Developing a Scale for Perceptions of Competency in Teaching Quality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tasci, Guntay; Atar, Burcu

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to develop a measurement instrument for determining pre-service teachers' perceptions of competency in providing quality teaching. The initial phase of the instrument was consisted of 54 items that were composed based on theory and literature. The initial form was applied to 232 pre-service teachers. An exploratory…

Measurement of acute nonspecific low back pain perception in primary care physical therapy: reliability and validity of the brief illness perception questionnaire.

PubMed

Hallegraeff, Joannes M; van der Schans, Cees P; Krijnen, Wim P; de Greef, Mathieu H G

2013-02-01

The eight-item Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire is used as a screening instrument in physical therapy to assess mental defeat in patients with acute low back pain, besides patient perception might determine the course and risk for chronic low back pain. However, the psychometric properties of the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire in common musculoskeletal disorders like acute low back pain have not been adequately studied. Patients' perceptions vary across different populations and affect coping styles. Thus, our aim was to determine the internal consistency, test-retest reliability and validity of the Dutch language version of the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire in acute non-specific low back pain patients in primary care physical therapy. A non-experimental cross-sectional study with two measurements was performed. Eighty-four acute low back pain patients, in multidisciplinary health care center in Dutch primary care with a sample mean (SD) age of 42 (12) years, participated in the study. Internal consistency (Cronbach's α) and test-retest procedures (Intraclass Correlation Coefficients and limits of agreement) were evaluated at a one-week interval. The concurrent validity of the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire was examined by using the Mental Health Component of the Short Form 36 Health Survey. The Cronbach's α for internal consistency was 0.73 (95% CI, 0.67 - 0.83); and the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient test-retest reliability was acceptable: 0.72 (95% CI, 0.53 - 0.82), however, the limits of agreement were large. The Intraclass Correlation Coefficient measuring concurrent validity 0.65 (95% CI, 0.46 - 0.80). The Dutch version of the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire is an appropriate instrument for measuring patients' perceptions in acute low back pain patients, showing acceptable internal consistency and reliability. Concurrent validity is adequate, however, the instrument may be unsuitable for detecting changes in low back pain perception over time.

Validation of an Instrument to Measure Students' Motivation and Self-Regulation towards Technology Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liou, Pey-Yan; Kuo, Pei-Jung

2014-01-01

Background: Few studies have examined students' attitudinal perceptions of technology. There is no appropriate instrument to measure senior high school students' motivation and self-regulation toward technology learning among the current existing instruments in the field of technology education. Purpose: The present study is to validate an…

Classroom Social Capital: Development of a Measure of Instrumental Social Support within Academic Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shecter, Julie

2009-01-01

Many universities implement programs and interventions to increase students' perceived instrumental social support within the classroom setting, yet to date, no measures exist to adequately assess such perceptions. In response to this need, the current research developed an operational definition of instrumental classroom social support and also…

Examining perceptions of academic stress and its sources among university students: The Perception of Academic Stress Scale

PubMed Central

Bedewy, Dalia

2015-01-01

The development of a scale to measure perceived sources of academic stress among university students. Based on empirical evidence and recent literature review, we developed an 18-item scale to measure perceptions of academic stress and its sources. Experts (n = 12) participated in the content validation process of the instrument before it was administered to (n = 100) students. The developed instrument has internal consistency reliability of 0.7 (Cronbach’s alpha), there was evidence for content validity, and factor analysis resulted in four correlated and theoretically meaningful factors. We developed and tested a scale to measure academic stress and its sources. This scale takes 5 minutes to complete. PMID:28070363

Measuring Perceived Motivational Climate in Physical Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Papaioannou, Athanasios G.; Tsigilis, Nikolaos; Kosmidou, Eudoxia; Milosis, Dimitrios

2007-01-01

A new instrument of motivational climate in physical education is presented with the goal of measuring perceptions of teachers' emphasis on mastery, performance-approach, performance-avoidance, and social approval goals. The measure was based on the principle of compatibility, according to which climate perceptions and achievement goals should be…

The scale on community care perceptions (scope) for nursing students: A development and psychometric validation study.

PubMed

van Iersel, Margriet; de Vos, Rien; Latour, Corine; Kirschner, Paul A; Scholte Op Reimer, Wilma

2018-05-11

The aim of this study was to develop a valid instrument to measure student nurses' perceptions of community care (SCOPE). DeVellis' staged model for instrument development and validation was used. Scale construction of SCOPE was based on existing literature. Evaluation of its psychometric properties included exploratory factor analysis and reliability analysis. After pilot-testing, 1062 bachelor nursing students from six institutions in the Netherlands (response rate 81%) took part in the study. SCOPE is a 35-item scale containing: background variables, 11 measuring the affective component, 5 measuring community care perception as a placement, 17 as a future profession, and 2 on the reasons underlying student preference. Principal axis factoring yielded two factors in the affective component scale reflecting 'enjoyment' and 'utility', two in the placement scale reflecting 'learning possibilities' and 'personal satisfaction', and four in the profession scale: 'professional development', 'collaboration', 'caregiving', and 'complexity and workload'. Cronbach's α of the complete scale was 0.892 and of the subscales 0.862, 0.696, and 0.810 respectively. SCOPE is a psychometrically sound instrument for measuring students' perceptions of community care. By determining these perceptions, it becomes possible to positively influence them with targeted curriculum redesign, eventually contributing to decreasing the workforce shortage in community nursing. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

[Validating an instrument for measuring the perceived quality of services received by people using hospitals in Colombia].

PubMed

Cabrera-Arana, Gustavo A; Londoño-Pimienta, Jaime L; Bello-Parías, León D

2008-01-01

Validating an instrument for measuring the perceived quality of services received by people using hospitals forming part of the Colombian Ministry of Social Protection's restructuring, redesigning and modernisation programme for health-service providing networks. Sánchez and Echeverri's guidelines for validating health quality measurement scales were followed due to the lack of a valid instrument for doing this in Colombia. Conceptual synthesis led to identifying a structure of constituent indicators, domains and sub-domains regarding the perception of health service quality. A list of reactions (having a scale for categorising the replies) was analysed according to the validity of appearance, construct, criteria and utility as criteria for sensitivity and usefulness. Successive revisions and three rounds of field-trials led to producing PECASUSS, an acronym given to the instrument for measuring users' perception of health service quality (Percepción de Calidad Según Usuarios de Servicios de Salud). The guidelines effectively orientated the validation of the instrument required for measuring the perceived quality of health services received by people using hospitals forming part of the programme.

Graduate nursing students' evaluation of EBP courses: a cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Zelenikova, Renata; Beach, Michael; Ren, Dianxu; Wolff, Emily; Sherwood, Paula R

2015-01-01

There is a lack of appropriate tools for assessing the effectiveness of teaching evidence-based practice in nursing. The objective of the study was to develop the instrument evaluating the students' perception of the effectiveness of EBP courses and to verify its psychometric properties. A descriptive cross-sectional study design was used to verify psychometric properties of the questionnaire measuring the students' perception of the effectiveness of EBP courses. The psychometric properties were evaluated in a group of 129 graduate nursing students who completed EBP courses. The instrument for measuring the students' perception of the effectiveness of EBP courses was inspired by Kirkpatrick's evaluation model, which advocates evaluating interventions at four levels - reaction (satisfaction), learning, behavior change (transfer) and results (benefits). A web-based survey was used for data collection. Data was collected from the middle of January 2013 through the end of March 2013. A thirteen item instrument was developed for measuring the students' perception of the effectiveness of EBP courses. The internal consistency of the scale, based on standardized Cronbach's alpha, was .93. The results of factor analysis identified three factors of the instrument. The highest rated items on a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree) were 'implementation of EBP can improve clinical care' (mean 6.16), 'EBP instructors had a thorough knowledge of EBP' (6.13), 'EBP instructors were enthusiastic about teaching EBP' (5.65), and 'I can use my EBP knowledge and skills in my practice' (5.58). The results of testing of the psychometric properties of the questionnaire showed at least satisfactory validity and reliability. The majority of students perceived EBP courses as effective. The instrument may be used to assess the students' perception of the effectiveness of EBP courses. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Young Children's Perceptions of Teacher-Child Relationships: An Evaluation of Two Instruments and the Role of Child Gender in Kindergarten

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spilt, Jantine L.; Koomen, Helma M. Y.; Mantzicopoulos, Panayota Y.

2010-01-01

The psychometric qualities of two instruments that measure children's perceptions of teacher-child relationships were evaluated in a sample of kindergartners (N = 150): The Young Children's Appraisals of Teacher Support (Y-CATS) and the Kindergartner-Teacher Interaction Computer (KLIC) test. On the Y-CATS, children judged propositions on a…

Using Bogner and Wiseman's Model of Ecological Values to Measure the Impact of an Earth Education Programme on Children's Environmental Perceptions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Bruce; Manoli, Constantinos C.

2008-01-01

Investigating the effects of educational programmes on children's environmental perceptions has been hampered by the lack of good theoretical models and valid instruments. In the present study, Bogner and Wiseman's Model of Ecological Values provided a well-developed theoretical model. A validated instrument based on Bogner's Environmental…

Measuring the Reader Self-Perceptions of Adolescents: Introducing the RSPS2

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Henk, William A.; Marinak, Barbara A.; Melnick, Steven A.

2013-01-01

This paper introduces a new affective instrument for assessing the reader self-perceptions of students in grades seven through ten. The Reader Self-Perception Scale 2 (RSPS2) builds upon its predecessor, the RSPS, a tool that measures the reading efficacy beliefs of children in grades four through six. New items were created for the RSPS2 to…

The Hospice Environmental Survey (HES): Pilot Test of a New Measurement Instrument.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, Jean H.; Perrill, Norman K.

1988-01-01

Describes development of the Hospice Environmental Survey (HES) to measure user's perception of the homelike atmosphere provided by a hospital inpatient unit called Hospice House. Presents the HES instrument, methodology, and pilot study data. (Author/NB)

Quantitative comparison of measurements of urgent care service quality.

PubMed

Qin, Hong; Prybutok, Victor; Prybutok, Gayle

2016-01-01

Service quality and patient satisfaction are essential to health care organization success. Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry introduced SERVQUAL, a prominent service quality measure not yet applied to urgent care. We develop an instrument to measure perceived service quality and identify the determinants of patient satisfaction/ behavioral intentions. We examine the relationships among perceived service quality, patient satisfaction and behavioral intentions, and demonstrate that urgent care service quality is not equivalent using measures of perceptions only, differences of expectations minus perceptions, ratio of perceptions to expectations, and the log of the ratio. Perceptions provide the best measure of urgent care service quality.

Perceptions of individuals living with spinal cord injury toward preference-based quality of life instruments: a qualitative exploration.

PubMed

Whitehurst, David G T; Suryaprakash, Nitya; Engel, Lidia; Mittmann, Nicole; Noonan, Vanessa K; Dvorak, Marcel F S; Bryan, Stirling

2014-04-14

Generic preference-based health-related quality of life instruments are widely used to measure health benefit within economic evaluation. The availability of multiple instruments raises questions about their relative merits and recent studies have highlighted the paucity of evidence regarding measurement properties in the context of spinal cord injury (SCI). This qualitative study explores the views of individuals living with SCI towards six established instruments with the objective of identifying 'preferred' outcome measures (from the perspective of the study participants). Individuals living with SCI were invited to participate in one of three focus groups. Eligible participants were identified from Vancouver General Hospital's Spine Program database; purposive sampling was used to ensure representation of different demographics and injury characteristics. Perceptions and opinions were solicited on the following questionnaires: 15D, Assessment of Quality of Life 8-dimension (AQoL-8D), EQ-5D-5L, Health Utilities Index (HUI), Quality of Well-Being Scale Self-Administered (QWB-SA), and the SF-36v2. Framework analysis was used to analyse the qualitative information gathered during discussion. Strengths and limitations of each questionnaire were thematically identified and managed using NVivo 9 software. Major emergent themes were (i) general perceptions, (ii) comprehensiveness, (iii) content, (iv) wording and (v) features. Two sub-themes pertinent to content were also identified; 'questions' and 'options'. All focus group participants (n = 15) perceived the AQoL-8D to be the most relevant instrument to administer within the SCI population. This measure was considered to be comprehensive, with relevant content (i.e. wheelchair inclusive) and applicable items. Participants had mixed perceptions about the other questionnaires, albeit to varying degrees. Despite a strong theoretical underpinning, the AQoL-8D (and other AQoL instruments) is infrequently used outside its country of origin (Australia). Empirical comparative analyses of the favoured instruments identified in this qualitative study are necessary within the context of spinal cord injury.

Women's perceptions of social support during labour: development, reliability and validity of the Birth Companion Support Questionnaire.

PubMed

Dunne, Carmel L; Fraser, Jennifer; Gardner, Glenn E

2014-07-01

to develop and test the reliability and validity of a research instrument to measure women's perceptions of social support provided during labour by at least one lay birth companion. a cross-sectional study was carried out from April 2009 to February 2010. non-tertiary hospital in the outer western region of Brisbane, Australia. six registered midwives and 10 postnatal women reviewed the instrument. The instrument was then completed by 293 inpatient women who had experienced a vaginal birth. the Birth Companion Support Questionnaire (BCSQ) was developed and its reliability and validity were evaluated in this study. An exploratory factor analysis was performed on the final instrument using principal component analysis with an oblique (Promax) rotation. This process suggested two subscales: emotional support and tangible support. The questionnaire was found to be reliable and valid for use in midwifery research. the BCSQ is an appropriate instrument to measure women's perceptions of lay birth companion support during labour. this is the first rigorous study to develop and test a measure of social support in labour which is critical at a time when policy makers and health planners need to consider the needs of birthing women and their network of support friends and family. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development and psychometric testing of an instrument to measure safety climate perceptions in community pharmacy.

PubMed

Newham, Rosemary; Bennie, Marion; Maxwell, David; Watson, Anne; de Wet, Carl; Bowie, Paul

2014-12-01

A positive and strong safety culture underpins effective learning from patient safety incidents in health care, including the community pharmacy (CP) setting. To build this culture, perceptions of safety climate must be measured with context-specific and reliable instruments. No pre-existing instruments were specifically designed or suitable for CP within Scotland. We therefore aimed to develop a psychometrically sound instrument to measure perceptions of safety climate within Scottish CPs. The first stage, development of a preliminary instrument, comprised three steps: (i) a literature review; (ii) focus group feedback; and (iii) content validation. The second stage, psychometric testing, consisted of three further steps: (iv) a pilot survey; (v) a survey of all CP staff within a single health board in NHS Scotland; and (vi) application of statistical methods, including principal components analysis and calculation of Cronbach's reliability coefficients, to derive the final instrument. The preliminary questionnaire was developed through a process of literature review and feedback. This questionnaire was completed by staff in 50 CPs from the 131 (38%) sampled. 250 completed questionnaires were suitable for analysis. Psychometric evaluation resulted in a 30-item instrument with five positively correlated safety climate factors: leadership, teamwork, safety systems, communication and working conditions. Reliability coefficients were satisfactory for the safety climate factors (α > 0.7) and overall (α = 0.93). The robust nature of the technical design and testing process has resulted in the development of an instrument with sufficient psychometric properties, which can be implemented in the community pharmacy setting in NHS Scotland. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Development of an Instrument for the Measurement of Leadership Commitment to Organizational Process

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hylton, Peter D.

2013-01-01

The purpose of this research study was to create a new instrument designed to examine the commitment of an organization's leadership to following organizational processes, as measured by stakeholder perceptions. This instrument was designed to aid in closure of a gap in the field of leadership studies relative to the impact that a leader's…

Measuring Self-Perceptions of Oral Narrative Competencies and Anxiety in the EFL Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Faber, Gunter

2012-01-01

Introduction: Due to a considerable lack in empirical efforts and appropriate instruments, and theoretically rooted in a cognitive-motivational perspective on academic personality development, the present study analyzes a questionnaire for measuring EFL learners' self-perceptions of oral narrative competencies and perceived anxiety concerning oral…

Validation of the Child and Adolescent Social Perception Measure.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koning, Cyndie; Magill-Evans, Joyce

2001-01-01

Compared 32 adolescent boys who had social skills deficits consistent with Asperger's Disorder to 29 controls matched on age and intelligence quotient. Significant differences were found between groups on Child and Adolescent Social Perception Measure scores, and the validity of the instrument was supported. (Contains 37 references.) (JOW)

Development of the Student Affairs Officers Work Environment Perception Scale

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haynes, Derrick E.

2010-01-01

The qualitative and quantitative study developed and validated a questionnaire to measure Student Affairs Officers' (SAO) perceptions of the work environment. A review of the literature identified five major categories and 25 elements having an impact on SAOs' perceptions of the work environment. The test instrument (questionnaire) was developed…

Quantum-like model of unconscious–conscious dynamics

PubMed Central

Khrennikov, Andrei

2015-01-01

We present a quantum-like model of sensation–perception dynamics (originated in Helmholtz theory of unconscious inference) based on the theory of quantum apparatuses and instruments. We illustrate our approach with the model of bistable perception of a particular ambiguous figure, the Schröder stair. This is a concrete model for unconscious and conscious processing of information and their interaction. The starting point of our quantum-like journey was the observation that perception dynamics is essentially contextual which implies impossibility of (straightforward) embedding of experimental statistical data in the classical (Kolmogorov, 1933) framework of probability theory. This motivates application of nonclassical probabilistic schemes. And the quantum formalism provides a variety of the well-approved and mathematically elegant probabilistic schemes to handle results of measurements. The theory of quantum apparatuses and instruments is the most general quantum scheme describing measurements and it is natural to explore it to model the sensation–perception dynamics. In particular, this theory provides the scheme of indirect quantum measurements which we apply to model unconscious inference leading to transition from sensations to perceptions. PMID:26283979

Development of an instrument to measure medical students' perceptions of the assessment environment: initial validation.

PubMed

Sim, Joong Hiong; Tong, Wen Ting; Hong, Wei-Han; Vadivelu, Jamuna; Hassan, Hamimah

2015-01-01

Assessment environment, synonymous with climate or atmosphere, is multifaceted. Although there are valid and reliable instruments for measuring the educational environment, there is no validated instrument for measuring the assessment environment in medical programs. This study aimed to develop an instrument for measuring students' perceptions of the assessment environment in an undergraduate medical program and to examine the psychometric properties of the new instrument. The Assessment Environment Questionnaire (AEQ), a 40-item, four-point (1=Strongly Disagree to 4=Strongly Agree) Likert scale instrument designed by the authors, was administered to medical undergraduates from the authors' institution. The response rate was 626/794 (78.84%). To establish construct validity, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with principal component analysis and varimax rotation was conducted. To examine the internal consistency reliability of the instrument, Cronbach's α was computed. Mean scores for the entire AEQ and for each factor/subscale were calculated. Mean AEQ scores of students from different academic years and sex were examined. Six hundred and eleven completed questionnaires were analysed. EFA extracted four factors: feedback mechanism (seven items), learning and performance (five items), information on assessment (five items), and assessment system/procedure (three items), which together explained 56.72% of the variance. Based on the four extracted factors/subscales, the AEQ was reduced to 20 items. Cronbach's α for the 20-item AEQ was 0.89, whereas Cronbach's α for the four factors/subscales ranged from 0.71 to 0.87. Mean score for the AEQ was 2.68/4.00. The factor/subscale of 'feedback mechanism' recorded the lowest mean (2.39/4.00), whereas the factor/subscale of 'assessment system/procedure' scored the highest mean (2.92/4.00). Significant differences were found among the AEQ scores of students from different academic years. The AEQ is a valid and reliable instrument. Initial validation supports its use to measure students' perceptions of the assessment environment in an undergraduate medical program.

Measuring the Perception of the Teachers' Autonomy-Supportive Behavior in Physical Education: Development and Initial Validation of a Multi-Dimensional Instrument

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tilga, Henri; Hein, Vello; Koka, Andre

2017-01-01

This research aimed to develop and validate an instrument to assess the students' perceptions of the teachers' autonomy-supportive behavior by the multi-dimensional scale (Multi-Dimensional Perceived Autonomy Support Scale for Physical Education). The participants were 1,476 students aged 12- to 15-years-old. In Study 1, a pool of 37 items was…

Relation between consumers' perceptions of color and texture of dairy desserts and instrumental measurements using a generalized procrustes analysis.

PubMed

González-Tomás, L; Costell, E

2006-12-01

Consumers' perceptions of the color and texture of 8 commercial vanilla dairy desserts were studied and related to color and rheological measurements. First, the 8 desserts were evaluated by a group of consumers by means of the Free Choice Profile. For both color and texture, a 2-dimensional solution was chosen, with dimension 1 highly related to yellow color intensity in the case of color and to thickness in the case of texture. Second, mechanical spectra, flow behavior, and instrumental color were determined. All the samples showed a time-dependent and shear-thinning flow and a mechanical spectrum typical of a weak gel. Differences were found in the flow index, in the apparent viscosity at 10 s(-1), and in the values of the storage modulus, the loss modulus, the loss angle tangent, and the complex viscosity at 1 Hz, as well as in the color parameters. Finally, sensory and instrumental relationships were investigated by a generalized Procrustes analysis. For both color and texture, a 3-dimensional solution explained a high percentage of the total variance (>80%). In these particular samples, the instrumental color parameters provided more accurate information on consumers' color perceptions than was provided by the rheological parameters of consumers' perceptions of texture.

Development of a survey to assess adolescent perceptions of teen parenting.

PubMed

Herrman, Judith W; Nandakumar, Ratna

2012-01-01

Initiatives designed to prevent teen pregnancy are often based on adult perceptions of the negative aspects of a teen birth. Qualitative research has revealed that teens may perceive positive rewards associated with teen parenting. These perceptions have not yet been examined through survey research. The theory of reasoned action proposes that individuals assess the costs and rewards prior to engaging in a behavior and provides a framework for the development of a survey instrument designed to measure adolescent thoughts about the costs and rewards of the teen parenting experience. This manuscript describes the development and testing of a quantitative survey instrument designed to measure adolescents' perceptions. Pretesting, piloting, exploratory factor analysis, and a variety of reliability and validity measures were used to determine the value of the measure. The thoughts on teen parenting survey (TTPS) demonstrates an alpha level of .90. The TTPS yields a cumulative score of teen perceptions about the impact of a teen birth during the adolescent years that may be used to assess youth beliefs, correlated with demographic data, used to identify teens at risk for pregnancy/parenting, or provide a pretest/posttest to assess the effectiveness of interventions designed to foster realistic attitudes toward teen parenting.

Cross-sectional validation of the Aging Perceptions Questionnaire: a multidimensional instrument for assessing self-perceptions of aging

PubMed Central

Barker, Maja; O'Hanlon, Ann; McGee, Hannah M; Hickey, Anne; Conroy, Ronan M

2007-01-01

Background Self-perceptions of aging have been implicated as independent predictors of functional disability and mortality in older adults. In spite of this, research on self-perceptions of aging is limited. One reason for this is the absence of adequate measures. Specifically, there is a need to develop a measure that is theoretically-derived, has good psychometric properties, and is multidimensional in nature. The present research seeks to address this need by adopting the Self-Regulation Model as a framework and using it to develop a comprehensive, multi-dimensional instrument for assessing self-perceptions of aging. This study describes the validation of this newly-developed instrument, the Aging Perceptions Questionnaire (APQ). Methods Participants were 2,033 randomly selected community-dwelling older (+65 yrs) Irish adults who completed the APQ alongside measures of physical and psychological health. The APQ assesses self-perceptions of aging along eight distinct domains or subscales; seven of these examine views about own aging, these are: timeline chronic, timeline cyclical, consequences positive, consequences negative, control positive, control negative, and emotional representations; the eighth domain is the identity domain and this examines the experience of health-related changes. Results Mokken scale analysis showed that the majority of items within the views about aging subscales were strongly scalable. Confirmatory factor analysis also indicated that the model provided a good fit for the data. Overall, subscales had good internal reliabilities. Hierarchical linear regression was conducted to investigate the independent contribution of APQ subscales to physical and psychological health and in doing so determine the construct validity of the APQ. Results showed that self-perceptions of aging were independently related to physical and psychological health. Mediation testing also supported a role for self-perceptions of aging as partial mediators in the relationship between indices of physical functioning and physical and psychological health outcomes. Conclusion Findings support the complex and multifaceted nature of the aging experience. The good internal reliability and construct validity of the subscales suggests that the APQ is a promising instrument that can enable a theoretically informed, multidimensional assessment of self-perceptions of aging. The potential role of self-perceptions of aging in facilitating physical and psychological health in later life is also highlighted. PMID:17462094

Object Perception Impairments Predict Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Dependence in Alzheimer's Disease

PubMed Central

JEFFERSON, ANGELA L.; BARAKAT, LAMIA P.; GIOVANNETTI, TANIA; PAUL, ROBERT H.; GLOSSER, GUILA

2009-01-01

This study examined the contribution of object perception and spatial localization to functional dependence among Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. Forty patients with probable AD completed measures assessing verbal recognition memory, working memory, object perception, spatial localization, semantic knowledge, and global cognition. Primary caregivers completed a measure of activities of daily living (ADLs) that included instrumental and basic self-care subscales (i.e., IADLs and BADLs, respectively). Stepwise multiple regressions revealed that global cognition accounted for significant portions of variance among the ADL total, IADL, and BADL scores. However, when global cognition was removed from the model, object perception was the only significant cognitive predictor of the ADL total and IADL subscale scores, accounting for 18.5% and 19.3% of the variance, respectively. When considering multiple cognitive components simultaneously, object perception and the integrity of the inferotemporal cortex is important in the completion of functional abilities in general and IADLs in particular among AD patients. PMID:16822730

Sudanese Students' Perceptions of Their Class Activities: Psychometric Properties and Measurement Invariance of My Class Activities--Arabic Language Version

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pereira, Nielsen; Bakhiet, Salaheldin Farah; Gentry, Marcia; Balhmar, Tahani Abdulrahman; Hakami, Sultan Mohammed

2017-01-01

This study examined the psychometric properties and measurement invariance of the Arabic version of "My Class Activities" (MCA), an instrument designed to measure students' perceptions of interest, challenge, choice, and enjoyment in classrooms. Scores of 3,516 Sudanese students in Grades 2 to 8 were used. Confirmatory factor analysis…

Perceptions Of School Culture (POSC) User Manual and Technical Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cowley, Kimberly S.; Voelkel, Susan; Finch, Nicole L.; Meehan, Merrill L.

2005-01-01

The Perceptions Of School Culture (POSC) instrument was designed to measure the perceptions of a school staff regarding various dimensions of school culture contained in a hypothesized model of school cultural change. Specifically, this model posits that the development of a high-performance learning culture is influenced by school vision and…

Development of a 15-Item Scale to Measure Parental Perceptions of Their Neighborhood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Quigg, Robin; Gray, Andrew; Reeder, Anthony Ivor; Holt, Alec; Waters, Debra L.

2015-01-01

Socioecological theory suggests that there are a range of influences that affect the physical activity levels of children, including parents' perceptions of the neighborhood. A questionnaire instrument to quantify parental neighborhood perceptions was developed for the Location of Children's Activity in Their Environment study as a potential…

Measurement of students' perceptions of nursing as a career.

PubMed

Matutina, Robin E; Newman, Susan D; Jenkins, Carolyn M

2010-09-01

Middle school has been identified as the prime age group to begin nursing recruitment efforts because students have malleable perceptions about nursing as a future career choice. The purpose of this integrative review is to present a brief overview of research processes related to middle school students' perceptions of nursing as a future career choice and to critically evaluate the current instruments used to measure middle and high school students' perceptions of nursing as a career choice. An integrative review of the years 1989 to 2009 was conducted searching Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), National Library of Medicine PubMed service (PubMed), and Ovid MEDLINE databases using the key words career, choice, future, ideal, nursing, and perception. Reference lists of retrieved studies were hand searched, yielding a total of 22 studies. Inclusion criteria were (a) sample of middle school students, (b) sample of high school students, (c) mixed sample including middle or high school students, and (4) samples other than middle or high school students if the instrument was tested with middle or high school students in a separate study. Ten studies met these criteria. Of the 10 studies, samples were 30% middle school students; 40% high school students; 10% mixed, including school-aged students; and 20% college students with an instrument tested in middle school students. Eighty percent of participants were White females. Overall, participants' socioeconomic status was not identified. A single study included a theoretical framework. Five instruments were identified and each could be completed in 15 to 30 min. The most commonly used instrument is available free of charge. Seventy percent of the studies used Cronbach's alpha to report instrument reliability (0.63 to 0.93), whereas 30% failed to report reliability. Fifty percent of the studies established validity via a "panel of experts," with three of those studies further describing the panel of experts. Samples of white females may hinder generalization. Socioeconomic status was not consistently reported and may be an important factor with regard to perceptions of nursing as a career choice. An overall absence of theoretical framework hinders empirical data from being applied to nursing theories that in turn may support nursing concepts. The reporting of reliability and validity may be improved by further defining panel of experts and expanding the number of experts (more than seven). More in-depth evaluation of the psychometric properties of the instruments with more diverse populations is needed. Rigorously tested instruments may be useful in determining middle school students' perceptions about nursing. Therefore, future researchers should consider testing existing instruments in the middle school population, adhering to theoretical frameworks, diversifying the sample population, and clearly reporting reliability and validity to gain knowledge about middle school students' perceptions about a nursing career.

Perceptions of individuals living with spinal cord injury toward preference-based quality of life instruments: a qualitative exploration

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Generic preference-based health-related quality of life instruments are widely used to measure health benefit within economic evaluation. The availability of multiple instruments raises questions about their relative merits and recent studies have highlighted the paucity of evidence regarding measurement properties in the context of spinal cord injury (SCI). This qualitative study explores the views of individuals living with SCI towards six established instruments with the objective of identifying ‘preferred’ outcome measures (from the perspective of the study participants). Methods Individuals living with SCI were invited to participate in one of three focus groups. Eligible participants were identified from Vancouver General Hospital’s Spine Program database; purposive sampling was used to ensure representation of different demographics and injury characteristics. Perceptions and opinions were solicited on the following questionnaires: 15D, Assessment of Quality of Life 8-dimension (AQoL-8D), EQ-5D-5L, Health Utilities Index (HUI), Quality of Well-Being Scale Self-Administered (QWB-SA), and the SF-36v2. Framework analysis was used to analyse the qualitative information gathered during discussion. Strengths and limitations of each questionnaire were thematically identified and managed using NVivo 9 software. Results Major emergent themes were (i) general perceptions, (ii) comprehensiveness, (iii) content, (iv) wording and (v) features. Two sub-themes pertinent to content were also identified; ‘questions’ and ‘options’. All focus group participants (n = 15) perceived the AQoL-8D to be the most relevant instrument to administer within the SCI population. This measure was considered to be comprehensive, with relevant content (i.e. wheelchair inclusive) and applicable items. Participants had mixed perceptions about the other questionnaires, albeit to varying degrees. Conclusions Despite a strong theoretical underpinning, the AQoL-8D (and other AQoL instruments) is infrequently used outside its country of origin (Australia). Empirical comparative analyses of the favoured instruments identified in this qualitative study are necessary within the context of spinal cord injury. PMID:24731409

Relationship between clinical fieldwork educator performance and health professional students' perceptions of their practice education learning environments.

PubMed

Brown, Ted; Williams, Brett; Lynch, Marty

2013-12-01

The Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure, Clinical Teaching Effectiveness Instrument, and Clinical Learning Environment Inventory were completed by 548 undergraduate students (54.5% response rate) enrolled in eight health professional bachelor degree courses. Regression analysis was used to investigate the significant predictors of the Clinical Teaching Effectiveness Instrument with the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure and Clinical Learning Environment Inventory subscales as independent variables. The results indicated that the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure and Clinical Learning Environment Inventory Actual version subscale scores explained 44% of the total variance in the Clinical Teaching Effectiveness Instrument score. The Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure subscale Academic Self-Perception explained 1.1% of the variance in the Clinical Teaching Effectiveness Instrument score. The Clinical Learning Environment Inventory Actual subscales accounted for the following variance percentages in the Clinical Teaching Effectiveness Instrument score: personalization, 1.1%; satisfaction, 1.7%; task orientation, 5.1%; and innovation, 6.2%. Aspects of the clinical learning environment appear to be predictive of the effectiveness of the clinical teaching that students experience. Fieldwork educator performance might be a significant contributing factor toward student skill development and practitioner success. © 2013 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

M-Learning: A Psychometric Study of the Mobile Learning Perception Scale and the Relationships between Teachers' Perceptions and School Level

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roche, Allyn J.

2013-01-01

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the psychometric properties of Uzunboylu and Ozdamli (2011) Mobile Learning Perception Scale (MLPS) in order to determine whether it was an acceptable instrument to measure U.S. teachers' perception of mobile learning (m-learning) in the classroom. A second purpose was to determine if relationships…

Development of an instrument to measure patient perception of the quality of nursing care and related hospital services at the national hospital of sri lanka.

PubMed

Senarat, Upul; Gunawardena, Nalika S

2011-06-01

This study aimed to develop and validate an instrument to measure patient perception of quality of nursing care and related hospital services in a tertiary care setting. We compiled an instrument with 72 items that patients may perceive as quality of nursing care and related hospital services, following an extensive literature search, discussions with patients and care pro-I viders and a brainstorming session with an expert panel. A cross-sectional study was conducted at the National Hospital of Sri Lanka. A sample (n = 120) of patients stayed in general surgical or medical units responded to the interviewer administered instrument upon discharge. Item analysis and principal component factor analysis were performed to assess validity, and internal consistency was calculated to measure reliability. Of the 72 items, 18 had greater than 20% of responses as 'not relevant'. A further 11 items were eliminated since item-total correlations were less than .2. Factor analysis was performed on remaining 43 items which resulted in 36 items classifying into eight factors accounting for 71% of the variation. Factor loadings in the final solution after Varimax rotation were interpersonal aspects (.68-.85), efficiency (.62-.79), competency (.66-.68), comfort (.60-.84), physical environment (.65-.82), cleanliness (.81-.85), personalized information (.76-.83), and general instructions (.61-.78). The instrument had high Internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = .91). We developed a comprehensive, reliable and valid, 36-item instrument that may be used to measure patient perception of quality of nursing care in tertiary care settings. Copyright © 2011 Korean Society of Nursing Science. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Teaching Behavior and Well-Being in Students: Development and Concurrent Validity of an Instrument to Measure Student-Reported Teaching Behavior

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pössel, Patrick; Moritz Rudasill, Kathleen; Adelson, Jill L.; Bjerg, Annie C.; Wooldridge, Don T.; Black, Stephanie Winkeljohn

2013-01-01

Teaching behavior has important implications for students' emotional well-being. Multiple models suggest students' perceptions of teaching behaviors are more critical than other measures for predicting well-being, yet student-report instruments that measure concrete and specific teaching behavior are limited. The purpose of the present studies is…

Perceptions of high-achieving African American/Black tenth graders from a low socioeconomic community regarding health scientists and desired careers.

PubMed

Boekeloo, Bradley; Randolph, Suzanne; Timmons-Brown, Stephanie; Wang, Min Qi

2014-08-01

Measures are needed to assess youth perceptions about health science careers to facilitate research aimed at increasing youth pursuit of health science. Although the Indiana Instrument provides an established measure of perceptions regarding nursing and ideal careers, we were interested in learning how high-achieving 10th graders from relatively low socioeconomic areas who identify as black/African American (black) perceive health science and ideal careers. The Indiana Instrument was modified, administered to 90 youth of interest, and psychometrically analyzed. Reliable subscales were identified that may facilitate parsimonious, theoretical, and reliable study of youth decision-making regarding health science careers. Such research may help to develop and evaluate strategies for increasing the number of minority health scientists.

Development of an instrument designed to measure employees' perceptions of workplace breastfeeding support.

PubMed

Greene, Sally W; Olson, Beth H

2008-09-01

Breastfeeding rates remain low in the United States, especially among working women. Unfortunately, no quantitative instrument exists to facilitate the examination of why women who return to work discontinue breastfeeding sooner than the general population. The objective of this study was to develop an instrument to measure female employees' perceptions of breastfeeding support in the workplace, which would be suitable for piloting with the target population. Examination of the literature, reviews with experts, and one-on-one interviews with women who had experience combining breastfeeding and work were used to create the instrument subscales and items. Examination of the literature was used to develop four subscales: company policies/work culture, manager support, co-worker support, and workflow. Expert review resulted in the addition of a fifth subscale, the physical environment of the breastfeeding space. One-on-one interviews were used to ensure that the item wording was appropriate for the target population. Eighteen items were added, and 15 were reworded based on comments from the expert review and from the interviews. The resulting survey contained 54 items that required either categorical yes/no or Likert scale responses. Results from this process indicate the survey subscales and items adequately reflect women's perceptions of breastfeeding support in the workplace and the instrument is appropriate for piloting with new mother employees.

Outcome instruments to assess scoliosis surgery.

PubMed

Bagó, Juan; Climent, Jose Ma; Pérez-Grueso, Francisco J S; Pellisé, Ferran

2013-03-01

To review and summarize the current knowledge regarding the outcome measures used to evaluate scoliosis surgery. Literature review. Outcome instruments should be tested to ensure that they have adequate metric characteristics: content and construct validity, reliability, and responsiveness. In the evaluation of scoliosis, generic instruments to assess health-related quality of life (HRQL) have been used, such as the SF-36 questionnaire and the EuroQol5D instrument. Nonetheless, it is preferable to use disease-specific instruments for this purpose, such as the SRS-22 Patient Questionnaire and the quality of life profile for spinal deformities (QLPSD). More recently, these generic and disease-specific instruments have been complemented with the use of super-specific instruments; i.e., those assessing a single aspect of the condition or specific populations with the condition. The patients' perception of their trunk deformity and body image has received particular attention, and several instruments are available to evaluate these aspects, such as the Walter-Reed Visual Assessment Scale (WRVAS), the Spinal Appearance Questionnaire (SAQ), and the Trunk Appearance Perception Scale (TAPS). The impacts of brace use can also be measured with specific scales, including the Bad Sobernheim Stress Questionnaire (BSSQ) and the Brace Questionnaire (BrQ). The available instruments to evaluate the treatment for non-idiopathic scoliosis have not been sufficiently validated and analyzed. Evaluation of scoliosis treatment should include the patient's perspective, which can be obtained with the use of patient-reported outcome measures.

Measuring Faculty Attitudes and Perceptions toward Disability at a Four-Year University: A Validity Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lombardi, Allison

2010-01-01

The primary purpose of this study was to develop and field test the ExCEL survey instrument, intended to measure faculty attitudes toward and perceptions about students with disabilities at four-year colleges and universities. A secondary purpose was to examine how demographic characteristics of the sample and prior disability-focused training…

Use your head! Perception of action possibilities by means of an object attached to the head.

PubMed

Wagman, Jeffrey B; Hajnal, Alen

2016-03-01

Perceiving any environmental property requires spontaneously assembling a smart perceptual instrument-a task-specific measurement device assembled across potentially independent anatomical units. Previous research has shown that to a large degree, perception of a given environmental property is anatomically independent. We attempted to provide stronger evidence for this proposal by investigating perception by an organization of anatomical and inert components that likely requires the spontaneous assembly of a novel smart perceptual instrument-a rod attached to the head. Specifically, we compared cephalic and manual perception of whether an inclined surface affords standing on. In both conditions, perception reflected the action capabilities of the perceiver and not the appendage used to wield the rod. Such results provide stronger evidence for anatomical independence of perception within a given perceptual system and highlight that flexible task-specific detection units can be assembled across units that span the body and inert objects.

Multimodal sensory integration during sequential eating--linking chewing activity, aroma release, and aroma perception over time.

PubMed

Leclercq, Ségolène; Blancher, Guillaume

2012-10-01

The respective effects of chewing activity, aroma release from a gelled candy, and aroma perception were investigated. Specifically, the study aimed at 1) comparing an imposed chewing and swallowing pattern (IP) and free protocol (FP) on panelists for in vivo measurements, 2) investigating carryover effects in sequential eating, and 3) studying the link between instrumental data and their perception counterpart. Chewing activity, in-nose aroma concentration, and aroma perception over time were measured by electromyography, proton transfer reaction-mass spectrometry, and time intensity, respectively. Model gel candies were flavored at 2 intensity levels (low-L and high-H). The panelists evaluated 3 sequences (H then H, H then L, and L then H) in duplicates with both IP and FP. They scored aroma intensity over time while their in-nose aroma concentrations and their chewing activity were measured. Overall, only limited advantages were found in imposing a chewing and swallowing pattern for instrumental and sensory data. In addition, the study highlighted the role of brain integration on perceived intensity and dynamics of perception, in the framework of sequential eating without rinsing. Because of the presence of adaptation phenomena, contrast effect, and potential taste and texture cross-modal interaction with aroma perception, it was concluded that dynamic in-nose concentration data provide only one part of the perception picture and therefore cannot be used alone in prediction models.

Developing a Psychometric Instrument to Measure Physical Education Teachers' Job Demands and Resources

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhang, Tan; Chen, Ang

2017-01-01

Based on the job demands-resources model, the study developed and validated an instrument that measures physical education teachers' job demands-resources perception. Expert review established content validity with the average item rating of 3.6/5.0. Construct validity and reliability were determined with a teacher sample (n = 397). Exploratory…

The Development and Validation of an Instrument That Measures Student Perceptions of Teacher Credibility.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lapan, Stephen D.

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate an instrument to collect student judgments regarding their teacher's credibility. Items were developed and evidence of content validity generated. A pilot sample and a final sample of high school students were administered the Source Credibility Measure (SCM) so that actual response data could…

A Reliability and Validity of an Instrument to Evaluate the School-Based Assessment System: A Pilot Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ghazali, Nor Hasnida Md

2016-01-01

A valid, reliable and practical instrument is needed to evaluate the implementation of the school-based assessment (SBA) system. The aim of this study is to develop and assess the validity and reliability of an instrument to measure the perception of teachers towards the SBA implementation in schools. The instrument is developed based on a…

Development and Factor Analysis of an Instrument to Measure Preservice Teachers' Perceptions of Learning Objects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sahin, Sami

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study was to develop a questionnaire to measure student teachers' perception of digital learning objects. The participants included 308 voluntary senior students attending courses in a college of education of a public university in Turkey. The items were extracted to their related factors by the principal axis factoring method.…

The extent to which students' perceptions of faculties' teaching strategies, students' context, and perceptions of learner empowerment predict perceptions of autonomy in BSN students.

PubMed

Mailloux, Cynthia Glawe

2006-10-01

This descriptive correlational study examined the extent to which students' perceptions of faculties' teaching strategies, students' context, and perceptions of learner empowerment predicted perceptions of autonomy in senior female generic baccalaureate degree (BSN) students in Northeastern Pennsylvania, USA. Dunkin and Biddle's Model for Classroom Teaching (1974) provided the theoretical framework for this study. The sample of 198 female senior nursing students was drawn from 32 nursing programs accredited by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission [National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC) 2002. Directory of accredited programs. Retrieved July 16, 2002 from, http://www.nlnac.org/]. Three separate instruments were used in this study: (1) Learner Empowerment Measure [Frymier, A.B., Shulman, G.M., Houser, M., 1996. The development of a learner empowerment measure. Communication Education, 45, 181-199.]; (2) Autonomy, Caring Perspective [Boughn, S., 1995. An instrument for measuring autonomy related attitudes and behaviors in women nursing students. Journal of Nursing Education, 34, 106-113.] and (3) an investigator designed student demographic data questionnaire. Data were analyzed using stepwise multiple linear regression to estimate path coefficients. Inspection of the findings revealed that there was a significant direct effect (t = 4.299, p < .001) between perceptions of learner empowerment and perceptions of autonomy. Age was also found to have a statistically significant direct effect on perceptions of autonomy (t = 2.652, p = .009). The findings from this study support a link between learner empowerment, stated as a priority in nursing education, and autonomy identified as a priority in practice.

Perception of competence in middle school physical education: instrument development and validation.

PubMed

Scrabis-Fletcher, Kristin; Silverman, Stephen

2010-03-01

Perception of Competence (POC) has been studied extensively in physical activity (PA) research with similar instruments adapted for physical education (PE) research. Such instruments do not account for the unique PE learning environment. Therefore, an instrument was developed and the scores validated to measure POC in middle school PE. A multiphase design was used consisting of an intensive theoretical review, elicitation study, prepilot study, pilot study, content validation study, and final validation study (N=1281). Data analysis included a multistep iterative process to identify the best model fit. A three-factor model for POC was tested and resulted in root mean square error of approximation = .09, root mean square residual = .07, goodness offit index = .90, and adjusted goodness offit index = .86 values in the acceptable range (Hu & Bentler, 1999). A two-factor model was also tested and resulted in a good fit (two-factor fit indexes values = .05, .03, .98, .97, respectively). The results of this study suggest that an instrument using a three- or two-factor model provides reliable and valid scores ofPOC measurement in middle school PE.

Understanding Physical Educators' Perceptions of Mattering Questionnaire--Physical Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richards, K. Andrew R.; Gaudreault, Karen Lux; Woods, Amelia Mays

2017-01-01

Previous research has illustrated that physical educators feel their subject is valued less than others in the context of schools. However, to date, no instruments have been developed to measure physical education teachers' perceptions of mattering. This study sought to propose and validate the Perceived Mattering Questionnaire--Physical Education…

Teachers Taking Action with Student Perception Survey Data

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Villa, Lessita Ann Lorin

2017-01-01

As scrutiny of teacher effectiveness increases, there is a greater call for multiple instruments to measure teacher effectiveness and provide robust feedback to support teacher growth and development. Student perception surveys, questionnaires completed by K-12 students about their teachers, have increasingly been used to evaluate teachers and…

Impact of Individual Perception of Organizational Culture on the Learning Transfer Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chatterjee, Aindrila; Pereira, Arun; Bates, Reid

2018-01-01

This research is an empirical study of the relationship between organization culture, as perceived by employees, and the work-environment-related learning transfer factors in organizations, which we call learning transfer environment (LTE). To measure perceptions of organization culture, we use the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument and…

Assessment of nasalance and nasality in patients with a repaired cleft palate.

PubMed

Sinko, Klaus; Gruber, Maike; Jagsch, Reinhold; Roesner, Imme; Baumann, Arnulf; Wutzl, Arno; Denk-Linnert, Doris-Maria

2017-07-01

In patients with a repaired cleft palate, nasality is typically diagnosed by speech language pathologists. In addition, there are various instruments to objectively diagnose nasalance. To explore the potential of nasalance measurements after cleft palate repair by NasalView ® , we correlated perceptual nasality and instrumentally measured nasalance of eight speech items and determined the relationship between sensitivity and specificity of the nasalance measures by receiver-operating characteristics (ROC) analyses and AUC (area under the curve) computation for each single test item and specific item groups. We recruited patients with a primarily repaired cleft palate receiving speech therapy during follow-up. During a single day visit, perceptive and instrumental assessments were obtained in 36 patients and analyzed. The individual perceptual nasality was assigned to one of four categories; the corresponding instrumental nasalance measures for the eight specific speech items were expressed on a metric scale (1-100). With reference to the perceptual diagnoses, we observed 3 nasal and one oral test item with high sensitivity. However, the specificity of the nasality indicating measures was rather low. The four best speech items with the highest sensitivity provided scores ranging from 96.43 to 100%, while the averaged sensitivity of all eight items was below 90%. We conclude that perceptive evaluation of nasality remains state of the art. For clinical follow-up, instrumental nasalance assessment can objectively document subtle changes by analysis of four speech items only. Further studies are warranted to determine the applicability of instrumental nasalance measures in the clinical routine, using discriminative items only.

Developing a Psychometric Instrument to Measure Physical Education Teachers' Job Demands and Resources.

PubMed

Zhang, Tan; Chen, Ang

2017-01-01

Based on the job demands-resources model, the study developed and validated an instrument that measures physical education teachers' job demands-resources perception. Expert review established content validity with the average item rating of 3.6/5.0. Construct validity and reliability were determined with a teacher sample ( n = 397). Exploratory factor analysis established a five-dimension construct structure matching the theoretical construct deliberated in the literature. The composite reliability scores for the five dimensions range from .68 to .83. Validity coefficients (intraclass correlational coefficients) are .69 for job resources items and .82 for job demands items. Inter-scale correlational coefficients range from -.32 to .47. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the construct validity with high dimensional factor loadings (ranging from .47 to .84 for job resources scale and from .50 to .85 for job demands scale) and adequate model fit indexes (root mean square error of approximation = .06). The instrument provides a tool to measure physical education teachers' perception of their working environment.

Developing a Psychometric Instrument to Measure Physical Education Teachers’ Job Demands and Resources

PubMed Central

Zhang, Tan; Chen, Ang

2017-01-01

Based on the job demands–resources model, the study developed and validated an instrument that measures physical education teachers’ job demands–resources perception. Expert review established content validity with the average item rating of 3.6/5.0. Construct validity and reliability were determined with a teacher sample (n = 397). Exploratory factor analysis established a five-dimension construct structure matching the theoretical construct deliberated in the literature. The composite reliability scores for the five dimensions range from .68 to .83. Validity coefficients (intraclass correlational coefficients) are .69 for job resources items and .82 for job demands items. Inter-scale correlational coefficients range from −.32 to .47. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the construct validity with high dimensional factor loadings (ranging from .47 to .84 for job resources scale and from .50 to .85 for job demands scale) and adequate model fit indexes (root mean square error of approximation = .06). The instrument provides a tool to measure physical education teachers’ perception of their working environment. PMID:29200808

Coaching leadership: leaders' and followers' perception assessment questionnaires in nursing

PubMed Central

Cardoso, Maria Lúcia Alves Pereira; Ramos, Laís Helena; D'Innocenzo, Maria

2014-01-01

ABSTRACT Objective: To describe the development, content analysis, and reliability of two questionnaires to assess the perception of nurse leaders, nurse technicians, and licensed practical nurses – coached in the practice of leadership and the relation with the dimensions of the coaching process. Methods: This was a methodological study with a quantitative and qualitative approach, which had the goal of instrumentation in reference to the construction and validation of measuring instruments. The instrument proposition design was based on the literature on leadership, coaching, and assessment of psychometric properties, subjected to content validation as to clarity, relevance, and applicability in order to validate the propositions through the consensus of judges, using the Delphi technique, in 2010. The final version of the questionnaires was administered to 279 nurses and 608 nurse technicians and licensed practical nurses, at two university hospitals and two private hospitals. Results: The Cronbach's alpha value with all items of the self-perception instrument was very high (0.911). The team members' instrument of perception showed that for all determinants and for each dimension of the coaching process, Cronbach's overall alpha value (0.952) was considered quite high, pointing to a very strong consistency of the scale. Confirmatory analysis showed that the models were well adjusted. Conclusion: From the statistical validation we compared the possibility of reusing the questionnaires for other study samples, because there was evidence of reliability and applicability. PMID:24728249

Development of the Environmental Strategies Instrument to Measure Adolescent Alcohol Prevention-Related Outcomes in Community Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cervantes, Richard C.; Goldbach, Jeremy; Yeung, Albert; Rey, Antonio

2012-01-01

Recently, evidence-based community policy approaches to preventing substance use and alcohol abuse, called environmental strategies, have gained in popularity. The environmental survey instrument (ESI) was developed to evaluate perceptions around drinking and related problems. Specifically, the authors were interested in assessing community…

Psychometric Properties of Characteristics of Teacher Professional Development Instrument

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Soine, Karen M.

2011-01-01

This primary purpose of the study was to expand the work of Garet, Porter, Desimone, Birman, and Yoon (2001) by creating and psychometrically testing an instrument designed to measure teachers' perceptions of characteristics of professional development. Elementary teachers (n = 406) from five school districts in Washington State participating in a…

Assessing the construct validity and reliability of the Parental Perception on Antibiotics (PAPA) scales.

PubMed

Alumran, Arwa; Hou, Xiang-Yu; Sun, Jiandong; Yousef, Abdullah A; Hurst, Cameron

2014-01-23

The overuse of antibiotics is becoming an increasing concern. Antibiotic resistance, which increases both the burden of disease, and the cost of health services, is perhaps the most profound impact of antibiotics overuse. Attempts have been made to develop instruments to measure the psychosocial constructs underlying antibiotics use, however, none of these instruments have undergone thorough psychometric validation. This study evaluates the psychometric properties of the Parental Perceptions on Antibiotics (PAPA) scales. The PAPA scales attempt to measure the factors influencing parental use of antibiotics in children. 1111 parents of children younger than 12 years old were recruited from primary schools' parental meetings in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia from September 2012 to January 2013. The structure of the PAPA instrument was validated using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) with measurement model fit evaluated using the raw and scaled χ2, Goodness of Fit Index, and Root Mean Square Error of Approximation. A five-factor model was confirmed with the model showing good fit. Constructs in the model include: Knowledge and Beliefs, Behaviors, Sources of information, Adherence, and Awareness about antibiotics resistance. The instrument was shown to have good internal consistency, and good discriminant and convergent validity. The availability of an instrument able to measure the psychosocial factors underlying antibiotics usage allows the risk factors underlying antibiotic use and overuse to now be investigated.

The development of an instrument to assess chemistry perceptions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wells, Raymond R.

The instrument, developed in this study, attempted to correct the deficiencies of previous instruments. Statements of belief and opinion can be validly included under the construct of chemistry perceptions. Further, statements that might be better characterized as science attitudes, math attitudes, or attitudes toward a specific course or program were not included. Eliminating statements of math anxiety and test anxiety insured that responses to statements of anxiety were perceptions of anxiety solely related to chemistry. The results of the expert judges' responses to the Validation of Proposed Perception Statements forms were detailed to establish construct and content validity. The nature of Likert scale construction and calculation of internal consistency also supported the validity of the instrument. A pilot Chemistry Perception Questionnaire (CPQ) was then constructed based on agreement of the appropriate subscale and mean importance of the perception statements. The pilot CPQ results were subjected to an item analysis based on three sets of statistics: the frequency of each response and the percentage of respondents making each response for each perception statement, the mean and standard deviations for each item, and the item discrimination index which correlated the item scores with the subscale scores. With no zero or negative correlations to the subscale scores, it was not necessary to replace any of the perception statements contained in the pilot instrument. Therefore, the piloted Chemistry Perception Questionnaire became the final instrument. Factor analysis confirmed the multidimensionality of the instrument. The instrument was administered twice with a separation interval of approximately one month in order to perform a test-retest reliability analysis. One hundred and forty-one pairs were matched and results detailed. The correlation between forms, for the total instrument, was 0.9342. The mean coefficient alpha, for the total instrument, was 0.9495. With test-retest correlations and alphas exceeding 0.70 for all seven subscales and the total instrument, it was determined that the Chemistry Perception Questionnaire instrument achieved reasonably high reliability estimations.

Measuring the post-adoption customer perception of mobile banking services.

PubMed

Yu, Tai-Kuei; Fang, Kwoting

2009-02-01

With liberalization and internalization in the financial market and progress in information technology, banks face dual competitive pressures to provide service quality and administrative efficiency. That these recent developments are fueled by technology might misleadingly suggest that the adoption of mobile banking is largely based on technological criteria. The purpose of this study is to establish a better measurement model for postadoption user perception of mobile banking services. Based on 458 valid responses of mobile banking users, the results show that the instrument, consisting of 21 items and 6 factors, is a reliable, valid, and useful measurement for assessing the postadoption perception of mobile banking.

Testing the cultural theory of risk in France

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

Brenot, J.; Bonnefous, S.; Marris, C.

1998-12-01

Cultural Theory, as developed by Mary Douglas, argues that differing risk perceptions can be explained by reference to four distinct cultural biases: hierarchy, egalitarianism, individualism, and fatalism. This paper presents empirical results from a quantitative survey based on a questionnaire devised by Karl Dake to measure these cultural biases. A large representative sample was used to test this instrument in the French social context. Correlations between cultural biases and perceptions of 20 social and environmental risks were examined. These correlations were very weak, but were statistically significant: cultural biases explained 6%, at most, of the variance in risk perceptions. Standardmore » socio-demographic variables were also weakly related to risk perceptions (especially gender, social class, and education), and cultural biases and socio-demographic variables were themselves intercorrelated (especially with age, social class, and political outlook). The authors compare these results with surveys conducted in other countries using the same instrument and conclude that new methods, more qualitative and contextual, still need to be developed to investigate the cultural dimensions of risk perceptions. The paper also discusses relationships between perceptions of personal and residual risk, and between perceived risk and demand for additional safety measures. These three dimensions were generally closely related, but interesting differences were observed for some risk issues. Included in the list of risk perceptions were pollution, hazardous materials, and radioactive wastes.« less

Does Block Scheduling Live Up to Its Promise?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCoy, Mary Helen S.; Taylor, Dianne L.

This paper examines how block scheduling affects teachers' perceptions of school climate. It is based on information taken from 21 high schools in a southern state that used 4X4 block scheduling. Data were collected through interviews, a survey instrument that measured teacher perceptions of climate, and focus groups. Based on results from the…

Culture and Leadership in a Public University Setting: Implications for Shared Governance and Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mills, Edward E.

2014-01-01

Noting a lack of quantitative research on perceptions of culture, leadership and change in the shared governance environment of Higher Education, this study utilized the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (Cameron & Quinn, 2011) to measure current (now) and preferred cultural perceptions of faculty and administrative leaders.…

The Academic Experiences Survey (AES): Measuring Perceptions of Academic Climate in Liberal Arts Institutions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Galotti, Kathleen M.; Clare, Lacey R.; McManus, Courtney; Nixon, Andrea Lisa

2016-01-01

In today's educational climate, liberal arts institutions must demonstrate that their educational goals are being met. This paper presents reliability and stability testing of a concise, research-based survey instrument designed to examine student perceptions of academic experiences that is particularly suited to institutions rooted in the liberal…

The development of NEdSERV: quantitative instrumentation to measure service quality in nurse education.

PubMed

Roberts, P

1999-07-01

The political climate of health care provision and education for health care in the latter years of the 20th century is evolving from the uncertainty of newly created markets to a more clearly focused culture of collaboration, dissemination of good practice, with an increased emphasis on quality provision and its measurement. The need for provider units to prove and improve efficiency and effectiveness through evidence-based quality strategies in order to stay firmly in the market place has never been more necessary. The measurement of customer expectations and perceptions of delivered service quality is widely utilized as a basis for customer retention and business growth in both commercial and non-profit organizations. This paper describes the methodological development of NEdSERV--quantitative instrumentation designed to measure and respond to ongoing stakeholder expectations and perceptions of delivered service quality within nurse education.

Development of scales to assess patients' perception of physicians' cultural competence in health care interactions.

PubMed

Ahmed, Rukhsana; Bates, Benjamin R

2012-07-01

This study describes the development of scales to measure patients' perception of physicians' cultural competence in health care interactions and thus contributes to promoting awareness of physician-patient intercultural interaction processes. Surveys were administrated to a total of 682 participants. Exploratory factor analyses were employed to assess emergent scales and subscales to develop reliable instruments. The first two phases were devoted to formative research and pilot study. The third phase was devoted to scale development, which resulted in a five-factor solution to measure patient perception of physicians' cultural competence for patient satisfaction.

The Salient Beliefs Review: A New Instrument for Connecting Spirit and Work.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bloch, Deborah

2000-01-01

The Salient Beliefs Review is an instrument that examines seven dimensions (change, balance, energy, community, calling, harmony, and unity) in relation to behavior and workplace policies and practices. It can be used to measure the degree of congruence between individual beliefs and the perception of company policy and practices. (SK)

Development and psychometric testing of a new instrument to measure the caring behaviour of nurses in Italian acute care settings.

PubMed

Piredda, Michela; Ghezzi, Valerio; Fenizia, Elisa; Marchetti, Anna; Petitti, Tommasangelo; De Marinis, Maria Grazia; Sili, Alessandro

2017-12-01

To develop and psychometrically test the Italian-language Nurse Caring Behaviours Scale, a short measure of nurse caring behaviour as perceived by inpatients. Patient perceptions of nurses' caring behaviours are a predictor of care quality. Caring behaviours are culture-specific, but no measure of patient perceptions has previously been developed in Italy. Moreover, existing tools show unclear psychometric properties, are burdensome for respondents, or are not widely applicable. Instrument development and psychometric testing. Item generation included identifying and adapting items from existing measures of caring behaviours as perceived by patients. A pool of 28 items was evaluated for face validity. Content validity indexes were calculated for the resulting 15-item scale; acceptability and clarity were pilot tested with 50 patients. To assess construct validity, a sample of 2,001 consecutive adult patients admitted to a hospital in 2014 completed the scale and was split into two groups. Reliability was evaluated using nonlinear structural equation modelling coefficients. Measurement invariance was tested across subsamples. Item 15 loaded poorly in the exploratory factor analysis (n = 983) and was excluded from the final solution, positing a single latent variable with 14 indicators. This model fitted the data moderately. The confirmatory factor analysis (n = 1018) returned similar results. Internal consistency was excellent in both subsamples. Full scalar invariance was reached, and no significant latent mean differences were detected across subsamples. The new instrument shows reasonable psychometric properties and is a promising short and widely applicable measure of inpatient perceptions of nurse caring behaviours. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Comparing Veterinary Student and Faculty Perceptions of Academic Misconduct

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Royal, Kenneth D.; Schoenfeld-Tacher, Regina M.; Flammer, Keven

2016-01-01

A study was conducted to assess veterinary students' and faculty perceptions of a variety of academic and classroom behaviors, and the degree to which these are acceptable or not. Two instruments were developed for this purpose: 1) The Exams and Assignments Scale (EAS), consisted of 23 items measuring the extent to which a variety of examination…

Development and Validation of an Instrument for Assessing Climate Change Knowledge and Perceptions: The Climate Stewardship Survey (CSS)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walker, Scott L.; McNeal, Karen S.

