Electronic Communication Training: Reconciling Gaps Created by the Virtual Office

The virtual organization is one result of the rapid advances of technology. These advances, however, bring about setbacks when communicating electronically—primarily a loss of face‐to‐face interaction. Yet interpersonal skills are still deemed one of the most desirable communication skills in today's workplace. A gap analysis of the traditional versus the virtual office reveals that voids exist when communicating solely electronically. Electronic communication training is essential in order to eliminate these voids and lessen the chance for unclear messages, enhance “faceless” interactions, and avoid communication overload. Therefore, it is incumbent upon educators and trainers to augment development programs with electronic communication training in order for employees to be prepared for the challenges of the virtual office.     

Using a Behavior Change Model to Document the Impact of Visits to Disney's Animal Kingdom: A Study Investigating Intended Conservation Action

Abstract Over the last 10 to 15 years, zoos and aquariums have set out to influence visitors' conservation‐related knowledge, attitudes, affect, and behavior. In 2000, the Institute for Learning Innovation collaborated with Disney's Animal Kingdom (DAK) on a comprehensive baseline study conducted to assess the outcomes of a DAK experience on visitors in four areas: knowledge, attitudes, affect, and behavior. This article describes one aspect of the comprehensive study: an investigation of the long‐term (two‐to‐three‐month) impact of a visit to Conservation Station at Disney's Animal Kingdom on visitors' intended conservation action. The study used a behavior change model from the health arena: the Prochaska Model of Behavioral Change. The model proved helpful but had some drawbacks, suggesting the need to develop a more sensitive change model. The implications of this study could assist institutions in thinking about what audiences or messages to emphasize in order to influence behavior.     

人工流产术前应用宫术安栓100例临床观察

目的 为减轻和消除人工流产术妇女的痛苦，预防人流综合征的发生。方法 选择孕10周以内来门诊行人工流产的病例，随机分为观察组和对照组各100例，观察组术前给予非麻醉性镇痛剂宫术安栓，对照组不给任何药物，按常规行人工流产术。结果 宫颈松弛情况：观察组能顺利通过6号扩宫器，宫颈松弛70％，对照组40％，两组相比有显著差异，P＜0.01。镇痛效果优：观察组76％，对照组8％。(P＜0．01)。全身反应：总反应率观察组7％，对照组52％，(P＜0．01)。结论 在人工流产术前使用非麻醉性镇痛剂宫术安栓，在松弛宫颐和减少疼痛，预防人流综合征方面，收到了较好的效果。     

亚急性肉芽肿性甲状腺炎1例报告

患者 :女 ;年龄 :42岁 ;藏族。因颈前部出现肿块二年余。于 1 998年 1 1月 1 2日入院 ,因而感冒自觉得颈前部不适感 ,未扪及肿大 ,无压痛 ,时有压迫感及烦燥 ,入院前二个月开始颈前部出现肿块 ,随气管上下移动 ,伴压迫感 ,时有疼痛 ,无吞咽及进饮食困难 ,无发热及盗汗。双眼球无窦出 ,颈前部可触及一呈弥漫样式、质硬、有压痛、不对称、略扁间左侧、随吞咽上下移动 ,未间及血管杂音 ,无表面溃疡。B型超声检查 :提示甲状腺多发性囊性占位混合性改变。手术所见 :左侧甲状腺略增大约1 5cm× 1 5cm ,质硬、表面光滑、色淡、部折为实质、中央…     

Assessing Children’s Social Functioning and Reading Proficiency: A Systematic Review of the Quality of Educational Assessment Instruments Used in Norwegian Elementary Schools

Social functioning and reading proficiency are critical for success in school and society. Therefore, identifying children with such problems is important. This study had 2 parts: first, a random sample of 234 elementary schools was surveyed about which instruments they use to assess reading proficiency and social functioning. Second, a systematic review of the quality of these instruments was conducted using international standards for examining the quality of assessment instruments. The survey showed that schools more often assessed and had more instruments available for reading than for social functioning. The systematic review of the assessment instruments used revealed that the psychometric qualities of many was weak or undocumented, while the dimensions of test material quality were generally good. The findings demonstrate a need for a more thorough examination of the psychometric properties of assessment instruments to be used in school.     

Muscular activity characteristics associated with preparation for gait transition

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to investigate lower extremity neuromuscular activity patterns during gait transitions with continuously changing locomotion speeds.MethodsMuscular activities related to gait transitions (walk to run and run to walk) induced by changing treadmill speed were compared to muscular activities during walk and run at constant speeds. All transition and constant speed conditions were conducted in similar speed range. Surface electromyographic activities of gluteus maximus (GM), rectus femoris (RF), vastus lateralis (VL), biceps femoris long head (BFL), tibialis anterior (TA), gastrocnemius (GA), and soleus (SL) were collected and analyzed. The influences of speed and mode of locomotion were analyzed.ResultsWe have observed transition specific nonlinear muscular behavior in this study. For example, peak magnitudes of GM, RF, GA, and SL increased with speed quadratically as locomotion approached walk to run transition within the last five steps. Activity duration of GA decreased in a quadratic fashion with speed as approached run to walk transition within the last five steps. These nonlinear reactions to speed change were only observed in transition related conditions but not in the constant speed conditions.ConclusionThese results indicated that, in preparation for transition, neuromuscular modifications occur steps before gait transition due to changing speed. Gait transition is not a spontaneous event in response to any type of triggers.     

Towards Universal Text Retrieval: Tipster Text Retrieval Research at New Mexico State University

New Mexico State University's Computing Research Lab has participated in research in all three phases of the US Government's Tipster program. Our work on information retrieval has focused on research and development of multilingual and cross-language approaches to automatic retrieval. The work on automatic systems has been supplemented by additional research into the role of the IR system user in interactive retrieval scenarios: monolingual, multilingual and cross-language. The combined efforts suggest that universal text retrieval, in which a user can find, access and use documents in the face of language differences and information overload, may be possible.     

Asynchronous Online Instruction Leads to Learning Gaps When Compared to a Flipped Classroom

With the gradual shift to online education models that has taken place in recent decades, research has sought to understand the nuances of student performance in an online model in comparison to more traditional in-person modalities. However, the effects of instructional modality have been difficult to determine given the many variables that exist in course design between these methods. In this study, we attempt to determine the efficacy of asynchronous online instruction by comparing two nearly equivalent courses. The first course was a flipped classroom, a recent and well-studied hybrid model of instruction. The second was an asynchronous fully online course that contained all the same instructional elements as the in-person course but lacked any student or instructor interaction. Student performance was tracked at both a highly-selective private institution and an open-enrollment public institution. Results show that students’ performance drops in an asynchronous online course compared to an equivalent in-person experience. Several potential hypotheses are put forth to explain a change in performance that can potentially shape the design of online instruction.