Pejorative phrases or innocent idioms? Exploring terms used by tomorrow’s doctors in relation to older people

ABSTRACT

Older people are the “core business” for 21st century hospitals. Of concern, therefore, is negative stereotyping of older people by medical students. Through a bespoke teaching session for final-year medical students, we aimed to deconstruct the phraseology they employed in relation to older people and to drive attitudinal change among students. This study also aimed to discern whether there was a detectable difference in attitudes toward older people after the session. Forty-seven medical students participated. Students recorded in a “word-cloud” terms they associated with older people in hospital before and after the session. The University of California Los Angeles Geriatrics Attitude Scale (UCLA-GAS) was administered for pre-session. The intervention students, along with a control group, completed this instrument at the end of their placement. Content analysis of word cloud data was performed—an iterative, transparent, structured approach to analysis, along with external critique of findings and collaborative triangulation ensured rigor of analysis. Qualitative analysis demonstrated the use of pejorative and sometimes nihilistic terms. There were evidence of growing appreciation of the inherent complexity of caring for older people and increasing awareness of how healthcare systems can be challenging for older people. Quantitative analysis revealed that there is no statistical difference neither between the UCLA-GAS pre- and post-teaching nor the intervention and control groups. In conclusion, a bespoke educational intervention, designed to promote student reflection on their views toward older people in hospital, can be a catalyst to challenging superficial and stereotypical views.     

A continuous integraph

A mechanical integraph has been developed which plots continuously the integral of the product of two functions. It uses the principle of the electrical integrating watthour-meter combined with a moving table. Errors of the machine have been reduced to an average of 1 per cent. for common uses. By cross-connecting the device in a simple mechanical way, it is possible to solve certain types of integral equations. A link motion has been added which plots the product of two given functions. Various uses have been made of the instrument for solving problems in connection with electrical circuits, continuous beams, etc., and certain problems involving integral equations.     

Assessment of technical aspects of WISC-R administration

The present study evaluated the technical aspects of three WISC-R administrations of five psychology graduate students using the WISC-R Administration Observational Checklist (WAOC). The observations also were used as a means of evaluating interrater agreement on the WAOC. Based on a total of 15 observations of two raters, Cohen's x was calculated for 29 of the measures on the checklist. The x values for 24 of these measures were significant (p < .01). Overall scores on the WAOC indicated that students performed significantly better on the second than on the first observation. Their level of performance was maintained, but was not significantly improved, at the time of a third observation made during the second semester. Error patterns were similar to those found by Fantuzzo, Sisemore, and Spradlin (1983), using the Criteria for Competent WISC-R Administration (CCWA).     

School consultation from a social psychological perspective: A Review

This paper reviews various social psychological constructs that have been discussed previously in isolated articles in order to offer a theoretical framework within which to view resistance and related phenomena in school consultation. The discussion focuses on resistance, cognitive dissonance, reactance, attribution, influence/power, and modeling. The review summarizes contributions and applications made by other authors and provides additional applications from social psychological theory. Applications to school consultation are stressed. The need for empirical research in these areas is emphasized and directions for future research are offered.     

Modeling the Mediating Role of Volition in the Learning Process

According to action-control theory, volition plays a mediating role between the intention to learn (motivation) and goal-directed behavior (the use of learning strategies). Although extensive theoretical work has been done to document this flow of events, more empirical studies have been needed to identify the specific means by which volitional control protects the intention to learn and maintains the attempts to learn; our intention here was to address this gap in the literature. Using data from a sample of 487 college students in two different domains, we found that the positive effects of intrinsic goal orientation and self-efficacy on cognitive engagement were augmented by volitional control. We also found that the effects of volition differed by domain as well as by the type of learning strategy being considered. These results suggest that volitional control merits greater attention from those doing research in self-regulated learning.