2013-01-01

The Climate Stewardship Survey (CSS) was developed to measure knowledge and perceptions of global climate change, while also considering information sources that respondents 'trust.' The CSS was drafted using a three-stage approach: development of salient scales, writing individual items, and field testing and analyses. Construct validity and…

The Effect of Age and Employment on Students' Perceptions of Online Course Quality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barczyk, Casimir C.; Hixon, Emily; Buckenmeyer, Janet; Ralston-Berg, Penny

2017-01-01

Three thousand, one hundred sixty students involved in online instruction at 31 colleges and universities across the United States completed a survey designed to probe into whether statements derived from 8 standards in the Quality Matters™ (QM) rubric contributed to their success. The 43-item survey instrument measured students' perceptions of…

The Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey (CLASS) for Use in Biology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Semsar, Katharine; Knight, Jennifer K.; Birol, Gulnur; Smith, Michelle K.

2011-01-01

This paper describes a newly adapted instrument for measuring novice-to-expert-like perceptions about biology: the Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey for Biology (CLASS-Bio). Consisting of 31 Likert-scale statements, CLASS-Bio probes a range of perceptions that vary between experts and novices, including enjoyment of the discipline,…

Structure of Perceptions of Service Quality in Libraries: A LibQUAL+ Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thompson, Bruce; Cook, Colleen; Heath, Fred

2003-01-01

Used confirmatory factor analysis to evaluate the score integrity of LibQUALl+, an instrument to measure perceptions of library service quality. Results for 60,027 graduate and undergraduate students suggest that the model implied by LibQUAL is reasonable and invariant across independent samples and fits all three major subgroups of library users.…

An Examination of the Relationship between Campus Involvement and Perception of Community among Seniors Attending Mississippi's Public Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hood, Jim

2013-01-01

This study was conducted to examine the relationship between level of involvement and perception of community for senior students attending Mississippi's public universities. Data were collected using an online survey instrument consisting of questions from the College and University Community Inventory (McDonald, 1997) to measure community…

Measuring Perceptions of the Learning Environment and Approaches to Learning: Validation of the Learn Questionnaire

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Herrmann, Kim Jesper; Bager-Elsborg, Anna; Parpala, Anna

2017-01-01

While focus on quality in Danish higher education has been growing in recent years, limited attention has been devoted to developing and thoroughly validating instruments that allow collecting data about university students' perceptions of the teaching-learning environment. Based on data from a large sample of Danish university students, a Danish…

Students' Perceptions of Computer-Based Learning Environments, Their Attitude towards Business Statistics, and Their Academic Achievement: Implications from a UK University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nguyen, ThuyUyen H.; Charity, Ian; Robson, Andrew

2016-01-01

This study investigates students' perceptions of computer-based learning environments, their attitude towards business statistics, and their academic achievement in higher education. Guided by learning environments concepts and attitudinal theory, a theoretical model was proposed with two instruments, one for measuring the learning environment and…

Instruments to assess the perception of physicians in the decision-making process of specific clinical encounters: a systematic review

PubMed Central

Légaré, France; Moher, David; Elwyn, Glyn; LeBlanc, Annie; Gravel, Karine

2007-01-01

Background The measurement of processes and outcomes that reflect the complexity of the decision-making process within specific clinical encounters is an important area of research to pursue. A systematic review was conducted to identify instruments that assess the perception physicians have of the decision-making process within specific clinical encounters. Methods For every year available up until April 2007, PubMed, PsycINFO, Current Contents, Dissertation Abstracts and Sociological Abstracts were searched for original studies in English or French. Reference lists from retrieved studies were also consulted. Studies were included if they reported a self-administered instrument evaluating physicians' perceptions of the decision-making process within specific clinical encounters, contained sufficient description to permit critical appraisal and presented quantitative results based on administering the instrument. Two individuals independently assessed the eligibility of the instruments and abstracted information on their conceptual underpinnings, main evaluation domain, development, format, reliability, validity and responsiveness. They also assessed the quality of the studies that reported on the development of the instruments with a modified version of STARD. Results Out of 3431 records identified and screened for evaluation, 26 potentially relevant instruments were assessed; 11 met the inclusion criteria. Five instruments were published before 1995. Among those published after 1995, five offered a corresponding patient version. Overall, the main evaluation domains were: satisfaction with the clinical encounter (n = 2), mutual understanding between health professional and patient (n = 2), mental workload (n = 1), frustration with the clinical encounter (n = 1), nurse-physician collaboration (n = 1), perceptions of communication competence (n = 2), degree of comfort with a decision (n = 1) and information on medication (n = 1). For most instruments (n = 10), some reliability and validity criteria were reported in French or English. Overall, the mean number of items on the modified version of STARD was 12.4 (range: 2 to 18). Conclusion This systematic review provides a critical appraisal and repository of instruments that assess the perception physicians have of the decision-making process within specific clinical encounters. More research is needed to pursue the validation of the existing instruments and the development of patient versions. This will help researchers capture the complexity of the decision-making process within specific clinical encounters. PMID:17937801

African Americans' perception of risk for diabetes complications.

PubMed

Calvin, Donna; Quinn, Lauretta; Dancy, Barbara; Park, Chang; Fleming, Shirley G; Smith, Eva; Fogelfeld, Leon

2011-01-01

The purpose of this exploratory, descriptive, correlational study was to describe the perceived risk for diabetes complications among urban African American adults (18-75 years old) with type 2 diabetes and to explore the interrelationships among illness perception, well-being, perceptions of risk for diabetes complications, and selected physiologic measures of diabetes risk: hemoglobin A1C, blood pressure, and microalbuminuria. Urban African American adults with type 2 diabetes (N = 143) were recruited from 3 Chicago city public health clinics. They completed a demographic survey and 3 instruments: the Risk Perception Survey-Diabetes Mellitus, the 12-item Well-being Questionnaire, and the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire. Physiologic measures included blood pressure, urine for microalbuminuria, and capillary blood for A1C. There was low perception of risk for diabetes complications, which was incongruent with the physiologic measures of risk. Less than 33% of participants saw themselves as being at high risk for developing any complications of diabetes, with the exception of vision problems (39%), despite the fact that physiologic measures of risk for diabetes complications were high in this sample. Risk perception was associated with well-being, perception of negative consequences, number of symptoms, and negative emotions related to diabetes. Risk perception was not in line with risk, as indicated by physiologic measures; thus, it is necessary to heighten this population's perception of risk for diabetes complications.

A questionnaire measuring staff perceptions of Lean adoption in healthcare: development and psychometric testing.

PubMed

Kaltenbrunner, Monica; Bengtsson, Lars; Mathiassen, Svend Erik; Engström, Maria

2017-03-24

During the past decade, the concept of Lean has spread rapidly within the healthcare sector, but there is a lack of instruments that can measure staff's perceptions of Lean adoption. Thus, the aim of the present study was to develop a questionnaire measuring Lean in healthcare, based on Liker's description of Lean, by adapting an existing instrument developed for the service sector. A mixed-method design was used. Initially, items from the service sector instrument were categorized according to Liker's 14 principles describing Lean within four domains: philosophy, processes, people and partners and problem-solving. Items were lacking for three of Liker's principles and were therefore developed de novo. Think-aloud interviews were conducted with 12 healthcare staff from different professions to contextualize and examine the face validity of the questionnaire prototype. Thereafter, the adjusted questionnaire's psychometric properties were assessed on the basis of a cross-sectional survey among 386 staff working in primary care. The think-aloud interviews led to adjustments in the questionnaire to better suit a healthcare context, and the number of items was reduced. Confirmatory factor analysis of the adjusted questionnaire showed a generally acceptable correspondence with Liker's description of Lean. Internal consistency, measured using Cronbach's alpha, for the factors in Liker's description of Lean was 0.60 for the factor people and partners, and over 0.70 for the three other factors. Test-retest reliability measured by the intra-class correlation coefficient ranged from 0.77 to 0.88 for the four factors. We designed a questionnaire capturing staff's perceptions of Lean adoption in healthcare on the basis of Liker's description. This Lean in Healthcare Questionnaire (LiHcQ) showed generally acceptable psychometric properties, which supports its usability for measuring Lean adoption in healthcare. We suggest that further research focus on verifying the usability of LiHcQ in other healthcare settings, and on adjusting the instrument if needed.

Child and adolescent experience of and satisfaction with psychiatric care: a critical review of the research literature.

PubMed

Biering, P

2010-02-01

This review paper contributes to better understanding of child and adolescent perception of quality of psychiatric care and should therefore be of interests for those who are concerned with the development and improvement of psychiatric care. * The review shows that the concept of patient satisfaction in child and adolescent psychiatric care is still underdeveloped and that few valid instruments have been developed to measure the concept. * The review helps to clarify the concept of adolescent satisfaction with psychiatric care by indentifying the universal components of the concept. * The paper concludes that children's perception of quality of care differs from their parents' and that quality assessment of children and adolescents needs to be heeded. Abstract Users' perspectives ought to be a determining factor for assessing the quality of psychiatric care and hence their perspectives need to be thoroughly understood. There is a lack of comprehensive knowledge of how children and adolescents perceive the quality of their psychiatric care. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to critically review and synthesize findings from research on youth experience and satisfaction with psychiatric care. The review finds that knowledge about youth perception of quality of care is scattered and that few researchers consider previous findings. There are few valid instruments to measure child and adolescent patient satisfaction and few studies have considered these users' perceptions. These few studies indicate that adolescents' satisfaction has three universal components: satisfaction with environment and the organization of services; with user-caregiver relationship; and with treatment outcome. However, instruments that only use these factors lack sensitivity, while instruments that measure specific components of services capture differences in satisfaction between user groups. The review shows that parents and children have different mental care needs, and that the assessments by children and adolescents of their psychiatric care should be heeded.

DABI: A data base for image analysis with nondeterministic inference capability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yakimovsky, Y.; Cunningham, R.

1976-01-01

A description is given of the data base used in the perception subsystem of the Mars robot vehicle prototype being implemented at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. This data base contains two types of information. The first is generic (uninstantiated, abstract) information that specifies the general rules of perception of objects in the expected environments. The second kind of information is a specific (instantiated) description of a structure, i.e., the properties and relations of objects in the specific case being analyzed. The generic knowledge can be used by the approximate reasoning subsystem to obtain information on the specific structures which is not directly measurable by the sensory instruments. Raw measurements are input either from the sensory instruments or a human operator using a CRT or a TTY.

Assessment of self-perception of physical fitness and proposal for standards among Chilean adolescent students: the EAPAF study.

PubMed

Cossio-Bolaños, Marco; Vasquez, Pablo; Luarte-Rocha, Cristian; Sulla-Torres, José; Gómez Campos, Rossana

2016-08-01

Physical fitness may be assessed among children and adolescents in a quantitative and qualitative manner. At present, in Chile, there are no tools available to assess self-perception of physical fitness. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to develop a valid and reliable instrument that would allow to assess selfperception of physical fitness among adolescents and propose standards for age and sex. A survey was administered among adolescent students from six public schools in the Maule Region, Chile, selected in a probabilistic (stratified) fashion. To measure self-perception of physical fitness, a qualitative instrument was developed: the Self-Perception of Physical Fitness Scale (EAPAF, escala de autopercepcion de la aptitud fisica), which is made up of four dimensions and 18 questions. The LMS method (L: Box-Cox coefficient, M: median curve, and S: variation coefficient) was used to establish percentiles and propose references by dimension, age and sex. A total of 3060 adolescents (1702 boys and 1358 girls) aged 11.0 to 18.9 years old were included. The factor analysis evidenced four factors. Saturation values were above 0.40. The percentage of instrument explanation reached 54.24%. In terms of reliability, the 18 questions reflected that Cronbach's alpha was between 0.82 and 0.85. Percentiles (p15, p50 and p85) were developed to classify self-perception of physical fitness by dimension, age and sex. Boys showed higher scores in the self-perception of physical fitness scale when compared to girls (p 〈 0.001). The instrument developed in this study was valid and reliable. In addition, the standards proposed may become a useful tool to classify adolescents in relation to their selfperception of physical fitness. Sociedad Argentina de Pediatría.

Rap-Music Attitude and Perception Scale: A Validation Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tyson, Edgar H.

2006-01-01

Objective: This study tests the validity of the Rap-music Attitude and Perception (RAP) Scale, a 1-page, 24-item measure of a person's thoughts and feelings surrounding the effects and content of rap music. The RAP was designed as a rapid assessment instrument for youth programs and practitioners using rap music and hip hop culture in their work…

Evaluation of Factors Contributing to the Achievement of Students Participating in a Culturally Responsive Curriculum in Hawai`i Public Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bowditch, Scott A.

2013-01-01

This research explored the effectiveness of "Ka Hana 'Imi Na 'auao," a culturally responsive science curriculum developed for Hawaiian and other students in Hawai'i high schools. An instrument, The Culturally Responsive Science Perception (CRSP) inventory was developed to measure students' (a) perceptions of their science self-efficacy,…

The Impact of Project Role on Perceptions of Risk and Performance in Information Technology Software Development: A Comparative Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Okongo, James

2014-01-01

The failure rate of information technology (IT) development projects is a significant concern for today's organizations. Perceptions of IT project risk and project performance have been identified as important factors by scholars studying the topic, and Wallace, Keil, and Rai (2004a) developed a survey instrument to measure how dimensions of…

Development of a Survey Instrument to Measure TEFL Academics' Perceptions about, Individual and Workplace Characteristics for Conducting Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bai, Li; Hudson, Peter; Millwater, Jan; Tones, Megan

2013-01-01

A 30-item survey was devised to determine Chinese TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) academics' potential for conducting research. A five-part Likert scale was used to gather data from 182 academics on four factors: (1) perceptions on teaching-research nexus, (2) personal perspectives for conducting research, (3) predispositions for…

Self-perception and quality of life in adolescents during treatment for a primary malignant bone tumour.

PubMed

van Riel, Christel A H P; Meijer-van den Bergh, Esther E M; Kemps, Hennie L M; Feuth, Ton; Schreuder, Hendrik W B; Hoogerbrugge, Peter M; De Groot, Imelda J M; Mavinkurve-Groothuis, Annelies M C

2014-06-01

Adolescents experience physical and psychosocial changes as part of their normal development. It can be hypothesized that they have lower scores on Quality of Life (QoL) and self-perception when additional changes occur due to cancer treatment. The purpose of our study was to assess self-perception and QoL of adolescents during or up to three months after adjuvant treatment for a primary malignant bone tumour. Ten adolescent patients (median age of 15 years) were included. Every patient was matched with two healthy peers. Participants completed the dutch version of the Self Perception Profile of Adolescents (SPPA) to measure self-perception and the KIDSCREEN-52 questionnaire for QoL. For both instruments, normative data were available. Adolescents with a bone tumour had consistently lower scores on QoL as compared to healthy peers. Significantly on domains: physical well-being (P < 0.002), autonomy (P = 0.02), social support (P = 0.04) and school environment (P = 0.02). Scores on self-perception in this group were similar in both the study and control group. Adolescents with a primary malignant bone tumour during or up to three months after adjuvant treatment had lower scores on QoL (KIDSCREEN-52), significantly on domains of physical well-being and social functioning. Unlike most other quality of life instruments, the KIDSCREEN-52 contains different areas of social functioning and has shown to be a useful instrument in our patient group. Scores on self-perception in this group were similar in both study and control group. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reliability and Validity of Modified Service Quality Instrument (SERVQUAL) in Patients’ Motivation to Adhere to Insulin Therapy

PubMed Central

Jakupovic, Vedran; Solakovic, Suajb; Celebic, Nedim; Kulovic, Dzenan

2018-01-01

Introduction: Diabetes is progressive condition which requires various ways of treatment. Adequate therapy prescribed in the right time helps patient to postpone development of complications. Adherence to complicated therapy is challenge for both patients and HCPs and is subject of research in many disciplines. Improvement in communication between HCP and patients is very important in patient’s adherence to therapy. Aim: Aim of this research was to explore validity and reliability of modified SERVQUAL instrument in attempt to explore ways of motivating diabetic patient to accept prescribed insulin therapy. Material and Methods: We used modified SERVQUAL questionnaire as instrument in the research. It was necessary to check validity and reliability of the new modified instrument. Results: Results show that modified Servqual instrument has excellent reliability (α=0.908), so we could say that it measures precisely Expectations, Perceptions and Motivation at patients. Factor analysis (EFA method) with Varimax rotation extracted 4 factors which together explain 52.902% variance of the results on this subscale. Bifactorial solution could be seen on Scree-plot diagram (break at second factor). Conclusion: Results in this research show that modified Servqual instrument which is created in order to measure expectations and perceptions of the patients is valid and reliable. Reliability and validity are proven indeed in additional dimension which was created originally for this research - motivation to accept insulin therapy. PMID:29670478

Reliability and Validity of Modified Service Quality Instrument (SERVQUAL) in Patients' Motivation to Adhere to Insulin Therapy.

PubMed

Jakupovic, Vedran; Solakovic, Suajb; Celebic, Nedim; Kulovic, Dzenan

2018-03-01

Diabetes is progressive condition which requires various ways of treatment. Adequate therapy prescribed in the right time helps patient to postpone development of complications. Adherence to complicated therapy is challenge for both patients and HCPs and is subject of research in many disciplines. Improvement in communication between HCP and patients is very important in patient's adherence to therapy. Aim of this research was to explore validity and reliability of modified SERVQUAL instrument in attempt to explore ways of motivating diabetic patient to accept prescribed insulin therapy. We used modified SERVQUAL questionnaire as instrument in the research. It was necessary to check validity and reliability of the new modified instrument. Results show that modified Servqual instrument has excellent reliability (α=0.908), so we could say that it measures precisely Expectations, Perceptions and Motivation at patients. Factor analysis (EFA method) with Varimax rotation extracted 4 factors which together explain 52.902% variance of the results on this subscale. Bifactorial solution could be seen on Scree-plot diagram (break at second factor). Results in this research show that modified Servqual instrument which is created in order to measure expectations and perceptions of the patients is valid and reliable. Reliability and validity are proven indeed in additional dimension which was created originally for this research - motivation to accept insulin therapy.

Students' Perceptions of Emotional and Instrumental Teacher Support: Relations with Motivational and Emotional Responses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Federici, Roger A.; Skaalvik, Einar M.

2014-01-01

We explored whether students' perceptions of emotional and instrumental support provided by their mathematics teacher constitute separate dimensions of teacher support and how they are related. We also analyzed how students' perceptions of emotional and instrumental support in math lessons relate to math anxiety, intrinsic motivation, help-seeking…

Measuring Characteristics of Teacher Professional Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Soine, Karen M.; Lumpe, Andrew

2014-01-01

The primary purpose of the study was to create and psychometrically test an instrument which measured teachers' perceptions of characteristics of professional development. The sample consisted of elementary teachers from five school districts in Washington State participating in a district improvement initiative. Results of exploratory factor…

Development and Initial Validation of the Caregiver Perceptions About Communication With Clinical Team Members (CAPACITY) Measure.

PubMed

Van Houtven, Courtney Harold; Miller, Katherine E M; O'Brien, Emily C; Wolff, Jennifer L; Lindquist, Jennifer; Kabat, Margaret; Campbell-Kotler, Margaret; Henius, Jennifer; Voils, Corrine I

2017-12-01

Despite the important role that family caregivers play managing the care of persons with complex health needs, little is known about how caregivers perceive themselves to be recognized and valued by health care professionals. Our objective was to develop and validate a novel measure, the CAregiver Perceptions About Commun Ication with Clinical Team members (CAPACITY) instrument. Questions focus on perceived quality of communication with the health care team and the extent to which caregivers believe that the health care team considers their capacity and preferences in decision making. A confirmatory factor analysis supported a two-factor solution addressing communication and capacity. Internal consistency reliability was .90 for the communication domain and .93 for the capacity domain. Correlations between these two subscales and individual difference measures provided evidence of convergent and discriminant validity. The CAPACITY instrument may be a useful performance measure that quantifies the extent to which caregivers' experience person- and family-centered health care.

The Timing of an Experiment in the Laboratory Program Is Crucial for the Student Laboratory Experience: Acylation of Ferrocene as a Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Southam, Daniel C.; Shand, Bradley; Buntine, Mark A.; Kable, Scott H.; Read, Justin R.; Morris, Jonathan C.

2013-01-01

An assessment of the acylation of ferrocene laboratory exercise across three successive years resulted in a significant fluctuation in student perception of the experiment. This perception was measured by collecting student responses to an instrument immediately after the experiment, which includes Likert and open-ended responses from the student.…

The Mathematics Attitude Inventory: Instrument and User's Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sandman, Richard S.

1980-01-01

The Mathematics Attitude Inventory, designed to measure the attitudes toward mathematics of secondary students, and its accompanying user's manual, are described. The six scales measure perception of mathematics teachers, value of mathematics, self-concept in mathematics, and anxiety toward, enjoyment of, and motivation in mathematics. (MK)

Research Instruments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1992-01-01

The GENETI-SCANNER, newest product of Perceptive Scientific Instruments, Inc. (PSI), rapidly scans slides, locates, digitizes, measures and classifies specific objects and events in research and diagnostic applications. Founded by former NASA employees, PSI's primary product line is based on NASA image processing technology. The instruments karyotype - a process employed in analysis and classification of chromosomes - using a video camera mounted on a microscope. Images are digitized, enabling chromosome image enhancement. The system enables karyotyping to be done significantly faster, increasing productivity and lowering costs. Product is no longer being manufactured.

Development and Testing of the Healthy Work Environment Inventory: A Reliable Tool for Assessing Work Environment Health and Satisfaction.

PubMed

Clark, Cynthia M; Sattler, Victoria P; Barbosa-Leiker, Celestina

2016-10-01

Fostering healthy work environments that enhance job satisfaction and reflect high levels of employee engagement and productivity is imperative for all organizations. This is especially true for health care organizations where unhealthy work conditions can lead to poor patient outcomes. A convenience sample of 520 nursing faculty and practice-based nurses in the United States participated in a study to test the psychometric properties of the Healthy Work Environment Inventory (HWEI). A factor analysis and other reliability analyses support the use of the HWEI as a valid and reliable instrument to measure perceptions of work environment health. The HWEI is a 20-item psychometrically sound instrument to measure perceptions of the health of the work environment. It may be completed either as an individual exercise or by all members of a team to compare perceptions of work environment health, to determine areas of strength and improvement, and to form the basis for interviewing. [J Nurs Educ. 2016;55(10):555-562.]. Copyright 2016, SLACK Incorporated.

Patient's perceptions about the service quality of public hospitals located at District Kohat.

PubMed

Aman, Bakhtiar; Abbas, Faisal

2016-01-01

To determine patients' perception regarding service and quality of healthcare at public-sector institutions. The descriptive quantitative study was conducted in Kohat district, Pakistan, between July and December 2014, and focussed on 30 variables to assess the participants' perceptions of the actual healthcare service quality delivered. SERVQUAL instrument was used to measure the reliability and cronbach alpha was calculated to measure the reliability and validity of the instrument. A total of 200 questionnaires were distributed and 157(78.5%) were received back fully filled. Of them, 105(67%) were men and 52(33%) were women.The mean value of Assurance parameter was 3.05±0.88, indicating trust in public hospitals was high as they had experienced and capable doctors. On the other hand, the lowest mean value of 2.61±0.84 was for Empathy, highlighting the fact that public hospitals lacked the ability to handle patients' problem properly, services were not offered in time and they were short of staff. Public hospitals were largely seen as failing to deliver quality service.

Tools assessing nurse manager behaviours and RN job satisfaction: a review of the literature.

PubMed

Feather, Rebecca

2015-09-01

To determine the state of the science in relation to registered nurse (RN) perceptions of nurse manager behaviours that influence registered nurse job satisfaction. Nurse managers have been related by research to the job satisfaction of their staff. However, little is known about how nurses perceive the behaviours of nurse managers as influencing their job satisfaction. A literature search was conducted to identify journal articles that included studies involving instruments of nurse manager behaviours and staff nurse job satisfaction levels. The literature shows a lack of consistency in the definitions of job satisfaction, instrumentation for measurement and conclusions that identify specific management behaviours effective for high levels of job satisfaction of RNs related to staff nurse perceptions. Studies include important aspects of what shapes a healthy work environment for nurses, but no single study identified specific nurse manager behaviours based solely on the perceptions of staff nurses and their job satisfaction. The perceptions of staff nurses are important for hospital administrators and nurse managers in order to know how to improve satisfaction and reduce turnover. Instruments developed based on manager beliefs may not provide data needed to influence a change in management behaviours that results in improved job satisfaction. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Physician Enabling Skills Questionnaire

PubMed Central

Hudon, Catherine; Lambert, Mireille; Almirall, José

2015-01-01

Abstract Objective To evaluate the reliability and validity of the newly developed Physician Enabling Skills Questionnaire (PESQ) by assessing its internal consistency, test-retest reliability, concurrent validity with patient-centred care, and predictive validity with patient activation and patient enablement. Design Validation study. Setting Saguenay, Que. Participants One hundred patients with at least 1 chronic disease who presented in a waiting room of a regional health centre family medicine unit. Main outcome measures Family physicians’ enabling skills, measured with the PESQ at 2 points in time (ie, while in the waiting room at the family medicine unit and 2 weeks later through a mail survey); patient-centred care, assessed with the Patient Perception of Patient-Centredness instrument; patient activation, assessed with the Patient Activation Measure; and patient enablement, assessed with the Patient Enablement Instrument. Results The internal consistency of the 6 subscales of the PESQ was adequate (Cronbach α = .69 to .92). The test-retest reliability was very good (r = 0.90; 95% CI 0.84 to 0.93). Concurrent validity with the Patient Perception of Patient-Centredness instrument was good (r = −0.67; 95% CI −0.78 to −0.53; P < .001). The PESQ accounts for 11% of the total variance with the Patient Activation Measure (r2 = 0.11; P = .002) and 19% of the variance with the Patient Enablement Instrument (r2 = 0.19; P < .001). Conclusion The newly developed PESQ presents good psychometric properties, allowing for its use in practice and research. PMID:26889507

The Self-perception of Text-message Dependency Scale (STDS): Psychometric update based on a United States sample.

PubMed

Liese, Bruce S; Benau, Erik M; Atchley, Paul; Reed, Derek; Becirevic, Amel; Kaplan, Brent

2018-05-14

Some have suggested that text messaging is an addictive behavior. However, this characterization is uncertain, partly due to lack of well-validated measures of text messaging attitudes and behaviors. One standard instrument for measuring text messaging attitudes and behaviors is the Self-perception of Text-message Dependency Scale (STDS), though the psychometric properties of this scale have only been examined with a sample of Japanese youth. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the STDS in the United States to determine its utility as a measure of text messaging dependence. We were interested in examining the factor structure and determining the extent to which this scale would correlate with two important outcome measures: motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) and moving violations. We analyzed data from 468 adults (age 18-74; 274 women) recruited via Amazon's Mechanical Turk (mTurk) service. Participants completed the STDS and provided information about their driving-related incidents in the past year. First we performed a confirmatory factor analysis, which supported the instrument's original factor structure. Then we tested the relationship between scores on the STDS and two important variables, MVAs and moving violations. We found that the STDS significantly correlated with both MVAs and moving violations. The present study confirms that the STDS is a potentially useful instrument for studying texting dependence in the United States and with adults of all ages. The instrument may be particularly useful in predicting motor vehicle outcomes.

The Perceptions of Fair Interpersonal Treatment Scale: development and validation of a measure of interpersonal treatment in the workplace.

PubMed

Donovan, M A; Drasgow, F; Munson, L J

1998-10-01

The Perceptions of Fair Interpersonal Treatment (PFIT) scale was designed to assess employees' perceptions of the interpersonal treatment in their work environment. Analyses of the factor structure and reliability of this new instrument indicate that the PFIT scale is a reliable instrument composed of 2 factors: supervisor treatment and coworker treatment. It was hypothesized that the PFIT scale would be positively correlated with job satisfaction variables and negatively correlated with work withdrawal, job withdrawal, experiences of sexual harassment, and an organization's tolerance of sexual harassment. Results based on 509 employees in a private-sector organization and 217 female faculty and staff members at a large midwestern university supported these hypotheses. Arguments that common method variance and employees' dispositions are responsible for the significant correlations between the PFIT scale and other job-related variables were eliminated. The implications of these results are discussed.

Measuring Teachers' Efficacy Working with Diverse Student Needs: Testing a Measurement Model. Technical Report # 38

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alonzo, Julie; Tindal, Gerald; McCoy, Jan

2005-01-01

This technical report describes the development, pilot testing, and revision of a survey instrument designed to measure secondary school teachers' perceptions of their efficacy working with students from diverse backgrounds. A brief review of relevant literature frames the current study in the context of survey development that is technically…

Preliminary Psychometric Analysis of the Modified Perceived Value of Certification Tool for the Nurse Educator.

PubMed

Barbe, Tammy

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine psychometric properties of the Perceived Value of Certification Tool© with a focus on nurse educator certification (PVCT-NE) in a sample of nurse educators. Greater understanding of faculty perceptions of certification is necessary to facilitate a strong cadre of nursing faculty; however, research around nurse educator certification is limited by a lack of reliable and valid instruments to measure such perceptions. Twenty-four nursing faculty from one university participated in the psychometric study, which involved completion of the PVCT-NE in a web-based survey format. Internal consistency reliability was excellent. Cronbach's alpha for the total PVCT-NE was .94 (.93 for the intrinsic subscale and .86 for the extrinsic subscale). A content validity index of .95 was obtained. There is preliminary evidence that the PVCT-NE is a reliable and valid instrument to measure perceived value of certification in nurse educators.

Patients' perceptions of palliative care: adaptation of the Quality from the Patient's Perspective instrument for use in palliative care, and description of patients' perceptions of care received.

PubMed

Sandsdalen, Tuva; Rystedt, Ingrid; Grøndahl, Vigdis Abrahamsen; Hov, Reidun; Høye, Sevald; Wilde-Larsson, Bodil

2015-11-02

Instruments specific to palliative care tend to measure care quality from relative perspectives or have insufficient theoretical foundation. The instrument Quality from the Patient's Perspective (QPP) is based on a model for care quality derived from patients' perceptions of care, although it has not been psychometrically evaluated for use in palliative care. The aim of this study was to adapt the QPP for use in palliative care contexts, and to describe patients' perceptions of the care quality in terms of the subjective importance of the care aspects and the perceptions of the care received. A cross-sectional study was conducted between November 2013 and December 2014 which included 191 patients (73% response rate) in late palliative phase at hospice inpatient units, hospice day-care units, wards in nursing homes that specialized in palliative care and homecare districts, all in Norway. An explorative factor analysis using principal component analysis, including data from 184 patients, was performed for psychometric evaluation. Internal consistency was assessed by Cronbach's alpha and paired t-tests were used to describe patients' perceptions of their care. The QPP instrument was adapted for palliative care in four steps: (1) selecting items from the QPP, (2) modifying items and (3) constructing new items to the palliative care setting, and (4) a pilot evaluation. QPP instrument specific to palliative care (QPP-PC) consists of 51 items and 12 factors with an eigenvalue ≥1.0, and showed a stable factor solution that explained 68.25% of the total variance. The reliability coefficients were acceptable for most factors (0.79-0.96). Patients scored most aspects of care related to both subjective importance and actual care received as high. Areas for improvement were symptom relief, participation, continuity, and planning and cooperation. The QPP-PC is based on a theoretical model of quality of care, and has its roots in patients' perspectives. The instrument was developed and psychometrically evaluated in a sample of Norwegian patients with various diagnoses receiving palliative care in different care contexts. The evaluation of the QPP-PC shows promising results, although it needs to be further validated and tested in other contexts and countries.

A critical appraisal of instruments to measure outcomes of interprofessional education.

PubMed

Oates, Matthew; Davidson, Megan

2015-04-01

Interprofessional education (IPE) is believed to prepare health professional graduates for successful collaborative practice. A range of instruments have been developed to measure the outcomes of IPE. An understanding of the psychometric properties of these instruments is important if they are to be used to measure the effectiveness of IPE. This review set out to identify instruments available to measure outcomes of IPE and collaborative practice in pre-qualification health professional students and to critically appraise the psychometric properties of validity, responsiveness and reliability against contemporary standards for instrument design. Instruments were selected from a pool of extant instruments and subjected to critical appraisal to determine whether they satisfied inclusion criteria. The qualitative and psychometric attributes of the included instruments were appraised using a checklist developed for this review. Nine instruments were critically appraised, including the widely adopted Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) and the Interdisciplinary Education Perception Scale (IEPS). Validity evidence for instruments was predominantly based on test content and internal structure. Ceiling effects and lack of scale width contribute to the inability of some instruments to detect change in variables of interest. Limited reliability data were reported for two instruments. Scale development and scoring protocols were generally reported by instrument developers, but the inconsistent application of scoring protocols for some instruments was apparent. A number of instruments have been developed to measure outcomes of IPE in pre-qualification health professional students. Based on reported validity evidence and reliability data, the psychometric integrity of these instruments is limited. The theoretical test construction paradigm on which instruments have been developed may be contributing to the failure of some instruments to detect change in variables of interest following an IPE intervention. These limitations should be considered in any future research on instrument design. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Measuring team factors thought to influence the success of quality improvement in primary care: a systematic review of instruments

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Measuring team factors in evaluations of Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) may provide important information for enhancing CQI processes and outcomes; however, the large number of potentially relevant factors and associated measurement instruments makes inclusion of such measures challenging. This review aims to provide guidance on the selection of instruments for measuring team-level factors by systematically collating, categorizing, and reviewing quantitative self-report instruments. Methods Data sources: We searched MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Health and Psychosocial Instruments; reference lists of systematic reviews; and citations and references of the main report of instruments. Study selection: To determine the scope of the review, we developed and used a conceptual framework designed to capture factors relevant to evaluating CQI in primary care (the InQuIRe framework). We included papers reporting development or use of an instrument measuring factors relevant to teamwork. Data extracted included instrument purpose; theoretical basis, constructs measured and definitions; development methods and assessment of measurement properties. Analysis and synthesis: We used qualitative analysis of instrument content and our initial framework to develop a taxonomy for summarizing and comparing instruments. Instrument content was categorized using the taxonomy, illustrating coverage of the InQuIRe framework. Methods of development and evidence of measurement properties were reviewed for instruments with potential for use in primary care. Results We identified 192 potentially relevant instruments, 170 of which were analyzed to develop the taxonomy. Eighty-one instruments measured constructs relevant to CQI teams in primary care, with content covering teamwork context (45 instruments measured enabling conditions or attitudes to teamwork), team process (57 instruments measured teamwork behaviors), and team outcomes (59 instruments measured perceptions of the team or its effectiveness). Forty instruments were included for full review, many with a strong theoretical basis. Evidence supporting measurement properties was limited. Conclusions Existing instruments cover many of the factors hypothesized to contribute to QI success. With further testing, use of these instruments measuring team factors in evaluations could aid our understanding of the influence of teamwork on CQI outcomes. Greater consistency in the factors measured and choice of measurement instruments is required to enable synthesis of findings for informing policy and practice. PMID:23410500

Changing the Concept and Measure of Service Quality in Academic Libraries.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nitecki, Danuta A.

1996-01-01

The diagnostic instrument SERVQUAL has been developed to measure customer expectations and perceptions of service. This article describes a study that investigated how applicable SERVQUAL is to academic libraries and how influential the study's findings might be in changing concepts of the management of academic library services. Two SERVQUAL…

Measuring Perceptual (In) Congruence between Information Service Providers and Users

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boyce, Crystal

2017-01-01

Library quality is no longer evaluated solely on the value of its collections, as user perceptions of service quality play an increasingly important role in defining overall library value. This paper presents a retooling of the LibQUAL+ survey instrument, blending the gap measurement model with perceptual congruence model studies from information…

Evaluation of Teaching Competence by Three Groups of Educators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Owens, Mary Seymour

1971-01-01

The purpose of this study was to compare the perceptions of teacher competence within and among three groups of educators as measured by the interview scales of the Instrument for the Observation of Teaching Activities (IOTA). (Auhor)

Melodic Contour Identification and Music Perception by Cochlear Implant Users

PubMed Central

Galvin, John J.; Fu, Qian-Jie; Shannon, Robert V.

2013-01-01

Research and outcomes with cochlear implants (CIs) have revealed a dichotomy in the cues necessary for speech and music recognition. CI devices typically transmit 16–22 spectral channels, each modulated slowly in time. This coarse representation provides enough information to support speech understanding in quiet and rhythmic perception in music, but not enough to support speech understanding in noise or melody recognition. Melody recognition requires some capacity for complex pitch perception, which in turn depends strongly on access to spectral fine structure cues. Thus, temporal envelope cues are adequate for speech perception under optimal listening conditions, while spectral fine structure cues are needed for music perception. In this paper, we present recent experiments that directly measure CI users’ melodic pitch perception using a melodic contour identification (MCI) task. While normal-hearing (NH) listeners’ performance was consistently high across experiments, MCI performance was highly variable across CI users. CI users’ MCI performance was significantly affected by instrument timbre, as well as by the presence of a competing instrument. In general, CI users had great difficulty extracting melodic pitch from complex stimuli. However, musically-experienced CI users often performed as well as NH listeners, and MCI training in less experienced subjects greatly improved performance. With fixed constraints on spectral resolution, such as it occurs with hearing loss or an auditory prosthesis, training and experience can provide a considerable improvements in music perception and appreciation. PMID:19673835

Shared decision-making in older patients with colorectal or pancreatic cancer: Determinants of patients' and observers' perceptions.

PubMed

Geessink, Noralie H; Ofstad, Eirik H; Olde Rikkert, Marcel G M; van Goor, Harry; Kasper, Jürgen; Schoon, Yvonne

2018-06-13

To identify determinants of older patients' perceptions of involvement in decision-making on colorectal (CRC) or pancreatic cancer (PC) treatment, and to compare these with determinants of observers' perceptions. Patients' perceptions of involvement were constructed by the 9-item SDM questionnaire (SDM-Q-9) and a Visual Analogue Scale for Involvement (VAS-I). Observers' perceptions were constructed by the OPTION5, OPTION12, and MAPPIN'SDM. Convergent validities were calculated between the patient-sided and observer instruments using Spearman's correlation coefficient. Linear regression was used to identify determinants per criterion. 58 CRC and 22 PC patients were included (mean age: 71.8 ± 5.2 years, 45.0% female). No significant correlations were found between the patient-sided and observer instruments. Patients' impression of involvement was influenced by patient characteristics such as quality of life and satisfaction, while observers' perceptions mainly referred to encounter characteristics such as the mean duration of consultations and general communication skills. Due to evident differences in determinants, older CRC/PC patients' and observers' perceptions of involvement should both be collected in evaluating the quality of medical decision-making. General communication skills should be integrated in SDM training interventions. New SDM measurement tools for patients are needed to sufficiently discriminate between the constructs of involvement and satisfaction. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Environmental Profile of a Community’s Health (EPOCH): An Ecometric Assessment of Measures of the Community Environment Based on Individual Perception

PubMed Central

Corsi, Daniel J.; Subramanian, S. V.; McKee, Martin; Li, Wei; Swaminathan, Sumathi; Lopez-Jaramillo, Patricio; Avezum, Alvaro; Lear, Scott A.; Dagenais, Gilles; Rangarajan, Sumathy; Teo, Koon; Yusuf, Salim; Chow, Clara K.

2012-01-01

Background Public health research has turned towards examining upstream, community-level determinants of cardiovascular disease risk factors. Objective measures of the environment, such as those derived from direct observation, and perception-based measures by residents have both been associated with health behaviours. However, current methods are generally limited to objective measures, often derived from administrative data, and few instruments have been evaluated for use in rural areas or in low-income countries. We evaluate the reliability of a quantitative tool designed to capture perceptions of community tobacco, nutrition, and social environments obtained from interviews with residents in communities in 5 countries. Methodology/ Principal Findings Thirteen measures of the community environment were developed from responses to questionnaire items from 2,360 individuals residing in 84 urban and rural communities in 5 countries (China, India, Brazil, Colombia, and Canada) in the Environmental Profile of a Community’s Health (EPOCH) study. Reliability and other properties of the community-level measures were assessed using multilevel models. High reliability (>0.80) was demonstrated for all community-level measures at the mean number of survey respondents per community (n = 28 respondents). Questionnaire items included in each scale were found to represent a common latent factor at the community level in multilevel factor analysis models. Conclusions/ Significance Reliable measures which represent aspects of communities potentially related to cardiovascular disease (CVD)/risk factors can be obtained using feasible sample sizes. The EPOCH instrument is suitable for use in different settings to explore upstream determinants of CVD/risk factors. PMID:22973446

Persons with rheumatoid arthritis challenge the relevance of the health assessment questionnaire: a qualitative study of patient perception.

PubMed

Ebbevi, David; Essén, Anna; Forsberg, Helena Hvitfeldt

2017-05-12

The Stanford Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index (HAQ) is widely used to measure functional ability in persons with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). The instrument was developed with limited involvement from persons with RA, and their perception of the instrument has not been studied in depth. The aim of this study was to explore how persons with RA experience the use of the HAQ in care. The study used secondary data analysis. Persons with RA participated in semi-structured interviews in previous research projects. Thirty-nine interviews were included based on data fit, and thematic analysis applied. The participants questioned the relevance of the HAQ but nevertheless experienced that the instrument had a profound effect on their understanding of health and how care is delivered. The analysis resulted in three themes: Problems with individual items, meaning of the summative score, and effects on care and health perceptions. To make the HAQ relevant to persons with RA, it needs to be revised or to include an option to select items most meaningful to the respondent. To ensure relevance, the HAQ update should preferably be co-created by researchers, clinicians and persons with RA.

Relationship between leadership styles of hospital pharmacists and perceptions of work-unit effectiveness.

PubMed

Bennett, C R; Grussing, P G; Hutchinson, R A; Stewart, J E

1988-08-01

Relationships between hospital pharmacists' perceptions of their own and their immediate supervisors' leadership styles and their perceptions of the effectiveness of their work units were examined. Pharmacists practicing in 12 large Chicago-area hospitals were asked to complete a four-part questionnaire that consisted of demographic questions, the LEADSelf instrument, the LEADOther instrument, and a measure of perceived work unit effectiveness. Respondents' primary, secondary, and combination leadership styles and their degree of style adaptability were determined and compared with the primary, secondary, and combination leadership styles and style adaptability of their immediate supervisors and with their perceptions of the effectiveness of their work units. Pharmacists involved in providing clinical or drug information services and pharmacists responsible for purchasing activities perceived their work units to be most and least effective, respectively. Most respondents perceived their primary leadership style to be high task-high relationship, but only 32% perceived their immediate supervisors to exhibit this style. Pharmacists who perceived their immediate supervisors to have high relationship leadership styles (based on primary and combination style classifications) had significantly more favorable perceptions of the effectiveness of their work units than did pharmacists who perceived their supervisors to exhibit low relationship styles. Respondents' perceptions of their supervisors' style adaptability were positively and significantly correlated with their perceptions of work-unit effectiveness. Respondents who thought their supervisors' leadership styles were more adaptable than their own had the most favorable perceptions of work-unit effectiveness.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Generality and specificity in the effects of musical expertise on perception and cognition.

PubMed

Carey, Daniel; Rosen, Stuart; Krishnan, Saloni; Pearce, Marcus T; Shepherd, Alex; Aydelott, Jennifer; Dick, Frederic

2015-04-01

Performing musicians invest thousands of hours becoming experts in a range of perceptual, attentional, and cognitive skills. The duration and intensity of musicians' training - far greater than that of most educational or rehabilitation programs - provides a useful model to test the extent to which skills acquired in one particular context (music) generalize to different domains. Here, we asked whether the instrument-specific and more instrument-general skills acquired during professional violinists' and pianists' training would generalize to superior performance on a wide range of analogous (largely non-musical) skills, when compared to closely matched non-musicians. Violinists and pianists outperformed non-musicians on fine-grained auditory psychophysical measures, but surprisingly did not differ from each other, despite the different demands of their instruments. Musician groups did differ on a tuning system perception task: violinists showed clearest biases towards the tuning system specific to their instrument, suggesting that long-term experience leads to selective perceptual benefits given a training-relevant context. However, we found only weak evidence of group differences in non-musical skills, with musicians differing marginally in one measure of sustained auditory attention, but not significantly on auditory scene analysis or multi-modal sequencing measures. Further, regression analyses showed that this sustained auditory attention metric predicted more variance in one auditory psychophysical measure than did musical expertise. Our findings suggest that specific musical expertise may yield distinct perceptual outcomes within contexts close to the area of training. Generalization of expertise to relevant cognitive domains may be less clear, particularly where the task context is non-musical. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Exploring the effect of organizational culture on consumer perceptions of agency support for mental health recovery.

PubMed

Clossey, Laurene; Rheinheimer, David

2014-05-01

This research explores the impact of mental health agency culture on consumers' perceptions of agency support for their recovery. This study hypothesized that a constructive organizational culture must be present for consumers to perceive agency support for recovery. A sample of 12 mental health agencies in rural Pennsylvania participated in the research. Agency administrators completed an instrument called the recovery oriented service environment, which measured the number of recovery model program components offered by the agency. Consumers completed the recovery oriented services indicators, which taps into their perception of agency support for recovery. Direct service staff completed the organizational social context, which measured their agency's culture. Results showed that in this sample stronger consumer perceptions of agency support for recovery were correlated with higher ratings of agency constructive culture. The results suggest that agency culture is an important variable to target when implementing recovery model programming.

Measuring changes in perception using the Student Perceptions of Physician-Pharmacist Interprofessional Clinical Education (SPICE) instrument.

PubMed

Zorek, Joseph A; MacLaughlin, Eric J; Fike, David S; MacLaughlin, Anitra A; Samiuddin, Mohammed; Young, Rodney B

2014-05-20

The Student Perceptions of Physician-Pharmacist Interprofessional Clinical Education (SPICE) instrument contains 10 items, 3 factors (interprofessional teamwork and team-based practice, roles/responsibilities for collaborative practice, and patient outcomes from collaborative practice), and utilizes a five-point response scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree). Given the SPICE instrument's demonstrated validity and reliability, the objective of this study was to evaluate whether it was capable of measuring changes in medical (MS) and pharmacy students' (PS) perceptions following an interprofessional education (IPE) experience. In this prospective cohort study, MS and PS completed the SPICE instrument before and after participation in a predefined IPE experience. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize students and pre-post responses. Independent samples t tests and Fisher's Exact tests were used to assess group difference in demographic variables. Mann Whitney U tests were used to assess between-group differences in item scores. Wilcoxon Signed-Rank tests were used to evaluate post-participation changes in item scores. Spearman correlations were calculated to assess associations between ordinal demographic variables and item scores, and whether the number of clinic visits completed was associated with post-test responses. Paired samples t tests were used to calculate mean score changes for each of the factors. Thirty-four MS and 15 PS were enroled. Baseline differences included age (25.3. ± 1.3 MS vs. 28.7 ± 4.4 PS; p = 0.013), years full-time employment (0.71 ± 0.97 MS vs. 4.60 ± 4.55 PS; p < 0.001), and number of prior IPE rotations (1.41 ± 1.74 MS vs. 3.13 ± 2.1 PS; p < 0.001). Two items generated baseline differences; 1 persisted post-participation: whether MS/PS should be involved in teamwork (3.91 MS vs. 4.60 PS; p < 0.001). For all students, significant mean score increases were observed for role clarity ("my role" [3.72 vs. 4.11; p = 0.001] and "others' roles" [3.87 vs. 4.17; p = 0.001]), impact of teamwork on patient satisfaction (3.72 vs. 4.34; p < 0.001), and ideal curricular location for IPE (4.06 vs. 4.34; p = 0.002). Significant increases were observed for all three factors (teamwork, p = 0.003; roles/responsibilities and patient outcomes, p < 0.001). This study demonstrated the SPICE instrument's ability to measure changes in perception for medical and pharmacy students exposed to an IPE experience, both at the individual item level and at the factor level.

Benefits of music training in mandarin-speaking pediatric cochlear implant users.

PubMed

Fu, Qian-Jie; Galvin, John J; Wang, Xiaosong; Wu, Jiunn-Liang

2015-02-01

The aims of this study were to assess young (5- to 10-year-old) Mandarin-speaking cochlear implant (CI) users' musical pitch perception and to assess the benefits of computer-based home training on performance. Melodic contour identification (MCI) was used to assess musical pitch perception in 14 Mandarin-speaking pediatric CI users; the instrument timbre and the contour length were varied as experimental parameters. Six subjects received subsequent MCI training on their home computer in which auditory and visual feedback were provided. MCI performance was generally poor (grand mean=33.3% correct) and highly variable, with scores ranging from 9.3% to 98.1% correct; there was no significant effect of instrument timbre or contour length on performance (p>.05). After 4 weeks of training, performance sharply improved. Follow-up measures that were conducted 8 weeks after training was stopped showed no significant decline in MCI performance. For the 6 trained subjects, there was a significant effect of contour length for the training and follow-up measures. These preliminary data suggest that although baseline MCI performance initially may be poor, training may greatly improve Mandarin-speaking pediatric CI users' melodic pitch perception.

The importance of children's illness beliefs: the Children's Illness Perception Questionnaire (CIPQ) as a reliable assessment tool for eczema and asthma.

PubMed

Walker, C; Papadopoulos, L; Lipton, M; Hussein, M

2006-02-01

A lack of information about disease in children can lead to erroneous views such as children believing that hospital admittance or the presence of a disease is a punishment for a perceived wrong. There has thus far been no standard tool available to measure children's illness conceptualizations from a Leventhalian framework. Three groups of children with eczema, asthma and eczema and asthma between the ages of 7 and 12 years of age were recruited. Children were given the Children's Illness Perception Questionnaire (CIPQ), a 26-item instrument adapted from the Illness Perception Questionnaire for adults. A Kuder - Richardson 20 test of reliability for dichotomous data was performed allowing an estimate of the internal consistency of the measurement scales. It can be seen that, for all three illness groups, internal consistency is acceptable for the timeline and consequences scale. The cure/control scale, however, was not internally consistent for any illness group. As health professionals, we need to develop the means to further understand how paediatric illness beliefs relate to specific disease types, age and psychosocial factors and the utility of this instrument is discussed within this context.

Assessing Community Leadership: Understanding Community Capacity for Health Improvement.

PubMed

Castle, Billie; Wendel, Monica; Kelly Pryor, Brandy N; Ingram, Monique

The purpose of this study was to pilot a quantitative instrument to measure aspects of community leadership within an assessment framework. The instrument includes 14 Likert-type questions asking residents how they perceive leaders within 5 sectors: Louisville Metro Council/Mayor's Office, the faith community, education, business, and the civic sector. Louisville/Jefferson County, Kentucky, has a population of about 743 000 residents. Respondents were asked to examine leadership within West Louisville, an economically deprived area of the city made up of 9 contiguous neighborhoods. This area is predominantly African American (78% compared with 22% in Louisville Metro), with an overall poverty rate of 43% (compared with 18% in Louisville Metro), and unemployment rate of 23% (compared with 8% in Louisville Metro). Residents of West Louisville are looking to leadership to address many of the inequities. Twenty-seven participants representing 7 community sectors completed the survey, of whom 90% work in West Louisville. The instrument measured local perceptions of leadership strength, effectiveness, trust, communication, community building, and leadership development. The majority of respondents agree that strong leadership exists across the 5 sectors, with variation regarding perceptions of the quality of that leadership. City leadership within the Mayor's Office and Metro Council is largely viewed positively, while the growing tensions within the education sector were reflected in the survey results. The perception of community leadership is important to understanding local community capacity to improve health and also inclusivity of community voice in the assessment and community improvement processes. Results from such assessments can offer useful information for strengthening community capacity and sustaining relationships needed to enact progressive and equitable solutions to address local issues. Leaders in a variety of settings can utilize this instrument to improve their community as well as their practical approaches towards leadership and equity.

Development and validation of the Simulation Learning Effectiveness Inventory.

PubMed

Chen, Shiah-Lian; Huang, Tsai-Wei; Liao, I-Chen; Liu, Chienchi

2015-10-01

To develop and psychometrically test the Simulation Learning Effectiveness Inventory. High-fidelity simulation helps students develop clinical skills and competencies. Yet, reliable instruments measuring learning outcomes are scant. A descriptive cross-sectional survey was used to validate psychometric properties of the instrument measuring students' perception of stimulation learning effectiveness. A purposive sample of 505 nursing students who had taken simulation courses was recruited from a department of nursing of a university in central Taiwan from January 2010-June 2010. The study was conducted in two phases. In Phase I, question items were developed based on the literature review and the preliminary psychometric properties of the inventory were evaluated using exploratory factor analysis. Phase II was conducted to evaluate the reliability and validity of the finalized inventory using confirmatory factor analysis. The results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed the instrument was composed of seven factors, named course arrangement, equipment resource, debriefing, clinical ability, problem-solving, confidence and collaboration. A further second-order analysis showed comparable fits between a three second-order factor (preparation, process and outcome) and the seven first-order factor models. Internal consistency was supported by adequate Cronbach's alphas and composite reliability. Convergent and discriminant validities were also supported by confirmatory factor analysis. The study provides evidence that the Simulation Learning Effectiveness Inventory is reliable and valid for measuring student perception of learning effectiveness. The instrument is helpful in building the evidence-based knowledge of the effect of simulation teaching on students' learning outcomes. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Evaluation of service quality of hospital outpatient department services.

PubMed

Chakravarty, Abhijit

2011-07-01

It has become essential for hospital managers to understand and measure consumer perspectives and service quality gaps, so that any perceived gap in delivery of service is identified and suitably addressed. A study was conducted at a peripheral service hospital to ascertain any service gap between consumer expectations and perceptions in respect of the hospital outpatient department (OPD) services. A cross-sectional study was conducted using SERVQUAL as the survey instrument, the instrument being validated for use in the hospital environment. Consumer ratings across 22 items of the survey instrument were collected in paired expectation and perception scores and then service quality gaps were identified and statistically analysed. Service quality gaps were identified to exist across all the five dimensions of the survey instrument, with statistically significant gaps across the dimensions of 'tangibles' and 'responsiveness.' The quality gaps were further validated by a total unweighted SERVQUAL score of (-) 1.63. The study concludes that significant service quality gaps existed in the delivery of the hospital OPD services, which need to be addressed by focused improvement efforts by the hospital management.

Nurses' perceptions of feedback to nursing teams on quality measurements: An embedded case study design.

PubMed

Giesbers, A P M Suzanne; Schouteten, Roel L J; Poutsma, Erik; van der Heijden, Beatrice I J M; van Achterberg, Theo

2016-12-01

Providing nursing teams with feedback on quality measurements is used as a quality improvement instrument in healthcare organizations worldwide. Previous research indicated contradictory results regarding the effect of such feedback on both nurses' well-being and performance. Building on the Job Demands-Resources model this study explores: (1) whether and how nurses' perceptions of feedback on quality measurements (as a burdening job demand or rather as an intrinsically or extrinsically motivating job resource) are respectively related to nurses' well-being and performance; and (2) whether and how team reflection influences nurses' perceptions. An embedded case study. Four surgical wards within three different acute teaching-hospital settings in the Netherlands. During a period of four months, the nurses on each ward were provided with similar feedback on quality measurements. After this period, interviews with eight nurses and the ward manager for each ward were conducted. Additionally, observational data were collected from three oral feedback moments on each of the participating wards. The data revealed that individual nurses perceive the same feedback on quality measurements differently, leading to different effects on nurses' well-being and performance: 1) feedback can be perceived as a job demand that pressures nurses to improve the results on the quality measurements; 2) feedback can be perceived as an extrinsically motivating job resource, that is instrumental to improve the results on quality measurements; 3) feedback can be perceived as an intrinsically motivating job resource that stimulates nurses to improve the results on the quality measurements; and 4) feedback can be perceived neither as a job demand, nor as a job resource, and has no effect on nurses' well-being and performance. Additionally, this study indicates that team reflection after feedback seems to be very low in practice, while our data also provides evidence that nursing teams using the feedback to jointly reflect and analyse their performance and strategies will be able to better translate information about quality measurements into corrective behaviours, which may result in more positive perceptions of feedback on quality measurements among individual nurses. To better understand the impact of feedback to nursing teams on quality measurements, we should take nurses' individual perceptions of this feedback into account. Supporting nursing teams in team reflection after them having received feedback on quality measurements may help in eliciting positive perceptions among nurses, and therewith create positive effects of feedback on both their well-being and performance. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Work-Related Quality of Life Scale for Higher Education Employees

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edwards, Julian A.; Van Laar, Darren; Easton, Simon; Kinman, Gail

2009-01-01

Previous research suggests that higher education employees experience comparatively high levels of job stress. A range of instruments, both generic and job-specific, has been used to measure stressors and strains in this occupational context. The Work-related Quality of Life (WRQoL) scale is a measure designed to capture perceptions of the working…

Creating an Instrument to Measure People's Perception of Community Capacity in American Indian Communities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oetzel, John; Wallerstein, Nina; Solimon, Audrey; Garcia, Bruce; Siemon, Mark; Adeky, Sarah; Apachito, Gracie; Caston, Elissa; Finster, Carolyn; Belone, Lorenda; Tafoya, Greg

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to develop a measure of community capacity for American Indian communities. The study included development and testing phases to ensure face, content, construct, and predictive validity. There were 500 participants in two southwest tribes who completed a detailed community profile, which contained 21 common items in…

Instrumental intelligent test of food sensory quality as mimic of human panel test combining multiple cross-perception sensors and data fusion.

PubMed

Ouyang, Qin; Zhao, Jiewen; Chen, Quansheng

2014-09-02

Instrumental test of food quality using perception sensors instead of human panel test is attracting massive attention recently. A novel cross-perception multi-sensors data fusion imitating multiple mammal perception was proposed for the instrumental test in this work. First, three mimic sensors of electronic eye, electronic nose and electronic tongue were used in sequence for data acquisition of rice wine samples. Then all data from the three different sensors were preprocessed and merged. Next, three cross-perception variables i.e., color, aroma and taste, were constructed using principal components analysis (PCA) and multiple linear regression (MLR) which were used as the input of models. MLR, back-propagation artificial neural network (BPANN) and support vector machine (SVM) were comparatively used for modeling, and the instrumental test was achieved for the comprehensive quality of samples. Results showed the proposed cross-perception multi-sensors data fusion presented obvious superiority to the traditional data fusion methodologies, also achieved a high correlation coefficient (>90%) with the human panel test results. This work demonstrated that the instrumental test based on the cross-perception multi-sensors data fusion can actually mimic the human test behavior, therefore is of great significance to ensure the quality of products and decrease the loss of the manufacturers. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Inquiry Approach in Dental Hygiene Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scott, Ruth Lois; And Others

1985-01-01

A study to assess the impact of an inquiry-oriented curriculum in a dental hygiene program is described. Two instruments, designed to measure student perception of personal and faculty inquiry and disinquiry behavior, were administered. The implications of the findings are discussed. (Author/MLW)

Recent developments in identifying and quantifying emotions during food consumption.

PubMed

Kenney, Erica; Adhikari, Koushik

2016-08-01

Emotions and the consumption of food and beverages are inextricably intertwined. As the fields of sensory and consumer science seek to better conceptualize the consumer experience, interest in emotion measurement is growing. Emotions can provide key information to differentiate between products and predict consumer choice as well as give more detail about product perception. There are several emotion measurement instruments, including physiological methods and facial recognition, self-reported verbal emotion measurement and self-reported visual emotion measurement. This review discusses the purpose of measuring emotions, what is the definition of an emotion, what different instruments are available, and touches upon some promising research to deepen the connection between food and emotions. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

Development of a questionnaire to measure consumers' perceptions of service quality in Australian community pharmacies.

PubMed

Mirzaei, Ardalan; Carter, Stephen R; Chen, Jenny Yimin; Rittsteuer, Claudia; Schneider, Carl R

2018-06-11

Recent changes within community pharmacy have seen a shift towards some pharmacies providing "value-added" services. However, providing high levels of service is resource intensive yet revenues from dispensing are declining. Of significance therefore, is how consumers perceive service quality (SQ). However, at present there are no validated and reliable instruments to measure consumers' perceptions of SQ in Australian community pharmacies. The aim of this study was to build a theory-grounded model of service quality (SQ) in community pharmacies and to create a valid survey instrument to measure consumers' perceptions of service quality. Stage 1 dealt with item generation using theory, prior research and qualitative interviews with pharmacy consumers. Selected items were then subjected to content validity and face validity. Stages 2 and 3 included psychometric testing among English-speaking adult consumers of Australian pharmacies. Exploratory factor analysis was used for item reduction and to explain the domains of SQ. In stage 1, item generation for SQ initially generated 113 items which were then refined, through content and face validity, down to 61 items. In stage 2, after subjecting the questionnaire to psychometric testing on the data from the first pharmacy (n = 374), the use of the primary dimensions of SQ was abandoned leaving 32 items representing 5 domains of SQ. In stage 3, the questionnaire was subject to further testing and item reduction in 3 other pharmacies (n = 320). SQ was best described using 23 items representing 6 domains: 'health and medicines advice', 'relationship quality', 'technical quality', 'environmental quality', 'non-prescription service', and 'health outcomes'. This research presents a theoretically-grounded and robust measurement scale developed for consumer perceptions of SQ in a community pharmacy. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

A More Fine-Grained Measure of Students' Acceptance of Evolution: Development of the Inventory of Student Evolution Acceptance—I-SEA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nadelson, Louis S.; Southerland, Sherry

2012-07-01

The potential influences of affective perceptions on cognitive engagement in learning, particularly with emotionally charged topics such as evolution, provide justification for acknowledging and assessing learners' attitudes toward content. One approach to determining students' attitudes toward a construct is to explicitly ask them to what degree they accept the related content. This was the approach we took as we developed the Inventory of Student Evolution Acceptance. Our goal was to make a finer-grained instrument that would assess acceptance on three evolution subscales: microevolution, macroevolution, and human evolution. Further, we sought to not conflate understanding with acceptance of the constructs. We began our instrument development with a series of interviews and open-ended questionnaires to determine students' perceptions of evolution acceptance. Based on the responses we developed and field tested a 49-item Likert scale instrument with stems distributed across our three targeted subscales. Using the data from our field test, we reduced the instrument to 24 items evenly distributed across the three subscales, and the revised instrument was again field tested with high school and undergraduate college students. The final instrument has an internal reliability of Cronbach's alpha of 0.96 and the items loaded onto three components that reflect documented evolution acceptance conditions. The instrument development, implications, and applications are discussed.

