Simulated learning for generic communication competency development: a case study of Australian post-graduate pharmacy students

Authentic workplace experience is becoming increasingly challenging to provide for students. Simulation represents an effective pedagogical strategy for communication competency development in preparation for, or in lieu of clinical placements/practicums. The case study represents an innovative approach to simulating aspects of a pharmacy practice when insufficient placements were available. Prior to undertaking a three-week placement, a cohort of Master of Pharmacy (MPharm) students (N?=?95) completed two four-hour simulated learning modules (SLMs). Each of the six SLMs addressed interpersonally challenging, commonly experienced pharmacy practice scenarios generated by pharmacists/pharmacy educators. Scenarios, underpinned by the Excellence in Cultural Experiential Learning and Leadership (EXCELL) model, included schemas called Social Interaction Maps (SIMs), and involved interacting with trained actors. EXCELL is an evidence-based, professional development resource centred on learning generic social competencies including participating in a team, refusing a request and giving feedback. Evaluations comprised students’ survey responses collected before, during and after SLM workshops and pharmacy placements, and reflections from workshop facilitators. Students reported significant improvements in their overall communication competencies post-workshops and post-placement. Facilitators rated SLMs as a useful strategy to improve students’ communication competence and workplace readiness. Future curriculum development could benefit from including discipline-specific, interpersonally challenging SLMs using SIMs and actors (where possible) to simulate workplace interactions.     

Four-year follow-up study of language impaired children

Children identified as normal or as specifically language impaired (SLI) were given speech, language, and intelligence testing on a longitudinal basis. Fourteen normal and 29 SLI children between the ages of 4 1/2 and 8 years were tested at Time 1. They were retested three to four years later when they were 8 to 12 years old. The results indicated that both the normal and the SLI children continued to develop skills in receptive and expressive language and speech articulation across the 3- to 4-year period intervening between evaluations. Overall, however, the SLI children appeared to develop language skills at a slower than normal rate and 80% of them remained language impaired at Time 2. In addition, the majority of the SLI children manifested reading impairment at Time 2, while none of the normal children did so. The implications for the educational management of SLI children are discussed. Research supported by the March of Dimes, Grant #12-84. Presented at the 32nd Annual Conference of The Orton Dyslexia Society, Baltimore, Maryland, November 1982.     

A comparison of sentence-learning errors in children of different achievement levels

Theoretical analyses of the multiple-choice test format suggest that a test constructor should give serious consideration to the form in which correct and incorrect alternatives are presented. In this experiment, third and fourth graders were tested for previously exposed information by multiple-choice items in which: (a) correct alternatives were stated in either verbatim or synonym form; and (b) incorrect alternatives consisted of plausible responses that were either familiar or new. Comparisons of errors and error patterns were made between high and low achieving students who had been given one of two different information-processing strategies. Based on a dual test function argument, it was concluded that synonym correct alternatives combined with plausible new responses are the most desirable of the four multiple-choice variations studied here. In particular, such items were sensitive to achievement level and strategy differences without systematically increasing students' likelihood of retaining misinformation.     

Visualizing Matrix Multiplication

Efficient visualizations of computational algorithms are important tools for students, educators, and researchers. In this article, we point out an innovative visualization technique for matrix multiplication. This method differs from the standard, formal approach by using block matrices to make computations more visual. We find this method a helpful alternative for introducing matrix multiplication.     

The Strong African American Families Program: translating research into prevention programming

A randomized prevention trial contrasted families who took part in the Strong African American Families Program (SAAF), a preventive intervention for rural African American mothers and their 11-year-olds, with control families. SAAF is based on a contextual model positing that regulated, communicative parenting causes changes in factors protecting youths from early alcohol use and sexual activity. Parenting variables included involvement-vigilance, racial socialization, communication about sex, and clear expectations for alcohol use. Youth protective factors included negative attitudes about early alcohol use and sexual activity, negative images of drinking youths, resistance efficacy, a goal-directed future orientation, and acceptance of parental influence. Intervention-induced changes in parenting mediated the effect of intervention group influences on changes in protective factors over a 7-month period.     

The influence of feedback of diagnosis and executive function skills on rates of false positive and false negative outcomes for ADHD

This study examined executive function (EF) skills and self-reported symptoms of ADHD. EF skills were measured to determine whether skills were different between groups that reported clinical levels of ADHD symptoms (clinical group) and nonclinical levels of ADHD symptoms (nonclinical group). EF skills in the nonclinical group were also investigated to determine whether differences existed for those who received false positive and negative feedback about an ADHD diagnosis. Results indicated statistically and clinically significant differences in EF skills between the clinical and nonclinical group. Participants in the nonclinical group who reported elevated scores on the ADHD screener after receiving false positive feedback had statistically significantly different EF function scores, but not clinically significant scores, compared to the participants in nonclinical group who received negative feedback.     

