Portable Imagery Quality Assessment Test Field for Uav Sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dąbrowski, R.; Jenerowicz, A.

2015-08-01

Nowadays the imagery data acquired from UAV sensors are the main source of all data used in various remote sensing applications, photogrammetry projects and in imagery intelligence (IMINT) as well as in other tasks as decision support. Therefore quality assessment of such imagery is an important task. The research team from Military University of Technology, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geodesy, Geodesy Institute, Department of Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry has designed and prepared special test field- The Portable Imagery Quality Assessment Test Field (PIQuAT) that provides quality assessment in field conditions of images obtained with sensors mounted on UAVs. The PIQuAT consists of 6 individual segments, when combined allow for determine radiometric, spectral and spatial resolution of images acquired from UAVs. All segments of the PIQuAT can be used together in various configurations or independently. All elements of The Portable Imagery Quality Assessment Test Field were tested in laboratory conditions in terms of their radiometry and spectral reflectance characteristics.

A Novel Method for Assessing Task Complexity in Outpatient Clinical-Performance Measures.

PubMed

Hysong, Sylvia J; Amspoker, Amber B; Petersen, Laura A

2016-04-01

Clinical-performance measurement has helped improve the quality of health-care; yet success in attaining high levels of quality across multiple domains simultaneously still varies considerably. Although many sources of variability in care quality have been studied, the difficulty required to complete the clinical work itself has received little attention. We present a task-based methodology for evaluating the difficulty of clinical-performance measures (CPMs) by assessing the complexity of their component requisite tasks. Using Functional Job Analysis (FJA), subject-matter experts (SMEs) generated task lists for 17 CPMs; task lists were rated on ten dimensions of complexity, and then aggregated into difficulty composites. Eleven outpatient work SMEs; 133 VA Medical Centers nationwide. Clinical Performance: 17 outpatient CPMs (2000-2008) at 133 VA Medical Centers nationwide. Measure Difficulty: for each CPM, the number of component requisite tasks and the average rating across ten FJA complexity scales for the set of tasks comprising the measure. Measures varied considerably in the number of component tasks (M = 10.56, SD = 6.25, min = 5, max = 25). Measures of chronic care following acute myocardial infarction exhibited significantly higher measure difficulty ratings compared to diabetes or screening measures, but not to immunization measures ([Formula: see text] = 0.45, -0.04, -0.05, and -0.06 respectively; F (3, 186) = 3.57, p = 0.015). Measure difficulty ratings were not significantly correlated with the number of component tasks (r = -0.30, p = 0.23). Evaluating the difficulty of achieving recommended CPM performance levels requires more than simply counting the tasks involved; using FJA to assess the complexity of CPMs' component tasks presents an alternate means of assessing the difficulty of primary-care CPMs and accounting for performance variation among measures and performers. This in turn could be used in designing performance reward programs, or to match workflow to clinician time and effort.

TBDQ: A Pragmatic Task-Based Method to Data Quality Assessment and Improvement

PubMed Central

Vaziri, Reza; Mohsenzadeh, Mehran; Habibi, Jafar

2016-01-01

Organizations are increasingly accepting data quality (DQ) as a major key to their success. In order to assess and improve DQ, methods have been devised. Many of these methods attempt to raise DQ by directly manipulating low quality data. Such methods operate reactively and are suitable for organizations with highly developed integrated systems. However, there is a lack of a proactive DQ method for businesses with weak IT infrastructure where data quality is largely affected by tasks that are performed by human agents. This study aims to develop and evaluate a new method for structured data, which is simple and practical so that it can easily be applied to real world situations. The new method detects the potentially risky tasks within a process, and adds new improving tasks to counter them. To achieve continuous improvement, an award system is also developed to help with the better selection of the proposed improving tasks. The task-based DQ method (TBDQ) is most appropriate for small and medium organizations, and simplicity in implementation is one of its most prominent features. TBDQ is case studied in an international trade company. The case study shows that TBDQ is effective in selecting optimal activities for DQ improvement in terms of cost and improvement. PMID:27192547

A Population of Assessment Tasks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Daro, Phil; Burkhardt, Hugh

2012-01-01

We propose the development of a "population" of high-quality assessment tasks that cover the performance goals set out in the "Common Core State Standards for Mathematics." The population will be published. Tests are drawn from this population as a structured random sample guided by a "balancing algorithm."

Benchmarking performance: Environmental impact statements in Egypt

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

Badr, El-Sayed A., E-mail: ebadr@mans.edu.e; Zahran, Ashraf A., E-mail: ashraf_zahran@yahoo.co; Cashmore, Matthew, E-mail: m.cashmore@uea.ac.u

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) was formally introduced in Egypt in 1994. This short paper evaluates 'how well' the EIA process is working in practice in Egypt, by reviewing the quality of 45 environmental impact statements (EISs) produced between 2000 and 2007 for a variety of project types. The Lee and Colley review package was used to assess the quality of the selected EISs. About 69% of the EISs sampled were found to be of a satisfactory quality. An assessment of the performance of different elements of the EIA process indicates that descriptive tasks tend to be performed better than scientificmore » tasks. The quality of core elements of EIA (e.g., impact prediction, significance evaluation, scoping and consideration of alternatives) appears to be particularly problematic. Variables that influence the quality of EISs are identified and a number of broad recommendations are made for improving the effectiveness of the EIA system.« less

BMP effectiveness/efficiency monitoring evaluation of regional information and data : response to Tasks 2 & 3 : information analysis and needs assessment.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2002-10-04

The second task, Task 2, includes analyzing the information obtained in Task 1, expanding it if necessary, and identifying the extent of regional information and data with respect to the types of water quality facilities typically designed for the tr...

An Examination of Preservice Primary Teachers' Written Arguments in an Open Inquiry Laboratory Task

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McDonald, Christine V.

2013-01-01

This study assessed the quality of preservice primary teachers' written arguments in an open inquiry laboratory task. An analysis of the features of the laboratory task was also undertaken to ascertain the characteristics of the task that facilitated or constrained the development of participants' written arguments. Australian preservice primary…

Neuropsychological correlates of theory of mind in patients with early Parkinson's disease.

PubMed

Santangelo, Gabriella; Vitale, Carmine; Trojano, Luigi; Errico, Domenico; Amboni, Marianna; Barbarulo, Anna Maria; Grossi, Dario; Barone, Paolo

2012-01-01

The theory of mind is the ability to attribute mental states to oneself and others and to understand that others have beliefs, desires and intentions different from one's own. The aim of the study was to explore the neuropsychological correlates of theory of mind in patients affected by early Parkinson's disease (PD). Thirty-three PD patients and 33 age-, sex-, and education-matched control subjects underwent the Frontal Assessment Battery, as well as tasks assessing "cognitive" and "affective" theory of mind, and memory abilities; questionnaires evaluating behavioral disorders and quality of life were also administrated. Although the 2 groups did not differ on neuropsychological tasks, PD patients' performance on tasks assessing cognitive and affective theory of mind was significantly worse than controls. Moreover, PD patients had more behavioral disorders and worse quality of life than controls. After covarying for behavioral and quality of life scores, the differences between patients and controls on theory of mind tasks remained significant. "Cognitive" theory of mind was associated with Frontal Assessment Battery score and 2 domains of quality of life scale, whereas "affective" theory of mind scores correlated only with behavioral scales such as the Frontal Behavioral Inventory and Apathy Evaluation Scale. The results demonstrate that both affective and cognitive aspects of theory of mind are simultaneously impaired in early PD and suggest that deficits in the 2 subcomponents of theory of mind may be linked to dysfunction of different frontosubcortical circuitries in early PD. Copyright © 2011 Movement Disorder Society.

Dual-Task Assessment Protocols in Concussion Assessment: A Systematic Literature Review.

PubMed

Kleiner, Michelle; Wong, Lynne; Dubé, Alexandra; Wnuk, Katie; Hunter, Susan W; Graham, Laura J

2018-02-01

Study Design Systematic review. Background When assessed in isolation, balance and neurocognitive testing may not be sufficiently responsive to capture changes that occur with concussion. Normal daily activities require simultaneous cognitive and physical demands. Therefore, a dual-task assessment paradigm should be considered to identify performance deficits. Objectives To evaluate the literature and to identify dual-task testing protocols associated with changes in gait after concussion. Methods A systematic review of articles of individuals with concussion who underwent dual-task testing with a combination of motor and cognitive tasks was conducted. The AMED, CINAHL, Embase, PsycINFO, PubMed, Scopus, SPORTDiscus, and Web of Science databases and gray literature were searched from inception to January 29, 2017. Title and abstract, full-text, and quality review and data abstraction were performed by 2 independent reviewers. Results Twenty-four articles met the inclusion criteria. Eleven articles reported decreased gait velocity and increased medial-lateral displacement for individuals with concussion during dual-task conditions. Overall, included articles were of poor to moderate methodological quality. Fifteen articles used the same participants and data sets, creating a threat to validity and limiting the ability to make conclusions. Conclusion A deterioration in gait performance during dual-task testing is present among people with concussion. Specific recommendations for the use of a dual-task protocol to assess individuals with suspected concussion injury in a clinical setting have yet to be determined. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2018;48(2):87-103. Epub 7 Nov 2017. doi:10.2519/jospt.2018.7432.

A Systems-Level Approach to Building Sustainable Assessment Cultures: Moderation, Quality Task Design and Dependability of Judgement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Colbert, Peta; Wyatt-Smith, Claire; Klenowski, Val

2012-01-01

This article considers the conditions that are necessary at system and local levels for teacher assessment to be valid, reliable and rigorous. With sustainable assessment cultures as a goal, the article examines how education systems can support local-level efforts for quality learning and dependable teacher assessment. This is achieved through…

Reference H Cycle 3 Stability, Control, and Flying Qualities Batch Assessments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Henderson, Dennis K.

1999-01-01

This work is an update of the assessment completed in February of 1996, when a preliminary assessment report was issued for the Cycle 2B simulation model. The primary purpose of the final assessment was to re-evaluate each assessment against the flight control system (FCS) requirements document using the updated model. Only a limited number of final assessments were completed due to the close proximity of the release of the Langley model and the assessment deliverable date. The assessment used the nonlinear Cycle 3 simulation model because it combines nonlinear aeroelastic (quasi-static) aerodynamic with hinge moment and rate limited control surface deflections. Both Configuration Aerodynamics (Task 32) and Flight Controls (Task 36) were funded in 1996 to conduct the final stability and control assessments of the unaugmented Reference H configuration in FY96. Because the two tasks had similar output requirements, the work was divided such that Flight Controls would be responsible for the implementation and checkout of the simulation model and Configuration Aerodynamics for writing Madab "script' files, conducting the batch assessments and writing the assessment report. Additionally, Flight Controls was to investigate control surface allocations schemes different from the baseline Reference H in an effort to fulfill flying qualities criteria.

Assessment of the dose reduction potential of a model-based iterative reconstruction algorithm using a task-based performance metrology

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

Samei, Ehsan, E-mail: samei@duke.edu; Richard, Samuel

2015-01-15

Purpose: Different computed tomography (CT) reconstruction techniques offer different image quality attributes of resolution and noise, challenging the ability to compare their dose reduction potential against each other. The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare the task-based imaging performance of CT systems to enable the assessment of the dose performance of a model-based iterative reconstruction (MBIR) to that of an adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (ASIR) and a filtered back projection (FBP) technique. Methods: The ACR CT phantom (model 464) was imaged across a wide range of mA setting on a 64-slice CT scanner (GE Discovery CT750 HD,more » Waukesha, WI). Based on previous work, the resolution was evaluated in terms of a task-based modulation transfer function (MTF) using a circular-edge technique and images from the contrast inserts located in the ACR phantom. Noise performance was assessed in terms of the noise-power spectrum (NPS) measured from the uniform section of the phantom. The task-based MTF and NPS were combined with a task function to yield a task-based estimate of imaging performance, the detectability index (d′). The detectability index was computed as a function of dose for two imaging tasks corresponding to the detection of a relatively small and a relatively large feature (1.5 and 25 mm, respectively). The performance of MBIR in terms of the d′ was compared with that of ASIR and FBP to assess its dose reduction potential. Results: Results indicated that MBIR exhibits a variability spatial resolution with respect to object contrast and noise while significantly reducing image noise. The NPS measurements for MBIR indicated a noise texture with a low-pass quality compared to the typical midpass noise found in FBP-based CT images. At comparable dose, the d′ for MBIR was higher than those of FBP and ASIR by at least 61% and 19% for the small feature and the large feature tasks, respectively. Compared to FBP and ASIR, MBIR indicated a 46%–84% dose reduction potential, depending on task, without compromising the modeled detection performance. Conclusions: The presented methodology based on ACR phantom measurements extends current possibilities for the assessment of CT image quality under the complex resolution and noise characteristics exhibited with statistical and iterative reconstruction algorithms. The findings further suggest that MBIR can potentially make better use of the projections data to reduce CT dose by approximately a factor of 2. Alternatively, if the dose held unchanged, it can improve image quality by different levels for different tasks.« less

A Prototype Public Speaking Skills Assessment: An Evaluation of Human-Scoring Quality. Research Report. ETS RR-15-36

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Joe, Jilliam; Kitchen, Christopher; Chen, Lei; Feng, Gary

2015-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to summarize the evaluation of human-scoring quality for an assessment of public speaking skills. Videotaped performances given by 17 speakers on 4 tasks were scored by expert and nonexpert raters who had extensive experience scoring performance-based and constructed-response assessments. The Public Speaking Competence…

Quality Counts: Developmental Shifts in Associations Between Romantic Relationship Qualities and Psychosocial Adjustment

PubMed Central

Collibee, Charlene; Furman, Wyndol

2015-01-01

The present study assessed a developmental task theory of romantic relationships by examining associations between romantic relationship qualities and adjustment across 9 years using a community based sample of 100 male and 100 female participants (M age Wave 1 = 15.83) in a Western U.S. city. Using multilevel modeling, the study examined the moderating effect of age on links between romantic relationship qualities and adjustment. Consistent with developmental task theory, high romantic quality was more associated with internalizing symptoms and dating satisfaction during young adulthood than adolescence. Romantic relationship qualities were also associated with externalizing symptoms and substance use, but the degree of association was consistent across ages. The findings underscore the significance of romantic relationship qualities across development. PMID:26283151

The baby or the bath water? Lessons learned from the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention Research Prioritization Task Force literature review.

PubMed

Davis Molock, Sherry; Heekin, Janet M; Matlin, Samantha G; Barksdale, Crystal L; Gray, Ekwenzi; Booth, Chelsea L

2014-09-01

The Research Prioritization Task Force of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention conducted a comprehensive literature review of suicide prevention/intervention trials to assess the quality of the scientific evidence. A literature "review of reviews" was conducted by searching the most widely used databases for mental health and public health research. The quality of the reviews was evaluated using the Revised Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews system; the quality of the scientific evidence for the suicide preventions/interventions was assessed using U.S. Preventive Services Task Force criteria. The reviews were limited to peer-reviewed publications with human subjects published in English. Ninety-eight systematic reviews and 45 primary sources on suicide prevention/interventions published between January 2000 and September 2012 were evaluated. The results suggest that the quality of both the systematic reviews and the scientific evidence for suicide preventions/interventions were mixed. The majority of the systematic reviews and prevention/interventions were evaluated as fair to poor in quality. There are many promising suicide prevention/intervention trials, but research findings are often inconclusive because of methodologic problems. Methodologic problems across systematic reviews include not conducting hand searches, not surveying gray literature, and being unable to aggregate data across studies. Methodologic problems with the scientific quality of the prevention/intervention trials include paucity of information on sample demographic characteristics, poorly defined outcomes, and excluding actively suicidal participants. Suggestions for ways to improve the quality of the systematic reviews and suicide preventions/interventions are provided. Copyright © 2014 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. All rights reserved.

Uniform Federal Policy for Quality Assurance Project Plans: Evaluating, Assessing, and Documenting Environmental Data Collection and Use Programs. Part 1. UFP-QAPP Manual

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-07-01

sampler, project manager, data reviewer, statistician , risk assessor, assessment personnel, and laboratory QC manager. In addition, a complete copy of...sample • Corrective actions to be taken if the QC sample fails these criteria • A description of how the QC data and results are to be documented and...Intergovernmental Data Quality Task Force Uniform Federal Policy for Quality Assurance Project Plans Evaluating, Assessing, and Documenting

Development and initial validity of the in-hand manipulation assessment.

PubMed

Klymenko, Gabrielle; Liu, Karen P Y; Bissett, Michelle; Fong, Kenneth N K; Welage, Nandana; Wong, Rebecca S M

2018-04-01

A review of the literature related to in-hand manipulation (IHM) revealed that there is no assessment which specifically measures this construct in the adult population. This study reports the face and content validity of an IHM assessment for adults with impaired hand function based on expert opinion. The definition of IHM skills, assessment tasks and scoring methods identified from literature was discussed in a focus group (n = 4) to establish face validity. An expert panel (n = 16) reviewed the content validity of the proposed assessment; evaluating the representativeness and relevance of encompassing the IHM skills in the proposed assessment tasks, the clarity and importance to daily life of the task and the clarity and applicability to clinical environment of the scoring method. The content validity was calculated using the content validity index for both the individual task and all tasks together (I-CVI and S-CVI). Feedback was incorporated to create the assessment. The focus group members agreed to include 10 assessment tasks that covered all IHM skills. In the expert panel review, all tasks received an I-CVI above 0.78 and S-CVI above 0.80 in representativeness and relevance ratings, representing good content validity. With the comments from the expert panel, tasks were modified to improve the clarity and importance to daily life. A four-point Likert scale was identified for assessing both the completion of the assessment tasks and the quality of IHM skills within the task performance. Face and content validity were established in this new IHM assessment. Further studies to examine psychometric properties and use within clinical practice are recommended. © 2018 Occupational Therapy Australia.

Visualizing surgical quality data with treemaps.

PubMed

Hugine, Akilah L; Guerlain, Stephanie A; Turrentine, Florence E

2014-09-01

Treemaps are space-constrained visualizations for displaying hierarchical data structures using nested rectangles. The visualization allows large amounts of data to be examined in one display. The objective of this research was to examine the effects of using treemap visualizations to help surgeons assess surgical quality data from the American College of Surgeons created the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database in a quick and timely manner. A controlled human subjects experiment was conducted to assess the ability of individuals to make quick and accurate judgments on surgery data by visualizing a treemap, with data hierarchically displayed by surgeon group, surgeon, and patient. Participants were given 20 task questions to complete involving examining the treemap and comparing surgeons' patients based on outcomes (dead or alive) and length of stay days. The outcomes measured were error (incorrect or correct) and task completion time. 120 participants completed 20 task questions for a total of 2400 responses. The main effects of layout and node size were found to be significant for absolute error, P < 0.0505 and P < 0.0185, respectively. The average judgment time to complete a task was 24 s with an accuracy rate of approximately 68%. This study served as a proof of concept to determine if treemaps could be beneficial in assessing surgical data retrospectively by allowing surgeons and healthcare administrators to make quick visual judgments. The study found that factors about the layout design affect judgment performance. Future research is needed to examine whether implementing the treemap within a dashboard system will improve on judgment accuracy for surgical quality questions. Published by Elsevier Inc.

The secure base script and the task of caring for elderly parents: implications for attachment theory and clinical practice.

PubMed

Chen, Cory K; Waters, Harriet Salatas; Hartman, Marilyn; Zimmerman, Sheryl; Miklowitz, David J; Waters, Everett

2013-01-01

This study explores links between adults' attachment representations and the task of caring for elderly parents with dementia. Participants were 87 adults serving as primary caregivers of a parent or parent-in-law with dementia. Waters and Waters' ( 2006 ) Attachment Script Assessment was adapted to assess script-like attachment representation in the context of caring for their elderly parent. The quality of adult-elderly parent interactions was assessed using the Level of Expressed Emotions Scale (Cole & Kazarian, 1988 ) and self-report measures of caregivers' perception of caregiving as difficult. Caregivers' secure base script knowledge predicted lower levels of negative expressed emotion. This effect was moderated by the extent to which participants experienced caring for elderly parents as difficult. Attachment representations played a greater role in caregiving when caregiving tasks were perceived as more difficult. These results support the hypothesis that attachment representations influence the quality of care that adults provide their elderly parents. Clinical implications are discussed.

Multi-intelligence critical rating assessment of fusion techniques (MiCRAFT)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blasch, Erik

2015-06-01

Assessment of multi-intelligence fusion techniques includes credibility of algorithm performance, quality of results against mission needs, and usability in a work-domain context. Situation awareness (SAW) brings together low-level information fusion (tracking and identification), high-level information fusion (threat and scenario-based assessment), and information fusion level 5 user refinement (physical, cognitive, and information tasks). To measure SAW, we discuss the SAGAT (Situational Awareness Global Assessment Technique) technique for a multi-intelligence fusion (MIF) system assessment that focuses on the advantages of MIF against single intelligence sources. Building on the NASA TLX (Task Load Index), SAGAT probes, SART (Situational Awareness Rating Technique) questionnaires, and CDM (Critical Decision Method) decision points; we highlight these tools for use in a Multi-Intelligence Critical Rating Assessment of Fusion Techniques (MiCRAFT). The focus is to measure user refinement of a situation over the information fusion quality of service (QoS) metrics: timeliness, accuracy, confidence, workload (cost), and attention (throughput). A key component of any user analysis includes correlation, association, and summarization of data; so we also seek measures of product quality and QuEST of information. Building a notion of product quality from multi-intelligence tools is typically subjective which needs to be aligned with objective machine metrics.

Leadership, staffing and quality of care in nursing homes

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Leadership and staffing are recognised as important factors for quality of care. This study examines the effects of ward leaders' task- and relationship-oriented leadership styles, staffing levels, ratio of registered nurses and ratio of unlicensed staff on three independent measures of quality of care. Methods A cross-sectional survey of forty nursing home wards throughout Norway was used to collect the data. Five sources of data were utilised: self-report questionnaires to 444 employees, interviews with and questionnaires to 13 nursing home directors and 40 ward managers, telephone interviews with 378 relatives and 900 hours of field observations. Separate multi-level analyses were conducted for quality of care assessed by relatives, staff and field observations respectively. Results Task-oriented leadership style had a significant positive relationship with two of the three quality of care indexes. In contrast, relationship-oriented leadership style was not significantly related to any of the indexes. The lack of significant effect for relationship-oriented leadership style was due to a strong correlation between the two leadership styles (r = 0.78). Staffing levels and ratio of registered nurses were not significantly related to any of the quality of care indexes. The ratio of unlicensed staff, however, showed a significant negative relationship to quality as assessed by relatives and field observations, but not to quality as assessed by staff. Conclusions Leaders in nursing homes should focus on active leadership and particularly task-oriented behaviour like structure, coordination, clarifying of staff roles and monitoring of operations to increase quality of care. Furthermore, nursing homes should minimize use of unlicensed staff and address factors related to high ratios of unlicensed staff, like low staff stability. The study indicates, however, that the relationship between staffing levels, ratio of registered nurses and quality of care is complex. Increasing staffing levels or the ratio of registered nurses alone is not likely sufficient for increasing quality of care. PMID:22123029

Is Attachment at Ages 1, 6 and 16 Related to Autonomy and Relatedness Behavior of Adolescents in Interaction towards Their Mothers?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Becker-Stoll, Fabienne; Fremmer-Bombik, Elisabeth; Wartner, Ulrike; Zimmermann, Peter; Grossmann, Klaus E.

2008-01-01

This study investigates whether attachment quality at ages 1, 6 and 16 is related to autonomy and relatedness behavior in adolescence. In a follow-up of the Regensburg Longitudinal Study, forty-three 16-year-old adolescents and their mothers were assessed in a revealed differences task and a planning a vacation task. Attachment was assessed during…

An empirically derived figure of merit for the quality of overall task performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lemay, Moira

1989-01-01

The need to develop an operationally relevant figure of merit for the quality of performance of a complex system such as an aircraft cockpit stems from a hypothesized dissociation between measures of performance and those of workload. Performance can be measured in terms of time, errors, or a combination of these. In most tasks performed by expert operators, errors are relatively rare and often corrected in time to avoid consequences. Moreover, perfect performance is seldom necessary to accomplish a particular task. Moreover, how well an expert performs a complex task consisting of a series of discrete cognitive tasks superimposed on a continuous task, such as flying an aircraft, does not depend on how well each discrete task is performed, but on their smooth sequencing. This makes the amount of time spent on each subtask of paramount importance in measuring overall performance, since smooth sequencing requires a minimum amount of time spent on each task. Quality consists in getting tasks done within a crucial time interval while maintaining acceptable continuous task performance. Thus, a figure of merit for overall quality of performance should be primarily a measure of time to perform discrete subtasks combined with a measure of basic vehicle control. Thus, the proposed figure of merit requires doing a task analysis on a series of performance, or runs, of a particular task, listing each discrete task and its associated time, and calculating the mean and standard deviation of these times, along with the mean and standard deviation of tracking error for the whole task. A set of simulator data on 30 runs of a landing task was obtained and a figure of merit will be calculated for each run. The figure of merit will be compared for voice and data link, so that the impact of this technology on total crew performance (not just communication performance) can be assessed. The effect of data link communication on other cockpit tasks will also be considered.

Sensor-based assessment of the in-situ quality of human computer interaction in the cars : final research report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-01-01

Human attention is a finite resource. When interrupted while performing a task, this : resource is split between two interactive tasks. People have to decide whether the benefits : from the interruptive interaction will be enough to offset the loss o...

Associations between environmental quality and mortality in the contiguous United States 2000-2005

EPA Science Inventory

BACKGROUND: Assessing cumulative effects of the multiple environmental factors influencing mortality remains a challenging task. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to examine the associations between cumulative environmental quality and all-cause and leading cause-specific (heart dise...

Enhanced Gender Recognition System Using an Improved Histogram of Oriented Gradient (HOG) Feature from Quality Assessment of Visible Light and Thermal Images of the Human Body.

PubMed

Nguyen, Dat Tien; Park, Kang Ryoung

2016-07-21

With higher demand from users, surveillance systems are currently being designed to provide more information about the observed scene, such as the appearance of objects, types of objects, and other information extracted from detected objects. Although the recognition of gender of an observed human can be easily performed using human perception, it remains a difficult task when using computer vision system images. In this paper, we propose a new human gender recognition method that can be applied to surveillance systems based on quality assessment of human areas in visible light and thermal camera images. Our research is novel in the following two ways: First, we utilize the combination of visible light and thermal images of the human body for a recognition task based on quality assessment. We propose a quality measurement method to assess the quality of image regions so as to remove the effects of background regions in the recognition system. Second, by combining the features extracted using the histogram of oriented gradient (HOG) method and the measured qualities of image regions, we form a new image features, called the weighted HOG (wHOG), which is used for efficient gender recognition. Experimental results show that our method produces more accurate estimation results than the state-of-the-art recognition method that uses human body images.

Enhanced Gender Recognition System Using an Improved Histogram of Oriented Gradient (HOG) Feature from Quality Assessment of Visible Light and Thermal Images of the Human Body

PubMed Central

Nguyen, Dat Tien; Park, Kang Ryoung

2016-01-01

With higher demand from users, surveillance systems are currently being designed to provide more information about the observed scene, such as the appearance of objects, types of objects, and other information extracted from detected objects. Although the recognition of gender of an observed human can be easily performed using human perception, it remains a difficult task when using computer vision system images. In this paper, we propose a new human gender recognition method that can be applied to surveillance systems based on quality assessment of human areas in visible light and thermal camera images. Our research is novel in the following two ways: First, we utilize the combination of visible light and thermal images of the human body for a recognition task based on quality assessment. We propose a quality measurement method to assess the quality of image regions so as to remove the effects of background regions in the recognition system. Second, by combining the features extracted using the histogram of oriented gradient (HOG) method and the measured qualities of image regions, we form a new image features, called the weighted HOG (wHOG), which is used for efficient gender recognition. Experimental results show that our method produces more accurate estimation results than the state-of-the-art recognition method that uses human body images. PMID:27455264

A multilevel modeling approach to examining individual differences in skill acquisition for a computer-based task.

PubMed

Nair, Sankaran N; Czaja, Sara J; Sharit, Joseph

2007-06-01

This article explores the role of age, cognitive abilities, prior experience, and knowledge in skill acquisition for a computer-based simulated customer service task. Fifty-two participants aged 50-80 performed the task over 4 consecutive days following training. They also completed a battery that assessed prior computer experience and cognitive abilities. The data indicated that overall quality and efficiency of performance improved with practice. The predictors of initial level of performance and rate of change in performance varied according to the performance parameter assessed. Age and fluid intelligence predicted initial level and rate of improvement in overall quality, whereas crystallized intelligence and age predicted initial e-mail processing time, and crystallized intelligence predicted rate of change in e-mail processing time over days. We discuss the implications of these findings for the design of intervention strategies.

[Experience of the implementation of the method of the integral assessment of drinking water on indicators of chemical harmlessness in St. Petersburg].

PubMed

Mel'tser, A V; Erastova, N V; Kiselev, A V

2013-01-01

Providing population with quality drinking water--one of the priority tasks of the state policy aimed at maintaining the health of citizens. Hygienic rating of the drinking water quality envisages requirements to assurance its safety in the epidemiological and radiation relations, harmlessness of chemical composition and good organoleptic properties. There are numerous data proving the relationship between the chemical composition of drinking water and human health, and therefore the issue of taking a hygienically sound measures to improve the efficiency of water treatment has more and more priority. High water quality--the result of complex solution of tasks, including an integral approach to assessment of the quality of drinking water the use of hygienically sound decisions in the modernization of water treatment systems. The results of the integral assessment of drinking water on the properties of harmlessness have shown its actuality in the development and implementation of management decisions. The use of the spatial characteristics of integrated indices permits to visualize changes in the quality of drinking water in all stages of production and transportation from the position of health risks, evaluate the effectiveness of technological solutions and set priorities for investing.

Dietary fiber is positively associated with cognitive control among prepubertal children.

PubMed

Khan, Naiman A; Raine, Lauren B; Drollette, Eric S; Scudder, Mark R; Kramer, Arthur F; Hillman, Charles H

2015-01-01

Converging evidence now indicates that aerobic fitness and adiposity are key correlates of childhood cognitive function and brain health. However, the evidence relating dietary intake to executive function/cognitive control remains limited. The current study assessed cross-sectional associations between performance on an attentional inhibition task and dietary fatty acids (FAs), fiber, and overall diet quality among children aged 7-9 y (n = 65). Attentional inhibition was assessed by using a modified flanker task. Three-day food records were used to conduct nutrient-level analyses and to calculate diet quality (Healthy Eating Index-2005) scores. Bivariate correlations revealed that socioeconomic status and sex were not related to task performance or diet measures. However, age, intelligence quotient (IQ), pubertal staging, maximal oxygen uptake (V̇O2max), and percentage of fat mass (%fat mass) correlated with task accuracy. Hierarchical regression models were used to determine the relation between diet variables and task accuracy and reaction time across both congruent and incongruent trials of the flanker task. After adjustment of confounding variables (age, IQ, pubertal staging, V̇O2max, and %fat mass), congruent accuracy was positively associated with insoluble fiber (β = 0.26, P = 0.03) and total dietary fiber (β = 0.23, P = 0.05). Incongruent response accuracy was positively associated with insoluble fiber (β = 0.35, P < 0.01), pectins (β = 0.25, P = 0.04), and total dietary fiber (β = 0.32, P < 0.01). Higher diet quality was related to lower accuracy interference (β = -0.26, P = 0.03), whereas higher total FA intake was related to greater accuracy interference (β = 0.24, P = 0.04). No statistically significant associations were observed between diet variables and reaction time measures. These results demonstrate that children's diet quality, specifically dietary fiber, is an important correlate of performance on a cognitive task requiring variable amounts of cognitive control. © 2015 American Society for Nutrition.

Dietary Fiber Is Positively Associated with Cognitive Control among Prepubertal Children12

PubMed Central

Khan, Naiman A; Raine, Lauren B; Drollette, Eric S; Scudder, Mark R; Kramer, Arthur F; Hillman, Charles H

2015-01-01

Background: Converging evidence now indicates that aerobic fitness and adiposity are key correlates of childhood cognitive function and brain health. However, the evidence relating dietary intake to executive function/cognitive control remains limited. Objective: The current study assessed cross-sectional associations between performance on an attentional inhibition task and dietary fatty acids (FAs), fiber, and overall diet quality among children aged 7–9 y (n = 65). Methods: Attentional inhibition was assessed by using a modified flanker task. Three-day food records were used to conduct nutrient-level analyses and to calculate diet quality (Healthy Eating Index–2005) scores. Results: Bivariate correlations revealed that socioeconomic status and sex were not related to task performance or diet measures. However, age, intelligence quotient (IQ), pubertal staging, maximal oxygen uptake (V̇O2max), and percentage of fat mass (%fat mass) correlated with task accuracy. Hierarchical regression models were used to determine the relation between diet variables and task accuracy and reaction time across both congruent and incongruent trials of the flanker task. After adjustment of confounding variables (age, IQ, pubertal staging, V̇O2max, and %fat mass), congruent accuracy was positively associated with insoluble fiber (β = 0.26, P = 0.03) and total dietary fiber (β = 0.23, P = 0.05). Incongruent response accuracy was positively associated with insoluble fiber (β = 0.35, P < 0.01), pectins (β = 0.25, P = 0.04), and total dietary fiber (β = 0.32, P < 0.01). Higher diet quality was related to lower accuracy interference (β = −0.26, P = 0.03), whereas higher total FA intake was related to greater accuracy interference (β = 0.24, P = 0.04). No statistically significant associations were observed between diet variables and reaction time measures. Conclusion: These results demonstrate that children’s diet quality, specifically dietary fiber, is an important correlate of performance on a cognitive task requiring variable amounts of cognitive control. PMID:25527669

Research and Development for Health and Environmental Hazard Assessment. Task Order 1. Development of Data Base Requirements for Human Health Based Water Quality Criteria for Military Recycle/Reuse Applications.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-06-01

Environmental Hazard Assessment -. .’.’ASK ORDER I j EVELOPMENT OF DATA BASE REQUIREMENTS I . .oR HUMAN HEALTH BASED WATER QUALITY CRITERIA | COR MILITARY...Requirements for Human Sep a -1979- June 89 Health Based Water Quality Criteria for Military -%4,o ER Reevcle/ Reuse Applications Is 8_ 3.7𔃾__=1_...KEY WORDS (Continue on reverse aide If neceseary and Identify by block number) Water Reuse, Water Recycle, Water Quality Criteria, Human Health

Task performance in astronomical adaptive optics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barrett, Harrison H.; Myers, Kyle J.; Devaney, Nicholas; Dainty, J. C.; Caucci, Luca

2006-06-01

In objective or task-based assessment of image quality, figures of merit are defined by the performance of some specific observer on some task of scientific interest. This methodology is well established in medical imaging but is just beginning to be applied in astronomy. In this paper we survey the theory needed to understand the performance of ideal or ideal-linear (Hotelling) observers on detection tasks with adaptive-optical data. The theory is illustrated by discussing its application to detection of exoplanets from a sequence of short-exposure images.

Self-reported quality of ADL task performance among patients with COPD exacerbations.

PubMed

Bendixen, Hans Jørgen; Wæhrens, Eva Ejlersen; Wilcke, Jon Torgny; Sørensen, Lisbeth Villemoes

2014-07-01

Patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) experience problems in the performance of activities of daily living (ADL) tasks. The objective was to examine the self-reported quality of ADL task performance among COPD patients, and to investigate whether age, gender, and routine COPD characteristics correlate with the self-reported ADL ability. Eighty patients admitted to hospital with COPD exacerbations participated. In a cross-sectional study, the patients' self-reported ADL ability was assessed using the ADL-Interview (ADL-I) instrument. Data concerning age, gender, and routine COPD characteristics were drawn from the patients' medical records. The patients reported being inefficient to markedly inefficient when performing ADL tasks within the personal hygiene, toileting, dressing, household, mobility, and transportation domains. While more than 90% of the participants reported increased effort and/or fatigue when performing the ADL tasks, up to 88% of the participants relied on help from others in the performance of general household chores like cooking and shopping. Self-reported ADL ability did not correlate with age, gender, or routine COPD characteristics. Decreased quality of ADL task performance seemed to be extremely common among COPD patients. Therefore, addressing the problems in individually tailored pulmonary rehabilitation programmes may be advantageous.

Radiological Protection in Space: Indication from the ICRP Task Group

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dietze, Günther

In 2007 the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) has established a Task Group (Radiation Protection in Space) dealing with the problems of radiation protection of astronauts in space missions. Its first task is a report on "Assessment of Radiation Exposure of Astronauts in Space". When the ICRP published its general recommendations for radiological protection in 2007 (ICRP Publication 103 following ICRP Publication 60 (1991)) it was obvious that these recommendations do not really consider the special situation of astronauts in space. The radiation field with its high content of charged particles of very high energies strongly differs from usual radiation fields on ground. For example, this has consequences for the assessment of doses in the body of astronauts. The ICRP Task Group has discussed this situation and the presentation will deal with some consequences for the concept of radiation dosimetry and radiological protection in space. This includes e. g. the assessment of organ doses and the application of the effective dose concept with its definition of radiation weighting factors. Radiation quality of high energy heavy ions may be defined different than usually performed on ground. An approach of using the quality factor concept in the definition of an "effective dose" is favored for application in space missions similar to the method proposed in NCRP Report 142. New data calculated on the basis of the reference anthropomorphic voxel phantoms recommended by ICRP support this procedure. Individual dosimetry is a further subject of discussion in the Task Group. While the operational dose equivalent quantities generally in use in radiation protection on ground are not helpful for applications in space, different procedures of the assessment of organ and effective doses are applied. The Task Group is dealing with this situation.

MO-C-18A-01: Advances in Model-Based 3D Image Reconstruction

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

Chen, G; Pan, X; Stayman, J

2014-06-15

Recent years have seen the emergence of CT image reconstruction techniques that exploit physical models of the imaging system, photon statistics, and even the patient to achieve improved 3D image quality and/or reduction of radiation dose. With numerous advantages in comparison to conventional 3D filtered backprojection, such techniques bring a variety of challenges as well, including: a demanding computational load associated with sophisticated forward models and iterative optimization methods; nonlinearity and nonstationarity in image quality characteristics; a complex dependency on multiple free parameters; and the need to understand how best to incorporate prior information (including patient-specific prior images) within themore » reconstruction process. The advantages, however, are even greater – for example: improved image quality; reduced dose; robustness to noise and artifacts; task-specific reconstruction protocols; suitability to novel CT imaging platforms and noncircular orbits; and incorporation of known characteristics of the imager and patient that are conventionally discarded. This symposium features experts in 3D image reconstruction, image quality assessment, and the translation of such methods to emerging clinical applications. Dr. Chen will address novel methods for the incorporation of prior information in 3D and 4D CT reconstruction techniques. Dr. Pan will show recent advances in optimization-based reconstruction that enable potential reduction of dose and sampling requirements. Dr. Stayman will describe a “task-based imaging” approach that leverages models of the imaging system and patient in combination with a specification of the imaging task to optimize both the acquisition and reconstruction process. Dr. Samei will describe the development of methods for image quality assessment in such nonlinear reconstruction techniques and the use of these methods to characterize and optimize image quality and dose in a spectrum of clinical applications. Learning Objectives: Learn the general methodologies associated with model-based 3D image reconstruction. Learn the potential advantages in image quality and dose associated with model-based image reconstruction. Learn the challenges associated with computational load and image quality assessment for such reconstruction methods. Learn how imaging task can be incorporated as a means to drive optimal image acquisition and reconstruction techniques. Learn how model-based reconstruction methods can incorporate prior information to improve image quality, ease sampling requirements, and reduce dose.« less

Orion Handling Qualities During ISS Proximity Operations and Docking

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stephens, John-Paul; Vos, Gordon A.; Bilimoria, Karl D.; Mueller, Eric R.; Brazzel, Jack; Spehar, Pete

2011-01-01

NASA's Orion spacecraft is designed to autonomously rendezvous and dock with many vehicles including the International Space Station. However, the crew is able to assume manual control of the vehicle s attitude and flight path. In these instances, Orion must meet handling qualities requirements established by NASA. Two handling qualities assessments were conducted at the Johnson Space Center to evaluate preliminary designs of the vehicle using a six degree of freedom, high-fidelity guidance, navigation, and control simulation. The first assessed Orion s handling qualities during the last 20 ft before docking, and included both steady and oscillatory motions of the docking target. The second focused on manual acquisition of the docking axis during the proximity operations phase and subsequent station-keeping. Cooper-Harper handling qualities ratings, workload ratings and comments were provided by 10 evaluation pilots for the docking study and 5 evaluation pilots for the proximity operations study. For the docking task, both cases received 90% Level 1 (satisfactory) handling qualities ratings, exceeding NASA s requirement. All ratings for the ProxOps task were Level 1. These evaluations indicate that Orion is on course to meet NASA's handling quality requirements for ProxOps and docking.

Recommendations of the wwPDB NMR Validation Task Force

PubMed Central

Montelione, Gaetano T.; Nilges, Michael; Bax, Ad; Güntert, Peter; Herrmann, Torsten; Richardson, Jane S.; Schwieters, Charles; Vranken, Wim F.; Vuister, Geerten W.; Wishart, David S.; Berman, Helen M.; Kleywegt, Gerard J.; Markley, John L.

2013-01-01

As methods for analysis of biomolecular structure and dynamics using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) continue to advance, the resulting 3D structures, chemical shifts, and other NMR data are broadly impacting biology, chemistry, and medicine. Structure model assessment is a critical area of NMR methods development, and is an essential component of the process of making these structures accessible and useful to the wider scientific community. For these reasons, the Worldwide Protein Data Bank (wwPDB) has convened an NMR Validation Task Force (NMR-VTF) to work with the wwPDB partners in developing metrics and policies for biomolecular NMR data harvesting, structure representation, and structure quality assessment. This paper summarizes the recommendations of the NMR-VTF, and lays the groundwork for future work in developing standards and metrics for biomolecular NMR structure quality assessment. PMID:24010715

Parent-Adolescent Relationship Qualities, Internal Working Models, and Styles as Predictors of Adolescents’ Observed Interactions with Friends

PubMed Central

Shomaker, Lauren B.; Furman, Wyndol

2010-01-01

This study examined how current parent-adolescent relationship qualities and adolescents’ representations of relationships with parents were related to friendship interactions in 200 adolescent-close friend dyads. Adolescents and friends were observed discussing problems during a series of structured tasks. Negative interactions with mothers were significantly related to adolescents’ greater conflict with friends, poorer focus on tasks, and poorer communication skills. Security of working models (as assessed by interview) was significantly associated with qualities of friendship interactions, whereas security of attachment styles (as assessed by questionnaire) was not. More dismissing (vs. secure) working models were associated with poorer focus on problem discussions and weaker communication skills with friends, even after accounting for gender differences and current parent-adolescent relationship qualities. We discuss possible mechanisms for the observed links between dimensions of parent-adolescent relationships and friendships. We also consider methodological and conceptual differences between working model and style measures of attachment representations. PMID:20174459

Validation of an image-based technique to assess the perceptual quality of clinical chest radiographs with an observer study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Yuan; Choudhury, Kingshuk R.; McAdams, H. Page; Foos, David H.; Samei, Ehsan

2014-03-01

We previously proposed a novel image-based quality assessment technique1 to assess the perceptual quality of clinical chest radiographs. In this paper, an observer study was designed and conducted to systematically validate this technique. Ten metrics were involved in the observer study, i.e., lung grey level, lung detail, lung noise, riblung contrast, rib sharpness, mediastinum detail, mediastinum noise, mediastinum alignment, subdiaphragm-lung contrast, and subdiaphragm area. For each metric, three tasks were successively presented to the observers. In each task, six ROI images were randomly presented in a row and observers were asked to rank the images only based on a designated quality and disregard the other qualities. A range slider on the top of the images was used for observers to indicate the acceptable range based on the corresponding perceptual attribute. Five boardcertificated radiologists from Duke participated in this observer study on a DICOM calibrated diagnostic display workstation and under low ambient lighting conditions. The observer data were analyzed in terms of the correlations between the observer ranking orders and the algorithmic ranking orders. Based on the collected acceptable ranges, quality consistency ranges were statistically derived. The observer study showed that, for each metric, the averaged ranking orders of the participated observers were strongly correlated with the algorithmic orders. For the lung grey level, the observer ranking orders completely accorded with the algorithmic ranking orders. The quality consistency ranges derived from this observer study were close to these derived from our previous study. The observer study indicates that the proposed image-based quality assessment technique provides a robust reflection of the perceptual image quality of the clinical chest radiographs. The derived quality consistency ranges can be used to automatically predict the acceptability of a clinical chest radiograph.

MODELING ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPACT OF NITROGEN OXIDES EMISSION REDUCTIONS ON OZONE AIR QUALITY IN THE EASTERN UNITED STATES: OFFSETTING INCREASES IN ENERGY USE

EPA Science Inventory

The objective of this study is to examine changes in ambient ozone concentrations estimated by a photochemical air quality model in response to the NOx emission reductions imposed on the utility sector. To accomplish this task, CMAQ air quality model simulations were performe...

Quality of Teaching Mathematics and Learning Achievement Gains: Evidence from Primary Schools in Kenya

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ngware, Moses W.; Ciera, James; Musyoka, Peter K.; Oketch, Moses

2015-01-01

This paper examines the contribution of quality mathematics teaching to student achievement gains. Quality of mathematics teaching is assessed through teacher demonstration of the five strands of mathematical proficiency, the level of cognitive task demands, and teacher mathematical knowledge. Data is based on 1907 grade 6 students who sat for the…

Impact of communication delays to and from the International Space Station on self-reported individual and team behavior and performance: A mixed-methods study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kintz, Natalie M.; Chou, Chih-Ping; Vessey, William B.; Leveton, Lauren B.; Palinkas, Lawrence A.

2016-12-01

Deep space explorations will involve significant delays in communication to and from Earth that will likely impact individual and team outcomes. However, the extent of these impacts and the appropriate countermeasures for their mitigation remain largely unknown. This study utilized the International Space Station (ISS), a high-fidelity analog for deep space, as a research platform to assess the impact of communication delays on individual and team performance, mood, and behavior. Three astronauts on the ISS and 18 mission support personnel performed tasks with and without communication delays (50-s one-way) during a mission lasting 166 days. Self-reported assessments of individual and team performance and mood were obtained after each task. Secondary outcomes included communication quality and task autonomy. Qualitative data from post-mission interviews with astronauts were used to validate and expand on quantitative data, and to elicit recommendations for countermeasures. Crew well-being and communication quality were significantly reduced in communication delay tasks compared to control. Communication delays were also significantly associated with increased individual stress/frustration. Qualitative data suggest communication delays impacted operational outcomes (i.e. task efficiency), teamwork processes (i.e. team/task coordination) and mood (i.e. stress/frustration), particularly when tasks involved high task-related communication demands, either because of poor communication strategies or low crew autonomy. Training, teamwork, and technology-focused countermeasures were identified to mitigate or prevent adverse impacts.

Noise Estimation and Quality Assessment of Gaussian Noise Corrupted Images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kamble, V. M.; Bhurchandi, K.

2018-03-01

Evaluating the exact quantity of noise present in an image and quality of an image in the absence of reference image is a challenging task. We propose a near perfect noise estimation method and a no reference image quality assessment method for images corrupted by Gaussian noise. The proposed methods obtain initial estimate of noise standard deviation present in an image using the median of wavelet transform coefficients and then obtains a near to exact estimate using curve fitting. The proposed noise estimation method provides the estimate of noise within average error of +/-4%. For quality assessment, this noise estimate is mapped to fit the Differential Mean Opinion Score (DMOS) using a nonlinear function. The proposed methods require minimum training and yields the noise estimate and image quality score. Images from Laboratory for image and Video Processing (LIVE) database and Computational Perception and Image Quality (CSIQ) database are used for validation of the proposed quality assessment method. Experimental results show that the performance of proposed quality assessment method is at par with the existing no reference image quality assessment metric for Gaussian noise corrupted images.

Comparison of flying qualities derived from in-flight and ground-based simulators for a jet-transport airplane for the approach and landing pilot tasks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grantham, William D.

1989-01-01

The primary objective was to provide information to the flight controls/flying qualities engineer that will assist him in determining the incremental flying qualities and/or pilot-performance differences that may be expected between results obtained via ground-based simulation (and, in particular, the six-degree-of-freedom Langley Visual/Motion Simulator (VMS)) and flight tests. Pilot opinion and performance parameters derived from a ground-based simulator and an in-flight simulator are compared for a jet-transport airplane having 32 different longitudinal dynamic response characteristics. The primary pilot tasks were the approach and landing tasks with emphasis on the landing-flare task. The results indicate that, in general, flying qualities results obtained from the ground-based simulator may be considered conservative-especially when the pilot task requires tight pilot control as during the landing flare. The one exception to this, according to the present study, was that the pilots were more tolerant of large time delays in the airplane response on the ground-based simulator. The results also indicated that the ground-based simulator (particularly the Langley VMS) is not adequate for assessing pilot/vehicle performance capabilities (i.e., the sink rate performance for the landing-flare task when the pilot has little depth/height perception from the outside scene presentation).

Can Online Peer Assessment Be Trusted?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bouzidi, L'hadi; Jaillet, Alain

2009-01-01

The excessive workload generated by the assessment of exam papers in large classes and the need to give feedback in time often constitute a rather heavy burden for teachers. The online peer assessment can contribute to reduce this workload and, possibly, to improve learning quality by assigning the assessment task to students. However, this raises…

Use of task-shifting to rapidly scale-up HIV treatment services: experiences from Lusaka, Zambia

PubMed Central

Morris, Mary B; Chapula, Bushimbwa Tambatamba; Chi, Benjamin H; Mwango, Albert; Chi, Harmony F; Mwanza, Joyce; Manda, Handson; Bolton, Carolyn; Pankratz, Debra S; Stringer, Jeffrey SA; Reid, Stewart E

2009-01-01

The World Health Organization advocates task-shifting, the process of delegating clinical care functions from more specialized to less specialized health workers, as a strategy to achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. However, there is a dearth of literature describing task shifting in sub-Saharan Africa, where services for antiretroviral therapy (ART) have scaled up rapidly in the face of generalized human resource crises. As part of ART services expansion in Lusaka, Zambia, we implemented a comprehensive task-shifting program among existing health providers and community-based workers. Training begins with didactic sessions targeting specialized skill sets. This is followed by an intensive period of practical mentorship, where providers are paired with trainers before working independently. We provide on-going quality assessment using key indicators of clinical care quality at each site. Program performance is reviewed with clinic-based staff quarterly. When problems are identified, clinic staff members design and implement specific interventions to address targeted areas. From 2005 to 2007, we trained 516 health providers in adult HIV treatment; 270 in pediatric HIV treatment; 341 in adherence counseling; 91 in a specialty nurse "triage" course, and 93 in an intensive clinical mentorship program. On-going quality assessment demonstrated improvement across clinical care quality indicators, despite rapidly growing patient volumes. Our task-shifting strategy was designed to address current health care worker needs and to sustain ART scale-up activities. While this approach has been successful, long-term solutions to the human resource crisis are also urgently needed to expand the number of providers and to slow staff migration out of the region. PMID:19134202

Design of a practical model-observer-based image quality assessment method for x-ray computed tomography imaging systems

PubMed Central

Tseng, Hsin-Wu; Fan, Jiahua; Kupinski, Matthew A.

2016-01-01

Abstract. The use of a channelization mechanism on model observers not only makes mimicking human visual behavior possible, but also reduces the amount of image data needed to estimate the model observer parameters. The channelized Hotelling observer (CHO) and channelized scanning linear observer (CSLO) have recently been used to assess CT image quality for detection tasks and combined detection/estimation tasks, respectively. Although the use of channels substantially reduces the amount of data required to compute image quality, the number of scans required for CT imaging is still not practical for routine use. It is our desire to further reduce the number of scans required to make CHO or CSLO an image quality tool for routine and frequent system validations and evaluations. This work explores different data-reduction schemes and designs an approach that requires only a few CT scans. Three different kinds of approaches are included in this study: a conventional CHO/CSLO technique with a large sample size, a conventional CHO/CSLO technique with fewer samples, and an approach that we will show requires fewer samples to mimic conventional performance with a large sample size. The mean value and standard deviation of areas under ROC/EROC curve were estimated using the well-validated shuffle approach. The results indicate that an 80% data reduction can be achieved without loss of accuracy. This substantial data reduction is a step toward a practical tool for routine-task-based QA/QC CT system assessment. PMID:27493982

Applying Tacit Knowledge Management Techniques for Performance Assessment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mitri, Michel

2003-01-01

Performance assessment is an important task in all levels of education, both as input for identifying remedial needs of individual students and for improving general quality of education. Although explicit assessment measures can be obtained through objective standardized testing, it is much more difficult to capture fuzzier, or tacit, performance…

Objective assessment of image quality. IV. Application to adaptive optics

PubMed Central

Barrett, Harrison H.; Myers, Kyle J.; Devaney, Nicholas; Dainty, Christopher

2008-01-01

The methodology of objective assessment, which defines image quality in terms of the performance of specific observers on specific tasks of interest, is extended to temporal sequences of images with random point spread functions and applied to adaptive imaging in astronomy. The tasks considered include both detection and estimation, and the observers are the optimal linear discriminant (Hotelling observer) and the optimal linear estimator (Wiener). A general theory of first- and second-order spatiotemporal statistics in adaptive optics is developed. It is shown that the covariance matrix can be rigorously decomposed into three terms representing the effect of measurement noise, random point spread function, and random nature of the astronomical scene. Figures of merit are developed, and computational methods are discussed. PMID:17106464

Image quality and dose differences caused by vendor-specific image processing of neonatal radiographs.

PubMed

Sensakovic, William F; O'Dell, M Cody; Letter, Haley; Kohler, Nathan; Rop, Baiywo; Cook, Jane; Logsdon, Gregory; Varich, Laura

2016-10-01

Image processing plays an important role in optimizing image quality and radiation dose in projection radiography. Unfortunately commercial algorithms are black boxes that are often left at or near vendor default settings rather than being optimized. We hypothesize that different commercial image-processing systems, when left at or near default settings, create significant differences in image quality. We further hypothesize that image-quality differences can be exploited to produce images of equivalent quality but lower radiation dose. We used a portable radiography system to acquire images on a neonatal chest phantom and recorded the entrance surface air kerma (ESAK). We applied two image-processing systems (Optima XR220amx, by GE Healthcare, Waukesha, WI; and MUSICA(2) by Agfa HealthCare, Mortsel, Belgium) to the images. Seven observers (attending pediatric radiologists and radiology residents) independently assessed image quality using two methods: rating and matching. Image-quality ratings were independently assessed by each observer on a 10-point scale. Matching consisted of each observer matching GE-processed images and Agfa-processed images with equivalent image quality. A total of 210 rating tasks and 42 matching tasks were performed and effective dose was estimated. Median Agfa-processed image-quality ratings were higher than GE-processed ratings. Non-diagnostic ratings were seen over a wider range of doses for GE-processed images than for Agfa-processed images. During matching tasks, observers matched image quality between GE-processed images and Agfa-processed images acquired at a lower effective dose (11 ± 9 μSv; P < 0.0001). Image-processing methods significantly impact perceived image quality. These image-quality differences can be exploited to alter protocols and produce images of equivalent image quality but lower doses. Those purchasing projection radiography systems or third-party image-processing software should be aware that image processing can significantly impact image quality when settings are left near default values.

Determinants of judgment and decision making quality: the interplay between information processing style and situational factors

PubMed Central

Ayal, Shahar; Rusou, Zohar; Zakay, Dan; Hochman, Guy

2015-01-01

A framework is presented to better characterize the role of individual differences in information processing style and their interplay with contextual factors in determining decision making quality. In Experiment 1, we show that individual differences in information processing style are flexible and can be modified by situational factors. Specifically, a situational manipulation that induced an analytical mode of thought improved decision quality. In Experiment 2, we show that this improvement in decision quality is highly contingent on the compatibility between the dominant thinking mode and the nature of the task. That is, encouraging an intuitive mode of thought led to better performance on an intuitive task but hampered performance on an analytical task. The reverse pattern was obtained when an analytical mode of thought was encouraged. We discuss the implications of these results for the assessment of decision making competence, and suggest practical directions to help individuals better adjust their information processing style to the situation at hand and make optimal decisions. PMID:26284011

Determinants of judgment and decision making quality: the interplay between information processing style and situational factors.

PubMed

Ayal, Shahar; Rusou, Zohar; Zakay, Dan; Hochman, Guy

2015-01-01

A framework is presented to better characterize the role of individual differences in information processing style and their interplay with contextual factors in determining decision making quality. In Experiment 1, we show that individual differences in information processing style are flexible and can be modified by situational factors. Specifically, a situational manipulation that induced an analytical mode of thought improved decision quality. In Experiment 2, we show that this improvement in decision quality is highly contingent on the compatibility between the dominant thinking mode and the nature of the task. That is, encouraging an intuitive mode of thought led to better performance on an intuitive task but hampered performance on an analytical task. The reverse pattern was obtained when an analytical mode of thought was encouraged. We discuss the implications of these results for the assessment of decision making competence, and suggest practical directions to help individuals better adjust their information processing style to the situation at hand and make optimal decisions.

A piloted simulation investigation of the normal load factor and longitudinal thrust required for air-to-air acquisition and tracking

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Whalley, Matthew S.

1993-01-01

A piloted simulation study was performed by the U.S. Army Aeroflighydynamics Directorate to develop insight into the maneuverability requirements for aggressive helicopter maneuvering tasks such as air-to-air combat. Both a conventional helicopter and a helicopter with auxiliary thrust were examined. The aircraft parameters of interest were the normal and longitudinal load factor envelopes. Of particular interest were the mission performance and handling qualities tradeoffs with the parameters of interest. Two air-to-air acquisition and tracking tasks and a return-to-cover task were performed to assess mission performance. Results indicate that without auxiliary thrust, the ownship normal load factor capability needs to match that of the adversary in order to provide satisfactory handling qualities. Auxiliary thrust provides significant handling qualities advantages and can be substituted to some extent for normal load factor capability. Auxiliary thrust levels as low as 0.2 thrust/weight can provide significant handling qualities advantages.

Early Intervention Stem Cell-Based Therapy (EISCBT) for Corneal Burns and Trauma

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-10-01

be held in place on the cornea by a soft contact lens. We will optimize means of storing the ReCoBand frozen so they will be available to doctors... regeneration in vivo Task 3. Assess plastic compressed collagen as a stem cell delivery vehicle Task 4. Assess cell sheets as delivery vehicle for stem...Stromal Stem Cells (CSSC) are obtained from biopsies of corneal tissue . The quality and potency of individual stem cell lines varies greatly from one

Parietal neural prosthetic control of a computer cursor in a graphical-user-interface task

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Revechkis, Boris; Aflalo, Tyson NS; Kellis, Spencer; Pouratian, Nader; Andersen, Richard A.

2014-12-01

Objective. To date, the majority of Brain-Machine Interfaces have been used to perform simple tasks with sequences of individual targets in otherwise blank environments. In this study we developed a more practical and clinically relevant task that approximated modern computers and graphical user interfaces (GUIs). This task could be problematic given the known sensitivity of areas typically used for BMIs to visual stimuli, eye movements, decision-making, and attentional control. Consequently, we sought to assess the effect of a complex, GUI-like task on the quality of neural decoding. Approach. A male rhesus macaque monkey was implanted with two 96-channel electrode arrays in area 5d of the superior parietal lobule. The animal was trained to perform a GUI-like ‘Face in a Crowd’ task on a computer screen that required selecting one cued, icon-like, face image from a group of alternatives (the ‘Crowd’) using a neurally controlled cursor. We assessed whether the crowd affected decodes of intended cursor movements by comparing it to a ‘Crowd Off’ condition in which only the matching target appeared without alternatives. We also examined if training a neural decoder with the Crowd On rather than Off had any effect on subsequent decode quality. Main results. Despite the additional demands of working with the Crowd On, the animal was able to robustly perform the task under Brain Control. The presence of the crowd did not itself affect decode quality. Training the decoder with the Crowd On relative to Off had no negative influence on subsequent decoding performance. Additionally, the subject was able to gaze around freely without influencing cursor position. Significance. Our results demonstrate that area 5d recordings can be used for decoding in a complex, GUI-like task with free gaze. Thus, this area is a promising source of signals for neural prosthetics that utilize computing devices with GUI interfaces, e.g. personal computers, mobile devices, and tablet computers.

Parietal neural prosthetic control of a computer cursor in a graphical-user-interface task.

PubMed

Revechkis, Boris; Aflalo, Tyson N S; Kellis, Spencer; Pouratian, Nader; Andersen, Richard A

2014-12-01

To date, the majority of Brain-Machine Interfaces have been used to perform simple tasks with sequences of individual targets in otherwise blank environments. In this study we developed a more practical and clinically relevant task that approximated modern computers and graphical user interfaces (GUIs). This task could be problematic given the known sensitivity of areas typically used for BMIs to visual stimuli, eye movements, decision-making, and attentional control. Consequently, we sought to assess the effect of a complex, GUI-like task on the quality of neural decoding. A male rhesus macaque monkey was implanted with two 96-channel electrode arrays in area 5d of the superior parietal lobule. The animal was trained to perform a GUI-like 'Face in a Crowd' task on a computer screen that required selecting one cued, icon-like, face image from a group of alternatives (the 'Crowd') using a neurally controlled cursor. We assessed whether the crowd affected decodes of intended cursor movements by comparing it to a 'Crowd Off' condition in which only the matching target appeared without alternatives. We also examined if training a neural decoder with the Crowd On rather than Off had any effect on subsequent decode quality. Despite the additional demands of working with the Crowd On, the animal was able to robustly perform the task under Brain Control. The presence of the crowd did not itself affect decode quality. Training the decoder with the Crowd On relative to Off had no negative influence on subsequent decoding performance. Additionally, the subject was able to gaze around freely without influencing cursor position. Our results demonstrate that area 5d recordings can be used for decoding in a complex, GUI-like task with free gaze. Thus, this area is a promising source of signals for neural prosthetics that utilize computing devices with GUI interfaces, e.g. personal computers, mobile devices, and tablet computers.

Outcomes-Balanced Framework for Emergency Management: A Predictive Model for Preparedness

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-09-01

Management Total Quality Management (TQM) was developed by W. Edwards Deming in the post-World War II reconstruction period in Japan. It ushered in a...FIGURES Figure 1. From Total Quality Management Principles ....................................................30 Figure 2. Outcomes Logic Model (After...THIRA Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment TQM Total Quality Management UTL Universal Task List xiv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS German

Flying Qualities Evaluation of a Commuter Aircraft With an Ice Contaminated Tailplane

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ranaudo, Richard J.; Ratvasky, Thomas P.; FossVanZante, Judith

2000-01-01

During the NASA/FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) Tailplane Icing Program, pilot evaluations of aircraft flying qualities were conducted with various ice shapes attached to the horizontal tailplane of the NASA Twin Otter Icing Research Aircraft. Initially, only NASA pilots conducted these evaluations, assessing the differences in longitudinal flight characteristics between the baseline or clean aircraft, and the aircraft configured with an Ice Contaminated Tailplane (ICT). Longitudinal tests included Constant Airspeed Flap Transitions, Constant Airspeed Thrust Transitions, zero-G Pushovers, Repeat Elevator Doublets, and Simulated Approach and Go-Around tasks. Later in the program, guest pilots from government and industry were invited to fly the NASA Twin Otter configured with a single full-span artificial ice shape attached to the leading edge of the horizontal tailplane. This shape represented ice formed due to a 'Failed Boot' condition, and was generated from tests in the Glenn Icing Research Tunnel on a full-scale tailplane model. Guest pilots performed longitudinal handling tests, similar to those conducted by the NASA pilots, to evaluate the ICT condition. In general, all pilots agreed that longitudinal flying qualities were degraded as flaps were lowered, and further degraded at high thrust settings. Repeat elevator doublets demonstrated reduced pitch damping effects due to ICT, which is a characteristic that results in degraded flying qualities. Pilots identified elevator control force reversals (CFR) in zero-G pushovers at a 20 deg flap setting, a characteristic that fails the FAR 25 no CFR certification requirement. However, when the same pilots used the Cooper-Harper rating scale to perform a simulated approach and go-around task at the 20 deg flap setting, they rated the airplane as having Level I and Level II flying qualities respectively. By comparison, the same task conducted at the 30 deg flap setting, resulted in Level II flying qualities for the approach portion, and Level III for the go-around portion.The results of this program indicate that safe and acceptable flying qualities with an ICT condition, can be effectively assessed by task-oriented pilot maneuvers. In addition, other maneuvers such as repeat elevator doublets provide good qualitative and quantitative assessments of pitch damping and elevator effectiveness, which are characteristics that correlate well with pilot task ratings. The results of this testing indicate that the FAR 25 zero-G pushover maneuver, which requires no CFR during its execution, may be an overly conservative pass/fail criteria for aircraft certification.

Environmental quality impact on human mortality and its spatial variations in the contiguous United States 2000-2005

EPA Science Inventory

Assessing the cumulative effects of multiple environmental factors that influence mortality remains a challenging task. This study used the Environmental Quality Index (EQI), and its five domain indices (air, water, land, built and sociodemographic) as a measure of cumulative env...

Quality Indicators for California Community College Job Placement Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mount San Antonio Community Coll. District, Walnut, CA.

Designed to help California community colleges in assessing their job placement services, identifying strengths and needs for improvement, and establishing priorities for the future, this color-coded guide lists specific tasks and responsibilities within the four essential functional areas of job placement programs and includes quality indicators…

Channelized relevance vector machine as a numerical observer for cardiac perfusion defect detection task

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kalayeh, Mahdi M.; Marin, Thibault; Pretorius, P. Hendrik; Wernick, Miles N.; Yang, Yongyi; Brankov, Jovan G.

2011-03-01

In this paper, we present a numerical observer for image quality assessment, aiming to predict human observer accuracy in a cardiac perfusion defect detection task for single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). In medical imaging, image quality should be assessed by evaluating the human observer accuracy for a specific diagnostic task. This approach is known as task-based assessment. Such evaluations are important for optimizing and testing imaging devices and algorithms. Unfortunately, human observer studies with expert readers are costly and time-demanding. To address this problem, numerical observers have been developed as a surrogate for human readers to predict human diagnostic performance. The channelized Hotelling observer (CHO) with internal noise model has been found to predict human performance well in some situations, but does not always generalize well to unseen data. We have argued in the past that finding a model to predict human observers could be viewed as a machine learning problem. Following this approach, in this paper we propose a channelized relevance vector machine (CRVM) to predict human diagnostic scores in a detection task. We have previously used channelized support vector machines (CSVM) to predict human scores and have shown that this approach offers better and more robust predictions than the classical CHO method. The comparison of the proposed CRVM with our previously introduced CSVM method suggests that CRVM can achieve similar generalization accuracy, while dramatically reducing model complexity and computation time.

Efficacy of a task-based training approach in the rehabilitation of three children with poor handwriting quality: a pilot study.

PubMed

Baldi, Silvia; Nunzi, Michela; Brina, Carlo Di

2015-02-01

Evidence suggests that task-based training approaches can improve the performance of children with handwriting difficulties. The present case study tests the efficacy of the Handwriting Task Program (HTP). Three male children (9-10 yr. old) with poor handwriting skills and different developmental disorders participated in the HTP, twice per week, for 13 wk. Handwriting legibility was assessed through the Concise Evaluation Scale for Children's Handwriting, and fine motor performance and handwriting speed were evaluated at pre- and post-treatment with the Visual Motor Integration Test and the Battery for the assessment of writing skills of children from 7 to 13 yr. old. The results showed that motor efficiency and global handwriting quality improved in all the children, although some handwriting difficulties still persisted in one child with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD). Further study may confirm on a larger sample that a visual-spatially based training may improve the handwriting legibility of children with DCD.

Case management for high-intensity service users: towards a relational approach to care co-ordination.