Assessing College Students' Perceptions of a Case Teacher's Pedagogical Content Knowledge Using a Newly Developed Instrument

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jang, Syh-Jong

2011-01-01

Ongoing professional development for college teachers has been much emphasized. However, previous research on learning environments has seldom addressed college students' perceptions of teachers' PCK. This study aimed to evaluate college students' perceptions of a physics teacher's PCK development using a newly developed instrument and workshop…

Correlation between sensory and instrumental measurements of standard and crisp-texture southern highbush blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum L. interspecific hybrids)

PubMed Central

Blaker, Kendra M; Plotto, Anne; Baldwin, Elizabeth A; Olmstead, James W

2014-01-01

BACKGROUND Fruit texture is a primary selection trait in southern highbush blueberry (SHB) breeding to increase fresh fruit postharvest quality and consumer acceptance. A novel crisp fruit texture has recently been identified among SHB germplasm. In this study, we developed a common set of descriptors that align sensory evaluation of blueberry fruit texture with instrumental measures that could be used for quantitative measurements during pre- and postharvest evaluation. RESULTS Sensory and instrumental characteristics were measured in 36 and 49 genotypes in 2010 and 2011, respectively. A trained sensory panel evaluated fresh fruit based on five common textural attributes in 2010 and 2011: bursting energy, flesh firmness, skin toughness, juiciness and mealiness. Instrumental measures of compression and bioyield forces were significantly different among cultivars and correlated with sensory scores for bursting energy, flesh firmness and skin toughness (R > 0.7, except skin toughness in 2011), but correlations with sensory scores for juiciness and mealiness were low (R < 0.4). CONCLUSION The results of sensory and instrumental measures supported the use of both compression and bioyield force measures in distinguishing crisp from standard-texture genotypes, and suggest that crisp texture in SHB is related to the sensory perception of bursting energy, flesh firmness and skin toughness. PMID:24619938

The International Alcohol Control (IAC) study-evaluating the impact of alcohol policies.

PubMed

Casswell, Sally; Meier, Petra; MacKintosh, Anne M; Brown, Abraham; Hastings, Gerard; Thamarangsi, Thaksaphon; Chaiyasong, Surasak; Chun, Sungsoo; Huckle, Taisia; Wall, Martin; You, Ru Q

2012-08-01

This paper describes a new multicountry collaborative project to assess the impact of alcohol control policy. Longitudinal surveys of drinkers in a number of participating countries and analysis of the policy context allow for the assessment of change over time within countries and comparison between countries. The design of the study is modeled on the International Tobacco Control study and aims to assess the impact of alcohol policies in different cultural contexts on policy-related behaviors and alcohol consumption. A survey instrument and protocol for policy analysis have been developed by the initial participating countries: England, Scotland, Thailand, South Korea, and New Zealand. The first round of data collection is scheduled for 2011-2012. The survey instrument (International Alcohol Control [IAC] survey) measures key policy relevant behaviors: place and time of purchase, amounts purchased and price paid; ease of access to alcohol purchase; alcohol marketing measures; social supply; perceptions of alcohol affordability and availability and salience of price; perceptions of enforcement; people's experiences with specific alcohol restrictions; support for policy and consumption (typical quantity, frequency using beverage and location-specific measures). The Policy Analysis Protocol (PoLAP) assesses relevant aspects of the policy environment including regulation and implementation. It has proved feasible to design instruments to collect detailed data on behaviors relevant to alcohol policy change and to assess the policy environment in different cultural settings. In a policy arena in which the interest groups and stakeholders have different perceptions of appropriate policy responses to alcohol-related harm, a robust methodology to assess the impact of policy will contribute to the debate. Copyright © 2012 by the Research Society on Alcoholism.

SERVQUAL: a tool for evaluating patient satisfaction with nursing care.

PubMed

Scardina, S A

1994-01-01

Rising health care costs and competition among hospital facilities have resulted in the need to recognize patient satisfaction as an important indicator of quality care. Nurses provide the primary service to patients; therefore, their role is influential in overall satisfaction. Several instruments have been developed to measure patient satisfaction with nursing care; however, most of them focus only on patient perceptions. One such approach to evaluating patient satisfaction with nursing care involves an instrument, SERVQUAL, derived from a marketing service perspective. Adapting SERVQUAL for use in evaluating nursing care is the focus of this article. SERVQUAL assesses both patient perceptions and expectations of quality service and permits managers and clinicians to view the gaps between the two; thus, the overall areas of improvement in nursing services can be determined.

Tools to Assess the Impact of Teacher Enhancement Programs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heatherly, S. A.; Maddalena, R. J.; Govett, A.; Hemler, D.

1997-05-01

Beginning in 1994, the NRAO has hosted an NSF-funded program, ``Research Experience in Teacher Preparation (RETP),'' in which inservice and preservice science teachers participate in residential institutes lasting one or two weeks. While on site, they conduct open-ended investigations using a 40-foot diameter working radio telescope. The aim of RETP has been to deepen and personalize participants' understanding of the nature of science, and to assist them in applying their newfound knowledge to their classroom teaching. So far RETP, and the teacher enhancement programs from which it evolved, have trained 434 inservice and 69 preservice teachers. The impact of the research experience on teachers' perceptions of themselves as professionals and their views of science was initially assessed through open-ended questionnaires and participant journals. From teachers' responses we learned that the research experience has a profound, positive influence on participants' views of science and increased their confidence in using research-based teaching methods. However, determining what actually happens in the classroom is harder to evaluate and requires a more structured approach. Therefore, to determine what changes occurred in teachers and their students, five survey instruments were developed. The instruments: 1) assess changes in teachers' perceptions of their ability to conduct research; 2) gauge teachers' perceptions of three aspects of the institute; 3) measure changes in teachers' concerns about implementing classroom research projects; 4) evaluate the development of teachers' understanding into the nature of science; and 5) determine changes in their students' perceptions of science and science class. To increase the reliability of the instruments, the survey questions were tested for internal consistency. Early results show that the RETP program has significantly affected participants and their students. These instruments are useful not only for evaluating this program but also for evaluating other teacher enhancement and preparation programs.

How To Control Color Appearance With Instrumentation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burns, Margaret E.

1980-05-01

Colorimetry, as defined by the International Commission on Illumination, is the measurement of colors, made possible by the properties of the eye and based on a set of conventions. Instrumentation for measuring object color, therefore, must be based on a human observer. The intent is to design an instrument that in effect responds as a person would, so that research development, production control and quality control areas have some means of assessing the acceptability of the appearance of a product. Investigations of a human observer's psychological response to color, and the manner in which visual observations are made, give the instrument designer and manufacturer data necessary to answer two questions: a. How can we put numbers (instrument read-out) on a perception that occurs in the brain of the observer? b. What can we learn from examination of a visual observing situation that will guide us in our design of an instrumental simulation of this situation? Involving as it does our own daily, almost unconscious, practice of making judgments concerning the things we see, the design and manufacture of color measurement instruments is an exceedingly interesting field. The advances being made concurrently today in research concerning human color vision and in optical and electronic technology will make possible increasingly useful instrumentation for quality control of product color.

Assessment of Parental and Adolescent Verbal Interactions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anderson, Rhydonia H.; And Others

Verbal interactions between adolescents and their parents may affect adolescents' self-esteem and self-concept. The current development of an instrument, the Verbal Interaction Questionnaire (VIQ), was designed to measure adolescents' perceptions of their parents verbal interactions with them. Noting that the relationship between adolescents'…

Understanding Faculty Needs: An Institutional Imperative.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Hara, Leonard F.

1996-01-01

Describes the importance of obtaining faculty support to ensure success in college reform efforts, and reviews strategies for improving institutional climate. Discusses a survey instrument designed to measure faculty perceptions of college atmosphere and developed as part of the Fourth Paradigm Governance Model. Includes a sample faculty…

Cognitive Correlates of Adolescents' Aspirations to Leadership: A Developmental Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Singer, Ming

1990-01-01

Examined age and gender differences in leadership aspirations among adolescents (N=130) by measuring overall leadership aspirations, valence-instrumentality expectancies for leadership outcomes, self-efficacy perceptions, and attributions of effective leadership. Found significant gender differences in valence scores and age differences in…

A comparison of pharmacy students' and active older adults' perceptions regarding geriatric quality of life.

PubMed

Gilligan, Adrienne M; Loui, James Aaron; Mezdo, Ashorena; Patel, Nikita; Lee, Jeannie K

2014-02-12

To measure perceptions of quality of life (QOL) in an active geriatric population and compare their responses with pharmacy students' perceptions of older adult QOL. Pharmacy students and active older adults completed the modified and standard version of a validated health survey instrument, respectively, and their responses were compared. Eighty-six students and 20 active older adults participated. Student perceptions of geriatric QOL were significantly lower in all domains except health change compared to older adult perceptions (p<0.001 for all domains). Interest in a geriatric pharmacy career (p=0.04) and previously having taken the Perspectives in Geriatrics course and laboratory (p=0.05 and 0.02, respectively) were significantly associated with higher student scores on the physical component portion of the survey. Stronger emphasis on geriatric QOL within pharmacy curricula may improve pharmacy students' perceptions regarding outcomes related to healthy older adults.

Adolescents' perceptions of paternal and maternal parenting styles in a Chinese context.

PubMed

Shek, D T

1998-09-01

Chinese secondary school students (N = 429) were asked to respond to instruments measuring their perception of parents' global parenting styles and specific parenting practices. Results showed that there were significant differences between reported paternal parenting and maternal parenting characteristics, with fathers perceived as relatively less responsive, less demanding, less concerned, and more harsh. Adolescent girls' perceptions of fathers' parenting characteristics generally did not differ from those of the boys, but the girls tended to perceive their mothers as more demanding but less harsh. The present findings provide some support for the popular Chinese saying, "strict father, kind mother," but they also suggest that it requires redefinition.

Nurses' assessments and patients' perceptions: development of the Night Nursing Care Instrument (NNCI), measuring nursing care at night.

PubMed

Johansson, Peter; Oléni, Magnus; Fridlund, Bengt

2005-07-01

Nursing care provided at night has a different purpose and objective to that provided during the day. A review of the literature does not reveal any scientifically tested research instruments for evaluating and comparing the nurse's assessment of nursing care with the patient's perception at night. The aim of this study was to develop and test an instrument for evaluating nursing care and to compare nurses' assessments with patients' perceptions of nursing care provided at night. The study was carried out in two phases; the first had an explorative design and the second an evaluative and comparative design. The Night Nursing Care Instrument (NNCI) included two questionnaires; one for nurses and one for patients. These questionnaires were developed from a nursing framework and covered the following three areas: 'nursing interventions', 'medical interventions' and 'evaluation'. Nurses (n = 40) on night duty on a medical ward at a central hospital in southern Sweden were consecutively selected, to participate in the study. The patients (n = 80) were selected by means of convenience sampling. In order to achieve construct validity, factor analysis of each individual area was carried out. Reliability in terms of internal consistency was tested by Cronbach's alpha. The overall NNCI had acceptable reliability and validity. There was no statistically significant difference between nurses' assessments and patients' perceptions in any of the three areas of 'nursing interventions', 'medical interventions' or 'evaluation'. The patients rated night nursing care as satisfactory for the majority of the items. These findings demonstrate that it is possible to create a short instrument with acceptable reliability and validity, which is easy to use in clinical practice. The results also show that night nurses need to improve their ability to assess patients' needs during the night to increase the quality of night nursing care.

Assessing Measurement Invariance of the Student Personal Perception of Classroom Climate across Different Ethnic Groups

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rubie-Davies, Christine; Asil, Mustafa; Teo, Timothy

2016-01-01

The class climate is acknowledged as being related to student learning. Students learn more in classrooms that are supportive and caring. However, there are few class climate instruments at the elementary school level. The aim of the current study was to assess the measurement invariance of a recently developed scale in a different context (New…

[Validity of the questionnaire MOS-SSS of social support in neoplastic patients].

PubMed

Costa Requena, Gema; Salamero, Manuel; Gil, Francisco

2007-05-12

Previous studies have pointed out how the perception of social support benefits the wellbeing of patients. The main objective in this study is to adapt and validate the MOS-SSS (Medical Outcomes Study-Social Support Survey) questionnaire to measure social support. In a sample of 400 oncology out-patients, in order to validate the MOS-SSS questionnaire, we have applied a exploratory factorial analysis. The factors were extracted by principal components and varimax rotation. Then, we compared the dimensions of the questionnaire with other variables as size of social network, sex and age. We have observed a high reliability of the MOS-SSS questionnaire, with the alpha coefficient around 0.94 . By a factorial analysis, we have extracted 3 factors: emotional/informational support, affective support and instrumental support. The fourth dimension included in the original questionnaire, positive social interaction, was included in the emotional/informational support dimension. Comparing the mean scores of the 3 dimensions with other variables (number of members in the family and friends, sex and age), we have observed that a high number of relatives and friends were related with a higher perception of social support. However, the men received more instrumental and emotional/informational support than women; and the age was not related with the perception of social support in patients with cancer. The MOS-SSS questionnaire is a valid instrument to assess the multidimensionality of the perception of social support in Spanish cancer patients.

Creating an instrument to measure people's perception of community capacity in American Indian communities.

PubMed

Oetzel, John; Wallerstein, Nina; Solimon, Audrey; Garcia, Bruce; Siemon, Mark; Adeky, Sarah; Apachito, Gracie; Caston, Elissa; Finster, Carolyn; Belone, Lorenda; Tafoya, Greg

2011-06-01

The purpose of this study was to develop a measure of community capacity for American Indian communities. The study included development and testing phases to ensure face, content, construct, and predictive validity. There were 500 participants in two southwest tribes who completed a detailed community profile, which contained 21 common items in five dimensions (communication, sense of community, youth, elders, and language/culture). In addition, subscales of women and leadership were included in one tribe each. Confirmatory factor analysis primarily supported the factorial structure of the instruments, and the seven dimensions were found to correlate with previously validated measures of social capital, historical trauma, community influence, and physical health in expected directions.

Welfare Status of Working Horses and Owners′ Perceptions of Their Animals

PubMed Central

Luna, Daniela; Vásquez, Rodrigo A.; Rojas, Manuel; Tadich, Tamara A.

2017-01-01

Simple Summary Appropriate strategies aimed at improving the welfare of working horses should contemplate the assessment of welfare status, as well as the evaluation of the human–animal relationship within each geo-cultural context. We assessed and compared the welfare status of working horses in two administrative regions of Chile and explored the nature of the owner–horse relationship from the perspective of the owner. The overall prevalence of health problems and negative behavior responses was low. However, significant differences between regions exist in the presence of lesions and the person responsible for managing horseshoeing. Two differing views were found regarding the owners’ perception of their horse: predominantly affective or instrumental. Despite the instrumental perception predominantly residing in one region, the affective perception was widely shared by owners in each region. The findings suggest that Chilean working horses have a, generally, good welfare and that the development of an affective owner–horse relationship is possible. Additionally, the results suggest that affective and instrumental perceptions of these animals can coexist. Abstract Appropriate interventions to improve working equine welfare should be proposed according to scientific evidence that arises from different geo-cultural contexts. This study aims to assess and compare the welfare status of working horses in two administrative regions of Chile and to determine how owners perceive their horses. Horses’ welfare status was assessed through direct indicators (direct observation and clinical examination) and indirect indicators (an interview with the owner). Owners′ perceptions of their horses were determined through a discourse analysis of their statements. In total, 100 horses and 100 owners were assessed. Results showed a low prevalence of health problems and negative behavior responses among horses in the two regions evaluated. Significant associations were found between inadequate body condition and the absence of deworming, and between hoof abnormalities and a low frequency of shoeing. Between regions, significant differences were found in the presence of lesions and the person responsible for horseshoeing. In regards to the owners′ appreciations, two differing perceptions of working horses were found: a predominantly affective perception and a perception of the animal as a working instrument. Although the instrumental perception was more frequent in the Araucania region, the affective perception was widely shared by both owner populations. The results reveal a good welfare status in working horses and suggest that both affective and instrumental perceptions of these animals can coexist. PMID:28788109

Good Psychometric Properties of the Addiction Version of the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire for Health Care Professionals

PubMed Central

Dijkstra, Boukje; Golbach, Milou; De Jong, Cor; Schellekens, Arnt

2016-01-01

Background Addiction, or substance dependence, is nowadays considered a chronic relapsing condition. However, perceptions of addiction vary widely, also among healthcare professionals. Perceptions of addiction are thought to contribute to attitude and stigma towards patients with addiction. However, studies into perceptions of addiction among healthcare professionals are limited and instruments for reliable assessment of their perceptions are lacking. The Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ) is widely used to evaluate perceptions of illness. The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the IPQ: factor structure, internal consistency, and discriminant validity, when applied to evaluate healthcare professionals’ perceptions of addiction. Methods Participants were 1072 healthcare professionals in training and master students from the Netherlands and Indonesia, recruited from various addiction-training programs. The revised version of the IPQ was adapted to measure perceptions of addiction (IPQ-A). Maximum likelihood method was used to explore the best-fit IPQ factor structure. Internal consistency was evaluated for the final factors. The final factor structure was used to assess discriminant validity of the IPQ, by comparing illness perceptions of addiction between 1) medical students from the Netherlands and Indonesia, 2) medical students psychology students and educational science students from the Netherlands, and 3) participants with different training levels: medical students versus medical doctors. Results Factor analysis revealed an eight-factor structure for the perception subscale (demoralization, timeline chronic, consequences, personal control, treatment control, illness coherence, timeline cyclical emotional representations) and a four-factor structure for the attribution subscale (psychological attributions, risk factors, smoking/alcohol, overwork). Internal reliability was acceptable to good. The IPQ-A was able to detect differences in perceptions between healthcare professionals from different cultural and educational background and level of training. Conclusions The IPQ-A is a valid and reliable instrument to assess healthcare professionals’ perceptions of addiction. PMID:27824872

Good Psychometric Properties of the Addiction Version of the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire for Health Care Professionals.

PubMed

Ayu, Astri Parawita; Dijkstra, Boukje; Golbach, Milou; De Jong, Cor; Schellekens, Arnt

2016-01-01

Addiction, or substance dependence, is nowadays considered a chronic relapsing condition. However, perceptions of addiction vary widely, also among healthcare professionals. Perceptions of addiction are thought to contribute to attitude and stigma towards patients with addiction. However, studies into perceptions of addiction among healthcare professionals are limited and instruments for reliable assessment of their perceptions are lacking. The Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ) is widely used to evaluate perceptions of illness. The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the IPQ: factor structure, internal consistency, and discriminant validity, when applied to evaluate healthcare professionals' perceptions of addiction. Participants were 1072 healthcare professionals in training and master students from the Netherlands and Indonesia, recruited from various addiction-training programs. The revised version of the IPQ was adapted to measure perceptions of addiction (IPQ-A). Maximum likelihood method was used to explore the best-fit IPQ factor structure. Internal consistency was evaluated for the final factors. The final factor structure was used to assess discriminant validity of the IPQ, by comparing illness perceptions of addiction between 1) medical students from the Netherlands and Indonesia, 2) medical students psychology students and educational science students from the Netherlands, and 3) participants with different training levels: medical students versus medical doctors. Factor analysis revealed an eight-factor structure for the perception subscale (demoralization, timeline chronic, consequences, personal control, treatment control, illness coherence, timeline cyclical emotional representations) and a four-factor structure for the attribution subscale (psychological attributions, risk factors, smoking/alcohol, overwork). Internal reliability was acceptable to good. The IPQ-A was able to detect differences in perceptions between healthcare professionals from different cultural and educational background and level of training. The IPQ-A is a valid and reliable instrument to assess healthcare professionals' perceptions of addiction.

Medical laboratory science and nursing students' perception of academic learning environment in a Philippine university using Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM).

PubMed

Barcelo, Jonathan M

2016-01-01

This study aimed to compare the perception of the academic learning environment between medical laboratory science students and nursing students at Saint Louis University, Baguio City, Philippines. A cross-sectional survey research design was used to measure the perceptions of the participants. A total of 341 students from the Department of Medical Laboratory Science, School of Natural Sciences, and the School of Nursing answered the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) instrument from April to May 2016. Responses were compared according to course of study, gender, and year level. The total mean DREEM scores of the medical laboratory science students and nursing students did not differ significantly when grouped according to course of study, gender, or year level. Medical laboratory science students had significantly lower mean scores in the sub-domains 'perception of learning' and 'perception of teaching.' Male medical laboratory science students had significantly lower mean scores in the sub-domain 'perception of learning' among second year students. Medical laboratory science students had significantly lower mean scores in the sub-domain 'perception of learning.' Nursing students identified 7 problem areas, most of which were related to their instructors. Medical laboratory science and nursing students viewed their academic learning environment as 'more positive than negative.' However, the relationship of the nursing instructors to their students needs improvement.

Communication Competence and Social Interaction Skills in Australian Business Organizations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Irwin, Harry

Within Australian contexts, and within a dialogic, constructivist framework, this paper reports the development of an instrument (COMCOMP) designed to measure perceptions of communication competence among others at the interpersonal-organizational interface and the use of COMCOMP to identify personal characteristics and skills associated with…

Cultural Pluralism Climate Survey Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Langan, A. Bud; Keeler, Laura

A campus climate study was conducted at Olympic College (OC), in Washington, to measure student, staff, and faculty perceptions of acceptance, support, and understanding of diverse groups on campus. Specifically, the student and staff survey instruments requested participants' level of agreement or disagreement with respect to 22 statements about…

Adolescents' Smoking Behavior and Attitudes: The Influence of Mothers' Smoking Communication, Behavior and Attitudes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Herbert, Diane F.; Schiaffino, Kathleen M.

2007-01-01

This study investigated adolescents' and parents' perceptions regarding smoking behavior, attitudes toward smoking, and smoking communication. Instruments were developed to measure multidimensional smoking communication messages and smoking attitudes in 140 mother-adolescent dyads. The prediction of relevant adolescent smoking variables is…

Measures To Monitor Developmental Disabilities Quality Assurance: A Study of Reliability.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dodder, Richard A.; Foster, Luann H.; Bolin, Brien L.

1999-01-01

This study examined the reliability of an instrument used to evaluate services for people with developmental disabilities. Seven types of variables were analyzed: demographic data, residential arrangements, medical needs, adaptive behavior, severity of challenging behavior, frequency of challenging behavior, and the perception that disabled…

Student Climate Survey, Spring 1998.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Truckee Meadows Community Coll., Sparks, NV.

Every three years, Truckee Meadows Community College (Nevada) administers a student climate survey that measures the attitudes, perceptions, and opinions of its student population. The instrument used to survey the student body was designed with three basic objectives in mind: (1) validate the institutional mission; (2) obtain input regarding the…

[Development and reliability evaluation of an instrument to measure health-related quality of life in independent elderly].

PubMed

Lima, Maria José Barbosa de; Portela, Margareth Crisóstomo

2010-08-01

This study presents an instrument, the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) profile for independent elderly, to measure the health-related quality of life of the functionally independent elderly assisted in the outpatient setting, based on the adaptation of four validated scales: Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), Duke-UNC Health Profile (DUHP), Sickness Impact Profile (SIP), and Nottingham Health Profile (NHP). The study also evaluates the instrument's reliability based on its use by two different observers with a 15-day interval. The instrument includes five dimensions (health perception, symptoms, physical function, psychological function, and social function) and 45 items. Reliability evaluation of the QUASI instrument was based on interviews with 142 elderly outpatients in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Prevalence-adjusted kappa statistic was used to assess all 45 items. Correlation was also calculated between overall scores and scores on individual dimensions. In the reliability evaluation, 39 of the 45 items showed prevalence-adjusted kappa greater than 0.60.

Conditional risk assessment of adolescents’ electronic cigarette perceptions

PubMed Central

Chaffee, Benjamin W.; Gansky, Stuart A.; Halpern-Felsher, Bonnie; Couch, Elizabeth T.; Essex, Gwen; Walsh, Margaret M.

2015-01-01

Objectives Adapt an established instrument for measuring adolescents’ cigarette-related perceptions for new application with electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes). Methods In this exploratory study, 104 male high school students (40% tobacco ever-users) estimated the probability of potential e-cigarette risks (eg, lung cancer) or benefits (eg, look cool). We calculated associations between risk/benefit composite scores, ever-use, and use intention for e-cigarettes and analogously for combustible cigarettes. Results E-cigarette ever-use was associated with lower perceived risks, with adjusted differences versus never-users greater for e-cigarettes than cigarettes. Risk composite score was inversely associated, and benefit score positively associated, with e-cigarette ever-use and use intention. Conclusion Conditional risk assessment characterized adolescents’ perceived e-cigarette risk/benefit profile, with potential utility for risk-perception measurement in larger future studies. PMID:25741686

Environmental Profile of a Community's Health (EPOCH): An Instrument to Measure Environmental Determinants of Cardiovascular Health in Five Countries

PubMed Central

Chow, Clara K.; Lock, Karen; Madhavan, Manisha; Corsi, Daniel J.; Gilmore, Anna B.; Subramanian, S. V.; Li, Wei; Swaminathan, Sumathi; Lopez-Jaramillo, Patricio; Avezum, Alvaro; Lear, Scott A.; Dagenais, Gilles; Teo, Koon; McKee, Martin; Yusuf, Salim

2010-01-01

Background The environment in which people live is known to be important in influencing diet, physical activity, smoking, psychosocial and other risk factors for cardiovascular (CV) disease. However no instrument exists that evaluates communities for these multiple environmental factors and is suitable for use across different communities, regions and countries. This report describes the design and reliability of an instrument to measure environmental determinants of CV risk factors. Method/Principal Findings The Environmental Profile of Community Health (EPOCH) instrument comprises two parts: (I) an assessment of the physical environment, and (II) an interviewer-administered questionnaire to collect residents' perceptions of their community. We examined the inter-rater reliability amongst 3 observers from each region of the direct observation component of the instrument (EPOCH I) in 93 rural and urban communities in 5 countries (Canada, Colombia, Brazil, China and India). Data collection using the EPOCH instrument was feasible in all communities. Reliability of the instrument was excellent (Intraclass Correlation Coefficient - ICC>0.75) for 24 of 38 items and fair to good (ICC 0.4–0.75) for 14 of 38 items. Conclusion This report shows data collection with the EPOCH instrument is feasible and direct observation of community measures reliable. The EPOCH instrument will enable further research on environmental determinants of health for population studies from a broad range of settings. PMID:21170320

Psychometric properties of the Grandparent Perceptions of Family Scale (GPFS).

PubMed

Rempusheski, Veronica F; O'Hara, Catherine T

2005-01-01

For the majority of grandparents, rarely are their perceptions of family assessed, acknowledged, or viewed in the context of potential effect on individual and family health. To develop and test an instrument to measure grandparent perceptions of family. An inductively derived semantic differential instrument comprising 112 items, 8 stimuli, and 27 adjective pairs within 2 domains and framed by the Becoming a Grandparent theoretical model was content validated by an expert panel, revised, and evaluated on a convenience sample of 306 community-dwelling grandparents, aged 41-92 years (M = 64, SD = 9.8), 72% female, 93% U.S. born, 62% college educated, 55% economically comfortable, and 71% living with a spouse or partner. Assessment procedures included internal consistency reliability, item and scale correlation coefficients, and principal components factor analysis with varimax rotation to evaluate construct validity, structure, and magnitude of the scale. The final scale consists of 25 items using 3 stimuli (grandparent's view of grandchild, mother of grandchild, father of grandchild) measuring a single domain (overall view of family). The Grandparent Perceptions of Family Scale (GPFS) includes 5 factors for a total explained variance of 60%. Coefficient alpha for the total scale is .90. The GPFS should be helpful to clinicians and researchers in their assessment of grandparents within multigenerational families and in planning appropriate interventions to address the roles and relationships of grandparents within families. Further GPFS evaluation is suggested with grandparents of diverse racial or ethnic identification; social economic position; education; and family definition, roles, composition, and structure.

The challenge of change in acute mental health services: measuring staff perceptions of barriers to change and their relationship to job status and satisfaction using a new measure (VOCALISE).

PubMed

Laker, Caroline; Callard, Felicity; Flach, Clare; Williams, Paul; Sayer, Jane; Wykes, Til

2014-02-20

Health services are subject to frequent changes, yet there has been insufficient research to address how staff working within these services perceive the climate for implementation. Staff perceptions, particularly of barriers to change, may affect successful implementation and the resultant quality of care. This study measures staff perceptions of barriers to change in acute mental healthcare. We identify whether occupational status and job satisfaction are related to these perceptions, as this might indicate a target for intervention that could aid successful implementation. As there were no available instruments capturing staff perceptions of barriers to change, we created a new measure (VOCALISE) to assess this construct. All nursing staff from acute in-patient settings in one large London mental health trust were eligible. Using a participatory method, a nurse researcher interviewed 32 staff to explore perceptions of barriers to change. This generated a measure through thematic analyses and staff feedback (N = 6). Psychometric testing was undertaken according to standard guidelines for measure development (N = 40, 42, 275). Random effects models were used to explore the associations between VOCALISE, occupational status, and job satisfaction (N = 125). VOCALISE was easy to understand and complete, and showed acceptable reliability and validity. The factor analysis revealed three underlying constructs: 'confidence,' 'de-motivation' and 'powerlessness.' Staff with negative perceptions of barriers to change held more junior positions, and had poorer job satisfaction. Qualitatively, nursing assistants expressed a greater sense of organisational unfairness in response to change. VOCALISE can be used to explore staff perceptions of implementation climate and to assess how staff attitudes shape the successful outcomes of planned changes. Negative perceptions were linked with poor job satisfaction and to those occupying more junior roles, indicating a negative climate for implementation in those groups. Staff from these groups may therefore need special attention prior to implementing changes in mental health settings.

Perceptions of control in adults with epilepsy.

PubMed

Gehlert, S

1994-01-01

That psychosocial problems are extant in epilepsy is evidenced by a suicide rate among epileptic persons five times that of the general population and an unemployment rate estimated to be more than twice that of the population as a whole. External perceptions of control secondary to repeated episodes of seizure activity that generalize to the social sphere have been implicated as causes of these problems. The hypothesis that individuals who continue to have seizures become more and more external in perceptions of control was tested by a survey mailed to a sample of individuals with epilepsy in a metropolitan area of the Midwest. Dependent variables were, scores on instruments measuring locus of control and attributional style. The independent variable was a measure of seizure control based on present age, age at onset, and length of time since last seizure. Gender, socioeconomic status, and certain parenting characteristics were included as control variables, as they are also known to affect perceptions of control. Analysis by multiple regression techniques supported the study's hypothesis when perceptions of control was conceptualized as learned helplessness for bad, but not for good, events. The hypothesis was not confirmed when perceptions of control was conceptualized as either general or health locus of control.

Measuring Family Members' Satisfaction with End-of-Life Care in Long-Term Care: Adaptation of the CANHELP Lite Questionnaire.

PubMed

Nadin, Shevaun; Miandad, Mohammed Ali; Kelley, Mary Lou; Marcella, Jill; Heyland, Daren K

2017-01-01

Improving end-of-life care (EOLC) in long-term care (LTC) homes requires quality measurement tools that assess families' satisfaction with care. This research adapted and pilot-tested an EOLC satisfaction measure (Canadian Health Care Evaluation Project (CANHELP) Lite Questionnaire) for use in LTC to measure families' perceptions of the EOLC experience and to be self-administered. Phase 1 . A literature review identified key domains of satisfaction with EOLC in LTC, and original survey items were assessed for inclusiveness and relevance. Items were modified, and one item was added. The revised questionnaire was administered to 118 LTC family members and cognitive interviews were conducted. Further modifications were made including reformatting to be self-administered. The new instrument was pilot-tested with 134 family members. Importance ratings indicated good content and face validity. Cronbach's alpha coefficients (range: .88-.94) indicated internal consistency. This research adapted and pilot-tested the CANHELP for use in LTC. This paper introduces the new, valid, internally consistent, self-administered tool (CANHELP Lite Family Caregiver LTC) that can be used to measure families' perceptions of and satisfaction with EOLC. Future research should further validate the instrument and test its usefulness for quality improvement and care planning.

Measuring Family Members' Satisfaction with End-of-Life Care in Long-Term Care: Adaptation of the CANHELP Lite Questionnaire

PubMed Central

Miandad, Mohammed Ali; Marcella, Jill; Heyland, Daren K.

2017-01-01

Rationale Improving end-of-life care (EOLC) in long-term care (LTC) homes requires quality measurement tools that assess families' satisfaction with care. This research adapted and pilot-tested an EOLC satisfaction measure (Canadian Health Care Evaluation Project (CANHELP) Lite Questionnaire) for use in LTC to measure families' perceptions of the EOLC experience and to be self-administered. Methods and Results Phase 1. A literature review identified key domains of satisfaction with EOLC in LTC, and original survey items were assessed for inclusiveness and relevance. Items were modified, and one item was added. Phase 2 The revised questionnaire was administered to 118 LTC family members and cognitive interviews were conducted. Further modifications were made including reformatting to be self-administered. Phase 3 The new instrument was pilot-tested with 134 family members. Importance ratings indicated good content and face validity. Cronbach's alpha coefficients (range: .88–.94) indicated internal consistency. Conclusion This research adapted and pilot-tested the CANHELP for use in LTC. This paper introduces the new, valid, internally consistent, self-administered tool (CANHELP Lite Family Caregiver LTC) that can be used to measure families' perceptions of and satisfaction with EOLC. Future research should further validate the instrument and test its usefulness for quality improvement and care planning. PMID:28706945

Perspectives Regarding Classroom Management Style: Differences between Elementary and Secondary Level Teachers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin, Nancy K.; Baldwin, Beatrice

This study represents a continuation of research efforts to further refine the Inventory of Classroom Management Style, an instrument designed to measure teachers' perceptions of their classroom management beliefs and practices. "Classroom management" is an umbrella term describing teacher efforts to oversee a multitude of activities in…

Development of the Environmental Education Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moseley, Christine; Utley, Juliana; Angle, Julie; Mwavita, Mwarumba

2016-01-01

The increasing popularity of including environmental topics and issues in school curricula has created a need for effective environmental education teachers. One way to evaluate teacher effectiveness is through teacher efficacy, a belief measure that evaluates a teacher's perception that he/she can teach effectively. Research suggests that…

Vocational Opinion Index.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Benson, Stephen D.; Whittington, Marna C.

The Vocational Opinion Index (VOI) is an instrument used to measure an individual's job readiness posture (JRP). JRP is a term used to define an individual's attitudes, perceptions, and motivations as they reflect on his ability to obtain and maintain a job. The VOI determines an individual's JRP by assessing three psychological diminsions:…

Development and Validation of an English Language Teacher Learning Scale

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aliakbari, Mohammad; Malmir, Bahareh

2017-01-01

Teacher learning is of significant importance in mainstream education and a number of attempts have been made to measure the quality of teacher learning across different contexts. The available instruments, however, have been originally developed to assess teachers' perceptions of a single contributive element of teacher learning; therefore,…

Describing the Climate of Student Organizations: The Student Organization Environment Scales.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Winston, Roger B., Jr.; Bledsoe, Tyrone; Goldstein, Adam R.; Wisbey, Martha E.; Street, James L.; Brown, Steven R.; Goyen, Kenneth D.; Rounds, Linda E.

1997-01-01

Using M. R. Weisbord's model of organizational diagnosis, researchers developed the Student Organization Environment Scales to measure students' perceptions of the psychosocial environment or climate of college student organizations. Development of the instrument is described and estimates of its reliability and validity are reported. Describes…

Using a Likert Scale to Measure "Environmental Responsibility"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Horvat, Robert E.; Voelker, Alan M.

1976-01-01

An instrument (Some Ideas) was developed to assess the environmental responsibility of fifth and eighth grade students, and their perceptions of environmental problems and the people who work with them. Student scores served as the dependent variable in ANOVAS with the independent variables including grade, community, SES, IQ, and sex. (BT)

Teacher Immediacy and Student Learning: An Examination of Lecture/Laboratory and Self-Contained Course Sections

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

LeFebvre, Luke; Allen, Mike

2014-01-01

This study examined teaching assistant's immediacy in lecture/laboratory and self-contained classes. Two hundred fifty-six students responded to instruments measuring teachers' immediacy behavior frequency, perceptions of instruction quality, and cognitive learning. No significant difference was identified when comparing lecture/laboratory and…

The development and psychometric evaluation of a safety climate measure for primary care.

PubMed

de Wet, C; Spence, W; Mash, R; Johnson, P; Bowie, P

2010-12-01

Building a safety culture is an important part of improving patient care. Measuring perceptions of safety climate among healthcare teams and organisations is a key element of this process. Existing measurement instruments are largely developed for secondary care settings in North America and many lack adequate psychometric testing. Our aim was to develop and test an instrument to measure perceptions of safety climate among primary care teams in National Health Service for Scotland. Questionnaire development was facilitated through a steering group, literature review, semistructured interviews with primary care team members, a modified Delphi and completion of a content validity index by experts. A cross-sectional postal survey utilising the questionnaire was undertaken in a random sample of west of Scotland general practices to facilitate psychometric evaluation. Statistical methods, including exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, and Cronbach and Raykov reliability coefficients were conducted. Of the 667 primary care team members based in 49 general practices surveyed, 563 returned completed questionnaires (84.4%). Psychometric evaluation resulted in the development of a 30-item questionnaire with five safety climate factors: leadership, teamwork, communication, workload and safety systems. Retained items have strong factor loadings to only one factor. Reliability coefficients was satisfactory (α = 0.94 and ρ = 0.93). This study is the first stage in the development of an appropriately valid and reliable safety climate measure for primary care. Measuring safety climate perceptions has the potential to help primary care organisations and teams focus attention on safety-related issues and target improvement through educational interventions. Further research is required to explore acceptability and feasibility issues for primary care teams and the potential for organisational benchmarking.

Correlation between sensory and instrumental measurements of standard and crisp-texture southern highbush blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum L. interspecific hybrids).

PubMed

Blaker, Kendra M; Plotto, Anne; Baldwin, Elizabeth A; Olmstead, James W

2014-10-01

Fruit texture is a primary selection trait in southern highbush blueberry (SHB) breeding to increase fresh fruit postharvest quality and consumer acceptance. A novel crisp fruit texture has recently been identified among SHB germplasm. In this study, we developed a common set of descriptors that align sensory evaluation of blueberry fruit texture with instrumental measures that could be used for quantitative measurements during pre- and postharvest evaluation. Sensory and instrumental characteristics were measured in 36 and 49 genotypes in 2010 and 2011, respectively. A trained sensory panel evaluated fresh fruit based on five common textural attributes in 2010 and 2011: bursting energy, flesh firmness, skin toughness, juiciness and mealiness. Instrumental measures of compression and bioyield forces were significantly different among cultivars and correlated with sensory scores for bursting energy, flesh firmness and skin toughness (R > 0.7, except skin toughness in 2011), but correlations with sensory scores for juiciness and mealiness were low (R < 0.4). The results of sensory and instrumental measures supported the use of both compression and bioyield force measures in distinguishing crisp from standard-texture genotypes, and suggest that crisp texture in SHB is related to the sensory perception of bursting energy, flesh firmness and skin toughness. © 2014 The Authors. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture published by JohnWiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

The Use of Public Enlightenment Campaign Strategy and School Disciplinary Measures in the Management of Cultism in Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Omemu, Felix

2015-01-01

The study investigated the perceptions of staff and students on the use of school disciplinary measures and public awareness campaign strategy in the management of cultism in tertiary institutions in Nigeria. The study is guided by two hypotheses tested using the t-test statistics. An instrument containing 10 items properly validated was used in…

Psychometric properties of the Postgraduate Hospital Educational Environment Measure in an Iranian hospital setting.

PubMed

Shokoohi, Shahrzad; Emami, Amir Hossein; Mohammadi, Aeen; Ahmadi, Soleiman; Mojtahedzadeh, Rita

2014-01-01

Background Students' perceptions of the educational environment are an important construct in assessing and enhancing the quality of medical training programs. Reliable and valid measurement, however, can be problematic - especially as instruments developed and tested in one culture are translated for use in another. Materials and method This study sought to explore the psychometric properties of the Postgraduate Hospital Educational Environment Measure (PHEEM) for use in an Iranian hospital training setting. We translated the instrument into Persian and ensured its content validity by back translation and expert review prior to administering it to 127 residents of Urmia University of Medical Science. Results Overall internal consistency of the translated measure was good (a=0.94). Principal components analysis revealed five factors accounting for 52.8% of the variance. Conclusion The Persian version of the PHEEM appears to be a reliable and potentially valid instrument for use in Iranian medical schools and may find favor in evaluating the educational environments of residency programs nationwide.

Psychometric properties of the postgraduate hospital educational environment measure in an Iranian hospital setting.

PubMed

Shokoohi, Shahrzad; Hossein Emami, Amir; Mohammadi, Aeen; Ahmadi, Soleiman; Mojtahedzadeh, Rita

2014-01-01

Students' perceptions of the educational environment are an important construct in assessing and enhancing the quality of medical training programs. Reliable and valid measurement, however, can be problematic - especially as instruments developed and tested in one culture are translated for use in another. This study sought to explore the psychometric properties of the Postgraduate Hospital Educational Environment Measure (PHEEM) for use in an Iranian hospital training setting. We translated the instrument into Persian and ensured its content validity by back translation and expert review prior to administering it to 127 residents of Urmia University of Medical Science. Overall internal consistency of the translated measure was good (a=0.94). Principal components analysis revealed five factors accounting for 52.8% of the variance. The Persian version of the PHEEM appears to be a reliable and potentially valid instrument for use in Iranian medical schools and may find favor in evaluating the educational environments of residency programs nationwide.

Heterogenous customer satisfaction index for evaluating university food service

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aziz, Nazrina; Zain, Zakiyah; Syarifi, Nadia Asyikin Mohammad; Klivon, Julia; Ap, Nurasiah Che; Zaki, Mahirah

2017-11-01

This paper aims to measure the performance of university food service based on students' perception. Two cafeterias were chosen for comparison: one located at student residential hall (Café 1) and another at the university administration centre (Café 2). By considering the components of importance and satisfaction, the Heterogeneous Customer Satisfaction Index-HCSI was computed to measure the performance of quality items in both cafeterias. Stratified sampling method was used to select 278 students and the DINESERVE instrument was used to assess customer perception on service quality. The findings show that the customer rate these two cafeterias as quite satisfied only, with the HCSI for Café 1 slightly higher than that for Café 2.

Methodologies for measuring travelers' risk perception of infectious diseases: A systematic review.

PubMed

Sridhar, Shruti; Régner, Isabelle; Brouqui, Philippe; Gautret, Philippe

2016-01-01

Numerous studies in the past have stressed the importance of travelers' psychology and perception in the implementation of preventive measures. The aim of this systematic review was to identify the methodologies used in studies reporting on travelers' risk perception of infectious diseases. A systematic search for relevant literature was conducted according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. There were 39 studies identified. In 35 of 39 studies, the methodology used was that of a knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) survey based on questionnaires. One study used a combination of questionnaires and a visual psychometric measuring instrument called the 'pictorial representation of illness and self-measurement" or PRISM. One study used a self-representation model (SRM) method. Two studies measured psychosocial factors. Valuable information was obtained from KAP surveys showing an overall lack of knowledge among travelers about the most frequent travel-associated infections and associated preventive measures. This methodological approach however, is mainly descriptive, addressing knowledge, attitudes, and practices separately and lacking an examination of the interrelationships between these three components. Another limitation of the KAP method is underestimating psychosocial variables that have proved influential in health related behaviors, including perceived benefits and costs of preventive measures, perceived social pressure, perceived personal control, unrealistic optimism and risk propensity. Future risk perception studies in travel medicine should consider psychosocial variables with inferential and multivariate statistical analyses. The use of implicit measurements of attitudes could also provide new insights in the field of travelers' risk perception of travel-associated infectious diseases. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Measuring the Moment-to-Moment Variability of Tinnitus: The TrackYourTinnitus Smart Phone App.

PubMed

Schlee, Winfried; Pryss, Rüdiger C; Probst, Thomas; Schobel, Johannes; Bachmeier, Alexander; Reichert, Manfred; Langguth, Berthold

2016-01-01

Tinnitus, the phantom perception of sound without a corresponding external sound, is a frequent disorder which causes significant morbidity. So far there is no treatment available that reliably reduces the tinnitus perception. The research is hampered by the large heterogeneity of tinnitus and the fact that the tinnitus perception fluctuates over time. It is therefore necessary to develop tools for measuring fluctuations of tinnitus perception over time and for analyzing data on single subject basis. However, this type of longitudinal measurement is difficult to perform using the traditional research methods such as paper-and-pencil questionnaires or clinical interviews. Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) represents a research concept that allows the assessment of subjective measurements under real-life conditions using portable electronic devices and thereby enables the researcher to collect longitudinal data under real-life conditions and high cost efficiency. Here we present a new method for recording the longitudinal development of tinnitus perception using a modern smartphone application available for iOS and Android devices with no costs for the users. The TrackYourTinnitus (TYT) app is available and maintained since April 2014. A number of 857 volunteers with an average age of 44.1 years participated in the data collection between April 2014 and February 2016. The mean tinnitus distress at the initial measurement was rated on average 13.9 points on the Mini-Tinnitus Questionnaire (Mini-TQ; max. 24 points). Importantly, we could demonstrate that the regular use of the TYT app has no significant negative influence on the perception of the tinnitus loudness nor on the tinnitus distress. The TYT app can therefore be proposed as a safe instrument for the longitudinal assessment of tinnitus perception in the everyday life of the patient.

Measuring the Moment-to-Moment Variability of Tinnitus: The TrackYourTinnitus Smart Phone App

PubMed Central

Schlee, Winfried; Pryss, Rüdiger C.; Probst, Thomas; Schobel, Johannes; Bachmeier, Alexander; Reichert, Manfred; Langguth, Berthold

2016-01-01

Tinnitus, the phantom perception of sound without a corresponding external sound, is a frequent disorder which causes significant morbidity. So far there is no treatment available that reliably reduces the tinnitus perception. The research is hampered by the large heterogeneity of tinnitus and the fact that the tinnitus perception fluctuates over time. It is therefore necessary to develop tools for measuring fluctuations of tinnitus perception over time and for analyzing data on single subject basis. However, this type of longitudinal measurement is difficult to perform using the traditional research methods such as paper-and-pencil questionnaires or clinical interviews. Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) represents a research concept that allows the assessment of subjective measurements under real-life conditions using portable electronic devices and thereby enables the researcher to collect longitudinal data under real-life conditions and high cost efficiency. Here we present a new method for recording the longitudinal development of tinnitus perception using a modern smartphone application available for iOS and Android devices with no costs for the users. The TrackYourTinnitus (TYT) app is available and maintained since April 2014. A number of 857 volunteers with an average age of 44.1 years participated in the data collection between April 2014 and February 2016. The mean tinnitus distress at the initial measurement was rated on average 13.9 points on the Mini-Tinnitus Questionnaire (Mini-TQ; max. 24 points). Importantly, we could demonstrate that the regular use of the TYT app has no significant negative influence on the perception of the tinnitus loudness nor on the tinnitus distress. The TYT app can therefore be proposed as a safe instrument for the longitudinal assessment of tinnitus perception in the everyday life of the patient. PMID:28018210

From theory to 'measurement' in complex interventions: methodological lessons from the development of an e-health normalisation instrument.

PubMed

Finch, Tracy L; Mair, Frances S; O'Donnell, Catherine; Murray, Elizabeth; May, Carl R

2012-05-17

Although empirical and theoretical understanding of processes of implementation in health care is advancing, translation of theory into structured measures that capture the complex interplay between interventions, individuals and context remain limited. This paper aimed to (1) describe the process and outcome of a project to develop a theory-based instrument for measuring implementation processes relating to e-health interventions; and (2) identify key issues and methodological challenges for advancing work in this field. A 30-item instrument (Technology Adoption Readiness Scale (TARS)) for measuring normalisation processes in the context of e-health service interventions was developed on the basis on Normalization Process Theory (NPT). NPT focuses on how new practices become routinely embedded within social contexts. The instrument was pre-tested in two health care settings in which e-health (electronic facilitation of healthcare decision-making and practice) was used by health care professionals. The developed instrument was pre-tested in two professional samples (N=46; N=231). Ratings of items representing normalisation 'processes' were significantly related to staff members' perceptions of whether or not e-health had become 'routine'. Key methodological challenges are discussed in relation to: translating multi-component theoretical constructs into simple questions; developing and choosing appropriate outcome measures; conducting multiple-stakeholder assessments; instrument and question framing; and more general issues for instrument development in practice contexts. To develop theory-derived measures of implementation process for progressing research in this field, four key recommendations are made relating to (1) greater attention to underlying theoretical assumptions and extent of translation work required; (2) the need for appropriate but flexible approaches to outcomes measurement; (3) representation of multiple perspectives and collaborative nature of work; and (4) emphasis on generic measurement approaches that can be flexibly tailored to particular contexts of study.

The effects of therapeutic instrumental music performance on endurance level, self-perceived fatigue level, and self-perceived exertion of inpatients in physical rehabilitation.

PubMed

Lim, Hayoung A; Miller, Karen; Fabian, Chuck

2011-01-01

The present study investigated the effects of a Neurologic Music Therapy (NMT) sensory-motor rehabilitation technique, Therapeutic Instrumental Music Performance (TIMP) as compared to Traditional Occupational Therapy (TOT), on endurance, self-perceived fatigue, and self-perceived exertion of 35 hospitalized patients in physical rehabilitation. The present study attempted to examine whether an active musical experience such as TIMP with musical cueing (i.e., rhythmic auditory cueing) during physical exercises influences one's perception of pain, fatigue, and exertion. All participants were diagnosed with a neurologic disorder or had recently undergone orthopedic surgery. Investigators measured the effects of TOT and TIMP during upper extremity exercise of the less affected or stronger upper extremity. Results showed no significant difference on endurance measures between the 2 treatment conditions (TIMP and TOT). Statistically significant differences were found between TIMP and TOT when measuring their effects on perceived exertion and perceived fatigue. TIMP resulted in significantly less perception of fatigue and exertion levels than TOT. TIMP can be used foran effective sensory-motor rehabilitation technique to decrease perceived exertion and fatigue level of inpatients in physical rehabilitation.

Validation of an instrument to measure students' motivation and self-regulation towards technology learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liou, Pey-Yan; Kuo, Pei-Jung

2014-05-01

Background:Few studies have examined students' attitudinal perceptions of technology. There is no appropriate instrument to measure senior high school students' motivation and self-regulation toward technology learning among the current existing instruments in the field of technology education. Purpose:The present study is to validate an instrument for assessing senior high school students' motivation and self-regulation towards technology learning. Sample:A total of 1822 Taiwanese senior high school students (1020 males and 802 females) responded to the newly developed instrument. Design and method:The Motivation and Self-regulation towards Technology Learning (MSRTL) instrument was developed based on the previous instruments measuring students' motivation and self-regulation towards science learning. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were utilized to investigate the structure of the items. Cronbach's alpha was applied for measuring the internal consistency of each scale. Furthermore, multivariate analysis of variance was used to examine gender differences. Results:Seven scales, including 'Technology learning self-efficacy,' 'Technology learning value,' 'Technology active learning strategies,' 'Technology learning environment stimulation,' 'Technology learning goal-orientation,' 'Technology learning self-regulation-triggering,' and 'Technology learning self-regulation-implementing' were confirmed for the MSRTL instrument. Moreover, the results also showed that male and female students did not present the same degree of preference in all of the scales. Conclusions:The MSRTL instrument composed of seven scales corresponding to 39 items was shown to be valid based on validity and reliability analyses. While male students tended to express more positive and active performance in the motivation scales, no gender differences were found in the self-regulation scales.

Medical laboratory science and nursing students’ perception of academic learning environment in a Philippine university using Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM)

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Purpose This study aimed to compare the perception of the academic learning environment between medical laboratory science students and nursing students at Saint Louis University, Baguio City, Philippines. Methods A cross-sectional survey research design was used to measure the perceptions of the participants. A total of 341 students from the Department of Medical Laboratory Science, School of Natural Sciences, and the School of Nursing answered the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) instrument from April to May 2016. Responses were compared according to course of study, gender, and year level. Results The total mean DREEM scores of the medical laboratory science students and nursing students did not differ significantly when grouped according to course of study, gender, or year level. Medical laboratory science students had significantly lower mean scores in the sub-domains ‘perception of learning’ and ‘perception of teaching.’ Male medical laboratory science students had significantly lower mean scores in the sub-domain ‘perception of learning’ among second year students. Medical laboratory science students had significantly lower mean scores in the sub-domain ‘perception of learning.’ Nursing students identified 7 problem areas, most of which were related to their instructors. Conclusion Medical laboratory science and nursing students viewed their academic learning environment as ‘more positive than negative.’ However, the relationship of the nursing instructors to their students needs improvement. PMID:27649901

Designing and Evaluating an Interprofessional Experiential Course Series Involving Medical and Pharmacy Students

PubMed Central

Dueñas, Gladys G.; Zanoni, Aileen; Grover, Anisha B.

2016-01-01

Objective. To prepare first-year and second-year pharmacy and medical students to build effective collaborative health care teams by participating in an interprofessional experiential 6-semester course series. Design. An interprofessional experiential course series was designed using a variety of teaching methods to achieve both interprofessional and experiential learning outcomes. A standardized objective behavioral assessment was developed to measure team performance of interprofessional communication and teamwork. In addition, student perceptions were measured using a validated instrument. Assessment. A majority of teams demonstrated appropriate competence with respect to interprofessional communication and teamwork. Additionally, a majority of students expressed positive perceptions of interprofessional collaboration with respect to teamwork, roles and responsibilities, and patient outcomes. Conclusion. An interprofessional experiential course series can be successfully implemented to achieve both interprofessional and experiential learning outcomes. Highly collaborative teams and positive student perceptions provide evidence of achievement of interprofessional education learning outcomes. PMID:27402988

Measuring the qualities of nurses: development and testing of the Qualities of Nurses Scale.

PubMed

Johnson, Maree; Cowin, Leanne

2013-01-01

This paper reports on the creation, development and testing of a new instrument to measure qualities of nurses, known as the Qualities of Nurses (QON) scale, applicable to student nurses. High attrition rates within nursing programs and during early postgraduate years are an international phenomena. Mismatches between idealized perceptions of nursing and the realities of education and clinical experiences have been identified as contributing factors. A survey method was used to elicit responses to scale items from 678 first-year nursing students at a large university. A one-factor 12-item solution explaining 47 percent of variance in the construct was demonstrated. The QON can assist in the initial assessment and ongoing monitoring of changes in students' perceptions of nurses. Using the QON, researchers and educators can identify initial student nurses' perceptions and any changes associated in educational or other events that ultimately could be manipulated to reduce attrition.

Graduate nurses' evaluation of mentorship: Development of a new tool.

PubMed

Tiew, Lay Hwa; Koh, Catherine S L; Creedy, Debra K; Tam, W S W

2017-07-01

Develop and test an instrument to measure graduate-nurses' perceptions of a structured mentorship program. New graduate nurses may experience difficulties in the transition from student to practitioner. Mentoring is commonly used to support graduates. However, there is a lack of published tools measuring graduate nurses' perceptions of mentorship. As mentoring is resource intensive, development and testing of a validated tool are important to assist in determining program effectiveness. A pretest-posttest interventional design was used. Following a critical review of literature and content experts' input, the 10-item National University Hospital Mentorship Evaluation (NUH ME) instrument was tested with a convenience sample of 83 graduate nurses. Psychometric tests included internal reliability, stability, content validity, and factor analysis. Changed scores were evaluated using paired samples t-test. Seventy-three graduates (88%) out of a possible 83 completed the pre-and post-program survey. Internal reliability was excellent with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.92. Test-retest reliability was stable over time (ICC=0.81). Exploratory factor analysis supported a 1-factor solution explaining 58.2% of variance. Paired samples t-test showed statistical significance between the pre- and post-program scores (p<0.001). The NUH-ME measure was found to be valid and reliable. Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the tool with different groups of nursing graduates is required. Mentorship programs can be an effective recruitment and retention strategy, but are also resource intensive. Measuring new graduates' perceptions of mentoring contributes to program relevance in addressing their personal, professional and clinical skill development needs. As mentoring engages a diverse range of mentors, feedback through measurement may also positively alter organizational learning culture. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

[Interpersonal attention management inventory: a new instrument to capture different self- and external perception skills].

PubMed

Blaser, Klaus; Zlabinger, Milena; Hinterberger, Thilo

2014-01-01

The Interpersonal Attention Management Inventory (IAMI) represents a new instrument to capture self- and external perception skills. The underlying theoretical model assumes 3 mental locations of attention (the intrapersonal space, the extrapersonal space, and the external intrapersonal space) of the other. The IAMI was studied regarding its factor structure; it was shortened and statistical values as well as first reference values were calculated based on a larger sample (n = 1089). By factor analysis, the superordinate scales could be widely validated. The shortened version with 31 items and 3 superordinate scales shows a high reliability of the global value (Cronbach's α = 0.81) and, regarding the convergent validity, a modest correlation (r = 0.41) of the global value and mindfulness, measured with the Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory (FMI). Further validation studies are invited so that the IAMI can be used as an instrument for (course) diagnosis in the therapy of psychiatric disorders as well as for research in social neuroscience, e.g., in investigations on mindfulness, compassion, empathy, theory of mind, and self-boundaries.

The H-PEPSS: an instrument to measure health professionals' perceptions of patient safety competence at entry into practice.

PubMed

Ginsburg, Liane; Castel, Evan; Tregunno, Deborah; Norton, Peter G

2012-08-01

Enhancing competency in patient safety at entry to practice requires introduction and integration of patient safety into health professional education. As efforts to include patient safety in health professional education increase, it is important to capture new health professionals' perspectives of their own patient safety competence at entry to practice. Existing instruments to measure patient safety knowledge, skills and attitudes have been developed largely to examine the impact of specific patient safety curricular initiatives and the psychometric analyses of the instruments used thus far have been exploratory in nature. Confirmatory factor analytic approaches are used to extensively test the Health Professional Education in Patient Safety Survey (H-PEPSS), a newly designed survey rooted in a patient safety competency framework and designed to measure health professionals' self-reported patient safety competence around the time of entry to practice. The H-PEPSS focuses primarily on the socio-cultural aspects of patient safety including culture, teamwork, communication, managing risk and understanding human factors. Results support a parsimonious six-factor measurement model of health professionals' perceptions of patient safety competency. These results support the validity of a reduced version of the H-PEPSS and suggest it can be appropriately used at or near training completion with a variety of health professional groups. Given increased demands for patient safety competency among health professionals at entry to practice and slow, but emerging changes in health professional education, ongoing research to understand the extent of patient safety competency among health professionals around the time of entry to practice will be important.

The H-PEPSS: an instrument to measure health professionals' perceptions of patient safety competence at entry into practice

PubMed Central

Castel, Evan; Tregunno, Deborah; Norton, Peter G

2012-01-01

Background Enhancing competency in patient safety at entry to practice requires introduction and integration of patient safety into health professional education. As efforts to include patient safety in health professional education increase, it is important to capture new health professionals' perspectives of their own patient safety competence at entry to practice. Existing instruments to measure patient safety knowledge, skills and attitudes have been developed largely to examine the impact of specific patient safety curricular initiatives and the psychometric analyses of the instruments used thus far have been exploratory in nature. Methods Confirmatory factor analytic approaches are used to extensively test the Health Professional Education in Patient Safety Survey (H-PEPSS), a newly designed survey rooted in a patient safety competency framework and designed to measure health professionals' self-reported patient safety competence around the time of entry to practice. The H-PEPSS focuses primarily on the socio-cultural aspects of patient safety including culture, teamwork, communication, managing risk and understanding human factors. Results Results support a parsimonious six-factor measurement model of health professionals' perceptions of patient safety competency. These results support the validity of a reduced version of the H-PEPSS and suggest it can be appropriately used at or near training completion with a variety of health professional groups. Conclusions Given increased demands for patient safety competency among health professionals at entry to practice and slow, but emerging changes in health professional education, ongoing research to understand the extent of patient safety competency among health professionals around the time of entry to practice will be important. PMID:22562876

Prospective Students' Perceptions of University Brands: An Empirical Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bennett, Roger; Ali-Choudhury, Rehnuma

2009-01-01

A model of the elements of a university brand was developed together with an instrument for measuring how favorably each of these elements was perceived by a sample of young people who were considering entering university. One hundred and ninety-eight students undertaking pre-university courses in two further education colleges in East London…

Test-Retest Reliability of a Survey to Measure Transport-Related Physical Activity in Adults

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Badland, Hannah; Schofield, Grant

2006-01-01

The present research details test-retest reliability of a newly developed, telephone-administered TPA survey for adults. This instrument examines barriers, perceptions, and current travel behaviors to place of work/study and local convenience shops. Demonstrated test-retest reliability of the Active Friendly Environments-Transport-Related Physical…

Beliefs Regarding Classroom Management Style: Relationships to Particular Teacher Personality Characteristics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin, Nancy K.; And Others

This study was a continuation of an in-process research effort to further refine the Inventory of Classroom Management Styles (ICMS), an instrument designed to measure teachers' perceptions of their classroom management beliefs and practices. Using preliminary data analysis based on partial data collection, the primary objective of this study was…

An Examination of the Construct Validity of the Inventory of Classroom Management Style.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin, Nancy K.; Baldwin, Beatrice

Confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine the construct validity of a new instrument measuring perceptions toward classroom management: the Inventory of Classroom Management Style (ICMS). Classroom management was defined as a multifaceted process that includes three broad dimensions: (1) what teachers believe about students as persons; (2)…

School District Professional Learning: Teachers' Perceptions of Instructional Leadership, Teacher Practice, and Student Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Avery, Christine M.

