What we think we learn from watching others: the moderating role of ability on perceptions of learning from observation.

Science.gov (United States)

Hodges, Nicola J; Coppola, Thomas

2015-07-01

Despite increased interest in the processes guiding action observation and observational learning, we know little about what people think they learn from watching, how well perceptions of learning marry with actual ability and how ability perceptions develop across multiple observation trials. Based on common coding ideas, we would think that ability and perceptions of ability from watching should be well matched. We conducted two studies to answer these questions that involved repeated observation of a 2-ball juggling task. After each video observation, observers judged if they could perform the skill and gave a confidence score (0-100%). In Experiment 1, an Observe-only group was compared to an Observe + Physical practice and No-practice group. Both observer groups showed a better physical approximation of the juggling action after practice and in retention and their confidence increased in a linear fashion. Confidence showed a small, yet significant relationship to actual success. In Experiment 2, we limited physical practice to 5 attempts (across 50 observation trials). In general, people who had high perceptions of ability following a demonstration were overconfident, whereas those with lower perceptions of ability were accurate in their assessments. Confidence generally increased across practice, particularly for trials following observation rather than physical practice. We conclude that while perceptions of ability and actual ability show congruence across trials and individuals, observational practice increases people's confidence in their ability to perform a skill, even despite physical experiences to the contrary.

Problem Solving Abilities and Perceptions in Alternative Certification Mathematics Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, Brian R.

2012-01-01

It is important for teacher educators to understand new alternative certification middle and high school teachers' mathematical problem solving abilities and perceptions. Teachers in an alternative certification program in New York were enrolled in a proof-based algebra course. At the beginning and end of a semester participants were given a…

Rhythm perception and production predict reading abilities in developmental dyslexia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elena eFlaugnacco

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Rhythm organizes events in time and plays a major role in music, but also in the phonology and prosody of a language. Interestingly, children with developmental dyslexia - a learning disability that affects reading acquisition despite normal intelligence and adequate education - have a poor rhythmic perception. It has been suggested that an accurate perception of rhythmical/metrical structure, that requires accurate perception of rise time, may be critical for phonological development and subsequent literacy. This hypothesis is mostly based on results showing a high degree of correlation between phonological awareness and metrical skills, using a very specific metrical task. We present new findings from the analysis of a sample of 48 children with a diagnosis of dyslexia, without comorbidities. These children were assessed with neuropsychological tests, as well as specifically-devised psychoacoustic and musical tasks mostly testing temporal abilities. Associations were tested by multivariate analyses including data mining strategies, correlations and most importantly logistic regressions to understand to what extent the different auditory and musical skills can be a robust predictor of reading and phonological skills. Results show a strong link between several temporal skills and phonological and reading abilities. These findings are discussed in the framework of the neuroscience literature comparing music and language processing, with a particular interest in the links between rhythm processing in music and language.

Sex differences in facial emotion perception ability across the lifespan.

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Olderbak, Sally; Wilhelm, Oliver; Hildebrandt, Andrea; Quoidbach, Jordi

2018-03-22

Perception of emotion in the face is a key component of human social cognition and is considered vital for many domains of life; however, little is known about how this ability differs across the lifespan for men and women. We addressed this question with a large community sample (N = 100,257) of persons ranging from younger than 15 to older than 60 years of age. Participants were viewers of the television show "Tout le Monde Joue", and the task was presented on television, with participants responding via their mobile devices. Applying latent variable modeling, and establishing measurement invariance between males and females and across age, we found that, for both males and females, emotion perception abilities peak between the ages of 15 and 30, with poorer performance by younger adults and declining performance after the age of 30. In addition, we show a consistent advantage by females across the lifespan, which decreases in magnitude with increasing age. This large scale study with a wide range of people and testing environments suggests these effects are largely robust. Implications are discussed.

A Study of Counselors' Legal Challenges and Their Perceptions of Their Ability to Respond

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Hermann, Mary A.; Leggett, Debra Gail; Remley, Theodore P., Jr.

2008-01-01

The authors explore the results of a study that assessed the types and frequency of legal issues encountered by counselors and counselors' perceptions of their ability to respond to these issues. They also assessed whether the participants' perceptions were related to practice setting, years of experience, completion of a course in ethics, recent…

Perceptions of competence, implicit theory of ability, perception of motivational climate, and achievement goals: a test of the trichotomous conceptualization of endorsement of achievement motivation in the physical education setting.

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Cury, F; Da Fonséca, D; Rufo, M; Sarrazin, P

2002-08-01

To test and extend the conceptualization of the endorsement of achievement goals in the physical education setting Mastery, Performance-approach, and Performance-approach goals, Perception of the physical education competence, Implicit theory about sport ability, and Perception of the motivational climate were assessed among 682 boys attending five French schools. Analysis indicated that (1) Performance-approach goals were positively associated with perception of physical education Competence, Entity beliefs about sport ability, the Performance dimension of the motivational climate, and negatively associated with Incremental beliefs about sport ability. (2) Mastery goals were positively associated with perception of physical education Competence, Incremental beliefs about sport ability, the Mastery dimension of the motivational climate, and negatively associated with the Performance dimension of the motivational climate. Also, (3) Performance-avoidance goals were positively associated with Entity beliefs about sport ability and the Performance dimension of the motivational climate; these goals were negatively associated with Incremental beliefs about sport ability and perception of physical education Competence. These results clearly attested to the validity of the trichotomous model in the physical education setting.

Cognitive Abilities Explaining Age-Related Changes in Time Perception of Short and Long Durations

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Zelanti, Pierre S.; Droit-Volet, Sylvie

2011-01-01

The current study investigated how the development of cognitive abilities explains the age-related changes in temporal judgment over short and long duration ranges from 0.5 to 30 s. Children (5- and 9-year-olds) as well as adults were given a temporal bisection task with four different duration ranges: a duration range shorter than 1 s, two…

Environmental change enhances cognitive abilities in fish.

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Alexander Kotrschal

2010-04-01

Full Text Available Flexible or innovative behavior is advantageous, especially when animals are exposed to frequent and unpredictable environmental perturbations. Improved cognitive abilities can help animals to respond quickly and adequately to environmental dynamics, and therefore changing environments may select for higher cognitive abilities. Increased cognitive abilities can be attained, for instance, if environmental change during ontogeny triggers plastic adaptive responses improving the learning capacity of exposed individuals. We tested the learning abilities of fishes in response to experimental variation of environmental quality during ontogeny. Individuals of the cichlid fish Simochromis pleurospilus that experienced a change in food ration early in life outperformed fish kept on constant rations in a learning task later in life--irrespective of the direction of the implemented change and the mean rations received. This difference in learning abilities between individuals remained constant between juvenile and adult stages of the same fish tested 1 y apart. Neither environmental enrichment nor training through repeated neural stimulation can explain our findings, as the sensory environment was kept constant and resource availability was changed only once. Instead, our results indicate a pathway by which a single change in resource availability early in life permanently enhances the learning abilities of animals. Early perturbations of environmental quality may signal the developing individual that it lives in a changing world, requiring increased cognitive abilities to construct adequate behavioral responses.

Pupils' liking for school: ability grouping, self-concept and perceptions of teaching.

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Ireson, Judith; Hallam, Susan

2005-06-01

Research indicates that affective aspects of development provide a basis for autonomous learning. Pupils' liking for school may be a useful indicator of their relationships with teachers and the school. The aim of the research reported in this paper is to establish the properties of a measure of pupils' liking for school and to examine associations between this measure, pupils' experiences in lessons, their self-concepts and the amount of setting implemented in school. A stratified sample of 45 mixed secondary comprehensive schools was selected for the research. Schools represented a variety of ability-grouping practices in the lower school (Years 7-9), from completely mixed-ability to setting in all academic subjects. All Year 9 pupils were included in the sample. Pupils completed a questionnaire containing items on their self-concept, liking for school, and their perceptions of teaching in English, mathematics, and science. Data on pupils' gender, ethnic origin, social disadvantage and attainment was also collected. The properties and correlates of scales indicating pupils' liking for school and their perceptions of teaching in English, mathematics, and science are established. Liking for school is greater among girls, pupils with higher academic self-concepts, and those with more positive perceptions of teaching. Pupils are more positive about teaching they experience in English than in mathematics or science. When other variables are statistically controlled, there is no significant effect of the extent of ability grouping in the school as a whole. Affective aspects of learning should not be neglected in the drive to raise standards.

An exploration of person perception abilities in children with a pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Serra, M.; Minderaa, R.B; Van Geert, P. L. C.; Jackson, A.E.

1995-01-01

This explorative study investigates differences in person perception abilities between a group of children diagnosed as having a Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (PDDNOS) and a group of normal children of the same age and sex. Person perception, a social-cognitive skill,

Family scents: developmental changes in the perception of kin body odor?

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Ferdenzi, Camille; Schaal, Benoist; Roberts, S Craig

2010-08-01

There is increasing evidence that human body odors are involved in adaptive behaviors, such as parental attachment in infants or partner choice in adults. The aim of the present study was to investigate changes in body-odor perception around puberty, a period largely ignored for odor-mediated behavioral changes, despite major changes in social needs and in odor emission and perception. Nine families with two children (8 pre-pubertal, aged 7-10, and 10 pubertal, aged 11-18) evaluated body odors of family members and unfamiliar individuals for pleasantness, intensity, and masculinity, and performed a recognition task. The hypothesized emergence of a parent-child mutual aversion for the odor of opposite-sex family members at puberty was not found, contradicting one of the few studies on the topic (Weisfeld et al., J. Exp. Child Psychol. 85:279-295, 2003). However, some developmental changes were observed, including reduced aversion for odor of the same-sex parent, and increased ability of adults, compared to children, to recognize odor of family members. Sex and personality (depressive and aggressive traits) also significantly influenced odor judgments. Further research with larger samples is needed to investigate the poorly explored issue of how olfactory perception of self and family members develops, and how it could correlate with normal reorganizations in social interactions at adolescence.

Person Perception Change, Its Possibilities for Clinical Application.

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Frazier, Mark; And Others

1984-01-01

Conducted three studies using college student populations to determine if what has been learned by social psychologists in the area of perception can be useful in effecting changes in person perception of another. Results supported use of the knowledge in the area of person perception for changing the person perception of another. (LLL)

Climate change and coastal aquaculture farmers’ risk perceptions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ahsan, Dewan; Brandt, Urs Steiner

2015-01-01

This paper addresses the issue of risk perception in relation to climate change threats, comparison of risk perceptions in two different regions, and derives general results of what affect peoples’ level of risk perceptions. Revelation of individual risk perception is essential for local acceptance...... and cooperation. We do this by a comparative study with Bangladesh shrimp farmers and Danish mussel farmers. Since these people live on the edge of subsistence, already small changes in the climate will affect them significantly. Farmers in both developed and developing economies are concerned about global...... climate change but there are significant differences in farmers’ perceptions of the causes of global climate change in developed and developing countries....

Perception of Risk and Terrorism-Related Behavior Change: Dual Influences of Probabilistic Reasoning and Reality Testing

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Denovan, Andrew; Dagnall, Neil; Drinkwater, Kenneth; Parker, Andrew; Clough, Peter

2017-01-01

The present study assessed the degree to which probabilistic reasoning performance and thinking style influenced perception of risk and self-reported levels of terrorism-related behavior change. A sample of 263 respondents, recruited via convenience sampling, completed a series of measures comprising probabilistic reasoning tasks (perception of randomness, base rate, probability, and conjunction fallacy), the Reality Testing subscale of the Inventory of Personality Organization (IPO-RT), the Domain-Specific Risk-Taking Scale, and a terrorism-related behavior change scale. Structural equation modeling examined three progressive models. Firstly, the Independence Model assumed that probabilistic reasoning, perception of risk and reality testing independently predicted terrorism-related behavior change. Secondly, the Mediation Model supposed that probabilistic reasoning and reality testing correlated, and indirectly predicted terrorism-related behavior change through perception of risk. Lastly, the Dual-Influence Model proposed that probabilistic reasoning indirectly predicted terrorism-related behavior change via perception of risk, independent of reality testing. Results indicated that performance on probabilistic reasoning tasks most strongly predicted perception of risk, and preference for an intuitive thinking style (measured by the IPO-RT) best explained terrorism-related behavior change. The combination of perception of risk with probabilistic reasoning ability in the Dual-Influence Model enhanced the predictive power of the analytical-rational route, with conjunction fallacy having a significant indirect effect on terrorism-related behavior change via perception of risk. The Dual-Influence Model possessed superior fit and reported similar predictive relations between intuitive-experiential and analytical-rational routes and terrorism-related behavior change. The discussion critically examines these findings in relation to dual-processing frameworks. This

Perception of Risk and Terrorism-Related Behavior Change: Dual Influences of Probabilistic Reasoning and Reality Testing.

Science.gov (United States)

Denovan, Andrew; Dagnall, Neil; Drinkwater, Kenneth; Parker, Andrew; Clough, Peter

2017-01-01

The present study assessed the degree to which probabilistic reasoning performance and thinking style influenced perception of risk and self-reported levels of terrorism-related behavior change. A sample of 263 respondents, recruited via convenience sampling, completed a series of measures comprising probabilistic reasoning tasks (perception of randomness, base rate, probability, and conjunction fallacy), the Reality Testing subscale of the Inventory of Personality Organization (IPO-RT), the Domain-Specific Risk-Taking Scale, and a terrorism-related behavior change scale. Structural equation modeling examined three progressive models. Firstly, the Independence Model assumed that probabilistic reasoning, perception of risk and reality testing independently predicted terrorism-related behavior change. Secondly, the Mediation Model supposed that probabilistic reasoning and reality testing correlated, and indirectly predicted terrorism-related behavior change through perception of risk. Lastly, the Dual-Influence Model proposed that probabilistic reasoning indirectly predicted terrorism-related behavior change via perception of risk, independent of reality testing. Results indicated that performance on probabilistic reasoning tasks most strongly predicted perception of risk, and preference for an intuitive thinking style (measured by the IPO-RT) best explained terrorism-related behavior change. The combination of perception of risk with probabilistic reasoning ability in the Dual-Influence Model enhanced the predictive power of the analytical-rational route, with conjunction fallacy having a significant indirect effect on terrorism-related behavior change via perception of risk. The Dual-Influence Model possessed superior fit and reported similar predictive relations between intuitive-experiential and analytical-rational routes and terrorism-related behavior change. The discussion critically examines these findings in relation to dual-processing frameworks. This

Perception of Risk and Terrorism-Related Behavior Change: Dual Influences of Probabilistic Reasoning and Reality Testing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrew Denovan

2017-10-01

Full Text Available The present study assessed the degree to which probabilistic reasoning performance and thinking style influenced perception of risk and self-reported levels of terrorism-related behavior change. A sample of 263 respondents, recruited via convenience sampling, completed a series of measures comprising probabilistic reasoning tasks (perception of randomness, base rate, probability, and conjunction fallacy, the Reality Testing subscale of the Inventory of Personality Organization (IPO-RT, the Domain-Specific Risk-Taking Scale, and a terrorism-related behavior change scale. Structural equation modeling examined three progressive models. Firstly, the Independence Model assumed that probabilistic reasoning, perception of risk and reality testing independently predicted terrorism-related behavior change. Secondly, the Mediation Model supposed that probabilistic reasoning and reality testing correlated, and indirectly predicted terrorism-related behavior change through perception of risk. Lastly, the Dual-Influence Model proposed that probabilistic reasoning indirectly predicted terrorism-related behavior change via perception of risk, independent of reality testing. Results indicated that performance on probabilistic reasoning tasks most strongly predicted perception of risk, and preference for an intuitive thinking style (measured by the IPO-RT best explained terrorism-related behavior change. The combination of perception of risk with probabilistic reasoning ability in the Dual-Influence Model enhanced the predictive power of the analytical-rational route, with conjunction fallacy having a significant indirect effect on terrorism-related behavior change via perception of risk. The Dual-Influence Model possessed superior fit and reported similar predictive relations between intuitive-experiential and analytical-rational routes and terrorism-related behavior change. The discussion critically examines these findings in relation to dual

Students' Self-Esteem and Their Perception of Teacher Behavior: A Study of Between-Class Ability Grouping

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Kususanto, Prihadi; Ismail, Hairul Nizam; Jamil, Hazri

2010-01-01

Introduction: Between-class ability grouping practice in Malaysian Secondary Schools was studied in order to find the influence students' perception on their teachers' behavior on their self-esteem. Students' perception on teachers' behaviors were divided into two categories: controlling students' behavior to avoid disciplinary matters and…

Food Shopping Perceptions, Behaviors, and Ability to Purchase Healthful Food Items in the Lower Mississippi Delta

Science.gov (United States)

McGee, Bernestine B.; Johnson, Glenda S.; Yadrick, M. Kathleen; Richardson, Valerie; Simpson, Pippa M.; Gossett, Jeffrey M.; Thornton, Alma; Johnson, Crystal; Bogle, Margaret L.

2011-01-01

Objective: To examine the agreement between perceptions, behaviors, and ability to purchase healthful food in the Lower Mississippi Delta (LMD). Design: A regional food store survey of healthful food options in supermarkets, small/medium stores, and convenience stores. Focus group discussions were conducted on shopping perceptions and behaviors.…

Effect of Size Change and Brightness Change of Visual Stimuli on Loudness Perception and Pitch Perception of Auditory Stimuli

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Syouya Tanabe

2011-10-01

Full Text Available People obtain a lot of information from visual and auditory sensation on daily life. Regarding the effect of visual stimuli on perception of auditory stimuli, studies of phonological perception and sound localization have been made in great numbers. This study examined the effect of visual stimuli on perception in loudness and pitch of auditory stimuli. We used the image of figures whose size or brightness was changed as visual stimuli, and the sound of pure tone whose loudness or pitch was changed as auditory stimuli. Those visual and auditory stimuli were combined independently to make four types of audio-visual multisensory stimuli for psychophysical experiments. In the experiments, participants judged change in loudness or pitch of auditory stimuli, while they judged the direction of size change or the kind of a presented figure in visual stimuli. Therefore they cannot neglect visual stimuli while they judged auditory stimuli. As a result, perception in loudness and pitch were promoted significantly around their difference limen, when the image was getting bigger or brighter, compared with the case in which the image had no changes. This indicates that perception in loudness and pitch were affected by change in size and brightness of visual stimuli.

Disentangling beat perception from sequential learning and examining the influence of attention and musical abilities on ERP responses to rhythm.

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Bouwer, Fleur L; Werner, Carola M; Knetemann, Myrthe; Honing, Henkjan

2016-05-01

Beat perception is the ability to perceive temporal regularity in musical rhythm. When a beat is perceived, predictions about upcoming events can be generated. These predictions can influence processing of subsequent rhythmic events. However, statistical learning of the order of sounds in a sequence can also affect processing of rhythmic events and must be differentiated from beat perception. In the current study, using EEG, we examined the effects of attention and musical abilities on beat perception. To ensure we measured beat perception and not absolute perception of temporal intervals, we used alternating loud and soft tones to create a rhythm with two hierarchical metrical levels. To control for sequential learning of the order of the different sounds, we used temporally regular (isochronous) and jittered rhythmic sequences. The order of sounds was identical in both conditions, but only the regular condition allowed for the perception of a beat. Unexpected intensity decrements were introduced on the beat and offbeat. In the regular condition, both beat perception and sequential learning were expected to enhance detection of these deviants on the beat. In the jittered condition, only sequential learning was expected to affect processing of the deviants. ERP responses to deviants were larger on the beat than offbeat in both conditions. Importantly, this difference was larger in the regular condition than in the jittered condition, suggesting that beat perception influenced responses to rhythmic events in addition to sequential learning. The influence of beat perception was present both with and without attention directed at the rhythm. Moreover, beat perception as measured with ERPs correlated with musical abilities, but only when attention was directed at the stimuli. Our study shows that beat perception is possible when attention is not directed at a rhythm. In addition, our results suggest that attention may mediate the influence of musical abilities on beat

Self-estimation of physical ability in stepping over an obstacle is not mediated by visual height perception: a comparison between young and older adults.

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Sakurai, Ryota; Fujiwara, Yoshinori; Ishihara, Masami; Yasunaga, Masashi; Ogawa, Susumu; Suzuki, Hiroyuki; Imanaka, Kuniyasu

2017-07-01

Older adults tend to overestimate their step-over ability. However, it is unclear as to whether this is caused by inaccurate self-estimation of physical ability or inaccurate perception of height. We, therefore, measured both visual height perception ability and self-estimation of step-over ability among young and older adults. Forty-seven older and 16 young adults performed a height perception test (HPT) and a step-over test (SOT). Participants visually judged the height of vertical bars from distances of 7 and 1 m away in the HPT, then self-estimated and, subsequently, actually performed a step-over action in the SOT. The results showed no significant difference between young and older adults in visual height perception. In the SOT, young adults tended to underestimate their step-over ability, whereas older adults either overestimated their abilities or underestimated them to a lesser extent than did the young adults. Moreover, visual height perception was not correlated with the self-estimation of step-over ability in both young and older adults. These results suggest that the self-overestimation of step-over ability which appeared in some healthy older adults may not be caused by the nature of visual height perception, but by other factor(s), such as the likely age-related nature of self-estimation of physical ability, per se.

Speech perception and communication ability over the telephone by Mandarin-speaking children with cochlear implants.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Che-Ming; Liu, Tien-Chen; Wang, Nan-Mai; Chao, Wei-Chieh

2013-08-01

(1) To understand speech perception and communication ability through real telephone calls by Mandarin-speaking children with cochlear implants and compare them to live-voice perception, (2) to report the general condition of telephone use of this population, and (3) to investigate the factors that correlate with telephone speech perception performance. Fifty-six children with over 4 years of implant use (aged 6.8-13.6 years, mean duration 8.0 years) took three speech perception tests administered using telephone and live voice to examine sentence, monosyllabic-word and Mandarin tone perception. The children also filled out a questionnaire survey investigating everyday telephone use. Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare the scores between live-voice and telephone tests, and Pearson's test to examine the correlation between them. The mean scores were 86.4%, 69.8% and 70.5% respectively for sentence, word and tone recognition over the telephone. The corresponding live-voice mean scores were 94.3%, 84.0% and 70.8%. Wilcoxon signed-rank test showed the sentence and word scores were significantly different between telephone and live voice test, while the tone recognition scores were not, indicating tone perception was less worsened by telephone transmission than words and sentences. Spearman's test showed that chronological age and duration of implant use were weakly correlated with the perception test scores. The questionnaire survey showed 78% of the children could initiate phone calls and 59% could use the telephone 2 years after implantation. Implanted children are potentially capable of using the telephone 2 years after implantation, and communication ability over the telephone becomes satisfactory 4 years after implantation. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Public Inaccuracy in Meta-perceptions of Climate Change

Science.gov (United States)

Swim, J.; Fraser, J.

2012-12-01

Public perceptions of climate change and meta-perceptions of the public and climate scientist's perceptions of climate change were assessed to benchmark the National Network for Climate Change Interpretation's impacts. Meta-perceptions are important to examine because they can have implications for willingness to take action to address climate change. For instance, recent research suggests a tendency to misperceive that there is disagreement among climate scientists is predictive of lack of support for climate change policies. Underestimating public concern about climate change could also be problematic: it could lead individuals to withdraw from personal efforts to reduce impact and engage others in discussions about climate change. Presented results will demonstrate that respondents in a national survey underestimated the percent of the public who were very concerned, concerned or cautious about climate change and overestimated the extent others were disengaged, doubted, or non-believers. They underestimated the percent of the public who likely believed that humans caused climate change and overestimate the percent that believed climate change was not happening nor human induced. Finally, they underestimated the percent of the public that believed climate change threatened ocean health. The results also explore sources of misperceptions. First, correlates with TV viewing habits suggest that inaccuracy is a result of too little attention to network news, with one exception: Greater attention to FOX among doubters reduced accuracy. Second, adding to other evidence that basic cognitive heuristics (such as availability heuristic) influence perceptions of climate change, we show that that false consensus effects account for meta-perceptions of the public and climate scientists beliefs. The false consensus effect, in combination with underestimating concern among the public, results in those most concerned about climate change and those who believe it to be human

Global environmental change: local perceptions, understandings, and explanations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aili Pyhälä

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Global environmental change (GEC is an increasingly discussed phenomenon in the scientific literature as evidence of its presence and impacts continues to grow. Yet, while the documentation of GEC is becoming more readily available, local perceptions of GEC - particularly in small-scale societies - and preferences about how to deal with it, are still largely overlooked. Local knowledge and perceptions of GEC are important in that agents make decisions (including on natural resource management based on individual perceptions. We carried out a systematic literature review that aims to provide an exhaustive state-of-the-art of the degree to and manner in which the study of local perceptions of change are being addressed in GEC research. We reviewed 126 articles found in peer-reviewed journals (between 1998 and 2014 that address local perceptions of GEC. We used three particular lenses of analysis that are known to influence local perceptions, namely (i cognition, (ii culture and knowledge, and (iii possibilities for adaptation.We present our findings on the geographical distribution of the current research, the most common changes reported, perceived drivers and impacts of change, and local explanations and evaluations of change and impacts. Overall, we found the studies to be geographically biased, lacking methodological reporting, mostly theory based with little primary data, and lacking of indepth analysis of the psychological and ontological influences in perception and implications for adaptation. We provide recommendations for future GEC research and propose the development of a "meta-language" around adaptation, perception, and mediation to encourage a greater appreciation and understanding of the diversity around these phenomena across multiple scales, and improved codesign and facilitation of locally relevant adaptation and mitigation strategies.

The effect of performance feedback on drivers' hazard perception ability and self-ratings.

Science.gov (United States)

Horswill, Mark S; Garth, Megan; Hill, Andrew; Watson, Marcus O

2017-04-01

Drivers' hazard perception ability has been found to predict crash risk, and novice drivers appear to be particularly poor at this skill. This competency appears to develop only slowly with experience, and this could partially be a result of poor quality performance feedback. We report an experiment in which we provided high-quality artificial feedback on individual drivers' performance in a validated video-based hazard perception test via either: (1) a graph-based comparison of hazard perception response times between the test-taker, the average driver, and an expert driver; (2) a video-based comparison between the same groups; or (3) both. All three types of feedback resulted in both an improvement in hazard perception performance and a reduction in self-rated hazard perception skill, compared with a no-feedback control group. Video-based and graph-based feedback combined resulted in a greater improvement in hazard perception performance than either of the individual components, which did not differ from one another. All three types of feedback eliminated participants' self-enhancement bias for hazard perception skill. Participants judged both interventions involving video feedback to be significantly more likely to improve their real-world driving than the no feedback control group. While all three forms of feedback had some value, the combined video and graph feedback intervention appeared to be the most effective across all outcome measures. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Age-related changes in perception of movement in driving scenes.

Science.gov (United States)

Lacherez, Philippe; Turner, Laura; Lester, Robert; Burns, Zoe; Wood, Joanne M

2014-07-01

Age-related changes in motion sensitivity have been found to relate to reductions in various indices of driving performance and safety. The aim of this study was to investigate the basis of this relationship in terms of determining which aspects of motion perception are most relevant to driving. Participants included 61 regular drivers (age range 22-87 years). Visual performance was measured binocularly. Measures included visual acuity, contrast sensitivity and motion sensitivity assessed using four different approaches: (1) threshold minimum drift rate for a drifting Gabor patch, (2) Dmin from a random dot display, (3) threshold coherence from a random dot display, and (4) threshold drift rate for a second-order (contrast modulated) sinusoidal grating. Participants then completed the Hazard Perception Test (HPT) in which they were required to identify moving hazards in videos of real driving scenes, and also a Direction of Heading task (DOH) in which they identified deviations from normal lane keeping in brief videos of driving filmed from the interior of a vehicle. In bivariate correlation analyses, all motion sensitivity measures significantly declined with age. Motion coherence thresholds, and minimum drift rate threshold for the first-order stimulus (Gabor patch) both significantly predicted HPT performance even after controlling for age, visual acuity and contrast sensitivity. Bootstrap mediation analysis showed that individual differences in DOH accuracy partly explained these relationships, where those individuals with poorer motion sensitivity on the coherence and Gabor tests showed decreased ability to perceive deviations in motion in the driving videos, which related in turn to their ability to detect the moving hazards. The ability to detect subtle movements in the driving environment (as determined by the DOH task) may be an important contributor to effective hazard perception, and is associated with age, and an individuals' performance on tests of

Confidence in emotion perception in point-light displays varies with the ability to perceive own emotions.

Science.gov (United States)

Lorey, Britta; Kaletsch, Morten; Pilgramm, Sebastian; Bischoff, Matthias; Kindermann, Stefan; Sauerbier, Isabell; Stark, Rudolf; Zentgraf, Karen; Munzert, Jörn

2012-01-01

One central issue in social cognitive neuroscience is that perceiving emotions in others relates to activating the same emotion in oneself. In this study we sought to examine how the ability to perceive own emotions assessed with the Toronto Alexithymia Scale related to both the ability to perceive emotions depicted in point-light displays and the confidence in these perceptions. Participants observed video scenes of human interactions, rated the depicted valence, and judged their confidence in this rating. Results showed that people with higher alexithymia scores were significantly less confident about their decisions, but did not differ from people with lower alexithymia scores in the valence of their ratings. Furthermore, no modulating effect of social context on the effect of higher alexithymia scores was found. It is concluded that the used stimuli are fit to investigate the kinematic aspect of emotion perception and possibly separate people with high and low alexithymia scores via confidence differences. However, a general difference in emotion perception was not detected in the present setting.

Confidence in emotion perception in point-light displays varies with the ability to perceive own emotions.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Britta Lorey

Full Text Available One central issue in social cognitive neuroscience is that perceiving emotions in others relates to activating the same emotion in oneself. In this study we sought to examine how the ability to perceive own emotions assessed with the Toronto Alexithymia Scale related to both the ability to perceive emotions depicted in point-light displays and the confidence in these perceptions. Participants observed video scenes of human interactions, rated the depicted valence, and judged their confidence in this rating. Results showed that people with higher alexithymia scores were significantly less confident about their decisions, but did not differ from people with lower alexithymia scores in the valence of their ratings. Furthermore, no modulating effect of social context on the effect of higher alexithymia scores was found. It is concluded that the used stimuli are fit to investigate the kinematic aspect of emotion perception and possibly separate people with high and low alexithymia scores via confidence differences. However, a general difference in emotion perception was not detected in the present setting.

Rural Nevada and climate change: vulnerability, beliefs, and risk perception.

Science.gov (United States)

Safi, Ahmad Saleh; Smith, William James; Liu, Zhnongwei

2012-06-01

In this article, we present the results of a study investigating the influence of vulnerability to climate change as a function of physical vulnerability, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity on climate change risk perception. In 2008/2009, we surveyed Nevada ranchers and farmers to assess their climate change-related beliefs, and risk perceptions, political orientations, and socioeconomic characteristics. Ranchers' and farmers' sensitivity to climate change was measured through estimating the proportion of their household income originating from highly scarce water-dependent agriculture to the total income. Adaptive capacity was measured as a combination of the Social Status Index and the Poverty Index. Utilizing water availability and use, and population distribution GIS databases; we assessed water resource vulnerability in Nevada by zip code as an indicator of physical vulnerability to climate change. We performed correlation tests and multiple regression analyses to examine the impact of vulnerability and its three distinct components on risk perception. We find that vulnerability is not a significant determinant of risk perception. Physical vulnerability alone also does not impact risk perception. Both sensitivity and adaptive capacity increase risk perception. While age is not a significant determinant of it, gender plays an important role in shaping risk perception. Yet, general beliefs such as political orientations and climate change-specific beliefs such as believing in the anthropogenic causes of climate change and connecting the locally observed impacts (in this case drought) to climate change are the most prominent determinants of risk perception. © 2012 Society for Risk Analysis.

Measuring changes in perception using the Student Perceptions of Physician-Pharmacist Interprofessional Clinical Education (SPICE) instrument.

Science.gov (United States)

Zorek, Joseph A; MacLaughlin, Eric J; Fike, David S; MacLaughlin, Anitra A; Samiuddin, Mohammed; Young, Rodney B

2014-05-20

The Student Perceptions of Physician-Pharmacist Interprofessional Clinical Education (SPICE) instrument contains 10 items, 3 factors (interprofessional teamwork and team-based practice, roles/responsibilities for collaborative practice, and patient outcomes from collaborative practice), and utilizes a five-point response scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree). Given the SPICE instrument's demonstrated validity and reliability, the objective of this study was to evaluate whether it was capable of measuring changes in medical (MS) and pharmacy students' (PS) perceptions following an interprofessional education (IPE) experience. In this prospective cohort study, MS and PS completed the SPICE instrument before and after participation in a predefined IPE experience. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize students and pre-post responses. Independent samples t tests and Fisher's Exact tests were used to assess group difference in demographic variables. Mann Whitney U tests were used to assess between-group differences in item scores. Wilcoxon Signed-Rank tests were used to evaluate post-participation changes in item scores. Spearman correlations were calculated to assess associations between ordinal demographic variables and item scores, and whether the number of clinic visits completed was associated with post-test responses. Paired samples t tests were used to calculate mean score changes for each of the factors. Thirty-four MS and 15 PS were enroled. Baseline differences included age (25.3. ± 1.3 MS vs. 28.7 ± 4.4 PS; p = 0.013), years full-time employment (0.71 ± 0.97 MS vs. 4.60 ± 4.55 PS; p impact of teamwork on patient satisfaction (3.72 vs. 4.34; p location for IPE (4.06 vs. 4.34; p = 0.002). Significant increases were observed for all three factors (teamwork, p = 0.003; roles/responsibilities and patient outcomes, p < 0.001). This study demonstrated the SPICE instrument's ability to measure

Comparing farmers' perception of climate change and variability with ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Perception of climate change and variability supported by local knowledge has helped to advance understanding of climate change and its impacts on agricultural land-use systems. This study compares farmers' perception of climate change and variability in four communities of the Upper East Region of Ghana. Using a ...

Brands as Intentional Agents Framework: How Perceived Intentions and Ability Can Map Brand Perception

Science.gov (United States)

Kervyn, Nicolas; Fiske, Susan T.; Malone, Chris

2013-01-01

Building on the Stereotype Content Model, this paper introduces and tests the Brands as Intentional Agents Framework. A growing body of research suggests that consumers have relationships with brands that resemble relations between people. We propose that consumers perceive brands in the same way they perceive people. This approach allows us to explore how social perception theories and processes can predict brand purchase interest and loyalty. Brands as Intentional Agents Framework is based on a well-established social perception approach: the Stereotype Content Model. Two studies support the Brands as Intentional Agents Framework prediction that consumers assess a brand’s perceived intentions and ability and that these perceptions elicit distinct emotions and drive differential brand behaviors. The research shows that human social interaction relationships translate to consumer-brand interactions in ways that are useful to inform brand positioning and brand communications. PMID:24403815

Brands as Intentional Agents Framework: How Perceived Intentions and Ability Can Map Brand Perception.

Science.gov (United States)

Kervyn, Nicolas; Fiske, Susan T; Malone, Chris

2012-04-01

Building on the Stereotype Content Model, this paper introduces and tests the Brands as Intentional Agents Framework. A growing body of research suggests that consumers have relationships with brands that resemble relations between people. We propose that consumers perceive brands in the same way they perceive people. This approach allows us to explore how social perception theories and processes can predict brand purchase interest and loyalty. Brands as Intentional Agents Framework is based on a well-established social perception approach: the Stereotype Content Model. Two studies support the Brands as Intentional Agents Framework prediction that consumers assess a brand's perceived intentions and ability and that these perceptions elicit distinct emotions and drive differential brand behaviors. The research shows that human social interaction relationships translate to consumer-brand interactions in ways that are useful to inform brand positioning and brand communications.

Climate change and coastal environmental risk perceptions in Florida.

Science.gov (United States)

Carlton, Stuart J; Jacobson, Susan K

2013-11-30

Understanding public perceptions of climate change risks is a prerequisite for effective climate communication and adaptation. Many studies of climate risk perceptions have either analyzed a general operationalization of climate change risk or employed a case-study approach of specific adaptive processes. This study takes a different approach, examining attitudes toward 17 specific, climate-related coastal risks and cognitive, affective, and risk-specific predictors of risk perception. A survey of 558 undergraduates revealed that risks to the physical environment were a greater concern than economic or biological risks. Perceptions of greater physical environment risks were significantly associated with having more pro-environmental attitudes, being female, and being more Democratic-leaning. Perceptions of greater economic risks were significantly associated with having more negative environmental attitudes, being female, and being more Republican-leaning. Perceptions of greater biological risks were significantly associated with more positive environmental attitudes. The findings suggest that focusing on physical environment risks maybe more salient to this audience than communications about general climate change adaptation. The results demonstrate that climate change beliefs and risk perceptions are multifactorial and complex and are shaped by individuals' attitudes and basic beliefs. Climate risk communications need to apply this knowledge to better target cognitive and affective processes of specific audiences, rather than providing simple characterizations of risks. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Study of Counselors' Legal Challenges and Their Perceptions of Their Ability to Respond

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MARY A. HERM

2008-08-01

Full Text Available The authors explore the results of a study that assessed the types and frequency of legal issues encountered by counselors and counselors’ perceptions of their ability to respond to these issues. They also assessed whether the participants’ perceptions were related to practice setting, years of experience, completion of a course in ethics, recent completion of continuing education in ethics or legal issues, state licensure status, certification by the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC, and highest degree earned. Results demonstrate that counselors feel most prepared to deal with situations encountered most often, but that school counselors do not feel as prepared to face most ethical and legal issues.

changing perceptions of discipline and corporal punishment

African Journals Online (AJOL)

punishment and, secondly, their perceptions of their disciplinary techniques since ... research on teachers' (un)changing perceptions with regard to the practice of corporal punishment for classroom discipline in order to achieve the vision of quality ...... teaching and classroom management with the aim of enhancing teacher ...

Time Perception and Psychiatric Disorders

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hatice Ceviz

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Time perception is an ability which we use in every moment of daily life, that guides the formation and continuation of our behaviors and from an evolutionary perspective ensures survival. Internal clock models help us to understand time perception. Time perception is known to vary between individuals and particular situations. This variability is explained with the mechanisms which is associated with the processes related to attention, the speed of the internal clock and the memory unit. It is suggested that time perception is mainly associated with the activities of dopamine and acetylcholine. Some dopaminergic psychoactive substances like cocaine and amphetamine have all been shown to change time perception by increasing the speed of internal clock while on the other hand some antipsychotic drugs make an opposite change in time perception by descreasing the speed of the clock. Similarly, time perception is affected in some psychiatric disorders and an ethiopathological relationship between time perception disturbances and psychiatric disorders is suggested. In this article time perception changes in schizophrenia, attention deficit/hyperactivity syndrome, depression, anxiety disorders and personality disorders are briefly reviewed.

What do we need to hear a beat? The influence of attention, musical abilities, and accents on the perception of metrical rhythm

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bouwer, F.L.

2016-01-01

In this dissertation, I examine beat perception, the process that allows us to make music together. I explore the effects of attention, musical abilities, and accents on beat perception. Additionally, I address several methodological issues that arise when probing beat perception with event-related

Visual perception and attention in acquisition of motor abilities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

César Oliva Aravena

2008-06-01

Full Text Available This article present a qualitative analysis, relating visual perception to attention in the acquisition of motor abilities process. Research shows that the visual system is already in an advanced stage, right from the moment the baby is born, and that normal eye sight is attained at the age of 5 and continues to improve. On the other hand, attention is an flexible process, subordinated to a cognitive strategy and its relation to eye sight is only functional. The understanfing of the capacity of selective attention is necessary to the teacher or coach for it will help him/her to take decisions on how to teach, which aspects of his/her teaching should be emphasized or inhibited, in the learning process, and wich teaching strategies he/she should use.

Public perceptions of climate change and extreme weather events

Science.gov (United States)

Bruine de Bruin, W.; Dessai, S.; Morgan, G.; Taylor, A.; Wong-Parodi, G.

2013-12-01

Climate experts face a serious communication challenge. Public debate about climate change continues, even though at the same time people seem to complain about extreme weather events becoming increasingly common. As compared to the abstract concept of ';climate change,' (changes in) extreme weather events are indeed easier to perceive, more vivid, and personally relevant. Public perception research in different countries has suggested that people commonly expect that climate change will lead to increases in temperature, and that unseasonably warm weather is likely to be interpreted as evidence of climate change. However, relatively little is known about whether public concerns about climate change may also be driven by changes in other types of extreme weather events, such as exceptional amounts of precipitation or flooding. We therefore examined how perceptions of and personal experiences with changes in these specific weather events are related to public concerns about climate change. In this presentation, we will discuss findings from two large public perception surveys conducted in flood-prone Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (US) and with a national sample in the UK, where extreme flooding has recently occurred across the country. Participants completed questions about their perceptions of and experiences with specific extreme weather events, and their beliefs about climate change. We then conducted linear regressions to predict individual differences in climate-change beliefs, using perceptions of and experiences with specific extreme weather events as predictors, while controlling for demographic characteristics. The US study found that people (a) perceive flood chances to be increasing over the decades, (b) believe climate change to play a role in increases in future flood chances, and (c) would interpret future increases in flooding as evidence for climate change. The UK study found that (a) UK residents are more likely to perceive increases in ';wet' events such

Climate change and the UK house building sector: perceptions, impacts and adaptive capacity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hertin, J.; Berkhout, F.; Gann, D.; Barlow, J.

2003-01-01

This paper explores how climate change could affect the UK house-building sector, focusing on the question of how companies can adapt to changing climatic conditions. It presents the results of in-depth interviews in five house-building companies in the UK. We start from the assumption that climate change is only one driver among many, including technological innovation, shifting consumer expectations and changing regulation, that the industry faces. This approach draws on insights that are well established in the management and innovation literatures, but have often been neglected in studies of climate change. We report research about the perceptions of house builders about future impacts of climate change, potential adaptation measures that may be open to them and their ability to carry out these measures. The paper draws conclusions about the challenges that climate change presents to the UK house building industry. (author)

The Effects of Problem-Based Learning on Pre-Service Teachers' Critical Thinking Dispositions and Perceptions of Problem-Solving Ability

Science.gov (United States)

Temel, Senar

2014-01-01

The aim of this study was two-fold. The first aim was to determine the levels of critical thinking disposition and perception of problem-solving ability of pre-service teachers. The second aim was to compare the effects of problem-based learning and traditional teaching methods on the critical thinking dispositions and perceptions of…

Improving Science Student Teachers' Self-Perceptions of Fluency with Innovative Technologies and Scientific Inquiry Abilities

Science.gov (United States)

Çalik, Muammer; Ebenezer, Jazlin; Özsevgeç, Tuncay; Küçük, Zeynel; Artun, Hüseyin

2015-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of "Environmental Chemistry" elective course via Technology-Embedded Scientific Inquiry (TESI) model on senior science student teachers' (SSSTs) self-perceptions of fluency with innovative technologies (InT) and scientific inquiry abilities. The study was conducted with 117 SSSTs (68…

I Can Assess Myself: Singaporean Primary Students' and Teachers' Perceptions of Students' Self-Assessment Ability

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Hwei Ming

2016-01-01

Student self-assessment engages the students in purposeful reflection about what they are learning and how they are learning it. This study investigated the perceptions of students and teachers towards the students' self-assessment ability in two Singapore primary schools. A total of 75 students were taught how to use self-assessment. Eighteen…

Consumers' quality perception

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bech, Anne C.; Grunert, Klaus G.; Bredahl, Lone

2001-01-01

Much has been said about food quality, and the disussion is endless because the notion of quality changes along with the changes in our life and society. This underlines the complexity of the issue of food quality. Today food production in Europe is highly concentrated, and the global market is r...... framework, the Total Food Quality Model, which we believe is useful in understanding consumers perception of food quality. We will then illustrate applications of the model using two recent examples of the quality perception of meat and fish.......Much has been said about food quality, and the disussion is endless because the notion of quality changes along with the changes in our life and society. This underlines the complexity of the issue of food quality. Today food production in Europe is highly concentrated, and the global market...... of quality and the ability of producers to react to changes in consumers' perception of quality may form the basis of market success or failure, independent of whether you are a local or multinational producer. This chapter deals with the analysis of consumers' quality perception. We will introduce a general...

Risk perceptions, general environmental beliefs, and willingness to address climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O'Connor, R.E.; Bord, R.J.; Fisher, A.

1999-01-01

The research reported here examines the relationship between risk perceptions and willingness to address climate change. The data are a national sample of 1,225 mail surveys that include measures of risk perceptions and knowledge tied to climate change, support for voluntary and government actions to address the problem, general environmental beliefs, and demographic variables. Risk perceptions matter in predicting behavior intentions. Risk perceptions are not a surrogate for general environmental beliefs, but have their own power to account for behavioral intentions. There are four secondary conclusions. First, behavioral intentions regarding climate change are complex and intriguing. People are neither nonbelievers who will take no initiatives themselves and oppose all government efforts, nor are they believers who promise both to make personal efforts and to vote for every government proposal that promises to address climate change. Second, there are separate demographic sources for voluntary actions compared with voting intentions. Third, recognizing the causes of global warming is a powerful predictor of behavioral intentions independent from believing that climate change will happen and have bad consequences. Finally, the success of the risk perception variables to account for behavioral intentions should encourage greater attention to risk perceptions as independent variables. Risk perceptions and knowledge, however, share the stage with general environmental beliefs and demographic characteristics. Although related, risk perceptions, knowledge, and general environmental beliefs are somewhat independent predictors of behavioral intentions

Occupational stress perception and its potential impact on work ability.

Science.gov (United States)

Yong, Mei; Nasterlack, Michael; Pluto, Rolf-Peter; Lang, Stefan; Oberlinner, Christoph

2013-01-01

To examine perceived stress across employees with different occupational status, to investigate the impact of stress on work ability and to derive conclusions regarding health promotion activities. A comprehensive survey combining questionnaire and medical examination was offered in one division in BASF Ludwigshafen. Among 867 voluntary participants, 653 returned complete questionnaires. The questions were directed at perception of safety at the workplace, self-rated health status, frequency of stress symptoms, unrealistic job demands, time pressure and maladjustment of work life balance. The outcome of interest was self-estimated health measured by the Work Ability Index (WAI). Occupational stressors were perceived differently across occupational status groups. Frontline operators had more health concerns due to workplace conditions, while professional and managerial staff reported higher frequencies of perceived tension, time pressure, and maladjustment of work life balance. After adjustment for occupational status, demographic and lifestyle factors, perceived stress was associated with a modest to strong decline in WAI scores. While perceived occupational stress had an apparent impact on WAI, and WAI has been demonstrated to be predictive of early retirement, more intensive and employee group-specific stress management interventions are being implemented beyond traditional strategies of routine occupational medical surveillance.

Neuropsychological Correlates of Hazard Perception in Older Adults.

