Acculturation orientations of competing host communities toward valued and devalued immigrants

This study explored how members of competing host communities may endorse different acculturation orientations towards valued and devalued immigrants settled in the bilingual city of Montreal. Francophone (N=422) and Anglophone (N=401) host community students from low-, medium- and high-ethnic diversity colleges completed the host community acculturation scale (HCAS) along with a questionnaire monitoring a range of social psychological correlates of acculturation orientations. Results showed that Anglophones were more integrationist and individualist and less assimilationist than Francophones. Both Francophones and Anglophones were more integrationist and individualist and less assimilationist, segregationist and exclusionist toward valued than devalued immigrants. Attending a multiethnic college had no influence on respondents’ acculturation orientations. The more welcoming acculturation orientations of Anglophones compared to Francophones was corroborated by results obtained with immigrants attending the French and the English colleges. Social psychological profiles of the respective acculturation orientations were similar across both host communities thus supporting the construct validity of the HCAS. Attitude toward co-national outgroup was a significant determinant of each acculturation orientations, suggesting that intergroup relations between rival host communities has an impact on acculturation orientations toward immigrants.     

Investigation of Poor Academic Achievement in Children with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is a neurogenetic developmental disorder that presents with progressive muscular weakness. It is caused by a mutation in a gene that results in the absence of specific products that normally localize to muscle cells and the central nervous system (CNS). The majority of affected individuals have IQs within the normal range, generally with lower verbal than performance IQ scores. Prior work has demonstrated selective deficits on tests of verbal span and immediate memory. For the current study, 26 boys with DMD (and normal intellectual function) and their unaffected siblings were evaluated. Paired comparisons demonstrated that the children with DMD had significantly poorer academic achievement scores than their siblings, even though their vocabulary levels and home and educational environments were comparable. Children with DMD also had more behavioral concerns, physical disabilities, and poorer verbal memory spans. Linear regression indicated that behavioral concerns, executive function, and physical disability did not contribute substantially to academic performance, whereas performance on verbal span did. DMD presents with a selective developmental aberration in verbal span that has wide‐ranging consequences on learning skills.     

A study of clinical questions posed by hospital clinicians.

OBJECTIVE: This article presents the results of complementary research studies on the behaviors of hospital clinicians in asking clinical questions and the relationship between asking of questions, outcome of information searches, and success in problem solving. METHODS: Triangulation in research methods--a combination of mailed questionnaires, interviews, and a randomized controlled study--was employed to provide complementary views of the research problems under study. RESULTS: The survey and interviews found that clinical problems (concerned mainly with therapy and equipment or technology) were expressed as statements rather than questions (average number of concepts = 1.7), that only slightly more than half (higher for doctors) of problems could be solved, and that the majority of clinical questions were not well formed. An educational workshop however improved clinicians' formulation of questions, but the use of structured prompting was found to improve building of hypotheses in the doctors' group without training. The workshop also improved satisfaction with the obtained information and success in problem solving. Nonetheless, for both the experimental and control groups, more structured and complete questions or statements did not mean higher success rates in problem solving or higher satisfaction with obtained information. CONCLUSION: The triangulation methods have gathered complementary evidence to reject the hypothesis that building well-structured clinical questions would mean higher satisfaction with obtained information and higher success in problem solving.     

Factors associated with concussion-symptom knowledge and attitudes toward concussion care seeking in a national survey of parents of middle-school children in the US

BackgroundDeveloping appropriate concussion prevention and management paradigms in middle school (MS) settings requires understanding parents’ general levels of concussion-related knowledge and attitudes. This study examined factors associated with concussion-symptom knowledge and care-seeking attitudes among parents of MS children (aged 10–15 years).MethodsA panel of 1224 randomly selected U.S. residents, aged ≥ 18 years and identifying as parents of MS children, completed an online questionnaire capturing parental and child characteristics. The parents’ concussion-symptom knowledge was measured using 25 questions, with possible answers being “yes”, “maybe”, and “no”. Correct answers earned 2 points, “maybe” answers earned 1 point, and incorrect answers earned 0 point (range: 0–50; higher scores = better knowledge). Concussion care-seeking attitudes were also collected using five 7-point scale items (range: 5–35; higher scores = more positive attitudes). Multivariable ordinal logistic regression models identified predictors of higher scores. Models met proportional odds assumptions. Adjusted odds ratios (aORs) with 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs) (excluding 1.00) were deemed statistically significant.ResultsMedian scores were 39 (interquartile range: 32–44) for symptom knowledge and 32 (interquartile range: 28–35) for care-seeking attitude. In multivariable models, odds of better symptom knowledge were higher in women vs. men (aOR = 2.28; 95%CI: 1.71–3.05), white/non-Hispanics vs. other racial or ethnic groups (aOR = 1.88; 95%CI: 1.42–2.49), higher parental age (10-year-increase aOR = 1.47; 95%CI: 1.26–1.71), and greater competitiveness (10%-scale-increase aOR = 1.24; 95%CI: 1.13–1.36). Odds of more positive care-seeking attitudes were higher in white/non-Hispanics vs. other racial or ethnic groups (aOR = 1.45; 95%CI: 1.06–1.99) and in older parental age (10-year-increase aOR = 1.24; 95%CI: 1.05–1.47).ConclusionCharacteristics of middle school children''s parents (e.g., sex, race or ethnicity, age) are associated with their concussion-symptom knowledge and care-seeking attitudes. Parents’ variations in concussion knowledge and attitudes warrant tailored concussion education and prevention.     

RECEPTIVITY TO PEER TEACHING AND PEER LEARNING ABOUT THE SAFE AND APPROPRIATE USE OF MEDICATIONS AMONG OLDER ADULTS

The purpose of this study was to assess receptivity to peer teaching and peer learning about the safe and appropriate use of medications among communitydwelling older adults. The sample was predominately White (88.5%), female (75.9%) older adults with an average age of 80.2 ( - 9.1) years. On average, the participants perceived their health status as good (2.8 - 0.6). In addition, participants reported using an average number of 4.4 ( - 3.3) prescribed medications. The majority (75%) of participants also reported no problems with their medications. With respect to receptivity to peer teaching and peer learning, the participants, on average, were neutral to peer teaching (6.0 - 2.4), but were somewhat receptive to peer learning (6.7 - 2.2). The number of prescribed medications that a participant reported taking and the age of a participant were identified as significant predictors of receptivity to peer teaching and accounted for 14.5% of the total variance ( F = 5.84, df = 2, p = 0.005). For receptivity to peer learning, the number of prescribed medications also was a significant predictor ( F = 7.50, df = 1, p = 0.008). This study provides the initial step to identifying community-dwelling older adults who would be receptive to peer teaching and peer learning about the safe and appropriate use of medications.     

例说走出纠错教学困境的几点感悟

面对学生的错误,传统的做法是直接把正确的答案教给学生,因为这样可以节省教学时间,增加课堂训练的密度和强度.但评讲不久便发现,错误又死灰复燃,许多同学依然重复"昨天的故事".究其原因,由于这种评讲没有切入学生解题时犯错的真实情境,评讲缺乏针对性,教学的低效性自然也就显现出来了.