2013-01-01

This dissertation study includes an evaluation of a school district model of professional learning that aims to improve school administrators' instructional leadership skills and teacher practice to positively impact student learning. This study employs a valid and reliable survey instrument that measures professional learning standards. The…

Working Memory Capacity and L2 University Students' Comprehension of Linear Texts and Hypertexts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fontanini, Ingrid; Tomitch, Leda Maria Braga

2009-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between working memory capacity and L2 reading comprehension of both linear texts and hypertexts. Three different instruments were used to measure comprehension (recall, comprehension questions and perception of contradictions) and the Reading Span Test (Daneman & Carpenter, 1980) was…

Parental Relations, Mental Health, and Delinquency in Adolescents.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pederson, Willy

1994-01-01

A shortened version of the Parental Bonding Instrument, used in a sample of Norwegian adolescents, aged 15-19, indicated that adolescents' perceptions of mothers' and fathers' care and control/overprotection were related to measures of both depression/anxiety and delinquency. Scores may indicate risks in a broad range of psychosocial problems.…

Self-Perceived Employability: Construction and Initial Validation of a Scale for University Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rothwell, Andrew; Herbert, Ian; Rothwell, Frances

2008-01-01

This paper reports the development of a research instrument to examine the expectations and self-perceptions of employability of business undergraduates (bachelor degree students) in three UK universities, and examines relationships with other measures. The scale was found to have a satisfactory internal reliability coefficient for an untested…

Using the mTSES to Evaluate and Optimize mLearning Professional Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Power, Robert; Cristol, Dean; Gimbert, Belinda; Bartoletti, Robin; Kilgore, Whitney

2016-01-01

The impact of targeted professional development activities on teachers' perceptions of self-efficacy with mobile learning remains understudied. Power (2015a) used the Mobile Teacher's Sense of Efficacy Scale (mTSES) survey instrument to measure the effects of a mobile learning themed professional development course on teachers' confidence with and…

Relationships between Organizations and Publics: Development of a Multi-Dimensional Organization-Public Relationship Scale.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bruning, Stephen D.; Ledingham, John A.

1999-01-01

Attempts to design a multiple-item, multiple-dimension organization/public relationship scale. Finds that organizations and key publics have three types of relationships: professional, personal, and community. Provides an instrument that can be used to measure the influence that perceptions of the organization/public relationship have on consumer…

Try Out a New OD Approach: Measuring Climate and Communication with the Organizational Communication Profile.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peterson, Brent D.; Pace, R. Wayne

The Organizational Communication Profile (OCP) provides a way to survey organization member attitudes, perceptions, expectations, and degree of satisfaction with the manner in which information is handled within the organization. Although the OCP is relatively easy to administer and interpret, the instrument has a complex design and provides…

Patient Mood and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living in Alzheimer Disease: Relationship Between Patient and Caregiver Reports.

PubMed

Votruba, Kristen L; Persad, Carol; Giordani, Bruno

2015-09-01

This retrospective study investigated the relationship between self-reports and caregiver perceptions of patients' depressive symptoms and the respective ability of these reports to predict instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) beyond what is accounted for by cognitive abilities in 71 patients with mild Alzheimer disease. Patients completed the Geriatric Depression Scale-Short Form, and caregivers completed the Behavior Rating Scale for Dementia assessing their perception of patients' depressive symptoms. Caregivers also completed IADL items from the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study Activities of Daily Living Inventory. Cognitive measures included the Mini-Mental State Examination, Logical Memory from the Wechsler Memory Scale III, and Trail Making Test, Part B. The relationship between self-reported depressive symptoms and caregiver report of patients' depressive symptoms showed a trend toward significance (r = .22, P = .06). Measures of depressive symptoms significantly predicted 12.5% of the variance in IADLs performance, beyond that accounted for by patient demographics and cognitive functioning. Interestingly, patients' reports, rather than caregivers', were particularly useful in this prediction. © The Author(s) 2015.

Assessing oral health-related quality of life in children and adolescents: a systematic review and standardized comparison of available instruments.

PubMed

Zaror, Carlos; Pardo, Yolanda; Espinoza-Espinoza, Gerardo; Pont, Àngels; Muñoz-Millán, Patricia; Martínez-Zapata, María José; Vilagut, Gemma; Forero, Carlos G; Garin, Olatz; Alonso, Jordi; Ferrer, Montse

2018-03-22

To obtain a systematic and standardized evaluation of the current evidence on development process, metric properties, and administration issues of oral health-related quality of life instruments available for children and adolescents. A systematic search until October 2016 was conducted in PubMed, Embase, Lilacs, SciELO, and Cochrane databases. Articles with information regarding the development process, metric properties, and administration issues of pediatric instruments measuring oral health-related quality of life were eligible for inclusion. Two researchers independently evaluated each instrument applying the Evaluating Measures of Patient-Reported Outcomes (EMPRO) tool. An overall and seven attribute-specific EMPRO scores were calculated (range 0-100, worst to best): measurement model, reliability, validity, responsiveness, interpretability, burden, and alternative forms. We identified 18 instruments evaluated in 132 articles. From five instruments designed for preschoolers, the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (ECOHIS) obtained the highest overall EMPRO score (82.2). Of nine identified for schoolchildren and adolescents, the best rated instrument was the Child Perceptions Questionnaire 11-14 (82.1). Among the four instruments developed for any age, the Family Impact Scale (FIS) obtained the highest scores (80.3). The evidence supports the use of the ECOHIS for preschoolers, while the age is a key factor when choosing among the four recommended instruments for schoolchildren and adolescents. Instruments for specific conditions, symptoms, or treatments need further research on metric properties. Our results facilitate decision-making on the correct oral health-related quality of life instrument selection for any certain study purpose and population during the childhood and adolescence life cycle.

Measuring children's self-reported sport participation, risk perception and injury history: development and validation of a survey instrument.

PubMed

Siesmaa, Emma J; Blitvich, Jennifer D; White, Peta E; Finch, Caroline F

2011-01-01

Despite the health benefits associated with children's sport participation, the occurrence of injury in this context is common. The extent to which sport injuries impact children's ongoing involvement in sport is largely unknown. Surveys have been shown to be useful for collecting children's injury and sport participation data; however, there are currently no published instruments which investigate the impact of injury on children's sport participation. This study describes the processes undertaken to assess the validity of two survey instruments for collecting self-reported information about child cricket and netball related participation, injury history and injury risk perceptions, as well as the reliability of the cricket-specific version. Face and content validity were assessed through expert feedback from primary and secondary level teachers and from representatives of peak sporting bodies for cricket and netball. Test-retest reliability was measured using a sample of 59 child cricketers who completed the survey on two occasions, 3-4 weeks apart. Based on expert feedback relating to face and content validity, modification and/or deletion of some survey items was undertaken. Survey items with low test-retest reliability (κ≤0.40) were modified or deleted, items with moderate reliability (κ=0.41-0.60) were modified slightly and items with higher reliability (κ≥0.61) were retained, with some undergoing minor modifications. This is the first survey of its kind which has been successfully administered to cricketers aged 10-16 years to collect information about injury risk perceptions and intentions for continued sport participation. Implications for its generalisation to other child sport participants are discussed. Copyright © 2010 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development and psychometric testing of an instrument to compare career choice influences and perceptions of nursing among healthcare students.

PubMed

Liaw, Sok Ying; Wu, Ling Ting; Lopez, Violeta; Chow, Yeow Leng; Lim, Siriwan; Holroyd, Eleanor; Tan, Khoon Kiat; Wang, Wenru

2017-04-27

With the availability of more healthcare courses and an increased intake of nursing students, education institutions are facing challenges to attract school leavers to enter nursing courses. The comparison of career choice influences and perception of nursing among healthcare students can provide information for recruitment strategies. An instrument to compare the influences of healthcare career choice is lacking. The purpose of this study is to develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of an instrument to compare the influences of healthcare career choice with perceptions of nursing as a career choice. The study was conducted in two phases. In phase one, two sets of scales with parallel items that measure the influences of healthcare career choice and perceptions of nursing as a career choice were developed through an earlier qualitative study, literature review, and expert validation. Phase two involved testing the construct validity, concurrent validity and reliability with a convenience sample of 283 first year healthcare students who were recruited at two education institutions in Singapore. An exploratory factor analysis revealed 35-parallel items in a six-factor solution (personal interest, prior healthcare exposure, self-efficacy, perceived nature of work, job prospects, and social influences) that explained 59 and 64% of the variance for healthcare career choice and nursing as a career choice respectively. A high correlation (r = 0.76, p < 0.001) was obtained with an existing tool, confirming the concurrent validity. The internal consistency was sufficient with Cronbach's alpha of 0.93 for healthcare career choice and 0.94 for nursing as a career choice. The test-retest reliability was acceptable with an Intraclass Correlation Coefficient of 0.63 for healthcare career choice and 0.60 for nursing as a career choice. The instrument provides opportunities for understanding the differences between influences of healthcare career choice and perceptions of nursing as a career choice. This comparative understanding of career choice influences can guide educator and policy-makers on nursing recruitment.

Perspectives in adolescent risk-taking through instrument development.

PubMed

Busen, N H; Kouzekanani, K

2000-01-01

Understanding the high-risk adolescent's perception of risk taking is essential for health professionals to determine appropriate interventions. The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the revised Adolescent Risk-Taking Instrument (ARTI) designed to measure the high-risk adolescent's perception of risk taking. This study also examined the variables that are most predictive of social adaptation and risk taking. An ex post facto design was used to standardize data collection and to assess the psychometric properties of the revised ARTI. The nonprobability sample consisted of 167 adolescents attending school in an urban, health-underserved area. Exploratory factor analysis supported construct validity, and Chronbach's Coefficient Alpha supported internal consistency reliability. The reliability coefficient for the risk taking and social adaptation constructs were .80 and .77, respectively. Current perspectives on adolescent risk taking and implications for the use of the ARTI in clinical practice are addressed.

The learning environment of paediatric interns in South Africa.

PubMed

Naidoo, Kimesh L; Van Wyk, Jacqueline M; Adhikari, Miriam

2017-11-29

South African (SA) paediatric interns (recently qualified medical graduates) work in a high disease burdened and resource deficient environment for two years, prior to independent practice. Perceptions of this learning environment (LE) influences their approaches to training as well as the outcomes of this period of development. Obstacles to creating a supportive LE and supervisor interaction affects the quality of this training. Measuring perceptions of the LE with validated instruments can help inform improvements in learning during this crucial period of medical education. The aims of this study was to determine the psychometric qualities of the Postgraduate Hospital Educational Environment Measure (PHEEM) amongst paediatric interns across four hospital complexes in South Africa and to measure the LE as perceived by both interns and their supervisors. Construct validity was tested using factor analysis and internal consistency was measured with Cronbach's alpha. A total of 209 interns and 60 supervisors (69% intern response rate) responded to the questionnaire. The PHEEM was found to be very reliable with an overall Cronbach's alpha of 0.943 and 0.874 for intern and supervisors respectively. Factor analysis using a 3-factor solution accounted for 42% of the variance with the teaching subscale having the best fit compared with the other sub-scales of the original tool. Most interns perceived the learning environment as being more positive than negative however, their perceptions differed significantly from that of their supervisors. Poor infrastructural support from institutions, excessive workloads and inadequate supervision were factors preventing optimal training of paediatric interns. The SA version of the PHEEM tool used was found to be a reliable and valid instrument for use in interns amongst high disease burdened contexts. Various obstacles to creating an ideal learning environment for paediatric interns were identified to be in need of urgent review. Key differences in perceptions of an ideal learning environment between interns and their supervisors need to be fully explored as these may result in sub-optimal supervision and mentoring.

Development and Validation of the Game Perception Scale (GPS)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vandercruysse, Sylke; Vandewaetere, Mieke; Maertens, Marie; ter Vrugte, Judith; Wouters, Pieter; de Jong, Ton; van Oostendorp, Herre; Elen, Jan

2015-01-01

Despite the pervasiveness of perception and considerable impact of perception on the use of ICT for educational purposes, there is a surprising paucity of perception assessment instruments. The present proposal expands on this through the development and initial validation of the Game Perception Scale (GPS). Based on perception literature,…

Development and testing of an instrument to measure holistic nursing values in nurse practitioner care.

PubMed

Kinchen, Elizabeth

2015-01-01

As primary care delivery evolves in the United States with nurse practitioners (NPs) as key providers, exploring the patient's perception of the nature and quality of NPs' care is of critical importance to healthcare consumers, providers, educators, policy makers, and underwriters. The aim of this study was to describe the development and testing of the Nurse Practitioner Holistic Caring Instrument, a new, investigator-developed measure of the preservation of holistic nursing values in NP care. Results suggest that NPs provide patient-centered, comprehensive, and clinically competent care, rendering them ideally suited to leading primary health care delivery. However, further testing in more diverse populations and settings is needed to strengthen preliminary findings.

Brief scale measuring patient preparedness for hospital discharge to home: Psychometric properties.

PubMed

Graumlich, James F; Novotny, Nancy L; Aldag, Jean C

2008-01-01

Adverse events occur when patients transition from the hospital to outpatient care. For quality improvement and research purposes, clinicians need appropriate, reliable, and valid survey instruments to measure and improve the discharge processes. The object was to describe psychometric properties of the Brief PREPARED (B-PREPARED) instrument to measure preparedness for hospital discharge from the patient's perspective. The study was a prospective cohort of 460 patient or proxy telephone interviews following hospital discharge home. We administered the Satisfaction with Information about Medicines Scale and the PREPARED instrument 1 week after discharge. PREPARED measured patients' perceptions of quality and outcome of the discharge-planning processes. Four weeks after discharge, interviewers elicited emergency department visits. The main outcome was the B-PREPARED scale value: the sum of scores from 11 items. Internal consistency, construct, and predictive validity were assessed. : The mean B-PREPARED scale value was 17.3 +/- 4.2 (SD) with a range of 3 to 22. High scores reflected high preparedness. Principal component analysis identified 3 domains: self-care information, equipment/services, and confidence. The B-PREPARED had acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha 0.76) and construct validity. The B-PREPARED correlated with medication information satisfaction (P < 0.001). Higher median B-PREPARED scores appropriately discriminated patients with no worry about managing at home from worriers (P < 0.001) and predicted patients without emergency department visits after discharge from those who had visits (P = 0.011). The B-PREPARED scale measured patients' perceptions of their preparedness for hospital discharge home with acceptable internal consistency and construct and predictive validity. Brevity may potentiate use by patients and proxies. Clinicians and researchers may use B-PREPARED to evaluate discharge interventions. (c) 2008 Society of Hospital Medicine.

Dyadic OPTION: Measuring perceptions of shared decision-making in practice.

PubMed

Melbourne, Emma; Roberts, Stephen; Durand, Marie-Anne; Newcombe, Robert; Légaré, France; Elwyn, Glyn

2011-04-01

Current models of the medical consultation emphasize shared decision-making (SDM), whereby the expertise of both the doctor and the patient are recognised and seen to equally contribute to the consultation. The evidence regarding the desirability and effectiveness of the SDM approach is often conflicting. It is proposed that the conflicts are due to the nature of assessment, with current assessments from the perspective of an outside observer. To empirically assess perceived involvement in the medical consultation using the dyadic OPTION instrument. 36 simulated medical consultations were organised between general practitioners and standardized- patients, using the observer OPTION and the newly developed dyadic OPTION instruments. SDM behaviours observed in the consultations were seen to depend on both members of the doctor and patient dyad, rather than each in isolation. Thus a dyadic approach to measurement is supported. This current study highlights the necessity for a dyadic approach to assessment and introduces a novel research instrument: the dyadic OPTION instrument. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Asthma Outcomes: Quality of Life

PubMed Central

Wilson, Sandra R.; Rand, Cynthia S.; Cabana, Michael D.; Foggs, Michael B.; Halterman, Jill S.; Olson, Lynn; Vollmer, William M.; Wright, Rosalind J.; Taggart, Virginia

2014-01-01

Background “Asthma-related quality of life” refers to the perceived impact that asthma has on the patient’s quality of life. Objective National Institutes of Health (NIH) institutes and other federal agencies convened an expert group to recommend standardized measures of the impact of asthma on quality of life for use in future asthma clinical research. Methods We reviewed published documentation regarding the development and psychometric evaluation; clinical research use since 2000; and extent to which the content of each existing quality of life instrument provides a unique, reliable, and valid assessment of the intended construct. We classified instruments as core (required in future studies), supplemental (used according to the study’s aims and standardized), or emerging (requiring validation and standardization). This work was discussed at an NIH-organized workshop convened in March 2010 and finalized in September 2011. Results Eleven instruments for adults and 6 for children were identified for review. None qualified as core instruments because they predominantly measured indicators of asthma control (symptoms and/or functional status); failed to provide a distinct, reliable score measuring all key dimensions of the intended construct; and/or lacked adequate psychometric data. Conclusions In the absence of existing instruments that meet the stated criteria, currently available instruments are classified as either supplemental or emerging. Research is strongly recommended to develop and evaluate instruments that provide a distinct, reliable measure of the patient’s perception of the impact of asthma on all of the key dimensions of quality of life, an important outcome that is not captured in other outcome measures. PMID:22386511

Development of a survey instrument to measure connectivity to evaluate national public health preparedness and response performance.

PubMed

Dorn, Barry C; Savoia, Elena; Testa, Marcia A; Stoto, Michael A; Marcus, Leonard J

2007-01-01

Survey instruments for evaluating public health preparedness have focused on measuring the structure and capacity of local, state, and federal agencies, rather than linkages among structure, process, and outcomes. To focus evaluation on the latter, we evaluated the linkages among individuals, organizations, and systems using the construct of "connectivity" and developed a measurement instrument. Results from focus groups of emergency preparedness first responders generated 62 items used in the development sample of 187 respondents. Item reduction and factors analyses were conducted to confirm the scale's components. The 62 items were reduced to 28. Five scales explained 70% of the total variance (number of items, percent variance explained, Cronbach's alpha) including connectivity with the system (8, 45%, 0.94), coworkers (7, 7%, 0.91), organization (7, 12%, 0.93), and perceptions (6, 6%, 0.90). Discriminant validity was found to be consistent with the factor structure. We developed a Connectivity Measurement Tool for the public health workforce consisting of a 34-item questionnaire found to be a reliable measure of connectivity with preliminary evidence of construct validity.

The Visual Analog Scale as a Comprehensible Patient-Reported Outcome Measure (PROM) in Septorhinoplasty.

PubMed

Spiekermann, Christoph; Amler, Susanne; Rudack, Claudia; Stenner, Markus

2018-06-01

The patient's satisfaction with the esthetic result is a major criterion of success in septorhinoplasty. However, the idea of esthetic perfection varies greatly and primarily depends on subjective perception. Hence, patient-reported instruments are important and necessary to assess the outcome in septorhinoplasty. To analyze the potential of the visual analog scale (VAS) as a patient-reported outcome measure in septorhinoplasty, the perception of the nasal appearance was assessed by a VAS pre- and postoperatively in 213 patients undergoing septorhinoplasty. Furthermore, in this prospective study, the patients' satisfaction concerning the procedure's result was analyzed using a five-point Likert scale. Females had lower preoperative VAS scores but a higher increase compared to males. Patients with lower initial VAS scores showed a higher improvement in the VAS score postoperatively compared to patients with higher initial VAS scores. Satisfaction with the result depends on the increase in the VAS score value. The VAS scale is a short and comprehensible tool to assess patients' perception of nasal appearance preoperatively and represents an appropriate instrument to assess the esthetic patient-reported outcome in septorhinoplasty.Level of Evidence IV This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these evidence-based medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

Measuring Risk Perception in Later Life: The Perceived Risk Scale.

PubMed

Lifshitz, Rinat; Nimrod, Galit; Bachner, Yaacov G

2016-11-01

Risk perception is a subjective assessment of the actual or potential threat to one's life or, more broadly, to one's psychological well-being. Given the various risks associated with later life, a valid and reliable integrative screening tool for assessing risk perception among the elderly is warranted. The study examined the psychometric properties and factor structure of a new integrative risk perception instrument, the Perceived Risk Scale. This eight-item measure refers to various risks simultaneously, including terror, health issues, traffic accidents, violence, and financial loss, and was developed specifically for older adults. An online survey was conducted with 306 participants aged 50 years and older. The scale was examined using exploratory factor analysis and concurrent validity testing. Factor analysis revealed a two-factor structure: later-life risks and terror risks A high percentage of explained variance, as well as internal consistency, was found for the entire scale and for both factors. Concurrent validity was supported by significant positive associations with participants' depression and negative correlations with their life satisfaction. These findings suggest that the Perceived Risk Scale is internally reliable, valid, and appropriate for evaluating risk perception in later life. The scale's potential applications are discussed. © The Author(s) 2016.

An Analysis of Preservice Teacher Perceptions of Instrumentality through the Lens of Epistemological Theory.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crowson, H. Michael

This paper examines the relationship between preservice teachers' epistemological beliefs and their perceptions of their college preparatory work as being instrumental to their futures, arguing that preservice teachers often find little relevance in the theoretical, philosophical, and historical content presented in their preparatory classes. Nor…

Evaluation of Extended-Wear Hearing Technology for Children with Hearing Loss.

PubMed

Wolfe, Jace; Schafer, Erin; Martella, Natalie; Morais, Mila; Mann, Misty

2015-01-01

Research shows that many older children and teenagers who have mild to moderately severe sensorineural hearing loss do not use their hearing instruments during all waking hours. A variety of reasons may contribute toward this problem, including concerns about cosmetics associated with hearing aid use and the inconvenience of daily maintenance associated with hearing instruments. Extended-wear hearing instruments are inserted into the wearer's ear canal by an audiologist and are essentially invisible to outside observers. The goal of this study was to evaluate the potential benefits and limitations associated with use of extended-wear hearing instruments in a group of children with hearing loss. A two-way repeated measures design was used to examine performance differences obtained with the participants' daily-wear hearing instruments versus that obtained with extended-wear hearing instruments. Sixteen children, ages 10-17 yr old, with sensorineural hearing loss ranging from mild to moderately severe. Probe microphone measures were completed to evaluate the aided output of device. Behavioral test measures included word recognition in quiet, sentence recognition in noise, aided warble-tone thresholds, and psychophysical loudness scaling. Questionnaires were also administered to evaluate subjective performance with each hearing technology. Data logging suggested that many participants were not using their daily-wear hearing instruments during all waking hours (mean use was less than 6 h/day). Real ear probe microphone measurements indicated that a closer fit to the Desired Sensation Level Version 5 prescriptive targets was achieved with the children's daily-wear instruments when compared to the extended-wear instruments. There was no statistically significant difference in monosyllabic word recognition at 50 or 60 dBA obtained with the two hearing technologies. Sentence recognition in noise obtained with use of the extended-wear devices was, however, significantly better than what was obtained with the daily-wear hearing aids. Aided warble-tone thresholds indicated significantly better audibility for low-level sounds with use of the daily-wear hearing technology, but loudness scaling results produced mixed results. Specifically, the participants generally reported greater loudness perception with use of their daily-wear hearing aids at 2000 Hz, but use of the extended-wear hearing technology provided greater loudness perception at 4000 Hz. Finally, the participants reported higher levels of subjective performance with use of the extended-wear hearing instruments. Although some measures suggested that daily-wear hearing instruments provided better audibility than the extended-wear hearing devices, word recognition in quiet was similar with use of the two technologies, and sentence recognition in noise was better with the extended-wear hearing technology. In addition, the participants in this study reported better subjective benefit associated with the use of extended-wear hearing technology. Collectively, the results of this study suggest that extended-wear hearing technology is a viable option for older children and teenagers with mild to moderately severe hearing loss. American Academy of Audiology.

Geometry of illumination, luminance contrast, and gloss perception.

PubMed

Leloup, Frédéric B; Pointer, Michael R; Dutré, Philip; Hanselaer, Peter

2010-09-01

The influence of both the geometry of illumination and luminance contrast on gloss perception has been examined using the method of paired comparison. Six achromatic glass samples having different lightness were illuminated by two light sources. Only one of these light sources was visible in reflection by the observer. By separate adjustment of the intensity of both light sources, the luminance of both the reflected image and the adjacent off-specular surroundings could be individually varied. It was found that visual gloss appraisal did not correlate with instrumentally measured specular gloss; however, psychometric contrast seemed to be a much better correlate. It has become clear that not only the sample surface characteristics determine gloss perception: the illumination geometry could be an even more important factor.

Victimization, perception of insecurity, and changes in daily routines in Mexico

PubMed Central

Ávila, María Elena; Martínez-Ferrer, Belén; Vera, Alejandro; Bahena, Alejandro; Musitu, Gonzalo

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE To analyze the relationships between victimization, perception of insecurity, and changes in routines. METHODS The 8,170 subjects of both sexes (49.9% women and 50.1% men) aged between 12 and 60 years, selected from a proportional stratified sampling, participated in this study. The measuring instrument was an adaptation of the National Survey on Victimization and Perception of Public Security. Chi-square tests were performed. RESULTS The results show significant differences on victimization and sex regarding perception of insecurity, restrictions on everyday activities, and protection measures. 13.1% of those interviewed claimed to have been victims of a crime in the past 12 months. 52.7% of women considered their municipality as unsafe or very unsafe. In the case of men, this percentage was 58.2%. Female victims reported significant restrictions in everyday activities when compared to non-victims. In relation to men, the percentage of victims with a high restriction of activities was higher in male victims than non-victims. In the group of victimized women, the segment of women who opted for increased measures of protection against crime was larger than expected, while those of non-victims who took less protective measures was lower than expected. These same results were observed in the group of men. CONCLUSIONS The experience of victimization implies a greater perception of insecurity. However, the climate of insecurity is widespread in a large number of citizens. Gender differences in a high-crime environment show the importance of investigating in depth the roles of both genders in the perception of insecurity and changes in routines. PMID:27706373

Dental Management Survey Brazil (DMS-BR): creation and validation of a management instrument

PubMed

Gonzales, Paola Sampaio; Martins, Ismar Eduardo; Biazevic, Maria Gabriela Haye; Silva, Paulo Roberto da; Michel-Crosato, Edgard

2017-04-10

Questionnaires for the assessment of knowledge and self-perception can be useful to diagnose what a dentist knows about management and administration. The aim of the present study was to create and validate the Dental Management Survey Brazil (DMS-BR) scale, based on meetings with experts in the field. After having elaborated the first version, 10 audits were performed in dental offices in order to produce the final version, which included nine dimensions: location, patient, finance, marketing, competition, quality, staff, career, and productivity. The accuracy of the instrument was measured by intrarater and interrater reliability. In the validation phase, 247 Brazilian dentists answered a web-based questionnaire. The data were processed using Stata 13.0 and the significance level was set at 95%. The instrument had intrarater and interrater reliability (ICC-0.93 and 0.94). The overall average of respondents for the DMS-BR scale was 3.77 (SD = 0.45). Skewness and kurtosis were below absolute values 3 and 7, respectively. Internal validity measured by Cronbach's alpha was 0.925 and the correlation of each dimension with the final result of the DMS-BR ranged between 0.606 and 0.810. Correlation with the job satisfaction scale was 0.661. The SEM data ranged between 0.80 and 0.56. The questionnaire presented satisfactory indicators of dentists' self-perception about management and administration activities.

Development of ACLEEM questionnaire, an instrument measuring residents' educational environment in postgraduate ambulatory setting.

PubMed

Riquelme, Arnoldo; Padilla, Oslando; Herrera, Cristian; Olivos, Trinidad; Román, José Antonio; Sarfatis, Alberto; Solís, Nancy; Pizarro, Margarita; Torres, Patricio; Roff, Sue

2013-01-01

Students' perceptions of their educational environment (EE) have been studied in undergraduate and postgraduate curricula. Postgraduate EE has been measured in hospital settings. However, there are no instruments available to measure the EE in postgraduate ambulatory settings. The aim of this study was to develop the "ambulatory care learning education environment measure" (ACLEEM). A mixed methodology was used including three stages: (1) Grounded theory (focus groups); (2) Delphi technique to identify consensus; and (3) Pilot study. Three quota samples of approximately 60 stakeholders were formed, one as focus groups and two as Delphi panels. Eight focus groups were carried out including 58 residents (Latin-American Spanish speakers). The results were analysed and 173 items were offered to a National Delphi panel (61 residents and teachers). They reduced in two rounds the number of important items to 54. The 54-item questionnaire was then piloted with 63 residents and refined to the final version of the ACLEEM with 50 items and three domains. The 50-item inventory is a valid instrument to measure the EE in postgraduate ambulatory setting in Chile. Large-scale administration of the ACLEEM questionnaire to evaluate its construct validity and reliability are the next steps to test the psychometric properties of the instrument.

Determinants of Quality Perception in Educational Administration: Potential Conflict between the Requirements of Internal and External Customers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Galloway, R. L.; Wearn, Katrina

1998-01-01

Attempts to measure perceived quality, based on customers' views within the context of a (British) university faculty office, using a modified SERVQUAL instrument. Internal customers demonstrated that perceived quality is driven by task-focused issues, stressing clarity, accuracy, and reliability. External customers, whose usage is more casual,…

Validation of the "Chinese Language Classroom Learning Environment Inventory" for Investigating the Nature of Chinese Language Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lian, Chua Siew; Wong, Angela F. L.; Der-Thanq, Victor Chen

2006-01-01

The Chinese Language Classroom Environment Inventory (CLCEI) is a bilingual instrument developed for use in measuring students' and teachers' perceptions toward their Chinese Language classroom learning environments in Singapore secondary schools. The English version of the CLCEI was customised from the English version of the "What is…

A Preliminary Instrument for Measuring Students' Subjective Perceptions of Difficulties in Learning Recursion

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lacave, Carmen; Molina, Ana I.; Redondo, Miguel A.

2018-01-01

Contribution: Findings are provided from an initial survey to evaluate the magnitude of the recursion problem from the student point of view. Background: A major difficulty that programming students must overcome--the learning of recursion--has been addressed by many authors, using various approaches, but none have considered how students perceive…

Development of the Artistic Supervision Model Scale (ASMS)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kapusuzoglu, Saduman; Dilekci, Umit

2017-01-01

The purpose of the study is to develop the Artistic Supervision Model Scale in accordance with the perception of inspectors and the elementary and secondary school teachers on artistic supervision. The lack of a measuring instrument related to the model of artistic supervision in the field of literature reveals the necessity of such study. 290…

How Do Management Students Perceive the Quality of Education in Public Institutions?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Narang, Ritu

2012-01-01

Purpose: Keeping in mind the urgent need to deliver quality education in higher education institutes, the current paper seeks to measure the quality perception of management students in India. Design/methodology/approach: Based on an exploratory study a modified version of SERVQUAL was employed as the research instrument. Data were collected from…

Development and Validation of Perceptions of Online Interaction Scale

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bagriacik Yilmaz, Ayse; Karatas, Serçin

2018-01-01

The aim of this study was to develop a measurement instrument which is compatible with literature, of which validity and reliability are proved with the aim of determining interaction perceived by learners in online learning environments. Accordingly, literature review was made, and outline form of the scale was formed with item pool by taking 14…

Development and Use of an Instrument to Measure Students' Perceptions of a Business Statistics Learning Environment in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nguyen, Thuyuyen H.; Newby, Michael; Skordi, Panayiotis G.

2015-01-01

Statistics is a required subject of study in many academic disciplines, including business, education and psychology, that causes problems for many students. This has long been recognised and there have been a number of studies into students' attitudes towards statistics, particularly statistical anxiety. However, none of these studies…

An Empirical Validation of the Instrument: Student Perceptions of Teaching Effectiveness.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

West, Sandra S.; Denton, Jon J.

An assessment of the Student Perception of Teaching Effectiveness instrument (SPTE) is presented. The SPTE was developed to assess teaching interns' performance from the student's viewpoint. The Texas Teacher Appraisal System was selected as the content base for the development of the SPTE. The Texas system covers instructional strategies,…

Conceptualizing Interprofessional Teams as Multi-Team Systems-Implications for Assessment and Training.

PubMed

West, Courtney; Landry, Karen; Graham, Anna; Graham, Lori; Cianciolo, Anna T; Kalet, Adina; Rosen, Michael; Sherman, Deborah Witt

2015-01-01

SGEA 2015 CONFERENCE ABSTRACT (EDITED). Evaluating Interprofessional Teamwork During a Large-Scale Simulation. Courtney West, Karen Landry, Anna Graham, and Lori Graham. CONSTRUCT: This study investigated the multidimensional measurement of interprofessional (IPE) teamwork as part of large-scale simulation training. Healthcare team function has a direct impact on patient safety and quality of care. However, IPE team training has not been the norm. Recognizing the importance of developing team-based collaborative care, our College of Nursing implemented an IPE simulation activity called Disaster Day and invited other professions to participate. The exercise consists of two sessions: one in the morning and another in the afternoon. The disaster scenario is announced just prior to each session, which consists of team building, a 90-minute simulation, and debriefing. Approximately 300 Nursing, Medicine, Pharmacy, Emergency Medical Technicians, and Radiology students and over 500 standardized and volunteer patients participated in the Disaster Day event. To improve student learning outcomes, we created 3 competency-based instruments to evaluate collaborative practice in multidimensional fashion during this exercise. A 20-item IPE Team Observation Instrument designed to assess interprofessional team's attainment of Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) competencies was completed by 20 faculty and staff observing the Disaster Day simulation. One hundred sixty-six standardized patients completed a 10-item Standardized Patient IPE Team Evaluation Instrument developed from the IPEC competencies and adapted items from the 2014 Henry et al. PIVOT Questionnaire. This instrument assessed the standardized or volunteer patient's perception of the team's collaborative performance. A 29-item IPE Team's Perception of Collaborative Care Questionnaire, also created from the IPEC competencies and divided into 5 categories of Values/Ethics, Roles and Responsibilities, Communication, Teamwork, and Self-Evaluation, was completed by 188 students including 99 from Nursing, 43 from Medicine, 6 from Pharmacy, and 40 participants who belonged to more than one component, were students at another institution, or did not indicate their institution. The team instrument was designed to assess each team member's perception of how well the team and him- or herself met the competencies. Five of the items on the team perceptions questionnaire mirrored items on the standardized patient evaluation: demonstrated leadership practices that led to effective teamwork, discussed care and decisions about that care with patient, described roles and responsibilities clearly, worked well together to coordinate care, and good/effective communication. Internal consistency reliability of the IPE Team Observation Instrument was 0.80. In 18 of the 20 items, more than 50% of observers indicated the item was demonstrated. Of those, 6 of the items were observed by 50% to 75% of the observers, and the remaining 12 were observed by more than 80% of the observers. Internal consistency reliability of the IPE Team's Perception of Collaborative Care Instrument was 0.95. The mean response score-1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree)-was calculated for each section of the instrument. The overall mean score was 3.57 (SD = .11). Internal consistency reliability of the Standardized Patient IPE Team Evaluation Instrument was 0.87. The overall mean score was 3.28 (SD = .17). The ratings for the 5 items shared by the standardized patient and team perception instruments were compared using independent sample t tests. Statistically significant differences (p < .05) were present in each case, with the students rating themselves higher on average than the standardized patients did (mean differences between 0.2 and 0.6 on a scale of 1-4). Multidimensional, competency-based instruments appear to provide a robust view of IPE teamwork; however, challenges remain. Due to the large scale of the simulation exercise, observation-based assessment did not function as well as self- and standardized patient-based assessment. To promote greater variation in observer assessments during future Disaster Day simulations, we plan to adjust the rating scale from "not observed," "observed," and "not applicable" to a 4-point scale and reexamine interrater reliability.

Psychological aspects of adductor spasmodic dysphonia: a prospective population controlled questionnaire study.

PubMed

Kaptein, A A; Hughes, B M; Scharloo, M; Hondebrink, N; Langeveld, T P M

2010-02-01

To examine psychosocial concomitants, illness perceptions, and treatment perceptions in patients with adductor spasmodic dysphonia. Prospective controlled cohort study. A tertiary care facility. Forty-nine out-patients (38 women, 11 men; average age of 52 years) with adductor spasmodic dysphonia completed a battery of reliable and validated psychometric assessment instruments. Control patients' data were derived from scores in questionnaires by samples in the formal Manuals of the questionnaires used. Psychosocial functioning, illness perceptions, and treatment perceptions. Scores on psychosocial measures were elevated in male patients especially, indicating levels of psychological morbidity significantly above those seen in the general population. Assessments of illness perceptions and treatment perceptions indicated that patients perceive that they have a very low degree of control over the disorder, and experience a high emotional impact from it. Voice Handicap Index scores illustrated substantial degrees of perceived handicap. Adductor spasmodic dysphonia is associated with significant negative psychosocial concomitants, coupled with low perceived control over the condition. Future research should elucidate the implications of illness perceptions and treatment perceptions for the biopsychosocial care of persons with adductor spasmodic dysphonia in order to improve self-management and enhance quality of life.

The rehabilitation team: staff perceptions of the hospital environment, the interdisciplinary team environment, and interprofessional relations.

PubMed

Strasser, D C; Falconer, J A; Martino-Saltzmann, D

1994-02-01

Although inpatient rehabilitation is an interdisciplinary activity organized around a treatment team, there is a limited understanding of the workings of the interdisciplinary process. To elucidate staff perceptions of key aspects of the rehabilitation treatment process, we surveyed staff (n = 113) from selected inpatient teams. The staff completed social psychological instruments that measure perceptions of the hospital environment (The Ward Atmosphere Scale [WAS]), the team's environment (the Group Environment Scale [GES]), and interprofessional relations (Interprofessional Perception Scale [IPS]). Rehabilitation staff generally endorse the team approach, but express concerns over professional boundaries. Interprofessional difficulties seemed to be independent of team membership or professional training. Compared with published data from other settings, rehabilitation teams resembled task-oriented groups, but showed significant differences across teams in their perceptions of the team and hospital environments. The task-oriented character of rehabilitation teams, team-specific characteristics, and discord in interprofessional relationships may need to be considered in studies of rehabilitation teams effectiveness.

Neural Integration in Body Perception.

PubMed

Ramsey, Richard

2018-06-19

The perception of other people is instrumental in guiding social interactions. For example, the appearance of the human body cues a wide range of inferences regarding sex, age, health, and personality, as well as emotional state and intentions, which influence social behavior. To date, most neuroscience research on body perception has aimed to characterize the functional contribution of segregated patches of cortex in the ventral visual stream. In light of the growing prominence of network architectures in neuroscience, the current article reviews neuroimaging studies that measure functional integration between different brain regions during body perception. The review demonstrates that body perception is not restricted to processing in the ventral visual stream but instead reflects a functional alliance between the ventral visual stream and extended neural systems associated with action perception, executive functions, and theory of mind. Overall, these findings demonstrate how body percepts are constructed through interactions in distributed brain networks and underscore that functional segregation and integration should be considered together when formulating neurocognitive theories of body perception. Insight from such an updated model of body perception generalizes to inform the organizational structure of social perception and cognition more generally and also informs disorders of body image, such as anorexia nervosa, which may rely on atypical integration of body-related information.

Development and Psychometric Testing of the Iceland-Family Illness Beliefs Questionnaire.

PubMed

Gisladottir, Margret; Svavarsdottir, Erla Kolbrun

2016-08-01

Illness beliefs affect how individuals and families deal with illness. A valid and reliable instrument has not yet been developed to measure "illness beliefs" in family nursing research and clinical practice. This article describes the purpose, reliability, validity, and the potential clinical and research applications of a new instrument, the Iceland-Family Illness Beliefs Questionnaire (ICE-FIBQ). The ICE-FIBQ is a short, self-report measure of an individual's beliefs about illness. Drawing from an advanced nursing practice model called the Illness Beliefs Model, the instrument was developed to measure illness beliefs about (a) cause of illness, that is, etiology; (b) control of illness on family and control of family on illness; (c) effect of illness on the individual and family; (d) illness suffering; and (e) support received from health care professionals during illness. The instrument was tested on 139 family caregivers of adolescents/youth with an illness or a disorder. Exploratory factor analysis reduced the original questionnaire from eight to seven items with a one-factor solution (Cronbach's α = .780). Confirmatory factor analysis supported the one-factor solution (Cronbach's α = .789). Further research is needed to determine concurrent validity with other illness belief/illness perception scales and if the instrument is sensitive to capture change in illness beliefs following family nursing intervention. © The Author(s) 2016.

Video-Based Method of Quantifying Performance and Instrument Motion During Simulated Phonosurgery

PubMed Central

Conroy, Ellen; Surender, Ketan; Geng, Zhixian; Chen, Ting; Dailey, Seth; Jiang, Jack

2015-01-01

Objectives/Hypothesis To investigate the use of the Video-Based Phonomicrosurgery Instrument Tracking System to collect instrument position data during simulated phonomicrosurgery and calculate motion metrics using these data. We used this system to determine if novice subject motion metrics improved over 1 week of training. Study Design Prospective cohort study. Methods Ten subjects performed simulated surgical tasks once per day for 5 days. Instrument position data were collected and used to compute motion metrics (path length, depth perception, and motion smoothness). Data were analyzed to determine if motion metrics improved with practice time. Task outcome was also determined each day, and relationships between task outcome and motion metrics were used to evaluate the validity of motion metrics as indicators of surgical performance. Results Significant decreases over time were observed for path length (P <.001), depth perception (P <.001), and task outcome (P <.001). No significant change was observed for motion smoothness. Significant relationships were observed between task outcome and path length (P <.001), depth perception (P <.001), and motion smoothness (P <.001). Conclusions Our system can estimate instrument trajectory and provide quantitative descriptions of surgical performance. It may be useful for evaluating phonomicrosurgery performance. Path length and depth perception may be particularly useful indicators. PMID:24737286

Retest of a Principal Components Analysis of Two Household Environmental Risk Instruments.

PubMed

Oneal, Gail A; Postma, Julie; Odom-Maryon, Tamara; Butterfield, Patricia

2016-08-01

Household Risk Perception (HRP) and Self-Efficacy in Environmental Risk Reduction (SEERR) instruments were developed for a public health nurse-delivered intervention designed to reduce home-based, environmental health risks among rural, low-income families. The purpose of this study was to test both instruments in a second low-income population that differed geographically and economically from the original sample. Participants (N = 199) were recruited from the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program. Paper and pencil surveys were collected at WIC sites by research-trained student nurses. Exploratory principal components analysis (PCA) was conducted, and comparisons were made to the original PCA for the purpose of data reduction. Instruments showed satisfactory Cronbach alpha values for all components. HRP components were reduced from five to four, which explained 70% of variance. The components were labeled sensed risks, unseen risks, severity of risks, and knowledge. In contrast to the original testing, environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) items was not a separate component of the HRP. The SEERR analysis demonstrated four components explaining 71% of variance, with similar patterns of items as in the first study, including a component on ETS, but some differences in item location. Although low-income populations constituted both samples, differences in demographics and risk exposures may have played a role in component and item locations. Findings provided justification for changing or reducing items, and for tailoring the instruments to population-level risks and behaviors. Although analytic refinement will continue, both instruments advance the measurement of environmental health risk perception and self-efficacy. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Understanding Outcome-Based Education Changes in Teacher Education: Evaluation of a New Instrument with Preliminary Findings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Deneen, Christopher; Brown, Gavin T. L.; Bond, Trevor G.; Shroff, Ronnie

2013-01-01

Outcome-based education (OBE) is a current initiative in Hong Kong universities, with widespread backing by governments and standards bodies. However, study of students' perceptions of OBE and validation of understanding these perceptions are lacking. This paper reports on the validation of an OBE-specific instrument and resulting preliminary…

Development of an instrument to measure organisational culture in community pharmacies in Great Britain.

PubMed

Marques, Iuri; Willis, Sarah Caroline; Schafheutle, Ellen Ingrid; Hassell, Karen

2018-04-09

Purpose Organisational culture (OC) shapes individuals' perceptions and experiences of work. However, no instrument capable of measuring specific aspects of OC in community pharmacy exists. The purpose of this paper is to report the development and validation of an instrument to measure OC in community pharmacy in Great Britain (GB), and conduct a preliminary analysis of data collected using it. Design/methodology/approach Instrument development comprised three stages: Stage I: 12 qualitative interviews and relevant literature informed instrument design; Stage II: 30 cognitive interviews assessed content validity; and Stage III: a cross-sectional survey mailed to 1,000 community pharmacists in GB, with factor analysis for instrument validation. Statistical analysis investigated how community pharmacists perceived OC in their place of work. Findings Factor analysis produced an instrument containing 60 items across five OC dimensions - business and work configuration, social relationships, personal and professional development, skills utilisation, and environment and structures. Internal reliability for the dimensions was high (0.84 to 0.95); item-total correlations were adequate ( r=0.46 to r=0.76). Based on 209 responses, analysis suggests different OCs in community pharmacy, with some community pharmacists viewing the environment in which they worked as having a higher frequency of aspects related to patient contact and safety than others. Since these aspects are important for providing high healthcare standards, it is likely that differences in OC may be linked to different healthcare outcomes. Originality/value This newly developed and validated instrument to measure OC in community pharmacy can be used to benchmark existing OC across different pharmacies and design interventions for triggering change to improve outcomes for community pharmacists and patients.

The Development of a Canadian Instrument for Measuring Student Views of Their Inclusive School Environment in a Rural Context: The Student Perceptions of Inclusion in Rural Canada (SPIRC) Scale

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Loreman, Tim; Lupart, Judy; McGhie-Richmond, Donna; Barber, Jennifer

2008-01-01

This paper, the first in a series on inclusive education in a rural Canadian school district, reports an attempt to develop a succinct, common cross-age scale to measure student views on important school-related aspects of inclusive education. A lengthy scale, previously developed for use in a different study, was administered to 855 children in…

Distortions and gender-related differences in the perception of mechanical engineering in high school students.

PubMed

Ferrando Piera, Pere Joan; Gutiérrez-Colón Plana, Mar; Paleo Cageao, Paloma; de la Flor López, Silvia; Ferrando Piera, Francesc

2013-01-01

The reason for this study was the low interest that high school students, particularly females, show for the subject of mechanical engineering (ME). We assumed that this problem was partly due to: (a) lack of understanding of the tasks involved in ME, and (b) a distorted and negative perception of the professional environment and working conditions. To assess these two assumptions, two measurement instruments (tasks and perceptions) were developed and administered in a sample of 496 high school students. A multiple-group design was used and data was analyzed by using an extended item response theory model. In general terms, the results agreed with our expectations. However, no significant gender differences were found. The implications of the results for future improvements are discussed.

Reliability Measure of a Clinical Test: Appreciation of Music in Cochlear Implantees (AMICI)

PubMed Central

Cheng, Min-Yu; Spitzer, Jaclyn B.; Shafiro, Valeriy; Sheft, Stanley; Mancuso, Dean

2014-01-01

Purpose The goals of this study were (1) to investigate the reliability of a clinical music perception test, Appreciation of Music in Cochlear Implantees (AMICI), and (2) examine associations between the perception of music and speech. AMICI was developed as a clinical instrument for assessing music perception in persons with cochlear implants (CIs). The test consists of four subtests: (1) music versus environmental noise discrimination, (2) musical instrument identification (closed-set), (3) musical style identification (closed-set), and (4) identification of musical pieces (open-set). To be clinically useful, it is crucial for AMICI to demonstrate high test-retest reliability, so that CI users can be assessed and retested after changes in maps or programming strategies. Research Design Thirteen CI subjects were tested with AMICI for the initial visit and retested again 10–14 days later. Two speech perception tests (consonant-nucleus-consonant [CNC] and Bamford-Kowal-Bench Speech-in-Noise [BKB-SIN]) were also administered. Data Analysis Test-retest reliability and equivalence of the test’s three forms were analyzed using paired t-tests and correlation coefficients, respectively. Correlation analysis was also conducted between results from the music and speech perception tests. Results Results showed no significant difference between test and retest (p > 0.05) with adequate power (0.9) as well as high correlations between the three forms (Forms A and B, r = 0.91; Forms A and C, r = 0.91; Forms B and C, r = 0.95). Correlation analysis showed high correlation between AMICI and BKB-SIN (r = −0.71), and moderate correlation between AMICI and CNC (r = 0.4). Conclusions The study showed AMICI is highly reliable for assessing musical perception in CI users. PMID:24384082

First-year Student Pharmacists' Spirituality and Perceptions Regarding the Role of Spirituality in Pharmacy Education.

PubMed

Jacob, Bobby; White, Annesha; Shogbon, Angela

2017-08-01

Objective: To measure student pharmacists' spirituality utilizing validated survey instruments and to determine perceptions regarding the anticipated role of spirituality in academic course work and professional practice. Methods: This was a cross-sectional, descriptive study. The survey was offered to all first-year student pharmacists during the first week of the fall semester (2012-2015). Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze data. Results: A total of 580 students (98%) participated. The majority of students reported having each of the spiritual experiences on most days of the week or more frequently (58% to 89% based on individual item). Furthermore, 57% of students anticipate that matters of spirituality would be significant components of academic course work and 75% anticipate they would be incorporated into eventual professional practice settings. These perceptions were positively correlated to measures of spirituality and religiosity. Conclusion: These findings suggest that faculty should evaluate current and future incorporation of topics related to spirituality and health in pharmacy curriculum.

First-year Student Pharmacists’ Spirituality and Perceptions Regarding the Role of Spirituality in Pharmacy Education

PubMed Central

White, Annesha; Shogbon, Angela

2017-01-01

Objective: To measure student pharmacists’ spirituality utilizing validated survey instruments and to determine perceptions regarding the anticipated role of spirituality in academic course work and professional practice. Methods: This was a cross-sectional, descriptive study. The survey was offered to all first-year student pharmacists during the first week of the fall semester (2012-2015). Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze data. Results: A total of 580 students (98%) participated. The majority of students reported having each of the spiritual experiences on most days of the week or more frequently (58% to 89% based on individual item). Furthermore, 57% of students anticipate that matters of spirituality would be significant components of academic course work and 75% anticipate they would be incorporated into eventual professional practice settings. These perceptions were positively correlated to measures of spirituality and religiosity. Conclusion: These findings suggest that faculty should evaluate current and future incorporation of topics related to spirituality and health in pharmacy curriculum. PMID:28970609

Wellness perception in persons with traumatic brain injury and its relation to functional independence.

PubMed

Bezner, J R; Hunter, D L

2001-06-01

To test the reliability and validity of a perceptual wellness measure in persons after traumatic brain injury (TBI) and to determine whether a relation exists between functional independence and wellness perceptions in the same population. Survey research. A private, residential brain injury program. A convenience sample of 49 patients (43 men, 6 women) with TBI whose mean age was 32.1 years (range, 18-61yr) and mean time since injury was 10.47 years (range, 1-21yr). The Perceived Wellness Survey (PWS) assessed wellness. The PWS has 6 subscales measuring physical, psychologic, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, and social wellness. The FIM instrument was used to measure functional status. The mean PWS score (15.99) for the sample was comparable to published samples of adults (mean, 15.31-16.51); however, the reliability of the composite score (alpha = .58) and the subscales (alpha = .32-.64) was less than that obtained in previous samples (composite alpha = 0.91; subscale alpha = .64-.81). The correlations between the PWS and the FIM scores were not significant. The PWS in its composite form is a reliable measure for use with persons with TBI. The finding that perceived wellness and functional independence were not related suggests that these constructs are unique and thus should both be measured. The measurement of perceptions will enable the provider to consider a client holistically and to develop programs that address quality of life issues. Further, because perceptions influence behaviors, understanding a person's perceptions in multiple dimensions may provide a useful and necessary framework for developing intervention programs that address behavioral and cognitive issues that are important to that person.

Perceptions of Virginia Community College System Faculty and Administrators on the Purposes for and Composition of a Comprehensive Evaluation System for Teaching Faculty Members

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hightower, William H., Jr.

2010-01-01

A survey instrument was developed to measure community college faculty and administrator views on the faculty evaluation process. Responses were then compared based on demographic characteristics such as primary area of instruction, supervisory responsibility, years of experience, and gender. Open-ended survey questions asked respondents to…

Teacher Perceptions and Principal Leadership Behaviors on Teacher Morale in High and Low-Performing Elementary Schools in South Carolina

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hughes, Brenda C.

2013-01-01

This quantitative research study employed a correlational research method. Two survey instruments were used in this study. The Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI), which is a 30-item Likert scale questionnaire which measures 5 areas of leadership behaviors: (1) Model the Way; (2) Inspire a Shared Vision; (3) Challenge the Process; (4) Enable…

Perceptions of the Quality of School Life: A Case Study of Schools and Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Batten, Margaret; Girling-Butcher, Sue

In order to test the validity of a measure of Australian students' views on the quality of life within their schools, a small-scale study was conducted in seven secondary schools, including both public and private institutions. The 52-item survey instrument was administered to 651 students in grades 9-12. Followup interviews of students were held…

Perception of a Communication Source: An Examination of the Ideal Supervisor and Subordinate within a Military Organization.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hellweg, Susan A.

A study was designed to examine an underlying assumption regarding the use of the semantic differential in measuring the credibility and homophily of a communicator, namely, that responses to an ideal source position themselves at one extreme end of the scale, reflecting the monotonic function of the instrument such that the highest response…

Factor Structure of the Condoms Barriers Scale with a Sample of Men at High Risk for HIV

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Doyle, Suzanne R.; Calsyn, Donald A.; Ball, Samuel A.

2009-01-01

This study assesses the psychometric properties of the Condom Barriers Scale (CBS), an instrument originally designed to measure women's perceptions and attitudes regarding male condom use, with a sample of men at high risk for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Participants include 590 male patients in drug abuse treatment involved in a…

dETECT: A Model for the Evaluation of Instructional Units for Teaching Computing in Middle School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

von Wangenheim, Christiane G.; Petri, Giani; Zibertti, André W.; Borgatto, Adriano F.; Hauck, Jean C. R.; Pacheco, Fernando S.; Filho, Raul Missfeldt

2017-01-01

The objective of this article is to present the development and evaluation of dETECT (Evaluating TEaching CompuTing), a model for the evaluation of the quality of instructional units for teaching computing in middle school based on the students' perception collected through a measurement instrument. The dETECT model was systematically developed…

Are Self-Perception Measures Used in School Library Research Transferable to the Context of Public Library Summer Reading Programs?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arnone, Marilyn P.; Small, Ruth V.; Weng, Shicheng

2016-01-01

Several instruments previously validated for use in school library research were tested for their appropriateness in the context of public libraries' summer reading programs for youth. The researchers were also interested in whether the connection between perceived competence in one's own information skills and perceived competence in one's own…

Indicators of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) career interest among middle school students in the USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mills, Leila A.

This study examines middle school students' perceptions of a future career in a science, math, engineering, or technology (STEM) career field. Gender, grade, predispositions to STEM contents, and learner dispositions are examined for changing perceptions and development in career-related choice behavior. Student perceptions as measured by validated measurement instruments are analyzed pre and post participation in a STEM intervention energy-monitoring program that was offered in several U.S. middle schools during the 2009-2010, 2010-2011 school years. A multiple linear regression (MLR) model, developed by incorporating predictors identified by an examination of the literature and a hypothesis-generating pilot study for prediction of STEM career interest, is introduced. Theories on the career choice development process from authors such as Ginzberg, Eccles, and Lent are examined as the basis for recognition of career concept development among students. Multiple linear regression statistics, correlation analysis, and analyses of means are used to examine student data from two separate program years. Study research questions focus on predictive ability, RSQ, of MLR models by gender/grade, and significance of model predictors in order to determine the most significant predictors of STEM career interest, and changes in students' perceptions pre and post program participation. Analysis revealed increases in the perceptions of a science career, decreases in perceptions of a STEM career, increase of the significance of science and mathematics to predictive models, and significant increases in students' perceptions of creative tendencies.

Student perception of the educational environment in regular and bridging nursing programs in Saudi Arabia using the Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure.

PubMed

Al Nozha, Omar Mansour; Fadel, Hani T

2017-01-01

Taibah University offers regular nursing (RNP) and nursing bridging (NBP) bachelor programs. We evaluated student perception of the learning environment as one means of quality assurance. To assess nursing student perception of their educational environment, to compare the perceptions of regular and bridging students, and to compare the perceptions of students in the old and new curricula. Cross-sectional survey. College of Nursing at Taibah University, Madinah, Saudi Arabia. The Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM) instrument was distributed to over 714 nursing students to assess perception of the educational environment. Independent samples t test and Pearson's chi square were used to compare the programs and curricula. The DREEM inventory score. Of 714 students, 271 (38%) were RNP students and 443 (62%) were NBP students. The mean (standard deviation) DREEM score was 111 (25). No significant differences were observed between the programs except for the domain "academic self-perceptions" being higher in RNP students (P < .001). Higher mean DREEM scores were observed among students studying the new curriculum in the RNP (P < .001) and NBP (P > .05). Nursing students generally perceived their learning environment as more positive than negative. Regular students were more positive than bridging students. Students who experienced the new curriculum were more positive towards learning. The cross-sectional design and unequal gender and study level distributions may limit generalizability of the results. Longitudinal, large-scale studies with more even distributions of participant characteristics are needed.

Trainees' Perceptions of Feedback: Validity Evidence for Two FEEDME (Feedback in Medical Education) Instruments.

PubMed

Bing-You, Robert; Ramesh, Saradha; Hayes, Victoria; Varaklis, Kalli; Ward, Denham; Blanco, Maria

2018-01-01

Construct: Medical educators consider feedback a core component of the educational process. Effective feedback allows learners to acquire new skills, knowledge, and attitudes. Learners' perceptions of feedback are an important aspect to assess with valid methods in order to improve the feedback skills of educators and the feedback culture. Although guidelines for delivering effective feedback have existed for several decades, medical students and residents often indicate that they receive little feedback. A recent scoping review on feedback in medical education did not reveal any validity evidence on instruments to assess learner's perceptions of feedback. The purpose of our study was to gather validity evidence on two novel FEEDME (Feedback in Medical Education) instruments to assess medical students' and residents' perceptions of the feedback that they receive. After the authors developed an initial instrument with 54 items, cognitive interviews with medical students and residents suggested that 2 separate instruments were needed, one focused on the feedback culture (FEEDME-Culture) and the other on the provider of feedback (FEEDME-Provider). A Delphi study with 17 medical education experts and faculty members assessed content validity. The response process was explored involving 31 medical students and residents at 2 academic institutions. Exploratory factor analysis and reliability analyses were performed on completed instruments. Two Delphi consultation rounds refined the wording of items and eliminated several items. Learners found both instruments easy and quick to answer; it took them less than 5 minutes to complete. Learners preferred an electronic format of the instruments over paper. Factor analysis revealed a two- and three-factor solution for the FEEDME-Culture and FEEDME-Provider instruments, respectively. Cronbach's alpha was greater than 0.80 for all factors. Items on both instruments were moderately to highly correlated (range, r = .3-.7). Our results provide preliminary validity evidence of 2 novel feedback instruments. After further validation of both FEEDME instruments, sharing the results of the FEEDME-Culture instrument with educational leaders and faculty may improve the culture of feedback on specific educational rotations and at the institutional level. The FEEDME-Provider instrument could be useful for faculty development targeting feedback skills. Additional research studies could assess whether both instruments may be used to help learners receive feedback and prompt reflective learning.

Impact of a program to diminish gender insensitivity and sexual harassment at a medical school.

PubMed

Jacobs, C D; Bergen, M R; Korn, D

2000-05-01

To measure the effect of an intervention to reduce gender insensitivity and sexual harassment at one medical school. Stanford University School of Medicine undertook a multifaceted program to educate faculty and students regarding gender issues and to diminish sexual harassment. The authors developed a survey instrument to assess the faculty's perceptions regarding environment (five scales) and incidences of sexual harassment. Faculty were surveyed twice during the interventions (1994 and 1995). Between the two years, the authors measured significant improvements in mean ratings for positive climate (p = .004) and cohesion (p = .006) and decreases in the faculty's perceptions of sexual harassment (p = 0006), gender insensitivity (p = .001), and gender discrimination (p = .004). The faculty also reported fewer observations of harassing behavior during the study period. An intervention program to diminish gender insensitivity and sexual harassment can measurably improve a medical school's environment.

Is It There when You Need It?: Mismatch in Perception of Future Availability and Subsequent Receipt of Instrumental Social Support

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meadows, Sarah O.

2009-01-01

Little is known about the effect of incongruity between perception of, or belief in, the availability of support and actual receipt of support during a time of need. This article examines associations between belief in the future availability of instrumental support (e.g., child care, temporary housing, and financial assistance), subsequent…

Validacion de un Inventario Sobre La Percepcion de Los Padres de Superdotados Respecto a Los Servicios Educativos Disponibles Para Estos

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Medina Munoz, Arlette Zamarie

2013-01-01

In Puerto Rico, there isn't a survey that collects the parent's perception of the available services for gifted children. Considering this, in this investigation an instrument was created and scientifically validated to collect the parents' perception of the educational services available. The instrument was validated using internal and external…

Improving Student Perceptions of Science through the Use of State-of-the-Art Instrumentation in General Chemistry Laboratory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aurentz, David J.; Kerns, Stefanie L.; Shibley, Lisa R.