Science.gov (United States)

McInerney, Katalina; Suhr, Julie

2016-03-01

Hazard perception, the ability to identify and react to hazards while driving, is of growing importance in driving research, given its strong relationship to real word driving variables. Furthermore, although poor hazard perception is associated with novice drivers, recent research suggests that it declines with advanced age. In the present study, we examined the neuropsychological correlates of hazard perception in a healthy older adult sample. A total of 68 adults age 60 and older who showed no signs of dementia and were active drivers completed a battery of neuropsychological tests as well as a hazard perception task. Tests included the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status, Wechsler Test of Adult Reading, Trail Making Test, Block Design, Useful Field of View, and the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System Color Word Interference Test. Hazard perception errors were related to visuospatial/constructional skills, processing speed, memory, and executive functioning skills, with a battery of tests across these domains accounting for 36.7% of the variance in hazard perception errors. Executive functioning, particularly Trail Making Test part B, emerged as a strong predictor of hazard perception ability. Consistent with prior work showing the relationship of neuropsychological performance to other measures of driving ability, neuropsychological performance was associated with hazard perception skill. Future studies should examine the relationship of neuropsychological changes in adults who are showing driving impairment and/or cognitive changes associated with Mild Cognitive Impairment or dementia.

Climate Change Perceptions of NY State Farmers: The Role of Risk Perceptions and Adaptive Capacity

Science.gov (United States)

Takahashi, Bruno; Burnham, Morey; Terracina-Hartman, Carol; Sopchak, Amanda R.; Selfa, Theresa

2016-12-01

Climate change is expected to severely impact agricultural practices in many important food-producing regions, including the Northeast United States. Changing climate conditions, such as increases in the amount of rainfall, will require farmers to adapt. Yet, little is known with regard to farmers' perceptions and understandings about climate change, especially in the industrialized country context. This paper aims at overcoming this research limitation, as well as determining the existing contextual, cognitive, and psychological barriers that can prevent adoption of sustainable practices of farmers in New York State. The study is framed within the adaptive capacity and risk perception literature, and is based on a qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews with farmers in 21 farms in two counties in Central New York. The results reveal diverging views about the long-term consequences of climate change. Results also reveal that past experience remains as the most important source of information that influences beliefs and perceptions about climate change, confirming previous research.

Factors Influencing Smallholder Farmers' Climate Change Perceptions: A Study from Farmers in Ethiopia.

Science.gov (United States)

Habtemariam, Lemlem Teklegiorgis; Gandorfer, Markus; Kassa, Getachew Abate; Heissenhuber, Alois

2016-08-01

Factors influencing climate change perceptions have vital roles in designing strategies to enrich climate change understanding. Despite this, factors that influence smallholder farmers' climate change perceptions have not yet been adequately studied. As many of the smallholder farmers live in regions where climate change is predicted to have the most negative impact, their climate change perception is of particular interest. In this study, based on data collected from Ethiopian smallholder farmers, we assessed farmers' perceptions and anticipations of past and future climate change. Furthermore, the factors influencing farmers' climate change perceptions and the relation between farmers' perceptions and available public climate information were assessed. Our findings revealed that a majority of respondents perceive warming temperatures and decreasing rainfall trends that correspond with the local meteorological record. Farmers' perceptions about the past climate did not always reflect their anticipations about the future. A substantial number of farmers' anticipations of future climate were less consistent with climate model projections. The recursive bivariate probit models employed to explore factors affecting different categories of climate change perceptions illustrate statistical significance for explanatory variables including location, gender, age, education, soil fertility status, climate change information, and access to credit services. The findings contribute to the literature by providing evidence not just on farmers' past climate perceptions but also on future climate anticipations. The identified factors help policy makers to provide targeted extension and advisory services to enrich climate change understanding and support appropriate farm-level climate change adaptations.

Factors Influencing Smallholder Farmers' Climate Change Perceptions: A Study from Farmers in Ethiopia

Science.gov (United States)

Habtemariam, Lemlem Teklegiorgis; Gandorfer, Markus; Kassa, Getachew Abate; Heissenhuber, Alois

2016-08-01

Factors influencing climate change perceptions have vital roles in designing strategies to enrich climate change understanding. Despite this, factors that influence smallholder farmers' climate change perceptions have not yet been adequately studied. As many of the smallholder farmers live in regions where climate change is predicted to have the most negative impact, their climate change perception is of particular interest. In this study, based on data collected from Ethiopian smallholder farmers, we assessed farmers' perceptions and anticipations of past and future climate change. Furthermore, the factors influencing farmers' climate change perceptions and the relation between farmers' perceptions and available public climate information were assessed. Our findings revealed that a majority of respondents perceive warming temperatures and decreasing rainfall trends that correspond with the local meteorological record. Farmers' perceptions about the past climate did not always reflect their anticipations about the future. A substantial number of farmers' anticipations of future climate were less consistent with climate model projections. The recursive bivariate probit models employed to explore factors affecting different categories of climate change perceptions illustrate statistical significance for explanatory variables including location, gender, age, education, soil fertility status, climate change information, and access to credit services. The findings contribute to the literature by providing evidence not just on farmers' past climate perceptions but also on future climate anticipations. The identified factors help policy makers to provide targeted extension and advisory services to enrich climate change understanding and support appropriate farm-level climate change adaptations.

Changes in the language of perception in Cantonese

OpenAIRE

De Sousa, H.

2011-01-01

The way a language encodes sensory experiences changes over time, and often this correlates with other changes in the society. There are noticeable differences in the language of perception between older and younger speakers of Cantonese in Hong Kong and Macau. Younger speakers make finer distinctions in the distal senses, but have less knowledge of the finer categories of the proximal senses than older speakers. The difference in the language of perception between older and younger speakers ...

Perceptions of Life Changes: An Alternate Measure of Aging through Time.

Science.gov (United States)

Suggs, Patricia K.; Kivett, Vira R.

Retrospective strategies measuring perceived life changes over time can further the advancement of life span developmental research. Researchers have neglected the individual's perception of his/her life changes over time. This study attempts to determine discriminators of change over time as operationalized by perceptions of change. Subjects…

Majority Teachers' Perceptions of Urban Adolescents and Their Abilities: Probes from Self-Reflection and Teacher Autobiographies

Science.gov (United States)

Harushimana, Immaculee

2010-01-01

This article presents a small scale, qualitative study of nine majority alternate-route teachers and the perceptions they hold about themselves as urban educators and their urban students' academic abilities. Data for this study was collected through self-reflective, written interviews and meta-reflective responses to two published teacher…

Rethinking species’ ability to cope with rapid climate change

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hof, Christian; Levinsky, Irina; Bastos Araujo, Miguel

2011-01-01

Ongoing climate change is assumed to be exceptional because of its unprecedented velocity. However, new geophysical research suggests that dramatic climatic changes during the Late Pleistocene occurred extremely rapid, over just a few years. These abrupt climatic changes may have been even faster...... than contemporary ones, but relatively few continent-wide extinctions of species have been documented for these periods. This raises questions about the ability of extant species to adapt to ongoing climate change. We propose that the advances in geophysical research challenge current views about...... species' ability to cope with climate change, and that lessons must be learned for modelling future impacts of climate change on species....

Farmers' perception on the effects of climate change on groundnut ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The study analyzed farmer's perception on the effect of climate change on groundnut production in Obi Local Government Area of Benue State, Nigeria. Despite the fact that efforts have been made towards combating climate change, research and policies directed towards understanding of local perception are useful in ...

Public Perception of Uncertainties Within Climate Change Science.

Science.gov (United States)

Visschers, Vivianne H M

2018-01-01

Climate change is a complex, multifaceted problem involving various interacting systems and actors. Therefore, the intensities, locations, and timeframes of the consequences of climate change are hard to predict and cause uncertainties. Relatively little is known about how the public perceives this scientific uncertainty and how this relates to their concern about climate change. In this article, an online survey among 306 Swiss people is reported that investigated whether people differentiate between different types of uncertainty in climate change research. Also examined was the way in which the perception of uncertainty is related to people's concern about climate change, their trust in science, their knowledge about climate change, and their political attitude. The results of a principal component analysis showed that respondents differentiated between perceived ambiguity in climate research, measurement uncertainty, and uncertainty about the future impact of climate change. Using structural equation modeling, it was found that only perceived ambiguity was directly related to concern about climate change, whereas measurement uncertainty and future uncertainty were not. Trust in climate science was strongly associated with each type of uncertainty perception and was indirectly associated with concern about climate change. Also, more knowledge about climate change was related to less strong perceptions of each type of climate science uncertainty. Hence, it is suggested that to increase public concern about climate change, it may be especially important to consider the perceived ambiguity about climate research. Efforts that foster trust in climate science also appear highly worthwhile. © 2017 Society for Risk Analysis.

Climate Change Risk Perception in Taiwan: Correlation with Individual and Societal Factors.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Yingying; Han, Ziqiang

2018-01-08

This study differentiates the risk perception and influencing factors of climate change along the dimensions of global severity and personal threat. Using the 2013 Taiwan Social Change Survey (TSGS) data (N = 2001) as a representative sample of adults from Taiwan, we investigated the influencing factors of the risk perceptions of climate change in these two dimensions (global severity and personal threat). Logistic regression models were used to examine the correlations of individual factors (gender, age, education, climate-related disaster experience and risk awareness, marital status, employment status, household income, and perceived social status) and societal factors (religion, organizational embeddedness, and political affiliations) with the above two dimensions. The results demonstrate that climate-related disaster experience has no significant impact on either the perception of global severity or the perception of personal impact. However, climate-related risk awareness (regarding typhoons, in particular) is positively associated with both dimensions of the perceived risks of climate change. With higher education, individuals are more concerned about global severity than personal threat. Regarding societal factors, the supporters of political parties have higher risk perceptions of climate change than people who have no party affiliation. Religious believers have higher risk perceptions of personal threat than non-religious people. This paper ends with a discussion about the effectiveness of efforts to enhance risk perception of climate change with regard to global severity and personal threat.

Global Transsaccadic Change Blindness During Scene Perception

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Henderson, John

2003-01-01

.... The results from two experiments demonstrated a global transsaccadic change-blindness effect, suggesting that point-by-point visual representations are not functional across saccades during complex scene perception. Ahstract.

Resident duty hour modification affects perceptions in medical education, general wellness, and ability to provide patient care.

Science.gov (United States)

Moeller, Andrew; Webber, Jordan; Epstein, Ian

2016-07-13

Resident duty hours have recently been under criticism, with concerns for resident and patient well-being. Historically, call shifts have been long, and some residency training programs have now restricted shift lengths. Data and opinions about the effects of such restrictions are conflicting. The Internal Medicine Residency Program at Dalhousie University recently moved from a traditional call structure to a day float/night float system. This study evaluated how this change in duty hours affected resident perceptions in several key domains. Senior residents from an internal medicine training program in Canada responded to an anonymous online survey immediately before and 6 months after the implementation of duty hour reform. The survey contained questions relating to three major domains: resident wellness, ability to deliver quality health care, and medical education experience. Mean pre- and post-intervention scores were compared using the t-test for paired samples. Twenty-three of 27 (85 %) senior residents completed both pre- and post-reform surveys. Residents perceived significant changes in many domains with duty hour reform. These included improved general wellness, less exposure to personal harm, fewer feelings of isolation, less potential for error, improvement in clinical skills expertise, increased work efficiency, more successful teaching, increased proficiency in medical skills, more successful learning, and fewer rotation disruptions. Senior residents in a Canadian internal medicine training program perceived significant benefits in medical education experience, ability to deliver healthcare, and resident wellness after implementation of duty hour reform.

Perceptions of Post-Wildfire Landscape Change and Recovery

Science.gov (United States)

Kooistra, C. M.; Hall, T. E.; Paveglio, T.; Carroll, M.; Smith, A. M.

2013-12-01

Considering the dynamic nature of the earth and climate systems and the increasing potential for widespread forest disturbances, it is important to understand the implications of landscape changes, and perceptions of changes, on people's responses to forest disturbances. Understanding how people perceive landscape change over time following forest disturbances helps researchers, land managers, and community leaders identify important biophysical and social characteristics that influence the vulnerability of people who experience forest disturbances, as well as their responses to those disturbances. This poster describes people's perceptions of landscape change following a significant wildfire. The lightning ignited Dahl fire burned 12 miles southeast of Roundup, MT mostly on private land in the summer of June 2012. The fire burned approximately 22,000 acres and destroyed 73 residences. We conducted interviews in the summer of 2013 with more than 40 residents, land managers, emergency personnel, and other stakeholders. While interviews covered several topics, this poster focuses on responses to questions regarding perceptions of short- and long-term landscape change after the fire, including both social and biophysical perspectives. Interviews revealed that people's understanding of the role of wildfires as a natural ecosystem process, as well as their connections with the landscape (i.e., sense of place), were important factors that influenced their perceptions of landscape change after the fire. Many respondents discussed the landscape ';recovering' to pre-fire conditions in longer-term timeframes, such as ';multiple generations.' They often referenced previous wildfires, the Hawk Creek fire (1984) and the Majeras fire (2006), by explaining how parts of the landscape affected by the Dahl fire might compare to certain areas of the previous fires. Variations in recovery expectations were often based on perceptions of the severity of the fire (especially temperature

Predictors of public climate change awareness and risk perception around the world

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Tien Ming; Markowitz, Ezra M.; Howe, Peter D.; Ko, Chia-Ying; Leiserowitz, Anthony A.

2015-11-01

Climate change is a threat to human societies and natural ecosystems, yet public opinion research finds that public awareness and concern vary greatly. Here, using an unprecedented survey of 119 countries, we determine the relative influence of socio-demographic characteristics, geography, perceived well-being, and beliefs on public climate change awareness and risk perceptions at national scales. Worldwide, educational attainment is the single strongest predictor of climate change awareness. Understanding the anthropogenic cause of climate change is the strongest predictor of climate change risk perceptions, particularly in Latin America and Europe, whereas perception of local temperature change is the strongest predictor in many African and Asian countries. However, other key factors associated with public awareness and risk perceptions highlight the need to develop tailored climate communication strategies for individual nations. The results suggest that improving basic education, climate literacy, and public understanding of the local dimensions of climate change are vital to public engagement and support for climate action.

Changing Perception of Physical Properties using Multimodal Augmented Reality: Position Paper

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lugtenberg, Geert; Sandor, Christian; Hürst, W.O.; Plopski, Alexander; Taketomi, Takafumi; Kato, Hirokazu; Rosa, N.E.

2016-01-01

By means of augmented reality (AR) systems it has become increasingly easy to manipulate our perception of real objects. In this position paper we review existing work that changes physical property perception, and propose methods for changing perceived object density during haptic interaction. Our

Plasticity in the Human Speech Motor System Drives Changes in Speech Perception

Science.gov (United States)

Lametti, Daniel R.; Rochet-Capellan, Amélie; Neufeld, Emily; Shiller, Douglas M.

2014-01-01

Recent studies of human speech motor learning suggest that learning is accompanied by changes in auditory perception. But what drives the perceptual change? Is it a consequence of changes in the motor system? Or is it a result of sensory inflow during learning? Here, subjects participated in a speech motor-learning task involving adaptation to altered auditory feedback and they were subsequently tested for perceptual change. In two separate experiments, involving two different auditory perceptual continua, we show that changes in the speech motor system that accompany learning drive changes in auditory speech perception. Specifically, we obtained changes in speech perception when adaptation to altered auditory feedback led to speech production that fell into the phonetic range of the speech perceptual tests. However, a similar change in perception was not observed when the auditory feedback that subjects' received during learning fell into the phonetic range of the perceptual tests. This indicates that the central motor outflow associated with vocal sensorimotor adaptation drives changes to the perceptual classification of speech sounds. PMID:25080594

Perceptions and Misconceptions Regarding Climate Change: Politics versus Education

Science.gov (United States)

Gil, Elia O.

Climate change has been increasingly becoming a commonly debated topic among the public (Lambert & Bleicher, 2013). This is especially true with scientists and educators (Cooney, 2010). Terminology, politics, and misconceptions can bias perceptions. Scientists also tend to disagree over the cause of climate change and the data resulting from different studies (Idso, Carter, & Singer, 2016). The pilot study was conducted to examine perceptions of preservice teachers regarding climate change. There were forty participants, comprised of twenty Hispanic, nineteen Anglo American, and one African American, enrolled in a required course for future science educators in a medium-sized south Texas university. The pilot study included pre- and post-tests distributed to all of the participants and one on one interviews with three randomly selected pre-service teachers. The post-test results showed a significant difference in statements about the belief that climate change is real, about there being enough scientific evidence to prove the climate is changing, and the belief we are experiencing an extinction event due to climate change. While one lesson on climate change may not prove to be enough to change all of the participants' perceptions, there were some pre-service teachers who did begin to think differently about the impact of human activities and became more aware of climate change issues. The findings from this research show how beneficial a lesson on climate change can be to the future careers of science educators and in turn contribute considerably to the education of future students.

Southern Foresters' Perceptions of Climate Change: Implications for Educational Program Development

Science.gov (United States)

Boby, Leslie; Hubbard, William; Megalos, Mark; Morris, Hilary L. C.

2016-01-01

An understanding of foresters' perceptions of climate change is important for developing effective educational programs on adaptive forest management. We surveyed 1,398 foresters in the southern United States regarding their perceptions of climate change, observations and concerns about climatic and forest conditions, and knowledge of and interest…

Changing perceptions of teachers regarding the importance and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Changing perceptions of teachers regarding the importance and competence of their principals as leaders. ... One group of 20 principals was provided with an intervention programme regarding the dimensions of holistic leadership. The other ... Keywords: educational change; head teachers; leadership; school principals ...

Leisure activity associated with cognitive ability level, but not cognitive change

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gow, Alan John; Avlund, Kirsten; Mortensen, Erik L

2014-01-01

Although activity participation is promoted as cognitively protective, critical questions of causality remain. In a cohort followed every 5 years from age 75 to 85 years, potential reciprocal associations between level and change in leisure activity participation and level and change in cognitive...... abilities were examined. Participants in the Glostrup 1914 Cohort, a longitudinal study of aging, completed standardized cognitive ability tests and reported their leisure activity participation (11 activities defined a leisure activity score) at ages 75, 80, and 85. Higher leisure activity was associated...... with higher cognitive ability (significant correlations ranged from 0.15 to 0.31, p cognitive ability declined significantly. Growth curve models, which provided latent variables for level of and 10-year change in both leisure activity...

Changes in household composition as determinant of changes in functional ability among old men and women

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Avlund, Kirsten; Due, Pernille; Holstein, Bjørn Evald

2002-01-01

The aims of this article were 1) to describe changes in functional ability from ages 75 to 80 among men and women in three Nordic localities, and 2) to analyze whether these changes are determined by changes in household composition from ages 70 to 75. The present analyses include the persons who...... among the poor-functioning men. It is concluded that poor-functioning, single-living women are at higher risk of not regaining functional ability compared to cohabiting women.......The aims of this article were 1) to describe changes in functional ability from ages 75 to 80 among men and women in three Nordic localities, and 2) to analyze whether these changes are determined by changes in household composition from ages 70 to 75. The present analyses include the persons who...... participated in the NORA follow-up study of 75-80 year-old men and women in Jyväskylä, Finland (N=243), Göteborg, Sweden (N=226), and Glostrup, Denmark (N=274). Functional ability was measured by tiredness and need for help in Physical and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (PADL and IADL). Changes...

Perceptual asymmetry in texture perception.

OpenAIRE

Williams, D; Julesz, B

1992-01-01

A fundamental property of human visual perception is our ability to distinguish between textures. A concerted effort has been made to account for texture segregation in terms of linear spatial filter models and their nonlinear extensions. However, for certain texture pairs the ease of discrimination changes when the role of figure and ground are reversed. This asymmetry poses a problem for both linear and nonlinear models. We have isolated a property of texture perception that can account for...

Communities' perception of climate change risks in South America's ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

2014-08-15

Aug 15, 2014 ... uses an Integrated Coastal Management approach and stakeholder perceptions of climate change risks to inform wetland management. ... has been made worse by extreme events tied to climate change. ... Related articles ...

Perceptions of Climate Change and the Potential for Adaptation in a Rural Community in Limpopo Province, South Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sejabaledi A. Rankoana

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Perceptions of climate change by rural communities are centered on observations of variations in temperature and rainfall patterns supported by observations and projections on climate alterations in the form of increased temperatures and scarce rainfall by scientists worldwide. The present study documented perceptions of climate variation and the community’s ability to adapt to climate change hazards threatening the production of subsistence crops. Data were collected through interactions with 100 participants. In the study, climate change is explained as variations in temperature and rainfall patterns which resulted in excessive heat, erratic rainfall patterns and drought negatively impacting on subsistence crop production. Community members have the potential to limit the impacts of climate hazards on subsistence crop production. The negative impacts of climate hazards are limited by community members’ indigenous knowledge of rainfall prediction, the seasons, crop diversification and mixed cropping. Mulching and the application of kraal manure improve the soil structure and fertility to reduce crop failure. These adaptation measures are resilient to the negative impact of climate hazards and may be helpful in the development of adaptation policies to assist rural communities vulnerable to climate change hazards.

Do Visually Impaired People Develop Superior Smell Ability?

Science.gov (United States)

Majchrzak, Dorota; Eberhard, Julia; Kalaus, Barbara; Wagner, Karl-Heinz

2017-10-01

It is well known that visually impaired people perform better in orientation by sound than sighted individuals, but it is not clear whether this enhanced awareness also extends to other senses. Therefore, the aim of this study was to observe whether visually impaired subjects develop superior abilities in olfactory perception to compensate for their lack of vision. We investigated the odor perception of visually impaired individuals aged 7 to 89 ( n = 99; 52 women, 47 men) and compared them with subjects of a control group aged 8 to 82 years ( n = 100; 45 women, 55 men) without any visual impairment. The participants were evaluated by Sniffin' Sticks odor identification and discrimination test. Identification ability was assessed for 16 common odors presented in felt-tip pens. In the odor discrimination task, subjects had to determine which of three pens in 16 triplets had a different odor. The median number of correctly identified odorant pens in both groups was the same, 13 of the offered 16. In the discrimination test, there was also no significant difference observed. Gender did not influence results. Age-related changes were observed in both groups with olfactory perception decreasing after the age of 51. We could not confirm that visually impaired people were better in smell identification and discrimination ability than sighted individuals.

A Case Study of Student Teachers' Changing Self-Perceptions in a Field Experience Setting

Science.gov (United States)

Cals Southern, Jennifer

2016-01-01

In the field of education new teacher candidates may not be exposed to best practices and given constructive feedback. In fact, student teachers may be at risk of not recognizing their own growing abilities as teachers, which can impact their performance in the classroom. Student teachers' perceptions of their own teaching abilities are greater…

Exploring employees' perceptions, job-related attitudes and characteristics during a planned organizational change

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katsaros, K.K.

2014-07-01

Full Text Available The current study explores employee perceptions regarding organizational readiness to change, supervisory support, trust in management and appropriateness of change during a planned organizational change in a public hospital. Survey data were collected at two time periods, before and five months after the initiation of the planned change. Research findings show a significant increase in perceptive organizational readiness to change, supervisory support, trust in management and appropriateness of change after the planned change implementation. Findings also suggest that differences in the aforementioned perceptions are moderated by certain job-related attitudes, namely, job satisfaction, organizational commitment and job involvement; and job-related characteristics, namely, skill variety, task identity, task significance feedback, autonomy and goal clarity. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Climate change risk perception and communication: addressing a critical moment?

Science.gov (United States)

Pidgeon, Nick

2012-06-01

Climate change is an increasingly salient issue for societies and policy-makers worldwide. It now raises fundamental interdisciplinary issues of risk and uncertainty analysis and communication. The growing scientific consensus over the anthropogenic causes of climate change appears to sit at odds with the increasing use of risk discourses in policy: for example, to aid in climate adaptation decision making. All of this points to a need for a fundamental revision of our conceptualization of what it is to do climate risk communication. This Special Collection comprises seven papers stimulated by a workshop on "Climate Risk Perceptions and Communication" held at Cumberland Lodge Windsor in 2010. Topics addressed include climate uncertainties, images and the media, communication and public engagement, uncertainty transfer in climate communication, the role of emotions, localization of hazard impacts, and longitudinal analyses of climate perceptions. Climate change risk perceptions and communication work is critical for future climate policy and decisions. © 2012 Society for Risk Analysis.

Perceptions Displayed by Novice Programmers When Exploring the Relationship Between Modularization Ability and Performance in the C++ Programming Language

Science.gov (United States)

Vodounon, Maurice A.

2004-01-01

The primary purpose of this study was to analyze different perceptions displayed by novice programmers in the C++ programming language, and determine if modularization ability could be improved by an instructional treatment that concentrated on solving computer programs from previously existing modules. This study attempted to answer the following…

Audiovisual Speech Perception in Infancy: The Influence of Vowel Identity and Infants' Productive Abilities on Sensitivity to (Mis)Matches between Auditory and Visual Speech Cues

Science.gov (United States)

Altvater-Mackensen, Nicole; Mani, Nivedita; Grossmann, Tobias

2016-01-01

Recent studies suggest that infants' audiovisual speech perception is influenced by articulatory experience (Mugitani et al., 2008; Yeung & Werker, 2013). The current study extends these findings by testing if infants' emerging ability to produce native sounds in babbling impacts their audiovisual speech perception. We tested 44 6-month-olds…

Disentangling beat perception from sequential learning and examining the influence of attention and musical abilities on ERP responses to rhythm

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bouwer, F.L.; Werner, C.M.; Knetemann, M.; Honing, H.

Beat perception is the ability to perceive temporal regularity in musical rhythm. When a beat is perceived, predictions about upcoming events can be generated. These predictions can influence processing of subsequent rhythmic events. However, statistical learning of the order of sounds in a sequence

The public perception of climate change in Taiwan and its paradigm shift

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chou, Kuei Tien

2013-01-01

This study attempts to explore the risk perceptions of climate change in Taiwan. It probes into the public's views toward governments' risk communication regarding climate change, citizens' participation in decision-making, and their trust in the capacity of governments toward risk governance, as well as their attitude towards corporate social responsibility. For analysis, we developed ten types of perceptions under three dimensions: namely the severity of climate change (Type 1), the development of sustainable society (Types 2, 3, 4 and 5), and the risk governance and communication (Types 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10) to discuss whether the Taiwanese public's perception of climate change was prepared for a socially reflective paradigm shift. Regarding the three dimensions in the questionnaire design, although this study individually measured the public's risk perception, there was a high correlation between the variance analysis results among the three dimensions. This could systematically explain the potential change of the governance paradigm in Taiwanese society concerning structural transformation. - Highlights: • The public had critical view on the policy decision-making of climate change. • There is low public trust in the government's capacity to resist climate change. • The public requested more risk communication, transparency and participation. • The pursuit of an alternative sustainable economic society is highly expected. • People supported renewable energy by higher prices for carbon reduction

The impact of aesthetic evaluation and physical ability on dance perception.

Science.gov (United States)

Cross, Emily S; Kirsch, Louise; Ticini, Luca F; Schütz-Bosbach, Simone

2011-01-01

The field of neuroaesthetics attracts attention from neuroscientists and artists interested in the neural underpinnings of esthetic experience. Though less studied than the neuroaesthetics of visual art, dance neuroaesthetics is a particularly rich subfield to explore, as it is informed not only by research on the neurobiology of aesthetics, but also by an extensive literature on how action experience shapes perception. Moreover, it is ideally suited to explore the embodied simulation account of esthetic experience, which posits that activation within sensorimotor areas of the brain, known as the action observation network (AON), is a critical element of the esthetic response. In the present study, we address how observers' esthetic evaluation of dance is related to their perceived physical ability to reproduce the movements they watch. Participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while evaluating how much they liked and how well they thought they could physically replicate a range of dance movements performed by professional ballet dancers. We used parametric analyses to evaluate brain regions that tracked with degree of liking and perceived physical ability. The findings reveal strongest activation of occipitotemporal and parietal portions of the AON when participants view movements they rate as both esthetically pleasing and difficult to reproduce. As such, these findings begin to illuminate how the embodied simulation account of esthetic experience might apply to watching dance, and provide preliminary evidence as to why some people find enjoyment in an evening at the ballet.

First-time mothers' breast-feeding maintenance: role of experiences and changes in maternal perceptions.

Science.gov (United States)

Schafer, Ellen J; Campo, Shelly; Colaizy, Tarah T; Mulder, Pamela J; Breheny, Patrick; Ashida, Sato

2017-12-01

Breast-feeding initiation rates have increased in the USA; however, maintenance of breast-feeding for recommended durations is low. The objective of the present study was to identify factors that may facilitate breast-feeding for longer durations among first-time mothers, including physiological and social experiences and changes in maternal perceptions. Survival analysis and linear regression methods were used to explore the relationship between experiences and breast-feeding duration, and the possible mediating effect of changes in maternal perceptions. Secondary data from the Infant Feeding Practices Study II, conducted in the USA between 2005 and 2007. Data from 762 first-time mothers who ever breast-fed were analysed. Experiencing trouble with baby's latch, problems with milk flow/supply and painful breast-feeding were significantly associated with breast-feeding duration (64, 26 and 36 % shorter duration, respectively). Meanwhile, positive changes in perception with respect to breast-feeding self-efficacy, opinion about infant feeding and belief about breast milk were associated with 16-27 % longer duration. Furthermore, changes in perception were observed to partially mediate the impact of physiological experiences on breast-feeding duration. Perceptions of breast-feeding self-efficacy, beliefs and opinions can change over time and are influenced by breast-feeding experiences. The combined effect of experience and perception plays a key role in influencing breast-feeding duration. Future research should explore interventions to maintain or improve these perceptions while accounting for physiological experiences to support breast-feeding for recommended durations among first-time mothers.

How the Ability to Manage Change Affects Leadership Style

Science.gov (United States)

Pujol, Kelley

2012-01-01

This study addressed how the ability to manage change affects leadership style. The problem addressed in this project was the natural human tendency to resist change and how the inability to mange this tendency can interfere with the development of leadership skills. The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate how an individual's change…

51 climate change perception, awareness and adaptation decision ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2 Environment Department, University of York, York, UK. Corresponding author: ... The perception of climate change and adaptation decision of forest .... well as the broader characteristics of the production system and ... mangrove forest, Guinea savanna, montane forest ...... forecastsand regional climate-risk management.

Person perception from changing emotional expressions: primacy, recency, or averaging effect?

Science.gov (United States)

Fang, Xia; van Kleef, Gerben A; Sauter, Disa A

2018-02-01

Dynamic changes in emotional expressions are a valuable source of information in social interactions. As the expressive behaviour of a person changes, the inferences drawn from the behaviour may also change. Here, we test the possibility that dynamic changes in emotional expressions affect person perception in terms of stable trait attributions. Across three experiments, we examined perceivers' inferences about others' personality traits from changing emotional expressions. Expressions changed from one emotion ("start emotion") to another emotion ("end emotion"), allowing us to disentangle potential primacy, recency, and averaging effects. Drawing on three influential models of person perception, we examined perceptions of dominance and affiliation (Experiment 1a), competence and warmth (Experiment 1b), and dominance and trustworthiness (Experiment 2). A strong recency effect was consistently found across all trait judgments, that is, the end emotion of dynamic expressions had a strong impact on trait ratings. Evidence for a primacy effect was also observed (i.e. the information of start emotions was integrated), but less pronounced, and only for trait ratings relating to affiliation, warmth, and trustworthiness. Taken together, these findings suggest that, when making trait judgements about others, observers weigh the most recently displayed emotion in dynamic expressions more heavily than the preceding emotion.

Perceptions and abilities related to patient engagement in diabetes care among primary health care providers in Malaysia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bjerre-Christensen, Ulla; Kragelund Nielsen, Karoline; Calopietro, Michael

Background: Malaysia seeks to transform its public health sector to manage the growing number of people with diabetes. Patient engagement is a critical clinical competency for HCPs treating people with diabetes. We investigated perceptions of and ability to practice patient engagement among doctors....... The interviews were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Summary of Results: Three main themes emerged: 1) limitations in understanding barriers to self-care and treatment especially from a psychosocial perspective, 2) substantial variation in health care providers’ skills within patient engagement...... health care providers’ ability to place the patient at the center of all therapeutic decisions. Take-home Message: Future efforts to improve self-care should seek to develop competencies within patient engagement especially strengthening understanding of psychosocial barriers to self-care. Organisation...

Effect of Tempo on Pitch Perception.

Science.gov (United States)

Duke, Robert A.; And Others

1988-01-01

Presents a study which investigated the perception of music majors and nonmusic majors concerning their ability to discriminate the way in which altered musical excerpts differed in pitch or tempo (or both) from preceding presentations. Concludes that both groups responded similarly across conditions and replications, and that tempo changes were…

Changing Forest Disturbance Regimes and Risk Perceptions in Homer, Alaska

Science.gov (United States)

Courtney G. F1int

2007-01-01

Forest disturbances caused by insects can lead to other disturbances, risks, and changes across landscapes. Evaluating the human dimensions of such disturbances furthers understanding of integrated changes in natural and social systems. This article examines the effects of changing forest disturbance regimes on local risk perceptions and attitudes in Homer, Alaska....

The genetic basis of music ability

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Yi Ting; McPherson, Gary E.; Peretz, Isabelle; Berkovic, Samuel F.; Wilson, Sarah J.

2014-01-01

Music is an integral part of the cultural heritage of all known human societies, with the capacity for music perception and production present in most people. Researchers generally agree that both genetic and environmental factors contribute to the broader realization of music ability, with the degree of music aptitude varying, not only from individual to individual, but across various components of music ability within the same individual. While environmental factors influencing music development and expertise have been well investigated in the psychological and music literature, the interrogation of possible genetic influences has not progressed at the same rate. Recent advances in genetic research offer fertile ground for exploring the genetic basis of music ability. This paper begins with a brief overview of behavioral and molecular genetic approaches commonly used in human genetic analyses, and then critically reviews the key findings of genetic investigations of the components of music ability. Some promising and converging findings have emerged, with several loci on chromosome 4 implicated in singing and music perception, and certain loci on chromosome 8q implicated in absolute pitch and music perception. The gene AVPR1A on chromosome 12q has also been implicated in music perception, music memory, and music listening, whereas SLC6A4 on chromosome 17q has been associated with music memory and choir participation. Replication of these results in alternate populations and with larger samples is warranted to confirm the findings. Through increased research efforts, a clearer picture of the genetic mechanisms underpinning music ability will hopefully emerge. PMID:25018744

Individual Local Farmers’ Perceptions of Environmental Change in Tanzania

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lina Röschel

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Climatic and environmental changes are expected to affect in particular those regions where the economy is primarily based on the agricultural sector and where the dependency on water availability is high. This study examines how smallholder farmers in rural Tanzania perceived climatic and environmental changes over the past 20 years and the resulting effects on water availability and food security. The study is based on a household survey of 899 farmers in a semi-arid and a sub-humid region in Tanzania. It was found that (a significant differences in perceptions of the environment by farmers can be attributed to agro-climatic location, while the distance to a water source has less impact on individual perception; (b differently perceived changes affect individual water availability and food security; and (c the farm level adaptation methods applied are linked to vulnerability to changes and the household dependence on the immediate environment. The authors conclude that the specific environmental surroundings paired with socio-economic factors can severely compound the negative effects of water scarcity on rural farmers.

Speech-Language Pathologists' Perceptions of the Importance and Ability to Use Assistive Technology in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Dawaideh, Ahmad Mousa

2013-01-01

Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) frequently work with people with severe communication disorders who require assistive technology (AT) for communication. The purpose of this study was to investigate the SLPs perceptions of the importance of and ability level required for using AT, and the relationship of AT with gender, level of education,…

Perceptions on climate change and its impact on livelihoods in Hwange district, Zimbabwe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Charles Nhemachena

2014-12-01

Full Text Available This study investigated perceptions of rural communities on climate change and its impacts on livelihoods. The research was conducted in the semi-arid Hwange district in Matebelel and North province of Zimbabwe. The perceptions were compared with empirical evidence from climatic studies on trends on temperature and rainfall, and impacts on livelihoods in the country and region. The findings from the current study are generally in agreement with those of other studies that indicate changes in the climate, especially in terms of rainfall. This largely applies to short-term periods; however, for long-term periods it is difficult to accurately relate rural community perceptions to changes in rainfall over time. Despite perceived changes and impacts of climate change on local livelihood activities, mainly agriculture, there are multiple stressors that the communities face which also affect their livelihoods. Further evidence-based research is required to disentangle climate change impacts on livelihoods, including livelihood impacts arising from interactions of climate and non-climatic factors.

Perceptions of climate change and barriers to adaptation amongst ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Perceptions of climate change and barriers to adaptation amongst commonage and commercial livestock farmers in the semi-arid Eastern Cape Karoo. ... of farmers, compelling them to implement more resilient adaptive measures to decrease ...

The Influence of Instruction, Prior Knowledge, and Values on Climate Change Risk Perception among Undergraduates

Science.gov (United States)

Aksit, Osman; McNeal, Karen S.; Gold, Anne U.; Libarkin, Julie C.; Harris, Sara

2018-01-01

We evaluated influences on the climate change risk perceptions of undergraduate students in an introductory Earth Science course. For this sample, domain-specific content knowledge about climate change was a significant predictor of students' risk perception of climate change while cultural worldviews (individualism, hierarchy) and political…

A cross-sectional study of mathematics achievement, estimation skills, and academic self-perception in students of varying ability.

Science.gov (United States)

Montague, Marjorie; van Garderen, Delinda

2003-01-01

This study investigated students' mathematics achievement, estimation ability, use of estimation strategies, and academic self-perception. Students with learning disabilities (LD), average achievers, and intellectually gifted students (N = 135) in fourth, sixth, and eighth grade participated in the study. They were assessed to determine their mathematics achievement, ability to estimate discrete quantities, knowledge and use of estimation strategies, and perception of academic competence. The results indicated that the students with LD performed significantly lower than their peers on the math achievement measures, as expected, but viewed themselves to be as academically competent as the average achievers did. Students with LD and average achievers scored significantly lower than gifted students on all estimation measures, but they differed significantly from one another only on the estimation strategy use measure. Interestingly, even gifted students did not seem to have a well-developed understanding of estimation and, like the other students, did poorly on the first estimation measure. The accuracy of their estimates seemed to improve, however, when students were asked open-ended questions about the strategies they used to arrive at their estimates. Although students with LD did not differ from average achievers in their estimation accuracy, they used significantly fewer effective estimation strategies. Implications for instruction are discussed.

Perceptions of aging across 26 cultures and their culture-level associates.

Science.gov (United States)

Löckenhoff, Corinna E; De Fruyt, Filip; Terracciano, Antonio; McCrae, Robert R; De Bolle, Marleen; Costa, Paul T; Aguilar-Vafaie, Maria E; Ahn, Chang-kyu; Ahn, Hyun-nie; Alcalay, Lidia; Allik, Juri; Avdeyeva, Tatyana V; Barbaranelli, Claudio; Benet-Martinez, Veronica; Blatný, Marek; Bratko, Denis; Cain, Thomas R; Crawford, Jarret T; Lima, Margarida P; Ficková, Emília; Gheorghiu, Mirona; Halberstadt, Jamin; Hrebícková, Martina; Jussim, Lee; Klinkosz, Waldemar; Knezević, Goran; de Figueroa, Nora Leibovich; Martin, Thomas A; Marusić, Iris; Mastor, Khairul Anwar; Miramontez, Daniel R; Nakazato, Katsuharu; Nansubuga, Florence; Pramila, V S; Realo, Anu; Rolland, Jean-Pierre; Rossier, Jerome; Schmidt, Vanina; Sekowski, Andrzej; Shakespeare-Finch, Jane; Shimonaka, Yoshiko; Simonetti, Franco; Siuta, Jerzy; Smith, Peter B; Szmigielska, Barbara; Wang, Lei; Yamaguchi, Mami; Yik, Michelle

2009-12-01

College students (N=3,435) in 26 cultures reported their perceptions of age-related changes in physical, cognitive, and socioemotional areas of functioning and rated societal views of aging within their culture. There was widespread cross-cultural consensus regarding the expected direction of aging trajectories with (a) perceived declines in societal views of aging, physical attractiveness, the ability to perform everyday tasks, and new learning; (b) perceived increases in wisdom, knowledge, and received respect; and (c) perceived stability in family authority and life satisfaction. Cross-cultural variations in aging perceptions were associated with culture-level indicators of population aging, education levels, values, and national character stereotypes. These associations were stronger for societal views on aging and perceptions of socioemotional changes than for perceptions of physical and cognitive changes. A consideration of culture-level variables also suggested that previously reported differences in aging perceptions between Asian and Western countries may be related to differences in population structure. PsycINFO Database Record Copyright (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved

The Effect of Concurrent Music Reading and Performance on the Ability to Detect Tempo Change.

Science.gov (United States)

Ellis, Mark Carlton

1989-01-01

Measures the ability of three groups of musicians to detect tempo change while reading and performing music. Compares this ability with that of the same musicians to detect tempo change while listening only. Found that for all groups the ability to detect tempo changes was inhibited by the playing task, although to different degrees for each…

Through the eyes of children: perceptions of environmental change in tropical forests.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anne-Sophie Pellier

Full Text Available This study seeks to understand children's perceptions of their present and future environments in the highly biodiverse and rapidly changing landscapes of Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo. We analyzed drawings by children (target age 10-15 years from 22 villages, which show how children perceive the present conditions of forests and wildlife surrounding their villages and how they expect conditions to change over the next 15 years. Analyses of picture elements and their relationships to current landscape variables indicate that children have a sophisticated understanding of their environment and how different environmental factors interact, either positively or negatively. Children appear to have landscape-dependent environmental perceptions, showing awareness of past environmental conditions and many aspects of recent trends, and translating these into predictions for future environmental conditions. The further removed their present landscape is from the originally forested one, the more environmental change they expect in the future, particularly declines in forest cover, rivers, animal diversity and increases in temperature and natural disasters. This suggests that loss of past perceptions and associated "shifting environmental baselines" do not feature strongly among children on Borneo, at least not for the perceptions we investigated here. Our findings that children have negative expectations of their future environmental conditions have important political implications. More than other generations, children have a stake in ensuring that future environmental conditions support their long-term well-being. Understanding what drives environmental views among children, and how they consider trade-offs between economic development and social and environmental change, should inform optimal policies on land use. Our study illuminates part of the complex interplay between perceptions of land cover and land use change. Capturing the views of children

Mind-Reading ability and structural connectivity changes in aging

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Monia eCabinio

2015-11-01

Full Text Available The Mind-Reading ability through the eyes is an important component of the affective Theory of Mind (ToM, which allows people to infer the other’s mental state from the eye gaze. The aim of the present study was to investigate to which extent age-associated structural brain changes impact this ability and to determine if this association is related to executive functions in elderly subjects. For this purpose, Magnetic Resonance Imaging was used to determine both gray matter and white matter areas associated with aging. The resulting areas have been included in a subsequent correlation analysis to detect the brain regions whose structure was associated with the Mind-Reading ability through the eyes, assessed with the Italian version of the Reading the Mind in the Eyes (RME test, in a sample of 36 healthy subjects ranging from 24 to 79 years of age. The analysis resulted in three important findings: 1 the performance to the RME test is relatively stable across the decades 20-70 (despite a slight decrease of this ability with aging and independent from executive functions; 2 structural brain imaging demonstrated the involvement of a great number of cortical ToM areas for the execution of the RME test: the bilateral precentral gyrus, the bilateral posterior insula, the left superior temporal gyrus and the left inferior frontal gyrus, which also showed a significant volume decrease with age; 3 an age and task-related decline in white matter connectivity on left fronto-temporal portion of the brain. Our results confirm the age-related structural modifications of the brain and show that these changes have an influence on the Mind-Reading ability through the eyes.

Changes in health perceptions after exposure to human suffering: using discrete emotions to understand underlying processes.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antonia A Paschali

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to examine whether exposure to human suffering is associated with negative changes in perceptions about personal health. We further examined the relation of possible health perception changes, to changes in five discrete emotions (i.e., fear, guilt, hostility/anger, and joviality, as a guide to understand the processes underlying health perception changes, provided that each emotion conveys information regarding triggering conditions. METHODOLOGY/FINDINGS: An experimental group (N = 47 was exposed to images of human affliction, whereas a control group (N = 47 was exposed to relaxing images. Participants in the experimental group reported more health anxiety and health value, as well as lower health-related optimism and internal health locus of control, in comparison to participants exposed to relaxing images. They also reported more fear, guilt, hostility and sadness, as well as less joviality. Changes in each health perception were related to changes in particular emotions. CONCLUSION: These findings imply that health perceptions are shaped in a constant dialogue with the representations about the broader world. Furthermore, it seems that the core of health perception changes lies in the acceptance that personal well-being is subject to several potential threats, as well as that people cannot fully control many of the factors the determine their own well-being.

Changes in risk perception over time

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gomez, L.S.; Jenkins-Smith, H.C.; Miller, K.W.

1992-01-01

The focus of this paper is on changes in perceptions of the risks associated with nuclear waste management over time. In particular, we are interested in the kinds of change that take place when the management programs, and those who are charged with implementing them, are subject to intensive public debate over an extended period of time. We are undertaken an over-time study of perceived risks in Colorado and New Mexico by implementing sequential random household surveys in each state, timed at six month intervals. This study employs three of these surveys, spanning the period from summer, 1990 to summer, 1991. Using these data, we examine the dynamics that may underlie variations in perceived risks over time. In particular, our analysis is focused on changes in the roles played by (1) basic political orientations (i.e. political ideology) and (2) trust in those who advocate conflicting policy positions

RURAL FARMERS’ PERCEPTION OF CLIMATE CHANGE IN CENTRAL AGRICULTURAL ZONE OF DELTA STATE, NIGERIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A.U. Ofuoku

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Farmer perception of their environment is a factor of climate change. Adaptation to climate change requires farmers to realize that the climate has changed and they must identify useful adaptations and implement them. This study analyzed the per-ception of climate change among rural farmers in central agri-cultural zone of Delta State, Nigeria. Climate change studies often assume certain adaptations and minimal examination of how, when, why, and conditions under which adaptations usually take place in any economic and social systems. The study was conducted by survey method on 131 respondents using struc-tured interview schedule and questionnaire. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and linear regression model to test that education, gender, and farming experience influenced farmers’ perception of climate change. The results showed that the farmers were aware of climate change. The identified causes of climate change were ranging from intensified agriculture, population explosion, increased use of fossil fuel, loss of in-digenous know practice to gas flaring. The effects of climate change on crops and livestocks were also identified by the rural farmers. Many of the farmers adapted to climate change by planting trees, carrying out soil conservation practice, changing planting dates, using different crop varieties, installing fans in livestock pens, and applying irrigation. Almost half of them did not adapt to climate change. The linear regression analysis revealed that education, gender, and farming experience influ-enced farmers’ perception of climate change. The major barriers to adaptation to climate change included lack of information, lack of money, and inadequate land.

Farmers' Perception of the Effects of Climate Change and Coping ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Farmers were fully aware of the effect of climate change and possible coping strategies such as the need for agricultural insurance, planting of drought and flood tolerant varieties and reduction of water loss through practices such as mulching and rearing of heat tolerant livestock. General perception was that climate change ...

Assessment of motor imagery ability and training

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

André Luiz Felix Rodacki

2010-09-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to evaluate changes in motor imagery ability in response to a specific dart throwing training. Twelve subjects (17-22 years with no previous experience in dart throwing or imagery agreed to participate. Changes in imagery ability were assessed using the Sports Imagery Questionnaire before (pretreatment and after (post-treatment an imagery training program consisting of 10 sessions. Retention (RET was assessed 2 weeks after training. The program included mental exercises designed to develop vivid images, to control one’s own images, and to increase perception about performance. Comparison of the imagery training conditions (training alone, training accompanied, observing a colleague, and during assessment showed no differences between the pretreatment, post-treatment and RET evaluations. Although imagery ability did not respond to training, significant differences between imagery domains (visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and animic were found (p<0.05, except between the visual and animic domains (p=0.58. These differences might be related to subject’s domain preference subject during the imagery process and to the nature of the task in which the skill technique used seems to be a relevant aspect.

Chinese Tourists’ Perceptions of Climate Change and Mitigation Behavior: An Application of Norm Activation Theory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guiqiang Qiao

2017-07-01

Full Text Available It is well recognized that tourism development is a prominent contributor to climate change, but is also a “victim” of climate change. Therefore, to mitigate climate change is of great importance for the sustainability of tourism. Yet extant studies regarding tourism and climate change tend to be dominated by a supply-side stance, albeit the core role of the tourist in the tourism industry. While researchers are increasingly adopting a tourist perspective, few seek to understand the linkage between climate change and tourists’ specific mitigation behaviors in a tourism context; this is especially so in China. This study investigates the impact of Chinese tourists’ perceptions of climate change on their mitigation behaviors based on norm activation theory. Drawing on 557 self-administrated questionnaires collected in China, it finds that tourists’ perceptions of climate change and perceived contribution of tourism to climate change both positively affect energy saving and carbon reduction behavior in tourism. Yet, compared with perceived contribution of tourism to climate change, tourists’ perceptions of climate change are found to be a much stronger predictor for energy saving and carbon reduction behavior. Therefore, it suggests that tourists’ perceptions of climate change in a general context is more strongly related to climate change mitigation behavior in tourism, calling for attention to go beyond the tourism context to alleviate the negative impacts of tourism on climate change.

Determinants of preferences for lifestyle changes versus medication and beliefs in ability to maintain lifestyle changes. A population-based survey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dorte Ejg Jarbøl

2017-06-01

For conclusion we found a pervasive preference for lifestyle changes over medical treatment when individuals were promised the same benefits. Lifestyle risk factors and socioeconomic characteristics were associated with preference for lifestyle changes as well as belief in ability to maintain lifestyle changes. For health professionals risk communication should not only focus on patient preferences but also on patients' beliefs in their own ability to initiate lifestyle changes and possible barriers against maintaining changes.

Precursors to language in preterm infants: speech perception abilities in the first year of life.

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Bosch, Laura

2011-01-01

Language development in infants born very preterm is often compromised. Poor language skills have been described in preschoolers and differences between preterms and full terms, relative to early vocabulary size and morphosyntactical complexity, have also been identified. However, very few data are available concerning early speech perception abilities and their predictive value for later language outcomes. An overview of the results obtained in a prospective study exploring the link between early speech perception abilities and lexical development in the second year of life in a population of very preterm infants (≤32 gestation weeks) is presented. Specifically, behavioral measures relative to (a) native-language recognition and discrimination from a rhythmically distant and a rhythmically close nonfamiliar languages, and (b) monosyllabic word-form segmentation, were obtained and compared to data from full-term infants. Expressive vocabulary at two test ages (12 and 18 months, corrected age for gestation) was measured using the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory. Behavioral results indicated that differences between preterm and control groups were present, but only evident when task demands were high in terms of language processing, selective attention to relevant information and memory load. When responses could be based on acquired knowledge from accumulated linguistic experience, between-group differences were no longer observed. Critically, while preterm infants responded satisfactorily to the native-language recognition and discrimination tasks, they clearly differed from full-term infants in the more challenging activity of extracting and retaining word-form units from fluent speech, a fundamental ability for starting to building a lexicon. Correlations between results from the language discrimination tasks and expressive vocabulary measures could not be systematically established. However, attention time to novel words in the word segmentation

78 FR 58343 - Information Collection Activities: Visitor Perceptions of Climate Change in U.S. National Parks

Science.gov (United States)

2013-09-23

....NM0000] Information Collection Activities: Visitor Perceptions of Climate Change in U.S. National Parks... Information Collection 1024-NEW, Visitor Perceptions of Climate Change in U.S. National Parks in the subject line. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Angie Richman, Communication Specialist, Climate Change Response...

An Exploratory Study Examining the Influence of the Number of Reading Methods Courses on Pre-Service and In-Service Teacher Perceptions of Ability to Teach Reading

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Clark, Sarah

2016-01-01

Teacher education programmes (TEPs) are left with limited research on how the coursework they provide influences the perceptions teachers have about their ability to teach young children how to read--especially over the long term. The purpose of this study was to compare how teacher candidates rate their ability to teach reading at the conclusion…

Interns are from Venus, consultants are from Mars: differential perception among clinicians.

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Nair, Balakrishnan Kichu R; Attia, John R; Bowe, Steven J; Mears, Stephen R; Hitchcock, Karen I

To test for the presence of sex-based differences in perception (the notion that men and women "think" differently, and that differences in perception are biologically based) among healthcare professionals. Prospective survey. 90 medical personnel at a tertiary care hospital in Newcastle, NSW. Healthcare professionals were shown two pictures that could be interpreted as depicting either a young or an old person, and a word that could be seen as geometric shapes. The effects of sex, age, seniority, and specialisation in relation to the first impression of the image, the ability to change one's perception, and the speed of perception. Contrary to popular opinion, male physicians were more likely to perceive the older figures, and just as likely as women to be able to change their perception. Surgeons and junior staff were more likely to see, as well as being faster to form, an impression requiring abstract thought, and were more able to change their perceptions. Traditional sex stereotypes do not apply to medical personnel, but other age-based stereotypes, and professional rivalries (medical versus surgical) may have some empiric basis.

Change of patients' perceptions of telemedicine after brief use

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cranen, Karlijn; Cranen, Karlijn; Huis in 't Veld, M.H.A.; IJzerman, Maarten Joost; Vollenbroek-Hutten, Miriam Marie Rosé

Objective: This study aims to investigate whether patients' perceptions regarding a Web-based telemedicine service, for instruction and monitoring of an exercise program, change after brief use. Materials and Methods: Thirty patients were allocated, matched on gender and age, to a control group (10)

The development and discussion of computerized visual perception assessment tool for Chinese characters structures - Concurrent estimation of the overall ability and the domain ability in item response theory approach.

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Wu, Huey-Min; Lin, Chin-Kai; Yang, Yu-Mao; Kuo, Bor-Chen

2014-11-12

Visual perception is the fundamental skill required for a child to recognize words, and to read and write. There was no visual perception assessment tool developed for preschool children based on Chinese characters in Taiwan. The purposes were to develop the computerized visual perception assessment tool for Chinese Characters Structures and to explore the psychometrical characteristic of assessment tool. This study adopted purposive sampling. The study evaluated 551 kindergarten-age children (293 boys, 258 girls) ranging from 46 to 81 months of age. The test instrument used in this study consisted of three subtests and 58 items, including tests of basic strokes, single-component characters, and compound characters. Based on the results of model fit analysis, the higher-order item response theory was used to estimate the performance in visual perception, basic strokes, single-component characters, and compound characters simultaneously. Analyses of variance were used to detect significant difference in age groups and gender groups. The difficulty of identifying items in a visual perception test ranged from -2 to 1. The visual perception ability of 4- to 6-year-old children ranged from -1.66 to 2.19. Gender did not have significant effects on performance. However, there were significant differences among the different age groups. The performance of 6-year-olds was better than that of 5-year-olds, which was better than that of 4-year-olds. This study obtained detailed diagnostic scores by using a higher-order item response theory model to understand the visual perception of basic strokes, single-component characters, and compound characters. Further statistical analysis showed that, for basic strokes and compound characters, girls performed better than did boys; there also were differences within each age group. For single-component characters, there was no difference in performance between boys and girls. However, again the performance of 6-year-olds was better than

Perceptions of Climate Change among Grade 11 Learners in the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

their peers and parents (their arenas of social interaction) in forming these perceptions. The study ... media; (2) conceptual disagreements in the climate change research ..... Tourism. • Mathematics/Mathematical. Literacy. • Life Orientation (LO).

Post-diagnostic dietary changes in prostate cancer: associations with patients' wellbeing and the perceptions of GPs.

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Kassianos, A P; Raats, M M; Gage, H

2017-07-01

This article aims to investigate associations between perceived control and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) with dietary changes after prostate cancer diagnosis and to explore General Practitioners' (GPs) perceptions on the role of diet in prostate cancer post-diagnosis. Ninety-five prostate cancer patients completed measures of dietary change, one for after diagnosis and another for after therapy. They also scored their HRQOL and perceived control. There were discrepancies in dietary changes reported between a general question (28.4% no dietary changes) and a specific (42.1%-51.5% range of no change for various food items). Most patients initiated healthy changes. Patients who changed their diet after diagnosis had lower cognitive functioning and external locus of control (doctors). Patients who changed their diet after therapy had lower cognitive and emotional functioning, quality of life and external locus of control (doctors). Then, fourty-four GPs responded to an online survey. Their open-ended responses were analysed using Content Analysis. They reported interest in the role of diet in cancer but also lack of relevant knowledge. They were skeptical on providing information. Clinical interventions should consider patients' cognitive ability, their relationship with their health professional and their wellbeing. Also, GPs' confidence to provide dietary advice needs to be addressed. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Climate Trends and Farmers' Perceptions of Climate Change in Zambia.

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Mulenga, Brian P; Wineman, Ayala; Sitko, Nicholas J

2017-02-01

A number of studies use meteorological records to analyze climate trends and assess the impact of climate change on agricultural yields. While these provide quantitative evidence on climate trends and the likely effects thereof, they incorporate limited qualitative analysis of farmers' perceptions of climate change and/or variability. The present study builds on the quantitative methods used elsewhere to analyze climate trends, and in addition compares local narratives of climate change with evidence found in meteorological records in Zambia. Farmers offer remarkably consistent reports of a rainy season that is growing shorter and less predictable. For some climate parameters-notably, rising average temperature-there is a clear overlap between farmers' observations and patterns found in the meteorological records. However, the data do not support the perception that the rainy season used to begin earlier, and we generally do not detect a reported increase in the frequency of dry spells. Several explanations for these discrepancies are offered. Further, we provide policy recommendations to help farmers adapt to climate change/variability, as well as suggestions to shape future climate change policies, programs, and research in developing countries.

Snacks With Nutrition Labels: Tastiness Perception, Healthiness Perception, and Willingness to Pay by Norwegian Adolescents.

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Wang, Qing; Oostindjer, Marije; Amdam, Gro V; Egelandsdal, Bjørg

2016-02-01

Consumers tend to have the perception that healthy equals less tasty. This study aimed to identify whether information provided by the Keyhole symbol, a widely used front-of-package symbol in Nordic countries to indicate nutritional content, and percent daily values (%DVs) affect Norwegian adolescents' perception of the healthiness of snacks and their intention to buy them. Two tasks were used to evaluate adolescents' perception of snacks with the Keyhole symbol: with %DVs or with no nutrition label. A third task was used to test their abilities to use %DVs (pairwise selections). A survey obtained personal attributes. A total of 566 Norwegian adolescents. Taste perception, health perception, and ability to use %DVs. Linear mixed models and logistic models that tested effects of labels and personal attributes on main outcome measures. The Keyhole symbol increased health perception without influencing taste perception of snacks. Norwegian adolescents had limited abilities to use information from the %DVs correctly to identify healthier foods. Norwegian adolescents had a positive perception of the Keyhole symbols. Keyhole symbols as a simple, heuristic front-of-package label have potential as an information strategy that may influence self-efficacy in promoting healthy snack choices among adolescents. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A comparison of the hazard perception ability of accident-involved and accident-free motorcycle riders.

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Cheng, Andy S K; Ng, Terry C K; Lee, Hoe C

2011-07-01

Hazard perception is the ability to read the road and is closely related to involvement in traffic accidents. It consists of both cognitive and behavioral components. Within the cognitive component, visual attention is an important function of driving whereas driving behavior, which represents the behavioral component, can affect the hazard perception of the driver. Motorcycle riders are the most vulnerable types of road user. The primary purpose of this study was to deepen our understanding of the correlation of different subtypes of visual attention and driving violation behaviors and their effect on hazard perception between accident-free and accident-involved motorcycle riders. Sixty-three accident-free and 46 accident-involved motorcycle riders undertook four neuropsychological tests of attention (Digit Vigilance Test, Color Trails Test-1, Color Trails Test-2, and Symbol Digit Modalities Test), filled out the Chinese Motorcycle Rider Driving Violation (CMRDV) Questionnaire, and viewed a road-user-based hazard situation with an eye-tracking system to record the response latencies to potentially dangerous traffic situations. The results showed that both the divided and selective attention of accident-involved motorcycle riders were significantly inferior to those of accident-free motorcycle riders, and that accident-involved riders exhibited significantly higher driving violation behaviors and took longer to identify hazardous situations compared to their accident-free counterparts. However, the results of the regression analysis showed that aggressive driving violation CMRDV score significantly predicted hazard perception and accident involvement of motorcycle riders. Given that all participants were mature and experienced motorcycle riders, the most plausible explanation for the differences between them is their driving style (influenced by an undesirable driving attitude), rather than skill deficits per se. The present study points to the importance of

Intelligence, Academic Self-Concept, and Information Literacy: The Role of Adequate Perceptions of Academic Ability in the Acquisition of Knowledge about Information Searching

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Rosman, Tom; Mayer, Anne-Kathrin; Krampen, Günter

2015-01-01

Introduction: The present paper argues that adequate self-perceptions of academic ability are essential for students' realization of their intellectual potential, thereby fostering learning of complex skills, e.g., information-seeking skills. Thus, academic self-concept should moderate the relationship between intelligence and information…

'Being hit was normal': Teachers' (un)changing perceptions of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Global and national concerns that corporal punishment is still being used, openly in certain milieus and surreptitiously in others, suggests that education stakeholders need to take cognisance of teachers' perceptions and experiences that influence their classroom discipline in the context of changing curriculum policies and ...

Perceptions on climate change and its impact on livelihoods in Hwange district, Zimbabwe

OpenAIRE

Charles Nhemachena; Reneth Mano; Shakespear Mudombi; Virginia Muwanigwa

2014-01-01

This study investigated perceptions of rural communities on climate change and its impacts on livelihoods. The research was conducted in the semi-arid Hwange district in Matebelel and North province of Zimbabwe. The perceptions were compared with empirical evidence from climatic studies on trends on temperature and rainfall, and impacts on livelihoods in the country and region. The findings from the current study are generally in agreement with those of other studies that indicate changes in ...

Local Perceptions and Responses to Climate Change and Variability: The Case of Laikipia District, Kenya

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sarah Ayeri Ogalleh

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Agricultural policies in Kenya aim to improve farmers’ livelihoods. With projected climate change, these policies are short of mechanisms that promote farmers’ adaptation. As a result, smallholders are confronted with a variety of challenges including climate change, which hinders their agricultural production. Local knowledge can be instrumental in assisting smallholders to cope with climate change and variability. In this paper, we present empirical evidence that demonstrates local knowledge, perceptions and adaptations to climate change and variability amongst smallholders of Laikipia district of Kenya. A Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI calculated for one station is compared with smallholders’ perceptions. Data was collected using qualitative and quantitative methods in Umande and Muhonia sub-locations. Qualitative data included 46 transcripts from focus group discussions and key informant interviews. Quantitative data is derived from 206 interviewees. We analyzed qualitative and quantitative data using Atlas-ti and SPSS respectively. According to smallholders’ perceptions, climatic variability is increasingly changing. Local perceptions include decreasing rainfalls, increasing temperatures, increasing frosts and increasing hunger. The PDSI shows a trend towards severe droughts in the last four decades, which is in accordance with farmers’ perceptions. Smallholders use a combination of coping and adaptation strategies to respond to variability, including, among others, diversification of crop varieties, migration and sale of livestock. Significant relationships exist between drought perceptions and some adaptations such as migration and sale of livestock. Farmers have an in-depth knowledge of climatic variability, which they use to inform their coping and adaptation strategies. Knowledge of climatic perceptions and adaptations are vital entry points for decision makers and policy makers to learn how and where to enhance the

Knowledge and perceptions among overweight and obese employees about lifestyle-related health benefit changes.

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Li, Jiang; Linnan, Laura; Finkelstein, Eric A; Tate, Deborah F; Naseer, Carolyn; Evenson, Kelly R

2011-01-01

We investigated perceptions among overweight and obese state employees about changes to health insurance that were designed to reduce the scope of health benefits for employees who are obese or who smoke. Before implementation of health benefit plan changes, 658 state employees who were overweight (ie, those with a body mass index [BMI] of 25-29.9) or obese (ie, those with a BMI of > or = 30) enrolled in a weight-loss intervention study were asked about their attitudes and beliefs concerning the new benefit plan changes. Thirty-one percent of employees with a measured BMI of 40 or greater self-reported a BMI of less than 40, suggesting they were unaware that their current BMI would place them in a higher-risk benefit plan. More than half of all respondents reported that the new benefit changes would motivate them to make behavioral changes, but fewer than half felt confident in their ability to make changes. Respondents with a BMI of 40 or greater were more likely than respondents in lower BMI categories to oppose the new changes focused on obesity (P benefit changes focused on tobacco use (P employees enrolled in a weight-loss study, limiting generalizability to the larger population of state employees. Benefit plan changes that require employees who are obese and smoke to pay more for health care may motivate some, but not all, individuals to change their behaviors. Since confidence to lose weight was lowest among individuals in the highest BMI categories, more-intense intervention options may be needed to achieve desired health behavior changes.

Perceptions of entitativity and attitude change.

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Rydell, Robert J; McConnell, Allen R

2005-01-01

The current work explored the properties of groups that lead them to be persuasive and the processes through which such persuasion occurs. Because more entitative groups induce greater levels of information processing, their arguments should receive greater elaboration, leading to persuasion when members of groups present strong (vs. weak) counter attitudinal arguments. Experiment 1 explored these hypotheses by examining if idiosyncratic perceptions of group entitativity and manipulations of argument strength affect attitude change and argument elaboration. Experiment 2 experimentally manipulated group entitativity and argument strength independently to examine the causal relationship between entitativity, attitude change, and argument elaboration. In both experiments, it was found that groups greater in entitativity were more persuasive when presenting strong (vs. weak) arguments and induced greater argument elaboration. Implications for our understanding of entitativity, persuasion, and information processing about social groups are discussed.

Perceptions of climate change and trust in information providers in rural Australia.

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Buys, Laurie; Aird, Rosemary; van Megen, Kimberley; Miller, Evonne; Sommerfeld, Jeffrey

2014-02-01

Disagreement within the global science community about the certainty and causes of climate change has led the general public to question what to believe and whom to trust on matters related to this issue. This paper reports on qualitative research undertaken with Australian residents from two rural areas to explore their perceptions of climate change and trust in information providers. While overall, residents tended to agree that climate change is a reality, perceptions varied in terms of its causes and how best to address it. Politicians, government, and the media were described as untrustworthy sources of information about climate change, with independent scientists being the most trusted. The vested interests of information providers appeared to be a key reason for their distrust. The findings highlight the importance of improved transparency and consultation with the public when communicating information about climate change and related policies.

Farmers' Perceptions of Climate Change and Its Agricultural Impacts ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This article presents an assessment of farmers' perceptions of climate change and its agricultural impacts in the Ethiopian portion of the Nile and Baro-Akobo river basins. A total of 500 randomly selected households were interviewed from 15 kebeles in five woredas, three each from dega, woina-dega and kolla ...

Individual differences in language ability are related to variation in word recognition, not speech perception: Evidence from eye-movements

Science.gov (United States)

McMurray, Bob; Munson, Cheyenne; Tomblin, J. Bruce

2013-01-01

Purpose This study examined speech perception deficits associated with individual differences in language ability contrasting auditory, phonological or lexical accounts by asking if lexical competition is differentially sensitive to fine-grained acoustic variation. Methods 74 adolescents with a range of language abilities (including 35 impaired) participated in an experiment based on McMurray, Tanenhaus and Aslin (2002). Participants heard tokens from six 9-step Voice Onset Time (VOT) continua spanning two words (beach/peach, beak/peak, etc), while viewing a screen containing pictures of those words and two unrelated objects. Participants selected the referent while eye-movements to each picture were monitored as a measure of lexical activation. Fixations were examined as a function of both VOT and language ability. Results Eye-movements were sensitive to within-category VOT differences: as VOT approached the boundary, listeners made more fixations to the competing word. This did not interact with language ability, suggesting that language impairment is not associated with differential auditory sensitivity or phonetic categorization. Listeners with poorer language skills showed heightened competitors fixations overall, suggesting a deficit in lexical processes. Conclusions Language impairment may be better characterized by a deficit in lexical competition (inability to suppress competing words), rather than differences phonological categorization or auditory abilities. PMID:24687026

Individual differences in language ability are related to variation in word recognition, not speech perception: evidence from eye movements.

Science.gov (United States)

McMurray, Bob; Munson, Cheyenne; Tomblin, J Bruce

2014-08-01

The authors examined speech perception deficits associated with individual differences in language ability, contrasting auditory, phonological, or lexical accounts by asking whether lexical competition is differentially sensitive to fine-grained acoustic variation. Adolescents with a range of language abilities (N = 74, including 35 impaired) participated in an experiment based on McMurray, Tanenhaus, and Aslin (2002). Participants heard tokens from six 9-step voice onset time (VOT) continua spanning 2 words (beach/peach, beak/peak, etc.) while viewing a screen containing pictures of those words and 2 unrelated objects. Participants selected the referent while eye movements to each picture were monitored as a measure of lexical activation. Fixations were examined as a function of both VOT and language ability. Eye movements were sensitive to within-category VOT differences: As VOT approached the boundary, listeners made more fixations to the competing word. This did not interact with language ability, suggesting that language impairment is not associated with differential auditory sensitivity or phonetic categorization. Listeners with poorer language skills showed heightened competitors fixations overall, suggesting a deficit in lexical processes. Language impairment may be better characterized by a deficit in lexical competition (inability to suppress competing words), rather than differences in phonological categorization or auditory abilities.

Short-term changes in thermal perception associated with heatwave conditions in Melbourne, Australia

Science.gov (United States)

Lam, Cho Kwong Charlie; Gallant, Ailie J. E.; Tapper, Nigel J.

2018-05-01

Variations in human thermal perception have been described on timescales from minutes to seasons. However, the effect of weather-related thermal extremes on inter-daily changes to outdoor thermal perception has not been well characterised. This study used human thermal comfort data from an outdoor botanic garden in sub-urban Melbourne, Australia as a case study. We examined inter-daily variations in local visitors' thermal perception before (11-12 January 2014) and after (18-19 January 2014) a severe heatwave from 14 to 17 January 2014, when daily maximum temperature exceeded 41 °C for 4 consecutive days. We compared thermal comfort survey results (pre-heatwave: n = 342, post-heatwave: n = 294) with air temperature and the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) measurements. Even though the days preceding and following the heatwave had a similar range in temperature (19-25 °C) and UTCI (26-32 °C), the visitors felt cooler in the days following the heatwave (i.e. lower thermal sensation votes). In the 2 days following the heatwave, visitors also wore less clothing compared with before the heatwave. Our results show that the thermal perception of visitors changed significantly following their exposure to the heatwave, even after controlling for changes in clothing choices and the ages of survey participants. Psychological adaptation to heat (such as thermal history and expectation) might be one of the possible explanations for this inter-daily variability of local visitors' thermal perception.

Nurse leaders' perceptions of an approaching organizational change.

Science.gov (United States)

Salmela, Susanne; Eriksson, Katie; Fagerström, Lisbeth

2013-05-01

The aim of the study was to achieve more profound understanding of nurse leaders' perceptions of an approaching organizational change. We used a three-dimensional hermeneutical method of interpretation to analyze text from 17 interviews. The results suggest that nurse leaders were positive toward and actively engaged in continual change to their units, even though they perceived themselves as mere spectators of the change process. The nurse leaders believed that change might benefit patients and patient care, yet their adaptation lacked deeper engagement. The approaching merger affected the nurse leaders' identities on a deeply personal level. They experienced uneasiness and anxiety with regard to being nurse leaders, the future of nursing care, and their mandate as patient advocates. Nurse leaders are in a critical position to influence the success of organizational change, but the organizations covered in this study were not incorporating their knowledge and experiences into the change.

Perceptions of Peer Review Using Cloud-Based Software

Science.gov (United States)

Andrichuk, Gjoa

2016-01-01

This study looks at the change in perception regarding the effect of peer feedback on writing skills using cloud-based software. Pre- and post-surveys were given. The students peer reviewed drafts of five sections of scientific reports using Google Docs. While students reported that they did not perceive their writing ability improved by being…

Cycle Commuting and Perceptions of Barriers: Stages of Change, Gender and Occupation

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van Bekkum, Jennifer E.; Williams, Joanne M.; Morris, Paul Graham

2011-01-01

Purpose: The aim of this study is to investigate perceptions of cycle commuting barriers in relation to stage of change, gender and occupational role. Stage of change is a key construct of the transtheoretical model of behaviour change that defines behavioural readiness (intentions and actions) into five distinct categories.…

The impact of depression on musical ability.

Science.gov (United States)

Reker, Paul; Domschke, Katharina; Zwanzger, Peter; Evers, Stefan

2014-03-01

While there is sustained effort to refine the models and to further decrypt the neuronal underpinnings of cerebral music perception, empirical investigations on the associations of music perception with diagnoses others than focal brain damage need to be amplified. In the present study, a validated and standardized clinical test of musical ability was applied to a sample of severely depressed patients. Basic musical capacities of rhythm, melody and pitch perception, recognition of emotions, and musical memory were evaluated and compared to matched healthy controls and reassessed in a follow-up examination after clinical remission. We enroled 21 in-patients with major depression according to ICD-10 (F32 and F33). The score in the test of musical ability (maximum score 70) was 52.3±7.8 for the patient group and 57.8±4.3 for the control group (p=0.010). In particular, melody comparison, rhythm perception, and emotional categorising of music were impaired in patients. In the longitudinal study, patients improved from 53.6±7.8 to 56.2±6.7 (p=0.038); this improvement could be related to clinical improvement on the Hamilton Depression Scale. The sample size is small, in particular in the follow-up study. The results clearly revealed a significant reduction of musical ability in patients with depression. A part of the patients could even be diagnosed with a clinically relevant amusia. Along with significant decrease of depressive symptoms, the patients significantly improved with respect to musical ability. These findings suggest a systematic impact of depression on musical ability, they are of importance for the application of music therapy in depressive patients and for the function of music to improve their quality of life. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Changes in University Students’ Perceptions towards a Two-Week Summer English Immersion Program

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Meihua Liu

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The present research examined how university students perceived a 2-week summer English immersion program organized and designated by Chinese teachers of English in a highly prestigious university in Beijing and whether their perceptions changed during the period. Data included 208 surveys and 19 informal interviews in week 1 and 207 surveys and 19 interviews in week 2 (the participants were largely the same in both weeks. Analyses of the data showed that in both weeks, most students considered the courses interesting and liked most of them for similar reasons (e.g., being interesting and having much participation, that the program improved students’ English abilities in listening, speaking, reading and writing as well as overall English proficiency, and that the program enhanced students’ interpersonal communication ability, confidence in using English, knowledge of the culture of English-speaking countries, interest in and motivation to learn English. The results also revealed that the participants tended to become more positive about the program, have a more comprehensive view of the program and assess it more objectively toward the end of the program. Evidently, the program helped the students in various aspects. To better help students, it is useful to do needs analyses prior to the program so that more acceptable courses and activities can be designed and offered.

Genetics and genomics of musical abilities

OpenAIRE

Oikkonen, Jaana

2016-01-01

Most people have the capacity for music perception and production, but the degree of music competency varies between individuals. In this thesis, I studied abilities to identify pitch, tone duration and sound patterns with Karma s test for auditory structuring (KMT), and Seashore s tests for time (ST) and pitch (SP). These abilities can be considered as basic components of musicality. Additionally, I studied self-reported musical activities, especially composing and arranging. Musical ability...

Prosodic Perception Problems in Spanish Dyslexia

Science.gov (United States)

Cuetos, Fernando; Martínez-García, Cristina; Suárez-Coalla, Paz

2018-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the prosody abilities on top of phonological and visual abilities in children with dyslexia in Spanish that can be considered a syllable-timed language. The performances on prosodic tasks (prosodic perception, rise-time perception), phonological tasks (phonological awareness, rapid naming, verbal working…

Emotion perception, but not affect perception, is impaired with semantic memory loss.

Science.gov (United States)

Lindquist, Kristen A; Gendron, Maria; Barrett, Lisa Feldman; Dickerson, Bradford C

2014-04-01

For decades, psychologists and neuroscientists have hypothesized that the ability to perceive emotions on others' faces is inborn, prelinguistic, and universal. Concept knowledge about emotion has been assumed to be epiphenomenal to emotion perception. In this article, we report findings from 3 patients with semantic dementia that cannot be explained by this "basic emotion" view. These patients, who have substantial deficits in semantic processing abilities, spontaneously perceived pleasant and unpleasant expressions on faces, but not discrete emotions such as anger, disgust, fear, or sadness, even in a task that did not require the use of emotion words. Our findings support the hypothesis that discrete emotion concept knowledge helps transform perceptions of affect (positively or negatively valenced facial expressions) into perceptions of discrete emotions such as anger, disgust, fear, and sadness. These findings have important consequences for understanding the processes supporting emotion perception.

Walking drawings and walking ability in children with cerebral palsy.

Science.gov (United States)

Chong, Jimmy; Mackey, Anna H; Stott, N Susan; Broadbent, Elizabeth

2013-06-01

To investigate whether drawings of the self walking by children with cerebral palsy (CP) were associated with walking ability and illness perceptions. This was an exploratory study in 52 children with CP (M:F = 28:24), mean age 11.1 years (range 5-18), who were attending tertiary level outpatient clinics. Children were asked to draw a picture of themselves walking. Drawing size and content was used to investigate associations with clinical walk tests and children's own perceptions of their CP assessed using a CP version of the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire. Larger drawings of the self were associated with less distance traveled, higher emotional responses to CP, and lower perceptions of pain or discomfort, independent of age. A larger self-to-overall drawing height ratio was related to walking less distance. Drawings of the self confined within buildings and the absence of other figures were also associated with reduced walking ability. Drawing size and content can reflect walking ability, as well as symptom perceptions and distress. Drawings may be useful for clinicians to use with children with cerebral palsy to aid discussion about their condition. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Public perception of climate change in the cold regions of Russia: an example of Yakutia

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O. A. Anisimov

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The rate of climate change in the Russian cold regions is nearly twice larger than the global‑mean rate. Besides climate risks, such changes lead to new possibilities, which require scientifically based regional adaptation strategies. Climate could be viewed as an inexhaustible public resource that creates opportuni‑ ties for sustainable development. Long‑term trends show that climate as a resource is becoming more read‑ ily available in the cold regions, notwithstanding the general perception that globally climate change is one of the challenges of the 21st century. Adaptation strategies are required for balancing the risks and potential benefits resulting from the changing climate. Success of such strategies depends on the public perception of climate change. This study compares the observational data on climate and environmental changes with the results of the public survey conducted in Yakutia in the period 2012–2017. The survey involved nearly 2000 respondents in several cities and 2 villages (Ust‑Maja, Saskhulakh representing different economical, socio‑ logical, permafrost, vegetation, and climatic conditions. Results indicated that public perception of the climatic and environmental changes is not univocal, and depends on many factors. Low probability extreme events, such as unusual weather patterns or abrupt land‑ scape changes may have greater effect than the long‑term climate trends. Currently less than half of the pop‑ ulation in Yakutia consider climate change as an established fact, and are ready to take actions in this regard. Meanwhile, Yakutia is a region where observational records demonstrate the most pronounced changes in climatic regime compared to other Russian regions. The contrast between the actual changes and public per‑ ception of such changes has important implication for developing adaptation strategies. To be effective, such strategies should combine knowledge coming from instrumental‑ and

Perceptual asymmetry in texture perception.

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, D; Julesz, B

1992-07-15

A fundamental property of human visual perception is our ability to distinguish between textures. A concerted effort has been made to account for texture segregation in terms of linear spatial filter models and their nonlinear extensions. However, for certain texture pairs the ease of discrimination changes when the role of figure and ground are reversed. This asymmetry poses a problem for both linear and nonlinear models. We have isolated a property of texture perception that can account for this asymmetry in discrimination: subjective closure. This property, which is also responsible for visual illusions, appears to be explainable by early visual processes alone. Our results force a reexamination of the process of human texture segregation and of some recent models that were introduced to explain it.

Alignment between Informal Educator Perceptions and Audience Expectations of Climate Change Education

Science.gov (United States)

Stylinski, Cathlyn; Heimlich, Joe; Palmquist, Sasha; Wasserman, Deborah; Youngs, Renae

2017-01-01

To understand the complexities of climate change on educator-visitor relationships, we compared educators' perceptions with audiences' expectations for informal science education institutions. Our findings suggest two disconnects: (a) a professional recognition that climate change education is related to institutional mission but a lack of…

Enhancing sequential time perception and storytelling ability of deaf and hard of hearing children.

Science.gov (United States)

Ingber, Sara; Eden, Sigal

2011-01-01

A 3-month intervention was conducted to enhance the sequential time perception and storytelling ability of young children with hearing loss. The children were trained to arrange pictorial episodes of temporal scripts and tell the stories they created. Participants (N = 34, aged 4-7 years) were divided into 2 groups based on whether their spoken-language gap was more or less than 1 year compared to age norms. They completed A. Kaufman and N. Kaufman's (1983) picture series subtest and Guralnik's (1982) storytelling test at pretest and posttest. Measures demonstrated significant improvement in sequential time and storytelling achievement postintervention. Three of the examined demographic variables revealed correlations: Participants with genetic etiology showed greater improvement in time sequencing and storytelling than participants with unknown etiology; early onset of treatment correlated with better achievement in time sequencing; cochlear implant users showed greater storytelling improvement than hearing aid users.

Perceptions of and Attitudes Toward Climate Change in the Southeastern United States

Science.gov (United States)

David Himmelfarb; John Schelhas; Sarah Hitchner; Cassandra Johnson Gaither; KathErine Dunbar; J. Peter Brosius

2014-01-01

Despite a global scientific consensus on the anthropogenic nature of climate change, the issue remains highly contentious in the United States, stifling public debate and action on the issue. Local perceptions of and attitudes toward climate change-how different groups of people outside of the professional climate science community make sense of changes in climate in...

Climate change beliefs, risk perceptions, and adaptation behavior among Midwestern U.S. crop farmers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amber Saylor Mase

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Global climate change presents unique challenges to the resilience of United States agriculture, and farmers and advisors must utilize effective adaptation strategies to be both economically and environmentally sustainable. This study addresses Midwestern U.S. crop farmers’ beliefs about climate change, perceived risks from weather and climate, and attitudes toward adaptation that influence their decisions to adopt adaptation strategies. Analyzing a 2012 survey of nearly 5000 corn farmers across 22 Midwestern U.S. Watersheds, we investigate the most common weather and climate risk management strategies, including purchasing additional crop insurance, implementing conservation practices, and adding new technology. U.S. farmers’ belief in anthropogenic climate change, perceptions of changing weather patterns, climate risks to their farm and attitudes toward adapting are analyzed. Farmers’ perceptions of risk to their own farm, attitudes toward innovation and adaptation attitudes were the most important determinants of adaptation. This study highlights the critical role of risk perceptions in adaptation attitudes as well as behaviors among agriculturalists. Finally, we discuss how these findings could be applied to increase uptake of adaptation strategies and thus resilience of U.S. agriculture to a changing climate.

Comparing smallholder farmers’ perception of climate change with meteorological data: A case study from southwestern Nigeria

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Ayansina Ayanlade

2017-03-01

Full Text Available This paper examines smallholder farmers’ perceptions of climate change, climate variability and their impacts, and adaptation strategies adopted over the past three decades. We use ethnographic analysis, combined with Cumulative Departure Index (CDI, Rainfall Anomaly Index (RAI analysis, and correlation analysis to compare farmers’ perceptions in Southwestern Nigeria with historical meteorological data, in order to assess the way farmers’ observations mirror the climatic trends. The results show that about 67% of farmers who participated had observed recent changes in climate. Perceptions of rural farmers on climate change and variability are consistent with the climatic trend analysis. RAI and CDI results illustrate that not less than 11 out of 30 years in each study site experienced lower-than-normal rainfall. Climatic trends show fluctuations in both early growing season (EGS and late growing season (LGS rainfall and the 5-year moving average suggests a reduction in rainfall over the 30 years. Climatic trends confirmed farmers’ perceptions that EGS and LGS precipitations are oscillating, that rainfall onset is becoming later, and EGS rainfall is reducing. Overall impacts of climate change on both crops and livestock appear to be highly negative, much more on maize (62.8%, yam (52.2%, poultry (67% and cattle (63.2%. Years of farming experiences and level of income of farmers appear to have a significant relationship with farmers’ choice of adaptation strategies, with r≥0.60@ p<0.05 and r≥0.520@ p<0.05 respectively. The study concluded that farmers’ perceptions of climate change mirror meteorological analysis, though their perceptions were based on local climate parameters. Smallholder farmers are particularly vulnerable to climate change since the majority of them do not have enough resources to cope.

Farmers' perception of the effect of climate change on yam ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Majority (63.0%) reported that unpredictable nature of the sun intensity, temperature, rainfall and relative humility negatively affect yam production. Sixty three percent of the respondents had favourable perception of climate change towards their yam production while thirty seven percent of the respondents did not have ...

The effect of a medical opinion on self-perceptions of weight for Mexican adults: perception of change and cognitive biases.

Science.gov (United States)

Easton, Jonathan F; Stephens, Christopher R; Román Sicilia, Heriberto

2017-01-01

This study analysed the relationship between perceived and actual Body Mass Index (BMI) and the effect of a prior identification of obesity by a medical professional for adults using difference in response for two distinct BMI self-perception questions. Typically, self-perception studies only investigate the relation with current weight, whereas here the focus is on the self-perception of weight differences. A statistical approach was used to assess responses to the Mexican ENSANUT 2006 survey. Adults in the range of BMI from 13 to 60 were tested on responses to a categorical question and a figure rating scale self-perception question. Differences in response by gender and identification of obesity by a medical professional were analysed using linear regression. Results indicated that regardless of current BMI and gender, a verbal intervention by a medical professional will increase perceived BMI independently of actual BMI but does not necessarily make the identified obese more accurate in their BMI estimates. A shift in the average self-perception was seen with a higher response for the identified obese. A linear increase in perceived BMI as a function of actual BMI was observed in the range BMI self-image, to be considerably less. It was seen that an identification of obesity by a health care professional did not improve ability to judge weight but, rather, served as a new anchor from which the identified obese judge their weight, suggesting that even those identified obese who have lost weight, perceive their weight to be greater than it actually is. We believe that these results can be explained in terms of two cognitive biases; the self-serving bias and the anchoring bias.

Perceptions of Socio-Ecological Changes and Their Implications on Changes in Farming Practises and Agricultural Land Uses in the Savannahs of Northeast Ghana

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter Kojo Boateng

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This study assesses the perceptions of local farming households in the savannahs of northeast Ghana about the patterns of ecological and social changes happening around them over the years. It then unpacks how those perceptions are influencing farming practices and agricultural land use changes. Theoretical and empirical understandings of the value of local resource users’ perceptual judgements about changes in their socio-ecological environment and how they respond to those changes have far-reaching implications for design of agricultural development and sustainable land management policies. Consideration of local perceptions offers more informed basis to design and implement agricultural development policies in ways that encourage active local participation, sustainable livelihoods development, and responsiveness to changing conditions. This departs from current conventional implementation systems, which are usually top-down and based on technical and political aspects of agricultural land management, but do not necessarily comprehend processes influencing the agency of local communities in shaping various agricultural land use outcomes.

Gender, Self-Perception, and Academic Problems in High School.

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Crosnoe, Robert; Riegle-Crumb, Catherine; Muller, Chandra

2007-01-01

Given the increasing importance of education to socioeconomic attainment and other life course trajectories, early academic struggles can have long-term consequences if not addressed. Analysis of a nationally representative sample with official school transcripts and extensive data on adolescent functioning identified a social psychological pathway in this linkage between external feedback about early struggles and truncated educational trajectories. For girls, class failures absent of diagnosed learning disabilities engendered increasingly negative self-perceptions that, in turn, disrupted math and science course-taking, especially in family and peer contexts in which academic success was prioritized. For boys, diagnosed learning disabilities, regardless of class performance, engendered the same changes in self-perception and the same consequences of these changes for course-taking across family and peer contexts. These results reveal how ability labels and ability-related performance indicators come together to influence the long-term educational prospects of girls and boys attending mainstream schools in which the majority of students do not have learning disabilities or severe academic problems. Keywords: education, learning disability, academic failure, peers, and stigma.

Can Perceptions of Environmental and Climate Change in Island Communities Assist in Adaptation Planning Locally?

Science.gov (United States)

Aswani, Shankar; Vaccaro, Ismael; Abernethy, Kirsten; Albert, Simon; de Pablo, Javier Fernández-López

2015-12-01

Local perceptions of environmental and climate change, as well as associated adaptations made by local populations, are fundamental for designing comprehensive and inclusive mitigation and adaptation plans both locally and nationally. In this paper, we analyze people's perceptions of environmental and climate-related transformations in communities across the Western Solomon Islands through ethnographic and geospatial methods. Specifically, we documented people's observed changes over the past decades across various environmental domains, and for each change, we asked respondents to identify the causes, timing, and people's adaptive responses. We also incorporated this information into a geographical information system database to produce broad-scale base maps of local perceptions of environmental change. Results suggest that people detected changes that tended to be acute (e.g., water clarity, logging intensity, and agricultural diseases). We inferred from these results that most local observations of and adaptations to change were related to parts of environment/ecosystem that are most directly or indirectly related to harvesting strategies. On the other hand, people were less aware of slower insidious/chronic changes identified by scientific studies. For the Solomon Islands and similar contexts in the insular tropics, a broader anticipatory adaptation planning strategy to climate change should include a mix of local scientific studies and local observations of ongoing ecological changes.

Understanding Climate Change Perceptions, Attitudes, and Needs of Forest Service Resource Managers

Science.gov (United States)

Carlos Rodriguez-Franco; Tara J. Haan

2015-01-01

Surveys were collected to assess Forest Service (FS) resource managers' perceptions, attitudes, and informational needs related to climate change and its potential impacts on forests and grasslands. Resource managers with three background types were surveyed. All participants generally considered themselves to be well-informed on climate change issues, although...

General Education Students' Changing Perceptions of Students with Special Needs

Science.gov (United States)

Novak, Ashley D.; Bartelheim, Frederick J.

2012-01-01

Schools are becoming more inclusive and more students with special needs are accessing general education classrooms than ever. This action research study investigated general education students changing perceptions of students with special needs through the use of various interventions (e.g., classroom discussions, organized games, buddy reads,…

Effects of single-gender mathematics classrooms on self-perception of mathematical ability and post secondary engineering paths: an Australian case study

Science.gov (United States)

Tully, D.; Jacobs, B.

2010-08-01

This study focused on a population of female engineering students, probing the influences of their secondary school experience on their choice to pursue an engineering course of study at university. The motivating question is: Do unique opportunities exist in an all-female secondary school mathematics classroom, which impact a young woman's self-perception of her mathematics ability as well as promote a positive path towards an engineering-based university major? Using both qualitative and quantitative data collection instruments, this study examined a sample of Australian engineering students enrolled at the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS). Demographic statistics show that 40% of UTS' female engineering student population attended a single-gender secondary school, indicating a potential influence of school type (single-gender) on engineering enrolment patterns. Female students were primarily motivated to pursue a post secondary engineering path because of a self-belief that they are good at mathematics. In contrast, male students were more influenced by positive male role models of family members who are practising engineers. In measures of self- perception of mathematical skill and ability, female students from single-gender schools outscored their male engineering counterparts. Additionally, female students seem to benefit from verbal encouragement, contextualisation, same gender problem-solving groups and same gender classroom dynamics.

Housing mobility and cognitive development: Change in verbal and nonverbal abilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Fowler, Patrick J; McGrath, Lauren M; Henry, David B; Schoeny, Michael; Chavira, Dina; Taylor, Jeremy J; Day, Orin

2015-10-01

This study investigates the influence of housing instability on verbal and nonverbal cognitive development among at-risk children and adolescents involved in the child welfare system. Frequent residential changes threaten child mental health, especially among low-income families. Little is known regarding disruptions to cognitive growth, specifically the impact on verbal and nonverbal abilities. The study tests whether developmental timing of housing mobility affects cognitive development beyond individual and family risks. A nationally representative study of families (n=2,442) susceptible to housing and family instability tracked children and adolescents aged 4-14 years (M=8.95 years) over 36 months following investigation by the child welfare system. Youth completed standardized cognitive assessments while caregivers reported on behavior problems and family risk at three time points. Latent growth models examined change in cognitive abilities over time. Housing mobility in the 12 months prior to baseline predicts lower verbal cognitive abilities that improve marginally. Similar effects emerge for all age groups; however, frequent moves in infancy diminish the influence of subsequent housing mobility on verbal tasks. Housing instability threatened cognitive development beyond child maltreatment, family changes, poverty, and other risks. Findings inform emerging research on environmental influences on neurocognitive development, as well as identify targets for early intervention. Systematic assessment of family housing problems, including through the child welfare system, provides opportunities for coordinated responses to prevent instability and cognitive threats. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Repeated sprint ability in young basketball players: one vs. two changes of direction (Part 2).

Science.gov (United States)

Attene, Giuseppe; Laffaye, Guillaume; Chaouachi, Anis; Pizzolato, Fabio; Migliaccio, Gian Mario; Padulo, Johnny

2015-01-01

The aim of this study was to compare the training effects based on repeated sprint ability (RSA) (with one change of direction) with an intensive repeated sprint ability (IRSA) (with two changes of direction) on jump performance and aerobic fitness. Eighteen male basketball players were assigned to repeated sprint ability and intensive repeated sprint ability training groups (RSAG and IRSAG). RSA, IRSA, squat jump (SJ), countermovement jump (CMJ) and Yo-Yo intermittent recovery level 1 test were assessed before and after four training weeks. The RSA and IRSA trainings consisted of three sets of six sprints (first two weeks) and eight sprints (second two weeks) with 4-min sets recovery and 20-s of sprints recovery. Four weeks of training led to an overall improvement in most of the measures of RSA, but little evidence of any differences between the two training modes. Jump performance was enhanced: CMJ of 7.5% (P training with one/two changes of direction promotes improvements in both RSA and IRSA respectively but the better increase on jump performance shown a few changes on sprint and endurance performances.

Bistable Perception in Normal Aging: Perceptual Reversibility and its Relation to Cognition

Science.gov (United States)

Díaz-Santos, Mirella; Mauro, Samantha; Cao, Bo; Yazdanbakhsh, Arash; Neargarder, Sandy; Cronin-Golomb, Alice

2017-01-01

The effects of age on the ability to resolve perceptual ambiguity are unknown, though it depends on fronto-parietal attentional networks known to change with age. We presented the bistable Necker cube to 24 middle-aged and older adults (OA; 56–78 years) and 20 younger adults (YA; 18–24 years) under passive-viewing and volitional control conditions: Hold one cube percept and Switch between cube percepts. During passive viewing, OA had longer dominance durations (time spent on each percept) than YA. In the Hold condition, OA were less able than YA to increase dominance durations. In the Switch condition, OA and YA did not differ in performance. Dominance durations in either condition correlated with performance on tests of executive function mediated by the frontal lobes. Eye movements (fixation deviations) did not differ between groups. These results suggest that OA’s reduced ability to hold a percept may arise from reduced selective attention. The lack of correlation of performance between Hold and executive-function measures suggests at least a partial segregation of underlying mechanisms. PMID:27116194

Brief Report: Developmental Change in Theory of Mind Abilities in Children with Autism.

Science.gov (United States)

Steele, Shelly; Joseph, Robert M.; Tager-Flusberg, Helen

2003-01-01

A longitudinal study investigated developmental change in theory of mind among 57 children (ages 4-14) with autism. Theory of mind tests were administered on an initial visit and one year later. Data indicated significant developmental improvement in theory of mind ability, which was primarily related to the children's language ability. (Contains…

Controlling You Watching Me: Measuring Perception Control on Social Media.

Science.gov (United States)

Keep, Melanie; Attrill-Smith, Alison

2017-09-01

Online self-presentation assumes that individuals intentionally control how others perceive them based on their online behaviors. Existing tools are limited in their ability to measure this notion of perception control and there is little understanding around factors which may affect the desire for perception control. This article reports on the development of a perception control scale and comparisons of perception control across age and between genders. A total of 222 participants completed an online survey with items measuring perception control and participant demographics. A principal component analysis revealed a one-factor, 12-item scale explaining 41.14% of the variance. Perception control was found to increase with age and did not differ between genders. Results are consistent with existing impression management research suggesting that while participants of both genders desire to control how others perceive them, as a person's sense of self stabilizes over time, they are less motivated to change their behaviors to control others' impressions of them.

The measurement of change in functional ability: dealing with attrition and the floor/ceiling effect

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holstein, Bjørn E; Avlund, Kirsten; Due, Pernille

2006-01-01

, functional ability at baseline, relative wealth, social network, self-rated health, and life-satisfaction. Inclusion of the dead in statistical models for the study of change in functional ability reduced the attrition problem. A logistic model for paired observations of functional ability at two points...

Using an Engaged Scholarship Symposium to Change Perceptions: Evaluation Results

Science.gov (United States)

Varkey, Sapna; Smirnova, Olga; Gallien, Tara Lee

2018-01-01

Engaged scholarship (ES) entails a symbiotic relationship between the community and the university. This article reports results from an evaluation of an ES symposium Eastern Carolina University held to increase awareness of ES as a means for integrating research, teaching, and service and to potentially change unfavorable perceptions about ES…

The challenge of change in acute mental health services: measuring staff perceptions of barriers to change and their relationship to job status and satisfaction using a new measure (VOCALISE).

Science.gov (United States)

Laker, Caroline; Callard, Felicity; Flach, Clare; Williams, Paul; Sayer, Jane; Wykes, Til

2014-02-20

Health services are subject to frequent changes, yet there has been insufficient research to address how staff working within these services perceive the climate for implementation. Staff perceptions, particularly of barriers to change, may affect successful implementation and the resultant quality of care. This study measures staff perceptions of barriers to change in acute mental healthcare. We identify whether occupational status and job satisfaction are related to these perceptions, as this might indicate a target for intervention that could aid successful implementation. As there were no available instruments capturing staff perceptions of barriers to change, we created a new measure (VOCALISE) to assess this construct. All nursing staff from acute in-patient settings in one large London mental health trust were eligible. Using a participatory method, a nurse researcher interviewed 32 staff to explore perceptions of barriers to change. This generated a measure through thematic analyses and staff feedback (N = 6). Psychometric testing was undertaken according to standard guidelines for measure development (N = 40, 42, 275). Random effects models were used to explore the associations between VOCALISE, occupational status, and job satisfaction (N = 125). VOCALISE was easy to understand and complete, and showed acceptable reliability and validity. The factor analysis revealed three underlying constructs: 'confidence,' 'de-motivation' and 'powerlessness.' Staff with negative perceptions of barriers to change held more junior positions, and had poorer job satisfaction. Qualitatively, nursing assistants expressed a greater sense of organisational unfairness in response to change. VOCALISE can be used to explore staff perceptions of implementation climate and to assess how staff attitudes shape the successful outcomes of planned changes. Negative perceptions were linked with poor job satisfaction and to those occupying more junior roles, indicating a

Attitudes to climate change, perceptions of disaster risk, and mitigation and adaptation behavior in Yunlin County, Taiwan.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Yung-Jaan; Tung, Chuan-Ming; Lin, Shih-Chien

2018-02-08

Issues that are associated with climate change have global importance. Most related studies take a national or regional perspective on the impact of climate change. Taiwan is constrained by its geographical conditions, which increase its vulnerability to climate change, especially in its western coastal areas. The county that is most affected by climate change is Yunlin. In 2013-2014, projects that were sponsored by Taiwan's government analyzed the relationship among synthesized vulnerability, ecological footprint (EF) and adaptation to climate change and proposed 15 categories of synthesized vulnerability and EF values. This study further examines the relationship between vulnerability and EF values and examines how residents of four townships-Linnei, Sihu, Mailiao, and Huwei-cope with the effects of climate change. This study investigates whether the residents of the four townships vary in their attitudes to climate change, their perceptions of disaster risk, and their behavioral intentions with respect to coping with climate change. The structural equation model (SEM) is used to examine the relationships among attitudes to climate change, perceptions of disaster risk, and the behavioral intentions of residents in townships with various vulnerabilities to climate change. The results that are obtained using the SEM reveal that climate change mitigation/adaptation behavior is affected by attitudes to climate change and perceptions of disaster risk. However, the effects of attitudes and perceptions on mitigation and adaptation that are mediated by place attachment are not statistically significant.

Changes in illness perceptions mediated the effect of cognitive behavioural therapy in severe functional somatic syndromes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Sara Sletten; Frostholm, Lisbeth; Ørnbøl, Eva

2014-01-01

Objective Although there is substantial evidence that cognitive behavioural therapy alleviates symptoms in functional somatic syndromes, the mechanisms of change are less investigated. This study examined whether changes in illness perceptions mediated the effect of cognitive behavioural therapy....... Methods We analysed additional data from a randomised controlled trial comparing completers of cognitive behavioural group therapy (46 patients) to an enhanced usual care group (66 patients). Proposed mediators (illness perceptions) and primary (physical health) and secondary (somatic symptoms and illness...... worry) outcomes were assessed by means of questionnaires at referral, baseline, end of treatment, and 10 and 16 months after randomisation. Multiple mediation analysis determined whether (1) changes in specific illness perceptions during treatment mediated the effect of cognitive behavioural therapy...

Perceptions of a Changing World Induce Hope and Promote Peace in Intractable Conflicts

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen-Chen, Smadar; Crisp, Richard J.; Halperin, Eran

2015-01-01

The importance of hope in promoting conciliatory attitudes has been asserted in the field of conflict resolution. However, little is known about conditions inducing hope, especially in intractable conflicts, where reference to the outgroup may backfire. In the current research, five studies yielded convergent support for the hypothesis that hope for peace stems from a general perception of the world as changing. In Study 1, coders observed associations between belief in a changing world, hope regarding peace, and support for concessions. Study 2 revealed the hypothesized relations using self-reported measures. Studies 3 and 4 established causality by instilling a perception of the world as changing (vs. unchanging) using narrative and drawing manipulations. Study 5 compared the changing world message with a control condition during conflict escalation. Across studies, although the specific context was not referred to, the belief in a changing world increased support for concessions through hope for peace. PMID:25713171

Perceptions of a changing world induce hope and promote peace in intractable conflicts.

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen-Chen, Smadar; Crisp, Richard J; Halperin, Eran

2015-04-01

The importance of hope in promoting conciliatory attitudes has been asserted in the field of conflict resolution. However, little is known about conditions inducing hope, especially in intractable conflicts, where reference to the outgroup may backfire. In the current research, five studies yielded convergent support for the hypothesis that hope for peace stems from a general perception of the world as changing. In Study 1, coders observed associations between belief in a changing world, hope regarding peace, and support for concessions. Study 2 revealed the hypothesized relations using self-reported measures. Studies 3 and 4 established causality by instilling a perception of the world as changing (vs. unchanging) using narrative and drawing manipulations. Study 5 compared the changing world message with a control condition during conflict escalation. Across studies, although the specific context was not referred to, the belief in a changing world increased support for concessions through hope for peace. © 2015 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

Climate Change. India's Perceptions, Positions, Policies and Possibilities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Parikh, J.K.; Parikh, K. [Indira Ghandi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai (India)

2002-06-01

In January 2001, the OECD held an expert seminar as part of a pilot project to investigate interactions between the long term agenda for climate change and sustainable development strategies. Experts from both OECD and developing countries attended. Participants identified issues and approaches, based on their regional perspectives, relevant to an evolving, equitable regime for addressing climate change, given various national circumstances, political interests, institutions and capacities to achieve sustainable development objectives. They stressed the importance of both climate mitigation and adaptation policy within a sustainable development framework. Discussions and presentations centred around two broad themes: Synergies and trade-offs between sustainable development objectives and long-term strategies to limit climate change; and How to build analytical and implementation capacity in developing countries to maximise synergies at local, regional and global levels of decision-making. To support seminar discussions, the OECD commissioned several papers (including this one) from non- OECD country experts; authors were asked to comment on key interactions between climate change and sustainable development from their own regional or national perspectives. This paper is being released as an informal working paper in the hope that it will continue to stimulate interest and discussions on these topics in other fora. The paper presents Indian perceptions on the problem of climate change and sustainable development; the kind of negotiating positions that follow from these perceptions; the policies India has undertaken so far and finally India's possibilities for action that can help contain the threat of climate change.

Only Behavioral But Not Self-Report Measures of Speech Perception Correlate with Cognitive Abilities.

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Heinrich, Antje; Henshaw, Helen; Ferguson, Melanie A

2016-01-01

Good speech perception and communication skills in everyday life are crucial for participation and well-being, and are therefore an overarching aim of auditory rehabilitation. Both behavioral and self-report measures can be used to assess these skills. However, correlations between behavioral and self-report speech perception measures are often low. One possible explanation is that there is a mismatch between the specific situations used in the assessment of these skills in each method, and a more careful matching across situations might improve consistency of results. The role that cognition plays in specific speech situations may also be important for understanding communication, as speech perception tests vary in their cognitive demands. In this study, the role of executive function, working memory (WM) and attention in behavioral and self-report measures of speech perception was investigated. Thirty existing hearing aid users with mild-to-moderate hearing loss aged between 50 and 74 years completed a behavioral test battery with speech perception tests ranging from phoneme discrimination in modulated noise (easy) to words in multi-talker babble (medium) and keyword perception in a carrier sentence against a distractor voice (difficult). In addition, a self-report measure of aided communication, residual disability from the Glasgow Hearing Aid Benefit Profile, was obtained. Correlations between speech perception tests and self-report measures were higher when specific speech situations across both were matched. Cognition correlated with behavioral speech perception test results but not with self-report. Only the most difficult speech perception test, keyword perception in a carrier sentence with a competing distractor voice, engaged executive functions in addition to WM. In conclusion, any relationship between behavioral and self-report speech perception is not mediated by a shared correlation with cognition.

Changes in Studying Abilities as Perceived by Students Attending Psychotherapy

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Härkäpää, Kristiina; Junttila, Outi; Lindfors, Olavi; Järvikoski, Aila

2014-01-01

In rehabilitative psychotherapy, the goal is to support and improve the person's working and studying capacity and to secure his/her staying in or entering the workforce. In this qualitative study, the aim was to describe the changes students experienced in their studying ability and the advancement of their studies as a result of the therapy…

Climate Change and Apple Farming in Indian Himalayas: A Study of Local Perceptions and Responses

OpenAIRE

Basannagari, Basavaraj; Kala, Chandra Prakash

2013-01-01

Apple farming is an important activity and profession of farmer communities in the Himalayan states of India. At present, the traditional apple farming is under stress due to changes in climate. The present study was undertaken in an Indian Himalayan state, Himachal Pradesh, with the major aim of studying perceptions of farmers on the effects of climate change on apple farming along the altitudinal gradient. Through questionnaire survey, the perceptions of farmers were recorded at low hills (...

The relationship of phonological ability, speech perception and auditory perception in adults with dyslexia.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeremy eLaw

2014-07-01

Full Text Available This study investigated whether auditory, speech perception and phonological skills are tightly interrelated or independently contributing to reading. We assessed each of these three skills in 36 adults with a past diagnosis of dyslexia and 54 matched normal reading adults. Phonological skills were tested by the typical threefold tasks, i.e. rapid automatic naming, verbal short term memory and phonological awareness. Dynamic auditory processing skills were assessed by means of a frequency modulation (FM and an amplitude rise time (RT; an intensity discrimination task (ID was included as a non-dynamic control task. Speech perception was assessed by means of sentences and words in noise tasks. Group analysis revealed significant group differences in auditory tasks (i.e. RT and ID and in phonological processing measures, yet no differences were found for speech perception. In addition, performance on RT discrimination correlated with reading but this relation was mediated by phonological processing and not by speech in noise. Finally, inspection of the individual scores revealed that the dyslexic readers showed an increased proportion of deviant subjects on the slow-dynamic auditory and phonological tasks, yet each individual dyslexic reader does not display a clear pattern of deficiencies across the levels of processing skills. Although our results support phonological and slow-rate dynamic auditory deficits which relate to literacy, they suggest that at the individual level, problems in reading and writing cannot be explained by the cascading auditory theory. Instead, dyslexic adults seem to vary considerably in the extent to which each of the auditory and phonological factors are expressed and interact with environmental and higher-order cognitive influences.

Habitat stability affects dispersal and the ability to track climate change

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hof, Christian; Brändle, Martin; Dehling, D. Matthias

2012-01-01

Habitat persistence should influence dispersal ability, selecting for stronger dispersal in habitats of lower temporal stability. As standing (lentic) freshwater habitats are on average less persistent over time than running (lotic) habitats, lentic species should show higher dispersal abilities ...... that lentic species track climatic changes more rapidly than lotic species. These results are consistent with the proposed hypothesis that habitat persistence affects the evolution of dispersal....... than lotic species. Assuming that climate is an important determinant of species distributions, we hypothesize that lentic species should have distributions that are closer to equilibrium with current climate, and should more rapidly track climatic changes. We tested these hypotheses using datasets...... from 1988 and 2006 containing all European dragon- and damselfly species. Bioclimatic envelope models showed that lentic species were closer to climatic equilibrium than lotic species. Furthermore, the models over-predicted lotic species ranges more strongly than lentic species ranges, indicating...

Natural versus anthropogenic climate change: Swedish farmers joint construction of climate perceptions

OpenAIRE

Asplund, Therese

2016-01-01

While previous research into understandings of climate change has usually examined general public perceptions, this study offers an audience-specific departure point. This article analyses how Swedish farmers perceive climate change and how they jointly shape their understandings. The agricultural sector is of special interest because it both contributes to and is directly affected by climate change. Through focus group discussions with Swedish farmers, this study finds that (1) farmers relat...

Relations Among Detection of Syllable Stress, Speech Abnormalities, and Communicative Ability in Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorders.

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Kargas, Niko; López, Beatriz; Morris, Paul; Reddy, Vasudevi

2016-04-01

To date, the literature on perception of affective, pragmatic, and grammatical prosody abilities in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) has been sparse and contradictory. It is interesting to note that the primary perception of syllable stress within the word structure, which is crucial for all prosody functions, remains relatively unexplored in ASD. Thus, in the current study, we explored syllable stress perception sensitivity and its relationship to speech production abnormalities and communicative ability in adults with ASD. A same-different syllable stress perception task using pairs of identical 4-syllable words was delivered to 42 adults with/without high-functioning ASD, matched for age, to investigate primary speech perception ability in ASD. Speech production and communicative ability in ASD was measured using the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (Lord et al., 2000). As predicted, the results showed that adults with ASD were less sensitive in making judgments about syllable stress relative to controls. Also, partial correlations revealed a key association of speech production abnormalities with stress perception sensitivity, rather than communicative ability. Our findings provide empirical evidence for deficits on primary syllable stress perception in ASD and its role on sociocommunicative difficulties. This information could facilitate the development of effective interventions for speech and language therapy and social communication.

Exploring Employee Perceptions of Six Sigma as a Change Management Program in Higher Education

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Davis, Monica; Fifolt, Matthew

2018-01-01

Change initiatives in higher education are frequently guided by an institutional change management program which provides employees with a framework and set of skills to better understand problems and facilitate change at the organisational level. In this paper, we explore employee perceptions of Six Sigma as a tool for facilitating change at one…

Farmers perceptions on climate change in lowland and highland vegetable production centers of South Sulawesi, Indonesia

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Adiyoga, W.

2018-02-01

A survey was carried out in South Sulawesi, Indonesia interviewing 220 vegetable farmers. It was aimed at examining the vegetable farmers’ perception of climate change and assessing the consistency of farmers’ perception with available time series meteorological data. Results suggest that meteorological data analysis is in agreement with farmers’ perception regarding faster start, longer ending, and longer duration of rainy season. Further data analysis supports the claim of most farmers who perceive the occurrence of increasing air temperature, changing or shifting of the hottest and coldest month. Most respondents also suggest that climate change has affected vegetable farm yield and profitability. Other respondents even predict that climate change may affect the quality of life of their future descendants. Meanwhile, significant number of farmers is quite optimistic that they can cope with climate change problems through adaptation strategy. However, the attitude of farmers towards climate change is mostly negative as compared to positive or neutral feeling. Informative and educational campaign should be continuously carried out to encourage farmers in developing positive attitude or positive thinking towards climate change. Positive attitude may eventually lead to constructive behavior in selecting and implementing adaptation options.

Do motor ability and handwriting kinematic measures predict organizational ability among children with Developmental Coordination Disorders?

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Rosenblum, Sara

2015-10-01

Children with Developmental Coordination Disorders (DCD) exhibit deficient daily performance concealed in their perception-action mechanism. The aim of this study was to analyze behavior organization of children with DCD, in varied tasks that require generating and monitoring mental representations related to space and time inputs/requirements, for achieving better insight about their perception-action mechanism. Participants included 42 children aged 7-10, half of whom were defined with DCD and half were typically developing (TD). The children were matched for age, gender and school. They were evaluated using the Movement-ABC and performed three handwriting tasks on an electronic tablet that is part of a computerized system (ComPET - Computerized Penmanship Evaluation Tool). In addition, their teachers completed the Questionnaire for Assessing Students' Organizational Abilities-Teachers (QASOA-T) to assess the children's daily organizational ability. Significant group differences (DCD versus controls) were found for all handwriting kinematic measures across the three handwriting tasks and for the children's organizational abilities. Motor ability predicted a considerable percentage of the variance of the kinematic handwriting measures (30-37%), as well as a high percentage of the variance of their organizational abilities (67%). The coefficient of variance of the pen tilt added an additional 3% to the prediction of their organizational abilities. The results of this study exhibited deficient ability among children with DCD in organizing their behavior in varied real-world tasks requiring generation and monitoring representation related to space and time. The significance of the results to understanding the performance mechanism and implication to the clinical field are discussed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Impact of cognitive function on oral perception in independently living older people.

Science.gov (United States)

Fukutake, Motoyoshi; Ogawa, Taiji; Ikebe, Kazunori; Mihara, Yusuke; Inomata, Chisato; Takeshita, Hajime; Matsuda, Kenichi; Hatta, Kodai; Gondo, Yasuyuki; Masui, Yukie; Inagaki, Hiroki; Arai, Yasumichi; Kamide, Kei; Ishizaki, Tatsuro; Maeda, Yoshinobu

2018-04-10

Oral tactile perception is important for better mastication, appetite, and enjoyment of food. However, previous investigations have not utilized comprehensible variables thought to have negative effect on oral perception, including aging, denture wearing, and cognitive function. The aim of this study was to elucidate the impact of cognitive function on oral perception in independently living older individuals. The study sample was comprised of 987 participants (466 males, 521 females; age 69-71 years). Oral examinations, assessments of cognitive function in preclinical level by Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA)-J, and determination of oral stereognostic ability as an indicator of oral perception were performed. Related variables were selected by univariate analyses; then, multivariate logistic regression model analysis was conducted. Univariate analyses revealed that number of teeth, removable dentures usage, and cognitive function respectively had a significant relationship with stereognostic score. Next, the subjects were classified into good and poor perception groups (lowest 17.4%) according to oral stereognostic ability. Logistic regression analysis revealed that lower cognitive function was significantly associated with poor oral perception (OR = 0.934, p = 0.017) after controlling for other variables. Cognitive decline even in preclinical stage was associated with reduced oral perception after controlling for gender, tooth number and denture use in independent living older people. This study suggested that preclinical level of change in cognitive function affected oral perception. Dental practitioners and caregivers may need to pay attention to reduced oral perception among older people even if they do not have trouble in daily life.

The role of medical language in changing public perceptions of illness.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Meredith E Young

Full Text Available This study was designed to investigate the impact of medical terminology on perceptions of disease. Specifically, we look at the changing public perceptions of newly medicalized disorders with accompanying newly medicalized terms (e.g. impotence has become erectile dysfunction disorder. Does using "medicalese" to label a recently medicalized disorder lead to a change in the perception of that condition? Undergraduate students (n = 52 rated either the medical or lay label for recently medicalized disorders (such as erectile dysfunction disorder vs. impotence and established medical conditions (such as a myocardial infarction vs. heart attack for their perceived seriousness, disease representativeness and prevalence. Students considered the medical label of the recently medicalized disease to be more serious (mean = 4.95 (SE = .27 vs. mean = 3.77 (SE = .24 on a ten point scale, more representative of a disease (mean = 2.47 (SE = .09 vs. mean = 1.83 (SE = .09 on a four point scale, and have lower prevalence (mean = 68 (SE = 12.6 vs. mean = 122 (SE = 18.1 out of 1,000 than the same disease described using common language. A similar pattern was not seen in the established medical conditions, even when controlled for severity. This study demonstrates that the use of medical language in communication can induce bias in perception; a simple switch in terminology results in a disease being perceived as more serious, more likely to be a disease, and more likely to be a rare condition. These findings regarding the conceptualization of disease have implications for many areas, including medical communication with the public, advertising, and public policy.

Associations between musical abilities and precursors of reading in preschool aged children.

Science.gov (United States)

Degé, Franziska; Kubicek, Claudia; Schwarzer, Gudrun

2015-01-01

The association between music and language, in particular, the overlap in their processing results in the possibility to use one domain for the enhancement of the other. Especially in the preschool years music may be a valuable tool to train language abilities (e.g., precursors of reading). Therefore, detailed knowledge about associations between musical abilities and precursors of reading can be of great use for designing future music intervention studies that target language-related abilities. Hence, the present study investigated the association between music perception as well as music production and precursors of reading. Thereby, not only phonological awareness, the mostly studied precursor of reading, was investigated, but also other precursors were examined. We assessed musical abilities (production and perception) and precursors of reading (phonological awareness, working memory, and rapid retrieval from long-term memory) in 55 preschoolers (27 boys). Fluid intelligence was measured and controlled in the analyses. Results showed that phonological awareness, working memory, and rapid retrieval from long-term memory were related to music perception as well as to music production. Our data suggest that several precursors of reading were associated with music perception as well as music production.

Associations between musical abilities and precursors of reading in preschool aged children

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Franziska eDegé

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The association between music and language, in particular, the overlap in their processing results in the possibility to use one domain for the enhancement of the other. Especially in the preschool years music may be a valuable tool to train language abilities (e.g., precursors of reading. Therefore, detailed knowledge about associations between musical abilities and precursors of reading can be of great use for designing future music intervention studies that target language-related abilities. Hence, the present study investigated the association between music perception as well as music production and precursors of reading. Thereby, not only phonological awareness, the mostly studied precursor of reading, was investigated, but also other precursors were examined. We assessed musical abilities (production and perception and precursors of reading (phonological awareness, working memory, and rapid retrieval from long-term memory in 55 preschoolers (27 boys. Fluid intelligence was measured and controlled in the analyses. Results showed that phonological awareness, working memory, and rapid retrieval from long-term memory were related to music perception as well as to music production. Our data suggest that several precursors of reading were associated with music perception as well as music production.

Changes in Cosmetics Use during Pregnancy and Risk Perception by Women.

Science.gov (United States)

Marie, Cécile; Cabut, Sophie; Vendittelli, Françoise; Sauvant-Rochat, Marie-Pierre

2016-03-30

Cosmetic products contain various chemical substances that may be potential carcinogen and endocrine disruptors. Women's changes in cosmetics use during pregnancy and their risk perception of these products have not been extensively investigated. The main objective of this study was to describe the proportion of pregnant women changing cosmetics use and the proportion of non-pregnant women intending to do so if they became pregnant. The secondary objectives were to compare, among the pregnant women, the proportions of those using cosmetics before and during pregnancy, and to describe among pregnant and non-pregnant women, the risk perception of these products. A cross-sectional study was carried out in a gynaecology clinic and four community pharmacies. One hundred and twenty-eight women (60 non-pregnant and 68 pregnant women) replied to a self-administered questionnaire. Cosmetics use was identified for 28 products. The results showed that few women intended to change or had changed cosmetics use during pregnancy. Nail polish was used by fewer pregnant women compared to the period before pregnancy (p risk during pregnancy and 65% would have appreciated advice about these products. Our findings indicate that all perinatal health professionals should be ready to advise women about the benefits and risks of using cosmetics during pregnancy.

Perceived mathematical ability under challenge: a longitudinal perspective on sex segregation among STEM degree fields.

Science.gov (United States)

Nix, Samantha; Perez-Felkner, Lara; Thomas, Kirby

2015-01-01

Students' perceptions of their mathematics ability vary by gender and seem to influence science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degree choice. Related, students' perceptions during academic difficulty are increasingly studied in educational psychology, suggesting a link between such perceptions and task persistence. Despite interest in examining the gender disparities in STEM, these concepts have not been considered in tandem. In this manuscript, we investigate how perceived ability under challenge-in particular in mathematics domains-influences entry into the most sex-segregated and mathematics-intensive undergraduate degrees: physics, engineering, mathematics, and computer science (PEMC). Using nationally representative Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS) data, we estimate the influence of perceived ability under challenging conditions on advanced high school science course taking, selection of an intended STEM major, and specific major type 2 years after high school. Demonstrating the importance of specificity when discussing how gender influences STEM career pathways, the intersecting effects of gender and perceived ability under mathematics challenge were distinct for each scientific major category. Perceived ability under challenge in secondary school varied by gender, and was highly predictive of selecting PEMC and health sciences majors. Notably, women's 12th grade perceptions of their ability under mathematics challenge increased their probability of selecting PEMC majors over and above biology. In addition, gender moderated the effect of growth mindset on students' selection of health science majors. Perceptions of ability under challenge in general and verbal domains also influenced retention in and declaration of certain STEM majors. The implications of these results are discussed, with particular attention to access to advanced scientific coursework in high school and interventions aimed at enhancing young women's perceptions of

Perceived mathematical ability under challenge: a longitudinal perspective on sex segregation among STEM degree fields

Science.gov (United States)

Nix, Samantha; Perez-Felkner, Lara; Thomas, Kirby

2015-01-01

Students' perceptions of their mathematics ability vary by gender and seem to influence science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degree choice. Related, students' perceptions during academic difficulty are increasingly studied in educational psychology, suggesting a link between such perceptions and task persistence. Despite interest in examining the gender disparities in STEM, these concepts have not been considered in tandem. In this manuscript, we investigate how perceived ability under challenge—in particular in mathematics domains—influences entry into the most sex-segregated and mathematics-intensive undergraduate degrees: physics, engineering, mathematics, and computer science (PEMC). Using nationally representative Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS) data, we estimate the influence of perceived ability under challenging conditions on advanced high school science course taking, selection of an intended STEM major, and specific major type 2 years after high school. Demonstrating the importance of specificity when discussing how gender influences STEM career pathways, the intersecting effects of gender and perceived ability under mathematics challenge were distinct for each scientific major category. Perceived ability under challenge in secondary school varied by gender, and was highly predictive of selecting PEMC and health sciences majors. Notably, women's 12th grade perceptions of their ability under mathematics challenge increased their probability of selecting PEMC majors over and above biology. In addition, gender moderated the effect of growth mindset on students' selection of health science majors. Perceptions of ability under challenge in general and verbal domains also influenced retention in and declaration of certain STEM majors. The implications of these results are discussed, with particular attention to access to advanced scientific coursework in high school and interventions aimed at enhancing young women

Perception of climate change in patients with chronic lung disease

Science.gov (United States)

Götschke, Jeremias; Mertsch, Pontus; Bischof, Michael; Kneidinger, Nikolaus; Matthes, Sandhya; Renner, Ellen D.; Schultz, Konrad; Traidl-Hoffmann, Claudia; Duchna, Hans-Werner; Behr, Jürgen; Schmude, Jürgen; Huber, Rudolf M.

2017-01-01

Background Climate change affects human health. The respective consequences are predicted to increase in the future. Patients with chronic lung disease are particularly vulnerable to the involved environmental alterations. However, their subjective perception and reactions to these alterations remain unknown. Methods In this pilot study, we surveyed 172 adult patients who underwent pulmonary rehabilitation and 832 adult tourists without lung disease in the alpine region about their perception of being affected by climate change and their potential reaction to specific consequences. The patients’ survey also contained the COPD Assessment Test (CAT) to rate the severity of symptoms. Results Most of the patients stated asthma (73.8%), COPD (9.3%) or both (11.0%) as underlying disease while 5.8% suffered from other chronic lung diseases. Patients and tourists feel equally affected by current climate change in general, while allergic subjects in both groups feel significantly more affected (p = 0.04). The severity of symptoms assessed by CAT correlates with the degree of feeling affected (p<0.01). The main disturbing consequences for patients are decreased air quality, increasing numbers of ticks and mosquitos and a rising risk for allergy and extreme weather events such as thunderstroms, while tourists are less disturbed by these factors. Increasing number of heat-days is of little concern to both groups. Conclusion Overall patients are more sensitive to health-related consequences of climate change. Yet, the hazard of heat-days seems underestimated and awareness should be raised. PMID:29045479

Coaches' Feedback and Changes in Children's Perceptions of Their Physical Competence.

Science.gov (United States)

Horn, Thelma Sternberg

1985-01-01

This study examined the relationship between five softball coaches' feedback and changes in their female athletes' self-perceptions of competence; performance control; and expectancy for success. Multivariate regression analyses showed players' psychosocial growth was a function of both players' skill and the coaches' response to player…

Change of lifestyle habits - Motivation and ability reported by pregnant women in northern Sweden.

Science.gov (United States)

Lindqvist, Maria; Lindkvist, Marie; Eurenius, Eva; Persson, Margareta; Mogren, Ingrid

2017-10-01

Pregnant women are generally more motivated to change their lifestyle habits compared with non-pregnant women. However, the ability to change these habits depends on the motivation to change. This study describes pregnant women's self-reported motivation and ability to change lifestyle habits and their relation to body mass index (BMI), self-rated health, educational level and country of origin. This cross-sectional study combined data from the Maternal Health Care Register in Västerbotten (MHCR-VB) and the Salut Programme Register (Salut-R). Data were collected from 3,868 pregnant residents in Västerbotten County (northern Sweden) between 2011 and 2012. Chi-square test, two independent samples t-test and univariate and multivariate logistic regression were performed. Most of the pregnant women (61.3%) were satisfied with their self-reported lifestyle habits irrespective of BMI, self-rated health, educational level, and country of origin. Many reported that they wanted to increase their physical activity, improve their dietary habits, and reduce their weight. In general, they estimated their ability to change their lifestyle habits as equal to their motivation of change. Women who reported a large or very large motivation to change their lifestyle habits were characterized by higher BMI and higher educational level. Most of the participating pregnant women were satisfied with their lifestyle habits, although they reported being further motivated to change some of them. Health care professionals encountering fertile and pregnant women may have a unique opportunity to support and promote lifestyle changes, taking into account women's motivation for change. Future research should focus on factors that motivate pregnant women to change their lifestyle, explore barriers for change of lifestyle and how support best may be provided to pregnant women. In addition, studies on lifestyle and motivation for lifestyle change from non-Nordic countries are called for. Copyright

Convinced, ambivalent or annoyed: Tyrolean ski tourism stakeholders and their perceptions of climate change.

Science.gov (United States)

Trawöger, Lisa

2014-02-01

Its focus on snow-dependent activities makes Alpine winter tourism especially sensitive to climate change. Stakeholder risk perceptions are a key factor in adaptation to climate change because they fundamentally drive or constrain stakeholder action. This paper examines climate change perceptions of winter tourism stakeholders in Tyrol (Austria). Using a qualitative approach, expert interviews were conducted. Four opinion categories reflecting different attitudes toward climate change issues were identified: convinced planners , annoyed deniers , ambivalent optimists , convinced wait-and-seers . Although the findings generally indicate a growing awareness of climate change, this awareness is mainly limited to perceiving the issue as a global phenomenon. Awareness of regional and branch-specific consequences of climate change that lead to a demand for action could not be identified. Current technical strategies, like snowmaking, are not primarily climate-induced. At present, coping with climate change is not a priority for risk management. The findings point out the importance of gaining and transferring knowledge of regional and branch-specific consequences of climate change in order to induce action at the destination level.

Public Perceptions of Arctic Change

Science.gov (United States)

Hamilton, L.

2014-12-01

What does the general US public know, or think they know, about Arctic change? Two broad nationwide surveys in 2006 and 2010 addressed this topic in general terms, before and after the International Polar Year (IPY). Since then a series of representative national or statewide surveys have carried this research farther. The new surveys employ specific questions that assess public knowledge of basic Arctic facts, along with perceptions about the possible consequences of future Arctic change. Majorities know that late-summer Arctic sea ice area has declined compared with 30 years ago, although substantial minorities -- lately increasing -- believe instead that it has now recovered to historical levels. Majorities also believe that, if the Arctic warms in the future, this will have major effects on the weather where they live. Their expectation of local impacts from far-away changes suggests a degree of global thinking. On the other hand, most respondents do poorly when asked whether melting Arctic sea ice, melting Greenland/Antarctic land ice, or melting Himalayan glaciers could have more effect on sea level. Only 30% knew or guessed the right answer to this question. Similarly, only 33% answered correctly on a simple geography quiz: whether the North Pole could best be described as ice a few feet or yards thick floating over a deep ocean, ice more than a mile thick over land, or a rocky, mountainous landscape. Close analysis of response patterns suggests that people often construct Arctic "knowledge" on items such as sea ice increase/decrease from their more general ideology or worldview, such as their belief (or doubt) that anthropogenic climate change is real. When ideology or worldviews provide no guidance, as on the North Pole or sealevel questions, the proportion of accurate answers is no better than chance. These results show at least casual public awareness and interest in Arctic change, unfortunately not well grounded in knowledge. Knowledge problems seen on

A longitudinal study of altered taste and smell perception and change in blood pressure.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Y-H; Huang, Z; Vaidya, A; Li, J; Curhan, G C; Wu, S; Gao, X

2018-05-29

Previous studies suggest that olfactory receptors, which mediate smell chemosensation, are located in the kidney and involved in blood pressure regulation. Mammalian epithelial sodium channels located in taste receptor cells are also found to participate in blood pressure regulation. However, there is currently no human study that has examined the association between taste and smell function and blood pressure. We thus conducted a longitudinal study to examine whether participants with altered taste and smell perception had larger increases in blood pressure compared with those without altered perception in a community-based cohort. The study included 5190 Chinese adults (4058 men and 1132 women) who were normotensive at baseline. Taste and smell perception were assessed via questionnaire in 2012 (baseline). Blood pressure was measured in 2012 and 2014 to determine relative change in blood pressure. Mean differences of 2-year blood pressure change and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) across four categories of taste and smell perception were calculated after adjusting for known risk factors for hypertension. After adjusting for potential confounders, individuals with altered taste and smell perception had larger increases in systolic blood pressure (adjusted mean difference = 5.1 mmHg, 95% CI: 0.1-10.0, p-value: 0.04) and mean arterial pressure (adjusted mean difference = 3.8 mmHg, 95% CI: 0.4-7.1, p-value: 0.03) after two years of follow-up compared with those having neither altered taste nor altered smell perception. No significant association was observed in individuals with altered taste or smell perception only. Our results suggest an association between chemosensory function and blood pressure. Copyright © 2018 The Italian Society of Diabetology, the Italian Society for the Study of Atherosclerosis, the Italian Society of Human Nutrition, and the Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Federico II University. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights

The essential toxin: The changing perception of selenium in environmental sciences

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lenz, M.; Lens, P.N.L.

2009-01-01

During the last decades, the perception of selenium has undergone substantial changes. While its toxic effects were recognized causing hair and hoof loss in animals during the 1930s, its essential role in microbial, animal and human metabolism has been recognized later, i.e. with the discovery of

Perception of environmental sounds by experienced cochlear implant patients

Science.gov (United States)

Shafiro, Valeriy; Gygi, Brian; Cheng, Min-Yu; Vachhani, Jay; Mulvey, Megan

2011-01-01

Objectives Environmental sound perception serves an important ecological function by providing listeners with information about objects and events in their immediate environment. Environmental sounds such as car horns, baby cries or chirping birds can alert listeners to imminent dangers as well as contribute to one's sense of awareness and well being. Perception of environmental sounds as acoustically and semantically complex stimuli, may also involve some factors common to the processing of speech. However, very limited research has investigated the abilities of cochlear implant (CI) patients to identify common environmental sounds, despite patients' general enthusiasm about them. This project (1) investigated the ability of patients with modern-day CIs to perceive environmental sounds, (2) explored associations among speech, environmental sounds and basic auditory abilities, and (3) examined acoustic factors that might be involved in environmental sound perception. Design Seventeen experienced postlingually-deafened CI patients participated in the study. Environmental sound perception was assessed with a large-item test composed of 40 sound sources, each represented by four different tokens. The relationship between speech and environmental sound perception, and the role of working memory and some basic auditory abilities were examined based on patient performance on a battery of speech tests (HINT, CNC, and individual consonant and vowel tests), tests of basic auditory abilities (audiometric thresholds, gap detection, temporal pattern and temporal order for tones tests) and a backward digit recall test. Results The results indicated substantially reduced ability to identify common environmental sounds in CI patients (45.3%). Except for vowels, all speech test scores significantly correlated with the environmental sound test scores: r = 0.73 for HINT in quiet, r = 0.69 for HINT in noise, r = 0.70 for CNC, r = 0.64 for consonants and r = 0.48 for vowels. HINT and

Local Climate Experts: The Influence of Local TV Weather Information on Climate Change Perceptions.

Science.gov (United States)

Bloodhart, Brittany; Maibach, Edward; Myers, Teresa; Zhao, Xiaoquan

2015-01-01

Individuals who identify changes in their local climate are also more likely to report that they have personally experienced global climate change. One way that people may come to recognize that their local climate is changing is through information provided by local TV weather forecasters. Using random digit dialing, 2,000 adult local TV news viewers in Virginia were surveyed to determine whether routine exposure to local TV weather forecasts influences their perceptions of extreme weather in Virginia, and their perceptions about climate change more generally. Results indicate that paying attention to TV weather forecasts is associated with beliefs that extreme weather is becoming more frequent in Virginia, which in turn is associated with stronger beliefs and concerns about climate change. These associations were strongest for individuals who trust their local TV weathercaster as a source of information about climate change, and for those who identify as politically conservative or moderate. The findings add support to the literature suggesting that TV weathercasters can play an important role in educating the public about climate change.

Local Climate Experts: The Influence of Local TV Weather Information on Climate Change Perceptions

Science.gov (United States)

Bloodhart, Brittany; Maibach, Edward; Myers, Teresa; Zhao, Xiaoquan

2015-01-01

Individuals who identify changes in their local climate are also more likely to report that they have personally experienced global climate change. One way that people may come to recognize that their local climate is changing is through information provided by local TV weather forecasters. Using random digit dialing, 2,000 adult local TV news viewers in Virginia were surveyed to determine whether routine exposure to local TV weather forecasts influences their perceptions of extreme weather in Virginia, and their perceptions about climate change more generally. Results indicate that paying attention to TV weather forecasts is associated with beliefs that extreme weather is becoming more frequent in Virginia, which in turn is associated with stronger beliefs and concerns about climate change. These associations were strongest for individuals who trust their local TV weathercaster as a source of information about climate change, and for those who identify as politically conservative or moderate. The findings add support to the literature suggesting that TV weathercasters can play an important role in educating the public about climate change. PMID:26551357

Analysis of Nigerian insurers’ perceptions of climate change

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Zelda Anne Elum

2016-11-01

Full Text Available In recent times, global agricultural productivity has been increasingly affected by climate change. It is believed that societal adoption of insurance as an adaptive response to climate change can have significant implications for insurers. The study investigates empirically insurers’ perceptions of climate change and the challenges they face in Nigeria. It examines the proposition that insurance firms in Nigeria are not mindful of the impact of climate change. The study applied the use of descriptive statistics, Kendall’s coefficient of concordance and principal component analysis on collected primary data. It was found that insurers in Nigeria were highly aware of climate change and its impact but did not believe it affects their operational costs and payments of claims. Although there is great scope for insurers to increase their client base in the Nigerian market, insurers face challenges of insurance rate-cutting, low patronage and environmental factors. The study concludes that there is a need for insurance regulators to enforce a level playing field for all firms. It also advocates for public support of private insurers to enhance insurance coverage for agriculture, the largest employer of labour in the country.

Teacher Change in an Era of Neo-Liberal Policies: A Neoinstitutional Analysis of Teachers' Perceptions of Their Professional Change

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Ramberg, Magnus Rye

2014-01-01

The aim of this article is to explore how neo-institutional theory may be applied as an analytical framework to investigate the relationships between teachers' perceptions on their professional change on the one hand, and the numerous change efforts embedded in recent neo-liberal educational policies in Norway on the other. Based on biographical…

Climate change in semi-arid Malawi: Perceptions, adaptation strategies and water governance

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Miriam K. Joshua

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Climate change and variability are a threat to sustainable agricultural production in semi-arid areas of Malawi. Overdependence on subsistence rain-fed agriculture in these areas calls for the identification of sustainable adaptation strategies. A study was therefore conducted in Chikwawa, a semi-arid district in southern Malawi, to: (1 assess community’s perception of a changing climate against empirical evidence, (2 determine their local adaptive measures, (3 evaluate the potential of irrigated agriculture as an adaptive measure in household food security and (4 challenges over access to available water resources. The study employed focus group discussions and key informant interviews to assess people’s perceptions of climate change and variability and their desired interventions. To validate the people’s perceptions, rainfall and temperature data for the period 1960–2010 were analysed. A participatory complete randomised experimental design in both rain-fed and dry season–irrigated conditions was conducted to assess a maize cropping system that would improve adaptation. The study established persistent declining yields from rain-fed production in part because of perennial rainfall failure. In response, the community has shifted its focus to irrigation as an adaptation strategy, which has in turn triggered water conflicts in the community over the control of the resource. Water legislation however fails to adequately provide for rules governing sharing of water resources between various stakeholders. This article therefore recommends development of an appropriate institutional framework that forms a strong basis for equitable distribution of water for irrigation in areas most vulnerable to extreme climate events – including droughts and floods. Keywords: Food Security; Climate Change and Variability; Rainfall Variability; Irrigation; Water Resources; Governance Crisis

A neural interface provides long-term stable natural touch perception.

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Daniel W; Schiefer, Matthew A; Keith, Michael W; Anderson, James Robert; Tyler, Joyce; Tyler, Dustin J

2014-10-08

Touch perception on the fingers and hand is essential for fine motor control, contributes to our sense of self, allows for effective communication, and aids in our fundamental perception of the world. Despite increasingly sophisticated mechatronics, prosthetic devices still do not directly convey sensation back to their wearers. We show that implanted peripheral nerve interfaces in two human subjects with upper limb amputation provided stable, natural touch sensation in their hands for more than 1 year. Electrical stimulation using implanted peripheral nerve cuff electrodes that did not penetrate the nerve produced touch perceptions at many locations on the phantom hand with repeatable, stable responses in the two subjects for 16 and 24 months. Patterned stimulation intensity produced a sensation that the subjects described as natural and without "tingling," or paresthesia. Different patterns produced different types of sensory perception at the same location on the phantom hand. The two subjects reported tactile perceptions they described as natural tapping, constant pressure, light moving touch, and vibration. Changing average stimulation intensity controlled the size of the percept area; changing stimulation frequency controlled sensation strength. Artificial touch sensation improved the subjects' ability to control grasping strength of the prosthesis and enabled them to better manipulate delicate objects. Thus, electrical stimulation through peripheral nerve electrodes produced long-term sensory restoration after limb loss. Copyright © 2014, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Cognitive Remediation Therapy for Adolescents with Anorexia Nervosa—Treatment Satisfaction and the Perception of Change

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Camilla Lindvall Dahlgren

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Cognitive remediation therapy (CRT has recently been developed for children and adolescents with anorexia nervosa (AN. It focuses on decreasing rigid cognitions and behaviors, as well as increasing central coherence. Overall, CRT has been proven feasible for young individuals with AN, but little is known regarding the specifics of its feasibility, and the perception of change associated with the intervention. Consequently, the aim of the current study was to explore service users’ perspective on CRT with a specific focus on treatment delivery, treatment content, and perceived change. Twenty adolescents (age 13–18 with AN participated in a 10-session course of CRT. A 20-item treatment evaluation questionnaire was administered at the end of treatment, focusing on four aspects of the intervention: (1 general attitudes towards treatment, (2 treatment specifics, (3 the perception of change and (4 the patient-therapist relation. The main findings suggest high levels of treatment satisfaction, but somewhat limited perceptions of change. The current study is one of the most detailed accounts of adolescents’ perspective on CRT published on eating disorders, and highlights several important aspects of the treatment viewed through the eye of the receiver.

Influence of smallholder farmers’ perceptions on adaptation strategies to climate change and policy implications in Zimbabwe

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Jiri Obert

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Smallholder agricultural production is largely affected by climate change and variability. Despite the negative effects brought by climate variability, smallholder farmers are still able to derive livelihoods. An understanding of factors that influence farmers’ responses and adaptation to climate variability can improve decision making for governments and development partners. This study investigated farmers’ perceptions and adaptation strategies to climate change and how these influence adaptation policies at local level. A survey was conducted with 100 households randomly selected from Chiredzi district. Data collected was used to derive farmer perceptions to climate change as well as the influence of their perceptions and subsequent adaptation methods to ensuing local agricultural adaptation measures and policies. The results indicated that smallholder farmers perceived general reduction in long-term annual rainfall and rising local average temperatures. Adverse trends in rainfall and average temperature perceived by farmers were consistent with empirical data. These perceptions and other socio-economic factors helped to shape smallholder farmer agricultural adaptation strategies. Policy implications are that the government and development partners should seek ways to assist autonomous adaptations by farmers through investments in planned adaptation initiatives.

Perceptions of Obvious and Disruptive Climate Change: Community-Based Risk Assessment for Two Native Villages in Alaska

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Jon Rosales

2015-10-01

Full Text Available This work operationalizes the determinants of climate change risk, exposure and vulnerability, through the perceptions held by Native hunters, fishers, and gatherers in Savoonga and Shaktoolik, Alaska. Informed by their skill, experience, and the traditional knowledge of their elders, hunters, fishers, and gatherers in these communities are astute observers of their environment and environmental change. A questionnaire is used to sort and rank their perceptions of the most obvious and disruptive elements of climate change as representations of exposure and vulnerability, respectively. Results represent the relative strength and significance of those perceptions of environmental change. In addition to other changes, storms are among the most obvious and disruptive impacts of climate change to respondents in both communities, while changes to sea ice tend to be more disruptive in Savoonga, a more ice-obligate culture, than Shaktoolik. Changes on the tundra are more obvious in Shaktoolik, but is the least disruptive category of change in both villages. Changes along the coast were both obvious and disruptive, albeit more so in Shaktoolik than Savoonga. The findings suggest that traditional ecological knowledge is a valuable source of information to access perceptions of risk, and develop climate risk management and adaptation plans. The questionnaire design and statistical methodology may be of interest to those working on community-based adaptation and risk assessment projects in high-risk, poor, and marginalized Native communities with small populations.

The effects of a Korean computer-based cognitive rehabilitation program on cognitive function and visual perception ability of patients with acute stroke

OpenAIRE

Park, Jin-Hyuck; Park, Ji-Hyuk

2015-01-01

[Purpose] The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of a Korean computer-based cognitive rehabilitation program (CBCR) on the cognitive function and visual perception ability of patients with acute stroke. [Subjects] The subjects were 30 patients with acute stroke. [Methods] The subjects were randomly assigned to either the experimental group (EG) or the control group (CG). The EG subjects received CBCR with the CoTras program. The CG subjects received conventional cognitive reh...

Age changes in pain perception : A systematic-review and meta-analysis of age effects on pain and tolerance thresholds

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lautenbacher, Stefan; Peters, Jan H.; Heesen, Michael; Scheel, Jennifer; Kunz, Miriam

Demographic changes, with substantial increase in life expectancy, ask for solid knowledge about how pain perception might be altered by aging. Although psychophysical studies on age-related changes in pain perception have been conducted over more than 70 years, meta-analyses are still missing. The

Smallholder Farmers’ Perceptions on Climate Change and the Use of Sustainable Agricultural Practices in the Chinyanja Triangle, Southern Africa

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Clifton Makate

2017-03-01

Full Text Available In developing regions with high levels of poverty and a dependence on climate sensitive agriculture, studies focusing on climate change adaptation, planning, and policy processes, have gained relative importance over the years. This study assesses the impact of farmer perceptions regarding climate change on the use of sustainable agricultural practices as an adaptation strategy in the Chinyanja Triangle, Southern Africa. In this empirical approach, we adopt methods that account for the plausibility that unmeasured characteristics exist, which are correlated with perceptions and the adoption of Sustainable Agricultural Practices. We use a unique and representative dataset collected in December 2012 and June 2013, from smallholder farmers in the Chinyanja Triangle. The results indicate that farmer’s perceptions significantly influence the use of sustainable agricultural practices. Specifically, we established that farmer perceptions considerably impact the use of grain legume rotations, inorganic fertilizers, compost, and farmyard manure. Our results highlight the need for a serious and perhaps equal consideration of farmer perceptions regarding climate change, as important inputs to climate change adaptation policies targeted at enhancing climatic resilience in smallholder farming communities. This is plausible as the adaptation and pliability of farmers to the effects of climate change should be a social process involving the collective efforts from various stakeholders.

An assessment of change in risk perception and optimistic bias for hurricanes among Gulf Coast residents.

Science.gov (United States)

Trumbo, Craig; Meyer, Michelle A; Marlatt, Holly; Peek, Lori; Morrissey, Bridget

2014-06-01

This study focuses on levels of concern for hurricanes among individuals living along the Gulf Coast during the quiescent two-year period following the exceptionally destructive 2005 hurricane season. A small study of risk perception and optimistic bias was conducted immediately following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Two years later, a follow-up was done in which respondents were recontacted. This provided an opportunity to examine changes, and potential causal ordering, in risk perception and optimistic bias. The analysis uses 201 panel respondents who were matched across the two mail surveys. Measures included hurricane risk perception, optimistic bias for hurricane evacuation, past hurricane experience, and a small set of demographic variables (age, sex, income, and education). Paired t-tests were used to compare scores across time. Hurricane risk perception declined and optimistic bias increased. Cross-lagged correlations were used to test the potential causal ordering between risk perception and optimistic bias, with a weak effect suggesting the former affects the latter. Additional cross-lagged analysis using structural equation modeling was used to look more closely at the components of optimistic bias (risk to self vs. risk to others). A significant and stronger potentially causal effect from risk perception to optimistic bias was found. Analysis of the experience and demographic variables' effects on risk perception and optimistic bias, and their change, provided mixed results. The lessening of risk perception and increase in optimistic bias over the period of quiescence suggest that risk communicators and emergency managers should direct attention toward reversing these trends to increase disaster preparedness. © 2013 Society for Risk Analysis.

Perception, attitude and behavior in relation to climate change: A survey among CDC health professionals in Shanxi province, China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wei, Junni; Hansen, Alana; Zhang, Ying; Li, Hong; Liu, Qiyong; Sun, Yehuan; Bi, Peng

2014-01-01

Background: A better understanding of public perceptions, attitude and behavior in relation to climate change will provide an important foundation for government's policy-making, service provider's guideline development and the engagement of local communities. The purpose of this study was to assess the perception towards climate change, behavior change, mitigation and adaptation measures issued by the central government among the health professionals in the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in China. Methods: In 2013, a cross-sectional questionnaire survey was undertaken among 314 CDC health professionals in various levels of CDC in Shanxi Province, China. Descriptive analyses were performed. Results: More than two thirds of the respondents believed that climate change has happened at both global and local levels, and climate change would lead to adverse impacts to human beings. Most respondents (74.8%) indicated the emission of greenhouse gases was the cause of climate change, however there was a lack of knowledge about greenhouse gases and their sources. Media was the main source from which respondents obtained the information about climate change. A majority of respondents showed that they were willing to change behavior, but their actions were limited. In terms of mitigation and adaptation measures issued by the Chinese Government, respondents' perception showed inconsistency between strategies and relevant actions. Moreover, although the majority of respondents believed some strategies and measures were extremely important to address climate change, they were still concerned about economic development, energy security, and local environmental protection. Conclusion: There are gaps between perceptions and actions towards climate change among these health professionals. Further efforts need to be made to raise the awareness of climate change among health professionals, and to promote relevant actions to address climate change in

Perception, attitude and behavior in relation to climate change: A survey among CDC health professionals in Shanxi province, China

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wei, Junni, E-mail: junxinni@163.com [Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan 030001, Shanxi (China); Hansen, Alana, E-mail: alana.hansen@adelaide.edu.au [Discipline of Public Health, School of Population Health, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5005 (Australia); Zhang, Ying, E-mail: ying.zhang@sydney.edu.au [Sydney School of Public Health, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006 (Australia); Li, Hong [Shanxi Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Taiyuan 030001 Shanxi (China); Liu, Qiyong, E-mail: liuqiyong@icdc.cn [State Key Laboratory for Infectious Diseases Prevention and Control, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 102206 (China); Shandong University Climate Change and Health Center, Jinan 250012, Shandong (China); Sun, Yehuan, E-mail: yhsun@sina.com [Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, Anhui (China); Bi, Peng, E-mail: peng.bi@adelaide.edu.au [Discipline of Public Health, School of Population Health, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5005 (Australia)

2014-10-15

Background: A better understanding of public perceptions, attitude and behavior in relation to climate change will provide an important foundation for government's policy-making, service provider's guideline development and the engagement of local communities. The purpose of this study was to assess the perception towards climate change, behavior change, mitigation and adaptation measures issued by the central government among the health professionals in the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in China. Methods: In 2013, a cross-sectional questionnaire survey was undertaken among 314 CDC health professionals in various levels of CDC in Shanxi Province, China. Descriptive analyses were performed. Results: More than two thirds of the respondents believed that climate change has happened at both global and local levels, and climate change would lead to adverse impacts to human beings. Most respondents (74.8%) indicated the emission of greenhouse gases was the cause of climate change, however there was a lack of knowledge about greenhouse gases and their sources. Media was the main source from which respondents obtained the information about climate change. A majority of respondents showed that they were willing to change behavior, but their actions were limited. In terms of mitigation and adaptation measures issued by the Chinese Government, respondents' perception showed inconsistency between strategies and relevant actions. Moreover, although the majority of respondents believed some strategies and measures were extremely important to address climate change, they were still concerned about economic development, energy security, and local environmental protection. Conclusion: There are gaps between perceptions and actions towards climate change among these health professionals. Further efforts need to be made to raise the awareness of climate change among health professionals, and to promote relevant actions to address climate change in

Changes in Cosmetics Use during Pregnancy and Risk Perception by Women

Science.gov (United States)

Marie, Cécile; Cabut, Sophie; Vendittelli, Françoise; Sauvant-Rochat, Marie-Pierre

2016-01-01

Cosmetic products contain various chemical substances that may be potential carcinogen and endocrine disruptors. Women’s changes in cosmetics use during pregnancy and their risk perception of these products have not been extensively investigated. The main objective of this study was to describe the proportion of pregnant women changing cosmetics use and the proportion of non-pregnant women intending to do so if they became pregnant. The secondary objectives were to compare, among the pregnant women, the proportions of those using cosmetics before and during pregnancy, and to describe among pregnant and non-pregnant women, the risk perception of these products. A cross-sectional study was carried out in a gynaecology clinic and four community pharmacies. One hundred and twenty-eight women (60 non-pregnant and 68 pregnant women) replied to a self-administered questionnaire. Cosmetics use was identified for 28 products. The results showed that few women intended to change or had changed cosmetics use during pregnancy. Nail polish was used by fewer pregnant women compared to the period before pregnancy (p women considered cosmetics use as a risk during pregnancy and 65% would have appreciated advice about these products. Our findings indicate that all perinatal health professionals should be ready to advise women about the benefits and risks of using cosmetics during pregnancy. PMID:27043593

Can Knowledge Deficit Explain Societal Perception of Climate Change Risk?

Science.gov (United States)

Mitra, R.; McNeal, K.; Bondell, H.

2014-12-01

Climate change literacy efforts have had a rough journey in the past decade. Although scientists have become increasingly convinced about anthropological climate change, change in public opinion has been underwhelming. The unexplained gap between scientific consensus and public opinion has made this topic an important research area in the realm of public understanding of science. Recent research on climate change risk perception (CCRP) has advanced an intriguing hypothesis, namely, cultural cognition thesis (CCT), which posits that the public has adequate knowledge to understand climate change science but people tend to use this knowledge solely to promote their culturally motivated view-point of climate change. This talk provides evidence to demonstrate that despite culture playing a significant role in influencing CCRP, knowledge deficiency remains a persistent problem in our society and contributes to the aforementioned gap. However, such deficits can remain undiagnosed due to limitations of survey design.

Changes in Perception of Selected Concepts That Accompany Differing Leadership Treatments.

Science.gov (United States)

Callan, Laurence Brian

A study was made of effects of two different leadership treatments on perception of nonverbal stimuli relating to concepts of leaders, authority, and cohesion as measured by changes in the Semantic Differential Scale. Subjects (28 Yaqui Indian and Mexican-American members of the Neighborhood Youth Corps) were randomly assigned to an autocratic…

Is there a correlation between physicians' clinical impressions and patients' perceptions of change? Use of the Perceived Change Scale with inpatients with mental disorders

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Gabriela Pavan

Full Text Available Abstract Introduction: Assessment of the results of treatment for mental disorders becomes more complete when the patient's perspective is incorporated. Here, we aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties and application of the Perceived Change Scale - Patient version (PCS-P in a sample of inpatients with mental disorders. Methods: One hundred and ninety-one psychiatric inpatients answered the PCS-P and the Patients' Satisfaction with Mental Health Services Scale (SATIS and were evaluated in terms of clinical and sociodemographic data. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA was performed and internal consistency was calculated. The clinical impressions of the patient, family, and physician were correlated with the patient's perception of change. Results: The EFA indicated a psychometrically suitable four-factor solution. The PCS-P exhibited a coherent relationship with SATIS and had a Cronbach's alpha value of 0.856. No correlations were found between the physician's clinical global impression of improvement and the patient's perception of change, although a moderate positive correlation was found between the patients' clinical global impression of improvement and the change perceived by the patient. Conclusions: The PCS-P exhibited adequate psychometric proprieties in a sample of inpatients with mental disorders. The patient's perception of change is an important dimension for evaluation of outcomes in the treatment of mental disorders and differs from the physician's clinical impression of improvement. Evaluation of positive and negative perceptions of the various dimensions of the patient's life enables more precise consideration of the patient's priorities and interests.

Household Perceptions about the Impacts of Climate Change on Food Security in the Mountainous Region of Nepal

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Shobha Poudel

2017-04-01

Full Text Available This study tried to understand the mountainous households’ perception of climate change and its impacts on food security in the Lamjung district of Nepal. The study attempted to find out changes in households food security and daily activities in the face of climate change for the last twenty years. The study started with the 150 household surveys along with participatory rural appraisal to understand the climate change perception of local people and its impact on dimensions of food security. Households expressed different levels of perception in terms of climate change on food security. The result shows that most of the mountainous households experienced increased temperature, less rainfall in winter, an increasing number of natural disasters and the emergence of insects for the last twenty years. They perceived the role of climate change in decreased crop production, decreased dairy products and increased household work. The situation of food security is likely to be more vulnerable to climate change in the future. It was also observed that households have been using different autonomous adaptation measures, such as high yielding crop varieties, enhanced irrigation systems and fertilizers, to cope with the changing climate. Finally, the study recommended policy instruments to enhance food security in the mountainous region amidst changing climate.

Stakeholders' perceptions of appropriate management methods: the case of A. youth-village undergoing change

OpenAIRE

Bilu, Shabtay S.

2015-01-01

The research examined employees and stakeholders' perceptions of a significant educational reform conducted at the A. Youth-Village. The reform aimed at transforming an out-dated agriculture school into a technological-scientific education centre that would be able to train its pupils to meet the challenges of the 21st century. This study investigated the employees and stakeholders' perceptions of the appropriateness of methods used during the organisational change of A. Youth-Village. The st...

Pitch Perception, Working Memory, and Second-Language Phonological Production

Science.gov (United States)

Posedel, James; Emery, Lisa; Souza, Benjamin; Fountain, Catherine

2012-01-01

Previous research has suggested that training on a musical instrument is associated with improvements in working memory and musical pitch perception ability. Good working memory and musical pitch perception ability, in turn, have been linked to certain aspects of language production. The current study examines whether working memory and/or pitch…

Looking Like a Leader–Facial Shape Predicts Perceived Height and Leadership Ability

Science.gov (United States)

Re, Daniel E.; Hunter, David W.; Coetzee, Vinet; Tiddeman, Bernard P.; Xiao, Dengke; DeBruine, Lisa M.; Jones, Benedict C.; Perrett, David I.

2013-01-01

Judgments of leadership ability from face images predict the outcomes of actual political elections and are correlated with leadership success in the corporate world. The specific facial cues that people use to judge leadership remain unclear, however. Physical height is also associated with political and organizational success, raising the possibility that facial cues of height contribute to leadership perceptions. Consequently, we assessed whether cues to height exist in the face and, if so, whether they are associated with perception of leadership ability. We found that facial cues to perceived height had a strong relationship with perceived leadership ability. Furthermore, when allowed to manually manipulate faces, participants increased facial cues associated with perceived height in order to maximize leadership perception. A morphometric analysis of face shape revealed that structural facial masculinity was not responsible for the relationship between perceived height and perceived leadership ability. Given the prominence of facial appearance in making social judgments, facial cues to perceived height may have a significant influence on leadership selection. PMID:24324651

Diagnostics of the ability of the management-leader to interact efficiently

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Lugova Victoria M.

2013-03-01

Full Text Available The article is devoted to the issue of diagnostics of ability of a manager-leader to interact efficiently. It conducts a theoretical analysis of a list of qualities of an efficient manager and leader. It specifies the qualities that provide the manager’s ability to conduct efficient social interaction. They include organisational qualities and social perception. The article offers methods of their diagnostics, namely: “Psychological assessment of organisational abilities of a person in a group” and “Diagnostics of perceptive and interactive competence”. Approbation of these methods at five enterprises of the Kharkiv region showed that the level of development of organisational qualities and perceptive and interactive competence of managers is average. The article proves that managers of Ukrainian enterprises not yet ready to be also leaders to their personnel. The article offers to develop ability of a manager-leader to interact efficiently through obtaining new information about specific features of manager’s interaction with other people, re-thinking of own self and own behaviour, structuring new forms of behaviour and regulation of inter-personal interaction and securing positive experience under conventional situations of managerial interaction with the help of trainings.

Development of a robotic evaluation system for the ability of proprioceptive sensation in slow hand motion.

Science.gov (United States)

Tanaka, Yoshiyuki; Mizoe, Genki; Kawaguchi, Tomohiro

2015-01-01

This paper proposes a simple diagnostic methodology for checking the ability of proprioceptive/kinesthetic sensation by using a robotic device. The perception ability of virtual frictional forces is examined in operations of the robotic device by the hand at a uniform slow velocity along the virtual straight/circular path. Experimental results by healthy subjects demonstrate that percentage of correct answers for the designed perceptual tests changes in the motion direction as well as the arm configuration and the HFM (human force manipulability) measure. It can be supposed that the proposed methodology can be applied into the early detection of neuromuscular/neurological disorders.

Climate change perceptions and local adaptation strategies of hazard-prone rural households in Bangladesh

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G.M. Monirul Alam

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Adaptation is a key strategy that can alleviate the severity of climate change impacts on agriculture and food production. Adaptation strategies are unlikely to be effective without an understanding of the farmers’ perceptions of climate change. This paper explores the local knowledge of adaptation in response to the perceived impacts of climate change and climatic hazards using a survey of 380 resource-poor riverbank erosion-prone households in Bangladesh. The results indicate that the respondents’ perceptions of changes in the climate and of extreme climatic events are similar to the observed climate data. Households have recognized the impacts on their livelihood and resources, resulting in an increased sense of vulnerability. To build resilience, households have undertaken a range of farming and non-farming adaptation strategies, which vary significantly among the farming groups. The important adaptation strategies include adopting new crop varieties, changing planting time, homestead gardening, planting trees and migration. Improved access to finance and to information about appropriate strategies appears to be crucial to support adaptation processes locally and thus to enhance the resilience of vulnerable households.

Perception, Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies of Irrigated Paddy Farmer Community to Face Climate Change

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Siska Rasiska Suantapura

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Climate change has a real impact on the condition of agriculture in developing countries, including Indonesia. Irrigated paddy farmers are the ones really feeling the impact of climate change. Therefore, we need to understand the perceptions, mitigation and adaptation strategies of irrigated paddy farmer community to face climate change. The study is conducted in Indramayu and Tasikmalaya Regency in West Java by using descriptive survey method, regression analysis and path analysis through Structural Equation Modelling approach with Lisrel TM 8.5. The results showes that: (1 changes to climate variability affects the productivity of rice; (2 perception of irrigated paddy farmer community on climate change and its affects are influenced by internal and external factors; and (3 adaptation strategy are influenced by internal and external factors, whereas no mitigation strategy. Therefore, mitigation and adaptation strategies with site specific location are very necessary improving climate information services, increasing empowerment of farmers through field schools, and providing the provision of facilities that are practical and adaptive to climate.

Subjective perception of radioactivity. No change post successful treatment with radioiodine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Freudenberg, L.S.; Mueller, S.P.; Beyer, T.; Bockisch, A.

2009-01-01

We assess the attitude of patients with thyroid disease towards radiation and radioactivity before and after radioiodine therapy by means of a cultural-anthropological approach. We evaluate in patient interviews how their subjective attitude towards radioactivity as an abstract term and towards radioactivity in the medical context on the basis of their personal experiences with radionuclide therapy. 29 patients with autonomously functioning thyroid lesions (17 women, 12 men, 35-79 years) were included in this study. All patients were interviewed prior to and 22-27 month post radioiodine therapy in an open dialogue with the principal investigator. Patients were asked to describe their attitude towards radioactivity in general and towards radioiodine therapy in particular. Patients were asked to use a scoring system (1: positive, 5: negative) to quantify their perception of radioactivity. The personal perception of radioactivity as an abstract term does not change significantly (p = 0.15) before and after radioiodine therapy. This perception is linked to mostly negative impressions of radiactivity. However, patients become more positive when assessing the value of radioactivity as part of their therapy regimen. Thus, we observe a significant increase in percepted value of radioactivity post radioiodine therapy (p = 0.03). Patients continue to view radioactivity as something negative despite treatment success following radioiodine therapy. Our results provide useful information for patient information by the nuclear medicine physician prior to a radioiodine therapy. (orig.)

Perceived Mathematical Ability under Challenge: A Longitudinal Perspective on Sex Segregation among STEM Degree Fields

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Samantha eNix

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Students’ perceptions of their mathematics ability vary by gender and seem to influence science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM degree choice. Related, students’ perceptions during academic difficulty are increasingly studied in educational psychology, suggesting a link between such perceptions and task persistence. Despite interest in examining the gender disparities in STEM, these concepts have not been considered in tandem. We investigate how perceived ability under challenge – in particular in mathematics domains – influences entry into the most sex-segregated and mathematics-intensive undergraduate degrees: physics, engineering, mathematics, and computer science (PEMC. Using nationally representative Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS data, we estimate the influence of perceived ability under challenging conditions on advanced high school science course taking, selection of an intended STEM major, and specific major type two years after high school. Demonstrating the importance of specificity when discussing how gender influences STEM career pathways, the intersecting effects of gender and perceived ability under mathematics challenge were distinct for each scientific major category. Perceived ability under challenge in secondary school varied by gender, and was highly predictive of selecting PEMC and health sciences majors. Notably, women’s 12th grade perceptions of their ability under mathematics challenge increased the probability that they would select PEMC majors, increasing women's probability of selecting PEMC over and above biology. In addition, gender moderated the effect of growth mindset on students’ selection of health science majors. The implications of these results are discussed, with particular attention to access to advanced scientific coursework in high school and interventions aimed at enhancing young women’s perceptions of their ability to facilitate their pathways to scientific degrees.

Perceptions of inpatient rehabilitation changes after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service 2010 regulatory updates contrasted with actual performance.

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Riggs, Richard V; Roberts, Pamela S; DiVita, Margaret A; Niewczyk, Paulette; Granger, Carl V

2014-01-01

To compare and contrast subjective perceptions with objective compliance of the impact of the 2010 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service updates of the Medicare Benefit Policy Manual. Cross-sectional survey. An electronic survey was sent by the Uniform Data System for Medical Rehabilitation to all enrolled inpatient rehabilitation facility subscribers (n = 817). The survey was sent April 15, 2011, and responses were tabulated if they were received by May 15, 2011. Comparing and contrasting of the subjective perception to objective evaluation and/or compliance with the Medicare Benefit Policy Manual on case mix index, length of stay, admissions by diagnostic category as well as perception of preadmission screening, postadmission evaluation, plan of care, and interdisciplinary conferencing. Twenty-five percent of the 817 facilities responded, for a total of 209 responses. Complete data were present in 148 of the respondents. For most diagnostic categories, perception of change did not mirror reality of change; neither did the perception between change in case mix index and length of stay. Perception did match reality in stroke and multiple trauma cases; respondents perceived an increase in admissions for the 2 impairments, and there was an overall increase in reality. Comparison with actual data identified that gaps exist between diagnostic category perceptions and actual diagnostic category admission performance. Regulations such as the 75%-60% rule and audit focus on non-neurologic conditions as well as actual inpatient rehabilitation facility program payment reports may have influenced respondents perceptions to change associated with the Medicare Benefit Policy Manual modifications. This disparity between perception and actual data may have implications for programmatic planning, forecasting, and resource allocation. Copyright © 2014 American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effectiveness of a behavior change communication intervention to improve knowledge and perceptions about abortion in Bihar and Jharkhand, India.

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Banerjee, Sushanta K; Andersen, Kathryn L; Warvadekar, Janardan; Pearson, Erin

2013-09-01

Although abortion became legal in India in 1971, many women are unaware of the law. Behavior change communication interventions may be an effective way to promote awareness of the law and change knowledge of and perceptions about abortion, particularly in settings in which abortion is stigmatized. To evaluate the effectiveness of a behavior change communication intervention to improve women's knowledge about India's abortion law and their perceptions about abortion, a quasi-experimental study was conducted in intervention and comparison districts in Bihar and Jharkhand. Household surveys were administered at baseline in 2008 and at follow-up in 2010 to independent, randomly selected cross-sectional samples of rural married women aged 15-49. Logistic regression difference-in-differences models were used to assess program effectiveness. Analysis demonstrated program effectiveness in improving awareness and perceptions about abortion. The changes in the odds of knowing that abortion is legal and where to obtain safe abortion services were larger between baseline and follow-up in the intervention districts than the changes in odds observed in the comparison districts (odds ratios, 16.1 and 1.9, respectively). Similarly, the increase in women's perception of greater social support for abortion within their families and the increase in perceived self-efficacy with respect to family planning and abortion between baseline and follow-up was greater in the intervention districts than in the comparison districts (coefficients, 0.17 and 0.18, respectively). Behavior change communication interventions can be effective in improving knowledge of and perceptions about abortion in settings in which lack of accurate knowledge hinders women's access to safe abortion services. Multiple approaches should be used when attempting to improve knowledge and perceptions about stigmatized health issues such as abortion.

Perceptions of Present and Future Climate Change Impacts on Water Availability for Agricultural Systems in the Western Mediterranean Region

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Thi Phuoc Lai Nguyen

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Many Mediterranean countries have experienced water shortages during the last 20 years and future climate change projections foresee further pressure on water resources. This will have significant implications for irrigation water management in agricultural systems in the future. Through qualitative and quantitative empirical research methods carried out on a case study on four Mediterranean farming systems located in Oristano, Italy, we sought to understand the relationship between farmers’ perceptions of climate change (i.e., increased temperature and decreased precipitation and of present and future water availability for agriculture as forecasted by climatic and crop models. We also explored asymmetries between farmers’ perceptions and present and future climate change and water scenarios as well as factors influencing perceptions. Our hypotheses were that farmers’ perceptions are the main drivers of actual water management practices and that sustainable practices can emerge from learning spaces designed from the understanding of the gaps between perceptions and scientific evidences. Results showed that most farmers perceived that climate change is occurring or will occur in their area. They also perceived that there has been an increased temperature trend, but also increased precipitation. Therefore, they are convinced that they have and will have enough irrigation water for agriculture in the near future, while climate change projections foresee an increasing pressure on water resources in the Mediterranean region. Such results suggest the need for (i irrigation management policies that take into account farmers’ perceptions in order to promote virtuous behaviors and improve irrigation water use efficiency; (ii new, well-designed learning spaces to improve the understanding on climate change expectations in the near future in order to support effective adaptive responses at the farm and catchment scales.

Exploring the association between visual perception abilities and reading of musical notation.

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Lee, Horng-Yih

2012-06-01

In the reading of music, the acquisition of pitch information depends primarily upon the spatial position of notes as well as upon an individual's spatial processing ability. This study investigated the relationship between the ability to read single notes and visual-spatial ability. Participants with high and low single-note reading abilities were differentiated based upon differences in musical notation-reading abilities and their spatial processing; object recognition abilities were then assessed. It was found that the group with lower note-reading abilities made more errors than did the group with a higher note-reading abilities in the mental rotation task. In contrast, there was no apparent significant difference between the two groups in the object recognition task. These results suggest that note-reading may be related to visual spatial processing abilities, and not to an individual's ability with object recognition.

Changing perceptions of protected area benefits and problems around Kibale National Park, Uganda.

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MacKenzie, Catrina A; Salerno, Jonathan; Hartter, Joel; Chapman, Colin A; Reyna, Rafael; Tumusiime, David Mwesigye; Drake, Michael

2017-09-15

Local residents' changing perceptions of benefits and problems from living next to a protected area in western Uganda are assessed by comparing household survey data from 2006, 2009, and 2012. Findings are contextualized and supported by long-term data sources for tourism, protected area-based employment, tourism revenue sharing, resource access agreements, and problem animal abundance. We found decreasing perceived benefit and increasing perceived problems associated with the protected area over time, with both trends dominated by increased human-wildlife conflict due to recovering elephant numbers. Proportions of households claiming benefit from specific conservation strategies were increasing, but not enough to offset crop raiding. Ecosystem services mitigated perceptions of problems. As human and animal populations rise, wildlife authorities in Sub-Saharan Africa will be challenged to balance perceptions and adapt policies to ensure the continued existence of protected areas. Understanding the dynamic nature of local people's perceptions provides a tool to adapt protected area management plans, prioritize conservation resources, and engage local communities to support protected areas. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Linked Dual Representation model of vocal perception and production

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Sean eHutchins

2013-11-01

Full Text Available The voice is one of the most important media for communication, yet there is a wide range of abilities in both the perception and production of the voice. In this article, we review this range of abilities, focusing on pitch accuracy as a particularly informative case, and look at the factors underlying these abilities. Several classes of models have been posited describing the relationship between vocal perception and production, and we review the evidence for and against each class of model. We look at how the voice is different from other musical instruments and review evidence about both the association and the dissociation between vocal perception and production abilities. Finally, we introduce the Linked Dual Representation model, a new approach which can account for the broad patterns in prior findings, including trends in the data which might seem to be countervailing. We discuss how this model interacts with higher-order cognition and examine its predictions about several aspects of vocal perception and production.

Refusal Skill Ability: An Examination of Adolescent Perceptions of Effectiveness

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Nichols, Tracy R.; Birnel, Sara; Graber, Julia A.; Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne; Botvin, Gilbert J.

2010-01-01

This pilot study examined whether refusal assertion as defined by a proven drug prevention program was associated with adolescent perceptions of effectiveness by comparing two sets of coded responses to adolescent videotaped refusal role-plays (N = 63). The original set of codes was defined by programmatic standards of refusal assertion and the…

Spatial ability of slow learners based on Hubert Maier theory

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Permatasari, I.; Pramudya, I.; Kusmayadi, T. A.

2018-03-01

Slow learners are children who have low learning achievement (under the average of normal children) in one or all of the academic field, but they are not classified as a mentally retarded children. Spatial ability developed according to age and level of knowledge possessed, both from the neighborhood and formal education. Analyzing the spatial ability of students is important for teachers, as an effort to improve the quality of learning for slow learners. Especially on the implementation of inclusion school which is developing in Indonesia. This research used a qualitative method and involved slow learner students as the subject. Based on the data analysis it was found the spatial ability of slow learners, there were: spatial perception, students were able to describe the other shape of object when its position changed; spatial visualisation, students were able to describe the materials that construct an object; mental rotation, students cannot describe the object being rotated; spatial relation, students cannot describe the relations of same objects; spatial orientation, students were able to describe object from the others perspective.

S3-2: Colorfulness Perception Adapting to Natural Scenes

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Yoko Mizokami

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Our visual system has the ability to adapt to the color characteristics of environment and maintain stable color appearance. Many researches on chromatic adaptation and color constancy suggested that the different levels of visual processes involve the adaptation mechanism. In the case of colorfulness perception, it has been shown that the perception changes with adaptation to chromatic contrast modulation and to surrounding chromatic variance. However, it is still not clear how the perception changes in natural scenes and what levels of visual mechanisms contribute to the perception. Here, I will mainly present our recent work on colorfulness-adaptation in natural images. In the experiment, we examined whether the colorfulness perception of an image was influenced by the adaptation to natural images with different degrees of saturation. Natural and unnatural (shuffled or phase-scrambled images are used for adapting and test images, and all combinations of adapting and test images were tested (e.g., the combination of natural adapting images and a shuffled test image. The results show that colorfulness perception was influenced by adaptation to the saturation of images. A test image appeared less colorful after adaptation to saturated images, and vice versa. The effect of colorfulness adaptation was the strongest for the combination of natural adapting and natural test images. The fact that the naturalness of the spatial structure in an image affects the strength of the adaptation effect implies that the recognition of natural scene would play an important role in the adaptation mechanism.

The Relationship between School Leaders' Perceptions of High Involvement Model Characteristics in Their Organizations and Their Attitudes towards the Use of the Change Toolkit to Facilitate Organizational Change

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Kelly, Mary T.

2009-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether there was a relationship between school leaders' perceptions regarding High Involvement Model variables as components of their organizations, including power, knowledge, information, leadership, instructional guidance, rewards, and resources, and the leaders' ability to successfully use the IBM…

You're not to dance with the girls: oral history, changing perception and practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Mee, Steve

2010-03-01

The learning disability nursing course at the University of Cumbria features people with a learning disability presenting an oral history of their past in a long-stay institution. These are powerful stories which frequently portray very negative life experiences. Student feedback suggests that the resulting learning is profound, possibly transformative and offering a different type of learning to a 'traditional' lesson. Students report that they experience different and more positive perceptions of people with a learning disability. They have a new respect for people who have survived these experiences. This change of perception may, in part, be due to observing people with a learning disability in positive roles such as storyteller, teacher and carer. The students reported that in subsequent placements their professional practice changed as a result of these insights. These changes include being more outspoken against bad practice and being able to listen more effectively.

Climate variability and change in southern Mali : Learning from farmer perceptions and on-farm trials

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Traore, B.; Wijk, van M.T.; Descheemaeker, K.K.E.; Corbeels, M.; Rufino, M.C.; Giller, K.E.

2015-01-01

Agricultural production in the Sudano–Sahelian zone of west Africa is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate variability and climate change. The present study aimed to understand farmers’ perceptions of climate variability and change and to evaluate adaptation options together with farmers,

Changes in work situation and work ability in young female and male workers. A prospective cohort study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boström, Maria; Sluiter, Judith K.; Hagberg, Mats

2012-01-01

Background: Good work ability is very important in young workers, but knowledge of work situations that influence work ability in this group is poor. The aim of this study was to assess whether changes in self-reported work factors are associated with self-reported work ability among young female

Are Changes in Neighbourhood Perceptions Associated with Changes in Self-Rated Mental Health in Adults? A 13-Year Repeat Cross-Sectional Study, UK

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Jonathan R. Olsen

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to examine changes in neighbourhood perceptions on self-rated mental health problems over time, and to explore demographic, geographic and socio-economic factors as determinants of increased or decreased anxiety and depression symptoms. We conducted a repeat cross-sectional study of individuals (N: 4480 living in the same areas of west central Scotland in 1997 and 2010. Individuals were asked to complete a questionnaire at both time-points, containing 14 questions relating to neighbourhood perceptions and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS. A three-level linear regression model was fitted to HADS scores and changes in neighbourhood perceptions over time; controlling for a number of individual and area-level variables. Overall, area-level mean HADS scores decreased from 1997 to 2010. When adjusted for individual and area-level variables, this decrease did not remain for HADS anxiety. Applying an overall 14-scale neighbourhood perception measure, worsening neighbourhood perceptions were associated with small increases in depression (0.04, 95% confidence interval (CI 0.01 to 0.07 and anxiety (0.04, 95% CI 0.00 to 0.08 scores over time. This highlights a need for local and national policy to target areas where neighbourhood characteristics are substantially deteriorating in order to ensure the mental health of individuals does not worsen.

Changes in work situation and work ability in young female and male workers. A prospective cohort study.

Science.gov (United States)

Boström, Maria; Sluiter, Judith K; Hagberg, Mats

2012-08-24

Good work ability is very important in young workers, but knowledge of work situations that influence work ability in this group is poor. The aim of this study was to assess whether changes in self-reported work factors are associated with self-reported work ability among young female and male workers. A sample of 1,311 (718 women and 593 men) was selected from a Swedish cohort of workers aged 21-25 years. At baseline and at 1-year follow-up, participants completed a self-administrated questionnaire including ratings of physical and psychosocial work factors and current work ability. Prevalence ratios were calculated to assess univariate and multivariate associations between changes in work factors and changes in work ability. Decreased job control (PR 1.7, 95% CI 1.49-2.12) and increased negative influence of job demands on private life (PR 1.5, 95% CI 1.25-1.69) were associated with reduced work ability for both female and male workers in the multivariate analyses. Among female workers, an association was found between improved work ability and increased social support at work (PR 2.4, CI 1.43-3.95). For male workers, increased job control (PR 2.3, 95% CI 1.21-4.54) and decreased negative influence of job demands on private life (PR 2.1, 95% CI 1.10-3.87) were associated with improved work ability in the multivariate analyses. Decreased job control and increased negative influence of job demands on private life over time seem to be the most important work factors associated with reduced work ability among young workers of both sexes. Increased social support at work, increased job control, and decreased negative influence of job demands on private life were also found to be the main work factors associated with improved work ability, although with possible gender differences.

Children's Perceptions of Hypothetical Peers With Undesirable Characteristics: Role of the Peers' Desire to Change, Source of Effort to Change, and Outcome.

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Barnett, Mark A; Sonnentag, Tammy L; Wadian, Taylor W; Jones, Tucker L; Langley, Courtney A

2015-01-01

The present study, involving sixth- to eighth-grade students, is an extension of a prior investigation (Barnett, Livengood, Sonnentag, Barlett, & Witham, 2010) that examined children's perceptions of hypothetical peers with various undesirable characteristics. Results indicate that children's perceptions of hypothetical peers with an undesirable characteristic are influenced by the peers' desire to change, the source of effort to change, and the peers' success or failure in changing the characteristic. The children anticipated responding more favorably to peers who were successful in overcoming an undesirable characteristic than peers who were unsuccessful. Regardless of the peers' outcome, the children anticipated responding more favorably to peers who tried to change than peers who relied on the effort of adult authorities to motivate change. The children perceived successful peers as experiencing more positive affect than their unsuccessful counterparts, especially if the success was presented as a fulfillment of the peers' desire to change their undesirable characteristic. Finally, the children's ratings reflected the belief that, among peers who failed to change their undesirable characteristic, lacking the desire to change increases the relative likelihood that the characteristic will be permanent.

Conflict and professionalism: perceptions among nurses in Saudi Arabia.

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Zakari, N M; Al Khamis, N I; Hamadi, H Y

2010-09-01

To examine the relationship between nurses' perceptions of conflict and professionalism. In Saudi Arabia, health-care sectors are constantly undergoing major changes because of social, consumer-related, governmental, technological and economic pressures. These changes will influence the nature of health-care organizations, such as hospitals' work environment. The ability of nurses to practise in a professional manner may be influenced by their work environment and conflict level. A cross-sectional design was conducted in this study. A simple random selection of three health-care sectors in Saudi Arabia was performed and 346 nurse managers, as well as bedside nurses participated to provide information about conflict levels and professionalism. The Perceived Conflict Scale was used to assess the level of conflict, and the Valiga Concept of Nursing Scale was used to assess the professionalism perception among nurses. The intragroup/other department type of conflict had a statistically significant correlation with the perception of professionalism. In addition, the findings point to a low perception among the participating nurses regarding their professionalism. A number of factors might explain the low level of perception of professionalism. These relate to the workplace itself, as well as to the personal background of the nurses, which includes the personal interest in the nursing profession, as well as the family's, society's and the consumers' views of the profession. Given the findings of this study, nurse managers are encouraged to create a work environment that supports professionalism and minimizes conflict.

Survey mode matters: adults' self-reported statistical confidence, ability to obtain health information, and perceptions of patient-health-care provider communication.

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Wallace, Lorraine S; Chisolm, Deena J; Abdel-Rasoul, Mahmoud; DeVoe, Jennifer E

2013-08-01

This study examined adults' self-reported understanding and formatting preferences of medical statistics, confidence in self-care and ability to obtain health advice or information, and perceptions of patient-health-care provider communication measured through dual survey modes (random digital dial and mail). Even while controlling for sociodemographic characteristics, significant differences in regard to adults' responses to survey variables emerged as a function of survey mode. While the analyses do not allow us to pinpoint the underlying causes of the differences observed, they do suggest that mode of administration should be carefully adjusted for and considered.

Changes in social relations in old age. Are they influenced by functional ability?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Avlund, Kirsten; Due, Pernille; Holstein, Bjørn Evald

2002-01-01

The aims of this article were to describe changes in social relations from ages 75 to 80, and analyze whether changes in social relations are influenced by functional ability at age 75. The study includes data from the NORA follow-up study of 75-80 year-old men and women in Jyväskylä (Finland......, close friends, acquaintances, and neighbors; 2) diversity of social relations (number of types of social contacts); 3) telephone contacts; and 4) social participation. The function of social relations was measured by instrumental social support. Functional ability was measured by tiredness and need......), Göteborg (Sweden) and Glostrup (Denmark). The present analyses include the 743 persons who participated in both studies and who answered the questions about social relations. The structure of social relations was measured by: 1) frequency of contacts with children, grand/greatgrandchildren, relatives...

Social understanding of high-ability children in middle and late childhood

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boor-Klip, H.J.; Cillessen, A.H.N.; Hell, J.G. van

2014-01-01

Despite its importance in social development, social understanding has hardly been studied in high-ability children. This study explores differences in social understanding between children in high-ability and regular classrooms, specifically theory of mind (ToM) and perception accuracy, as well as

Perceptions of climate change and its impact on human health: an integrated quantitative and qualitative approach.

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Toan, Do Thi Thanh; Kien, Vu Duy; Bao Giang, Kim; Van Minh, Hoang; Wright, Pamela

2014-01-01

The World Health Organization emphasized that climate change is a significant and emerging threat to public health, especially in lower income populations and tropical/subtropical countries. However, people in Asia and Africa were the least likely to perceive global warming as a threat. In Vietnam, little research has been conducted concerning the perceptions of effects of climate change on human health. The aim of this study was to explore the perceptions on climate change and its impact on human health among people in Hanoi. We applied a combined quantitative and qualitative approach to study perceptions on climate change among people in Hanoi. A total of 1,444 people were recruited, including 754 people living in non-slum areas and 690 people living in slum areas of Hanoi. A structured questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data on their perceptions. In a parallel qualitative study, two focus group discussions and 12 in-depth interviews (IDs) were carried out involving 24 people from both slum and non-slum areas. The majority of the respondents in the study had heard about climate change and its impact on human health (79.3 and 70.1% in non-slum and slum areas, respectively). About one third of the respondents reported that members of their family had experienced illness in the recent summer and winter compared to the same seasons 5 years ago. The most common symptoms reported during hot weather were headaches, fatigue, and dizziness; hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases were also reported. During cold weather, people reported experiencing cough, fever, and influenza, as well as pneumonia and emerging infectious diseases such as dengue and Japanese encephalitis. The observed high level of awareness on the links between climate change and human health may help to increase the success of the National Prevention Program on Climate Change. Moreover, understanding the concerns of the people may help policy makers to develop and implement effective

Perceptions of climate change and its impact on human health: an integrated quantitative and qualitative approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Do Thi Thanh Toan

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Background: The World Health Organization emphasized that climate change is a significant and emerging threat to public health, especially in lower income populations and tropical/subtropical countries. However, people in Asia and Africa were the least likely to perceive global warming as a threat. In Vietnam, little research has been conducted concerning the perceptions of effects of climate change on human health. Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the perceptions on climate change and its impact on human health among people in Hanoi. Design: We applied a combined quantitative and qualitative approach to study perceptions on climate change among people in Hanoi. A total of 1,444 people were recruited, including 754 people living in non-slum areas and 690 people living in slum areas of Hanoi. A structured questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data on their perceptions. In a parallel qualitative study, two focus group discussions and 12 in-depth interviews (IDs were carried out involving 24 people from both slum and non-slum areas. Results: The majority of the respondents in the study had heard about climate change and its impact on human health (79.3 and 70.1% in non-slum and slum areas, respectively. About one third of the respondents reported that members of their family had experienced illness in the recent summer and winter compared to the same seasons 5 years ago. The most common symptoms reported during hot weather were headaches, fatigue, and dizziness; hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases were also reported. During cold weather, people reported experiencing cough, fever, and influenza, as well as pneumonia and emerging infectious diseases such as dengue and Japanese encephalitis. Conclusions: The observed high level of awareness on the links between climate change and human health may help to increase the success of the National Prevention Program on Climate Change. Moreover, understanding the concerns of

Pediatric crisis resource management training improves emergency medicine trainees' perceived ability to manage emergencies and ability to identify teamwork errors.

Science.gov (United States)

Bank, Ilana; Snell, Linda; Bhanji, Farhan

2014-12-01

Improved pediatric crisis resource management (CRM) training is needed in emergency medicine residencies because of the variable nature of exposure to critically ill pediatric patients during training. We created a short, needs-based pediatric CRM simulation workshop with postactivity follow-up to determine retention of CRM knowledge. Our aims were to provide a realistic learning experience for residents and to help the learners recognize common errors in teamwork and improve their perceived abilities to manage ill pediatric patients. Residents participated in a 4-hour objectives-based workshop derived from a formal needs assessment. To quantify their subjective abilities to manage pediatric cases, the residents completed a postworkshop survey (with a retrospective precomponent to assess perceived change). Ability to identify CRM errors was determined via a written assessment of scripted errors in a prerecorded video observed before and 1 month after completion of the workshop. Fifteen of the 16 eligible emergency medicine residents (postgraduate year 1-5) attended the workshop and completed the surveys. There were significant differences in 15 of 16 retrospective pre to post survey items using the Wilcoxon rank sum test for non-parametric data. These included ability to be an effective team leader in general (P < 0.008), delegating tasks appropriately (P < 0.009), and ability to ensure closed-loop communication (P < 0.008). There was a significant improvement in identification of CRM errors through the use of the video assessment from 3 of the 12 CRM errors to 7 of the 12 CRM errors (P < 0.006). The pediatric CRM simulation-based workshop improved the residents' self-perceptions of their pediatric CRM abilities and improved their performance on a video assessment task.

Understanding Perceptions of Climate Change, Priorities, and Decision-Making among Municipalities in Lima, Peru to Better Inform Adaptation and Mitigation Planning.

Science.gov (United States)

Siña, Mariella; Wood, Rachel C; Saldarriaga, Enrique; Lawler, Joshua; Zunt, Joseph; Garcia, Patricia; Cárcamo, César

2016-01-01

Climate change poses multiple risks to the population of Lima, the largest city and capital of Peru, located on the Pacific coast in a desert ecosystem. These risks include increased water scarcity, increased heat, and the introduction and emergence of vector-borne and other climate sensitive diseases. To respond to these threats, it is necessary for the government, at every level, to adopt more mitigation and adaptation strategies. Here, focus groups were conducted with representatives from five Lima municipalities to determine priorities, perception of climate change, and decision-making processes for implementing projects within each municipality. These factors can affect the ability and desire of a community to implement climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies. The results show that climate change and other environmental factors are of relatively low priority, whereas public safety and water and sanitation services are of highest concern. Perhaps most importantly, climate change is not well understood among the municipalities. Participants had trouble distinguishing climate change from other environmental issues and did not fully understand its causes and effects. Greater understanding of what climate change is and why it is important is necessary for it to become a priority for the municipalities. Different aspects of increased climate change awareness seem to be connected to having experienced extreme weather events, whether related or not to climate change, and to higher socioeconomic status.

Two-year changes in anthropometric and motor ability values as talent identification indexes in youth soccer players.

Science.gov (United States)

Hirose, Norikazu; Seki, Taigo

2016-02-01

The present study examined 2-year changes in anthropometric variables and motor abilities in elite male youth soccer players to identify potential talent identification indexes. This was a cross-sequential study examining two different age groups at two time points. Height, weight, 40-m sprint speed, muscular power (5-step bounding), and change of direction (COD) ability (10 m×5 COD) were measured in 12- and 14-year-old soccer players and repeated after 2 years (at 14 and 16 years of age). Correlations and changes in ranking between the two measurements were determined. Both groups had small ranking changes in height (12-14-year-olds: r=0.80, 14-16-year-olds: r=0.89; ptalent identification index for youth soccer players. On the other hand, muscular power and COD ability is changeable during growth period suggests that these parameters is not useful for talent identification index. Copyright © 2015 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Changes over swim lessons in parents' perceptions of children's supervision needs in drowning risk situations: "His swimming has improved so now he can keep himself safe".

Science.gov (United States)

Morrongiello, Barbara A; Sandomierski, Megan; Spence, Jeffrey R

2014-07-01

The aim of this longitudinal study was to determine how children's participation in swim lessons impacts parents' appraisals of children's drowning risk and need for supervision. Parents with 2-5-year old children enrolled in community swim lessons completed the same survey measures up to 4 times over an 8-month period. Multilevel regression analyses examining temporal relationships between parents' perceptions of their child's swim ability, supervision needs around water, and children's ability to keep themselves safe in drowning risk situations revealed that as children progressed through swim lessons, parents' perceptions of their child's swim ability and their belief that children are capable of keeping themselves safe around water increased. Further, the relation between parents' perceptions of swim ability and judgments of children's supervision needs was mediated through parents' judgment about their child's ability to secure their own safety near water. As parents perceive their child to be accumulating swim skills, they increasingly believe that children are capable of keeping themselves from drowning, and as a result, that less active parent supervision of their child is necessary. Implications of these findings for intervention efforts to counter this unwelcome way of thinking that may arise through continued participation in swim lessons are discussed. Incorporating a parent-focused component into children's learn-to-swim programs to promote more realistic appraisals of children's supervision needs and drowning risks may further enhance the positive benefits that swim lessons have for children's safety.

Managers' perceptions of radiographers' skills: current and future needs.

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Akroyd, D; Wold, B

1996-01-01

As the healthcare delivery system changes, it is imperative to assess the skills of practitioners to ensure consistency between educational preparation and work place needs. The purpose of this study was to examine radiology managers' perception of selected workplace skills and new radiography graduates' ability to perform them. A random sample of 1,932 members of the American Healthcare Radiology Administrators (AHRA) received a questionnaire containing 35 skills categorized as basic, intermediate or advanced. Skills were ranked by the magnitude of the difference between managers' rating of importance of each skill and their rating of graduates' ability to perform that skill satisfactorily. In the basic skill area, the four top-ranked skills represented problem-solving ability or critical thinking. Of the five highest-ranked intermediate skills, the top three were patient care skills: venipuncture, taking vital signs and monitoring patient equipment. In the advanced skill area, six skills exhibited high values for the difference between importance and ability. Two of those related to patient care, three were non-technical and the sixth was the ability to perform CT in addition to basic radiography. Employers and educators should work together to seek educational methods that produce radiographers who are better prepared for the fast-changing workplace.

Spatial Abilities of High-School Students in the Perception of Geologic Structures.

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Kali, Yael; Orion, Nir

1996-01-01

Characterizes specific spatial abilities required in geology studies through the examination of the performance of high school students in solving structural geology problems on the geologic spatial ability test (GeoSAT). Concludes that visual penetration ability and the ability to perceive the spatial configuration of the structure are…

Associations between skill perceptions and young children's actual fundamental movement skills.

Science.gov (United States)

Liong, Grace H E; Ridgers, Nicola D; Barnett, Lisa M

2015-04-01

Given that children with low movement skill competence engage in less physical activity, it is important to understand how children's perceptions relate to actual movement competence. This study examined relationships between (i) children's self-perception and objective assessments of their movement skills (object control and locomotor) and (ii) parents' perceptions of the children's movement skills and objective assessment. Children's skill perceptions were assessed using the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Movement Skill Competence for Young Children. Parent perceptions of their child's skills were assessed using a modified version of this instrument. The Test of Gross Motor Development-2nd edition assessed children's skills objectively. Participants were 136 Australian children (51% boys; M=6.5 yr., SD=1.1) and 133 parents. Regression analyses (by sex) examined the relationship between perceptions and children's scores for actual skilled performance. Boys' perceptions were associated with their actual object control ability. Parents accurately perceived boys' object control ability and girls' locomotor ability, but not the reverse. This suggests interventions aiming to improve children's movement skills could target parents and be designed to teach parents how to recognize good and poor skill performance in their children.

Climate change perceptions and local adaptation strategies of hazard-prone rural households in Bangladesh

OpenAIRE

G.M. Monirul Alam; Khorshed Alam; Shahbaz Mushtaq

2017-01-01

Adaptation is a key strategy that can alleviate the severity of climate change impacts on agriculture and food production. Adaptation strategies are unlikely to be effective without an understanding of the farmers’ perceptions of climate change. This paper explores the local knowledge of adaptation in response to the perceived impacts of climate change and climatic hazards using a survey of 380 resource-poor riverbank erosion-prone households in Bangladesh. The results indicate that the respo...

Developmental changes in children's abilities to share and allocate attention in a dual task.

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Irwin-Chase, H; Burns, B

2000-09-01

Characterizing developmental changes in children's dual-task performance has been problematic because differences in divided attention abilities are easily confounded with differences in overall capacity. Two experiments showed that after individual differences in children's capacity for single-task performance were controlled for, age differences between second- (M = 8.1 years) and fifth-grade (M = 11.1 years) children did not exist in dual-task performance when tasks were of equal priority. However, when tasks had different priorities, only fifth-grade children could differentially allocate attention in the dual task. Results are discussed within the coordination hypothesis framework (see A. F. Kramer & J. L. Larish, 1996), which suggests that changes in dual-task performance with aging are due to changes in the ability to coordinate and control the allocation of attention. It is argued that linking the investigations of children's attention with research on attention and aging provides both methodological and theoretical benefits. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.

Measurement of ability emotional intelligence: results for two new tests.

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Austin, Elizabeth J

2010-08-01

Emotional intelligence (EI) has attracted considerable interest amongst both individual differences researchers and those in other areas of psychology who are interested in how EI relates to criteria such as well-being and career success. Both trait (self-report) and ability EI measures have been developed; the focus of this paper is on ability EI. The associations of two new ability EI tests with psychometric intelligence, emotion perception, and the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso EI test (MSCEIT) were examined. The new EI tests were the Situational Test of Emotion Management (STEM) and the Situational Test of Emotional Understanding (STEU). Only the STEU and the MSCEIT Understanding Emotions branch were significantly correlated with psychometric intelligence, suggesting that only understanding emotions can be regarded as a candidate new intelligence component. These understanding emotions tests were also positively correlated with emotion perception tests, and STEM and STEU scores were positively correlated with MSCEIT total score and most branch scores. Neither the STEM nor the STEU were significantly correlated with trait EI tests, confirming the distinctness of trait and ability EI. Taking the present results as a starting-point, approaches to the development of new ability EI tests and models of EI are suggested.

Constructing Perceptions of Climate Change: a case study of regional political decision makers

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Bray, D.

2012-12-01

This case study of climate change communications assesses the salient means of communication and the message adopted by regional political decision makers on the German Baltic coast. Realizing that cultural factors and local values (and not simply knowledge) are significant influences in explaining attitudes towards climate change, this analysis draws from the records of regional weather, from scientists with a specific focus on the region, from the political decision makers for that region, and the media message reaching the decision makers, ensuring all elements of the analysis are drawn from the same socioeconomic, geophysical, political and cultural context. This is important as the social dynamics surrounding the trust in science is of critical importance and, as such, all elements of the case study are specifically contained within a common context. If the utility of climate change knowledge is to prompt well conceived adaptation/mitigation strategies then the political decision process, or at least the perceptions shaping it, can best be understood by locating it within the world view of the decision makers involved in the production process. Using the results of two survey questionnaires, one of regional climate scientists and one of regional political decision makers, ten years of local weather records, and a summary of the message from mass media circulation, the discord in perceptions of regional climate change are quantitatively explored. The conclusions drawn from the analysis include, compared to the scientific assessment: The decision makers' perceptions of recent past differ from actual observations. The decision makers' perceptions of the future differ from scientific assessments. The decision makers tend to over estimate the magnitude of regional climate change and its impacts. The decision makers tend to over estimate the sense of immediacy for adaptation measures. The conclusions drawn suggest that in the regional political realm, it is often a

Perception, attitude and behavior in relation to climate change: a survey among CDC health professionals in Shanxi province, China.

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Wei, Junni; Hansen, Alana; Zhang, Ying; Li, Hong; Liu, Qiyong; Sun, Yehuan; Bi, Peng

2014-10-01

A better understanding of public perceptions, attitude and behavior in relation to climate change will provide an important foundation for government׳s policy-making, service provider׳s guideline development and the engagement of local communities. The purpose of this study was to assess the perception towards climate change, behavior change, mitigation and adaptation measures issued by the central government among the health professionals in the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in China. In 2013, a cross-sectional questionnaire survey was undertaken among 314 CDC health professionals in various levels of CDC in Shanxi Province, China. Descriptive analyses were performed. More than two thirds of the respondents believed that climate change has happened at both global and local levels, and climate change would lead to adverse impacts to human beings. Most respondents (74.8%) indicated the emission of greenhouse gases was the cause of climate change, however there was a lack of knowledge about greenhouse gases and their sources. Media was the main source from which respondents obtained the information about climate change. A majority of respondents showed that they were willing to change behavior, but their actions were limited. In terms of mitigation and adaptation measures issued by the Chinese Government, respondents׳ perception showed inconsistency between strategies and relevant actions. Moreover, although the majority of respondents believed some strategies and measures were extremely important to address climate change, they were still concerned about economic development, energy security, and local environmental protection. There are gaps between perceptions and actions towards climate change among these health professionals. Further efforts need to be made to raise the awareness of climate change among health professionals, and to promote relevant actions to address climate change in the context of the proposed policies with local

Changes in work situation and work ability in young female and male workers. A prospective cohort study

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Boström Maria

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Good work ability is very important in young workers, but knowledge of work situations that influence work ability in this group is poor. The aim of this study was to assess whether changes in self-reported work factors are associated with self-reported work ability among young female and male workers. Methods A sample of 1,311 (718 women and 593 men was selected from a Swedish cohort of workers aged 21–25 years. At baseline and at 1-year follow-up, participants completed a self-administrated questionnaire including ratings of physical and psychosocial work factors and current work ability. Prevalence ratios were calculated to assess univariate and multivariate associations between changes in work factors and changes in work ability. Results Decreased job control (PR 1.7, 95% CI 1.49–2.12 and increased negative influence of job demands on private life (PR 1.5, 95% CI 1.25–1.69 were associated with reduced work ability for both female and male workers in the multivariate analyses. Among female workers, an association was found between improved work ability and increased social support at work (PR 2.4, CI 1.43–3.95. For male workers, increased job control (PR 2.3, 95% CI 1.21–4.54 and decreased negative influence of job demands on private life (PR 2.1, 95% CI 1.10–3.87 were associated with improved work ability in the multivariate analyses. Conclusions Decreased job control and increased negative influence of job demands on private life over time seem to be the most important work factors associated with reduced work ability among young workers of both sexes. Increased social support at work, increased job control, and decreased negative influence of job demands on private life were also found to be the main work factors associated with improved work ability, although with possible gender differences.

Social Understanding of High-Ability Children in Middle and Late Childhood

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Boor-Klip, Henrike J.; Cillessen, Antonius H. N.; van Hell, Janet G.

2014-01-01

Despite its importance in social development, social understanding has hardly been studied in high-ability children. This study explores differences in social understanding between children in high-ability and regular classrooms, specifically theory of mind (ToM) and perception accuracy, as well as associations between individual characteristics…

Emotions in the classroom: the role of teachers' emotional intelligence ability in predicting students' achievement.

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Curci, Antonietta; Lanciano, Tiziana; Soleti, Emanuela

2014-01-01

School days can be a difficult time, especially when students are faced with subjects that require motivational investment along with cognitive effort, such as mathematics and sciences. In the present study, we investigated the effects of teachers' emotional intelligence (El) ability, self-efficacy, and emotional states and students' self-esteem, perceptions of ability, and metacognitive beliefs in predicting school achievement. We hypothesized that the level of teacher EI ability would moderate the impact of students' self-perceptions and beliefs about their achievements in mathematics and sciences. Students from Italian junior high schools (N = 338) and their math teachers (N = 12) were involved in the study, and a multilevel approach was used. Findings showed that teachers' EI has a positive role in promoting students' achievement, by enhancing the effects of students' self-perceptions of ability and self-esteem.These results have implications for the implementation of intervention programs on the emotional, motivational, and metacognitive correlates of studying and learning behavior.

Teachers' Perception on the Relationship between Change Leadership and Organizational Commitment

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Savas, Ahmet Cezmi; Kosker, Erkan; Demir, Selcuk; Utar, Nurten

2015-01-01

The aim of this survey is to analyze the perception of teachers regarding the relationship between change leadership and organizational commitment. The study sample is 221 teachers working in the schools of Gaziantep, Sanliurfa and Mardin during the 2014-15 educational year since it is easier to reach them. The sample choice of our study has been…

"Being Hit Was Normal": Teachers' (Un)Changing Perceptions of Discipline and Corporal Punishment

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Govender, D. Sagree; Sookrajh, Reshma

2014-01-01

Global and national concerns that corporal punishment is still being used, openly in certain milieus and surreptitiously in others, suggests that education stakeholders need to take cognisance of teachers' perceptions and experiences that influence their classroom discipline in the context of changing curriculum policies and legislation. This…

Change of Japanese risk perception after Tohoku earthquake March 11, 2011

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakajima, Reiko

2011-01-01

The present study reports change of Japanese risk perception based on the results of national surveys carried out in 2010 and 2011. Major earthquake and nuclear power plant risk items were perceived much more serious, while other risks such as global warming, illicit drugs, terrorism were perceiver less serious, after Tohoku earthquake. Anxiety about radiological material was differently according to the distance from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. (author)

The Perceptions of Pre-Service Science Teachers and Science Teachers About Climate Change

OpenAIRE

Meilinda, M; Rustaman, N. Y; Tjasyono, B

2017-01-01

The global climate phenomenon in the context of climate change is the impact of both the dynamic complex climate system and human behaviors that affect environmental sustainability. Human is an important component that should be considered in science teaching that is believed to improve human attitudes towards the environmental sustainability. The research aims to investigate the perceptions of pre-service science teachers and science teachers in South Sumatra who teach climate change and glo...

Do Voters Learn? Evidence that Voters Respond Accurately to Changes in Political Parties’ Policy Positions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Seeberg, Henrik Bech; Slothuus, Rune; Stubager, Rune

2017-01-01

A premise of the mass–elite linkage at the heart of representative democracy is that voters notice changes in political parties’ policy positions and update their party perceptions accordingly. However, recent studies question the ability of voters accurately to perceive changes in parties...... attention to parties when they visibly change policy position. Second, voters update their perceptions of the party positions much more accurately than would have been expected if they merely relied on a ‘coalition heuristic’ as a rule-of-thumb. These findings imply that under some conditions voters...

University EFL Learners' Perceptions of Their Autonomous Learning Responsibilities and Abilities

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Abdel Razeq, Anwar Ahmad

2014-01-01

This study investigated the readiness of university students for autonomous learning of English as a foreign language. Data was collected using questionnaires and interviews. The study assessed learners' readiness for autonomous learning across three dimensions: a) learners' perceptions of their educational responsibilities; b) learners' abilities…

Nursing Students Perceptions about Traditional and Innovative Teaching Strategies– A Pilot Study

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Sailaxmi Gandhi

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Nursing education is undergoing tremendous changes with the changing needs of the rapidly changing society. A sound education system is the prerequisite for the development of any nation. Aim and Objectives: One way to enhance nursing education was to evaluate the learning perceptions of various teaching strategies in nursing education programs. The study was aimed to evaluate the student learning perception about traditional and modern teaching strategies among under graduate nursing students (N=44. Material and Methods: Post test only design was used to compare the learning perception of students about traditional and innovative teaching strategies (brain storming, concept mapping & problem based learning. One group was exposed to traditional teaching strategy and the other group was exposed to innovative teaching strategy about mental health assessment and therapeutic communication. Results: Findings indicated a statistically significant increase (p<0.006 in the learning perception among students exposed to innovative teaching strategies than those exposed to the lecture method at the end of 4 weeks. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that students perceive innovative teaching strategies in a better way compared to the traditional teaching method as it enhances their motivation for learning, learner control, and self - directed learning abilities. However further evaluation with larger sample size is needed before it can replace traditional teaching methods in nursing education.

Action potential influences spatial perception: Evidence for genuine top-down effects on perception.

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Witt, Jessica K

2017-08-01

The action-specific account of spatial perception asserts that a perceiver's ability to perform an action, such as hitting a softball or walking up a hill, impacts the visual perception of the target object. Although much evidence is consistent with this claim, the evidence has been challenged as to whether perception is truly impacted, as opposed to the responses themselves. These challenges have recently been organized as six pitfalls that provide a framework with which to evaluate the empirical evidence. Four case studies of action-specific effects are offered as evidence that meets the framework's high bar, and thus that demonstrates genuine perceptual effects. That action influences spatial perception is evidence that perceptual and action-related processes are intricately and bidirectionally linked.

Age-Related Changes in Children's Understanding of Effort and Ability: Implications for Attribution Theory and Motivation

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Folmer, Amy S.; Cole, David A.; Sigal, Amanda B.; Benbow, Lovisa D.; Satterwhite, Lindsay F.; Swygert, Katherine E.; Ciesla, Jeffrey A.

2008-01-01

Building on Nicholls's earlier work, we examined developmental changes in children's understanding of effort and ability when faced with a negative outcome. In a sample of 166 children and adolescents (ages 5-15 years), younger children conflated the meaning of effort and ability, explaining that smart students work hard, whereas older children…

When Elementary Students Change Peer Groups: Intragroup Centrality, Intergroup Centrality, and Self-Perceptions of Popularity

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Jones, Martin H.; Estell, David B.

2010-01-01

The current study follows two cohorts of fourth and fifth graders across 1 school year to better understand why some students change peer groups. The study focuses on popularity and intragroup social status. We examined whether differences between individuals' and group members' self-perceptions of popularity were related to changing peer groups.…

Ability of the Masimo pulse CO-Oximeter to detect changes in hemoglobin.

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Colquhoun, Douglas A; Forkin, Katherine T; Durieux, Marcel E; Thiele, Robert H

2012-04-01

The decision to administer blood products is complex and multifactorial. Accurate assessment of the concentration of hemoglobin [Hgb] is a key component of this evaluation. Recently a noninvasive method of continuously measuring hemoglobin (SpHb) has become available with multi-wavelength Pulse CO-Oximetry. The accuracy of this device is well documented, but the trending ability of this monitor has not been previously described. Twenty patients undergoing major thoracic and lumbar spine surgery were recruited. All patients received radial arterial lines. On the contralateral index finger, a R1 25 sensor (Rev E) was applied and connected to a Radical-7 Pulse CO-Oximeter (both Masimo Corp, Irvine, CA). Blood samples were drawn intermittently at the anesthesia provider's discretion and were analyzed by the operating room satellite laboratory CO-Oximeter. The value of Hgb and SpHb at that time point was compared. Trend analysis was performed by the four quadrant plot technique, testing directionality of change, and Critchley's polar plot method testing both directionality and magnitude of the change in values. Eighty-eight samples recorded at times of sufficient signal quality were available for analysis. Four quadrant plot analysis revealed 94% of data within the quadrants associated with the correct direction change, and 90% of data points lay within the analysis bounds proposed by Critchley. Pulse CO-Oximetry offers an acceptable trend monitor in patients undergoing major spine surgery. Future work should explore the ability of this device to detect large changes in hemoglobin, as well as its applicability in additional surgical and non-surgical patient populations.

Changing students' perceptions of the homeless: A community service learning experience.

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Gardner, Janet; Emory, Jan

2018-03-01

The homeless are an underserved, local vulnerable population that can benefit from a service learning clinical practicum experience for baccalaureate prepared nursing students. Negative attitudes and disrespect among healthcare workers has been identified by the homeless as a barrier to healthcare. A service learning experience with a vulnerable population has been shown to change nursing students' attitudes and beliefs. A large university in a southern city partnered with a community based organization that provided services to the homeless to educate senior nursing students in a service learning experience. The goal of this project was to examine attitudes and perceptions of nursing students toward the homeless population before and after participation in a service learning clinical practicum experience. This case study utilized a pre and post experience questionnaire to collect qualitative data for the purposes of the project. The findings revealed students demonstrated a decrease in fear, an increase in empathy, and a deeper understanding of the advocacy role of nurses for people experiencing homelessness. Nurse educators are challenged to engage students with vulnerable populations to change the attitudes and perceptions for improvement in the overall health of communities served worldwide. Partnerships and service learning experiences can benefit all. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Parent-Teacher-Student Discrepancies in Academic Ability Beliefs: Influences on Parent Involvement

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Patel, Nimisha; Stevens, Sharon

2010-01-01

Most studies examining influences on parent involvement focus on common demographic factors, such as social class or gender, and on elementary grades. In the present study, we investigated a more malleable influence, perceptions of ability, in the context of middle school. We examined how perceptions held by parents, teachers, and students…

Conceptions of ability as stable and self-evaluative processes: a longitudinal examination.

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Pomerantz, E M; Saxon, J L

2001-01-01

It has generally been taken for granted that conceiving of ability as stable leads to negative self-evaluative processes, particularly in the face of failure. Yet, a close examination of the empirical findings suggests that the picture may be more complex. In this research, a three-wave longitudinal design spanning 12 months was employed. Older elementary school children (N = 932) indicated their conceptions of academic and social ability as stable to external forces and to internal forces. They also provided information about the importance they place on academic and social competence, their knowledge about academic and social performance, their preference for academic challenge, their perceptions of academic and social competence, and their attributions for academic and social performance. Children's grades in school and their acceptance by peers were obtained as indicators of performance. Over time, conceiving of ability as stable to external forces, particularly in the academic domain, appeared to heighten the importance placed on competence, performance knowledge, preference for challenge, perceptions of competence, and self-enhancing attributions. In contrast, conceptions of ability as stable to internal forces, particularly in the academic domain, appeared to be fostered by placing little importance on competence, a lack of performance knowledge, avoidance of challenge, negative perceptions of competence, self-deprecating attributions, and poor performance.

Measuring perceptions of climate change in northern Alaska: pairing ethnography with cultural consensus analysis

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Courtney Carothers

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Given current and projected warming trends in the Arctic and the important role played by subsistence hunting and fishing in the life of northern rural communities, it is increasingly important to document local observations of climate change and its impacts on livelihood practices. We describe ethnographic research exploring local observations of climate changes and related impacts on subsistence fisheries in three Iñupiat communities in northwest Alaska and six Athabascan communities in the Yukon River drainage. We found consistent agreement among perceptions concerning a broad range of environmental changes affecting subsistence practices in these communities. These observations of environmental changes are not experienced in isolation but within the context of accompanying social changes that are continually reshaping rural Alaskan communities and subsistence economies. In this paper we reflect on our research approach combining multiple methods of inquiry. Participant observation and semidirected interviews provided the conceptual framework for broadening our focus from climate and environmental change to community residents' understanding of climate change in the context of their holistic human-environment worldview. Cultural consensus analysis allowed us to assess the extent to which perceptions of change are shared among hunters and fishers within and between villages and regions and to identify those phenomena occurring or experienced at smaller scales. Reflecting on this multimethods approach, we highlight important questions that have emerged about how we understand, synthesize, and represent local knowledge, especially as it is used in regulatory or management arenas.

Nurse manager perceptions of role satisfaction and retention at an academic medical center.

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Zwink, Jennifer E; Dzialo, Maureen; Fink, Regina M; Oman, Kathleen S; Shiskowsky, Kaycee; Waite, Kathi; DeVine, Deborah; Sanders, Carolyn L; Le-Lazar, Jamie T T

2013-03-01

The aim of this study was to explore the perceptions of inpatient acute care nurse managers (NM) employed at an academic Magnet® hospital about factors that influence NM retention, including current work environment, satisfaction, work-life balance, sucssful NM traits, and personal development and educational needs. Nurse managers are challenged with increased workloads impacting their ability to implement all role components. A qualitative descriptive study design used focus group methodology to explore perceptions of the NM role. Nurse managers identified staff recognition, support, peer relationships, collaboration, and ability to make positive change as factors influencing their decision to remain in the role. Burnout factors included workload issues, work-life imbalance, and difficulty sustaining positive relationships. Traits supporting success were communication, resiliency, integrity, and a visionary outlook. Suggestions for NM development and education were identified. Findings can be used to improve NM satisfaction, work-life balance, recruitment, retention, and succession planning.

AN EVALUATION OF FARMERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF AND ADAPTATION TO THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE IN KENYA

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Hilary K. Ndambiri

2013-07-01

Full Text Available The study was carried out to evaluate how farmers in Kyuso District have perceived and adapted to climate change. Data was collected from 246 farmers from six locations sampled out through a multistage and simple random sampling procedure. The Heckman probit model was fitted to the data to avoid sample selection bias since not every farmer who may perceive climate change responds by adapting. The analysis revealed that 94% of farmers in Kyuso District had a perception that climate was changing and as a result, 85% of these farmers had responded by adapting. In this regard, age of the household head, gender, education, farm experience, household size, distance to the nearest market, access to irrigation water, local agro-ecology, on and off farm income, access to information on climate change through extension services, access to credit, changes in temperature and precipitation were found to have significant influence on the probability of farmers to perceive and/or adapt to climate change. With the level of perception to climate change being more than that of adaptation, the study suggests that more policy efforts should be geared towards helping farmers to adapt to climate change

Binaural Perception in Young Infants.

Science.gov (United States)

Bundy, Robert S.

This paper describes three experiments which demonstrated the presence of binaural perception abilities (the ability to use both ears) in 4-month-old but not in 2-month-old infants. All of the experiments employed a visual fixation habituation-dishabituation paradigm in which infants were given a series of visual fixation trials while binaural…

Multistable Perception in Older Adults: Constructing a Whole from Fragments.

Science.gov (United States)

Patel, Khushi; Reed, Maureen

2016-03-22

Visual perception is constructive in nature; that is, a coherent whole is generated from ambiguous fragments that are encountered in dynamic visual scenes. Creating this coherent whole from fragmented sensory inputs requires one to detect, identify, distinguish and organize sensory input. The organization of fragments into a coherent whole is facilitated by the continuous interactions between lower level sensory inputs and higher order processes. However, age-related declines are found in both neural structures and cognitive processes (e.g., attention and inhibition). The impact of these declines on the constructive nature of visual processing was the focus of this study. Here we asked younger adults, young-old (65-79 years), and old-old adults (80+ years) to view a multistable figure (i.e., Necker cube) under four conditions (free, priming, volition, and adaptation) and report, via a button press, when percepts spontaneously changed. The oldest-olds, unlike young-olds and younger adults, were influenced by priming, had less visual stability during volition and showed less ability to adapt to multistable stimuli. These results suggest that the ability to construct a coherent whole from fragments declines with age. More specifically, vision is constructed differently in the old-olds, which might influence environmental interpretations and navigational abilities in this age group.

Multistable Perception in Older Adults: Constructing a Whole from Fragments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Khushi Patel

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Visual perception is constructive in nature; that is, a coherent whole is generated from ambiguous fragments that are encountered in dynamic visual scenes. Creating this coherent whole from fragmented sensory inputs requires one to detect, identify, distinguish and organize sensory input. The organization of fragments into a coherent whole is facilitated by the continuous interactions between lower level sensory inputs and higher order processes. However, age-related declines are found in both neural structures and cognitive processes (e.g., attention and inhibition. The impact of these declines on the constructive nature of visual processing was the focus of this study. Here we asked younger adults, young-old (65–79 years, and old-old adults (80+ years to view a multistable figure (i.e., Necker cube under four conditions (free, priming, volition, and adaptation and report, via a button press, when percepts spontaneously changed. The oldest-olds, unlike young-olds and younger adults, were influenced by priming, had less visual stability during volition and showed less ability to adapt to multistable stimuli. These results suggest that the ability to construct a coherent whole from fragments declines with age. More specifically, vision is constructed differently in the old-olds, which might influence environmental interpretations and navigational abilities in this age group.

Changes in nursing students' perceptions of research and evidence-based practice after completing a research course.

Science.gov (United States)

Keib, Carrie N; Cailor, Stephanie M; Kiersma, Mary E; Chen, Aleda M H

2017-07-01

Nurses need a sound education in research and evidence-based practice (EBP) to provide patients with optimal care, but current teaching methods could be more effective. To evaluate the changes in nursing students 1) perceptions of research and EBP, 2) confidence in research and EBP, and 3) interest in research participation after completing a course in research and EBP. A pre-post assessment design was utilized to compare changes in students. This project was conducted at a small, private liberal arts institution with Bachelor of Science (BSN) students. Two cohorts of third-year BSN students (Year 1 N=55, Year 2 N=54) who were taking a required, semester-long Nursing Research and EBP course. Students' perceptions of and confidence in research and EBP were assessed pre- and post-semester using the Confidence in Research and EBP survey, which contained 7 demographic items, 9 Research Perceptions items, and 19 Confidence in Research items (5-point Likert scale; 1=Not at all confident, 5=Extremely confident). Two years of data were collected and analyzed in SPSS v.24.0. Wilcoxon signed-ranks tests and Mann-Whitney-U tests were utilized to examine the data. Students had significant improvements in perceptions of and confidence in research and EBP (pnursing practice. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Climate change and apple farming in Indian Himalayas: a study of local perceptions and responses.

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Basavaraj Basannagari

Full Text Available Apple farming is an important activity and profession of farmer communities in the Himalayan states of India. At present, the traditional apple farming is under stress due to changes in climate. The present study was undertaken in an Indian Himalayan state, Himachal Pradesh, with the major aim of studying perceptions of farmers on the effects of climate change on apple farming along the altitudinal gradient. Through questionnaire survey, the perceptions of farmers were recorded at low hills (3000 m. At all elevation range the majority of farmers reported that there was increase in atmospheric temperature, and hence at low hills 72% farmers believed that this increase in temperature was responsible for decline in fruit size and so that the quality. Thirty five percent farmers at high hills and 30% at mid hills perceived frost as a major cause for damaging apple farming whereas at low hills 24% farmers perceived hailstorm as the major deterrent for apple farming. The majority of farmers, along the altitude (92% at high hills, 79% at mid hills and 83% at low hills, reported decrease in snowfall. The majority of farmers at low altitude and mid altitude reported decline in apple farming whereas 71% farmers at high hill areas refused decline in apple farming. About 73-83% farmers admitted delay in apple's harvesting period. At mid hills apple scab and at low hills pest attack on apple crops are considered as the indicators of climate change. The change in land use practices was attributed to climate change and in many areas the land under apple farming was replaced for production of coarse grains, seasonal vegetables and other horticulture species. Scientific investigation claiming changes in Indian Himalayan climate corroborates perceptions of farmers, as examined during the present study.

Climate change and apple farming in Indian Himalayas: a study of local perceptions and responses.

Science.gov (United States)

Basannagari, Basavaraj; Kala, Chandra Prakash

2013-01-01

Apple farming is an important activity and profession of farmer communities in the Himalayan states of India. At present, the traditional apple farming is under stress due to changes in climate. The present study was undertaken in an Indian Himalayan state, Himachal Pradesh, with the major aim of studying perceptions of farmers on the effects of climate change on apple farming along the altitudinal gradient. Through questionnaire survey, the perceptions of farmers were recorded at low hills (3000 m). At all elevation range the majority of farmers reported that there was increase in atmospheric temperature, and hence at low hills 72% farmers believed that this increase in temperature was responsible for decline in fruit size and so that the quality. Thirty five percent farmers at high hills and 30% at mid hills perceived frost as a major cause for damaging apple farming whereas at low hills 24% farmers perceived hailstorm as the major deterrent for apple farming. The majority of farmers, along the altitude (92% at high hills, 79% at mid hills and 83% at low hills), reported decrease in snowfall. The majority of farmers at low altitude and mid altitude reported decline in apple farming whereas 71% farmers at high hill areas refused decline in apple farming. About 73-83% farmers admitted delay in apple's harvesting period. At mid hills apple scab and at low hills pest attack on apple crops are considered as the indicators of climate change. The change in land use practices was attributed to climate change and in many areas the land under apple farming was replaced for production of coarse grains, seasonal vegetables and other horticulture species. Scientific investigation claiming changes in Indian Himalayan climate corroborates perceptions of farmers, as examined during the present study.

"I'm Not Stupid after All"--Changing Perceptions of Self as a Tool for Transformation

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Willans, Julie; Seary, Karen

2007-01-01

When adult learners return to formal education after a period of absence, coping with change is a constant and often omnipresent challenge. As they come to break down previous barriers to success in an educational arena, many adult learners are able to change the perceptions they have of themselves as learners. Previously held assumptions are…

A qualitative study of lung cancer risk perceptions and smoking beliefs among national lung screening trial participants.

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Park, Elyse R; Streck, Joanna M; Gareen, Ilana F; Ostroff, Jamie S; Hyland, Kelly A; Rigotti, Nancy A; Pajolek, Hannah; Nichter, Mark

2014-02-01

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network and the American Cancer Society recently released lung screening guidelines that include smoking cessation counseling for smokers undergoing screening. Previous work indicates that smoking behaviors and risk perceptions of the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) participants were relatively unchanged. We explored American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN)/NLST former and current smokers' risk perceptions specifically to (a) determine whether lung screening is a cue for behavior change, (b) elucidate risk perceptions for lung cancer and smoking-related diseases, and (c) explore postscreening behavioral intentions and changes. A random sample of 35 participants from 4 ACRIN sites were qualitatively interviewed 1-2 years postscreen. We used a structured interview guide based on Health Belief Model and Self-Regulation Model constructs. Content analyses were conducted with NVivo 8. Most participants endorsed high-risk perceptions for lung cancer and smoking-related diseases, but heightened concern about these risks did not appear to motivate participants to seek screening. Risk perceptions were mostly attributed to participants' heavy smoking histories; former smokers expressed greatly reduced risk. Lung cancer and smoking-related diseases were perceived as very severe although participants endorsed low worry. Current smokers had low confidence in their ability to quit, and none reported quitting following their initial screen. Lung screening did not appear to be a behavior change cue to action, and high-risk perceptions did not translate into quitting behaviors. Cognitive and emotional dissonance and avoidance strategies may deter engagement in smoking behavior change. Smoking cessation and prevention interventions during lung screening should explore risk perceptions, emotions, and quit confidence.

Individual differences in speech-in-noise perception parallel neural speech processing and attention in preschoolers

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Thompson, Elaine C.; Carr, Kali Woodruff; White-Schwoch, Travis; Otto-Meyer, Sebastian; Kraus, Nina

2016-01-01

From bustling classrooms to unruly lunchrooms, school settings are noisy. To learn effectively in the unwelcome company of numerous distractions, children must clearly perceive speech in noise. In older children and adults, speech-in-noise perception is supported by sensory and cognitive processes, but the correlates underlying this critical listening skill in young children (3–5 year olds) remain undetermined. Employing a longitudinal design (two evaluations separated by ~12 months), we followed a cohort of 59 preschoolers, ages 3.0–4.9, assessing word-in-noise perception, cognitive abilities (intelligence, short-term memory, attention), and neural responses to speech. Results reveal changes in word-in-noise perception parallel changes in processing of the fundamental frequency (F0), an acoustic cue known for playing a role central to speaker identification and auditory scene analysis. Four unique developmental trajectories (speech-in-noise perception groups) confirm this relationship, in that improvements and declines in word-in-noise perception couple with enhancements and diminishments of F0 encoding, respectively. Improvements in word-in-noise perception also pair with gains in attention. Word-in-noise perception does not relate to strength of neural harmonic representation or short-term memory. These findings reinforce previously-reported roles of F0 and attention in hearing speech in noise in older children and adults, and extend this relationship to preschool children. PMID:27864051

Stretch-sensitive paresis and effort perception in hemiparesis.

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Vinti, Maria; Bayle, Nicolas; Hutin, Emilie; Burke, David; Gracies, Jean-Michel

2015-08-01

In spastic paresis, stretch applied to the antagonist increases its inappropriate recruitment during agonist command (spastic co-contraction). It is unknown whether antagonist stretch: (1) also affects agonist recruitment; (2) alters effort perception. We quantified voluntary activation of ankle dorsiflexors, effort perception, and plantar flexor co-contraction during graded dorsiflexion efforts at two gastrocnemius lengths. Eighteen healthy (age 41 ± 13) and 18 hemiparetic (age 54 ± 12) subjects performed light, medium and maximal isometric dorsiflexion efforts with the knee flexed or extended. We determined dorsiflexor torque, Root Mean Square EMG and Agonist Recruitment/Co-contraction Indices (ARI/CCI) from the 500 ms peak voluntary agonist recruitment in a 5-s maximal isometric effort in tibialis anterior, soleus and medial gastrocnemius. Subjects retrospectively reported effort perception on a 10-point visual analog scale. During gastrocnemius stretch in hemiparetic subjects, we observed: (1) a 25 ± 7 % reduction of tibialis anterior voluntary activation (maximum reduction 98 %; knee extended vs knee flexed; p = 0.007, ANOVA); (2) an increase in dorsiflexion effort perception (p = 0.03, ANCOVA). Such changes did not occur in healthy subjects. Effort perception depended on tibialis anterior recruitment only (βARI(TA) = 0.61, p hemiparesis, voluntary ability to recruit agonist motoneurones is impaired--sometimes abolished--by antagonist stretch, a phenomenon defined here as stretch-sensitive paresis. In addition, spastic co-contraction increases effort perception, an additional incentive to evaluate and treat this phenomenon.

Effects of Musicality on the Perception of Rhythmic Structure in Speech

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Natalie Boll-Avetisyan

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Language and music share many rhythmic properties, such as variations in intensity and duration leading to repeating patterns. Perception of rhythmic properties may rely on cognitive networks that are shared between the two domains. If so, then variability in speech rhythm perception may relate to individual differences in musicality. To examine this possibility, the present study focuses on rhythmic grouping, which is assumed to be guided by a domain-general principle, the Iambic/Trochaic law, stating that sounds alternating in intensity are grouped as strong-weak, and sounds alternating in duration are grouped as weak-strong. German listeners completed a grouping task: They heard streams of syllables alternating in intensity, duration, or neither, and had to indicate whether they perceived a strong-weak or weak-strong pattern. Moreover, their music perception abilities were measured, and they filled out a questionnaire reporting their productive musical experience. Results showed that better musical rhythm perception ability was associated with more consistent rhythmic grouping of speech, while melody perception ability and productive musical experience were not. This suggests shared cognitive procedures in the perception of rhythm in music and speech. Also, the results highlight the relevance of considering individual differences in musicality when aiming to explain variability in prosody perception.

Substantial changes in mastery perceptions of dementia caregivers with the placement of a care recipient.

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Infurna, Frank J; Gerstorf, Denis; Zarit, Steven H

2013-03-01

The current study examined how a key component of caregiving stress processes, global mastery perceptions, changes with placing the care recipient in a nursing home or institution. We also explored the role of primary stressors in accounting for mastery changes with placement and whether characteristics of the caregiver and care recipient moderate reactions to placement. We applied multiphase growth curve models to prospective longitudinal data from 271 caregivers in the Caregiver Stress and Coping Study who experienced placement of their care recipient. Using a time-to/from-placement metric, we found that caregivers typically experienced declines in mastery preceding placement, followed by a significant increase within 1 year after placement and further increases thereafter. Corresponding changes in primary stressors (role overload) mediated the placement-related increase in mastery. Caregivers who reported more depressive symptoms and activities of daily living/instrumental activities of daily living dependencies of the care recipient were more likely to experience larger placement-related increases in mastery perceptions. Our findings suggest that placement alters psychological resources of caregivers and this effect is driven by corresponding changes in primary stressors. Findings also underscore the importance of examining change processes across salient life events and transitions.

Changes in cytoskeletal dynamics and nonlinear rheology with metastatic ability in cancer cell lines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coughlin, Mark F; Fredberg, Jeffrey J

2013-01-01

Metastatic outcome is impacted by the biophysical state of the primary tumor cell. To determine if changes in cancer cell biophysical properties facilitate metastasis, we quantified cytoskeletal biophysics in well-characterized human skin, bladder, prostate and kidney cell line pairs that differ in metastatic ability. Using magnetic twisting cytometry with optical detection, cytoskeletal dynamics was observed through spontaneous motion of surface bound marker beads and nonlinear rheology was characterized through large amplitude forced oscillations of probe beads. Measurements of cytoskeletal dynamics and nonlinear rheology differed between strongly and weakly metastatic cells. However, no set of biophysical parameters changed systematically with metastatic ability across all cell lines. Compared to their weakly metastatic counterparts, the strongly metastatic kidney cancer cells exhibited both increased cytoskeletal dynamics and stiffness at large deformation which are thought to facilitate the process of vascular invasion. (paper)

Spatiotemporal frequency characteristics of cerebral oscillations during the perception of fundamental frequency contour changes in one-syllable intonation.

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Ueno, Sanae; Okumura, Eiichi; Remijn, Gerard B; Yoshimura, Yuko; Kikuchi, Mitsuru; Shitamichi, Kiyomi; Nagao, Kikuko; Mochiduki, Masayuki; Haruta, Yasuhiro; Hayashi, Norio; Munesue, Toshio; Tsubokawa, Tsunehisa; Oi, Manabu; Nakatani, Hideo; Higashida, Haruhiro; Minabe, Yoshio

2012-05-02

Accurate perception of fundamental frequency (F0) contour changes in the human voice is important for understanding a speaker's intonation, and consequently also his/her attitude. In this study, we investigated the neural processes involved in the perception of F0 contour changes in the Japanese one-syllable interjection "ne" in 21 native-Japanese listeners. A passive oddball paradigm was applied in which "ne" with a high falling F0 contour, used when urging a reaction from the listener, was randomly presented as a rare deviant among a frequent "ne" syllable with a flat F0 contour (i.e., meaningless intonation). We applied an adaptive spatial filtering method to the neuromagnetic time course recorded by whole-head magnetoencephalography (MEG) and estimated the spatiotemporal frequency dynamics of event-related cerebral oscillatory changes in the oddball paradigm. Our results demonstrated a significant elevation of beta band event-related desynchronization (ERD) in the right temporal and frontal areas, in time windows from 100 to 300 and from 300 to 500 ms after the onset of deviant stimuli (high falling F0 contour). This is the first study to reveal detailed spatiotemporal frequency characteristics of cerebral oscillations during the perception of intonational (not lexical) F0 contour changes in the human voice. The results further confirmed that the right hemisphere is associated with perception of intonational F0 contour information in the human voice, especially in early time windows. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Natural versus anthropogenic climate change: Swedish farmers' joint construction of climate perceptions.

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Asplund, Therese

2016-07-01

While previous research into understandings of climate change has usually examined general public perceptions, this study offers an audience-specific departure point. This article analyses how Swedish farmers perceive climate change and how they jointly shape their understandings. The agricultural sector is of special interest because it both contributes to and is directly affected by climate change. Through focus group discussions with Swedish farmers, this study finds that (1) farmers relate to and understand climate change through their own experiences, (2) climate change is understood either as a natural process subject to little or no human influence or as anthropogenic and (3) various communication tools contribute to the formation of natural and anthropogenic climate change frames. The article ends by discussing frame resonance and frame clash in public understanding of climate change and by comparing potential similarities and differences in how various segments of the public make sense of climate change. © The Author(s) 2014.

Health risk perception, optimistic bias, and personal satisfaction.

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Bränström, Richard; Brandberg, Yvonne

2010-01-01

To examine change in risk perception and optimistic bias concerning behavior-linked health threats and environmental health threats between adolescence and young adulthood and how these factors related to personal satisfaction. In 1996 and 2002, 1624 adolescents responded to a mailed questionnaire. Adolescents showed strong positive optimistic bias concerning behaviorlinked risks, and this optimistic bias increased with age. Increase in optimistic bias over time predicted increase in personal satisfaction. The capacity to process and perceive potential threats in a positive manner might be a valuable human ability positively influencing personal satisfaction and well-being.

Gender Difference as a Factor in Teachers' Perceptions of Students.

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Prawat, Richard S.; Jarvis, Robert

1980-01-01

Teacher perceptions of students as influenced by differences in student gender are examined. Elementary school teachers' perceptions of students were assessed by their rating children in their classes on various dimensions. Results showed student ability/achievement are more potent in teacher perceptions than gender. (Author/GK)

Age-related quantitative and qualitative changes in decision making ability.

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Isella, Valeria; Mapelli, Cristina; Morielli, Nadia; Pelati, Oriana; Franceschi, Massimo; Appollonio, Ildebrando Marco

2008-01-01

The "frontal aging hypothesis" predicts that brain senescence affects predominantly the prefrontal regions. Preliminary evidence has recently been gathered in favour of an age-related change in a typically frontal process, i.e. decision making, using the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), but overall findings have been conflicting. Following the traditional scoring method, coupled with a qualitative analysis, in the present study we compared IGT performance of 40 young (mean age: 27.9+/-4.7) and 40 old (mean age: 65.4+/-8.6) healthy adults and of 18 patients affected by frontal lobe dementia of mild severity (mean age: 65.1+/-7.4, mean MMSE score: 24.1+/-3.9). Quantitative findings support the notion that decision making ability declines with age; moreover, it approximates the impairment observed in executive dysfunction due to neurodegeneration. Results of the qualitative analysis did not reach statistical significance for the motivational and learning decision making components considered, but approached significance for the attentional component for elderly versus young normals, suggesting a possible decrease in the ability to maintain sustained attention during complex and prolonged tasks as the putative deficit underlying impaired decision making in normal aging.

Semantic impairment disrupts perception, memory, and naming of secondary but not primary colours.

OpenAIRE

Rogers, Timothy T.; Graham, Kim S.; Patterson, Karalyn

2015-01-01

To investigate how basic aspects of perception are shaped by acquired knowledge about the world, we assessed colour perception and cognition in patients with semantic dementia (SD), a disorder that progressively erodes conceptual knowledge. We observed a previously undocumented pattern of impairment to colour perception and cognition characterized by: (i) a normal ability to discriminate between only subtly different colours but an impaired ability to group different colours into categories, ...

Rural perception to the effects of climate change in Otukpo, Nigeria

OpenAIRE

Roland Clement Abah

2014-01-01

The study has further examined rural perception to the effects of climate change. The study used rural settlements in Otukpo, Nigeria as a case study. Primary and secondary data were utilised for the study. Data collection was done through the use of a questionnaire with open-ended questions and questions with multiple answers. A total of 100 questionnaires were randomly distributed among household heads in 10 settlements selected from 58 rural settlements for the study. Spatial distribution ...

Within- and cross-modal distance information disambiguate visual size-change perception.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter W Battaglia

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Perception is fundamentally underconstrained because different combinations of object properties can generate the same sensory information. To disambiguate sensory information into estimates of scene properties, our brains incorporate prior knowledge and additional "auxiliary" (i.e., not directly relevant to desired scene property sensory information to constrain perceptual interpretations. For example, knowing the distance to an object helps in perceiving its size. The literature contains few demonstrations of the use of prior knowledge and auxiliary information in combined visual and haptic disambiguation and almost no examination of haptic disambiguation of vision beyond "bistable" stimuli. Previous studies have reported humans integrate multiple unambiguous sensations to perceive single, continuous object properties, like size or position. Here we test whether humans use visual and haptic information, individually and jointly, to disambiguate size from distance. We presented participants with a ball moving in depth with a changing diameter. Because no unambiguous distance information is available under monocular viewing, participants rely on prior assumptions about the ball's distance to disambiguate their -size percept. Presenting auxiliary binocular and/or haptic distance information augments participants' prior distance assumptions and improves their size judgment accuracy-though binocular cues were trusted more than haptic. Our results suggest both visual and haptic distance information disambiguate size perception, and we interpret these results in the context of probabilistic perceptual reasoning.

The Effects of Plyometric Training on Change-of-Direction Ability: A Meta-Analysis.

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Asadi, Abbas; Arazi, Hamid; Young, Warren B; Sáez de Villarreal, Eduardo

2016-07-01

To show a clear picture about the possible variables of enhancements of change-of-direction (COD) ability using longitudinal plyometric-training (PT) studies and determine specific factors that influence the training effects. A computerized search was performed, and 24 articles with a total of 46 effect sizes (ESs) in an experimental group and 25 ESs in a control group were reviewed to analyze the role of various factors on the impact of PT on COD performance. The results showed that participants with good fitness levels obtained greater improvements in COD performance (P plyometric exercises such as drop jumps + vertical jumps + standing long jumps is better than 1 form of exercise. It is apparent that PT can be effective at improving COD ability. The loading parameters are essential for exercise professionals, coaches, and strength and conditioning professionals with regard to the most appropriate dose-response trends to optimize plyometric-induced COD-ability gains.

Memory Abilities in Children with Mathematical Difficulties: Comorbid Language Difficulties Matter

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Reimann, Giselle; Gut, Janine; Frischknecht, Marie-Claire; Grob, Alexander

2013-01-01

The present study investigated cognitive abilities in children with difficulties in mathematics only (n = 48, M = 8 years and 5 months), combined mathematical and language difficulty (n = 27, M = 8 years and 1 month) and controls (n = 783, M = 7 years and 11 months). Cognitive abilities were measured with seven subtests, tapping visual perception,…

Images of Polar Bears and Penguins, Storms, Deforestation and More - Middle School Students Perceptions of Climate Change

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Gopal, S.; Melaas, E. K.; Malmrose, M.; Mullokandov, A.

2014-12-01

Global change studies aim to foster a deeper understanding of the causes and consequences of global change on planet Earth. The study of global change presents a rich domain of inquiry, exploration, and discovery at all grade levels. The main objective of this exploratory study was to assess middle school students' perceptions of global change as part of their participation in the NSF GK12 program called GLACIER (Global Change Initiative - Education and Research) during the academic year 2012-13. The middle schools are located in the Metro Boston area. As part of the program, participating students were asked to draw pictures of their perceptions and ideas on global change. The drawings of 150 children, ages 11 to 13, were qualitatively analyzed. The analysis focused on (a) the type of concepts children chose to convey, (b) the specific context of the global change described (polar bears in floating glaciers), (c) students direct representation of anthropocentric impacts (such as pollution or deforestation), and (d) the match between students concepts and the recent IPCC reports. About 20% of the students focused on the iconic imagery of the melting glaciers and impact on animals such as penguins and polar bears, more than 25% focused on natural disasters (such as storms, sea level changes) while 30% focused on urban problems. These concepts are matched with the recent IPCC report. These results are notable and suggest students in middle schools understand the varied dimensions of global change and the role of human activities in bringing about change. Students' perspectives may help in developing a suitable curriculum using existing science standards to discuss this significant topic in middle school classrooms. In addition, students' drawings illustrate their perception of the coupled human and natural systems.

Changes in Pain Modulation Occur Soon After Whiplash Trauma but are not Related to Altered Perception of Distorted Visual Feedback.

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Daenen, Liesbeth; Nijs, Jo; Cras, Patrick; Wouters, Kristien; Roussel, Nathalie

2014-09-01

Widespread sensory hypersensitivity has been observed in acute whiplash associated disorders (WAD). Changes in descending pain modulation take part in central sensitization. However, endogenous pain modulation has never been investigated in acute WAD. Altered perception of distorted visual feedback has been observed in WAD. Both mechanisms (ie, pain modulation and perception of distorted visual feedback) may be different components of one integrated system orchestrated by the brain. This study evaluated conditioned pain modulation (CPM) in acute WAD. Secondly, we investigated whether changes in CPM are associated with altered perception of distorted visual feedback. Thirty patients with acute WAD, 35 patients with chronic WAD and 31 controls were subjected to an experiment evaluating CPM and a coordination task inducing visual mediated changes between sensory feedback and motor output. A significant CPM effect was observed in acute WAD (P = 0.012 and P = 0.006), which was significantly lower compared to controls (P = 0.004 and P = 0.020). No obvious differences in CPM were found between acute and chronic WAD (P = 0.098 and P = 0.041). Changes in CPM were unrelated to altered perception of distorted visual feedback (P > 0.01). Changes in CPM were observed in acute WAD, suggesting less efficient pain modulation. The results suggest that central pain and sensorimotor processing underlie distinctive mechanisms. © 2013 World Institute of Pain.

Longitudinal changes in physical self-perceptions and associations with physical activity during adolescence.

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Inchley, Jo; Kirby, Jo; Currie, Candace

2011-05-01

The purpose of this study was to examine adolescents' physical self-perceptions and their associations with physical activity using a longitudinal perspective. Utilizing data from the Physical Activity in Scottish Schoolchildren (PASS) study, changes in exercise self-efficacy, perceived competence, global self-esteem and physical self-worth were assessed among a sample of 641 Scottish adolescents from age 11-15 years. Girls reported lower levels of perceived competence, self-esteem and physical self-worth than boys at each age. Furthermore, girls' physical self-perceptions decreased markedly over time. Among boys, only perceived competence decreased, while global self-esteem increased. Baseline physical activity was a significant predictor of later activity levels for both genders. Findings demonstrate the importance of physical self-perceptions in relation to physical activity behavior among adolescents. Among older boys, high perceived competence increased the odds of being active by 3.8 times. Among older girls, high exercise self-efficacy increased the odds of being active by 5.2 times. There is a need for early interventions which promote increased physical literacy and confidence, particularly among girls.

Auditory processing, speech perception and phonological ability in pre-school children at high-risk for dyslexia: a longitudinal study of the auditory temporal processing theory

OpenAIRE

Boets, Bart; Wouters, Jan; Van Wieringen, Astrid; Ghesquière, Pol

2007-01-01

This study investigates whether the core bottleneck of literacy-impairment should be situated at the phonological level or at a more basic sensory level, as postulated by supporters of the auditory temporal processing theory. Phonological ability, speech perception and low-level auditory processing were assessed in a group of 5-year-old pre-school children at high-family risk for dyslexia, compared to a group of well-matched low-risk control children. Based on family risk status and first gra...

Ensemble perception of emotions in autistic and typical children and adolescents

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Themelis Karaminis

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Ensemble perception, the ability to assess automatically the summary of large amounts of information presented in visual scenes, is available early in typical development. This ability might be compromised in autistic children, who are thought to present limitations in maintaining summary statistics representations for the recent history of sensory input. Here we examined ensemble perception of facial emotional expressions in 35 autistic children, 30 age- and ability-matched typical children and 25 typical adults. Participants received three tasks: a an ‘ensemble’ emotion discrimination task; b a baseline (single-face emotion discrimination task; and c a facial expression identification task. Children performed worse than adults on all three tasks. Unexpectedly, autistic and typical children were, on average, indistinguishable in their precision and accuracy on all three tasks. Computational modelling suggested that, on average, autistic and typical children used ensemble-encoding strategies to a similar extent; but ensemble perception was related to non-verbal reasoning abilities in autistic but not in typical children. Eye-movement data also showed no group differences in the way children attended to the stimuli. Our combined findings suggest that the abilities of autistic and typical children for ensemble perception of emotions are comparable on average.

Different Perceptions of Time Passage Among Older People: A Comparative Study in Terms of Age and Gender

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Mohammad Ali Nazari

2016-04-01

Conclusion: Research findings indicate that age affects time perception so that perceived time in the elderly people is shorter than the real physical time. Our findings also showed that if sources pay less attention to the passage of time or the memory capacity declines, the time estimation will be less. Based on cognitive changes in old age, the cognitive abilities of older people were found to decrease with increasing age. As the accurate processing of time intervals relates to memory capacity and attention, the changes in any cognitive process could affect the differences in the perception of time. Probably due to these factors, the reproduction of time in the older people shortens.

Influence of work-related characteristics and work ability on changing employer or leaving the profession among nursing staff

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rongen, Anne; Robroek, Suzan; van der Heijden, Beatrice; Schouteten, Roel L.J.; Hasselhorn, Hans Martin; Burdorf, Alex

2014-01-01

Aim To investigate how work-related characteristics and work ability influence nursing staff decisions to change employer or leave the profession. Background Previous cross-sectional studies have indicated that decreased work ability and unfavourable work-related characteristics are important

Can a short film impact HIV-related risk and stigma perceptions? Results from an experiment in Abuja, Nigeria.

Science.gov (United States)

Lapinski, Maria Knight; Nwulu, Paul

2008-09-01

HIV/AIDS-related stigma is believed to result in negative social consequences for people with the disease and to be a deterrent to HIV serostatus testing. The ability of communicators to change people's stigma perceptions and subsequently impact decisions to test, however, is not well understood. Based on the entertainment-education approach, this article presents the results of a field experiment conducted in Abuja, Nigeria, testing a mediated intervention designed to reduce HIV-related stigma and risk perceptions. The results indicate that the intervention was effective relative to a control in impacting perceptions of the severity of HIV and some stigma-related attitudes, particularly for male participants; and that for this sample, risk and stigma perceptions significantly impact intentions to test for HIV. It also showed that severity perceptions mediated the relationship between viewing the film and testing intent.

TVA, Abnormal Return, and Investor Perception on Changing of Tick Size 2 May 2016

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Tri Gunarsih

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The objective of this study was to analyze the market reaction to the changing of capital market’s tick size regulation in May 2, 2016. The main goal of the regulation was to increase the capital market liquidity, then it’s important to test whether there was a difference in market liquidity before and after the regulation released. The method of this study was studying with Trading Volume Activity (TVA and abnormal return based on secondary data and also investor perception based on primary data. The secondary data consist of 65 samples of listed companies in Indonesia Stock Exchange. The primary data consist of 67 investors in Yogyakarta that were selected using purposive sampling method.The result of this study was mix, there was no difference before and after the release of regulation in TVA, but there was a difference in abnormal return. The result of investor perception shows that there was a positive response to the changing of tick size regulation.

FACOTRS TO DETERMINE RISK PERCEPTION OF CLIMATE CHANGE, AND ATTITUDE TOWARD ADAPTATION POLICY OF THE PUBLIC

Science.gov (United States)

Baba, Kenshi; Sugimoto, Takuya; Kubota, Hiromi; Hijioka, Yasuaki; Tanaka, Mitsuru

This study clarifies the factors to determine risk perception of climate change and attitudes toward adaptation policy by analyzing the data collecting from Internet survey to the general public. The results indicate the followings: 1) more than 70% people perceive some sort of risk of climate change, and most people are awaken to wind and flood damage. 2) most people recognize that mitigation policy is much more important than adaptation policy, whereas most people assume to accept adaptation policy as self-reponsibility, 3) the significant factors to determinane risk perception of climate chage and attitude towerd adaptation policy are cognition of benefits on the policy and procedural justice in the policy process in addion to demographics such as gender, experience of disaster, intension of inhabitant.

Information literacy: perceptions of Brazilian HIV/AIDS researchers.

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Alvarez, Maria do Carmo Avamilano; França, Ivan; Cuenca, Angela Maria Belloni; Bastos, Francisco I; Ueno, Helene Mariko; Barros, Cláudia Renata; Guimarães, Maria Cristina Soares

2014-03-01

Information literacy has evolved with changes in lifelong learning. Can Brazilian health researchers search for and use updated scientific information? To describe researchers' information literacy based on their perceptions of their abilities to search for and use scientific information and on their interactions with libraries. Semi-structured interviews and focus group conducted with six Brazilian HIV/AIDS researchers. Analyses comprised the assessment of researchers as disseminators, their interactions with librarians, their use of information and communication technology and language. Interviewees believed they were partially qualified to use databases. They used words and phrases that indicated their knowledge of technology and terminology. They acted as disseminators for students during information searches. Researchers' abilities to interact with librarians are key skills, especially in a renewed context where libraries have, to a large extent, changed from physical spaces to digital environments. Great amounts of information have been made available, and researchers' participation in courses does not automatically translate into adequate information literacy. Librarians must help research groups, and as such, librarians' information literacy-related responsibilities in Brazil should be redefined and expanded. Students must develop the ability to learn quickly, and librarians should help them in their efforts. Librarians and researchers can act as gatekeepers for research groups and as information coaches to improve others' search abilities. © 2013 Health Libraries Group of CILIP and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

What Butterfly Effect? The Contextual Differences in Public Perceptions of the Health Risk Posed by Climate Change

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James W. Stoutenborough

2015-08-01

Full Text Available One of the most difficult aspects of persuading the public to support climate change policy is the lack of recognition that climate change will likely have a direct impact on an individual’s life. Anecdotal evidence and arguments within the media suggest that those who are skeptical of climate change are more likely to believe that the negative externalities associated with climate change will be experienced by others, and, therefore, are not a concern to that individual. This project examines public perceptions of the health risk posed by climate change. Using a large national public opinion survey of adults in the United States, respondents were asked to evaluate the health risk for themselves, their community, the United States, and the world. The results suggest that individuals evaluate the risk for each of these contexts differently. Statistical analyses are estimated to identify the determinants of each risk perception to identify their respective differences. The implications of these findings on support for climate change policy are discussed.

Positive Change in Feedback Perceptions and Behavior: A 10-Year Follow-up Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Balmer, Dorene F; Tenney-Soeiro, Rebecca; Mejia, Erika; Rezet, Beth

2018-01-01

Providing and learning from feedback are essential components of medical education, and typically described as resistant to change. But given a decade of change in the clinical context in which feedback occurs, the authors asked if, and how, perceptions of feedback and feedback behaviors might have changed in response to contextual affordances. In 2017, the authors conducted a follow-up, ethnographic study on 2 general pediatric floors at the same children's hospital where another ethnographic study on a general pediatric floor was conducted in 2007. Data sources included (1) 21 and 34 hours of observation in 2007 and 2017, respectively, (2) 35 and 25 interviews with general pediatric attending physicians and residents in 2007 and 2017, respectively, and (3) a review of 120 program documents spanning 2007 to 2017. Data were coded and organized around 3 recommendations for feedback that were derived from 2007 data and served as standards for assessing change in 2017. Data revealed progress in achieving each recommendation. Compared with 2007, participants in 2017 more clearly distinguished between feedback and evaluation; residents were more aware of in-the-moment feedback, and they had shifted their orientation from evaluation and grades to feedback and learning. Explanations for progress in achieving recommendations, which were derived from the data, pointed to institutional and national influences, namely, the pediatric milestones. On the basis of follow-up, ethnographic data, changes in the clinical context of pediatric education may afford positive change in perceptions of feedback and feedback behavior and point to influences within and beyond the institution. Copyright © 2018 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

CUSTOMER PERCEPTION ON ALTERNATIVE DELIVERY CHANNEL (ADC OF BANKS IN BANGLADESH

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Shahed BIN SADIQUE

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This paper aims at understanding the level of customer’s perception on alternative delivery channel of different commercial schedule banks of Bangladesh. Considering the significant development in technology and for sustainability, banking industry in Bangladesh has expanded banking operation through offering different ADCs to attract customers which are ultimately changing the perception of customers in the long run. Based on this reality, data were collected from a survey and a usable sample of 134 was taken for analysis. KAPPA test and multiple regression model is used to analyze the overall consistency of respondent’s responses and measurement of consumers’ perception. The results of the survey show that visibility, availability, self-security, confidential transaction ability, easiness and simplicity in the procedure of ADC makes it more attractive to consumer. The findings also suggest that security of physical establishment of ADC is vital though banks have given less importance to it. From the study, it is found that in order to change perception and to attract more users to banking; it is not going to be enough to make the system easy to interact with. Banks should develop more secured and private alternative delivery channels that will be reliable to their customers. Thus, management attention might be effectively focused on the development of such sectors that have been properly identified in this research.

Customer Perception on Alternative Delivery Channel (ADC of Banks in Bangladesh

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shahed BIN SADIQUE

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This paper aims at understanding the level of customer’s perception on alternative delivery channel of different commercial schedule banks of Bangladesh. Considering the significant development in technology and for sustainability, banking industry in Bangladesh has expanded banking operation through offering different ADCs to attract customers which are ultimately changing the perception of customers in the long run. Based on this reality, data were collected from a survey and a usable sample of 134 was taken for analysis. KAPPA test and multiple regression model is used to analyze the overall consistency of respondent’s responses and measurement of consumers’ perception. The results of the survey show that visibility, availability, self-security, confidential transaction ability, easiness and simplicity in the procedure of ADC makes it more attractive to consumer. The findings also suggest that security of physical establishment of ADC is vital though banks have given less importance to it. From the study, it is found that in order to change perception and to attract more users to banking; it is not going to be enough to make the system easy to interact with. Banks should develop more secured and private alternative delivery channels that will be reliable to their customers. Thus, management attention might be effectively focused on the development of such sectors that have been properly identified in this research.

Does knowledge of coronary artery calcium affect cardiovascular risk perception, likelihood of taking action, and health-promoting behavior change?

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Johnson, Jennie E; Gulanick, Meg; Penckofer, Sue; Kouba, Joanne

2015-01-01

Evidence indicates that a healthy lifestyle can reduce cardiovascular disease risk, yet many people engage in unhealthy behaviors. New technologies such as coronary artery calcium (CAC) screening detect atherosclerosis before clinical disease is manifested. Knowledge of an abnormal finding could provide the "teachable moment" to enhance motivation for change. The aim of this study was to examine how knowledge of CAC score affects risk perception, likelihood of taking action, and health-promoting behavior change in persons at high risk for cardiovascular disease. This study used a descriptive prospective design with 174 high-risk adults (≥3 major risk factors) recruited at a radiology center offering CAC scans. Baseline self-report surveys using the Perception of Risk of Heart Disease Scale, the Benefits and Barriers Scale, the Quality of Life Index, and the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II were completed immediately after a screening CAC scan but before results were known. Follow-up occurred 3 months later using mailed packets. Participants' mean age was 58 years; 62% were men, 89% were white, and most were well educated. There was no significant change in risk perception scores over time or between groups, except for a positive interaction in the moderate-risk group (CAC scores of 101-400) (P = .004). Quality of life remained unchanged. Health-promoting behavior changes increased in all groups over time (P behavior change were perceived barriers (β = -.41; P Knowledge of CAC score does impact risk perception for some at-risk groups. This knowledge does enhance motivation for behavior change. Knowledge of CAC score does not impact quality of life. It is hoped that through improved understanding of the effect of CAC scoring on behavior change, nurses can better assist patients to modify behaviors during teachable moments.

Developmental changes in mismatch responses to mandarin consonants and lexical tones from early to middle childhood.

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Huei-Mei Liu

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to use mismatch responses (MMRs to explore the dynamic changes of Mandarin speech perception abilities from early to middle childhood. Twenty preschoolers, 18 school-aged children, and 26 adults participated in this study. Two sets of synthesized speech stimuli varying in Mandarin consonant (alveolo-palatal affricate vs. fricative and lexical tone features (rising vs. contour tone were used to examine the developmental course of speech perception abilities. The results indicated that only the adult group demonstrated typical early mismatch negativity (MMN responses, suggesting that the ability to discriminate specific speech cues in Mandarin consonant and lexical tone is a continuing process in preschool- and school-aged children. Additionally, distinct MMR patterns provided evidence indicating diverse developmental courses to different speech characteristics. By incorporating data from the two speech conditions, we propose using MMR profiles consisting of mismatch negativity (MMN, positive mismatch response (p-MMR, and late discriminative negativity (LDN as possible brain indices to investigate speech perception development.

Civil protection and climate change impacts in the Netherlands: Local risk perceptions and actions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van den Berg, Maya Marieke; Coenen, Franciscus H.J.M.

2010-01-01

Being a delta, one third of the Dutch territory consists of flood-prone areas. This article discusses how the local civil protection system in the Netherlands responds to increasing climate change-induced flooding risks in terms of risk perception and action. Case studies on three Safety Regions are

Risk perception: The social construction of spatial knowledge around climate change-related scenarios in Lima

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Miranda Sara, L.; Jameson, S.; Pfeffer, K.; Baud, I.

2016-01-01

Lima's environmental sustainability is threatened by increasing water scarcity, heavy rain events and limited attention for water vulnerability and climate change scenarios. In this paper we examine how knowledge construction and risk perception on water-related disaster risks and vulnerabilities

Farmers´ perceptions of climate change and agricultural adaptation strategies in rural Sahel

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mertz, Ole; Mbow, Cheikh; Reenberg, Anette

2009-01-01

Farmers in the Sahel have always been facing climatic variability at intra- and inter-annual and decadal time scales. While coping and adaptation strategies have traditionally included crop diversification, mobility, livelihood diversification, and migration, singling out climate as a direct driver...... of changes is not so simple. Using focus group interviews and a household survey, this study analyzes the perceptions of climate change and the strategies for coping and adaptation by sedentary farmers in the savanna zone of central Senegal. Households are aware of climate variability and identify wind...

Painful procedures and analgesia in the NICU: what has changed in the medical perception and practice in a ten‐year period?

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Ana Claudia Yoshikumi Prestes

2016-01-01

Conclusions: Despite an increase in the medical perception of neonatal pain and in analgesic use during painful procedures, the gap between clinical practice and neonatologist perception of analgesia need did not change during the ten‐year period.

Knowledge and Perceptions of Overweight Employees about Lifestyle-Related Health Benefit Changes

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Li, Jiang; Linnan, Laura; Finkelstein, Eric A.; Tate, Deborah; Naseer, Carolyn; Evenson, Kelly R.

2016-01-01

Background We investigated overweight state employees’ perceptions about health insurance benefit changes designed to reduce the scope of health benefits for employees who were obese or smoked. Methods Prior to implementation of health benefit plan changes, 658 overweight [body mass index (BMI) ≥25 kg/m2] state employees enrolled in a weight loss intervention study were asked about their attitudes and beliefs of the new benefit plan changes. Results Thirty-one percent of employees with a BMI≥40 kg/ m2 were unaware that their current BMI would place them in a higher risk benefit plan. More than half reported that the new benefit change would motivate them to make behavioral changes, but less than half felt confident in making changes. Respondents with a BMI≥40 kg/m2 were more likely to oppose the new changes focused on BMI categories compared to respondents in lower BMI categories (Pnon-smokers (Pconfidence to lose weight was lowest among those in the highest weight categories, health plan benefit modifications may be required to achieve desired health behavior changes. PMID:21901911

Are Rainfall and Temperature Really Changing? Farmer’s Perceptions, Meteorological Data, and Policy Implications in the Tanzanian Semi-Arid Zone

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Msafiri Y. Mkonda

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Although various climate models, statistical crop models and economic simulations have been established to determine the level of farmers’ vulnerability, there has been little systematic assessment of farmers’ perception towards climate change in association with meteorological analyses and policy implications in Tanzania. The results from this assessment will enhance the formation of robust policies that improve resilient livelihoods and the capacity to adapt to climate change and variability. This paper seeks to (i reveal the farmers’ perception on variation, change of rainfall, and temperature in the Tanzanian semi-arid area; (ii depict meteorological evidence for the perceived rainfall and temperature changes; (iii assess the policy perception and responses for the changing climate; and (iv discuss the correlation between farmers’ perception and meteorological data. Household surveys, informative interviews and discussions were employed during data collection. The Mann-Kendall Test and SPSS (version 20 were used for climate data analyses, while qualitative data were thematically analyzed. The results showed that from 1980 to 2015 the mean annual rainfall decreased ( R2 = 0.21 while temperature increased (R2 = 0.30. Even though majority farmers agreed with these results, they had not yet taken serious measures to curb the situation. Besides, Agricultural Policy has lightly addressed and enforced the implementations of adaptation strategies to reduce climate impacts and vulnerability. Thereby, creation of awareness and intensification of climate adaptation strategies is needed at both farm and policy level.

PEER GROUP SUPPORT CHANGE PERCEPTION OF HOMELESS AND BEGGAR

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Purwaningsih Purwaningsih

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Homeless and beggar are social problem in our society. The reason of people who becomes homeless and beggar can be influenced by internal factors such as lazy to work, mental and physical illness. Meanwhile, it also can be influenced by external factors, such as economy, geography, social, education, pshycology, culture and religion. The aimed of this study was to analyze the effect of peer group support to perception about the homeless and beggar. Method: A quasy experimental two group pre-post test purposive sampling design was used in this study. The subjects were homeless and beggar which stay at Lingkungan Pondok Sosial (Liponsos Keputih-Surabaya for at least three day. There were 16 respondent who met to the inclusion criteria which divided into two group (controlled and treatment. Data were analyzed by using Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test and Mann Whitney U Test with significance level α≤0.05. Result: The result showed that controlled group has significance level p=0.109 and treatment group has significance level p=0.017, statistically by using Mann Whitney U Test showed p=0.021. Discussion: It can be concluded that peer group support can change the perception about the homeless and beggar who stayed at Liponsos Surabaya. Peer group support can used continuously as social activity at Liponsos.

Trust, Isolation, and Presence: The Virtual Work Environment and Acceptance of Deep Organizational Change

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Rose, Laurence Michael

2013-01-01

The primary focus of this research was to explore through the use of a grounded theory methodology if the human perceptions of trust, isolation, and presence affected the virtual workers ability to accept deep organizational change. The study found that the virtual workers in the sample defined their acceptance of deep organizational change by…

Veridical mapping in savant abilities, absolute pitch, and synesthesia: An autism case study

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Lucie eBouvet

2014-02-01

Full Text Available An enhanced role and autonomy of perception are prominent in autism. Furthermore, savant abilities, absolute pitch, and synesthesia are all more commonly found in autistic individuals than in the typical population. The mechanism of veridical mapping has been proposed to account for how enhanced perception in autism leads to the high prevalence of these three phenomena and their structural similarity. Veridical mapping entails functional rededication of perceptual brain regions to higher order cognitive operations, allowing the enhanced detection and memorization of isomorphisms between perceptual and non-perceptual structures across multiple scales. In this paper, we present FC, an autistic individual who possesses several savant abilities in addition to both absolute pitch and synesthesia-like associations. The co-occurrence in FC of abilities, some of them rare, which share the same structure, as well as FC’s own accounts of their development, together suggest the importance of veridical mapping in the atypical range and nature of abilities displayed by autistic people.

Perception and Lexicon Labeling Ability on a Child with Language Delay Diagnosed As Autistic Spectrum Disorder: A Psycholinguistic Study

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Rohmani Nur Indah

2016-07-01

Full Text Available This research focuses on the semantics acquisition of a child with language delay diagnosed as autistic spectrum disorder (ASD. The research problem is on how the child acquired the ability to comprehend meaning. It aims at answering the questions on how the child identified lexical meanings and how he labeled targeted lexicons of his first language. The approach employed in this research is descriptive qualitative to get adequate explanation on a specific language phenomenon, namely semantics acquisition. Its design is case study with the type neo-ethnographic. As the data collection method, it uses participant observation of longitudinal study considering that the research subject has familial relation with the researcher. The data analysis shows that the semantic acquisition of the research subject has complexity in vocabulary enrichment. The research subject often performs echolalic speech when he is asked to identify or label certain object given. The typical idiosyncratic speech is shown by the unique feature of limited syllable and prosody. In general, his ability to identify lexical meanings is far exceeding his ability to label objects. He also has sensitivity to perceive the non-verbal symbol performed by the people he knows well. The use of verbal language supported by non-verbal language facilitates his perception. He finds it difficult to comprehend the lexicons having similar sound as he assumes that one lexicon represents one object which typically belongs to concrete object. In addition, the ability of the research subject in labeling objects cannot be developed easily because of his difficulty in expressing ideas through words. To pronounce the words correctly, he shows high anxiety by lowering down his speech. In selecting the lexicon he also finds it hard to use pronoun, to label homonyms and to apply both polysemy and hyponym. Accordingly, he tends to communicate only to fulfill his needs by asking things, asking the

Colour Perception in ADHD

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Banaschewski, Tobias; Ruppert, Sinje; Tannock, Rosemary; Albrecht, Bjorn; Becker, Andreas; Uebel, Henrik; Sergeant, Joseph A.; Rothenberger, Aribert

2006-01-01

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with unexplained impairments on speeded naming of coloured stimuli. These deficits may reflect hypofunctioning retinal dopaminergic mechanisms impairing particularly blue-yellow colour discrimination. Colour perception and rapid colour naming ability were investigated in 14 children…

The role of sleep in aesthetic perception and empathy: A mediation analysis.

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Peretti, Sara; Tempesta, Daniela; Socci, Valentina; Pino, Maria C; Mazza, Monica; Valenti, Marco; De Gennaro, Luigi; Di Dio, Cinzia; Marchetti, Antonella; Ferrara, Michele

2018-02-06

The ability to experience aesthetics plays a fundamental role in human social interactions, as well as the capacity to feel empathy. Some studies have shown that beauty perception shares part of the neural network underlying emotional and empathic abilities, which are also known to affect sleep quality and duration. In this study, we evaluated for the first time the effects of sleep on the relation between aesthetic perception and empathic abilities in healthy subjects using a mediation analysis approach. One-hundred and twenty-six subjects participated in this study. One-hundred and one subjects slept at home (Sleep Group). The remaining 25 subjects were tested as controls after 1 night of sleep deprivation to assess the effects of lack of sleep on aesthetic perception and empathy (Sleep-Deprived Group). All participants underwent one testing session in which they performed a battery of empathy tests and an aesthetic perception task (Golden Beauty). The results showed that sleep duration mediates the relationship between empathy and aesthetic perception in the sleep group. The mediation effect of sleep was more evident on the emotional empathy measures. Conversely, in the sleep deprivation group the lack of correlations among empathy, aesthetic perception and sleep variables did not allow to perform the mediation analysis. These results suggest that adequate sleep duration may play a significant role in improving cognitive and emotional empathic abilities as well as the capability to give accurate aesthetic judgements. © 2018 European Sleep Research Society.

Influence of workplace demands on nurses' perception of patient safety.

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Ramanujam, Rangaraj; Abrahamson, Kathleen; Anderson, James G

2008-06-01

Patient safety is an ongoing challenge in the design and delivery of health-care services. As registered nurses play an integral role in patient safety, further examination of the link between nursing work and patient safety is warranted. The present study examines the relationship between nurses' perceptions of job demands and nurses' perceptions of patient safety. Structural equation modeling is used to analyze the data collected from a survey of 430 registered nurses at two community hospitals in the USA. As hypothesized, nurses' perception of patient safety decreases as the job demands increase. The level of personal control over practice directly affects nurses' perception of the ability to assure patient well-being. Nurses who work full-time and are highly educated have a decreased perception of patient safety, as well. The significant relationship between job demands and patient safety confirms that nurses make a connection between their working conditions and the ability to deliver safe care.

A Social Norms Approach to Changing School Children's Perceptions of Tobacco Usage

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Sheikh, Afzal; Vadera, Sunil; Ravey, Michael; Lovatt, Gary; Kelly, Grace

2017-01-01

Purpose: Over 200,000 young people in the UK embark on a smoking career annually, thus continued effort is required to understand the types of interventions that are most effective in changing perceptions about smoking amongst teenagers. Several authors have proposed the use of social norms programmes, where correcting misconceptions of what is…

Using Appreciative Inquiry to Change Perceptions Concerning the Satisfaction of Organization Members' Needs

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Ştefan COJOCARU

2012-02-01

Full Text Available This study explored the innovative use of appreciative inquiry (AI in the organizational environment for changing the perception concerning the satisfaction of its members’ needs. The experiment started from the assumption that organizations are social constructions generated by the interpretations social actors have about this entity and about themselves, being the result of human interactions. The experiment used the appreciative inquiry as form of intervention, run in the four stages of the 4-D cycle. The results of the intervention show that, although appreciative inquiry was directed chiefly towards changing the perceptions concerning the satisfaction of the need for security, the interpretations given by organization members changed with regard to the satisfaction of all needs (security, basic needs, belonging, esteem and self-actualization. The study shows that motivation can be changed through an appreciative approach of events, through their reinterpretation within a process of dialogue and consensus; the reinterpretation of the organization as a text and the application of appreciative inquiry principles results in an organizational reconstruction as a process that can be run in a relatively short period of time. The positive changes of the organizational environment were also a result of the way the organization was researched. The appreciative interviews resulted in individual reinterpretations of organizational contexts, which were negotiated and assumed in the environment of the collectivity. The changes were supported by the organization members’ involvement in building a shared vision, in making a plan in which every person is a voice in the organization, and in developing attachment and ownership in relation to the developed plans.

Organizational readiness for change: Preceptor perceptions regarding early immersion of student pharmacists in health-system practice.

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Sanders, Kimberly A; Wolcott, Michael D; McLaughlin, Jacqueline E; D'Ostroph, Amanda; Shea, Christopher M; Pinelli, Nicole R

To examine preceptors' perceptions regarding readiness for change pre- and post-implementation of a pilot early immersion program engaging student pharmacists in direct patient care. Student pharmacists enrolled in the second professional year of a Doctor of Pharmacy degree program completed a four-week health-system introductory pharmacy practice experience (IPPE) which was modified to include direct patient care roles in operational (drug preparation and dispensing) and clinical (comprehensive medication management) pharmacy environments. Pharmacy preceptors with direct oversight for program implementation completed a pre/post Organizational Readiness for Implementing Change (ORIC) survey and a 50-min interview or focus group post-experience. The ORIC survey evaluates two dimensions of organizational readiness for change - change commitment and change efficacy. Additional items assessed included implementation needs, support, and perceived value of the change. ORIC survey constructs were compared before and after the experience. Interviews and focus groups were audio recorded, transcribed, and evaluated by constant comparative analysis. A mixed methods approach was used to triangulate findings and develop greater understanding of the ORIC survey results. Twenty pharmacy preceptors (37 ± 8 years of age, 60% female, 65% clinical pharmacist position, 70% prior preceptor experience) participated in the study. There were no significant changes in pre/post survey constructs, except for a decline in the perception of organizational change commitment (p change (p changes for student pharmacist engagement. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Effects of L2 Experience on L3 Perception

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Onishi, Hiromi

2016-01-01

This study examines the influence of experience with a second language (L2) on the perception of phonological contrasts in a third language (L3). This study contributes to L3 phonology by examining the influence of L2 phonological perception abilities on the perception of an L3 at the beginner level. Participants were native speakers of Korean…

Speed and direction changes induce the perception of animacy in 7-month-old infants

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Birgit eTräuble

2014-10-01

Full Text Available A large body of research has documented infants’ ability to classify animate and inanimate objects based on static or dynamic information. It has been shown that infants less than one year of age transfer animacy-specific expectations from dynamic point-light displays to static images. The present study examined whether basic motion cues that typically trigger judgments of perceptual animacy in older children and adults lead 7-month-olds to infer an ambiguous object’s identity from dynamic information. Infants were tested with a novel paradigm that required inferring the animacy status of an ambiguous moving shape. An ambiguous shape emerged from behind a screen and its identity could only be inferred from its motion. Its motion pattern varied distinctively between scenes: it either changed speed and direction in an animate way, or it moved along a straight path at a constant speed (i.e. in an inanimate way. At test, the identity of the shape was revealed and it was either consistent or inconsistent with its motion pattern. Infants looked longer on trials with the inconsistent outcome. We conclude that 7-month-olds’ representations of animates and inanimates include category-specific associations between static and dynamic attributes. Moreover, these associations seem to hold for simple dynamic cues that are considered minimal conditions for animacy perception.

IMPROVING STUDENTS’ WRITING ABILITY THROUGH STORYBOARD

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Miftahul Janah

2017-02-01

Full Text Available This study is a classroom action research which intended to improve students’ writing ability through Storyboard. The participants were the fourth semester students of English Department of STKIP Muhammadiyah Pringsewu in academic year 2014/ 2015. The instruments used in collecting data were observation, questionnaire, and documents.  Observation is used to know what is really happening in the class and the condition when the class activity is taking place. Questionnaire is used to know the students’ perception towards Storyboard in improving their writing ability, and documents is used to get students’ written texts. Then, 1 assembling the data, 2 coding the data, 3 comparing the data, 4 building meanings and interpretations, and 5 reporting the outcomes, are the steps in analyzing the data. Having analyzed the data, it was found that there was improvement of the students’ activeness in writing activity and in writing ability.

Singing ability is rooted in vocal-motor control of pitch.

Science.gov (United States)

Hutchins, Sean; Larrouy-Maestri, Pauline; Peretz, Isabelle

2014-11-01

The inability to vocally match a pitch can be caused by poor pitch perception or by poor vocal-motor control. Although previous studies have tried to examine the relationship between pitch perception and vocal production, they have failed to control for the timbre of the target to be matched. In the present study, we compare pitch-matching accuracy with an unfamiliar instrument (the slider) and with the voice, designed such that the slider plays back recordings of the participant's own voice. We also measured pitch accuracy in singing a familiar melody ("Happy Birthday") to assess the relationship between single-pitch-matching tasks and melodic singing. Our results showed that participants (all nonmusicians) were significantly better at matching recordings of their own voices with the slider than with their voice, indicating that vocal-motor control is an important limiting factor on singing ability. We also found significant correlations between the ability to sing a melody in tune and vocal pitch matching, but not pitch matching on the slider. Better melodic singers also tended to have higher quality voices (as measured by acoustic variables). These results provide important evidence about the role of vocal-motor control in poor singing ability and demonstrate that single-pitch-matching tasks can be useful in measuring general singing abilities.

Factors that determine development of the ability to draw

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Jorge Luis Dahik Cabrera

2016-03-01

Full Text Available In this investigation, the necessary factors are determined to structure a drawing representing an object, a brief description of the functions of the cerebral hemispheres, the theory of multiple bits of intelligence Gardner, capacities of representation and perception involved in the skill is reviewed and ability to draw. This work aims to be the beginning of a larger study, where they plan to measure the ability to draw in students, in order to experiment with alternative methodologies for teaching drawing.

Are You Your Friends’ Friend? Poor Perception of Friendship Ties Limits the Ability to Promote Behavioral Change

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Almaatouq, Abdullah; Radaelli, Laura; Pentland, Alex; Shmueli, Erez

2016-01-01

Persuasion is at the core of norm creation, emergence of collective action, and solutions to ‘tragedy of the commons’ problems. In this paper, we show that the directionality of friendship ties affect the extent to which individuals can influence the behavior of each other. Moreover, we find that people are typically poor at perceiving the directionality of their friendship ties and that this can significantly limit their ability to engage in cooperative arrangements. This could lead to failures in establishing compatible norms, acting together, finding compromise solutions, and persuading others to act. We then suggest strategies to overcome this limitation by using two topological characteristics of the perceived friendship network. The findings of this paper have significant consequences for designing interventions that seek to harness social influence for collective action. PMID:27002530

Are You Your Friends' Friend? Poor Perception of Friendship Ties Limits the Ability to Promote Behavioral Change.

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Almaatouq, Abdullah; Radaelli, Laura; Pentland, Alex; Shmueli, Erez

2016-01-01

Persuasion is at the core of norm creation, emergence of collective action, and solutions to 'tragedy of the commons' problems. In this paper, we show that the directionality of friendship ties affect the extent to which individuals can influence the behavior of each other. Moreover, we find that people are typically poor at perceiving the directionality of their friendship ties and that this can significantly limit their ability to engage in cooperative arrangements. This could lead to failures in establishing compatible norms, acting together, finding compromise solutions, and persuading others to act. We then suggest strategies to overcome this limitation by using two topological characteristics of the perceived friendship network. The findings of this paper have significant consequences for designing interventions that seek to harness social influence for collective action.

Gender differences in oxytocin-associated disruption of decision bias during emotion perception.

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Lynn, Spencer K; Hoge, Elizabeth A; Fischer, Laura E; Barrett, Lisa Feldman; Simon, Naomi M

2014-09-30

Oxytocin is associated with differences in the perception of and response to socially mediated information, such as facial expressions. Across studies, however, oxytocin׳s effect on emotion perception has been inconsistent. Outside the laboratory, emotion perception involves interpretation of perceptual uncertainty and assessment of behavioral risk. An account of these factors is largely missing from studies of oxytocin׳s effect on emotion perception and might explain inconsistent results across studies. Of relevance, studies of oxytocin׳s effect on learning and decision-making indicate that oxytocin attenuates risk aversion. We used the probability of encountering angry faces and the cost of misidentifying them as not angry to create a risky environment wherein bias to categorize faces as angry would maximize point earnings. Consistent with an underestimation of the factors creating risk (i.e., encounter rate and cost), men given oxytocin exhibited a worse (i.e., less liberal) response bias than men given placebo. Oxytocin did not influence women׳s performance. These results suggest that oxytocin may impair men׳s ability to adapt to changes in risk and uncertainty when introduced to novel or changing social environments. Because oxytocin also influences behavior in non-social realms, oxytocin pharmacotherapy could have unintended consequences (i.e., risk-prone decision-making) while nonetheless normalizing pathological social interaction. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Coping with examinations: exploring relationships between students' coping strategies, implicit theories of ability, and perceived control.

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Doron, Julie; Stephan, Yannick; Boiché, Julie; Le Scanff, Christine

2009-09-01

Relatively little is known about the contribution of students' beliefs regarding the nature of academic ability (i.e. their implicit theories) on strategies used to deal with examinations. This study applied Dweck's socio-cognitive model of achievement motivation to better understand how students cope with examinations. It was expected that students' implicit theories of academic ability would be related to their use of particular coping strategies to deal with exam-related stress. Additionally, it was predicted that perceived control over exams acts as a mediator between implicit theories of ability and coping. Four hundred and ten undergraduate students (263 males, 147 females), aged from 17 to 26 years old (M=19.73, SD=1.46) were volunteers for the present study. Students completed measures of coping, implicit theories of academic ability, and perception of control over academic examinations during regular classes in the first term of the university year. Multiple regression analyses revealed that incremental beliefs of ability significantly and positively predicted active coping, planning, venting of emotions, seeking social support for emotional and instrumental reasons, whereas entity beliefs positively predicted behavioural disengagement and negatively predicted active coping and acceptance. In addition, analyses revealed that entity beliefs of ability were related to coping strategies through students' perception of control over academic examinations. These results confirm that exam-related coping varies as a function of students' beliefs about the nature of academic ability and their perceptions of control when approaching examinations.

[The Impact of Visual Perceptual Abilities on the Performance on the Wechsler Nonverbal Scale of Ability (WNV)].

Science.gov (United States)

Werpup-Stüwe, L; Petermann, F; Daseking, M

2015-10-01

The use of psychometric tests in with children and adolescents is especially important in psychological diagnostics. Nonverbal intelligence tests are very often used to diagnose psychological abnormalities and generate developmental prognosis independent of the child´s verbal abilities. The correlation of the German version of the Developmental Test of Visual Perception - Adolescents and Adults (DTVP-A) with the Wechsler Nonverbal Scala of Abilities (WNV) was calculated based on the results of 172 children, adolescents and young adults aged 9-21 years. Furthermore, it was examined if individuals with poor visual perceptual abilities scored lower on the WNV than healthy subjects. The correlations of the results scored on DTVP-A and WNV ranged from moderate to strong. The group with poor visual perceptual abilities scored significantly lower on the WNV than the control group. Nonverbal intelligence tests like the WNV are not reliable for estimating the intelligence of individuals with low visual perceptual abilities. Therefore, the intelligence of these subjects should be tested with a test that also contains verbal subtests. If poor visual perceptual abilities are suspected, then they should be tested. The DTVP-A seems to be the right instrument for achieving this goal. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

A study on the Secondary School Teacher's Perception Change for Nuclear Power through an Experiment Practice Program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, ByungChae; Kim, JuHyun; Na, JungHyun; Yoo, DaYoung; Kim, WoongKi

2016-01-01

It is important to correct mis-understanding perception of general public for nuclear power for development of nuclear industry and the nation‟s advancement. It is required to provide secondary school students and teachers with correct information by learning activities in addition to mass media and textbook. If teachers have wrong concept, students are affected by the negative impact. Therefore, teachers should understand nuclear power correctly. KAERI(Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute) has served an education program entitled „to understand nuclear power correctly by experiment and practice‟ as an practice and improvement program for the secondary school teachers. We checked the change of the secondary teacher‟s recognition for nuclear power by the survey. In this study, we checked the change of the secondary school teacher‟s recognition level for nuclear power by the survey before and after the education program. Nuclear Perception level was increased by 8% showing optimistic mind for the safety, dangerousness, and necessity of nuclear power plants after the education. Nuclear knowledge level also went up 15% through the education program. It is concluded that the nuclear perception of the secondary school teachers can be improved through the education program for nuclear power. Secondary school students form general public in the future. Perception of the students is influenced by teachers deeply

Risk communication: climate change as a human-health threat, a survey of public perceptions in Malta.

Science.gov (United States)

DeBono, Roberto; Vincenti, Karen; Calleja, Neville

2012-02-01

Scientific evidence shows that climate change is very likely the product of human behaviour and lifestyle. The effects of climate change on human health are diverse in nature and range from direct effects due to extreme weather events such as heat waves, floods and storms, to indirect effects such as those caused by water and food shortages. A telephone survey was conducted between January and February 2009, on a stratified representative random sample of the Maltese population over the age of 18 years (N = 310,819). Five hundred and forty-three individuals successfully participated in the survey giving a response rate of 92.7%. The respondent sample was very similar to the target population by gender (P = 0.977), age (P = 0.767) and district (P = 0.812). The results of the study demonstrate a very strong relationship between the perception of climate change as a threat to health and well-being, support for climate change mitigation policy and a willingness to implement measures to address climate change. The findings of this study show that the perception that climate change may claim lives, cause disease, reduce the standard of living and worsen water shortages, may be the strongest driver behind support for climate change mitigation policy and a willingness to act. It is recommended that, in order to gain more public support, climate change campaigns and risk communication strategies should frame climate change as a threat to human health and general well-being.

Is appreciation of written education about pain neurophysiology related to changes in illness perceptions and health status in patients with fibromyalgia?

Science.gov (United States)

van Ittersum, M W; van Wilgen, C P; Groothoff, J W; van der Schans, C P

2011-11-01

To investigate the appreciation of written education about pain neurophysiology in patients with fibromyalgia (FM) and its effects on illness perceptions and perceived health status. A booklet explaining pain neurophysiology was sent to participants with FM. Appreciation was assessed with 10 questions addressing relevance (0-30) and reassurance (0-30). Illness perceptions, catastrophizing and health status were measured with the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R), the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) and the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) at baseline (T0), after a 2-week control period (T1) and 6 weeks after the intervention (T2). Forty-one patients participated. Mean (SD) scores for relevance and reassurance were 21.6 (5.6) and 18.7 (5.7), respectively. Only illness coherence, emotional representations, pain and fatigue changed significantly between T0 and T2. Correlations between appreciation and changes in outcomes ranged between r=0.00 and r=0.34. Although a majority of subjects appreciated the written information, it did not have clinically relevant effects on illness perceptions, catastrophizing or impact of FM on daily life. Written education about pain neurophysiology is inadequate toward changing illness perceptions, catastrophizing or perceived health status of participants with FM; education should be incorporated into a broader multidisciplinary self-management program. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Relationships Among Peripheral and Central Electrophysiological Measures of Spatial and Spectral Selectivity and Speech Perception in Cochlear Implant Users.

Science.gov (United States)

Scheperle, Rachel A; Abbas, Paul J

2015-01-01

The ability to perceive speech is related to the listener's ability to differentiate among frequencies (i.e., spectral resolution). Cochlear implant (CI) users exhibit variable speech-perception and spectral-resolution abilities, which can be attributed in part to the extent of electrode interactions at the periphery (i.e., spatial selectivity). However, electrophysiological measures of peripheral spatial selectivity have not been found to correlate with speech perception. The purpose of this study was to evaluate auditory processing at the periphery and cortex using both simple and spectrally complex stimuli to better understand the stages of neural processing underlying speech perception. The hypotheses were that (1) by more completely characterizing peripheral excitation patterns than in previous studies, significant correlations with measures of spectral selectivity and speech perception would be observed, (2) adding information about processing at a level central to the auditory nerve would account for additional variability in speech perception, and (3) responses elicited with spectrally complex stimuli would be more strongly correlated with speech perception than responses elicited with spectrally simple stimuli. Eleven adult CI users participated. Three experimental processor programs (MAPs) were created to vary the likelihood of electrode interactions within each participant. For each MAP, a subset of 7 of 22 intracochlear electrodes was activated: adjacent (MAP 1), every other (MAP 2), or every third (MAP 3). Peripheral spatial selectivity was assessed using the electrically evoked compound action potential (ECAP) to obtain channel-interaction functions for all activated electrodes (13 functions total). Central processing was assessed by eliciting the auditory change complex with both spatial (electrode pairs) and spectral (rippled noise) stimulus changes. Speech-perception measures included vowel discrimination and the Bamford-Kowal-Bench Speech

Changes in Stress Perception and Coping during Adolescence: The Role of Situational and Personal Factors

Science.gov (United States)

Seiffge-Krenke, Inge; Aunola, Kaisa; Nurmi, Jari-Erik

2009-01-01

The present study investigated the interplay between developmental changes in stress and coping during early and late adolescence. Using a longitudinal design, stress perception and coping styles of 200 adolescents in 7 different stressful situations were investigated. Multilevel piecewise latent growth curve models showed that stress perception…

Biological motion perception links diverse facets of theory of mind during middle childhood.

Science.gov (United States)

Rice, Katherine; Anderson, Laura C; Velnoskey, Kayla; Thompson, James C; Redcay, Elizabeth

2016-06-01

Two cornerstones of social development--social perception and theory of mind--undergo brain and behavioral changes during middle childhood, but the link between these developing domains is unclear. One theoretical perspective argues that these skills represent domain-specific areas of social development, whereas other perspectives suggest that both skills may reflect a more integrated social system. Given recent evidence from adults that these superficially different domains may be related, the current study examined the developmental relation between these social processes in 52 children aged 7 to 12 years. Controlling for age and IQ, social perception (perception of biological motion in noise) was significantly correlated with two measures of theory of mind: one in which children made mental state inferences based on photographs of the eye region of the face and another in which children made mental state inferences based on stories. Social perception, however, was not correlated with children's ability to make physical inferences from stories about people. Furthermore, the mental state inference tasks were not correlated with each other, suggesting a role for social perception in linking various facets of theory of mind. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Structure of Cognitive Abilities and Skills of Lifeguards

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Milovan Ljubojević

2017-02-01

Full Text Available The presence of lifeguard service on beaches greatly contributes to reducing the number of accidents in and around the water. The lifeguard can be a person with good motor, but also cognitive skills and abilities. In addition to good swimming skills, lifeguard must be able to quickly detect and recognize the accident, and also to be able to timely and correctly act in case of accident in water, but also at the beach. The goal of this study is to determine the structure of cognitive abilities and skills with the sample of lifeguards that work on Montenegrin beaches. Battery KOG-3 was applied on the sample of 40 lifeguards. The collected and achieved results lead to following conclusion: the subjects have good ability to determine relation between elements of a structure and lower characteristics of that structure; subjects have good ability to assess the efficiency of serial processor; and subjects have good ability to assess efficiency of perceptive processor.

Hegemonic Masculinity, HIV/AIDS Risk Perception, and Sexual Behavior Change Among Young People in Ghana.

Science.gov (United States)

Ganle, John Kuumuori

2016-05-01

Among the youth in some parts of sub-Saharan Africa, a paradoxical mix of adequate knowledge of HIV/AIDS and high-risk behavior characterizes their daily lives. Based on original qualitative research in Ghana, I explore in this article the ways in which the social construction of masculinity influences youth's responses to behavior change HIV/AIDS prevention interventions. Findings show that although awareness of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the risks of infection is very high among the youth, a combination of hegemonic masculinity and perceptions of personal invulnerability acts to undermine the processes of young people's HIV/AIDS risk construction and appropriate behavioral change. I argue that if HIV/AIDS prevention is to be effective and sustained, school- and community-based initiatives should be developed to provide supportive social spaces in which the construction of masculinity, the identity of young men and women as gendered persons, and perceptions of their vulnerability to HIV/AIDS infection are challenged. © The Author(s) 2015.

Facial emotion recognition, face scan paths, and face perception in children with neurofibromatosis type 1.

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, Amelia K; Porter, Melanie A; Williams, Tracey A; Bzishvili, Samantha; North, Kathryn N; Payne, Jonathan M

2017-05-01

This study aimed to investigate face scan paths and face perception abilities in children with Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1) and how these might relate to emotion recognition abilities in this population. The authors investigated facial emotion recognition, face scan paths, and face perception in 29 children with NF1 compared to 29 chronological age-matched typically developing controls. Correlations between facial emotion recognition, face scan paths, and face perception in children with NF1 were examined. Children with NF1 displayed significantly poorer recognition of fearful expressions compared to controls, as well as a nonsignificant trend toward poorer recognition of anger. Although there was no significant difference between groups in time spent viewing individual core facial features (eyes, nose, mouth, and nonfeature regions), children with NF1 spent significantly less time than controls viewing the face as a whole. Children with NF1 also displayed significantly poorer face perception abilities than typically developing controls. Facial emotion recognition deficits were not significantly associated with aberrant face scan paths or face perception abilities in the NF1 group. These results suggest that impairments in the perception, identification, and interpretation of information from faces are important aspects of the social-cognitive phenotype of NF1. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

After the fall of the Berlin Wall: perceptions and consequences of stability and change among middle-aged and older East and West Germans.

Science.gov (United States)

Westerhof, Gerben J; Keyes, Corey L M

2006-09-01

This study empirically tested the self-systems theory of subjective change in light of the rapid change after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The theory predicts that individuals have a tendency to perceive stability and that perceived stability exerts a strong positive effect on subjective well-being. We would expect perceptions of decline and, to a lesser extent, perceptions of improvement to be related to lower levels of subjective well-being. Data were from respondents aged 40-85 years who participated in the German Aging Survey. We used measures of well-being and temporal comparisons during the past 10 years (1986-1996). West Germans reported more stability than East Germans, in particular in the public domain and in older age groups. Compared with perceptions of stability, perceptions of decline were related to less life satisfaction and more negative affect, and perceptions of growth to more negative affect. Temporal comparisons were unrelated to positive affect. Our findings both confirm and reject the self-systems theory of subjective change as it relates to the fall of the Berlin Wall. Studying temporal comparisons is important in understanding the effects of historical events and their timing within an individual life course.

Effects of Culture on Musical Pitch Perception

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Patrick C. M.; Ciocca, Valter; Chan, Alice H. D.; Ha, Louisa Y. Y.; Tan, Li-Hai; Peretz, Isabelle

2012-01-01

The strong association between music and speech has been supported by recent research focusing on musicians' superior abilities in second language learning and neural encoding of foreign speech sounds. However, evidence for a double association—the influence of linguistic background on music pitch processing and disorders—remains elusive. Because languages differ in their usage of elements (e.g., pitch) that are also essential for music, a unique opportunity for examining such language-to-music associations comes from a cross-cultural (linguistic) comparison of congenital amusia, a neurogenetic disorder affecting the music (pitch and rhythm) processing of about 5% of the Western population. In the present study, two populations (Hong Kong and Canada) were compared. One spoke a tone language in which differences in voice pitch correspond to differences in word meaning (in Hong Kong Cantonese, /si/ means ‘teacher’ and ‘to try’ when spoken in a high and mid pitch pattern, respectively). Using the On-line Identification Test of Congenital Amusia, we found Cantonese speakers as a group tend to show enhanced pitch perception ability compared to speakers of Canadian French and English (non-tone languages). This enhanced ability occurs in the absence of differences in rhythmic perception and persists even after relevant factors such as musical background and age were controlled. Following a common definition of amusia (5% of the population), we found Hong Kong pitch amusics also show enhanced pitch abilities relative to their Canadian counterparts. These findings not only provide critical evidence for a double association of music and speech, but also argue for the reconceptualization of communicative disorders within a cultural framework. Along with recent studies documenting cultural differences in visual perception, our auditory evidence challenges the common assumption of universality of basic mental processes and speaks to the domain generality of culture-to-perception

Effects of culture on musical pitch perception.

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Patrick C M; Ciocca, Valter; Chan, Alice H D; Ha, Louisa Y Y; Tan, Li-Hai; Peretz, Isabelle

2012-01-01

The strong association between music and speech has been supported by recent research focusing on musicians' superior abilities in second language learning and neural encoding of foreign speech sounds. However, evidence for a double association--the influence of linguistic background on music pitch processing and disorders--remains elusive. Because languages differ in their usage of elements (e.g., pitch) that are also essential for music, a unique opportunity for examining such language-to-music associations comes from a cross-cultural (linguistic) comparison of congenital amusia, a neurogenetic disorder affecting the music (pitch and rhythm) processing of about 5% of the Western population. In the present study, two populations (Hong Kong and Canada) were compared. One spoke a tone language in which differences in voice pitch correspond to differences in word meaning (in Hong Kong Cantonese, /si/ means 'teacher' and 'to try' when spoken in a high and mid pitch pattern, respectively). Using the On-line Identification Test of Congenital Amusia, we found Cantonese speakers as a group tend to show enhanced pitch perception ability compared to speakers of Canadian French and English (non-tone languages). This enhanced ability occurs in the absence of differences in rhythmic perception and persists even after relevant factors such as musical background and age were controlled. Following a common definition of amusia (5% of the population), we found Hong Kong pitch amusics also show enhanced pitch abilities relative to their Canadian counterparts. These findings not only provide critical evidence for a double association of music and speech, but also argue for the reconceptualization of communicative disorders within a cultural framework. Along with recent studies documenting cultural differences in visual perception, our auditory evidence challenges the common assumption of universality of basic mental processes and speaks to the domain generality of culture-to-perception

Effects of culture on musical pitch perception.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patrick C M Wong

Full Text Available The strong association between music and speech has been supported by recent research focusing on musicians' superior abilities in second language learning and neural encoding of foreign speech sounds. However, evidence for a double association--the influence of linguistic background on music pitch processing and disorders--remains elusive. Because languages differ in their usage of elements (e.g., pitch that are also essential for music, a unique opportunity for examining such language-to-music associations comes from a cross-cultural (linguistic comparison of congenital amusia, a neurogenetic disorder affecting the music (pitch and rhythm processing of about 5% of the Western population. In the present study, two populations (Hong Kong and Canada were compared. One spoke a tone language in which differences in voice pitch correspond to differences in word meaning (in Hong Kong Cantonese, /si/ means 'teacher' and 'to try' when spoken in a high and mid pitch pattern, respectively. Using the On-line Identification Test of Congenital Amusia, we found Cantonese speakers as a group tend to show enhanced pitch perception ability compared to speakers of Canadian French and English (non-tone languages. This enhanced ability occurs in the absence of differences in rhythmic perception and persists even after relevant factors such as musical background and age were controlled. Following a common definition of amusia (5% of the population, we found Hong Kong pitch amusics also show enhanced pitch abilities relative to their Canadian counterparts. These findings not only provide critical evidence for a double association of music and speech, but also argue for the reconceptualization of communicative disorders within a cultural framework. Along with recent studies documenting cultural differences in visual perception, our auditory evidence challenges the common assumption of universality of basic mental processes and speaks to the domain generality of

Changes in Domain Specific Self-Perception amongst Young People with Intellectual Disability: A Longitudinal Study

Science.gov (United States)

O'Byrne, Clara; Muldoon, Orla T.

2018-01-01

This study examines the changes that occur in multidimensional self-concept of adolescents with a diagnosis of intellectual disabilities, across gender and category of intellectual disability (borderline, mild, moderate) groups. A sample of 54 young people completed the Harter Self-Perception Profile. Using a three-wave longitudinal study…

IMPORTANCE OF PHYSICAL QUALITIES FOR SPEED AND CHANGE OF DIRECTION ABILITY IN ELITE FEMALE SOCCER PLAYERS.

OpenAIRE

Emmonds, S; Nicholson, G; Beggs, CB; Jones, B; Bissas, A

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the importance of physical qualities for speed and change of direction (CoD) ability in female soccer players. Data were collected on 10 female soccer players who were part of a professional English Women’s Super League team. Player assessments included anthropometric (stature and body mass), body composition (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry), speed (10m, 30m sprint), CoD ability (505 agility), aerobic (Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test), lower-body ...

Impacts of Sensation, Perception, and Motor Abilities of the Ipsilesional Upper Limb on Hand Functions in Unilateral Stroke: Quantifications From Biomechanical and Functional Perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Hsu, Hsiu-Yun; Ke, Chia-Wen; Kuan, Ta-Shen; Yang, Hsiu-Ching; Tsai, Ching-Liang; Kuo, Li-Chieh

2018-02-01

The presence of subtle losses in hand dexterity after stroke affects the regaining of independence with regard to activities of daily living. Therefore, awareness of ipsilesional upper extremity (UE) function may be of importance when developing a comprehensive rehabilitation program. However, current hand function tests seem to be unable to identify asymptomatic UE impairments. To assess the motor coordination as well as the sensory perception of an ipsilesional UE using biomechanical analysis of performance-oriented tasks and conducting a Manual Tactile Test (MTT). Case-controlled study. A university hospital. A total of 21 patients with unilateral stroke, along with 21 matched healthy control subjects, were recruited. Each participant was requested to perform a pinch-holding-up activity (PHUA) test, object-transport task, and reach-to-grasp task via motion capture, as well as the MTT. The kinetic data of the PHUA test, kinematics analysis of functional movements, and time requirement of MTT were analyzed. Patients with ipsilesional UE had an inferior ability to scale and produce pinch force precisely when conducting the PHUA test compared to the healthy controls (P perception (P sensation-perception-motor system in the ipsilesional UE. Integration of sensorimotor training programs for ipsilesional UE in future neuro-rehabilitation strategies may provide more beneficial effects to regain patients' motor recovery and to promote daily living activity independence than focusing on paretic arm motor training alone. III. Copyright © 2018 American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Exploring Associations among Writing Self-Perceptions, Writing Abilities, and Native Language of English-Spanish Two-Way Immersion Students

Science.gov (United States)

Neugebauer, Sabina R.; Howard, Elizabeth R.

2015-01-01

The current study, with 409 fourth graders in two-way immersion programs, explored the writing self-perceptions of native English and native Spanish speakers and the relationship between self-perceptions and writing performance. An adapted version of the Writer Self-Perception Scale (WSPS) was administered along with a writing task. Native English…

Relationship between Perceived Limit-Setting Abilities, Autism Spectrum Disorder Severity, Behaviour Problems and Parenting Stress in Mothers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Science.gov (United States)

Reed, Phil; Howse, Jessie; Ho, Ben; Osborne, Lisa A.

2017-01-01

Parenting stress in mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is high and impacts perceptions about parenting. This study examined the relationship between parenting stress and observer-perceived limit-setting ability. Participants' perceptions of other parents' limit-setting ability were assessed by showing participants video clips…

The Emergent Properties of Conspecific Attraction Can Limit a Species' Ability to Track Environmental Change.

Science.gov (United States)

Stodola, Kirk W; Ward, Michael P

2017-06-01

Multiple biotic, abiotic, and evolutionary constraints interact to determine a species' range. However, most species are not present in all suitable and accessible locations. Dispersal ability may explain why many species do not occupy all suitable habitat, but highly mobile species also exhibit a mismatch. Habitat selection behavior where individuals are site faithful and settle near conspecifics could create a social pressure that make a species' geographic range resistant to change. We investigated this possibility by using an individual-based model of habitat selection where habitat quality moved each year. Our model demonstrated the benefits of conspecific attraction in relatively stable environments and its detrimental influence when habitat quality shifted rapidly. These results were most apparent when adult survival was high, because site fidelity led to more individuals occupying poor-quality habitat areas as habitat quality changed. These individuals attracted other dispersing individuals, thereby decreasing the ability to track shifts in habitat quality, which we refer to as "social inertia." Consequently, social inertia may arise for species that exhibit site fidelity and conspecific attraction, which may have conservation implications in light of climate change and widespread alteration of natural habitats.

Exploring the Relationship of College Freshmen Honors Students' Effort and Ability Attribution, Interest, and Implicit Theory of Intelligence with Perceived Ability

Science.gov (United States)

Siegle, Del; Da Via Rubenstein, Lisa; Pollard, Elizabeth; Romey, Elizabeth

2010-01-01

Although there are several explanations for why one succeeds or fails, effort and ability are the major causes that students report. The purpose of the present study was to measure the perceptions of 149 college freshmen enrolled in a university honors program about their skills in 15 talent areas. In addition, this study explored the relationship…

Effect of Musical Expertise on Visuospatial Abilities: Evidence from Reaction Times and Mental Imagery

Science.gov (United States)

Brochard, Renaud; Dufour, Andre; Despres, Olivier

2004-01-01

Recently, the relationship between music and nonmusical cognitive abilities has been highly debated. It has been documented that formal music training would improve verbal, mathematical or visuospatial performance in children. In the experiments described here, we tested if visual perception and imagery abilities were enhanced in adult musicians…

Body image perception and attempts to change weight among female medical students at Mangalore

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Priya D

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Assessing body image self-perception has used BMI as an indicator of nutritional status. The visual analogue scale is a highly effective instrument for assessing people′s level of dissatisfaction with their body weight while evaluating the perceptual component of body image. Objective: By knowing body mass index of female medical students, to find out their pattern of body image perception and any attempts done to change their weight. Materials and Methods: All the students residing in MBBS ladies hostel were included in this study and a questionnaire regarding body image perception, diet, physical activity and attempts to change weight was instituted. Their responses were collected, tabulated, analyzed and interpreted. Results: Among 147 study subjects, according to BMI, 25(17% were undernourished while 111(75.5% and 11(7.5% were normally nourished and overweight respectively. 35(23.8% of the subjects felt they were lean, 95(64.6% felt they were normal and 17(11.6% felt they were overweight. Regarding image satisfaction, 98(66.7% of them were satisfied with their image and out of 49 who were not satisfied 30 (20.4 % wanted to reduce weight. Skipping meals was practiced by 42 (28.6% of subjects. Conclusion: About 75.5% of the study group were having normal BMI. Most of them perceived their image correctly regarding to their weight. Most of the underweight and all overweight females were not satisfied. Underweight females preferred to gain weight and overweight females preferred to lose weight.

Teachers’ Beliefs about Differentiated Instructions in Mixed Ability Classrooms: A Case of Time Limitation

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Jaweria Aftab

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Students in today’s mixed ability classrooms come from diverse backgrounds with needs. In such a scenario, differentiated instructions are of prime importance for teachers to deal with in mixed ability classrooms. The teaching experiences and academic life mould perceptions of teachers which effects their teaching style; therefore, it is important to know teachers’ beliefs and perceptions regarding teaching in a mixed ability classroom at middle school level so as to guide educators and heads inside and outside the institution. For this study, quantitative research method was used to explore and understand the beliefs and perceptions of the teachers of middle schools regarding implementing differentiated instructions. The sample size included 120 teachers who were sent a survey questionnaire through online Google form and was constructed by customizing the questionnaire from Ballone and Czerniak (2001. The analysis of quantitative inquiry revealed that there is a positive association between teachers’ beliefs about their intentions and stakeholders’ expectations to implement differentiated instruction. It was highlighted that all stakeholders wanted teachers to implement differentiated strategies; however, the teachers were found to be short of planning and instructional time for differentiation.

Relationship between spectrotemporal modulation detection and music perception in normal-hearing, hearing-impaired, and cochlear implant listeners.

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Ji Eun; Won, Jong Ho; Kim, Cheol Hee; Cho, Yang-Sun; Hong, Sung Hwa; Moon, Il Joon

2018-01-15

The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between spectrotemporal modulation (STM) sensitivity and the ability to perceive music. Ten normal-nearing (NH) listeners, ten hearing aid (HA) users with moderate hearing loss, and ten cochlear Implant (CI) users participated in this study. Three different types of psychoacoustic tests including spectral modulation detection (SMD), temporal modulation detection (TMD), and STM were administered. Performances on these psychoacoustic tests were compared to music perception abilities. In addition, psychoacoustic mechanisms involved in the improvement of music perception through HA were evaluated. Music perception abilities in unaided and aided conditions were measured for HA users. After that, HA benefit for music perception was correlated with aided psychoacoustic performance. STM detection study showed that a combination of spectral and temporal modulation cues were more strongly correlated with music perception abilities than spectral or temporal modulation cues measured separately. No correlation was found between music perception performance and SMD threshold or TMD threshold in each group. Also, HA benefits for melody and timbre identification were significantly correlated with a combination of spectral and temporal envelope cues though HA.

Changing Social Work Students' Perceptions of the Role of Government in a Policy Class

Science.gov (United States)

Granruth, Laura Brierton; Kindle, Peter A.; Burford, Michael L.; Delavega, Elena; Johnson, David H.; Peterson, Susan; Caplan, Mary A.

2018-01-01

Understanding student political attitudes--feelings about government and perceptions of its role--has long been of interest to social scientists. One factor that may influence political attitudes is belief in a just world, a complex psychological construct well established in the literature. Our study explores changes in social work students'…

Climate change and consequences in the Arctic: perception of climate change by the Nenets people of Vaigach Island.

Science.gov (United States)

Davydov, Alexander N; Mikhailova, Galina V

2011-01-01

Arctic climate change is already having a significant impact on the environment, economic activity, and public health. For the northern peoples, traditions and cultural identity are closely related to the natural environment so any change will have consequences for society in several ways. A questionnaire was given to the population on the Vaigach island, the Nenets who rely to a large degree on hunting, fishing and reindeer herding for survival. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted about perception of climate change. Climate change is observed and has already had an impact on daily life according to more than 50% of the respondents. The winter season is now colder and longer and the summer season colder and shorter. A decrease in standard of living was noticeable but few were planning to leave. Climate change has been noticed in the region and it has a negative impact on the standard of living for the Nenets. However, as of yet they do not want to leave as cultural identity is important for their overall well-being.

Individual and work factors related to perceived work ability and labor force outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

McGonagle, Alyssa K; Fisher, Gwenith G; Barnes-Farrell, Janet L; Grosch, James W

2015-03-01

Perceived work ability refers to a worker's assessment of his or her ability to continue working in his or her job, given characteristics of the job along with his or her resources. Perceived work ability is a critical variable to study in the United States, given an aging workforce, trends to delay retirement, and U.S. policy considerations to delay the age at which full Social Security retirement benefits may be obtained. Based on the job demands-resources model, cognitive appraisal theory of stress, and push/pull factors related to retirement, we proposed and tested a conceptual model of antecedents and outcomes of perceived work ability using 3 independent samples of U.S. working adults. Data regarding workers' job characteristics were from self-report and Occupational Information Network measures. Results from relative importance analysis indicated that health and sense of control were consistently and most strongly related to work ability perceptions relative to other job demands and job and personal resources when perceived work ability was measured concurrently or 2 weeks later in samples with varying occupations. Job demands (along with health and sense of control) were most strongly related to work ability perceptions when perceived work ability was measured in a manufacturing worker sample 1.6 years later. Perceived work ability also predicted lagged labor force outcomes (absence, retirement, and disability leave) while controlling for other known predictors of each. Consistent indirect effects were observed from health status and sense of control to all 3 of these outcomes via perceived work ability. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved.

Influence of climate changes on the migration ability of technogenic radionuclides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Todorov, B.; Kovacheva, P.; Djingova, R.

2011-01-01

Full text: Global warming and climatic changes in the last decade focus the attention of scientists worldwide. Changes in climate variables (winds, precipitation, currents, temperature, etc.) affect the transport, transfer, and deposition of contaminants in the environment. Numerous investigations show the strong impact of climatic parameters like temperature and precipitations on soil characteristics, and especially on soil organic matter, which plays a significant role in the migration behaviour of the contaminants in the environment. This defines the need of special attention on elucidation of the impact of temperature and precipitations on the chemical behaviour of the radionuclides. This work presents initial results of a research project aiming to elucidate the influence of climate changes on the migration and bioaccumulation of natural and technogenic radionuclides in terrestrial ecosystems. Different types of soils were contaminated by technogenic radionuclides ( 241 Am, 137 Cs, and 60 Co) and conditioned under different temperatures and soil humidity, simulating sharp climatic variations. Chemical fractionation of the radionuclides was studied by using two different procedures for sequential extractions, followed by radiation detection by gamma-spectrometry. Evaluation of the chemical behaviour of the investigated radionuclides with respect to soil characteristics, temperature and humidity variations and duration of conditioning was performed. Initial conclusions on the influence of the climate changes on the migration ability of radionuclides of different oxidation states were made

The Blame Index: Exploring the Change in Social Work Students' Perceptions of Poverty

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Delavega, Elena; Kindle, Peter A.; Peterson, Susan; Schwartz, Charles

2017-01-01

This study reports the development of a new Blame Index to determine attributions of the causes of poverty along a single structural-to-individual dimension. A multisite pre-/post-group design tested the degree of change in social work students' (N = 177) perception of poverty as a result of taking a single BSW social policy course or an MSW…

Local Perception of Drought Impacts in a Changing Climate: The Mega-Drought in Central Chile

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paulina Aldunce

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Droughts are a recurrent and complex natural hazard whose frequency and magnitude are expected to increase with climate change. Despite the advances in responding and adapting to droughts (with the development of new policies, for example, droughts continue to cause serious impacts and suffering. Developing well-targeted public policies requires further research on adaptation. Specifically, understanding the public perception of drought can help to identify drivers of and barriers to adaptation and options. This research seeks to understand the public perception of drought in central Chile in order to inform adaptation-related policies and decision-making processes. This study focused on the Mega-drought, which was a protracted dry spell afflicting central Chile since 2010.

IRT-Based Measurement of Short-Term Changes of Ability, with an Application to Assessing the "Mozart Effect"

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Gittler, Georg; Fischer, Gerhard

2011-01-01

The article extends and applies previous approaches by Klauer and Fischer to the statistical evaluation of ability changes in tests conforming to the Rasch model (RM). Exact uniformly most powerful unbiased (UMPU) hypothesis tests and uniformly most accurate (UMA) confidence intervals (CIs) for the amount of change can be constructed for each…

Recalibrating disparities in perceived and actual balance abilities in older adults: a mixed-methods evaluation of a novel exergaming intervention.

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Ellmers, Toby J; Paraskevopoulos, Ioannis Th; Williams, A Mark; Young, William R

2018-03-22

Published reports suggest a disparity between perceived and actual balance abilities, a trait associated with increased fall-risk in older adults. We investigate whether it is possible to 'recalibrate' these disparities using a novel gaming intervention. We recruited 26 older adults for a 4-week intervention in which they participated in 8-sessions using a novel gaming intervention designed to provide explicit, augmented feedback related to postural control. Measures of perceived balance abilities (Falls Efficacy Scale-International) and actual postural control (limits of stability) were assessed pre- and post-intervention. We used focus groups to elicit the opinions of participants about how the game may have influenced balance abilities and confidence. A stronger alignment was observed between postural control and perceived balance capabilities post-intervention (i.e., significant correlations between Falls Efficacy Scale-International scores and limits of stability which were not present pre-intervention). Also, significant improvements in measures of postural control were observed, with these improvements confined to the aspects of postural control for which the exergame provided explicit, augmented feedback. Qualitative data revealed that the intervention made participants more "aware" of their balance abilities. Our results demonstrate that it is possible to recalibrate the perceptions of older adults relating to their balance abilities through a targeted, short-term intervention. We propose that the post-intervention improvements in postural control may have been, in part, the result of this recalibration; with altered perceptions leading to changes in balance performance. Findings support the application of novel interventions aimed at addressing the psychological factors associated with elderly falls.

Gender and Age Differences in Awareness and Endorsement of Gender Stereotypes about Academic Abilities

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Kurtz-Costes, Beth; Copping, Kristine E.; Rowley, Stephanie J.; Kinlaw, C. Ryan

2014-01-01

We measured age and gender differences in children's awareness and endorsement of gender stereotypes about math, science, and verbal abilities in 463 fourth, sixth, and eighth graders. Children reported their perceptions of adults' beliefs and their own stereotypes about gender differences in academic abilities. Consistent with study…

Teachers' Perceptions of Classroom Behaviour and Working Memory

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Alloway, Tracy Packiam

2012-01-01

Working memory, ability to remember and manipulate information, is crucial to academic attainment. The aim of the present study was to understand teachers' perception of working memory and how it impacts classroom behaviour. A semi-structured interview was used to explore teachers' ability to define working memory, identify these difficulties in…

Are parents just treading water? The impact of participation in swim lessons on parents' judgments of children's drowning risk, swimming ability, and supervision needs.

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Morrongiello, Barbara A; Sandomierski, Megan; Schwebel, David C; Hagel, Brent

2013-01-01

Drowning is a leading cause of child mortality globally. Strategies that have been suggested to reduce pediatric drowning risk include increased parental awareness of children's swimming ability and drowning risk, improved adult supervision of child swimmers, and providing swim lessons to children. This study explored how parents' beliefs relevant to children's drowning risk, perception of children's swimming ability, and judgments of supervision needs changed as children aged two through 5 years accumulated experience in swim lessons, and compared a parent group who received regular, detailed feedback about their child's swim skills with one that did not. Parents completed questionnaire measures near the beginning and end of a series of 10 weekly swim lessons. Results revealed that parental accuracy in judging children's swimming abilities remained relatively poor even though it improved from the beginning to the end of the swim lessons. Supervision needs were underestimated and did not vary with program or change over the course of swim lessons. Children's ability to keep themselves from drowning was overestimated and did not change over lessons or vary with program; parents believed that children could save themselves from drowning by the age of 6.21 years. Parents who had experienced a close call for drowning showed greater awareness of children's drowning risk and endorsed more watchful and proximal supervision. Results suggest that expanding learn-to-swim programs to include a parent-focused component that provides detailed tracking of swim skills and delivers messaging targeting perceptions of children's drowning risk and supervision needs may serve to maximize the drowning protection afforded by these programs. Delivering messaging in the form of 'close-call' drowning stories may prove especially effective to impact parents' supervision practices in drowning risk situations. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Online learning in dentistry: the changes in undergraduate perceptions and attitudes over a four year period.

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Reynolds, P A; Rice, S; Uddin, M

2007-10-13

To assess the changing perceptions and attitudes of undergraduate dental students towards e-learning between 2001-2004. DESIGN, SAMPLE AND SETTING: This was a retrospective analysis of online questionnaire data, collected from four successive cohorts of final year students undertaking an online therapeutics course in a large teaching hospital. Students were required to complete a structured and open questionnaire relating to their perceived ICT skills, the course itself, and their perceptions of e-learning. Simple numeric qualitative and qualitative analyses were applied. Questionnaires were returned by 328 students (98% response rate). Students' perceptions of having advanced ICT skills increased from 5.5% to 14.5%, with home internet access rising from 62.3% to 89.1 % (2001-2004). There was an increase in: ease of access (25.3% to 47.3%), perception of time saving (17.9% to 37.4%), appreciation of combining traditional and e-learning methods (43.8% to 57.4%) and online tutor access (21.9% to 40.7%). Free comments supporting good e-learning experiences rose from 7.2% to 32.7% with poor remarks decreasing (3.1% to 1.9%). Students' perceptions of their ICT skills has increased, matched by better equipment and greater appreciation of e-learning. A shift towards preference of a blended approach of traditional and e-learning is evident.

[Students' perceptions of team-based learning by individual characteristics in a medical school].

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Park, Kwi Hwa; Choi, Chang-Hyu; Jeon, Yang-Bin; Park, Kook-Yang; Park, Chul-Hyun

2013-06-01

The purpose of this study was to examine medical students' perceptions of team-based learning (TBL) according to their individual characteristics: gender, team efficacy, interpersonal understanding, proactivity in problem solving, and academic ability. Thirty-eight second-year medical students who took an integrated cardiology course participated in this study; 28 were male and 10 were female. A questionnaire on individual characteristics and a questionnaire on the perception of TBL were administered, and the scores of individual characteristics were grouped into three: high, middle, and low. The data were analyzed by t-test, analysis of variance, and multiple regression analysis. The TBL efficacy perception scale consisted of 3 factors: team skill, learning ability, and team learning. The group of male students and the group of students with high academic ability recognized the effect of TBL on improvements in learning ability more than females and those with low academic ability. The group of students with high team efficacy reported that TBL was effective with regard to team skill improvement. The group of students with high scores on interpersonal understanding and high proactive problem solving tended to perceive the TBL's effect on team skill improvement. Team efficacy and proactivity in problem solving had a positive effect on the perception of TBL. Medical students' perceptions of the effectiveness of TBL differ according to individual characteristics. The results of this study suggest that these individual characteristics should be considered in planning of team learning, such as TBL, to have a positive impact and stronger effects.

Change Blindness Phenomena for Virtual Reality Display Systems.

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Steinicke, Frank; Bruder, Gerd; Hinrichs, Klaus; Willemsen, Pete

2011-09-01

In visual perception, change blindness describes the phenomenon that persons viewing a visual scene may apparently fail to detect significant changes in that scene. These phenomena have been observed in both computer-generated imagery and real-world scenes. Several studies have demonstrated that change blindness effects occur primarily during visual disruptions such as blinks or saccadic eye movements. However, until now the influence of stereoscopic vision on change blindness has not been studied thoroughly in the context of visual perception research. In this paper, we introduce change blindness techniques for stereoscopic virtual reality (VR) systems, providing the ability to substantially modify a virtual scene in a manner that is difficult for observers to perceive. We evaluate techniques for semiimmersive VR systems, i.e., a passive and active stereoscopic projection system as well as an immersive VR system, i.e., a head-mounted display, and compare the results to those of monoscopic viewing conditions. For stereoscopic viewing conditions, we found that change blindness phenomena occur with the same magnitude as in monoscopic viewing conditions. Furthermore, we have evaluated the potential of the presented techniques for allowing abrupt, and yet significant, changes of a stereoscopically displayed virtual reality environment.

Assessment of perception and adaptation to climate-related glacier changes in the arid Rivers Basin in northwestern China

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Guofeng, Zhu; Dahe, Qin; Jiawen, Ren; Feng, Liang; Huali, Tong

2017-06-01

In many mountainous areas of the world, glaciers serve as a source of fresh water that is of critical importance and contributes to the sustainability of agriculture and other socio-economic activities. An enhanced understanding of socio-economic consequences of the climate-related glacier changes is essential to the identification of vulnerable entities and the development of well-targeted environmental adaptation policies. A questionnaire and interviews of farmers in the Heihe River Basin were used to analyze their perception of cryospheric changes, attitudes towards mitigation of cryospheric changes, and the ways in which they perceived their responsibility. Preferred responses and interventions for cryospheric change and views on responsible parties were also collected and evaluated. Our investigation revealed that most rural residents were concerned about glacier changes and believed they would bring harm to present society, individuals, and families, as well as to future generations. The respondents' perceptions were mainly influenced by the mass media. Most respondents tended to favor adaptation measures implemented by the government and other policy-making departments. An integrated approach will be needed to deal with the challenges to tackling climate-related glacier change.

Changes in perception-action tuning over long time scales: How children and adults perceive and act on dynamic affordances when crossing roads.

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O'Neal, Elizabeth E; Jiang, Yuanyuan; Franzen, Lucas J; Rahimian, Pooya; Yon, Junghum Paul; Kearney, Joseph K; Plumert, Jodie M

2018-01-01

This investigation examined developmental change in how children perceive and act on dynamic affordances when crossing roads on foot. Six- to 14-year-olds and adults crossed roads with continuous cross-traffic in a large-screen, immersive pedestrian simulator. We observed change both in children's gap choices and in their ability to precisely synchronize their movement with the opening of a gap. Younger children were less discriminating than older children and adults, choosing fewer large gaps and more small gaps. Interestingly, 12-year-olds' gap choices were significantly more conservative than those of 6-, 8-, 10-, and 14-year-olds, and adults. Timing of entry behind the lead vehicle in the gap (a key measure of movement coordination) improved steadily with development, reaching adultlike levels by age 14. Coupled with their poorer timing of entry, 6-, 8-, and 10-year-olds' gap choices resulted in significantly less time to spare and more collisions than 14-year-olds and adults. Time to spare did not differ between 12-year-olds, 14-year-olds, and adults, indicating that 12-year-olds' more conservative gap choices compensated for their poorer timing of entry. The findings show that children's ability to perceive and act on dynamic affordances undergoes a prolonged period of development, and that older children appear to compensate for their poorer movement timing skills by adjusting their gap decisions to match their crossing actions. Implications for the development of perception-action tuning and road-crossing skills are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

A Dynamic Systems Theory Model of Visual Perception Development

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Coté, Carol A.

2015-01-01

This article presents a model for understanding the development of visual perception from a dynamic systems theory perspective. It contrasts to a hierarchical or reductionist model that is often found in the occupational therapy literature. In this proposed model vision and ocular motor abilities are not foundational to perception, they are seen…

Household vulnerability to climate change: examining perceptions of households of flood risks in Georgetown and Paramaribo

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Linnekamp, F.; Koedam, A.; Baud, I.S.A.

2011-01-01

The article examines household perceptions of flooding as part of climate change in two low elevation coastal zone cities in the Caribbean. The research examines differences in vulnerability of households as the combined results of socio-economic inequalities in entitlements and exposure to natural

Semantic impairment disrupts perception, memory, and naming of secondary but not primary colours.

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Rogers, Timothy T; Graham, Kim S; Patterson, Karalyn

2015-04-01

To investigate how basic aspects of perception are shaped by acquired knowledge about the world, we assessed colour perception and cognition in patients with semantic dementia (SD), a disorder that progressively erodes conceptual knowledge. We observed a previously undocumented pattern of impairment to colour perception and cognition characterized by: (i) a normal ability to discriminate between only subtly different colours but an impaired ability to group different colours into categories, (ii) normal perception and memory for the colours red, green, and blue but impaired perception and memory for colours lying between these regions of a fully-saturated and luminant spectrum, and (iii) normal naming of polar colours in the opponent-process colour system (red, green, blue, yellow, white, and black) but impaired naming of other basic colours (brown, gray, pink, and orange). The results suggest that fundamental aspects of perception can be shaped by acquired knowledge about the world, but only within limits. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Semantic impairment disrupts perception, memory, and naming of secondary but not primary colours.

Science.gov (United States)

Rogers, Timothy T.; Graham, Kim S.; Patterson, Karalyn

2015-01-01

To investigate how basic aspects of perception are shaped by acquired knowledge about the world, we assessed colour perception and cognition in patients with semantic dementia (SD), a disorder that progressively erodes conceptual knowledge. We observed a previously undocumented pattern of impairment to colour perception and cognition characterized by: (i) a normal ability to discriminate between only subtly different colours but an impaired ability to group different colours into categories, (ii) normal perception and memory for the colours red, green, and blue but impaired perception and memory for colours lying between these regions of a fully-saturated and luminant spectrum, and (iii) normal naming of polar colours in the opponent-process colour system (red, green, blue, yellow, white, and black) but impaired naming of other basic colours (brown, gray, pink, and orange). The results suggest that fundamental aspects of perception can be shaped by acquired knowledge about the world, but only within limits. PMID:25637227

Teachers' perceptions of effective science, technology, and mathematics professional development and changes in classroom practices

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Boriack, Anna Christine

The purpose of this study is to examine teachers' perceptions of professional development and changes in classroom practice. A proposed conceptual framework for effective professional development that results in changes in classroom practices was developed. Data from two programs that provided professional development to teachers in the areas of technology, mathematics, and science was used to inform the conceptual framework. These two programs were Target Technology in Texas (T3) and Mathematics, Science, and Technology Teacher Preparation Academies (MSTTPA). This dissertation used a multiple article format to explore each program separately, yet the proposed conceptual framework allowed for comparisons to be made between the two programs. The first study investigated teachers' perceptions of technology-related professional development after their districts had received a T3 grant. An online survey was administrated to all teachers to determine their perceptions of technology-related professional development along with technology self-efficacy. Classroom observations were conducted to determine if teachers were implementing technology. The results indicated that teachers did not perceive professional development as being effective and were not implementing technology in their classrooms. Teachers did have high technology self-efficacy and perceived adequate school support, which implies that effective professional development may be a large factor in whether or not teachers implement technology in their classrooms. The second study evaluated participants' perceptions of the effectiveness of mathematics and science professional development offered through a MSTTP academy. Current and former participants completed an online survey which measured their perceptions of academy activities and school environment. Participants also self-reported classroom implementation of technology. Interviews and open-ended survey questions were used to provide further insight into

Danish geography teachers' perceptions of their own teaching professionalism according to climate change

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Clausen, Søren Witzel

2015-01-01

This paper reports from research examining eight Geography teachers’ own perceptions of their teaching professionalism, understood as Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK), in relation to the topic of climate change. Apparently, Geography teachers with a strong academic profile in Physical Geography...... and natural science are more familiar to teach the sub-subject of weather formation in connection to climatic change, than Geography teachers with a strong academic profile in Human Geography and social science. The teachers orientated against Human Geography put emphasis on the more problem......-oriented/discursive aspects of teaching climate change, some of them neglecting parts of the curriculum focused on weather formation. Most of the interviewed Geography teachers emphasize the collegial cooperation with science colleagues e.g. during professional development activities, when reflecting on their own teaching...

Musical, language and reading abilities in early Portuguese readers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jennifer eZuk

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Early language and reading abilities have been shown to correlate with a variety of musical skills and elements of music perception in children. It has also been shown that reading impaired children can show difficulties with music perception. However, it is still unclear to what extent different aspects of music perception are associated with language and reading abilities. Here we investigated the relationship between cognitive-linguistic abilities and a music discrimination task that preserves an ecologically valid musical experience. Forty-three Portuguese-speaking students from an elementary school in Brazil participated in this study. Children completed a comprehensive cognitive-linguistic battery of assessments. The music task was presented live in the music classroom, and children were asked to code sequences of four sounds on the guitar. Results show a strong relationship between performance on the music task and a number of linguistic variables. A Principle Component Analysis of the cognitive-linguistic battery revealed that the strongest component (Prin1 accounted for 33% of the variance and Prin1 was significantly related to the music task. Highest loadings on Prin1 were found for reading measures such as Reading Speed and Reading Accuracy. Interestingly, twenty-two children recorded responses for more than four sounds within a trial on the music task, which was classified as Superfluous Responses (SR. SR was negatively correlated with a variety of linguistic variables and showed a negative correlation with Prin1. When analyzing children with and without SR separately, only children with SR showed a significant correlation between Prin1 and the music task. Our results provide implications for the use of an ecologically valid music-based screening tool for the early identification of reading disabilities in a classroom setting.

Improved Hand Hygiene Compliance is Associated with the Change of Perception toward Hand Hygiene among Medical Personnel

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Park, Se Jeong; Chung, Moon Joo; Lee, Ju Hee; Kang, Hyun Joo; Lee, Jeong-a; Kim, Yong Kyun

2014-01-01

Background Hand hygiene compliance has improved significantly through hand hygiene promotion programs that have included poster campaign, monitoring and performance feedback, and education with special attentions to perceived subjective norms. We investigated factors associated with improved hand hygiene compliance, focusing on whether the improvement of hand hygiene compliance is associated with changed perception toward hand hygiene among medical personnel. Materials and Methods Hand hygiene compliance and perceptions toward hand hygiene among medical personnel were compared between the second quarter of 2009 (before the start of a hand hygiene promotion program) and the second quarter of 2012. We assessed adherence to hand hygiene among medical personnel quarterly according to the WHO recommended method for direct observation. Also, we used a modified self-report questionnaire to collect perception data. Results Hand hygiene compliance among physicians and nurses improved significantly from 19.0% in 2009 to 74.5% in 2012 (P Hand hygiene compliance among the medical personnel continued to improve, with a slight decline in 2013. Perceptions toward hand hygiene improved significantly between 2009 and 2012. Specifically, improvements were evident in intention to adhere to hand hygiene, knowledge about hand hygiene methods, knowledge about hand hygiene indications including care of a dirty and a clean body site on the same patient, perceived behavioral and subjective norms, positive attitude toward hand hygiene promotion campaign, perception of difficulty in adhering to hand hygiene, and motivation to improve adherence to hand hygiene. Conclusions The examined hand hygiene promotion program resulted in improved hand hygiene compliance and perception toward hand hygiene among medical personnel. The improved perception increased hand hygiene compliance. Especially, the perception of being a role model for other colleagues is very important to improve hand hygiene

Medical Student Perceptions of the Learning Environment in Medical School Change as Students Transition to Clinical Training in Undergraduate Medical School.

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Dunham, Lisette; Dekhtyar, Michael; Gruener, Gregory; CichoskiKelly, Eileen; Deitz, Jennifer; Elliott, Donna; Stuber, Margaret L; Skochelak, Susan E

2017-01-01

Phenomenon: The learning environment is the physical, social, and psychological context in which a student learns. A supportive learning environment contributes to student well-being and enhances student empathy, professionalism, and academic success, whereas an unsupportive learning environment may lead to burnout, exhaustion, and cynicism. Student perceptions of the medical school learning environment may change over time and be associated with students' year of training and may differ significantly depending on the student's gender or race/ethnicity. Understanding the changes in perceptions of the learning environment related to student characteristics and year of training could inform interventions that facilitate positive experiences in undergraduate medical education. The Medical School Learning Environment Survey (MSLES) was administered to 4,262 students who matriculated at one of 23 U.S. and Canadian medical schools in 2010 and 2011. Students completed the survey at the end of each year of medical school as part of a battery of surveys in the Learning Environment Study. A mixed-effects longitudinal model, t tests, Cohen's d effect size, and analysis of variance assessed the relationship between MSLES score, year of training, and demographic variables. After controlling for gender, race/ethnicity, and school, students reported worsening perceptions toward the medical school learning environment, with the worst perceptions in the 3rd year of medical school as students begin their clinical experiences, and some recovery in the 4th year after Match Day. The drop in MSLES scores associated with the transition to the clinical learning environment (-0.26 point drop in addition to yearly change, effect size = 0.52, p effect size = 0.14, p work-life balance and informal student relationships. There was some, but not complete, recovery in perceptions of the medical school learning environment in the 4th year. Insights: Perceptions of the medical school learning