Das MINERVA-Projekt: Datenbankselektion für Peer-to-Peer-Websuche

Zusammenfassung In diesem Artikel wird MINERVA pr?sentiert, eine prototypische Implementierung einer verteilten Suchmaschine basierend auf einer Peer-to-Peer (P2P)-Architektur. MINERVA setzt auf die in der P2P-Welt verbreitete Technik verteilter Hash-Tabellen auf und benutzt diese zum Aufbau eines verteilten Verzeichnisses. Peers in unserem Ansatz entsprechen v?llig autonomen Benutzern mit ihren lokalen Suchm"oglichkeiten, die bereit sind, ihr lokales Wissen und ihre lokalen Suchm?glichkeiten im Rahmen einer Kollaboration zur Verfügung zu stellen. Wir formalisieren unsere Systemarchitektur und beschreiben das zentrale Problem einer effizienten Suche nach vielversprechenden Peers für eine konkrete Anfrage innerhalb des Verbundes. Wir greifen dabei auf existierende Methoden zurück and passen diese an unseren Systemkontext an. Wir pr?sentieren Experimente auf realen Daten, die verschiedene dieser Ans?tze vergleichen. Diese Experimente zeigen, dass die Qualit?t der Ans?tze variiert und untermauern damit die Wichtigkeit und den Einfluss einer leistungsstarken Methode zur Auswahl guter Datenbanken. Unsere Experimente deuten an, dass eine geringe Anzahl sorgf?ltig ausgew?hlter Datenbanken typischerweise bereits einen Gro?teil aller relevanten Ergebnisse des Gesamtsystems liefert.

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This paper presents the MINERVA project that protoypes a distributed search engine based on P2P techniques. MINERVA is layered on top of a Chord-style overlay network and uses a powerful crawling, indexing, and search engine on every autonomous peer. We formalize our system model and identify the problem of efficiently selecting promising peers for a query as a pivotal issue. We revisit existing approaches to the database selection problem and adapt them to our system environment. Measurements are performed to compare different selection strategies using real-world data. The experiments show significant performance differences between the strategies and prove the importance of a judicious peer selection strategy. The experiments also present first evidence that a small number of carefully selected peers already provide the vast majority of all relevant results.

CR Subject Classification H.4,H.3.3,H3.4     

The transfer of social exclusion and inclusion functions through derived stimulus relations

Previous studies have found that social exclusion can cause distress to those excluded. One method used to study social exclusion is through a virtual ball-toss game known as Cyberball. In this game, participants may be excluded from or included in the ball-toss game and typically report lower feelings of self-esteem, control, belonging, and meaningful existence following exclusion. Experiments 1 and 2 sought to explore the transfer of feelings of exclusion and inclusion through stimulus equivalence classes. In both experiments, participants were trained to form two three-member equivalence classes (e.g., A1–B1, B1–C1; A2–B2, B2–C2) and were tested with novel stimulus combinations (A1–C1, C1–A1, A2–C2, C2–A2). Thereafter, participants were exposed to the Cyberball exclusion and inclusion games. In these games, one stimulus (C1) from one equivalence class was assigned as the Cyberball inclusion game name, whereas one stimulus (C2) from the other equivalence class was assigned as the Cyberball exclusion game name. In Experiment 2, participants were only exposed to the Cyberball exclusion game. During a subsequent transfer test, participants were asked to rate how included in or excluded from they thought they would be in other online games, corresponding to members of both equivalence classes. Participant reported that they felt they would be excluded from online games if the games were members of the same equivalence class as C2. In contrast, participants reported that they felt they would be included in online games if the games were members of the same equivalence class as C1. Results indicated the transfer of feelings of inclusion (Experiment 1) and feelings of exclusion (Experiments 1 and 2) through equivalence classes.     

Adolescent smoking from a functional perspective: The Berlin-Bremen Study

Longitudinal data from the «Berlin-Bremen Study on Health Behavior» are used to investigate smoking transitions between different stages of smoking. 1357 seventh and eighth graders were asked about their smoking behavior, their expectations with regard to smoking, smoking in their environment, and their self-image in Fall, 1983. 86% and 81% participated again one and two years later, respectively. Analyses of carbon monoxide and serum thiocyanate levels revealed adequate validity for self-reported smoking behavior. Rates of smoking were dramatically different for different educational strata. Direct and indirect functions of smoking are distinguished. The «indirect» function refers to smoking as a means of obtaining access to peer groups, thus increasing one’s psychological well-being. Direct functions refer to social and affective effects of smoking such as looking older or calming down. In line with expectations, indirect functions were found to be more important for younger adolescents and for smoking onset. In contrast, direct functions were better predictors of the smoking behavior of older adolescents and of the transition to regular smoking.