PubMed

McEvoy, Phil; Escott, Diane; Bee, Penny

2011-01-01

This study is based on a formative evaluation of a case management service for high-intensity service users in Northern England. The evaluation had three main purposes: (i) to assess the quality of the organisational infrastructure; (ii) to obtain a better understanding of the key influences that played a role in shaping the development of the service; and (iii) to identify potential changes in practice that may help to improve the quality of service provision. The evaluation was informed by Gittell's relational co-ordination theory, which focuses upon cross-boundary working practices that facilitate task integration. The Assessment of Chronic Illness Care Survey was used to assess the organisational infrastructure and qualitative interviews with front line staff were conducted to explore the key influences that shaped the development of the service. A high level of strategic commitment and political support for integrated working was identified. However, the quality of care co-ordination was variable. The most prominent operational factor that appeared to influence the scope and quality of care co-ordination was the pattern of interaction between the case managers and their co-workers. The co-ordination of patient care was much more effective in integrated co-ordination networks. Key features included clearly defined, task focussed, relational workspaces with interactive forums where case managers could engage with co-workers in discussions about the management of interdependent care activities. In dispersed co-ordination networks with fewer relational workspaces, the case managers struggled to work as effectively. The evaluation concluded that the creation of flexible and efficient task focused relational workspaces that are systemically managed and adequately resourced could help to improve the quality of care co-ordination, particularly in dispersed networks. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Conflict Inhibitory Control Facilitates Pretense Quality in Young Preschoolers

PubMed Central

Van Reet, Jennifer

2013-01-01

The present research explores the role of inhibitory control in young preschoolers’ pretense ability using an ego depletion paradigm. In Experiment 1 (N = 56), children’s pretense ability was assessed either before or after participating in conflict inhibitory control or control tasks, and in Experiment 2 (N = 36), pretense ability was measured after children engaged in either conflict or delay inhibitory control tasks. In both experiments, pretense scores were significantly higher only after engaging in conflict inhibitory control tasks. Further, pretense scores were positively correlated with inhibitory control scores when conflict inhibitory control was not experienced first. This pattern of results suggests that inhibitory control may underlie pretense, and conflict inhibitory control can boost the quality of children’s subsequent pretending. PMID:26074736

[Testimony before the National Governor's Association Task Force on College Quality (Washington, D.C., February 22, 1986).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hanford, George H.

Assessment of undergraduate student learning is discussed by a representative of the College Entrance Examination Board in testimony to the National Governors' Association. Governors are advised to avoid externally-mandated assessment requirements on colleges, since there is no single instrument available to effectively assess academic achievement…

Assessing Higher-Order Cognitive Constructs by Using an Information-Processing Framework

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dickison, Philip; Luo, Xiao; Kim, Doyoung; Woo, Ada; Muntean, William; Bergstrom, Betty

2016-01-01

Designing a theory-based assessment with sound psychometric qualities to measure a higher-order cognitive construct is a highly desired yet challenging task for many practitioners. This paper proposes a framework for designing a theory-based assessment to measure a higher-order cognitive construct. This framework results in a modularized yet…

Adaptive Assessment for Nonacademic Secondary Reading.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hittleman, Daniel R.

Adaptive assessment procedures are a means of determining the quality of a reader's performance in a variety of reading situations and on a variety of written materials. Such procedures are consistent with the idea that there are functional competencies which change with the reading task. Adaptive assessment takes into account that a lack of…

A new real-time visual assessment method for faulty movement patterns during a jump-landing task.

PubMed

Rabin, Alon; Levi, Ran; Abramowitz, Shai; Kozol, Zvi

2016-07-01

Determine the interrater reliability of a new real-time assessment of faulty movement patterns during a jump-landing task. Interrater reliability study. Human movement laboratory. 50 healthy females. Assessment included 6 items which were evaluated from a front and a side view. Two Physical Therapy students used a 9-point scale (0-8) to independently rate the quality of movement as good (0-2), moderate (3-5), or poor (6-8). Interrater reliability was expressed by percent agreement and weighted kappa. One examiner rated the quality of movement of 6 subjects as good, 34 subjects as moderate, and 10 subjects as poor. The second examiner rated the quality of movement of 12 subjects as good, 23 subjects as moderate, and 15 subjects as poor. Percent agreement and weighted kappa (95% confidence interval) were 78% and 0.68 (0.51, 0.85), respectively. A new real-time assessment of faulty movement patterns during jump-landing demonstrated adequate interrater reliability. Further study is warranted to validate this method against a motion analysis system, as well as to establish its predictive validity for injury. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Technical assessment of a cone-beam CT scanner for otolaryngology imaging: image quality, dose, and technique protocols.

PubMed

Xu, J; Reh, D D; Carey, J P; Mahesh, M; Siewerdsen, J H

2012-08-01

As cone-beam CT (CBCT) systems dedicated to various imaging specialties proliferate, technical assessment grounded in imaging physics is important to ensuring that image quality and radiation dose are quantified, understood, and justified. This paper involves technical assessment of a new CBCT scanner (CS 9300, Carestream Health, Rochester, NY) dedicated to imaging of the ear and sinuses for applications in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery (OHNS). The results guided evaluation of technique protocols to minimize radiation dose in a manner sufficient for OHNS imaging tasks. The technical assessment focused on the imaging performance and radiation dose for each of seven technique protocols recommended by the manufacturer: three sinus protocols and four ear (temporal bone) protocols. Absolute dose was measured using techniques adapted from AAPM Task Group Report No. 111, involving three stacked 16 cm diameter acrylic cylinders (CTDI phantoms) and a 0.6 cm(3) Farmer ionization chamber to measure central and peripheral dose. The central dose (D(o)) was also measured as a function of longitudinal position (z) within and beyond the primary radiation field to assess, for example, out-of-field dose to the neck. Signal-difference-to-noise ratio (SDNR) and Hounsfield unit (HU) accuracy were assessed in a commercially available quality assurance phantom (CATPHAN module CTP404, The Phantom Laboratory, Greenwich, NY) and a custom phantom with soft-tissue-simulating plastic inserts (Gammex RMI, Madison, WI). Spatial resolution was assessed both qualitatively (a line-pair pattern, CATPHAN module CTP528) and quantitatively (modulation transfer function, MTF, measured with a wire phantom). Imaging performance pertinent to various OHNS imaging tasks was qualitatively assessed using an anthropomorphic phantom as evaluated by two experienced OHNS specialists. The technical assessment motivated a variety of modifications to the manufacturer-specified protocols to provide reduced radiation dose without compromising pertinent task-based imaging performance. The revised protocols yielded D(o) ranging 2.9-5.7 mGy, representing a ∼30% reduction in dose from the original technique chart. Out-of-field dose was ∼10% of D(o) at a distance of ∼8 cm from the field edge. Soft-tissue contrast resolution was fairly limited (water-brain SDNR ∼0.4-0.7) while high-contrast performance was reasonably good (SDNR ∼2-4 for a polystyrene insert in the CATPHAN). The scanner does not demonstrate (or claim to provide) accurate HU and exhibits a systematic error in CT number that could potentially be addressed by further calibration. The spatial resolution is ∼10-16 lp∕cm as assessed in a line-pair phantom, with MTF exceeding 10% out to ∼20 lp∕cm. Qualitative assessment by expert readers suggested limited soft-tissue visibility but excellent high-contrast (bone) visualization with isotropic spatial resolution suitable to a broad spectrum of pertinent sinus and temporal bone imaging tasks. The CBCT scanner provided spatial and contrast resolution suitable to visualization of high-contrast morphology in sinus, maxillofacial, and otologic imaging applications. Rigorous technical assessment guided revision of technique protocols to reduce radiation dose while maintaining image quality sufficient for pertinent imaging tasks. The scanner appears well suited to high-contrast sinus and temporal bone imaging at doses comparable to or less than that reported for conventional diagnostic CT of the head.

Virtual reality laparoscopic simulator for assessment in gynaecology.

PubMed

Gor, Mounna; McCloy, Rory; Stone, Robert; Smith, Anthony

2003-02-01

A validated virtual reality laparoscopic simulator minimally invasive surgical trainer (MIST) 2 was used to assess the psychomotor skills of 21 gynaecologists (2 consultants, 8 registrars and 11 senior house officers). Nine gynaecologists failed to complete the VR tasks at the first attempt and were excluded for sequential evaluation. Each of the remaining 12 gynaecologists were tested on MIST 2 on four occasions within four weeks. The MIST 2 simulator provided quantitative data on time to complete tasks, errors, economy of movement and economy of diathermy use--for both right and left hand performance. The results show a significant early learning curve for the majority of tasks which plateaued by the third session. This suggests a high quality surgeon-computer interface. MIST 2 provides objective assessment of laparoscopic skills in gynaecologists.

Adult age differences in subjective and objective measures of strategy use on a sequentially cued prediction task

PubMed Central

Seaman, Kendra L.; Howard, Darlene V.; Howard, James H.

2015-01-01

Differences in strategy use are thought to underlie age-related performance deficits on many learning and decision-making tasks. Recently, age-related differences in learning to make predictions were reported on the Triplets Prediction Task (TPT; Seaman, Howard & Howard, 2013). Notably, deficits appeared early in training and continued with experience. To assess if age differences were due to early strategy use, neural networks were used to objectively assess the strategies implemented by participants during Session 1. Then the relationship between these strategies and performance was examined. Results revealed that older adults were more likely to implement a disadvantageous strategy early in learning, and this led to poorer task performance. Importantly the relationship between age and task performance was partially mediated by early strategy use, suggesting that early strategy selection played a role in the lower quality of predictions in older adults. PMID:24673615

Twelve weeks of BodyBalance® training improved balance and functional task performance in middle-aged and older adults

PubMed Central

Nicholson, Vaughan P; McKean, Mark R; Burkett, Brendan J

2014-01-01

Purpose The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effect of BodyBalance® training on balance, functional task performance, fear of falling, and health-related quality of life in adults aged over 55 years. Participants and methods A total of 28 healthy, active adults aged 66±5 years completed the randomized controlled trial. Balance, functional task performance, fear of falling, and self-reported quality of life were assessed at baseline and after 12 weeks. Participants either undertook two sessions of BodyBalance per week for 12 weeks (n=15) or continued with their normal activities (n=13). Results Significant group-by-time interactions were found for the timed up and go (P=0.038), 30-second chair stand (P=0.037), and mediolateral center-of-pressure range in narrow stance with eyes closed (P=0.017). There were no significant effects on fear of falling or self-reported quality of life. Conclusion Twelve weeks of BodyBalance training is effective at improving certain balance and functional based tasks in healthy older adults. PMID:25395844

Factors contributing to nursing task incompletion as perceived by nurses working in Kuwait general hospitals.

PubMed

Al-Kandari, Fatimah; Thomas, Deepa

2009-12-01

Unfinished care has a strong relationship with quality of nursing care. Most issues related to tasks incompletion arise from staffing and workload. This study was conducted to assess the workload of nurses, the nursing activities (tasks) nurses commonly performed on medical and surgical wards, elements of nursing care activities left incomplete by nurses during a shift, factors contributing to task incompletion and the relationship between staffing, demographic variables and task incompletion. Exploratory survey using a self-administered questionnaire developed from IHOC survey, USA. All full time registered nurses working on the general medical and surgical wards of five government general hospitals in Kuwait. Research assistants distributed and collected back the questionnaires. Four working days were given to participants to complete and return the questionnaires. A total of 820 questionnaires were distributed and 95% were returned. Descriptive and inferential analysis using SPSS-11. The five most frequently performed nursing activities were: administration of medications, assessing patient condition, preparing/updating nursing care plans, close patient monitoring and client health teaching. The most common nursing activities nurses were unable to complete were: comfort talk with patient and family, adequate documentation of nursing care, oral hygiene, routine catheter care and starting or changing IV fluid on time. Tasks were more complete when the nurse-patient load was less than 5. Nurses' age and educational background influenced task completion while nurses' gender had no influence on it. Increased patient loads, resulting in increased frequency of nursing tasks and non-nursing tasks, were positively correlated to incompletion of nursing activities during the shift. Emphasis should be given to maintaining the optimum nurse-patient load and decreasing the non-nursing workload of nurses to enhance the quality of nursing care.

TU-AB-BRD-00: Task Group 100

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

NONE

2015-06-15

Current quality assurance and quality management guidelines provided by various professional organizations are prescriptive in nature, focusing principally on performance characteristics of planning and delivery devices. However, published analyses of events in radiation therapy show that most events are often caused by flaws in clinical processes rather than by device failures. This suggests the need for the development of a quality management program that is based on integrated approaches to process and equipment quality assurance. Industrial engineers have developed various risk assessment tools that are used to identify and eliminate potential failures from a system or a process before amore » failure impacts a customer. These tools include, but are not limited to, process mapping, failure modes and effects analysis, fault tree analysis. Task Group 100 of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine has developed these tools and used them to formulate an example risk-based quality management program for intensity-modulated radiotherapy. This is a prospective risk assessment approach that analyzes potential error pathways inherent in a clinical process and then ranks them according to relative risk, typically before implementation, followed by the design of a new process or modification of the existing process. Appropriate controls are then put in place to ensure that failures are less likely to occur and, if they do, they will more likely be detected before they propagate through the process, compromising treatment outcome and causing harm to the patient. Such a prospective approach forms the basis of the work of Task Group 100 that has recently been approved by the AAPM. This session will be devoted to a discussion of these tools and practical examples of how these tools can be used in a given radiotherapy clinic to develop a risk based quality management program. Learning Objectives: Learn how to design a process map for a radiotherapy process Learn how to perform failure modes and effects analysis analysis for a given process Learn what fault trees are all about Learn how to design a quality management program based upon the information obtained from process mapping, failure modes and effects analysis and fault tree analysis. Dunscombe: Director, TreatSafely, LLC and Center for the Assessment of Radiological Sciences; Consultant to IAEA and Varian Thomadsen: President, Center for the Assessment of Radiological Sciences Palta: Vice President of the Center for the Assessment of Radiological Sciences.« less

Influence of using challenging tasks in biology classrooms on students' cognitive knowledge structure: an empirical video study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nawani, Jigna; Rixius, Julia; Neuhaus, Birgit J.

2016-08-01

Empirical analysis of secondary biology classrooms revealed that, on average, 68% of teaching time in Germany revolved around processing tasks. Quality of instruction can thus be assessed by analyzing the quality of tasks used in classroom discourse. This quasi-experimental study analyzed how teachers used tasks in 38 videotaped biology lessons pertaining to the topic 'blood and circulatory system'. Two fundamental characteristics used to analyze tasks include: (1) required cognitive level of processing (e.g. low level information processing: repetiition, summary, define, classify and high level information processing: interpret-analyze data, formulate hypothesis, etc.) and (2) complexity of task content (e.g. if tasks require use of factual, linking or concept level content). Additionally, students' cognitive knowledge structure about the topic 'blood and circulatory system' was measured using student-drawn concept maps (N = 970 students). Finally, linear multilevel models were created with high-level cognitive processing tasks and higher content complexity tasks as class-level predictors and students' prior knowledge, students' interest in biology, and students' interest in biology activities as control covariates. Results showed a positive influence of high-level cognitive processing tasks (β = 0.07; p < .01) on students' cognitive knowledge structure. However, there was no observed effect of higher content complexity tasks on students' cognitive knowledge structure. Presented findings encourage the use of high-level cognitive processing tasks in biology instruction.

Measuring Heedful Interrelating in Collaborative Educational Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Daniel, Sarah R.; Jordan, Michelle E.

2015-01-01

Collaborative group work plays an important part in postsecondary education, and the ability to assess the quality of such group work is useful for both students and instructors. The purpose of this study was to develop a self-report measure of students' perceptions of the quality of their interactions during collaborative educational tasks.…

Relevance of motion-related assessment metrics in laparoscopic surgery.

PubMed

Oropesa, Ignacio; Chmarra, Magdalena K; Sánchez-González, Patricia; Lamata, Pablo; Rodrigues, Sharon P; Enciso, Silvia; Sánchez-Margallo, Francisco M; Jansen, Frank-Willem; Dankelman, Jenny; Gómez, Enrique J

2013-06-01

Motion metrics have become an important source of information when addressing the assessment of surgical expertise. However, their direct relationship with the different surgical skills has not been fully explored. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relevance of motion-related metrics in the evaluation processes of basic psychomotor laparoscopic skills and their correlation with the different abilities sought to measure. A framework for task definition and metric analysis is proposed. An explorative survey was first conducted with a board of experts to identify metrics to assess basic psychomotor skills. Based on the output of that survey, 3 novel tasks for surgical assessment were designed. Face and construct validation was performed, with focus on motion-related metrics. Tasks were performed by 42 participants (16 novices, 22 residents, and 4 experts). Movements of the laparoscopic instruments were registered with the TrEndo tracking system and analyzed. Time, path length, and depth showed construct validity for all 3 tasks. Motion smoothness and idle time also showed validity for tasks involving bimanual coordination and tasks requiring a more tactical approach, respectively. Additionally, motion smoothness and average speed showed a high internal consistency, proving them to be the most task-independent of all the metrics analyzed. Motion metrics are complementary and valid for assessing basic psychomotor skills, and their relevance depends on the skill being evaluated. A larger clinical implementation, combined with quality performance information, will give more insight on the relevance of the results shown in this study.

Performance Assessments in Science: Hands-On Tasks and Scoring Guides.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stecher, Brian M.; Klein, Stephen P.

In 1992, RAND received a grant from the National Science Foundation to study the technical quality of performance assessments in science and to evaluate their feasibility for use in large-scale testing programs. The specific goals of the project were to assess the reliability and validity of hands-on science testing and to investigate the cost and…

Orbital stability analysis in biomechanics: a systematic review of a nonlinear technique to detect instability of motor tasks.

PubMed

Riva, F; Bisi, M C; Stagni, R

2013-01-01

Falls represent a heavy economic and clinical burden on society. The identification of individual chronic characteristics associated with falling is of fundamental importance for the clinicians; in particular, the stability of daily motor tasks is one of the main factors that the clinicians look for during assessment procedures. Various methods for the assessment of stability in human movement are present in literature, and methods coming from stability analysis of nonlinear dynamic systems applied to biomechanics recently showed promise. One of these techniques is orbital stability analysis via Floquet multipliers. This method allows to measure orbital stability of periodic nonlinear dynamic systems and it seems a promising approach for the definition of a reliable motor stability index, taking into account for the whole task cycle dynamics. Despite the premises, its use in the assessment of fall risk has been deemed controversial. The aim of this systematic review was therefore to provide a critical evaluation of the literature on the topic of applications of orbital stability analysis in biomechanics, with particular focus to methodologic aspects. Four electronic databases have been searched for articles relative to the topic; 23 articles were selected for review. Quality of the studies present in literature has been assessed with a customised quality assessment tool. Overall quality of the literature in the field was found to be high. The most critical aspect was found to be the lack of uniformity in the implementation of the analysis to biomechanical time series, particularly in the choice of state space and number of cycles to include in the analysis. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Measuring saliency in images: which experimental parameters for the assessment of image quality?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fredembach, Clement; Woolfe, Geoff; Wang, Jue

2012-01-01

Predicting which areas of an image are perceptually salient or attended to has become an essential pre-requisite of many computer vision applications. Because observers are notoriously unreliable in remembering where they look a posteriori, and because asking where they look while observing the image necessarily in uences the results, ground truth about saliency and visual attention has to be obtained by gaze tracking methods. From the early work of Buswell and Yarbus to the most recent forays in computer vision there has been, perhaps unfortunately, little agreement on standardisation of eye tracking protocols for measuring visual attention. As the number of parameters involved in experimental methodology can be large, their individual in uence on the nal results is not well understood. Consequently, the performance of saliency algorithms, when assessed by correlation techniques, varies greatly across the literature. In this paper, we concern ourselves with the problem of image quality. Specically: where people look when judging images. We show that in this case, the performance gap between existing saliency prediction algorithms and experimental results is signicantly larger than otherwise reported. To understand this discrepancy, we rst devise an experimental protocol that is adapted to the task of measuring image quality. In a second step, we compare our experimental parameters with the ones of existing methods and show that a lot of the variability can directly be ascribed to these dierences in experimental methodology and choice of variables. In particular, the choice of a task, e.g., judging image quality vs. free viewing, has a great impact on measured saliency maps, suggesting that even for a mildly cognitive task, ground truth obtained by free viewing does not adapt well. Careful analysis of the prior art also reveals that systematic bias can occur depending on instrumental calibration and the choice of test images. We conclude this work by proposing a set of parameters, tasks and images that can be used to compare the various saliency prediction methods in a manner that is meaningful for image quality assessment.

Moving base simulation of an integrated flight and propulsion control system for an ejector-augmentor STOVL aircraft in hover

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcneill, Walter, E.; Chung, William W.; Stortz, Michael W.

1995-01-01

A piloted motion simulator evaluation, using the NASA Ames Vertical Motion Simulator, was conducted in support of a NASA Lewis Contractual study of the integration of flight and propulsion systems of a STOVL aircraft. Objectives of the study were to validate the Design Methods for Integrated Control Systems (DMICS) concept, to evaluate the handling qualities, and to assess control power usage. The E-7D ejector-augmentor STOVL fighter design served as the basis for the simulation. Handling-qualities ratings were obtained during precision hover and shipboard landing tasks. Handling-qualities ratings for these tasks ranged from satisfactory to adequate. Further improvement of the design process to fully validate the DMICS concept appears to be warranted.

Bilateral robotic priming before task-oriented approach in subacute stroke rehabilitation: a pilot randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Hsieh, Yu-Wei; Wu, Ching-Yi; Wang, Wei-En; Lin, Keh-Chung; Chang, Ku-Chou; Chen, Chih-Chi; Liu, Chien-Ting

2017-02-01

To investigate the treatment effects of bilateral robotic priming combined with the task-oriented approach on motor impairment, disability, daily function, and quality of life in patients with subacute stroke. A randomized controlled trial. Occupational therapy clinics in medical centers. Thirty-one subacute stroke patients were recruited. Participants were randomly assigned to receive bilateral priming combined with the task-oriented approach (i.e., primed group) or to the task-oriented approach alone (i.e., unprimed group) for 90 minutes/day, 5 days/week for 4 weeks. The primed group began with the bilateral priming technique by using a bimanual robot-aided device. Motor impairments were assessed by the Fugal-Meyer Assessment, grip strength, and the Box and Block Test. Disability and daily function were measured by the modified Rankin Scale, the Functional Independence Measure, and actigraphy. Quality of life was examined by the Stroke Impact Scale. The primed and unprimed groups improved significantly on most outcomes over time. The primed group demonstrated significantly better improvement on the Stroke Impact Scale strength subscale ( p = 0.012) and a trend for greater improvement on the modified Rankin Scale ( p = 0.065) than the unprimed group. Bilateral priming combined with the task-oriented approach elicited more improvements in self-reported strength and disability degrees than the task-oriented approach by itself. Further large-scale research with at least 31 participants in each intervention group is suggested to confirm the study findings.

Dual-task testing to predict falls in community-dwelling older adults: a systematic review.

PubMed

Muir-Hunter, S W; Wittwer, J E

2016-03-01

Cognitive impairment increases fall risk in older adults. Dual-task testing is an accepted way to assess the interaction between cognition and mobility; however, there is a lack of evidence-based recommendations for dual-task testing to evaluate fall risk in clinical practice. To evaluate the association between dual-task testing protocols and future fall risk, and to identify the specific dual-task test protocols associated with elevated risk. MEDLINE, Pubmed and EMBASE electronic databases were searched from January 1988 to September 2013. Two independent raters identified prospective cohort studies (duration of at least 1 year) of dual-task assessment in community-dwelling participants aged ≥60 years, with 'falls' as the primary outcome. Methodological quality was scored independently by two raters using a published checklist of criteria for evaluating threats to the validity of observational studies. Deterioration in gait during dual-task testing compared with single-task performance was associated with increased fall risk. Shortcomings within the literature significantly limit knowledge translation of dual-task gait protocols into clinical practice. There is a paucity of prospective studies on the association of dual-task gait assessment with fall risk. Changes in gait under dual-task testing are associated with future fall risk, and this association is stronger than that for single-task conditions. Limitations in the available literature preclude development of detailed recommendations for dual-task gait testing procedures in clinical practice to identify and stratify fall risk in older adults. Copyright © 2015 Chartered Society of Physiotherapy. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Assessing Motor-Cognition Interaction of Patients with Cognitive Disorders: Clinical Aspects].

PubMed

Schniepp, R; Wuehr, M; Schöberl, F; Zwergal, A

2016-08-01

Difficulties of walking and deficits of cognitive functions appear to be associated in the elderly. Thus, clinical assessment in geriatry and neurology should focus on: (1) diagnostic approaches covering both domains of everyday functioning; (2) therapeutic interventions that take into account possible interactions and synergies of both domains. In order to assess the capability for motor-cognitive interactions in the elderly it is recommended to investigate walking patterns during dual-tasks (e.g. walking and counting backwards, walking and naming words) and to examine clinical tests of everyday mobility tasks, such as the Timed-up-and-go-Test and spatial navigation tasks. Patients with cognitive disorders often perform inferior with a reduction of walking speed and an increase of stepping variability. Dual-task performance appears to be a reliable parameter for long-term observations of the course of the disease. Moreover, it might improve the quality of the gait examination during diagnostic or therapeutic interventions (e.g. the spinal tap test in patients with NPH). Several studies further highlight gait deficits during dual-task walking as a marker for the everyday functioning and the quality of life in elderly persons and patients with cognitive disorders.Therapeutic approaches in this context comprise complex motor-cognitive interventions, such as Thai Chi and Dalcroze rhythmic exercises. These interventions appear to act synergistically in motor and cognitive domains. First evidence for the efficacy for improving executive functions and reducing the fall risk of patients with cognitive impairments is given, thought randomized, controlled trials are rare. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Nurses' scope of practice and the implication for quality nursing care.

PubMed

Lubbe, J C Irene; Roets, Lizeth

2014-01-01

This article provides an overview of the implications for patients' health status and care needs when assessments are performed by nurses not licensed or competent to perform this task. The Waterlow scale (Judy Waterlow, The Nook, Stroke Road, Henlade, TAUNTON, TA3 5LX) scenario is used as a practice example to illustrate this case. The international nursing regulatory bodies, in South Africa called the South African Nursing Council, set the scope of practice wherein nurses are allowed to practice. Different categories of nurses are allowed to practice according to specified competencies, in alignment with their scope of practice. A retrospective quantitative study was utilized. A checklist was used to perform an audit on a random sample of 157 out of an accessible population of 849 patient files. Data were gathered in May 2012, and the analysis was done using frequencies and percentages for categorical data. Reliability and validity were ensured, and all ethical principles were adhered to. Eighty percent of risk assessments were performed by nurses not licensed or enrolled to perform this task unsupervised. Areas such as tissue malnutrition, neurological deficits, and medication were inaccurately scored, resulting in 50% of the Waterlow risk-assessment scales, as an example, being incorrectly interpreted. This has implications for quality nursing care and might put the patient and the institution at risk. Lower-category nurses and student nurses should be allowed to perform only tasks within their scope of practice for which they are licensed or enrolled. Nurses with limited formal theoretical training are not adequately prepared to perform tasks unsupervised, even in the current global nursing shortage scenario. To optimize and ensure safe and quality patient care, risk assessments should be done by a registered professional nurse, who will then coordinate the nursing care of the patient with the assistance of the lower category of nurses. © 2013 The Authors. Journal of Nursing Scholarship published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Sigma Theta Tau International.

Methods and dimensions of electronic health record data quality assessment: enabling reuse for clinical research

PubMed Central

Weng, Chunhua

2013-01-01

Objective To review the methods and dimensions of data quality assessment in the context of electronic health record (EHR) data reuse for research. Materials and methods A review of the clinical research literature discussing data quality assessment methodology for EHR data was performed. Using an iterative process, the aspects of data quality being measured were abstracted and categorized, as well as the methods of assessment used. Results Five dimensions of data quality were identified, which are completeness, correctness, concordance, plausibility, and currency, and seven broad categories of data quality assessment methods: comparison with gold standards, data element agreement, data source agreement, distribution comparison, validity checks, log review, and element presence. Discussion Examination of the methods by which clinical researchers have investigated the quality and suitability of EHR data for research shows that there are fundamental features of data quality, which may be difficult to measure, as well as proxy dimensions. Researchers interested in the reuse of EHR data for clinical research are recommended to consider the adoption of a consistent taxonomy of EHR data quality, to remain aware of the task-dependence of data quality, to integrate work on data quality assessment from other fields, and to adopt systematic, empirically driven, statistically based methods of data quality assessment. Conclusion There is currently little consistency or potential generalizability in the methods used to assess EHR data quality. If the reuse of EHR data for clinical research is to become accepted, researchers should adopt validated, systematic methods of EHR data quality assessment. PMID:22733976

Development of fuzzy air quality index using soft computing approach.

PubMed

Mandal, T; Gorai, A K; Pathak, G

2012-10-01

Proper assessment of air quality status in an atmosphere based on limited observations is an essential task for meeting the goals of environmental management. A number of classification methods are available for estimating the changing status of air quality. However, a discrepancy frequently arises from the quality criteria of air employed and vagueness or fuzziness embedded in the decision making output values. Owing to inherent imprecision, difficulties always exist in some conventional methodologies like air quality index when describing integrated air quality conditions with respect to various pollutants parameters and time of exposure. In recent years, the fuzzy logic-based methods have demonstrated to be appropriated to address uncertainty and subjectivity in environmental issues. In the present study, a methodology based on fuzzy inference systems (FIS) to assess air quality is proposed. This paper presents a comparative study to assess status of air quality using fuzzy logic technique and that of conventional technique. The findings clearly indicate that the FIS may successfully harmonize inherent discrepancies and interpret complex conditions.

Assessing and addressing cognitive impairment in bipolar disorder: the International Society for Bipolar Disorders Targeting Cognition Task Force recommendations for clinicians.

PubMed

Miskowiak, K W; Burdick, K E; Martinez-Aran, A; Bonnin, C M; Bowie, C R; Carvalho, A F; Gallagher, P; Lafer, B; López-Jaramillo, C; Sumiyoshi, T; McIntyre, R S; Schaffer, A; Porter, R J; Purdon, S; Torres, I J; Yatham, L N; Young, A H; Kessing, L V; Vieta, E

2018-05-01

Cognition is a new treatment target to aid functional recovery and enhance quality of life for patients with bipolar disorder. The International Society for Bipolar Disorders (ISBD) Targeting Cognition Task Force aimed to develop consensus-based clinical recommendations on whether, when and how to assess and address cognitive impairment. The task force, consisting of 19 international experts from nine countries, discussed the challenges and recommendations in a face-to-face meeting, telephone conference call and email exchanges. Consensus-based recommendations were achieved through these exchanges with no need for formal consensus methods. The identified questions were: (I) Should cognitive screening assessments be routinely conducted in clinical settings? (II) What are the most feasible screening tools? (III) What are the implications if cognitive impairment is detected? (IV) What are the treatment perspectives? Key recommendations are that clinicians: (I) formally screen cognition in partially or fully remitted patients whenever possible, (II) use brief, easy-to-administer tools such as the Screen for Cognitive Impairment in Psychiatry and Cognitive Complaints in Bipolar Disorder Rating Assessment, and (III) evaluate the impact of medication and comorbidity, refer patients for comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation when clinically indicated, and encourage patients to build cognitive reserve. Regarding question (IV), there is limited evidence for current evidence-based treatments but intense research efforts are underway to identify new pharmacological and/or psychological cognition treatments. This task force paper provides the first consensus-based recommendations for clinicians on whether, when, and how to assess and address cognition, which may aid patients' functional recovery and improve their quality of life. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Integrating information from disparate sources: the Walter Reed National Surgical Quality Improvement Program Data Transfer Project.

PubMed

Nelson, Victoria; Nelson, Victoria Ruth; Li, Fiona; Green, Susan; Tamura, Tomoyoshi; Liu, Jun-Min; Class, Margaret

2008-11-06

The Walter Reed National Surgical Quality Improvement Program Data Transfer web module integrates with medical and surgical information systems, and leverages outside standards, such as the National Library of Medicine's RxNorm, to process surgical and risk assessment data. Key components of the project included a needs assessment with nurse reviewers and a data analysis for federated (standards were locally controlled) data sources. The resulting interface streamlines nurse reviewer workflow by integrating related tasks and data.

Dual Motor-Cognitive Virtual Reality Training Impacts Dual-Task Performance in Freezing of Gait.

PubMed

Killane, Isabelle; Fearon, Conor; Newman, Louise; McDonnell, Conor; Waechter, Saskia M; Sons, Kristian; Lynch, Timothy; Reilly, Richard B

2015-11-01

Freezing of gait (FOG), an episodic gait disturbance characterized by the inability to generate effective stepping, occurs in more than half of Parkinson's disease patients. It is associated with both executive dysfunction and attention and becomes most evident during dual tasking (performing two tasks simultaneously). This study examined the effect of dual motor-cognitive virtual reality training on dual-task performance in FOG. Twenty community dwelling participants with Parkinson's disease (13 with FOG, 7 without FOG) participated in a pre-assessment, eight 20-minute intervention sessions, and a post-assessment. The intervention consisted of a virtual reality maze (DFKI, Germany) through which participants navigated by stepping-in-place on a balance board (Nintendo, Japan) under time pressure. This was combined with a cognitive task (Stroop test), which repeatedly divided participants' attention. The primary outcome measures were pre- and post-intervention differences in motor (stepping time, symmetry, rhythmicity) and cognitive (accuracy, reaction time) performance during single- and dual-tasks. Both assessments consisted of 1) a single cognitive task 2) a single motor task, and 3) a dual motor-cognitive task. Following the intervention, there was significant improvement in dual-task cognitive and motor parameters (stepping time and rhythmicity), dual-task effect for those with FOG and a noteworthy improvement in FOG episodes. These improvements were less significant for those without FOG. This is the first study to show benefit of a dual motor-cognitive approach on dual-task performance in FOG. Advances in such virtual reality interventions for home use could substantially improve the quality of life for patients who experience FOG.

Task-based image quality assessment in radiation therapy: initial characterization and demonstration with CT simulation images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dolly, Steven R.; Anastasio, Mark A.; Yu, Lifeng; Li, Hua

2017-03-01

In current radiation therapy practice, image quality is still assessed subjectively or by utilizing physically-based metrics. Recently, a methodology for objective task-based image quality (IQ) assessment in radiation therapy was proposed by Barrett et al.1 In this work, we present a comprehensive implementation and evaluation of this new IQ assessment methodology. A modular simulation framework was designed to perform an automated, computer-simulated end-to-end radiation therapy treatment. A fully simulated framework was created that utilizes new learning-based stochastic object models (SOM) to obtain known organ boundaries, generates a set of images directly from the numerical phantoms created with the SOM, and automates the image segmentation and treatment planning steps of a radiation therapy work ow. By use of this computational framework, therapeutic operating characteristic (TOC) curves can be computed and the area under the TOC curve (AUTOC) can be employed as a figure-of-merit to guide optimization of different components of the treatment planning process. The developed computational framework is employed to optimize X-ray CT pre-treatment imaging. We demonstrate that use of the radiation therapy-based-based IQ measures lead to different imaging parameters than obtained by use of physical-based measures.

Effect of pencil grasp on the speed and legibility of handwriting after a 10-minute copy task in Grade 4 children.

PubMed

Schwellnus, Heidi; Carnahan, Heather; Kushki, Azadeh; Polatajko, Helene; Missiuna, Cheryl; Chau, Tom

2012-06-01

To investigate the impact of common pencil grasp patterns on the speed and legibility of handwriting after a 10-minute copy task, intended to induce muscle fatigue, in typically developing children and in those non-proficient in handwriting. A total of 120 Grade 4 students completed a standardised handwriting assessment before and after a 10-minute copy task. The students indicated the perceived difficulty of the handwriting task at baseline and after 10 minutes. The students also completed a self-report questionnaire regarding their handwriting proficiency upon completion. The majority of the students rated higher effort after the 10-minute copy task than at baseline (rank sum: P = 0.00001). The effort ratings were similar for the different grasp patterns (multiple linear regression: F = 0.37, P = 0.895). For both typically developing children and those with handwriting issues, the legibility of the writing samples decreased after the 10-minute copy task but the speed of writing increased. CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY: The quality of the handwriting decreased after the 10-minute copy task; however, there was no difference in the quality or speed scores among the different pencil grasps before and after the copy task. The dynamic tripod pencil grasp did not offer any advantage over the lateral tripod or the dynamic or lateral quadrupod pencil grasps in terms of quality of handwriting after a 10-minute copy task. These four pencil grasp patterns performed equivalently. Our findings question the practice of having students adopt the dynamic tripod pencil grasp. © 2012 The Authors Australian Occupational Therapy Journal © 2012 Occupational Therapy Australia.

Quality Attestation for Clinical Ethics Consultants

PubMed Central

BRADDOCK, CLARENCE; COHN, FELICIA; DUBLER, NANCY NEVELOFF; DANIS, MARION; DERSE, ARTHUR R.; PEARLMAN, ROBERT A.; SMITH, MARTIN; TARZIAN, ANITA; YOUNGNER, STUART; KUCZEWSKI, MARK G.

2016-01-01

Given the importance of clinical ethics consultation to patient care, the people doing it should be asked to show that they do it well. An ASbH task force proposes a method for assessing them. PMID:24092588

Development and evaluation of a decision-based simulation for assessment of team skills.

PubMed

Andrew, Brandon; Plachta, Stephen; Salud, Lawrence; Pugh, Carla M

2012-08-01

There is a need to train and evaluate a wide variety of nontechnical surgical skills. The goal of this project was to develop and evaluate a decision-based simulation to assess team skills. The decision-based exercise used our previously validated Laparoscopic Ventral Hernia simulator and a newly developed team evaluation survey. Five teams of 3 surgical residents (N = 15) were tasked with repairing a 10 × 10-cm right upper quadrant hernia. During the simulation, independent observers (N = 6) completed a 6-item survey assessing: (1) work quality; (2) communication; and (3) team effectiveness. After the simulation, team members self-rated their performance by using the same survey. Survey reliability revealed a Cronbach's alpha of r = .811. Significant differences were found when we compared team members' (T) and observers' (O) ratings for communication (T = 4.33/5.00 vs O = 3.00/5.00, P < .01) and work quality (T = 4.33/5.00 vs O = 3.33/5.00, P < .05). The team with the greatest survey ratings was the only group to successfully complete the task. The team evaluation survey had good reliability and correlated with task performance on the simulator. Our current and previous work provides strong evidence that nontechnical and team related skills can be assessed without simulating a crisis situation. Copyright © 2012 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Assessed and Experimentally Provided Social Support.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-10-18

concerning attachment have encouraged research into the supportive role of social relationships among both adults and children (Bowlby 1969, 1980...irrelevant material than did those low in SSQS. It may be that the task material had less motivating quality for people who feel secure in their social ... relationships . They may have allowed their minds to wander because the task appeared so easy to them. The results concerning the interaction between

Naturalistic Assessment of Executive Function and Everyday Multitasking in Healthy Older Adults

PubMed Central

McAlister, Courtney; Schmitter-Edgecombe, Maureen

2013-01-01

Everyday multitasking and its cognitive correlates were investigated in an older adult population using a naturalistic task, the Day Out Task. Fifty older adults and 50 younger adults prioritized, organized, initiated and completed a number of subtasks in a campus apartment to prepare for a day out (e.g., gather ingredients for a recipe, collect change for a bus ride). Participants also completed tests assessing cognitive constructs important in multitasking. Compared to younger adults, the older adults took longer to complete the everyday tasks and more poorly sequenced the subtasks. Although they initiated, completed, and interweaved a similar number of subtasks, the older adults demonstrated poorer task quality and accuracy, completing more subtasks inefficiently. For the older adults, reduced prospective memory abilities were predictive of poorer task sequencing, while executive processes and prospective memory were predictive of inefficiently completed subtasks. The findings suggest that executive dysfunction and prospective memory difficulties may contribute to the age-related decline of everyday multitasking abilities in healthy older adults. PMID:23557096

Handling qualities of large flexible control-configured aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Swaim, R. L.

1980-01-01

The effects on handling qualities of low frequency symmetric elastic mode interaction with the rigid body dynamics of a large flexible aircraft was analyzed by use of a mathematical pilot modeling computer simulation. An extension of the optimal control model for a human pilot was made so that the mode interaction effects on the pilot's control task could be assessed. Pilot ratings were determined for a longitudinal tracking task with parametric variations in the undamped natural frequencies of the two lowest frequency symmetric elastic modes made to induce varying amounts of mode interaction. Relating numerical performance index values associated with the frequency variations used in several dynamic cases, to a numerical Cooper-Harper pilot rating has proved successful in discriminating when the mathematical pilot can or cannot separate rigid from elastic response in the tracking task.

Impaired performance from brief social isolation of rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) - A multiple video-task assessment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Washburn, David A.; Rumbaugh, Duane M.

1991-01-01

Social isolation has been demonstrated to produce profound and lasting psychological effects in young primates. In the present investigation, two adult rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) were isolated from one another for up to 6 days and tested on 7 video tasks designed to assess psychomotor and cognitive functioning. Both the number and quality (i.e., speed and accuracy) of responses were significantly compromised in the social isolation condition relative to levels in which the animals were tested together. It is argued that adult rhesus are susceptible to performance disruption by even relatively brief social isolation, and that these effects can best be assessed by a battery of complex and sensitive measures.

The Scaling of Water Governance Tasks: A Comparative Federal Analysis of the European Union and Australia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benson, David; Jordan, Andrew

2010-07-01

Conflicts over how to “scale” policy-making tasks have characterized environmental governance since time immemorial. They are particularly evident in the area of water policy and raise important questions over the democratic legitimacy, economic efficiency and effectiveness of allocating (or “scaling”) tasks to some administrative levels as opposed to others. This article adopts a comparative federalism perspective to assess the “optimality” of scaling—either upward or downward—in one issue area, namely coastal recreational water quality. It does so by comparing the scaling of recreational water quality tasks in the European Union (EU) and Australia. It reveals that the two systems have adopted rather different approaches to scaling and that this difference can partly be accounted for in federal theoretical terms. However, a much greater awareness of the inescapably political nature of scaling processes is nonetheless required. Finally, some words of caution are offered with regard to transferring policy lessons between these two jurisdictions.

Impact of task design on task performance and injury risk: case study of a simulated drilling task.

PubMed

Alabdulkarim, Saad; Nussbaum, Maury A; Rashedi, Ehsan; Kim, Sunwook; Agnew, Michael; Gardner, Richard

2017-06-01

Existing evidence is limited regarding the influence of task design on performance and ergonomic risk, or the association between these two outcomes. In a controlled experiment, we constructed a mock fuselage to simulate a drilling task common in aircraft manufacturing, and examined the effect of three levels of workstation adjustability on performance as measured by productivity (e.g. fuselage completion time) and quality (e.g. fuselage defective holes), and ergonomic risk as quantified using two common methods (rapid upper limb assessment and the strain index). The primary finding was that both productivity and quality significantly improved with increased adjustability, yet this occurred only when that adjustability succeeded in reducing ergonomic risk. Supporting the inverse association between ergonomic risk and performance, the condition with highest adjustability created the lowest ergonomic risk and the best performance while there was not a substantial difference in ergonomic risk between the other two conditions, in which performance was also comparable. Practitioner Summary: Findings of this study supported a causal relationship between task design and both ergonomic risk and performance, and that ergonomic risk and performance are inversely associated. While future work is needed under more realistic conditions and a broader population, these results may be useful for task (re)design and to help cost-justify some ergonomic interventions.

Quality of childcare influences children's attentiveness and emotional regulation at school entry.

PubMed

Gialamas, Angela; Sawyer, Alyssa C P; Mittinty, Murthy N; Zubrick, Stephen R; Sawyer, Michael G; Lynch, John

2014-10-01

To examine the association between domain-specific qualities of formal childcare at age 2-3 years and children's task attentiveness and emotional regulation at age 4-5 and 6-7 years. We used data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (n = 1038). Three domain-specific aspects of childcare quality were assessed: provider and program characteristics of care, activities in childcare, and carer-child relationship. Two self-regulatory abilities were considered: task attentiveness and emotional regulation. Associations between domain-specific qualities of childcare and self-regulation were investigated in linear regression analyses adjusted for confounding, with imputation for missing data. There was no association between any provider or program characteristics of care and children's task attentiveness and emotional regulation. The quality of activities in childcare were associated only with higher levels of emotional regulation at age 4-5 years (β = 0.24; 95% CI, 0.03-0.44) and 6-7 years (β = 0.26; 95% CI, 0.04-0.48). Higher-quality carer-child relationships were associated with higher levels of task attentiveness (β = 0.20; 95% CI, 0.05-0.36) and emotional regulation at age 4-5 years (β = 0.19; 95% CI, 0.04-0.34) that persisted to age 6-7 years (β = 0.26; 95% CI, 0.10-0.42; β = 0.31; 95% CI, 0.16-0.47). Among children using formal childcare, those who experienced higher-quality relationships were better able to regulate their attention and emotions as they started school. Higher emotional regulation was also observed for children engaged in more activities in childcare. Beneficial effects were stable over time. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Space shuttle flying qualities and criteria assessment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Myers, T. T.; Johnston, D. E.; Mcruer, Duane T.

1987-01-01

Work accomplished under a series of study tasks for the Flying Qualities and Flight Control Systems Design Criteria Experiment (OFQ) of the Shuttle Orbiter Experiments Program (OEX) is summarized. The tasks involved review of applicability of existing flying quality and flight control system specification and criteria for the Shuttle; identification of potentially crucial flying quality deficiencies; dynamic modeling of the Shuttle Orbiter pilot/vehicle system in the terminal flight phases; devising a nonintrusive experimental program for extraction and identification of vehicle dynamics, pilot control strategy, and approach and landing performance metrics, and preparation of an OEX approach to produce a data archive and optimize use of the data to develop flying qualities for future space shuttle craft in general. Analytic modeling of the Orbiter's unconventional closed-loop dynamics in landing, modeling pilot control strategies, verification of vehicle dynamics and pilot control strategy from flight data, review of various existent or proposed aircraft flying quality parameters and criteria in comparison with the unique dynamic characteristics and control aspects of the Shuttle in landing; and finally a summary of conclusions and recommendations for developing flying quality criteria and design guides for future Shuttle craft.

Using an embedded reality approach to improve test reliability for NHPT tasks.

PubMed

Bowler, M; Amirabdollahian, F; Dautenhahn, K

2011-01-01

Research into the use of haptic and virtual reality technologies has increased greatly over the past decade, in terms of both quality and quantity. Methods to utilise haptic and virtual technologies with currently existing techniques for assessing impairment are underway, and, due to the commercially available equipment, has found some success in the use of these methods for individuals who suffer upper limb impairment. This paper uses the clinically validated assessment technique for measuring motor impairment: the Nine Hole Peg Test and creates three tasks with different levels of realism. The efficacy of these tasks is discussed with particular attention paid to analysis in terms of removing factors that limit a virtual environment's use in a clinical setting, such as inter-subject variation. © 2011 IEEE

Summaries of Minnehaha Creek Watershed District Plans/Studies/Reports

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-01-30

34+ Management of all wetland functional assessment data in a Microsoft Access© database "+ Development of a GIS wetland data management system "+ Recommendations...General Task B Design GIS -Based Decision Making Model: Scenario-Based $125,000 $125,000 Model of Landuse Hydro Data Monitoring Task C Water Quality...Landuse and Land cover data + Watershed GIS data layers + Flood Insurance Rate Maps + Proposed project locations + Stream miles, reaches and conditions

Effects of task and image properties on visual-attention deployment in image-quality assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alers, Hani; Redi, Judith; Liu, Hantao; Heynderickx, Ingrid

2015-03-01

It is important to understand how humans view images and how their behavior is affected by changes in the properties of the viewed images and the task they are given, particularly the task of scoring the image quality (IQ). This is a complex behavior that holds great importance for the field of image-quality research. This work builds upon 4 years of research work spanning three databases studying image-viewing behavior. Using eye-tracking equipment, it was possible to collect information on human viewing behavior of different kinds of stimuli and under different experimental settings. This work performs a cross-analysis on the results from all these databases using state-of-the-art similarity measures. The results strongly show that asking the viewers to score the IQ significantly changes their viewing behavior. Also muting the color saturation seems to affect the saliency of the images. However, a change in IQ was not consistently found to modify visual attention deployment, neither under free looking nor during scoring. These results are helpful in gaining a better understanding of image viewing behavior under different conditions. They also have important implications on work that collects subjective image-quality scores from human observers.

2015 International PV Quality Assurance Task Force (PVQAT) Workshop |

Science.gov Websites

Photovoltaic Research | NREL International PV Quality Assurance Task Force (PVQAT) Workshop 2015 International PV Quality Assurance Task Force (PVQAT) Workshop Wednesday, February 25, 2015 Chairs : Tony Sample and Masaaki Yamamichi The 2015 International PV Quality Assurance Task Force (PVQAT

Gamification of Cognitive Assessment and Cognitive Training: A Systematic Review of Applications and Efficacy

PubMed Central

Edwards, Elizabeth A; Lawrence, Natalia S; Coyle, David; Munafò, Marcus R

2016-01-01

Background Cognitive tasks are typically viewed as effortful, frustrating, and repetitive, which often leads to participant disengagement. This, in turn, may negatively impact data quality and/or reduce intervention effects. However, gamification may provide a possible solution. If game design features can be incorporated into cognitive tasks without undermining their scientific value, then data quality, intervention effects, and participant engagement may be improved. Objectives This systematic review aims to explore and evaluate the ways in which gamification has already been used for cognitive training and assessment purposes. We hope to answer 3 questions: (1) Why have researchers opted to use gamification? (2) What domains has gamification been applied in? (3) How successful has gamification been in cognitive research thus far? Methods We systematically searched several Web-based databases, searching the titles, abstracts, and keywords of database entries using the search strategy (gamif* OR game OR games) AND (cognit* OR engag* OR behavi* OR health* OR attention OR motiv*). Searches included papers published in English between January 2007 and October 2015. Results Our review identified 33 relevant studies, covering 31 gamified cognitive tasks used across a range of disorders and cognitive domains. We identified 7 reasons for researchers opting to gamify their cognitive training and testing. We found that working memory and general executive functions were common targets for both gamified assessment and training. Gamified tests were typically validated successfully, although mixed-domain measurement was a problem. Gamified training appears to be highly engaging and does boost participant motivation, but mixed effects of gamification on task performance were reported. Conclusions Heterogeneous study designs and typically small sample sizes highlight the need for further research in both gamified training and testing. Nevertheless, careful application of gamification can provide a way to develop engaging and yet scientifically valid cognitive assessments, and it is likely worthwhile to continue to develop gamified cognitive tasks in the future. PMID:27421244

Gamification of Cognitive Assessment and Cognitive Training: A Systematic Review of Applications and Efficacy.

PubMed

Lumsden, Jim; Edwards, Elizabeth A; Lawrence, Natalia S; Coyle, David; Munafò, Marcus R

2016-07-15

Cognitive tasks are typically viewed as effortful, frustrating, and repetitive, which often leads to participant disengagement. This, in turn, may negatively impact data quality and/or reduce intervention effects. However, gamification may provide a possible solution. If game design features can be incorporated into cognitive tasks without undermining their scientific value, then data quality, intervention effects, and participant engagement may be improved. This systematic review aims to explore and evaluate the ways in which gamification has already been used for cognitive training and assessment purposes. We hope to answer 3 questions: (1) Why have researchers opted to use gamification? (2) What domains has gamification been applied in? (3) How successful has gamification been in cognitive research thus far? We systematically searched several Web-based databases, searching the titles, abstracts, and keywords of database entries using the search strategy (gamif* OR game OR games) AND (cognit* OR engag* OR behavi* OR health* OR attention OR motiv*). Searches included papers published in English between January 2007 and October 2015. Our review identified 33 relevant studies, covering 31 gamified cognitive tasks used across a range of disorders and cognitive domains. We identified 7 reasons for researchers opting to gamify their cognitive training and testing. We found that working memory and general executive functions were common targets for both gamified assessment and training. Gamified tests were typically validated successfully, although mixed-domain measurement was a problem. Gamified training appears to be highly engaging and does boost participant motivation, but mixed effects of gamification on task performance were reported. Heterogeneous study designs and typically small sample sizes highlight the need for further research in both gamified training and testing. Nevertheless, careful application of gamification can provide a way to develop engaging and yet scientifically valid cognitive assessments, and it is likely worthwhile to continue to develop gamified cognitive tasks in the future.

Do Activity Level Outcome Measures Commonly Used in Neurological Practice Assess Upper-Limb Movement Quality?

PubMed

Demers, Marika; Levin, Mindy F

2017-07-01

Movement is described in terms of task-related end point characteristics in external space and movement quality (joint rotations in body space). Assessment of upper-limb (UL) movement quality can assist therapists in designing effective treatment approaches for retraining lost motor elements and provide more detailed measurements of UL motor improvements over time. To determine the extent to which current activity level outcome measures used in neurological practice assess UL movement quality. Outcome measures assessing arm/hand function at the International Classification of Function activity level recommended by neurological clinical practice guidelines were reviewed. Measures assessing the UL as part of a general mobility assessment, those strictly evaluating body function/structure or participation, and paediatric measures were excluded. In all, 15 activity level outcome measures were identified; 9 measures assess how movement is performed by measuring either end point characteristics or movement quality. However, except for the Reaching Performance Scale for Stroke and the Motor Evaluation Scale for Upper Extremity in Stroke Patients, these measures only account for deficits indirectly by giving a partial score if movements are slower or if the person experiences difficulties. Six outcome measures neither assess any parameters related to movement quality, nor distinguish between improvements resulting from motor compensation or recovery of desired movement strategies. Current activity measures may not distinguish recovery from compensation and adequately track changes in movement quality over time. Movement quality may be incorporated into clinical assessment using observational kinematics with or without low-cost motion tracking technology.

An online network tool for quality information to answer questions about occupational safety and health: usability and applicability.

PubMed

Rhebergen, Martijn D F; Hulshof, Carel T J; Lenderink, Annet F; van Dijk, Frank J H

2010-10-22

Common information facilities do not always provide the quality information needed to answer questions on health or health-related issues, such as Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) matters. Barriers may be the accessibility, quantity and readability of information. Online Question & Answer (Q&A) network tools, which link questioners directly to experts can overcome some of these barriers. When designing and testing online tools, assessing the usability and applicability is essential. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to assess the usability and applicability of a new online Q&A network tool for answers on OSH questions. We applied a cross-sectional usability test design. Eight occupational health experts and twelve potential questioners from the working population (workers) were purposively selected to include a variety of computer- and internet-experiences. During the test, participants were first observed while executing eight tasks that entailed important features of the tool. In addition, they were interviewed. Through task observations and interviews we assessed applicability, usability (effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction) and facilitators and barriers in use. Most features were usable, though several could be improved. Most tasks were executed effectively. Some tasks, for example searching stored questions in categories, were not executed efficiently and participants were less satisfied with the corresponding features. Participants' recommendations led to improvements. The tool was found mostly applicable for additional information, to observe new OSH trends and to improve contact between OSH experts and workers. Hosting and support by a trustworthy professional organization, effective implementation campaigns, timely answering and anonymity were seen as important use requirements. This network tool is a promising new strategy for offering company workers high quality information to answer OSH questions. Q&A network tools can be an addition to existing information facilities in the field of OSH, but also to other healthcare fields struggling with how to answer questions from people in practice with high quality information. In the near future, we will focus on the use of the tool and its effects on information and knowledge dissemination.

Does one size fit all? Assessing the preferences of older and younger people for attributes of quality of life.

PubMed

Ratcliffe, Julie; Lancsar, Emily; Flint, Thomas; Kaambwa, Billingsley; Walker, Ruth; Lewin, Gill; Luszcz, Mary; Cameron, Ian D

2017-02-01

To systematically compare, via ranking and best worst tasks, the relative importance of key dimensions of quality of life for younger and older people. A web-based survey was developed for administration to two Australia-wide community-based samples comprising younger people aged 18-64 years and older people aged 65 years and above. Respondents were asked to rank 12 quality of life dimensions. Respondents also completed a successive best worst task using the same 12 quality of life dimensions. The relative importance of the quality of life dimensions differed for younger and older person samples. For older people, the ability to be independent and to have control over their daily lives were particularly important for their overall quality of life whereas for younger people, mental health was considered most important. Many interventions accessed by older people in geriatric medicine and aged care sectors have a broader impact upon quality of life beyond health status. The findings from this study indicate that a focus on broader aspects of quality of life may also be consistent with the preferences of older people themselves as to what constitutes quality of life from their perspective.

Design, fabrication, and implementation of voxel-based 3D printed textured phantoms for task-based image quality assessment in CT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Solomon, Justin; Ba, Alexandre; Diao, Andrew; Lo, Joseph; Bier, Elianna; Bochud, François; Gehm, Michael; Samei, Ehsan

2016-03-01

In x-ray computed tomography (CT), task-based image quality studies are typically performed using uniform background phantoms with low-contrast signals. Such studies may have limited clinical relevancy for modern non-linear CT systems due to possible influence of background texture on image quality. The purpose of this study was to design and implement anatomically informed textured phantoms for task-based assessment of low-contrast detection. Liver volumes were segmented from 23 abdominal CT cases. The volumes were characterized in terms of texture features from gray-level co-occurrence and run-length matrices. Using a 3D clustered lumpy background (CLB) model, a fitting technique based on a genetic optimization algorithm was used to find the CLB parameters that were most reflective of the liver textures, accounting for CT system factors of spatial blurring and noise. With the modeled background texture as a guide, a cylinder phantom (165 mm in diameter and 30 mm height) was designed, containing 20 low-contrast spherical signals (6 mm in diameter at targeted contrast levels of ~3.2, 5.2, 7.2, 10, and 14 HU, 4 repeats per signal). The phantom was voxelized and input into a commercial multi-material 3D printer (Object Connex 350), with custom software for voxel-based printing. Using principles of digital half-toning and dithering, the 3D printer was programmed to distribute two base materials (VeroWhite and TangoPlus, nominal voxel size of 42x84x30 microns) to achieve the targeted spatial distribution of x-ray attenuation properties. The phantom was used for task-based image quality assessment of a clinically available iterative reconstruction algorithm (Sinogram Affirmed Iterative Reconstruction, SAFIRE) using a channelized Hotelling observer paradigm. Images of the textured phantom and a corresponding uniform phantom were acquired at six dose levels and observer model performance was estimated for each condition (5 contrasts x 6 doses x 2 reconstructions x 2 backgrounds = 120 total conditions). Based on the observer model results, the dose reduction potential of SAFIRE was computed and compared between the uniform and textured phantom. The dose reduction potential of SAFIRE was found to be 23% based on the uniform phantom and 17% based on the textured phantom. This discrepancy demonstrates the need to consider background texture when assessing non-linear reconstruction algorithms.

Analysis of psychological factors for quality assessment of interactive multimodal service

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamagishi, Kazuhisa; Hayashi, Takanori

2005-03-01

We proposed a subjective quality assessment model for interactive multimodal services. First, psychological factors of an audiovisual communication service were extracted by using the semantic differential (SD) technique and factor analysis. Forty subjects participated in subjective tests and performed point-to-point conversational tasks on a PC-based TV phone that exhibits various network qualities. The subjects assessed those qualities on the basis of 25 pairs of adjectives. Two psychological factors, i.e., an aesthetic feeling and a feeling of activity, were extracted from the results. Then, quality impairment factors affecting these two psychological factors were analyzed. We found that the aesthetic feeling is mainly affected by IP packet loss and video coding bit rate, and the feeling of activity depends on delay time and video frame rate. We then proposed an opinion model derived from the relationships among quality impairment factors, psychological factors, and overall quality. The results indicated that the estimation error of the proposed model is almost equivalent to the statistical reliability of the subjective score. Finally, using the proposed model, we discuss guidelines for quality design of interactive audiovisual communication services.

Competency assessment of microbiology medical laboratory technologists in Ontario, Canada.

PubMed

Desjardins, Marc; Fleming, Christine Ann

2014-08-01

Accreditation in Ontario, Canada, requires that licensed clinical laboratories participate in external quality assessment (also known as proficiency testing) and perform competency evaluation of their staff. To assess the extent of ongoing competency assessment practices, the Quality Management Program--Laboratory Services (QMP-LS) Microbiology Committee surveyed all 112 licensed Ontario microbiology laboratories. The questionnaire consisted of a total of 21 questions that included yes/no, multiple-choice, and short-answer formats. Participants were asked to provide information about existing programs, the frequency of testing, what areas are evaluated, and how results are communicated to the staff. Of the 111 responding laboratories, 6 indicated they did not have a formal evaluation program since they perform only limited bacteriology testing. Of the remaining 105 respondents, 87% perform evaluations at least annually or every 2 years, and 61% include any test or task performed, whereas 16% and 10% focus only on problem areas and high-volume complex tasks, respectively. The most common methods of evaluation were review of external quality assessment (EQA) challenges, direct observation, and worksheet review. With the exception of one participant, all communicate results to staff, and most take remedial action to correct the deficiencies. Although most accredited laboratories have a program to assess the ongoing competency of their staff, the methods used are not standardized or consistently applied, indicating that there is room for improvement. The survey successfully highlighted potential areas for improvement and allowed the QMP-LS Microbiology Committee to provide guidance to Ontario laboratories for establishing or improving existing microbiology-specific competency assessment programs. Copyright © 2014, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Competency Assessment of Microbiology Medical Laboratory Technologists in Ontario, Canada

PubMed Central

Fleming, Christine Ann

2014-01-01

Accreditation in Ontario, Canada, requires that licensed clinical laboratories participate in external quality assessment (also known as proficiency testing) and perform competency evaluation of their staff. To assess the extent of ongoing competency assessment practices, the Quality Management Program—Laboratory Services (QMP-LS) Microbiology Committee surveyed all 112 licensed Ontario microbiology laboratories. The questionnaire consisted of a total of 21 questions that included yes/no, multiple-choice, and short-answer formats. Participants were asked to provide information about existing programs, the frequency of testing, what areas are evaluated, and how results are communicated to the staff. Of the 111 responding laboratories, 6 indicated they did not have a formal evaluation program since they perform only limited bacteriology testing. Of the remaining 105 respondents, 87% perform evaluations at least annually or every 2 years, and 61% include any test or task performed, whereas 16% and 10% focus only on problem areas and high-volume complex tasks, respectively. The most common methods of evaluation were review of external quality assessment (EQA) challenges, direct observation, and worksheet review. With the exception of one participant, all communicate results to staff, and most take remedial action to correct the deficiencies. Although most accredited laboratories have a program to assess the ongoing competency of their staff, the methods used are not standardized or consistently applied, indicating that there is room for improvement. The survey successfully highlighted potential areas for improvement and allowed the QMP-LS Microbiology Committee to provide guidance to Ontario laboratories for establishing or improving existing microbiology-specific competency assessment programs. PMID:24899030

Information processing. [in human performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wickens, Christopher D.; Flach, John M.

1988-01-01

Theoretical models of sensory-information processing by the human brain are reviewed from a human-factors perspective, with a focus on their implications for aircraft and avionics design. The topics addressed include perception (signal detection and selection), linguistic factors in perception (context provision, logical reversals, absence of cues, and order reversals), mental models, and working and long-term memory. Particular attention is given to decision-making problems such as situation assessment, decision formulation, decision quality, selection of action, the speed-accuracy tradeoff, stimulus-response compatibility, stimulus sequencing, dual-task performance, task difficulty and structure, and factors affecting multiple task performance (processing modalities, codes, and stages).

Methodology development for evaluation of selective-fidelity rotorcraft simulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lewis, William D.; Schrage, D. P.; Prasad, J. V. R.; Wolfe, Daniel

1992-01-01

This paper addressed the initial step toward the goal of establishing performance and handling qualities acceptance criteria for realtime rotorcraft simulators through a planned research effort to quantify the system capabilities of 'selective fidelity' simulators. Within this framework the simulator is then classified based on the required task. The simulator is evaluated by separating the various subsystems (visual, motion, etc.) and applying corresponding fidelity constants based on the specific task. This methodology not only provides an assessment technique, but also provides a technique to determine the required levels of subsystem fidelity for a specific task.

Using Writing Process and Product Features to Assess Writing Quality and Explore How Those Features Relate to Other Literacy Tasks. Research Report. ETS RR-14-03

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Deane, Paul

2014-01-01

This paper explores automated methods for measuring features of student writing and determining their relationship to writing quality and other features of literacy, such as reading rest scores. In particular, it uses the "e-rater"™ automatic essay scoring system to measure "product" features (measurable traits of the final…

TH-A-16A-01: Image Quality for the Radiation Oncology Physicist: Review of the Fundamentals and Implementation

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

Seibert, J; Imbergamo, P

The expansion and integration of diagnostic imaging technologies such as On Board Imaging (OBI) and Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) into radiation oncology has required radiation oncology physicists to be responsible for and become familiar with assessing image quality. Unfortunately many radiation oncology physicists have had little or no training or experience in measuring and assessing image quality. Many physicists have turned to automated QA analysis software without having a fundamental understanding of image quality measures. This session will review the basic image quality measures of imaging technologies used in the radiation oncology clinic, such as low contrast resolution, highmore » contrast resolution, uniformity, noise, and contrast scale, and how to measure and assess them in a meaningful way. Additionally a discussion of the implementation of an image quality assurance program in compliance with Task Group recommendations will be presented along with the advantages and disadvantages of automated analysis methods. Learning Objectives: Review and understanding of the fundamentals of image quality. Review and understanding of the basic image quality measures of imaging modalities used in the radiation oncology clinic. Understand how to implement an image quality assurance program and to assess basic image quality measures in a meaningful way.« less

American pain society recommendations for improving the quality of acute and cancer pain management: American Pain Society Quality of Care Task Force.

PubMed

Gordon, Debra B; Dahl, June L; Miaskowski, Christine; McCarberg, Bill; Todd, Knox H; Paice, Judith A; Lipman, Arthur G; Bookbinder, Marilyn; Sanders, Steve H; Turk, Dennis C; Carr, Daniel B

2005-07-25

The American Pain Society (APS) set out to revise and expand its 1995 Quality Improvement Guidelines for the Treatment of Acute Pain and Cancer Pain and to facilitate improvements in the quality of pain management in all care settings. Eleven multidisciplinary members of the APS with expertise in quality improvement or measurement participated in the update. Five experts from organizations that focus on health care quality reviewed the final recommendations. MEDLINE and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature databases were searched (1994-2004) to identify articles on pain quality measurement and quality improvement published after the development of the 1995 guidelines. The APS task force revised and expanded recommendations on the basis of the systematic review of published studies. The more than 3000 members of the APS were invited to provide input, and the 5 experts provided additional comments. The task force synthesized reviewers' comments into the final set of recommendations. The recommendations specify that all care settings formulate structured, multilevel systems approaches (sensitive to the type of pain, population served, and setting of care) that ensure prompt recognition and treatment of pain, involvement of patients and families in the pain management plan, improved treatment patterns, regular reassessment and adjustment of the pain management plan as needed, and measurement of processes and outcomes of pain management. Efforts to improve the quality of pain management must move beyond assessment and communication of pain to implementation and evaluation of improvements in pain treatment that are timely, safe, evidence based, and multimodal.

Parenting Capacity Assessment for the Court in a Multifamily Group Setting.

PubMed

Di Pasquale, Roberta; Rivolta, Andrea

2016-01-01

Parenting capacity assessment in court evaluations is a particularly complex task, given that it is necessary to consider the vast array of distinct and interrelated aspects and abilities which represent parenting, as well as the elevated number of contextual levels that influence parenting quality. The perspective we want to introduce regards the potentiality of the multifamily group as the elective observational setting in parenting capacity assessment.

Parenting Capacity Assessment for the Court in a Multifamily Group Setting

PubMed Central

Di Pasquale, Roberta; Rivolta, Andrea

2016-01-01

Parenting capacity assessment in court evaluations is a particularly complex task, given that it is necessary to consider the vast array of distinct and interrelated aspects and abilities which represent parenting, as well as the elevated number of contextual levels that influence parenting quality. The perspective we want to introduce regards the potentiality of the multifamily group as the elective observational setting in parenting capacity assessment. PMID:27965615

An Evaluation and Comparison of Several Measures of Image Quality for Television Displays

DTIC Science & Technology

1979-01-01

vehicles, buildings, or faces , or they may be artificial much as trn-bar patterns, rectangles, or sine waves. The typical objective image quality assessment...Snyder (1974b) wac able to obtain very good correlations with reaction time and correct responses for a face recognition task. Display quality was varied...recognition versus log JUDA for the target recognition study of Chapter 4, 5) graph of angle oubtended by target at recognitio , versus log JNDA for the

Towards A Complete Model Of Photopic Visual Threshold Performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Overington, I.

1982-02-01

Based on a wide variety of fragmentary evidence taken from psycho-physics, neurophysiology and electron microscopy, it has been possible to put together a very widely applicable conceptual model of photopic visual threshold performance. Such a model is so complex that a single comprehensive mathematical version is excessively cumbersome. It is, however, possible to set up a suite of related mathematical models, each of limited application but strictly known envelope of usage. Such models may be used for assessment of a variety of facets of visual performance when using display imagery, including effects and interactions of image quality, random and discrete display noise, viewing distance, image motion, etc., both for foveal interrogation tasks and for visual search tasks. The specific model may be selected from the suite according to the assessment task in hand. The paper discusses in some depth the major facets of preperceptual visual processing and their interaction with instrumental image quality and noise. It then highlights the statistical nature of visual performance before going on to consider a number of specific mathematical models of partial visual function. Where appropriate, these are compared with widely popular empirical models of visual function.

Planetary Geologic Mapping Python Toolbox: A Suite of Tools to Support Mapping Workflows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hunter, M. A.; Skinner, J. A.; Hare, T. M.; Fortezzo, C. M.

2017-06-01

The collective focus of the Planetary Geologic Mapping Python Toolbox is to provide researchers with additional means to migrate legacy GIS data, assess the quality of data and analysis results, and simplify common mapping tasks.

Adaptive mixed reality rehabilitation improves quality of reaching movements more than traditional reaching therapy following stroke.