2011-01-01

Access to state-of-the-art instrumentation, namely nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, early in the college curriculum was provided to undergraduate students in an effort to improve student perceptions of science. Proton NMR spectroscopy was introduced as part of an aspirin synthesis in a guided-inquiry approach to spectral…

The Mathematics Attitudes and Perceptions Survey: an instrument to assess expert-like views and dispositions among undergraduate mathematics students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Code, Warren; Merchant, Sandra; Maciejewski, Wes; Thomas, Matthew; Lo, Joseph

2016-08-01

One goal of an undergraduate education in mathematics is to help students develop a productive disposition towards mathematics. A way of conceiving of this is as helping mathematical novices transition to more expert-like perceptions of mathematics. This conceptualization creates a need for a way to characterize students' perceptions of mathematics in authentic educational settings. This article presents a survey, the Mathematics Attitudes and Perceptions Survey (MAPS), designed to address this need. We present the development of the MAPS instrument and its validation on a large (N = 3411) set of student data. Results from various MAPS implementations corroborate results from analogous instruments in other STEM disciplines. We present these results and highlight some in particular: MAPS scores correlate with course grades; students tend to move away from expert-like orientations over a semester or year of taking a mathematics course; and interactive-engagement type lectures have less of a negative impact, but no positive impact, on students' overall orientations than traditional lecturing. We include the MAPS instrument in this article and suggest ways in which it may deepen our understanding of undergraduate mathematics education.

Measuring comparative risk perceptions in an urban minority population: the risk perception survey for diabetes.

PubMed

Walker, Elizabeth A; Caban, Arlene; Schechter, Clyde B; Basch, Charles E; Blanco, Emelinda; DeWitt, Tara; Kalten, Maria R; Mera, Maria S; Mojica, Gisele

2007-01-01

The purpose of this study was to assess comparative risk perceptions related to diabetes complications and their associations with patient characteristics in an urban minority sample. The authors developed the Risk Perception Survey-Diabetes Mellitus (RPS-DM) and administered the survey using a Solomon Four group design with a random half of a sample of 599 adults with diabetes. This was the baseline survey to measure comparative risk perceptions in a multiethnic sample prior to implementation of randomly assigned behavioral interventions to improve diabetic retinopathy screening rates. The RPS-DM survey was completed by 250 participants (an 85% completion rate). Participants did not differ significantly by demographics from all other subjects. The sample included 62% women, mean age of 56.5 years, 42.4% Hispanic ethnicity, and 44% black race. The survey showed acceptable psychometric properties in English or Spanish and was feasible to complete by telephone in 12 to 15 minutes. Significant differences by subject characteristics were seen in several survey subscales, including Risk Knowledge by age (P < or = .01) and annual income (P < or = .05), Personal Control by educational level (P < or = .05), and Optimistic Bias by birthplace (P < or = .05) and educational level (P < or = .01). An analysis of variance produced demographic models statistically significant (P < .05) for Risk Knowledge, Personal Control, Environmental Risk, and Optimistic Bias. From 13% to 16% of the variance in the subscale scores was explained by these demographic models. The RPS-DM is the first instrument to measure comparative risk perceptions, including knowledge related to diabetes complications. These data are important for educators and researchers who wish to assess risk perceptions and tailor health/risk communications for their diabetes populations.

Perceptions and Practice: The Relationship between Teacher Perceptions of Technology Use and Level of Classroom Technology Integration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sawyer, Laura M.

2017-01-01

This correlational-predictive study investigated the relationship between teacher perceptions of technology use and observed classroom technology integration level using the "Technology Uses and Perceptions Survey" (TUPS) and the "Technology Integration Matrix-Observation" (TIM-O) instruments, developed by the Florida Center…

Preschool Children's Perceptions of the Aged.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Click, Eulalia Tate; Powell, Judith A.

This study attempted to investigate: (1) preschool children's positive or negative perceptions of the aged, and (2) the effect of increased interpersonal contact with older adults on these perceptions. A review of related literature is reported. Two instruments, The Perceptions of the Aged Test (PAT) and The Familiarity With the Aged Questionnaire…

Perceptions of submissiveness: implications for victimization.

PubMed

Richards, L; Rollerson, B; Phillips, J

1991-07-01

Some researchers have suggested that a precondition of affective submissiveness may increase the likelihood of female victimization in sexual assault, whereas others have suggested that criminal offenders use perceptions of vulnerability when selecting a victim. In this study, based on American college students, men (decoders) rated videotaped women (encoders) dominant versus submissive using a semantic differential instrument. Cue evaluators analyzed the body language and appearance of the videotaped women using a Likert instrument. The results suggest that (a) men form differentiated perceptions of dominant versus submissive women, (b) such perceptions substantially rely on nonverbal cues, (c) dominant and submissive women display visually different behaviors and appearances, and (d) men tend to select submissive females for exploitation.

Can we identify others' intentions from seeing their movements? Comment on "Seeing mental states: An experimental strategy for measuring the observability of other minds" by Cristina Becchio et al.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Curioni, Arianna; Sebanz, Natalie; Knoblich, Günther

2018-03-01

In their review, Becchio and colleagues describe the 'unobservability principle' and the 'direct social perception thesis' as two competing accounts of how people identify others' intentions [4]. The former treats intentions as private information that is hidden within individual minds. The latter treats intentions as public information that can be directly perceived from observed movements. The authors propose a new method for quantifying cues to intention from human movement, providing support for the 'direct social perception thesis' in the domain of instrumental actions. Without doubt this new approach is valuable in establishing whether there is a dissociation between the presence of movement cues in the perceptual input and people's ability to make use of these cues for identifying intentions. It is also valuable in identifying movement parameters that could be crucial for improving the planning of instrumental actions in robotic agents so that their movements become better identifiable for human observers.

The development and validation of the speech quality instrument.

PubMed

Chen, Stephanie Y; Griffin, Brianna M; Mancuso, Dean; Shiau, Stephanie; DiMattia, Michelle; Cellum, Ilana; Harvey Boyd, Kelly; Prevoteau, Charlotte; Kohlberg, Gavriel D; Spitzer, Jaclyn B; Lalwani, Anil K

2017-12-08

Although speech perception tests are available to evaluate hearing, there is no standardized validated tool to quantify speech quality. The objective of this study is to develop a validated tool to measure quality of speech heard. Prospective instrument validation study of 35 normal hearing adults recruited at a tertiary referral center. Participants listened to 44 speech clips of male/female voices reciting the Rainbow Passage. Speech clips included original and manipulated excerpts capturing goal qualities such as mechanical and garbled. Listeners rated clips on a 10-point visual analog scale (VAS) of 18 characteristics (e.g. cartoonish, garbled). Skewed distribution analysis identified mean ratings in the upper and lower 2-point limits of the VAS (ratings of 8-10, 0-2, respectively); items with inconsistent responses were eliminated. The test was pruned to a final instrument of nine speech clips that clearly define qualities of interest: speech-like, male/female, cartoonish, echo-y, garbled, tinny, mechanical, rough, breathy, soothing, hoarse, like, pleasant, natural. Mean ratings were highest for original female clips (8.8) and lowest for not-speech manipulation (2.1). Factor analysis identified two subsets of characteristics: internal consistency demonstrated Cronbach's alpha of 0.95 and 0.82 per subset. Test-retest reliability of total scores was high, with an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.76. The Speech Quality Instrument (SQI) is a concise, valid tool for assessing speech quality as an indicator for hearing performance. SQI may be a valuable outcome measure for cochlear implant recipients who, despite achieving excellent speech perception, often experience poor speech quality. 2b. Laryngoscope, 2017. © 2017 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.

Systematic review of self-concept measures for primary school aged children with cerebral palsy.

PubMed

Cheong, Sau Kuan; Johnston, Leanne M

2013-10-01

This study involved a systematic review aimed to identify self-concept measures that provided published psychometrics for primary school aged children (8-12 years) with cerebral palsy (CP). Six electronic databases (PubMed, MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES and Web of Science) were searched to identify assessments that (1) measured self-concept; (2) in children aged 8-12 years; (3) with CP; (4) with psychometrics available. The Consensus-based Standards for the Selection of Health Measurement Instruments (COSMIN) checklist was used to evaluate psychometric properties and the CanChild Outcome Measure Rating Form was used to evaluate clinical utility. Search yielded 271 papers, of which five met inclusion criteria. These papers reported five measures of self-concept with psychometric properties for the target population: the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Index, Self-Description Questionnaire-I, Self-Perception Profile for Children (original) and two separate modifications of the Self-Perception Profile for Children. Currently, no self-concept measures published in English had sufficient psychometric data for children with CP. The Self-Description Questionnaire-I and the Self-Perception Profile for Children were promising options. Further research is required (a) to determine self-concept construct components important for children with CP and (b) to examine the relative strength, validity, reliability and clinical utility of self-concept measures for the target population. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Early Identity Exploration Scale-a measure of initial exploration in breadth during early adolescence.

PubMed

Kłym, Maria; Cieciuch, Jan

2015-01-01

The existing models and measurement instruments concerning identity appear to primarily focus on adolescence and early adulthood, and studies extending identity research to younger stages of life are scarce. There has been a particular lack of instruments measuring the early stages of identity formation, especially the process of exploration, which has been portrayed as a central process during this particular period of life. Our aim is to help fill the gap in the literature and facilitate further studies of the exploration process by providing an appropriate instrument to measure exploration in breadth during early adolescence. As a coherent and mature sense of identity is closely associated with psychosocial well-being, an effective identity exploration scale will enable researchers to assess the predictors of young adolescents' well-being. We propose a model of identity exploration domains based on the literature and considering 12 exploration domains: physical appearance, free time, family, work, boyfriend-girlfriend relationships, own opinion formation, perception of own place in the life cycle, self-reflection, future, future family, outlook on life, and attitude toward rules. The study was conducted on a group of N = 454 adolescents (50% males, M age = 13.04, SD = 0.98). Both reliability and structural validity, as verified by confirmatory factor analysis were satisfactory. The instrument is invariant across gender groups at the scalar level of measurement invariance.

The Early Identity Exploration Scale—a measure of initial exploration in breadth during early adolescence

PubMed Central

Kłym, Maria; Cieciuch, Jan

2015-01-01

The existing models and measurement instruments concerning identity appear to primarily focus on adolescence and early adulthood, and studies extending identity research to younger stages of life are scarce. There has been a particular lack of instruments measuring the early stages of identity formation, especially the process of exploration, which has been portrayed as a central process during this particular period of life. Our aim is to help fill the gap in the literature and facilitate further studies of the exploration process by providing an appropriate instrument to measure exploration in breadth during early adolescence. As a coherent and mature sense of identity is closely associated with psychosocial well-being, an effective identity exploration scale will enable researchers to assess the predictors of young adolescents' well-being. We propose a model of identity exploration domains based on the literature and considering 12 exploration domains: physical appearance, free time, family, work, boyfriend-girlfriend relationships, own opinion formation, perception of own place in the life cycle, self-reflection, future, future family, outlook on life, and attitude toward rules. The study was conducted on a group of N = 454 adolescents (50% males, Mage = 13.04, SD = 0.98). Both reliability and structural validity, as verified by confirmatory factor analysis were satisfactory. The instrument is invariant across gender groups at the scalar level of measurement invariance. PMID:25983707

Use of standardized outcome measures in physical therapist practice: perceptions and applications.

PubMed

Jette, Diane U; Halbert, James; Iverson, Courtney; Miceli, Erin; Shah, Palak

2009-02-01

Standardized instruments for measuring patients' activity limitations and participation restrictions have been advocated for use by rehabilitation professionals for many years. The available literature provides few recent reports of the use of these measures by physical therapists in the United States. The primary purpose of this study was to determine: (1) the extent of the use of standardized outcome measures and (2) perceptions regarding their benefits and barriers to their use. A secondary purpose was to examine factors associated with their use among physical therapists in clinical practice. The study used an observational design. A survey questionnaire comprising items regarding the use and perceived benefits and barriers of standardized outcome measures was sent to 1,000 randomly selected members of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA). Forty-eight percent of participants used standardized outcome measures. The majority of participants (>90%) who used such measures believed that they enhanced communication with patients and helped direct the plan of care. The most frequently reported reasons for not using such measures included length of time for patients to complete them, length of time for clinicians to analyze the data, and difficulty for patients in completing them independently. Use of standardized outcome measures was related to specialty certification status, practice setting, and the age of the majority of patients treated. The limitations included an unvalidated survey for data collection and a sample limited to APTA members. Despite more than a decade of development and testing of standardized outcome measures appropriate for various conditions and practice settings, physical therapists have some distance to go in implementing their use routinely in most clinical settings. Based on the perceived barriers, alterations in practice management strategies and the instruments themselves may be necessary to increase their use.

Metrology of human-based and other qualitative measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pendrill, Leslie; Petersson, Niclas

2016-09-01

The metrology of human-based and other qualitative measurements is in its infancy—concepts such as traceability and uncertainty are as yet poorly developed. This paper reviews how a measurement system analysis approach, particularly invoking as performance metric the ability of a probe (such as a human being) acting as a measurement instrument to make a successful decision, can enable a more general metrological treatment of qualitative observations. Measures based on human observations are typically qualitative, not only in sectors, such as health care, services and safety, where the human factor is obvious, but also in customer perception of traditional products of all kinds. A principal challenge is that the usual tools of statistics normally employed for expressing measurement accuracy and uncertainty will probably not work reliably if relations between distances on different portions of scales are not fully known, as is typical of ordinal or other qualitative measurements. A key enabling insight is to connect the treatment of decision risks associated with measurement uncertainty to generalized linear modelling (GLM). Handling qualitative observations in this way unites information theory, the perceptive identification and choice paradigms of psychophysics. The Rasch invariant measure psychometric GLM approach in particular enables a proper treatment of ordinal data; a clear separation of probe and item attribute estimates; simple expressions for instrument sensitivity; etc. Examples include two aspects of the care of breast cancer patients, from diagnosis to rehabilitation. The Rasch approach leads in turn to opportunities of establishing metrological references for quality assurance of qualitative measurements. In psychometrics, one could imagine a certified reference for knowledge challenge, for example, a particular concept in understanding physics or for product quality of a certain health care service. Multivariate methods, such as Principal Component Regression, can also be improved by exploiting the increased resolution of the Rasch approach.

Systematic review of coaching to enhance surgeons' operative performance.

PubMed

Min, Hyeyoun; Morales, Dianali Rivera; Orgill, Dennis; Smink, Douglas S; Yule, Steven

2015-11-01

There is increasing attention on the coaching of surgeons and trainees to improve performance but no comprehensive review on this topic. The purpose of this review is to summarize the quantity and the quality of studies involving surgical coaching methods and their effectiveness. We performed a systematic literature search through PubMed and PsychINFO by using predefined inclusion criteria. Evidence for main outcome categories was evaluated with the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) system and the Medical Education Research Study Quality Instrument (MERSQI). Of a total 3,063 articles, 23 met our inclusion criteria; 4 randomized controlled trials and 19 observational studies. We categorized the articles into 4 groups on the basis of the outcome studied: perception, attitude and opinion; technical skills; nontechnical skills; and performance measures. Overall strength of evidence for each outcome groups was as follows: Perception, attitude, and opinion (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation: Very Low, Medical Education Research Study Quality Instrument [MERSQI]: 10); technical skills (randomized controlled trials: High, 13.1; Observation studies: Very Low, 11.5); nontechnical skills (Very Low, 12.4) and performance measures (Very Low, 13.6). Simulation was the most used setting for coaching; more than half of the studies deployed an experienced surgeon as a coach and showed that coaching was effective. Surgical coaching interventions have a positive impact on learners' perception and attitudes, their technical and nontechnical skills, and performance measures. Evidence of impact on patient outcomes was limited, and the quality of research studies was variable. Despite this, our systematic review of different coaching interventions will benefit future coaching strategies and implementation to enhance operative performance. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Hearing Instruments for Unilateral Severe-to-Profound Sensorineural Hearing Loss in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

PubMed Central

Smith, Sandra Nelson; Lucas, Laura

2016-01-01

Objectives: A systematic review of the literature and meta-analysis was conducted to assess the nature and quality of the evidence for the use of hearing instruments in adults with a unilateral severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss. Design: The PubMed, EMBASE, MEDLINE, Cochrane, CINAHL, and DARE databases were searched with no restrictions on language. The search included articles from the start of each database until February 11, 2015. Studies were included that (a) assessed the impact of any form of hearing instrument, including devices that reroute signals between the ears or restore aspects of hearing to a deaf ear, in adults with a sensorineural severe to profound loss in one ear and normal or near-normal hearing in the other ear; (b) compared different devices or compared a device with placebo or the unaided condition; (c) measured outcomes in terms of speech perception, spatial listening, or quality of life; (d) were prospective controlled or observational studies. Studies that met prospectively defined criteria were subjected to random effects meta-analyses. Results: Twenty-seven studies reported in 30 articles were included. The evidence was graded as low-to-moderate quality having been obtained primarily from observational before-after comparisons. The meta-analysis identified statistically significant benefits to speech perception in noise for devices that rerouted the speech signals of interest from the worse ear to the better ear using either air or bone conduction (mean benefit, 2.5 dB). However, these devices also degraded speech understanding significantly and to a similar extent (mean deficit, 3.1 dB) when noise was rerouted to the better ear. Data on the effects of cochlear implantation on speech perception could not be pooled as the prospectively defined criteria for meta-analysis were not met. Inconsistency in the assessment of outcomes relating to sound localization also precluded the synthesis of evidence across studies. Evidence for the relative efficacy of different devices was sparse but a statistically significant advantage was observed for rerouting speech signals using abutment-mounted bone conduction devices when compared with outcomes after preoperative trials of air conduction devices when speech and noise were colocated (mean benefit, 1.5 dB). Patients reported significant improvements in hearing-related quality of life with both rerouting devices and following cochlear implantation. Only two studies measured health-related quality of life and findings were inconclusive. Conclusions: Devices that reroute sounds from an ear with a severe to profound hearing loss to an ear with minimal hearing loss may improve speech perception in noise when signals of interest are located toward the impaired ear. However, the same device may also degrade speech perception as all signals are rerouted indiscriminately, including noise. Although the restoration of functional hearing in both ears through cochlear implantation could be expected to provide benefits to speech perception, the inability to synthesize evidence across existing studies means that such a conclusion cannot yet be made. For the same reason, it remains unclear whether cochlear implantation can improve the ability to localize sounds despite restoring bilateral input. Prospective controlled studies that measure outcomes consistently and control for selection and observation biases are required to improve the quality of the evidence for the provision of hearing instruments to patients with unilateral deafness and to support any future recommendations for the clinical management of these patients. PMID:27232073

Adult Perspectives of Learning Musical Instruments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roulston, Kathryn; Jutras, Peter; Kim, Seon Joo

2015-01-01

This article reports findings from a qualitative study of adults' perceptions and experiences of learning musical instruments. Conducted in the south-east United States, 15 adults who were learning instruments were recruited via community music groups and private instrumental teachers. Analysis of transcripts of semi-structured interviews…

The development and validation of a questionnaire to measure the clinical learning environment for undergraduate dental students (DECLEI).

PubMed

Kossioni, A E; Lyrakos, G; Ntinalexi, I; Varela, R; Economu, I

2014-05-01

The aim of this study was to develop and validate according to psychometric standards a self-administered instrument to measure the students' self-perceptions of the undergraduate clinical dental environment (DECLEI). The initial questionnaire was developed using feedback from dental students, experts' opinion and an extensive literature review. Critical incident technique (CIT) analysis was used to generate items and identify domains. Thirty clinical dental students participated in a pilot validation that generated a 67-item questionnaire. To develop a shorter and more practical version of the instrument, DECLEI-67 was distributed to 153 clinical students at the University of Athens and its English version to 51 students from various dental schools, attending the 2012 European Dental Students Association meeting. This final procedure aimed to select items, identify subscales and measure internal consistency and discriminant validity. A total of 202 students returned the questionnaires (response rate 99%). The final instrument included 24 items divided into three subscales: (i) organisation and learning opportunities, (ii) professionalism and communication and (iii) satisfaction and commitment to the dental studies. Cronbach's α for the total questionnaire was 0.89. The interscale correlations ranged from 0.39 to 0.48. The instrument identified differences related to school of origin, age and duration of clinical experience. An interpretation of the scores (range 0–100) has been proposed. The 24-item DECLEI seemed to be a practical and valid instrument to measure a dental school's undergraduate clinical learning environment.

Instrumental and perceptual phonetic analyses: the case for two-tier transcriptions.

PubMed

Howard, Sara; Heselwood, Barry

2011-11-01

In this article, we discuss the relationship between instrumental and perceptual phonetic analyses. Using data drawn from typical and atypical speech production, we argue that the use of two-tier transcriptions, which can compare and contrast perceptual and instrumental information, is valuable both for our general understanding of the mechanisms of speech production and perception and also for assessment and intervention for individuals with atypical speech production. The central tenet of our case is that instrumental and perceptual analyses are not in competition to give a single 'correct' account of speech data. They take instead perspectives on complementary phonetic domains, which interlock in the speech chain to encompass production, transmission and perception.

Psychometric Testing of an Arabic Translation of the Revised-Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R) for Chronic Illness Patients.

PubMed

Aberkane, Salah

2017-08-01

Researchers lack a properly validated instrument to measure perceptions of chronic disease in Arabic language contexts. This study aimed to adapt and validate the Revised-Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R) for Arabic speaking chronic illness patients. A cross-sectional design was conducted to examine the psychometric properties of the adapted English version of the IPQ-R for Arabic speaking chronic illness patients. The study instrument was an Arabic version of the IPQ-R prepared through a translation process. The reliability and validity of the instrument were assessed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Three hundred and sixteen participants (ages 16-79) from the Batna region in Algeria completed the IPQ-R. A total of 316 (100%) patients responded to this study. Regarding internal consistency, Cronbach's alpha a coefficient was consistently higher than 0.45. Several areas of fit were identified and substantial changes to the measurement model were made, such as the deletion of 22 items from the original 38-item IPQ-R and two items from the original 18 causal items this accounted for 64.63% of the total variance, and the respecification of indicators had to be applied to achieve acceptable model fit. The final model consists of two sections: The 16-item Arabic IPQ-R, which had a good fit; (CMIN/Df = 1.30, P < 0.001, CFI = 0.93, RMSEA = 0.08, SRMR = 0.03), and was similar to the Arabic 16 causal items (CMIN/DF = 1.11, P < 0.001, CFI = 0.95, RMSEA = 0.080, SRMR = 0.02). The factor structure concurred with prior finding despite differences to the type of sample and cultural considerations that might explain these findings. Replication of this study in Algerian patients with specific illness, such as silicosis, breast cancer and multiple sclerosis. Further psychometric testing on other large samples is recommended.

Psychometric Testing of an Arabic Translation of the Revised-Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R) for Chronic Illness Patients

PubMed Central

Aberkane, Salah

2017-01-01

Background Researchers lack a properly validated instrument to measure perceptions of chronic disease in Arabic language contexts. This study aimed to adapt and validate the Revised-Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R) for Arabic speaking chronic illness patients. Methods A cross-sectional design was conducted to examine the psychometric properties of the adapted English version of the IPQ-R for Arabic speaking chronic illness patients. The study instrument was an Arabic version of the IPQ-R prepared through a translation process. The reliability and validity of the instrument were assessed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. Three hundred and sixteen participants (ages 16–79) from the Batna region in Algeria completed the IPQ-R. Results A total of 316 (100%) patients responded to this study. Regarding internal consistency, Cronbach’s alpha a coefficient was consistently higher than 0.45. Several areas of fit were identified and substantial changes to the measurement model were made, such as the deletion of 22 items from the original 38-item IPQ-R and two items from the original 18 causal items this accounted for 64.63% of the total variance, and the respecification of indicators had to be applied to achieve acceptable model fit. The final model consists of two sections: The 16–item Arabic IPQ-R, which had a good fit; (CMIN/Df = 1.30, P < 0.001, CFI = 0.93, RMSEA = 0.08, SRMR = 0.03), and was similar to the Arabic 16 causal items (CMIN/DF = 1.11, P < 0.001, CFI = 0.95, RMSEA = 0.080, SRMR = 0.02). Conclusion The factor structure concurred with prior finding despite differences to the type of sample and cultural considerations that might explain these findings. Replication of this study in Algerian patients with specific illness, such as silicosis, breast cancer and multiple sclerosis. Further psychometric testing on other large samples is recommended. PMID:28951692

Development and Initial Validation of a Measure of Autonomy, Competence, and Relatedness in Exercise: The Basic Psychological Needs in Exercise Scale

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vlachopoulos, Symeon P.; Michailidou, Sotiria

2006-01-01

The development process and initial validation of the Basic Psychological Needs in Exercise Scale (BPNES) are presented in this study. The BPNES is a domain-specific self-report instrument designed to assess perceptions of the extent to which the innate needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness (Deci & Ryan, 2000) are satisfied in…

HIV Risk Perception, HIV Knowledge, and Sexual Risk Behaviors among Transgender Women in South Florida.

PubMed

De Santis, Joseph P; Hauglum, Shayne D; Deleon, Diego A; Provencio-Vasquez, Elias; Rodriguez, Allan E

2017-05-01

Transgender women experience a variety of factors that may contribute to HIV risk. The purpose of this study was to explore links among HIV risk perception, knowledge, and sexual risk behaviors of transgender women. A descriptive, correlational study design was used. Fifty transgender women from the South Florida area were enrolled in the study. Transgender women completed a demographic questionnaire and standardized instruments measuring HIV risk perception, knowledge, and sexual risk behaviors. Transgender women reported low levels of HIV risk perception, and had knowledge deficits regarding HIV risk/transmission. Some participants engaged in high-risk sexual behaviors. Predictors of sexual risk behaviors among transgender women were identified. More research is needed with a larger sample size to continue studying factors that contribute to sexual risk behaviors in the understudied population of transgender women. Evidence-based guidelines are available to assist public health nurses in providing care for transgender women. Nurses must assess HIV perception risk and HIV knowledge and provide relevant education to transgender women on ways to minimize sexual risk. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Teen drivers' awareness of vehicle instrumentation in naturalistic research.

PubMed

Ehsani, J P; Haynie, D; Ouimet, M C; Zhu, C; Guillaume, C; Klauer, S G; Dingus, T; Simons-Morton, B G

2017-12-01

Naturalistic driving methods require the installation of instruments and cameras in vehicles to record driving behavior. A critical, yet unexamined issue in naturalistic driving research is the extent to which the vehicle instruments and cameras used for naturalistic methods change human behavior. We sought to describe the degree to which teenage participants' self-reported awareness of vehicle instrumentation changes over time, and whether that awareness was associated with driving behaviors. Forty-two newly-licensed teenage drivers participated in an 18-month naturalistic driving study. Data on driving behaviors including crash/near-crashes and elevated gravitational force (g-force) events rates were collected over the study period. At the end of the study, participants were asked to rate the extent to which they were aware of instruments in the vehicle at four time points. They were also asked to describe their own and their passengers' perceptions of the instrumentation in the vehicle during an in-depth interview. The number of critical event button presses was used as a secondary measure of camera awareness. The association between self-reported awareness of the instrumentation and objectively measured driving behaviors was tested using correlations and linear mixed models. Most participants' reported that their awareness of vehicle instrumentation declined across the duration of the 18-month study. Their awareness increased in response to their passengers' concerns about the cameras or if they were involved in a crash. The number of the critical event button presses was initially high and declined rapidly. There was no correlation between driver's awareness of instrumentation and their crash and near-crash rate or elevated g-force events rate. Awareness was not associated with crash and near-crash rates or elevated g-force event rates, consistent with having no effect on this measure of driving performance. Naturalistic driving studies are likely to yield valid measurements of driving behavior. Copyright © 2017 National Safety Council and Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comparing NICU teamwork and safety climate across two commonly used survey instruments

PubMed Central

Profit, Jochen; Lee, Henry C; Sharek, Paul J; Kan, Peggy; Nisbet, Courtney C; Thomas, Eric J; Etchegaray, Jason M; Sexton, Bryan

2016-01-01

Background and objectives Measurement and our understanding of safety culture are still evolving. The objectives of this study were to assess variation in safety and teamwork climate and in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) setting, and compare measurement of safety culture scales using two different instruments (Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ) and Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPSC)). Methods Cross-sectional survey study of a voluntary sample of 2073 (response rate 62.9%) health professionals in 44 NICUs. To compare survey instruments, we used Spearman's rank correlation coefficients. We also compared similar scales and items across the instruments using t tests and changes in quartile-level performance. Results We found significant variation across NICUs in safety and teamwork climate scales of SAQ and HSOPSC (p<0.001). Safety scales (safety climate and overall perception of safety) and teamwork scales (teamwork climate and teamwork within units) of the two instruments correlated strongly (safety r=0.72, p<0.001; teamwork r=0.67, p<0.001). However, the means and per cent agreements for all scale scores and even seemingly similar item scores were significantly different. In addition, comparisons of scale score quartiles between the two instruments revealed that half of the NICUs fell into different quartiles when translating between the instruments. Conclusions Large variation and opportunities for improvement in patient safety culture exist across NICUs. Important systematic differences exist between SAQ and HSOPSC such that these instruments should not be used interchangeably. PMID:26700545

Characterization of Chinese body skin through in vivo instrument assessments, visual evaluations, and questionnaire: influences of body area, inter-generation, season, sex, and skin care habits.

PubMed

Li, Xi; Galzote, Carlos; Yan, Xiuyuan; Li, Li; Wang, Xi

2014-02-01

The varying influence of multiple factors (e.g., aging, sex, season, skin care habits) on skin structure and function necessitates study within ethnic groups to fully characterize their skin. Men and women aged 40-50 years (n = 43) and their consanguineous same-sex children, aged 18-25 years (n = 43), living in Chengdu, China were enrolled in this single center, non-interventional study. Volunteers attended two study visits (summer, 2010 and winter, 2011) at which dermatologists measured transepidermal water loss (TEWL), skin hydration, sebum secretion, fine lines/roughness, melanin/erythema, temperature, and color, and clinically graded participants' skin. Participants answered a questionnaire, indicating their perceived skin type/condition. Data were analyzed using t-test/anova or Friedman/Wilcoxon test. Objective measurements demonstrated statistically significant inter-generational differences in skin condition, with aged skin more wrinkled at most sites, having reduced oil/colder facial and décolletage skin, darker/more erythematous skin in exposed areas, and less hydrated/rougher heel skin; similarities were detected in skin melanin, erythema, and TEWL. There were also statistically significant differences between seasons and sexes. The intersection between instrument measurements and subjective perceptions of skin revealed notable differences. Objective measurements and their intersection with subjective perceptions demonstrate the influences of inter-generation, season, sex, and living habits on Chinese body skin. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Perceptions of Clinical Athletic Trainers on the Spiritual Care of Injured Athletes

PubMed Central

McKnight, Cynthia M.; Juillerat, Stephanie

2011-01-01

Context: Treating both the body and the mind of an injured or ill patient is accepted as necessary for full healing to occur. However, treating the spiritual needs of the patient has less consensus. Objective: To determine the perceptions and practices of certified athletic trainers (ATs) working in the college/university setting pertaining to spiritual care of the injured athlete. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: A survey instrument was e-mailed to a stratified random sample of 2000 ATs at 4-year colleges and universities. Patients or Other Participants: Five hundred sixty-four participants (296 men, 234 women; 34 did not specify sex). Main Outcome Measure(s): We measured the ATs' perceptions and practices related to spiritual care for athletes. Results: We found that 82.4% of respondents agreed that addressing spiritual concerns could result in more positive therapeutic outcomes for athletes; however, 64.3% disagreed that ATs are responsible for providing the spiritual care. Positive correlations were found between personal spirituality and items favoring implementing spiritual care. Conclusions: Athletic trainers have a conceptual appreciation of the importance of spiritual care for athletes, but the practicalities of how to define, acquire skills in, and practice spiritual care are unresolved. PMID:21669101

Two Studies of Pitch in String Instrument Vibrato: Perception and Pitch Matching Responses of University and High School String Players

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Geringer, John M.; MacLeod, Rebecca B.; Ellis, Julia C.

2014-01-01

We investigated pitch perception of string vibrato tones among string players in two separate studies. In both studies we used tones of acoustic instruments (violin and cello) as stimuli. In the first, we asked 192 high school and university string players to listen to a series of tonal pairs: one tone of each pair was performed with vibrato and…

The Perceptions of Cooperating Teachers Regarding the Skills and Knowledge of Student Teachers Working in Beginning and Middle School Instrumental Music Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoch, Christopher David

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to obtain the perceptions of cooperating teachers in beginning and middle school instrumental music regarding their student teachers' skills and knowledge both at the beginning and at the end of the student teaching experience. The related research has focused primarily on two areas of music teacher education. Program…

The Relationships between Childhood Depression, Perceptions of Family Functioning and Perceptions of Classroom Social Climate: Implications for School Counselors.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Russell, Todd T.; Russell, Debra K.

This study investigated the relationships between children's levels of depression, their perceptions of their classroom social climate, and their perceptions of their families' functioning. The three self-report instruments employed were the Reynolds Child Depression Scale (RCDS), the relationship dimension of the Classroom Environment Scale…

Assessing Music Perception in Young Children: Evidence for and Psychometric Features of the M-Factor.

PubMed

Barros, Caio G; Swardfager, Walter; Moreno, Sylvain; Bortz, Graziela; Ilari, Beatriz; Jackowski, Andrea P; Ploubidis, George; Little, Todd D; Lamont, Alexandra; Cogo-Moreira, Hugo

2017-01-01

Given the relationship between language acquisition and music processing, musical perception (MP) skills have been proposed as a tool for early diagnosis of speech and language difficulties; therefore, a psychometric instrument is needed to assess music perception in children under 10 years of age, a crucial period in neurodevelopment. We created a set of 80 musical stimuli encompassing seven domains of music perception to inform perception of tonal, atonal, and modal stimuli, in a random sample of 1006 children, 6-13 years of age, equally distributed from first to fifth grades, from 14 schools (38% private schools) in So Paulo State. The underlying model was tested using confirmatory factor analysis. A model encompassing seven orthogonal specific domains (contour, loudness, scale, timbre, duration, pitch, and meter) and one general music perception factor, the "m-factor," showed excellent fit indices. The m-factor, previously hypothesized in the literature but never formally tested, explains 93% of the reliable variance in measurement, while only 3.9% of the reliable variance could be attributed to the multidimensionality caused by the specific domains. The 80 items showed no differential item functioning based on sex, age, or enrolment in public vs. private school, demonstrating the important psychometric feature of invariance. Like Charles Spearman's g-factor of intelligence, the m-factor is robust and reliable. It provides a convenient measure of auditory stimulus apprehension that does not rely on verbal information, offering a new opportunity to probe biological and psychological relationships with music perception phenomena and the etiologies of speech and language disorders.

Assessing Music Perception in Young Children: Evidence for and Psychometric Features of the M-Factor

PubMed Central

Barros, Caio G.; Swardfager, Walter; Moreno, Sylvain; Bortz, Graziela; Ilari, Beatriz; Jackowski, Andrea P.; Ploubidis, George; Little, Todd D.; Lamont, Alexandra; Cogo-Moreira, Hugo

2017-01-01

Given the relationship between language acquisition and music processing, musical perception (MP) skills have been proposed as a tool for early diagnosis of speech and language difficulties; therefore, a psychometric instrument is needed to assess music perception in children under 10 years of age, a crucial period in neurodevelopment. We created a set of 80 musical stimuli encompassing seven domains of music perception to inform perception of tonal, atonal, and modal stimuli, in a random sample of 1006 children, 6–13 years of age, equally distributed from first to fifth grades, from 14 schools (38% private schools) in So Paulo State. The underlying model was tested using confirmatory factor analysis. A model encompassing seven orthogonal specific domains (contour, loudness, scale, timbre, duration, pitch, and meter) and one general music perception factor, the “m-factor,” showed excellent fit indices. The m-factor, previously hypothesized in the literature but never formally tested, explains 93% of the reliable variance in measurement, while only 3.9% of the reliable variance could be attributed to the multidimensionality caused by the specific domains. The 80 items showed no differential item functioning based on sex, age, or enrolment in public vs. private school, demonstrating the important psychometric feature of invariance. Like Charles Spearman's g-factor of intelligence, the m-factor is robust and reliable. It provides a convenient measure of auditory stimulus apprehension that does not rely on verbal information, offering a new opportunity to probe biological and psychological relationships with music perception phenomena and the etiologies of speech and language disorders. PMID:28174518

Bladder sensation measures and overactive bladder.

PubMed

Rapp, David E; Neil, Nancy J; Govier, Fred E; Kobashi, Kathleen C

2009-09-01

We performed a prospective multicomponent study to determine whether subjective and objective bladder sensation instruments may provide data on sensory dysfunction in patients with overactive bladder. We evaluated 70 prospectively enrolled patients with urodynamics and questionnaires on validated urgency (Urgency Perception Score), general overactive bladder (Urogenital Distress Inventory) and quality of life (Incontinence Impact Questionnaire). We first sought a correlation between sensory specific (Urgency Perception Score) and quality of life questionnaire scores. We then assessed a correlation between sensory questionnaire scores and urodynamic variables, exploring the hypothesis that certain urodynamic parameters may be bladder sensation measures. We evaluated 2 urodynamic derivatives (first sensation ratio and bladder urgency velocity) to increase sensory finding discrimination. We noted a moderate correlation between the Urgency Perception Score (0.56) and the Urogenital Distress Inventory (0.74) vs the Incontinence Impact Questionnaire (each p <0.01). A weak negative correlation was seen between Urgency Perception Score and bladder capacity (-0.25, p <0.05). No correlation was noted for the other urodynamics parameters. First sensation ratio and bladder urgency velocity statistically significantly correlated with the Urgency Perception Score despite the lesser or absent correlation associated with the individual components of these derivatives. Bladder sensation questionnaires may be valuable to identify patients with sensory dysfunction and provide additional data not obtained in generalized symptom questionnaires. Urodynamic variables correlated with bladder sensation questionnaire scores and may be an objective method to assess sensory dysfunction.

Reduction and standardization of surgical instruments in pediatric inguinal hernia repair.

PubMed

Koyle, Martin A; AlQarni, Naif; Odeh, Rakan; Butt, Hissan; Alkahtani, Mohammed M; Konstant, Louis; Pendergast, Lisa; Koyle, Leah C C; Baker, G Ross

2018-02-01

To standardize and reduce surgical instrumentation by >25% within a 9-month period for pediatric inguinal hernia repair (PIHR), using "improvement science" methodology. We prospectively evaluated instruments used for PIHR in 56 consecutive cases by individual surgeons across two separate subspecialties, pediatric surgery (S) and pediatric urology (U), to measure actual number of instruments used compared with existing practice based on preference cards. Based on this evaluation, a single preference card was developed using only instruments that had been used in >50% of all cases. A subsequent series of 52 cases was analyzed to assess whether the new tray contained the ideal instrumentation. Cycle time (CT), to sterilize and package the instruments, and weights of the trays were measured before and after the intervention. A survey of operating room (OR) nurses and U and S surgeons was conducted before and after the introduction of the standardized tray to assess the impact and perception of standardization. Prior to creating the standardized tray, a U PIHR tray contained 96 instruments with a weight of 13.5 lbs, while the S set contained 51, weighing 11.2 lbs. The final standardized set comprised 28 instruments and weighed 7.8 lbs. Of 52 PIHRs performed after standardization, in three (6%) instances additional instruments were requested. CT was reduced from 11 to 8 min (U and S respectively) to <5 min for the single tray. Nurses and surgeons reported that quality, safety, and efficiency were improved, and that efforts should continue to standardize instrumentation for other common surgeries. Standardization of surgical equipment can be employed across disciplines with the potential to reduce costs and positively impact quality, safety, and efficiencies. Copyright © 2017 Journal of Pediatric Urology Company. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Measuring the quality of interprofessional collaboration in child mental health collaborative care

PubMed Central

Rousseau, Cécile; Laurin-Lamothe, Audrey; Nadeau, Lucie; Deshaies, Suzanne; Measham, Toby

2012-01-01

Objective This pilot study examines the potential utility of the Perception of Interprofessional Collaboration Model and the shared decision-making scales in evaluating the quality of partnership in child mental health collaborative care. Methods Ninety-six primary care professionals working with children and youth responded to an internet survey which included the Perception of Interprofessional Collaboration Model scale (PINCOM-Q) and an adapted version of a shared decision-making scale (Échelle de confort décisionnel, partenaire—ECD-P). The perceptions of child mental health professionals were compared with those of other professionals working with children. Results The PINCOM-Q and the ECD-P scales had an excellent internal consistency and they were moderately correlated. Child mental health professionals’ Individual Interprofessional Collaboration scores from the PINCOM-Q individual aspects subscale were better than that of other child professionals. Conclusion These scales may be interesting instruments to measure the quality of partnership in child mental health collaborative care settings. Research needs to replicate these findings and to determine whether the quality of collaboration is a predictor of mental health outcome.

Measuring the quality of interprofessional collaboration in child mental health collaborative care

PubMed Central

Rousseau, Cécile; Laurin-Lamothe, Audrey; Nadeau, Lucie; Deshaies, Suzanne; Measham, Toby

2012-01-01

Objective This pilot study examines the potential utility of the Perception of Interprofessional Collaboration Model and the shared decision-making scales in evaluating the quality of partnership in child mental health collaborative care. Methods Ninety-six primary care professionals working with children and youth responded to an internet survey which included the Perception of Interprofessional Collaboration Model scale (PINCOM-Q) and an adapted version of a shared decision-making scale (Échelle de confort décisionnel, partenaire—ECD-P). The perceptions of child mental health professionals were compared with those of other professionals working with children. Results The PINCOM-Q and the ECD-P scales had an excellent internal consistency and they were moderately correlated. Child mental health professionals’ Individual Interprofessional Collaboration scores from the PINCOM-Q individual aspects subscale were better than that of other child professionals. Conclusion These scales may be interesting instruments to measure the quality of partnership in child mental health collaborative care settings. Research needs to replicate these findings and to determine whether the quality of collaboration is a predictor of mental health outcome. PMID:22371692

Using Indigenist and Indigenous methodologies to connect to deeper understandings of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' quality of life.

PubMed

Kite, Elaine; Davy, Carol

2015-12-01

The lack of a common description makes measuring the concept of quality of life (QoL) a challenge. Whether QoL incorporates broader social features or is attributed to health conditions, the diverse range of descriptions applied by various disciplines has resulted in a concept that is multidimensional and vague. The variety of theoretical conceptualisations of QoL confounds and confuses even the most astute. Measuring QoL in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations is even more challenging. Instruments commonly developed and used to measure QoL are often derived from research methodologies shaped by Western cultural perspectives. Often they are simply translated for use among culturally and linguistically diverse Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This has implications for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations whose perceptions of health are derived from within their specific cultures, value systems and ways of knowing and being. Interconnections and relationships between themselves, their communities, their environment and the natural and spiritual worlds are complex. The way in which their QoL is currently measured indicates that very little attention is given to the diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' beliefs or the ways in which those beliefs shape or give structure and meaning to their health and their lives. The use of Indigenist or Indigenous methodologies in defining what Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples believe gives quality to their lives is imperative. These methodologies have the potential to increase the congruency between their perceptions of QoL and instruments to measure it.

Measurement of change in health status with Rasch models.

PubMed

Anselmi, Pasquale; Vidotto, Giulio; Bettinardi, Ornella; Bertolotti, Giorgio

2015-02-07

The traditional approach to the measurement of change presents important drawbacks (no information at individual level, ordinal scores, variance of the measurement instrument across time points), which Rasch models overcome. The article aims to illustrate the features of the measurement of change with Rasch models. To illustrate the measurement of change using Rasch models, the quantitative data of a longitudinal study of heart-surgery patients (N = 98) were used. The scale "Perception of Positive Change" was used as an example of measurement instrument. All patients underwent cardiac rehabilitation, individual psychological intervention, and educational intervention. Nineteen patients also attended progressive muscle relaxation group trainings. The scale was administered before and after the interventions. Three Rasch approaches were used. Two separate analyses were run on the data from the two time points to test the invariance of the instrument. An analysis was run on the stacked data from both time points to measure change in a common frame of reference. Results of the latter analysis were compared with those of an analysis that removed the influence of local dependency on patient measures. Statistics t, χ(2) and F were used for comparing the patient and item measures estimated in the Rasch analyses (a-priori α = .05). Infit, Outfit, R and item Strata were used for investigating Rasch model fit, reliability, and validity of the instrument. Data of all 98 patients were included in the analyses. The instrument was reliable, valid, and substantively unidimensional (Infit, Outfit < 2 for all items, R = .84, item Strata range = 3.93-6.07). Changes in the functioning of the instrument occurred across the two time, which prevented the use of the two separate analyses to unambiguously measure change. Local dependency had a negligible effect on patient measures (p ≥ .8674). Thirteen patients improved, whereas 3 worsened. The patients who attended the relaxation group trainings did not report greater improvement than those who did not (p = .1007). Rasch models represent a valid framework for the measurement of change and a useful complement to traditional approaches.

Digital Imaging

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1986-01-01

Digital Imaging is the computer processed numerical representation of physical images. Enhancement of images results in easier interpretation. Quantitative digital image analysis by Perceptive Scientific Instruments, locates objects within an image and measures them to extract quantitative information. Applications are CAT scanners, radiography, microscopy in medicine as well as various industrial and manufacturing uses. The PSICOM 327 performs all digital image analysis functions. It is based on Jet Propulsion Laboratory technology, is accurate and cost efficient.

ICT Learning Experience and Research Orientation as Predictors of ICT Skills and the ICT Use of University Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

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

2016-01-01

Since our first studies of information and communications technology (ICT) skills and ICT use at universities in 2004, ICT and its use by students has changed greatly. In order to obtain a more detailed picture of ICT skills, we first construct a new instrument to measure the self-perception of ICT skills (49 items) and of ICT use (53 items) by…

Speckle measuring instrument based on biological characteristics of the human eyes and speckle reduction with advanced electromagnetic micro-scanning mirror

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuan, Yuan; Fang, Tao; Sun, Min Yuan; Gao, Wei Nan; Zhang, Shuo; Bi, Yong

2018-07-01

Laser speckle is a major issue for laser projection displays. In various techniques of speckle reduction, speckle is quantified with a speckle contrast value. However, the measured speckle contrast is poorly suited for the subjective speckle perception of a human observer. Here, we investigate the characteristics of human eyes and propose a simplified optical transfer function of human eyes. Accordingly, two human-eye-modeled speckle measuring sets are configured. Based on the experimental set, an advanced electromagnetic micro-scanning mirror (EM-MSM) is exploited; which is of 6.5 mm in diameter and its half angle is 7.8° for a horizontal scan and 6.53° for a vertical scan. Finally, we quantitatively show that images generated with an EM-MSM exhibit superior quality. By providing human-eye-modeled speckle measuring instruments and an EM-MSM for speckle reduction, it has a promising promotion to laser projector development.

BMI-based body size guides for women and men: development and validation of a novel pictorial method to assess weight-related concepts.

PubMed

Harris, C V; Bradlyn, A S; Coffman, J; Gunel, E; Cottrell, L

2008-02-01

To develop and evaluate two BMI-based instruments to determine perceptions of weight status, particularly perceptions of overweight and obesity, using pictorial images of women and men. Pictures of adults with known BMI values were used to construct gender-specific body size guides (BSGs) containing 10 bodies that ranged from underweight to class III obesity. Figures were standardized and a composite face was added to each. The BSGs were administered to 400 adults to assess the psychometric properties of the instruments and weight perceptions. High correlations between the BMIs of respondents and the BMIs of the current body selected by respondents provided strong support for the criterion-related validity of the BSGs, and the logical pattern of responses to items assessing perception of weight categories supported construct validity for the scales. Test-retest reliability, assessed by correlations for both current and ideal body, was also high, despite the lengthy 6-month testing interval. Respondents' perceptions of the bodies within specific weight categories indicated that a majority failed to recognize the overweight female as overweight and perceived the overweight male as normal weight. Obese bodies were generally unrecognized as such until the bodies reached the higher levels of obesity (that is, BMI values >39). Perception of weight was influenced by the respondents' weight status and gender. Psychometric analyses indicated the BSGs are valid and reliable instruments. These results, coupled with the face validity of the scales and the relationship between the bodies and BMI values, indicate the BSGs offer advantages over existing instruments for researchers of weight perception and body image. Administration of the scales to an adult sample confirmed that overweight and obesity are under-recognized. Increased efforts to improve public understanding of these terms are needed and the BSGs may provide useful tools for this purpose.

Therapist perception of treatment outcome: Evaluating treatment outcomes among youth with antisocial behavior problems.

PubMed

Crandal, Brent R; Foster, Sharon L; Chapman, Jason E; Cunningham, Phillippe B; Brennan, Patricia A; Whitmore, Elizabeth A

2015-06-01

Effective evaluation of treatment requires the use of measurement tools producing reliable scores that can be used to make valid decisions about the outcomes of interest. Therapist-rated treatment outcome scores that are obtained within the context of empirically supported treatments (ESTs) could provide clinicians and researchers with data that are easily accessible and complimentary to existing instrumentation. We examined the psychometric properties of scores from the Therapist Perception of Treatment Outcome: Youth Antisocial Behavior (TPTO:YAB), an instrument developed to assess therapist judgments of treatment success among families participating in an EST, Multisystemic Therapy (MST), for youth with antisocial behavior problems. Data were drawn from a longitudinal study of MST. The initial 20-item TPTO:YAB was completed by therapists of 111 families at midtreatment and 163 families at treatment termination. Rasch model dimensionality analyses provided evidence for 2 dimensions reflecting youth- and caregiver-related aspects of treatment outcome, although a bifactor analyses suggested that these dimensions reflected a single more general construct. Rasch analyses were also used to assess item and rating scale characteristics and refine the number of items. These analyses suggested items performed similarly across time and that scores reflect treatment outcome in similar ways at mid and posttreatment. Multilevel and zero-order analyses provided evidence for the validity of TPTO:YAB scores. TPTO:YAB scores were moderately correlated with scores of youth and caregiver behaviors targeted in treatment, adding support to its use as a treatment outcome measurement instrument. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Effects of short-term piano training on measures of finger tapping, somatosensory perception and motor-related brain activity in patients with cerebral palsy.

PubMed

Alves-Pinto, Ana; Ehrlich, Stefan; Cheng, Gordon; Turova, Varvara; Blumenstein, Tobias; Lampe, Renée

2017-01-01

Playing a musical instrument demands the integration of sensory and perceptual information with motor processes in order to produce a harmonic musical piece. The diversity of brain mechanisms involved and the joyful character of playing an instrument make musical instrument training a potential vehicle for neurorehabilitation of motor skills in patients with cerebral palsy (CP). This clinical condition is characterized by motor impairments that can affect, among others, manual function, and limit severely the execution of basic daily activities. In this study, adolescents and adult patients with CP, as well as a group of typically developing children learned to play piano for 4 consecutive weeks, having completed a total of 8 hours of training. For ten of the participants, learning was supported by a special technical system aimed at helping people with sensorimotor deficits to better discriminate fingers and orient themselves along the piano keyboard. Potential effects of piano training were assessed with tests of finger tapping at the piano and tests of perception of vibratory stimulation of fingers, and by measuring neuronal correlates of motor learning in the absence of and after piano training. Results were highly variable especially among participants with CP. Nevertheless, a significant effect of training on the ability to perceive the localization of vibrations over fingers was found. No effects of training on the performance of simple finger tapping sequences at the piano or on motor-associated brain responses were registered. Longer periods of training are likely required to produce detectable changes.

Effects of short-term piano training on measures of finger tapping, somatosensory perception and motor-related brain activity in patients with cerebral palsy

PubMed Central

Alves-Pinto, Ana; Ehrlich, Stefan; Cheng, Gordon; Turova, Varvara; Blumenstein, Tobias; Lampe, Renée

2017-01-01

Playing a musical instrument demands the integration of sensory and perceptual information with motor processes in order to produce a harmonic musical piece. The diversity of brain mechanisms involved and the joyful character of playing an instrument make musical instrument training a potential vehicle for neurorehabilitation of motor skills in patients with cerebral palsy (CP). This clinical condition is characterized by motor impairments that can affect, among others, manual function, and limit severely the execution of basic daily activities. In this study, adolescents and adult patients with CP, as well as a group of typically developing children learned to play piano for 4 consecutive weeks, having completed a total of 8 hours of training. For ten of the participants, learning was supported by a special technical system aimed at helping people with sensorimotor deficits to better discriminate fingers and orient themselves along the piano keyboard. Potential effects of piano training were assessed with tests of finger tapping at the piano and tests of perception of vibratory stimulation of fingers, and by measuring neuronal correlates of motor learning in the absence of and after piano training. Results were highly variable especially among participants with CP. Nevertheless, a significant effect of training on the ability to perceive the localization of vibrations over fingers was found. No effects of training on the performance of simple finger tapping sequences at the piano or on motor-associated brain responses were registered. Longer periods of training are likely required to produce detectable changes. PMID:29123403

Exertion and body discomfort perceived symptoms associated with carpentry tasks: an on-site evaluation.

PubMed

Dimov, M; Bhattacharya, A; Lemasters, G; Atterbury, M; Greathouse, L; Ollila-Glenn, N

2000-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine how carpenters subjectively perceived the exertion level and body discomfort associated with their daily tasks. Two psychophysical instruments were utilized. The Borg Whole Body Physical Exertion Instrument, a measure of overall physical demand, and the Body Segment instrument (modified Bishop-Corlett Scale), a measure of body discomfort, were given to 73 carpenters at the end of a shift. Carpentry specialties evaluated included ceiling, drywall, formwork, finishing work, pile driving, fixtures, welding, and scaffolding. The mean Borg's exertion score for the subjects combining all specialties was 14.4 (+/-2.51 standard deviation), a score between "somewhat hard" and "hard." The perception of whole body physical exertion appeared to be a consequence of the specific task. There was no significant correlation between whole body physical exertion perception and age or the number of years as a carpenter. The findings from the body discomfort scale for the total group indicated that the three primary discomfort frequencies by body segment were mid-to-lower back (65.8%), knees (45.2%), and the neck (28.8%). The next highest discomfort rating by body segment (back, knee, right wrist, right leg/foot, and right shoulder) for those subjects in the top three job specialties represented (drywall, ceiling, and formwork; n = 38) resulted in significantly higher ratings for back (60.5%) than right leg/foot (34.2%) and right shoulder (31.6%). All other body segment ratings were not significantly different from one another using Tukey's studentized range test.

Academic Entitlement and Academic Performance in Graduating Pharmacy Students

PubMed Central

Barclay, Sean M.; Stolte, Scott K.

2014-01-01

Objectives. To determine a measurable definition of academic entitlement, measure academic entitlement in graduating doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) students, and compare the academic performance between students identified as more or less academically entitled. Methods. Graduating students at a private health sciences institution were asked to complete an electronic survey instrument that included demographic data, academic performance, and 2 validated academic entitlement instruments. Results. One hundred forty-one of 243 students completed the survey instrument. Fourteen (10%) students scored greater than the median total points possible on 1 or both of the academic entitlement instruments and were categorized as more academically entitled. Less academically entitled students required fewer reassessments and less remediation than more academically entitled students. The highest scoring academic entitlement items related to student perception of what professors should do for them. Conclusion. Graduating pharmacy students with lower levels of academic entitlement were more academically successful than more academically entitled students. Moving from an expert opinion approach to evidence-based decision-making in the area of academic entitlement will allow pharmacy educators to identify interventions that will decrease academic entitlement and increase academic success in pharmacy students. PMID:25147388

Measurement properties of a new quality of life measure for patients with work disability associated with musculoskeletal pain.

PubMed

Coutu, M F; Durand, M J; Loisel, P; Dupuis, G; Gervais, S

2005-09-01

The Quality of Life Systemic Inventory (QLSI) measures patients' goal attainment based on the system control theory. It quantifies the perceived impact of the disorder and the gap between the present and aspired states. To evaluate concurrent validity and responsiveness of the QLSI among workers on sick leave due to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). Participants (10 women; 29 men) were recruited at a work rehabilitation centre and had more than 4 weeks of absence from work due to MSDs compensated by the Workers' Compensation Board. Concurrent validity and external responsiveness were based on baseline and post-treatment measures of external criteria. Criteria and related instruments were the following: perception of disability (Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire); health-related quality of life (SF-12); stress (Psychological Stress Measure) and distress (Psychological Distress Index). Regression analyses revealed significant correlations between QLSI scores and the Psychological Distress Index (r2 = .11 to .19 and .66; p < .001), with either the SF-12 mental component scale (r2 = .18 and .11; p < .01) or the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (r2 = .04 and .10; p < .05). All measures showed highly significant change over time. Results support the concurrent validity and responsiveness of the QLSI, with an MSD population. This instrument could serve in future research as an outcome measurement instrument in the evaluation of more long-term effects of rehabilitation programs.

The Effects of Perceptions of Organizational Structure on Job Involvement, Job Satisfaction, and Organizational Commitment Among Indian Police Officers.

PubMed

Lambert, Eric G; Qureshi, Hanif; Klahm, Charles; Smith, Brad; Frank, James

2017-12-01

Successful police organizations rely on involved, satisfied, and committed workers. The concepts of job involvement (i.e., connection with the job), job satisfaction (i.e., affective feeling toward the job), and organizational commitment (i.e., bond with the employing organization) have been shown to significantly affect intentions and behaviors of employees. The current study used multivariate ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis on survey results from a sample of 827 Indian police officers to explore how perceptions of work environment factors affect officers' job involvement, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment. Organizational support, formalization (i.e., level of codified written rules and guidelines), promotional opportunities, institutional communication (i.e., salient work information is transmitted), and input into decision-making (i.e., having a voice in the process) significantly influenced the job involvement, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment of Indian police officers. Specifically, in the multivariate analysis, perceptions of formalization and instrumental communication had a positive relationship with job involvement; perceptions of organizational support, promotional opportunities, instrumental communication, and input into decision-making had positive associations with job satisfaction; and perceptions of organizational support, formalization, promotional opportunities, instrumental communication, and input into decision-making had positive relationships with organizational commitment.

Examining Perception of Emotional Intelligence in Online Professors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hamilton, Diane

2018-01-01

The perceptions of the knowledge and value online instructors place on emotional intelligence (EI), warrants scholarly attention. Thirty-eight adjunct faculty members who were recruited through LinkedIn completed an instrument developed for this purpose. Instructors ranked their perception of the importance of the factors associated with EI…

Comparing High School Students' and Adults' Perceptions of Technological Literacy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harrison, Henry Ladson, III

2009-01-01

This study compared high school student's perceptions of technology and technological literacy to those perceptions of the general public. Additionally, individual student groups were compared statistically to determine significant differences between the groups. The "ITEA/Gallup Poll" instrument was used to survey high school student's…

Measuring patient and visitor violence in general hospitals: feasibility of the SOVES-G-R, internal consistency and construct validity of the POAS-S and the POIS.

PubMed

Hahn, Sabine; Müller, Marianne; Needham, Ian; Dassen, Theo; Kok, Gerjo; Halfens, Ruud Jg

2011-09-01

To investigate the feasibility of a survey measuring patient and visitor violence after translation and modification, namely the Survey of Violence Experienced by Staff (German version revised) and to validate the shortened Perception of Aggression Scale (POAS-S) and the Perception of Importance of Intervention Skills Scale (POIS) after adaptation for use in a general hospital setting. The use of different approaches and research instruments for investigating patient and visitor violence negatively influences the comparability of studies. Typically, general hospitals use self-administered surveys. However, support for these instruments' validity is insufficient. Between November 2006-January 2007, 291 nurses working in general hospitals in the German-speaking region of Switzerland completed the SOVES-G-R, the POAS-S and the POIS (response rate=71%). Results. The participants' responses demonstrated a need for modifications to enhance the feasibility of the SOVES-G-R in two categories, namely experiences with patient and visitor violence in 'the past 12 months' and in 'the past working week'. The POAS-S revealed the same factor solution as in earlier studies, with two factors explaining 38·0% of variance. In the POIS, two factors were distinguished: (1) structured interventions and evaluation and (2) the importance of preventive measures. The SOVES-G-R, the POAS-S and the POIS are adequate for investigating factors influencing the occurrence of patient and visitor violence in general hospitals. Given the changes in the SOVES-G-R and the moderate size of our sample, further testing with a larger sample is recommended. The instruments help determine which clinical settings have a greater risk of patient and visitor violence and the specific factors that influence this risk. This can facilitate the implementation of situation-specific preventive measures against patient and visitor violence in general hospitals. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Development and validation of The Personal Diabetes Questionnaire (PDQ): a measure of diabetes self-care behaviors, perceptions and barriers.

PubMed

Stetson, Barbara; Schlundt, David; Rothschild, Chelsea; Floyd, Jennifer E; Rogers, Whitney; Mokshagundam, Sri Prakash

2011-03-01

To develop and evaluate the validity and reliability of The Personal Diabetes Questionnaire (PDQ), a brief, yet comprehensive measure of diabetes self-care behaviors, perceptions and barriers. To examine individual items to provide descriptive and normative information and provide data on scale reliability and associations between PDQ scales and concurrently assessed HBA(1c) and BMI. Items were written to address nutritional management, medication utilization, blood glucose monitoring, and physical activity. The initial instrument was reviewed by multidisciplinary diabetes care providers and items subsequently revised until the measure provided complete coverage of the diabetes care domains using as few items as possible. The scoring scheme was generated rationally. Subjects were 790 adults (205 with type 1 and 585 with type 2 diabetes) who completed the PDQ while waiting for clinic appointments. Item completion rates were high, with few items skipped by participants. Subscales demonstrated good internal consistency (Cronbach α=.650-.834) and demonstrated significant associations with BMI (p ≤.001) and HbA(1c) (p ≤.001). The PDQ is a useful measure of diabetes self-care behaviors and related perceptions and barriers that is reliable and valid and feasible to administer in a clinic setting. This measure may be used to obtain data for assessing diabetes self-management and barriers and to guide patient care. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Learning to teach effectively: Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics graduate teaching assistants' teaching self-efficacy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dechenne, Sue Ellen

Graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) from science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are important in the teaching of undergraduate students (Golde & Dore, 2001). However, they are often poorly prepared for teaching (Luft, Kurdziel, Roehrig, & Turner, 2004). This dissertation addresses teaching effectiveness in three related manuscripts: (1) A position paper that summarizes the current research on and develops a model of GTA teaching effectiveness. (2) An adaptation and validation of two instruments; GTA perception of teaching training and STEM GTA teaching self-efficacy. (3) A model test of factors that predict STEM GTA teaching self-efficacy. Together these three papers address key questions in the understanding of teaching effectiveness in STEM GTAs including: (a) What is our current knowledge of factors that affect the teaching effectiveness of GTAs? (b) Given that teaching self-efficacy is strongly linked to teaching performance, how can we measure STEM GTAs teaching self-efficacy? (c) Is there a better way to measure GTA teaching training than currently exists? (d) What factors predict STEM GTA teaching self-efficacy? An original model for GTA teaching effectiveness was developed from a thorough search of the GTA teaching literature. The two instruments---perception of training and teaching self-efficacy---were tested through self-report surveys using STEM GTAs from six different universities including Oregon State University (OSU). The data was analyzed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Using GTAs from the OSU colleges of science and engineering, the model of sources of STEM GTA teaching self-efficacy was tested by administering self-report surveys and analyzed by using OLS regression analysis. Language and cultural proficiency, departmental teaching climate, teaching self-efficacy, GTA training, and teaching experience affect GTA teaching effectiveness. GTA teaching self-efficacy is a second-order factor combined from self-efficacy for instructional strategies and a positive learning environment. It is correlated to GTA perception of teaching training and university GTA training. The K-12 teaching experience, GTA perception of teaching training, and facilitating factors in the departmental climate predict STEM GTA teaching self-efficacy. Hours of GTA training and supervision are fully mediated by perception of GTA training. Implications for research and training of STEM GTAs are discussed.

