Low Performers (low + performer)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


On the development of low-level auditory discrimination and deficits in dyslexia

DYSLEXIA, Issue 2 2004
Burkhart Fischer
Abstract Absolute auditory thresholds, frequency resolution and temporal resolution develop with age. It is still discussed whether low-level auditory performance is of clinical significance,specifically, for delayed maturation of central auditory processing. Recently, five new auditory tasks were used to study the development of low-level auditory discrimination. It was found that the development lasts up to the age of 16,18 years (on an average). Very similar tasks were now used with 432 controls and 250 dyslexic subjects in the age range of 7,22 years. For both groups the performance in one of the tasks was not related to the performance in another task indicating that the five tasks challenge independent subfunctions of auditory processing. Surprisingly high numbers of subjects were classified as low performers (LP), because they could not perform one or the other task at its easiest level and no threshold value could be assigned. For the dyslexics the incidence of LP was considerably increased in all tasks and age groups as compared with the age matched controls. The development of dynamic visual and optomotor functions and the corresponding deficits in dyslexia are discussed in relation to the auditory data presented here. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Clinical Practice Guideline Implementation Strategy Patterns in Veterans Affairs Primary Care Clinics

HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH, Issue 1p1 2007
Sylvia J. Hysong
Background. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) mandated the system-wide implementation of clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) in the mid-1990s, arming all facilities with basic resources to facilitate implementation; despite this resource allocation, significant variability still exists across VA facilities in implementation success. Objective. This study compares CPG implementation strategy patterns used by high and low performing primary care clinics in the VA. Research Design. Descriptive, cross-sectional study of a purposeful sample of six Veterans Affairs Medical Centers (VAMCs) with high and low performance on six CPGs. Subjects. One hundred and two employees (management, quality improvement, clinic personnel) involved with guideline implementation at each VAMC primary care clinic. Measures. Participants reported specific strategies used by their facility to implement guidelines in 1-hour semi-structured interviews. Facilities were classified as high or low performers based on their guideline adherence scores calculated through independently conducted chart reviews. Findings. High performing facilities (HPFs) (a) invested significantly in the implementation of the electronic medical record and locally adapting it to provider needs, (b) invested dedicated resources to guideline-related initiatives, and (c) exhibited a clear direction in their strategy choices. Low performing facilities exhibited (a) earlier stages of development for their electronic medical record, (b) reliance on preexisting resources for guideline implementation, with little local adaptation, and (c) no clear direction in their strategy choices. Conclusion. A multifaceted, yet targeted, strategic approach to guideline implementation emphasizing dedicated resources and local adaptation may result in more successful implementation and higher guideline adherence than relying on standardized resources and taxing preexisting channels. [source]


Brain Electrical Activity Associated With Cognitive Processing During a Looking Version of the A-Not-B Task

INFANCY, Issue 3 2001
Martha Ann Bell
This work was designed to investigate individual differences in brain electrical activity during a looking version of the A-not-B task. It was proposed that this spatial task required the cognitive skills of working memory and inhibitory control, each associated with frontal lobe function. Electroencephalograms (EEGs) were recorded from 54 8-month-old infants during baseline and task. Only high performers on the looking task exhibited increases in 6- to 9-Hz EEG power from baseline to task. These task-related changes were evident at frontal and posterior scalp locations. High performers on the looking task exhibited lower EEG coherence values at right hemisphere frontal locations relative to the low performers. These lower coherence values were evident during baseline and task. All infants showed increased frontal-parietal coherence during the spatial working memory task relative to baseline values. These data confirm previous cognitive neuroscience work associating frontal lobe function with cognitive performance levels during infancy. [source]


Self-scaffolding mediated by languaging: microgenetic analysis of high and low performers

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF APPLIED LINGUISTICS, Issue 1 2010
Ibtissem Knouzi
The growing literature about the positive effect of languaging or self-explaining has so far failed to determine why some learners benefit from languaging more than others. We attempt to address this gap through a microgenetic analysis of the languaging behaviour of two university students learning French as a second language, whom we identify as a high and a low languager. We trace the development of their understanding of the grammatical concept of voice in French. Our findings suggest that languaging is a self-scaffolding tool that our high languager used efficiently to solve cognitive conflicts, mediate mental processes, and construct meaning in general. On the basis of our results, we call for a change in educational practices that would allow for more learner agency through self-scaffolding mediated by languaging. [source]