PubMed

Duff, Margaret; Chen, Yinpeng; Cheng, Long; Liu, Sheng-Min; Blake, Paul; Wolf, Steven L; Rikakis, Thanassis

2013-05-01

Adaptive mixed reality rehabilitation (AMRR) is a novel integration of motion capture technology and high-level media computing that provides precise kinematic measurements and engaging multimodal feedback for self-assessment during a therapeutic task. We describe the first proof-of-concept study to compare outcomes of AMRR and traditional upper-extremity physical therapy. Two groups of participants with chronic stroke received either a month of AMRR therapy (n = 11) or matched dosing of traditional repetitive task therapy (n = 10). Participants were right handed, between 35 and 85 years old, and could independently reach to and at least partially grasp an object in front of them. Upper-extremity clinical scale scores and kinematic performances were measured before and after treatment. Both groups showed increased function after therapy, demonstrated by statistically significant improvements in Wolf Motor Function Test and upper-extremity Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) scores, with the traditional therapy group improving significantly more on the FMA. However, only participants who received AMRR therapy showed a consistent improvement in kinematic measurements, both for the trained task of reaching to grasp a cone and the untrained task of reaching to push a lighted button. AMRR may be useful in improving both functionality and the kinematics of reaching. Further study is needed to determine if AMRR therapy induces long-term changes in movement quality that foster better functional recovery.

Mentalization of complex emotions in borderline personality disorder: The impact of parenting and exposure to trauma on the performance in a novel cartoon-based task.

PubMed

Brüne, Martin; Walden, Sarah; Edel, Marc-Andreas; Dimaggio, Giancarlo

2016-01-01

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is characterized by a range of interpersonal difficulties, which are, in part, related to adverse experiences during childhood. Unresponsive parenting and traumatization may cause functional impairment of mentalization, i.e. the ability to reflect upon own and others' mental states. However, the relationship of poor parenting, trauma and mentalization in BPD has not exhaustively been studied. Thirty patients diagnosed with BPD and 30 matched control subjects were asked to sequence a novel cartoon-based mentalization task involving complex emotions such as jealousy, shame, guilt etc. In addition, they were required to reason about cognitive and affective mental states of the cartoon characters. The quality of parental care was assessed using a self-report measure for recalled parental rearing style, and childhood trauma was measured in retrospect using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. Patients with BPD performed more poorly in all aspects of the cartoon task. Mentalizing skills, particularly relating to affective mental states, were uniquely associated with the quality of recalled parental care and childhood trauma. Together, the quality of parental care and the experience of childhood trauma negatively impact on mentalization in BPD, even in an experimental "offline" task. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effect of Physician Delegation to Other Healthcare Providers on the Quality of Care for Geriatric Conditions.

PubMed

Lichtenstein, Brian J; Reuben, David B; Karlamangla, Arun S; Han, Weijuan; Roth, Carol P; Wenger, Neil S

2015-10-01

The quality of care of older adults in the United States has been consistently shown to be inadequate. This gap between recommended and actual care provides an opportunity to improve the value of health care for older adults. Prior work from the Assessing Care of Vulnerable Elders (ACOVE) investigators first defined, and then sought to improve, clinical practice for common geriatric conditions. A critical component of the ACOVE intervention for practice improvement was an emphasis on the delegation of specific care processes, but the independent effect of delegation on the quality of care has not been evaluated. This study analyzed the pooled results of prior ACOVE projects from 1998 to 2010. Totaled, these studies included 4,776 individuals aged 65 and older of mixed demographic backgrounds and 16,204 ACOVE quality indicators (QIs) for three geriatric conditions: falls, urinary incontinence, and dementia. In unadjusted analyses, QI pass probabilities were 0.36 for physician-performed tasks, 0.55 for nurse practitioner (NP)-, physician assistant (PA)-, and registered nurse (RN)-performed tasks; and 0.61 for medical assistant- and licensed vocational nurse-performed tasks. In multiply adjusted models, the independent pass-probability effect of delegation to NPs, PAs, and RNs was 1.37 (P = .05). These findings suggest that delegation of selected tasks to nonphysician healthcare providers is associated with higher quality of care for these geriatric conditions in community practices and supports the value of interdisciplinary team management for common outpatient conditions in older adults. © 2015, Copyright the Authors Journal compilation © 2015, The American Geriatrics Society.

[TEIS--a system for public health offices for assessing, presenting, evaluating and communicating data on the quality of drinking water].

PubMed

Henke, A; Overath, H; Heinzke, J

1999-05-01

Monitoring the quality of drinking water is a cardinal task of German Public Health Offices and of the relevant Ministries of Health of the German Federal states ("Länder"). Today this can be tackled on a large scale and economically only with computer assistance. A system has been developed in North Rhine Westphalia on behalf of the Ministry of Health, for data assessment and communication which is suitable for practical work and user friendly. It aims at supporting the Public Health Offices in their daily work and at improving and simplifying the monitoring of drinking water supply systems and of drinking water quality control.

Effectiveness of external cues to facilitate task performance in people with neurological disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PubMed

Harrison, Stephanie L; Laver, Kate E; Ninnis, Kayla; Rowett, Cherie; Lannin, Natasha A; Crotty, Maria

2018-03-09

To examine in people with neurological disorders, which method/s of providing external cues to improve task performance are most effective. Medline, EMBASE, and PsycINFO were systematically searched. Two reviewers independently screened, extracted data, and assessed the quality of the evidence using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE). Twenty six studies were included. Studies examined a wide-range of cues including visual, tactile, auditory, verbal, and multi-component cues. Cueing (any type) improved walking speed when comparing cues to no cues (mean difference (95% confidence interval): 0.08 m/s (0.06-0.10), I 2  = 68%, low quality of evidence). Remaining evidence was analysed narratively; evidence that cueing improves activity-related outcomes was inconsistent and rated as very low quality. It was not possible to determine which form of cueing may be more effective than others. Providing cues to encourage successful task performance is a core component of rehabilitation, however there is limited evidence on the type of cueing or which tasks benefit most from external cueing. Low-quality evidence suggests there may be a beneficial effect of cueing (any type) on walking speed. Sufficiently powered randomised controlled trials are needed to inform therapists of the most effective cueing strategies to improve activity performance in populations with a neurological disorder. Implications for rehabilitation Providing cues is a core component of rehabilitation and may improve successful task performance and activities in people with neurological conditions including stroke, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, traumatic brain injury, and multiple sclerosis, but evidence is limited for most neurological conditions with much research focusing on stroke and Parkinson's disease. Therapists should consider using a range of different types of cues depending on the aims of treatment and the neurological condition. There is currently insufficient evidence to suggest one form of cueing is superior to other forms. Therapists should appreciate that responding optimally to cues may take many sessions to have an effect on activities such as walking. Further studies should be conducted over a longer timeframe to examine the effects of different types of cues towards task performance and activities in people with neurological conditions.

Using primary care electronic health record data for comparative effectiveness research: experience of data quality assessment and preprocessing in The Netherlands.

PubMed

Huang, Yunyu; Voorham, Jaco; Haaijer-Ruskamp, Flora M

2016-07-01

Details of data quality and how quality issues were solved have not been reported in published comparative effectiveness studies using electronic health record data. We developed a conceptual framework of data quality assessment and preprocessing and apply it to a study comparing angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors with angiotensin receptor blockerss on renal function decline in diabetes patients. The framework establishes a line of thought to identify and act on data issues. The core concept is to evaluate whether data are fit-for-use for research tasks. Possible quality problems are listed through specific signal detections, and verified whether they are true problems. Optimal solutions are selected for the identified problems. This framework can be used in observational studies to improve validity of results.

Analysis of the pen pressure and grip force signal during basic drawing tasks: The timing and speed changes impact drawing characteristics.

PubMed

Gatouillat, Arthur; Dumortier, Antoine; Perera, Subashan; Badr, Youakim; Gehin, Claudine; Sejdić, Ervin

2017-08-01

Writing is a complex fine and trained motor skill, involving complex biomechanical and cognitive processes. In this paper, we propose the study of writing kinetics using three angles: the pen-tip normal force, the total grip force signal and eventually writing quality assessment. In order to collect writing kinetics data, we designed a sensor collecting these characteristics simultaneously. Ten healthy right-handed adults were recruited and were asked to perform four tasks: first, they were instructed to draw circles at a speed they considered comfortable; they then were instructed to draw circles at a speed they regarded as fast; afterwards, they repeated the comfortable task compelled to follow the rhythm of a metronome; and eventually they performed the fast task under the same timing constraints. Statistical differences between the tasks were computed, and while pen-tip normal force and total grip force signal were not impacted by the changes introduced in each task, writing quality features were affected by both the speed changes and timing constraint changes. This verifies the already-studied speed-accuracy trade-off and suggest the existence of a timing constraints-accuracy trade-off. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Webometrics Ranking in the Context of Accessibility of Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bershadskaya, Margarita; Voznesenskaya, Yulia; Karpenko, Olga

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study is a comparative assessment of the development of mass higher education in the regions and countries on the basis of the results of Webometrics. Main tasks: Comparison of national educational systems in terms of the scale of mass higher education; assessment of the quality of mass higher education; study of the growth of…

Learning about the Quality of Work That Teachers Expect: Students' Perceptions of Exemplar Marking versus Teacher Explanation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hendry, Graham D.; Jukic, Katherine

2014-01-01

Assessment is an important element of university curricula for both teachers and students. It provides evidence that students have learned what their teachers expected them to learn. There is good evidence that teachers' use of exemplars in a dedicated marking class held before an assessment task helps students understand what is expected of them…

Obtaining Rubric Weights for Assessments by More than One Lecturer Using a Pairwise Learning Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Quevedo, J. R.; Montanes, E.

2009-01-01

Specifying the criteria of a rubric to assess an activity, establishing the different quality levels of proficiency of development and defining weights for every criterion is not as easy as one a priori might think. Besides, the complexity of these tasks increases when they involve more than one lecturer. Reaching an agreement about the criteria…

Clinch River remedial investigation task 9 -- benthic macroinvertebrates

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

Scott, E.M. Jr.

1994-08-01

This report summarizes the results of Task 9 of the TVA/Department of Energy (DOE) Interagency Agreement supporting DOE`s Clinch River Remedial Investigation. Species lists and densities (numbers/m{sup 2}) of benthic macroinvertebrates sampled at 16 sites in the Clinch River and Poplar Creek embayments of upper Watts Bar Reservoir near Oak Ridge, Tennessee, in March, 1994, are presented and briefly discussed. Data are also analyzed to assess and compare quality of benthic communities at each site, according to methods developed for TVA`s Reservoir Vital Signs Monitoring Program. Results of this study will be incorporated with other program tasks in a comprehensivemore » report prepared by Oak Ridge National Laboratory in 1995, which will, in part, assess the effect of sediment contaminants on benthic macroinvertebrate communities in Watts Bar Reservoir.« less

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

Joseph, T.W.

The Department of Energy (DOE) recognized the need and accepts the responsibility for understanding the reality and mitigating the consequence of the complex chemical contamination legacy it inherited as well as controlling, reducing, and eliminating extant emissions and effluents. The key to maneuvering through this complicated and multifaceted labyrinth of concerns, from which a meaningful, high quality, and cost-effective restoration/mitigation machine is then set in motions, is the ability to perform accurate, factual, and explicit health and environmental/ecological risk assessments. Likewise, the common denominator for carrying out this essential task is to have access to comprehensive and reliable data ofmore » known quality with which to perform those analyses. DOE is committed to identifying the data universe; to technically scrutinize and ensure the quality of that data; to develop efficient and cost-effective means to maximize the handling, utilization, and sharing of that universe; and to undertake those assessments. DOE views this as an effort that can only be accomplished through a merging of the technical excellence that exists within federal and state agencies, academia, and industry. The task at hand is so large that only by integrating that intelligence base can we hope to accomplish the goals of establishing meaningful standards, developing functional and effective solutions, and providing quality guidance at a national scale.« less

Examples L-Band Interference will be Presented and Discussed, as well as the Importance of L-Band Soil Moisture Observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kim, Edward

2010-01-01

Examples of L-band interference will be presented and discussed, as well as the importance of L-band soil moisture observations, as part of this one-day GEOSS workshop XXXVII on "Data Quality and Radio Spectrum Allocation Impact on Earth Observations" will address the broad challenges of data quality and the impact of generating reliable information for decision makers who are Earth data users but not necessarily experts in the Earth observation field. GEO has initiated a data quality assessment task (DA-09-01a) and workshop users will review and debate the directions and challenges of this effort. Radio spectrum allocation is an element of data availability and data quality, and is also associated with a GEO task (AR-06-11). A recent U.S. National Research Council report on spectrum management will be addressed as part of the workshop. Key representatives from industry, academia, and government will provide invited talks on these and related issues that impact GEOSS implementation.

Mental workload and motor performance dynamics during practice of reaching movements under various levels of task difficulty.

PubMed

Shuggi, Isabelle M; Oh, Hyuk; Shewokis, Patricia A; Gentili, Rodolphe J

2017-09-30

The assessment of mental workload can inform attentional resource allocation during task performance that is essential for understanding the underlying principles of human cognitive-motor behavior. While many studies have focused on mental workload in relation to human performance, a modest body of work has examined it in a motor practice/learning context without considering individual variability. Thus, this work aimed to examine mental workload by employing the NASA TLX as well as the changes in motor performance resulting from the practice of a novel reaching task. Two groups of participants practiced a reaching task at a high and low nominal difficulty during which a group-level analysis assessed the mental workload, motor performance and motor improvement dynamics. A secondary cluster analysis was also conducted to identify specific individual patterns of cognitive-motor responses. Overall, both group- and cluster-level analyses revealed that: (i) all participants improved their performance throughout motor practice, and (ii) an increase in mental workload was associated with a reduction of the quality of motor performance along with a slower rate of motor improvement. The results are discussed in the context of the optimal challenge point framework and in particular it is proposed that under the experimental conditions employed here, functional task difficulty: (i) would possibly depend on an individuals' information processing capabilities, and (ii) could be indexed by the level of mental workload which, when excessively heightened can decrease the quality of performance and more generally result in delayed motor improvements. Copyright © 2017 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Nonparametric EROC analysis for observer performance evaluation on joint detection and estimation tasks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wunderlich, Adam; Goossens, Bart

2014-03-01

The majority of the literature on task-based image quality assessment has focused on lesion detection tasks, using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, or related variants, to measure performance. However, since many clinical image evaluation tasks involve both detection and estimation (e.g., estimation of kidney stone composition, estimation of tumor size), there is a growing interest in performance evaluation for joint detection and estimation tasks. To evaluate observer performance on such tasks, Clarkson introduced the estimation ROC (EROC) curve, and the area under the EROC curve as a summary figure of merit. In the present work, we propose nonparametric estimators for practical EROC analysis from experimental data, including estimators for the area under the EROC curve and its variance. The estimators are illustrated with a practical example comparing MRI images reconstructed from different k-space sampling trajectories.

77 FR 41165 - Notice of Meeting of the Agricultural Air Quality Task Force

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-12

... Agricultural Air Quality Task Force AGENCY: Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA. ACTION: Notice of meeting. SUMMARY: The Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Air Quality Task Force (AAQTF) will.../Concerns Discussion Continued discussion of goals for Task Force Anaerobic Digester Technologies Odor...

Liquefaction chemistry and kinetics: Hydrogen utilization studies

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

Rothenberger, K.S.; Warzinski, R.P.; Cugini, A.V.

1995-12-31

The objectives of this project are to investigate the chemistry and kinetics that occur in the initial stages of coal liquefaction and to determine the effects of hydrogen pressure, catalyst activity, and solvent type on the quantity and quality of the products produced. The project comprises three tasks: (1) preconversion chemistry and kinetics, (2) hydrogen utilization studies, and (3) assessment of kinetic models for liquefaction. The hydrogen utilization studies work will be the main topic of this report. However, the other tasks are briefly described.

77 FR 1913 - Notice of Meeting of the Agricultural Air Quality Task Force

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-01-12

... Conservation Service Notice of Meeting of the Agricultural Air Quality Task Force AGENCY: Natural Resources...), Agricultural Air Quality Task Force (AAQTF) will meet to continue discussions on critical air quality issues... relationship between agricultural production and air quality. The meeting is open to the public, and a draft...

Transfer effects of errorless Goal Management Training on cognitive function and quality of life in brain-injured persons.

PubMed

Bertens, Dirk; Kessels, Roy P C; Boelen, Danielle H E; Fasotti, Luciano

2016-01-01

Previous findings had shown that the addition of errorless learning to traditional Goal Management Training (GMT) resulted in superior results when training everyday tasks in persons with executive deficits after brain injury. To investigate the additional effects of an errorless GMT on cognitive function and quality of life after acquired brain injury. This is a supplementary analysis of findings from an RCT in which 67 patients with executive impairments after acquired brain injury were randomly allocated to an experimental errorless GMT (n = 33) or conventional GMT (n = 34) to train two individually chosen everyday tasks. Objective cognitive function using neuropsychological tests, subjective cognitive complaints and quality of life using questionnaires were assessed before and after training. No significant interaction effects between these three types of outcome measures and the two forms of GMT were found. Irrespective of treatment, performance on two executive tests (Modified Six Elements Test; p = 0.006, Zoo Map test; p = 0.001) improved and daily executive function problems as reported by the participants (EFI; p = 0.001) and proxies (DEX; p = 0.01) diminished. Besides the previously found superiority of errorless GMT when training everyday tasks, additional improvements in cognition and quality of life did not differ between the two treatments.

Quality of Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision Services during Scale-Up: A Comparative Process Evaluation in Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe

PubMed Central

Jennings, Larissa; Bertrand, Jane; Rech, Dino; Harvey, Steven A.; Hatzold, Karin; Samkange, Christopher A.; Omondi Aduda, Dickens S.; Fimbo, Bennett; Cherutich, Peter; Perry, Linnea; Castor, Delivette; Njeuhmeli, Emmanuel

2014-01-01

Background The rapid expansion of voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) has raised concerns whether health systems can deliver and sustain VMMC according to minimum quality criteria. Methods and Findings A comparative process evaluation was used to examine data from SYMMACS, the Systematic Monitoring of the Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision Scale-Up, among health facilities providing VMMC across two years of program scale-up. Site-level assessments examined the availability of guidelines, supplies and equipment, infection control, and continuity of care services. Direct observation of VMMC surgeries were used to assess care quality. Two sample tests of proportions and t-tests were used to examine differences in the percent of facilities meeting requisite preparedness standards and the mean number of directly-observed surgical tasks performed correctly. Results showed that safe, high quality VMMC can be implemented and sustained at-scale, although substantial variability was observed over time. In some settings, facility preparedness and VMMC service quality improved as the number of VMMC facilities increased. Yet, lapses in high performance and expansion of considerably deficient services were also observed. Surgical tasks had the highest quality scores, with lower performance levels in infection control, pre-operative examinations, and post-operative patient monitoring and counseling. The range of scale-up models used across countries additionally underscored the complexity of delivering high quality VMMC. Conclusions Greater efforts are needed to integrate VMMC scale-up and quality improvement processes in sub-Saharan African settings. Monitoring of service quality, not just adverse events reporting, will be essential in realizing the full health impact of VMMC for HIV prevention. PMID:24801073

Delegation of clinical dietetic tasks in military and civilian hospitals: implications for practice.

PubMed

Myers, M E; Gregoire, M B; Spears, M C

1991-12-01

The purposes of our research were two-fold: to determine perceptions of the quality of task performance and to identify dietetic personnel currently performing clinical dietetic tasks in military and civilian hospitals. Questionnaires were returned from 309 dietitians and 208 dietetic support personnel at 151 military and civilian hospitals (73% response overall). For tasks completed by support personnel, no task was rated as having optimum quality, 1 was rated as highly acceptable, 6 as acceptable, 19 as somewhat unacceptable, and 4 as unacceptable. Current performance ratings indicated that 1 task was performed solely by dietitians, 21 were completed by dietitians with assistance, 6 were completed jointly by dietitians and support personnel, 2 were completed by support personnel with supervision by dietitians, and no task was completed independently by support personnel. Tasks were grouped into four categories: basic clinical dietetics (11 tasks), intermediate and in-depth clinical dietetics (12 tasks), outpatient nutrition clinic (5 tasks), and nutrition education (community) (4 tasks). Quality scores for the US Air Force (USAF) hospitals were higher for all task categories except intermediate and in-depth clinical dietetic tasks. The quality scores of support personnel were higher than those of dietitians for all task categories. The USAF performance scores indicated significantly more involvement of support personnel. Generally, the performance scores of dietitians increased with experience; the scores of support personnel decreased with experience. Correlations between quality and performance ratings for individual tasks revealed low to moderate relationships. Our results suggest that additional delegation of tasks to dietetic support personnel may be possible without negatively affecting perceptions of the quality of task outcome.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The relationship between physical workload and quality within line-based assembly.

PubMed

Ivarsson, Anna; Eek, Frida

2016-07-01

Reducing costs and improvement of product quality are considered important to ensure productivity within a company. Quality deviations during production processes and ergonomics have previously shown to be associated. This study explored the relationship between physical workload and real (found during production processes) and potential (need of extra time and assistance to complete tasks) quality deviations in a line-based assembly plant. The physical workload on and the work rotation between 52 workstations were assessed. As the outcome, real and potential quality deviations were studied during 10 weeks. Results show that workstations with higher physical workload had significantly more real deviations compared to lower workload stations. Static work posture had significantly more potential deviations. Rotation between high and low workload was related to fewer quality deviations compared to rotation between only high workload stations. In conclusion, physical ergonomics seems to be related to real and potential quality deviation within line-based assembly. Practitioner Summary: To ensure good productivity in manufacturing industries, it is important to reduce costs and improve product quality. This study shows that high physical workload is associated with quality deviations and need of extra time and assistance to complete tasks within line-based assembly, which can be financially expensive for a company.

The association of subjective workload dimensions on quality of care and pharmacist quality of work life.

PubMed

Chui, Michelle A; Look, Kevin A; Mott, David A

2014-01-01

Workload has been described both objectively (e.g., number of prescriptions dispensed per pharmacist) as well as subjectively (e.g., pharmacist's perception of busyness). These approaches might be missing important characteristics of pharmacist workload that have not been previously identified and measured. To measure the association of community pharmacists' workload perceptions at three levels (organization, job, and task) with job satisfaction, burnout, and perceived performance of two tasks in the medication dispensing process. A secondary data analysis was performed using cross-sectional survey data collected from Wisconsin (US) community pharmacists. Organization-related workload was measured as staffing adequacy; job-related workload was measured as general and specific job demands; task-related workload was measured as internal and external mental demands. Pharmacists' perceived task performance was assessed for patient profile review and patient consultation. The survey was administered to a random sample of 500 pharmacists who were asked to opt in if they were a community pharmacist. Descriptive statistics and correlations of study variables were determined. Two structural equation models were estimated to examine relationships between the study variables and perceived task performance. From the 224 eligible community pharmacists that agreed to participate, 165 (73.7%) usable surveys were completed and returned. Job satisfaction and job-related monitoring demands had direct positive associations with both dispensing tasks. External task demands were negatively related to perceived patient consultation performance. Indirect effects on both tasks were primarily mediated through job satisfaction, which was positively related to staffing adequacy and cognitive job demands and negatively related to volume job demands. External task demands had an additional indirect effect on perceived patient consultation performance, as it was associated with lower levels of job satisfaction and higher levels of burnout. Allowing community pharmacists to concentrate on tasks and limiting interruptions while performing these tasks are important factors in improving quality of patient care and pharmacist work life. The results have implications for strategies to improve patient safety and pharmacist performance. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Association of Subjective Workload Dimensions on Quality of Care and Pharmacist Quality of Work Life

PubMed Central

Chui, Michelle A.; Look, Kevin A.; Mott, David A.

2013-01-01

Background Workload has been described both objectively (e.g., number of prescriptions dispensed per pharmacist) as well as subjectively (e.g., pharmacist’s perception of busyness). These approaches might be missing important characteristics of pharmacist workload that have not been previously identified and measured. Objectives To measure the association of community pharmacists’ workload perceptions at three levels (organization, job, and task) with job satisfaction, burnout, and perceived performance of two tasks in the medication dispensing process. Methods A secondary data analysis was performed using cross-sectional survey data collected from Wisconsin (US) community pharmacists. Organization–related workload was measured as staffing adequacy; job-related workload was measured as general and specific job demands; task-related workload was measured as internal and external mental demands. Pharmacists’ perceived task performance was assessed for patient profile review and patient consultation. The survey was administered to a random sample of 500 pharmacists who were asked to opt in if they were a community pharmacist. Descriptive statistics and correlations of study variables were determined. Two structural equation models were estimated to examine relationships between the study variables and perceived task performance. Results From the 224 eligible community pharmacists that agreed to participate, 165 (73.7%) usable surveys were completed and returned. Job satisfaction and job-related monitoring demands had direct positive associations with both dispensing tasks. External task demands were negatively related to perceived patient consultation performance. Indirect effects on both tasks were primarily mediated through job satisfaction, which was positively related to staffing adequacy and cognitive job demands and negatively related to volume job demands. External task demands had an additional indirect effect on perceived patient consultation performance, as it was associated with lower levels of job satisfaction and higher levels of burnout. Implications/Conclusions Allowing community pharmacists to concentrate on tasks and limiting interruptions while performing these tasks are important factors in improving quality of patient care and pharmacist work life. The results have implications for strategies to improve patient safety and pharmacist performance. PMID:23791360

Impacts of agricultural management practices on soil quality in Europe and China - an assessment within the framework of the EU iSQAPER project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alaoui, Abdallah; Schwilch, Gudrun; Barão, Lúcia; Basch, Gottlieb; Sukkel, Wijnand; Lemesle, Julie; Ferreira, Carla; Garcia-Orenes, Fuensanta; Morugan, Alicia; Mataix, Jorge; Kosmas, Costas; Glavan, Matjaž; Tóth, Brigitta; Petrutza Gate, Olga; Lipiec, Jerzy; Reintam, Endla; Xu, Minggang; Di, Jiaying; Fan, Hongzhu; Geissen, Violette

2017-04-01

Agricultural soils are under a wide variety of pressures, including from increasing global demand for food associated with population growth, changing diets, land degradation, and associated productivity reductions potentially exacerbated by climate change. To manage the use of agricultural soils well, decision-makers need science-based, easily applicable, and cost-effective tools for assessing soil quality and soil functions. Since a practical assessment of soil quality requires the integrated consideration of key soil properties and their variations in space and time, providing such tools remains a challenging task. This study aims to assess the impact of innovative agricultural management practices on soil quality in 14 study sites across Europe (10) and China (4), covering the major pedo-climatic zones. The study is part of the European H2020 project iSQAPER, which involves 25 partners across Europe and China and is coordinated by Wageningen University, The Netherlands. iSQAPER is aimed at interactive soil quality assessment in Europe and China for agricultural productivity and environmental resilience. The study began with a thorough literature analysis to inform the selection of indicators for the assessment of soil structure and soil functions. A manual was then developed in order to standardize and facilitate the task of inventorying soil quality and management practices at the case study sites. The manual provides clear and precise instructions on how to assess the 11 selected soil quality indicators based on a visual soil assessment methodology. A newly developed infiltrometer was used to easily assess the soil infiltration capacity in the field and investigate hydrodynamic flow processes. Based on consistent calibration, the infiltrometer enables reliable prediction of key soil hydraulic properties. The main aim of this inventory is to link agricultural management practices to the soil quality status at the case study sites, and to identify innovative practices that have improved soil quality. The inventory and the scoring of soil quality are done together with land users at each study site. The idea is to compare the soil quality on a farm where management practices have changed 3 or more years ago with that on a control farm where practices have not changed, with both farms located in the same pedo-climatic zone and having comparable soil conditions. The case study partners were requested to identify at least 3 newly adopted management practices (or combinations thereof) and 3 related control farms. First results show that among 88 sets of paired plots, 60 pairs (68 %) show a positive impact of innovative agricultural management practices on soil quality. 18 pairs (21 %) do not show any difference in soil quality between soils under innovative practices and soils in the control plots, and the remaining 10 plots (11 %) show an inverse effect. The non-detectable effect of the innovative practices on soil quality are due to type of tillage management, soil type and fertility that mask the effect of management practices on soil and also due to time of the assessment. This assessment will be repeated in the coming years, with the aim of providing sound data on soil quality and its improvement through innovative management practices across Europe and China.

Derailing Intragroup Management Conflict.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bonar, John; Vaughn, Glen

1994-01-01

Discussion of management conflict highlights differing job perceptions held by middle managers. The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Assessment Program is described, and a management structure that requires members of each group to experience job perceptions and tasks of the other group is recommended for performance improvement. (Contains three…

Cognitive analyses of a paper medical record and electronic medical record on the documentation of two nursing tasks: patient education and adherence assessment of insulin administration.

PubMed Central

Rinkus, Susan M.; Chitwood, Ainsley

2002-01-01

The incorporation of electronic medical records into busy physician clinics has been a major development in the healthcare industry over the past decade. Documentation of key nursing activities, especially when interacting with patients who have chronic diseases, is often lacking or missing from the paper medical record. A case study of a patient with diabetes mellitus was created. Well established methods for the assessment of usability in the areas of human-computer interaction and computer supported cooperative work were employed to compare the nursing documentation of two tasks in a commercially available electronic medical record (eRecord) and in a paper medical record. Overall, the eRecord was found to improve the timeliness and quality of nursing documentation. With certain tasks, the number of steps to accomplish the same task was higher, which may result in the perception by the end user that the tool is more complex and therefore difficult to use. Recommendations for the eRecord were made to expand the documentation of patient teaching and adherence assessment and to incorporate web technology for patient access to medical records and healthcare information. PMID:12463905

Active Engagement with Assessment and Feedback Can Improve Group-Work Outcomes and Boost Student Confidence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scott, G. W.

2017-01-01

This study involves evaluation of a novel iterative group-based learning task developed to enable students to actively engage with assessment and feedback in order to improve the quality of their written work. The students were all in the final semester of their final year of study and enrolled on either BSc Zoology or BSc Marine and Freshwater…

Team Objective Structured Bedside Assessment (TOSBA) as formative assessment in undergraduate Obstetrics and Gynaecology: a cohort study.

PubMed

Deane, Richard P; Joyce, Pauline; Murphy, Deirdre J

2015-10-09

Team Objective Structured Bedside Assessment (TOSBA) is a learning approach in which a team of medical students undertake a set of structured clinical tasks with real patients in order to reach a diagnosis and formulate a management plan and receive immediate feedback on their performance from a facilitator. TOSBA was introduced as formative assessment to an 8-week undergraduate teaching programme in Obstetrics and Gynaecology (O&G) in 2013/14. Each student completed 5 TOSBA sessions during the rotation. The aim of the study was to evaluate TOSBA as a teaching method to provide formative assessment for medical students during their clinical rotation. The research questions were: Does TOSBA improve clinical, communication and/or reasoning skills? Does TOSBA provide quality feedback? A prospective cohort study was conducted over a full academic year (2013/14). The study used 2 methods to evaluate TOSBA as a teaching method to provide formative assessment: (1) an online survey of TOSBA at the end of the rotation and (2) a comparison of the student performance in TOSBA with their performance in the final summative examination. During the 2013/14 academic year, 157 students completed the O&G programme and the final summative examination . Each student completed the required 5 TOSBA tasks. The response rate to the student survey was 68 % (n = 107/157). Students reported that TOSBA was a beneficial learning experience with a positive impact on clinical, communication and reasoning skills. Students rated the quality of feedback provided by TOSBA as high. Students identified the observation of the performance and feedback of other students within their TOSBA team as key features. High achieving students performed well in both TOSBA and summative assessments. The majority of students who performed poorly in TOSBA subsequently passed the summative assessments (n = 20/21, 95 %). Conversely, the majority of students who failed the summative assessments had satisfactory scores in TOSBA (n = 6/7, 86 %). TOSBA has a positive impact on the clinical, communication and reasoning skills of medical students through the provision of high-quality feedback. The use of structured pre-defined tasks, the observation of the performance and feedback of other students and the use of real patients are key elements of TOSBA. Avoiding student complacency and providing accurate feedback from TOSBA are on-going challenges.

Rumination decreases parental problem-solving effectiveness in dysphoric postnatal mothers.

PubMed

O'Mahen, Heather A; Boyd, Alex; Gashe, Caroline

2015-06-01

Postnatal depression is associated with poorer parenting quality, but there are few studies examining maternal-specific cognitive processes that may impact on parenting quality. In this study, we examined the impact of rumination on parental problem-solving effectiveness in dysphoric and non-dysphoric postnatal mothers. Fifty-nine mothers with a infant aged 12 months and under, 20 of whom had a Beck Depression Score II (BDI-II) score ≥ 14, and 39 who scored less than 14 on the BDI-II were randomly assigned to either a rumination or distraction condition. Problem-solving effectiveness was assessed post-induction with the "Postnatal Parental Problem-Solving Task" (PPST), which was adapted from the Means Ends Problem-solving task. Parental problem-solving confidence was also assessed. Dysphoric ruminating mothers exhibited poorer problem-solving effectiveness and poorer confidence regarding their problem-solving compared to dysphoric distracting, non-dysphoric distracting, and non-dysphoric ruminating mothers. A self-report measure of depressed mood was used. Rumination may be a key mechanism associated with both depressive mood and maternal parenting quality during the postnatal period. Crown Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A fuzzy-logic based decision-making approach for identification of groundwater quality based on groundwater quality indices.

PubMed

Vadiati, M; Asghari-Moghaddam, A; Nakhaei, M; Adamowski, J; Akbarzadeh, A H

2016-12-15

Due to inherent uncertainties in measurement and analysis, groundwater quality assessment is a difficult task. Artificial intelligence techniques, specifically fuzzy inference systems, have proven useful in evaluating groundwater quality in uncertain and complex hydrogeological systems. In the present study, a Mamdani fuzzy-logic-based decision-making approach was developed to assess groundwater quality based on relevant indices. In an effort to develop a set of new hybrid fuzzy indices for groundwater quality assessment, a Mamdani fuzzy inference model was developed with widely-accepted groundwater quality indices: the Groundwater Quality Index (GQI), the Water Quality Index (WQI), and the Ground Water Quality Index (GWQI). In an effort to present generalized hybrid fuzzy indices a significant effort was made to employ well-known groundwater quality index acceptability ranges as fuzzy model output ranges rather than employing expert knowledge in the fuzzification of output parameters. The proposed approach was evaluated for its ability to assess the drinking water quality of 49 samples collected seasonally from groundwater resources in Iran's Sarab Plain during 2013-2014. Input membership functions were defined as "desirable", "acceptable" and "unacceptable" based on expert knowledge and the standard and permissible limits prescribed by the World Health Organization. Output data were categorized into multiple categories based on the GQI (5 categories), WQI (5 categories), and GWQI (3 categories). Given the potential of fuzzy models to minimize uncertainties, hybrid fuzzy-based indices produce significantly more accurate assessments of groundwater quality than traditional indices. The developed models' accuracy was assessed and a comparison of the performance indices demonstrated the Fuzzy Groundwater Quality Index model to be more accurate than both the Fuzzy Water Quality Index and Fuzzy Ground Water Quality Index models. This suggests that the new hybrid fuzzy indices developed in this research are reliable and flexible when used in groundwater quality assessment for drinking purposes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Systems design analysis applied to launch vehicle configuration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ryan, R.; Verderaime, V.

1993-01-01

As emphasis shifts from optimum-performance aerospace systems to least lift-cycle costs, systems designs must seek, adapt, and innovate cost improvement techniques in design through operations. The systems design process of concept, definition, and design was assessed for the types and flow of total quality management techniques that may be applicable in a launch vehicle systems design analysis. Techniques discussed are task ordering, quality leverage, concurrent engineering, Pareto's principle, robustness, quality function deployment, criteria, and others. These cost oriented techniques are as applicable to aerospace systems design analysis as to any large commercial system.

Exteroceptive and Interoceptive Body-Self Awareness in Fibromyalgia Patients

PubMed Central

Valenzuela-Moguillansky, Camila; Reyes-Reyes, Alejandro; Gaete, María I.

2017-01-01

Fibromyalgia is a widespread chronic pain disease characterized by generalized musculoskeletal pain and fatigue. It substantially affects patients' relationship with their bodies and quality of life, but few studies have investigated the relationship between pain and body awareness in fibromyalgia. We examined exteroceptive and interoceptive aspects of body awareness in 30 women with fibromyalgia and 29 control participants. Exteroceptive body awareness was assessed by a body-scaled action-anticipation task in which participants estimated whether they could pass through apertures of different widths. Interoceptive sensitivity (IS) was assessed by a heartbeat detection task where participants counted their heartbeats during different time intervals. Interoceptive awareness was assessed by the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA). The “passability ratio” (the aperture size for a 50% positive response rate, divided by shoulder width), assessed by the body-scaled action-anticipation task, was higher for fibromyalgia participants, indicating disrupted exteroceptive awareness. Overestimating body size correlated positively with pain and its impact on functionality, but not with pain intensity. There was no difference in IS between groups. Fibromyalgia patients exhibited a higher tendency to note bodily sensations and decreased body confidence. In addition, the passability ratio and IS score correlated negatively across the whole sample, suggesting an inverse relationship between exteroceptive and interoceptive body awareness. There was a lower tendency to actively listen to the body for insight, with higher passability ratios across the whole sample. Based on our results and building on the fear-avoidance model, we outline a proposal that highlights possible interactions between exteroceptive and interoceptive body awareness and pain. Movement based contemplative practices that target sensory-motor integration and foster non-judgmental reconnection with bodily sensations are suggested to improve body confidence, functionality, and quality of life. PMID:28348526

Exteroceptive and Interoceptive Body-Self Awareness in Fibromyalgia Patients.

PubMed

Valenzuela-Moguillansky, Camila; Reyes-Reyes, Alejandro; Gaete, María I

2017-01-01

Fibromyalgia is a widespread chronic pain disease characterized by generalized musculoskeletal pain and fatigue. It substantially affects patients' relationship with their bodies and quality of life, but few studies have investigated the relationship between pain and body awareness in fibromyalgia. We examined exteroceptive and interoceptive aspects of body awareness in 30 women with fibromyalgia and 29 control participants. Exteroceptive body awareness was assessed by a body-scaled action-anticipation task in which participants estimated whether they could pass through apertures of different widths. Interoceptive sensitivity (IS) was assessed by a heartbeat detection task where participants counted their heartbeats during different time intervals. Interoceptive awareness was assessed by the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA). The "passability ratio" (the aperture size for a 50% positive response rate, divided by shoulder width), assessed by the body-scaled action-anticipation task, was higher for fibromyalgia participants, indicating disrupted exteroceptive awareness. Overestimating body size correlated positively with pain and its impact on functionality, but not with pain intensity. There was no difference in IS between groups. Fibromyalgia patients exhibited a higher tendency to note bodily sensations and decreased body confidence. In addition, the passability ratio and IS score correlated negatively across the whole sample, suggesting an inverse relationship between exteroceptive and interoceptive body awareness. There was a lower tendency to actively listen to the body for insight, with higher passability ratios across the whole sample. Based on our results and building on the fear-avoidance model, we outline a proposal that highlights possible interactions between exteroceptive and interoceptive body awareness and pain. Movement based contemplative practices that target sensory-motor integration and foster non-judgmental reconnection with bodily sensations are suggested to improve body confidence, functionality, and quality of life.

75 FR 48929 - Notice of Meeting of the Agricultural Air Quality Task Force

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-08-12

... Agricultural Air Quality Task Force AGENCY: Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), United States... Triangle Park, North Carolina 27711; (919) 541-5400. The Agricultural Air Quality Task Force (AAQTF) will meet to continue discussions on air quality issues relating to agriculture. Additionally, the Livestock...

Distance educational technologies as means of increase of student’s motivation in the learning of general physics course

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gubkin, M. K.; Ivanov, D. A.; Ivanova, I. V.; Spivak, V. S.

2017-11-01

The Department of General physics and nuclear fusion, National Research University “Moscow Power Engineering Institute”, developed a set of tests (over 1000 questions) for the current control of knowledge of students in the section “Electricity and magnetism” of the General physics course using the internet distance learning system “Prometheus” (fourth generation). Under this section of the proposed test tasks are divided into sections corresponding to the topics section. These tasks include quality issues, design tasks, tasks with a choice of answers (one of many, many of many), the job with the selection region in the figure, tasks with detailed answer. The variety of tasks allows the teacher not only to objectively assess the student acquired knowledge but also to develop his problem-solving skills, to learn to be fluent in theory. The results of testing conducted for several years, show the high interest of students in the repeated independent execution of tasks and correlate well with the results of intermediate certification (exams).

Multifamily Quality Control Inspector Job/Task Analysis and Report: September 2013

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

Owens, C. M.

The development of job/task analyses (JTAs) is one of three components of the Guidelines for Home Energy Professionals project and will allow industry to develop training resources, quality assurance protocols, accredited training programs, and professional certifications. The Multifamily Quality Control Inspector JTA identifies and catalogs all of the tasks performed by multifamily quality control inspectors, as well as the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) needed to perform the identified tasks.

Writing Expertise and Second-Language Proficiency.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cumming, Alister

1989-01-01

Assessment of the English writing proficiency of 23 native French speaking students on 3 composition tasks found variance in the qualities of written texts and problem-solving behaviors. Writing expertise was found to affect discourse organization and content, writing complexity, heuristic strategies, and control strategies, while second-language…

The Other Side of Stage Fright.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hamann, Donald L.

1985-01-01

Anxiety assessment research based on the trait-state anxiety theory suggests that musicians should not reduce anxiety in performance. A reduction in anxiety levels, especially for musicians with extensive formal training, may actually diminish performance quality. Musicians with low task-mastery skills might consider taking more formal training.…

Assessment of candidate communications systems and technologies for use with intelligent transportation systems (ITS) : task D/E report

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1997-11-01

The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (CAAA) require that states submit State Implementation Plans (SIPs) detailing strategies to improve air quality in nonattainment areas. This analysis first reviews the administrative procedures that states and the...

Behavioral Interpretations of Intrinsic Connectivity Networks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Laird, Angela R.; Fox, P. Mickle; Eickhoff, Simon B.; Turner, Jessica A.; Ray, Kimberly L.; McKay, D. Reese; Glahn, David C.; Beckmann, Christian F.; Smith, Stephen M.; Fox, Peter T.

2011-01-01

An increasingly large number of neuroimaging studies have investigated functionally connected networks during rest, providing insight into human brain architecture. Assessment of the functional qualities of resting state networks has been limited by the task-independent state, which results in an inability to relate these networks to specific…

Mission-Centered Network Models: Defending Mission-Critical Tasks From Deception

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-09-29

celebrities ). In military applications, networked operations offer an effective way to reduce the footprint of a force, but become a center of gravity...from,-used-by-trust-algorithms-to-assess-quality-and- trustworthiness - •  Technical&challenge:-Developing-standard-representa3ons-for-provenance-that

Quality Measures for the Care of Patients with Insomnia

PubMed Central

Edinger, Jack D.; Buysse, Daniel J.; Deriy, Ludmila; Germain, Anne; Lewin, Daniel S.; Ong, Jason C.; Morgenthaler, Timothy I.

2015-01-01

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) commissioned five Workgroups to develop quality measures to optimize management and care for patients with common sleep disorders including insomnia. Following the AASM process for quality measure development, this document describes measurement methods for two desirable outcomes of therapy, improving sleep quality or satisfaction, and improving daytime function, and for four processes important to achieving these goals. To achieve the outcome of improving sleep quality or satisfaction, pre- and post-treatment assessment of sleep quality or satisfaction and providing an evidence-based treatment are recommended. To realize the outcome of improving daytime functioning, pre- and post-treatment assessment of daytime functioning, provision of an evidence-based treatment, and assessment of treatment-related side effects are recommended. All insomnia measures described in this report were developed by the Insomnia Quality Measures Workgroup and approved by the AASM Quality Measures Task Force and the AASM Board of Directors. The AASM recommends the use of these measures as part of quality improvement programs that will enhance the ability to improve care for patients with insomnia. Citation: Edinger JD, Buysse DJ, Deriy L, Germain A, Lewin DS, Ong JC, Morgenthaler TI. Quality measures for the care of patients with insomnia. J Clin Sleep Med 2015;11(3):311–334. PMID:25700881

Computer usage and task-switching during resident's working day: Disruptive or not?

PubMed

Méan, Marie; Garnier, Antoine; Wenger, Nathalie; Castioni, Julien; Waeber, Gérard; Marques-Vidal, Pedro

2017-01-01

Recent implementation of electronic health records (EHR) has dramatically changed medical ward organization. While residents in general internal medicine use EHR systems half of their working time, whether computer usage impacts residents' workflow remains uncertain. We aimed to observe the frequency of task-switches occurring during resident's work and to assess whether computer usage was associated with task-switching. In a large Swiss academic university hospital, we conducted, between May 26 and July 24, 2015 a time-motion study to assess how residents in general internal medicine organize their working day. We observed 49 day and 17 evening shifts of 36 residents, amounting to 697 working hours. During day shifts, residents spent 5.4 hours using a computer (mean total working time: 11.6 hours per day). On average, residents switched 15 times per hour from a task to another. Task-switching peaked between 8:00-9:00 and 16:00-17:00. Task-switching was not associated with resident's characteristics and no association was found between task-switching and extra hours (Spearman r = 0.220, p = 0.137 for day and r = 0.483, p = 0.058 for evening shifts). Computer usage occurred more frequently at the beginning or ends of day shifts and was associated with decreased overall task-switching. Task-switching occurs very frequently during resident's working day. Despite the fact that residents used a computer half of their working time, computer usage was associated with decreased task-switching. Whether frequent task-switches and computer usage impact the quality of patient care and resident's work must be evaluated in further studies.

TU-AB-BRD-04: Development of Quality Management Program

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

Thomadsen, B.

2015-06-15

Current quality assurance and quality management guidelines provided by various professional organizations are prescriptive in nature, focusing principally on performance characteristics of planning and delivery devices. However, published analyses of events in radiation therapy show that most events are often caused by flaws in clinical processes rather than by device failures. This suggests the need for the development of a quality management program that is based on integrated approaches to process and equipment quality assurance. Industrial engineers have developed various risk assessment tools that are used to identify and eliminate potential failures from a system or a process before amore » failure impacts a customer. These tools include, but are not limited to, process mapping, failure modes and effects analysis, fault tree analysis. Task Group 100 of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine has developed these tools and used them to formulate an example risk-based quality management program for intensity-modulated radiotherapy. This is a prospective risk assessment approach that analyzes potential error pathways inherent in a clinical process and then ranks them according to relative risk, typically before implementation, followed by the design of a new process or modification of the existing process. Appropriate controls are then put in place to ensure that failures are less likely to occur and, if they do, they will more likely be detected before they propagate through the process, compromising treatment outcome and causing harm to the patient. Such a prospective approach forms the basis of the work of Task Group 100 that has recently been approved by the AAPM. This session will be devoted to a discussion of these tools and practical examples of how these tools can be used in a given radiotherapy clinic to develop a risk based quality management program. Learning Objectives: Learn how to design a process map for a radiotherapy process Learn how to perform failure modes and effects analysis analysis for a given process Learn what fault trees are all about Learn how to design a quality management program based upon the information obtained from process mapping, failure modes and effects analysis and fault tree analysis. Dunscombe: Director, TreatSafely, LLC and Center for the Assessment of Radiological Sciences; Consultant to IAEA and Varian Thomadsen: President, Center for the Assessment of Radiological Sciences Palta: Vice President of the Center for the Assessment of Radiological Sciences.« less

75 FR 45606 - Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force-Final Recommendations of the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-08-03

... COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force--Final Recommendations of the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force AGENCY: Council on Environmental Quality. ACTION: Notice of Availability, Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force's [[Page 45607

The Effect of Background Traffic Packet Size to VoIP Speech Quality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Triyason, Tuul; Kanthamanon, Prasert; Warasup, Kittipong; Yamsaengsung, Siam; Supattatham, Montri

VoIP is gaining acceptance into the corporate world especially, in small and medium sized business that want to save cost for gaining advantage over their competitors. The good voice quality is one of challenging task in deployment plan because VoIP voice quality was affected by packet loss and jitter delay. In this paper, we study the effect of background traffic packet size to voice quality. The background traffic was generated by Bricks software and the speech quality was assessed by MOS. The obtained result shows an interesting relationship between the voice quality and the number of TCP packets and their size. With the same amount of data smaller packets affect the voice's quality more than the larger packet.

Integration of classroom science performance assessment tasks by participants of the Wisconsin Performance Assessment Development Project (WPADP)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tonnis, Dorothy Ann

The goals of this interpretive study were to examine selected Wisconsin science teachers' perceptions of teaching and learning science, to describe the scope of classroom performance assessment practices, and to gain an understanding of teachers' personal and professional experiences that influenced their belief systems of teaching, learning and assessment. The study was designed to answer the research questions: (1) How does the integration of performance assessment relate to the teachers' views of teaching and learning? (2) How are the selected teachers integrating performance assessment in their teaching? (3) What past personal and professional experiences have influenced teachers' attitudes and beliefs related to their classroom performance assessment practices? Purposeful sampling was used to select seven Wisconsin elementary, middle and high school science teachers who participated in the WPADP initiative from 1993-1995. Data collection methods included a Teaching Practices Inventory (TPI), semi-structured interviews, teacher developed portfolios, portfolio conferences, and classroom observations. Four themes and multiple categories emerged through data analysis to answer the research questions and to describe the results. Several conclusions were drawn from this research. First, science teachers who appeared to effectively integrate performance assessment, demonstrated transformational thinking in their attitudes and beliefs about teaching and learning science. In addition, these teachers viewed assessment and instructional practices as interdependent. Third, transformational teachers generally used well defined criteria to judge student work and made it public to the students. Transformational teachers provided students with real-world performance assessment tasks that were also learning events. Furthermore, student task responses informed the transformational teachers about effectiveness of instruction, students' complex thinking skills, quality of assessment instruments, students' creativity, and students' self-assessment skills. Finally, transformational teachers maintained integration of performance assessment practices through sustaining teacher support networks, engaging in professional development programs, and reflecting upon past personal and professional experiences related to teaching, learning and assessment. Salient conflicts overcome or minimized by transformational teachers include the conflict between assessment scoring and grading issues, validity and reliability concerns about the performance assessment tasks used, and the difficulty for teachers to consistently provide public criteria to students before task administration.

Task-oriented quality assessment and adaptation in real-time mission critical video streaming applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nightingale, James; Wang, Qi; Grecos, Christos

2015-02-01

In recent years video traffic has become the dominant application on the Internet with global year-on-year increases in video-oriented consumer services. Driven by improved bandwidth in both mobile and fixed networks, steadily reducing hardware costs and the development of new technologies, many existing and new classes of commercial and industrial video applications are now being upgraded or emerging. Some of the use cases for these applications include areas such as public and private security monitoring for loss prevention or intruder detection, industrial process monitoring and critical infrastructure monitoring. The use of video is becoming commonplace in defence, security, commercial, industrial, educational and health contexts. Towards optimal performances, the design or optimisation in each of these applications should be context aware and task oriented with the characteristics of the video stream (frame rate, spatial resolution, bandwidth etc.) chosen to match the use case requirements. For example, in the security domain, a task-oriented consideration may be that higher resolution video would be required to identify an intruder than to simply detect his presence. Whilst in the same case, contextual factors such as the requirement to transmit over a resource-limited wireless link, may impose constraints on the selection of optimum task-oriented parameters. This paper presents a novel, conceptually simple and easily implemented method of assessing video quality relative to its suitability for a particular task and dynamically adapting videos streams during transmission to ensure that the task can be successfully completed. Firstly we defined two principle classes of tasks: recognition tasks and event detection tasks. These task classes are further subdivided into a set of task-related profiles, each of which is associated with a set of taskoriented attributes (minimum spatial resolution, minimum frame rate etc.). For example, in the detection class, profiles for intruder detection will require different temporal characteristics (frame rate) from those used for detection of high motion objects such as vehicles or aircrafts. We also define a set of contextual attributes that are associated with each instance of a running application that include resource constraints imposed by the transmission system employed and the hardware platforms used as source and destination of the video stream. Empirical results are presented and analysed to demonstrate the advantages of the proposed schemes.

Aerial photography flight quality assessment with GPS/INS and DEM data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Haitao; Zhang, Bing; Shang, Jiali; Liu, Jiangui; Li, Dong; Chen, Yanyan; Zuo, Zhengli; Chen, Zhengchao

2018-01-01

The flight altitude, ground coverage, photo overlap, and other acquisition specifications of an aerial photography flight mission directly affect the quality and accuracy of the subsequent mapping tasks. To ensure smooth post-flight data processing and fulfill the pre-defined mapping accuracy, flight quality assessments should be carried out in time. This paper presents a novel and rigorous approach for flight quality evaluation of frame cameras with GPS/INS data and DEM, using geometric calculation rather than image analysis as in the conventional methods. This new approach is based mainly on the collinearity equations, in which the accuracy of a set of flight quality indicators is derived through a rigorous error propagation model and validated with scenario data. Theoretical analysis and practical flight test of an aerial photography mission using an UltraCamXp camera showed that the calculated photo overlap is accurate enough for flight quality assessment of 5 cm ground sample distance image, using the SRTMGL3 DEM and the POSAV510 GPS/INS data. An even better overlap accuracy could be achieved for coarser-resolution aerial photography. With this new approach, the flight quality evaluation can be conducted on site right after landing, providing accurate and timely information for decision making.

The composite complex span: French validation of a short working memory task.

PubMed

Gonthier, Corentin; Thomassin, Noémylle; Roulin, Jean-Luc

2016-03-01

Most studies in individual differences in the field of working memory research use complex span tasks to measure working memory capacity. Various complex span tasks based on different materials have been developed, and these tasks have proven both reliable and valid; several complex span tasks are often combined to provide a domain-general estimate of working memory capacity with even better psychometric properties. The present work sought to address two issues. Firstly, having participants perform several full-length complex span tasks in succession makes for a long and tedious procedure. Secondly, few complex span tasks have been translated and validated in French. We constructed a French working memory task labeled the Composite Complex Span (CCS). The CCS includes shortened versions of three classic complex span tasks: the reading span, symmetry span, and operation span. We assessed the psychometric properties of the CCS, including test-retest reliability and convergent validity, with Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices and with an alpha span task; the CCS demonstrated satisfying qualities in a sample of 1,093 participants. This work provides evidence that shorter versions of classic complex span tasks can yield valid working memory estimates. The materials and normative data for the CCS are also included.

Measuring Gait Quality in Parkinson’s Disease through Real-Time Gait Phase Recognition

PubMed Central

Mileti, Ilaria; Germanotta, Marco; Di Sipio, Enrica; Imbimbo, Isabella; Pacilli, Alessandra; Erra, Carmen; Petracca, Martina; Del Prete, Zaccaria; Bentivoglio, Anna Rita; Padua, Luca

2018-01-01

Monitoring gait quality in daily activities through wearable sensors has the potential to improve medical assessment in Parkinson’s Disease (PD). In this study, four gait partitioning methods, two based on thresholds and two based on a machine learning approach, considering the four-phase model, were compared. The methods were tested on 26 PD patients, both in OFF and ON levodopa conditions, and 11 healthy subjects, during walking tasks. All subjects were equipped with inertial sensors placed on feet. Force resistive sensors were used to assess reference time sequence of gait phases. Goodness Index (G) was evaluated to assess accuracy in gait phases estimation. A novel synthetic index called Gait Phase Quality Index (GPQI) was proposed for gait quality assessment. Results revealed optimum performance (G < 0.25) for three tested methods and good performance (0.25 < G < 0.70) for one threshold method. The GPQI resulted significantly higher in PD patients than in healthy subjects, showing a moderate correlation with clinical scales score. Furthermore, in patients with severe gait impairment, GPQI was found higher in OFF than in ON state. Our results unveil the possibility of monitoring gait quality in PD through real-time gait partitioning based on wearable sensors. PMID:29558410

Center for the Built Environment: Research on Indoor Environmental Quality

Science.gov Websites

Comfort System Speech Privacy Task Ambient Conditioning Team Space Design Study Thermal Comfort Automotive resulting from HVAC, building, and facade design decisions. Acoustical Analysis in Office Environments Using building energy. The Impact of Team Space Design on Collaboration Assessing individual and group worker

Children's Perceptions of the Elderly.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rosenwasser, Shirley Miller; And Others

A study was made primarily to investigate attitudes of preschool children toward older and younger people. In addition, the age discrimination ability of preschool children was assessed, and the possible relationship of this ability to performance on a seriation task was explored. Quantity and quality of each child's contact with adults over 60…

Assessment Challenges for Business Education in Changing Times

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hazari, Sunil; Gaytan, Jorge; North, Alexa

2008-01-01

In addition to the difficult task of identifying teaching methods that ensure student learning, the American educational system is facing significant challenges. Schools are struggling to maintain standards for high-quality teaching while trying to address the learning needs of students with Limited English Proficiency (LEP). The same struggle is…

Some Determinants of Employee Turnover in a Psychiatric Facility.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zautra, Alex J.; And Others

1987-01-01

Used research from illness-prevention and job-enrichment approaches to enhancing quality of work environments to create instruments assessing number of job stressors and level of task interest on psychiatric hospital units. Instruments successfully predicted employee turnover during one year. Job stress and interaction between job stress and task…

Estimating functional cognition in older adults using observational assessments of task performance in complex everyday activities: A systematic review and evaluation of measurement properties.

PubMed

Wesson, Jacqueline; Clemson, Lindy; Brodaty, Henry; Reppermund, Simone

2016-09-01

Functional cognition is a relatively new concept in assessment of older adults with mild cognitive impairment or dementia. Instruments need to be reliable and valid, hence we conducted a systematic review of observational assessments of task performance used to estimate functional cognition in this population. Two separate database searches were conducted: firstly to identify instruments; and secondly to identify studies reporting on the psychometric properties of the instruments. Studies were analysed using a published checklist and their quality reviewed according to specific published criteria. Clinical utility was reviewed and the information formulated into a best evidence synthesis. We found 21 instruments and included 58 studies reporting on measurement properties. The majority of studies were rated as being of fair methodological quality and the range of properties investigated was restricted. Most instruments had studies reporting on construct validity (hypothesis testing), none on content validity and there were few studies reporting on reliability. Overall the evidence on psychometric properties is lacking and there is an urgent need for further evaluation of instruments. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Which acne treatment has the best influence on health-related quality of life? Literature review by the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology Task Force on Quality of Life and Patient Oriented Outcomes.

PubMed

Chernyshov, P V; Tomas-Aragones, L; Manolache, L; Svensson, A; Marron, S E; Evers, A W M; Bettoli, V; Jemec, G B; Szepietowski, J C

2018-05-05

According to results of a recent literature search performed by the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) Task Forces (TF) on Quality of Life and Patient Oriented Outcomes (QoL and PO) and Acne, Rosacea and Hidradenitis Suppurativa (ARHS) most of publications where health-related (HR) QoL of acne patients was studied were clinical trials. Members of the EADV TF on QoL and PO decided to detect which acne treatment has the best influence on HRQoL of acne patients. A new literature search was organized to find publications on acne treatment where the HRQoL of patients was assessed as an outcome measure. From 186 papers with HRQoL assessment 37 papers were included for further analysis. Our results revealed that oral isotretinoin had the best influence on HRQoL of acne patients. Several other treatment methods also showed good effects on the HRQoL of acne patients. Oral isotretinoin and norethindrone acetate/ethinyl estradiol, topical clindamycin phosphate/benzoyl peroxide and adapalene/benzoyl peroxide showed significantly better effect on HRQoL than placebo. There is limited number of the high-quality studies on acne treatment where HRQoL were assessed. Dermatology-specific and acne-specific instruments showed much better sensitivity to successful therapeutic intervention than generic HRQoL instruments. The most frequently used HRQoL instrument was the DLQI questionnaire. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

An assessment of various side-stick controller/stability and control augmentation systems for night nap-of-Earth flight using piloted simulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Landis, K. H.; Aiken, E. W.

1982-01-01

Several night nap-of-the-earth mission tasks were evaluated using a helmet-mounted display which provided a limited field-of-view image with superimposed flight control symbology. A wide range of stability and control augmentation designs was investigated. Variations in controller force-deflection characteristics and the number of axes controlled through an integrated side-stick controller were studied. In general, a small displacement controller is preferred over a stiffstick controller particularly for maneuvering flight. Higher levels of stability augmentation were required for IMC tasks to provide handling qualities comparable to those achieved for the same tasks conducted under simulated visual flight conditions.

Assessment of simulation fidelity using measurements of piloting technique in flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ferguson, S. W.; Clement, W. F.; Cleveland, W. B.; Key, D. L.

1984-01-01

The U.S. Army and NASA have undertaken the systematic validation of a ground-based piloted simulator for the UH-60A helicopter. The results of previous handling quality and task performance flight tests for this helicopter have been used as a data base for evaluating the fidelity of the present simulation, which is being conducted at the NASA Ames Research Center's Vertical Motion Simulator. Such nap-of-the-earth piloting tasks as pop-up, hover turn, dash/quick stop, sidestep, dolphin, and slalom, have been investigated. It is noted that pilot simulator performance is significantly and quantifiable degraded by comparison with flight test results for the same tasks.

Extraction and textural characterization of above-ground areas from aerial stereo pairs: a quality assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baillard, C.; Dissard, O.; Jamet, O.; Maître, H.

Above-ground analysis is a key point to the reconstruction of urban scenes, but it is a difficult task because of the diversity of the involved objects. We propose a new method to above-ground extraction from an aerial stereo pair, which does not require any assumption about object shape or nature. A Digital Surface Model is first produced by a stereoscopic matching stage preserving discontinuities, and then processed by a region-based Markovian classification algorithm. The produced above-ground areas are finally characterized as man-made or natural according to the grey level information. The quality of the results is assessed and discussed.

On assessing the quality of physicians' clinical judgment: the search for outcome variables.

PubMed

Wainer, Howard; Mee, Janet

2004-12-01

A primary question that must be resolved in the development of tasks to assess the quality of physicians' clinical judgment is, "What is the outcome variable?" One natural choice would seem to be the correctness of the clinical decision. In this article, we use data on the diagnosis of urinary tract infections among young girls to illustrate why, in many clinical situations, this is not a useful variable. We propose instead a judgment weighted by the relative costs of an error. This variable has the disadvantage of requiring expert judgment for scoring, but the advantage of measuring the construct of interest.

A technique for the assessment of fighter aircraft precision controllability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sisk, T. R.

1978-01-01

Today's emerging fighter aircraft are maneuvering as well at normal accelerations of 7 to 8 g's as their predecessors did at 4 to 5 g's. This improved maneuvering capability has significantly expanded their operating envelope and made the task of evaluating handling qualities more difficult. This paper describes a technique for assessing the precision controllability of highly maneuverable aircraft, a technique that was developed to evaluate the effects of buffet intensity on gunsight tracking capability and found to be a useful tool for the general assessment of fighter aircraft handling qualities. It has also demonstrated its usefulness for evaluating configuration and advanced flight control system refinements. This technique is believed to have application to future aircraft dynamics and pilot-vehicle interface studies.

The Effect of Physician Delegation to Other Health Care Providers on the Quality of Care for Geriatric Conditions

PubMed Central

Lichtenstein, Brian J.; Reuben, David B.; Karlamangla, Arun S.; Han, Weijuan; Roth, Carol P.; Wenger, Neil S.

2016-01-01

OBJECTIVES to examine the effects of delegation on quality of care that patients receive for three common geriatric conditions: dementia, falls, and incontinence. DESIGN pooled analysis of 8 the Assessing Care of Vulnerable Elders (ACOVE) projects from 1998 to 2010. SETTING 15 ambulatory practice sites across the United States PARTICIPANTS 4,776 patients age ≥ 65 years, of mixed demographic backgrounds who participated in ACOVE studies. INTERVENTION multivariate analysis of prior ACOVE observation and intervention studies was conducted, with in addition to two retrospectively defined variables: “intent to delegate” and “maximum delegation” for each ACOVE quality indicator (QI). MEASUREMENTS The primary outcome for the study was QI pass probability, by level of delegation, for 47 ACOVE quality indicators. RESULTS A total of 4,776 patients were evaluated, with 16,204 QIs included for analysis. Across all studies, QI pass probabilities were 0.36 for physician-performed tasks; 0.55 for nurse practitioner (NP), physician assistant (PA), and registered nurse (RN)-performed tasks; and 0.61 for medical assistant (MA), or licensed vocational nurse (LVN)-performed tasks. In multiply adjusted models, the independent pass-probability effect of delegation to NPs, PAs, or RNs was 1.37 (p = 0.055) CONCLUSIONS Delegation to non-physician providers is associated with higher quality of care for geriatric conditions in community practices and supports the value of interdisciplinary team management for common outpatient conditions among older adults. PMID:26480977

Report of the Defense Science Board Task Force on Quality of Life.

DTIC Science & Technology

1995-10-15

The Quality of Life Task Force is deeply grateful to those distinguished Americans who served as Counselors to the Task Force. Although they did not... Quality of Life issues to the readiness and well being of our Armed Forces. Their willingness to offer suggestions and advice on topics within their...respective expertise was most helpful The recommendations of the Report are those of the Quality of Life Task Force; and Counselors may, or may not, concur in whole or in part with them.

Comparing 15D Valuation Studies in Norway and Finland-Challenges When Combining Information from Several Valuation Tasks.

PubMed

Michel, Yvonne Anne; Augestad, Liv Ariane; Rand, Kim

2018-04-01

The 15D is a generic preference-based health-related quality-of-life instrument developed in Finland. Values for the 15D instrument are estimated by combining responses to three distinct valuation tasks. The impact of how these tasks are combined is relatively unexplored. To compare 15D valuation studies conducted in Norway and Finland in terms of scores assigned in the valuation tasks and resulting value algorithms, and to discuss the contributions of each task and the algorithm estimation procedure to observed differences. Norwegian and Finnish scores from the three valuation tasks were compared using independent samples t tests and Lin concordance correlation coefficients. Covariance between tasks was assessed using Pearson product-moment correlations. Norwegian and Finnish value algorithms were compared using concordance correlation coefficients, total ranges, and ranges for individual dimensions. Observed differences were assessed using minimal important difference. Mean scores in the main valuation task were strikingly similar between the two countries, whereas the final value algorithms were less similar. The largest differences between Norway and Finland were observed for depression, vision, and mental function. 15D algorithms are a product of combining scores from three valuation tasks by use of methods involving multiplication. This procedure used to combine scores from the three tasks by multiplication serves to amplify variance from each task. From relatively similar responses in Norway and Finland, diverging value algorithms are created. We propose to simplify the 15D algorithm estimation procedure by using only one of the valuation tasks. Copyright © 2018 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

How do we watch images? A case of change detection and quality estimation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Radun, Jenni; Leisti, Tuomas; Virtanen, Toni; Nyman, Göte

2012-01-01

The most common tasks in subjective image estimation are change detection (a detection task) and image quality estimation (a preference task). We examined how the task influences the gaze behavior when comparing detection and preference tasks. The eye movements of 16 naïve observers were recorded with 8 observers in both tasks. The setting was a flicker paradigm, where the observers see a non-manipulated image, a manipulated version of the image and again the non-manipulated image and estimate the difference they perceived in them. The material was photographic material with different image distortions and contents. To examine the spatial distribution of fixations, we defined the regions of interest using a memory task and calculated information entropy to estimate how concentrated the fixations were on the image plane. The quality task was faster and needed fewer fixations and the first eight fixations were more concentrated on certain image areas than the change detection task. The bottom-up influences of the image also caused more variation to the gaze behavior in the quality estimation task than in the change detection task The results show that the quality estimation is faster and the regions of interest are emphasized more on certain images compared with the change detection task that is a scan task where the whole image is always thoroughly examined. In conclusion, in subjective image estimation studies it is important to think about the task.

Association of Quality Physical Education Teaching with Students’ Physical Fitness

PubMed Central

Chen, Weiyun; Mason, Steve; Hypnar, Andrew; Hammond-Bennett, Austin

2016-01-01

This study examined the extent to which four essential dimensions of quality physical education teaching (QPET) were associated with healthy levels of physical fitness in elementary school students. Participants were nine elementary PE teachers and 1, 201 fourth- and fifth-grade students who were enrolled in nine elementary schools. The students’ physical fitness were assessed using four FITNESSGRAM tests. The PE teachers’ levels of QPET were assessed using the Assessing Quality Teaching Rubrics (AQTR). The AQTR consisted of four essential dimensions including Task Design, Task Presentation, Class Management, and Instructional Guidance. Codes were confirmed through inter-rater reliability (82.4% and 84.5%). Data were analyzed through descriptive statistics, multiple R-squared regression models, and independent sample t-tests. The four essential teaching dimensions of QPET were significantly associated with the students’ cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength and endurance, and flexibility. However, they accounted for relatively low percentage of the total variance in PACER test, followed by Curl-up test, while explaining very low portions of the total variance in Push-up and Trunk Lift tests. This study indicated that the students who had experienced high level of QPET were more physically fit than their peers who did not have this experience in PACER and Curl-up tests, but not in Push-up and Trunk lift tests. In addition, the significant contribution of the four essential teaching dimensions to physical fitness components was gender-specific. It was concluded that the four teaching dimensions of QPET were significantly associated with students’ health-enhancing physical fitness. Key points Although Task Design, Task Presentation, Class Management, and Instructional Guidance has its unique and critical teaching components, each essential teaching dimensions is intertwined and immersed in teaching practices. Four essential teaching dimensions all significantly contributed to students’ health-enhancing physical fitness. Implementation of QPET in a lesson plays more significant role in contributing to improving girls’ cardiovascular endurance. Implementation of QPET in a lesson contributed significantly to improving boy’s abdominal, upper-body, and back extensor muscular strength and endurance as well as flexibility PMID:27274673

For better or for worse: a longitudinal study on dyadic coping and quality of life among couples with a partner suffering from COPD.

PubMed

Vaske, Isabelle; Thöne, Maximiliane Florentine; Kühl, Kerstin; Keil, Daniel Christian; Schürmann, Wolfgang; Rief, Winfried; Stenzel, Nikola Maria

2015-12-01

In chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, impairments of dyadic coping are associated with reduced quality of life. However, existing studies have a cross-sectional design. The present study explores changes in dyadic coping over time and its long-term effects on quality of life of both patients suffering from COPD and their partners. Dyadic coping, psychological distress, health-related quality of life, and exercise capacity were assessed in 63 patients suffering from COPD with their partners, at baseline and 3-year-follow-up. Correlation analyses and actor-partner interdependence models (APIMs) were conducted. Patients' delegated dyadic coping (taking over tasks) and common dyadic coping (mutual coping efforts when both partners are stressed) rated by the spouses decreased. Correlation analyses showed that patients' quality of life at follow-up was positively influenced by partners' stress communication (signaling stress). Partners' quality of life at follow-up was negatively influenced by patients' negative dyadic coping (reacting superficially, ambivalently or hostilely) and positively influenced by partners' delegated dyadic coping rated by patients (taking over tasks). APIMs mostly supported these results. It seems important that both partners communicate about stress and provide appropriate instrumental and emotional support to maintain quality of life.

The effect of executive function on stress, depression, anxiety, and quality of life in multiple sclerosis.

PubMed

Grech, Lisa B; Kiropoulos, Litza A; Kirby, Katherine M; Butler, Ernest; Paine, Mark; Hester, Robert

2015-01-01

The experience of cognitive deficits and emotional dysfunction are prevalent in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS), although research examining their interaction has provided inconsistent findings. The current study examined the ability of executive function to predict psychosocial adjustment in PwMS. One hundred and seven PwMS underwent cognitive assessment and completed measures of stress, depression, anxiety, and quality of life (QoL). There was limited support for a relationship. There was no relationship between objective cognitive tasks and state or trait anxiety, mental health QoL, overall QoL, or stress frequency. The only relationship with depression was found when the Beck Depression Inventory Fast-Screen was used, with a task of planning when the timing element was removed. A measure of error rates on a task of cognitive flexibility predicted physical health QoL, and severity, but not frequency, of stress was predicted by a task of working memory. The results of this study highlight the need for further research into the relationship between cognitive deficits and psychosocial adjustment because of the conflicting findings between studies and call for a common measurement framework for future investigation.

Factors Associated With Community Health Worker Performance Differ by Task in a Multi-Tasked Setting in Rural Zimbabwe.

PubMed

Kambarami, Rukundo A; Mbuya, Mduduzi Nn; Pelletier, David; Fundira, Dadirai; Tavengwa, Naume V; Stoltzfus, Rebecca J

2016-06-20

Zimbabwe, like most low-income countries, faces health worker shortages. Community health workers (CHWs) bridge this gap by delivering essential health services and nutrition interventions to communities. However, as workloads increase, CHWs' ability to provide quality services may be compromised. We studied influences upon CHWs' performance related to pregnancy surveillance and nutrition and hygiene education in rural Zimbabwe. In the context of a cluster-randomized trial conducted in 2 rural districts between November 2012 and March 2015, 342 government-employed CHWs identified and referred pregnant women for early antenatal care and delivered household-level behavior change lessons about infant feeding and hygiene to more than 5,000 women. In 2013, we conducted a survey among 322 of the CHWs to assess the association between demographic and work characteristics and task performance. Exploratory factor analyses of the Likert-type survey questions produced 8 distinct and reliable constructs of job satisfaction and motivation, supervision, peer support, and feedback (Cronbach α range, 0.68 to 0.92). Pregnancy surveillance performance was assessed from pregnancy referrals, and nutrition and hygiene education performance was assessed by taking the average summative score (range, 5 to 30) of lesson delivery observations completed by a nurse supervisor using a 6-item Likert-type checklist. Poisson and multiple linear regressions were used to test associations between CHW demographic and work characteristics and performance. CHWs who referred more pregnant women were female, unmarried, under 40 years old, from larger households, and of longer tenure. They also perceived work resources to be adequate and received positive feedback from supervisors and the community, but they were less satisfied with remuneration. CHWs with high scores on behavior change lesson delivery were from smaller households, and they received more supportive supervision but less operational supervision. Measures of job satisfaction and motivation were not associated with either task. Among CHWs responsible for multiple tasks in rural Zimbabwe, factors associated with performance of one task were not the same as those associated with performance of another task. Our methods and findings illustrate ways to examine heterogeneity in CHW performance and to identify organizational factors associated with quality of program delivery. © Kambarami et al.

Factors Associated With Community Health Worker Performance Differ by Task in a Multi-Tasked Setting in Rural Zimbabwe

PubMed Central

Kambarami, Rukundo A; Mbuya, Mduduzi NN; Pelletier, David; Fundira, Dadirai; Tavengwa, Naume V; Stoltzfus, Rebecca J

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT Background: Zimbabwe, like most low-income countries, faces health worker shortages. Community health workers (CHWs) bridge this gap by delivering essential health services and nutrition interventions to communities. However, as workloads increase, CHWs’ ability to provide quality services may be compromised. We studied influences upon CHWs’ performance related to pregnancy surveillance and nutrition and hygiene education in rural Zimbabwe. Methods: In the context of a cluster-randomized trial conducted in 2 rural districts between November 2012 and March 2015, 342 government-employed CHWs identified and referred pregnant women for early antenatal care and delivered household-level behavior change lessons about infant feeding and hygiene to more than 5,000 women. In 2013, we conducted a survey among 322 of the CHWs to assess the association between demographic and work characteristics and task performance. Exploratory factor analyses of the Likert-type survey questions produced 8 distinct and reliable constructs of job satisfaction and motivation, supervision, peer support, and feedback (Cronbach α range, 0.68 to 0.92). Pregnancy surveillance performance was assessed from pregnancy referrals, and nutrition and hygiene education performance was assessed by taking the average summative score (range, 5 to 30) of lesson delivery observations completed by a nurse supervisor using a 6-item Likert-type checklist. Poisson and multiple linear regressions were used to test associations between CHW demographic and work characteristics and performance. Results: CHWs who referred more pregnant women were female, unmarried, under 40 years old, from larger households, and of longer tenure. They also perceived work resources to be adequate and received positive feedback from supervisors and the community, but they were less satisfied with remuneration. CHWs with high scores on behavior change lesson delivery were from smaller households, and they received more supportive supervision but less operational supervision. Measures of job satisfaction and motivation were not associated with either task. Conclusion: Among CHWs responsible for multiple tasks in rural Zimbabwe, factors associated with performance of one task were not the same as those associated with performance of another task. Our methods and findings illustrate ways to examine heterogeneity in CHW performance and to identify organizational factors associated with quality of program delivery. PMID:27353617

Evaluation of the Performance of Routine Information System Management (PRISM) framework: evidence from Uganda.

PubMed

Hotchkiss, David R; Aqil, Anwer; Lippeveld, Theo; Mukooyo, Edward

2010-07-03

Sound policy, resource allocation and day-to-day management decisions in the health sector require timely information from routine health information systems (RHIS). In most low- and middle-income countries, the RHIS is viewed as being inadequate in providing quality data and continuous information that can be used to help improve health system performance. In addition, there is limited evidence on the effectiveness of RHIS strengthening interventions in improving data quality and use. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the usefulness of the newly developed Performance of Routine Information System Management (PRISM) framework, which consists of a conceptual framework and associated data collection and analysis tools to assess, design, strengthen and evaluate RHIS. The specific objectives of the study are: a) to assess the reliability and validity of the PRISM instruments and b) to assess the validity of the PRISM conceptual framework. Facility- and worker-level data were collected from 110 health care facilities in twelve districts in Uganda in 2004 and 2007 using records reviews, structured interviews and self-administered questionnaires. The analysis procedures include Cronbach's alpha to assess internal consistency of selected instruments, test-retest analysis to assess the reliability and sensitivity of the instruments, and bivariate and multivariate statistical techniques to assess validity of the PRISM instruments and conceptual framework. Cronbach's alpha analysis suggests high reliability (0.7 or greater) for the indices measuring a promotion of a culture of information, RHIS tasks self-efficacy and motivation. The study results also suggest that a promotion of a culture of information influences RHIS tasks self-efficacy, RHIS tasks competence and motivation, and that self-efficacy and the presence of RHIS staff have a direct influence on the use of RHIS information, a key aspect of RHIS performance. The study results provide some empirical support for the reliability and validity of the PRISM instruments and the validity of the PRISM conceptual framework, suggesting that the PRISM approach can be effectively used by RHIS policy makers and practitioners to assess the RHIS and evaluate RHIS strengthening interventions. However, additional studies with larger sample sizes are needed to further investigate the value of the PRISM instruments in exploring the linkages between RHIS data quality and use, and health systems performance.

Application of objective clinical human reliability analysis (OCHRA) in assessment of technical performance in laparoscopic rectal cancer surgery.

PubMed

Foster, J D; Miskovic, D; Allison, A S; Conti, J A; Ockrim, J; Cooper, E J; Hanna, G B; Francis, N K

2016-06-01

Laparoscopic rectal resection is technically challenging, with outcomes dependent upon technical performance. No robust objective assessment tool exists for laparoscopic rectal resection surgery. This study aimed to investigate the application of the objective clinical human reliability analysis (OCHRA) technique for assessing technical performance of laparoscopic rectal surgery and explore the validity and reliability of this technique. Laparoscopic rectal cancer resection operations were described in the format of a hierarchical task analysis. Potential technical errors were defined. The OCHRA technique was used to identify technical errors enacted in videos of twenty consecutive laparoscopic rectal cancer resection operations from a single site. The procedural task, spatial location, and circumstances of all identified errors were logged. Clinical validity was assessed through correlation with clinical outcomes; reliability was assessed by test-retest. A total of 335 execution errors identified, with a median 15 per operation. More errors were observed during pelvic tasks compared with abdominal tasks (p < 0.001). Within the pelvis, more errors were observed during dissection on the right side than the left (p = 0.03). Test-retest confirmed reliability (r = 0.97, p < 0.001). A significant correlation was observed between error frequency and mesorectal specimen quality (r s = 0.52, p = 0.02) and with blood loss (r s = 0.609, p = 0.004). OCHRA offers a valid and reliable method for evaluating technical performance of laparoscopic rectal surgery.

[Function and structure of the Federal Joint Committee and the Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care in consideration of patient involvement].

PubMed

Mühlbauer, V; Teupen, S

2014-01-01

The Federal Joint Committee and the Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care have become important players in the German health care system, not only since the benefit assessment of pharmaceuticals and the Act on the Reform of the Market for Medicinal Products (AMNOG) were established. However, the manifold tasks and duties these institutions have besides the benefit assessment of pharmaceuticals is less known, just as the role the patient's representatives play. The function and structure of the Federal Joint Committee and the Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care as well as their collaboration in consideration of patient involvement will be explained in this article. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

TU-AB-BRD-03: Fault Tree Analysis

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

Dunscombe, P.

2015-06-15

Current quality assurance and quality management guidelines provided by various professional organizations are prescriptive in nature, focusing principally on performance characteristics of planning and delivery devices. However, published analyses of events in radiation therapy show that most events are often caused by flaws in clinical processes rather than by device failures. This suggests the need for the development of a quality management program that is based on integrated approaches to process and equipment quality assurance. Industrial engineers have developed various risk assessment tools that are used to identify and eliminate potential failures from a system or a process before amore » failure impacts a customer. These tools include, but are not limited to, process mapping, failure modes and effects analysis, fault tree analysis. Task Group 100 of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine has developed these tools and used them to formulate an example risk-based quality management program for intensity-modulated radiotherapy. This is a prospective risk assessment approach that analyzes potential error pathways inherent in a clinical process and then ranks them according to relative risk, typically before implementation, followed by the design of a new process or modification of the existing process. Appropriate controls are then put in place to ensure that failures are less likely to occur and, if they do, they will more likely be detected before they propagate through the process, compromising treatment outcome and causing harm to the patient. Such a prospective approach forms the basis of the work of Task Group 100 that has recently been approved by the AAPM. This session will be devoted to a discussion of these tools and practical examples of how these tools can be used in a given radiotherapy clinic to develop a risk based quality management program. Learning Objectives: Learn how to design a process map for a radiotherapy process Learn how to perform failure modes and effects analysis analysis for a given process Learn what fault trees are all about Learn how to design a quality management program based upon the information obtained from process mapping, failure modes and effects analysis and fault tree analysis. Dunscombe: Director, TreatSafely, LLC and Center for the Assessment of Radiological Sciences; Consultant to IAEA and Varian Thomadsen: President, Center for the Assessment of Radiological Sciences Palta: Vice President of the Center for the Assessment of Radiological Sciences.« less

TU-AB-BRD-01: Process Mapping

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

Palta, J.

2015-06-15

Current quality assurance and quality management guidelines provided by various professional organizations are prescriptive in nature, focusing principally on performance characteristics of planning and delivery devices. However, published analyses of events in radiation therapy show that most events are often caused by flaws in clinical processes rather than by device failures. This suggests the need for the development of a quality management program that is based on integrated approaches to process and equipment quality assurance. Industrial engineers have developed various risk assessment tools that are used to identify and eliminate potential failures from a system or a process before amore » failure impacts a customer. These tools include, but are not limited to, process mapping, failure modes and effects analysis, fault tree analysis. Task Group 100 of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine has developed these tools and used them to formulate an example risk-based quality management program for intensity-modulated radiotherapy. This is a prospective risk assessment approach that analyzes potential error pathways inherent in a clinical process and then ranks them according to relative risk, typically before implementation, followed by the design of a new process or modification of the existing process. Appropriate controls are then put in place to ensure that failures are less likely to occur and, if they do, they will more likely be detected before they propagate through the process, compromising treatment outcome and causing harm to the patient. Such a prospective approach forms the basis of the work of Task Group 100 that has recently been approved by the AAPM. This session will be devoted to a discussion of these tools and practical examples of how these tools can be used in a given radiotherapy clinic to develop a risk based quality management program. Learning Objectives: Learn how to design a process map for a radiotherapy process Learn how to perform failure modes and effects analysis analysis for a given process Learn what fault trees are all about Learn how to design a quality management program based upon the information obtained from process mapping, failure modes and effects analysis and fault tree analysis. Dunscombe: Director, TreatSafely, LLC and Center for the Assessment of Radiological Sciences; Consultant to IAEA and Varian Thomadsen: President, Center for the Assessment of Radiological Sciences Palta: Vice President of the Center for the Assessment of Radiological Sciences.« less

TU-AB-BRD-02: Failure Modes and Effects Analysis

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

Huq, M.

2015-06-15

Current quality assurance and quality management guidelines provided by various professional organizations are prescriptive in nature, focusing principally on performance characteristics of planning and delivery devices. However, published analyses of events in radiation therapy show that most events are often caused by flaws in clinical processes rather than by device failures. This suggests the need for the development of a quality management program that is based on integrated approaches to process and equipment quality assurance. Industrial engineers have developed various risk assessment tools that are used to identify and eliminate potential failures from a system or a process before amore » failure impacts a customer. These tools include, but are not limited to, process mapping, failure modes and effects analysis, fault tree analysis. Task Group 100 of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine has developed these tools and used them to formulate an example risk-based quality management program for intensity-modulated radiotherapy. This is a prospective risk assessment approach that analyzes potential error pathways inherent in a clinical process and then ranks them according to relative risk, typically before implementation, followed by the design of a new process or modification of the existing process. Appropriate controls are then put in place to ensure that failures are less likely to occur and, if they do, they will more likely be detected before they propagate through the process, compromising treatment outcome and causing harm to the patient. Such a prospective approach forms the basis of the work of Task Group 100 that has recently been approved by the AAPM. This session will be devoted to a discussion of these tools and practical examples of how these tools can be used in a given radiotherapy clinic to develop a risk based quality management program. Learning Objectives: Learn how to design a process map for a radiotherapy process Learn how to perform failure modes and effects analysis analysis for a given process Learn what fault trees are all about Learn how to design a quality management program based upon the information obtained from process mapping, failure modes and effects analysis and fault tree analysis. Dunscombe: Director, TreatSafely, LLC and Center for the Assessment of Radiological Sciences; Consultant to IAEA and Varian Thomadsen: President, Center for the Assessment of Radiological Sciences Palta: Vice President of the Center for the Assessment of Radiological Sciences.« less

Kindergarten Predictors of Third Grade Writing

PubMed Central

Kim, Young-Suk; Al Otaiba, Stephanie; Wanzek, Jeanne

2015-01-01

The primary goal of the present study was to examine the relations of kindergarten transcription, oral language, word reading, and attention skills to writing skills in third grade. Children (N = 157) were assessed on their letter writing automaticity, spelling, oral language, word reading, and attention in kindergarten. Then, they were assessed on writing in third grade using three writing tasks – one narrative and two expository prompts. Children’s written compositions were evaluated in terms of writing quality (the extent to which ideas were developed and presented in an organized manner). Structural equation modeling showed that kindergarten oral language and lexical literacy skills (i.e., word reading and spelling) were independently predicted third grade narrative writing quality, and kindergarten literacy skill uniquely predicted third grade expository writing quality. In contrast, attention and letter writing automaticity were not directly related to writing quality in either narrative or expository genre. These results are discussed in light of theoretical and practical implications. PMID:25642118

76 FR 52932 - Notice of Meeting of the Agricultural Air Quality Task Force

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-08-24

... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Natural Resources Conservation Service Notice of Meeting of the Agricultural Air Quality Task Force AGENCY: Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). ACTION: Notice of meeting. SUMMARY: The Agricultural Air Quality Task Force (AAQTF) will meet to continue discussions on...

Mobile assessment of the lower limb kinematics in healthy persons and in persons with degenerative knee disorders: A systematic review.

PubMed

van der Straaten, R; De Baets, L; Jonkers, I; Timmermans, A

2018-01-01

Inertial sensor systems are increasingly used in the assessment of persons with knee osteoarthritis (KOA) and total knee replacement (TKR). This systematic review aims to (1) investigate the application of inertial sensor systems and kinematics derived from these systems, and (2) assess if current assessment protocols consist of tasks which are, according to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) for KOA, relevant for persons with KOA and TKR. A search was conducted in six electronic databases (ACM, CINAHL, EMBASE, IEEE, PubMed, Web of Science) to include papers assessing the knee and one or more adjacent joints by means of inertial sensors in healthy persons or persons with KOA or TKR. Two reviewers checked the methodological quality. Twenty-three papers were included: 18 in healthy persons and five in persons with KOA or TKR. In healthy persons, 11 tasks were related to metrics of the ICF-function and ICF-activity level. In persons with KOA, only walking was assessed. Apart from walking, four additional tasks were related to the ICF-function and ICF-activity level in persons with TKR. In healthy persons, joints located proximally and distally to the knee were assessed, while in persons with KOA and TKR, only the knee and ankle were assessed. This is a shortcoming since hip and trunk motion potentially contain clinically relevant information, in terms of identifying (mal)adaptive compensatory movement strategies. Additionally, physically more demanding tasks should be evaluated as these might be superior in detecting compensatory movement strategies. Former considerations warrant attention in future research. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

[Trajectories of aging in a sample of elderly people: a longitudinal study].

PubMed

Navarro-González, Elena; Calero, María Dolores; Becerra-Reina, Dolores

2015-01-01

The present study analyzes variables associated with different trajectories of aging, and the level of cognitive functioning in a sample of older adults. Although this work is part of a broader investigation where initially 141 people were assessed, this paper only discusses the cognitive functioning and cognitive development of 64 older people who have been followed up four years after the initial assessment, with a mean age of 83.84 years (age range 65 to 99 years). In the initial assessment all the participants were assessed with a psychological battery that included the MEC, the verbal fluency task FVS, a sustained attention task, a working memory test, a Quality of Life Questionnaire, a scale of dependency, and the AVLT-Learning Potential test. In the follow up assessment, participants have been assessed with the MEC, the verbal fluency task FVS, and the verbal memory test AVLT-PA. the results show relatively stable trajectories of aging and that the variables that better predict cognitive evolution of the elderly are working memory and post-test score in the AVLT-LP. Despite the time lapse between the two assessments and the age of the participants, older adults have remained relatively stable in their cognitive functioning, which in part contradicts the idea that--especially after 80 years--a general decline of cognitive functioning occurs in old age. Copyright © 2014 SEGG. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Quantitative evaluation of muscle synergy models: a single-trial task decoding approach

PubMed Central

Delis, Ioannis; Berret, Bastien; Pozzo, Thierry; Panzeri, Stefano

2013-01-01

Muscle synergies, i.e., invariant coordinated activations of groups of muscles, have been proposed as building blocks that the central nervous system (CNS) uses to construct the patterns of muscle activity utilized for executing movements. Several efficient dimensionality reduction algorithms that extract putative synergies from electromyographic (EMG) signals have been developed. Typically, the quality of synergy decompositions is assessed by computing the Variance Accounted For (VAF). Yet, little is known about the extent to which the combination of those synergies encodes task-discriminating variations of muscle activity in individual trials. To address this question, here we conceive and develop a novel computational framework to evaluate muscle synergy decompositions in task space. Unlike previous methods considering the total variance of muscle patterns (VAF based metrics), our approach focuses on variance discriminating execution of different tasks. The procedure is based on single-trial task decoding from muscle synergy activation features. The task decoding based metric evaluates quantitatively the mapping between synergy recruitment and task identification and automatically determines the minimal number of synergies that captures all the task-discriminating variability in the synergy activations. In this paper, we first validate the method on plausibly simulated EMG datasets. We then show that it can be applied to different types of muscle synergy decomposition and illustrate its applicability to real data by using it for the analysis of EMG recordings during an arm pointing task. We find that time-varying and synchronous synergies with similar number of parameters are equally efficient in task decoding, suggesting that in this experimental paradigm they are equally valid representations of muscle synergies. Overall, these findings stress the effectiveness of the decoding metric in systematically assessing muscle synergy decompositions in task space. PMID:23471195

[Quality assurance and quality management in intensive care].

PubMed

Notz, K; Dubb, R; Kaltwasser, A; Hermes, C; Pfeffer, S

2015-11-01

Treatment success in hospitals, particularly in intensive care units, is directly tied to quality of structure, process, and outcomes. Technological and medical advancements lead to ever more complex treatment situations with highly specialized tasks in intensive care nursing. Quality criteria that can be used to describe and correctly measure those highly complex multiprofessional situations have only been recently developed and put into practice.In this article, it will be shown how quality in multiprofessional teams can be definded and assessed in daily clinical practice. Core aspects are the choice of a nursing theory, quality assurance measures, and quality management. One possible option of quality assurance is the use of standard operating procedures (SOPs). Quality can ultimately only be achieved if professional groups think beyond their boundaries, minimize errors, and establish and live out instructions and SOPs.

Self-Development for Cyber Warriors

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-11-10

Aggressive self-development is a critical task for the cyber warfare professional. No matter the quality, formal training and education programs age...Books and Science Fiction); Technology and Cyber-Related Magazines and Blogs; Specific Cyber Warfare Journal and Magazine Articles; Key Documents on...the strengths and weaknesses of the major donor career fields to the cyber workforce, and a Self-Assessment of Cyber Domain Expertise for readers who wish to assess their own cyber warfare expertise.

Relationship between perceived politeness and spectral characteristics of voice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ito, Mika

2005-04-01

This study investigates the role of voice quality in perceiving politeness under conditions of varying relative social status among Japanese male speakers. The work focuses on four important methodological issues: experimental control of sociolinguistic aspects, eliciting natural spontaneous speech, obtaining recording quality suitable for voice quality analysis, and assessment of glottal characteristics through the use of non-invasive direct measurements of the speech spectrum. To obtain natural, unscripted utterances, the speech data were collected with a Map Task. This methodology allowed us to study the effect of manipulating relative social status among participants in the same community. We then computed the relative amplitudes of harmonics and formant peaks in spectra obtained from the Map Task recordings. Finally, an experiment was conducted to observe the alignment between acoustic measures and the perceived politeness of the voice samples. The results suggest that listeners' perceptions of politeness are determined by spectral characteristics of speakers, in particular, spectral tilts obtained by computing the difference in amplitude between the first harmonic and the third formant.

78 FR 10127 - Request for Nominations to the Agricultural Air Quality Task Force

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-13

... Conservation Service Request for Nominations to the Agricultural Air Quality Task Force AGENCY: Natural... Nominations to the Agricultural Air Quality Task Force. SUMMARY: The Secretary of Agriculture invites... Force (AAQTF) which was established by the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 to...

Development and testing of LANDSAT-assisted procedures for cost-effective forest management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Colwell, J. E.; Sanders, P. A.; Thomson, F. J.

1982-01-01

The capability of LANDSAT data to make certain forest management activities on the Clearwater National Forest in Idaho more efficient and/or more effective was examined. One task was designed to evaluate the utility of single-date categorized LANDSAT data as a source of land cover information for use in assessing elk habitat quality. LANDSAT data was used to categorize conifer forest on the basis of the percentage crown closure. This information was used to evaluate elk habitat quality on the basis of the ratio of cover to forage. A preliminary conclusion is that categorized LANDSAT data can be helpful for assessing current elk habitat quality if the relationships between crown closure and hiding cover can be adequately defined. Another task was designed to evaluate the utility of merged two-date LANDSAT data for updating the existing (1972) Clearwater Forest land cover information. LANDSAT data from 1972 and 1981 were merged, and change images were created. These products indicated where major changes were taking place. These areas could then be examined on aerial photography or in the field to further characterize the nature and magnitude of the change. The 1972 land cover information could be subsequently altered in these changed areas, whereas areas with no change would not have to be re-examined.

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.

Improving the Quality of Service and Security of Military Networks with a Network Tasking Order Process

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-09-01

IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF SERVICE AND SECURITY OF MILITARY NETWORKS WITH A NETWORK TASKING ORDER...United States. AFIT/DCS/ENG/10-09 IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF SERVICE AND SECURITY OF MILITARY NETWORKS WITH A NETWORK TASKING ORDER PROCESS...USAF September 2010 APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE; DISTRIBUTION UNLIMITED AFIT/DCS/ENG/10-09 IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF SERVICE AND

Multiple sclerosis decreases explicit counterfactual processing and risk taking in decision making.

PubMed

Simioni, Samanta; Schluep, Myriam; Bault, Nadège; Coricelli, Giorgio; Kleeberg, Joerg; Du Pasquier, Renaud A; Gschwind, Markus; Vuilleumier, Patrik; Annoni, Jean-Marie

2012-01-01

Deficits in decision making (DM) are commonly associated with prefrontal cortical damage, but may occur with multiple sclerosis (MS). There are no data concerning the impact of MS on tasks evaluating DM under explicit risk, where different emotional and cognitive components can be distinguished. We assessed 72 relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) patients with mild to moderate disease and 38 healthy controls in two DM tasks involving risk with explicit rules: (1) The Wheel of Fortune (WOF), which probes the anticipated affects of decisions outcomes on future choices; and (2) The Cambridge Gamble Task (CGT) which measures risk taking. Participants also underwent a neuropsychological and emotional assessment, and skin conductance responses (SCRs) were recorded. In the WOF, RRMS patients showed deficits in integrating positive counterfactual information (p<0.005) and greater risk aversion (p<0.001). They reported less negative affect than controls (disappointment: p = 0.007; regret: p = 0.01), although their implicit emotional reactions as measured by post-choice SCRs did not differ. In the CGT, RRMS patients differed from controls in quality of DM (p = 0.01) and deliberation time (p = 0.0002), the latter difference being correlated with attention scores. Such changes did not result in overall decreases in performance (total gains). The quality of DM under risk was modified by MS in both tasks. The reduction in the expression of disappointment coexisted with an increased risk aversion in the WOF and alexithymia features. These concomitant emotional alterations may have implications for better understanding the components of explicit DM and for the clinical support of MS patients.

3D micro-mapping: Towards assessing the quality of crowdsourcing to support 3D point cloud analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herfort, Benjamin; Höfle, Bernhard; Klonner, Carolin

2018-03-01

In this paper, we propose a method to crowdsource the task of complex three-dimensional information extraction from 3D point clouds. We design web-based 3D micro tasks tailored to assess segmented LiDAR point clouds of urban trees and investigate the quality of the approach in an empirical user study. Our results for three different experiments with increasing complexity indicate that a single crowdsourcing task can be solved in a very short time of less than five seconds on average. Furthermore, the results of our empirical case study reveal that the accuracy, sensitivity and precision of 3D crowdsourcing are high for most information extraction problems. For our first experiment (binary classification with single answer) we obtain an accuracy of 91%, a sensitivity of 95% and a precision of 92%. For the more complex tasks of the second Experiment 2 (multiple answer classification) the accuracy ranges from 65% to 99% depending on the label class. Regarding the third experiment - the determination of the crown base height of individual trees - our study highlights that crowdsourcing can be a tool to obtain values with even higher accuracy in comparison to an automated computer-based approach. Finally, we found out that the accuracy of the crowdsourced results for all experiments is hardly influenced by characteristics of the input point cloud data and of the users. Importantly, the results' accuracy can be estimated using agreement among volunteers as an intrinsic indicator, which makes a broad application of 3D micro-mapping very promising.

Self-Complexity, Daily Events, and Perceived Quality of Life.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kardash, CarolAnne M.; Okun, Morris A.

Recent research has demonstrated that self-cognitions can play an important role in physical and emotional well-being. One important aspect of self-cognition concerns the complexity of self-representations. This study tested the hypothesis that self-complexity, as assessed by Linville's self-trait sorting task, would moderate the effects of…

Pathways for Improving Support for the Electronic Management and Marking of Assignments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heinrich, Eva; Milne, John; Granshaw, Bruce

2012-01-01

This article investigates the support e-learning can provide for the management and marking of assignments. The work is contextualised in the importance of assessment with assignments in tertiary education, in the theories about high quality marking of assignments, and the practical experiences of academics at tertiary institutions. The tasks that…

Green Schools: The Color of Money

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Riedel, Chris

2008-01-01

When Arthur Stellar came to Massachusetts' Taunton Public Schools in 2005, he knew that part of his job as superintendent would be cost cutting. That's no easy task without sacrificing the quality of education the district provided. How to decrease what you spend without eliminating vital resources? One way, Stellar says, is to assess what you're…

Rural America in Passage: Statistics for Policy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gilford, Dorothy M., Ed.; And Others

The Panel on Statistics for Rural Development Policy was established to assess the current quality and availability of data for rural development policy--a more difficult task than might first appear. Until recent decades, rural development was commonly understood to be the development of agriculture. As science and technology transformed U. S.…

A Bayesian hierarchical model of environmental impact on human mortality and its spatial variation in the United States 2000-2005

EPA Science Inventory

Background/Question/Methods Many environmental factors influence human mortality simultaneously. However, assessing their cumulative effects remains a challenging task. In this study we used the Environmental Quality Index (EQI), developed by the U.S. EPA, as a measure of overall...

Conflict Inhibitory Control Facilitates Pretense Quality in Young Preschoolers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Reet, Jennifer

2015-01-01

The present research explores the role of inhibitory control (IC) in young preschoolers' pretense ability using an ego depletion paradigm. In Experiment 1 (N = 56), children's pretense ability was assessed either before or after participating in conflict IC or control tasks, and in Experiment 2 (N = 36), pretense ability was measured after…

On the Quality Assessment of Advanced E-Learning Services

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stefani, Antonia; Vassiliadis, Bill; Xenos, Michalis

2006-01-01

Distance learning has been widely researched the past few years, nevertheless the focus has been more on its technological dimension. Designing, developing and supporting a large scale e-learning application for Higher Education is still a challenging task in many ways. E-learning is data-intensive, user-driven, and has increasing needs for…

Mobile Video Collection in Preservice Teacher Practicum Placements

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dann, Christopher Ewart; Allen, Bill

2015-01-01

One of the more demanding tasks faced by teacher educators and mentors is providing high-quality feedback for preservice students during their professional learning. The limited formative assessment currently available impacts on their professional learning. This paper reports on research into how iPhones® have been used by preservice students,…

Task-Technology Fit Assessment of an Expertise Transfer System

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-03-01

Air Education and Training Command In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Information Resource Management...Transfer Forum (ETF) developed by the Oklahoma State University for the Defense Ammunition Center’s quality assurance personnel. The preliminary findings...Technology-to-Performance Chain (TPC) ....................................................................13 Expertise Transfer Forum (ETF

Water resources vulnerability assessment in the Adriatic Sea region: the case of Corfu Island.

PubMed

Kanakoudis, Vasilis; Tsitsifli, Stavroula; Papadopoulou, Anastasia; Cencur Curk, Barbara; Karleusa, Barbara

2017-09-01

Cross-border water resources management and protection is a complicated task to achieve, lacking a common methodological framework. Especially in the Adriatic region, water used for drinking water supply purposes pass from many different countries, turning its management into a hard task to achieve. During the DRINKADRIA project, a common methodological framework has been developed, for efficient and effective cross-border water supply and resources management, taking into consideration different resources types (surface and groundwater) emphasizing in drinking water supply intake. The common methodology for water resources management is based on four pillars: climate characteristics and climate change, water resources availability, quality, and security. The present paper assesses both present and future vulnerability of water resources in the Adriatic region, with special focus on Corfu Island, Greece. The results showed that climate change is expected to impact negatively on water resources availability while at the same time, water demand is expected to increase. Water quality problems will be intensified especially due to land use changes and salt water intrusion. The analysis identified areas where water resources are more vulnerable, allowing decision makers develop management strategies.

Bridge-in-a-Backpack(TM) task 5: guidelines for quality assurance.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-03-01

This report includes fulfillment of Task 5 of a multi-task contract to further enhance concrete filled FRP tubes, or : the Bridge in a Backpack. Task 6 provides guidelines for quality assurance. : The Bridge-in-a-Backpack or hybrid composite arch ...

Dependency of human target detection performance on clutter and quality of supporting image analysis algorithms in a video surveillance task

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huber, Samuel; Dunau, Patrick; Wellig, Peter; Stein, Karin

2017-10-01

Background: In target detection, the success rates depend strongly on human observer performances. Two prior studies tested the contributions of target detection algorithms and prior training sessions. The aim of this Swiss-German cooperation study was to evaluate the dependency of human observer performance on the quality of supporting image analysis algorithms. Methods: The participants were presented 15 different video sequences. Their task was to detect all targets in the shortest possible time. Each video sequence showed a heavily cluttered simulated public area from a different viewing angle. In each video sequence, the number of avatars in the area was altered to 100, 150 and 200 subjects. The number of targets appearing was kept at 10%. The number of marked targets varied from 0, 5, 10, 20 up to 40 marked subjects while keeping the positive predictive value of the detection algorithm at 20%. During the task, workload level was assessed by applying an acoustic secondary task. Detection rates and detection times for the targets were analyzed using inferential statistics. Results: The study found Target Detection Time to increase and Target Detection Rates to decrease with increasing numbers of avatars. The same is true for the Secondary Task Reaction Time while there was no effect on Secondary Task Hit Rate. Furthermore, we found a trend for a u-shaped correlation between the numbers of markings and RTST indicating increased workload. Conclusion: The trial results may indicate useful criteria for the design of training and support of observers in observational tasks.

The Effects of Art History-Enriched Art Therapy on Anxiety, Time on Task, and Art Product Quality.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Carol L.

1993-01-01

Investigated effects of art history enrichment of art therapy task on anxiety, time on task, and art product quality among 13 chronic adult psychiatric day hospital patients. Results indicated art history enrichment task reduced anxiety and increased time on task. Art organization level tended toward significant increase compared with control…

The European initiative for quality management in lung cancer care.

PubMed

Blum, Torsten G; Rich, Anna; Baldwin, David; Beckett, Paul; De Ruysscher, Dirk; Faivre-Finn, Corinne; Gaga, Mina; Gamarra, Fernando; Grigoriu, Bogdan; Hansen, Niels C G; Hubbard, Richard; Huber, Rudolf Maria; Jakobsen, Erik; Jovanovic, Dragana; Konsoulova, Assia; Kollmeier, Jens; Massard, Gilbert; McPhelim, John; Meert, Anne-Pascale; Milroy, Robert; Paesmans, Marianne; Peake, Mick; Putora, Paul-Martin; Scherpereel, Arnaud; Schönfeld, Nicolas; Sitter, Helmut; Skaug, Knut; Spiro, Stephen; Strand, Trond-Eirik; Taright, Samya; Thomas, Michael; van Schil, Paul E; Vansteenkiste, Johan F; Wiewrodt, Rainer; Sculier, Jean-Paul

2014-05-01

Lung cancer is the commonest cause of cancer-related death worldwide and poses a significant respiratory disease burden. Little is known about the provision of lung cancer care across Europe. The overall aim of the Task Force was to investigate current practice in lung cancer care across Europe. The Task Force undertook four projects: 1) a narrative literature search on quality management of lung cancer; 2) a survey of national and local infrastructure for lung cancer care in Europe; 3) a benchmarking project on the quality of (inter)national lung cancer guidelines in Europe; and 4) a feasibility study of prospective data collection in a pan-European setting. There is little peer-reviewed literature on quality management in lung cancer care. The survey revealed important differences in the infrastructure of lung cancer care in Europe. The European guidelines that were assessed displayed wide variation in content and scope, as well as methodological quality but at the same time there was relevant duplication. The feasibility study demonstrated that it is, in principle, feasible to collect prospective demographic and clinical data on patients with lung cancer. Legal obligations vary among countries. The European Initiative for Quality Management in Lung Cancer Care has provided the first comprehensive snapshot of lung cancer care in Europe.

Colonoscopy Quality: Metrics and Implementation

PubMed Central

Calderwood, Audrey H.; Jacobson, Brian C.

2013-01-01

Synopsis Colonoscopy is an excellent area for quality improvement 1 because it is high volume, has significant associated risk and expense, and there is evidence that variability in its performance affects outcomes. The best endpoint for validation of quality metrics in colonoscopy is colorectal cancer incidence and mortality, but because of feasibility issues, a more readily accessible metric is the adenoma detection rate (ADR). Fourteen quality metrics were proposed by the joint American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy/American College of Gastroenterology Task Force on “Quality Indicators for Colonoscopy” in 2006, which are described in further detail below. Use of electronic health records and quality-oriented registries will facilitate quality measurement and reporting. Unlike traditional clinical research, implementation of quality improvement initiatives involves rapid assessments and changes on an iterative basis, and can be done at the individual, group, or facility level. PMID:23931862

Evaluation of subjective image quality in relation to diagnostic task for cone beam computed tomography with different fields of view.

PubMed

Lofthag-Hansen, Sara; Thilander-Klang, Anne; Gröndahl, Kerstin

2011-11-01

To evaluate subjective image quality for two diagnostic tasks, periapical diagnosis and implant planning, for cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) using different exposure parameters and fields of view (FOVs). Examinations were performed in posterior part of the jaws on a skull phantom with 3D Accuitomo (FOV 3 cm×4 cm) and 3D Accuitomo FPD (FOVs 4 cm×4 cm and 6 cm×6 cm). All combinations of 60, 65, 70, 75, 80 kV and 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 mA with a rotation of 180° and 360° were used. Dose-area product (DAP) value was determined for each combination. The images were presented, displaying the object in axial, cross-sectional and sagittal views, without scanning data in a random order for each FOV and jaw. Seven observers assessed image quality on a six-point rating scale. Intra-observer agreement was good (κw=0.76) and inter-observer agreement moderate (κw=0.52). Stepwise logistic regression showed kV, mA and diagnostic task to be the most important variables. Periapical diagnosis, regardless jaw, required higher exposure parameters compared to implant planning. Implant planning in the lower jaw required higher exposure parameters compared to upper jaw. Overall ranking of FOVs gave 4 cm×4 cm, 6 cm×6 cm followed by 3 cm×4 cm. This study has shown that exposure parameters should be adjusted according to diagnostic task. For this particular CBCT brand a rotation of 180° gave good subjective image quality, hence a substantial dose reduction can be achieved without loss of diagnostic information. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Why is quality estimation judgment fast? Comparison of gaze control strategies in quality and difference estimation tasks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Radun, Jenni; Leisti, Tuomas; Virtanen, Toni; Nyman, Göte; Häkkinen, Jukka

2014-11-01

To understand the viewing strategies employed in a quality estimation task, we compared two visual tasks-quality estimation and difference estimation. The estimation was done for a pair of natural images having small global changes in quality. Two groups of observers estimated the same set of images, but with different instructions. One group estimated the difference in quality and the other the difference between image pairs. The results demonstrated the use of different visual strategies in the tasks. The quality estimation was found to include more visual planning during the first fixation than the difference estimation, but afterward needed only a few long fixations on the semantically important areas of the image. The difference estimation used many short fixations. Salient image areas were mainly attended to when these areas were also semantically important. The results support the hypothesis that these tasks' general characteristics (evaluation time, number of fixations, area fixated on) show differences in processing, but also suggest that examining only single fixations when comparing tasks is too narrow a view. When planning a subjective experiment, one must remember that a small change in the instructions might lead to a noticeable change in viewing strategy.

Autonomy, competence, and social relatedness in task interest within project-based education.

PubMed

Minnaert, Alexander; Boekaerts, Monique; de Brabander, Cornelis

2007-10-01

To prepare students for instructive collaboration, it is necessary to have insight into students' psychological needs and interest development. The framework of self-determination theory was used to conduct a field experiment involving 114 students in vocational education. These students followed a practical business course which required they work in small learning groups. During the course, students were asked to complete the Quality of Working in Groups Instrument, an online measure of how strong autonomy, competence, social relatedness, and task interest are fulfilled. SEM showed that students' psychological needs were jointly and uniquely related to task interest over time. The significance of this on-line test for the assessment of interest within project-based education is discussed.

HOW TO DESIGN NUTRITIONAL INTERVENTION TRIALS TO SLOW COGNITIVE DECLINE IN APPARENTLY HEALTHY POPULATIONS AND APPLY FOR EFFICACY CLAIMS: A STATEMENT FROM THE INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY ON NUTRITION AND AGING TASK FORCE

PubMed Central

Ferry, M.; Coley, N.; Andrieu, S.; Bonhomme, C.; Caubere, J.P.; Cesari, M.; Gautry, J.; Garcia Sanchez, I.; Hugonot, L.; Mansuy, L.; Pahor, M.; Pariente, J.; Ritz, P.; Salva, A.; Sijben, J.; Wieggers, R.; Ythier-Moury, P.; Zaim, M.; Zetlaoui, J.; Vellas, B.

2015-01-01

Interventions are crucial as they offer simple and inexpensive public health solutions that will be useful over the long term use. A Task Force on designing trials of nutritional interventions to slow cognitive decline in older adults was held in Toulouse in September 2012. The aim of the Task Force was to bring together leading experts from academia, the food industry and regulatory agencies to determine the best trial designs that would enable us to reach our goal of maintaining or improving cognitive function in apparently healthy aging people. An associated challenge for this Task Force was to determine the type of trials required by the Public Food Agencies for assessing the impact of nutritional compounds in comparison to well established requirements for drug trials. Although the required quality of the study design, rationale and statistical analysis remains the same, the studies designed to show reduction of cognitive decline require a long duration and the objectives of this task force was to determine best design for these trials. Two specific needs were identified to support trials of nutritional interventions: 1- Risk- reduction strategies are needed to tackle the growing burden of cognitive decline that may lead to dementia, 2- Innovative study designs are needed to improve the quality of these studies. PMID:23933873

Longitudinal Relations Between Observed Parenting Behaviors and Dietary Quality of Meals From Ages 2 to 5

PubMed Central

Montaño, Zorash; Smith, Justin D.; Dishion, Thomas J.; Shaw, Daniel S.; Wilson, Melvin N.

2015-01-01

Objectives Parents influence a child’s diet by modeling food choices, selecting the food they will make available, and controlling the child’s intake. Few studies have examined the covariation between parent’s behavior management practices and their guidance and support for a young child’s nutritional environment in early childhood. We hypothesized that parents’ positive behavior support (PBS), characterized as skillful behavior management and proactive structuring of children’s activities, would predict dietary quality over the course of early childhood (age 2 to 5 years), a critical period for the development of a dietary lifestyle through the lifespan. Methods Participants included 731 culturally diverse, low-income families in a randomized, controlled trial of the Family Check-Up. Families participated in a yearly home visit videotaped assessment when children were 2 to 5 years. PBS and dietary quality of meals parents served to their children were assessed by coding videotapes of structured parent–child interactions, including a meal preparation task. A cross-lagged panel model was used to evaluate the longitudinal relation between PBS and the dietary quality of meals served during the meal preparation task. Results Analyses revealed that PBS repeatedly predicted meals’ dietary quality the following year: age 2–3 (β = .30), age 3–4 (β = 0.14), age 4–5 (β = 0.37). Dietary quality significantly predicted PBS 1 year later: age 3–4 (β = 0.16), age 4–5 (β = 0.14). As expected, the relative strength of the relationship from PBS to dietary quality was significantly stronger than the reverse, from dietary quality to PBS. Conclusions Positive behavior management and proactive parenting practices are an important foundation for establishing a healthy nutritional environment for young children. These findings suggest that family-centered prevention interventions for pediatric obesity may benefit from targeting PBS in service of promoting better dietary quality. PMID:25555539

Toward a better understanding of task demands, workload, and performance during physician-computer interactions.

PubMed

Mazur, Lukasz M; Mosaly, Prithima R; Moore, Carlton; Comitz, Elizabeth; Yu, Fei; Falchook, Aaron D; Eblan, Michael J; Hoyle, Lesley M; Tracton, Gregg; Chera, Bhishamjit S; Marks, Lawrence B

2016-11-01

To assess the relationship between (1) task demands and workload, (2) task demands and performance, and (3) workload and performance, all during physician-computer interactions in a simulated environment. Two experiments were performed in 2 different electronic medical record (EMR) environments: WebCIS (n = 12) and Epic (n = 17). Each participant was instructed to complete a set of prespecified tasks on 3 routine clinical EMR-based scenarios: urinary tract infection (UTI), pneumonia (PN), and heart failure (HF). Task demands were quantified using behavioral responses (click and time analysis). At the end of each scenario, subjective workload was measured using the NASA-Task-Load Index (NASA-TLX). Physiological workload was measured using pupillary dilation and electroencephalography (EEG) data collected throughout the scenarios. Performance was quantified based on the maximum severity of omission errors. Data analysis indicated that the PN and HF scenarios were significantly more demanding than the UTI scenario for participants using WebCIS (P < .01), and that the PN scenario was significantly more demanding than the UTI and HF scenarios for participants using Epic (P < .01). In both experiments, the regression analysis indicated a significant relationship only between task demands and performance (P < .01). Results suggest that task demands as experienced by participants are related to participants' performance. Future work may support the notion that task demands could be used as a quality metric that is likely representative of performance, and perhaps patient outcomes. The present study is a reasonable next step in a systematic assessment of how task demands and workload are related to performance in EMR-evolving environments. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Effects of activity repetition training with Salat (prayer) versus task oriented training on functional outcomes of stroke.

PubMed

Ghous, Misbah; Malik, Arshad Nawaz; Amjad, Mian Imran; Kanwal, Maria

2017-07-01

Stroke is one of most disabling condition which directly affects quality of life. The objective of this study was to compare the effect of activity repetition training with salat (prayer) versus task oriented training on functional outcomes of stroke. The study design was randomized control trial and 32 patients were randomly assigned into two groups'. The stroke including infarction or haemorrhagic, age bracket 30-70 years was included. The demographics were recorded and standardized assessment tool included Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Motor assessment scale (MAS) and Time Up and Go Test (TUG). The measurements were obtained at baseline, after four and six weeks. The mean age of the patients was 54.44±10.59 years with 16 (59%) male and 11(41%) female patients. Activity Repetition Training group showed significant improvement (p<0.05) and is effective in enhancing the functional status as compare to task oriented training group. The repetition with motivation and concentration is the key in re-learning process of neural plasticity.

Visually Impaired Drivers Who Use Bioptic Telescopes: Self-Assessed Driving Skills and Agreement With On-Road Driving Evaluation

PubMed Central

Owsley, Cynthia; McGwin, Gerald; Elgin, Jennifer; Wood, Joanne M.

2014-01-01

Purpose. To compare self-assessed driving habits and skills of licensed drivers with central visual loss who use bioptic telescopes to those of age-matched normally sighted drivers, and to examine the association between bioptic drivers' impressions of the quality of their driving and ratings by a “backseat” evaluator. Methods. Participants were licensed bioptic drivers (n = 23) and age-matched normally sighted drivers (n = 23). A questionnaire was administered addressing driving difficulty, space, quality, exposure, and, for bioptic drivers, whether the telescope was helpful in on-road situations. Visual acuity and contrast sensitivity were assessed. Information on ocular diagnosis, telescope characteristics, and bioptic driving experience was collected from the medical record or in interview. On-road driving performance in regular traffic conditions was rated independently by two evaluators. Results. Like normally sighted drivers, bioptic drivers reported no or little difficulty in many driving situations (e.g., left turns, rush hour), but reported more difficulty under poor visibility conditions and in unfamiliar areas (P < 0.05). Driving exposure was reduced in bioptic drivers (driving 250 miles per week on average vs. 410 miles per week for normally sighted drivers, P = 0.02), but driving space was similar to that of normally sighted drivers (P = 0.29). All but one bioptic driver used the telescope in at least one driving task, and 56% used the telescope in three or more tasks. Bioptic drivers' judgments about the quality of their driving were very similar to backseat evaluators' ratings. Conclusions. Bioptic drivers show insight into the overall quality of their driving and areas in which they experience driving difficulty. They report using the bioptic telescope while driving, contrary to previous claims that it is primarily used to pass the vision screening test at licensure. PMID:24370830

Visually impaired drivers who use bioptic telescopes: self-assessed driving skills and agreement with on-road driving evaluation.

PubMed

Owsley, Cynthia; McGwin, Gerald; Elgin, Jennifer; Wood, Joanne M

2014-01-15

To compare self-assessed driving habits and skills of licensed drivers with central visual loss who use bioptic telescopes to those of age-matched normally sighted drivers, and to examine the association between bioptic drivers' impressions of the quality of their driving and ratings by a "backseat" evaluator. Participants were licensed bioptic drivers (n = 23) and age-matched normally sighted drivers (n = 23). A questionnaire was administered addressing driving difficulty, space, quality, exposure, and, for bioptic drivers, whether the telescope was helpful in on-road situations. Visual acuity and contrast sensitivity were assessed. Information on ocular diagnosis, telescope characteristics, and bioptic driving experience was collected from the medical record or in interview. On-road driving performance in regular traffic conditions was rated independently by two evaluators. Like normally sighted drivers, bioptic drivers reported no or little difficulty in many driving situations (e.g., left turns, rush hour), but reported more difficulty under poor visibility conditions and in unfamiliar areas (P < 0.05). Driving exposure was reduced in bioptic drivers (driving 250 miles per week on average vs. 410 miles per week for normally sighted drivers, P = 0.02), but driving space was similar to that of normally sighted drivers (P = 0.29). All but one bioptic driver used the telescope in at least one driving task, and 56% used the telescope in three or more tasks. Bioptic drivers' judgments about the quality of their driving were very similar to backseat evaluators' ratings. Bioptic drivers show insight into the overall quality of their driving and areas in which they experience driving difficulty. They report using the bioptic telescope while driving, contrary to previous claims that it is primarily used to pass the vision screening test at licensure.

Assessment of implicit sexual associations in non-incarcerated pedophiles.

PubMed

van Leeuwen, Matthijs L; van Baaren, Rick B; Chakhssi, Farid; Loonen, Marijke G M; Lippman, Maarten; Dijksterhuis, Ap

2013-11-01

Offences committed by pedophiles are crimes that evoke serious public concern and outrage. Although recent research using implicit measures has shown promise in detecting deviant sexual associations, the discriminatory and predictive quality of implicit tasks has not yet surpassed traditional assessment methods such as questionnaires and phallometry. The current research extended previous findings by examining whether a combination of two implicit tasks, the Implicit Association Task (IAT) and the Picture Association Task (PAT), was capable of differentiating pedophiles from non-pedophiles, and whether the PAT, which allows separate analysis for male, female, boy and girl stimulus categories, was more sensitive to specific sexual associations in pedophiles than the IAT. A total of 20 male self-reported pedophiles (10 offender and 10 non-offenders) and 20 male self-reported heterosexual controls completed the two implicit measures. Results indicated that the combination of both tasks produced the strongest results to date in detecting implicit pedophilic preferences (AUC = .97). Additionally, the PAT showed promise in decomposing the sexual associations in pedophiles. Interestingly, as there was an equal distribution of offenders and non-offenders in the pedophile group, it was possible to test for implicit association differences between these groups. This comparison showed no clear link between having these implicit sexual associations and actual offending.

Hemispheric Transport of Air Pollutants: Issues, Progress, and Implications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keating, T.

2007-12-01

Once thought of as only a local or regional issue, air quality is now understood to be influenced by local, regional, hemispheric, and global phenomena. There is well-documented evidence from ground-, aircraft-, and satellite- based observations for the intercontinental transport of ozone, aerosols, mercury, and some persistent organic pollutants. Global and regional models have provided a range of estimates of the influence of emissions on one continent on concentrations and deposition levels on another continent. These estimates have been difficult to compare and the significance of this intercontinental influence for the design of air pollution control policies is not well understood. The Task Force on Hemispheric Transport of Air Pollutants organized under the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution is developing the first systematic assessment of intercontinental transport and hemispheric pollution in the Northern Hemisphere. This presentation by one of the co-chairs of the Task Force will explore the motivations behind the creation of the Task Force, review its progress, and discuss the implications of its work for the development of domestic and international air quality management policies.

How much is too much assessment? Insight into assessment-driven student learning gains in large-scale undergraduate microbiology courses.

PubMed

Wang, Jack T H; Schembri, Mark A; Hall, Roy A

2013-01-01

Designing and implementing assessment tasks in large-scale undergraduate science courses is a labor-intensive process subject to increasing scrutiny from students and quality assurance authorities alike. Recent pedagogical research has provided conceptual frameworks for teaching introductory undergraduate microbiology, but has yet to define best-practice assessment guidelines. This study assessed the applicability of Biggs' theory of constructive alignment in designing consistent learning objectives, activities, and assessment items that aligned with the American Society for Microbiology's concept-based microbiology curriculum in MICR2000, an introductory microbiology course offered at the University of Queensland, Australia. By improving the internal consistency in assessment criteria and increasing the number of assessment items explicitly aligned to the course learning objectives, the teaching team was able to efficiently provide adequate feedback on numerous assessment tasks throughout the semester, which contributed to improved student performance and learning gains. When comparing the constructively aligned 2011 offering of MICR2000 with its 2010 counterpart, students obtained higher marks in both coursework assignments and examinations as the semester progressed. Students also valued the additional feedback provided, as student rankings for course feedback provision increased in 2011 and assessment and feedback was identified as a key strength of MICR2000. By designing MICR2000 using constructive alignment and iterative assessment tasks that followed a common set of learning outcomes, the teaching team was able to effectively deliver detailed and timely feedback in a large introductory microbiology course. This study serves as a case study for how constructive alignment can be integrated into modern teaching practices for large-scale courses.

Benefits of task-shifting HIV care to nurses in terms of health-related quality of life in patients initiating antiretroviral therapy in rural district hospitals in Cameroon [Stratall Agence Nationale de Recherche sur le SIDA (ANRS) 12110/Ensemble pour une Solidarité Thérapeutique Hospitalière en Réseau (ESTHER) substudy].

PubMed

Suzan-Monti, M; Blanche, J; Boyer, S; Kouanfack, C; Delaporte, E; Bonono, R-C; Carrieri, P M; Protopopescu, C; Laurent, C; Spire, B

2015-05-01

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends task-shifting HIV care to nurses in low-resource settings with limited numbers of physicians. However, the effect of such task-shifting on the health-related quality of life (HRQL) of people living with HIV (PLHIV) has seldom been evaluated. We aimed to investigate the effect of task-shifting HIV care to nurses on HRQL outcomes in PLHIV initiating antiretroviral therapy (ART) in rural district hospitals in Cameroon. Outcomes in PLHIV were longitudinally collected in the 2006-2010 Stratall trial. PLHIV were followed up for 24 months by nurses and/or physicians. Six HRQL dimensions were assessed during face-to-face interviews using the WHO Quality of Life (WHOQOL)-HIV BREF scale: physical health; psychological health; independence level; social relationships; environment; and spirituality/religion/personal beliefs. The degree of task-shifting was estimated using a consultant ratio (i.e. the ratio of nurse-led to physician-led visits). The effect of task-shifting and other potential correlates on HRQL dimensions was explored using a Heckman two-stage approach based on linear mixed models to adjust for the potential bias caused by missing data in the outcomes. Of 1424 visits in 440 PLHIV (70.5% female; median age 36 years; median CD4 count 188 cells/μL at enrolment), 423 (29.7%) were task-shifted to nurses. After multiple adjustment, task-shifting was associated with higher HRQL level for four dimensions: physical health [coefficient 0.7; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.1-1.2; P = 0.01], psychological health (coefficient 0.5; 95% CI 0.0-1.0; P = 0.05), independence level (coefficient 0.6; 95% CI 0.1-1.1; P = 0.01) and environment (coefficient 0.6; 95% CI 0.1-1.0; P = 0.02). Task-shifting HIV care to nurses benefits the HRQL of PLHIV. Together with the previously demonstrated comparable clinical effectiveness of physician-based and nurse-based models of HIV care, our results support the WHO recommendation for task-shifting. © 2015 British HIV Association.

Comparison of Document Index Graph Using TextRank and HITS Weighting Method in Automatic Text Summarization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hadyan, Fadhlil; Shaufiah; Arif Bijaksana, Moch.

2017-01-01

Automatic summarization is a system that can help someone to take the core information of a long text instantly. The system can help by summarizing text automatically. there’s Already many summarization systems that have been developed at this time but there are still many problems in those system. In this final task proposed summarization method using document index graph. This method utilizes the PageRank and HITS formula used to assess the web page, adapted to make an assessment of words in the sentences in a text document. The expected outcome of this final task is a system that can do summarization of a single document, by utilizing document index graph with TextRank and HITS to improve the quality of the summary results automatically.

Assessing reading fluency in Kenya: Oral or silent assessment?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Piper, Benjamin; Zuilkowski, Stephanie Simmons

2015-04-01

In recent years, the Education for All movement has focused more intensely on the quality of education, rather than simply provision. Many recent and current education quality interventions focus on literacy, which is the core skill required for further academic success. Despite this focus on the quality of literacy instruction in developing countries, little rigorous research has been conducted on critical issues of assessment. This analysis, which uses data from the Primary Math and Reading Initiative (PRIMR) in Kenya, aims to begin filling this gap by addressing a key assessment issue - should literacy assessments in Kenya be administered orally or silently? The authors compared second-grade students' scores on oral and silent reading tasks of the Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) in Kiswahili and English, and found no statistically significant differences in either language. They did, however, find oral reading rates to be more strongly related to reading comprehension scores. Oral assessment has another benefit for programme evaluators - it allows for the collection of data on student errors, and therefore the calculation of words read correctly per minute, as opposed to simply words read per minute. The authors therefore recommend that, in Kenya and in similar contexts, student reading fluency be assessed via oral rather than silent assessment.

Quality of Care for Work-associated Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

PubMed Central

Nuckols, Teryl; Conlon, Craig; Robbins, Michael; Dworsky, Michael; Lai, Julie; Roth, Carol P.; Levitan, Barbara; Seabury, Seth; Seelam, Rachana; Asch, Steven M.

2017-01-01

Objective To evaluate the quality of care provided to individuals with workers’ compensation claims related to CTS and identify patient characteristics associated with receiving better care. Methods We recruited subjects with new claims for CTS from 30 occupational clinics affiliated with Kaiser Permanente Northern California. We applied 45 process-oriented quality measures to 477 subjects’ medical records, and performed multivariate logistic regression to identify patient characteristics associated with quality. Results Overall, 81.6% of care adhered to recommended standards. Certain tasks related to assessing and managing activity were underused. Patients with classic/probable Katz diagrams, positive electrodiagnostic tests, and higher incomes received better care. However, age, gender, and race/ethnicity were not associated with quality. Conclusions Care processes for work-associated CTS frequently adhered to quality measures. Clinical factors were more strongly associated with quality than demographic and socioeconomic ones. PMID:28045797

The report of Task Group 100 of the AAPM: Application of risk analysis methods to radiation therapy quality management

PubMed Central

Huq, M. Saiful; Fraass, Benedick A.; Dunscombe, Peter B.; Gibbons, John P.; Mundt, Arno J.; Mutic, Sasa; Palta, Jatinder R.; Rath, Frank; Thomadsen, Bruce R.; Williamson, Jeffrey F.; Yorke, Ellen D.

2016-01-01

The increasing complexity of modern radiation therapy planning and delivery challenges traditional prescriptive quality management (QM) methods, such as many of those included in guidelines published by organizations such as the AAPM, ASTRO, ACR, ESTRO, and IAEA. These prescriptive guidelines have traditionally focused on monitoring all aspects of the functional performance of radiotherapy (RT) equipment by comparing parameters against tolerances set at strict but achievable values. Many errors that occur in radiation oncology are not due to failures in devices and software; rather they are failures in workflow and process. A systematic understanding of the likelihood and clinical impact of possible failures throughout a course of radiotherapy is needed to direct limit QM resources efficiently to produce maximum safety and quality of patient care. Task Group 100 of the AAPM has taken a broad view of these issues and has developed a framework for designing QM activities, based on estimates of the probability of identified failures and their clinical outcome through the RT planning and delivery process. The Task Group has chosen a specific radiotherapy process required for “intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT)” as a case study. The goal of this work is to apply modern risk-based analysis techniques to this complex RT process in order to demonstrate to the RT community that such techniques may help identify more effective and efficient ways to enhance the safety and quality of our treatment processes. The task group generated by consensus an example quality management program strategy for the IMRT process performed at the institution of one of the authors. This report describes the methodology and nomenclature developed, presents the process maps, FMEAs, fault trees, and QM programs developed, and makes suggestions on how this information could be used in the clinic. The development and implementation of risk-assessment techniques will make radiation therapy safer and more efficient. PMID:27370140

The report of Task Group 100 of the AAPM: Application of risk analysis methods to radiation therapy quality management

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

Huq, M. Saiful, E-mail: HUQS@UPMC.EDU

The increasing complexity of modern radiation therapy planning and delivery challenges traditional prescriptive quality management (QM) methods, such as many of those included in guidelines published by organizations such as the AAPM, ASTRO, ACR, ESTRO, and IAEA. These prescriptive guidelines have traditionally focused on monitoring all aspects of the functional performance of radiotherapy (RT) equipment by comparing parameters against tolerances set at strict but achievable values. Many errors that occur in radiation oncology are not due to failures in devices and software; rather they are failures in workflow and process. A systematic understanding of the likelihood and clinical impact ofmore » possible failures throughout a course of radiotherapy is needed to direct limit QM resources efficiently to produce maximum safety and quality of patient care. Task Group 100 of the AAPM has taken a broad view of these issues and has developed a framework for designing QM activities, based on estimates of the probability of identified failures and their clinical outcome through the RT planning and delivery process. The Task Group has chosen a specific radiotherapy process required for “intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT)” as a case study. The goal of this work is to apply modern risk-based analysis techniques to this complex RT process in order to demonstrate to the RT community that such techniques may help identify more effective and efficient ways to enhance the safety and quality of our treatment processes. The task group generated by consensus an example quality management program strategy for the IMRT process performed at the institution of one of the authors. This report describes the methodology and nomenclature developed, presents the process maps, FMEAs, fault trees, and QM programs developed, and makes suggestions on how this information could be used in the clinic. The development and implementation of risk-assessment techniques will make radiation therapy safer and more efficient.« less

The report of Task Group 100 of the AAPM: Application of risk analysis methods to radiation therapy quality management.

PubMed

Huq, M Saiful; Fraass, Benedick A; Dunscombe, Peter B; Gibbons, John P; Ibbott, Geoffrey S; Mundt, Arno J; Mutic, Sasa; Palta, Jatinder R; Rath, Frank; Thomadsen, Bruce R; Williamson, Jeffrey F; Yorke, Ellen D

2016-07-01

The increasing complexity of modern radiation therapy planning and delivery challenges traditional prescriptive quality management (QM) methods, such as many of those included in guidelines published by organizations such as the AAPM, ASTRO, ACR, ESTRO, and IAEA. These prescriptive guidelines have traditionally focused on monitoring all aspects of the functional performance of radiotherapy (RT) equipment by comparing parameters against tolerances set at strict but achievable values. Many errors that occur in radiation oncology are not due to failures in devices and software; rather they are failures in workflow and process. A systematic understanding of the likelihood and clinical impact of possible failures throughout a course of radiotherapy is needed to direct limit QM resources efficiently to produce maximum safety and quality of patient care. Task Group 100 of the AAPM has taken a broad view of these issues and has developed a framework for designing QM activities, based on estimates of the probability of identified failures and their clinical outcome through the RT planning and delivery process. The Task Group has chosen a specific radiotherapy process required for "intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT)" as a case study. The goal of this work is to apply modern risk-based analysis techniques to this complex RT process in order to demonstrate to the RT community that such techniques may help identify more effective and efficient ways to enhance the safety and quality of our treatment processes. The task group generated by consensus an example quality management program strategy for the IMRT process performed at the institution of one of the authors. This report describes the methodology and nomenclature developed, presents the process maps, FMEAs, fault trees, and QM programs developed, and makes suggestions on how this information could be used in the clinic. The development and implementation of risk-assessment techniques will make radiation therapy safer and more efficient.

Infant feeding counselling of HIV-infected women in two areas in Kenya in 2008.

PubMed

Israel-Ballard, Kiersten; Waithaka, Margaret; Greiner, Ted

2014-11-01

While WHO no longer recommends individual infant feeding counselling to HIV-positive women, it may still be practised in some settings and for specific cases. In any case, lessons can be learned by examining how well front line health workers are able to take on counselling tasks. This qualitative study was designed to assess how counsellors deal with challenges they face in two Kenyan provinces. It consisted of brief post-counselling exit interviews with 80 mothers, observations of 21 counselling sessions and 11 key informant interviews. Much infant feeding counselling was of reasonable quality, better than often reported elsewhere. However, nutrition and infant feeding were given low priority, counsellors' training was inadequate, individual postnatal counselling as well as growth monitoring and promotion were rarely done and complementary feeding was inadequately covered. Acceptable, feasible, affordable, sustainable and safe (AFASS) assessments were not of satisfactory quality. Breast milk expression was mentioned only to a minority and the possibility of heat treatment during the transition to cessation was not mentioned. Counsellors were often biased in discussing risks of breastfeeding and replacement feeding. Implementing the new WHO guidance will reduce the need for AFASS assessments, greatly simplifying both the government's and counsellors' tasks. © The Author(s) 2014 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.

Acute Affective Reactivity and Quality of Life in Older Adults with Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Functional MRI Study.

PubMed

Ren, Ping; Heffner, Kathi L; Jacobs, Alanna; Lin, Feng

2017-11-01

Poor quality of life (QoL) is a major concern among older adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Maladaptive affective regulation and its relevant frontal dysfunction that are often observed in older adults with MCI may provide an insight into the understanding of their QoL. In this case-controlled study, participants (MCI patients, N = 18; healthy comparisons [HC], N = 21) completed cognitive tasks, and underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) immediately before and after the tasks. The amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) of rs-fMRI signals was calculated to examine the brain's spontaneous activity. The change in valence from the Self-Assessment Manikin indexed affective reactivity. QoL was assessed using Quality of Life-AD measure. Multiple mediator model was used to examine the mediating effect of frontal regions' ALFF reactivity between the affective reactivity and QoL. The MCI group had significantly worse QoL and more negative affective reactivity than HC group. Less negative affective reactivity was significantly associated with better QoL in MCI not HC. ALFF in the anterior cingulate cortex, medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), and superior frontal gyrus (SFG) increased significantly less after cognitive tasks in MCI than HC. For the entire sample, greater increases of ALFF in MPFC and SFG were significantly associated with better QoL, and SFG alone significantly mediated the association between affective reactivity and QoL. Enhancing SFG activation, especially among those with MCI, may provide a therapeutic target for addressing the negative impact of maladaptive affective regulation on QoL. Copyright © 2017 American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Children's perception of their synthetically corrected speech production.

PubMed

Strömbergsson, Sofia; Wengelin, Asa; House, David

2014-06-01

We explore children's perception of their own speech - in its online form, in its recorded form, and in synthetically modified forms. Children with phonological disorder (PD) and children with typical speech and language development (TD) performed tasks of evaluating accuracy of the different types of speech stimuli, either immediately after having produced the utterance or after a delay. In addition, they performed a task designed to assess their ability to detect synthetic modification. Both groups showed high performance in tasks involving evaluation of other children's speech, whereas in tasks of evaluating one's own speech, the children with PD were less accurate than their TD peers. The children with PD were less sensitive to misproductions in immediate conjunction with their production of an utterance, and more accurate after a delay. Within-category modification often passed undetected, indicating a satisfactory quality of the generated speech. Potential clinical benefits of using corrective re-synthesis are discussed.

Formative evaluation of a patient-specific clinical knowledge summarization tool

PubMed Central

Del Fiol, Guilherme; Mostafa, Javed; Pu, Dongqiuye; Medlin, Richard; Slager, Stacey; Jonnalagadda, Siddhartha R.; Weir, Charlene R.

2015-01-01

Objective To iteratively design a prototype of a computerized clinical knowledge summarization (CKS) tool aimed at helping clinicians finding answers to their clinical questions; and to conduct a formative assessment of the usability, usefulness, efficiency, and impact of the CKS prototype on physicians’ perceived decision quality compared with standard search of UpToDate and PubMed. Materials and methods Mixed-methods observations of the interactions of 10 physicians with the CKS prototype vs. standard search in an effort to solve clinical problems posed as case vignettes. Results The CKS tool automatically summarizes patient-specific and actionable clinical recommendations from PubMed (high quality randomized controlled trials and systematic reviews) and UpToDate. Two thirds of the study participants completed 15 out of 17 usability tasks. The median time to task completion was less than 10 s for 12 of the 17 tasks. The difference in search time between the CKS and standard search was not significant (median = 4.9 vs. 4.5 min). Physician’s perceived decision quality was significantly higher with the CKS than with manual search (mean = 16.6 vs. 14.4; p = 0.036). Conclusions The CKS prototype was well-accepted by physicians both in terms of usability and usefulness. Physicians perceived better decision quality with the CKS prototype compared to standard search of PubMed and UpToDate within a similar search time. Due to the formative nature of this study and a small sample size, conclusions regarding efficiency and efficacy are exploratory. PMID:26612774

Formative evaluation of a patient-specific clinical knowledge summarization tool.

PubMed

Del Fiol, Guilherme; Mostafa, Javed; Pu, Dongqiuye; Medlin, Richard; Slager, Stacey; Jonnalagadda, Siddhartha R; Weir, Charlene R

2016-02-01

To iteratively design a prototype of a computerized clinical knowledge summarization (CKS) tool aimed at helping clinicians finding answers to their clinical questions; and to conduct a formative assessment of the usability, usefulness, efficiency, and impact of the CKS prototype on physicians' perceived decision quality compared with standard search of UpToDate and PubMed. Mixed-methods observations of the interactions of 10 physicians with the CKS prototype vs. standard search in an effort to solve clinical problems posed as case vignettes. The CKS tool automatically summarizes patient-specific and actionable clinical recommendations from PubMed (high quality randomized controlled trials and systematic reviews) and UpToDate. Two thirds of the study participants completed 15 out of 17 usability tasks. The median time to task completion was less than 10s for 12 of the 17 tasks. The difference in search time between the CKS and standard search was not significant (median=4.9 vs. 4.5m in). Physician's perceived decision quality was significantly higher with the CKS than with manual search (mean=16.6 vs. 14.4; p=0.036). The CKS prototype was well-accepted by physicians both in terms of usability and usefulness. Physicians perceived better decision quality with the CKS prototype compared to standard search of PubMed and UpToDate within a similar search time. Due to the formative nature of this study and a small sample size, conclusions regarding efficiency and efficacy are exploratory. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

Development methodology of the novel Endoscopic stone treatment step 1 (EST s1) training/assessment curriculum.

PubMed

Veneziano, Domenico; Ahmed, Kamran; Van Cleynenbreugel, Ben S E P; Gözen, Ali Serdar; Palou, Joan; Sarica, Kemal; Liatsikos, Evangelos N; Sanguedolce, Francesco; Honeck, Patrick; Alvarez-Maestro, Mario; Papatsoris, Athanasios; Kallidonis, Panagiotis; Greco, Francesco; Breda, Alberto; Somani, Bhaskar

2017-07-10

Background Simulation based technical-skill assessment is a core topic of debate, especially in high-risk environments. After the introduction of the E-BLUS exam for basic laparoscopy, no more technical training/assessment urological protocols have been developed in Europe. Objective We describe the methodology used in the development of the novel Endoscopic Stone Treatment step 1 (EST s1) assessment curriculum. Materials and Methods The "full life cycle curriculum development" template was followed for curriculum development. A CTA was run to define the most important steps and details of RIRS, in accordance with EAU Urolithiasis guidelines. Training tasks were created between April 2015 and September 2015. Tasks and metrics were further analyzed by a consensus meeting with the EULIS board in February 2016. A review, aimed to study available simulators and their accordance with task requirements, was subsequently run in London on March 2016. After initial feedback and further tests, content validity of this protocol was achieved during EUREP 2016. Results The EST s1 curriculum development, took 23 months. 72 participants tested the 5 preliminary tasks during EUREP 2015, with sessions of 45 minutes each. Likert-scale questionnaires were filled-out to score the quality of training. The protocol was modified accordingly and 25 participants tested the 4 tasks during the hands-on training sessions of the ESUT 2016 congress. 134 participants finally participated in the validation study in EUREP 2016. During the same event 10 experts confirmed content validity by filling-out a Likert-scale questionnaire. Conclusion We described a reliable and replicable methodology that can be followed to develop training/assessment protocols for surgical procedures. The expert consensus meetings, strict adherence to guidelines and updated literature search towards an Endourology curriculum allowed correct training and assessment protocol development. It is the first step towards standardized simulation training in Endourology with a potential for worldwide adoption.

Racial and Ethnic Diversity in Anchorage.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goldsmith, Scott; Frazier, Rosyland

In the spring of 2001, the mayor of Anchorage (Alaska) created a task force to develop recommendations to help heal racism in Anchorage. A series of focus groups were held throughout the community to obtain an assessment of attitudes and opinions about the quality of life in Anchorage from the perspective of different racial groups and to solicit…

Children's Attachment-Related Narratives Following US Gulf Coast Hurricanes: Linkages with Understanding and Teacher Stress

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Page, Timothy; Buchanan, Teresa K.; Verbovaya, Olga

2016-01-01

The central focus of this study was the perceptions of emotional security among 64 elementary school-aged children exposed to the hurricanes that affected the US Gulf Coast in 2005. Specifically, we examined the representational qualities of attachment, exploration, and caregiving as assessed with a narrative story-stem task in relation to…

Improving the Quality of Innovative Item Types: Four Tasks for Design and Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parshall, Cynthia G.; Harmes, J. Christine

2009-01-01

Many exam programs have begun to include innovative item types in their operational assessments. While innovative item types appear to have great promise for expanding measurement, there can also be genuine challenges to their successful implementation. In this paper we present a set of four activities that can be beneficially incorporated into…

Assessment of Principals' Supervisory Roles for Quality Assurance in Secondary Schools in Ondo State, Nigeria

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ayeni, Adeolu Joshua

2012-01-01

This study identified the nature of principals' supervisory roles and the perceived effectiveness of principals in the supervision of teachers' instructional tasks. Furthermore, it investigated the constraints faced by principals in the performance of supervisory duties in the teaching-learning process. This was with a view to providing…

An Overview of the NOAA Drought Task Force

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schubert, S.; Mo, K.; Peters-Lidard, C.; Wood, A.

2012-01-01

The charge of the NOAA Drought Task Force is to coordinate and facilitate the various MAPP-funded research efforts with the overall goal of achieving significant advances in understanding and in the ability to monitor and predict drought over North America. In order to achieve this, the task force has developed a Drought Test-bed that individual research groups can use to test/evaluate methods and ideas. Central to this is a focus on three high profile North American droughts (1998-2004 western US drought, 2006-2007 SE US drought, 2011- current Tex-Mex drought) to facilitate collaboration among projects, including the development of metrics to assess the quality of monitoring and prediction products, and the development of an experimental drought monitoring and prediction system that incorporates and assesses recent advances. This talk will review the progress and plans of the task force, including efforts to help advance official national drought products, and the development of early warning systems by the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS). Coordination with other relevant national and international efforts such as the emerging NMME capabilities and the international effort to develop a Global Drought Information System (GDIS) will be discussed.

The strategy for improving water-quality monitoring in the United States; final report of the Intergovernmental Task Force on Monitoring Water Quality; technical appendices

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

1995-01-01

The Intergovernmental Task Force on Monitoring Water Quality (ITFM) prepared this report in collaboration with representatives of all levels of government and the private sector. The report recommends a strategy for nationwide water-quality monitoring and technical monitoring improvements to support sound water-quality decisionmaking. The strategy is intended to achieve a better return on public and private investments in monitoring, environmental protection, and natural resources management. It is also designed to expand the base of information useful to a variety of users at multiple geographic scales. Institutional and technical changes are needed to improve water-quality monitoring and to meet the full range of monitoring requirements. Monitoring must be incorporated as a critical element of program planning, implementation, and evaluation. The strategy includes recommendations in many key elements, such as the development of goal-oriented monitoring and indicators, institutional collaboration, and methods comparability. Initial actions have been taken to implement the strategy. Several Federal agencies have jointly purchased and shared remotely sensed land-cover information needed for water assessment. Major agency data systems are using common data-element names and reference tables that will ensure easy sharing of data. A number of States have held meetings with collectors of water information to initiate statewide monitoring strategies. New monitoring guidance has been developed for Federal water-quality grants to States. Many State offices have changed monitoring programs to place emphasis on priority watersheds and to improve assessment of water quality. As the competition increases for adequate supplies of clean water, concerns about public health and the environment escalate, and more demands are placed on the water information infrastructure. To meet these demands, the collaborative approach has already produced benefits, which will continue to grow as the recommendations are implemented

Technology assessment in the Executive Office of the President

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kidd, C. V.

1972-01-01

The involvement of the President with technology, directly and indirectly, and the best way in which his responsibilities can be discharged are discussed. Technology assessment is considered essential at all levels of the Executive agencies, but the capacity of the agencies for assessment is limited and needs to be supplemented within the Executive Branch. Complete centralization of technological assessment is felt to be ineffective. The role of the Executive Office in initiating proposals for Presidential action and sustaining links with Congress are outlined, and the apparatus for technology assessment is described, emphasizing the Office of Science and Technology. A significant area of technology assessment for the Executive Office is the field of environmental quality, and the duties of the Environmental Quality Council are summarized. It is suggested that it may be more effective to set up a separate organization for the restoration and protection of the environment and to define the task in terms of what is to be protected rather than in terms of technology.

Brief International Cognitive Assessment for Multiple Sclerosis (BICAMS) and performance of everyday life tasks: Actual Reality.

PubMed

Goverover, Yael; Chiaravalloti, Nancy; DeLuca, John

2016-04-01

Recently, a brief cognitive assessment (Brief International Cognitive Assessment for Multiple Sclerosis: BICAMS) has been recommended for use with patients diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) to screen for cognitive impairments. However, the relationship between the BICAMS and everyday life activity has not been examined. The aim of this study was to examine whether the BICAMS can predict performance of activities of daily living using Actual Reality(TM) (AR) in persons with MS. A between-subjects design was utilized to compare 41 individuals with MS and 32 healthy controls (HC) performing BICAMS and an AR task. Participants were asked to access the internet to purchase a flight ticket or cookies, and were administered the BICAMS and questionnaires to assess quality of life (QOL), affect symptomatology, and prior internet experience. Participants with MS performed significantly worse than HC on the BICAMS and the AR. Additionally, better BICAMS performance was associated with more independent AR performance. Self-reports of QOL were not correlated with AR or BICAMS performance. Individuals with MS have greater problems with actual everyday life tasks as compared to HC. The BICAMS is a promising cognitive screening tool to predict actual functional performance in participants with MS. © The Author(s), 2015.

Maximizing Total QoS-Provisioning of Image Streams with Limited Energy Budget

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Wan Yeon; Kim, Kyong Hoon; Ko, Young Woong

To fully utilize the limited battery energy of mobile electronic devices, we propose an adaptive adjustment method of processing quality for multiple image stream tasks running with widely varying execution times. This adjustment method completes the worst-case executions of the tasks with a given budget of energy, and maximizes the total reward value of processing quality obtained during their executions by exploiting the probability distribution of task execution times. The proposed method derives the maximum reward value for the tasks being executable with arbitrary processing quality, and near maximum value for the tasks being executable with a finite number of processing qualities. Our evaluation on a prototype system shows that the proposed method achieves larger reward values, by up to 57%, than the previous method.

Immediate care of open extremity fractures: where can we improve?

PubMed

Walton, R; Manara, J; Elamin, S E; Braithwaite, I; Wood, E

2014-01-01

Clear guidelines are set by the British Orthopaedic Association (BOA) and British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (BAPRAS) on the preoperative management of open fractures. This as well as the clinical consequences of poor management of open fractures means the patient workup for surgery is important as well as the timing of surgery. Experience suggests few patients are managed 100% as per the guidelines and we look to test this hypothesis. A retrospective analysis was undertaken of all open long bone fractures (total 133), excluding hand injuries, which presented to a district general hospital over a 5-year period. The implementation of 7 defined key tasks for initial management was recorded. 101 cases were eligible, with the majority of cases (71.4%) having initial orthopaedic assessment outside normal working hours. The mean number of tasks completed was 3.23/7. Assessment out of hours was associated with less tasks being implemented but doctor seniority and the presence of polytrauma made no difference to the quality of acute care. Staff involved in the acute care of open fractures require targeted education to improve the delivery of initial preoperative care. We recommend that other centres assess their performance against this data.

Immediate Care of Open Extremity Fractures: Where Can We Improve?

PubMed Central

Walton, R.; Manara, J.; Elamin, S. E.; Braithwaite, I.; Wood, E.

2014-01-01

Clear guidelines are set by the British Orthopaedic Association (BOA) and British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (BAPRAS) on the preoperative management of open fractures. This as well as the clinical consequences of poor management of open fractures means the patient workup for surgery is important as well as the timing of surgery. Experience suggests few patients are managed 100% as per the guidelines and we look to test this hypothesis. A retrospective analysis was undertaken of all open long bone fractures (total 133), excluding hand injuries, which presented to a district general hospital over a 5-year period. The implementation of 7 defined key tasks for initial management was recorded. 101 cases were eligible, with the majority of cases (71.4%) having initial orthopaedic assessment outside normal working hours. The mean number of tasks completed was 3.23/7. Assessment out of hours was associated with less tasks being implemented but doctor seniority and the presence of polytrauma made no difference to the quality of acute care. Staff involved in the acute care of open fractures require targeted education to improve the delivery of initial preoperative care. We recommend that other centres assess their performance against this data. PMID:24672795

Epidemiological study air disaster in Amsterdam (ESADA): study design.

PubMed

Slottje, Pauline; Huizink, Anja C; Twisk, Jos W R; Witteveen, Anke B; van der Ploeg, Henk M; Bramsen, Inge; Smidt, Nynke; Bijlsma, Joost A; Bouter, Lex M; van Mechelen, Willem; Smid, Tjabe

2005-05-30

In 1992, a cargo aircraft crashed into apartment buildings in Amsterdam, killing 43 victims and destroying 266 apartments. In the aftermath there were speculations about the cause of the crash, potential exposures to hazardous materials due to the disaster and the health consequences. Starting in 2000, the Epidemiological Study Air Disaster in Amsterdam (ESADA) aimed to assess the long-term health effects of occupational exposure to this disaster on professional assistance workers. Epidemiological study among all the exposed professional fire-fighters and police officers who performed disaster-related task(s), and hangar workers who sorted the wreckage of the aircraft, as well as reference groups of their non-exposed colleagues who did not perform any disaster-related tasks. The study took place, on average, 8.5 years after the disaster. Questionnaires were used to assess details on occupational exposure to the disaster. Health measures comprised laboratory assessments in urine, blood and saliva, as well as self-reported current health measures, including health-related quality of life, and various physical and psychological symptoms. In this paper we describe and discuss the design of the ESADA. The ESADA will provide additional scientific knowledge on the long-term health effects of technological disasters on professional workers.

A customisable framework for the assessment of therapies in the solution of therapy decision tasks.

PubMed

Manjarrés Riesco, A; Martínez Tomás, R; Mira Mira, J

2000-01-01

In current medical research, a growing interest can be observed in the definition of a global therapy-evaluation framework which integrates considerations such as patients preferences and quality-of-life results. In this article, we propose the use of the research results in this domain as a source of knowledge in the design of support systems for therapy decision analysis, in particular with a view to application in oncology. We discuss the incorporation of these considerations in the definition of the therapy-assessment methods involved in the solution of a generic therapy decision task, described in the context of AI software development methodologies such as CommonKADS. The goal of the therapy decision task is to identify the ideal therapy, for a given patient, in accordance with a set of objectives of a diverse nature. The assessment methods applied are based either on data obtained from statistics or on the specific idiosyncrasies of each patient, as identified from their responses to a suite of psychological tests. In the analysis of the therapy decision task we emphasise the importance, from a methodological perspective, of using a rigorous approach to the modelling of domain ontologies and domain-specific data. To this aim we make extensive use of the semi-formal object oriented analysis notation UML to describe the domain level.

The effect of voice quality and competing speakers in a passage comprehension task: performance in relation to cognitive functioning in children with normal hearing.

PubMed

von Lochow, Heike; Lyberg-Åhlander, Viveka; Sahlén, Birgitta; Kastberg, Tobias; Brännström, K Jonas

2018-04-01

This study explores the effect of voice quality and competing speaker/-s on children's performance in a passage comprehension task. Furthermore, it explores the interaction between passage comprehension and cognitive functioning. Forty-nine children (27 girls and 22 boys) with normal hearing (aged 7-12 years) participated. Passage comprehension was tested in six different listening conditions; a typical voice (non-dysphonic voice) in quiet, a typical voice with one competing speaker, a typical voice with four competing speakers, a dysphonic voice in quiet, a dysphonic voice with one competing speaker, and a dysphonic voice with four competing speakers. The children's working memory capacity and executive functioning were also assessed. The findings indicate no direct effect of voice quality on the children's performance, but a significant effect of background listening condition. Interaction effects were seen between voice quality, background listening condition, and executive functioning. The children's susceptibility to the effect of the dysphonic voice and the background listening conditions are related to the individual's executive functions. The findings have several implications for design of interventions in language learning environments such as classrooms.

Workflow for Criticality Assessment Applied in Biopharmaceutical Process Validation Stage 1.

PubMed

Zahel, Thomas; Marschall, Lukas; Abad, Sandra; Vasilieva, Elena; Maurer, Daniel; Mueller, Eric M; Murphy, Patrick; Natschläger, Thomas; Brocard, Cécile; Reinisch, Daniela; Sagmeister, Patrick; Herwig, Christoph

2017-10-12

Identification of critical process parameters that impact product quality is a central task during regulatory requested process validation. Commonly, this is done via design of experiments and identification of parameters significantly impacting product quality (rejection of the null hypothesis that the effect equals 0). However, parameters which show a large uncertainty and might result in an undesirable product quality limit critical to the product, may be missed. This might occur during the evaluation of experiments since residual/un-modelled variance in the experiments is larger than expected a priori. Estimation of such a risk is the task of the presented novel retrospective power analysis permutation test. This is evaluated using a data set for two unit operations established during characterization of a biopharmaceutical process in industry. The results show that, for one unit operation, the observed variance in the experiments is much larger than expected a priori, resulting in low power levels for all non-significant parameters. Moreover, we present a workflow of how to mitigate the risk associated with overlooked parameter effects. This enables a statistically sound identification of critical process parameters. The developed workflow will substantially support industry in delivering constant product quality, reduce process variance and increase patient safety.

Preventing hospital-acquired venous thromboembolism: Improving patient safety with interdisciplinary teamwork, quality improvement analytics, and data transparency.

PubMed

Schleyer, Anneliese M; Robinson, Ellen; Dumitru, Roxana; Taylor, Mark; Hayes, Kimberly; Pergamit, Ronald; Beingessner, Daphne M; Zaros, Mark C; Cuschieri, Joseph

2016-12-01

Hospital-acquired venous thromboembolism (HA-VTE) is a potentially preventable cause of morbidity and mortality. Despite high rates of venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis in accordance with an institutional guideline, VTE remains the most common hospital-acquired condition in our institution. To improve the safety of all hospitalized patients, examine current VTE prevention practices, identify opportunities for improvement, and decrease rates of HA-VTE. Pre/post assessment. Urban academic tertiary referral center, level 1 trauma center, safety net hospital; all patients. We formed a multidisciplinary VTE task force to review all HA-VTE events, assess prevention practices relative to evidence-based institutional guidelines, and identify improvement opportunities. The task force developed an electronic tool to facilitate efficient VTE event review and designed decision-support and reporting tools, now integrated into the electronic health record, to bring optimal VTE prevention practices to the point of care. Performance is shared transparently across the institution. Harborview benchmarks process and outcome performance, including patient safety indicators and core measures, against hospitals nationally using Hospital Compare and Vizient data. Our program has resulted in >90% guideline-adherent VTE prevention and zero preventable HA-VTEs. Initiatives have resulted in a 15% decrease in HA-VTE and a 21% reduction in postoperative VTE. Keys to success include the multidisciplinary approach, clinical roles of task force members, senior leadership support, and use of quality improvement analytics for retrospective review, prospective reporting, and performance transparency. Ongoing task force collaboration with frontline providers is critical to sustained improvements. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2016;11:S38-S43. © 2016 Society of Hospital Medicine. © 2016 Society of Hospital Medicine.

An examination of psychopathology and daily impairment in adolescents with social anxiety disorder.

PubMed

Mesa, Franklin; Beidel, Deborah C; Bunnell, Brian E

2014-01-01

Although social anxiety disorder (SAD) is most often diagnosed during adolescence, few investigations have examined the clinical presentation and daily functional impairment of this disorder exclusively in adolescents. Prior studies have demonstrated that some clinical features of SAD in adolescents are unique relative to younger children with the condition. Furthermore, quality of sleep, a robust predictor of anxiety problems and daily stress, has not been examined in socially anxious adolescents. In this investigation, social behavior and sleep were closely examined in adolescents with SAD (n = 16) and normal control adolescents (NC; n = 14). Participants completed a self-report measure and an actigraphy assessment of sleep. Social functioning was assessed via a brief speech and a social interaction task, during which heart rate and skin conductance were measured. Additionally, participants completed a daily social activity journal for 1 week. No differences were observed in objective or subjective quality of sleep. Adolescents with SAD reported greater distress during the analogue social tasks relative to NC adolescents. During the speech task, adolescents with SAD exhibited a trend toward greater speech latency and spoke significantly less than NC adolescents. Additionally, SAD participants manifested greater skin conductance during the speech task. During the social interaction, adolescents with SAD required significantly more confederate prompts to stimulate interaction. Finally, adolescents with SAD reported more frequent anxiety-provoking situations in their daily lives, including answering questions in class, assertive communication, and interacting with a group. The findings suggest that, although adolescents with SAD may not exhibit daily impaired sleep, the group does experience specific behavioral and physiological difficulties in social contexts regularly. Social skills training may be a critical component in therapeutic approaches for this group.

Impact of Expert Teaching Quality on Novice Academic Performance in the Jigsaw Cooperative Learning Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berger, Roland; Hänze, Martin

2015-01-01

We assessed the impact of expert students' instructional quality on the academic performance of novice students in 12th-grade physics classes organized in an expert model of cooperative learning ('jigsaw classroom'). The instructional quality of 129 expert students was measured by a newly developed rating system. As expected, when aggregating across all four subtopics taught, regression analysis revealed that academic performance of novice students increases with the quality of expert students' instruction. The difficulty of subtopics, however, moderates this effect: higher instructional quality of more difficult subtopics did not lead to better academic performance of novice students. We interpret this finding in the light of Cognitive Load Theory. Demanding tasks cause high intrinsic cognitive load and hindered the novice students' learning.

Evaluation of Flying Qualities and Guidance Displays for an Advanced Tilt-Wing STOL Transport Aircraft in Final Approach and Landing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Frost, Chad R.; Franklin, James A.; Hardy, Gordon H.

2002-01-01

A piloted simulation was performed on the Vertical Motion Simulator at NASA Ames Research Center to evaluate flying qualities of a tilt-wing Short Take-Off and Landing (STOL) transport aircraft during final approach and landing. The experiment was conducted to assess the design s handling qualities, and to evaluate the use of flightpath-centered guidance for the precision approach and landing tasks required to perform STOL operations in instrument meteorological conditions, turbulence, and wind. Pilots rated the handling qualities to be satisfactory for all operations evaluated except those encountering extreme crosswinds and severe windshear; even in these difficult meteorological conditions, adequate handling qualities were maintained. The advanced flight control laws and guidance displays provided consistent performance and precision landings.

Consolidated View on Space Software Engineering Problems - An Empirical Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Silva, N.; Vieira, M.; Ricci, D.; Cotroneo, D.

2015-09-01

Independent software verification and validation (ISVV) has been a key process for engineering quality assessment for decades, and is considered in several international standards. The “European Space Agency (ESA) ISVV Guide” is used for the European Space market to drive the ISVV tasks and plans, and to select applicable tasks and techniques. Software artefacts have room for improvement due to the amount if issues found during ISVV tasks. This article presents the analysis of the results of a large set of ISVV issues originated from three different ESA missions-amounting to more than 1000 issues. The study presents the main types, triggers and impacts related to the ISVV issues found and sets the path for a global software engineering improvement based on the most common deficiencies identified for space projects.

HiC-bench: comprehensive and reproducible Hi-C data analysis designed for parameter exploration and benchmarking.

PubMed

Lazaris, Charalampos; Kelly, Stephen; Ntziachristos, Panagiotis; Aifantis, Iannis; Tsirigos, Aristotelis

2017-01-05

Chromatin conformation capture techniques have evolved rapidly over the last few years and have provided new insights into genome organization at an unprecedented resolution. Analysis of Hi-C data is complex and computationally intensive involving multiple tasks and requiring robust quality assessment. This has led to the development of several tools and methods for processing Hi-C data. However, most of the existing tools do not cover all aspects of the analysis and only offer few quality assessment options. Additionally, availability of a multitude of tools makes scientists wonder how these tools and associated parameters can be optimally used, and how potential discrepancies can be interpreted and resolved. Most importantly, investigators need to be ensured that slight changes in parameters and/or methods do not affect the conclusions of their studies. To address these issues (compare, explore and reproduce), we introduce HiC-bench, a configurable computational platform for comprehensive and reproducible analysis of Hi-C sequencing data. HiC-bench performs all common Hi-C analysis tasks, such as alignment, filtering, contact matrix generation and normalization, identification of topological domains, scoring and annotation of specific interactions using both published tools and our own. We have also embedded various tasks that perform quality assessment and visualization. HiC-bench is implemented as a data flow platform with an emphasis on analysis reproducibility. Additionally, the user can readily perform parameter exploration and comparison of different tools in a combinatorial manner that takes into account all desired parameter settings in each pipeline task. This unique feature facilitates the design and execution of complex benchmark studies that may involve combinations of multiple tool/parameter choices in each step of the analysis. To demonstrate the usefulness of our platform, we performed a comprehensive benchmark of existing and new TAD callers exploring different matrix correction methods, parameter settings and sequencing depths. Users can extend our pipeline by adding more tools as they become available. HiC-bench consists an easy-to-use and extensible platform for comprehensive analysis of Hi-C datasets. We expect that it will facilitate current analyses and help scientists formulate and test new hypotheses in the field of three-dimensional genome organization.

The dual task-cost of standing balance affects quality of life in mildly disabled MS people.

PubMed

Castelli, Letizia; De Luca, Francesca; Marchetti, Maria Rita; Sellitto, Giovanni; Fanelli, Fulvia; Prosperini, Luca

2016-05-01

The aim of this study was to explore the correlations between the dual-task cost (DTC) of standing balance and quality of life (QoL) in mildly disabled patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). In this cross-sectional study, patients affected by MS with an expanded disability status scale (EDSS) score of 3.0 or less and without an overt balance impairment were tested by means of static posturography under eyes-opened (single-task condition) and while performing the Stroop word-color test (dual-task condition), to estimate the DTC of standing balance. The self-reported 54-item MS quality of life questionnaire (MSQoL-54) was also administered to obtain a MS-specific assessment of health-related QoL. Among the 120 screened patients, 75 (53 women, 22 men) were tested. Although there was no impact of the DTC of standing balance on the physical and mental composite scores of MSQoL-54, patients who had a greater DTC of standing balance scored worse on role limitations due to physical problems (p = 0.007) and social function (p < 0.001), irrespective of demographic and other clinical characteristics including walking performance and cognitive status. However, the EDSS step and fatigue also contributed to reduced scores in these two QoL domains (p-values < 0.01). In conclusion, the phenomenon of cognitive-motor interference, investigated as DTC of standing balance, may affect specific QoL domains even in mildly disabled patients with MS and in the absence of an overt balance dysfunction.

Fisheries research and monitoring activities of the Lake Erie Biological Station, 2015

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bodamer Scarbro, Betsy L.; Edwards, W.H.; Kocovsky, Patrick M.; Kraus, Richard T.; Rogers, M. R.; Schoonyan, A. L.; Stewart, T. R.

2016-01-01

In 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) Lake Erie Biological Station (LEBS) successfully completed large vessel surveys in all three of Lake Erie’s basins. Lake Erie Biological Station’s primary vessel surveys included the Western Basin Forage Fish Assessment and East Harbor Fish Community Assessment as well as contributing to the cooperative multi-agency Central Basin Hydroacoustics Assessment, the Eastern Basin Coldwater Community Assessment, and Lower Trophic Level Assessment (see Forage and Coldwater Task Group reports). In 2015, LEBS also initiated a Lake Erie Central Basin Trawling survey in response to the need for forage fish data from Management Unit 3 (as defined by the Yellow Perch Task Group). Results from these surveys contribute to Lake Erie Committee Fish Community Goals and Objectives. Our 2015 vessel operations were initiated in early April and continued into late November. During this time, crews of the R/V Muskie and R/V Bowfin deployed 121 bottom trawls covering 83.2 ha of lake-bottom and catching 105,600 fish totaling 4,065 kg during four separate trawl surveys in the western and central basins of Lake Erie. We deployed and lifted 9.5 km of gillnet, which caught an additional 805 fish, 100 (337 kg) of which were the native coldwater predators Lake Trout, Burbot, and Lake Whitefish (these data are reported in the 2016 Coldwater Task Group report). We also conducted 317 km of hydroacoustic survey transects (reported in the 2016 Forage Task Group report), collected 114 lower trophic (i.e. zooplankton and benthos) samples, and obtained 216 water quality observations (e.g., temperature profiles, and water samples). The LEBS also assisted CLC member agencies with the maintenance and expansion of GLATOS throughout all three Lake Erie sub-basins. Within the following report sections, we describe results from three trawl surveys – the spring and autumn Western Basin Forage Fish Assessment and the East Harbor Forage Fish Assessment – and the Lower Trophic Level Assessment conducted in 2015, and examine trends in the fish community structure and trophic status of Lake Erie. Results of our central basin trawl survey are reported in the 2016 Yellow Perch Task Group report.

Trauma-related symptoms in neglected preschoolers and affective quality of mother-child communication.

PubMed

Milot, Tristan; St-Laurent, Diane; Ethier, Louise S; Provost, Marc A

2010-11-01

This study (a) assessed whether child neglect is associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and dissociative symptoms in the preschool period and (b) examined the role of quality of mother-child affective communication in the development of trauma-related symptoms among neglected children. Participants were 33 neglected and 72 non-neglected preschoolers (mean age = 60 months). Neglected children were recruited from the Child Protection Agencies. Neglected and non-neglected children victims of other form of abuse were excluded from the study. Trauma symptoms were evaluated through mother and preschool teacher reports. Quality of mother-child affective communication was assessed in a lab visit during an unstructured task. According to teachers, neglected children displayed more PTSD and dissociative symptoms than non-neglected children. Quality of mother-child communication was lower in neglected dyads. Mother-child affective communication predicted teacher-reported child trauma symptomatology, over and above child neglect. Discussion focuses on the traumatic nature of child neglect and the underlying parent-child relational processes.

Climate uniformity: its influence on team communication quality, task conflict, and team performance.

PubMed

González-Romá, Vicente; Hernández, Ana

2014-11-01

We investigated whether climate uniformity (the pattern of climate perceptions of organizational support within the team) is related to task conflict, team communication quality, and team performance. We used a sample composed of 141 bank branches and collected data at 3 time points. The results obtained showed that, after controlling for aggregate team climate, climate strength, and their interaction, a type of nonuniform climate pattern (weak dissimilarity) was directly related to task conflict and team communication quality. Teams with weak dissimilarity nonuniform patterns tended to show higher levels of task conflict and lower levels of team communication quality than teams with uniform climate patterns. The relationship between weak dissimilarity patterns and team performance was fully mediated by team communication quality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).

Perceived assessment metrics for visible and infrared color fused image quality without reference image

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Xuelian; Chen, Qian; Gu, Guohua; Ren, Jianle; Sui, Xiubao

2015-02-01

Designing objective quality assessment of color-fused image is a very demanding and challenging task. We propose four no-reference metrics based on human visual system characteristics for objectively evaluating the quality of false color fusion image. The perceived edge metric (PEM) is defined based on visual perception model and color image gradient similarity between the fused image and the source images. The perceptual contrast metric (PCM) is established associating multi-scale contrast and varying contrast sensitivity filter (CSF) with color components. The linear combination of the standard deviation and mean value over the fused image construct the image colorfulness metric (ICM). The color comfort metric (CCM) is designed by the average saturation and the ratio of pixels with high and low saturation. The qualitative and quantitative experimental results demonstrate that the proposed metrics have a good agreement with subjective perception.

Assessment of the Quality of Digital Terrain Model Produced from Unmanned Aerial System Imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kosmatin Fras, M.; Kerin, A.; Mesarič, M.; Peterman, V.; Grigillo, D.

2016-06-01

Production of digital terrain model (DTM) is one of the most usual tasks when processing photogrammetric point cloud generated from Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) imagery. The quality of the DTM produced in this way depends on different factors: the quality of imagery, image orientation and camera calibration, point cloud filtering, interpolation methods etc. However, the assessment of the real quality of DTM is very important for its further use and applications. In this paper we first describe the main steps of UAS imagery acquisition and processing based on practical test field survey and data. The main focus of this paper is to present the approach to DTM quality assessment and to give a practical example on the test field data. For data processing and DTM quality assessment presented in this paper mainly the in-house developed computer programs have been used. The quality of DTM comprises its accuracy, density, and completeness. Different accuracy measures like RMSE, median, normalized median absolute deviation and their confidence interval, quantiles are computed. The completeness of the DTM is very often overlooked quality parameter, but when DTM is produced from the point cloud this should not be neglected as some areas might be very sparsely covered by points. The original density is presented with density plot or map. The completeness is presented by the map of point density and the map of distances between grid points and terrain points. The results in the test area show great potential of the DTM produced from UAS imagery, in the sense of detailed representation of the terrain as well as good height accuracy.

Taking Over Control From Highly Automated Vehicles in Complex Traffic Situations: The Role of Traffic Density.

PubMed

Gold, Christian; Körber, Moritz; Lechner, David; Bengler, Klaus

2016-06-01

The aim of this study was to quantify the impact of traffic density and verbal tasks on takeover performance in highly automated driving. In highly automated vehicles, the driver has to occasionally take over vehicle control when approaching system limits. To ensure safety, the ability of the driver to regain control of the driving task under various driving situations and different driver states needs to be quantified. Seventy-two participants experienced takeover situations requiring an evasive maneuver on a three-lane highway with varying traffic density (zero, 10, and 20 vehicles per kilometer). In a between-subjects design, half of the participants were engaged in a verbal 20-Questions Task, representing speaking on the phone while driving in a highly automated vehicle. The presence of traffic in takeover situations led to longer takeover times and worse takeover quality in the form of shorter time to collision and more collisions. The 20-Questions Task did not influence takeover time but seemed to have minor effects on the takeover quality. For the design and evaluation of human-machine interaction in takeover situations of highly automated vehicles, the traffic state seems to play a major role, compared to the driver state, manipulated by the 20-Questions Task. The present results can be used by developers of highly automated systems to appropriately design human-machine interfaces and to assess the driver's time budget for regaining control. © 2016, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

Biomechanics of Pediatric Manual Wheelchair Mobility

PubMed Central

Slavens, Brooke A.; Schnorenberg, Alyssa J.; Aurit, Christine M.; Tarima, Sergey; Vogel, Lawrence C.; Harris, Gerald F.

2015-01-01

Currently, there is limited research of the biomechanics of pediatric manual wheelchair mobility. Specifically, the biomechanics of functional tasks and their relationship to joint pain and health is not well understood. To contribute to this knowledge gap, a quantitative rehabilitation approach was applied for characterizing upper extremity biomechanics of manual wheelchair mobility in children and adolescents during propulsion, starting, and stopping tasks. A Vicon motion analysis system captured movement, while a SmartWheel simultaneously collected three-dimensional forces and moments occurring at the handrim. A custom pediatric inverse dynamics model was used to evaluate three-dimensional upper extremity joint motions, forces, and moments of 14 children with spinal cord injury (SCI) during the functional tasks. Additionally, pain and health-related quality of life outcomes were assessed. This research found that joint demands are significantly different amongst functional tasks, with greatest demands placed on the shoulder during the starting task. Propulsion was significantly different from starting and stopping at all joints. We identified multiple stroke patterns used by the children, some of which are not standard in adults. One subject reported average daily pain, which was minimal. Lower than normal physical health and higher than normal mental health was found in this population. It can be concluded that functional tasks should be considered in addition to propulsion for rehabilitation and SCI treatment planning. This research provides wheelchair users and clinicians with a comprehensive, biomechanical, mobility assessment approach for wheelchair prescription, training, and long-term care of children with SCI. PMID:26442251

Biomechanics of Pediatric Manual Wheelchair Mobility.

PubMed

Slavens, Brooke A; Schnorenberg, Alyssa J; Aurit, Christine M; Tarima, Sergey; Vogel, Lawrence C; Harris, Gerald F

2015-01-01

Currently, there is limited research of the biomechanics of pediatric manual wheelchair mobility. Specifically, the biomechanics of functional tasks and their relationship to joint pain and health is not well understood. To contribute to this knowledge gap, a quantitative rehabilitation approach was applied for characterizing upper extremity biomechanics of manual wheelchair mobility in children and adolescents during propulsion, starting, and stopping tasks. A Vicon motion analysis system captured movement, while a SmartWheel simultaneously collected three-dimensional forces and moments occurring at the handrim. A custom pediatric inverse dynamics model was used to evaluate three-dimensional upper extremity joint motions, forces, and moments of 14 children with spinal cord injury (SCI) during the functional tasks. Additionally, pain and health-related quality of life outcomes were assessed. This research found that joint demands are significantly different amongst functional tasks, with greatest demands placed on the shoulder during the starting task. Propulsion was significantly different from starting and stopping at all joints. We identified multiple stroke patterns used by the children, some of which are not standard in adults. One subject reported average daily pain, which was minimal. Lower than normal physical health and higher than normal mental health was found in this population. It can be concluded that functional tasks should be considered in addition to propulsion for rehabilitation and SCI treatment planning. This research provides wheelchair users and clinicians with a comprehensive, biomechanical, mobility assessment approach for wheelchair prescription, training, and long-term care of children with SCI.

Comparison of Supraglottic Activity and Spectral Slope Between Theater Actors and Vocally Untrained Subjects.

PubMed

Guzman, Marco; Ortega, Andres; Olavarria, Christian; Muñoz, Daniel; Cortés, Pedro; Azocar, Maria Josefina; Cayuleo, David; Quintana, Felipe; Silva, Catalina

2016-11-01

The present study aimed to assess supraglottic activity in theater actors and to observe whether they present differences compared with subjects with no voice training. Acoustic and perceptual analyses were also performed. A total of 20 participants were divided into two groups: an experimental group of trained theater actors, and a comparative group of subjects with no voice training. Absence of laryngeal pathology was confirmed by rigid videostroboscopy. Flexible laryngoscopy was performed to assess supraglottic activity during speaking phonatory tasks. Voice recording was also carried out. Four blinded judges were asked to assess laryngoscopic and perceptual variables using a visual analog scale. A comparison between groups, phonatory tasks, and loudness levels was performed. Multivariate linear regression showed that trained participants had a higher degree of both laryngeal and pharyngeal activities compared with untrained participants. Moreover, phonatory tasks at high intensity showed higher activity than those at medium and low intensities for most phonatory tasks and laryngoscopic parameters. Vocally trained participants evidenced higher values for all spectral variables compared with untrained participants. Actors have a greater degree of both laryngeal and pharyngeal activities than vocally untrained subjects. Apparently, this higher activity is associated to speaking voice training and not to a hyperfunctional vocal behavior. Anterior-posterior laryngeal compression is greater than medial compression. Intensity and phonatory tasks have an effect on all laryngoscopic variables. Supraglottic activity during professional speaking voice may be not necessarily a hyperfunctional behavior, but a strategy to avoid vocal fold damage while producing the desired voice quality. Copyright © 2016 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

How Much Is Too Much Assessment? Insight into Assessment-Driven Student Learning Gains in Large-Scale Undergraduate Microbiology Courses

PubMed Central

Wang, Jack T. H.; Schembri, Mark A.; Hall, Roy A.

2013-01-01

Designing and implementing assessment tasks in large-scale undergraduate science courses is a labor-intensive process subject to increasing scrutiny from students and quality assurance authorities alike. Recent pedagogical research has provided conceptual frameworks for teaching introductory undergraduate microbiology, but has yet to define best-practice assessment guidelines. This study assessed the applicability of Biggs’ theory of constructive alignment in designing consistent learning objectives, activities, and assessment items that aligned with the American Society for Microbiology’s concept-based microbiology curriculum in MICR2000, an introductory microbiology course offered at the University of Queensland, Australia. By improving the internal consistency in assessment criteria and increasing the number of assessment items explicitly aligned to the course learning objectives, the teaching team was able to efficiently provide adequate feedback on numerous assessment tasks throughout the semester, which contributed to improved student performance and learning gains. When comparing the constructively aligned 2011 offering of MICR2000 with its 2010 counterpart, students obtained higher marks in both coursework assignments and examinations as the semester progressed. Students also valued the additional feedback provided, as student rankings for course feedback provision increased in 2011 and assessment and feedback was identified as a key strength of MICR2000. By designing MICR2000 using constructive alignment and iterative assessment tasks that followed a common set of learning outcomes, the teaching team was able to effectively deliver detailed and timely feedback in a large introductory microbiology course. This study serves as a case study for how constructive alignment can be integrated into modern teaching practices for large-scale courses. PMID:23858350

Goal orientation profile differences on perceived motivational climate, perceived peer relationships, and motivation-related responses of youth athletes.

PubMed

Smith, Alan L; Balaguer, Isabel; Duda, Joan L

2006-12-01

The aims of this study were twofold: (a) to determine if dispositional achievement goal orientation profiles that are reported in the literature would be observed in a sample of youth athletes, and (b) to examine potential achievement goal orientation profile differences on perceptions of the motivational climate, perceptions of peer relationships, and motivation-related responses. Male soccer players (n=223) aged 9-12 years (mean=10.9, s=0.6) completed a multi-section questionnaire containing assessments of dispositional goal (task, ego) orientations, the perceived task- and ego-involving features of the motivational climate, perceived peer acceptance and friendship quality (positive friendship quality, conflict), perceived ability, soccer enjoyment, and satisfaction with one's performance and the team. Four profiles were observed that closely matched those observed by Hodge and Petlichkoff (2000), though in the present study a lower proportion of participants exhibited achievement goal profiles consisting of relatively high ego orientation. Achievement goal profile differences were found for all variables except positive friendship quality, with a general trend for those reporting relatively lower task goal orientation to exhibit less adaptive responses. Overall, the findings support achievement goal frameworks (e.g. Nicholls, 1989) and suggest that further examination of dispositional achievement goals may afford a deeper understanding of social relationships and motivational processes in youth sport.

Probabilistic fault tree analysis of a radiation treatment system.

PubMed

Ekaette, Edidiong; Lee, Robert C; Cooke, David L; Iftody, Sandra; Craighead, Peter

2007-12-01

Inappropriate administration of radiation for cancer treatment can result in severe consequences such as premature death or appreciably impaired quality of life. There has been little study of vulnerable treatment process components and their contribution to the risk of radiation treatment (RT). In this article, we describe the application of probabilistic fault tree methods to assess the probability of radiation misadministration to patients at a large cancer treatment center. We conducted a systematic analysis of the RT process that identified four process domains: Assessment, Preparation, Treatment, and Follow-up. For the Preparation domain, we analyzed possible incident scenarios via fault trees. For each task, we also identified existing quality control measures. To populate the fault trees we used subjective probabilities from experts and compared results with incident report data. Both the fault tree and the incident report analysis revealed simulation tasks to be most prone to incidents, and the treatment prescription task to be least prone to incidents. The probability of a Preparation domain incident was estimated to be in the range of 0.1-0.7% based on incident reports, which is comparable to the mean value of 0.4% from the fault tree analysis using probabilities from the expert elicitation exercise. In conclusion, an analysis of part of the RT system using a fault tree populated with subjective probabilities from experts was useful in identifying vulnerable components of the system, and provided quantitative data for risk management.

The Design of Wayfinding Affordance and Its Influence on Task Performance and Perceptual Experience in Desktop Virtual Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Choi, Gil Ok

2008-01-01

For the past few years, virtual environments (VEs) have gained broad attention from both scholarly and practitioner communities. However, in spite of intense and widespread efforts, most VE-related research has focused on the technical aspects of applications, and the necessary theoretical framework to assess the quality of interfaces and designs…

Empowering Staff in an Organization: Making the Most of Human Resources in the New York State Education Department. Summary and Recommendations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

New York State Education Dept., Albany.

The identification of strategies for the improvement of individual and organizational effectiveness is the purpose of this task force summary report. Methodology involved passive and active needs assessment techniques. Over 200 New York State Education Department employees voluntarily participated in quality circles, the active component, and a…

Writing Process Products in Intermediate-Grade Children With and Without Language-Based Learning Disabilities.

PubMed

Koutsoftas, Anthony D

2016-12-01

Difficulties with written expression are an important consideration in the assessment and treatment of school-age children. This study evaluated how intermediate-grade children with and without written language difficulties fared on a writing task housed within the Hayes and Berninger (2014) writing process framework. Sixty-four children completed a writing task whereby they planned, wrote, and revised a narrative story across 3 days. Children had extended time to produce an outline, first draft, and final copy of their story. Language transcription approaches were used to obtain measures reflecting writing productivity, complexity, accuracy, and mechanics, in addition to measures of planning and revision. Results indicated that children with writing difficulties produced poorer quality stories compared with their peers yet were not significantly different across all measures. Children with typical development produced longer stories with better spelling accuracy. Writing process measures predicted significant amounts of variance in writing quality across the sample. Writing should be considered as part of language assessment and intervention, whether as the sole language difficulty or alongside difficulties with speaking, listening, or reading in children with language-based learning difficulties. Implications for translation of research to practice and service delivery are provided.

Systematic review of measurement tools to assess surgeons' intraoperative cognitive workload.

PubMed

Dias, R D; Ngo-Howard, M C; Boskovski, M T; Zenati, M A; Yule, S J

2018-04-01

Surgeons in the operating theatre deal constantly with high-demand tasks that require simultaneous processing of a large amount of information. In certain situations, high cognitive load occurs, which may impact negatively on a surgeon's performance. This systematic review aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the different methods used to assess surgeons' cognitive load, and a critique of the reliability and validity of current assessment metrics. A search strategy encompassing MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, PsycINFO, ACM Digital Library, IEEE Xplore, PROSPERO and the Cochrane database was developed to identify peer-reviewed articles published from inception to November 2016. Quality was assessed by using the Medical Education Research Study Quality Instrument (MERSQI). A summary table was created to describe study design, setting, specialty, participants, cognitive load measures and MERSQI score. Of 391 articles retrieved, 84 met the inclusion criteria, totalling 2053 unique participants. Most studies were carried out in a simulated setting (59 studies, 70 per cent). Sixty studies (71 per cent) used self-reporting methods, of which the NASA Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) was the most commonly applied tool (44 studies, 52 per cent). Heart rate variability analysis was the most used real-time method (11 studies, 13 per cent). Self-report instruments are valuable when the aim is to assess the overall cognitive load in different surgical procedures and assess learning curves within competence-based surgical education. When the aim is to assess cognitive load related to specific operative stages, real-time tools should be used, as they allow capture of cognitive load fluctuation. A combination of both subjective and objective methods might provide optimal measurement of surgeons' cognition. © 2018 BJS Society Ltd Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Patient-centered technological assessment and monitoring of depression for low-income patients.

PubMed

Wu, Shinyi; Vidyanti, Irene; Liu, Pai; Hawkins, Caitlin; Ramirez, Magaly; Guterman, Jeffrey; Gross-Schulman, Sandra; Sklaroff, Laura Myerchin; Ell, Kathleen

2014-01-01

Depression is a significant challenge for ambulatory care because it worsens health status and outcomes, increases health care utilizations and costs, and elevates suicide risk. An automatic telephonic assessment (ATA) system that links with tasks and alerts to providers may improve quality of depression care and increase provider productivity. We used ATA system in a trial to assess and monitor depressive symptoms of 444 safety-net primary care patients with diabetes. We assessed system properties, evaluated preliminary clinical outcomes, and estimated cost savings. The ATA system is feasible, reliable, valid, safe, and likely cost-effective for depression screening and monitoring for low-income primary care population.

Initial Investigation of Reaction Control System Design on Spacecraft Handling Qualities for Earth Orbit Docking

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bailey, Randall E.; Jackson, E. Bruce; Goodrich, Kenneth H.; Ragsdale, W. Al; Neuhaus, Jason; Barnes, Jim

2008-01-01

A program of research, development, test, and evaluation is planned for the development of Spacecraft Handling Qualities guidelines. In this first experiment, the effects of Reaction Control System design characteristics and rotational control laws were evaluated during simulated proximity operations and docking. Also, the influence of piloting demands resulting from varying closure rates was assessed. The pilot-in-the-loop simulation results showed that significantly different spacecraft handling qualities result from the design of the Reaction Control System. In particular, cross-coupling between translational and rotational motions significantly affected handling qualities as reflected by Cooper-Harper pilot ratings and pilot workload, as reflected by Task-Load Index ratings. This influence is masked but only slightly by the rotational control system mode. While rotational control augmentation using Rate Command Attitude Hold can reduce the workload (principally, physical workload) created by cross-coupling, the handling qualities are not significantly improved. The attitude and rate deadbands of the RCAH introduced significant mental workload and control compensation to evaluate when deadband firings would occur, assess their impact on docking performance, and apply control inputs to mitigate that impact.

Verbal Fluency Performance in Amnestic MCI and Older Adults with Cognitive Complaints

PubMed Central

Nutter-Upham, Katherine E.; Saykin, Andrew J.; Rabin, Laura A.; Roth, Robert M.; Wishart, Heather A.; Pare, Nadia; Flashman, Laura A.

2009-01-01

Verbal fluency tests are employed regularly during neuropsychological assessments of older adults, and deficits are a common finding in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Little extant research, however, has investigated verbal fluency ability and subtypes in preclinical stages of neurodegenerative disease. We examined verbal fluency performance in 107 older adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI, n = 37), cognitive complaints (CC, n = 37) despite intact neuropsychological functioning, and demographically-matched healthy controls (HC, n = 33). Participants completed fluency tasks with letter, semantic category, and semantic switching constraints. Both phonemic and semantic fluency were statistically (but not clinically) reduced in amnestic MCI relative to cognitively intact older adults, indicating subtle changes in both the quality of the semantic store and retrieval slowing. Investigation of the underlying constructs of verbal fluency yielded two factors: Switching (including switching and shifting tasks) and Production (including letter, category, and action naming tasks), and both factors discriminated MCI from HC albeit to different degrees. Correlational findings further suggested that all fluency tasks involved executive control to some degree, while those with an added executive component (i.e., switching and shifting) were less dependent on semantic knowledge. Overall, our findings highlight the importance of including multiple verbal fluency tests in assessment batteries targeting preclinical dementia populations and suggest that individual fluency tasks may tap specific cognitive processes. PMID:18339515

Assessment team report on flight-critical systems research at NASA Langley Research Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Siewiorek, Daniel P. (Compiler); Dunham, Janet R. (Compiler)

1989-01-01

The quality, coverage, and distribution of effort of the flight-critical systems research program at NASA Langley Research Center was assessed. Within the scope of the Assessment Team's review, the research program was found to be very sound. All tasks under the current research program were at least partially addressing the industry needs. General recommendations made were to expand the program resources to provide additional coverage of high priority industry needs, including operations and maintenance, and to focus the program on an actual hardware and software system that is under development.

Exploring approaches to dietetic assessment of a common task across different universities through assessment moderation.

PubMed

Palermo, C; Volders, E; Gibson, S; Kennedy, M; Wray, A; Thomas, J; Hannan-Jones, M; Gallegos, D; Beck, E

2018-02-01

Assessment presents one of the greatest challenges to evaluating health professional trainee performance, as a result of the subjectivity of judgements and variability in assessor standards. The present study aimed to test a moderation procedure for assessment across four independent universities and explore approaches to assessment and the factors that influence assessment decisions. Assessment tasks designed independently by each of the four universities to assess student readiness for placement were chosen for the present study. Each university provided four student performance recordings for moderation. Eight different academic assessors viewed the student performances and assessed them using the corresponding university assessment instrument. Assessment results were collated and presented back to the assessors, together with the original university assessment results. Results were discussed with assessors to explore variations. The discussion was recorded, transcribed, thematically analysed and presented back to all assessors to achieve consensus on the emerging major learnings. Although there were differences in absolute scores, there was consistency (12 out of 16 performances) in overall judgement decisions regarding placement readiness. Proficient communication skills were considered a key factor when determining placement readiness. The discussion revealed: (i) assessment instruments; (ii) assessor factors; and (iii) the subjectivity of judgement as the major factors influencing assessment. Assessment moderation is a useful method for improving the quality of assessment decisions by sharing understanding and aligning standards of performance. © 2017 The British Dietetic Association Ltd.

Quality of Learners' Time and Learning Performance beyond Quantitative Time-on-Task

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Romero, Margarida; Barbera, Elena

2011-01-01

Along with the amount of time spent learning (or time-on-task), the quality of learning time has a real influence on learning performance. Quality of time in online learning depends on students' time availability and their willingness to devote quality cognitive time to learning activities. However, the quantity and quality of the time spent by…

Recent software developments for biomechanical assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greaves, John O. B.

1990-08-01

While much of the software developed in research laboratories is narrow in focus and suited for a specific experiment, some of it is broad enough and of high enough quality to be useful to others in solving similar problems. Several biomechanical assessment packages are now beginning to emerge, including: * 3D research biomechanics (5- and 6-DOF) with kinematics, kinetics, 32-channel analog data subsystem, and project management. * 3D full-body gait analysis with kinematics, kinetics, EMG charts, and force plate charts. * 2D dynamic rear-foot assessment. * 2D occupational biomechanics lifting task and personnel assessments. * 2D dynamic gait analysis. * Multiple 2D dynamic spine assessments. * 2D sport and biomechanics assessments with kinematics and kinetics. * 2D and 3D equine gait assessments.

Workplace assessments and functional capacity evaluations: current beliefs of therapists in Australia.

PubMed

Innes, Ev; Straker, Leon

2003-01-01

The purpose of this study was to understand the current beliefs of therapists in Australia, and the strategies they use to address the issues of credibility, reliability, consistency, trustworthiness, validity, generalisability and quality in conducting work-related assessments. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 26 occupational therapists and physiotherapists from around Australia. Participants expressed the belief that the therapist was the assessment instrument and was central to the credibility of an assessment. Conflict was reported when participants modified standardised assessments in an attempt to focus on context relevant activities and tasks. Participants were aware of the issues of reliability and validity but believed it was not practical to establish these aspects formally in most work-related assessments. The strategies used to achieve credibility, reliability, consistency, trustworthiness, validity, generalisability and quality were similar to those recommended for use in qualitative research. The strategies identified in this study can provide the basis for therapists to examine how they conduct work-related assessments and consider whether they currently use these strategies or have the opportunity to implement others.

Project Fever - Fostering Electric Vehicle Expansion in the Rockies

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

Swalnick, Natalia

2013-06-30

Project FEVER (Fostering Electric Vehicle Expansion in the Rockies) is a part of the Clean Cities Community Readiness and Planning for Plug-in Electric Vehicles and Charging Infrastructure Funding Opportunity funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for the state of Colorado. Tasks undertaken in this project include: Electric Vehicle Grid Impact Assessment; Assessment of Electrical Permitting and Inspection for EV/EVSE (electric vehicle/electric vehicle supply equipment); Assessment of Local Ordinances Pertaining to Installation of Publicly Available EVSE;Assessment of Building Codes for EVSE; EV Demand and Energy/Air Quality Impacts Assessment; State and Local Policy Assessment; EV Grid Impact Minimization Efforts; Unificationmore » and Streamlining of Electrical Permitting and Inspection for EV/EVSE; Development of BMP for Local EVSE Ordinances; Development of BMP for Building Codes Pertaining to EVSE; Development of Colorado-Specific Assessment for EV/EVSE Energy/Air Quality Impacts; Development of State and Local Policy Best Practices; Create Final EV/EVSE Readiness Plan; Develop Project Marketing and Communications Elements; Plan and Schedule In-person Education and Outreach Opportunities.« less

The Use of Logistic Model in RUL Assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gumiński, R.; Radkowski, S.

2017-12-01

The paper takes on the issue of assessment of remaining useful life (RUL). The goal of the paper was to develop a method, which would enable use of diagnostic information in the task of reducing the uncertainty related to technical risk. Prediction of the remaining useful life (RUL) of the system is a very important task for maintenance strategy. In the literature RUL of an engineering system is defined as the first future time instant in which thresholds of conditions (safety, operational quality, maintenance cost, etc) are violated. Knowledge of RUL offers the possibility of planning the testing and repair activities. Building models of damage development is important in this task. In the presented work, logistic function will be used to model fatigue crack development. It should be remembered that modeling of every phase of damage development is very difficult, yet modeling of every phase of damage separately, especially including on-line diagnostic information is more effective. Particular attention was paid to the possibility of forecasting the occurrence of damage due to fatigue while relying on the analysis of the structure of a vibroacoustic signal.

Human behavioral assessments in current research of Parkinson's disease.

PubMed

Asakawa, Tetsuya; Fang, Huan; Sugiyama, Kenji; Nozaki, Takao; Kobayashi, Susumu; Hong, Zhen; Suzuki, Katsuaki; Mori, Norio; Yang, Yilin; Hua, Fei; Ding, Guanghong; Wen, Guoqiang; Namba, Hiroki; Xia, Ying

2016-09-01

Parkinson's disease (PD) is traditionally classified as a movement disorder because patients mainly complain about motor symptoms. Recently, non-motor symptoms of PD have been recognized by clinicians and scientists as early signs of PD, and they are detrimental factors in the quality of life in advanced PD patients. It is crucial to comprehensively understand the essence of behavioral assessments, from the simplest measurement of certain symptoms to complex neuropsychological tasks. We have recently reviewed behavioral assessments in PD research with animal models (Asakawa et al., 2016). As a companion volume, this article will systematically review the behavioral assessments of motor and non-motor PD symptoms of human patients in current research. The major aims of this article are: (1) promoting a comparative understanding of various behavioral assessments in terms of the principle and measuring indexes; (2) addressing the major strengths and weaknesses of these behavioral assessments for a better selection of tasks/tests in order to avoid biased conclusions due to inappropriate assessments; and (3) presenting new concepts regarding the development of wearable devices and mobile internet in future assessments. In conclusion we emphasize the importance of improving the assessments for non-motor symptoms because of their complex and unique mechanisms in human PD brains. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Effects of Coping Interventions on Ability to Perform Under Pressure

PubMed Central

Kent, Sofie; Devonport, Tracey J.; Lane, Andrew M.; Nicholls, Wendy; Friesen, Andrew P.

2018-01-01

The ability to perform under pressure is necessary to achieve goals in various domains of life. We conducted a systematic review to synthesise findings from applied studies that focus on interventions developed to enhance an individual’s ability to cope under performance pressure. Following the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, a comprehensive search of five electronic databases was conducted. This yielded 66,618 records, of which 23 peer review papers met inclusion criteria of containing an intervention that targeted coping skills for performing under pressure. Using the Standard Quality Assessment for evaluation of primary research papers (Kmet et al., 2004) to assess quality, included studies performed well on reporting research objectives, research design, and statistical procedures. Sixteen studies showed poor quality in controlling for potentially confounding factors and small sample sizes. A narrative aggregate synthesis identified intervention studies that provided an educational focus (n = 9), consultancy sessions (n = 6), simulation training (n = 5) and emotion regulation strategies (n = 3). Findings highlight a need to; 1) establish a contextualized pressure task which will generate high levels of ecological validity for participants. Having established a suitable pressure task, 2) research should assess the effects of pressure by evaluating conscious and nonconscious effects and associated coping mechanisms, which should inform the subsequent development of interventions, and 3) assess interventions to enhance understanding of the ways in which they improve coping with pressure, or may fail, and the mechanisms which may explain these outcomes. Key points Simulation studies that exposed individuals to ‘pressure’ settings produced the most consistent improvements to performance, in comparison to a control group. This systematic review highlights limitations with the design, execution, and evaluation of pressure interventions. Future research should attempt to better consider the approach used to generate meaningful performance pressures and assess the consequences of pressure by evaluating conscious and non-conscious effects and coping mechanisms through which coping with pressure might be improved. PMID:29535577

No-reference image quality assessment for horizontal-path imaging scenarios

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rios, Carlos; Gladysz, Szymon

2013-05-01

There exist several image-enhancement algorithms and tasks associated with imaging through turbulence that depend on defining the quality of an image. Examples include: "lucky imaging", choosing the width of the inverse filter for image reconstruction, or stopping iterative deconvolution. We collected a number of image quality metrics found in the literature. Particularly interesting are the blind, "no-reference" metrics. We discuss ways of evaluating the usefulness of these metrics, even when a fully objective comparison is impossible because of the lack of a reference image. Metrics are tested on simulated and real data. Field data comes from experiments performed by the NATO SET 165 research group over a 7 km distance in Dayton, Ohio.

Comparison of de novo assembly statistics of Cucumis sativus L.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wojcieszek, Michał; Kuśmirek, Wiktor; Pawełkowicz, Magdalena; PlÄ der, Wojciech; Nowak, Robert M.

2017-08-01

Genome sequencing is the core of genomic research. With the development of NGS and lowering the cost of procedure there is another tight gap - genome assembly. Developing the proper tool for this task is essential as quality of genome has important impact on further research. Here we present comparison of several de Bruijn assemblers tested on C. sativus genomic reads. The assessment shows that newly developed software - dnaasm provides better results in terms of quantity and quality. The number of generated sequences is lower by 5 - 33% with even two fold higher N50. Quality check showed reliable results were generated by dnaasm. This provides us with very strong base for future genomic analysis.

Longitudinal flying qualities criteria for single-pilot instrument flight operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stengel, R. F.; Bar-Gill, A.

1983-01-01

Modern estimation and control theory, flight testing, and statistical analysis were used to deduce flying qualities criteria for General Aviation Single Pilot Instrument Flight Rule (SPIFR) operations. The principal concern is that unsatisfactory aircraft dynamic response combined with high navigation/communication workload can produce problems of safety and efficiency. To alleviate these problems. The relative importance of these factors must be determined. This objective was achieved by flying SPIFR tasks with different aircraft dynamic configurations and assessing the effects of such variations under these conditions. The experimental results yielded quantitative indicators of pilot's performance and workload, and for each of them, multivariate regression was applied to evaluate several candidate flying qualities criteria.

The Effect of Task Complexity on the Quality of EFL Learners' Argumentative Writing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sadeghi, Karim; Mosalli, Zahra

2013-01-01

Based on Robinson's (2005) Cognition Hypothesis and Skehan and Foster's (2001) Limited Attentional Capacity Model, the current study attempted to investigate the effect of manipulating task complexity on argumentative writing quality in terms of lexical complexity, fluency, grammatical accuracy, and syntactic complexity. Task complexity was…

The Effects of Development Team Skill on Software Product Quality

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beaver, Justin M.; Schiavone, Guy A.

2006-01-01

This paper provides an analysis of the effect of the skill/experience of the software development team on the quality of the final software product. A method for the assessment of software development team skill and experience is proposed, and was derived from a workforce management tool currently in use by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Using data from 26 smallscale software development projects, the team skill measures are correlated to 5 software product quality metrics from the ISO/IEC 9126 Software Engineering Product Quality standard. in the analysis of the results, development team skill is found to be a significant factor in the adequacy of the design and implementation. In addition, the results imply that inexperienced software developers are tasked with responsibilities ill-suited to their skill level, and thus have a significant adverse effect on the quality of the software product. Keywords: software quality, development skill, software metrics

Do medical residents perform patient-centered medical home tasks? A mixed-methods study

PubMed Central

Block, Lauren; LaVine, Nancy; Verbsky, Jennifer; Sagar, Ankita; Smith, Miriam A.; Lane, Susan; Conigliaro, Joseph; Chaudhry, Saima A.

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT Background: Increasingly, residents are being trained in Patient-centered Medical Home (PCMH) settings. A set of PCMH entrustable professional activities (EPAs) for residents has been defined but not evaluated in practice. Objective: To understand whether residents trained at PCMH sites reported higher likelihood of engaging in PCMH tasks than those training in non-PCMH sites. Design: Survey and nominal group data from post-graduate trainees at three residency programs. Results: A total of 179 residents responded (80% response). Over half (52%) cared for patients at PCMH sites. Residents at PCMH sites were more likely to report engaging in tasks in the NCQA domains of enhancing access and continuity (p < 0.01 for 4/11 tasks), planning and managing care (p < 0.01 for 3/4 tasks), providing self-care and community support (p < 0.01 for 3/5 tasks), and identifying and managing patient populations (p < 0.01 for 1/6 tasks), but were not more likely to report tracking and coordinating care or measuring and improving performance. Residents at PCMH sites were more likely to report working with medical assistants (p < 0.01), but not other healthcare professionals. Qualitative data showed staff teamwork and continuity of care as facilitators of patient-centered care, and technological problems and office inefficiencies as barriers to care. Conclusions: Residents trained at PCMH sites were more likely to engage in tasks in several NCQA domains, but not care coordination and quality assessment. Similar facilitators and barriers to trainee provision of patient-centered care were cited regardless of PCMH status. Curricula on PCMH principles and workflows that foster continuity and communication may help to inform residents on PCMH tenets and incorporate residents into team-based care. Abbreviations: EPA: Entrustable professional activity; GIM: General Internal Medicine; NCQA: National Center for Quality Assurance; PCMH: Patient-centered medical home PMID:28758564

Effects of Task Planning and Rhetorical Mode of Writing on Lexical Complexity, Syntactic Complexity, and Overall Writing Quality of EFL Writers' Task Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yildiz, Mine; Yesilyurt, Savas

2017-01-01

Based on Robinson's Triadic Componential Framework and the definition of task planning by Ellis (2005), this study was carried out to find out the effects of task planning and rhetorical mode on lexical and syntactic complexity, and overall writing quality of writing production of EFL learners. Following a repeated-measures design, the present…

A simple parametric model observer for quality assurance in computer tomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anton, M.; Khanin, A.; Kretz, T.; Reginatto, M.; Elster, C.

2018-04-01

Model observers are mathematical classifiers that are used for the quality assessment of imaging systems such as computer tomography. The quality of the imaging system is quantified by means of the performance of a selected model observer. For binary classification tasks, the performance of the model observer is defined by the area under its ROC curve (AUC). Typically, the AUC is estimated by applying the model observer to a large set of training and test data. However, the recording of these large data sets is not always practical for routine quality assurance. In this paper we propose as an alternative a parametric model observer that is based on a simple phantom, and we provide a Bayesian estimation of its AUC. It is shown that a limited number of repeatedly recorded images (10–15) is already sufficient to obtain results suitable for the quality assessment of an imaging system. A MATLAB® function is provided for the calculation of the results. The performance of the proposed model observer is compared to that of the established channelized Hotelling observer and the nonprewhitening matched filter for simulated images as well as for images obtained from a low-contrast phantom on an x-ray tomography scanner. The results suggest that the proposed parametric model observer, along with its Bayesian treatment, can provide an efficient, practical alternative for the quality assessment of CT imaging systems.

Curriculum Recommendations of the AACP-PSSC Task Force on Caring for the Underserved

PubMed Central

Roche, Victoria F.; Assemi, Mitra; Conry, John M.; Shane-McWhorter, Laura; Sorensen, Todd D.

2008-01-01

A task force was convened by the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) and the Pharmaceutical Services Support Center (PSSC) and charged with the development of a curriculum framework to guide pharmacy programs in educating students on caring for the underserved. Utilizing a literature-based model, the task force constructed a framework that delineated evidence-based practice, clinical prevention and health promotion, health systems and policy, and community aspects of practice. Specific learning outcomes tailored to underserved populations were crafted and linked to resources readily available to the academy. The AACP-PSSC curriculum framework was shared with the academy in 2007. Schools and Colleges are urged to share experiences with implementation so that the impact of the tool can be evaluated. The task force recommends that the AACP Institutional Research Advisory Committee be involved in gathering assessment data. Implementation of the curriculum framework can help the academy fulfill the professional mandate to proactively provide the highest quality care to all, including underserved populations. PMID:18698398

Mirror Therapy and Task-Oriented Training for People With a Paretic Upper Extremity.

PubMed

Bondoc, Salvador; Booth, Julie; Budde, Grace; Caruso, Katelyn; DeSousa, Michelle; Earl, Brittany; Hammerton, Kaitlynn; Humphreys, Jill

This study investigates the effect of mirror therapy and task-oriented training on the paretic upper extremity function and occupational performance of people with stroke. This study used a repeated-measures, case-series design in which 4 participants completed a 4-wk intervention consisting of mirror therapy and task-specific training. The intervention was conducted 2×/wk in the clinic and 4×/wk at home. All participants displayed clinically meaningful improvements in self-identified goals at the end of the intervention and at follow-up. Three participants showed clinically meaningful changes in motor function. Although only 1 participant improved in his reported amount of use, all participants showed clinically meaningful improvements in perceived movement quality at varying points of assessment. Mirror therapy, when used as priming for task-oriented training, can produce clinical improvements in upper extremity function and occupational performance in people with hemiparesis. Copyright © 2018 by the American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.

Gas Emission Measurements from the RD 180 Rocket Engine

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ross, H. R.

2001-01-01

The Science Laboratory operated by GB Tech was tasked by the Environmental Office at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) to collect rocket plume samples and to measure gaseous components and airborne particulates from the hot test firings of the Atlas III/RD 180 test article at MSFC. This data will be used to validate plume prediction codes and to assess environmental air quality issues.

The Use of Quality Talk to Increase Critical Analytical Speaking and Writing of Students in Three Secondary Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davies, Maree; Meissel, Kane

2016-01-01

This study was carried out in three secondary schools of varying socioeconomic levels within the usual framework of tasks completed by students while studying towards a national assessment. The study examined the change in the nature of the interactions between students in group conversations, in the context of a film unit and a geography unit…

Impact of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner noise on affective state and attentional performance.

PubMed

Jacob, Shawna N; Shear, Paula K; Norris, Matthew; Smith, Matthew; Osterhage, Jeff; Strakowski, Stephen M; Cerullo, Michael; Fleck, David E; Lee, Jing-Huei; Eliassen, James C

2015-01-01

Previous research has shown that performance on cognitive tasks administered in the scanner can be altered by the scanner environment. There are no previous studies that have investigated the impact of scanner noise using a well-validated measure of affective change. The goal of this study was to determine whether performance on an affective attentional task or emotional response to the task would change in the presence of distracting acoustic noise, such as that encountered in a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) environment. Thirty-four young adults with no self-reported history of neurologic disorder or mental illness completed three blocks of the affective Posner task outside of the scanner. The task was meant to induce frustration through monetary contingencies and rigged feedback. Participants completed a Self-Assessment Manikin at the end of each block to rate their mood, arousal level, and sense of dominance. During the task, half of the participants heard noise (recorded from a 4T MRI system), and half heard no noise. The affective Posner task led to significant reductions in mood and increases in arousal in healthy participants. The presence of scanner noise did not impact task performance; however, individuals in the noise group did report significantly poorer mood throughout the task. The results of the present study suggest that the acoustic qualities of MRI enhance frustration effects on an affective attentional task and that scanner noise may influence mood during similar functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) tasks.

Caregiving demands in parents of children with cancer: psychometric validation of the Care of My Child with Cancer questionnaire.

PubMed

Klassen, Anne; Klaassen, Robert J; Dix, David; Pritchard, Sheila; Yanofsky, Rochelle; Sung, Lillian

2010-08-01

A comprehensive evaluation of the psychometric properties of Care of My Child With Cancer (CMCC) was performed in a sample of 411 parents of children undergoing treatment of cancer at five Canadian pediatric oncology centers. Psychometric tests used to assess data quality, targeting, reliability, and construct validity demonstrated that the CMCC is a scientific sound measure. The CMCC will be helpful for assessing increasing parental responsibility for caregiving tasks associated with cancer care. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Task Force on Workplace Violence: Part I. The assessment.

PubMed

Carroll, V

1997-06-01

Prevention is key in dealing with workplace violence. Assessment, open communication within the workplace, well-designed policies, and adequate staff training form the framework for an effective violence reduction plan. Nurses offer invaluable resources to each other, their patients. and their workplace. Through effective planning and problem-solving, we can collaborate with other disciplines to enhance the future of health care and provide for a safer workplace. Just as we are advocates for safe and quality health care for our patients, we must also be champions for creating a safe work environment for ourselves.

System-level change in mental health services in North Wales: An observational study using systems thinking.

PubMed

Evans, S; Huxley, P J; Maxwell, N; Huxley, K L S

2014-06-01

To describe changes to mental health services using systems thinking. Structured standardized quality of life assessment (Manchester Short Quality of Life Assessment: MANSA) was used to establish service user priorities for changes to service provision (part of a process known as check in systems thinking). Current service performance in these priority areas was identified, and changes to service arrangements were planned, implemented and monitored by task and finish (T&F) groups (making use of a process known as flow in systems thinking). 81 MANSA assessments were completed at the check stage (by NM). Work finances and leisure activities emerged as service user priority areas for change, and T&F groups were established with representation of all sectors and service users. Ways to make improvements were observed, planned and implemented by T&F groups (the flow stage). The systems approach reveals how services and quality of life have been changed for patients in Wrexham. Further generalizable research is needed into the potential benefits of using systems thinking in mental health service evaluation. © The Author(s) 2013.

Fidelity assessment of a UH-60A simulation on the NASA Ames vertical motion simulator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Atencio, Adolph, Jr.

1993-01-01

Helicopter handling qualities research requires that a ground-based simulation be a high-fidelity representation of the actual helicopter, especially over the frequency range of the investigation. This experiment was performed to assess the current capability to simulate the UH-60A Black Hawk helicopter on the Vertical Motion Simulator (VMS) at NASA Ames, to develop a methodology for assessing the fidelity of a simulation, and to find the causes for lack of fidelity. The approach used was to compare the simulation to the flight vehicle for a series of tasks performed in flight and in the simulator. The results show that subjective handling qualities ratings from flight to simulator overlap, and the mathematical model matches the UH-60A helicopter very well over the range of frequencies critical to handling qualities evaluation. Pilot comments, however, indicate a need for improvement in the perceptual fidelity of the simulation in the areas of motion and visual cuing. The methodology used to make the fidelity assessment proved useful in showing differences in pilot work load and strategy, but additional work is needed to refine objective methods for determining causes of lack of fidelity.

Objective Assessment of Image Quality VI: Imaging in Radiation Therapy

PubMed Central

Barrett, Harrison H.; Kupinski, Matthew A.; Müeller, Stefan; Halpern, Howard J.; Morris, John C.; Dwyer, Roisin

2015-01-01

Earlier work on Objective Assessment of Image Quality (OAIQ) focused largely on estimation or classification tasks in which the desired outcome of imaging is accurate diagnosis. This paper develops a general framework for assessing imaging quality on the basis of therapeutic outcomes rather than diagnostic performance. By analogy to Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves and their variants as used in diagnostic OAIQ, the method proposed here utilizes the Therapy Operating Characteristic or TOC curves, which are plots of the probability of tumor control vs. the probability of normal-tissue complications as the overall dose level of a radiotherapy treatment is varied. The proposed figure of merit is the area under the TOC curve, denoted AUTOC. This paper reviews an earlier exposition of the theory of TOC and AUTOC, which was specific to the assessment of image-segmentation algorithms, and extends it to other applications of imaging in external-beam radiation treatment as well as in treatment with internal radioactive sources. For each application, a methodology for computing the TOC is presented. A key difference between ROC and TOC is that the latter can be defined for a single patient rather than a population of patients. PMID:24200954

dipIQ: Blind Image Quality Assessment by Learning-to-Rank Discriminable Image Pairs.

PubMed

Ma, Kede; Liu, Wentao; Liu, Tongliang; Wang, Zhou; Tao, Dacheng

2017-05-26

Objective assessment of image quality is fundamentally important in many image processing tasks. In this work, we focus on learning blind image quality assessment (BIQA) models which predict the quality of a digital image with no access to its original pristine-quality counterpart as reference. One of the biggest challenges in learning BIQA models is the conflict between the gigantic image space (which is in the dimension of the number of image pixels) and the extremely limited reliable ground truth data for training. Such data are typically collected via subjective testing, which is cumbersome, slow, and expensive. Here we first show that a vast amount of reliable training data in the form of quality-discriminable image pairs (DIP) can be obtained automatically at low cost by exploiting largescale databases with diverse image content. We then learn an opinion-unaware BIQA (OU-BIQA, meaning that no subjective opinions are used for training) model using RankNet, a pairwise learning-to-rank (L2R) algorithm, from millions of DIPs, each associated with a perceptual uncertainty level, leading to a DIP inferred quality (dipIQ) index. Extensive experiments on four benchmark IQA databases demonstrate that dipIQ outperforms state-of-the-art OU-BIQA models. The robustness of dipIQ is also significantly improved as confirmed by the group MAximum Differentiation (gMAD) competition method. Furthermore, we extend the proposed framework by learning models with ListNet (a listwise L2R algorithm) on quality-discriminable image lists (DIL). The resulting DIL Inferred Quality (dilIQ) index achieves an additional performance gain.

WE-G-217BCD-04: Diagnostic Image Quality Evaluation of a Dedicated Extremity Cone- Beam CT Scanner: Pre-Clinical Studies and First Clinical Results.

PubMed

Muhit, A; Zbijewski, W; Stayman, J; Thawait, G; Yorkston, J; Foos, D; Packard, N; Yang, D; Senn, R; Carrino, J; Siewerdsen, J

2012-06-01

To assess the diagnostic performance of a prototype cone-beam CT (CBCT) scanner developed for musculoskeletal extremity imaging. Studies involved controlled observer studies conducted subsequent to rigorous technical assessment as well as patient images from the first clinical trial in imaging the hand and knee. Performance assessment included: 1.) rigorous technical assessment; 2.) controlled observer studies using CBCT images of cadaveric specimens; and 3.) first clinical images. Technical assessment included measurement of spatial resolution (MTF), constrast, and noise (SDNR) versus kVp and dose using standard CT phantoms. Diagnostic performance in comparison to multi- detector CT (MDCT) was assessed in controlled observer studies involving 12 cadaveric hands and knees scanned with and without abnormality (fracture). Observer studies involved five radiologists rating pertinent diagnostics tasks in 9-point preference and 10-point diagnostic satisfaction scales. Finally, the first clinical images from an ongoing pilot study were assessed in terms of diagnostic utility in disease assessment and overall workflow in patient setup. Quantitative assessment demonstrated sub-mm spatial resolution (MTF exceeding 10% out to 15-20 cm-1) and SDNR sufficient for relevant soft-tissue visualization tasks at dose <10 mGy. Observer studies confirmed optimal acquisition techniques and demonstrated superior utility of combined soft-tissue visualization and isotropic spatial resolution in diagnostic tasks. Images from the patient trial demonstrate exquisite contrast and detail and the ability to detect tissue impingement in weight-bearing exams. The prototype CBCT scanner provides isotropic spatial resolution superior to standard-protocol MDCT with soft-tissue visibility sufficient for a broad range of diagnostic tasks in musculoskeletal radiology. Dosimetry and workflow were advantageous in comparison to whole-body MDCT. Multi-mode and weight-bearing capabilities add valuable functionality. An ongoing clinical study further assesses diagnostic utility and defines the role of such technology in the diagnostic arsenal. - Research Grant, Carestream Health - Research Grant, National Institutes of Health 2R01-CA-112163. © 2012 American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

Speech and Voice Response to a Levodopa Challenge in Late-Stage Parkinson's Disease.

PubMed

Fabbri, Margherita; Guimarães, Isabel; Cardoso, Rita; Coelho, Miguel; Guedes, Leonor Correia; Rosa, Mario M; Godinho, Catarina; Abreu, Daisy; Gonçalves, Nilza; Antonini, Angelo; Ferreira, Joaquim J

2017-01-01

Parkinson's disease (PD) patients are affected by hypokinetic dysarthria, characterized by hypophonia and dysprosody, which worsens with disease progression. Levodopa's (l-dopa) effect on quality of speech is inconclusive; no data are currently available for late-stage PD (LSPD). To assess the modifications of speech and voice in LSPD following an acute l-dopa challenge. LSPD patients [Schwab and England score <50/Hoehn and Yahr stage >3 (MED ON)] performed several vocal tasks before and after an acute l-dopa challenge. The following was assessed: respiratory support for speech, voice quality, stability and variability, speech rate, and motor performance (MDS-UPDRS-III). All voice samples were recorded and analyzed by a speech and language therapist blinded to patients' therapeutic condition using Praat 5.1 software. 24/27 (14 men) LSPD patients succeeded in performing voice tasks. Median age and disease duration of patients were 79 [IQR: 71.5-81.7] and 14.5 [IQR: 11-15.7] years, respectively. In MED OFF, respiratory breath support and pitch break time of LSPD patients were worse than the normative values of non-parkinsonian. A correlation was found between disease duration and voice quality ( R  = 0.51; p  = 0.013) and speech rate ( R  = -0.55; p  = 0.008). l-Dopa significantly improved MDS-UPDRS-III score (20%), with no effect on speech as assessed by clinical rating scales and automated analysis. Speech is severely affected in LSPD. Although l-dopa had some effect on motor performance, including axial signs, speech and voice did not improve. The applicability and efficacy of non-pharmacological treatment for speech impairment should be considered for speech disorder management in PD.

Patient-Centered Technological Assessment and Monitoring of Depression for Low-Income Patients

PubMed Central

Wu, Shinyi; Vidyanti, Irene; Liu, Pai; Hawkins, Caitlin; Ramirez, Magaly; Guterman, Jeffrey; Gross-Schulman, Sandra; Sklaroff, Laura Myerchin; Ell, Kathleen

2014-01-01

Depression is a significant challenge for ambulatory care because it worsens health status and outcomes, increases health care utilizations and costs, and elevates suicide risk. An automatic telephonic assessment (ATA) system that links with tasks and alerts to providers may improve quality of depression care and increase provider productivity. We used ATA system in a trial to assess and monitor depressive symptoms of 444 safety-net primary care patients with diabetes. We assessed system properties, evaluated preliminary clinical outcomes, and estimated cost savings. The ATA system is feasible, reliable, valid, safe, and likely cost-effective for depression screening and monitoring for low-income primary care population. PMID:24525531

Pilot study of atomoxetine in patients with Parkinson's disease and dopa-unresponsive Freezing of Gait.

PubMed

Revuelta, Gonzalo J; Embry, Aaron; Elm, Jordan J; Gregory, Chris; Delambo, Amy; Kautz, Steve; Hinson, Vanessa K

2015-01-01

Freezing of gait (FoG) is a common and debilitating condition in Parkinson's disease (PD) associated with executive dysfunction. A subtype of FoG does not respond to dopaminergic therapy and may be related to noradrenergic deficiency. This pilot study explores the effects of atomoxetine on gait in PD patients with dopa-unresponsive FoG using a novel paradigm for objective gait assessment. Ten patients with PD and dopa-unresponsive FoG were enrolled in this eight-week open label pilot study. Assessments included an exploratory gait analysis protocol that quantified spatiotemporal parameters during straight-away walking and turning, while performing a dual task. Clinical, and subjective assessments of gait, quality of life, and safety were also administered. The primary outcome was a validated subjective assessment for FoG (FOG-Q). Atomoxetine was well tolerated, however, no significant change was observed in the primary outcome. The gait analysis protocol correlated well with clinical scales, but not with subjective assessments. DBS patients were more likely to increase gait velocity (p = 0.033), and improved in other clinical assessments. Objective gait analysis protocols assessing gait while dual tasking are feasible and useful for this patient population, and may be superior correlates of FoG severity than subjective measures. These findings can inform future trials in this population.

Using collective expert judgements to evaluate quality measures of mass spectrometry images.

PubMed

Palmer, Andrew; Ovchinnikova, Ekaterina; Thuné, Mikael; Lavigne, Régis; Guével, Blandine; Dyatlov, Andrey; Vitek, Olga; Pineau, Charles; Borén, Mats; Alexandrov, Theodore

2015-06-15

Imaging mass spectrometry (IMS) is a maturating technique of molecular imaging. Confidence in the reproducible quality of IMS data is essential for its integration into routine use. However, the predominant method for assessing quality is visual examination, a time consuming, unstandardized and non-scalable approach. So far, the problem of assessing the quality has only been marginally addressed and existing measures do not account for the spatial information of IMS data. Importantly, no approach exists for unbiased evaluation of potential quality measures. We propose a novel approach for evaluating potential measures by creating a gold-standard set using collective expert judgements upon which we evaluated image-based measures. To produce a gold standard, we engaged 80 IMS experts, each to rate the relative quality between 52 pairs of ion images from MALDI-TOF IMS datasets of rat brain coronal sections. Experts' optional feedback on their expertise, the task and the survey showed that (i) they had diverse backgrounds and sufficient expertise, (ii) the task was properly understood, and (iii) the survey was comprehensible. A moderate inter-rater agreement was achieved with Krippendorff's alpha of 0.5. A gold-standard set of 634 pairs of images with accompanying ratings was constructed and showed a high agreement of 0.85. Eight families of potential measures with a range of parameters and statistical descriptors, giving 143 in total, were evaluated. Both signal-to-noise and spatial chaos-based measures performed highly with a correlation of 0.7 to 0.9 with the gold standard ratings. Moreover, we showed that a composite measure with the linear coefficients (trained on the gold standard with regularized least squares optimization and lasso) showed a strong linear correlation of 0.94 and an accuracy of 0.98 in predicting which image in a pair was of higher quality. The anonymized data collected from the survey and the Matlab source code for data processing can be found at: https://github.com/alexandrovteam/IMS_quality. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press.

Using collective expert judgements to evaluate quality measures of mass spectrometry images

PubMed Central

Palmer, Andrew; Ovchinnikova, Ekaterina; Thuné, Mikael; Lavigne, Régis; Guével, Blandine; Dyatlov, Andrey; Vitek, Olga; Pineau, Charles; Borén, Mats; Alexandrov, Theodore

2015-01-01

Motivation: Imaging mass spectrometry (IMS) is a maturating technique of molecular imaging. Confidence in the reproducible quality of IMS data is essential for its integration into routine use. However, the predominant method for assessing quality is visual examination, a time consuming, unstandardized and non-scalable approach. So far, the problem of assessing the quality has only been marginally addressed and existing measures do not account for the spatial information of IMS data. Importantly, no approach exists for unbiased evaluation of potential quality measures. Results: We propose a novel approach for evaluating potential measures by creating a gold-standard set using collective expert judgements upon which we evaluated image-based measures. To produce a gold standard, we engaged 80 IMS experts, each to rate the relative quality between 52 pairs of ion images from MALDI-TOF IMS datasets of rat brain coronal sections. Experts’ optional feedback on their expertise, the task and the survey showed that (i) they had diverse backgrounds and sufficient expertise, (ii) the task was properly understood, and (iii) the survey was comprehensible. A moderate inter-rater agreement was achieved with Krippendorff’s alpha of 0.5. A gold-standard set of 634 pairs of images with accompanying ratings was constructed and showed a high agreement of 0.85. Eight families of potential measures with a range of parameters and statistical descriptors, giving 143 in total, were evaluated. Both signal-to-noise and spatial chaos-based measures performed highly with a correlation of 0.7 to 0.9 with the gold standard ratings. Moreover, we showed that a composite measure with the linear coefficients (trained on the gold standard with regularized least squares optimization and lasso) showed a strong linear correlation of 0.94 and an accuracy of 0.98 in predicting which image in a pair was of higher quality. Availability and implementation: The anonymized data collected from the survey and the Matlab source code for data processing can be found at: https://github.com/alexandrovteam/IMS_quality. Contact: theodore.alexandrov@embl.de PMID:26072506

Multidisciplinary rehabilitation following botulinum toxin and other focal intramuscular treatment for post-stroke spasticity.

PubMed

Demetrios, Marina; Khan, Fary; Turner-Stokes, Lynne; Brand, Caroline; McSweeney, Shane

2013-06-05

Spasticity may affect stroke survivors by contributing to activity limitations, caregiver burden, pain and reduced quality of life (QoL). Spasticity management guidelines recommend multidisciplinary (MD) rehabilitation programmes following botulinum toxin (BoNT) treatment for post-stroke spasticity. However, the evidence base for the effectiveness of MD rehabilitation is unclear. To assess the effectiveness of MD rehabilitation, following BoNT and other focal intramuscular treatments such as phenol, in improving activity limitations and other outcomes in adults and children with post-stroke spasticity. To explore what settings, types and intensities of rehabilitation programmes are effective. We searched the Cochrane Stroke Group Trials Register (February 2012), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library 2011, Issue 12), MEDLINE (1948 to December 2011), EMBASE (1980 to January 2012), CINAHL (1982 to January 2012), AMED (1985 to January 2012), LILACS (1982 to September 2012), PEDro, REHABDATA and OpenGrey (September 2012). In an effort to identify further published, unpublished and ongoing trials we searched trials registries and reference lists, handsearched journals and contacted authors. We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that compared MD rehabilitation (delivered by two or more disciplines in conjunction with medical input) following BoNT and other focal intramuscular treatments for post-stroke spasticity with placebo, routinely available local services, or lower levels of intervention; or studies that compared MD rehabilitation in different settings, of different types, or at different levels of intensity. We excluded RCTs that assessed the effectiveness of unidisciplinary therapy (for example physiotherapy only) or a single modality (for example stretching, casting, electrical stimulation or splinting only). The primary outcomes were validated measures of activity level (active and passive function) according to the World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. Secondary outcomes included measures of symptoms, impairments, participation, QoL, impact on caregivers and adverse events. We independently selected the trials, extracted data, and assessed methodological quality using the Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE). Due to the limited number of included studies, with clinical, methodological and statistical heterogeneity, quantitative meta-analysis was not possible. Therefore, GRADE provided qualitative synthesis of 'best evidence'. We included three RCTs involving 91 participants. All three studies scored 'low quality' on the methodological quality assessment, implying high risk of bias. All studies investigated various types and intensities of outpatient rehabilitation programmes following BoNT for upper limb spasticity in adults with chronic stroke. Rehabilitation programmes included: modified constraint-induced movement therapy (mCIMT) compared with a neurodevelopmental therapy programme; task practice therapy with cyclic functional electrical stimulation (FES) compared with task practice therapy only; and occupational, manual therapy with dynamic elbow extension splinting compared with occupational therapy only. There was 'low quality' evidence for mCIMT improving upper limb motor function and spasticity in chronic stroke survivors with residual voluntary upper limb activity, up to six months, and 'very low quality' evidence for dynamic elbow splinting and occupational therapy reducing elbow range of movement at 14 weeks. Task practice therapy with cyclic FES did not improve upper limb function more than task practice therapy alone, only at 12 weeks. No studies addressed interventions in children and those with lower limb spasticity, or after other focal intramuscular treatments for spasticity. At best there was 'low level' evidence for the effectiveness of outpatient MD rehabilitation in improving active function and impairments following BoNT for upper limb spasticity in adults with chronic stroke. No trials explored the effect of MD rehabilitation on 'passive function' (caring for the affected limb), caregiver burden, or the individual's priority goals for treatment. The optimal types (modalities, therapy approaches, settings) and intensities of therapy for improving activity (active and passive function) in adults and children with post-stroke spasticity, in the short and longer term, are unclear. Further research is required to build evidence in this area.

Quality assessment of protein model-structures based on structural and functional similarities.

PubMed

Konopka, Bogumil M; Nebel, Jean-Christophe; Kotulska, Malgorzata

2012-09-21

Experimental determination of protein 3D structures is expensive, time consuming and sometimes impossible. A gap between number of protein structures deposited in the World Wide Protein Data Bank and the number of sequenced proteins constantly broadens. Computational modeling is deemed to be one of the ways to deal with the problem. Although protein 3D structure prediction is a difficult task, many tools are available. These tools can model it from a sequence or partial structural information, e.g. contact maps. Consequently, biologists have the ability to generate automatically a putative 3D structure model of any protein. However, the main issue becomes evaluation of the model quality, which is one of the most important challenges of structural biology. GOBA--Gene Ontology-Based Assessment is a novel Protein Model Quality Assessment Program. It estimates the compatibility between a model-structure and its expected function. GOBA is based on the assumption that a high quality model is expected to be structurally similar to proteins functionally similar to the prediction target. Whereas DALI is used to measure structure similarity, protein functional similarity is quantified using standardized and hierarchical description of proteins provided by Gene Ontology combined with Wang's algorithm for calculating semantic similarity. Two approaches are proposed to express the quality of protein model-structures. One is a single model quality assessment method, the other is its modification, which provides a relative measure of model quality. Exhaustive evaluation is performed on data sets of model-structures submitted to the CASP8 and CASP9 contests. The validation shows that the method is able to discriminate between good and bad model-structures. The best of tested GOBA scores achieved 0.74 and 0.8 as a mean Pearson correlation to the observed quality of models in our CASP8 and CASP9-based validation sets. GOBA also obtained the best result for two targets of CASP8, and one of CASP9, compared to the contest participants. Consequently, GOBA offers a novel single model quality assessment program that addresses the practical needs of biologists. In conjunction with other Model Quality Assessment Programs (MQAPs), it would prove useful for the evaluation of single protein models.

Relating Self Reports of Writing Behaviour and Online Task Execution Using a Temporal Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tillema, Marion; van den Bergh, Huub; Rijlaarsdam, Gert; Sanders, Ted

2011-01-01

Current theory about writing states that the quality of (meta)cognitive processing (i.e. planning, text production, revising, et cetera) is, at least partly, determined by the temporal distribution of (meta)cognitive activities across task execution. Put simply, the quality of task execution is determined more by "when" activities are applied than…

Student Writing Accepted as High-Quality Responses to Analytic Text-Based Writing Tasks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Elaine; Matsumura, Lindsay Clare; Correnti, Richard

2018-01-01

Literacy standards increasingly emphasize the importance of analytic text-based writing. Little consensus exists, however, around what high-quality student responses should look like in this genre. In this study, we investigated fifth-grade students' writing in response to analytic text-based writing tasks (15 teachers, 44 writing tasks, 88 pieces…

Furthering the Understanding of Parent–Child Relationships: A Nursing Scholarship Review Series. Part 3: Interaction and the Parent–Child Relationship—Assessment and Intervention Studies

PubMed Central

Pridham, Karen A.; Lutz, Kristin F.; Anderson, Lori S.; Riesch, Susan K.; Becker, Patricia T.

2010-01-01

PURPOSE This integrative review concerns nursing research on parent–child interaction and relationships published from 1980 through 2008 and includes assessment and intervention studies in clinically important settings (e.g., feeding, teaching, play). CONCLUSIONS Directions for research include development of theoretical frameworks, valid observational systems, and multivariate and longitudinal data analytic strategies. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS Observation of social–emotional as well as task-related interaction qualities in the context of assessing parent–child relationships could generate new questions for nursing research and for family-centered nursing practice. PMID:20074112

Initial experience using a robotic-driven laparoscopic needle holder with ergonomic handle: assessment of surgeons' task performance and ergonomics.

PubMed

Sánchez-Margallo, Juan A; Sánchez-Margallo, Francisco M

2017-12-01

The objective of this study is to assess the surgeons' performance and ergonomics during the use of a robotic-driven needle holder in laparoscopic suturing tasks. Six right-handed laparoscopic surgeons with different levels of experience took part in this study. Participants performed a set of three different intracorporeal suturing tasks organized in ten trials during a period of five weeks. Surgeons used both conventional (Conv) and robotic (Rob) laparoscopic needle holders. Precision using the surgical needle, quality of the intracorporeal suturing performance, execution time and leakage pressure for the urethrovesical anastomosis, as well as the ergonomics of the surgeon's hand posture, were analyzed during the first, fifth and last trials. No statistically significant differences in precision and quality of suturing performance were obtained between both groups of instruments. Surgeons required more time using the robotic instrument than using the conventional needle holder to perform the urethrovesical anastomosis, but execution time was significantly reduced after training ([Formula: see text] 0.05). There were no differences in leakage pressure for the anastomoses carried out by both instruments. After training, novice surgeons significantly improved the ergonomics of the wrist ([Formula: see text] 0.05) and index finger (Conv: 36.381[Formula: see text], Rob: 30.389[Formula: see text]; p = 0.024) when using the robotic instrument compared to the conventional needle holder. Results have shown that, although both instruments offer similar technical performance, the robotic-driven instrument results in better ergonomics for the surgeon's hand posture compared to the use of a conventional laparoscopic needle holder in intracorporeal suturing.

[Multiprofessional family-system training programme in psychiatry--effects on team cooperation and staff strain].

PubMed

Zwack, Julika; Schweitzer, Jochen

2008-01-01

How does the interdisciplinary cooperation of psychiatric staff members change after a multiprofessional family systems training programme? Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 49 staff members. Quantitative questionnaires were used to assess burnout (Maslach Burnout Inventory, MBI) and team climate (Team-Klima-Inventar, TKI). The multiprofessional training intensifies interdisciplinary cooperation. It results in an increased appreciation of the nurses involved and in a redistribution of therapeutic tasks between nurses, psychologists and physicians. Staff burnout decreased during the research period, while task orientation and participative security within teams increased. The multiprofessional family systems training appears suitable to improve quality of patient care and interdisciplinary cooperation and to reduce staff burnout.

Parental depressive symptoms and marital intimacy at 4.5 years: joint contributions to mother-child and father-child interaction at 6.5 years.

PubMed

Engle, Jennifer M; McElwain, Nancy L

2013-12-01

Using data from a subset of 606 families who participated in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, we assessed emotional intimacy in the marriage as a buffer of the negative effects of parental depression on the quality of parent-child interaction. Maternal and paternal depressive symptoms and perceptions of emotional intimacy in the marriage were assessed via self-reports when children were 4.5 years old, and parental sensitive scaffolding and child task orientation were observed during mother-child and father-child interaction tasks at 4.5 years and again at 6.5 years. Path analyses indicated that marital intimacy moderated the longitudinal association between parental depressive symptoms and parent-child interaction, controlling for parent or child behavior at 4.5 years. The pattern of this interaction, however, differed for mothers and fathers. Paternal depressive symptoms predicted less child task orientation with fathers when marital intimacy was low and more child task orientation when marital intimacy was high. In contrast, maternal depressive symptoms predicted less sensitive scaffolding by mothers and less child task orientation with mothers when mothers reported moderate to high levels of marital intimacy. Results are discussed with respect to the buffering role of marital intimacy for children of depressed fathers and compensatory processes that may unfold for depressed mothers. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Systematic monitoring of male circumcision scale-up in Nyanza, Kenya: exploratory factor analysis of service quality instrument and performance ranking.

PubMed

Omondi Aduda, Dickens S; Ouma, Collins; Onyango, Rosebella; Onyango, Mathews; Bertrand, Jane

2014-01-01

Considerable conceptual and operational complexities related to service quality measurements and variability in delivery contexts of scaled-up medical male circumcision, pose real challenges to monitoring implementation of quality and safety. Clarifying latent factors of the quality instruments can enhance contextual applicability and the likelihood that observed service outcomes are appropriately assessed. To explore factors underlying SYMMACS service quality assessment tool (adopted from the WHO VMMC quality toolkit) and; determine service quality performance using composite quality index derived from the latent factors. Using a comparative process evaluation of Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision Scale-Up in Kenya site level data was collected among health facilities providing VMMC over two years. Systematic Monitoring of the Medical Male Circumcision Scale-Up quality instrument was used to assess availability of guidelines, supplies and equipment, infection control, and continuity of care services. Exploratory factor analysis was performed to clarify quality structure. Fifty four items and 246 responses were analyzed. Based on Eigenvalue >1.00 cut-off, factors 1, 2 & 3 were retained each respectively having eigenvalues of 5.78; 4.29; 2.99. These cumulatively accounted for 29.1% of the total variance (12.9%; 9.5%; 6.7%) with final communality estimates being 13.06. Using a cut-off factor loading value of ≥0.4, fifteen items loading on factor 1, five on factor 2 and one on factor 3 were retained. Factor 1 closely relates to preparedness to deliver safe male circumcisions while factor two depicts skilled task performance and compliance with protocols. Of the 28 facilities, 32% attained between 90th and 95th percentile (excellent); 45% between 50th and 75th percentiles (average) and 14.3% below 25th percentile (poor). the service quality assessment instrument may be simplified to have nearly 20 items that relate more closely to service outcomes. Ranking of facilities and circumcision procedure using a composite index based on these items indicates that majority performed above average.

Use of cognitive task analysis to guide the development of performance-based assessments for intraoperative decision making.

PubMed

Pugh, Carla M; DaRosa, Debra A

2013-10-01

There is a paucity of performance-based assessments that focus on intraoperative decision making. The purpose of this article is to review the performance outcomes and usefulness of two performance-based assessments that were developed using cognitive task analysis (CTA) frameworks. Assessment-A used CTA to create a "think aloud" oral examination that was administered while junior residents (PGY 1-2's, N = 69) performed a porcine-based laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Assessment-B used CTA to create a simulation-based, formative assessment of senior residents' (PGY 4-5's, N = 29) decision making during a laparoscopic ventral hernia repair. In addition to survey-based assessments of usefulness, a multiconstruct evaluation was performed using eight variables. When comparing performance outcomes, both approaches revealed major deficiencies in residents' intraoperative decision-making skills. Multiconstruct evaluation of the two CTA approaches revealed assessment method advantages for five of the eight evaluation areas: (1) Cognitive Complexity, (2) Content Quality, (3) Content Coverage, (4) Meaningfulness, and (5) Transfer and Generalizability. The two CTA performance assessments were useful in identifying significant training needs. While there are pros and cons to each approach, the results serve as a useful blueprint for program directors seeking to develop performance-based assessments for intraoperative decision making. Reprint & Copyright © 2013 Association of Military Surgeons of the U.S.

A New Generation of Crystallographic Validation Tools for the Protein Data Bank

PubMed Central

Read, Randy J.; Adams, Paul D.; Arendall, W. Bryan; Brunger, Axel T.; Emsley, Paul; Joosten, Robbie P.; Kleywegt, Gerard J.; Krissinel, Eugene B.; Lütteke, Thomas; Otwinowski, Zbyszek; Perrakis, Anastassis; Richardson, Jane S.; Sheffler, William H.; Smith, Janet L.; Tickle, Ian J.; Vriend, Gert; Zwart, Peter H.

2011-01-01

Summary This report presents the conclusions of the X-ray Validation Task Force of the worldwide Protein Data Bank (PDB). The PDB has expanded massively since current criteria for validation of deposited structures were adopted, allowing a much more sophisticated understanding of all the components of macromolecular crystals. The size of the PDB creates new opportunities to validate structures by comparison with the existing database, and the now-mandatory deposition of structure factors creates new opportunities to validate the underlying diffraction data. These developments highlighted the need for a new assessment of validation criteria. The Task Force recommends that a small set of validation data be presented in an easily understood format, relative to both the full PDB and the applicable resolution class, with greater detail available to interested users. Most importantly, we recommend that referees and editors judging the quality of structural experiments have access to a concise summary of well-established quality indicators. PMID:22000512

A new generation of crystallographic validation tools for the protein data bank.

PubMed

Read, Randy J; Adams, Paul D; Arendall, W Bryan; Brunger, Axel T; Emsley, Paul; Joosten, Robbie P; Kleywegt, Gerard J; Krissinel, Eugene B; Lütteke, Thomas; Otwinowski, Zbyszek; Perrakis, Anastassis; Richardson, Jane S; Sheffler, William H; Smith, Janet L; Tickle, Ian J; Vriend, Gert; Zwart, Peter H

2011-10-12

This report presents the conclusions of the X-ray Validation Task Force of the worldwide Protein Data Bank (PDB). The PDB has expanded massively since current criteria for validation of deposited structures were adopted, allowing a much more sophisticated understanding of all the components of macromolecular crystals. The size of the PDB creates new opportunities to validate structures by comparison with the existing database, and the now-mandatory deposition of structure factors creates new opportunities to validate the underlying diffraction data. These developments highlighted the need for a new assessment of validation criteria. The Task Force recommends that a small set of validation data be presented in an easily understood format, relative to both the full PDB and the applicable resolution class, with greater detail available to interested users. Most importantly, we recommend that referees and editors judging the quality of structural experiments have access to a concise summary of well-established quality indicators. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Characteristic image quality of a third generation dual-source MDCT scanner: Noise, resolution, and detectability

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

Solomon, Justin, E-mail: justin.solomon@duke.edu; Wilson, Joshua; Samei, Ehsan

2015-08-15

Purpose: The purpose of this work was to assess the inherent image quality characteristics of a new multidetector computed tomography system in terms of noise, resolution, and detectability index as a function of image acquisition and reconstruction for a range of clinically relevant settings. Methods: A multisized image quality phantom (37, 30, 23, 18.5, and 12 cm physical diameter) was imaged on a SOMATOM Force scanner (Siemens Medical Solutions) under variable dose, kVp, and tube current modulation settings. Images were reconstructed with filtered back projection (FBP) and with advanced modeled iterative reconstruction (ADMIRE) with iterative strengths of 3, 4, andmore » 5. Image quality was assessed in terms of the noise power spectrum (NPS), task transfer function (TTF), and detectability index for a range of detection tasks (contrasts of approximately 45, 90, 300, −900, and 1000 HU, and 2–20 mm diameter) based on a non-prewhitening matched filter model observer with eye filter. Results: Image noise magnitude decreased with decreasing phantom size, increasing dose, and increasing ADMIRE strength, offering up to 64% noise reduction relative to FBP. Noise texture in terms of the NPS was similar between FBP and ADMIRE (<5% shift in peak frequency). The resolution, based on the TTF, improved with increased ADMIRE strength by an average of 15% in the TTF 50% frequency for ADMIRE-5. The detectability index increased with increasing dose and ADMIRE strength by an average of 55%, 90%, and 163% for ADMIRE 3, 4, and 5, respectively. Assessing the impact of mA modulation for a fixed average dose over the length of the phantom, detectability was up to 49% lower in smaller phantom sections and up to 26% higher in larger phantom sections for the modulated scan compared to a fixed tube current scan. Overall, the detectability exhibited less variability with phantom size for modulated scans compared to fixed tube current scans. Conclusions: Image quality increased with increasing dose and decreasing phantom size. The CT system exhibited nonlinear noise and resolution properties, especially at very low-doses, large phantom sizes, and for low-contrast objects. Objective image quality metrics generally increased with increasing dose and ADMIRE strength, and with decreasing phantom size. The ADMIRE algorithm could offer comparable image quality at reduced doses or improved image quality at the same dose. The use of tube current modulation resulted in more consistent image quality with changing phantom size.« less

Correlation of radiologists' image quality perception with quantitative assessment parameters: just-noticeable difference vs. peak signal-to-noise ratios

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Siddiqui, Khan M.; Siegel, Eliot L.; Reiner, Bruce I.; Johnson, Jeffrey P.

2005-04-01

The authors identify a fundamental disconnect between the ways in which industry and radiologists assess and even discuss product performance. What is needed is a quantitative methodology that can assess both subjective image quality and observer task performance. In this study, we propose and evaluate the use of a visual discrimination model (VDM) that assesses just-noticeable differences (JNDs) to serve this purpose. The study compares radiologists' subjective perceptions of image quality of computer tomography (CT) and computed radiography (CR) images with quantitative measures of peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) and JNDs as measured by a VDM. The study included 4 CT and 6 CR studies with compression ratios ranging from lossless to 90:1 (total of 80 sets of images were generated [n = 1,200]). Eleven radiologists reviewed the images and rated them in terms of overall quality and readability and identified images not acceptable for interpretation. Normalized reader scores were correlated with compression, objective PSNR, and mean JND values. Results indicated a significantly higher correlation between observer performance and JND values than with PSNR methods. These results support the use of the VDM as a metric not only for the threshold discriminations for which it was calibrated, but also as a general image quality metric. This VDM is a highly promising, reproducible, and reliable adjunct or even alternative to human observer studies for research or to establish clinical guidelines for image compression, dose reductions, and evaluation of various display technologies.

Task variation versus task repetition for people with profound developmental disabilities: an assessment of preferences.

PubMed

Lancioni, G E; O'Reilly, M F; Campodonico, F; Mantini, M

1998-01-01

An assessment of preferences between task variation and task repetition with four adults with profound developmental disabilities was implemented. After participants were exposed to both task variation and task repetition conditions, they were allowed to choose between them. Results showed that all participants had strong preferences; three preferred task variation and one task repetition. Aspects of the assessment and use of assessment data for planning daily work conditions were discussed.

Trabecular bone analysis in CT and X-ray images of the proximal femur for the assessment of local bone quality.

PubMed

Fritscher, Karl; Grunerbl, Agnes; Hanni, Markus; Suhm, Norbert; Hengg, Clemens; Schubert, Rainer

2009-10-01

Currently, conventional X-ray and CT images as well as invasive methods performed during the surgical intervention are used to judge the local quality of a fractured proximal femur. However, these approaches are either dependent on the surgeon's experience or cannot assist diagnostic and planning tasks preoperatively. Therefore, in this work a method for the individual analysis of local bone quality in the proximal femur based on model-based analysis of CT- and X-ray images of femur specimen will be proposed. A combined representation of shape and spatial intensity distribution of an object and different statistical approaches for dimensionality reduction are used to create a statistical appearance model in order to assess the local bone quality in CT and X-ray images. The developed algorithms are tested and evaluated on 28 femur specimen. It will be shown that the tools and algorithms presented herein are highly adequate to automatically and objectively predict bone mineral density values as well as a biomechanical parameter of the bone that can be measured intraoperatively.

Automated assessment of cognitive health using smart home technologies.

PubMed

Dawadi, Prafulla N; Cook, Diane J; Schmitter-Edgecombe, Maureen; Parsey, Carolyn

2013-01-01

The goal of this work is to develop intelligent systems to monitor the wellbeing of individuals in their home environments. This paper introduces a machine learning-based method to automatically predict activity quality in smart homes and automatically assess cognitive health based on activity quality. This paper describes an automated framework to extract set of features from smart home sensors data that reflects the activity performance or ability of an individual to complete an activity which can be input to machine learning algorithms. Output from learning algorithms including principal component analysis, support vector machine, and logistic regression algorithms are used to quantify activity quality for a complex set of smart home activities and predict cognitive health of participants. Smart home activity data was gathered from volunteer participants (n=263) who performed a complex set of activities in our smart home testbed. We compare our automated activity quality prediction and cognitive health prediction with direct observation scores and health assessment obtained from neuropsychologists. With all samples included, we obtained statistically significant correlation (r=0.54) between direct observation scores and predicted activity quality. Similarly, using a support vector machine classifier, we obtained reasonable classification accuracy (area under the ROC curve=0.80, g-mean=0.73) in classifying participants into two different cognitive classes, dementia and cognitive healthy. The results suggest that it is possible to automatically quantify the task quality of smart home activities and perform limited assessment of the cognitive health of individual if smart home activities are properly chosen and learning algorithms are appropriately trained.

Automated Assessment of Cognitive Health Using Smart Home Technologies

PubMed Central

Dawadi, Prafulla N.; Cook, Diane J.; Schmitter-Edgecombe, Maureen; Parsey, Carolyn

2014-01-01

BACKGROUND The goal of this work is to develop intelligent systems to monitor the well being of individuals in their home environments. OBJECTIVE This paper introduces a machine learning-based method to automatically predict activity quality in smart homes and automatically assess cognitive health based on activity quality. METHODS This paper describes an automated framework to extract set of features from smart home sensors data that reflects the activity performance or ability of an individual to complete an activity which can be input to machine learning algorithms. Output from learning algorithms including principal component analysis, support vector machine, and logistic regression algorithms are used to quantify activity quality for a complex set of smart home activities and predict cognitive health of participants. RESULTS Smart home activity data was gathered from volunteer participants (n=263) who performed a complex set of activities in our smart home testbed. We compare our automated activity quality prediction and cognitive health prediction with direct observation scores and health assessment obtained from neuropsychologists. With all samples included, we obtained statistically significant correlation (r=0.54) between direct observation scores and predicted activity quality. Similarly, using a support vector machine classifier, we obtained reasonable classification accuracy (area under the ROC curve = 0.80, g-mean = 0.73) in classifying participants into two different cognitive classes, dementia and cognitive healthy. CONCLUSIONS The results suggest that it is possible to automatically quantify the task quality of smart home activities and perform limited assessment of the cognitive health of individual if smart home activities are properly chosen and learning algorithms are appropriately trained. PMID:23949177

Is perceived athlete leadership quality related to team effectiveness? A comparison of three professional sports teams.

PubMed

Fransen, Katrien; Haslam, S Alexander; Mallett, Clifford J; Steffens, Niklas K; Peters, Kim; Boen, Filip

2017-08-01

Researchers have argued that leadership is one of the most important determinants of team effectiveness. The present study examined the extent to which the perceived quality of athlete leadership was related to the effectiveness of elite sports teams. Three professional football teams (N=135) participated in our study during the preparation phase for the Australian 2016 season. Players and coaching staff were asked to assess players' leadership quality in four leadership roles (as task, motivational, social, and external leader) via an online survey. The leadership quality in each of these roles was then calculated in a social network analysis by averaging the indegree centralities of the three best leaders in that particular role. Participants also rated their team's performance and its functioning on multiple indicators. As hypothesized, the team with the highest-quality athlete leadership on each of the four leadership roles excelled in all indicators of team effectiveness. More specifically, athletes in this team had a stronger shared sense of the team's purpose, they were more highly committed to realizing the team's goals, and they had a greater confidence in their team's abilities than athletes in the other teams. Moreover, this team demonstrated a higher task-involving and a lower ego-involving climate, and excelled on all measures of performance. High-quality athlete leadership is positively related to team effectiveness. Given the importance of high-quality athlete leadership, the study highlights the need for well-designed empirically-based leadership development programs. Copyright © 2017 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dual-task training effects on motor and cognitive functional abilities in individuals with stroke: a systematic review.

PubMed

He, Ying; Yang, Lei; Zhou, Jing; Yao, Liqing; Pang, Marco Yiu Chung

2018-02-01

This systematic review aimed to examine the effects of dual-task balance and mobility training in people with stroke. An extensive electronic databases literature search was conducted using MEDLINE, PubMed, EBSCO, The Cochrane Library, Web of Science, SCOPUS, and Wiley Online Library. Randomized controlled studies that assessed the effects of dual-task training in stroke patients were included for the review (last search in December 2017). The methodological quality was evaluated using the Cochrane Collaboration recommendation, and level of evidence was determined according to the criteria described by the Oxford Center for Evidence-Based Medicine. About 13 articles involving 457 participants were included in this systematic review. All had substantial risk of bias and thus provided level IIb evidence only. Dual-task mobility training was found to induce more improvement in single-task walking function (standardized effect size = 0.14-2.24), when compared with single-task mobility training. Its effect on dual-task walking function was not consistent. Cognitive-motor balance training was effective in improving single-task balance function (standardized effect size = 0.27-1.82), but its effect on dual-task balance ability was not studied. The beneficial effect of dual-task training on cognitive function was provided by one study only and thus inconclusive. There is some evidence that dual-task training can improve single-task walking and balance function in individuals with stroke. However, any firm recommendation cannot be made due to the weak methodology of the studies reviewed.

Multimodal Emotion Recognition Is Resilient to Insufficient Sleep: Results From Cross-Sectional and Experimental Studies.

PubMed

Holding, Benjamin C; Laukka, Petri; Fischer, Håkan; Bänziger, Tanja; Axelsson, John; Sundelin, Tina

2017-11-01

Insufficient sleep has been associated with impaired recognition of facial emotions. However, previous studies have found inconsistent results, potentially stemming from the type of static picture task used. We therefore examined whether insufficient sleep was associated with decreased emotion recognition ability in two separate studies using a dynamic multimodal task. Study 1 used a cross-sectional design consisting of 291 participants with questionnaire measures assessing sleep duration and self-reported sleep quality for the previous night. Study 2 used an experimental design involving 181 participants where individuals were quasi-randomized into either a sleep-deprivation (N = 90) or a sleep-control (N = 91) condition. All participants from both studies were tested on the same forced-choice multimodal test of emotion recognition to assess the accuracy of emotion categorization. Sleep duration, self-reported sleep quality (study 1), and sleep deprivation (study 2) did not predict overall emotion recognition accuracy or speed. Similarly, the responses to each of the twelve emotions tested showed no evidence of impaired recognition ability, apart from one positive association suggesting that greater self-reported sleep quality could predict more accurate recognition of disgust (study 1). The studies presented here involve considerably larger samples than previous studies and the results support the null hypotheses. Therefore, we suggest that the ability to accurately categorize the emotions of others is not associated with short-term sleep duration or sleep quality and is resilient to acute periods of insufficient sleep. © Sleep Research Society 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Sleep Research Society. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail journals.permissions@oup.com.

Assessment of flying-quality criteria for air-breathing aerospacecraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcruer, Duane T.; Myers, Thomas T.; Hoh, Roger H.; Ashkenas, Irving L.; Johnston, Donald E.

1992-01-01

A study of flying quality requirements for air breathing aerospacecraft gives special emphasis to the unusual operational requirements and characteristics of these aircraft, including operation at hypersonic speed. The report considers distinguishing characteristics of these vehicles, including dynamic deficiencies and their implications for control. Particular emphasis is given to the interaction of the airframe and propulsion system, and the requirements for dynamic systems integration. Past operational missions are reviewed to define tasks and maneuvers to be considered for this class of aircraft. Areas of special concern with respect to vehicle dynamics and control are identified. Experience with the space shuttle orbiter is reviewed with respect to flight control system mechanization and flight experience in approach and landing flying qualities for the National Aerospace Plane (NASP).

Argumentation in undergraduate chemistry laboratories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walker, Joi Phelps

To address the need for reform in undergraduate science education a new instructional model called Argument-Driven Inquiry (ADI) was developed and then implemented in a undergraduate chemistry course at a community college in the southeastern United States (Sampson, Walker, & Grooms, 2009; Walker, Sampson, & Zimmerman, in press). The ADI instructional model is designed to give a more central place to argumentation and the role of argument in the social construction of scientific knowledge. This research investigated the growth in the quality of the student generated arguments and the scientific argumentation that took place over the course of a semester. Students enrolled in two sections of General Chemistry I laboratory at the community college participated in this study. The students worked in collaborative groups of three or four. The students were given a variation of the same performance task three times during the semester in order to measure individual ability to use evidence and justify their choice of evidence with appropriate rationale. Five ADI investigations took place during the semester and the laboratory reports for each were collected from each student and the argument section of each report was scored. All the student groups were video recorded five times during the semester as they generated and evaluated arguments and the quality of the group argumentation was assessed using an instrument called the Assessment of Scientific Argumentation in the Classroom (ASAC) observation protocol. As time was the independent variable in this study a repeated measure ANOVA was used to evaluate the significance of student improvement in each area (argumentation, written argument and performance task) over the course of the semester (Trochim, 1999). In addition, a multiple regression analysis was conducted to evaluate how well the ASAC scores predicted individual scores on both the performance task and the written arguments (Green & Salkind, 2005). There was significant growth over the course of the semester in all three measures, performance-based assessment, written argument and oral argumentation. There also was a significant correlation between written and oral arguments that was used to generate a linear model using oral argumentation as a predictor of written argument. The results of this suggest that the use of an integrated instructional model such as ADI can have a positive impact on the quality of the arguments students include in their investigation reports, the argumentation they engage in during lab activities, and their overall performance on tasks that require them to develop and support a valid conclusion with genuine evidence.

Occlusion handling framework for tracking in smart camera networks by per-target assistance task assignment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bo, Nyan Bo; Deboeverie, Francis; Veelaert, Peter; Philips, Wilfried

2017-09-01

Occlusion is one of the most difficult challenges in the area of visual tracking. We propose an occlusion handling framework to improve the performance of local tracking in a smart camera view in a multicamera network. We formulate an extensible energy function to quantify the quality of a camera's observation of a particular target by taking into account both person-person and object-person occlusion. Using this energy function, a smart camera assesses the quality of observations over all targets being tracked. When it cannot adequately observe of a target, a smart camera estimates the quality of observation of the target from view points of other assisting cameras. If a camera with better observation of the target is found, the tracking task of the target is carried out with the assistance of that camera. In our framework, only positions of persons being tracked are exchanged between smart cameras. Thus, communication bandwidth requirement is very low. Performance evaluation of our method on challenging video sequences with frequent and severe occlusions shows that the accuracy of a baseline tracker is considerably improved. We also report the performance comparison to the state-of-the-art trackers in which our method outperforms.

[Impact of driving restrictions disclosure on quality of life of patients with a glial tumor: A prospective study].

PubMed

Bergot, Lydie; Cuchard, Solenn; Mazeaud, Sylvie; Magro, Elsa; Seizeur, Romuald

2016-03-01

Disclosure of driving restrictions on patients with glial tumors is a complex and difficult task. The difficulty of such task lies in the moral and ethical conflicts it generates for the patient on one hand and caregivers on the other. These aforementioned conflicts impinge upon the patient's quality of life which is one of the important aspects of neuro-oncologic care. In a prospective survey of 31 patients diagnosed with glial tumors, we studied how the patient perceived the disclosure of driving restrictions specifically the amount of retained information, and the level of distress. It seems that patients fail to assess the juridical implications of driving restrictions. The impact on quality of life as well as psychological and social aspects of these restrictions must not be taken lightly especially in young patients with low-grade glioma who has a long life expectancy. Therefore, we believe that planning a specific psychological and social accompaniment of the patient in relation to driving restrictions is an undeniable necessity. Copyright © 2016 Société Française du Cancer. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Assessment of functional vision and its rehabilitation.

PubMed

Colenbrander, August

2010-03-01

This article, based on a report prepared for the International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO) and the International Society for Low Vision Research and Rehabilitation (ISLRR), explores the assessment of various aspects of visual functioning as needed to document the outcomes of vision rehabilitation. Documenting patient abilities and functional vision (how the person functions) is distinct from the measurement of visual functions (how the eye functions) and also from the assessment of quality of life. All three areas are important, but their assessment should not be mixed. Observation of task performance offers the most objective measure of functional vision, but it is time-consuming and not feasible for many tasks. Where possible, timing and error rates provide an easy score. Patient response questionnaires provide an alternative. They may save time and can cover a wider area, but the responses are subjective and proper scoring presents problems. Simple Likert scoring still predominates but Rasch analysis, needed to provide better result scales, is gaining ground. Selection of questions is another problem. If the range of difficulties does not match the range of patient abilities, and if the difficulties are not distributed evenly, the results are not optimal. This may be an argument to use different outcome questions for different conditions. Generic questionnaires are appropriate for the assessment of generic quality of life, but not for specific rehabilitation outcomes. Different questionnaires are also needed for screening, intake and outcomes. Intake questions must be relevant to actual needs to allow prioritization of rehabilitation goals; the activity inventory presents a prototype. Outcome questions should be targeted at predefined rehabilitation goals. The Appendix cites some promising examples. The Low Vision Intervention Trial (LOVIT) is an example of a properly designed randomized control study, and has demonstrated the remarkable effectiveness of vision rehabilitation. It is hoped that further similar studies will follow.

Feedback and the rationing of time and effort among competing tasks.

PubMed

Northcraft, Gregory B; Schmidt, Aaron M; Ashford, Susan J

2011-09-01

The study described here tested a model of how characteristics of the feedback environment influence the allocation of resources (time and effort) among competing tasks. Results demonstrated that performers invest more resources on tasks for which higher quality (more timely and more specific) feedback is available; this effect was partially mediated by task salience and task expectancies. Feedback timing and feedback specificity demonstrated both main and interaction effects on resource allocations. Results also demonstrated that performers do better on tasks for which higher quality feedback is available; this effect was mediated by resources allocated to tasks. The practical and theoretical implications of the role of the feedback environment in managing performance are discussed. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved

Quality Assessment of Established and Emerging Blood Components for Transfusion

PubMed Central

Marks, Denese C.

2016-01-01

Blood is donated either as whole blood, with subsequent component processing, or through the use of apheresis devices that extract one or more components and return the rest of the donation to the donor. Blood component therapy supplanted whole blood transfusion in industrialized countries in the middle of the twentieth century and remains the standard of care for the majority of patients receiving a transfusion. Traditionally, blood has been processed into three main blood products: red blood cell concentrates; platelet concentrates; and transfusable plasma. Ensuring that these products are of high quality and that they deliver their intended benefits to patients throughout their shelf-life is a complex task. Further complexity has been added with the development of products stored under nonstandard conditions or subjected to additional manufacturing steps (e.g., cryopreserved platelets, irradiated red cells, and lyophilized plasma). Here we review established and emerging methodologies for assessing blood product quality and address controversies and uncertainties in this thriving and active field of investigation. PMID:28070448

Controllability of Complex Dynamic Objects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kalach, G. G.; Kazachek, N. A.; Morozov, A. A.

2017-01-01

Quality requirements for mobile robots intended for both specialized and everyday use are increasing in step with the complexity of the technological tasks assigned to the robots. Whether a mobile robot is for ground, aerial, or underwater use, the relevant quality characteristics can be summarized under the common concept of agility. This term denotes the object’s (the robot)’s ability to react quickly to control actions (change speed and direction), turn in a limited area, etc. When using this approach in integrated assessment of the quality characteristics of an object with the control system, it seems more constructive to use the term “degree of control”. This paper assesses the degree of control by an example of a mobile robot with the variable-geometry drive wheel axle. We show changes in the degree of control depending on the robot’s configuration, and results illustrated by calculation data, computer and practical experiments. We describe the prospects of using intelligent technology for efficient control of objects with a high degree of controllability.

A new multimodal interactive way of subjective scoring of 3D video quality of experience

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Taewan; Lee, Kwanghyun; Lee, Sanghoon; Bovik, Alan C.

2014-03-01

People that watch today's 3D visual programs, such as 3D cinema, 3D TV and 3D games, experience wide and dynamically varying ranges of 3D visual immersion and 3D quality of experience (QoE). It is necessary to be able to deploy reliable methodologies that measure each viewers subjective experience. We propose a new methodology that we call Multimodal Interactive Continuous Scoring of Quality (MICSQ). MICSQ is composed of a device interaction process between the 3D display and a separate device (PC, tablet, etc.) used as an assessment tool, and a human interaction process between the subject(s) and the device. The scoring process is multimodal, using aural and tactile cues to help engage and focus the subject(s) on their tasks. Moreover, the wireless device interaction process makes it possible for multiple subjects to assess 3D QoE simultaneously in a large space such as a movie theater, and at di®erent visual angles and distances.

Prediction of pilot opinion ratings using an optimal pilot model. [of aircraft handling qualities in multiaxis tasks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hess, R. A.

1977-01-01

A brief review of some of the more pertinent applications of analytical pilot models to the prediction of aircraft handling qualities is undertaken. The relative ease with which multiloop piloting tasks can be modeled via the optimal control formulation makes the use of optimal pilot models particularly attractive for handling qualities research. To this end, a rating hypothesis is introduced which relates the numerical pilot opinion rating assigned to a particular vehicle and task to the numerical value of the index of performance resulting from an optimal pilot modeling procedure as applied to that vehicle and task. This hypothesis is tested using data from piloted simulations and is shown to be reasonable. An example concerning a helicopter landing approach is introduced to outline the predictive capability of the rating hypothesis in multiaxis piloting tasks.

Relationships among food label use, motivation, and dietary quality.

PubMed

Miller, Lisa M Soederberg; Cassady, Diana L; Applegate, Elizabeth A; Beckett, Laurel A; Wilson, Machelle D; Gibson, Tanja N; Ellwood, Kathleen

2015-02-05

Nutrition information on packaged foods supplies information that aids consumers in meeting the recommendations put forth in the US Dietary Guidelines for Americans such as reducing intake of solid fats and added sugars. It is important to understand how food label use is related to dietary intake. However, prior work is based only on self-reported use of food labels, making it unclear if subjective assessments are biased toward motivational influences. We assessed food label use using both self-reported and objective measures, the stage of change, and dietary quality in a sample of 392 stratified by income. Self-reported food label use was assessed using a questionnaire. Objective use was assessed using a mock shopping task in which participants viewed food labels and decided which foods to purchase. Eye movements were monitored to assess attention to nutrition information on the food labels. Individuals paid attention to nutrition information when selecting foods to buy. Self-reported and objective measures of label use showed some overlap with each other (r=0.29, p<0.001), and both predicted dietary quality (p<0.001 for both). The stage of change diminished the predictive power of subjective (p<0.09), but not objective (p<0.01), food label use. These data show both self-reported and objective measures of food label use are positively associated with dietary quality. However, self-reported measures appear to capture a greater motivational component of food label use than do more objective measures.

The use of a portfolio in postgraduate medical education - reflect, assess and account, one for each or all in one?

PubMed

Heeneman, Sylvia; Driessen, Erik W

2017-01-01

Competency-based education has become central to the training and assessment of post-graduate medical trainees or residents [1]. In competency-based education, there is a strong focus on outcomes and professional performance. Typically, holistic tasks are used to train, practice and assess the defined outcomes or competencies. In residency training, these tasks are part of the day-to-day clinical practice. The performance of residents in the workplace needs to be captured and stored. A portfolio has been used as an instrument for storage and collection of workplace-based assessment and feedback in various countries, like the Netherlands and the United States. The collection of information in a portfolio can serve or be used for a variety of purposes. These are: The collection of work samples, assessment, feedback and evaluations in a portfolio enables the learner to look back, analyze and reflect. The content is used for assessment or making decisions about progress. And the portfolio is used as an instrument for quality assurance processes. In post-graduate medical education, these purposes can be combined but this is not always reported transparently. In this paper, we will discuss the different perspectives, how a portfolio can serve these three purposes and what are opportunities and challenges of combining multiple purposes.

The Effect of Job Performance Aids on Quality Assurance

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

Fosshage, Erik

Job performance aids (JPAs) have been studied for many decades in a variety of disciplines and for many different types of tasks, yet this is the first known research experiment using JPAs in a quality assurance (QA) context. The objective of this thesis was to assess whether a JPA has an effect on the performance of a QA observer performing the concurrent dual verification technique for a basic assembly task. The JPA used in this study was a simple checklist, and the design borrows heavily from prior research on task analysis and other human factors principles. The assembly task andmore » QA construct of concurrent dual verification are consistent with those of a high consequence manufacturing environment. Results showed that the JPA had only a limited effect on QA performance in the context of this experiment. However, there were three important and unexpected findings that may draw interest from a variety of practitioners. First, a novel testing methodology sensitive enough to measure the effects of a JPA on performance was created. Second, the discovery that there are different probabilities of detection for different types of error in a QA context may be the most far-reaching results. Third, these results highlight the limitations of concurrent dual verification as a control against defects. It is hoped that both the methodology and results of this study are an effective baseline from which to launch future research activities.« less

The effects of pilot stress factors on handling quality assessments during US/German helicopter agility flight tests

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pausder, H. J.; Gerdes, R. M.

1982-01-01

Flight tests were conducted with two helicopters to study and evaluate the effects of helicopter characteristics and pilot and task demands on performance in nap-of-the-Earth flight. Different, low-level slalom courses were set up and were flown by three pilots with different levels of flight experience. A pilot rating questionnaire was used to obtain redundant information and to gain more insight into factors that influence pilot ratings. The flight test setups and procedures are described, and the pilot ratings are summarized and interpreted in close connection with the analyzed test data. Pilot stress is discussed. The influence of demands on the pilot, of the helicopter characteristics, and of other stress factors are outlined with particular emphasis on how these factors affect handling-qualities assessment.

Objective Situation Awareness Measurement Based on Performance Self-Evaluation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

DeMaio, Joe

1998-01-01

The research was conducted in support of the NASA Safe All-Weather Flight Operations for Rotorcraft (SAFOR) program. The purpose of the work was to investigate the utility of two measurement tools developed by the British Defense Evaluation Research Agency. These tools were a subjective workload assessment scale, the DRA Workload Scale and a situation awareness measurement tool. The situation awareness tool uses a comparison of the crew's self-evaluation of performance against actual performance in order to determine what information the crew attended to during the performance. These two measurement tools were evaluated in the context of a test of innovative approach to alerting the crew by way of a helmet mounted display. The situation assessment data are reported here. The performance self-evaluation metric of situation awareness was found to be highly effective. It was used to evaluate situation awareness on a tank reconnaissance task, a tactical navigation task, and a stylized task used to evaluated handling qualities. Using the self-evaluation metric, it was possible to evaluate situation awareness, without exact knowledge the relevant information in some cases and to identify information to which the crew attended or failed to attend in others.

Hormonal Replacement in Hypopituitarism in Adults: An Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline.

PubMed

Fleseriu, Maria; Hashim, Ibrahim A; Karavitaki, Niki; Melmed, Shlomo; Murad, M Hassan; Salvatori, Roberto; Samuels, Mary H

2016-11-01

To formulate clinical practice guidelines for hormonal replacement in hypopituitarism in adults. The participants include an Endocrine Society-appointed Task Force of six experts, a methodologist, and a medical writer. The American Association for Clinical Chemistry, the Pituitary Society, and the European Society of Endocrinology co-sponsored this guideline. The Task Force developed this evidence-based guideline using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation system to describe the strength of recommendations and the quality of evidence. The Task Force commissioned two systematic reviews and used the best available evidence from other published systematic reviews and individual studies. One group meeting, several conference calls, and e-mail communications enabled consensus. Committees and members of the Endocrine Society, the American Association for Clinical Chemistry, the Pituitary Society, and the European Society of Endocrinology reviewed and commented on preliminary drafts of these guidelines. Using an evidence-based approach, this guideline addresses important clinical issues regarding the evaluation and management of hypopituitarism in adults, including appropriate biochemical assessments, specific therapeutic decisions to decrease the risk of co-morbidities due to hormonal over-replacement or under-replacement, and managing hypopituitarism during pregnancy, pituitary surgery, and other types of surgeries.

WELDSMART: A vision-based expert system for quality control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Andersen, Kristinn; Barnett, Robert Joel; Springfield, James F.; Cook, George E.

1992-01-01

This work was aimed at exploring means for utilizing computer technology in quality inspection and evaluation. Inspection of metallic welds was selected as the main application for this development and primary emphasis was placed on visual inspection, as opposed to other inspection methods, such as radiographic techniques. Emphasis was placed on methodologies with the potential for use in real-time quality control systems. Because quality evaluation is somewhat subjective, despite various efforts to classify discontinuities and standardize inspection methods, the task of using a computer for both inspection and evaluation was not trivial. The work started out with a review of the various inspection techniques that are used for quality control in welding. Among other observations from this review was the finding that most weld defects result in abnormalities that may be seen by visual inspection. This supports the approach of emphasizing visual inspection for this work. Quality control consists of two phases: (1) identification of weld discontinuities (some of which may be severe enough to be classified as defects), and (2) assessment or evaluation of the weld based on the observed discontinuities. Usually the latter phase results in a pass/fail judgement for the inspected piece. It is the conclusion of this work that the first of the above tasks, identification of discontinuities, is the most challenging one. It calls for sophisticated image processing and image analysis techniques, and frequently ad hoc methods have to be developed to identify specific features in the weld image. The difficulty of this task is generally not due to limited computing power. In most cases it was found that a modest personal computer or workstation could carry out most computations in a reasonably short time period. Rather, the algorithms and methods necessary for identifying weld discontinuities were in some cases limited. The fact that specific techniques were finally developed and successfully demosntrated to work illustrates that the general approach taken here appears to be promising for commercial development of computerized quality inspection systems. Inspection based on these techniques may be used to supplement or substitute more elaborate inspection methods, such as x-ray inspections.

Methods for the analysis of ordinal response data in medical image quality assessment.

PubMed

Keeble, Claire; Baxter, Paul D; Gislason-Lee, Amber J; Treadgold, Laura A; Davies, Andrew G

2016-07-01

The assessment of image quality in medical imaging often requires observers to rate images for some metric or detectability task. These subjective results are used in optimization, radiation dose reduction or system comparison studies and may be compared to objective measures from a computer vision algorithm performing the same task. One popular scoring approach is to use a Likert scale, then assign consecutive numbers to the categories. The mean of these response values is then taken and used for comparison with the objective or second subjective response. Agreement is often assessed using correlation coefficients. We highlight a number of weaknesses in this common approach, including inappropriate analyses of ordinal data and the inability to properly account for correlations caused by repeated images or observers. We suggest alternative data collection and analysis techniques such as amendments to the scale and multilevel proportional odds models. We detail the suitability of each approach depending upon the data structure and demonstrate each method using a medical imaging example. Whilst others have raised some of these issues, we evaluated the entire study from data collection to analysis, suggested sources for software and further reading, and provided a checklist plus flowchart for use with any ordinal data. We hope that raised awareness of the limitations of the current approaches will encourage greater method consideration and the utilization of a more appropriate analysis. More accurate comparisons between measures in medical imaging will lead to a more robust contribution to the imaging literature and ultimately improved patient care.

Criteria for assessing problem solving and decision making in complex environments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Orasanu, Judith

1993-01-01

Training crews to cope with unanticipated problems in high-risk, high-stress environments requires models of effective problem solving and decision making. Existing decision theories use the criteria of logical consistency and mathematical optimality to evaluate decision quality. While these approaches are useful under some circumstances, the assumptions underlying these models frequently are not met in dynamic time-pressured operational environments. Also, applying formal decision models is both labor and time intensive, a luxury often lacking in operational environments. Alternate approaches and criteria are needed. Given that operational problem solving and decision making are embedded in ongoing tasks, evaluation criteria must address the relation between those activities and satisfaction of broader task goals. Effectiveness and efficiency become relevant for judging reasoning performance in operational environments. New questions must be addressed: What is the relation between the quality of decisions and overall performance by crews engaged in critical high risk tasks? Are different strategies most effective for different types of decisions? How can various decision types be characterized? A preliminary model of decision types found in air transport environments will be described along with a preliminary performance model based on an analysis of 30 flight crews. The performance analysis examined behaviors that distinguish more and less effective crews (based on performance errors). Implications for training and system design will be discussed.

Stable aesthetic standards delusion: changing 'artistic quality' by elaboration.

PubMed

Carbon, Claus-Christian; Hesslinger, Vera M

2014-01-01

The present study challenges the notion that judgments of artistic quality are based on stable aesthetic standards. We propose that such standards are a delusion and that judgments of artistic quality are the combined result of exposure, elaboration, and discourse. We ran two experiments using elaboration tasks based on the repeated evaluation technique in which different versions of the Mona Lisa had to be elaborated deeply. During the initial task either the version known from the Louvre or an alternative version owned by the Prado was elaborated; during the second task both versions were elaborated in a comparative fashion. After both tasks multiple blends of the two versions had to be evaluated concerning several aesthetic key variables. Judgments of artistic quality of the blends were significantly different depending on the initially elaborated version of the Mona Lisa, indicating experience-based aesthetic processing, which contradicts the notion of stable aesthetic standards.

Non-invasive Fetal ECG Signal Quality Assessment for Multichannel Heart Rate Estimation.

PubMed

Andreotti, Fernando; Graser, Felix; Malberg, Hagen; Zaunseder, Sebastian

2017-12-01

The noninvasive fetal ECG (NI-FECG) from abdominal recordings offers novel prospects for prenatal monitoring. However, NI-FECG signals are corrupted by various nonstationary noise sources, making the processing of abdominal recordings a challenging task. In this paper, we present an online approach that dynamically assess the quality of NI-FECG to improve fetal heart rate (FHR) estimation. Using a naive Bayes classifier, state-of-the-art and novel signal quality indices (SQIs), and an existing adaptive Kalman filter, FHR estimation was improved. For the purpose of training and validating the proposed methods, a large annotated private clinical dataset was used. The suggested classification scheme demonstrated an accuracy of Krippendorff's alpha in determining the overall quality of NI-FECG signals. The proposed Kalman filter outperformed alternative methods for FHR estimation achieving accuracy. The proposed algorithm was able to reliably reflect changes of signal quality and can be used in improving FHR estimation. NI-ECG signal quality estimation and multichannel information fusion are largely unexplored topics. Based on previous works, multichannel FHR estimation is a field that could strongly benefit from such methods. The developed SQI algorithms as well as resulting classifier were made available under a GNU GPL open-source license and contributed to the FECGSYN toolbox.

A prework assessment of task preferences among adults with autism beginning a supported job.

PubMed

Lattimore, L Perry; Parsons, Marsha B; Reid, Dennis H

2002-01-01

A prework paired-task assessment was evaluated for identifying work preferences among 3 adults with autism beginning a supported job. When the workers began the job, choices were provided between more and less preferred tasks (determined by previous assessment). Results supported the assessment for identifying single task preferences, but did not reveal preferences of 2 workers for alternate tasks. Results are discussed in terms of evaluating other prework assessments that may reveal task-alternation preferences.

Factorial Validity of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2nd Edition (MABC-2) in 7-16-Year-Olds.

PubMed

Psotta, Rudolf; Abdollahipour, Reza

2017-12-01

The Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2nd Edition (MABC-2) is a test of motor development, widely used in clinical and research settings. To address which motor abilities are actually captured by the motor tasks in the two age versions of the MABC-2, the AB2 for 7- 10-year-olds and the AB3 for 11- 16-year-olds, we examined AB2 and AB3 factorial validity. We conducted confirmatory factor analysis (SPSS AMOS 22.0) on data from the test's standardization samples of children aged 7-10, n = 483, and 11-16, n = 674, in order to find the best fitting models. The covariance matrix of AB2 and AB3 fit a three-factor model that included tasks of manual dexterity, aiming and catching, and balance. However, factor analytic models fitting AB2 and AB3 did not involve the dynamic balance tasks of hopping with the better leg and hopping with the other leg; and the drawing trail showed very low factor validity. In sum, both AB2 and AB3 of the MABC-2 test are able to discriminate between the three specific motor abilities; but due to questionable psychometric quality, the drawing trail and hopping tasks should be modified to improve the construct validity for both age versions of the MABC-2.

Task shifting and sharing in maternal and reproductive health in low-income countries: a narrative synthesis of current evidence.

PubMed

Dawson, Angela J; Buchan, James; Duffield, Christine; Homer, Caroline S E; Wijewardena, Kumudu

2014-05-01

Reducing maternal mortality and providing universal access to reproductive health in resource poor settings has been severely constrained by a shortage of health workers required to deliver interventions. The aim of this article is to determine evidence to optimize health worker roles through task shifting/sharing to address Millennium Development Goal 5 and reduce maternal mortality and provide universal access to reproductive health. A narrative synthesis of peer-reviewed literature from 2000 to 2011 was undertaken with retrieved documents assessed using an inclusion/exclusion criterion and quality appraisal guided by critical assessment tools. Concepts were analysed thematically. The analysis identified a focus on clinical tasks (the delivery of obstetric surgery, anaesthesia and abortion) that were shifted to and/or shared with doctors, non-physician clinicians, nurses and midwives. Findings indicate that shifting and sharing these tasks may increase access to and availability of maternal and reproductive health (MRH) services without compromising performance or patient outcomes and may be cost effective. However, a number of issues and barriers were identified with health workers calling for improved in-service training, supervision, career progression and incentive packages to better support their practice. Collaborative approaches involving community members and health workers at all levels have the potential to deliver MRH interventions effectively if accompanied by ongoing investment in the health care system.

76 FR 27003 - Notice of Meeting of the Agricultural Air Quality Task Force

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-10

... Task Force (AAQTF) will meet to continue discussions on critical air quality issues in relation to... between agricultural production and air quality. The meeting is open to the public, and a draft agenda is... Designations F. Next Meeting, time/place Public Input (Time will be reserved at designated times to receive...

Rotorcraft flying qualities improvement using advanced control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Walker, D.; Postlethwaite, I.; Howitt, J.; Foster, N.

1993-01-01

We report on recent experience gained when a multivariable helicopter flight control law was tested on the Large Motion Simulator (LMS) at DRA Bedford. This was part of a study into the application of multivariable control theory to the design of full-authority flight control systems for high-performance helicopters. In this paper, we present some of the results that were obtained during the piloted simulation trial and from subsequent off-line simulation and analysis. The performance provided by the control law led to level 1 handling quality ratings for almost all of the mission task elements assessed, both during the real-time and off-line analysis.

Occurrence of phosphorus, nitrate, and suspended solids in streams of the Cheney Reservoir Watershed, south-central Kansas, 1997-2000

USGS Publications Warehouse

Milligan, Chad R.; Pope, Larry M.

2001-01-01

Improving water quality of Cheney Reservoir in south-central Kansas is an important objective of State and local water managers. The reservoir serves as a water supply for about 350,00 people in the Wichita area and an important recreational resource for the area. In 1992, a task force was formed to study and prepare a plan to identify and mitigate potential sources of stream contamination in the Cheney Reservoir watershed. This task force was established to develop stream-water-quality goals to aid in the development and implementation of best-management practices in the watershed. In 1996, the U.S. Geological Survey entered into a cooperative study with the city of Wichita to assess the water quality in the Cheney Reservoir watershed. Water-quality constituents of particular concern in the Cheney Reservoir watershed are phosphorus, nitrate, and total suspended solids. Water-quality samples were collected at five streamflow-gaging sites upstream from the reservoir and at the outflow of the reservoir. The purpose of this report is to present the results of a 4-year (1997-2000) data-collection effort to quantify the occurrence of phosphorus, nitrate, and suspended solids during base-flow, runoff, and long-term streamflow conditions (all available data for 1997-2000) and to compare these results to stream-water-quality goals established by the Cheney Reservoir Task Force. Mean concentrations of each of the constituents examined during this study exceeded the Cheney Reservoir Task Force stream-water-quality goal for at least one of the streamflow conditions evaluated. Most notably, mean base-flow and mean long-term concentrations of total phosphorus and mean base-flow concentrations of dissolved nitrate exceeded the goals of 0.05, 0.10, and 0.25 milligram per liter, respectively, at all five sampling sites upstream from the reservoir. Additionally, the long-term stream-water-quality goal for dissolved nitrate was exceeded by the mean concentration at one upstream sampling site, and the base-flow total suspended solids goal (20 milligrams per liter) and long-term total suspended solids goal (100 milligrams per liter) were each exceeded by mean concentrations at three upstream sampling sites. Generally, it seems unlikely that water-quality goals for streams in the Cheney Reservoir watershed will be attainable for mean base-flow and mean long-term total phosphorus and total suspended solids concentrations and for mean base-flow dissolved nitrate concentrations as long as current (2001) watershed conditions and practices persist. However, future changes in these conditions and practices that mitigate the transport of these consitutents may modify this conclusion.

Optimal assessment of multiple cues.

PubMed Central

Fawcett, Tim W; Johnstone, Rufus A

2003-01-01

In a wide range of contexts from mate choice to foraging, animals are required to discriminate between alternative options on the basis of multiple cues. How should they best assess such complex multicomponent stimuli? Here, we construct a model to investigate this problem, focusing on a simple case where a 'chooser' faces a discrimination task involving two cues. These cues vary in their accuracy and in how costly they are to assess. As an example, we consider a mate-choice situation where females choose between males of differing quality. Our model predicts the following: (i) females should become less choosy as the cost of finding new males increases; (ii) females should prioritize cues differently depending on how choosy they are; (iii) females may sometimes prioritize less accurate cues; and (iv) which cues are most important depends on the abundance of desirable mates. These predictions are testable in mate-choice experiments where the costs of choice can be manipulated. Our findings are applicable to other discrimination tasks besides mate choice, for example a predator's choice between palatable and unpalatable prey, or an altruist's choice between kin and non-kin. PMID:12908986

Statistical modelling of networked human-automation performance using working memory capacity.

PubMed

Ahmed, Nisar; de Visser, Ewart; Shaw, Tyler; Mohamed-Ameen, Amira; Campbell, Mark; Parasuraman, Raja

2014-01-01

This study examines the challenging problem of modelling the interaction between individual attentional limitations and decision-making performance in networked human-automation system tasks. Analysis of real experimental data from a task involving networked supervision of multiple unmanned aerial vehicles by human participants shows that both task load and network message quality affect performance, but that these effects are modulated by individual differences in working memory (WM) capacity. These insights were used to assess three statistical approaches for modelling and making predictions with real experimental networked supervisory performance data: classical linear regression, non-parametric Gaussian processes and probabilistic Bayesian networks. It is shown that each of these approaches can help designers of networked human-automated systems cope with various uncertainties in order to accommodate future users by linking expected operating conditions and performance from real experimental data to observable cognitive traits like WM capacity. Practitioner Summary: Working memory (WM) capacity helps account for inter-individual variability in operator performance in networked unmanned aerial vehicle supervisory tasks. This is useful for reliable performance prediction near experimental conditions via linear models; robust statistical prediction beyond experimental conditions via Gaussian process models and probabilistic inference about unknown task conditions/WM capacities via Bayesian network models.

Improving the quality of handover by addressing handover culture and introducing a new, multi-disciplinary, team-based handover meeting.

PubMed

Walton, Henry; Munro, Wendy

2015-01-01

Handover is a "major preventable cause of patient harm"[1] and this project aims to improve the quality of night handover within a teaching hospitals general medicine department, resulting in the safe transfer of patient care to the night team. Quality of handover was assessed both qualitatively, via structured qualitative interviews with trainees and a baseline survey assessing doctor's opinions of night handover, and quantitatively through the collection of a data set during regular observation of night handover. The initial intervention instituted a new handover meeting with a set time and new location and invited the night nurse practitioner to attend. A prompt card, standardised documentation, defined leadership, and an attendance register were also introduced. Successive PDSA cycles introduced technology to the intervention, enabled the nurse night practitioners to actually attend and re-branded the prompt card as an agenda. Results show a sustained reduction in length of handover from 70 minutes (n=7) to 34 minutes (n=13) post-intervention as well as a reduction in the number of distractions occurring during each handover from a mean of 14 to a mean of 8.5. An improved quality of handover was also demonstrated with an overall increase in the percentage of task handovers containing hospital number, an admitting diagnosis, comorbidities and a time allocated for the task to be performed of at least 10%. When trainees were surveyed post-implementation they unanimously identified the new handover system as safer than the previous handover process (n=30). This project demonstrates that replacing an ad-hoc system of handover with a multi-disciplinary, team based approach to handover improves handover quality. In addition it provides a useful guide to introducing a new handover meeting to a department and contains useful lessons on how to combat cultural barriers to change within a department.

Autonomy and control in dyads: effects on interaction quality and joint creative performance.

PubMed

Weinstein, Netta; Hodgins, Holley S; Ryan, Richard M

2010-12-01

Two studies examined interaction quality and joint performance on two creative tasks in unacquainted dyads primed for autonomy or control orientations. It was hypothesized that autonomy-primed dyads would interact more constructively, experience more positive mood, and engage the task more readily, and as a result these dyads would perform better. To test this, Study 1 primed orientation and explored verbal creative performance on the Remote Associates Task (RAT). In Study 2, dyads were primed with autonomy and control orientation and videotaped during two joint creative tasks, one verbal (RAT) and one nonverbal (charades). Videotapes were coded for behavioral indicators of closeness and task engagement. Results showed that autonomy-primed dyads felt closer, were more emotionally and cognitively attuned, provided empathy and encouragement to partners, and performed more effectively. The effects of primed autonomy on creative performance were mediated by interpersonal quality, mood, and joint engagement.

Assessment in health care education - modelling and implementation of a computer supported scoring process.

PubMed

Alfredsson, Jayne; Plichart, Patrick; Zary, Nabil

2012-01-01

Research on computer supported scoring of assessments in health care education has mainly focused on automated scoring. Little attention has been given to how informatics can support the currently predominant human-based grading approach. This paper reports steps taken to develop a model for a computer supported scoring process that focuses on optimizing a task that was previously undertaken without computer support. The model was also implemented in the open source assessment platform TAO in order to study its benefits. Ability to score test takers anonymously, analytics on the graders reliability and a more time efficient process are example of observed benefits. A computer supported scoring will increase the quality of the assessment results.

Task shifting from doctors to non-doctors for initiation and maintenance of antiretroviral therapy.

PubMed

Kredo, Tamara; Adeniyi, Folasade B; Bateganya, Moses; Pienaar, Elizabeth D

2014-07-01

The high levels of healthcare worker shortage is recognised as a severe impediment to increasing patients' access to antiretroviral therapy. This is particularly of concern where the burden of disease is greatest and the access to trained doctors is limited.This review aims to better inform HIV care programmes that are currently underway, and those planned, by assessing if task-shifting care from doctors to non-doctors provides both high quality and safe care for all patients requiring antiretroviral treatment. To evaluate the quality of initiation and maintenance of HIV/AIDS care in models that task shift care from doctors to non-doctors. We conducted a comprehensive search to identify all relevant studies regardless of language or publication status (published, unpublished, in press, and in progress) from 1 January 1996 to 28 March 2014, with major HIV/AIDS conferences searched 23 May 2014. We had also contacted relevant organizations and researchers. Key words included MeSH terms and free-text terms relevant to 'task shifting', 'skill mix', 'integration of tasks', 'service delivery' and 'health services accessibility'. We included controlled trials (randomised or non-randomised), controlled-before and after studies, and cohort studies (prospective or retrospective) comparing doctor-led antiretroviral therapy delivery to delivery that included another cadre of health worker other than a doctor, for initiating treatment, continuing treatment, or both, in HIV infected patients. Two authors independently screened titles, abstracts and descriptor terms of the results of the electronic search and applied our eligibility criteria using a standardized eligibility form to full texts of potentially eligible or uncertain abstracts. Two reviewers independently extracted data on standardized data extraction forms. Where possible, data were pooled using random effects meta-analysis. We assessed evidence quality with GRADE methodology. Ten studies met our inclusion criteria, all of which were conducted in Africa. Of these four were randomised controlled trials while the remaining six were cohort studies.From the trial data, when nurses initiated and provided follow-up HIV therapy, there was high quality evidence of no difference in death at one year, unadjusted risk ratio was 0.96 (95% CI 0.82 to 1.12), one trial, cluster adjusted n = 2770. There was moderate quality evidence of lower rates of losses to follow-up at one year, relative risk of 0.73 (95% CI 0.55 to 0.97). From the cohort data, there was low quality evidence that there may be an increased risk of death in the task shifting group, relative risk 1.23 (95% CI 1.14 to 1.33, two cohorts, n = 39 160) and very low quality data reporting no difference in patients lost to follow-up between groups, relative risk 0.30 (95% CI 0.05 to 1.94).From the trial data, when doctors initiated therapy and nurses provided follow-up, there was moderate quality evidence that there is probably no difference in death compared with doctor-led care at one year, relative risk of 0.89 (95% CI 0.59 to 1.32), two trials, cluster adjusted n = 4332. There was moderate quality evidence that there is probably no difference in the numbers of patients lost to follow-up at one year, relative risk 1.27 (95% CI 0.92 to 1.77), P = 0.15. From the cohort data, there is very low quality data that death at one year may be lower in the task shifting group, relative risk 0.19 (95% CI 0.05 to 0.78), one cohort, n = 2772, and very low quality evidence that loss to follow-up was reduced, relative risk 0.34 (95% CI 0.18 to 0.66).From the trial data, for maintenance therapy delivered in the community there was moderate quality evidence that there is probably no difference in mortality when doctors deliver care in the hospital or specially trained field workers provide home-based maintenance care and antiretroviral therapy at one year, relative risk 1.0 (95% CI 0.62 to 1.62), 1 trial, cluster adjusted n = 559. There is moderate quality evidence from this trial that losses to follow-up are probably no different at one year, relative risk 0.52 (0.12 to 2.3), P = 0.39. The cohort studies did not report on one year follow-up for these outcomes.Across the studies that reported on virological and immunological outcomes, there was no clear evidence of difference whether a doctor or nurse or clinical officer delivered therapy. Three studies report on costs to patients, indicating a reduction in travel costs to treatment facilities where task shifting was occurring closer to patients homes. There is conflicting evidence regarding the relative cost to the health system, as implementation of the strategy may increase costs. The two studies reporting the patient and staff perceptions of the quality of care, report good acceptability of the service by patients, and general acceptance by doctors of the shifting of roles. One trial reported on the time to initiation of antiretroviral therapy, finding no clear evidence of a difference between groups. The same trial reports on new diagnosis of tuberculosis which favours nurse initiation of HIV care for increasing the numbers of diagnoses of tuberculosis made. Our review found moderate quality evidence that shifting responsibility from doctors to adequately trained and supported nurses or community health workers for managing HIV patients probably does not decrease the quality of care and, in the case of nurse initiated care, may decrease the numbers of patients lost to follow-up.

Early childhood cortisol reactivity moderates the effects of parent-child relationship quality on the development of children’s temperament in early childhood

PubMed Central

Kopala-Sibley, Daniel C.; Dougherty, Lea R.; Dyson, Margret W.; Laptook, Rebecca S.; Olino, Thomas M.; Bufferd, Sara J.; Klein, Daniel N.

2017-01-01

Positive parenting has been related both to lower cortisol reactivity and more adaptive temperament traits in children, whereas elevated cortisol reactivity may be related to maladaptive temperament traits, such as higher negative emotionality (NE) and lower positive emotionality (PE). However, no studies have examined whether hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity, as measured by cortisol reactivity, moderates the effect of the quality of the parent-child relationship on changes in temperament in early childhood. In this study, 126 3-year olds were administered the Laboratory Temperament Assessment Battery (Lab-TAB; Goldsmith et al., 1995) as a measure of temperamental NE and PE. Salivary cortisol was collected from the child at 4 time points during this task. The primary parent and the child completed the Teaching Tasks battery (Egeland et al., 1995), from which the quality of the relationship was coded. At age 6, children completed the Lab-TAB again. From age 3 to 6, adjusting for age 3 PE or NE, a better quality relationship with their primary parent predicted decreases in NE for children with elevated cortisol reactivity and predicted increases in PE for children with low cortisol reactivity. Results have implications for our understanding of the interaction of biological stress systems and the parent-child relationship in the development of temperament in childhood. PMID:26689860

Physicians' responses to financial and social incentives: A medically framed real effort experiment.

PubMed

Lagarde, Mylène; Blaauw, Duane

2017-04-01

Because compensation policies have critical implications for the provision of health care, and evidence of their effects is limited and difficult to study in the real world, laboratory experiments may be a valuable methodology to study the behavioural responses of health care providers. With this experiment undertaken in 2013, we add to this new literature by designing a new medically framed real effort task to test the effects of different remuneration schemes in a multi-tasking context. We assess the impact of different incentives on the quantity (productivity) and quality of outputs of 132 participants. We also test whether the existence of benefits to patients influences effort. The results show that salary yields the lowest quantity of output, and fee-for-service the highest. By contrast, we find that the highest quality is achieved when participants are paid by salary, followed by capitation. We also find a lot of heterogeneity in behaviour, with intrinsically motivated individuals hardly sensitive to financial incentives. Finally, we find that when work quality benefits patients directly, subjects improve the quality of their output, while maintaining the same levels of productivity. This paper adds to a nascent literature by providing a new approach to studying remuneration schemes and modelling the medical decision making environment in the lab. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Early childhood cortisol reactivity moderates the effects of parent-child relationship quality on the development of children's temperament in early childhood.

PubMed

Kopala-Sibley, Daniel C; Dougherty, Lea R; Dyson, Margret W; Laptook, Rebecca S; Olino, Thomas M; Bufferd, Sara J; Klein, Daniel N

2017-05-01

Positive parenting has been related both to lower cortisol reactivity and more adaptive temperament traits in children, whereas elevated cortisol reactivity may be related to maladaptive temperament traits, such as higher negative emotionality (NE) and lower positive emotionality (PE). However, no studies have examined whether hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity, as measured by cortisol reactivity, moderates the effect of the quality of the parent-child relationship on changes in temperament in early childhood. In this study, 126 3-year-olds were administered the Laboratory Temperament Assessment Battery (Lab-TAB; Goldsmith et al., 1995) as a measure of temperamental NE and PE. Salivary cortisol was collected from the child at 4 time points during this task. The primary parent and the child completed the Teaching Tasks battery (Egeland et al., 1995), from which the quality of the relationship was coded. At age 6, children completed the Lab-TAB again. From age 3 to 6, adjusting for age 3 PE or NE, a better quality relationship with their primary parent predicted decreases in NE for children with elevated cortisol reactivity and predicted increases in PE for children with low cortisol reactivity. Results have implications for our understanding of the interaction of biological stress systems and the parent-child relationship in the development of temperament in childhood. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The effect of body posture on cognitive performance: a question of sleep quality

PubMed Central

Muehlhan, Markus; Marxen, Michael; Landsiedel, Julia; Malberg, Hagen; Zaunseder, Sebastian

2014-01-01

Nearly all functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies are conducted in the supine body posture, which has been discussed as a potential confounder of such examinations. The literature suggests that cognitive functions, such as problem solving or perception, differ between supine and upright postures. However, the effect of posture on many cognitive functions is still unknown. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of body posture (supine vs. sitting) on one of the most frequently used paradigms in the cognitive sciences: the N-back working memory paradigm. Twenty-two subjects were investigated in a randomized within-subject design. Subjects performed the N-back task on two consecutive days in either the supine or the upright posture. Subjective sleep quality and chronic stress were recorded as covariates. Furthermore, changes in mood dimensions and heart rate variability (HRV) were assessed during the experiment. Results indicate that the quality of sleep strongly affects reaction times when subjects performed a working memory task in a supine posture. These effects, however, could not be observed in the sitting position. The findings can be explained by HRV parameters that indicated differences in autonomic regulation in the upright vs. the supine posture. The finding is of particular relevance for fMRI group comparisons when group differences in sleep quality cannot be ruled out. PMID:24723874

Preliminary benefits study for a public service communications satellite system: Task order 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1978-01-01

The economic and social benefits to accrue from an operational public service communications satellite system are estimated for the following applications: teleradiology, emergency medical services, teleconferencing for both civilian and defense agencies, data transfer, remote cardiac monitoring, teleconsultation, continuing education for professionals, and severe storm warning. The potential impact of improved communication on the cost and quality of services are assessed for various agencies, professions, and industries.

Watershed sediment measurement and sediment transport modeling techniques: Case study to quantify the impact of converting cropland to forested stream buffers on soil loss and water quality at the watershed scale

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Watershed models such as the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) have been widely used to simulate watershed hydrologic processes and the effect of management, such as agroforestry, on soil and water resources. In order to use model outputs for tasks ranging from aiding policy decision making to r...

Multispectral and DSLR sensors for assessing crop stress in corn and cotton using fixed-wing unmanned air systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Valasek, John; Henrickson, James V.; Bowden, Ezekiel; Shi, Yeyin; Morgan, Cristine L. S.; Neely, Haly L.

2016-05-01

As small unmanned aircraft systems become increasingly affordable, reliable, and formally recognized under federal regulation, they become increasingly attractive as novel platforms for civil applications. This paper details the development and demonstration of fixed-wing unmanned aircraft systems for precision agriculture tasks. Tasks such as soil moisture content and high throughput phenotyping are considered. Rationale for sensor, vehicle, and ground equipment selections are provided, in addition to developed flight operation procedures for minimal numbers of crew. Preliminary imagery results are presented and analyzed, and these results demonstrate that fixed-wing unmanned aircraft systems modified to carry non-traditional sensors at extended endurance durations can provide high quality data that is usable for serious scientific analysis.

Social learning theory parenting intervention promotes attachment-based caregiving in young children: randomized clinical trial.

PubMed

O'Connor, Thomas G; Matias, Carla; Futh, Annabel; Tantam, Grace; Scott, Stephen

2013-01-01

Parenting programs for school-aged children are typically based on behavioral principles as applied in social learning theory. It is not yet clear if the benefits of these interventions extend beyond aspects of the parent-child relationship quality conceptualized by social learning theory. The current study examined the extent to which a social learning theory-based treatment promoted change in qualities of parent-child relationship derived from attachment theory. A randomized clinical trial of 174 four- to six-year-olds selected from a high-need urban area and stratified by conduct problems were assigned to a parenting program plus a reading intervention (n = 88) or nonintervention condition (n = 86). In-home observations of parent-child interactions were assessed in three tasks: (a) free play, (b) challenge task, and (c) tidy up. Parenting behavior was coded according to behavior theory using standard count measures of positive and negative parenting, and for attachment theory using measures of sensitive responding and mutuality; children's attachment narratives were also assessed. Compared to the parents in the nonintervention group, parents allocated to the intervention showed increases in the positive behavioral counts and sensitive responding; change in behavioral count measures overlapped modestly with change in attachment-based changes. There was no reliable change in children's attachment narratives associated with the intervention. The findings demonstrate that standard social learning theory-based parenting interventions can change broader aspects of parent-child relationship quality and raise clinical and conceptual questions about the distinctiveness of existing treatment models in parenting research.

REGIONAL AIR POLLUTION STUDY, QUALITY ASSURANCE AUDITS

EPA Science Inventory

RAPS Quality Assurance audits were conducted under this Task Order in continuation of the audit program previously conducted under Task Order No. 58. Quantitative field audits were conducted of the Regional Air Monitoring System (RAMS) Air Monitoring Stations, Local Air Monitorin...

Is a "Complex" Task Really Complex? Validating the Assumption of Cognitive Task Complexity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sasayama, Shoko

2016-01-01

In research on task-based learning and teaching, it has traditionally been assumed that differing degrees of cognitive task complexity can be inferred through task design and/or observations of differing qualities in linguistic production elicited by second language (L2) communication tasks. Without validating this assumption, however, it is…

Lucid Dreaming and Ventromedial versus Dorsolateral Prefrontal Task Performance

PubMed Central

Neider, Michelle; Pace-Schott, Edward F.; Forselius, Erica; Pittman, Brian; Morgan, Peter T.

2010-01-01

Activity in the prefrontal cortex may distinguish the meta-awareness experienced during lucid dreams from its absence in normal dreams. To examine a possible relationship between dream lucidity and prefrontal task performance, we carried out a prospective study in 28 high school students. Participants performed the Wisconsin Card Sort and Iowa Gambling tasks, then for one week kept dream journals and reported sleep quality and lucidity-related dream characteristics. Participants who exhibited a greater degree of lucidity performed significantly better on the task that engages the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (the Iowa Gambling Task), but degree of lucidity achieved did not distinguish performance on the task that engages the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (the Wisconsin Card Sort Task), nor did it distinguish self-reported sleep quality or baseline characteristics. The association between performance on the Iowa Gambling Task and lucidity suggests a connection between lucid dreaming and ventromedial prefrontal function. PMID:20829072

Resources and Capabilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs to Provide Timely and Accessible Care to Veterans

PubMed Central

Hussey, Peter S.; Ringel, Jeanne S.; Ahluwalia, Sangeeta; Price, Rebecca Anhang; Buttorff, Christine; Concannon, Thomas W.; Lovejoy, Susan L.; Martsolf, Grant R.; Rudin, Robert S.; Schultz, Dana; Sloss, Elizabeth M.; Watkins, Katherine E.; Waxman, Daniel; Bauman, Melissa; Briscombe, Brian; Broyles, James R.; Burns, Rachel M.; Chen, Emily K.; DeSantis, Amy Soo Jin; Ecola, Liisa; Fischer, Shira H.; Friedberg, Mark W.; Gidengil, Courtney A.; Ginsburg, Paul B.; Gulden, Timothy; Gutierrez, Carlos Ignacio; Hirshman, Samuel; Huang, Christina Y.; Kandrack, Ryan; Kress, Amii; Leuschner, Kristin J.; MacCarthy, Sarah; Maksabedian, Ervant J.; Mann, Sean; Matthews, Luke Joseph; May, Linnea Warren; Mishra, Nishtha; Miyashiro, Lisa; Muchow, Ashley N.; Nelson, Jason; Naranjo, Diana; O'Hanlon, Claire E.; Pillemer, Francesca; Predmore, Zachary; Ross, Rachel; Ruder, Teague; Rutter, Carolyn M.; Uscher-Pines, Lori; Vaiana, Mary E.; Vesely, Joseph V.; Hosek, Susan D.; Farmer, Carrie M.

2016-01-01

Abstract The Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 addressed the need for access to timely, high-quality health care for veterans. Section 201 of the legislation called for an independent assessment of various aspects of veterans' health care. The RAND Corporation was tasked with an assessment of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) current and projected health care capabilities and resources. An examination of data from a variety of sources, along with a survey of VA medical facility leaders, revealed the breadth and depth of VA resources and capabilities: fiscal resources, workforce and human resources, physical infrastructure, interorganizational relationships, and information resources. The assessment identified barriers to the effective use of these resources and capabilities. Analysis of data on access to VA care and the quality of that care showed that almost all veterans live within 40 miles of a VA health facility, but fewer have access to VA specialty care. Veterans usually receive care within 14 days of their desired appointment date, but wait times vary considerably across VA facilities. VA has long played a national leadership role in measuring the quality of health care. The assessment showed that VA health care quality was as good or better on most measures compared with other health systems, but quality performance lagged at some VA facilities. VA will require more resources and capabilities to meet a projected increase in veterans' demand for VA care over the next five years. Options for increasing capacity include accelerated hiring, full nurse practice authority, and expanded use of telehealth. PMID:28083424

Hypoxia in the Northern Gulf of Mexico

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

Dale, Virginia H

2010-01-01

Since 1985, scientists have been documenting a hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico each year. The hypoxic zone, an area of low dissolved oxygen that cannot support marine life, generally manifests itself in the spring. Since marine species either die or flee the hypoxic zone, the spread of hypoxia reduces the available habitat for marine species, which are important for the ecosystem as well as commercial and recreational fishing in the Gulf. Since 2001, the hypoxic zone has averaged 16,500 km{sup 2} during its peak summer months, an area slightly larger than the state of Connecticut, and ranged frommore » a low of 8,500 km{sup 2} to a high of 22,000 km{sup 2}. To address the hypoxia problem, the Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force (or Task Force) was formed to bring together representatives from federal agencies, states, and tribes to consider options for responding to hypoxia. The Task Force asked the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to conduct a scientific assessment of the causes and consequences of Gulf hypoxia through its Committee on Environment and Natural Resources (CENR). In 2000 the CENR completed An Integrated Assessment: Hypoxia in the Northern Gulf of Mexico (or Integrated Assessment), which formed the scientific basis for the Task Force's Action Plan for Reducing, Mitigating, and Controlling Hypoxia in the Northern Gulf of Mexico (Action Plan, 2001). In its Action Plan, the Task Force pledged to implement ten management actions and to assess progress every 5 years. This reassessment would address the nutrient load reductions achieved, the responses of the hypoxic zone and associated water quality and habitat conditions, and economic and social effects. The Task Force began its reassessment in 2005. In 2006 as part of the reassessment, USEPA's Office of Water, on behalf of the Task Force, requested that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Science Advisory Board (SAB) convene an independent panel to evaluate the state-of-the-science regarding hypoxia in the Northern Gulf of Mexico and potential nutrient mitigation and control options in the Mississippi-Atchafalaya River basin (MARB). The Task Force was particularly interested in scientific advances since the Integrated Assessment and posed questions in three areas: characterization of hypoxia; nutrient fate, transport and sources; and the scientific basis for goals and management options. The Hypoxia Study Group began its deliberations in September of 2006 and completed its report in August of 2007 while operating under the 'sunshine' requirements of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which include providing public access to advisory meetings and opportunities for public comment. This Executive Summary summarizes the Hypoxia Study Group's major findings and recommendations.« less

Assessment of the quality of antenatal care services provided by health workers using a mobile phone decision support application in northern Nigeria: a pre/post-intervention study.

PubMed

McNabb, Marion; Chukwu, Emeka; Ojo, Oluwayemisi; Shekhar, Navendu; Gill, Christopher J; Salami, Habeeb; Jega, Farouk

2015-01-01

Given the shortage of skilled healthcare providers in Nigeria, frontline community health extension workers (CHEWs) are commonly tasked with providing maternal and child health services at primary health centers. In 2012, we introduced a mobile case management and decision support application in twenty primary health centers in northern Nigeria, and conducted a pre-test/post-test study to assess whether the introduction of the app had an effect on the quality of antenatal care services provided by this lower-level cadre. Using the CommCare mobile platform, the app dynamically guides CHEWs through antenatal care protocols and collects client data in real time. Thirteen health education audio clips are also embedded in the app for improving and standardizing client counseling. To detect changes in quality, we developed an evidence-based quality score consisting of 25 indicators, and conducted a total of 266 client exit interviews. We analyzed baseline and endline data to assess changes in the overall quality score as well as changes in the provision of key elements of antenatal care. Overall, the quality score increased from 13.3 at baseline to 17.2 at endline (p<0.0001), out of a total possible score of 25, with the most significant improvements related to health counseling, technical services provided, and quality of health education. These study results suggest that the introduction of a low-cost mobile case management and decision support application can spur behavior change and improve the quality of services provided by a lower level cadre of healthcare workers. Future research should employ a more rigorous experimental design to explore potential longer-term effects on client health outcomes.

Response to Vogelstein: How the 2012 AAP Task Force on circumcision went wrong.

PubMed

Van Howe, Robert S

2018-01-01

Vogelstein cautions medical organizations against jumping into the fray of controversial issues, yet proffers the 2012 American Academy of Pediatrics' Task Force policy position on infant male circumcision as 'an appropriate use of position-statements.' Only a scratch below the surface of this policy statement uncovers the Task Force's failure to consider Vogelstein's many caveats. The Task Force supported the cultural practice by putting undeserved emphasis on questionable scientific data, while ignoring or underplaying the importance of valid contrary scientific data. Without any effort to quantitatively assess the risk/benefit balance, the Task Force concluded the benefits of circumcision outweighed the risks, while acknowledging that the incidence of risks was unknown. This Task Force differed from other Academy policy-forming panels by ignoring the Academy's standard quality measures and by not appointing members with extensive research experience, extensive publications, or recognized expertise directly related to this topic. Despite nearly 100 publications available at the time addressing the substantial ethical issues associated with infant male circumcision, the Task Force chose to ignore the ethical controversy. They merely stated, with minimal justification, the opinion of one of the Task Force members that the practice of infant male circumcision is morally permissible. The release of the report has fostered an explosion of academic discussion on the ethics of infant male circumcision with a number of national medical organizations now decrying the practice as a human rights violation. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Combining Task Execution and Background Knowledge for the Verification of Medical Guidelines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hommersom, Arjen; Groot, Perry; Lucas, Peter; Balser, Michael; Schmitt, Jonathan

The use of a medical guideline can be seen as the execution of computational tasks, sequentially or in parallel, in the face of patient data. It has been shown that many of such guidelines can be represented as a 'network of tasks', i.e., as a number of steps that have a specific function or goal. To investigate the quality of such guidelines we propose a formalization of criteria for good practice medicine a guideline should comply to. We use this theory in conjunction with medical background knowledge to verify the quality of a guideline dealing with diabetes mellitus type 2 using the interactive theorem prover KIV. Verification using task execution and background knowledge is a novel approach to quality checking of medical guidelines.

Determination of Tasks Required by Graduates of Manufacturing Engineering Technology Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zirbel, Jay H.

1993-01-01

A Delphi panel of 14 experts identified 37 tasks performed by/qualities needed by manufacturing engineering technologists. Most important were work ethic, performance quality, communication skills, teamwork, computer applications, manufacturing basics, materials knowledge, troubleshooting, supervision, and global issues. (SK)

Quality management and the work environment: an empirical investigation in a public sector organization.

PubMed

Taveira, Alvaro D; James, Craig A; Karsh, Ben -Tzion; Sainfort, François

2003-07-01

The integration of quality management initiatives, particularly total quality management (TQM), and ergonomics has received increasing attention from scholars and practitioners. Above all, the question of how TQM programs relate to ergonomic aspects of organizational design and culture is at the center of this discussion. This study examines how elements of a "typical", Deming-inspired, TQM program in the public sector interact with the work environment. Elements of the TQM program were defined and measured using the Malcom Baldridge Award criteria. The specific elements examined were "Management Support of Quality", "Information and Analysis", "Human Resources", "Processes and Quality Results", and "Customer Focus and Satisfaction". The relationship between these TQM elements and the work environment were defined through five separate hypotheses. The work environment was described by the constructs "Supervisor Support", "Task Clarity", "Task Orientation", and "Innovation". Data were obtained through survey questionnaires administered to employees of four departments in a municipal government organization. Results supported three of the hypotheses, but produced some unanticipated outcomes with regard to the other two. Namely, "Management Support of Quality" was significantly related to "Supervisor Support", "Task Orientation", "Task Clarity" and "Innovation"; "Human Resources" was significantly related to "Supervisor Support"; "Processes and Quality Results" was significantly related to "Task Orientation" and "Innovation". Contrary to predicted "Information and Analysis" was negatively related to "Innovation", and "Customer Focus" was unrelated to any of the outcome variables. The relationships between these TQM elements and work environment dimensions are discussed. Implications for TQM and ergonomic practice are analyzed, and directions for future research proposed.

Training, Quality Assurance Factors, and Tools Investigation: a Work Report and Suggestions on Software Quality Assurance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Pen-Nan

1991-01-01

Previously, several research tasks have been conducted, some observations were obtained, and several possible suggestions have been contemplated involving software quality assurance engineering at NASA Johnson. These research tasks are briefly described. Also, a brief discussion is given on the role of software quality assurance in software engineering along with some observations and suggestions. A brief discussion on a training program for software quality assurance engineers is provided. A list of assurance factors as well as quality factors are also included. Finally, a process model which can be used for searching and collecting software quality assurance tools is presented.

Review of NASA's Exploration Technology Development Program: An Interim Report. [ISBN 0-309-11944-8 (place in D020A)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2008-01-01

NASA requested that a committee under the auspices of the National Research Council's Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board carry out an assessment of NASA's Exploration Technology Development Program (ETDP). Organizationally, this program functions under the direction of NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate and is charged with developing new technologies that will enable NASA to conduct future human and robotic exploration missions, while reducing mission risk and cost. The Committee to Review NASA's Exploration Technology Development Program has been tasked to examine how well the program is aligned with the stated objectives of the President's Vision for Space Exploration (VSE), to identify gaps in the program, and to assess the quality of the research. The full statement of task is given in Appendix A. The committee consists of 25 members and includes a cross section of senior executives, engineers, researchers, and other aerospace professionals drawn from industry, universities, and government agencies with expertise in virtually all the technical fields represented within the program.

Back-and-Forth Methodology for Objective Voice Quality Assessment: From/to Expert Knowledge to/from Automatic Classification of Dysphonia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fredouille, Corinne; Pouchoulin, Gilles; Ghio, Alain; Revis, Joana; Bonastre, Jean-François; Giovanni, Antoine

2009-12-01

This paper addresses voice disorder assessment. It proposes an original back-and-forth methodology involving an automatic classification system as well as knowledge of the human experts (machine learning experts, phoneticians, and pathologists). The goal of this methodology is to bring a better understanding of acoustic phenomena related to dysphonia. The automatic system was validated on a dysphonic corpus (80 female voices), rated according to the GRBAS perceptual scale by an expert jury. Firstly, focused on the frequency domain, the classification system showed the interest of 0-3000 Hz frequency band for the classification task based on the GRBAS scale. Later, an automatic phonemic analysis underlined the significance of consonants and more surprisingly of unvoiced consonants for the same classification task. Submitted to the human experts, these observations led to a manual analysis of unvoiced plosives, which highlighted a lengthening of VOT according to the dysphonia severity validated by a preliminary statistical analysis.

Acromegaly: an endocrine society clinical practice guideline.

PubMed

Katznelson, Laurence; Laws, Edward R; Melmed, Shlomo; Molitch, Mark E; Murad, Mohammad Hassan; Utz, Andrea; Wass, John A H

2014-11-01

The aim was to formulate clinical practice guidelines for acromegaly. The Task Force included a chair selected by the Endocrine Society Clinical Guidelines Subcommittee (CGS), five experts in the field, and a methodologist. The authors received no corporate funding or remuneration. This guideline is cosponsored by the European Society of Endocrinology. This evidence-based guideline was developed using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) system to describe both the strength of recommendations and the quality of evidence. The Task Force reviewed primary evidence and commissioned two additional systematic reviews. One group meeting, several conference calls, and e-mail communications enabled consensus. Committees and members of the Endocrine Society and the European Society of Endocrinology reviewed drafts of the guidelines. Using an evidence-based approach, this acromegaly guideline addresses important clinical issues regarding the evaluation and management of acromegaly, including the appropriate biochemical assessment, a therapeutic algorithm, including use of medical monotherapy or combination therapy, and management during pregnancy.

The Impact of Assessment Tasks on Subsequent Examination Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Gaal, Frank; De Ridder, Annemieke

2013-01-01

In this article, the impact of assessment tasks on examination result (measured by examination grades) is investigated. Although many describe the advantages of electronic assessment tasks, few studies have been undertaken which compare a traditional approach using a classical examination with a new approach using assessment tasks. The main…

The assessment of cervical sensory motor control: a systematic review focusing on measuring methods and their clinimetric characteristics.

PubMed

Michiels, Sarah; De Hertogh, Willem; Truijen, Steven; November, Danny; Wuyts, Floris; Van de Heyning, Paul

2013-05-01

Cervical sensorimotor control (CSMC) becomes increasingly important in the assessment and treatment of patients with neck pain. This review aims to compare commonly used CSMC measuring methods in terms of required tasks, measuring device and clinimetric properties. A systematic review of two databases, followed by methodological quality assessment (CBO guidelines). The methodological quality of 34 included articles was generally good (five to seven out of eight), the inter-rater agreement was excellent (κw=0.966, p<0.01). Following tasks were found: head repositioning accuracy to the neutral head position (HRA-to-NHP) and to a target position (HRA-to-target), a virtual reality test, a continuous linear movement technique (CLMT) and an object following non-linear movement technique (NLMT) (The Fly™). Test-retest reliability was fair to excellent (ICC 0.35-0.87) for the HRA-to-NHP, very bad to excellent (ICC 0.01-0.90) for the HRA-to-target, fair to good (ICC 0.25-0.77) for the virtual reality test and moderate to excellent (ICC: 0.60-0.86) for The Fly™. The reliability of the CLMT was not documented. The HRA-to-NHP, The Fly™ and the CLMT can discriminate between patients with neck complaints and controls (discriminant validity). Currently, only The Fly™ can discriminate between different patient populations (post-traumatic and non-traumatic neck pain). The sensitivity, specificity and responsiveness of the methods have to be assessed in future research. The dynamic method The Fly™ appears to be more reliable than the HRA-to-NHP and is able to discriminate between different patient populations. The diagnostic potential is to be confirmed in future research. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Quality assessment of protein model-structures based on structural and functional similarities

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Experimental determination of protein 3D structures is expensive, time consuming and sometimes impossible. A gap between number of protein structures deposited in the World Wide Protein Data Bank and the number of sequenced proteins constantly broadens. Computational modeling is deemed to be one of the ways to deal with the problem. Although protein 3D structure prediction is a difficult task, many tools are available. These tools can model it from a sequence or partial structural information, e.g. contact maps. Consequently, biologists have the ability to generate automatically a putative 3D structure model of any protein. However, the main issue becomes evaluation of the model quality, which is one of the most important challenges of structural biology. Results GOBA - Gene Ontology-Based Assessment is a novel Protein Model Quality Assessment Program. It estimates the compatibility between a model-structure and its expected function. GOBA is based on the assumption that a high quality model is expected to be structurally similar to proteins functionally similar to the prediction target. Whereas DALI is used to measure structure similarity, protein functional similarity is quantified using standardized and hierarchical description of proteins provided by Gene Ontology combined with Wang's algorithm for calculating semantic similarity. Two approaches are proposed to express the quality of protein model-structures. One is a single model quality assessment method, the other is its modification, which provides a relative measure of model quality. Exhaustive evaluation is performed on data sets of model-structures submitted to the CASP8 and CASP9 contests. Conclusions The validation shows that the method is able to discriminate between good and bad model-structures. The best of tested GOBA scores achieved 0.74 and 0.8 as a mean Pearson correlation to the observed quality of models in our CASP8 and CASP9-based validation sets. GOBA also obtained the best result for two targets of CASP8, and one of CASP9, compared to the contest participants. Consequently, GOBA offers a novel single model quality assessment program that addresses the practical needs of biologists. In conjunction with other Model Quality Assessment Programs (MQAPs), it would prove useful for the evaluation of single protein models. PMID:22998498

An experimental evaluation of the Sternberg task as a workload metric for helicopter Flight Handling Qualities (FHQ) research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hemingway, J. C.

1984-01-01

The objective was to determine whether the Sternberg item-recognition task, employed as a secondary task measure of spare mental capacity for flight handling qualities (FHQ) simulation research, could help to differentiate between different flight-control conditions. FHQ evaluations were conducted on the Vertical Motion Simulator at Ames Research Center to investigate different primary flight-control configurations, and selected stability and control augmentation levels for helicopters engaged in low-level flight regimes. The Sternberg task was superimposed upon the primary flight-control task in a balanced experimental design. The results of parametric statistical analysis of Sternberg secondary task data failed to support the continued use of this task as a measure of pilot workload. In addition to the secondary task, subjects provided Cooper-Harper pilot ratings (CHPR) and responded to workload questionnaire. The CHPR data also failed to provide reliable statistical discrimination between FHQ treatment conditions; some insight into the behavior of the secondary task was gained from the workload questionnaire data.

The Sternberg Task as a Workload Metric in Flight Handling Qualities Research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hemingway, J. C.

1984-01-01

The objective of this research was to determine whether the Sternberg item-recognition task, employed as a secondary task measure of spare mental capacity for flight handling qualities (FHQ) simulation research, could help to differentiate between different flight-control conditions. FHQ evaluations were conducted on the Vertical Motion Simulator at Ames Research Center to investigate different primary flight-control configurations, and selected stability and control augmentation levels for helicopers engaged in low-level flight regimes. The Sternberg task was superimposed upon the primary flight-control task in a balanced experimental design. The results of parametric statistical analysis of Sternberg secondary task data failed to support the continued use of this task as a measure of pilot workload. In addition to the secondary task, subjects provided Cooper-Harper pilot ratings (CHPR) and responded to a workload questionnaire. The CHPR data also failed to provide reliable statistical discrimination between FHQ treatment conditions; some insight into the behavior of the secondary task was gained from the workload questionnaire data.

Melatonin analgesia is associated with improvement of the descending endogenous pain-modulating system in fibromyalgia: a phase II, randomized, double-dummy, controlled trial

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Central disinhibition is a mechanism involved in the physiopathology of fibromyalgia. Melatonin can improve sleep quality, pain and pain threshold. We hypothesized that treatment with melatonin alone or in combination with amitriptyline would be superior to amitriptyline alone in modifying the endogenous pain-modulating system (PMS) as quantified by conditional pain modulation (CPM), and this change in CPM could be associated with serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). We also tested whether melatonin improves the clinical symptoms of pain, pain threshold and sleep quality. Methods Sixty-three females, aged 18 to 65, were randomized to receive bedtime amitriptyline (25 mg) (n = 21), melatonin (10 mg) (n = 21) or melatonin (10 mg) + amitriptyline (25 mg) (n = 21) for a period of six weeks. The descending PMS was assessed with the CPM-TASK. It was assessed the pain score on the Visual Analog Scale (VAS 0-100 mm), the score on Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ), heat pain threshold (HPT), sleep quality and BDNF serum. Delta values (post- minus pre-treatment) were used to compare the treatment effect. The outcomes variables were collected before, one and six weeks after initiating treatment. Results Melatonin alone or in combination with amitriptyline reduced significantly pain on the VAS compared with amitriptyline alone (P < 0.01). The delta values on the VAS scores were-12.85 (19.93),-17.37 (18.69) and-20.93 (12.23) in the amitriptyline, melatonin and melatonin+amitriptyline groups, respectively. Melatonin alone and in combination increased the inhibitory PMS as assessed by the Numerical Pain Scale [NPS(0-10)] reduction during the CPM-TASK:-2.4 (2.04) melatonin + amitriptyline,-2.65 (1.68) melatonin, and-1.04 (2.06) amitriptyline, (P < 0.05). Melatonin + amitriptyline treated displayed better results than melatonin and amitriptyline alone in terms of FIQ and PPT improvement (P < 0.05, fort both). Conclusion Melatonin increased the inhibitory endogenous pain-modulating system as assessed by the reduction on NPS(0-10) during the CPM-TASK. Melatonin alone or associated with amitriptyline was better than amitriptyline alone in improving pain on the VAS, whereas its association with amitriptyline produced only marginal additional clinical effects on FIQ and PPT. Trial registration Current controlled trail is registered at clinical trials.gov upon under number NCT02041455. Registered January 16, 2014. PMID:25052847

Ready, Set, Grow: Illinois Preschool. A Framework for Universal Access to Quality Preschool in Illinois.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wallen, Margie

The Illinois Governor's Task Force on Universal Access to Preschool is part of a broad-based effort to increase the quality of life for all children in Illinois. This report presents the action plan developed by this task force and calls for the creation of Illinois Preschool, a program giving all Illinois families quality preschool options for 3-…

The effects of pilot stress factors on handling quality assessments during US/German helicopter agility flight tests

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pausder, H.-J.; Gerdes, R. M.

1982-01-01

Flight tests were conducted with two helicopters to study and evaluate the effects of helicopter characteristics and pilot and task demands on performance in nap-of-the-earth flight. Different, low-level slalom courses were set up and were flown by three pilots with different levels of flight experience. A pilot rating questionnaire was used to obtain redundant information and to gain more insight into factors that influence pilot ratings. The flight test setups and procedures are described, and the pilot ratings are summarized and interpreted in close connection with the analyzed test data. Pilot stress is discussed. The influence of demands on the pilot, of the helicopter characteristics, and of other stress factors are outlined with particular emphasis on how these factors affect handling-qualities assessment. Previously announced in STAR as N83-13114

Integrating Markets to Bridge Supply and Demand for Knowledge Intensive Tasks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Overbeek, Sietse; Janssen, Marijn; van Bommel, Patrick

The advent of the knowledge-based economy has underlined the importance of intellectual capital that is possessed by knowledge intensive organizations. Three general observations of knowledge intensive work produced by actors working in such organizations served as the basis for the initiation of this research. First, knowledge intensive tasks become increasingly complex. Second, actors that perform such tasks experience an increase in cognitive load. Third, the desired quality of task performance and the produced task results are at stake due to the aforementioned two developments. In this research we investigate how supply and demand of intangible assets such as knowledge, cognitive characteristics, and quality factors can be matched based on market mechanisms.

Improving multitasking assessment in healthy older adults using a prop-based version of the Breakfast task.

PubMed

Kosowicz, Maria; MacPherson, Sarah E

2017-01-01

Computerized cognitive assessment is becoming increasingly more common in clinical neuropsychological assessment and cognitive neuropsychological research. A number of computerized tasks now exist to assess multitasking abilities that are essential for everyday tasks such as cooking, shopping, or driving, but little is known about whether these tasks are appropriate for assessing older adults' multitasking. The present study directly compared age effects on multitasking when assessed using a computerized and a prop-based version of Craik and Bialystok's ( 2006 ) Breakfast task. Twenty participants aged 18 to 24 years and 20 participants aged 60 to 79 years were assessed on both versions of the Breakfast task. While age-related decrements in multitasking performance were found using the computerized task, significant age differences were not found on the majority of measures when the prop-based version was administered. The results suggest that age-related deficits in multitasking will be less when more contextualized, noncomputer based tasks are used.

An Investigation of Large Aircraft Handling Qualities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Joyce, Richard D.

An analytical technique for investigating transport aircraft handling qualities is exercised in a study using models of two such vehicles, a Boeing 747 and Lockheed C-5A. Two flight conditions are employed for climb and directional tasks, and a third included for a flare task. The analysis technique is based upon a "structural model" of the human pilot developed by Hess. The associated analysis procedure has been discussed previously in the literature, but centered almost exclusively on the characteristics of high-performance fighter aircraft. The handling qualities rating level (HQRL) and pilot induced oscillation tendencies rating level (PIORL) are predicted for nominal configurations of the aircraft and for "damaged" configurations where actuator rate limits are introduced as nonlinearites. It is demonstrated that the analysis can accommodate nonlinear pilot/vehicle behavior and do so in the context of specific flight tasks, yielding estimates of handling qualities, pilot-induced oscillation tendencies and upper limits of task performance. A brief human-in-the-loop tracking study was performed to provide a limited validation of the pilot model employed.

Task shifting in maternal and newborn care: a non-inferiority study examining delegation of antenatal counseling to lay nurse aides supported by job aids in Benin.

PubMed

Jennings, Larissa; Yebadokpo, André Sourou; Affo, Jean; Agbogbe, Marthe; Tankoano, Aguima

2011-01-06

Shifting the role of counseling to less skilled workers may improve efficiency and coverage of health services, but evidence is needed on the impact of substitution on quality of care. This research explored the influence of delegating maternal and newborn counseling responsibilities to clinic-based lay nurse aides on the quality of counseling provided as part of a task shifting initiative to expand their role. Nurse-midwives and lay nurse aides in seven public maternities were trained to use job aids to improve counseling in maternal and newborn care. Quality of counseling and maternal knowledge were assessed using direct observation of antenatal consultations and patient exit interviews. Both provider types were interviewed to examine perceptions regarding the task shift. To compare provider performance levels, non-inferiority analyses were conducted where non-inferiority was demonstrated if the lower confidence limit of the performance difference did not exceed a margin of 10 percentage points. Mean percent of recommended messages provided by lay nurse aides was non-inferior to counseling by nurse-midwives in adjusted analyses for birth preparedness (β = -0.0, 95% CI: -9.0, 9.1), danger sign recognition (β = 4.7, 95% CI: -5.1, 14.6), and clean delivery (β = 1.4, 95% CI: -9.4, 12.3). Lay nurse aides demonstrated superior performance for communication on general prenatal care (β = 15.7, 95% CI: 7.0, 24.4), although non-inferiority was not achieved for newborn care counseling (β = -7.3, 95% CI: -23.1, 8.4). The proportion of women with correct knowledge was significantly higher among those counseled by lay nurse aides as compared to nurse-midwives in general prenatal care (β = 23.8, 95% CI: 15.7, 32.0), birth preparedness (β = 12.7, 95% CI: 5.2, 20.1), and danger sign recognition (β = 8.6, 95% CI: 3.3, 13.9). Both cadres had positive opinions regarding task shifting, although several preferred 'task sharing' over full delegation. Lay nurse aides can provide effective antenatal counseling in maternal and newborn care in facility-based settings, provided they receive adequate training and support. Efforts are needed to improve management of human resources to ensure that effective mechanisms for regulating and financing task shifting are sustained.

Task shifting in maternal and newborn care: a non-inferiority study examining delegation of antenatal counseling to lay nurse aides supported by job aids in Benin

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Shifting the role of counseling to less skilled workers may improve efficiency and coverage of health services, but evidence is needed on the impact of substitution on quality of care. This research explored the influence of delegating maternal and newborn counseling responsibilities to clinic-based lay nurse aides on the quality of counseling provided as part of a task shifting initiative to expand their role. Methods Nurse-midwives and lay nurse aides in seven public maternities were trained to use job aids to improve counseling in maternal and newborn care. Quality of counseling and maternal knowledge were assessed using direct observation of antenatal consultations and patient exit interviews. Both provider types were interviewed to examine perceptions regarding the task shift. To compare provider performance levels, non-inferiority analyses were conducted where non-inferiority was demonstrated if the lower confidence limit of the performance difference did not exceed a margin of 10 percentage points. Results Mean percent of recommended messages provided by lay nurse aides was non-inferior to counseling by nurse-midwives in adjusted analyses for birth preparedness (β = -0.0, 95% CI: -9.0, 9.1), danger sign recognition (β = 4.7, 95% CI: -5.1, 14.6), and clean delivery (β = 1.4, 95% CI: -9.4, 12.3). Lay nurse aides demonstrated superior performance for communication on general prenatal care (β = 15.7, 95% CI: 7.0, 24.4), although non-inferiority was not achieved for newborn care counseling (β = -7.3, 95% CI: -23.1, 8.4). The proportion of women with correct knowledge was significantly higher among those counseled by lay nurse aides as compared to nurse-midwives in general prenatal care (β = 23.8, 95% CI: 15.7, 32.0), birth preparedness (β = 12.7, 95% CI: 5.2, 20.1), and danger sign recognition (β = 8.6, 95% CI: 3.3, 13.9). Both cadres had positive opinions regarding task shifting, although several preferred 'task sharing' over full delegation. Conclusions Lay nurse aides can provide effective antenatal counseling in maternal and newborn care in facility-based settings, provided they receive adequate training and support. Efforts are needed to improve management of human resources to ensure that effective mechanisms for regulating and financing task shifting are sustained. PMID:21211045

Understanding human quality judgment in assessing online forum contents for thread retrieval purpose

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ismail, Zuriati; Salim, Naomie; Huspi, Sharin Hazlin

2017-10-01

Compared to traditional materials or journals, user-generated contents are not peer-reviewed. Lack of quality control and the explosive growth of web contents make the task of finding quality information on the web especially critical. The existence of new facilities for producing web contents such as forum makes this issue more significant. This study focuses on online forums threads or discussion, where the forums contain valuable human-generated information in a form of discussions. Due to the unique structure of the online forum pages, special techniques are required to organize and search for information in these forums. Quality biased retrieval is a retrieval approach that search for relevant document and prioritized higher quality documents. Despite major concern of quality content and recent development of quality biased retrieval, there is an urgent need to understand how quality content is being judged, for retrieval and performance evaluation purposes. Furthermore, even though there are various studies on the quality of information, there is no standard framework that has been established. The primary aim of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of human quality judgment in assessing online forum contents. The foundation of this study is to compare and evaluate different frameworks (for quality biased retrieval and information quality). This led to the finding that many quality dimensions are redundant and some dimensions are understood differently between different studies. We conducted a survey on crowdsourcing community to measure the importance of each quality dimensions found in various frameworks. Accuracy and ease of understanding are among top important dimensions while threads popularity and contents manipulability are among least important dimensions. This finding is beneficial in evaluating contents of online forum.

Evaluation of cassette-based digital radiography detectors using standardized image quality metrics: AAPM TG-150 Draft Image Detector Tests.

PubMed

Li, Guang; Greene, Travis C; Nishino, Thomas K; Willis, Charles E

2016-09-08

The purpose of this study was to evaluate several of the standardized image quality metrics proposed by the American Association of Physics in Medicine (AAPM) Task Group 150. The task group suggested region-of-interest (ROI)-based techniques to measure nonuniformity, minimum signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), number of anomalous pixels, and modulation transfer function (MTF). This study evaluated the effects of ROI size and layout on the image metrics by using four different ROI sets, assessed result uncertainty by repeating measurements, and compared results with two commercially available quality control tools, namely the Carestream DIRECTVIEW Total Quality Tool (TQT) and the GE Healthcare Quality Assurance Process (QAP). Seven Carestream DRX-1C (CsI) detectors on mobile DR systems and four GE FlashPad detectors in radiographic rooms were tested. Images were analyzed using MATLAB software that had been previously validated and reported. Our values for signal and SNR nonuniformity and MTF agree with values published by other investigators. Our results show that ROI size affects nonuniformity and minimum SNR measurements, but not detection of anomalous pixels. Exposure geometry affects all tested image metrics except for the MTF. TG-150 metrics in general agree with the TQT, but agree with the QAP only for local and global signal nonuniformity. The difference in SNR nonuniformity and MTF values between the TG-150 and QAP may be explained by differences in the calculation of noise and acquisition beam quality, respectively. TG-150's SNR nonuniformity metrics are also more sensitive to detector nonuniformity compared to the QAP. Our results suggest that fixed ROI size should be used for consistency because nonuniformity metrics depend on ROI size. Ideally, detector tests should be performed at the exact calibration position. If not feasible, a baseline should be established from the mean of several repeated measurements. Our study indicates that the TG-150 tests can be used as an independent standardized procedure for detector performance assessment. © 2016 The Authors.

Evaluation of cassette‐based digital radiography detectors using standardized image quality metrics: AAPM TG‐150 Draft Image Detector Tests

PubMed Central

Greene, Travis C.; Nishino, Thomas K.; Willis, Charles E.

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate several of the standardized image quality metrics proposed by the American Association of Physics in Medicine (AAPM) Task Group 150. The task group suggested region‐of‐interest (ROI)‐based techniques to measure nonuniformity, minimum signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR), number of anomalous pixels, and modulation transfer function (MTF). This study evaluated the effects of ROI size and layout on the image metrics by using four different ROI sets, assessed result uncertainty by repeating measurements, and compared results with two commercially available quality control tools, namely the Carestream DIRECTVIEW Total Quality Tool (TQT) and the GE Healthcare Quality Assurance Process (QAP). Seven Carestream DRX‐1C (CsI) detectors on mobile DR systems and four GE FlashPad detectors in radiographic rooms were tested. Images were analyzed using MATLAB software that had been previously validated and reported. Our values for signal and SNR nonuniformity and MTF agree with values published by other investigators. Our results show that ROI size affects nonuniformity and minimum SNR measurements, but not detection of anomalous pixels. Exposure geometry affects all tested image metrics except for the MTF. TG‐150 metrics in general agree with the TQT, but agree with the QAP only for local and global signal nonuniformity. The difference in SNR nonuniformity and MTF values between the TG‐150 and QAP may be explained by differences in the calculation of noise and acquisition beam quality, respectively. TG‐150's SNR nonuniformity metrics are also more sensitive to detector nonuniformity compared to the QAP. Our results suggest that fixed ROI size should be used for consistency because nonuniformity metrics depend on ROI size. Ideally, detector tests should be performed at the exact calibration position. If not feasible, a baseline should be established from the mean of several repeated measurements. Our study indicates that the TG‐150 tests can be used as an independent standardized procedure for detector performance assessment. PACS number(s): 87.57.‐s, 87.57.C PMID:27685102

Poor sleep quality is associated with a negative cognitive bias and decreased sustained attention.

PubMed

Gobin, Christina M; Banks, Jonathan B; Fins, Ana I; Tartar, Jaime L

2015-10-01

Poor sleep quality has been demonstrated to diminish cognitive performance, impair psychosocial functioning and alter the perception of stress. At present, however, there is little understanding of how sleep quality affects emotion processing. The aim of the present study was to determine the extent to which sleep quality, measured through the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index, influences affective symptoms as well as the interaction between stress and performance on an emotional memory test and sustained attention task. To that end, 154 undergraduate students (mean age: 21.27 years, standard deviation = 4.03) completed a series of measures, including the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index, the Sustained Attention to Response Task, an emotion picture recognition task and affective symptom questionnaires following either a control or physical stress manipulation, the cold pressor test. As sleep quality and psychosocial functioning differ among chronotypes, we also included chronotype and time of day as variables of interest to ensure that the effects of sleep quality on the emotional and non-emotional tasks were not attributed to these related factors. We found that poor sleep quality is related to greater depressive symptoms, anxiety and mood disturbances. While an overall relationship between global Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index score and emotion and attention measures was not supported, poor sleep quality, as an independent component, was associated with better memory for negative stimuli and a deficit in sustained attention to non-emotional stimuli. Importantly, these effects were not sensitive to stress, chronotype or time of day. Combined, these results suggest that individuals with poor sleep quality show an increase in affective symptomatology as well as a negative cognitive bias with a concomitant decrease in sustained attention to non-emotional stimuli. © 2015 European Sleep Research Society.

Hemispheric Asymmetries in Price Estimation: Do Brain Hemispheres Attribute Different Monetary Values?

PubMed Central

Giuliani, Felice; D’Anselmo, Anita; Tommasi, Luca; Brancucci, Alfredo; Pietroni, Davide

2017-01-01

The Spatial Numerical Association of Response Codes (SNARC) effect has been associated with a wide range of magnitude processing. This effect is due to an implicit relationship between numbers and horizontal space, according to which weaker magnitudes and smaller numbers are represented on the left, whereas stronger magnitudes and larger numbers are represented on the right. However, for some particular type of magnitudes such as price, judgments may be also influenced by perceived quality and thus involving valence attribution biases driven by brain asymmetries. In the present study, a lateralized tachistoscopic presentation was used in a price estimation task, using a weight estimation task as a control, to assess differences in asymmetries between these two attributes. Results show a side bias in the former condition but not in the latter, thus indicating that other non-numerical mechanisms are involved in price estimation. Specifically, prices were estimated lower in the left visual field than in the right visual field. The proposed explanation is that price appraisal might involve a valence attribution mechanism leading to a better perceived quality (related to higher prices) when objects are processed primarily in the left hemisphere, and to a lower perceived quality (related to lower prices) when objects are processed primarily in the right hemisphere. PMID:29213252

Hemispheric Asymmetries in Price Estimation: Do Brain Hemispheres Attribute Different Monetary Values?

PubMed

Giuliani, Felice; D'Anselmo, Anita; Tommasi, Luca; Brancucci, Alfredo; Pietroni, Davide

2017-01-01

The Spatial Numerical Association of Response Codes (SNARC) effect has been associated with a wide range of magnitude processing. This effect is due to an implicit relationship between numbers and horizontal space, according to which weaker magnitudes and smaller numbers are represented on the left, whereas stronger magnitudes and larger numbers are represented on the right. However, for some particular type of magnitudes such as price, judgments may be also influenced by perceived quality and thus involving valence attribution biases driven by brain asymmetries. In the present study, a lateralized tachistoscopic presentation was used in a price estimation task, using a weight estimation task as a control, to assess differences in asymmetries between these two attributes. Results show a side bias in the former condition but not in the latter, thus indicating that other non-numerical mechanisms are involved in price estimation. Specifically, prices were estimated lower in the left visual field than in the right visual field. The proposed explanation is that price appraisal might involve a valence attribution mechanism leading to a better perceived quality (related to higher prices) when objects are processed primarily in the left hemisphere, and to a lower perceived quality (related to lower prices) when objects are processed primarily in the right hemisphere.

Moving Toward Quantifying Reliability - The Next Step in a Rapidly Maturing PV Industry: Preprint

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

Kurtz, Sarah; Sample, Tony; Wohlgemuth, John

2015-12-07

Some may say that PV modules are moving toward being a simple commodity, but most major PV customers ask: 'How can I minimize chances of a module recall?' Or, 'How can I quantify the added value of a 'premium' module?' Or, 'How can I assess the value of an old PV system that I'm thinking of purchasing?' These are all questions that PVQAT (the International PV Quality Assurance Task Force) and partner organizations are working to answer. Defining standard methods for ensuring minimal acceptable quality of PV modules, differentiating modules that provide added value in the toughest of environments, andmore » creating a process (e.g. through IECRE [1]) that can follow a PV system from design through installation and operation are tough tasks, but having standard approaches for these will increase confidence, reduce costs, and be a critical foundation of a mature PV industry. This paper summarizes current needs for new tests, some challenges for defining those tests, and some of the key efforts toward development of international standards, emphasizing that meaningful quantification of reliability (as in defining a service life prediction) must be done in the context of a specific product with design parameters defined through a quality management system.« less

The relationship between general measures of fitness, passive range of motion and whole-body movement quality.

PubMed

Frost, David; Andersen, Jordan; Lam, Thomas; Finlay, Tim; Darby, Kevin; McGill, Stuart

2013-01-01

The goal of this study was to establish relationships between fitness (torso endurance, grip strength and pull-ups), hip range of motion (ROM) (extension, flexion, internal and external rotation) and movement quality in an occupational group with physical work demands. Fifty-three men from the emergency task force of a major city police force were investigated. The movement screen comprised standing and seated posture, gait, segmental spine motion and 14 tasks designed to challenge whole-body coordination. Relationships were established between each whole-body movement task, the measures of strength, endurance and ROM. In general, fitness and ROM were not strongly related to the movement quality of any task. This has implications for worker training, in that strategies developed to improve ROM or strength about a joint may not enhance movement quality. Worker-centered injury prevention can be described as fitting workers to tasks by improving fitness and modifying movement patterns; however, the current results show weak correlations between strength, endurance and ROM, and the way individuals move. Therefore, the development of occupation-specific injury prevention strategies may require both fitness and movement-oriented objectives.

Relationship between the quality of children's handwriting and the Beery Buktenica developmental test of visuomotor integration after one year of writing tuition.

PubMed

Duiser, Ivonne H F; van der Kamp, John; Ledebt, Annick; Savelsbergh, Geert J P

2014-04-01

We examined whether the three subtests of the Beery Buktenica developmental test of visuomotor integration predicted quality of handwriting across and within groups of boys and girls classified as proficient, at risk or non-proficient writers according to the Concise Assessment Scale for Children's Handwriting. The Beery Buktenica developmental test of visuomotor integration and the Concise Assessment Scale for Children's Handwriting tests were administered to 240 grade 2 children. Proficient writers scored better on the visuomotor integration subtest than non-proficient writers, while proficient and at risk writers scored better than non-proficient writers on the motor coordination subtest. No differences were found on the visual perception subtest. Girls were more often classified as proficient writers than boys, and they scored better on the motor coordination subtest. Across groups, regression indicated that gender and both the visuomotor integration subtest and the motor coordination subtest were significant predictors for the quality of handwriting (i.e., accounted for 17% of the variance). After one year of writing tuition, the visuomotor integration subtest (and to a lesser extent the motor coordination subtest) but not the visual perception subtest significant relates to quality of children's handwriting as measured with the Concise Assessment Scale for Children's Handwriting. However, the relatively little variance explained also points to other abilities and/or task constraints that underlie quality of handwriting. © 2013 Occupational Therapy Australia.

Assessing the State of Procurement Knowledge Production: Implications for the Federal Government

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-10-31

NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) 5d. PROJECT NUMBER 5e. TASK NUMBER 5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND...archiving of the canonical knowledge base, quality control of published information, and assignment of priority and credit for their work to authors...recognizes the value of theory-based research and graduate education in strategic purchasing—evidenced by its investment in an acclaimed strategic purchasing

Development of a battery of functional tests for low vision.

PubMed

Dougherty, Bradley E; Martin, Scott R; Kelly, Corey B; Jones, Lisa A; Raasch, Thomas W; Bullimore, Mark A

2009-08-01

We describe the development and evaluation of a battery of tests of functional visual performance of everyday tasks intended to be suitable for assessment of low vision patients. The functional test battery comprises-Reading rate: reading aloud 20 unrelated words for each of four print sizes (8, 4, 2, & 1 M); Telephone book: finding a name and reading the telephone number; Medicine bottle label: reading the name and dosing; Utility bill: reading the due date and amount due; Cooking instructions: reading cooking time on a food package; Coin sorting: making a specified amount from coins placed on a table; Playing card recognition: identifying denomination and suit; and Face recognition: identifying expressions of printed, life-size faces at 1 and 3 m. All tests were timed except face and playing card recognition. Fourteen normally sighted and 24 low vision subjects were assessed with the functional test battery. Visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, and quality of life (National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire 25 [NEI-VFQ 25]) were measured and the functional tests repeated. Subsequently, 23 low vision patients participated in a pilot randomized clinical trial with half receiving low vision rehabilitation and half a delayed intervention. The functional tests were administered at enrollment and 3 months later. Normally sighted subjects could perform all tasks but the proportion of trials performed correctly by the low vision subjects ranged from 35% for face recognition at 3 m, to 95% for the playing card identification. On average, low vision subjects performed three times slower than the normally sighted subjects. Timed tasks with a visual search component showed poorer repeatability. In the pilot clinical trial, low vision rehabilitation produced the greatest improvement for the medicine bottle and cooking instruction tasks. Performance of patients on these functional tests has been assessed. Some appear responsive to low vision rehabilitation.

Force-Sensing Enhanced Simulation Environment (ForSense) for laparoscopic surgery training and assessment.

PubMed

Cundy, Thomas P; Thangaraj, Evelyn; Rafii-Tari, Hedyeh; Payne, Christopher J; Azzie, Georges; Sodergren, Mikael H; Yang, Guang-Zhong; Darzi, Ara

2015-04-01

Excessive or inappropriate tissue interaction force during laparoscopic surgery is a recognized contributor to surgical error, especially for robotic surgery. Measurement of force at the tool-tissue interface is, therefore, a clinically relevant skill assessment variable that may improve effectiveness of surgical simulation. Popular box trainer simulators lack the necessary technology to measure force. The aim of this study was to develop a force sensing unit that may be integrated easily with existing box trainer simulators and to (1) validate multiple force variables as objective measurements of laparoscopic skill, and (2) determine concurrent validity of a revised scoring metric. A base plate unit sensitized to a force transducer was retrofitted to a box trainer. Participants of 3 different levels of operative experience performed 5 repetitions of a peg transfer and suture task. Multiple outcome variables of force were assessed as well as a revised scoring metric that incorporated a penalty for force error. Mean, maximum, and overall magnitudes of force were significantly different among the 3 levels of experience, as well as force error. Experts were found to exert the least force and fastest task completion times, and vice versa for novices. Overall magnitude of force was the variable most correlated with experience level and task completion time. The revised scoring metric had similar predictive strength for experience level compared with the standard scoring metric. Current box trainer simulators can be adapted for enhanced objective measurements of skill involving force sensing. These outcomes are significantly influenced by level of expertise and are relevant to operative safety in laparoscopic surgery. Conventional proficiency standards that focus predominantly on task completion time may be integrated with force-based outcomes to be more accurately reflective of skill quality. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Digital electronic Guideline Library (DeGeL): a hybrid framework for representation and use of clinical guidelines.

PubMed

Shahar, Yuval; Young, Ohad; Shalom, Erez; Mayaffit, Alon; Moskovitch, Robert; Hessing, Alon; Galperin, Maya

2004-01-01

We propose to present a poster (and potentially also a demonstration of the implemented system) summarizing the current state of our work on a hybrid, multiple-format representation of clinical guidelines that facilitates conversion of guidelines from free text to a formal representation. We describe a distributed Web-based architecture (DeGeL) and a set of tools using the hybrid representation. The tools enable performing tasks such as guideline specification, semantic markup, search, retrieval, visualization, eligibility determination, runtime application and retrospective quality assessment. The representation includes four parallel formats: Free text (one or more original sources); semistructured text (labeled by the target guideline-ontology semantic labels); semiformal text (which includes some control specification); and a formal, machine-executable representation. The specification, indexing, search, retrieval, and browsing tools are essentially independent of the ontology chosen for guideline representation, but editing the semi-formal and formal formats requires ontology-specific tools, which we have developed in the case of the Asbru guideline-specification language. The four formats support increasingly sophisticated computational tasks. The hybrid guidelines are stored in a Web-based library. All tools, such as for runtime guideline application or retrospective quality assessment, are designed to operate on all representations. We demonstrate the hybrid framework by providing examples from the semantic markup and search tools.

Significance of perceptually relevant image decolorization for scene classification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Viswanathan, Sowmya; Divakaran, Govind; Soman, Kutti Padanyl

2017-11-01

Color images contain luminance and chrominance components representing the intensity and color information, respectively. The objective of this paper is to show the significance of incorporating chrominance information to the task of scene classification. An improved color-to-grayscale image conversion algorithm that effectively incorporates chrominance information is proposed using the color-to-gray structure similarity index and singular value decomposition to improve the perceptual quality of the converted grayscale images. The experimental results based on an image quality assessment for image decolorization and its success rate (using the Cadik and COLOR250 datasets) show that the proposed image decolorization technique performs better than eight existing benchmark algorithms for image decolorization. In the second part of the paper, the effectiveness of incorporating the chrominance component for scene classification tasks is demonstrated using a deep belief network-based image classification system developed using dense scale-invariant feature transforms. The amount of chrominance information incorporated into the proposed image decolorization technique is confirmed with the improvement to the overall scene classification accuracy. Moreover, the overall scene classification performance improved by combining the models obtained using the proposed method and conventional decolorization methods.

Relationship between meaningful work and job performance in nurses.

PubMed

Tong, Ling

2018-04-01

The present study was designed to determine the relationship between meaningful work and job performance, and the impact of meaningful work on nursing care quality. Meaningful work has been suggested as a significant factor affecting job performance, but the relationship has never been studied in nurses in China. A descriptive correlational study was designed to assess the level of meaningful work, tasks, and contextual performance as well as their relationships. We used a stratified random-sampling approach to enrol nurses from hospitals. Multivariate regression analysis was applied to determine the relationship between meaningful work and their demographic data. There were significant, positive relationships between meaningful work and task performance and contextual performance. Education level, work unit, and employment type influenced meaningful work. The work motivation score of the nurses was lower than that of the other 2 dimensions, and a negative work motivation score negatively influenced job performance. Improving meaningful work and providing more support and assistance could improve nurse performance, thereby improving the quality of nursing care. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

A framework for remission in SLE: consensus findings from a large international task force on definitions of remission in SLE (DORIS).

PubMed

van Vollenhoven, Ronald; Voskuyl, Alexandre; Bertsias, George; Aranow, Cynthia; Aringer, Martin; Arnaud, Laurent; Askanase, Anca; Balážová, Petra; Bonfa, Eloisa; Bootsma, Hendrika; Boumpas, Dimitrios; Bruce, Ian; Cervera, Ricard; Clarke, Ann; Coney, Cindy; Costedoat-Chalumeau, Nathalie; Czirják, László; Derksen, Ronald; Doria, Andrea; Dörner, Thomas; Fischer-Betz, Rebecca; Fritsch-Stork, Ruth; Gordon, Caroline; Graninger, Winfried; Györi, Noémi; Houssiau, Frédéric; Isenberg, David; Jacobsen, Soren; Jayne, David; Kuhn, Annegret; Le Guern, Veronique; Lerstrøm, Kirsten; Levy, Roger; Machado-Ribeiro, Francinne; Mariette, Xavier; Missaykeh, Jamil; Morand, Eric; Mosca, Marta; Inanc, Murat; Navarra, Sandra; Neumann, Irmgard; Olesinska, Marzena; Petri, Michelle; Rahman, Anisur; Rekvig, Ole Petter; Rovensky, Jozef; Shoenfeld, Yehuda; Smolen, Josef; Tincani, Angela; Urowitz, Murray; van Leeuw, Bernadette; Vasconcelos, Carlos; Voss, Anne; Werth, Victoria P; Zakharova, Helena; Zoma, Asad; Schneider, Matthias; Ward, Michael

2017-03-01

Treat-to-target recommendations have identified 'remission' as a target in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), but recognise that there is no universally accepted definition for this. Therefore, we initiated a process to achieve consensus on potential definitions for remission in SLE. An international task force of 60 specialists and patient representatives participated in preparatory exercises, a face-to-face meeting and follow-up electronic voting. The level for agreement was set at 90%. The task force agreed on eight key statements regarding remission in SLE and three principles to guide the further development of remission definitions:1. Definitions of remission will be worded as follows: remission in SLE is a durable state characterised by …………………. (reference to symptoms, signs, routine labs).2. For defining remission, a validated index must be used, for example, clinical systemic lupus erythematosus disease activity index (SLEDAI)=0, British Isles lupus assessment group (BILAG) 2004 D/E only, clinical European consensus lupus outcome measure (ECLAM)=0; with routine laboratory assessments included, and supplemented with physician's global assessment.3. Distinction is made between remission off and on therapy: remission off therapy requires the patient to be on no other treatment for SLE than maintenance antimalarials; and remission on therapy allows patients to be on stable maintenance antimalarials, low-dose corticosteroids (prednisone ≤5 mg/day), maintenance immunosuppressives and/or maintenance biologics.The task force also agreed that the most appropriate outcomes (dependent variables) for testing the prognostic value (construct validity) of potential remission definitions are: death, damage, flares and measures of health-related quality of life. The work of this international task force provides a framework for testing different definitions of remission against long-term outcomes. 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/.

ACCF/AHA methodology for the development of quality measures for cardiovascular technology: a report of the American College of Cardiology Foundation/American Heart Association Task Force on Performance Measures.

PubMed

Bonow, Robert O; Douglas, Pamela S; Buxton, Alfred E; Cohen, David J; Curtis, Jeptha P; Delong, Elizabeth; Drozda, Joseph P; Ferguson, T Bruce; Heidenreich, Paul A; Hendel, Robert C; Masoudi, Frederick A; Peterson, Eric D; Taylor, Allen J

2011-09-27

Consistent with the growing national focus on healthcare quality, the American College of Cardiology Foundation (ACCF) and the American Heart Association (AHA) have taken a leadership role over the past decade in developing measures of the quality of cardiovascular care by convening a joint ACCF/AHA Task Force on Performance Measures. The Task Force is charged with identifying the clinical topics appropriate for the development of performance measures and with assembling writing committees composed of clinical and methodological experts in collaboration with appropriate subspecialty societies. The Task Force has also created methodology documents that offer guidance in the development of process, outcome, composite, and efficiency measures. Cardiovascular performance measures using existing ACCF/AHA methodology are based on Class I or Class III guidelines recommendations, usually with Level A evidence. These performance measures, based on evidence-based ACCF/AHA guidelines, remain the most rigorous quality measures for both internal quality improvement and public reporting. However, many of the tools for diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease involve advanced technologies, such as cardiac imaging, for which there are often no underlying guideline documents. Because these technologies affect the quality of cardiovascular care and also have the potential to contribute to cardiovascular health expenditures, there is a need for more critical assessment of the use of technology, including the development of quality and performance measures in areas in which guideline recommendations are absent. The evaluation of quality in the use of cardiovascular technologies requires consideration of multiple parameters that differ from other healthcare processes. The present document describes methodology for development of 2 new classes of quality measures in these situations, appropriate use measures and structure/safety measures. Appropriate use measures are based on specific indications, processes, or parameters of care for which high level of evidence data and Class I or Class III guideline recommendations may be lacking but are addressed in ACCF appropriate use criteria documents. Structure/safety measures represent measures developed to address structural aspects of the use of healthcare technology (e.g., laboratory accreditation, personnel training, and credentialing) or quality issues related to patient safety when there are neither guidelines recommendations nor appropriate use criteria. Although the strength of evidence for appropriate use measures and structure/safety measures may not be as strong as that for formal performance measures, they are quality measures that are otherwise rigorously developed, reviewed, tested, and approved in the same manner as ACCF/AHA performance measures. The ultimate goal of the present document is to provide direction in defining and measuring the appropriate use-avoiding not only underuse but also overuse and misuse-and proper application of cardiovascular technology and to describe how such appropriate use measures and structure/safety measures might be developed for the purposes of quality improvement and public reporting. It is anticipated that this effort will help focus the national dialogue on the use of cardiovascular technology and away from the current concerns about volume and cost alone to a more holistic emphasis on value.

Elicitation of quantitative data from a heterogeneous expert panel: formal process and application in animal health.

PubMed

Van der Fels-Klerx, Ine H J; Goossens, Louis H J; Saatkamp, Helmut W; Horst, Suzan H S

2002-02-01

This paper presents a protocol for a formal expert judgment process using a heterogeneous expert panel aimed at the quantification of continuous variables. The emphasis is on the process's requirements related to the nature of expertise within the panel, in particular the heterogeneity of both substantive and normative expertise. The process provides the opportunity for interaction among the experts so that they fully understand and agree upon the problem at hand, including qualitative aspects relevant to the variables of interest, prior to the actual quantification task. Individual experts' assessments on the variables of interest, cast in the form of subjective probability density functions, are elicited with a minimal demand for normative expertise. The individual experts' assessments are aggregated into a single probability density function per variable, thereby weighting the experts according to their expertise. Elicitation techniques proposed include the Delphi technique for the qualitative assessment task and the ELI method for the actual quantitative assessment task. Appropriately, the Classical model was used to weight the experts' assessments in order to construct a single distribution per variable. Applying this model, the experts' quality typically was based on their performance on seed variables. An application of the proposed protocol in the broad and multidisciplinary field of animal health is presented. Results of this expert judgment process showed that the proposed protocol in combination with the proposed elicitation and analysis techniques resulted in valid data on the (continuous) variables of interest. In conclusion, the proposed protocol for a formal expert judgment process aimed at the elicitation of quantitative data from a heterogeneous expert panel provided satisfactory results. Hence, this protocol might be useful for expert judgment studies in other broad and/or multidisciplinary fields of interest.

The use of a portfolio in postgraduate medical education – reflect, assess and account, one for each or all in one?

PubMed Central

Heeneman, Sylvia; Driessen, Erik W.

2017-01-01

Competency-based education has become central to the training and assessment of post-graduate medical trainees or residents [1]. In competency-based education, there is a strong focus on outcomes and professional performance. Typically, holistic tasks are used to train, practice and assess the defined outcomes or competencies. In residency training, these tasks are part of the day-to-day clinical practice. The performance of residents in the workplace needs to be captured and stored. A portfolio has been used as an instrument for storage and collection of workplace-based assessment and feedback in various countries, like the Netherlands and the United States. The collection of information in a portfolio can serve or be used for a variety of purposes. These are: The collection of work samples, assessment, feedback and evaluations in a portfolio enables the learner to look back, analyze and reflect. The content is used for assessment or making decisions about progress. And the portfolio is used as an instrument for quality assurance processes. In post-graduate medical education, these purposes can be combined but this is not always reported transparently. In this paper, we will discuss the different perspectives, how a portfolio can serve these three purposes and what are opportunities and challenges of combining multiple purposes. PMID:29226225

Speech Clarity Index (Ψ): A Distance-Based Speech Quality Indicator and Recognition Rate Prediction for Dysarthric Speakers with Cerebral Palsy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kayasith, Prakasith; Theeramunkong, Thanaruk

It is a tedious and subjective task to measure severity of a dysarthria by manually evaluating his/her speech using available standard assessment methods based on human perception. This paper presents an automated approach to assess speech quality of a dysarthric speaker with cerebral palsy. With the consideration of two complementary factors, speech consistency and speech distinction, a speech quality indicator called speech clarity index (Ψ) is proposed as a measure of the speaker's ability to produce consistent speech signal for a certain word and distinguished speech signal for different words. As an application, it can be used to assess speech quality and forecast speech recognition rate of speech made by an individual dysarthric speaker before actual exhaustive implementation of an automatic speech recognition system for the speaker. The effectiveness of Ψ as a speech recognition rate predictor is evaluated by rank-order inconsistency, correlation coefficient, and root-mean-square of difference. The evaluations had been done by comparing its predicted recognition rates with ones predicted by the standard methods called the articulatory and intelligibility tests based on the two recognition systems (HMM and ANN). The results show that Ψ is a promising indicator for predicting recognition rate of dysarthric speech. All experiments had been done on speech corpus composed of speech data from eight normal speakers and eight dysarthric speakers.

Executive brain functions after exposure to nocturnal traffic noise: effects of task difficulty and sleep quality.

PubMed

Schapkin, Sergei A; Falkenstein, Michael; Marks, Anke; Griefahn, Barbara

2006-04-01

The after-effects of nocturnal traffic noise on cognitive performance and inhibitory brain activity were investigated. Twenty participants (18-30 years) performed an easy and a difficult visual Go/Nogo task with simultaneous EEG recording after a quiet night and then during three nights when aircraft noise was presented with equivalent noise levels of 39, 44, and 50 dBA, respectively, between 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. Based on subjective sleep quality rating, participants were separated into "good" versus "bad" sleepers. The performance and inhibition-related components (N2, P3) of event-related potentials were analysed. The N2 and P3 amplitudes were smaller and latencies were prolonged in the difficult than in the easy task. This effect was more pronounced for Nogo than for Go trials. The Nogo-P3 amplitude was smaller in Noise than in "Quiet" conditions in the difficult task only. In the difficult task, the Nogo-P3 latency was prolonged in bad sleepers than in good sleepers. The Nogo-P3 amplitude was reduced in Noise as compared to "Quiet" conditions in bad sleepers only. Sleep quality in bad sleepers worsened steadily with increasing noise levels. No effects of noise or subjective sleep quality on performance were found. Inhibitory processes appear to be selectively impaired after nocturnal noise exposure. The task difficulty and perceived sleep quality are important factors modulating noise effects. The results suggest that nocturnal traffic noise increase physiological costs for inhibitory functioning on the day even if no overt performance decrement is observed.

Performance and Usability of Various Robotic Arm Control Modes from Human Force Signals

PubMed Central

Mick, Sébastien; Cattaert, Daniel; Paclet, Florent; Oudeyer, Pierre-Yves; de Rugy, Aymar

2017-01-01

Elaborating an efficient and usable mapping between input commands and output movements is still a key challenge for the design of robotic arm prostheses. In order to address this issue, we present and compare three different control modes, by assessing them in terms of performance as well as general usability. Using an isometric force transducer as the command device, these modes convert the force input signal into either a position or a velocity vector, whose magnitude is linearly or quadratically related to force input magnitude. With the robotic arm from the open source 3D-printed Poppy Humanoid platform simulating a mobile prosthesis, an experiment was carried out with eighteen able-bodied subjects performing a 3-D target-reaching task using each of the three modes. The subjects were given questionnaires to evaluate the quality of their experience with each mode, providing an assessment of their global usability in the context of the task. According to performance metrics and questionnaire results, velocity control modes were found to perform better than position control mode in terms of accuracy and quality of control as well as user satisfaction and comfort. Subjects also seemed to favor quadratic velocity control over linear (proportional) velocity control, even if these two modes did not clearly distinguish from one another when it comes to performance and usability assessment. These results highlight the need to take into account user experience as one of the key criteria for the design of control modes intended to operate limb prostheses. PMID:29118699

Task Shifting Provision of Contraceptive Implants to Community Health Extension Workers: Results of Operations Research in Northern Nigeria

PubMed Central

Oguntunde, Olugbenga; Orobaton, Nosa; Otolorin, Emmanuel; Inuwa, Fatima; Alalade, Olubisi; Abegunde, Dele; Danladi, Saba’atu

2015-01-01

Background: Contraceptive use remains low in Nigeria, with only 11% of women reporting use of any modern method. Access to long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs) is constrained by a severe shortage of human resources. To assess feasibility of task shifting provision of implants, we trained community health extension workers (CHEWs) to insert and remove contraceptive implants in rural communities of Bauchi and Sokoto states in northern Nigeria. Methods: We conducted 2- to 3-week training sessions for 166 selected CHEWs from 82 facilities in Sokoto state (September 2013) and 84 health facilities in Bauchi state (December 2013). To assess feasibility of the task shifting approach, we conducted operations research using a pretest–posttest design using multiple sources of information, including surveys with 151 trained CHEWs (9% were lost to follow-up) and with 150 family planning clients; facility observations using supply checklists (N = 149); direct observation of counseling provided by CHEWs (N = 144) and of their clinical (N = 113) skills; as well as a review of service statistics (N = 151 health facilities). The endline assessment was conducted 6 months after the training in each state. Results: CHEWs inserted a total of 3,588 implants in 151 health facilities over a period of 6 months, generating 10,088 couple-years of protection (CYP). After practicing on anatomic arm models, most CHEWs achieved competency in implant insertions after insertions with 4–5 actual clients. Clinical observations revealed that CHEWs performed implant insertion tasks correctly 90% of the time or more for nearly all checklist items. The amount of information that CHEWs provided clients increased between baseline and endline, and over 95% of surveyed clients reported being satisfied with CHEWs’ services in both surveys. The study found that supervisors not only observed and corrected insertion skills, as needed, during supervisory visits but also encouraged CHEWs to conduct more community mobilization to generate client demand, thereby promoting access to quality services. CHEWs identified a lack of demand in the communities as the major barrier for providing services. Conclusion: With adequate training and supportive supervision, CHEWs in northern Nigeria can provide high-quality implant insertion services. If more CHEWs are trained to provide implants and greater community outreach is conducted to generate demand, uptake of LARCs in Nigeria may increase. PMID:26374800

Indoor Air Quality In Maine Schools: Report of the Task Force To Examine the Establishment and Implementation of State Standards for Indoor Air Quality in Maine Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Malcolm, Judith

Asserting that in Maine and across the nation, school buildings are becoming increasingly plagued with indoor air quality (IAQ) problems which contribute to a variety of illnesses in children and adults, this report from a Maine state legislative task force identifies appropriate policies and identifies actions necessary for the prevention and…

Interaction of feel system and flight control system dynamics on lateral flying qualities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bailey, R. E.; Knotts, L. H.

1990-01-01

An experimental investigation of the influence of lateral feel system characteristics on fighter aircraft roll flying qualities was conducted using the variable stability USAF NT-33. Forty-two evaluation flights were flown by three engineering test pilots. The investigation utilized the power approach, visual landing task and up-and-away tasks including formation, gun tracking, and computer-generated compensatory attitude tracking tasks displayed on the Head-Up Display. Experimental variations included the feel system frequency, force-deflection gradient, control system command type (force or position input command), aircraft roll mode time constant, control system prefilter frequency, and control system time delay. The primary data were task performance records and evaluation pilot comments and ratings using the Cooper-Harper scale. The data highlight the unique and powerful effect of the feel system of flying qualities. The data show that the feel system is not 'equivalent' in flying qualities influence to analogous control system elements. A lower limit of allowable feel system frequency appears warranted to ensure good lateral flying qualities. Flying qualities criteria should most properly treat the feel system dynamic influence separately from the control system, since the input and output of this dynamic element is apparent to the pilot and thus, does not produce a 'hidden' effect.

Handling Qualities Evaluation of Pilot Tools for Spacecraft Docking in Earth Orbit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bilimoria, Karl D.; Mueller, Eric; Frost, Chad

2009-01-01

A new generation of spacecraft is now under development by NASA to replace the Space Shuttle and return astronauts to the Moon. These spacecraft will have a manual control capability for several mission tasks, and the ease and precision with which pilots can execute these tasks will have an important effect on mission risk and training costs. This paper focuses on the handling qualities of a spacecraft based on dynamics similar to that of the Crew Exploration Vehicle, during the last segment of the docking task with a space station in low Earth orbit. A previous study established that handling qualities for this task degrade significantly as the level of translation-into-rotation coupling increases. The goal of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of various pilot aids designed to mitigate the handling qualities degradation caused by this coupling. Four pilot tools were ev adluaetead:d-band box/indicator, flight-path marker, translation guidance cues, and feed-forward control. Each of these pilot tools improved handling qualities, generally with greater improvements resulting from using these tools in combination. A key result of this study is that feedforward control effectively counteracts coupling effects, providing solid Level 1 handling qualities for the spacecraft configuration evaluated.

Effects of postural specific sensorimotor training in patients with chronic low back pain: study protocol for randomised controlled trial.

PubMed

McCaskey, Michael A; Schuster-Amft, Corina; Wirth, Brigitte; de Bruin, Eling D

2015-12-15

Sensorimotor training (SMT) is popularly applied as a preventive or rehabilitative exercise method in various sports and rehabilitation settings. Yet, there is only low-quality evidence on its effect on pain and function. This randomised controlled trial will investigate the effects of a theory-based SMT in rehabilitation of chronic (>3 months) non-specific low back pain (CNLBP) patients. A pilot study with a parallel, single-blinded, randomised controlled design. Twenty adult patients referred to the clinic for CNLBP treatment will be included, randomised, and allocated to one of two groups. Each group will receive 9 x 30 minutes of standard physiotherapy (PT) treatment. The experimental group will receive an added 15 minutes of SMT. For SMT, proprioceptive postural exercises are performed on a labile platform with adjustable oscillation to provoke training effects on different entry levels. The active comparator group will perform 15 minutes of added sub-effective low-intensity endurance training. Outcomes are assessed on 4 time-points by a treatment blinded tester: eligibility assessment at baseline (BL) 2-4 days prior to intervention, pre-intervention assessment (T0), post-intervention assessment (T1), and at 4 weeks follow-up (FU). At BL, an additional healthy control group (n = 20) will be assessed to allow cross-sectional comparison with symptom-free participants. The main outcomes are self-reported pain (Visual Analogue Scale) and functional status (Oswestry Disability Index). For secondary analysis, postural control variables after an externally perturbed stance on a labile platform are analysed using a video-based marker tracking system and a pressure plate (sagittal joint-angle variability and centre of pressure confidence ellipse). Proprioception is measured as relative cervical joint repositioning error during a head-rotation task. Effect sizes and mixed-model MANOVA (2 groups × 4 measurements for 5 dependent variables) will be calculated. This is the first attempt to systematically investigate effects of a theory-based sensorimotor training in patients with CNLBP. It will provide analysis of several postural segments during a dynamic task for quantitative analysis of quality and change of the task performance in relation to changes in pain and functional status. Trial registry number on cliniclatrials.gov is NCT02304120 , first registered on 17 November 2014.

First validation of the PASSPORT training environment for arthroscopic skills.

PubMed

Tuijthof, Gabriëlle J M; van Sterkenburg, Maayke N; Sierevelt, Inger N; van Oldenrijk, Jakob; Van Dijk, C Niek; Kerkhoffs, Gino M M J

2010-02-01

The demand for high quality care is in contrast to reduced training time for residents to develop arthroscopic skills. Thereto, simulators are introduced to train skills away from the operating room. In our clinic, a physical simulation environment to Practice Arthroscopic Surgical Skills for Perfect Operative Real-life Treatment (PASSPORT) is being developed. The PASSPORT concept consists of maintaining the normal arthroscopic equipment, replacing the human knee joint by a phantom, and integrating registration devices to provide performance feedback. The first prototype of the knee phantom allows inspection, treatment of menisci, irrigation, and limb stressing. PASSPORT was evaluated for face and construct validity. Construct validity was assessed by measuring the performance of two groups with different levels of arthroscopic experience (20 surgeons and 8 residents). Participants performed a navigation task five times on PASSPORT. Task times were recorded. Face validity was assessed by completion of a short questionnaire on the participants' impressions and comments for improvements. Construct validity was demonstrated as the surgeons (median task time 19.7 s [8.0-37.6]) were more efficient than the residents (55.2 s [27.9-96.6]) in task completion for each repetition (Mann-Whitney U test, P < 0.05). The prototype of the knee phantom sufficiently imitated limb outer appearance (79%), portal resistance (82%), and arthroscopic view (81%). Improvements are required for the stressing device and the material of cruciate ligaments. Our physical simulation environment (PASSPORT) demonstrates its potential to evolve as a training modality. In future, automated performance feedback is aimed for.

A computational framework for the study of confidence in humans and animals

PubMed Central

Kepecs, Adam; Mainen, Zachary F.

2012-01-01

Confidence judgements, self-assessments about the quality of a subject's knowledge, are considered a central example of metacognition. Prima facie, introspection and self-report appear the only way to access the subjective sense of confidence or uncertainty. Contrary to this notion, overt behavioural measures can be used to study confidence judgements by animals trained in decision-making tasks with perceptual or mnemonic uncertainty. Here, we suggest that a computational approach can clarify the issues involved in interpreting these tasks and provide a much needed springboard for advancing the scientific understanding of confidence. We first review relevant theories of probabilistic inference and decision-making. We then critically discuss behavioural tasks employed to measure confidence in animals and show how quantitative models can help to constrain the computational strategies underlying confidence-reporting behaviours. In our view, post-decision wagering tasks with continuous measures of confidence appear to offer the best available metrics of confidence. Since behavioural reports alone provide a limited window into mechanism, we argue that progress calls for measuring the neural representations and identifying the computations underlying confidence reports. We present a case study using such a computational approach to study the neural correlates of decision confidence in rats. This work shows that confidence assessments may be considered higher order, but can be generated using elementary neural computations that are available to a wide range of species. Finally, we discuss the relationship of confidence judgements to the wider behavioural uses of confidence and uncertainty. PMID:22492750

Predicting Students' Academic Achievement: Contributions of Perceptions of Classroom Assessment Tasks and Motivated Learning Strategies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alkharusi, Hussain

2016-01-01

Introduction: Students are daily exposed to a variety of assessment tasks in the classroom. It has long been recognized that students' perceptions of the assessment tasks may influence student academic achievement. The present study aimed at predicting academic achievement in mathematics from perceptions of the assessment tasks after controlling…

Can physiotherapy after stroke based on the Bobath concept result in improved quality of movement compared to the motor relearning programme.

PubMed

Langhammer, Birgitta; Stanghelle, Johan K

2011-06-01

The primary aim of the present study was to investigate, based on data from our study in 2000, whether the Bobath approach enhanced quality of movement better than the Motor Relearning Programme (MRP) during rehabilitation of stroke patients. A randomized controlled stratified trial of acute stroke patients. The patients were treated according to Motor Relearning Programme and Bobath approach and assessed with Motor Assessment Scale, Sødring Motor Evaluation Scale, Nottingham Health Profile and the Barthel Index. A triangulation of the test scores was made in reference to the Movement Quality Model and biomechanical, physiological, psycho-socio-cultural, and existential themes. The items arm (p = 0.02-0.04) sitting (p = 0.04) and hand (p = 0.01-0.03) were significantly better in the Motor Relearning Programme group than in the Bobath group, in both Sødring Motor Evaluation Scale and Motor Assessment Scale. Leg function, balance, transfer, walking and stair climbing did not differ between the groups. The Movement Quality Model and the movement qualities biomechanical, physiological and psycho-socio-cultural showed higher scoring in the Motor Relearning Programme group, indicating better quality of movement in all items. Regression models established the relationship with significant models of motor performance and self reported physical mobility (adjusted R(2) 0.30-0.68, p < 0.0001), energy (adjusted R(2) 0.13-0.14, p = 0.03-0.04, emotion (adjusted R(2) 0.30-0.38, p < 0.0001) and social interaction (arm function, adjusted R(2) 0.25, p = 0.0001). These analyses confirm that task oriented exercises of the Motor Relearning Programme type are preferable regarding quality of movement in the acute rehabilitation of patients with stroke. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A day in the life of a pharmacovigilance case processor.

PubMed

Bhangale, Ritesh; Vaity, Sayali; Kulkarni, Niranjan

2017-01-01

Pharmacovigilance (PV) has grown significantly in India in the last couple of decades. The etymological roots for the word "pharmacovigilance" are "Pharmakon" (Greek for drug) and "Vigilare" (Latin for to keep watch). It relies on information gathered from the collection of individual case safety reports and other pharmacoepidemiological data. The PV data processing cycle starts with data collection in computerized systems followed by complete data entry which includes adverse event coding, drug coding, causality and expectedness assessment, narrative writing, quality control, and report submissions followed by data storage and maintenance. A case processor plays an important role in conducting these various tasks. The case processor should also manage drug safety information, possess updated knowledge about global drug safety regulations, summarize clinical safety data, participate in meetings, write narratives with medical input from a physician, report serious adverse events to the regulatory authorities, participate in the training of operational staff on drug safety issues, quality control work of other staff in the department, and take on any other task as assigned by the manager or medical director within the capabilities of the drug safety associate. There can be challenges while handling all these tasks at a time, hence the associate will have to maintain a balance to overcome them and keep on updating their knowledge on drug safety regulations, which in turn, would help in increasing their learning curve.

Binocular Glaucomatous Visual Field Loss and Its Impact on Visual Exploration - A Supermarket Study

PubMed Central

Aehling, Kathrin; Heister, Martin; Rosenstiel, Wolfgang; Schiefer, Ulrich; Papageorgiou, Elena

2014-01-01

Advanced glaucomatous visual field loss may critically interfere with quality of life. The purpose of this study was to (i) assess the impact of binocular glaucomatous visual field loss on a supermarket search task as an example of everyday living activities, (ii) to identify factors influencing the performance, and (iii) to investigate the related compensatory mechanisms. Ten patients with binocular glaucoma (GP), and ten healthy-sighted control subjects (GC) were asked to collect twenty different products chosen randomly in two supermarket racks as quickly as possible. The task performance was rated as “passed” or “failed” with regard to the time per correctly collected item. Based on the performance of control subjects, the threshold value for failing the task was defined as μ+3σ (in seconds per correctly collected item). Eye movements were recorded by means of a mobile eye tracker. Eight out of ten patients with glaucoma and all control subjects passed the task. Patients who failed the task needed significantly longer time (111.47 s ±12.12 s) to complete the task than patients who passed (64.45 s ±13.36 s, t-test, p<0.001). Furthermore, patients who passed the task showed a significantly higher number of glances towards the visual field defect (VFD) area than patients who failed (t-test, p<0.05). According to these results, glaucoma patients with defects in the binocular visual field display on average longer search times in a naturalistic supermarket task. However, a considerable number of patients, who compensate by frequent glancing towards the VFD, showed successful task performance. Therefore, systematic exploration of the VFD area seems to be a “time-effective” compensatory mechanism during the present supermarket task. PMID:25162522

Binocular glaucomatous visual field loss and its impact on visual exploration--a supermarket study.

PubMed

Sippel, Katrin; Kasneci, Enkelejda; Aehling, Kathrin; Heister, Martin; Rosenstiel, Wolfgang; Schiefer, Ulrich; Papageorgiou, Elena

2014-01-01

Advanced glaucomatous visual field loss may critically interfere with quality of life. The purpose of this study was to (i) assess the impact of binocular glaucomatous visual field loss on a supermarket search task as an example of everyday living activities, (ii) to identify factors influencing the performance, and (iii) to investigate the related compensatory mechanisms. Ten patients with binocular glaucoma (GP), and ten healthy-sighted control subjects (GC) were asked to collect twenty different products chosen randomly in two supermarket racks as quickly as possible. The task performance was rated as "passed" or "failed" with regard to the time per correctly collected item. Based on the performance of control subjects, the threshold value for failing the task was defined as μ+3σ (in seconds per correctly collected item). Eye movements were recorded by means of a mobile eye tracker. Eight out of ten patients with glaucoma and all control subjects passed the task. Patients who failed the task needed significantly longer time (111.47 s ±12.12 s) to complete the task than patients who passed (64.45 s ±13.36 s, t-test, p < 0.001). Furthermore, patients who passed the task showed a significantly higher number of glances towards the visual field defect (VFD) area than patients who failed (t-test, p < 0.05). According to these results, glaucoma patients with defects in the binocular visual field display on average longer search times in a naturalistic supermarket task. However, a considerable number of patients, who compensate by frequent glancing towards the VFD, showed successful task performance. Therefore, systematic exploration of the VFD area seems to be a "time-effective" compensatory mechanism during the present supermarket task.

Task-specific gross motor skills training for ambulant school-aged children with cerebral palsy: a systematic review.

PubMed

Toovey, Rachel; Bernie, Charmaine; Harvey, Adrienne R; McGinley, Jennifer L; Spittle, Alicia J

2017-01-01

The primary objective is to systematically evaluate the evidence for the effectiveness of task-specific training (TST) of gross motor skills for improving activity and/or participation outcomes in ambulant school-aged children with cerebral palsy (CP). The secondary objective is to identify motor learning strategies reported within TST and assess relationship to outcome. Systematic review. Relevant databases were searched for studies including: children with CP (mean age >4 years and >60% of the sample ambulant); TST targeting gross motor skills and activity (skill performance, gross motor function and functional skills) and/or participation-related outcomes. Quality of included studies was assessed using standardised tools for risk of bias, study design and quality of evidence across outcomes. Continuous data were summarised for each study using standardised mean difference (SMD) and 95% CIs. Thirteen studies met inclusion criteria: eight randomised controlled trials (RCTs), three comparative studies, one repeated-measures study and one single-subject design study. Risk of bias was moderate across studies. Components of TST varied and were often poorly reported. Within-group effects of TST were positive across all outcomes of interest in 11 studies. In RCTs, between-group effects were conflicting for skill performance and functional skills, positive for participation-related outcomes (one study: Life-HABITS performance SMD=1.19, 95% CI 0.3 to 2.07, p<0.001; Life-HABITS satisfaction SMD=1.29, 95% CI 0.40 to 2.18, p=0.001), while no difference or negative effects were found for gross motor function. The quality of evidence was low-to-moderate overall. Variability and poor reporting of motor learning strategies limited assessment of relationship to outcome. Limited evidence for TST for gross motor skills in ambulant children with CP exists for improving activity and participation-related outcomes and recommendations for use over other interventions are limited by poor study methodology and heterogeneous interventions. PROSPERO ID42016036727.

Risk of predation makes foragers less choosy about their food.

PubMed

Charalabidis, Alice; Dechaume-Moncharmont, François-Xavier; Petit, Sandrine; Bohan, David A

2017-01-01

Animals foraging in the wild have to balance speed of decision making and accuracy of assessment of a food item's quality. If resource quality is important for maximizing fitness, then the duration of decision making may be in conflict with other crucial and time consuming tasks, such as anti-predator behaviours or competition monitoring. Individuals facing the risk of predation and/or competition should adjust the duration of decision making and, as a consequence, their level of choosiness for resources. When exposed to predation, the forager could either maintain its level of choosiness for food items but accept a reduction in the amount of food items consumed or it could reduce its level of choosiness and accept all prey items encountered. Under competition risk, individuals are expected to reduce their level of choosiness as slow decision making exposes individuals to a higher risk of opportunity costs. To test these predictions, the level of choosiness of a seed-eating carabid beetle, Harpalus affinis, was examined under 4 different experimental conditions of risk: i) predation risk; ii) intraspecific competition; iii) interspecific competition; and, iv) control. All the risks were simulated using chemical cues from individual conspecifics or beetles of different species that are predatory or granivorous. Our results show that when foraging under the risk of predation, H. affinis individuals significantly reduce their level of choosiness for seeds. Reductions in level of choosiness for food items might serve as a sensible strategy to reduce both the total duration of a foraging task and the cognitive load of the food quality assessment. No significant differences were observed when individuals were exposed to competition cues. Competition, (i.e opportunity cost) may not be perceived as risk high enough to induce changes in the level of choosiness. Our results suggest that considering the amount of items consumed, alone, would be a misleading metric when assessing individual response to a risk of predation. Foraging studies should therefore also take in account the decision making process.

Task-specific gross motor skills training for ambulant school-aged children with cerebral palsy: a systematic review

PubMed Central

Bernie, Charmaine; Harvey, Adrienne R; McGinley, Jennifer L; Spittle, Alicia J

2017-01-01

Objectives The primary objective is to systematically evaluate the evidence for the effectiveness of task-specific training (TST) of gross motor skills for improving activity and/or participation outcomes in ambulant school-aged children with cerebral palsy (CP). The secondary objective is to identify motor learning strategies reported within TST and assess relationship to outcome. Design Systematic review. Method Relevant databases were searched for studies including: children with CP (mean age >4 years and >60% of the sample ambulant); TST targeting gross motor skills and activity (skill performance, gross motor function and functional skills) and/or participation-related outcomes. Quality of included studies was assessed using standardised tools for risk of bias, study design and quality of evidence across outcomes. Continuous data were summarised for each study using standardised mean difference (SMD) and 95% CIs. Results Thirteen studies met inclusion criteria: eight randomised controlled trials (RCTs), three comparative studies, one repeated-measures study and one single-subject design study. Risk of bias was moderate across studies. Components of TST varied and were often poorly reported. Within-group effects of TST were positive across all outcomes of interest in 11 studies. In RCTs, between-group effects were conflicting for skill performance and functional skills, positive for participation-related outcomes (one study: Life-HABITS performance SMD=1.19, 95% CI 0.3 to 2.07, p<0.001; Life-HABITS satisfaction SMD=1.29, 95% CI 0.40 to 2.18, p=0.001), while no difference or negative effects were found for gross motor function. The quality of evidence was low-to-moderate overall. Variability and poor reporting of motor learning strategies limited assessment of relationship to outcome. Conclusions Limited evidence for TST for gross motor skills in ambulant children with CP exists for improving activity and participation-related outcomes and recommendations for use over other interventions are limited by poor study methodology and heterogeneous interventions. Registration PROSPERO ID42016036727 PMID:29637118

Small, Task-Oriented Groups: Conflict, Conflict Management, Satisfaction, and Decision Quality.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wall, Victor D., Jr.; And Others

1987-01-01

Examined relationship among amount of conflict experienced, the style of its management, individual satisfaction, and decision quality of small, task-oriented groups using 129 college student subjects in 24 groups. Data suggest a curvilinear relationship between the number of conflict episodes experienced by group members and the subsequent…

Quality Requirements for Teacher Educators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koster, B.; Brekelmans, M.; Korthagen, F.; Wubbels, T.

2005-01-01

This study deals with the quality requirements that are needed for teacher educators. The tasks teacher educators have to do and the competencies they should possess (a professional profile), according to their fellow teacher educators, were identified. On the basis of a literature search on tasks and competencies of teacher educators, we made a…

An assessment of the physical impact of complex surgical tasks on surgeon errors and discomfort: a comparison between robot-assisted, laparoscopic and open approaches.

PubMed

Elhage, Oussama; Challacombe, Ben; Shortland, Adam; Dasgupta, Prokar

2015-02-01

To evaluate, in a simulated suturing task, individual surgeons’ performance using three surgical approaches: open, laparoscopic and robot-assisted. subjects and methods: Six urological surgeons made an in vitro simulated vesico-urethral anastomosis. All surgeons performed the simulated suturing task using all three surgical approaches (open, laparoscopic and robot-assisted). The time taken to perform each task was recorded. Participants were evaluated for perceived discomfort using the self-reporting Borg scale. Errors made by surgeons were quantified by studying the video recording of the tasks. Anastomosis quality was quantified using scores for knot security, symmetry of suture, position of suture and apposition of anastomosis. The time taken to complete the task by the laparoscopic approach was on average 221 s, compared with 55 s for the open approach and 116 s for the robot-assisted approach (anova, P < 0.005). The number of errors and the level of self-reported discomfort were highest for the laparoscopic approach (anova, P < 0.005). Limitations of the present study include the small sample size and variation in prior surgical experience of the participants. In an in vitro model of anastomosis surgery, robot-assisted surgery combines the accuracy of open surgery while causing lesser surgeon discomfort than laparoscopy and maintaining minimal access.

Low-speed longitudinal orbiter qualities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Powers, B. G.

1985-01-01

The shuttle program took on the challenge of providing a manual landing capability for an operational vehicle returning from orbit. Some complex challenges were encountered in developing the longitudinal flying qualities required to land the orbiter manually in an operational environment. Approach and landing test flights indicated a tendency for pilot-induced oscillation near landing. Changes in the operational procedures reduced the difficulty of the landing task, and an adaptive stick filter was incorporated to reduce the severity of any pilot-induced oscillatory motions. Fixed-base, movingbase, and in-flight simulations were used for the evaluations, and in general, flight simulation was the only reliable means of assessing the low-speed longitudinal flying qualities problems. Overall, the orbiter control system and operational procedures have produced a good capability to routinely perform precise landings with a large, unpowered vehicle with a low lift-to-drag ratio.

Sustained attention assessment of narcoleptic patients: two case reports.

PubMed

Moraes, Mirleny; Wilson, Barbara A; Rossini, Sueli; Osternack-Pinto, Kátia; Reimão, Rubens

2008-01-01

Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable REM sleep attacks which alter the patients wake state and can lead to difficulties in attention aspects, such as maintaining attention when performing activities or tasks. This study aimed to evaluate sustained attention performance of two narcoleptic patients on the d2 Test, Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D). Results showed that the maintenance of attention was associated with a slowing of the target symbols processing function in visual scanning with accuracy in task performance. A high degree of excessive sleepiness was observed, along with mild and moderate degrees of depressive signs and symptoms. One subject also presented with a nocturnal sleep disorder which could represent an important factor affecting attentional and affective capacity.

Sensorimotor Learning in a Computerized Athletic Training Battery.

PubMed

Krasich, Kristina; Ramger, Ben; Holton, Laura; Wang, Lingling; Mitroff, Stephen R; Gregory Appelbaum, L

2016-01-01

Sensorimotor abilities are crucial for performance in athletic, military, and other occupational activities, and there is great interest in understanding learning in these skills. Here, behavioral performance was measured over three days as twenty-seven participants practiced multiple sessions on the Nike SPARQ Sensory Station (Nike, Inc., Beaverton, Oregon), a computerized visual and motor assessment battery. Wrist-worn actigraphy was recorded to monitor sleep-wake cycles. Significant learning was observed in tasks with high visuomotor control demands but not in tasks of visual sensitivity. Learning was primarily linear, with up to 60% improvement, but did not relate to sleep quality in this normal-sleeping population. These results demonstrate differences in the rate and capacity for learning across perceptual and motor domains, indicating potential targets for sensorimotor training interventions.

Behavioral Counseling Interventions Expert Forum: Overview and Primer on U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Methods.

PubMed

Curry, Susan J; Whitlock, Evelyn P

2015-09-01

The importance of behavioral counseling as a clinical preventive service derives from the social and economic burden of preventable disease in the U.S., the central role behavioral risk factors play as leading causes of premature morbidity and mortality, and the promise of the healthcare visit as a teachable moment for behavioral counseling support. In November 2013, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force convened an expert forum on behavioral counseling interventions. The forum brought together NIH, CDC, and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality leaders, leading behavioral counseling researchers, and members of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force to discuss issues related to optimizing evidence-based behavioral counseling recommendations. This paper provides an overview of the methods used by the Task Force to develop counseling recommendations. Special focus is on the development and evaluation of evidence from systematic reviews. Assessment of the net benefit of a behavioral counseling intervention, based on the evidence review, determines the recommendation statement and accompanying letter grade. A recent Task Force recommendation on screening and behavioral counseling interventions in primary care to reduce alcohol misuse provides a brief example. Copyright © 2015 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Human resource aspects of antiretroviral treatment delivery models: current practices and recommendations.

PubMed

Assefa, Yibeltal; Van Damme, Wim; Hermann, Katharina

2010-01-01

PURPOSE OF VIEW: To illustrate and critically assess what is currently being published on the human resources for health dimension of antiretroviral therapy (ART) delivery models. The use of human resources for health can have an effect on two crucial aspects of successful ART programmes, namely the scale-up capacity and the long-term retention in care. Task shifting as the delegation of tasks from higher qualified to lower qualified cadres has become a widespread practice in ART delivery models in low-income countries in recent years. It is increasingly shown to effectively reduce the workload for scarce medical doctors without compromising the quality of care. At the same time, it becomes clear that task shifting can only be successful when accompanied by intensive training, supervision and support from existing health system structures. Although a number of recent publications have focussed on task shifting in ART delivery models, there is a lack of accessible information on the link between task shifting and patient outcomes. Current ART delivery models do not focus sufficiently on retention in care as arguably one of the most important issues for the long-term success of ART programmes. There is a need for context-specific re-designing of current ART delivery models in order to increase access to ART and improve long-term retention.

Task-based optimization of image reconstruction in breast CT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanchez, Adrian A.; Sidky, Emil Y.; Pan, Xiaochuan

2014-03-01

We demonstrate a task-based assessment of image quality in dedicated breast CT in order to optimize the number of projection views acquired. The methodology we employ is based on the Hotelling Observer (HO) and its associated metrics. We consider two tasks: the Rayleigh task of discerning between two resolvable objects and a single larger object, and the signal detection task of classifying an image as belonging to either a signalpresent or signal-absent hypothesis. HO SNR values are computed for 50, 100, 200, 500, and 1000 projection view images, with the total imaging radiation dose held constant. We use the conventional fan-beam FBP algorithm and investigate the effect of varying the width of a Hanning window used in the reconstruction, since this affects both the noise properties of the image and the under-sampling artifacts which can arise in the case of sparse-view acquisitions. Our results demonstrate that fewer projection views should be used in order to increase HO performance, which in this case constitutes an upper-bound on human observer performance. However, the impact on HO SNR of using fewer projection views, each with a higher dose, is not as significant as the impact of employing regularization in the FBP reconstruction through a Hanning filter.

The Role of Executive Control and Readiness to Change in Problematic Drinkers with Mild to Borderline Intellectual Disability.

PubMed

van Duijvenbode, Neomi; Didden, Robert; Korzilius, Hubert P L M; Engels, Rutger C M E

2017-09-01

Problematic alcohol use is associated with neuropsychological consequences, including cognitive biases. The goal of the study was to explore the moderating role of executive control and readiness to change on the relationship between alcohol use and cognitive biases in light and problematic drinkers with and without mild to borderline intellectual disability (MBID). Participants (N = 112) performed the visual dot probe task to measure the strength of the cognitive biases. Executive control was measured using two computerised tasks for working memory capacity (Corsi block-tapping task) and inhibitory control (Go/No-go task). Readiness to change was measured using the Readiness to Change Questionnaire. No cognitive biases or executive dysfunctions were found in problematic drinkers. Working memory capacity and inhibitory control were impaired among individuals with MBID, irrespective of severity of alcohol use-related problems. Executive control and readiness to change did not moderate the relationship between alcohol use and cognitive biases. The results fail to support the dual-process models of addiction, but results need to be treated with caution given the problematic psychometric qualities of the visual dot probe task. Implementing a neurocognitive assessment and protocols in the treatment of substance use disorders seems premature. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A cost-effective junior resident training and assessment simulator for orthopaedic surgical skills via fundamentals of orthopaedic surgery: AAOS exhibit selection.

PubMed

Lopez, Gregory; Wright, Rick; Martin, David; Jung, James; Bracey, Daniel; Gupta, Ranjan

2015-04-15

Psychomotor testing has been recently incorporated into residency training programs not only to objectively assess a surgeon's abilities but also to address current patient-safety advocacy and medicolegal trends. The purpose of this study was to develop and test a cost-effective psychomotor training and assessment tool-The Fundamentals of Orthopaedic Surgery (FORS)-for junior-level orthopaedic surgery resident education. An orthopaedic skills board was made from supplies purchased at a local hardware store with a total cost of less than $350 so as to assess six different psychomotor skills. The six skills included fracture reduction, three-dimensional drill accuracy, simulated fluoroscopy-guided drill accuracy, depth-of-plunge minimization, drill-by-feel accuracy, and suture speed and quality. Medical students, residents, and attending physicians from three orthopaedic surgery residency programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education participated in the study. Twenty-five medical students were retained for longitudinal training and testing for four weeks. Each training session involved an initial examination followed by thirty minutes of board training. The time to perform each task was measured with accuracy measurements for the appropriate tasks. Statistical analysis was done with one-way analysis of variance, with significance set at p < 0.05. Forty-seven medical students, twenty-nine attending physicians, and fifty-eight orthopaedic surgery residents participated in the study. Stratification among medical students, junior residents, and senior residents and/or attending physicians was found in all tasks. The twenty-five medical students who were retained for longitudinal training improved significantly above junior resident level in four of the six tasks. The FORS is an effective simulator of basic motor skills that translates across a wide variety of operations and has the potential to advance junior-level participants to senior resident skill level. The FORS simulator may serve as a valuable tool for resident education. Copyright © 2015 by The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Incorporated.

In-Person versus Telehealth Assessment of Discourse Ability in Adults with Traumatic Brain Injury

PubMed Central

Turkstra, Lyn S.; Quinn-Padron, Maura; Johnson, Jacqueline E.; Workinger, Marilyn S.; Antoniotti, Nina

2011-01-01

Objectives To compare in-person (IP) vs. telehealth (TH) assessment of discourse ability in adults with chronic traumatic brain injury (TBI). Design Repeated-measures design with random order of conditions. Participants Twenty adults with moderate-to-severe TBI. Method Participants completed conversation, picture description, story-generation, and procedural description tasks. Sessions were video-recorded and transcribed. Measures Measures of productivity and quality of discourse. Results Significant differences between conditions were not detected in this sample, and feedback from participants was positive. Conclusions These preliminary results support the use of TH for the assessment of discourse ability in adults with TBI, at least for individuals with sufficient cognitive skills to follow TH procedures. PMID:22190010

Visual communication - Information and fidelity. [of images

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Huck, Freidrich O.; Fales, Carl L.; Alter-Gartenberg, Rachel; Rahman, Zia-Ur; Reichenbach, Stephen E.

1993-01-01

This assessment of visual communication deals with image gathering, coding, and restoration as a whole rather than as separate and independent tasks. The approach focuses on two mathematical criteria, information and fidelity, and on their relationships to the entropy of the encoded data and to the visual quality of the restored image. Past applications of these criteria to the assessment of image coding and restoration have been limited to the link that connects the output of the image-gathering device to the input of the image-display device. By contrast, the approach presented in this paper explicitly includes the critical limiting factors that constrain image gathering and display. This extension leads to an end-to-end assessment theory of visual communication that combines optical design with digital processing.

Application of advanced data collection and quality assurance methods in open prospective study - a case study of PONS project.

PubMed

Wawrzyniak, Zbigniew M; Paczesny, Daniel; Mańczuk, Marta; Zatoński, Witold A

2011-01-01

Large-scale epidemiologic studies can assess health indicators differentiating social groups and important health outcomes of the incidence and mortality of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and others, to establish a solid knowledgebase for the prevention management of premature morbidity and mortality causes. This study presents new advanced methods of data collection and data management systems with current data quality control and security to ensure high quality data assessment of health indicators in the large epidemiologic PONS study (The Polish-Norwegian Study). The material for experiment is the data management design of the large-scale population study in Poland (PONS) and the managed processes are applied into establishing a high quality and solid knowledge. The functional requirements of the PONS study data collection, supported by the advanced IT web-based methods, resulted in medical data of a high quality, data security, with quality data assessment, control process and evolution monitoring are fulfilled and shared by the IT system. Data from disparate and deployed sources of information are integrated into databases via software interfaces, and archived by a multi task secure server. The practical and implemented solution of modern advanced database technologies and remote software/hardware structure successfully supports the research of the big PONS study project. Development and implementation of follow-up control of the consistency and quality of data analysis and the processes of the PONS sub-databases have excellent measurement properties of data consistency of more than 99%. The project itself, by tailored hardware/software application, shows the positive impact of Quality Assurance (QA) on the quality of outcomes analysis results, effective data management within a shorter time. This efficiency ensures the quality of the epidemiological data and indicators of health by the elimination of common errors of research questionnaires and medical measurements.

Quality charters or quality members? A control theory perspective on team charters and team performance.

PubMed

Courtright, Stephen H; McCormick, Brian W; Mistry, Sal; Wang, Jiexin

2017-10-01

Though prevalent in practice, team charters have only recently received scholarly attention. However, most of this work has been relatively devoid of theory, and consequently, key questions about why and under what conditions team charter quality affects team performance remain unanswered. To address these gaps, we draw on macro organizational control theory to propose that team charter quality serves as a team-level "behavior" control mechanism that builds task cohesion through a structured exercise. We then juxtapose team charter quality with an "input" team control mechanism that influences the emergence of task cohesion more organically: team conscientiousness. Given their redundant effects on task cohesion, we propose that the effects of team charter quality and team conscientiousness on team performance (through task cohesion) are substitutive such that team charter quality primarily impacts team performance for teams that are low (vs. high) on conscientiousness. We test and find support for our hypotheses in a sample of 239 undergraduate self-managing project teams. Our study contributes to the groups and teams literature in the following ways: first, relative to previous studies, we take a more theory-driven approach toward understanding team charters, and in doing so, uncover when and why team charter quality impacts team performance; second, we integrate two normally disparate perspectives on team effectiveness (team development and team selection) to offer a broader perspective on how teams are "built"; and third, we introduce team charter quality as a performance-enhancing mechanism for teams lower on conscientiousness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Executive functioning impairment in women treated with chemotherapy for breast cancer: a systematic review.

PubMed

Yao, Christie; Bernstein, Lori J; Rich, Jill B

2017-11-01

Women with breast cancer have reported adverse cognitive effects following chemotherapy. Evidence is mixed on whether executive functioning is particularly impaired in women treated with chemotherapy, in part due to the wide range of tasks used to measure executive processes. We performed a systematic review of the published literature to evaluate whether some subcomponents of executive functioning are more vulnerable to impairment than others among breast cancer survivors who had been treated with chemotherapy. Studies published as of April 2017 were identified using three electronic databases (MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Web of Science) and a manual search of relevant reference lists. The methodological quality of included studies was assessed using a checklist of predefined criteria. Of 1280 identified articles, a total of 41 were included for review. Study findings were categorized into three primary subdomains of executive functioning: inhibition, shifting, and updating. Although there was heterogeneity in the neuropsychological measures used to assess executive functioning, tests could be grouped into the subcomponents they assessed. Inhibition appears relatively spared from the effects of chemotherapy, whereas impairments in shifting and updating are more commonly found following chemotherapy. Examination of subcomponents of executive functioning is recommended to better characterize the nature of executive dysfunction in women treated with chemotherapy. Future studies should include executive functioning tasks of varying complexity, use of multiple tasks to increase reliability, and alternative indices to capture performance, such as within-person variability.

Exploring General Versus Task-Specific Assessments of Metacognition in University Chemistry Students: A Multitrait-Multimethod Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Chia-Yu

2015-08-01

The purpose of this study was to use multiple assessments to investigate the general versus task-specific characteristics of metacognition in dissimilar chemistry topics. This mixed-method approach investigated the nature of undergraduate general chemistry students' metacognition using four assessments: a self-report questionnaire, assessment of concurrent metacognitive skills, confidence judgment, and calibration accuracy. Data were analyzed using a multitrait-multimethod correlation matrix, supplemented with regression analyses, and qualitative interpretation. Significant correlations among task performance, calibration accuracy, and concurrent metacognition within a task suggest a converging relationship. Confidence judgment, however, was not associated with task performance or the other metacognitive measurements. The results partially support hypotheses of both general and task-specific metacognition. However, general and task-specific properties of metacognition were detected using different assessments. Case studies were constructed for two participants to illustrate how concurrent metacognition varied within different task demands. Considerations of how each assessment may appropriate different metacognitive constructs and the importance of the alignment of analytical constructs when using multiple assessments are discussed. These results may help lead to improvements in metacognition assessment and may provide insights into designs of effective metacognitive instruction.

Using Automated Assessment Feedback to Enhance the Quality of Student Learning in Universities: A Case Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Biggam, John

There are many different ways of providing university students with feedback on their assessment performance, ranging from written checklists and handwritten commentaries to individual verbal feedback. Regardless of whether the feedback is summative or formative in nature, it is widely recognized that providing consistent, meaningful written feedback to students on assessment performance is not a simple task, particularly where a module is delivered by a team of staff. Typical student complaints about such feedback include: inconsistency of comment between lecturers; illegible handwriting; difficulty in relating feedback to assessment criteria; and vague remarks. For staff themselves, there is the problem that written comments, to be of any benefit to students, are immensely time-consuming. This paper illustrates, through a case study, the enormous benefits of Automated Assessment Feedback for staff and students. A clear strategy on how to develop an automated assessment feedback system, using the simplest of technologies, is provided.

The Global Streamflow Indices and Metadata Archive (GSIM) - Part 2: Quality control, time-series indices and homogeneity assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gudmundsson, Lukas; Do, Hong Xuan; Leonard, Michael; Westra, Seth

2018-04-01

This is Part 2 of a two-paper series presenting the Global Streamflow Indices and Metadata Archive (GSIM), which is a collection of daily streamflow observations at more than 30 000 stations around the world. While Part 1 (Do et al., 2018a) describes the data collection process as well as the generation of auxiliary catchment data (e.g. catchment boundary, land cover, mean climate), Part 2 introduces a set of quality controlled time-series indices representing (i) the water balance, (ii) the seasonal cycle, (iii) low flows and (iv) floods. To this end we first consider the quality of individual daily records using a combination of quality flags from data providers and automated screening methods. Subsequently, streamflow time-series indices are computed for yearly, seasonal and monthly resolution. The paper provides a generalized assessment of the homogeneity of all generated streamflow time-series indices, which can be used to select time series that are suitable for a specific task. The newly generated global set of streamflow time-series indices is made freely available with an digital object identifier at https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.887470 and is expected to foster global freshwater research, by acting as a ground truth for model validation or as a basis for assessing the role of human impacts on the terrestrial water cycle. It is hoped that a renewed interest in streamflow data at the global scale will foster efforts in the systematic assessment of data quality and provide momentum to overcome administrative barriers that lead to inconsistencies in global collections of relevant hydrological observations.

Impact of communicative head movements on the quality of functional near-infrared spectroscopy signals: negligible effects for affirmative and negative gestures and consistent artifacts related to raising eyebrows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balardin, Joana Bisol; Morais, Guilherme Augusto Zimeo; Furucho, Rogério Akira; Trambaiolli, Lucas Romualdo; Sato, João Ricardo

2017-04-01

Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is currently one of the most promising tools in the neuroscientific research to study brain hemodynamics during naturalistic social communication. The application of fNIRS by studies in this field of knowledge has been widely justified by its strong resilience to motion artifacts, including those that might be generated by communicative head and facial movements. Previous studies have focused on the identification and correction of these artifacts, but a quantification of the differential contribution of common communicative movements on the quality of fNIRS signals is still missing. We assessed the impact of four movements (nodding head up and down, reading aloud, nodding head sideways, and raising eyebrows) performed during rest and task conditions on two metrics of signal quality control: an estimative of signal-to-noise performance and the negative correlation between oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin (oxy-Hb and deoxy-Hb). Channel-wise group analysis confirmed the robustness of the fNIRS technique to head nodding movements but showed a large effect of raising eyebrows in both signal quality control metrics, both during task and rest conditions. Reading aloud did not disrupt the expected anticorrelation between oxy-Hb and deoxy-Hb but had a relatively large effect on signal-to-noise performance. These findings may have implications to the interpretation of fNIRS studies examining communicative processes.

Comparing observer models and feature selection methods for a task-based statistical assessment of digital breast tomsynthesis in reconstruction space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Subok; Zhang, George Z.; Zeng, Rongping; Myers, Kyle J.

2014-03-01

A task-based assessment of image quality1 for digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) can be done in either the projected or reconstructed data space. As the choice of observer models and feature selection methods can vary depending on the type of task and data statistics, we previously investigated the performance of two channelized- Hotelling observer models in conjunction with 2D Laguerre-Gauss (LG) and two implementations of partial least squares (PLS) channels along with that of the Hotelling observer in binary detection tasks involving DBT projections.2, 3 The difference in these observers lies in how the spatial correlation in DBT angular projections is incorporated in the observer's strategy to perform the given task. In the current work, we extend our method to the reconstructed data space of DBT. We investigate how various model observers including the aforementioned compare for performing the binary detection of a spherical signal embedded in structured breast phantoms with the use of DBT slices reconstructed via filtered back projection. We explore how well the model observers incorporate the spatial correlation between different numbers of reconstructed DBT slices while varying the number of projections. For this, relatively small and large scan angles (24° and 96°) are used for comparison. Our results indicate that 1) given a particular scan angle, the number of projections needed to achieve the best performance for each observer is similar across all observer/channel combinations, i.e., Np = 25 for scan angle 96° and Np = 13 for scan angle 24°, and 2) given these sufficient numbers of projections, the number of slices for each observer to achieve the best performance differs depending on the channel/observer types, which is more pronounced in the narrow scan angle case.