Research Experiences in Teacher Preparation: Effectiveness of the Green Bank preservice teacher enhancement program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hemler, Debra A.

1997-11-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of the preservice teacher component of the Research Experiences in Teacher Preparation (RETP) project aimed at enhancing teacher perceptions of the nature of science, science research, and science teaching. Data was collected for three preservice teacher groups during the three phases of the program: (I) a one week institute held at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank, West Virginia where teachers performed astronomy research using a 40 foot diameter radio telescope; (II) a secondary science methods course; and (III) student teaching placements. Four Likert-type instruments were developed and administered pre and post-institute to assess changes in perceptions of science, attitudes toward research, concerns about implementing research in the classroom, and evaluation of the institute. Instruments were re-administered following the methods course and student teaching. Observations of classroom students conducting research were completed for seven preservice teacher participants in their student teaching placements. Analysis, using t-tests, showed a significant increase in preservice teachers perceptions of their ability to do research. Preservice teachers were not concerned about implementing research in their placements. No significant change was measured in their understanding of the nature of science and science teaching. Concept maps demonstrated a significant increase in radio astronomy content knowledge. Participants responded that the value of institute components, quality of the research elements, and preparation for implementing research in the classroom were "good" to "excellent". Following the methods course (Phase II) no significant change in their understanding of the nature of science or concerns about implementing projects in the classroom were measured. Of the 7 preservice teachers who were observed implementing research projects, 5 projects were consistent with the Green Bank model. Student teachers who had initiated research in their classrooms had fewer concerns about doing them than those that had not. No significant change was measured in their perceptions of science and science teaching. The RETP project serves as a viable constructivist model for exposing preservice teachers to science research and transferring that experience to the classroom.

Examining the Factor Structure and Reliability of the Safe Patient Handling Perception Scale: An Initial Validation Study.

PubMed

White-Heisel, Regina; Canfield, James P; Young-Hughes, Sadie

Perceiving imminent safe patient handling and movement (SPH&M) dangers may reduce musculoskeletal (MSK) injuries for nurses in the workplace. The purpose of this study is to develop and validate the 17-item Safe Patient Handling Perception Scale (SPHPS) as an evaluation instrument assessing perceptual risk of MSK injury based on SPH&M knowledge, practice, and resource accessibility in the workplace. Data were collected from a convenience sample (N = 117) of nursing employees at a Veteran Affairs Medical Center. Factor analysis identified three factors: knowledge, practice, and accessibility. The SPHPS demonstrated high levels of reliability, supported by acceptable alpha scores (SPHM knowledge [α = .866], SPHM practices [α = .901], and access to SPHM resources [α = .855]), in addition to the relatively low standard error of measurement scores (SEM). The study outcomes suggest that the SPHPS is a valid and reliable tool that can measure participants' perceived risk factors for MSK injuries.

"When I saw walking I just kind of took it as wheeling": interpretations of mobility-related items in generic, preference-based health state instruments in the context of spinal cord injury.

PubMed

Michel, Yvonne Anne; Engel, Lidia; Rand-Hendriksen, Kim; Augestad, Liv Ariane; Whitehurst, David Gt

2016-11-28

In health economic analyses, health states are typically valued using instruments with few items per dimension. Due to the generic (and often reductionist) nature of such instruments, certain groups of respondents may experience challenges in describing their health state. This study is concerned with generic, preference-based health state instruments that provide information for decisions about the allocation of resources in health care. Unlike physical measurement instruments, preference-based health state instruments provide health state values that are dependent on how respondents interpret the items. This study investigates how individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) interpret mobility-related items contained within six preference-based health state instruments. Secondary analysis of focus group transcripts originally collected in Vancouver, Canada, explored individuals' perceptions and interpretations of mobility-related items contained within the 15D, Assessment of Quality of Life 8-dimension (AQoL-8D), EQ-5D-5L, Health Utilities Index (HUI), Quality of Well-Being Scale Self-Administered (QWB-SA), and the 36-item Short Form health survey version 2 (SF-36v2). Ritchie and Spencer's 'Framework Approach' was used to perform thematic analysis that focused on participants' comments concerning the mobility-related items only. Fifteen individuals participated in three focus groups (five per focus group). Four themes emerged: wording of mobility (e.g., 'getting around' vs 'walking'), reference to aids and appliances, lack of suitable response options, and reframing of items (e.g., replacing 'walking' with 'wheeling'). These themes reflected item features that respondents perceived as relevant in enabling them to describe their mobility, and response strategies that respondents could use when faced with inaccessible items. Investigating perceptions to mobility-related items within the context of SCI highlights substantial variation in item interpretation across six preference-based health state instruments. Studying respondents' interpretations of items can help to understand discrepancies in the health state descriptions and values obtained from different instruments. This line of research warrants closer attention in the health economics and quality of life literature.

CIEL*a*b* color space predictive models for colorimetry devices--analysis of perfume quality.

PubMed

Korifi, Rabia; Le Dréau, Yveline; Antinelli, Jean-François; Valls, Robert; Dupuy, Nathalie

2013-01-30

Color perception plays a major role in the consumer evaluation of perfume quality. Consumers need first to be entirely satisfied with the sensory properties of products, before other quality dimensions become relevant. The evaluation of complex mixtures color presents a challenge even for modern analytical techniques. A variety of instruments are available for color measurement. They can be classified as tristimulus colorimeters and spectrophotometers. Obsolescence of the electronics of old tristimulus colorimeter arises from the difficulty in finding repair parts and leads to its replacement by more modern instruments. High quality levels in color measurement, i.e., accuracy and reliability in color control are the major advantages of the new generation of color instrumentation, the integrating sphere spectrophotometer. Two models of spectrophotometer were tested in transmittance mode, employing the d/0° geometry. The CIEL(*)a(*)b(*) color space parameters were measured with each instrument for 380 samples of raw materials and bases used in the perfume compositions. The results were graphically compared between the colorimeter device and the spectrophotometer devices. All color space parameters obtained with the colorimeter were used as dependent variables to generate regression equations with values obtained from the spectrophotometers. The data was statistically analyzed to create predictive model between the reference and the target instruments through two methods. The first method uses linear regression analysis and the second method consists of partial least square regression (PLS) on each component. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Nursing students' perceptions of faculty members' ethical/unethical attitudes.

PubMed

Arslan, Sevda; Dinç, Leyla

2017-11-01

Through education, individuals acquire knowledge, skill and attitudes that facilitate professional socialization; it involves intellectual, emotional and psychomotor skill development. Teachers are role models for behaviour modification and value development. To examine students' perceptions of faculty members' ethical and unethical attitudes during interactions in undergraduate nursing. This descriptive study consisted of two phases. In Phase I, we developed an instrument, which was administered to nursing students to assess validity and reliability. Exploratory factor analysis yielded 32 items. Cronbach's α was 0.83, and test-retest reliability was good. In Phase II, a 32-item version of the instrument was administered to nursing students from another university. Participants and research context: Participants included 219 nursing students from one university in Phase I and 196 from another university in Phase II. The study was conducted at the universities attended by the participants. Ethical considerations: Ethical approval was granted by the institutions involved, and all participants provided informed consent. In Phase I, the instrument demonstrated good psychometric properties for measuring nursing students' perceptions of faculty members' ethical and unethical behaviours. In Phase II, students considered certain professional and personal qualities, including respecting confidentiality and students' private lives and assuming an impartial stance during interactions in the classroom, examinations, or clinical practice, ethical. They considered using obscene examples or unprofessional speech during teaching, selling textbooks in class, using university facilities for personal interests, engaging in romantic relationships with students, and humiliating students in front of patients or staff in clinical settings unethical. Results of this study suggest that nurse educators should be aware of their critical role in the teaching-learning process, and they must scrutinize their attitudes towards students from an ethical point of view.

Characteristics and Correlates of Caregivers' Perceptions of Their Family Members' Memory Loss.

PubMed

Yu, Hairong; Lingler, Jennifer H; Sereika, Susan M; Erlen, Judith A

Understanding caregiver's perceptions of their family member's memory loss is a necessary step in planning nursing interventions to detect and address caregiver burden. The purpose of this study was to characterize caregivers' perceptions of their family members' memory loss and identify potential correlates within Leventhal's common sense model (CSM). This secondary analysis used baseline data from a larger randomized controlled trial. Patients with memory loss and their caregivers (N = 83 dyads) from the community were included. The adapted Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (BIPQ) assessed caregivers' illness perceptions. Eight additional instruments measured correlates within the CSM. Responses were described; multiple linear regression was used to predict BIPQ dimension scores, and logistic regression was used to predict dichotomized BIPQ scores. Most caregivers were female, White, and spouses of the patients; they reported a range of perceptions on the nine BIPQ dimensions. Patients' cognitive function consistently emerged as a significant correlate of caregivers' illness perceptions, explaining the most variance in caregivers' perceived consequences, identity, and treatment control (p < .01). Caregivers' reactions to patients' behavioral symptoms and caregivers' trait anxiety were associated with perceived illness coherence (p < .01). Caregivers with higher severity of daily hassles and White caregivers perceived that their family members' memory loss would last longer (p < .001). Caregivers' perceptions of family members' memory loss varied; distinct dimensions of caregivers' illness perception were associated with a range of clinical and psychosocial factors. This exploratory study demonstrates the complexity of applying the CSM to caregivers of persons with memory loss.

Social-Emotional Learning Competency (SELC) Scale: Development of an Instrument to Measure School Counselors' Perceptions of Implementation, Impact, Involvement, and Importance of School-Wide Social & Emotional Learning Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bikowsky, Bella A.

2013-01-01

Concerns have arisen in the field of education regarding the social-emotional needs of students accompanied by an outcry for more effective discipline procedures in an effort to support not only the academic learning but also the social and emotional learning (SEL) of students. Initially, this study intended to examine the psychometric properties…

Subordinate Perception and Evaluation of Leaders Who Differ on a Personal Characteristic: Are Leaders Interchangeable.

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-01-01

the LBDQ (measures of initiating structure and consideration) and either subsequent performance or satisfaction . Instead, the literature on the...on follower satisfaction and performance . Journal oaf Buins Researc , 1975, .1, 33-42. Bartol, K.M. The sex structuring of organizations: A search for...pencil instruments based on previous work on leadership by Vroom were created. Each story described a leader, the subject’s immediate superior, in a

Addressing the NASM health and safety standard through curricular changes in a brass methods course: an outcome study.

PubMed

Laursen, Amy; Chesky, Kris

2014-09-01

The National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) recently ratified a new health and safety standard requiring schools of music to inform students about health concerns related to music. While organizations such as the Performing Arts Medicine Association have developed advisories, the exact implementation is the prerogative of the institution. One possible approach is to embed health education activities into existing methods courses that are routinely offered to music education majors. This may influence student awareness, knowledge, and the perception of competency and responsibility for addressing health risks associated with learning and performing musical instruments. Unfortunately, there are no known lesson plans or curriculum guides for supporting such activities. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to (1) develop course objectives and content that can be applied to a preexisting brass methods course, (2) implement course objectives into a semester-long brass methods course, and (3) test the effectiveness of this intervention on students' awareness, knowledge, perception of competency, and responsibly of health risks that are related to learning and performing brass instruments. Results showcase the potential for modifying methods courses without compromising the other objectives of the course. Additionally, students' awareness, knowledge, perception of competency, and responsibility were positively influenced as measured by changes in pre to post responses to survey group questions.

Pitch Perception, Working Memory, and Second-Language Phonological Production

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Posedel, James; Emery, Lisa; Souza, Benjamin; Fountain, Catherine

2012-01-01

Previous research has suggested that training on a musical instrument is associated with improvements in working memory and musical pitch perception ability. Good working memory and musical pitch perception ability, in turn, have been linked to certain aspects of language production. The current study examines whether working memory and/or pitch…

Iowa Educators' Perceptions on Talented and Gifted Alternative Education High School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bliven Noll, Laurie J.

2012-01-01

This study examined the teachers' and administrators' perceptions on talented and gifted (TAG) alternative education high school students. Administrators and teachers from alternative high schools (AHS) in the state of Iowa received an email of a validated survey instrument for data collection. The survey was used to analyze the perceptions of…

Language Experience Affects Grouping of Musical Instrument Sounds

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bhatara, Anjali; Boll-Avetisyan, Natalie; Agus, Trevor; Höhle, Barbara; Nazzi, Thierry

2016-01-01

Language experience clearly affects the perception of speech, but little is known about whether these differences in perception extend to non-speech sounds. In this study, we investigated rhythmic perception of non-linguistic sounds in speakers of French and German using a grouping task, in which complexity (variability in sounds, presence of…

A Snapshot of Organizational Climate: Perceptions of Extension Faculty

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tower, Leslie E.; Bowen, Elaine; Alkadry, Mohamad G.

2011-01-01

This article provides a snapshot of the perceptions of workplace climate of Extension faculty at a land-grant, research-high activity university, compared with the perceptions of non-Extension faculty at the same university. An online survey was conducted with a validated instrument. The response rate for university faculty was 44% (968); the…

Men's Perceptions and Knowledge of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Infection and Cervical Cancer

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McPartland, Tara S.; Weaver, Bethany A.; Lee, Shu-Kuang; Koutsky, Laura A.

2005-01-01

The authors assessed young men's knowledge and perceptions of genital human papillomavirus (HPV) infection to identify factors that predict intention to make positive behavioral changes. Male university students aged 18 to 25 years completed a self-report instrument to assess knowledge and perceptions of genital HPV infection. If diagnosed with…

Development and Preliminary Validation of the Drinking Expectancy Sexual Vulnerabilities Questionnaire (DESV-Q): A Purpose-Specific Instrument for Rape-Perception Research.

PubMed

Starfelt, Louise Charlotte; Young, Ross McD; White, Katherine M; Palk, Gavan

2016-01-01

Alcohol expectancies likely play a role in people's perceptions of alcohol-involved sexual violence. However, no appropriate measure exists to examine this link comprehensively. The aim of this research was to develop an alcohol expectancy measure which captures young adults' beliefs about alcohol's role in sexual aggression and victimization. Two cross-sectional samples of young Australian adults (18-25 years) were recruited for scale development (Phase 1) and scale validation (Phase 2). In Phase 1, participants (N = 201; 38.3% males) completed an online survey with an initial pool of alcohol expectancy items stated in terms of three targets (self, men, women) to identify the scale's factor structure and most effective items. A revised alcohol expectancy scale was then administered online to 322 young adults (39.6% males) in Phase 2. To assess the predictive, convergent, and discriminant validity of the scale, participants also completed established measures of personality, social desirability, alcohol use, general and context-specific alcohol expectancies, and impulsiveness. Principal axis factoring (Phase 1) and confirmatory factor analysis (Phase 2) resulted in a target-equivalent five-factor structure for the final 66-item Drinking Expectancy Sexual Vulnerabilities Questionnaire (DESV-Q). The factors were labeled (1) Sexual Coercion, (2) Sexual Vulnerability, (3) Confidence, (4) Self-Centeredness, and (5) Negative Cognitive and Behavioral Changes. The measure demonstrated effective items, high internal consistency, and satisfactory predictive, convergent, and discriminant validity. The DESV-Q is a purpose-specific instrument that could be used in future research to elucidate people's attributions for alcohol-involved sexual aggression and victimization.

Radiology Workflow Dynamics: How Workflow Patterns Impact Radiologist Perceptions of Workplace Satisfaction.

PubMed

Lee, Matthew H; Schemmel, Andrew J; Pooler, B Dustin; Hanley, Taylor; Kennedy, Tabassum; Field, Aaron; Wiegmann, Douglas; Yu, John-Paul J

2017-04-01

The study aimed to assess perceptions of reading room workflow and the impact separating image-interpretive and nonimage-interpretive task workflows can have on radiologist perceptions of workplace disruptions, workload, and overall satisfaction. A 14-question survey instrument was developed to measure radiologist perceptions of workplace interruptions, satisfaction, and workload prior to and following implementation of separate image-interpretive and nonimage-interpretive reading room workflows. The results were collected over 2 weeks preceding the intervention and 2 weeks following the end of the intervention. The results were anonymized and analyzed using univariate analysis. A total of 18 people responded to the preintervention survey: 6 neuroradiology fellows and 12 attending neuroradiologists. Fifteen people who were then present for the 1-month intervention period responded to the postintervention survey. Perceptions of workplace disruptions, image interpretation, quality of trainee education, ability to perform nonimage-interpretive tasks, and quality of consultations (P < 0.0001) all improved following the intervention. Mental effort and workload also improved across all assessment domains, as did satisfaction with quality of image interpretation and consultative work. Implementation of parallel dedicated image-interpretive and nonimage-interpretive workflows may improve markers of radiologist perceptions of workplace satisfaction. Copyright © 2017 The Association of University Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Parents' Perception of Satisfaction With Pediatric Nurse Practitioners' Care And Parental Intent to Adhere To Recommended Health Care Regimen.

PubMed

Kinder, Frances DiAnna

2016-01-01

The purposes of this study were to explore parents' perceptions of satisfaction with care from primary care pediatric nurse practitioners (PNPs) and to explore the relationships of the four components of parental satisfaction with parents' intent to adhere to recommended health care regimen. The study used a descriptive correlational research design. A convenience sample of 91 participants was recruited from practices in southeastern Pennsylvania. The 28-item, Parents' Perceptions of Satisfaction with Care from Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (PPSC-PNP) tool was developed to measure four components of satisfaction and overall satisfaction of parents with PNP care after the health visit. A 100 mm visual analog (VAS) scale measured parental intent to adhere to the care regimen recommended by the PNP. Parents' perceptions of overall satisfaction with care from PNPs and satisfaction with each of the four components (communication, clinical competence, caring behavior, and decisional control) were high as measured by the PPSC-PNP. Multiple regression analysis revealed that clinical competence had the strongest positive relationship with parental intent to adhere to PNP recommended health regimen and was the only variable to enter the regression equation. The findings of this study have implications for nursing practice. The PPSC-PNP instrument may be used with a variety of pediatric populations and settings as a benchmark for quality care. Clinical competence is important for the role of the PNP. Other variables of parental intent to adhere to the health regimen should be explored in future studies.

Rural Parents’ Perceived Stigma of Seeking Mental Health Services for their Children: Development and Evaluation of a New Instrument

PubMed Central

Williams, Stacey L.; Polaha, Jodi

2014-01-01

The purpose of this paper was to examine the validity of score interpretations of an instrument developed to measure parents’ perceptions of stigma about seeking mental health services for their children. The validity of the score interpretations of the instrument was tested in two studies. Study 1 examined confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) employing a split half approach, and construct and criterion validity using the entire sample of parents in rural Appalachia whose children were experiencing psychosocial concerns (N=347), while Study 2 further examined CFA, construct and criterion validity, as well as predictive validity of the scores on the new scale using a general sample of parents in rural Appalachia (N=184). Results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed support for a two factor model of parents’ perceived stigma, which represented both self and public forms of stigma associated with seeking mental health services for their children, and correlated with existing measures of stigma and other psychosocial variables. Further, the new self and public stigma scale significantly predicted parents’ willingness to seek services for children. PMID:24749752

The extrusion test and sensory perception revisited: Some comments on generality and the effect of measurement temperature.

PubMed

Brenner, Tom; Tomczyńska-Mleko, Marta; Mleko, Stanisław; Nishinari, Katsuyoshi

2017-12-01

Relations between sensory perception, extrusion and fracture in shear, extension and compression are examined. Gelatin-based gels are perceived as less firm and less hard than expected based on their mechanical properties compared to polysaccharide gels that have the same mechanical properties at room temperature but melt well above body temperature, underlying the importance of the measurement temperature for gels that melt during mastication. Correlations between parameters from extrusion and compression, extension and shear are verified using mixed polysaccharide gels. We previously reported a high correlation between several sensory attributes and parameters from an extrusion test. The extrusion test showed the most robust correlation, and could be used to assess samples at both extremes of the texture range with respect to elasticity, for example, both samples that could not be extended as their very low elasticity led to their fracture during handling, as well as samples that could not be fractured in compression. Here, we reexamine the validity of the relations reported. We demonstrate the generality of the relations between large deformation tests and extrusion, but the findings underscore the need to take into account the measurement temperature for samples that melt during mastication when correlating instrumental parameters with sensory perception. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

[The perception of ethics from the point of view of medical students].

PubMed

García-Mangas, José Alberto; García-Vigil, José Luis; Lifshitz, Alberto

2016-01-01

The present study was conducted to characterize the ethical environment in which medical students and internal are trained. The aim of this article is to identify the perception of ethics in medical students. The instrument was constructed by pairs: the socially desirable and socially undesirable exploring 10 principles and 24 ethical values. Through rounds of experts the instrument was validated with 35 pairs with 70 statements. The internal consistency of the instrument with the coefficient of determination "r2" reached a "p" value of < 0.025. In the overall analysis to compare means, students gave higher scores than interns with "p" value of < 0.002. A comparison of the principal differences was found in seven of the ten principles explored and in three (freedom, honesty and solidarity) no differences were noted in the rate of perception of the ethics (RPE). The were statistically significant differences between groups with a "p" value of < 0.04 in which students perceive higher scores with interns. We conclude that learning environments are not prone to ethical reflection and changes depending on the degree in training in medical school, with a worse perception in greater degrees.

Development and validation of a survey instrument for assessing prescribers' perception of computerized drug-drug interaction alerts.

PubMed

Zheng, Kai; Fear, Kathleen; Chaffee, Bruce W; Zimmerman, Christopher R; Karls, Edward M; Gatwood, Justin D; Stevenson, James G; Pearlman, Mark D

2011-12-01

To develop a theoretically informed and empirically validated survey instrument for assessing prescribers' perception of computerized drug-drug interaction (DDI) alerts. The survey is grounded in the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology and an adapted accident causation model. Development of the instrument was also informed by a review of the extant literature on prescribers' attitude toward computerized medication safety alerts and common prescriber-provided reasons for overriding. To refine and validate the survey, we conducted a two-stage empirical validation study consisting of a pretest with a panel of domain experts followed by a field test among all eligible prescribers at our institution. The resulting survey instrument contains 28 questionnaire items assessing six theoretical dimensions: performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, perceived fatigue, and perceived use behavior. Satisfactory results were obtained from the field validation; however, a few potential issues were also identified. We analyzed these issues accordingly and the results led to the final survey instrument as well as usage recommendations. High override rates of computerized medication safety alerts have been a prevalent problem. They are usually caused by, or manifested in, issues of poor end user acceptance. However, standardized research tools for assessing and understanding end users' perception are currently lacking, which inhibits knowledge accumulation and consequently forgoes improvement opportunities. The survey instrument presented in this paper may help fill this methodological gap. We developed and empirically validated a survey instrument that may be useful for future research on DDI alerts and other types of computerized medication safety alerts more generally.

Family Presence During Resuscitation: Physicians' Perceptions of Risk, Benefit, and Self-Confidence.

PubMed

Twibell, Renee Samples; Siela, Debra; Neal, Alexis; Riwitis, Cheryl; Beane, Heather

Families often desire proximity to loved ones during life-threatening resuscitations and perceive clear benefits to being present. However, critical care nurses and physicians perceive risks and benefits. Whereas research is accumulating on nurses' perceptions of family presence, physicians' perspectives have not been clearly explicated. Psychometrically sound measures of physicians' perceptions are needed to create new knowledge and enhance collaboration among critical care nurses and physicians during resuscitation events. This study tests 2 new instruments that measure physicians' perceived risks, benefits, and self-confidence related to family presence during resuscitation. By a correlational design, a convenience sample of physicians (N = 195) from diverse clinical specialties in 1 hospital in the United States completed the Physicians' Family Presence Risk-Benefit Scale and Physicians' Family Presence Self-confidence Scale. Findings supported the internal consistency reliability and construct validity of both new scales. Mean scale scores indicated that physicians perceived more risk than benefit and were confident in managing resuscitations with families present, although more than two-thirds reported feeling anxious. Higher self-confidence was significantly related to more perceived benefit and less perceived risk (P = .001). Younger physicians, family practice physicians, and physicians who previously had invited family presence expressed more positive perceptions (P = .05-.001). These 2 new scales offer a means to assess key perceptions of physicians related to family presence. Further testing in diverse physician populations may further validate the scales and yield knowledge that can strengthen collaboration among critical care nurses and physicians and improve patient and family outcomes.

Male students give voice to supportive campus environments: A qualitative case study of undergraduate STEM majors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amon, Julie L.

Research supports the importance of student engagement in enhancing student learning, success, and various desirable educational outcomes. In the last decade, the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) has been the primary instrument through which student engagement has been explored. Supportive Campus Environment, one of the five benchmarks of effective educational practice measured by NSSE, served as the foundation for this study. The challenge of successfully educating students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines has been clearly documented. Recently, urgent calls have been issued to confront the shortage of students in the STEM pipeline, to minimize barriers to the achievement in STEM disciplines, and to increase the representation of racial minorities and women in STEM careers. This study employed a holistic collective case study design to examine how undergraduate men in STEM majors at a private, selective, research institution perceived the supportiveness of their campus environments. Differential perceptions of the campus environment on the basis of race (Black, Indian1, Latino, and White) and academic success were explored. Cross-case analysis revealed several common themes across all cases. Peer relationships, followed by faculty relationships, were most influential in shaping perceptions of campus environment. Race, academic success, and characteristics unique to STEM were less influential to perceptions of the campus environment. Participants distinguished feelings of a supportive campus environment from their overall perceptions of their campus environment. Further, participants routinely isolated some of their identities, experiences, and perceptions from influencing their overall perception of the campus environment. A connection between the concept of supportive campus environment and sense of belonging emerged. Participants' discussion of the NSSE Supportive Campus Environment questions provided valuable insight into student perceptions and the NSSE instrument. Implications include recommendations for future research, considerations for NSSE administrators, researchers, and institutional users, policy and practice implications, suggestions for faculty, and considerations for those invested in STEM education. 1Indian refers to students who are citizens or Permanent Residents of the United States, who trace their racial/ethnic origin to India. International students from India were not included in this study, nor were Native American or American Indian students.

Satisfaction of patients hospitalised in psychiatric hospitals: a randomised comparison of two psychiatric-specific and one generic satisfaction questionnaires

PubMed Central

Peytremann-Bridevaux, Isabelle; Scherer, Frédy; Peer, Laurence; Cathieni, Federico; Bonsack, Charles; Cléopas, Agatta; Kolly, Véronique; Perneger, Thomas V; Burnand, Bernard

2006-01-01

Background While there is interest in measuring the satisfaction of patients discharged from psychiatric hospitals, it might be important to determine whether surveys of psychiatric patients should employ generic or psychiatry-specific instruments. The aim of this study was to compare two psychiatric-specific and one generic questionnaires assessing patients' satisfaction after a hospitalisation in a psychiatric hospital. Methods We randomised adult patients discharged from two Swiss psychiatric university hospitals between April and September 2004, to receive one of three instruments: the Saphora-Psy questionnaire, the Perceptions of Care survey questionnaire or the Picker Institute questionnaire for acute care hospitals. In addition to the comparison of response rates, completion time, mean number of missing items and mean ceiling effect, we targeted our comparison on patients and asked them to answer ten evaluation questions about the questionnaire they had just completed. Results 728 out of 1550 eligible patients (47%) participated in the study. Across questionnaires, response rates were similar (Saphora-Psy: 48.5%, Perceptions of Care: 49.9%, Picker: 43.4%; P = 0.08), average completion time was lowest for the Perceptions of Care questionnaire (minutes: Saphora-Psy: 17.7, Perceptions of Care: 13.7, Picker: 17.5; P = 0.005), the Saphora-Psy questionnaire had the largest mean proportion of missing responses (Saphora-Psy: 7.1%, Perceptions of Care: 2.8%, Picker: 4.0%; P < 0.001) and the Perceptions of Care questionnaire showed the highest ceiling effect (Saphora-Psy: 17.1%, Perceptions of Care: 41.9%, Picker: 36.3%; P < 0.001). There were no differences in the patients' evaluation of the questionnaires. Conclusion Despite differences in the intended target population, content, lay-out and length of questionnaires, none appeared to be obviously better based on our comparison. All three presented advantages and drawbacks and could be used for the satisfaction evaluation of psychiatric inpatients. However, if comparison across medical services or hospitals is desired, using a generic questionnaire might be advantageous. PMID:16938136

Self-Perception of Aging and Satisfaction With Children's Support.

PubMed

Cheng, Sheung-Tak

2017-09-01

Those with self-beliefs in negative aging may desire a stronger support network to buffer against potential threats and may hence see their current network as less than adequate. This study investigated whether negative self-perception of aging is associated with increased dissatisfaction with children's support. Six hundred and forty Chinese older adults with at least one child and a total of 2,108 adult children rated the degree of support received from each child individually and the degree to which it met their expectation. Additionally, the participants responded to measures of self-perception of aging (both positive and negative), neuroticism, instrumental activities of daily living, chronic illnesses, financial strain, and living status. The multilevel dataset was analyzed using mixed-effects regression. Individuals who had a more negative self-perception of aging, who were younger, who lived alone, and who had fewer children provided lower support satisfaction ratings after support received from children was controlled for. Positive self-perception of aging was unrelated to support satisfaction. Neuroticism did not account for the relationship between negative self-perception of aging and support satisfaction. A negative self-perception of aging may create vulnerability to intergenerational tension that puts older people at risk of adverse psychological and physical health outcomes. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

The Laboratory Course Assessment Survey: A Tool to Measure Three Dimensions of Research-Course Design

PubMed Central

Corwin, Lisa A.; Runyon, Christopher; Robinson, Aspen; Dolan, Erin L.

2015-01-01

Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) are increasingly being offered as scalable ways to involve undergraduates in research. Yet few if any design features that make CUREs effective have been identified. We developed a 17-item survey instrument, the Laboratory Course Assessment Survey (LCAS), that measures students’ perceptions of three design features of biology lab courses: 1) collaboration, 2) discovery and relevance, and 3) iteration. We assessed the psychometric properties of the LCAS using established methods for instrument design and validation. We also assessed the ability of the LCAS to differentiate between CUREs and traditional laboratory courses, and found that the discovery and relevance and iteration scales differentiated between these groups. Our results indicate that the LCAS is suited for characterizing and comparing undergraduate biology lab courses and should be useful for determining the relative importance of the three design features for achieving student outcomes. PMID:26466990

Assessing culturally sensitive factors in the learning environment of science classrooms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fisher, Darrell L.; Waldrip, Bruce G.

1997-03-01

As schools are becoming increasingly diverse in their scope and clientele, any examination of the interaction of culturally sensitive factors of students' learning environments with learning science assumes critical importance. The purpose of this exploratory study was to develop an instrument to assess learning environment factors that are culturally sensitive, to provide initial validation information on the instrument and to examine associations between students' perceptions of their learning environments and their attitudes towards science and achievement of enquiry skills. A measure of these factors of science student's learning environment, namely the Cultural Learning Environment Questionnaire (CLEQ), was developed from past learning environment instruments and influenced by Hofstede's four dimensions of culture (Power Distance, Uncertainty Avoidance, Individualism, and Masculinity/Femininity). The reliability and discriminant validity for each scale were obtained and associations between learning environment, attitude to science and enquiry skills achievement were found.

Exploring the relationships among performance-based functional ability, self-rated disability, perceived instrumental support, and depression: a structural equation model analysis.

PubMed

Weil, Joyce; Hutchinson, Susan R; Traxler, Karen

2014-11-01

Data from the Women's Health and Aging Study were used to test a model of factors explaining depressive symptomology. The primary purpose of the study was to explore the association between performance-based measures of functional ability and depression and to examine the role of self-rated physical difficulties and perceived instrumental support in mediating the relationship between performance-based functioning and depression. The inclusion of performance-based measures allows for the testing of functional ability as a clinical precursor to disability and depression: a critical, but rarely examined, association in the disablement process. Structural equation modeling supported the overall fit of the model and found an indirect relationship between performance-based functioning and depression, with perceived physical difficulties serving as a significant mediator. Our results highlight the complementary nature of performance-based and self-rated measures and the importance of including perception of self-rated physical difficulties when examining depression in older persons. © The Author(s) 2014.

Screenee perception and health-related quality of life in colorectal cancer screening: a review.

PubMed

Pizzo, Elena; Pezzoli, Alessandro; Stockbrugger, Reinhold; Bracci, Enrico; Vagnoni, Emidia; Gullini, Sergio

2011-01-01

Screening for colorectal cancer (CRC) has become established to varying degrees in several Western countries for the past 30 years. Because of its effectiveness, screening has been adopted or is planned in a number of other countries. In most countries, the screening method (e.g., fecal occult blood test [FOBT], sigmoidoscopy) is followed by colonoscopy, for verification. In other countries (e.g., United States, Germany), colonoscopy is the preferred first-line investigation method. However, because colonoscopy is considered to be invasive, might be poorly tolerated, and can be associated with complications, the idea of adopting colonoscopy as the primary screening method suffers. Negative effects of screening methods can reduce participation in programs and thereby negate the desired effect on individual and societal health. At present, there is no generally accepted method either to assess the perception and satisfaction of patients screened or the outcome of the screening procedures in CRC. In this review, we discuss the past development and present availability of instruments to measure health-related quality of life (HRQoL), the scarce studies in which such instruments have been used in screening campaigns, and the findings. We suggest the creation of a specific instrument for the assessment of HRQoL in CRC screening. Copyright © 2011 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Patients' perception of pain during ultrasonic debridement: a comparison between piezoelectric and magnetostrictive scalers.

PubMed

Muhney, Kelly A; Dechow, Paul C

2010-01-01

To compare patients' perception of discomfort, vibration and noise levels between piezoelectric and the magnetostrictive ultrasonic units during periodontal debridement. Periodontal debridement was performed on 75 subjects using a split-mouth design. Two quadrants on the same side were instrumented with a piezoelectric ultrasonic device (EMS Swiss Mini Master® Piezon) and the remaining 2 quadrants were instrumented with a magnetostrictive ultrasonic device (Dentsply Cavitron® SPS™). Subjects marked between 0 and 100 along a visual analog scale (VAS) for each of the 3 variables immediately after treatment of each half of the dentition. Scores of the VAS were compared using a nonparametric test for paired data, the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test. The level of significance was set at p<0.05. Descriptive statistics included the median and the first and third quartiles as a measure of variation. Mean scores for patient discomfort and vibration were greater for the magnetostrictive device at p=0.007 and p=0.032, respectively. The scores for noise level between the 2 ultrasonic types were almost equal. The results show that, on average, patients in this study prefer instrumentation with the piezoelectric as it relates to awareness of associated discomfort and vibration. The results of this study may assist the clinician in the decision over which ultrasonic device may prove more beneficial in decreasing patient discomfort and increasing patient compliance.

Instruments to assess stigmatization in dermatology.

PubMed

Dimitrov, Dimitre; Szepietowski, Jacek C

2017-11-03

Stigmatization is the assignment of negative perceptions to an individual because of a perceived difference from the population at large. Skin conditions are frequently the reason of social rejection with a consequent negative influence on the personal and social life of patients. The aim of the current study was to review the available instruments that can be successfully utilized to measure the stigmatization level among dermatological patients. We performed our search on PubMed up to November 2016 and utilized combinations of key phrases containing such words as stigmatization, skin, dermatology, names of various skin conditions (psoriasis, vitiligo, acne, etc.), measurement. The search found a considerable number of articles - 548. After filtering them through a precise selection process, 58 articles remained. We concentrated only on the methodological aspects to assess stigmatization in various dermatoses. The review ascertained that there exist numerous instruments in the form of questionnaires. They were utilized in various researches in order to assess the stigmatization level in patients with skin problems. We divided them into two main groups: dermatology specific instruments (6 questionnaires) and dermatosis/disease specific ones (8 questionnaires). It is recommended to use dermatology-specific instruments to compare the stigmatization level in various skin conditions. They can be utilized as well as a first line tools to study the feeling of stigmatization in specific skin diseases; however, where it is possible, they should be supplemented with the disease-specific instrument for deeper analysis of both qualities of life and stigmatization.

Speech research: A report on the status and progress of studies on the nature of speech, instrumentation for its investigation, and practical applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liberman, A. M.

1980-06-01

This report (1 April - 30 June) is one of a regular series on the status and progress of studies on the nature of speech, instrumentation for its investigation, and practical applications. Manuscripts cover the following topics: The perceptual equivalance of two acoustic cues for a speech contrast is specific to phonetic perception; Duplex perception of acoustic patterns as speech and nonspeech; Evidence for phonetic processing of cues to place of articulation: Perceived manner affects perceived place; Some articulatory correlates of perceptual isochrony; Effects of utterance continuity on phonetic judgments; Laryngeal adjustments in stuttering: A glottographic observation using a modified reaction paradigm; Missing -ing in reading: Letter detection errors on word endings; Speaking rate; syllable stress, and vowel identity; Sonority and syllabicity: Acoustic correlates of perception, Influence of vocalic context on perception of the (S)-(s) distinction.

Influence of Eye Movements, Auditory Perception, and Phonemic Awareness in the Reading Process

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Megino-Elvira, Laura; Martín-Lobo, Pilar; Vergara-Moragues, Esperanza

2016-01-01

The authors' aim was to analyze the relationship of eye movements, auditory perception, and phonemic awareness with the reading process. The instruments used were the King-Devick Test (saccade eye movements), the PAF test (auditory perception), the PFC (phonemic awareness), the PROLEC-R (lexical process), the Canals reading speed test, and the…

The Relationship between Iranian EFL Teachers' Collective Efficacy Beliefs, Teaching Experience and Perception of Teacher Empowerment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baleghizadeh, Sasan; Goldouz, Elnaz

2016-01-01

The present study aimed to contribute to the current findings of the relationship between collective efficacy perceptions of EFL teachers and their perception of teacher empowerment. To this end, 147 Iranian EFL teachers from a well-known institute in Tehran participated in the study. The instruments used were two questionnaires: Collective…

A Survey to Examine Teachers' Perceptions of Design Dispositions, Lesson Design Practices, and Their Relationships with Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koh, Joyce Hwee Ling; Chai, Ching Sing; Hong, Huang-Yao; Tsai, Chin-Chung

2015-01-01

This study investigates 201 Singaporean teachers' perceptions of their technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK), lesson design practices, and design dispositions through a survey instrument. Investigation of these constructs reveal important variables influencing teachers' perceptions of TPACK which have not yet been explored. The…

Positive Teacher Influence Strategies to Improve Secondary Instrumental Students' Motivation and Perceptions of Self

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tucker, Olivia Gail

2018-01-01

Asmus's model of achievement motivation in music established a framework for the study of motivation in music education. Student perceptions of self were included in the model as a dynamic factor in student motivation to accomplish music learning tasks. Research has revealed further teacher influence on student motivation and perceptions of self…

Assessment of environmental correlates of physical activity: development of a European questionnaire.

PubMed

Spittaels, Heleen; Foster, Charlie; Oppert, Jean-Michel; Rutter, Harry; Oja, Pekka; Sjöström, Michael; De Bourdeaudhuij, Ilse

2009-07-06

Research on the influence of the physical environment on physical activity is rapidly expanding and different measures of environmental perceptions have been developed, mostly in the US and Australia. The purpose of this paper is to (i) provide a literature review of measures of environmental perceptions recently used in European studies and (ii) develop a questionnaire for population monitoring purposes in the European countries. This study was done within the framework of the EU-funded project 'Instruments for Assessing Levels of Physical Activity and Fitness (ALPHA)', which aims to propose standardised instruments for physical activity and fitness monitoring across Europe. Quantitative studies published from 1990 up to November 2007 were systematically searched in Pubmed, Web of Science, TRIS and Geobase. In addition a survey was conducted among members of the European network for the promotion of Health-Enhancing Physical Activity (HEPA Europe) and European members of the International Physical Activity and Environment Network (IPEN) to identify published or ongoing studies. Studies were included if they were conducted among European general adult population (18+y) and used a questionnaire to assess perceptions of the physical environment. A consensus meeting with an international expert group was organised to discuss the development of a European environmental questionnaire. The literature search resulted in 23 European studies, 15 published and 8 unpublished. In these studies, 13 different environmental questionnaires were used. Most of these studies used adapted versions of questionnaires that were developed outside Europe and that focused only on the walkability construct: The Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale (NEWS), the abbreviated version of the NEWS (ANEWS) and the Neighborhood Quality of Life Study (NQLS) questionnaire have been most commonly used. Based on the results of the literature review and the output of the meeting with international experts, a European environmental questionnaire with 49 items was developed. There is need for a greater degree of standardization in instruments/methods used to assess environmental correlates of physical activity, taking into account the European-specific situation. A first step in this process is taken by the development of a European environmental questionnaire.

Swedish translation and psychometric testing of the safety attitudes questionnaire (operating room version).

PubMed

Göras, Camilla; Wallentin, Fan Yang; Nilsson, Ulrica; Ehrenberg, Anna

2013-03-19

Tens of millions of patients worldwide suffer from avoidable disabling injuries and death every year. Measuring the safety climate in health care is an important step in improving patient safety. The most commonly used instrument to measure safety climate is the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ). The aim of the present study was to establish the validity and reliability of the translated version of the SAQ. The SAQ was translated and adapted to the Swedish context. The survey was then carried out with 374 respondents in the operating room (OR) setting. Data was received from three hospitals, a total of 237 responses. Cronbach's alpha and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to evaluate the reliability and validity of the instrument. The Cronbach's alpha values for each of the factors of the SAQ ranged between 0.59 and 0.83. The CFA and its goodness-of-fit indices (SRMR 0.055, RMSEA 0.043, CFI 0.98) showed good model fit. Intercorrelations between the factors safety climate, teamwork climate, job satisfaction, perceptions of management, and working conditions showed moderate to high correlation with each other. The factor stress recognition had no significant correlation with teamwork climate, perception of management, or job satisfaction. Therefore, the Swedish translation and psychometric testing of the SAQ (OR version) has good construct validity. However, the reliability analysis suggested that some of the items need further refinement to establish sound internal consistency. As suggested by previous research, the SAQ is potentially a useful tool for evaluating safety climate. However, further psychometric testing is required with larger samples to establish the psychometric properties of the instrument for use in Sweden.

Validation of the HIV/AIDS Stigma Instrument - PLWA (HASI-P).

PubMed

Holzemer, William L; Uys, Leana R; Chirwa, Maureen L; Greeff, Minrie; Makoae, Lucia N; Kohi, Thecla W; Dlamini, Priscilla S; Stewart, Anita L; Mullan, Joseph; Phetlhu, René D; Wantland, Dean; Durrheim, Kevin

2007-09-01

This article describes the development and testing of a quantitative measure of HIV/AIDS stigma as experienced by people living with HIV/AIDS. This instrument is designed to measure perceived stigma, create a baseline from which to measure changes in stigma over time, and track potential progress towards reducing stigma. It was developed in three phases from 2003-2006: generating items based on results of focus group discussions; pilot testing and reducing the original list of items; and validating the instrument. Data for all phases were collected from five African countries: Lesotho, Malawi, South Africa, Swaziland and Tanzania. The instrument was validated with a sample of 1,477 persons living with HIV/AIDS from all of the five countries. The sample had a mean age of 36.1 years and 74.1% was female. The participants reported they knew they were HIV positive for an average of 3.4 years and 46% of the sample was taking antiretroviral medications. A six factor solution with 33 items explained 60.72% of the variance. Scale alpha reliabilities were examined and items that did not contribute to scale reliability were dropped. The factors included: Verbal Abuse (8 items, alpha=0.886); Negative Self-Perception (5 items, alpha=0.906); Health Care Neglect (7 items, alpha=0.832); Social Isolation (5 items, alpha=0.890); Fear of Contagion (6 items, alpha=0.795); and Workplace Stigma (2 items, alpha=0.758). This article reports on the development and validation of a new measure of stigma, HIV/AIDS Stigma Instrument - PLWA (HASI-P) providing evidence that supports adequate content and construct validity, modest concurrent validity, and acceptable internal consistency reliability for each of the six subscales and total score. The scale is available is several African languages.

Assessments of the Third Kind--Do Graduate Research Students Change Their Perceptions of Research Barriers from the Beginning to the End of a Graduate Course in Research Strategies?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cleeton, Gilbert; Cleeton, Lorraine

2011-01-01

Available assessments of our graduate research strategies course were (i) traditional pre- and post-test evaluation instruments, and (ii) student evaluations. We felt a need for a third kind of assessment to measure any changes in attitude to research, though we did not expect detectable changes in a 15 week course. Students were asked to rank…

Evolution and validation of a personal form of an instrument for assessing science laboratory classroom environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fraser, Barry J.; Giddings, Geoffrey J.; McRobbie, Campbell J.

The research reported in this article makes two distinctive contributions to the field of classroom environment research. First, because existing instruments are unsuitable for science laboratory classes, the Science Laboratory Environment Inventory (SLEI) was developed and validated. Second, a new Personal form of the SLEI (involving a student's perceptions of his or her own role within the class) was developed and validated in conjunction with the conventional Class form (involving a student's perceptions of the class as a whole), and its usefulness was investigated. The instrument was cross-nationally fieldtested with 5,447 students in 269 senior high school and university classes in six countries, and cross-validated with 1,594 senior high school students in 92 classes in Australia. Each SLEI scale exhibited satisfactory internal consistency reliability, discriminant validity, and factorial validity, and differentiated between the perceptions of students in different classes. A variety of applications with the new instrument furnished evidence about its usefulness and revealed that science laboratory classes are dominated by closed-ended activities; mean scores obtained on the Class form were consistently somewhat more favorable than on the corresponding Personal form; females generally held more favorable perceptions than males, but these differences were somewhat larger for the Personal form than the Class form; associations existed between attitudinal outcomes and laboratory environment dimensions; and the Class and Personal forms of the SLEI each accounted for unique variance in student outcomes which was independent of that accounted for by the other form.

Instrument Display Visual Angles for Conventional Aircraft and the MQ-9 Ground Control Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bendrick, Gregg A.; Kamine, Tovy Haber

2008-01-01

Aircraft instrument panels should be designed such that primary displays are in optimal viewing location to minimize pilot perception and response time. Human Factors engineers define three zones (i.e. "cones") of visual location: 1) "Easy Eye Movement" (foveal vision); 2) "Maximum Eye Movement" (peripheral vision with saccades), and 3) "Head Movement" (head movement required). Instrument display visual angles were measured to determine how well conventional aircraft (T-34, T-38, F- 15B, F-16XL, F/A-18A, U-2D, ER-2, King Air, G-III, B-52H, DC-10, B747-SCA) and the MQ-9 ground control station (GCS) complied with these standards, and how they compared with each other. Methods: Selected instrument parameters included: attitude, pitch, bank, power, airspeed, altitude, vertical speed, heading, turn rate, slip/skid, AOA, flight path, latitude, longitude, course, bearing, range and time. Vertical and horizontal visual angles for each component were measured from the pilot s eye position in each system. Results: The vertical visual angles of displays in conventional aircraft lay within the cone of "Easy Eye Movement" for all but three of the parameters measured, and almost all of the horizontal visual angles fell within this range. All conventional vertical and horizontal visual angles lay within the cone of "Maximum Eye Movement". However, most instrument vertical visual angles of the MQ-9 GCS lay outside the cone of "Easy Eye Movement", though all were within the cone of "Maximum Eye Movement". All the horizontal visual angles for the MQ-9 GCS were within the cone of "Easy Eye Movement". Discussion: Most instrument displays in conventional aircraft lay within the cone of "Easy Eye Movement", though mission-critical instruments sometimes displaced less important instruments outside this area. Many of the MQ-9 GCS systems lay outside this area. Specific training for MQ-9 pilots may be needed to avoid increased response time and potential error during flight.

[Development of spatial orientation during pilot training].

PubMed

Ivanov, V V; Vorob'ev, O A; Snipkov, Iu Iu

1988-01-01

The problem of spatial orientation of pilots flying high-altitude aircraft is in the focus of present-day aviation medicine because of a growing number of accidents in the air. One of the productive lines of research is to study spatial orientation in terms of active formation and maintenance of its imagery in a complex environment. However investigators usually emphasize the role of visual (instrumental) information in the image construction, almost ignoring the sensorimotor component of spatial orientation. The theoretical analysis of the process of spatial orientation has facilitated the development of the concept assuming that the pattern of space perception changes with growing professional experience. The concept is based on an active approach to the essence, emergence, formation and variation in the pattern of sensory perception of space in man's consciousness. This concept asserts that as pilot's professional expertise increases, the pattern of spatial orientation becomes geocentric because a new system of spatial perception evolves which is a result of the development of a new (instrumental) type of motor activity in space. This finds expression in the fact that perception of spatial position inflight occurs when man has to resolve a new motor task--movement along a complex trajectory in the three-dimensional space onboard a flying vehicle. The meaningful structure of this problem which is to be implemented through controlling movements of the pilot acts as a factor that forms this new system of perception. All this underlies the arrangement of meaningful collection of instrumental data and detection of noninstrumental signals in the comprehensive perception of changes in the spatial position of a flying vehicle.

Factors predicting health practitioners' awareness of UNHS program in Malaysian non-public hospitals.

PubMed

Ismail, Abdussalaam Iyanda; Abdul Majid, Abdul Halim; Zakaria, Mohd Normani; Abdullah, Nor Azimah Chew; Hamzah, Sulaiman; Mukari, Siti Zamratol-Mai Sarah

2018-06-01

The current study aims to examine the effects of human resource (measured with the perception of health workers' perception towards UNHS), screening equipment, program layout and screening techniques on healthcare practitioners' awareness (measured with knowledge) of universal newborn hearing screening (UNHS) in Malaysian non-public hospitals. Via cross sectional approach, the current study collected data using a validated questionnaire to obtain information on the awareness of UNHS program among the health practitioners and to test the formulated hypotheses. 51, representing 81% response rate, out of 63 questionnaires distributed to the health professionals were returned and usable for statistical analysis. The survey instruments involving healthcare practitioners' awareness, human resource, program layout, screening instrument, and screening techniques instruments were adapted and scaled with 7-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (little) to 7 (many). Partial Least Squares (PLS) algorithm and bootstrapping techniques were employed to test the hypotheses of the study. With the result involving beta values, t-values and p-values (i.e. β=0.478, t=1.904, p<0.10; β=0.809, t=3.921, p<0.01; β= -0.436, t=1.870, p<0.10), human resource, measured with training, functional equipment and program layout, are held to be significant predictors of enhanced knowledge of health practitioners. Likewise, program layout, human resource, screening technique and screening instrument explain 71% variance in health practitioners' awareness. Health practitioners' awareness is explained by program layout, human resource, and screening instrument with effect size (f2) of 0.065, 0.621, and 0.211 respectively, indicating that program layout, human resource, and screening instrument have small, large and medium effect size on health practitioners' awareness respectively. However, screening technique has zero effect on health practitioners' awareness, indicating the reason why T-statistics is not significant. Having started the UNHS program in 2003, non-public hospitals have more experienced and well-trained employees dealing with the screening tools and instrument, and the program layout is well structured in the hospitals. Yet, the issue of homogeneity exists. Non-public hospitals charge for the service they render, and, in turn, they would ensure quality service, given that they are profit-driven and/or profit-making establishments, and that they would have no option other than provision of value-added and innovative services. The employees in the non-public hospitals have less screening to carry out, given the low number of babies delivered in the private hospitals. In addition, non-significant relationship between screening techniques and healthcare practitioners' awareness of UNHS program is connected with the fact that the techniques that are practiced among public and non-public hospital are similar and standardized. Limitations and suggestions were discussed. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Comparing NICU teamwork and safety climate across two commonly used survey instruments.

PubMed

Profit, Jochen; Lee, Henry C; Sharek, Paul J; Kan, Peggy; Nisbet, Courtney C; Thomas, Eric J; Etchegaray, Jason M; Sexton, Bryan

2016-12-01

Measurement and our understanding of safety culture are still evolving. The objectives of this study were to assess variation in safety and teamwork climate and in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) setting, and compare measurement of safety culture scales using two different instruments (Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ) and Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPSC)). Cross-sectional survey study of a voluntary sample of 2073 (response rate 62.9%) health professionals in 44 NICUs. To compare survey instruments, we used Spearman's rank correlation coefficients. We also compared similar scales and items across the instruments using t tests and changes in quartile-level performance. We found significant variation across NICUs in safety and teamwork climate scales of SAQ and HSOPSC (p<0.001). Safety scales (safety climate and overall perception of safety) and teamwork scales (teamwork climate and teamwork within units) of the two instruments correlated strongly (safety r=0.72, p<0.001; teamwork r=0.67, p<0.001). However, the means and per cent agreements for all scale scores and even seemingly similar item scores were significantly different. In addition, comparisons of scale score quartiles between the two instruments revealed that half of the NICUs fell into different quartiles when translating between the instruments. Large variation and opportunities for improvement in patient safety culture exist across NICUs. Important systematic differences exist between SAQ and HSOPSC such that these instruments should not be used interchangeably. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

The development of PROQOL-HIV: an international instrument to assess the health-related quality of life of persons living with HIV/AIDS.

PubMed

Duracinsky, Martin; Herrmann, Susan; Berzins, Baiba; Armstrong, Andrew R; Kohli, Rewa; Le Coeur, Sophie; Diouf, Assane; Fournier, Isabelle; Schechter, Mauro; Chassany, Olivier

2012-04-15

Health-related quality of life (HRQL) is an important outcome in HIV/AIDS infection and treatment. However, most existing HIV-HRQL instruments miss important issues (eg, sleeping problems, lipodystrophy). They were developed before highly active antiretroviral therapy (pre-HAART), and in a single language. We sought to develop a contemporary HIV-HRQL instrument (PROQOL-HIV) in multiple languages that accounts for HAART treatment and side effects. This article details the 3-stage content validation phase of PROQOL-HIV. In stage 1, we developed a conceptual model of HIV-HRQL and questionnaire item bank from thematic analysis of 152 patient interviews conducted simultaneously across 9 countries. In stage 2, pilot items were selected by an expert panel to form the pilot instrument. Stage 3 involved linguistic validation and harmonization of selected items to form an equivalent instrument in 9 target languages. Analysis of 3375 pages of interview text revealed 11 underlying themes: general health perception, social relationships, emotions, energy/fatigue, sleep, cognitive functioning, physical and daily activity, coping, future, symptoms, and treatment. Seven issues new to HIV-HRQL measurement were subsumed by these themes: infection fears, future concerns, satisfaction with care, self-esteem problems, sleep problems, work disruption, and treatment issues. Of the 442 theme-related items banked, 70 items met the retention criteria and formed the pilot PROQOL-HIV instrument. HIV patients across 11 countries attributed a wide range of physical, mental, and social issues to their condition, many of which were not measured by existing HIV-HRQL instruments. The pilot PROQOL-HIV instrument captures these issues, is sensitive to sociocultural context, disease stage, and HAART.

Development and Validation of the Blended Learning Environment Instrument (BLEI) in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aljahni, Areej; Al-Begain, Khalid; Skinner, Heather

2014-01-01

Part of ongoing research into the efficacy of blended learning in higher education within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The need for, and development of, a Blended Learning Environment Instrument (BLEI) are explained. This new instrument assesses student perceptions across five core aspects of blended learning environments: Infrastructure,…

Improved perception-reaction time information for intersection sight distance

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2002-08-01

Perception-reaction time (PRT) data were obtained in an operational setting to assess the adequacy of existing PRT specifications for intersection sight distance standards. A sample of 124 subjects traversed a 3-hour driving circuit in an instrumente...

Application of the WHOQOL-100 for the assessment of quality of life of adult patients with inherited metabolic diseases.

PubMed

Cazzorla, Chiara; Del Rizzo, Monica; Burgard, Peter; Zanco, Chiara; Bordugo, Andrea; Burlina, Alberto B; Burlina, Alessandro P

2012-05-01

As advances in neonatal and pediatric care for patients affected by inherited metabolic diseases (IMD) improve their outcome and allow for better survival rates, there is a growing interest in the quality of life (QoL) of patients reaching adulthood. In order to address this subject we designed a study to evaluate the QoL of a group of adult IMD patients who are receiving various treatments, in a comprehensive manner. A mixed-method study was conducted to assess the QoL in adult IMD patients. The multidimensional World Health Organization Quality of Life questionnaire (WHOQOL-100) was applied for quantitative evaluations, and an additional semi-standardized interview, was conducted for qualitative measurement of patients' perceptions of the impact of illness on their daily life, and the perceived adherence to their treatment recommendations. A total of 82 patients affected by IMD were enrolled. The inherited metabolic disorders included principally amino acids disorders, urea cycle defects, organic acidurias, carbohydrates disorders, and lysosomal disorders. The WHOQOL-100 and the semi-standardized interview were administered in a clinical setting to adult patients with IMD. The mean for the whole group indicates that adult patients with IMD can have a normal value of General QoL. Despite this value, the results of each domain show lower scores in the domains of perception of independence and quality of social relationships. We made a further analysis to compare the patients with dietary treatment with the patients with pharmacological treatment, and we observed a statistically significant difference in General QoL, in the Physical, Independence, Spiritual domains and in the facet of Medication. These results suggest that Global QoL measures might not be sufficient to assess the QoL for adult patients with IMD. Furthermore, the implementation of a qualitative semi-standardized interview, especially suitable for adult patients, added important features on illness perception and on perceived adherence to the treatment by adult IMD patients. In this study we underlined the importance of applying multidimensional instruments, like WHOQOL-100, to evaluate the quality of life of adult patients with IMD. The WHOQOL-100 has been demonstrated to be a valid instrument to measure the QoL of IMD patients. Moreover, the administration of a tailored psychometric instrument in combination with a qualitative interview may help us to better characterize special issues related to IMD. Indeed, other factors beyond the physical manifestations of the disease, such as psychological wellbeing, social behavior, illness perception and adherence to the treatment, strongly influence QoL and may serve as valid targets for intervention to improve patients' care. We believe this kind of approach is especially useful for adult patients with inherited metabolic diseases. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Assessing the Culture of Residency Using the C - Change Resident Survey: Validity Evidence in 34 U.S. Residency Programs.

PubMed

Pololi, Linda H; Evans, Arthur T; Civian, Janet T; Shea, Sandy; Brennan, Robert T

2017-07-01

A practical instrument is needed to reliably measure the clinical learning environment and professionalism for residents. To develop and present evidence of validity of an instrument to assess the culture of residency programs and the clinical learning environment. During 2014-2015, we surveyed residents using the C - Change Resident Survey to assess residents' perceptions of the culture in their programs. Residents in all years of training in 34 programs in internal medicine, pediatrics, and general surgery in 14 geographically diverse public and private academic health systems. The C - Change Resident Survey assessed residents' perceptions of 13 dimensions of the culture: Vitality, Self-Efficacy, Institutional Support, Relationships/Inclusion, Values Alignment, Ethical/Moral Distress, Respect, Mentoring, Work-Life Integration, Gender Equity, Racial/Ethnic Minority Equity, and self-assessed Competencies. We measured the internal reliability of each of the 13 dimensions and evaluated response process, content validity, and construct-related evidence validity by assessing relationships predicted by our conceptual model and prior research. We also assessed whether the measurements were sensitive to differences in specialty and across institutions. A total of 1708 residents completed the survey [internal medicine: n = 956, pediatrics: n = 411, general surgery: n = 311 (51% women; 16% underrepresented in medicine minority)], with a response rate of 70% (range across programs, 51-87%). Internal consistency of each dimension was high (Cronbach α: 0.73-0.90). The instrument was able to detect significant differences in the learning environment across programs and sites. Evidence of validity was supported by a good response process and the demonstration of several relationships predicted by our conceptual model. The C - Change Resident Survey assesses the clinical learning environment for residents, and we encourage further study of validity in different contexts. Results could be used to facilitate and monitor improvements in the clinical learning environment and resident well-being.

Applying revised gap analysis model in measuring hotel service quality.

PubMed

Lee, Yu-Cheng; Wang, Yu-Che; Chien, Chih-Hung; Wu, Chia-Huei; Lu, Shu-Chiung; Tsai, Sang-Bing; Dong, Weiwei

2016-01-01

With the number of tourists coming to Taiwan growing by 10-20 % since 2010, the number has increased due to an increasing number of foreign tourists, particularly after deregulation allowed admitting tourist groups, followed later on by foreign individual tourists, from mainland China. The purpose of this study is to propose a revised gap model to evaluate and improve service quality in Taiwanese hotel industry. Thus, service quality could be clearly measured through gap analysis, which was more effective for offering direction in developing and improving service quality. The HOLSERV instrument was used to identify and analyze service gaps from the perceptions of internal and external customers. The sample for this study included three main categories of respondents: tourists, employees, and managers. The results show that five gaps influenced tourists' evaluations of service quality. In particular, the study revealed that Gap 1 (management perceptions vs. customer expectations) and Gap 9 (service provider perceptions of management perceptions vs. service delivery) were more critical than the others in affecting perceived service quality, making service delivery the main area of improvement. This study contributes toward an evaluation of the service quality of the Taiwanese hotel industry from the perspectives of customers, service providers, and managers, which is considerably valuable for hotel managers. It was the aim of this study to explore all of these together in order to better understand the possible gaps in the hotel industry in Taiwan.