Supplier Evaluation and Rationalization via Data Envelopment Analysis: An Empirical Examination

JOURNAL OF SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2001
Ram Narasimhan
SUMMARY Strategic evaluation of supplier performance assists firms in improving their operations across a variety of dimensions. Specifically, it aids in supplier process improvement, which in turn enhances firm performance, allows for optimal allocation of resources for supplier development programs, and assists managers in restructuring their supplier network based on performance. In order to address these issues, this article proposes a methodology for effective supplier performance evaluation based on data envelopment analysis (DEA), a multi-factor productivity analysis technique. The efficiencies derived from the DEA model are utilized in conjunction with managerial performance ratings in identifying supplier clusters, which are categorized into high performers and efficient (HE), high performers and inefficient (HI), low performers and efficient (LE), and low performers and inefficient (LI). Effective benchmarks from the HE cluster are identified for improving the operations of suppliers in the HI, LE, and LI clusters. Finally, managerial insights and implications from the study are discussed. [source]


Predictors of Grade 2 Word Reading and Vocabulary Learning from Grade 1 Variables in Spanish-Speaking Children: Similarities and Differences

LEARNING DISABILITIES RESEARCH & PRACTICE, Issue 1 2008
Alexandra Gottardo
We examined the components of first (L1) and second language (L2) phonological processing that are related to L2 word reading and vocabulary. Spanish-speaking English learners (EL) were classified as average or low readers in grades 1 and 2. A large number of children who started out as poor readers in first grade became average readers in second grade while vocabulary scores were more stable. Binary logistic regressions examined variables related to classifications of consistently average, consistently low, or improving on reading or vocabulary across grades. Good L2 phonological short-term memory and phonological awareness scores predicted good reading and vocabulary scores. L1 and L2 measures differentiated consistently good performers from consistently low performers, while only L2 measures differentiated children who improved from children who remained low performers. Children who are EL should be screened on measures of pseudoword repetition and phonological awareness with low scorers being good candidates for receiving extra assistance in acquiring L2 vocabulary and reading. This study suggests measures that can be used to select children who have a greater likelihood of experiencing difficulties in reading and vocabulary. [source]


Age and outcome allocation: A new test of the subtractive model

ASIAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 3 2005
Hock-Peng Sin
The no, moderate, and large differences between shares of outcome allocated to the high and low performers are interpreted as the respective rules of equality, ordinal equity, and proportional equity. The ability to employ the proportional rule is also believed to develop around the age of 13 years. The authors hypothesized that: (i) the rule of outcome allocation is subtraction; and (ii) age differences in outcome allocation are mediated by age differences in perceived inputs. In an experiment on Chinese aged 8,20 years, measures of perceived inputs were taken after or before outcome allocation. Results from the input-allocation order supported the hypotheses. Obviously, age effects in outcome allocations by Asians can sometimes be mediated by age differences in the ability to perceive the inputs accurately. [source]


Characteristics of High- and Low-performing University Departments as Assessed by the New Zealand Performance Based Research Funding (PBRF) Exercise

AUSTRALIAN ACCOUNTING REVIEW, Issue 1 2010
Fiona Edgar
This study is concerned with the performance of university academic departments and the different cultures and different management practices, labelled ,human resource management' (HRM), that correlate with this performance. Departments are considered high or low research performers according to their assessment by the external Performance Based Research Funding (PBRF) exercise, and the study aims to see if the practices and culture in high performers differs to those in the low performers. Seven academic departments classified as being high or low performers were examined. In-depth interviews were conducted with heads and faculty from each department. Using content analysis, the features present in successful departments and absent from lesser performing departments were identified. These included a strong culture comprising collegiality and a quality focus, along with an emphasis on recruiting for high performance and fit, as well as an enabling environment promoting autonomous work habits. [source]