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Specific Items (specific + item)
Selected AbstractsAssessments of learning-related skills and interpersonal skills constructs within early childhood environments in SingaporeINFANT AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 4 2010Sok Mui Lim Abstract Social skills are necessary for developing successful relationships and promoting learning. Interpersonal skills (IPS) are needed for maintaining friendships while learning-related skills (LRS) are required for positive classroom behaviours. In this study, we investigated the construct validity of LRS and IPS within two existing assessments: the Child Behavior Rating Scales (CBRS) and the Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scales,2nd edition (PKBS-2). Teachers completed the CBRS and PKBS-2 for 117 Singaporean children aged 3,6 years. Rasch analysis was used to identify items that fit the unidimensional constructs of LRS and IPS within each instrument. Specific items from within the CBRS were found to measure LRS and IPS. Within the PKBS-2, items were found to measure IPS and a new construct labelled Compliance. Instead of creating new assessment tools to measure new constructs, this study innovatively demonstrated how Rasch analysis can be used to document the existence of new constructs within already existing tools. The identification of new constucts and the use of these tools in an Asian context are presented. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Disclosure to therapists: What is and is not discussed in psychotherapyJOURNAL OF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 4 2002Barry A. Farber This study used the 80-item Disclosure to Therapist Inventory,R to investigate the nature of patient disclosure within therapy. Participants (45 men, 102 women) were all currently in therapy. A Principal Components Analyses with varimax rotation yielded nine meaningful factors; mean disclosure scores were lowest for the factors of Sexuality and Procreation and highest for the factors of Negative Affect and Intimacy. Specific items most extensively discussed included characteristics of parents that are disliked, and aspects of one's personality that are disliked or worrisome. No significant differences were found in overall degree of disclosure as a function of patient gender or shame-proneness; disclosure was, however, found to be positively correlated with strength of the therapeutic alliance. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol 58: 359,370, 2002. [source] Measuring Hospital Care from the Patients' Perspective: An Overview of the CAHPS® Hospital Survey Development ProcessHEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH, Issue 6p2 2005Elizabeth Goldstein Objective. To describe the developmental process for the CAHPS® Hospital Survey. Study Design. A pilot was conducted in three states with 19,720 hospital discharges. Methods of Analysis. A rigorous, multi-step process was used to develop the CAHPS Hospital Survey. It included a public call for measures, multiple Federal Register notices soliciting public input, a review of the relevant literature, meetings with hospitals, consumers and survey vendors, cognitive interviews with consumer, a large-scale pilot test in three states and consumer testing and numerous small-scale field tests. Findings. The current version of the CAHPS Hospital Survey has survey items in seven domains, two overall ratings of the hospital and five items used for adjusting for the mix of patients across hospitals and for analytical purposes. Conclusions. The CAHPS Hospital Survey is a core set of questions that can be administered as a stand-alone questionnaire or combined with a broader set of hospital specific items. [source] Contrasting roles of neural firing rate and local field potentials in human memoryHIPPOCAMPUS, Issue 8 2007Arne Ekstrom Abstract Recording the activity of neurons is a mainstay of animal memory research, while human recordings are generally limited to the activity of large ensembles of cells. The relationship between ensemble activity and neural firing rate during declarative memory processes, however, remains unclear. We recorded neurons and local field potentials (LFPs) simultaneously from the same sites in the human hippocampus and entorhinal cortex (ERC) in patients with implanted intracranial electrodes during a virtual taxi-driver task that also included a memory retrieval component. Neurons increased their firing rate in response to specific passengers or landmarks both during navigation and retrieval. Although we did not find item specificity in the broadband LFP, both ,- and ,-band LFPs increased power to specific items on a small but significant percent of channels. These responses, however, did not correlate with item-specific neural responses. To contrast item-specific responses with process-specific responses during memory, we compared neural and LFP responses during encoding (navigation) and retrieval (associative and item-specific recognition). A subset of neurons also altered firing rates nonspecifically while subjects viewed items during encoding. Interestingly, LFPs in the hippocampus and ERC increased in power nonspecifically while subjects viewed items during retrieval, more often during associative than item-recognition. Furthermore, we found no correlation between neural firing rate and broadband, ,-band, and ,-band LFPs during process-specific responses. Our findings suggest that neuronal firing and ensemble activity can be dissociated during encoding, item-maintenance, and retrieval in the human hippocampal area, likely relating to functional properties unique to this region. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Covariations among fMRI, skin conductance, and behavioral data during processing of concealed informationHUMAN BRAIN MAPPING, Issue 12 2007Matthias Gamer Abstract Imaging techniques have been used to elucidate the neural correlates that underlie deception. The scientifically best understood paradigm for the detection of deception, however, the guilty knowledge test (GKT), was rarely used in imaging studies. By transferring a GKT-paradigm to a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, while additionally quantifying reaction times and skin conductance responses (SCRs), this study aimed at identifying the neural correlates of the behavioral and electrodermal response pattern typically found in GKT examinations. Prior to MR scanning, subjects viewed two specific items (probes) and were instructed to hide their knowledge of these. Two other specific items were designated as targets and required a different behavioral response during the experiment and eight items served as irrelevant stimuli. Reaction times and SCR amplitudes differed significantly between all three item types. The neuroimaging data revealed that right inferior frontal and mid-cingulate regions were more active for probe and target trials compared to irrelevants. Moreover, the differential activation in the right inferior frontal region was modulated by stimulus conflicts. These results were interpreted as an increased top-down influence on the stimulus-response-mapping for concealed and task-relevant items. Additionally, the influence of working memory and retrieval processes on this activation pattern is discussed. Using parametric analyses, reaction times and SCR amplitudes were found to be linearly related to activity in the cerebellum, the right inferior frontal cortex, and the supplementary motor area. This result provides a first link between behavioral measures, sympathetic arousal, and neural activation patterns during a GKT examination. Hum Brain Mapp 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Development of the GerdQ, a tool for the diagnosis and management of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease in primary careALIMENTARY PHARMACOLOGY & THERAPEUTICS, Issue 10 2009R. JONES Summary Background, Accurate diagnosis and effective management of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GERD) can be challenging for clinicians and other health care professionals. Aim, To develop a patient-centred, self-assessment questionnaire to assist health care professionals in the diagnosis and effective management of patients with GERD. Methods, Questions from patient-reported GERD instruments, previously documented in terms of content validity and psychometric properties (RDQ, GSRS and GIS) and data on the diagnosis of GERD in primary and secondary care were used in the formal development of a diagnostic and management tool, the GerdQ, involving psychometric validation and piloting in patient focus groups. Results, Analyses of data from over 300 primary care patients, moderated by patient input from qualitative interviews, were used to select specific items from the existing instruments to create a new six-item diagnostic and management tool (GerdQ). ROC analysis indicated a sensitivity for GerdQ of 65% and a specificity of 71% for the diagnosis of GERD, similar to that achieved by gastroenterologists. Conclusion, The GerdQ is a potentially useful tool for family practitioners and other health care professionals in diagnosing and managing GERD without initial specialist referral or endoscopy. [source] Measuring Associative Strength: Category-Item Associations and Their Activation from MemoryPOLITICAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 1 2000Russell H. Fazio Three measures of the strength of association between a category and members of the category were investigated: (a) a naming measure, in which the participants (93 undergraduates) were asked to list the members of a category and the listing order was assumed to reflect associative strength; (b) a latency measure, which assessed the latency to correctly identify specific items as members or nonmembers of a given category; and (c) a facilitation measure, in which the spontaneous activation of an item upon presentation of a category label as a prime was assessed by considering the extent to which the prime facilitated recognition of an initially degraded (visually obscured) item. The three measures correlated substantially, thus validating the naming and latency measures as reasonable approximations of the likelihood that a given item will receive activation in memory when the category is presented. Many of the constructs of interest to survey researchers can be viewed similarly as associations in memory, and the naming and latency measures can be fruitfully used in surveys; research attesting to the utility of namingand latency data is reviewed. [source] Information needs and prostate cancer: the development of a systematic means of identificationBJU INTERNATIONAL, Issue 1 2004Jeremy Dale OBJECTIVE To design, from first principles, a valid and reliable scale for assessing the importance of specific items of information needed by patients with prostate cancer that would be straightforward to use in clinical settings, as despite its prevalence, there is little research focusing specifically on the information needs associated with prostate cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS Several stages of consultation and modification were used to inform the development of a scale which was then piloted on 96 patients with prostate cancer. Respondents were asked to rate the importance they placed on a range of prostate cancer-related topics of information, and the extent to which they felt these information needs had been met. The construct and content validity of the instrument were established and an exploratory factor analysis used to guide restructuring of the tool. Internal consistency/reliability was calculated using Cronbach's ,. RESULTS Using the scale showed that men with prostate cancer placed considerable importance on a broad range of information needs, most of which had been inadequately met. Age had a significant influence on the overall importance attributed to information, with younger patients having more need for information. The construct and content validity of the instrument were established. The factor analysis revealed four discrete factors which together explained >,68% of the variance, termed ,basics of prostate cancer care', ,disease management', ,physical well-being' and ,self-help'. Internal consistency/reliability was satisfactory (, = 0.91). CONCLUSIONS The basis of a tool capable of ascertaining the information needs of patients with prostate cancer was developed; it may offer clinicians a valid means of ascertaining information preferences and hence potentially enhance the quality of service provided. Further research is now required to refine the tool and test the effect of its longitudinal use in clinical practice on patient satisfaction and outcome. [source] | ||||||||||||||||