Body image perceptions in Western and post-communist countries: a cross-cultural pilot study of children and parents.

PubMed

Humenikova, Lenka; Gates, Gail E

2008-07-01

The development of an unrealistic ideal body image and body size dissatisfaction among children is common in Western countries, including the USA and many European nations. However, little is known about children's body image perceptions in post-communist countries. This pilot study evaluated body image perceptions in a sample of Czech school-aged children and their parents and compared them with the perceptions of American children and parents. Ninety-seven Czech and 45 American 4th-6th graders and their parents from eight urban schools participated in this study. A previously developed silhouette body image instrument was utilized in a parent questionnaire and during child interviews to measure perceived and ideal body image perceptions of children and parents. Descriptive statistics, independent t-tests and paired t-tests were used to compare differences between children's and parents' perceived and ideal body image perceptions. Associations between body image perceptions and other variables were explored using bivariate correlations. American children had a thinner ideal body image compared with Czech children (P < 0.05). However, a larger proportion of Czech boys desired to be thinner compared with American boys (34.2% vs. 20%). Parent's ideal body image for their children did not differ by nationality (P = 0.858). While the pressure on children to look thinner was apparent among both American and Czech children, Czech children considered a larger body size as more ideal. A future study should evaluate body image perceptions and factors influencing these perceptions in a representative sample of Czech children and parents.

The music perception abilities of prelingually deaf children with cochlear implants.

PubMed

Stabej, Katja Kladnik; Smid, Lojze; Gros, Anton; Zargi, Miha; Kosir, Andrej; Vatovec, Jagoda

2012-10-01

To investigate the music perception abilities of prelingually deaf children with cochlear implants, in comparison to a group of normal-hearing children, and to consider the factors that contribute to music perception. The music perception abilities of 39 prelingually deaf children with unilateral cochlear implants were compared to the abilities of 39 normal hearing children. To assess the music listening abilities, the MuSIC perception test was adopted. The influence of the child's age, age at implantation, device experience and type of sound-processing strategy on the music perception were evaluated. The effects of auditory performance, nonverbal intellectual abilities, as well as the child's additional musical education on music perception were also considered. Children with cochlear implants and normal hearing children performed significantly differently with respect to rhythm discrimination (55% vs. 82%, p<0.001), instrument identification (57% vs. 88%, p<0.001) and emotion rating (p=0.022). However we found no significant difference in terms of melody discrimination and dissonance rating between the two groups. There was a positive correlation between auditory performance and melody discrimination (r=0.27; p=0.031), between auditory performance and instrument identification (r=0.20; p=0.059) and between the child's grade (mark) in school music classes and melody discrimination (r=0.34; p=0.030). In children with cochlear implant only, the music perception ability assessed by the emotion rating test was negatively correlated to the child's age (r(S)=-0.38; p=0.001), age at implantation (r(S)=-0.34; p=0.032), and device experience (r(S)=-0.38; p=0.019). The child's grade in school music classes showed a positive correlation to music perception abilities assessed by rhythm discrimination test (r(S)=0.46; p<0.001), melody discrimination test (r(S)=0.28; p=0.018), and instrument identification test (r(S)=0.23; p=0.05). As expected, there was a marked difference in the music perception abilities of prelingually deaf children with cochlear implants in comparison to the group of normal hearing children, but not for all the tests of music perception. Additional multi-centre studies, including a larger number of participants and a broader spectrum of music subtests, considering as many as possible of the factors that may contribute to music perception, seem reasonable. Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

Tone, rhythm, and timbre perception in school-age children using cochlear implants and hearing aids.

PubMed

Innes-Brown, Hamish; Marozeau, Jeremy P; Storey, Christine M; Blamey, Peter J

2013-10-01

Children with hearing impairments, especially those using hearing devices such as the cochlear implant (CI) or hearing aid (HA), are sometimes not encouraged to attend music classes, as they or their parents and teachers may be unsure whether the child can perform basic musical tasks. The objective of the current study was to provide a baseline for the performance of children using CIs and HAs on standardized tests of rhythm and pitch perception as well as an instrument timbre identification task. An additional aim was to determine the effect of structured music training on these measures during the course of a school year. The Intermediate Measures of Music Audiation (IMMA) Tonal and Rhythmic subtests were administered four times, with 6 wk between tests. All children in the study were also enrolled in "Music Club" teaching sessions. Measures were compared between groups and across the four testing sessions. Twenty children from a single school in Melbourne, Australia, were recruited. Eleven (four girls) had impaired hearing, including six with a unilateral CI or CI and HA together (two girls) and five with bilateral HAs (two girls). Nine were normally hearing, selected to match the age and gender of the hearing-impaired children. Ages ranged from 9-13 yr. All children participated in a weekly Music Club--a 45 min session of musical activities based around vocal play and the integration of aural, visual, and kinesthetic modes of learning. Audiological data were collected from clinical files. IMMA scores were converted to percentile ranks using published norms. Between-group differences were tested using repeated-measures analysis of variance, and between-session differences were tested using a linear mixed model. Linear regression was used to model the effect of hearing loss on the test scores. In the first session, normally hearing children had a mean percentile rank of ∼50 in both the Tonal and Rhythmic subtests of the IMMA. Children using CIs showed trends toward lower scores in the Tonal, but not the Rhythmic, subtests. No significant improvements were found between sessions. In the timbre test, children generally made fewer errors within the set of percussive compared to nonpercussive instruments. The hearing loss level partially predicted performance in the Tonal, but not the Rhythmic, task, and predictions were more significant for nonpercussive compared to percussive instruments. The findings highlight the importance of temporal cues in the perception of music, and indicate that temporal cues may be used by children with CIs and HAs in the perception of not only rhythm, but also of some aspects of timbre. We were not able to link participation in the Music Club with increased scores on the Tonal, Rhythmic, and Timbre tests. However, anecdotal evidence from the children and their teachers suggested a wide range of benefits from participation in the Music Club that extended from increased engagement and interest in music classes into the children's social situations. American Academy of Audiology.

Validation of the "Quality of Life in School" instrument in Canadian elementary school students.

PubMed

Ghotra, Satvinder; McIsaac, Jessie-Lee D; Kirk, Sara F L; Kuhle, Stefan

2016-01-01

Background. School is an integral component of the life of a child, and thus quality of school life is an important part of the overall quality of life experienced by a child. There are a few instruments available to measure the quality of school life but they are often not available in English, or they are not appropriate for use alongside other instruments in a survey of young children. The Quality of Life in School (QoLS) instrument is a short, self-report measure to assess elementary school students' perception of their quality of school life in four domains. The instrument was developed in Israel and has been validated among Hebrew-speaking children. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the QoLS measure in Canadian elementary school children. Methods. A total of 629 children attending grades 4-6 were recruited in a population-based cross-sectional study. The QoLS measure was administered to participating children by trained research assistants. In addition, their socio-demographic details and academic data were also obtained. The psychometric testing included exploratory factor analysis and reliability estimation using internal consistency (Cronbach's Alpha). Construct validity was investigated using the known groups comparisons for discriminative validity and via convergent validity. Results. A four-factor structure was generated explaining 39% of the total variance in the model. The results showed good internal consistency and acceptable floor and ceiling effects. Cronbach's Alpha ranged from 0.75 to 0.93. Known groups comparisons showed that the QoLS measure discriminated well between subgroups on the basis of gender, grade, and academic achievement, thus providing evidence of construct validity. The convergent validity was also appropriate with all the four domains demonstrating moderate to strong correlations to each other and to the total QoLS score. Conclusions. QoLS appears to be a valid and reliable measure for quality of school life assessment in young Canadian children.

Factor Structure of the Children's Perception of Interparental Conflict Scale for Studies of Youths with Externalizing Behavior Problems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nigg, Joel T.; Nikolas, Molly; Miller, Torri; Burt, S. Alexandra; Klump, Kelly L.; von Eye, Alexander

2009-01-01

The assessment of children's perception of marital conflict is an important area of research related to family relations, children's cognitions about self, and the development of psychopathology. The leading instrument in this domain is the Children's Perception of Interparental Conflict Scale (CPIC; J. H. Grych, M. Seid, & F. D. Fincham, 1992).…

The Mathematics Attitudes and Perceptions Survey: An Instrument to Assess Expert-Like Views and Dispositions among Undergraduate Mathematics Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Code, Warren; Merchant, Sandra; Maciejewski, Wes; Thomas, Matthew; Lo, Joseph

2016-01-01

One goal of an undergraduate education in mathematics is to help students develop a productive disposition towards mathematics. A way of conceiving of this is as helping mathematical novices transition to more expert-like perceptions of mathematics. This conceptualization creates a need for a way to characterize students' perceptions of…

[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.

Understanding the paranoid psychosis of James: Use of the repertory grid technique for case conceptualization

PubMed Central

García-Mieres, Helena; Ochoa, Susana; Salla, Marta; López-Carrilero, Raquel; Feixas, Guillem

2016-01-01

In this paper we illustrate the potential of the repertory grid technique as an instrument for case formulation and understanding of the personal perception and meanings of people with a diagnosis of psychotic disorders. For this purpose, the case of James is presented: A young man diagnosed with schizophrenia and personality disorder, with severe persecutory delusions and other positive symptoms that have not responded to antipsychotic medication, as well with depressive symptomatology. His case was selected because of the way his symptoms are reflected in his personal perception of self and others, including his main persecutory figure, in the different measures that result from the analysis of his repertory grid. Some key clinical hypotheses and possible targets for therapy are discussed. PMID:27679779

Self-defense and martial arts evaluation for college women: preliminary validation of perceptions of dangerous situations scale.

PubMed

Hughes, Patricia Paulsen; Sherrill, Claudine; Myers, Bettye; Rowe, Nancy; Marshall, David

2003-06-01

Martial arts and self-defense programs train fearful people, especially women, to be more competent and confident to defend themselves in dangerous situations. However, there are no validated instruments to evaluate the effectiveness of programs purporting to teach self-protection. The Perceptions of Dangerous Situations Scale (PDSS), composed of fear, likelihood and confidence subscales, was developed and validated for university women. Participants were 368 university women, ages 17 to 45 years (M age = 20.7 years). Content validity of the PDSS was established through an expert panel, and construct validity was established through principal components analysis and determination of instructional sensitivity. Reliability was established through alpha coefficients. The PDSS, when used with university women, offers promising measurement opportunities in self-defense and martial arts settings.

Perspectives of Nurses Toward Telehealth Efficacy and Quality of Health Care: Pilot Study.

PubMed

Bashir, Ayisha; Bastola, Dhundy R

2018-05-25

Telehealth nursing, or the delivery, management, and coordination of nursing care services provided via telecommunications technology, is one of the methods of delivering health care to patients in the United States. It is important to assess the service quality of the involved health professionals as well as the telehealth nursing process. The focus of this study is the innovative model of telehealth care delivery by nurses for managing patients with chronic disease while they are living in their own residence. The primary objective of this pilot study was to examine whether telehealth technology impacts the perceived level of internal service quality delivered by nurses within a telehealth organization. To address this research goal, the notion of telehealth nursing service quality (TNSQ) is empirically tested and validated with a survey instrument. Data were collected from nurses belonging to a home care agency based on interview questions inquiring about facilitators and inhibitors to TNSQ. A survey to measure TNSQ based on the SERVQUAL instrument was completed by adjusting descriptions of the original instrument to suit the context. Follow-up interviews were conducted to validate questions on the revised instrument. The findings of this survey research were positive, based on mean differences between expectations and perceptions of TNSQ. This indicates satisfaction with TNSQ and shows that the quality of the service is higher than what the respondents expect. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test using the P value for the test, which is .35, did not show a statistically significant change between the median differences of perception and expectation. The total number of respondents was 13. Results indicate that overall perceived service quality is a positive value (0.05332). This means the perceptions of the level of service are slightly higher than what they expect, indicating there is satisfaction with TNSQ. The responses to the interview questions and data gathered from the survey showed overall satisfaction with TNSQ. The SERVQUAL instrument was a good framework to assess TNSQ. In a nutshell, the study highlighted how the telehealth process provides daily monitoring of patient health, leading to the benefits of immediate feedback for patients, family, and caregivers as well as convenience of scheduling. ©Ayisha Bashir, Dhundy R Bastola. Originally published in JMIR Medical Informatics (http://medinform.jmir.org), 25.05.2018.

Perspectives of Nurses Toward Telehealth Efficacy and Quality of Health Care: Pilot Study

PubMed Central

Bastola, Dhundy R

2018-01-01

Background Telehealth nursing, or the delivery, management, and coordination of nursing care services provided via telecommunications technology, is one of the methods of delivering health care to patients in the United States. It is important to assess the service quality of the involved health professionals as well as the telehealth nursing process. The focus of this study is the innovative model of telehealth care delivery by nurses for managing patients with chronic disease while they are living in their own residence. Objective The primary objective of this pilot study was to examine whether telehealth technology impacts the perceived level of internal service quality delivered by nurses within a telehealth organization. To address this research goal, the notion of telehealth nursing service quality (TNSQ) is empirically tested and validated with a survey instrument. Methods Data were collected from nurses belonging to a home care agency based on interview questions inquiring about facilitators and inhibitors to TNSQ. A survey to measure TNSQ based on the SERVQUAL instrument was completed by adjusting descriptions of the original instrument to suit the context. Follow-up interviews were conducted to validate questions on the revised instrument. Results The findings of this survey research were positive, based on mean differences between expectations and perceptions of TNSQ. This indicates satisfaction with TNSQ and shows that the quality of the service is higher than what the respondents expect. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test using the P value for the test, which is .35, did not show a statistically significant change between the median differences of perception and expectation. The total number of respondents was 13. Results indicate that overall perceived service quality is a positive value (0.05332). This means the perceptions of the level of service are slightly higher than what they expect, indicating there is satisfaction with TNSQ. Conclusions The responses to the interview questions and data gathered from the survey showed overall satisfaction with TNSQ. The SERVQUAL instrument was a good framework to assess TNSQ. In a nutshell, the study highlighted how the telehealth process provides daily monitoring of patient health, leading to the benefits of immediate feedback for patients, family, and caregivers as well as convenience of scheduling. PMID:29802089

Status report on speech research. A report on the status and progress of studies on the nature of speech, instrumentation for its investigation, and practical applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liberman, A. M.

1984-08-01

This report (1 January-30 June) is one of a regular series on the status and progress of studies on the nature of speech, instrumentation for its investigation, and practical applications. Manuscripts cover the following topics: Sources of variability in early speech development; Invariance: Functional or descriptive?; Brief comments on invariance in phonetic perception; Phonetic category boundaries are flexible; On categorizing asphasic speech errors; Universal and language particular aspects of vowel-to-vowel coarticulation; Functional specific articulatory cooperation following jaw perturbation; during speech: Evidence for coordinative structures; Formant integration and the perception of nasal vowel height; Relative power of cues: FO shifts vs. voice timing; Laryngeal management at utterance-internal word boundary in American English; Closure duration and release burst amplitude cues to stop consonant manner and place of articulation; Effects of temporal stimulus properties on perception of the (sl)-(spl) distinction; The physics of controlled conditions: A reverie about locomotion; On the perception of intonation from sinusoidal sentences; Speech Perception; Speech Articulation; Motor Control; Speech Development.

Manufacturing challenge: An employee perception of the impact of BEM variables on motivation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nyaude, Alaster

The study examines the impact of Thomas F. Gilbert's Behavior Engineering Model (BEM) variables on employee perception of motivation at an aerospace equipment manufacturing plant in Georgia. The research process involved literature review, and determination of an appropriate survey instrument for the study. The Hersey-Chevalier modified PROBE instrument (Appendix C) was used with Dr Roger Chevalier's validation. The participants' responses were further examined to determine the influence of demographic control variables of age, gender, length of service with the company and education on employee perception of motivation. The results indicated that the top three highly motivating variables were knowledge and skills, capacity and resources. Knowledge and skills was perceived to be highly motivating, capacity as second highly motivating and resources as the third highly motivating variable. Interestingly, the fourth highly motivating variable was information, the fifth was motives and the sixth was incentives. The results also showed that demographic control variables had no influence on employee perception of motivation. Further research may be required to understand to what extend these BEM variables impact employee perceptions of motivation.

Student Perceptions of and Confidence in Self-Care Course Concepts Using Team-based Learning.

PubMed

Frame, Tracy R; Gryka, Rebecca; Kiersma, Mary E; Todt, Abby L; Cailor, Stephanie M; Chen, Aleda M H

2016-04-25

Objective. To evaluate changes in student perceptions of and confidence in self-care concepts after completing a team-based learning (TBL) self-care course. Methods. Team-based learning was used at two universities in first professional year, semester-long self-care courses. Two instruments were created and administered before and after the semester. The instruments were designed to assess changes in student perceptions of self-care using the theory of planned behavior (TPB) domains and confidence in learning self-care concepts using Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory. Wilcoxon signed rank tests were used to evaluate pre/post changes, and Mann Whitney U tests were used to evaluate university differences. Results. Fifty-three Cedarville University and 58 Manchester University students completed both instruments (100% and 92% response rates, respectively). Student self-care perceptions with TPB decreased significantly on nine of 13 items for Cedarville and decreased for one of 13 items for Manchester. Student confidence in self-care concepts improved significantly on all questions for both universities. Conclusion. Data indicate TBL self-care courses were effective in improving student confidence about self-care concepts. Establishing students' skill sets prior to entering the profession is beneficial because pharmacists will use self-directed learning to expand their knowledge and adapt to problem-solving situations.

Student Perceptions of and Confidence in Self-Care Course Concepts Using Team-based Learning

PubMed Central

Gryka, Rebecca; Kiersma, Mary E.; Todt, Abby L.; Cailor, Stephanie M.; Chen, Aleda M. H.

2016-01-01

Objective. To evaluate changes in student perceptions of and confidence in self-care concepts after completing a team-based learning (TBL) self-care course. Methods. Team-based learning was used at two universities in first professional year, semester-long self-care courses. Two instruments were created and administered before and after the semester. The instruments were designed to assess changes in student perceptions of self-care using the theory of planned behavior (TPB) domains and confidence in learning self-care concepts using Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory. Wilcoxon signed rank tests were used to evaluate pre/post changes, and Mann Whitney U tests were used to evaluate university differences. Results. Fifty-three Cedarville University and 58 Manchester University students completed both instruments (100% and 92% response rates, respectively). Student self-care perceptions with TPB decreased significantly on nine of 13 items for Cedarville and decreased for one of 13 items for Manchester. Student confidence in self-care concepts improved significantly on all questions for both universities. Conclusion. Data indicate TBL self-care courses were effective in improving student confidence about self-care concepts. Establishing students’ skill sets prior to entering the profession is beneficial because pharmacists will use self-directed learning to expand their knowledge and adapt to problem-solving situations. PMID:27170817

The effects of digital signal processing features on children's speech recognition and loudness perception.

PubMed

Crukley, Jeffery; Scollie, Susan D

2014-03-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of hearing instruments set to Desired Sensation Level version 5 (DSL v5) hearing instrument prescription algorithm targets and equipped with directional microphones and digital noise reduction (DNR) on children's sentence recognition in noise performance and loudness perception in a classroom environment. Ten children (ages 8-17 years) with stable, congenital sensorineural hearing losses participated in the study. Participants were fitted bilaterally with behind-the-ear hearing instruments set to DSL v5 prescriptive targets. Sentence recognition in noise was evaluated using the Bamford-Kowal-Bench Speech in Noise Test (Niquette et al., 2003). Loudness perception was evaluated using a modified version of the Contour Test of Loudness Perception (Cox, Alexander, Taylor, & Gray, 1997). Children's sentence recognition in noise performance was significantly better when using directional microphones alone or in combination with DNR than when using omnidirectional microphones alone or in combination with DNR. Children's loudness ratings for sounds above 72 dB SPL were lowest when fitted with the DSL v5 Noise prescription combined with directional microphones. DNR use showed no effect on loudness ratings. Use of the DSL v5 Noise prescription with a directional microphone improved sentence recognition in noise performance and reduced loudness perception ratings for loud sounds relative to a typical clinical reference fitting with the DSL v5 Quiet prescription with no digital signal processing features enabled. Potential clinical strategies are discussed.

Occupant perception of indoor air and comfort in four hospitality environments.

PubMed

Moschandreas, D J; Chu, P

2002-01-01

This article reports on a survey of customer and staff perceptions of indoor air quality at two restaurants, a billiard hall, and a casino. The survey was conducted at each environment for 8 days: 2 weekend days on 2 consecutive weekends and 4 weekdays. Before and during the survey, each hospitality environment satisfied ventilation requirements set in ASHRAE Standard 62-1999, Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air. An objective of this study was to test the hypothesis: If a hospitality environment satisfies ASHRAE ventilation requirements, then the indoor air is acceptable, that is, fewer than 20% of the exposed occupants perceive the environment as unacceptable. A second objective was to develop a multiple regression model that predicts the dependent variable, the environment is acceptable, as a function of a number of independent perception variables. Occupant perception of environmental, comfort, and physical variables was measured using a questionnaire. This instrument was designed to be efficient and unobtrusive; subjects could complete it within 3 min. Significant differences of occupant environment perception were identified among customers and staff. The dependent variable, the environment is acceptable, is affected by temperature, occupant density, and occupant smoking status, odor perception, health conditions, sensitivity to chemicals, and enjoyment of activities. Depending on the hospitality environment, variation of independent variables explains as much as 77% of the variation of the dependent variable.

CRiSP: An Instrument for Assessing Student Perceptions of Classroom Response Systems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richardson, Alice M.; Dunn, Peter K.; McDonald, Christine; Oprescu, Florin

2015-01-01

This paper describes the development and validation of an instrument for evaluating classroom response systems (CRS). While a number of studies evaluating CRS have been published to date, no standardised instrument exists as a means of evaluating the impact of using the CRS. This means that comparing the different systems, or evaluating the…

The Educational Climate Inventory: Measuring Students' Perceptions of the Preclerkship and Clerkship Settings.

PubMed

Krupat, Edward; Borges, Nicole J; Brower, Richard D; Haidet, Paul M; Schroth, W Scott; Fleenor, Thomas J; Uijtdehaage, Sebastian

2017-12-01

To develop an instrument to assess educational climate, a critical aspect of the medical school learning environment that previous tools have not explored in depth. Fifty items were written, capturing aspects of Dweck's performance-learning distinction, to distinguish students' perceptions of the educational climate as learning/mastery oriented (where the goal is growth and development) versus performance oriented (where the goal is appearance of competence). These items were included in a 2014 survey of first-, second-, and third-year students at six diverse medical schools. Students rated their preclerkship or clerkship experiences and provided demographic and other data. The final Educational Climate Inventory (ECI) was determined via exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Relationships between scale scores and other variables were calculated. Responses were received from 1,441/2,590 students (56%). The 20-item ECI resulted, with three factors: centrality of learning and mutual respect; competitiveness and stress; and passive learning and memorization. Clerkship students' ratings of their learning climate were more performance oriented than preclerkship students' ratings (P < .001). Among preclerkship students, ECI scores were more performance oriented in schools with grading versus pass-fail systems (P < .04). Students who viewed their climate as more performance oriented were less satisfied with their medical school (P < .001) and choice of medicine as a career (P < .001). The ECI allows educators to assess students' perceptions of the learning climate. It has potential as an evaluation instrument to determine the efficacy of attempts to move health professions education toward learning and mastery.

Effects of Different Distributions of Training Time on the Acquisition of Contact Flying Skills

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-07-01

evaluate their own performance. PERCEPTION OF TRAINING. Based orn their general response to the Student Opinion Survey, the students in both programs felt...analy- sis. Dr. Jerry M. Childs and Mr. Edward Miller of Seville aided in the devel- oment of the pilot performance measurement instruments. Mr. E. Peter...J. B., Childs , J. M., Prophet, W. W., & Spears, W. L. Human factors problems in general aviation (Tech. Rep. FAA-CT-80-194). Washington, DC: Federal

Measuring perceived effects of drinking an extract of basidiomycetes Agaricus blazei murill: a survey of Japanese consumers with cancer

PubMed Central

Talcott, James A; Clark, Jack A; Lee, Insu P

2007-01-01

Background To survey cancer patients who consume an extract of the Basidiomycetes Agaricus blazei Murill mushroom (Sen-Sei-Ro) to measure their self-assessment of its effects and to develop an instrument for use in future randomized trials. Methods We designed, translated and mailed a survey to 2,346 Japanese consumers of Sen-Sei-Ro self-designated as cancer patients. The survey assessed consumer demographics, cancer history, Sen-Sei-Ro consumption, and its perceived effects. We performed exploratory psychometric analyses to identify distinct, multi-item scales that could summarize perceptions of effects. Results We received completed questionnaires from 782 (33%) of the sampled Sen-Sei-Ro consumers with a cancer history. Respondents represented a broad range of cancer patients familiar with Sen-Sei-Ro. Nearly all had begun consumption after their cancer diagnosis. These consumers expressed consistently positive views, though not extremely so, with more benefit reported for more abstract benefits such as emotional and physical well-being than relief of specific symptoms. We identified two conceptually and empirically distinct and internally consistent summary scales measuring Sen-Sei-Ro consumers' perceptions of its effects, Relief of Symptoms and Functional Well-being (Cronbach's alpha: Relief of Symptoms, α = .74; Functional Well-Being, α = .91). Conclusion Respondents to our survey of Sen-Sei-Ro consumers with cancer reported favorable perceived effects from its use. Our instrument, when further validated, may be a useful outcome in trials assessing this and other complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) substances in cancer patients. PMID:17967191

Tactile friction of topical formulations.

PubMed

Skedung, L; Buraczewska-Norin, I; Dawood, N; Rutland, M W; Ringstad, L

2016-02-01

The tactile perception is essential for all types of topical formulations (cosmetic, pharmaceutical, medical device) and the possibility to predict the sensorial response by using instrumental methods instead of sensory testing would save time and cost at an early stage product development. Here, we report on an instrumental evaluation method using tactile friction measurements to estimate perceptual attributes of topical formulations. Friction was measured between an index finger and an artificial skin substrate after application of formulations using a force sensor. Both model formulations of liquid crystalline phase structures with significantly different tactile properties, as well as commercial pharmaceutical moisturizing creams being more tactile-similar, were investigated. Friction coefficients were calculated as the ratio of the friction force to the applied load. The structures of the model formulations and phase transitions as a result of water evaporation were identified using optical microscopy. The friction device could distinguish friction coefficients between the phase structures, as well as the commercial creams after spreading and absorption into the substrate. In addition, phase transitions resulting in alterations in the feel of the formulations could be detected. A correlation was established between skin hydration and friction coefficient, where hydrated skin gave rise to higher friction. Also a link between skin smoothening and finger friction was established for the commercial moisturizing creams, although further investigations are needed to analyse this and correlations with other sensorial attributes in more detail. The present investigation shows that tactile friction measurements have potential as an alternative or complement in the evaluation of perception of topical formulations. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Group power through the lens of the 21st century and beyond: further validation of the Sieloff-King Assessment of Group Power within Organizations.

PubMed

Sieloff, Christina L; Bularzik, Anne M

2011-11-01

The purpose was to determine the content validity of a semantic revision of items on a reliable and valid instrument, the Sieloff-King Assessment of Group Power within Organizations (SKAGPO). Research participants expressed negative perceptions regarding the use of the concept of 'power' in SKAGPO items. The SKAGPO is the only instrument measuring a nursing group's power or outcome attainment. Using a survey method, the instrument and grading scale were sent to 12 expert judges. Six participants completed the grading scale. The Content Validity Index (CVI) for seven questions was at or above 83% agreement. Overall, the CVI for the eight revised questions was 93.75%. Subsequently, the instrument was renamed the Sieloff-King Assessment of Group Outcome Attainment within Organizations (SKAGOAO). The semantic revision demonstrated content validity for the revised SKAGOAO. When used by nursing groups to assess their level of outcome attainment, the instrument should continue to be psychometrically evaluated. A nursing group of any size can use the SKAGOAO to both assess the group's level of outcome attainment or empowerment and direct plans to further improve that level. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Instrumental textural perception of food and comparative biomaterials

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Texture is an important food quality attribute affecting consumer acceptance. Consumers characterize texture as either crispy or crunchy, and the moisture content and internal structure of the products are significant factors in its perception. Exposing an extruded corn snack (ECS), an extruded biod...

Impact of the Career Explorers Program on High School Students' Perceptions of the Pharmacy Profession

PubMed Central

Stensland, Sheri L.; Warholak, Terri L.; Mattingly, Lisa

2008-01-01

Objective To determine the effect of a 5-week Career Explorers Program (CEP) on high school students' perceptions of pharmacists' characteristics, duties, and training. Methods A 16-item survey instrument with attitudinal, frequency, and relative quantity response options was completed by all CEP students on the first and last day of the program. The survey assessed students' attitudes concerning pharmacist characteristics, duties, and training. Results All students who participated in the CEP in 2003 completed the survey instrument (n = 50). Seventy percent of respondents' answers to the attitudinal subscale questions significantly changed from preassessment to postassessment. Conclusion A 5-week CEP provided high school students with more realistic perceptions of pharmacists' roles, duties, and training before the students entered the pharmacy program. PMID:18698385

Satisfaction with and Benefits of a Psych-social Club: Development of a Mixed Method Evaluation Instrument

PubMed Central

Labun, Evelyn; Yurkovich, Eleanor; Ide, Bette A.

2015-01-01

Deinstitutionalization of psychiatric mental health hospitals began in the 1960’s; thus, the delivery of mental health services became dependent on regional centers and community based, contracted services. One such service model is the psych-social club. Such clubs provide mental health services on the lower end of the cost continuum and reduce the utilization of higher cost services (Yurkovich, Labun, Cook & Lattergrass, 2005). This paper fills a gap by reporting on the development of a mixed method instrument entitled Benefits & Satisfaction Tool for Members of a Psych-social Club (B&ST-MPC). It also reports on the psychometric properties of the instrument, and measures members’ perception of satisfaction with and benefits of their psych-social club utilization, thus providing evaluative information for developing client centered continuums of care (Yurkovich et al., 2005). The paper includes a brief overview of the first mixed method study, background information on the rationale for instrument development, including methods used, and a discussion of the instrument’s psychometric properties. PMID:23164402

Health science students and their learning environment: a comparison of perceptions of on-site, remote-site, and traditional classroom students.

PubMed

Elison-Bowers, P; Snelson, Chareen; Casa de Calvo, Mario; Thompson, Heather

2008-02-05

This study compared the responses of on-site, remote-site, and traditional classroom students on measures of student/teacher interaction, course structure, physical learning environment, and overall course enjoyment/satisfaction. The sample population consisted of students taking undergraduate courses in medical terminology at two western colleges. The survey instrument was derived from Thomerson's questionnaire, which included closed- and open-ended questions assessing perceptions of students toward their courses. Controlling for grade expectations, results revealed no significant differences among the on-site, remote-site, and traditional classroom students in any of the four cluster domains. However, a nonsignificant (and continuing) trend suggested that students preferred the traditional classroom environment. When results were controlled for age, significant differences emerged between traditional and nontraditional students on measures of student/teacher interaction, physical learning environment, and overall enjoyment/satisfaction, as nontraditional students exhibited higher scores. Students' responses to open-ended questions indicated they enjoyed the convenience of online instruction, but reported finding frustration with technology itself.

Development and Validation of an Instrument to Assess Social Work Students' Perceptions, Knowledge, and Attitudes about Human Trafficking Questionnaire (PKA-HTQ): An Exploratory Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nsonwu, Maura Busch; Welch-Brewer, Chiquitia; Heffron, Laurie Cook; Lemke, Melinda A.; Busch-Armendariz, Noel; Sulley, Caitlin; Cook, Sharon Warren; Lewis, Mary; Watson, Elizabeth; Moore, Wayne; Li, Jilan

2017-01-01

Objective: This study sought to develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of a tool designed to assess social work students' knowledge of and perceptions and attitudes toward human trafficking. To achieve this aim, the Perceptions, Knowledge, and Attitudes toward Human Trafficking Questionnaire (PKA-HTQ) was developed and its psychometric…

Instrument translation and initial psychometric evaluation of the Danish Body Image Quality of Life Inventory.

PubMed

Rasmussen, Trine Bernholdt; Berg, Selina Kikkenborg; Dixon, Jane; Moons, Philip; Konradsen, Hanne

2016-12-01

Negative body perception has been reported in a number of patient populations. No instrument in Danish for measuring body image-related concerns has been available. Without such an instrument, understanding of the phenomenon in Danish-speaking populations is limited. The purpose of the study was thus to translate and validate a Danish version of the Body Image Quality of Life Inventory (BIQLI), in order to obtain a valid instrument applicable for healthcare research. The study consisted of two phases: (i) instrument adaptation, including forward and back translation, expert committee comparisons and cognitive interviewing, and (ii) empirical testing of the Danish version (BIQLI-DA) with subsequent psychometric evaluation. Hypothesised correlations to other measures, including body mass index (BMI), Medical Outcome Short Form-8 (SF-8), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), General Anxiety Disorder-7 and Symptom Check List-90-Revised (SCL-90-R ® ) were tested. In addition, exploratory factor structure analysis (EFA) and internal consistency on item and scale level were performed. The adapted instrument was found to be semantically sound, yet concerns about face validity did arise through cognitive interviews. Danish college students (n = 189, 65 men, M age = 21.1 years) participated in the piloting of the BIQLI-DA. Convergent construct validity was demonstrated through associations to related constructs. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a potential subscale structure. Finally, results showed a high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.92). Support for the validity of the BIQLI-DA might have been strengthened by repeating cognitive interviews after layout alterations, by piloting the instrument on a larger sample. This study demonstrated tentative support for the validity of the Danish Body Image Quality of Life (BIQLI-DA) and found the measure to be reliable in terms of internal consistency. Further exploration of response processes and construct validity is needed. © 2016 Nordic College of Caring Science.

The development and validation of the Clinical Teaching Behavior Inventory (CTBI-23): Nurse preceptors' and new graduate nurses' perceptions of precepting.

PubMed

Lee-Hsieh, Jane; O'Brien, Anthony; Liu, Chieh-Yu; Cheng, Su-Fen; Lee, Yea-Wen; Kao, Yu-Hsiu

2016-03-01

Few studies have examined the perceptions of clinical teaching behaviors among both nurse preceptors and preceptees. To develop a Clinical Teaching Behavior Inventory (CTBI) for nurse preceptors' self-evaluation, and for new graduate nurse preceptee evaluation of preceptor clinical teaching behaviors and to test the validity and reliability of the CTBI. This study used mixed research techniques in five phases. Phase I: based on a literature review, the researchers developed an instrument to measure clinical teaching behaviors. Phase II: 17 focus group interviews were conducted with 63 preceptors and 24 new graduate nurses from five hospitals across Taiwan. Clinical teaching behavior themes were extracted from the focus group data and integrated into the domains and items of the CTBI. Phase III: two rounds of an expert Delphi study were conducted to determine the content validity of the instrument. Phase IV: a total of 290 nurse preceptors and 260 new graduate nurses were recruited voluntarily in the same five hospitals in Taiwan. Of these, 521 completed questionnaires to test the construct validity of CTBI by using confirmatory factory analysis. Phase V: the internal consistency and reliability of the instrument were tested. CTBI consists of 23 items in six domains: (1) 'Committing to Teaching'; (2) 'Building a Learning Atmosphere'; (3) 'Using Appropriate Teaching Strategies'; (4) 'Guiding Inter-professional Communication'; (5) 'Providing Feedback and Evaluation'; and (6) 'Showing Concern and Support'. The confirmatory factor analysis yielded a good fit and reliable scores for the CTBI-23 model. The CTBI-23 is a valid and reliable instrument for identifying the clinical teaching behaviors of a preceptor as perceived by preceptors and new graduate preceptees. The CTBI-23 depicts clinical teaching behaviors of nurse preceptors in Taiwan. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Investigating Student Perceptions of the Chemistry Laboratory and Their Approaches to Learning in the Laboratory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berger, Spencer Granett

This dissertation explores student perceptions of the instructional chemistry laboratory and the approaches students take when learning in the laboratory environment. To measure student perceptions of the chemistry laboratory, a survey instrument was developed. 413 students responded to the survey during the Fall 2011 semester. Students' perception of the usefulness of the laboratory in helping them learn chemistry in high school was related to several factors regarding their experiences in high school chemistry. Students' perception of the usefulness of the laboratory in helping them learn chemistry in college was also measured. Reasons students provided for the usefulness of the laboratory were categorized. To characterize approaches to learning in the laboratory, students were interviewed midway through semester (N=18). The interviews were used to create a framework describing learning approaches that students use in the laboratory environment. Students were categorized into three levels: students who view the laboratory as a requirement, students who believe that the laboratory augments their understanding, and students who view the laboratory as an important part of science. These categories describe the types of strategies students used when conducting experiments. To further explore the relationship between students' perception of the laboratory and their approaches to learning, two case studies are described. These case studies involve interviews in the beginning and end of the semester. In the interviews, students reflect on what they have learned in the laboratory and describe their perceptions of the laboratory environment. In order to encourage students to adopt higher-level approaches to learning in the laboratory, a metacognitive intervention was created. The intervention involved supplementary questions that students would answer while completing laboratory experiments. The questions were designed to encourage students to think critically about the laboratory procedures. In order to test the effects of the intervention, an experimental group (N=87) completed these supplementary questions during two laboratory experiments while a control group (N=84) performed the same experiments without these additional questions. The effects of the intervention on laboratory exam performance were measured. Students in the experimental group had a higher average on the laboratory exam than students in the control group.

Validation and Exploration of Instruments for Assessing Public Knowledge of and Attitudes toward Nanotechnology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Shu-Fen; Lin, Huann-shyang; Wu, Yi-ying

2013-08-01

The purposes of this study were to develop instruments that assess public knowledge of nanotechnology (PKNT), public attitudes toward nanotechnology (PANT) and conduct a pilot study for exploring the relationship between PKNT and PANT. The PKNT test was composed of six scales involving major nanotechnology concepts, including size and scale, structure of matter, size-dependent properties, forces and interactions, tools and instrumentation, as well as science, technology, and society. After item analysis, 26 multiple-choice questions were selected for the PKNT test with a KR-20 reliability of 0.91. Twenty items were developed in the PANT questionnaire which can be classified as scales of trust in government and industry, trust in scientists, and perception of benefit and risk. Cronbach alpha for the PANT questionnaire was 0.70. In a pilot study, 209 citizens, varying in age, were selected to respond to the instruments. Results indicated that about 70 % of respondents did not understand most of the six major concepts involving nanotechnology. The public tended to distrust government and industry and their levels of trust showed no relationship to their levels of knowledge about nanotechnology. However, people perceived that nanotechnology provided high benefits and high risks. Their perceptions of the benefits and risks were positively related with their knowledge level of nanotechnology. People's trust showed a negative relationship to their risk perception. Implications for using these instruments in research are discussed in this paper.

Can we measure patients' perception during dental impressions? The Burdens in Dental Impression-Making Questionnaire - BiDIM-Q.

PubMed

Tsirogiannis, Panagiotis; Neophytou, Sophia; Reul, Anika; Heydecke, Guido; Reissmann, Daniel R

2017-01-01

To develop a reliable and valid instrument for the comprehensive assessment of patients' burdens during dental impression making, the Burdens in Dental Impression Making Questionnaire, BiDIM-Q. The item pool was generated in a convenience sample of 20 prosthodontic patients using semi-structured face-to-face interviews. The final instrument was tested in 145 consecutively recruited patients, and psychometric properties of the BiDIM-Q were determined. Four different impression materials were used according to the manufacturers' instructions and indications: alginate, c-silicone, polyvinylsiloxane, and polyether. The final BiDIM-Q consisting of 12 items showed sufficient reliability, indicated by Cronbach's alpha of .82 and an average inter-item correlation of .29. Validity was supported by Pearson correlation coefficients for the correlation between the instrument's total score with the patients' overall satisfaction rating (r=.63), and by the correlation matrix for the correlations of the patients' perceptions with the practitioners' satisfaction ratings. Overall, patient perceived burdens were low with highest burdens observed when using polyether in partially dentate patients for pick-up impressions, while lowest burdens were reported when using c-silicone for impressions of edentulous jaws. The BiDIM-Q is a reliable and valid tool for assessing patient-based process-related quality of care in dentistry allowing a deeper insight into patients' perspective during dental impression making. Copyright © 2016 Japan Prosthodontic Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Rural parents' perceived stigma of seeking mental health services for their children: development and evaluation of a new instrument.

PubMed

Williams, Stacey L; Polaha, Jodi

2014-09-01

The purpose of our research was to examine the validity of score interpretations of an instrument developed to measure parents' perceptions of stigma about seeking mental health services for their children. The validity of the score interpretations of the instrument was tested in 2 studies. Study 1 employed confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), using a split half approach, and construct and criterion validity on data from the entire sample of parents in rural Appalachia whose children were experiencing psychosocial concerns (N = 347), while Study 2 employed CFA, construct and criterion validity, and predictive validity of the scores on data from a general sample of parents in rural Appalachia (N = 184). Results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed support for a 2-factor model of parents' perceived stigma, which represented both self and public forms of stigma associated with seeking mental health services for their children, and correlated with existing measures of stigma and other psychosocial variables. Further, the new self and public stigma scale significantly predicted parents' willingness to seek services for children. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

School Counseling Needs of Latino Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parker, Maggie M.; Ray, Dee C.

2017-01-01

This article focuses on determining the school counseling activities perceived as important by a sample of Latino high school students. The researchers explored student perceptions through the administration of a survey instrument created for this project to better understand Latino students' perceptions and satisfaction with school counselor…

Power, gender stereotypes and perceptions of heterosexual couples.

PubMed

Smoreda, Z

1995-12-01

This paper examines the relation between power attributed to members of heterosexual couples and the perception of their personalities in terms of gender stereotyped traits. Three-hundred and fifty adults, native French subjects (women and men) participated in the study. They attributed daily family tasks and decisions to the target persons; then, they described them on the Bem Sex-Role Inventory. The results indicated strong correlations between observers' representations of power distribution in the couple and the gender related personality descriptions of the couple. The attribution of 'instrumental' traits increased (and 'expressive' traits decreased) according to the degree of power assigned to the target person of either sex. On the 'instrumentality' dimension, accentuation of perceptions of people in gender role inconsistent positions was also observed. The simultaneous influences of general gender stereotypes and specific relations between the gender roles in dyads on the perception of individuals are discussed. It is proposed that social relations of dominance provide a model for the construction of gender stereotypes and their contextual applications.

The Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey (CLASS) for use in Biology.

PubMed

Semsar, Katharine; Knight, Jennifer K; Birol, Gülnur; Smith, Michelle K

2011-01-01

This paper describes a newly adapted instrument for measuring novice-to-expert-like perceptions about biology: the Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey for Biology (CLASS-Bio). Consisting of 31 Likert-scale statements, CLASS-Bio probes a range of perceptions that vary between experts and novices, including enjoyment of the discipline, propensity to make connections to the real world, recognition of conceptual connections underlying knowledge, and problem-solving strategies. CLASS-Bio has been tested for response validity with both undergraduate students and experts (biology PhDs), allowing student responses to be directly compared with a consensus expert response. Use of CLASS-Bio to date suggests that introductory biology courses have the same challenges as introductory physics and chemistry courses: namely, students shift toward more novice-like perceptions following instruction. However, students in upper-division biology courses do not show the same novice-like shifts. CLASS-Bio can also be paired with other assessments to: 1) examine how student perceptions impact learning and conceptual understanding of biology, and 2) assess and evaluate how pedagogical techniques help students develop both expertise in problem solving and an expert-like appreciation of the nature of biology.

Quality gap of educational services in viewpoints of students in Hormozgan University of medical sciences.

PubMed

Aghamolaei, Teamur; Zare, Shahram

2008-06-18

Higher education is growing fast and every day it becomes more and more exposed to globalization processes. The aim of this study was to determine the quality gap of educational services by using a modified SERVQUAL instrument among students in Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences. A cross-sectional study was carried out at Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences in 2007. In this study, a total of 300 students were selected randomly and asked to complete a questionnaire that was designed according to SERVQUAL methods. This questionnaire measured students' perceptions and expectations in five dimensions of service that consists of assurance, responsiveness, empathy, reliability and tangibles. The quality gap of educational services was determined based on differences between students' perceptions and expectations. The results demonstrated that in each of the five SERVQUAL dimensions, there was a negative quality gap. The least and the most negative quality gap means were in the reliability (-0.71) and responsiveness (-1.14) dimensions respectively. Also, there were significant differences between perceptions and expectations of students in all of the five SERVQUAL dimensions (p < 0.001). Negative quality gaps mean students' expectations exceed their perceptions. Thus, improvements are needed across all five dimensions.

The Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey (CLASS) for Use in Biology

PubMed Central

Semsar, Katharine; Knight, Jennifer K.; Birol, Gülnur; Smith, Michelle K.

2011-01-01

This paper describes a newly adapted instrument for measuring novice-to-expert-like perceptions about biology: the Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey for Biology (CLASS-Bio). Consisting of 31 Likert-scale statements, CLASS-Bio probes a range of perceptions that vary between experts and novices, including enjoyment of the discipline, propensity to make connections to the real world, recognition of conceptual connections underlying knowledge, and problem-solving strategies. CLASS-Bio has been tested for response validity with both undergraduate students and experts (biology PhDs), allowing student responses to be directly compared with a consensus expert response. Use of CLASS-Bio to date suggests that introductory biology courses have the same challenges as introductory physics and chemistry courses: namely, students shift toward more novice-like perceptions following instruction. However, students in upper-division biology courses do not show the same novice-like shifts. CLASS-Bio can also be paired with other assessments to: 1) examine how student perceptions impact learning and conceptual understanding of biology, and 2) assess and evaluate how pedagogical techniques help students develop both expertise in problem solving and an expert-like appreciation of the nature of biology. PMID:21885823

Compliance with recommendations for pandemic influenza H1N1 2009: the role of trust and personal beliefs.

PubMed

Prati, Gabriele; Pietrantoni, Luca; Zani, Bruna

2011-10-01

To investigate the relationship between risk perception, worry, control, trust, exposure to an educational campaign, media exaggeration with recommendations for pandemic influenza H1N1 2009. Cross sectional telephone survey using random digit dialing. A total of 1010 adult Italians were interviewed by telephone between 16 and 19 February 2010. The survey instrument included demographic data, measures on risk perception, worry, trust and compliance with recommendations for pandemic influenza H1N1 2009. Controlling for socio-demographic variables, compliance with all the recommended behaviors was associated with media trust, trust in the Ministry of Health, worry and perceived severity of illness. Perceptions that the risk of catching pandemic influenza H1N1 2009 is high, that the authorities are acting in the public's best interest in dealing with it, that the media had exaggerated the risks of catching it and that people can control their risk of catching it were associated with compliance with some recommended behaviors even after considering effects of socio-demographic characteristics. The results underscore the importance of building public trust and to consider the influence of risk perception and affective response in promoting compliance with recommended behaviors.

Motivation Measures in Sport: A Critical Review and Bibliometric Analysis.

PubMed

Clancy, Rachel B; Herring, Matthew P; Campbell, Mark J

2017-01-01

Motivation is widely-researched, in both sport psychology and other fields. As rigorous measurement is essential to understanding this latent construct, a critical appraisal of measurement instruments is needed. Thus, the purpose of this review was to evaluate the six most highly cited motivation measures in sport. Peer-reviewed articles published prior to August 2016 were searched to identify the six most highly cited motivation questionnaires in sport: Sport Motivation Scale (SMS), Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI), Situational Motivational Scale (SIMS), Perceptions of Success Questionnaire (POSQ), Behavioural Regulation in Sport Questionnaire (BRSQ), and Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire (TEOSQ). The questionnaires were then evaluated and discussed in four sections: Development, Reliability, Correlates, and Summary. Bibliometric data were also calculated (average weighted impact factor) and assessed (e.g., citations per year) to evaluate the impact of the use of each questionnaire. Despite some variance in their psychometric properties, conceptualization, structure, and utility, the six questionnaires are psychometrically strong instruments for quantifying motivation that are widely supported in the literature. Bibliometric analyses suggested that the IMI ranks first and the SMS ranks sixth according to the average weighted impact factors of their original publications. Consideration of each questionnaire's psychometric strengths/limitations, and conceptualization of motivation in the context of specific research questions should guide researchers in selecting the most appropriate instrument to measure motivation in sport. The average weighted impact factor of each questionnaire is a useful value to consider as well. With these points in mind, recommendations are provided.

Motivation Measures in Sport: A Critical Review and Bibliometric Analysis

PubMed Central

Clancy, Rachel B.; Herring, Matthew P.; Campbell, Mark J.

2017-01-01

Motivation is widely-researched, in both sport psychology and other fields. As rigorous measurement is essential to understanding this latent construct, a critical appraisal of measurement instruments is needed. Thus, the purpose of this review was to evaluate the six most highly cited motivation measures in sport. Peer-reviewed articles published prior to August 2016 were searched to identify the six most highly cited motivation questionnaires in sport: Sport Motivation Scale (SMS), Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI), Situational Motivational Scale (SIMS), Perceptions of Success Questionnaire (POSQ), Behavioural Regulation in Sport Questionnaire (BRSQ), and Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire (TEOSQ). The questionnaires were then evaluated and discussed in four sections: Development, Reliability, Correlates, and Summary. Bibliometric data were also calculated (average weighted impact factor) and assessed (e.g., citations per year) to evaluate the impact of the use of each questionnaire. Despite some variance in their psychometric properties, conceptualization, structure, and utility, the six questionnaires are psychometrically strong instruments for quantifying motivation that are widely supported in the literature. Bibliometric analyses suggested that the IMI ranks first and the SMS ranks sixth according to the average weighted impact factors of their original publications. Consideration of each questionnaire's psychometric strengths/limitations, and conceptualization of motivation in the context of specific research questions should guide researchers in selecting the most appropriate instrument to measure motivation in sport. The average weighted impact factor of each questionnaire is a useful value to consider as well. With these points in mind, recommendations are provided. PMID:28337165

In search of the autologous clip: a case for experimental standardization.

PubMed

Krugman, Kimberly A; Martin, Kimberly E; Cosgriff, Ned; Slakey, Douglas P

2011-10-01

In an effort to enable faster and, at times, more challenging surgeries without compromising patient or physician safety, medical device manufacturers have created myriad solutions to vascular ligation through the development of novel tools. The speed of development, FDA approval, and dissemination of these devices into the hands of surgeons often outpaces the ability of investigators to critically evaluate comparative effectiveness of these devices. The Medline database was searched for energy-based vessel ligation devices. To remove any perception bias against non-Covidien instruments, critical review was applied only to the devices manufactured by our company. We report on the variability present in published results and offer vital metrics for future studies. Standardized testing and reporting for measures of safety and efficacy of these surgical instruments awaits definition from a consensus group.

Evaluation of urology residents' perception of surgical theater educational environment.

PubMed

Binsaleh, Saleh; Babaeer, Abdulrahman; Rabah, Danny; Madbouly, Khaled

2015-01-01

To evaluate surgical theater learning environment perception in urology residents in Saudi Arabia and to investigate association of learning environment perception and stages of residency program, sectors of health care system, and regions of Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional survey using the surgical theater educational environment measure (STEEM) inventory. The STEEM inventory was used to measure theater learning environment perception of urology residents in Saudi Arabia. Respondents' perception was compared regarding different residency stages, sectors of the health care system, and regions of Saudi Arabia. Internal reliability of the inventory was assessed using the Cronbach α coefficient. Correlation analysis was done using the Spearman ρ coefficient. Of 72 registered residents, 33 (45.8%) completed the questionnaire. The residents perceived their environment less than acceptable (135.9 ± 16.7, 67.95%). No significant differences in perception were found among residents of different program stages, different sectors of health care system, or different regions in Saudi Arabia. Residents from the eastern region perceived the training and teaching domain better (p = 0.025). The inventory showed a high internal consistency with a Cronbach α of 0.862. STEEM survey is an applicable and reliable instrument for assessing the learning environment and training skills of urology residency program in Saudi Arabia. Urology residents in Saudi Arabia perceived the theater learning environment as less than ideal. The perceptions of theater learning environment did not change significantly among different stages of the program, different sectors of health care system, or different training regions of Saudi Arabia assuring the uniformity of urology training all over Saudi Arabia. The training programs should address significant concerns and pay close attention to areas in surgical theater educational environment, which need development and enhancement, mainly planned fashion of training, supportive supervision and hospital environment, and proper coverage and management of workloads. Copyright © 2014 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effects of laparoscopic instrument and finger on force perception: a first step towards laparoscopic force-skills training.

PubMed

Raghu Prasad, M S; Manivannan, M; Chandramohan, S M

2015-07-01

In laparoscopic surgery, no external feedback on the magnitude of the force exerted is available. Hence, surgeons and residents tend to exert excessive force, which leads to tissue trauma. Ability of surgeons and residents to perceive their own force output without external feedback is a critical factor in laparoscopic force-skills training. Additionally, existing methods of laparoscopic training do not effectively train residents and novices on force-skills. Hence, there is growing need for the development of force-based training curriculum. As a first step towards force-based laparoscopic skills training, this study analysed force perception difference between laparoscopic instrument and finger in contralateral bimanual passive probing task. The study compared the isometric force matching performance of novices, residents and surgeons with finger and laparoscopic instrument. Contralateral force matching paradigm was employed to analyse the force perception capability in terms of relative (accuracy), and constant errors in force matching. Force perception of experts was found to be better than novices and residents. Interestingly, laparoscopic instrument was more accurate in discriminating the forces than finger. The dominant hand attempted to match the forces accurately, whereas non-dominant hand (NH) overestimated the forces. Further, the NH of experts was found to be most accurate. Furthermore, excessive forces were applied at lower force levels and at very high force levels. Due to misperception of force, novices and residents applied excessive forces. However, experts had good control over force with both dominant and NHs. These findings suggest that force-based training curricula should not only have proprioception tasks, but should also include bimanual force-skills training exercises in order to improve force perception ability and hand skills of novices and residents. The results can be used as a performance metric in both box and virtual reality based force-skills training.

Guidelines for Successful Use and Communication of Instrument Heritage in Early Mission Development with a Focus on Spectrometers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baker, Elizabeth E.

2012-01-01

Heritage is important for both cost and risk related issues and as such, it is heavily discussed in NASA proposal evaluations. If used and communicated efficiently, heritage can lower both the perception of risk and the associated costs. Definitions of heritage vary between engineering, cost, and scientific communities, but when applied appropriately, heritage provides a benefit to the proposed mission. By making an instrument at least once before, the cost of producing it again can be reduced. The time and effort needed to develop the instrument concept and test the product represent an expense that can be lowered through the use of a previously built and developed instrument. This same thought can be applied when using a flight spare or build-to-print model of the heritage instrument. The lowered perception of risk is a result of the confidence gained in the instrument through successful use in the target environment. This is extremely important in early mission development to the evaluation board. This analysis will use JPL-managed proposals from 2003 to 2011, including Discovery, New Frontiers, and Mars Scout missions. Through the examination of these proposals and their associated debriefs, a set of guidelines have been created for successful use and communication of instrument heritage in early mission development

Factors Associated with School Counselors' Use of a Family Systems Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin, Dottie Marie

2013-01-01

Six hundred fifty-seven (657) members of the American School Counseling Association responded to the researcher-developed survey, the "School Counselors Perceptions of Family Systems Perspectives Questionnaire" (SCP-FSPQ). The instrument assessed school counselors' perceptions of preparedness, competency, importance and frequency of…

Middle school student perceptions of school lunch following revised federal school meal guidelines

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

This study assessed student perceptions of school meals under the new federal meal patterns for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). Student feedback is instrumental in developing strategies to increase and maintain NSLP participation, satisfaction, and ultimately provide students with a health...

A New Dimension for Earth Science Learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bland, G.; Henry, A.; Bydlowski, D.

2017-12-01

NASA Science Objectives include capturing the global view of Earth from space. This unique perspective is often augmented by instrumented research aircraft, to provide in-situ and remote sensing observations in support of the world picture. Our "Advancing Earth Research Observations with Kites and Atmospheric /Terrestrial Sensors" (AEROKATS) project aims to bring this novel and exciting perspective into the hands of learners young and old. The practice of using instrumented kites as surrogate satellites and aircraft is gaining momentum, as our team undertakes the technical, operational, and scientific challenges in preparations to bring new and easy-to-field tools to broad audiences. The third dimension in spatial perception ("up") has previously been difficult to effectively incorporate in learning and local-scale research activities. AEROKATS brings simple to use instrumented aerial systems into the hands of students, educators, and scientists, with the tangible benefits of detailed, high resolution measurements and observations directly applicable to real-world studies of the environments around us.

A systematic review of patient-reported outcome measures in clinical vestibular research

PubMed Central

Fong, Eric; Li, Carol; Aslakson, Rebecca; Agrawal, Yuri

2014-01-01

Objective To identify the most commonly-used patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures in clinical vestibular research, and assess their test characteristics and applicability to study age-related vestibular loss (ARVL) in clinical trials. Data Sources We performed a systematic review of the PubMed, CINAHL, and PsycINFO databases from 1950 to August 13, 2013. Study Selection PRO measures were defined as outcomes that capture the subjective experience of the patient, such as symptoms, functional status, health perceptions, and quality of life. Two independent reviewers selected studies that used PRO measures in clinical vestibular research. Disparities were resolved with consensus between the reviewers. Of 2260 articles initially found on literature search, 255 full-text articles were retrieved for assessment. One-hundred and four studies met inclusion criteria for data collection. Data Extraction PRO measures were identified by two independent reviewers. The four most commonly used PROs were evaluated for their applicability to the condition of ARVL. Specifically, for these four PROs, data were collected pertaining to instrument test-retest reliability, item domains, and target population of the instrument. Data Synthesis A total of 50 PRO instruments were identified. The four most frequently utilized PROs were the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI), the Activities-specific Balance Confidence (ABC) scale, the Vertigo Symptom Scale (VSS), and the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Of these four PROs, three were validated for use in patients with vestibular disease, and one was validated in community-dwelling older individuals with balance impairments. Items across the four PROs were categorized into three domains based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health: Activity, Participation, and Body Functions and Structures. Conclusions None of the most commonly-used PRO instruments were validated for use in community-dwelling older adults specifically with ARVL. Nevertheless, the three common domains of items identified across these four PRO instruments may be generalizable to older adults and provide a basis for developing a PRO instrument designed to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions targeted to ARVL. PMID:25305629

Pharmacy students' perceptions of natural science and mathematics subjects.

PubMed

Prescott, Julie; Wilson, Sarah Ellen; Wan, Kai-Wai

2014-08-15

To determine the level of importance pharmacy students placed on science and mathematics subjects for pursuing a career in pharmacy. Two hundred fifty-four students completed a survey instrument developed to investigate students' perceptions of the relevance of science and mathematics subjects to a career in pharmacy. Pharmacy students in all 4 years of a master of pharmacy (MPharm) degree program were invited to complete the survey instrument. Students viewed chemistry-based and biology-based subjects as relevant to a pharmacy career, whereas mathematics subjects such as physics, logarithms, statistics, and algebra were not viewed important to a career in pharmacy. Students' experience in pharmacy and year of study influenced their perceptions of subjects relevant to a pharmacy career. Pharmacy educators need to consider how they can help students recognize the importance of scientific knowledge earlier in the pharmacy curriculum.

Service quality in community pharmacy: an exploration of determinants.

PubMed

White, Lesley; Klinner, Christiane

2012-01-01

Although various instruments have been developed to measure customer satisfaction with community pharmacy services, there is limited research regarding pharmacy staffs' understanding of service quality and its determinants. This study aimed to explore the perceptions of pharmacy staff regarding the factors that constitute a high level of service quality using the service quality determinants proposed by the Conceptual Model of Service Quality. Structured interviews were conducted with 27 pharmacy assistants and 6 pharmacists in 3 community pharmacies in Sydney. The interview questions focused on the participants' perceptions of consumer expectations, the translation of these perceptions into service quality specifications, the actual service delivery, and the communication to customers. From the pharmacy staff perspective, service quality is significantly limited by insufficient internal communication and control processes that impede role clarity and the resolution of conflicting role expectations among customer service personnel. Participants indicated that these problems could be alleviated through the implementation of more transparent, realistic, measurable, and accepted quality specifications by pharmacy management. The study indicates that the extent to which pharmacy management sets, maintains, and communicates service quality specifications to staff directly affects role clarity, role conflict, and organizational commitment among customer service staff, which in turn directly influence the level of service quality provided to the customers. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Diabetes in the African-American Medicare population. Morbidity, quality of care, and resource utilization.

PubMed

Chin, M H; Zhang, J X; Merrell, K

1998-07-01

To determine whether African-American Medicare recipients with diabetes are at increased risk for morbidity, poor quality of care, and high resource utilization. We analyzed 1,376 patients with diabetes who were > or = 65 years of age and in the 1993 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey. Morbidity measures were the Katz Index of Activities of Daily Living, Instrumental Activities of Daily Living, overall health perception, Charlson Comorbidity Index score, and diabetic complications. Quality of care standards were glycosylated hemoglobin measurements, ophthalmological visits, lipid testing, mammography, influenza vaccination, readmission within 30 days of hospital discharge, and outpatient visits within 4 weeks of hospital discharge. We stratified Medicare reimbursement by type of service and adjusted for sex, education, and age in multivariable analyses. Compared with white patients, African-American patients had worse health perception and lower quality of care. They were more likely to visit the emergency department and had fewer physician visits per year. African-Americans had higher reimbursement for home health services, but total reimbursement was similar after case-mix adjustment. Improved access to preventive care for older African-Americans with diabetes may improve health perception and use of the emergency department. The potential effect on total reimbursement is unclear. Future policy interventions to improve quality of care among Medicare patients with diabetes should especially target African-Americans.

Teacher interaction in psychosocial learning environments: cultural differences and their implications in science instruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khine, Myint Swe; Fisher, Darrell L.

2004-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine interpersonal behaviour in psychosocial learning environments and to determine the associations between science students' perceptions of their interactions with their teachers, the cultural background of teachers and their attitudinal outcomes. A sample of 1188 students completed the Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction instrument. The responses to two subscales of Test of Science-related Attitudes were used as attitudinal measures. Significant associations between students' perceptions of teacher interpersonal behaviour and the cultural background of teachers were detected. The results showed that students perceived a more favourable interpersonal relationship with Western teachers in the secondary science classrooms. The students in the classes of Western teachers indicated that they enjoyed science lessons more than those in the classes of Asian teachers. Some implications for science instruction in this context are discussed.

Impact of an Aging Simulation Game on Pharmacy Students’ Empathy for Older Adults

PubMed Central

Kiersma, Mary E.; Yehle, Karen S.; Plake, Kimberly S.

2015-01-01

Objective. To evaluate changes in empathy and perceptions as well as game experiences among student pharmacists participating in an aging simulation game. Methods. First-year student pharmacists participated in an aging simulation game. Changes were measured pre/post-activity using the Kiersma-Chen Empathy Scale (KCES) and Jefferson Scale of Empathy – Health Professions Scale (JSE-HPS) for empathy and the Aging Simulation Experience Survey (ASES) for perceptions of older adults’ experiences and game experiences. Wilcoxon signed rank tests were used to determine changes. Results. One hundred fifty-six student pharmacists completed the instruments. Empathy using the KCES and JSE-HPS improved significantly. Of the 13 items in the ASES, 9 significantly improved. Conclusion. Simulation games may help students overcome challenges demonstrating empathy and positive attitudes toward elderly patients. PMID:26396274

Students' Self-Perceptions of Apologies to Instructors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cheng, Dongmei

2017-01-01

Adopting retrospective verbal report, or RVR as the instrument, this study reports an analysis of the perceptions of native-English-speaking (NES) and non-native-English-speaking (NNES) students, who apologised to their instructors in coursework-related situations. Sixty NESs from different levels and disciplinary areas and 63 NNESs (Arabic and…

Perceptions of Organizational Functioning in Substance Abuse Treatment Facilities in South Africa

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bowles, Steven; Louw, Johann; Myers, Bronwyn

2011-01-01

Directors' and treatment staff's perceptions of organizational functioning within substance abuse treatment facilities in four provinces in South Africa were examined via the Texas Christian University's Organizational Readiness for Change instrument. Forty-four treatment facilities (out of 89) participated in the study. Results indicated that…

ATTITUDES TOWARD EDUCATION AND PERCEPTION OF DESIRABLE TEACHER BEHAVIORS--A Q STUDY.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

SONTAG, MARVIN

TO INVESTIGATE HOW ATTITUDES TOWARD EDUCATION INFLUENCE PERCEPTION OF DESIRABLE TEACHER BEHAVIORS, AN EDUCATIONAL ATTITUDES INSTRUMENT (KERLINGER'S ES-VII) AND AN 80-ITEM TEACHER BEHAVIORS Q-SORT WERE ADMINISTERED TO 80 ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS. THIRTY-TWO TEACHERS WERE RATED AS "PROGRESSIVE," 32…

Perceptions of Employees and Supervisors of a Skills Training Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Calcavecchi, Lincoln Todd

2018-01-01

Organizational leaders know that training improves worker performance, but training is often initiated without considering employees' work task requirements. This instrumental case study was conducted to understand the perceptions of employees who completed a skills training program and those of supervisors. The conceptual framework was andragogy,…

Institutional Climate Perception of Post Graduate Students in Relation to Their Information Literacy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kumar, Amruth G.; Rajesh, K.

2010-01-01

In this paper the investigators focus on the relationship between "Information Literacy" and "Institutional Climate Perception" of post graduate students. The study was conducted on four hundred Post Graduate Students' from four districts of Kerala, India. Instruments used were; "Information Literacy Inventory" and…

Eighth-Grade Students' Perceptions of Teacher Effectiveness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sprague, Julie A.

2013-01-01

This quantitative study used a validated student survey instrument to collect 182 Midwestern eighth-grade students' perceptions of effective teachers. Balch's (2011) survey was used. The original intent of this survey was to have students rate the effectiveness of one teacher. In this study, students were asked to rate teacher effectiveness and…

Educators' Perceptions on Bullying Prevention Strategies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Wet, Corene

2017-01-01

I report on an investigation into a group of Free State educators' recognition of bullying, their reactions to incidences of bullying, and their perceptions of the effectiveness of a number of bullying prevention strategies. The research instrument was a synthesis of the Delaware Research Questionnaire and questions based on findings from previous…

Perceptions of EFL College Students toward Collaborative Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Yingling

2018-01-01

The purpose of the study was to understand the perceptions of EFL college students toward collaborative learning (CL). This qualitative research design used narrative approach since the study emphasized on each participant's learning experiences with CL strategy. The data collection instruments for this research were consisted by interview…

Middle School Student Perceptions of School Lunch Following Revised Federal School Meal Guidelines

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kjosen, Maria M.; Moore, Carolyn E.; Cullen, Karen W.

2015-01-01

Purpose: This study assessed student perceptions of school meals under the new federal meal patterns for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). Student feedback is instrumental in developing strategies to increase and maintain NSLP participation, satisfaction, and ultimately provide students with a healthy meal. Methods: Anonymous…

Child Comorbidity, Maternal Mood Disorder, and Perceptions of Family Functioning among Bipolar Youth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Esposito-Smythers, Christianne; Birmaher, Boris; Valeri, Sylvia; Chiappetta, Laurel; Hunt, Jeffrey; Ryan, Neal; Axelson, David; Strober, Michael; Leonard, Henrietta; Sindelar, Holly; Keller, Martin

2006-01-01

Objective: To examine the association between youth comorbid psychiatric disorders, maternal mood disorder, and perceptions of family cohesion and conflict among youth diagnosed with pediatric bipolar disorder (PBD). Method: Three hundred eighty-nine bipolar youths and their parents completed a diagnostic interview and instruments assessing family…

Development, content validity, and piloting of an instrument designed to measure managers' attitude toward workplace breastfeeding support.

PubMed

Chow, Tan; Wolfe, Edward W; Olson, Beth H

2012-07-01

Manager attitude is influential in female employees' perceptions of workplace breastfeeding support. Currently, no instrument is available to assess manager attitude toward supporting women who wish to combine breastfeeding with work. We developed and piloted an instrument to measure manager attitudes toward workplace breastfeeding support entitled the "Managers' Attitude Toward Breastfeeding Support Questionnaire," an instrument that measures four constructs using 60 items that are rated agree/disagree on a 4-point Likert rating scale. We established the content validity of the Managers' Attitude Toward Breastfeeding Support Questionnaire measures through expert content review (n=22), expert assessment of item fit (n=11), and cognitive interviews (n=8). Data were collected from a purposive sample of 185 front-line managers who had experience supervising female employees, and responses were scaled using the Multidimensional Random Coefficients Multinomial Logit Model. Dimensionality analyses supported the proposed four-construct model. Reliability ranged from 0.75 to 0.86, and correlations between the constructs were moderately strong (0.47 to 0.71). Four items in two constructs exhibited model-to-data misfit and/or a low score-measure correlation. One item was revised and the other three items were retained in the Managers' Attitude Toward Breastfeeding Support Questionnaire. Findings of this study suggest that the Managers' Attitude Toward Breastfeeding Support Questionnaire measures are reliable and valid indicators of manager attitude toward workplace breastfeeding support, and future research should be conducted to establish external validity. The Managers' Attitude Toward Breastfeeding Support Questionnaire could be used to collect data in a standardized manner within and across companies to measure and compare manager attitudes toward supporting breastfeeding. Organizations can subsequently develop targeted strategies to improve support for breastfeeding employees through efforts influencing managerial attitude. Copyright © 2012 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Status Report on Speech Research. A Report on the Status and Progress of Studies on the Nature of Speech, Instrumentation for Its Investigation, and Practical Applications.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-09-30

determines, in part, what the infant says; and if perception is to guide production, the two processes must be, in some sense, isomorphic. An artificial speech ...influences on speech perception processes . Perception & Psychophysics, 24, 253-257. MacKain, K. S., Studdert-Kennedy, M., Spieker, S., & Stern, D. (1983...sentence contexts. In A. Cohen & S. E. G. Nooteboom (Eds.), Structure and process in speech perception (pp. 69-89). New York: Springer- Verlag. Larkey

Estimation of Sensory Pork Loin Tenderness Using Warner-Bratzler Shear Force and Texture Profile Analysis Measurements

PubMed Central

Choe, Jee-Hwan; Choi, Mi-Hee; Rhee, Min-Suk; Kim, Byoung-Chul

2016-01-01

This study investigated the degree to which instrumental measurements explain the variation in pork loin tenderness as assessed by the sensory evaluation of trained panelists. Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBS) had a significant relationship with the sensory tenderness variables, such as softness, initial tenderness, chewiness, and rate of breakdown. In a regression analysis, WBS could account variations in these sensory variables, though only to a limited proportion of variation. On the other hand, three parameters from texture profile analysis (TPA)—hardness, gumminess, and chewiness—were significantly correlated with all sensory evaluation variables. In particular, from the result of stepwise regression analysis, TPA hardness alone explained over 15% of variation in all sensory evaluation variables, with the exception of perceptible residue. Based on these results, TPA analysis was found to be better than WBS measurement, with the TPA parameter hardness likely to prove particularly useful, in terms of predicting pork loin tenderness as rated by trained panelists. However, sensory evaluation should be conducted to investigate practical pork tenderness perceived by consumer, because both instrumental measurements could explain only a small portion (less than 20%) of the variability in sensory evaluation. PMID:26954174

Estimation of Sensory Pork Loin Tenderness Using Warner-Bratzler Shear Force and Texture Profile Analysis Measurements.

PubMed

Choe, Jee-Hwan; Choi, Mi-Hee; Rhee, Min-Suk; Kim, Byoung-Chul

2016-07-01

This study investigated the degree to which instrumental measurements explain the variation in pork loin tenderness as assessed by the sensory evaluation of trained panelists. Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBS) had a significant relationship with the sensory tenderness variables, such as softness, initial tenderness, chewiness, and rate of breakdown. In a regression analysis, WBS could account variations in these sensory variables, though only to a limited proportion of variation. On the other hand, three parameters from texture profile analysis (TPA)-hardness, gumminess, and chewiness-were significantly correlated with all sensory evaluation variables. In particular, from the result of stepwise regression analysis, TPA hardness alone explained over 15% of variation in all sensory evaluation variables, with the exception of perceptible residue. Based on these results, TPA analysis was found to be better than WBS measurement, with the TPA parameter hardness likely to prove particularly useful, in terms of predicting pork loin tenderness as rated by trained panelists. However, sensory evaluation should be conducted to investigate practical pork tenderness perceived by consumer, because both instrumental measurements could explain only a small portion (less than 20%) of the variability in sensory evaluation.

A cross-sectional survey on consequences of nurses' burnout: moderating role of organizational politics.

PubMed

Basar, Ufuk; Basim, Nejat

2016-08-01

The aim of the study was to assess whether perceptions of organizational politics (defined as self-serving behaviours at the expense of others) influence the prospective associations between nurses' burnout and its consequences, namely, intention to quit and neglect of work. Researchers have previously investigated relationships between nurses' burnout, intention to quit, neglect of work and perceptions of organizational politics in different research models and from different perspectives. As far as we know, no studies have considered whether nurses' perceptions of organizational politics moderate the influence of burnout. A cross-sectional survey using self-report questionnaires. Data were collected by questionnaire from a sample of 456 nurses from six private hospitals in Ankara, Turkey in March 2015. Four different previously designed scales were used to measure research variables (burnout, intention to quit, neglect of work and perceptions of organizational politics). Following confirmatory validity and reliability analyses of data collection instruments, descriptive statistics for each research variable were analysed. Structural regression models were created to assess relationships among variables. Burnout resulted in intention to quit and neglect. Intention to quit partially mediated the association between burnout and neglect. Burnout gave rise to intention to quit slightly more strongly in nurses who had greater perceptions of organizational politics. This study uncovers and emphasizes the moderating role of perceptions of organizational politics in consequences of burnout. This may help hospital managers and nurses to improve costs, efficiency, satisfaction and productivity. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The applicability of SERVQUAL in different health care environments.

PubMed

Dean, A M

1999-01-01

This paper reports on a study that investigates the applicability of a modified SERVQUAL instrument as a means of measuring service quality in two types of health service environments; medical care and health care (incorporating medical, social, cognitive and emotional elements). The research confirms a four factor structure that is stable for both environments, and similar to the service quality dimensions recognised in the literature. However, the relative importance of the dimensions of quality is inconsistent for the two types of health services. These results confirm the suggestion that importance values should be part of the measurement tool. Finally, the extra diagnostic advantage achieved by the use of gap scores to measure service quality, when compared to perception only scores is demonstrated.

Measuring functional service quality using SERVQUAL in a high-dependence health service relationship.

PubMed

Clark, W Randy; Clark, Leigh Anne

2007-01-01

Although there is a growing concern about health care quality, little research has focused on how to measure quality in long-term care settings. In this article, we make the following observations: (1) most users of the SERVQUAL instrument reassess customers' expectations each time they measure quality perceptions; (2) long-term care relationships are likely to be ongoing, dependent relationships; (3) because of this dependence, customers in the long-term care setting are likely to reduce their expectations when faced with poor service quality; (4) by using this "settled" expectations level, service providers may make biased conclusions of quality improvements. We recommend various methods for overcoming or minimizing this "settling" effect and propose modifications to the SERVQUAL gap 5 measure to assess quality in a long-term care setting.

Patient Perceptions of the Environment of Care in Which Their Healthcare is Delivered.

PubMed

LaVela, Sherri L; Etingen, Bella; Hill, Jennifer N; Miskevics, Scott

2016-04-01

To measure patients' perceptions of the environment of care (EOC), with a focus on the physical environment, in which healthcare is delivered. The EOC may impact patient experiences, care perceptions, and health outcomes. EOC may be improved through redesign of existing physical structures or spaces or by adding nurturing amenities. Demographics, health status, hospital use, and data on the environment (physical, comfort, orientation, and privacy) were collected via a mailed cross-sectional survey sent to patients seen at four hospital Centers of Innovation (COIs; that implemented many modifications to the healthcare environment to address physical, comfort, orientation, and privacy factors) and four matched controls, supplemented with checklist and VA administrative data. A modified Perceived Hospital Environment Quality Indicators instrument was used to measure patients' EOC perceptions. Respondents (3,321/5,117; 65% response) rated, [mean (SD)], exterior space highest, 3.09 (0.73), followed by interior space, 2.96 (0.74), and privacy, 2.44 (1.01). COIs had significantly higher ratings than controls on interior space (2.99 vs. 2.96, p = .02) and privacy (2.48 vs. 2.38, p = .005) but no differences for exterior space. Subscales with significantly higher ratings in COIs (vs. controls) in interior space were "spatial-physical comfort" and "orientation," for example, clean, good signage, spacious rooms, and for privacy included "not too crowded" and "able to talk without being overheard." Checklist findings confirmed the presence of EOC innovations rated highly by patients. Patients identified cleanliness, good signs/information points, adequate seating, nonovercrowding, and privacy for conversations as important. Hospital design modifications, with particular attention to the physical environment, can improve patient EOC perceptions. © The Author(s) 2015.

It's not what you play, it's how you play it: Timbre affects perception of emotion in music

PubMed Central

Hailstone, Julia C.; Omar, Rohani; Henley, Susie M. D.; Frost, Chris; Kenward, Michael G.; Warren, Jason D.

2009-01-01

Salient sensory experiences often have a strong emotional tone, but the neuropsychological relations between perceptual characteristics of sensory objects and the affective information they convey remain poorly defined. Here we addressed the relationship between sound identity and emotional information using music. In two experiments, we investigated whether perception of emotions is influenced by altering the musical instrument on which the music is played, independently of other musical features. In the first experiment, 40 novel melodies each representing one of four emotions (happiness, sadness, fear, or anger) were each recorded on four different instruments (an electronic synthesizer, a piano, a violin, and a trumpet), controlling for melody, tempo, and loudness between instruments. Healthy participants (23 young adults aged 18–30 years, 24 older adults aged 58–75 years) were asked to select which emotion they thought each musical stimulus represented in a four-alternative forced-choice task. Using a generalized linear mixed model we found a significant interaction between instrument and emotion judgement with a similar pattern in young and older adults (p < .0001 for each age group). The effect was not attributable to musical expertise. In the second experiment using the same melodies and experimental design, the interaction between timbre and perceived emotion was replicated (p < .05) in another group of young adults for novel synthetic timbres designed to incorporate timbral cues to particular emotions. Our findings show that timbre (instrument identity) independently affects the perception of emotions in music after controlling for other acoustic, cognitive, and performance factors. PMID:19391047

Gap Analysis between Perceptions and Expectations of Medical-Surgical Patients in a Public Hospital in Saudi Arabia.

PubMed

Al-Momani, Mohammed Mahmoud

2016-01-01

To investigate patients' satisfaction with nursing care by measuring the gap between patients' expectations of care and perceptions of the actual care provided and to identify the areas of nursing care that need improvement. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among patients who were admitted to the Departments of Medicine and Surgery at King Saud Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A modified Service Quality (SERVQUAL) instrument was adapted to collect information from a convenience sample of 432 patients from November 25, 2012, to February 3, 2013. The instrument comprised 22 pairs of questions assessing 5 dimensions of the nursing care provided to patients during hospitalizations. The mean patient expectations and perceptions as well as the gap score values for each dimension of nursing service were tested for differences between the mean scores of the sample at a level of significance of 0.05 using a t test. The gap score for all of the 5 dimensions of nursing services were: responsiveness, -1.71; reliability, -1.48; tangibles, -1.36; assurance, -1.26, and empathy, -0.96. Service quality across the dimensions of responsiveness and reliability was statistically significant (p < 0.05). This result indicated that patients were not satisfied with the nursing service quality in relation to all dimensions. Our study showed negative gaps for the 5 nursing service quality dimensions evaluated. This could provide nurses with information about the aspects of nursing care that promote more positive patient outcomes and satisfaction. © 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Assessing the Learning Environment for Medical Students: An Evaluation of a Novel Survey Instrument in Four Medical Schools.

PubMed

Pololi, Linda H; Evans, Arthur T; Nickell, Leslie; Reboli, Annette C; Coplit, Lisa D; Stuber, Margaret L; Vasiliou, Vasilia; Civian, Janet T; Brennan, Robert T

2017-06-01

A practical, reliable, and valid instrument is needed to measure the impact of the learning environment on medical students' well-being and educational experience and to meet medical school accreditation requirements. From 2012 to 2015, medical students were surveyed at the end of their first, second, and third year of studies at four medical schools. The survey assessed students' perceptions of the following nine dimensions of the school culture: vitality, self-efficacy, institutional support, relationships/inclusion, values alignment, ethical/moral distress, work-life integration, gender equity, and ethnic minority equity. The internal reliability of each of the nine dimensions was measured. Construct validity was evaluated by assessing relationships predicted by our conceptual model and prior research. Assessment was made of whether the measurements were sensitive to differences over time and across institutions. Six hundred and eighty-six students completed the survey (49 % women; 9 % underrepresented minorities), with a response rate of 89 % (range over the student cohorts 72-100 %). Internal consistency of each dimension was high (Cronbach's α 0.71-0.86). The instrument was able to detect significant differences in the learning environment across institutions and over time. Construct validity was supported by demonstrating several relationships predicted by our conceptual model. The C-Change Medical Student Survey is a practical, reliable, and valid instrument for assessing the learning environment of medical students. Because it is sensitive to changes over time and differences across institution, results could potentially be used to facilitate and monitor improvements in the learning environment of medical students.

Design and results of the pretest of the IDEFICS study.

PubMed

Suling, M; Hebestreit, A; Peplies, J; Bammann, K; Nappo, A; Eiben, G; Alvira, J M Fernández; Verbestel, V; Kovács, E; Pitsiladis, Y P; Veidebaum, T; Hadjigeorgiou, C; Knof, K; Ahrens, W

2011-04-01

During the preparatory phase of the baseline survey of the IDEFICS (Identification and prevention of dietary- and lifestyle-induced health effects in children and infants) study, standardised survey procedures including instruments, examinations, methods, biological sampling and software tools were developed and pretested for their feasibility, robustness and acceptability. A pretest was conducted of full survey procedures in 119 children aged 2-9 years in nine European survey centres (N(per centre)=4-27, mean 13.22). Novel techniques such as ultrasound measurements to assess subcutaneous fat and bone health, heart rate monitors combined with accelerometers and sensory taste perception tests were used. Biological sampling, physical examinations, sensory taste perception tests, parental questionnaire and medical interview required only minor amendments, whereas physical fitness tests required major adaptations. Callipers for skinfold measurements were favoured over ultrasonography, as the latter showed only a low-to-modest agreement with calliper measurements (correlation coefficients of r=-0.22 and r=0.67 for all children). The combination of accelerometers with heart rate monitors was feasible in school children only. Implementation of the computer-based 24-h dietary recall required a complex and intensive developmental stage. It was combined with the assessment of school meals, which was changed after the pretest from portion weighing to the more feasible observation of the consumed portion size per child. The inclusion of heel ultrasonometry as an indicator of bone stiffness was the most important amendment after the pretest. Feasibility and acceptability of all procedures had to be balanced against their scientific value. Extensive pretesting, training and subsequent refinement of the methods were necessary to assess the feasibility of all instruments and procedures in routine fieldwork and to exchange or modify procedures that would otherwise give invalid or misleading results.

Psychometric Testing of the Greek Version of the Clinical Learning Environment-Teacher (CLES+T).

PubMed

Papastavrou, Evridiki; Dimitriadou, Maria; Tsangari, Haritini

2015-09-01

Clinical practice is an important part of nursing education, and robust instruments are required to evaluate the effectiveness of the hospital setting as a learning environment. The study aim is the psychometric test of the Clinical Learning Environment+Teacher (CLES+T) scale-Greek version. 463 students practicing in acute care hospitals participated in the study. The reliability of the instrument was estimated with Cronbach's alpha coefficients. The construct validity was evaluated using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with Varimax rotation. Convergent validity was examined by measuring the bivariate correlations between the scale/subscales. Content, validity and semantic equivalence were examined through reviews by a panel of experts. The total scale showed high internal consistency (α=0.95). EFA was identical to the original scale, had eigen values larger than one and explained a total of 67.4% of the variance. The factor with the highest eigen value and the largest percentage of variance explained was "supervisory relationship", with an original eigenvalue of 13.1 (6.8 after Varimax rotation) and an explanation of around 38% of the variance (or 20% after rotation). Convergent validity was examined by measuring the bivariate correlations between the scale and a question that measured the general satisfaction. The Greek version of the CLES+T is a valid and reliable instrument that can be used to examine students' perceptions of the clinical learning environment.

Development and psychometric evaluation of the Primary Health Care Engagement (PHCE) Scale: a pilot survey of rural and remote nurses.

PubMed

Kosteniuk, Julie G; Wilson, Erin C; Penz, Kelly L; MacLeod, Martha L P; Stewart, Norma J; Kulig, Judith C; Karunanayake, Chandima P; Kilpatrick, Kelley

2016-01-01

To report the development and psychometric evaluation of a scale to measure rural and remote (rural/remote) nurses' perceptions of the engagement of their workplaces in key dimensions of primary health care (PHC). Amidst ongoing PHC reforms, a comprehensive instrument is needed to evaluate the degree to which rural/remote health care settings are involved in the key dimensions that characterize PHC delivery, particularly from the perspective of professionals delivering care. This study followed a three-phase process of instrument development and psychometric evaluation. A literature review and expert consultation informed instrument development in the first phase, followed by an iterative process of content evaluation in the second phase. In the final phase, a pilot survey was undertaken and item discrimination analysis employed to evaluate the internal consistency reliability of each subscale in the preliminary 60-item Primary Health Care Engagement (PHCE) Scale. The 60-item scale was subsequently refined to a 40-item instrument. The pilot survey sample included 89 nurses in current practice who had experience in rural/remote practice settings. Participants completed either a web-based or paper survey from September to December, 2013. Following item discrimination analysis, the 60-item instrument was refined to a 40-item PHCE Scale consisting of 10 subscales, each including three to five items. Alpha estimates of the 10 refined subscales ranged from 0.61 to 0.83, with seven of the subscales demonstrating acceptable reliability (α ⩾ 0.70). The refined 40-item instrument exhibited good internal consistency reliability (α=0.91). The 40-item PHCE Scale may be considered for use in future studies regardless of locale, to measure the extent to which health care professionals perceive their workplaces to be engaged in key dimensions of PHC.

Quantitative comparisons of urgent care service providers.

PubMed

Qin, Hong; Prybutok, Gayle L; Prybutok, Victor R; Wang, Bin

2015-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to develop, validate, and use a survey instrument to measure and compare the perceived quality of three types of US urgent care (UC) service providers: hospital emergency rooms, urgent care centres (UCC), and primary care physician offices. This study develops, validates, and uses a survey instrument to measure/compare differences in perceived service quality among three types of UC service providers. Six dimensions measured the components of service quality: tangibles, professionalism, interaction, accessibility, efficiency, and technical quality. Primary care physicians' offices scored higher for service quality and perceived value, followed by UCC. Hospital emergency rooms scored lower in both quality and perceived value. No significant difference was identified between UCC and primary care physicians across all the perspectives, except for interactions. The homogenous nature of the sample population (college students), and the fact that the respondents were recruited from a single university limits the generalizability of the findings. The patient's choice of a health care provider influences not only the continuity of the care that he or she receives, but compliance with a medical regime, and the evolution of the health care landscape. This work contributes to the understanding of how to provide cost effective and efficient UC services. This study developed and validated a survey instrument to measure/compare six dimensions of service quality for three types of UC service providers. The authors provide valuable data for UC service providers seeking to improve patient perceptions of service quality.

Acoustic and Auditory Perception Effects of the Voice Therapy Technique Finger Kazoo in Adult Women.

PubMed

Christmann, Mara Keli; Cielo, Carla Aparecida

2017-05-01

This study aimed to verify and to correlate acoustic and auditory-perceptual measures of glottic source after the performance of finger kazoo (FK) technique. This is an experimental, cross-sectional, and qualitative study. We made an analysis of the vowel [a:] in 46 adult women with neither vocal complaints nor laryngeal alterations, through the Multi-Dimensional Voice Program Advanced and RASATI scale, before and immediately after performing three series of FK and 5 minutes after a period of silence. Kappa, Friedman, Wilcoxon, and Spearman tests were used. We found significant increase in fundamental frequency, reduction of amplitude variation, and degree of sub-harmonics immediately after performing FK. Positive correlations were measures of frequency and its perturbation, measures of amplitude, of soft phonation index, of degree and number of unvoiced segments with aspects of RASATI. Negative correlations were voice turbulence index, measures of frequency and its perturbation, and measures of soft phonation index with aspects of RASATI. There was fundamental frequency increase, within normal limits, and reduction of acoustic measures related to presence of noise and instability. In general, acoustic measures, suggestive of noise and instability, were reduced according to the decrease of perceptive-auditory aspects of vocal alteration. It shows that both instruments are complementary and that the acoustic vocal effect was positive. Copyright © 2017 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Mapping the relationship between a learner's belief system and their ability to learn competencies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matthews, Graeme D.

2009-12-01

This study determines if a relationship exists between the perception that students have towards chemistry and their final grade in the course. A measurement instrument was administered to students enrolled in the first semester of a two semester general chemistry course that measured the perceptions that the students enrolled in the course had towards chemistry. The existence and nature of the relationship between the perceptions held by the students towards chemistry and their final grade in the course were studied. The primary research question determined if there was a relationship between the perceptions that the students have towards chemistry and the final grade they receive in the course. The data indicates that the less chemophobia that the participant had towards chemistry, the higher their final grade in the course and the less difficult the participant perceived chemistry to be as a discipline, the higher their final grade in the course. The secondary research question determines if men and women differ in their perceptions of chemistry. The data indicates that the male participants had a more negative perception of the aptitude, chemophobia, value and gender subscales then the female participants. This means that the male participants had the perception that they had less aptitude and saw less value in the subject matter than the female participants. It also means that because the subscales were all coded to be positively phrased before the final analysis was completed, that the male participants had more chemophobia and believed that gender was more important than the female participants. The tertiary research question determines if there is a relationship between the number of science courses the participants have taken and the perceptions that they have towards chemistry. The data indicates that there was a small negative relationship between the number of science courses taken previously by the participant and the chemophobia subscale. This means that the more science courses the participant has taken, the less chemophobia the participant has towards chemistry and the less they believe that gender plays an important role in being able to achieve a passing grade in a chemistry course.

[Reliability and construct validity of an instrument to asses the Self-perception of Family Health Status].

PubMed

Lima Rodríguez, Joaquín Salvador; Lima Serrano, Marta; Jiménez Picón, Nerea; Domínguez Sánchez, Isabel

2012-10-01

Family health determines and it is determined by family´s capacity to function effectively as a biosocial unit in a given culture and society. The main of study has been to test reliability and construct validity of an instrument to asses the Self-perception of Family Health Status. We validated its content by an on-line Dephi panel with experts. We surveyed 258 families in them homes or in primary health centres from Seville, Spain. We administered the instrument that has five Likert scales: Family climate, Family integrity, Family functioning, and Family resistance. We tested reliability by Cronbach Alpha and construct validity by exploratory factor analysis. The five scales obtained values α between 0.73 for the Family Climate and 0.89 for Family Integrity. They showed evidence of one-dimensional interpretation after factor analysis, a) all items got weights r>0.30 in first factor before rotations, b) the first factor explained a significant proportion of variance before rotations, and c) the total variance explained by the main factors extracted was greater than 50%. The scales showed their reliability and validity. They could be employed to assess the self-perception of family health status.

Status and progress of studies on the nature of speech, instrumentation for its investigation and practical applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liberman, A. M.

1983-09-01

This report is one of a regular series on the status and progress of studies on the nature of speech, instrumentation for its investigation, and practical applications. Manuscripts cover the following topics: The association between comprehension of spoken sentences and early reading ability: The role of phonetic representation; Phonetic coding and order memory in relation to reading proficiency: A comparison of short-term memory for temporal and spatial order information; Exploring the oral and written language errors made by language disabled children; Perceiving phonetic events; Converging evidence in support of common dynamical principles for speech and movement coordination; Phase transitions and critical behavior in human bimanual coordination; Timing and coarticulation for alveolo-palatals and sequences of alveolar +J in Catalan; V-to-C coarticulation in Catalan VCV sequences: An articulatory and acoustical study; Prosody and the /S/-/c/ distinction; Intersections of tone and intonation in Thai; Simultaneous measurements of vowels produced by a hearing-impaired speaker; Extending format transitions may not improve aphasics' perception of stop consonant place of articulation; Against a role of chirp identification in duplex perception; Further evidence for the role of relative timing in speech: A reply to Barry; Review (Phonological intervention: Concepts and procedures); and Review (Temporal variables in speech).

Pharmacy Students’ Perceptions of Natural Science and Mathematics Subjects

PubMed Central

Wilson, Sarah Ellen; Wan, Kai-Wai

2014-01-01

Objective. To determine the level of importance pharmacy students placed on science and mathematics subjects for pursuing a career in pharmacy. Method. Two hundred fifty-four students completed a survey instrument developed to investigate students’ perceptions of the relevance of science and mathematics subjects to a career in pharmacy. Pharmacy students in all 4 years of a master of pharmacy (MPharm) degree program were invited to complete the survey instrument. Results. Students viewed chemistry-based and biology-based subjects as relevant to a pharmacy career, whereas mathematics subjects such as physics, logarithms, statistics, and algebra were not viewed important to a career in pharmacy. Conclusion. Students’ experience in pharmacy and year of study influenced their perceptions of subjects relevant to a pharmacy career. Pharmacy educators need to consider how they can help students recognize the importance of scientific knowledge earlier in the pharmacy curriculum. PMID:25147390

Measuring quality in community based housing support - the QPC-H instrument.

PubMed

Lundqvist, Lars-Olov; Rask, Mikael; Brunt, David; Ivarsson, Ann-Britt; Schröder, Agneta

2016-04-18

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to test the psychometric properties and dimensionality of the instrument Quality in Psychiatric Care-Housing (QPC-H) and briefly describe the residents' perception of quality of housing support. Design/methodology/approach - A sample of 174 residents from 22 housing support services in nine Swedish municipalities participated in the study. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) revealed that the QPC-H consisted of six dimensions and had a factor structure largely corresponding to that found among other instruments in the Quality in Psychiatric Care (QPC) family of instruments. Findings - CFA revealed that the QPC-H consisted of six dimensions and had a factor structure largely corresponding to that found among other instruments in the QPC family of instruments. The internal consistency of the factors was acceptable except in the case of secure and secluded environment, probably due to few numbers of items. With this exception, the QPC-H shows adequate psychometric properties. Social implications - The residents' ratings of quality of housing service were generally high; the highest rating was for secluded environment and the lowest for participation. This dimension would thus seem to indicate an important area for improvement. Originality/value - The QPC-H includes important aspects of residents' assessment of quality of housing service and offers a simple and inexpensive way to evaluate housing support services from the residents' perspective.

Analyzing Creative Products: Refinement and Test of a Judging Instrument.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Besemer, Susan; O'Quin, Karen

1986-01-01

The Creative Product Analysis Matrix was evaluated and refined by asking 133 undergraduate students to apply the questionnaire items in three areas (novelty, resolution, elaboration/synthesis) to two T-shirts, only one of predetermined creative design. Results indicated the instrument reliably assessed overall perceptions of the product. (DB)

Students' Perceptions of the Incidence of Burnout Among Their Teachers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Evers, Will J. G.; Tomic, Welko

This study examined students' perceptions of teacher burnout in relation to the occurrence of disruptive student behavior and teacher competence to cope with this behavior. It also examined whether three survey instruments could be adapted to enable students to report on their teachers' psychosocial wellbeing. Participants were students in their…

Educators' Perceptions of School Climate and Health in Selected Primary Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pretorius, Stephanus; de Villiers, Elsabe

2009-01-01

The aims in this research were to determine the perceptions of school climate held by educators of primary schools in the southern Cape. Six primary schools with a staff complement of 178 educators participated in the investigation. Two instruments were used: the Organisational Climate Description Questionnaire Rutgers Elementary (OCDQ-RE) and…

Idaho Secondary Principals Perceptions of CTE Teachers' Professional Development Needs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cannon, John G.; Tenuto, Penny; Kitchel, Allen

2013-01-01

The purpose of this research was to identify secondary principals' perceptions of Career and Technical Education (CTE) teacher's professional development needs. A descriptive instrument based on Borich's (1980) Needs Assessment Model was completed by 128 respondents (N = 256). Items related to teaching in a CTE program were used to rate the…

Examining Perceptions of Online Faculty Regarding the Value of Emotional Intelligence in Online Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hamilton, Diane

2017-01-01

Due to the growth of interest in soft skills and personality traits in education, the perceptions of the value online instructors place on emotional intelligence (EI), warrants scholarly attention. Organizations have embraced the value of emotional intelligence in employees. If online professors are instrumental in preparing students to be…

Perceptions of Students towards ICT Competencies at the University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Torres-Gastelú, Carlos Arturo; Kiss, Gábor

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study is to identify the perceptions of university students towards their ICT Competencies from two universities, one in Mexico and the other in Hungary. The research type is quantitative and exploratory. The instrument consists of 14 questions related to three types of competencies: Basic, Application and Ethical. The sample…

Student Perceptions to Teaching Undergraduate Anatomy in Health Sciences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anderton, Ryan S.; Chiu, Li Shan; Aulfrey, Susan

2016-01-01

Anatomy and physiology teaching has undergone significant changes to keep up with advances in technology and to cater for a wide array of student specific learning approaches. This paper examines perceptions towards a variety of teaching instruments, techniques, and innovations used in the delivery and teaching of anatomy and physiology for health…

Visions of Terror: A Q-Methodological Analysis of American Perceptions of International Terrorism.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dowling, Ralph E.; Nitcavic, Richard G.

A study examined the efficacy of Q-methodology as a tool to explain perceptions of the American public regarding international terrorism, seeking to identify through this methodology distinct views of terrorism and the significant variables characterizing those views. To develop their instrument, researchers interviewed 16 individuals and based…

Differences in Assessments of Organizational School Climate between Teachers and Adminsitrators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duff, Brandy Kinlaw

2013-01-01

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the organizational school climate perceptions of teachers and principals and to ascertain the extent to which their perceptions differed. This causal comparative study used the Organizational Climate Description Questionnaire for Elementary Schools (OCDQ-RE) as the survey instrument for data…

Perceptions of Organizational Culture of a Multi-Campus Community College District: Mixed Methods in Concert

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kuster Dale, Kimberly

2012-01-01

This concurrent, mixed-methods case study analyzed perceptions of current and preferred organizational culture within a rural, multi-campus community college district. This phenomenon was examined by analyzing and comparing data collected by surveying all full-time employees utilizing the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI) and…

Applying School Administrators' Authentic Leadership Skills in Conflict Situations: The Perceptions of Substitute Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Demirdag, Seyithan; Kalafat, Sezai

2016-01-01

This study mainly aimed to determine the relationships between conflict management strategies and authentic leadership attitudes of primary school administrators based on the perception of substitute teachers, who were in pedagogical proficiency classes at a university. This quantitative study included 456 substitute teachers. Two instruments were…

Perceptions of Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders towards Their Partnerships with Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hsiao, Yun-Ju

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the parent perceptions of partnerships between parents of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and teachers who provided services. The instrument used in this study was the "Beach Center Family-Professional Partnership Scale" ("Family Version"). The results showed that…

Teachers' Perceptions of Effective Teaching: A Comparative Study of Elementary School Teachers from China and the USA

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meng, Lingqi; Muñoz, Marco

2016-01-01

This international study investigated Chinese and American elementary school teachers' perceptions of effective teaching. The sample comprised Chinese (n = 108) and US (n = 110) participating teachers. The Effective Teaching Quality Survey (ETQS) was adopted for this comparative education research, an instrument that operationalized Stronge's…

Influencing the Perception of Organizational Change in Community Colleges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Wagoner, Randall

2004-01-01

The study reported in this paper examined the influence of certain factors on the perception of organizational change in 12 community colleges within a single state community college system. The sample consisted of 510 professional staff who completed an original 71-item survey instrument. Results suggest that the primary areas where change is…

Teaching Popular Music: Investigating Music Educators' Perceptions and Preparation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Springer, D. Gregory

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate in-service music teachers' perceptions of popular music in the classroom and to examine their own preparation to teach popular music. A sample of music teachers, drawn from two regional chapters of the American Orff-Schulwerk Association, completed a researcher-designed survey instrument. Results…

An Analysis of Secondary School Principals' Perceptions of Multicultural Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCray, Carlos R.; Wright, James V.; Beachum, Floyd D.

2004-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate secondary school principals' perceptions of multicultural education. This survey research study used a four point Likert-type scale instrument. It sought to determine how such independent variables as school and community characteristics i.e., whether the school was located in an urban, suburban, or…

Perceptions of Elementary School Students: Experiences and Dreams about the Life Studies Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baysal, Z. Nurdan; Tezcan, Özlem Apak; Araç, Kamil Ersin

2018-01-01

This study seeks to identify elementary school students' views and perceptions of the Life Studies course through verbal and visual instruments. It employs a descriptive phenomenological research design. The study surveyed second- and third-grade students attending one private elementary school and two state elementary schools. The data was…

Principals' Perception of Coping Strategies for Retirement in Enugu State

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ejionueme, L. K.; Ugwoke, S. C.; Etonyeaku, E. A. C.; Anyanwu, J. I.

2012-01-01

Retirement is another phase of life. It is neither occupational death nor physical death. This study investigated principals' perception of the strategies to cope with retirement. One research question and one hypothesis guided the study. The sample for the study was 259 principals in Anambra state schools. Questionnaire was the instrument for the…

Perceptions of Value: A Study of Worker Characteristics and Performance Interventions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Welch, Corey M.

2013-01-01

This study addressed the need of human performance technology (HPT) practitioners to make the most cost-effective performance intervention decisions, introducing a new instrument, the Intervention Value Survey, as a possible tool to provide a clearer profile of an audience's perceptions of what provides them value. Using a mixed methods…

Student Perceptions of Fieldwork Utility across Three International Field Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rydant, A. L.; Cusack, Christopher; Smith, John P.; Shiplee, Brian A.; Middlekauff, Bryon

2013-01-01

Fieldwork is a critical component in geographic education. This study examines the impact on the development of skills across six field courses, over five years, and among students from three institutions. A survey instrument comprised of 46 questions in eight categories serves as the vehicle for primary data collection. Student perceptions are…

Societal Factors Impacting Child Welfare: Validating the Perceptions of Child Welfare Scale

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Auerbach, Charles; Zeitlin, Wendy; Augsberger, Astraea; McGowan, Brenda G.; Claiborne, Nancy; Lawrence, Catherine K.

2015-01-01

Objective: This research examines the psychometric properties of the Perceptions of Child Welfare Scale (PCWS). This instrument is designed to assess child welfare workers' understanding of how society views their role and their work. Methods: Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was utilized to analyze data on 538 child welfare workers. Results:…

The mediating role of self-criticism and dependency in the association between perceptions of maternal caring and depressive symptoms.

PubMed

Campos, Rui C; Besser, Avi; Blatt, Sidney J

2010-12-01

This study examined a theoretically based mediation model including participants' perceptions of early relationships with their mother, self-criticism, dependency, and current depressive symptoms. We expect that (a) early relationships characterized by low levels of care and high levels of overprotection will be positively associated with both current depressive state and self-criticism and dependency; (b) high levels of self-criticism and dependency will be positively associated with depressive symptoms; and (c) self-criticism and dependency will play a mediating role in the association between participants' perceptions of early relationships characterized by low levels of care and high levels of overprotection and their current depressive symptoms. A nonclinical community sample of 200 Portuguese adults participated in the study. Perceptions of early relationships were measured using the mother scales of the Parental Bonding Instrument (Parker et al. [1979: Br J Med Psychol 52:1-10]), levels of self-criticism and dependency were measured using the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (Blatt et al. [1976: J Abn Psy 6:383-389]), and depressive symptoms were measured using the Center for the Epidemiological Studies of Depression Scale (Radloff [1977: Appl Psychol Meas 1:385-401]. Structural equation modeling showed that the link between participants' perceptions of early caretaking relationships with their mothers and their current depressive symptoms is mediated by high levels of self-criticism--a personality trait associated with vulnerability to depression--but not Dependency. However, an ancillary analysis indicated that the link between participants' perceptions of early maternal overprotective relationships and their current depressive symptoms is mediated by high levels of Neediness. Findings underscore the role of perceived early relationships in psychological vulnerability to depression among highly self-critical and among highly needy individuals and highlight the negative role played by perceived mothers' early dysfunctional practices, characterized by low levels of caring and high levels of overprotection, for the self-critical vulnerability to depression and by perceived mothers' high levels of overprotection, for the neediness vulnerability to depression. These potential causal mechanisms warrant longitudinal evaluation. Theoretical and clinical implications of the findings are discussed.

Big Sib Students' Perceptions of the Educational Environment at the School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, using Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM) Inventory.

PubMed

Arzuman, Hafiza; Yusoff, Muhamad Saiful Bahri; Chit, Som Phong

2010-07-01

A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among Big Sib students to explore their perceptions of the educational environment at the School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and its weak areas using the Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM) inventory. The DREEM inventory is a validated global instrument for measuring educational environments in undergraduate medical and health professional education. The English version of the DREEM inventory was administered to all Year 2 Big Sib students (n = 67) at a regular Big Sib session. The purpose of the study as well as confidentiality and ethical issues were explained to the students before the questionnaire was administered. The response rate was 62.7% (42 out of 67 students). The overall DREEM score was 117.9/200 (SD 14.6). The DREEM indicated that the Big Sib students' perception of educational environment of the medical school was more positive than negative. Nevertheless, the study also revealed some problem areas within the educational environment. This pilot study revealed that Big Sib students perceived a positive learning environment at the School of Medical Sciences, USM. It also identified some low-scored areas that require further exploration to pinpoint the exact problems. The relatively small study population selected from a particular group of students was the major limitation of the study. This small sample size also means that the study findings cannot be generalised.

Rasch Analysis of the Student Refractive Error and Eyeglass Questionnaire

PubMed Central

Crescioni, Mabel; Messer, Dawn H.; Warholak, Terri L.; Miller, Joseph M.; Twelker, J. Daniel; Harvey, Erin M.

2014-01-01

Purpose To evaluate and refine a newly developed instrument, the Student Refractive Error and Eyeglasses Questionnaire (SREEQ), designed to measure the impact of uncorrected and corrected refractive error on vision-related quality of life (VRQoL) in school-aged children. Methods. A 38 statement instrument consisting of two parts was developed: Part A relates to perceptions regarding uncorrected vision and Part B relates to perceptions regarding corrected vision and includes other statements regarding VRQoL with spectacle correction. The SREEQ was administered to 200 Native American 6th through 12th grade students known to have previously worn and who currently require eyeglasses. Rasch analysis was conducted to evaluate the functioning of the SREEQ. Statements on Part A and Part B were analyzed to examine the dimensionality and constructs of the questionnaire, how well the items functioned, and the appropriateness of the response scale used. Results Rasch analysis suggested two items be eliminated and the measurement scale for matching items be reduced from a 4-point response scale to a 3-point response scale. With these modifications, categorical data were converted to interval level data, to conduct an item and person analysis. A shortened version of the SREEQ was constructed with these modifications, the SREEQ-R, which included the statements that were able to capture changes in VRQoL associated with spectacle wear for those with significant refractive error in our study population. Conclusions While the SREEQ Part B appears to be a have less than optimal reliability to assess the impact of spectacle correction on VRQoL in our student population, it is also able to detect statistically significant differences from pretest to posttest on both the group and individual levels to show that the instrument can assess the impact that glasses have on VRQoL. Further modifications to the questionnaire, such as those included in the SREEQ-R, could enhance its functionality. PMID:24811844

Low-Income, African American and American Indian Children's Viewpoints on Body Image Assessment Tools and Body Satisfaction: A Mixed Methods Study.

PubMed

Heidelberger, Lindsay; Smith, Chery

2018-03-03

Objectives Pediatric obesity is complicated by many factors including psychological issues, such as body dissatisfaction. Body image assessment tools are used with children to measure their acceptance of their body shape or image. Limited research has been conducted with African American and American Indian children to understand their opinions on assessment tools created. This study investigated: (a) children's perception about body image and (b) differences between two body image instruments among low-income, multi-ethnic children. Methods This study uses mixed methodology including focus groups (qualitative) and body image assessment instruments (quantitative). Fifty-one children participated (25 girls, 26 boys); 53% of children identified as African American and 47% as American Indian. The average age was 10.4 years. Open coding methods were used by identify themes from focus group data. SPSS was used for quantitative analysis. Results Children preferred the Figure Rating Scale (FRS/silhouette) instrument over the Children's Body Image Scale (CBIS/photo) because their body parts and facial features were more detailed. Children formed their body image perception with influence from their parents and the media. Children verbalized that they have experienced negative consequences related to poor body image including disordered eating habits, depression, and bullying. Healthy weight children are also aware of weight-related bullying that obese and overweight children face. Conclusions for Practice Children prefer that the images on a body image assessment tool have detailed facial features and are clothed. Further research into body image assessment tools for use with African American and American Indian children is needed.

The development and validation of a neuropathy- and foot ulcer-specific quality of life instrument.

PubMed

Vileikyte, Loretta; Peyrot, Mark; Bundy, Christine; Rubin, Richard R; Leventhal, Howard; Mora, Pablo; Shaw, Jonathan E; Baker, Paul; Boulton, Andrew J M

2003-09-01

The purpose of this study was to develop a questionnaire that measures patients' perceptions of the impact of diabetic peripheral neuropathy and foot ulcers on their quality of life and to assess the psychometric properties of this instrument in a sample of patients with varying severity and symptomatology of diabetic peripheral neuropathy. The neuropathy- and foot ulcer-specific quality of life instrument (NeuroQoL), generated from interviews with patients with (n = 47) and without (n = 15) diabetic peripheral neuropathy, was administered to 418 consecutive patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathy (35% with foot ulcer history) attending either U.K. (n = 290) or U.S. (n = 128) diabetes centers. Psychometric tests of NeuroQoL included factor analyses and internal consistency of scales; a series of multivariate analyses were performed to establish its criterion, construct, and incremental validity. Results were compared with those obtained using the Short Form (SF)-12 measure of health-related functioning. Factor analyses of NeuroQoL revealed three physical symptom measures and two psychosocial functioning measures with good reliability (alpha = 0.86-0.95). NeuroQoL was more strongly associated with measures of neuropathic severity than SF-12, more fully mediated the relationship of diabetic peripheral neuropathy with overall quality of life, and significantly increased explained variance in overall quality of life over SF-12. NeuroQoL reliably captures the key dimensions of the patients' experience of diabetic peripheral neuropathy and is a valid tool for studying the impact of neuropathy and foot ulceration on quality of life.

Expanding the enablement framework and testing an evaluative instrument for diabetes patient education.

PubMed

Leeseberg Stamler, L; Cole, M M; Patrick, L J

2001-08-01

Strategies to delay or prevent complications from diabetes include diabetes patient education. Diabetes educators seek to provide education that meets the needs of clients and influences positive health outcomes. (1) To expand prior research exploring an enablement framework for patient education by examining perceptions of patient education by persons with diabetes and (2) to test the mastery of stress instrument (MSI) as a potential evaluative instrument for patient education. Triangulated data collection with a convenience sample of adults taking diabetes education classes. Half the sample completed audio-taped semi-structured interviews pre, during and posteducation and all completed the MSI posteducation. Qualitative data were analysed using latent content analysis, descriptive statistics were completed. Qualitative analysis revealed content categories similar to previous work with prenatal participants, supporting the enablement framework. Statistical analyses noted congruence with psychometric findings from development of MSI; secondary qualitative analyses revealed congruency between MSI scores and patient perceptions. Mastery is an outcome congruent with the enablement framework for patient education across content areas. Mastery of stress instrument may be a instrument for identification of patients who are coping well with diabetes self-management, as well as those who are not and who require further nursing interventions.

Can GPs audit their ability to detect psychological distress? One approach and some unresolved issues.

PubMed Central

Howe, A

1998-01-01

BACKGROUND: General practitioners (GPs) should be able to detect psychological distress in their patients. However, there is much evidence of underperformance in this area. The principle of clinical audit is the identification of underperformance and amelioration of its causes, but there appear to be few evaluated models of audit in this area of clinical practice. AIM: To evaluate the feasibility of auditing GPs' performance as detectors of psychological distress. Specific objectives were to test a model of the audit cycle in the detection of psychological distress by GPs; to research GP perceptions of prior audit activity in this area and the validity of the instruments used to measure GP performance; and to research GP perceptions of the value of this specific approach to the audit of their performance and the particular value of different aspects of the model in terms of its impact on clinician behaviour. METHOD: Prospective controlled study of an audit cycle of GP detection of psychological distress. Nineteen GP principals used a self-directed educational intervention involving measurement of their performance, followed by data feedback and review of selected videotaped consultations. Qualitative data on GP views of audit in this area of clinical activity were collected before and after the quantitative data collection. RESULTS: The study shows that the GP cohort had not previously considered auditing their performance as detectors of psychological distress. They found the instruments of measurement and the model of audit acceptable. However, they also suggested modifications that might be educationally more effective and make the audit more practical. These included smaller patient numbers and more peer contact. The implications of the study for a definitive model of audit in this area are discussed. CONCLUSION: Effective audit of GP performance in detection of psychological distress is possible using validated instruments, and GP performance can be improved by educational intervention. GPs in this study appear more motivated by individual case studies and reflection through video analysis on undiagnosed patients than by quantitative data feedback on their performance. This study therefore supports other evidence that clinical audit has most impact when quantitative data is coupled with clinical examples derived from patient review. PMID:9604413

Can GPs audit their ability to detect psychological distress? One approach and some unresolved issues.

PubMed

Howe, A

1998-01-01

General practitioners (GPs) should be able to detect psychological distress in their patients. However, there is much evidence of underperformance in this area. The principle of clinical audit is the identification of underperformance and amelioration of its causes, but there appear to be few evaluated models of audit in this area of clinical practice. To evaluate the feasibility of auditing GPs' performance as detectors of psychological distress. Specific objectives were to test a model of the audit cycle in the detection of psychological distress by GPs; to research GP perceptions of prior audit activity in this area and the validity of the instruments used to measure GP performance; and to research GP perceptions of the value of this specific approach to the audit of their performance and the particular value of different aspects of the model in terms of its impact on clinician behaviour. Prospective controlled study of an audit cycle of GP detection of psychological distress. Nineteen GP principals used a self-directed educational intervention involving measurement of their performance, followed by data feedback and review of selected videotaped consultations. Qualitative data on GP views of audit in this area of clinical activity were collected before and after the quantitative data collection. The study shows that the GP cohort had not previously considered auditing their performance as detectors of psychological distress. They found the instruments of measurement and the model of audit acceptable. However, they also suggested modifications that might be educationally more effective and make the audit more practical. These included smaller patient numbers and more peer contact. The implications of the study for a definitive model of audit in this area are discussed. Effective audit of GP performance in detection of psychological distress is possible using validated instruments, and GP performance can be improved by educational intervention. GPs in this study appear more motivated by individual case studies and reflection through video analysis on undiagnosed patients than by quantitative data feedback on their performance. This study therefore supports other evidence that clinical audit has most impact when quantitative data is coupled with clinical examples derived from patient review.

Developing a "toolkit" to measure implementation of concurrent palliative care in rural community cancer centers.

PubMed

Zubkoff, Lisa; Dionne-Odom, J Nicholas; Pisu, Maria; Babu, Dilip; Akyar, Imatullah; Smith, Tasha; Mancarella, Gisella A; Gansauer, Lucy; Sullivan, Margaret Murray; Swetz, Keith M; Azuero, Andres; Bakitas, Marie A

2018-02-01

Despite national guidelines recommending early concurrent palliative care for individuals newly diagnosed with metastatic cancer, few community cancer centers, especially those in underserved rural areas do so. We are implementing an early concurrent palliative care model, ENABLE (Educate, Nurture, Advise, Before Life Ends) in four, rural-serving community cancer centers. Our objective was to develop a "toolkit" to assist community cancer centers that wish to integrate early palliative care for patients with newly diagnosed advanced cancer and their family caregivers. Guided by the RE-AIM (Reach, Effectiveness-Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance) framework, we undertook an instrument-development process based on the literature, expert and site stakeholder review and feedback, and pilot testing during site visits. We developed four instruments to measure ENABLE implementation: (1) the ENABLE RE-AIM Self-Assessment Tool to assess reach, adoption, implementation, and maintenance; (2) the ENABLE General Organizational Index to assess institutional implementation; (3) an Implementation Costs Tool; and (4) an Oncology Clinicians' Perceptions of Early Concurrent Oncology Palliative Care survey. We developed four measures to determine early palliative care implementation. These measures have been pilot-tested, and will be integrated into a comprehensive "toolkit" to assist community cancer centers to measure implementation outcomes. We describe the lessons learned and recommend strategies for promoting long-term program sustainability.

An open microcomputer-based laboratory system for perceptional experimentality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamalainen, Ari

A computer, equipped with hardware for acquiring data about the properties of a physical system and programs for processing that data, is a powerful tool for physics research and instruction. There is strong evidence that utilizing microcomputer-based laboratories (MBLs) in instruction can lead to significantly improved learning. The perceptional approach is a method for physics instruction, developed at the Department of Physics, University of Helsinki. Its main arguments are that the meanings of the concepts must be learnt before their formal definitions and adoption, and that learning and research are fundamentally similar concept formation processes. Applying the perceptional approach requires the ability to perform quantitative experiments, either as students' laboratory exercises or as lecture demonstrations, and to process their results. MBL tools are essential for this. In student's laboratory exercises, they reduce the routine work and leave more time for the actual learning. In lecture demonstrations, they make it possible to perform the experiments in the tight time limits. At a previous stage of the research, a set of requirements was found that the perceptional approach places on MBL systems. The primary goal of this thesis is to build a prototype of a MBL system that would fulfil these requirements. A secondary goal is to describe technical aspects of a computerized measurement system from the standpoint of educational use. The prototype was built using mostly commercial sensors and data acquisition units. The software was written with a visual programming language, designed for instrumentation applications. The prototype system was developed and tested with a set of demonstrations of various topics in the Finnish high school physics curriculum, which were implemented according to the perceptional approach. Limited usability tests were also performed. The prototype was improved, until it could perform the test demonstrations. It was found to meet the formulated requirements quite well, although not fully. It was also found that a visual programming language for instrumentation might have wider use in science education. The public domain programs of the prototype are available via Internet, in .

Faculty perception of the effectiveness of EBP courses for graduate nursing students.

PubMed

Zeleníková, Renáta; Beach, Michael; Ren, Dianxu; Wolff, Emily; Sherwood, Paula

2014-12-01

Effective teaching is key in preparing students to become successful evidence-based healthcare professionals. The effectiveness of graduate evidence-based practice (EBP) pedagogy is not often a subject of research studies. The purpose of this study was to determine how faculty from the 50 top graduate nursing schools in the United States perceived the effectiveness of EBP courses for graduate nursing students. A descriptive cross-sectional design was used to explore faculty perception of the effectiveness of EBP courses. A web-based survey was used for data collection. A total of 45 questionnaires were subjected to statistical analysis. The mean perception of the effectiveness of EBP courses for the whole sample, on a scale from 1 to 7, was 5.58 (min. 4.29; max. 6.73), a higher score signifying higher perceived effectiveness. The highest rated item concerned a school's access to different databases. The strongest correlations were found between the total score and the scores for items describing students' opportunities to strengthen and apply their EBP skills (rs = .66). The internal consistency of the Perception of Effectiveness of EBP Courses scale, based on standardized Cronbach's alpha, was .84, which signifies strong internal consistency. Faculty perceived themselves as most competent at the following EBP skills: (a) "Asking questions regarding patients' care" (6.56), (b) "Considering patient preferences when implementing EBP" (6.40), and (c) "Critically appraising the relevant body of evidence to address clinical questions" (6.40). To strengthen the effectiveness of EBP courses, students should have more opportunities to implement their EBP knowledge and skills after completing EBP courses. Evaluation of faculty perceptions of the effectiveness of EBP courses can help to guide the development of nursing school curricula that better integrate EBP. Further evaluation of the psychometric properties of the instrument used to measure perception of the effectiveness of EBP courses is required along with objective measures of faculty knowledge and skills in teaching EBP. © 2014 Sigma Theta Tau International.

Design and validation of a questionnaire for measuring perceived risk of skin cancer.

PubMed

Morales-Sánchez, M A; Peralta-Pedrero, M L; Domínguez-Gómez, M A

2014-04-01

A perceived risk of cancer encourages preventive behavior while the lack of such a perception is a barrier to risk reduction. There are no instruments in Spanish to measure this perceived risk and thus quantify response to interventions for preventing this disease at a population level. The aim of this study was to design and validate a self-administered questionnaire for measuring the perceived risk of skin cancer. A self-administered questionnaire with a visual Likert-type scale was designed based on the results of the analysis of the content of a survey performed in 100 patients in the Dr. Ladislao de la Pascua Skin Clinic, Distrito Federal México, Mexico. Subsequently, the questionnaire was administered to a sample of 359 adult patients who attended the clinic for the first time. As no gold standard exists for measuring the perceived risk of skin cancer, the construct was validated through factor analysis. The final questionnaire had 18 items. The internal consistency measured with Cronbach α was 0.824 overall. In the factor analysis, 4 factors (denoted as affective, behavioral, severity, and susceptibility) and an indicator of risk accounted for 65.133% of the variance. The psychometric properties of the scale were appropriate for measuring the perception of risk in adult patients (aged 18 years or more) who attended the dermatology clinic. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier España, S.L. and AEDV. All rights reserved.

The perception of aggression by nurses: psychometric scale testing and derivation of a short instrument.

PubMed

Needham, I; Abderhalden, C; Dassen, T; Haug, H J; Fischer, J E

2004-02-01

Patient aggression is a serious problem in psychiatric nursing. Nurses' attitudes towards aggression have been identified as mediating the choice of nursing interventions. To date, investigations are lacking which elucidate the stability of one of the few scales for measuring the attitude of aggression. This study aimed to investigate the test-retest stability of the Perception of Aggression Scale and to derive a shortened version. In order to test the reliability of the Perception of Aggression Scale items, three groups of psychiatric nurses were requested to fill in the Perception of Aggression Scale twice (30 student nurses after 4 days, 32 qualified nurses after 14 days and 36 qualified nurses after 70 days). We derived the shortened version from an independent data set obtained from 729 psychiatry nurses using principal component analysis, aiming to maximize parsimony and Cronbach's alpha. Amongst competing short versions, we selected those with the highest reliability at 70 or 14 day retest. A scale using 12 of the original 32 items was derived yielding alphas of r = 0.69 and r = 0.67 for the two POAS factors with retest reliabilities of r = 0.76 and r = 0.77. The shortened scale offers a practical and viable alternative to the longer version.