrity (therapist adherence and competence) is a necessary condition to ensure the internal and external validity of psychotherapy research. However, the evaluation process is associated with high costs, because therapy sessions must be rated by experienced clinicians. It is debatable whether rating session segments is an adequate alternative to rating entire sessions. Four judges evaluated treatment integrity (i.e., therapist adherence and competence) in 84 randomly selected videotapes of cognitive-behavioral therapy for major depressive disorder, social anxiety disorder, and hypochondriasis (from three different treatment outcome studies). In each case, two judges provided ratings based on entire therapy sessions and two on session segments only (i.e., the middle third of the entire sessions). Interrater reliability of adherence and competence evaluations proved satisfactory for ratings based on segments and the level of reliability did not differ from ratings based on entire sessions. Ratings of treatment integrity that were based on entire sessions and session segments were strongly correlated (r=.62 for adherence and r=.73 for competence). The relationship between treatment integrity and outcome was comparable for ratings based on session segments and those based on entire sessions. However, significant relationships between therapist competence and therapy outcome were only found in the treatment of social anxiety disorder. Ratings based on segments proved to be adequate for the evaluation of treatment integrity. The findings demonstrate that session segments are an adequate and cost-effective alternative to entire sessions for the evaluation of therapist adherence and competence. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd.